Surprise Witness: A. Stein & Associates Thriller by Marian K. Riedy

Author:Marian K. Riedy [Riedy, Marian K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Published: 2022-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Encoded

Marlon parked his Volvo in the lot under the Kennedy Center, empty now save for a random service vehicle parked here and there. He and Allen had tickets to the Washington Opera Company’s production of Aida later that evening. Marlon would walk to the nearby Watergate Hotel to join Allen, who had worked late, for a drink before the curtain rose.

Allen had already ordered. The waiter delivered their martinis as Marlon took a seat beside Allen at the bar. Carefully lifting the brimming glasses, the men toasted, then took their first sips.

“The body will be delivered to the morgue in Austin late tonight,” Marlon explained. “Dr. Osborne flew to Texas this afternoon. He’ll retrieve the tissue samples tomorrow morning.”

“Wow, that was fast,” Allen commented.

Marlon nodded his agreement. “All the pieces fell into place quickly.”

“What do you think happened?” Allen asked. “To John, that is, in Vietnam, if he’s not in that grave?”

Marlon shrugged. “It seems to me that John must have abandoned his post,” Marlon answered. “Thrown down his gun and run off into the hills. How else can it be that he disappears, never to be seen or heard from again by anybody?”

“Or, he could have gone missing in action,” Allen observed.

“Except for the lovely Roberta,” Marlon reminded him.

Allen took a sip of his martini. “That’s right,” he said, “and Roberta grew up in the Philly suburbs. That makes it likely that Roberta was born in the States, if not in Pennsylvania. If the baby was conceived here, John must have come back to the States.”

“I think you’re right,” Marlon responded. “The mother might have met John elsewhere, of course, while traveling. It seems improbable, though, because not many Americans went abroad back then, except for the wealthy and the occasional adventurous hippie. It’s most likely that John made it home.”

“That must have been quite a journey,” Allen noted. “I wonder how he did it?”

“Went to sea, in the dark night of his soul, like Ishmael,” Marlon proposed.

“In plain English, Marlon,” Allen commanded playfully.

“Found a position as a crewman, no questions asked, and shipped out on a freighter,” Marlon rephrased.

“Could have worked, I suppose,” Allen said. “Our borders were far less secure back then. John crosses the Pacific on his freighter. He disembarks with the rest of the crew at the port in Oakland. Then, he disappears into the city streets. I wonder what happened to him after that?”

“He stayed hidden, scraping together a living somehow,” Marlon answered. “I looked it up. There is no statute of limitations on the prosecution of an active-duty soldier for desertion. If he did desert, John was a criminal, subject to arrest at any time.”

“But didn’t the draft dodgers get amnesty?” Allen asked. “Not right away, if I remember correctly, but eventually?”

“President Carter gave those who fled to Canada amnesty,” Marlon answered. “But not deserters.”

“If he was hiding from the law, that might explain why John never got in touch with Parker,” Allen said.

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