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It had been years since Michaela had seen General Stuart Rothrock and then it'd been at a formal dinner in his mother's home. She hardly knew the general, but knew of him and his outstanding military career. She’d also heard it rumored he’d been involved at the highest levels of national security. She was surprised that he was accompanied by Congressman Adam Patrick Lee.
She opened her front door with Angel at her side and smiled, "General Rothrock, Congressman Lee, I'm so glad to see you." She leaned over, gave Stuart Rothrock a hug and whispered, "I'm so sorry about Camilla. She was such an outstanding woman and I admired her greatly."
"Thank you, Michaela," he said softly. "And please call me Stu."
"You’re welcome, Stu. And Adam, it's always great to see you." Michaela added as she flashed the powerful congressman a warm, flirtatious smile. "What can I offer you gentlemen to drink?"
"Well, I kinda like that Irish whiskey you got down at Biddy’s," Adam admitted. "You got any of that here?"
"I sure do, wouldn’t be an Irish household without it," she grinned at him. "General, oops I mean Stu, what can I offer you?"
"That sounds great to me. Adam here usually knows his booze. I always take his suggestions and he’s never steered me wrong yet."
Mic laughed as Adam said, "No question 'bout that, but don't say it in front of Kathryn or I'll be in the doghouse or the horse barn for sure."
Stu grinned. “I’d live in your horse barn anytime.” He turned to Mic, “You ever see that place? It’s nicer than my place in Florida.”
Mic shook her head and said, “No, I haven’t seen the new barn but honestly, the last one was five stars.”
“You gotta come out, Mic. It’s been a while and you know, Alex is home, well, sort of home. She’s in NOLA now but will be back in a few weeks.”
"Just say when and I’ll be there. You guys want to come back to the kitchen? That's where I hide the whiskey," she taunted them.
"Yup. Sure, after you," Adam said gallantly with a sweep of his hand.
"This is one fine looking dog," Stu said, as he roughed up Angel's ears. “Where'd you get him?"
"Oh you haven't met Angel? He's the love of my life," Michaela said as she headed towards the back of the house to the kitchen. "He was my partner at the RPD. Matter of fact, he’s the best partner I've ever had," she said as she handed Angel a piece of jerky. The dog accepted the treat politely and moved over to his bed by the kitchen hearth to savor it.
"Way I heard it," Adam Lee interrupted, "this here dog saved your life once or twice."
"Yep, that he did," Michaela agreed. "He took a bullet for me a few years ago, saved my life, and they retired him so he came to live with me.” Mic gave her dog an adoring look. “We’ve been together since then and he pretty much goes everywhere I go.” She paused for a moment and smiled, “You know how it goes, right? Love me, love my dog.”
General Rothrock nodded, “That’s quite a story, Michaela. In my opinion, there’s no better friend than a well-trained police, military, or medical working dog. There’s no argument they save lives, thousands of lives each year.”
“Yeah, no argument here,” Mic agreed as she took the whiskey bottle, three crystal glasses and a small container of ice over to the table and invited the men to join her. “Do you mind if we sit in here? It’s cool outside and the kitchen is warm.”
"This is a mighty fine kitchen, you’ve got here, Michaela. You must do a lot of cooking," Adam observed. "What's that I smell? Is something in the oven?"
Mic walked over to her oven. "Yes, I threw together a few snacks for us. I didn't know if you had found time for dinner. It's just a snack."
"That's kind of you, Michaela. To be honest we didn't have time to eat much although Adam did consume an ungodly amount of questionable meatloaf. We met with the doctor shortly afterwards and then my mother passed away. Anyway, this smells great," Stu said as he smiled gratefully.
Adam poured each of them two fingers of Irish whiskey and said, "This is good for starters. It's been a long day hasn't it, Stu?"
Stu nodded. "Yeah, it has and this whiskey is just what my bones need after that ride in the military transport you arranged for me, Adam. I'm getting old, next time could you send a better ride?" he joked.
Mic laughed and the three clinked glasses as Adam looked at Stu and said, "Really, General, you didn't give me much time but at least it got you here, didn't it? You didn't have to stand in line at security either."
"Yep, I gotta say that's true. Thank you, buddy," Stuart said as a smile faded from his face. He turned to Michaela and said, "I'm wondering if I can hire you to look into my mother's death. The physicians at MCV think there is poison involved although they haven't been able to isolate what kind."
Michaela nodded. "Sure. I’m happy to do this for you, General, but I need to know everything they've told you."
General Rothrock nodded. "Of course, I understand that, but there's not much," he said as he sipped his whiskey and reached for the Boursin and a cracker. “Basically, they said she was poisoned, most likely from something she ingested at Hotel Madison. The doctor suggested her advanced age might have contributed to her death. She didn’t have the stamina to fight against the poison that a younger person would have." He looked at Adam and asked, "Did I miss anything or forget to tell Michaela anything, Adam?"
Adam shook his head. "Nope, that's what I heard. He did say that they weren't sure if the poison caused her heart attack, but they could possibly determine that on autopsy."
Michaela nodded, "That would make sense to me. Did the physician mention anything about the waitress from the Madison that passed out at about the same time your mother became ill?"
General Rothrock nodded. "He said the young woman was still unconscious. They're running the same tests on her that they ran on my mother. I think the cases are related and I believe he does too. I think he said she had a neurological disorder of some type."
"Hell yes! They’ve gotta be related," Adam sputtered as he slammed his glass on Michaela’s oak table. "How could they not be?"
Mic nodded. "I imagine they're both victims of some foul play. We've just got to figure out what they ate to become ill. That's key." Michaela picked up her glass of whiskey and looked steadily from General Rothrock to Congressman Lee and asked, "Are you both confident the attack on Mrs. Rothrock was random?"
Adam gave Michaela a funny look and asked, "What exactly do you mean, Mic?"
"Do you think the general’s mother was targeted by someone, perhaps for some reason I wouldn't know about... like in retaliation for something he did in the military or for the government?" she asked.
Adam smiled slightly, and gave Michaela a shrewd look. He took a sip of his whiskey and responded, "Of course we have to consider that and we are. Stuart’s military career – and his current work - is one that ruffles and pisses off bunches of people.” He looked at Stu and grinned, “Who could it be, man? The Arabs, the Israelis, the French, or the Russians?”
Stuart raised his eyebrows, gave Adam a quizzical look and said, “Well, now, don’t forget the Mexican cartel. They’re standing in line, Adam. You pick,” he said with a broad smile.
Adam didn’t return the smile. “No one knows any more than me the effects of terrorism directed against Americans and their families." He turned to Mic and repeated, “But honestly, we don’t know.” He gave Stuart a surreptitious look. He knew his friend was heartsick over the death of his mother. He admired the brave front he’d maintained all day.
Mic nodded. "I know you know about the terrorism, Congressman,” she said softly. “No one could possibly know any better than you," she admitted as she remembered the attack against Adam's home and family just over a year ago.
"I think this poisoning is random," Stuart said. "It's true, I have quite a battle record and I probably have thousands of people who'd like to do me in, but I think the attack against my mother is something that just happened. I don't think she's ever been on anyone's radar."
Michaela nodded as Adam broke in and said, "You may be right, General, but I'm not convinced.”
"We've got the Secret Service and the intelligence agencies looking for a terror link, but would like for you to check things out locally and coordinate with the Feds. Just see what you can find out for us," Rothrock said.
Mic nodded, "I'll be happy to do that. I've already been in contact with Lieutenant Steve Stoddard and I have the police files to review." She paused for a moment and said, "I don't know if you gentlemen are aware, but there were three other women who were poisoned this afternoon at a downtown restaurant after lunch. The cases may be related so I'm looking into that as well."
"Holy shit," Adam exploded. "This is bad. Three more women? Poisoned?"
Michaela nodded, "That’s where the evidence is leading us. Their symptoms are very much like your mother’s. So far all remain unconscious and one is in critical condition."
General Rothrock shook his head and examined the whiskey in his glass, "If you've got a serial poisoner on your hands, you've got your work cut out for you."
Michaela nodded. "I hope you're wrong about that," she said.
Stuart Rothrock stared into her eyes and said, "Me too. We tailed a serial poisoner in the Middle East for months. He killed thousands of people before we caught him. He was one of the worst criminals I've ever known of. He made Hitler look like a nice guy."
Mic felt nausea pit in her stomach. This was gonna be bad. She could feel it.