Disillusioned, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 2

  Chapter 4

   

  Stan wasn’t thrilled about giving up Kristina to be Rob’s campaign manager, but he knew electing a Republican state representative was his first priority as County Chairman. It wasn’t so much the work she was doing for him, but more the companionship he’d be losing. He could figure out how to handle his job without her but he’d miss the time they spent together. Reluctantly he thought about how to replace her. Perhaps she knew someone who could take her place. He pondered that situation while he waited for her in front of Commissioner Barnes’ home. They had a meeting with him about switching to the Republican Party and making the announcement at President Ford’s reception, which was only a week away. Finally, he saw her driving up in her Mustang convertible. It was a warm but windy day, and she’d worn a short dress that blew up, exposing a lot of skin. Stan watched her, wide-eyed, as she stepped out of her flashy red car. He fumbled with the door a moment and then got out.

  “Hi. I like your dress.”

  She grimaced. “I bet you do. I didn’t realize it was so windy.”

  Stan wondered if she’d worn the sexy dress for the Commissioner or him. He thought about it and couldn’t make up his mind. They walked to the front door and rang the bell. A few seconds elapsed, and the door opened. A elderly lady stuck her head out and gave Kristina a hard look.

  “What do you want?”

  “Uh, we’re here to see Commissioner Barnes.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Stan Turner and Kristina Tenison,” Kristina said. “He’s expecting us.”

  “Oh, alright. Come in. I’ll get him.”

  She escorted them to a small sitting room and told them to have a seat. Stan and Kristina sat on a small sofa. A few minutes later, Barnes strolled in and greeted them.

  “Can I offer you something?” he asked. “A drink, perhaps?”

  “Just some water,” Kristina said.

  “Nothing for me,” Stan added.

  Barnes nodded to the elderly woman. He didn’t introduce her, so Stan assumed she was domestic help. Barnes was a tall man in his mid-fifties. He sat in a chair across from them and stroked his short beard.

  “So, what can I do for you?” he finally asked. “You said over the phone that you had something you wanted to discuss with me.”

  “Well, yes. That’s right. Ah. . . We’ve heard rumors you may be thinking of switching to the Republican Party,” Stan said.

  Barnes frowned. “Where did you hear that?”

  “It’s been a topic of discussion around town for some time. I think you know the demographics of the county have changed, and your district is becoming more Republican with each passing election. Fortunately, your term isn’t up this year, but in two years, a Democrat could face a difficult time getting elected.”

  “Yes, and if it is true that you intend to switch parties, we can offer you a prime opportunity to do so,” Kristina added.

  “Really? How’s that?”

  Kristina looked at Stan, and he nodded. “Well,” Kristina said, “President Ford is coming to Dallas next week, and he’s having a reception for some of his supporters. If you were to switch parties now, we could get you an invitation to the reception, and he’d give you a few minutes to announce your plans to the press. It would give you great exposure.”

  Barnes’ face lit up. “Hmm. That’s a very interesting proposal, but I’m going to take a lot of heat from my fellow Democrats. They’ll call me a traitor and turncoat.”

  “Well, the influence of the Democratic Party is waning in this county, so I doubt that will have much effect upon your future here.”

  Barnes nodded. “Probably not, but it’s still a hard thing to do.”

  Stan wondered if Barnes was genuinely concerned for the Democratic Party and his friends there or if he was just putting on a show. In fact, Stan didn’t like Barnes or anyone who would forsake their party for expedience. He halfway hoped Barnes would say no, but he doubted that would happen. Stan had gone along with the idea of assisting Barnes with his switch, as he knew it would be good for the party and for President Ford in the short run.

  “Can I have some time to think about it?”

  Stan shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, we’ve got to finalize the guest list today. If you haven’t made up your mind about switching yet, that’s okay. You don’t have to make that decision for another year. We just—”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll do it. I was on the brink anyway. It’s good you came, now you’ve forced my hand and I can get the inevitable over with.”

  Kristina smiled. “That’s great. We’ll start working on the arrangements. I’ll call you in a few days with the details.”

  Stan and Kristina stood up. “Thank you, Commissioner. I think you’ve made the right decision.”

  “Yes, well, I appreciate the opportunity. It’s not too often a politician like myself gets to share the podium with the President of the United States.”

  “No problem. It should be good for everyone involved.”

  Barnes showed them out and closed the door.

   “You got a minute?” Stan asked. “I need to talk to you about something else.”

  Kristina looked at Stan expectantly. “Sure. What is it?”

  “Let’s go get a cup of coffee somewhere. This might take a few minutes. I think I saw a Dunkin’ Donuts up the street.”

  “Yes, I saw it as I was driving up. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Good. Thanks. See you in a minute.”

  A few minutes later, they were sitting in Dunkin’ Donuts, each with a cup of coffee and a donut.

  “Brad Thornton pulled his financing for Rob’s campaign. He’s got to find a new campaign manager too.”

  “Hmm. I was afraid of that. What’s he going to do?”

  “He asked me be his campaign manager.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Kristina said excitedly.

  “No, it’s not. I don’t have time to do it, but I told him maybe you would consider it.”

  “Me?” she said frowning. “But how—“

  ”I don’t want to lose you, but it would be a good move for both you and Rob. He needs you, and I’m sure you’d do a great job. It would be good for your political career as well.”

  “My political career?” she questioned.

  Stan smiled. “Come on. You obviously have political ambition. You’re a natural politician. You love this stuff.”

  Kristina chuckled. “Is it that obvious?”

  “To me it is.”

  “But I’m a woman. There hasn’t been a woman elected to anything in this county in decades.”

  “Maybe so, but times are changing. More and more women are getting elected to political office around the country every year. I have a feeling you’ll be one of them sooner or later.”

  “I hate to leave you in a lurch.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I bet one of your workers could step up and do some of the things you were doing.”

  Kristina thought about it moment. “Yeah, you’re right,” she said excitedly. “Glenda Green or Jill Smart could do it. I’ll ask them if they’d be willing to put in more time.”

  “Good. I’ll set up a meeting with you and Rob, and then you guys can get started.”

  “Oh my God! Is this really happening? Am I really going to be Rob Shepard’s campaign manager?”

  Stan laughed. “Yes. Congratulations!”

  “Thank you, Stan. I really appreciate the confidence you have in me. Rob would have never considered me, I’m sure, had you not pushed me for the job.”

  “Well, Rob’s a good friend, so I want him to win. If I were in his shoes, I’d hire you in a flash.”

  Kristina smiled tenderly. “I’m so happy I could kiss you.”

  The thought of that excited Stan but he didn’t think she was serious, nor could he have let her kiss him if she wanted to, so he just smiled. “I’m glad you’re so excited. Just get Rob elected, and that will make my sacrifice worthwhile.?
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  “Don’t worry. His election is in the bag.”

  Stan felt relieved that he’d solved Rob’s immediate problem, but now started to worry about being County Chairman without Kristina’s help. How could he possibly find the time to do it? Depression and regret quickly washed over him. He knew he had done the right thing, but he also knew his noble gesture was going to cost him dearly.

  The next day, Kristina, Stan, Rob, and Cindy met to discuss the campaign. Kristina had already made a list of potential donors and a list of things Rob needed to do. Rob was impressed with Kristina’s take-charge approach and approved everything she suggested. Since everything was under control, Stan got up to leave.

  “Oh, Stan, I talked to Glenda and Jill, and they said they’d split my duties as vice-chairman of the Republican Executive Committee. I’m going to meet with them this afternoon to make sure they know what to do.”

  “Great. I appreciate you getting right on that.”

  She smiled. “No problem. I’ll see you at the Ford reception.”

  “Right. See you then.”

  When Stan got home, he was surprised to see a strange car parked in front of his house. When he walked inside, there were a man and a woman talking to Rebekah. The man got up.

  “You must be Stan Turner,” the man said.

  “Right.”

  “Hi. I’m Special Agent Warren Adams and this is my partner, Special Agent Ruth Rutledge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

  They both produced their badges, and Stan gave them a cursory look.

  “You’re not the Stan Turner from Quantico, are you? Agent Rutledge asked.

  Stan looked at her in surprise. “Yeah, as a matter of fact I am.”

  “Huh. I worked for two years on the Sunday Night Slasher task force. That was nice work you and Ms. Stone did to break the case.”

  Stan smiled. “Well, I had an advantage since I was forced to spend time with him. It didn’t take long to figure out he was insane.”

  “Have you seen Ms. Stone lately?” Rutledge asked. “We got to know each other pretty well after your court martial.”

  “No, it’s been over a year since I’ve seen her.”

  “Listen, we have a few questions for you on another matter.”

  “Right. Are you talking to everyone that was at Brad’s party the other night?”

  Agent Adams nodded. “That’s one list we’re working.”

  “Hmm. Well, I don’t know Mr. Thornton that well. I see him once in a while at party functions, but that’s about it.”

  “Didn’t he recruit you as County Chairman?”

  “That’s right. He did.”

  “Gave you a big contribution, huh?”

  “No. You don’t need any money to run for County Chairman. They give the job to the first sucker who’ll take it. It’s a pretty thankless job.”

  “You have to get elected, though, and that must have cost some money.”

  “No. I was unopposed. I didn’t spend a dime.”

  “Just blew a lot precious time,” Rebekah interjected.

  “Did Mr. Thornton let you in on any of his lucrative investments?”

  “No. I’m in law school, so we’re pretty much broke. We’re barely able to pay our bills and my school expenses each month.”

  “Oh, that’s right—law school,” Agent Adams said glancing over at Agent Rutledge.

  Stan nodded.

  “So, what do you know about Silver Springs Ventures?” Rutledge asked.

  “Not a thing really. I’ve heard people talk about it, but I’ve never visited the place.”

  “By ‘people’ do you mean Rob?”

  “Yeah. I overheard he and Brad talking about it once.”

  “What did they say?”

  “Oh, I don’t remember. I wasn’t paying that much attention.”

  “Do you know a man by the name of Tony Rubio?”

  “No. Never met him.”

  Agent Rutledge nodded. “Okay, that’s all the questions I have.”

  “Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”

  “Actually, there is something you could do for us,” Agent Adams said.

  “Oh?. . . What’s that?” Stan asked.

  “Rob’s your best friend, I understand?”

  Stan nodded. “You could say that?”

  “Do you know what a CI is?”

  “A CI?”

  “Yes, a confidential informant.”

  “Oh, right. A snitch.”

  “No. Not necessarily a snitch. If you were mixed up in criminal activity and you provided information to the FBI you’d be a snitch, but if you are not part of the criminal enterprise but are in a unique position to acquire information about it for the FBI, that is something entirely different.”

  “Okay,” Stan said skeptically.

  “What I’m trying to say, is because you are close friends with Rob and have an inside position in the Republican Party you could acquire evidence that would be difficult or impossible for us to get.”

  Stan took a deep breath not liking the way this conversation was going. He didn’t want to do anything to hurt Rob, his family or the Republican Party.

  “You want Stan to be a spy for you?” Rebekah asked mortified.

  “That’s not what we call it, but the concept is the same,” Agent Adams acknowledged.

  “If there is money laundering going on,” Stan said, “I’m sure Rob knows nothing about it. At worst he’s an unwitting accomplice.”

  “You may be right,” Adams agreed. “In fact, if it makes you feel better one of our objectives would be to get Rob to agree to an immunity deal. He testifies to what he knows with full immunity from prosecution.”

  Stan nodded. “That sounds good, but I don’t know if Rob would testify against the Thorntons. They’re like family.”

  “Well, if he is going to be a State Representative he’s going to have to show that his integrity is more important than friendships.”

  Stan sighed. “I suppose.”

  “So, will you do it?” Adams pressed.

  “Ah. Won’t this be dangerous?” Rebekah asked.

  Agent Adams shrugged. “It could be but we’ll have you under surveillance at all times and if you ever feel threatened you can alert us and we’ll be on top of the situation immediately.”

  “I don’t know,” Rebekah said. “I don’t like it. Can we think about it? Stan really doesn’t have time for this.”

  Stan looked at Rebekah. “What’s the objective here? The article in the newspaper was a little sketchy. You’re after some drug cartel?”

  Adams nodded. “Yes, for years we have been after the Burilo Drug Cartel. They are involved in drugs, arms sales, and human trafficking all over Texas. There organization is very sophisticated and well run. Every time we think we are close to coming down on them they thwart us one way or another. Recently we got a lead that they were laundering their money through Brad Thornton, so that’s why the investigation landed here.”

  Stan nodded and looked at Rebekah. “We really don’t have a choice, honey. If I’m going to be an attorney how can I turn down an opportunity to help bring down a bunch of murdering thugs.”

  “Stan. It’s too dangerous.”

  “The FBI will protect me, right,” Stan said looking at Agent Adams.

   “Yes. Like I said we’ll have someone watching you at all times. It’s not like you will be in the thick of things. You’ll just be in a position to snoop around because of your position as County Chairman and a friend of Rob’s.”

  “And CI’s can get paid,” Agent Rutledge interjected.

  “Really?” Rebekah said. “How much?”

  “It depends on how much you are able to help.”

  Stan shook his head. “No. That wouldn’t be right.”

  Rebekah glared at Stan but didn’t say anything.

  “It’s my duty as a citizens to help. Just tell me what I need to do.”

  Rebekah sighed deeply. “Stan!”
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  Stan shrugged. “I’m sorry, honey, but I don’t really have a choice.”

  Rebekah shook her head angrily at Stan and stomped off.

  Shan smiled. “Sorry. Rebekah’s a worrier. This will be hard on her.”

  “Well, I appreciate you doing this, Stan,” Agent Rutledge said. “We’ll be in touch with more details in a few days. Sorry we upset your wife.”

  Adams and Rutledge departed, leaving Stan feeling sick. He felt like he was doing the right thing, but fear and dread suddenly washed over him. Not only was he about to embark on a very dangerous endeavor, despite the FBI’s promise of protection, but Rebekah wouldn’t forgive him for it. In fact, she didn’t talk to him the rest of the evening and locked the bedroom door when she went to bed forcing him to sleep on the couch. That night he had trouble sleeping, not because of his makeshift bed, but because all he could think about was what Rob might know that he hadn’t shared with him and the FBI. He wondered what his reaction would be to an offer of immunity for help in prosecuting Brad Thornton and if he’d hate Stan for what he was doing.