If you haven't read the prelude or the previous chapters you might want to scroll down and real them. Please let me know what you think.

SYNOPSIS: Jason Franco is an aspiring novelist stuck in a dead end job working for a newspaper in a small town where nothing exciting happens until someone rapes and murders a young woman only eighteen years old. All evidence points to the woman's boyfriend who confesses to the crime. Jason is assigned to write a follow-up story for the paper and soon suspects that the local police are covering up for one of their own. Jason enlists the help from a high school classmate who works at the state crime and the two soon fall in love. Jason and his girlfriend, Tina, follow the leads and Jason finds himself a target for the rapist turned murderer. An attempt on Jason's life puts him in the hospital as the alleged rapist commits suicide. An unexpected turn of events put Jason back in the cross hairs of a different killer.

Crime Laboratory, Division of Criminal Investigation, Cheyenne, Wyoming

Saturday, June 27, 2105

Tina and Jason slept in late and then went to a pancake house for a late breakfast. Jason wanted to order the western omelet with a side order of sausage, but the look on Tina’s face made him change the order to blueberry pancakes. Tina ordered pancakes with fruit. While they waited for their order, Jason started thinking about last night. It was the best sex he had since college, maybe better.

“What are you smiling about?” asked Tina.

Jason chuckled. “I was thinking about last night. It was fantastic.”

“You’re doing better. You may have a career as a writer after all. Last night was spectacular.

Before Jason could pay for breakfast, Tina grabbed the check and paid it on the way out. They drove straight to the Division of Criminal Investigation building. Jason expected a larger building. Tina explained that the lab handles latent fingerprints, firearms, tool marks, chemistry, and DNA. Anything else had be to sent to Denver.

Tina parked her car and turned to Jason. “There’s a security guard at the entrance. I’ll have to sign you in. Don’t say anything about being a reporter. I’ll tell him that you’re my boyfriend and I’m just showing you around.”

“Is this going to be a problem for you?”

“Are you kidding? I flirt with this guard all the time. He has the hots for me. He would probably get undressed if I asked him to.”

Tina unbuttoned two buttons on her shirt. She took Jason’s hand and led him into the building and up to the security desk. Before they got there, Tina whispered, “Shit. Not him. Some other guy.”

The security guard was an older gentleman perhaps in his sixties. Tina showed him her ID and explained that Jason was her boyfriend.

The guard looked Jason over. “I’m going to need to see a picture ID, and you have to sign him in.”

Jason showed the guard his driver’s license. While the guard was taking Jason’s picture for a temporary visitor ID, Tina signed him in the log book. At this point she thought it best to go ahead and list his employer as the Torrington Star-Gazette. If anything should happen, she didn’t want to be accused of fraud. The guard gave Jason the temporary security badge and let them in.

Inside the lab, Tina pulled up a chair for Jason and they sat down in her cubical. She turned on her computer and opened a few files. “Where do you want to start?”

Jason thought for a minute. “The Littlefield murder wasn't a State Police case?”

“Yes and no. It was TPD's case and they made the arrest. The State Police handled the crime scene and we did the lab work. But I’ve access to a lot of databases.”

“Okay. The thought occurred to me that maybe this is the work of a serial killer; maybe a trucker going through town. Can you check and see if there are other murders that fit this MO?”

“Listen to you talking the lingo. But you think it might be a serial killer? The killer had to know both the vic and Mr. McAdams and where they lived.”

“I don't know. I'm just asking the dumb questions. I want to eliminate the possibility of a serial killer. Humor me.”

“Sure, no problem. Wyoming doesn’t have many murders.” Tina pulled up a couple of data bases. “See here. There were eight in 2010, eighteen in 2011 and fourteen in 2014.” Tina drilled down into several cases. “Nothing pops up. Most of these cases have been solved and the perp arrested and convicted. ”

“What about adjacent states? If the killer is a truck drive, there might be a trail of bodies across the country.”

“Well, that could take a while. Let’s look at Nebraska and Colorado.” After another hour, Tina said, “Nothing even close. I was thinking. We have been looking for a serial murderer. Suppose it wasn’t a serial killer but a serial rapist? I mean Littlefield was raped and then murdered. Maybe the murder wasn't premediated.”

Jason thought about her remarks for a minute. “As long as we’re here, we might as well check that angle. What parameters should we use?”

“Let’s look for unsolved rapes in Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska and Colorado. We’ll look for cases were no weapon was used; the vic was beaten unconscious but survived; and the panties were taken.”

Tina spent a few hours searching data bases. Finally, they had a list of fifteen names. Jason cross checked the names against the list of names from Register Cliff. Ten names matched. There was no match for Molli R. or Cate S. They now had the full names of most of the women listed on Register Cliff. The full names were Penelope Saint, Kristen Jones, Sandy Cameron, Beth Alton, Jill Stone, Angelina Littlefield, Carmine Evans, Zoe Atkins, and Mary Damon. Tina suggested that perhaps the two unmatched names might be rapes that weren't reported.

It was getting late so they called it a night and planned to return tomorrow. They decided to pick up a picked up a pizza on the way and not eat out. Jason and Tina hardly spoke a word on the way to her apartment. Once there, Tina made margaritas again. Jason joined her in the kitchen.

Tina stopped making the drinks and put her arms around Jason’s neck. “Reading about rapes all day kills the mood, huh?”

Jason smiled. “I was worried that you wouldn’t be interested. How do you do it? You have to work with this stuff every day.”

“You have to learn not to let it get to you. You can’t bring it home. I just do my job and try not to think about the people involved. But if you don’t feel like it, we can just sleep. We don’t have to make love.”

“Are you kidding? If you’re okay, I’m okay.”

Tina handed Jason his drink and led him by the hand to her bedroom. Later they reheated the cold pizza and ate it.

####

I guess the idea of renaming military bases has started a small debate. I usually write a humorous blog, and lately I have been posting chapters from my work in progress, a crime novel, The Register Cliff Rapist. I'm not sure why I felt compelled to post about this subject. The Pentagon said on Wednesday there is "no discussion" on renaming U.S. military bases honoring Confederate officers. I'm not sure if “we” includes you and me. I guess “we” aren't having this discussion. I'm sure the Pentagon has labeled me a left-leaning liberal. I hope not. I think I'm to old for the Army to activate my hip pocket orders from the Ready Reserves – I turn 69 on June 29. If the Pentagon should call you and ask, “we” aren't “discussing” changing the names of bases: we're having a dialogue, reading postings and commenting – no discussions. Is Freedom of Speech still a right? I mean no disrepect to those great slave owner generals who rebelled against the United States. I'm sure they meant well.

I have given some thought on new names for the bases named after Confederate generals:

1. Fort Lee in Virginia is home to the Quartermaster Corps. An obvious choice would be to name it Ulysses S. Grant. Another alternative would be to name it after Nathanael Greene, a Quartermaster General from the American Revolution.

2. Fort Hood in Texas is home to the 1st Cavalry Division and the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized). I think we could name it after General George S. Patton, Jr.

3. Fort Gordon in Georgia is the home of the Signal Corps. An obvious choice is Paul Revere of 'one if by land and two if by sea fame'.

4. Fort Bragg in North Carolina is where the 82d Airborne Division is stationed. I recommend changing the name to Matthew B. Ridgway from WWII fame. He was a former commander.

5. Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia is now the home for the Training and Maneuver Center. I would like to see this post named after Molly Pitcher (real name Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley), a revolutionary War heroine or Catherine Kate Barry – “Heroine of the Battle of Cowpens”.

6. Fort Rucker in Alabama is the home of Army Aviation. We could name it after Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was the first African-American general officer in the US Air Force. During World War II, Davis was commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group as part of the Army Aviation Corps. We could also name it aftet his father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., the first African-American general in the US Army.

For the rest of the bases, (Camp Beauregard and Fort Polk in LA., Fort Benning in Ga., and Fort Pickett in VA.) ther are many options such as Omar Bradley, Mark W. Clark, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall. Take your pick.

Any other ideas?

#SouthCarolina lawmakers voted to consider removing the Confederate flag from their Statehouse grounds. I agree wholeheartedly with removing the Stars and Bars. It is a symbol of oppression. Now the focus is spreading to include renaming streets, buildings, military installations and maybe some towns. While I agree in principle, some of the military bases are places I have served. I never once condsidered the names racist, but I guess they are. I read with interest an article by Jamie Malanowskimay from May 25, 2013 in theNew York Times Sunday Review titled Misplaced Honor on this subject. The article mentions several bases including Fort Lee in Virginia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, Fort Rucker in Alabama, and Camp Beauregard in Louisiana. I agree that it's time to rename these bases. The naming of installations is responsibility of the Assistant Secretary of #Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs). But who do we name them after? The names of several World War II generals come to mind: Omar Bradley, Mark W. Clark, Dwightn D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George marshall, and George Patton, Jr., to name a few. Any other suggestions?

If you haven't read the prelude or the previous chapters you might want to scroll down and real them. Please let me know what you think. This chapter was a little long, so I posted it in two parts. Here's part 2.




SYNOPSIS: Jason Franco is an aspiring novelist stuck in a dead end job working for a newspaper in a small town where nothing exciting happens until someone rapes and murders a young woman only eighteen years old. All evidence points to the woman's boyfriend who confesses to the crime. Jason is assigned to write a follow-up story for the paper and soon suspects that the local police are covering up for one of their own. Jason enlists the help from a high school classmate who works at the state crime and the two soon fall in love. Jason and his girlfriend, Tina, follow the leads and Jason finds himself a target for the rapist turned murderer. An attempt on Jason's life puts him in the hospital as the alleged rapist commits suicide. An unexpected turn of events put Jason back in the cross hairs of a different killer.

Tina Nussbaum, High School Classmate

Friday, June 26, 2015

[Part 2 of Chapter 9]

“I still need to talk to you. How shall we do this?” asked Jason.

“Well, we could go to my house except my parents are expecting me. I’m guessing that yours are expecting you. If we go to a motel, my parents will find out. They know everyone in town. Not that they mind but I can’t stand the interrogation afterwards.”

“Yeah. This is a little awkward. I was talking about the interview.”

“I wasn't.”

Jason turned toward Tina and kissed her. Tina kissed him back. As they embraced they rocked gently from side to side.

Tina looked into his eyes. “Thanks for dinner. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I wish this night would never end.”

Jason smiled. “Me too.”

“I’ve an idea. Let’s both go home to please our parents. Then make up an excuse to tell them that you have to go to Cheyenne tonight. Better yet, I’ll call you at nine thirty. Tell your parents that it’s an urgent message, and you have to go to Cheyenne. Meet me at McDonald's at ten. We’ll drive down to Cheyenne for the weekend. I’ve a nice apartment. My roommate is with her boyfriend this weekend.”

“I don’t know. I don’t like lying to my parents. Besides, I need to work on this story.”

“I understand. If you come, I’ll answer all your questions. Tomorrow, I’ll even take you to the crime lab and you can see for yourself what we do. The lab is closed but we can still get access. Later, we can go to a nice restaurant.”

“Okay. That’s great, but I don’t have a lot of money.”

“My treat. I’m well paid.”

“I don’t know…”

Tina leaned her body against Jason’s and patted his chest. “Listen Jason, unless you’ve a better offer, you had better take this one. I’m not going to beg.”

Jason smiled. “Okay. It’s a date.” He wrapped his arms around Tina's small waist.

As they kissed again, Tina grabbed his buttocks. After a couple more kisses, Jason walked her to her jeep. It was a 2014 Jeep Wrangler painted brown and gold, the colors of Wyoming University. On each side was a large decal of a cowboy on a bucking bronco. Jason circled around the jeep.

“Well, what do you think of my jeep?”

“I’m looking for the long horns.”

Tina didn’t laugh. “That’s a Texas thing. Besides, I opted for the AC instead.”

Tina sat on the hood as Jason stood in front of her and kissed her. She wrapped her legs around his hips. They made out for a few minutes and finally kissed good night.

Jason was eager to see what was on the thumb drive that Tina gave him so he went straight to the Star Gazette offices. He was still there when Tina called at nine thirty. He drove home and threw a change of clothes and his shaving kit into a bag for the weekend. He told his parents that he would be out of town working on the Littlefield story all weekend.

Jason made a point of being early and arrived before Tina. He sat in a booth near the window so he could watch the parking lot. Soon he was lost in his thoughts.

“Hey.” Tina startled Jason when she stood next to him.

Jason stood up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you come in. You, you look so different.” The truth was that he didn’t recognize her at all. Tina was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a denim short-sleeve shirt. She had on a cowboy hat and boots. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail.

“The next words out of your mouth better be a compliment or you’ll have to walk to Cheyenne.”

‘No. No. I mean you look terrific but so different from earlier.”

“You call yourself a writer and that’s the best you can come up with?”

“You look fantastic. Sexy, hot…”

“Give up, lover boy, you’re thirsty. This is what I normally wear on weekends when I’m not all gorge for a Chinese dinner date. You look pretty much the same.”

“I don’t recall you dressing like this in high school.”

“I guess you could say that I re-branded myself in college.”

Jason was still wearing the same khaki shorts and a light blue polo shirt that he wore earlier. He shrugged his shoulders.

Tina smiled. “What are you driving these days?”

“My '88 Buick.”

“Isn’t that the red car you drove in high school?”

“And in college and now. It’s very reliable. It has less than 100,000 miles.”

“Why don’t you leave your car here? There’s a shuttle van that leaves the Cheyenne airport at seven on Monday morning. The first stop is here. You could be in your office by nine.”

Jason thought that it was a good idea and agreed. On the way to Cheyenne, Jason and Tina started to discuss the information on the Littlefield case. Jason told her what he learned from talking with Paulo and others. After an hour there was lull in the conversation. They had pretty well covered all the high points.

Jason cleared his throat. “I heard you were dating someone in college. What happened?”

Tina shook her head. “He took a job in Omaha and that was that.”

“You didn’t want to move to Omaha?”

“He didn’t ask.”

“Oh... If he had asked, would you have gone to Omaha?”

“Yeah. At the time, I was very much into him. I’d have gone but I think I’d have regretted it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Like I said, he wasn’t into me as much as I was into him. Now I like my job. I like Cheyenne, and I like being close to my family and I like you. How about you? You were dating someone too.”

“Once I dropped out of college, it became difficult to carry on a relationship. I guess we just drifted apart.”

“So what happened to her? Did you keep in touch?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t keep in touch.”

In front of the door to her apartment, Tina said, “Give me two minutes. I need to make sure my roommate isn’t here and the place looks presentable.” After a few minutes, she returned and opened the door. “Okay, the coast is clear. We have the place to ourselves.”

Her apartment was nice but small. It was on the second floor. There were two bedrooms and large room that served as a dining room and living room. The small kitchen had a breakfast counter.

“Why don’t you relax while I slip into something more comfortable? I’ll make us some margaritas.” Tina turned on the TV before heading toward her bedroom.

Jason sat down and watched the news. Soon, he could hear Tina in the kitchen making the margaritas. After a couple more minutes, she appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. She was naked except for her hat and boots.

Tina smiled. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” She held up a lasso in one hand and a margarita in the other. “What’s it going to be?”

Jason was surprise. Things were moving quicker than he’d expected. His eyes followed down her body, stopping for an instance on her nice breasts. She had a pierced navel and a small tattoo of a cowboy on her upper thigh. His gaze settled on her groin which was shaved bare. He couldn’t help but stare. It reminded him of the picture of Angelina and Paulo.

Tina caught his stare. “I didn’t know if you preferred a bare floor or a carpet.” When Jason didn’t answer, Tina asked, “Are you okay with this?”

“Oh definitely. It’s just that I took you for a more natural woman.”

“You must have me mistaken for a mountain girl.” She raised her arms and said, “See, I shaved my arm pits and legs too.” She did a slow pirouette.

“So I see. Nice.”

“Nice? Nice? You better keep your day job. So what’s it going to be?” She held up the lasso and margarita again.

Jason laughed. “Both sound intriguing, but I think I’ll stick with the easy way.”

“Good.” Tina threw the lasso on the couch and set the drink on the coffee table in front of Jason.

“Well?”

Jason took the hint and stood up. He undressed, not bothering to unbutton anything. In a few seconds he stood there naked and fully aroused.

Tina laughed. “I see that you’re a mountain-man, no manscaping.”

“Is that okay?”

Tina moved closer and ran her fingers through Jason’s chest hair, gently massaging his nipples. “Yes, I like, cowboy.” She put her arms around Jason’s neck and gave him a French kiss. Jason held her breast for a second and then slid his hands down to her buttock. He lifted slightly and Tina wrapped her legs around his waist. Jason carried her into the bedroom.




####

If you haven't read the prelude or the previous chapters you might want to scroll down and real them. Please let me know what you think. This chapter is a little long, so I'll post it in two parts. Here's part 1.

SYNOPSIS: Jason Franco is an aspiring novelist stuck in a dead end job working for a newspaper in a small town where nothing exciting happens until someone rapes and murders a young woman only eighteen years old. All evidence points to the woman's boyfriend who confesses to the crime. Jason is assigned to write a follow-up story for the paper and soon suspects that the local police are covering up for one of their own. Jason enlists the help from a high school classmate who works at the state crime and the two soon fall in love. Jason and his girlfriend, Tina, follow the leads and Jason finds himself a target for the rapist turned murderer. An attempt on Jason's life puts him in the hospital as the alleged rapist commits suicide. An unexpected turn of events put Jason back in the cross hairs of a different killer.


                             Tina Nussbaum, High School Classmate
                                           Friday, June 26, 2015

Jason called Tina Nussbaum, his high school classmate, and explained that he wanted to interview her for background information. She said that she would be in Torrington on Friday evening to visit her parents for the weekend. They agreed to meet at The Peking Dragon for dinner.

Tina was already seated by the time Jason arrived. She waved when she saw him. The Peking Dragon was the only Chinese restaurant in Torrington, and it had just one dining room. Jason waved back at Tina. When Jason reached the table, he noticed that a pot of green tea was already on the table. It made him nervous to think she had been waiting for a little while. He stuck out his hand. “I’m so glad you could make it, Tina.”

Tina was wearing a bright colored sun dress with high heels. She was a little uncomfortable without her blue jeans. “No sweat. I’m visiting my parents for the weekend. I’ll drive back to Cheyenne Sunday night.” She pushed a stray hair behind her ear. She never liked her hair covering her ears, so she normally wore her hair in a pony tail. At the crime lab where she worked she had to wear a cover over her hair.

Jason sat down and rearranged his territory. He placed his cellphone on the table next to his water glass. He placed his pocket recorder on his napkin. “Good. I won’t keep you long. Like I said on the phone, I want to interview you about the Angelina Littlefield murder. I’m writing a feature article for the newspaper.”

Tina pointed at the recorder. “No recording.”

“I just need some technical background on how the crime lab operates and I thought you could help me.”

“Turn it off or I’m leaving.”

Jason turned off the recorder. He took out a small note book and pen.

“No taking notes either.”

Jason sighed. “Okay, but I just need some background information.

Tina laughed her faux laugh. She liked the way Jason’s wide-set, large eyes would widen when he talked. “You’re serious? I thought that was just an excuse to ask me for a date.”

“No, no, no. This is strictly professional. I need a confidential source in the crime lab, and I

recalled during our reunion you said that’s where you work. I just want to interview you, if you don’t mind. I’m doing a story on the Littlefield murder.”

“I wasn’t involved in that case. Are you buying dinner?” Tina was attracted to his boyish charm ever since their junior year in high school.

Jason frowned. Things were off to a bad start. “Yes, of course, I’ll pay for dinner.”

“I guess that’s why we're eating Chinese. Was McDonald’s booked?”

That remark surprised Jason. “What?”

“If this is professional, then you must have a budget or expense account. Couldn’t you take me somewhere nicer?”

“No, I’ve no expense account. This is out of pocket.”

“You have to cover my fee.”

“What fee?”

Tina leaned on her elbows and lowered her voice. “Listen Jason, the crime lab could fire me for talking to you. The lab has strict policies about talking to members of the press. I'm only talking to you because you’re an old friend and classmate, so I might get away with it.”

“I wouldn’t use your name. No one'd know.”

“Yeah, like my boss couldn’t figure out the confidential source in our small lab.”

“Tina, please. I need to learn how the crime lab operates.”

Tina smiled. “Now if this were a date, that’d be different. Then I’d tell you whatever you need to know.”

“Can’t we be professional?”

“Listen, cheapskate, there are plenty of guys in Cheyenne who will spend a lot of money just for a chance to get into my pants. I don’t need to drive ninety miles for Chinese food.”

Jason raised his voice. “I’m not trying to get into your pants.” Unfortunately, the background music and conversations that had drowned out their discussion suddenly hit a lull. Dinners stopped eating and stared at Tina and Jason.

Jason wanted to crawl under the table. “Do you think I spoke too loud?”

Tina hid her face behind her hand. “You could have just yelled ‘rape.’”

A woman walked pass their table with her husband. “Give him up, girl. You can do better.”

Jason glanced up. “Thank you, Ms. Diaz.”

“You’re welcome, honey,” answered the woman as she continued to walk out.

Tina leaned forward and whispered “Is that who I think it is?”

“If you thought that was Ms. Diaz, our Sophomore year homeroom teacher, then yes, it’s who you think it was.”

“OMG.”

“Yeah. While you get to go back to Cheyenne on Monday, I have to stay here. Please kill me now.”

“That was so funny.” She looked at Jason and reached over to touch his forearm. “You’re bright red.”

Jason frowned. “I fail to see the humor.”

Tina looked down and shaded her eyes.

“What are you doing,” asked Jason.

“I can’t look at you. I’ll crack up.” Finally, Tian looked up at Jason and cracked up. The more she tried to stop laughing, the more she laughed. Jason started chuckling too.

“Would you like to see green tea come out of my nose?” asked Tina.

“Not on the first date, thank you.”

Tina laughed even harder. She always liked men who made her laugh. Finally, she regained her composure. She fished around in her purse and held up a thumb drive. “I’ve most of the information on the Littlefield case on this. It's not much”

Jason cocked his head and squinted slightly.

“Okay, okay,” said Tina. “I knew you were serious, so I brought the information. A girl can dream can’t she?”

Jason started to reach for the thumb drive, but Tina pulled it back. “Do we have a date or not?”

“Okay, you win. We have a date.”

Tina handed him the thumb drive. She and Jason ordered dinner. While they waited, Tina poured green tea for both of them.

“Do you want to ask me questions now?” she asked.

“Well, I did but now that everyone in the place is watching us, I think I’ll wait until later.”

“Good, because I’ve a few questions.”

“Like what?”

“Like what did you do to Ms. Diaz to get on her shit list?”

“It’s a long story for another time.”

“Okay, then what have you been up to since high school? I didn’t get a chance to talk to you much at the reunion.”

“I started college at the university and ran out of money after a couple of years. I came home and worked a little. I finally got this job at the Star-Gazette. I enrolled at Eastern College last fall.”

Tina laughed. “Is the Star still posting half page photographs with little content?”

“And Sunday funnies.”

Tina laughed. “Sounds like a dead end job to me.”

“It's just temporary.”

“Well you still have the daily funnies, right? Are you dating anyone?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no.”

“I remember that you dated Jane what’s her name in high school. What about college? Anyone?”

“Her name was Mills, Jane Mills.” Jason was becoming annoyed. “I’m sure you checked our year book today. Why pretend that you don’t know her last name?”

Tina sat silent for a few seconds. “My bad. Yes, I know her name.”

“So what’s the deal?”

“Okay, I’m…was jealous…I guess.”

“No need to be. We’ve moved on. She’s married. I met her husband at the reunion.”

“That was husband number two. She has two kids from her first marriage.”

Jason laughed. “Oh well. I’m glad they’re not mine.”

Tina smiled. “Just think, if you had married her, you’d be pay alimony right now.” Tina raised her eyebrows and widened her eye. “So…anyone?” She shook her head from side to side.

“This is beginning to sound like an interrogation. Did you do a background check on me?”

“The crime lab takes a dim view of employees using their database for background checks on dates.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“As a matter of fact, I did. It doesn’t include your love life.”

“And?”

“You’re squeaky clean, really boring.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Do you have an apartment?”

“No. I can’t afford one at the moment. I moved back in with my parents. I guess you must have one in Cheyenne.”

“Yeah. I share an apartment with another girl from the lab. We get along real well. Actually, more like frienmies.”

“What is your title? Are you an agent?”

Tina laughed. “No. My title is Biologist.” She fished in her purse and handed Jason her business card.

“Do you carry a gun?”

Tina narrowed her eyes, leaned forward and laid her hand on the back of Jason's hand. “Only on dates.”

Dinner was served. They talked and laughed throughout the meal. When they finished, they broke their fortune cookies together and shared the fortunes. Afterwards, they stopped outside to look at the stars. Tina took Jason’s hand as they gazed at the stars.

[To be continued]

The Register Cliff Rapist by Monte R. Anderson – Draft – 8th Chapter




If you haven't read the prelude or the previous chapters you might want to scroll down and real them. Please let me know what you think.




SYNOPSIS: Jason Franco is an aspiring novelist stuck in a dead end job working for a newspaper in a small town where nothing exciting happens until someone rapes and murders a young woman only eighteen years old. All evidence points to the woman's boyfriend who confesses to the crime. Jason is assigned to write a follow-up story for the paper and soon suspects that the local police are covering up for one of their own. Jason enlists the help from a high school classmate who works at the state crime and the two soon fall in love. Jason and his girlfriend, Tina, follow the leads and Jason finds himself a target for the rapist turned murderer. An attempt on Jason's life puts him in the hospital as the alleged rapist commits suicide. An unexpected turn of events put Jason back in the cross hairs of a different killer.

Sean Tyler, Editor, Torrington Star-Gazette

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

As soon as Jason returned from the prison, Sean motioned for him to come into his private office. “What did Paulo have to say?” asked Sean.

“Not much. I’m glad that I interviewed him. I think you’re right. I believe he’s innocent. He hardly seems like a cold blooded killer. He’s a victim too.”

Sean smiled. “Shit! I told you. Something’s not right.”

Mary marched into Sean’s office with a large mason jar and held it out to Sean. “That’ll be twenty five cents.”

“What?”

“Dad, you agreed that we’d cut down on the foul language now that Zac is working here. You just said S-H-I-T. Now pay up.”

Sean pulled out his wallet and threw in a five dollar bill. “Put me down for nineteen more.”

Mary pulled the money out and threw it down on the desk. “You know that it doesn’t work like that. Now pay up.”

Sean opened his desk drawer, found a quarter, and dropped it into the jar. Mary marched out.

“Sean, I don’t know what to do next. I don’t have anything new. Where do I go from here?”

Sean thought for a minute. “Let’s dig deeper into the evidence. Maybe the police over looked something. For starters, see if we can find a witness. What do you have Zac doing for you?”

“Nothing right now. Why?”

Sean walked over to his office door. “Zac, come in here.”

Zac bounded in. “Yeah, grandpa?”

“Don’t call me grandpa. You're an employee now. I can't show favoritism to any employee. You’re working on our website. I want you to post a question. Ask anyone who might have any information on the Littlefield murder to contact us. Let me see the website before you update it.”

Zac smiled. He knew that the only employee who wasn't a relative was Jason. “Okay... boss.” Zac returned to his computer.

Sean shook his head. “Who knows? We might get lucky.”

Jason returned to his desk and started checking his e-mails. Sean walked over. “Listen, Jason. I want to tell you why I wanted you to do this story.”

“You said that you were too close to it to be objective.”

Sean sighed. “Yes, but there’s more to it. I was with Angelina’s grandmother, Kate Smith, Mrs. Littlefield’s mother. We dated. I was with her when her daughter called her about Angie's murder.”

Jason sat back. “Holy …” Jason glanced at Mary who was listening. “crap.”

“I went to a few family functions with Kate and I met Paulo. I thought he was a mature young man with a bright future. I can’t believe for one second that he murdered Angie. Now whenever she sees me, it reminds her of that night. She won’t talk to me. She won’t even look at me. She won’t let me comfort her. Whatever we had is gone.”

“And you think that since you had that relationship, you might not be objective?”

“Something like that. I can’t believe Paulo did it. I had hoped to be the one to solve the case, to be the white knight, the hero. But the evidence is so over whelming against Paulo. I’m not seeing something. I need you to take over.”

Jason was frustrated. “Please tell me that you didn’t give me this assignment for a piece of ass.”

Jason never saw it coming. Sean slapped Jason across the face. It was not a hard slap but it still stung. Jason realized that he had crossed the line with his boss. He could see the fire in Sean’s eyes.

Sean took a breath. The fire in his eyes abated. “I’m not one of your buddies that you can talk to me like that. I’m your boss. You need to remember that.”

Jason stammered. “I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean that. I was out of line.”

Sean wasn't satisfied and stormed back to his office and slammed the door. Jason just stood there for a minute. Mary followed Sean into his office. She stood in front of Sean's desk and pointed a finger at him. “If you ever pull that crap with me, I'll sue your ass.” She stormed out.

Mary walked straight over to Jason. “You know, when we first hired you, I thought you were arrogant. When I got to know better, I concluded that you were just naive. Now I realize you’re just a stupid ass.” She walked back to her desk.

Jason followed her. “Okay, I screwed up. I realize that. I said I was sorry.”

“You still don’t get it do you? You think this about you.”

Jason let that soak in. “Okay, what's going on? What should I do?”

Mary stood up. “This is not about you or about Paulo or Kate Smith, in spite of what Sean says. You’re just too blind to see it. That’s why you can’t be a good reporter. You miss the obvious.”

“Then help me out here, Mary.”

“Okay, wise ass. Let me spell things out for you. Sean gave you this story not because he can’t be objective. He did it because he thinks he’s losing his memory.”

Jason was stunned. “Holy shit!”

Mary held up the cuss jar as Jason fished in his pocket for quarter. “His father, my grandfather, had Alzheimer’s. His last couple of years were terrible. He couldn’t remember his own kids. Now Sean thinks that it's happening to him. Haven’t you noticed that he has sticky notes all over his office? Christ, he even puts them on his computer.”

Jason smiled and pointed at the cuss jar. “Does he have Alzheimer’s?”

“Christ is the Son of God, not a cuss word. I don’t think he does. His doctor says that it’s normal for people his age start to lose their memory. He’s about par for the course. But he thinks he does. He’s afraid that if he investigates the Littlefield murder, he might forget something that could free Paulo.”

Jason shook his head. “Shoo...ot,” he started to say ‘shit’ but caught himself. “You’re right. I didn’t see it.”

“Now if you can grow pair, go in there and apologize properly.”

Jason started to point to the cuss jar but changed his mind and merely waved his hand. “What about this Kate person?”

Mary laughed. “I think that train left the station long ago. Dad also suffers from wishful thinking. It may be terminal.”

Jason thought about it for a second. Without another word he walked over to Sean’s office. He hesitated and looked back at Mary. Mary jerked her head and mouthed the word Go. Before Jason could open the door Sean came out and nearly bumped into him.

“Oh, excuse me,” said Sean. “I was coming out to talk to you.”

“I was going to talk to you. I want to tell you how sorry I’m that I said what I did. I didn’t mean it. If you want to fire me, I would understand.”

Sean smile. “I was going to apologize to you. I was wrong. I should never have touched you. I’m sincerely sorry.”

“Well, this is a little awkward.”

Sean laughed. “Let’s just forget the whole thing and get back to work. Besides, I can’t fire you; I’ve run out of family members to hire.”

Zac posted the question for information on the paper’s website as Sean had requested. He vaguely worded the request to solicit opinions, feelings or anything about the murder or trial verdict. Monday morning he screened the few e-mails that responded to the question. One in particular caught his eye. He immediately printed it and took it over to Jason.

Jason stopped working when Zac handled him a copy of the e-mail. “What’s this?”

“One of the e-mails from the question posted on our web. This woman is a park ranger at Register Cliff. She wants to talk to you. She added her personal cellphone number. Maybe she wants a date.” Zac laughed as he walked away.

Jason was surprised. He didn’t expect any replies. He dialed the number and the park ranger answered on the first ring. Her name was Daniella Hodkin. Jason introduced himself and said he would drive up and meet with her the next day.

Jason was impressed with Zac. He decided that Zac was a person he could trust. He handed the Littlefield file to him and asked him to look at them to see if he can see anything of significance. He was beginning to understand that he couldn’t see everything and the more eyes on everything the better.

Later, Zac came back to Jason with the file. He opened and removed one picture. “The police printed all the pictures on the two cellphones for the month before Angelina’s murder. There must be over a hundred. Look at this one taken two days before she died.” Zac handed Jason a copy of a selfie of Angelina and Paulo.

“What about it?” asked Jason.

“Well the police report said the ME found two pubic hairs inside Angelina during the autopsy, right?”

At first, Jason didn’t understand what Zac was driving at so he looked again at the picture. It showed Angelina and Jason grinning at the camera both naked. Jason studied the picture for a minute and then it hit him. “Holy shit! No pubic hair!” He quickly glanced over at Mary’s desk but she wasn’t there.

“Bingo,” said Zac. “That’s why they took the picture. They both shaved. Paulo too. No body hairs.”

“But isn’t it possible that Paulo missed a couple or they were stray hairs on his clothes.”

“Are you kidding? This picture was taken two days before she was murdered. I guarantee that they both showered and changed clothes. That’s what people do when they date. Besides, you can bet they shaved each other. That’s why they’re grinning. No chance they missed a hair.”

“That means that those two hairs belong to someone else. This could prove it.”

“Yeah, but there was no DNA test on the hairs.”

Jason thought about that for a minute. “But it would be a reasonable doubt, or if they were Paulo’s, a death sentence, but this makes it less likely that they belong to Paulo.”

The next day when Jason arrived at Register Cliff, it was easy to spot Danielle; she was the only person in a uniform. She reminded Jason of Smokey the Bear. He walked over and introduced himself.

Daniella had worked at Register Cliff for twelve years. “It’d be easier to just show you what I called about.” she explained. She pointed toward one section of the cliff and led the way. As they walked, she explained. “We don’t have a big staff here. It’s a small historical site. Usually there’re only one or two of us here. No one after dusk.”

This was Jason first visit to Register Cliff. As they reached the cliff, Jason began to read the names and dates on the cliff. Most names had dates over two hundred years old.

Daniella explained, “Register Cliff was a key navigational landmark along the Oregon Trail. There was water for their animals and trees for shade. The pioneers would rest up before moving on toward South Pass. Many of them would chisel their names into the sandstone. A little farther west, the California Trail and the Mormon Trail split off. There are hundreds of names and dates on the cliff.”

Most of the cliff was fenced off to keep visitors from writing on it. Daniella lead Jason to an area where the fence was not as formidable as the rest. “We figured out years ago that we couldn’t stop people from writing on the cliff. People would climb over or under any fence. We were afraid someone might get hurt. We decided it was better to give them a limited access to the cliff so that new names don’t show up alongside historical names. Whenever we see a new name, we photograph it.” She pointed to a column of names on the cliff.

Chiseled into the sandstone was a column of names and dates: Penelope E. 7/10/2007, Kristen J. 8/12/2008, Sandy C. 9/29/2008, Cate S. 7/31/2009, Beth A. 10/21/2009, Molli R. 04/16/2010, Jill S. 10/04/2010, Angelina L. 8/15/2012, C. Evans 06/19/2013, Zoe A. 09/30/2014 and Mary D. 05/06/2014.

“Penelope’s name and Kristen’s name showed up a couple of weeks after those dates. I found them. Angelina’s name showed up one week after that date. When I saw it, I immediate made the connection with her murder.”

“Did you notify the police?”

“Yes. I called right away and spoke with the chief of police in Torrington. I forget his name.”

“That would have been Chief Cruse.”

“Yes. That’s was it. Anyway, he sent a policewoman out to photograph the names.”

“Was it Officer Marini?”

“Yes. Yes. Now I remember. She checked it out and said most likely the name was that of Angelina Littlefield, the murdered girl. She said that she crosschecked all the other names of people murdered in those years and couldn’t ID any of them. I found that hard to believe, so I also checked the names against a list of people murdered in Wyoming myself and couldn’t make a connection either.”

“Did you consider neighboring states?”

“No. The number of murders in Wyoming is small compared to other states. When nothing matched, I stopped looking.”

“So what did Officer Marini conclude?”

“She said anyone could have chiseled those names. It might be a relative or a classmate or just a friend. Anyway, once a year flowers show up at the base.’

“Flowers? Like a memorial? When?”

“Yeah. It’s never the same date – always different. If it was consistent we could find out who's doing it.”

Jason took several pictures and returned to Torrington. Once back into the office, he discussed what he had found with Sean and Zac.

“I had an idea about the crime lab,” said Jason. “I recall that I’ve a classmate who now works at the crime lab. Her name is Tina Nussbaum. I know her. I’ll give her a call.




####

I have decided not to use numbers for my chapter headings. This is my seventh chapter. If you haven't read the prelude or the previous chapters scroll down and real them first. Please let me know what you think.

SYNOPSIS: Jason Franco is an aspiring novelist stuck in a dead end job working for a newspaper in a small town where nothing exciting happens until someone rapes and murders a young woman only eighteen years old. All evidence points to the woman's boyfriend who confesses to the crime. Jason is assigned to write a follow-up story for the paper and soon suspects that the local police are covering up for one of their own. Jason enlists the help from a high school classmate who works at the state crime and the two soon fall in love. Jason and his girlfriend, Tina, follow the leads and Jason finds himself a target for the rapist turned murderer. An attempt on Jason's life puts him in the hospital as the alleged rapist commits suicide. An unexpected turn of events put Jason back in the cross hairs of a different killer.

Howard Patton, Public Defender; Josette “Jo” McAdams, Mother; and Paulo McAdams, Convicted Felon

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

The next day as Jason walked into the newspaper office, Mary said, “Paulo's lawyer left a message on voice mail. He can see you anytime this morning.”

Paulo’s lawyer’s office was in the basement of an old building opposite the court house. It was small with stacks of paper everywhere including the floor. On the glass door was printed, , Lawyer. Howard looked to be not much older than Jason. His suit looked like it came from Walmart. He suggested that they walk down the street to a small cafe where they could have coffee and talk.

After they bought coffee and sat down, Jason turned on his pocket recorder. “How did you end up with Paulo McAdams’s case?”

“Court appointed public defender. No one hired me, if that’s what you’re wondering. I had no choice.”

“Do you believe that Paulo is innocent?”

“The evidence was overwhelming. I couldn’t find a way to dispute the facts. I did the best I could. We got a plea bargain to keep him off death row.”

“But do you think he killed Angelina?”

“Do I? I do. That’s why I went for the plea bargain.”

“If the evidence was so solid, why did the prosecution want to offer a plea bargain?”

“The prosecution came to see me. We reviewed the evidence together. They had the murder weapon and evidence from Paulo's house. He had no alibi. His mother was asleep when he came home and didn’t see him until the police came. However, there was no physical evidence, other than his semen, that could put him in the house at the time of the murder. Paulo said that he and the victim had sex earlier. They did have a history of intercourse. The ME verified that she was sexually active for over a year. The police thought he lied about that. While the prosecution felt they had a solid case, there was still a chance that a jury might see things differently. So they said they would consider a plea if Paulo confessed.”

“And you went along with that?”

“To keep him off death row? You bet.”

“Paulo believes that he was framed. He thinks someone raped and killed Angelina and then planted the knife and cellphone in his house. The house wasn't locked.”

“Who framed him? That’s a little far fetched, don’t you think? Did he tell you who might want to frame him?”

“No. At first he thought maybe the police. He admitted that since his house was not locked, it might be anyone. If he recants, can you appeal?”

“I'd need a good reason. There'd have to be new evidence or some procedural error. I did discuss our options with the judge. Unless there’s some new evidence, I can’t win on appeal.”

“What kind of new evidence?”

“Something to show someone wanted to frame Paulo or something that would create a reasonable doubt that he murdered Ms. Littlefield. Another possibility would be an eye witness that could substantiate Paulo's alibi or saw someone else at the Littlefield house at the time of the murder.”

“What about the pubic hairs that were found?”

“They were never tested.”

“Don’t you think that’s odd?”

“Honestly, I didn’t want them tested.”

Jason raised his eyebrows. “Why not? If they weren’t from Paulo, then it would prove his innocence.”

“Not really. It would show that Ms. Littlefield had sex with someone other than Paulo. But if they’re Paulo’s, there would be no plea bargain. He would get death row. Because there was doubt about the pubic hairs, we had room to maneuver and get the plea bargain. I don’t want those hairs tested for DNA. Even if they came from someone else, the prosecution would say that Littlefield had intercourse with someone beside Paulo. They would say that was his motive; jealousy. They still have the murder weapon and cellphone found at Paulo's house.”

Jason shook his head. He didn’t agree but felt it was useless to argue. He felt had learned nothing new from Paulo’s lawyer, so he returned to the office.

When Jason got back to the office, he asked Mary how to get an interview with Paulo.

“Jeez. That’s a pain in the butt. I think they make it tough on purpose to discourage the public.” She opened a filing cabinet and pulled a form out of a file. “Here we go; a visitor request form.” She handed the form to Jason. “Fill this out and return it to me. I’ll mail it to the warden. They take their time approving it. Once they do, you have to attend an orientation on a Friday night.”

“Can't I complete the request on line?”

“Are you kidding? That would be too easy.”

Jason filled out the form and Mary mailed it. The next day, Sean set up a interview for Jason swith Paulo's mother, Jo McAdams. Jason arrived at her home at ten am. Mrs. Jo McAdams was a short, heavy set woman. Jason knew she was a school bus driver for the last twleve years. He expected a hard, cold disciplinarian. In stead, he found a warm friendly lady. Jason knew from following the trial but had never spoken to her. They sat down at the kitchen table. Jo already placed coffee and cups on the table. Jason would have preferred ice tea but he didn't want to put Jo to any more trouble. He helped himself to the coffee. He place the pocket recorder on the table. Before he could ask Jo if it was okay to record the interview, Jo moved the recorder closer to her.

“Mrs. McAdams,” Jason began. “I can't imagine the nightmare you've been through this past year.”

“Year?” Jo interrupted Jason. “Try two years. Please, call me Jo. Everyone does.”

Jason paused and took a deep breath. “I saw you at the trial every day supporting your son. How's he holding up?”

“How do you think? He cries every day, not for himself though. He misses Angie. I'm afraid he might try to kill himself. He says he can't live without her.” A tear formed and ran down Jo's check.

“At the sentencing, Paulo said he didn't kill her. Why did he plead guilty?”

Jo shook her head. “I was there when he talked to this lawyer. The lawyer said that the evidence was so overwhelming that unless he agreed to a plea bargin, he would be found guilty and could get the death penalty. Paulo asked me what to do. I said to take the plea bargin. I didn't want to see him die.”

“Why, if you thought he was innocent?”

“I didn't want to take a chance. I thought maybe the police needed more time to catch the real killer. Now I wish I had lied.”

“Lied about what?”

“When they asked me if Paulo was home all night.”

“Mrs. McAdams, the police found the murder weapon and Anglina's cellphone in your house. No matter what you said, the police would have arrested him.”

'I know, I know. I just feel so helpless.”

“The medical examiner said that Angelina and Jason were intimate – apparently for a couple of years.” Jason tried to choose his words carefully. “Were you aware of that.?”

“Yeah, I knew. I mean, I did his laundry so I suspected. It didn't matter to me. They were going to marry. After they dated for a year, I began to think of Angie as my daughter-in-law. She was like a daughter to me.”

“What kind of person is Paulo?”

“He is the nicest son. I know when people say things like that, it turns out later that they weren't that nice – but not Paulo. He was never any trouble. I mean, he wasn't on the honor roll or any type of athlete, just an average teenager. Angie too. I mean, she was just an average teenager. She was no swim suit model or anything, but Paulo thought she was a goddess. ”

“I hate to ask this but I have to. Do you think honestly Paulo is innocent?”

“Absolutely! He loved Angie. He worshiped her. No way would he ever hurt her.”

“The police said maybe they were breaking up brecause he was going to join the Army.”

“No way! That was their plan. Joining the Army was her idea. She didn't want him to work in the sugar plant or oil fields.”

“What happened to Paulo's fsather?”

“Oh, he left years ago. He worked in the oil fields from Texas to Canada. He was never home anyway. We divorced when Paulo was very young.”

Two weeks after Jason sent in the visitor request form so he could interview Paulo, he received an e-mail from someone from the prison public relation department asking him why he wanted to interview Paulo. Once Jason agreed not to mention anything about the prison in his story, he was approved. He was scheduled for the next orientation. Finally, after three weeks, he had an appointment to meet Paulo.

Jason had driven by the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution many times but never paid it much attention. Now he was going inside. It was a new facility having opened in 2010. From the outside it looked much like an office building. Paulo was transferred there from the city jail after he was sentenced. The facility was a medium security prison for men. Had Paulo been sentenced to death row, he would not be here.

Jason left all his change and metal objects in his glove compartment along with his cellphone and recorder. Prison policy dictated that there could be no recording devices. He was given an ID badge with his picture on it and the word PRESS in large, bold letters. The badge intimidated him a little. He was escorted to the meeting room and given a seat at a booth. A telephone hung on the wall. Family members met in a different room; face to face with inmates. Since Jason wasn’t family, he had to talk to Paulo separated by bullet proof glass using a telephone. Paulo was escorted in by a guard. He had handcuffs and leg chains on. He looked as if he had shaved and combed his hair. Jason figured the prison wanted him to look presentable to the press. Paulo sat down and pointed to the telephone on the wall.

Jason picked up the phone at the same time as Paulo. “Thanks for letting me interview you.”

“Thank my mom. She said I should.”

“I just want to ask you a few questions for a story I’m writing for the paper. I’ll try to be brief.”

“No sweat. I’m not going anywhere.” Paulo made a short smile. It was he first time Jason had seen him smile.

Jason smiled back. “Okay. First question. You confessed but at your sentencing that you said you were innocent. Why?”

“Cause I didn’t do it, man.”

“Then why did you confess in the first place?”

“I didn’t think I had any other option. My lawyer said if I confessed to second degree, I would get life, but if I didn’t, I could get convicted of first degree and be executed. That scared the heck out of me, so I confessed. What would you do?”

“Why did you say you were innocent at the sentencing?’

“Like I said, I didn’t do it. Once I’d time to think, I realized that my confession was a mistake.”

“The police found the knife that killed Angelina at your house. They also found Angelina’s cellphone at your house. How do you explain that?’

At the mention of Angelina’s name, tears formed in Paulo’s eyes.His lower lip and chin began to quiver. “That’s pure bullshit. I was framed. The police took me to the station and my mom went along. They had the house to themselves. I think the police planted the evidence.”

“Why would the police want to frame you?’

“I don’t know. I think whoever raped and killed Angie framed me. It must have been one of the police.”

“Could someone have gotten into your house after killing Angelina and before the police arrived?”

Tears began to flow down Paulo’s face. “Yeah, I guess. We never locked the doors. Someone could have planted the evidence. I guess maybe it could have been anyone.”

“Who'd want to frame you? It would have to be someone who knows you and Angelina.”

“I don’t know. I can’t think of anyone who'd want to hurt us.”

“Did the police have a beef with you? Did you ever have a run-in with the police?”

“Not that I can recall. I never even had a ticket.” Paulo wiped his tears on his sleeve. He hung his head down and held one hand over his eyes. His shoulders shook from sobs. He put the phone on the table.

Jason waited for Paulo to regain his composure. He wanted to console Paulo, touch his shoulder or something, but he couldn’t. He made a few notes in his notebook. as he waited. After a minute, Paulo picked up the telephone again.

“Why would I kill her? We had plans. I was going to join the Army. I wanted to learn a skill and save money. If I volunteered for a combat zone, I'd get extra combat pay. As soon as we had enough money saved, we planned to marry and go to where I was stationed. People say that she broke up with me. That’s a lie. We had plans.”

Jason didn’t know what to say next, so he wrote down some more notes. Now Paulo was crying so hard that Jason figured he couldn’t continue the interview.

“Paulo, if you think of anything else, please call me.”

Paulo looked up. “I'll have to get that approved. It'd be easier to just tell my mom and she could call you.”

“Okay. That will work. I may need to talk to you again later. You take care.”

####

The media attention has changed from the Secret Service to the Transportation Security Administration. First the TSA failed a security test at airport check points, then it failed to identify 73 workers with links to terrorism. Huh? Apparently, the TSA didn't have access to all the terror watch lists. Huh, again? According to the TSA, some of those workers were working for major airlines. Okay, now I feel safer. Huh? I think the solution is apparent; The TSA and the Secret Service should switch missions. The TSA should take over responsibility for protecting the President of the United States (#POTUS) and make the Secret Service responsible for keeping terrorists off the airlines. At least consider it.

You may recall that the Secret Service has had it share of issues too. These include leaking private information on #Republican Rep. #JasonChaffetz; two inebriated, senior-level agents crashing into the #WhiteHouse grounds, three agents sent home from #Amsterdam for excessive drinking; and agents bringing strippers to their hotel in #Colombia before the presidential visit to attend the Summit of the Americas.

It makes sense to switch missions. The TSA hasn't had problems with drinking, whoring, or keeping secrets. Okay, they hired a few terrorists, but nothing happened. Meanwhile the Secret Service would be able to keep terrorists of planes provided they aren't hookers, drunk, and/or driving.