Cash Kills by Nanci Rathbun

Author:Nanci Rathbun [Rathbun, Nanci]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Chocolate Press LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal…that certain actions now should be undertaken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace.

—Dr. Margaret Chan

I called Spider to tell him I was getting takeout from Abu’s Restaurant of the Gold and then going to my office to eat. Did he want anything? I asked. He declined, stating that Abu’s was great, but his wife Magdalena’s leftovers were better.

While eating falafel at my desk, I checked my to-do list. The two items remaining were to contact the ROTC leader, Col. Lewis, and talk to my aunt about Thanksgiving, which was two weeks from today. Yikes! I knew Aunt Terry would probe me for more details on Wukowski, so I pushed that down the list and called the colonel’s number, expecting to leave a message.

Instead, a smooth tenor voice said, “ROTC office, Colonel Lewis.”

“Colonel, my name is Angelina Bonaparte. Lily March at the UWM library gave me your number. I was hoping I could meet with you.”

“Concerning the UWM program?”

“No. Colonel, I’m a private investigator. Some uniforms that may be from the Bosnian War era are part of a case I’m working. Would you be willing to look at photos and help me identify them?”

“Are they U.S.?”

“I think they’re either Bosnian or Serbian.”

“I’m no expert on the variety of forces or uniforms in that region, Ms. Bonaparte. And I can’t do anything that would violate Army rules. I would need to know more about your case.”

“Fair enough. Could we meet so I can show you the pictures and explain about the investigation?”

“I’m heading out of town tomorrow and will be away until after Thanksgiving. If you can be at my office on the Marquette campus by twelve forty-five, I can give you thirty minutes.”

I didn’t want to miss this opportunity and wait two weeks to get an opinion on the uniforms. “I’ll be there.” He gave me the location of his office and the closest visitor parking.

I texted Bobbie to cancel our meeting. I asked him to get in touch with A (no use of full name on texts) and tell her that our plans were postponed, too. Then I called Spider to alert him.

Marquette University is situated just west of downtown Milwaukee. Parking is impossible in the area, so I was forced to use the parking ramp that Col. Lewis mentioned. With Spider as a backup, I felt secure, both with parking and with walking two blocks to the ROTC office.

I knocked on the colonel’s door and heard a melodious “Come.” When I entered, the man seated behind the desk stood. “Ma’am,” he said. “I’m Colonel Lewis.”

“Angie Bonaparte,” I said, extending my hand. “We spoke on the phone.”

He was about five-ten, but muscular, and he held himself in that upright military posture that appears such a strain to civilians. His short-cropped salt-and-pepper hair was also military issue. He came around the desk to shake my hand, then helped me off with my jacket and hung it on an old-fashioned coat tree.

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