Capitol Terror

By Kathleen Steed

Two small town Maryland detectives catch a grisly murder case.

Murder is one thing, but why is all their evidence suddenly confiscated by phony “FBI” agent Gary Bromely? Why does agent Bromley fail to tell them that he really works for Homeland Security and his partner was the man who was murdered?

After one of the detectives is nearly killed, the other discovers the truth about Gary Bromely when he joins the newly formed Combined Forces Brigade.

The U.S. government knows the terrorists are coming and have a daring plan to foil the plot. If the government plan doesn’t work, Washington D.C. and the Nation will come under an attack that will only be the beginning of death and terror for all Americans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kathleen Steed
• Release date: Jul 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476284088

Kathleen Steed

I was born on September 12, 1953. I graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Medical Technology. I worked in various laboratories for twenty-nine years then changed jobs to regulating laboratories. I am a member of the United Methodist Church and was Lay Speaker from 2007 to 2013. I live in Maryland with my husband and a Jack Russell Terrier named Spanky.

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Capitol Terror

By Kathleen Steed

Copyright 2012

Kathleen Steed

All rights reserved

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Cover illustrated by: Christine Ticali @ http://krizteen1227.deviantart.com/

PART I - Hamid’s Hatred

Chapter 1

Crofton, Maryland

William liked to use his grill in the summer. He soaked the charcoal in lighter fluid so it would start quickly and he placed the grill just off of his back porch so he could get to it easily. Burke Thompson, William’s next-door neighbor, smelled the lighter fluid fumes while he was sitting in his living room reading the newspaper. He tried to ignore the fumes. But his kitchen windows were open so he could enjoy the summer weather and the fumes were very strong.

His anger ignited as did the charcoal briquettes next door. He thought to himself, Why? Why does that idiot do that every time?

Finally he took a big whiff, threw his newspaper down and slammed his front door on his way to complain. He went straight to the backyard intending to loudly let William know that this was the last time he’d put up with the fumes from the charcoal grill. What he saw there was ghastly.

There was lots of blood. On the grass around William’s lifeless body, sprayed on the backside of the house, even on Burke’s fence. William’s head lay off to the side of the body. The eyes were open looking vacantly upward to the sky. There was blood spattered on William’s forehead and cheek. Blood also dripped from the slashed neck into the pool of blood where the head lay. A knife with a scorpion embossed on the handle was lying near the body. Burke was shocked and felt a powerful urge to vomit. As he looked away from the horrible sight he could hear a small child crying in the house. He didn’t notice the man hiding just on the other side of William’s house as he quickly returned home and called the State police.

The man standing on the other side of the house watched as Burke observed the bloody scene and then returned home. He quickly left the far side of the house and continued up the street away from his victim and the nosey neighbor. He took off his hooded sweatshirt. He didn’t need it on a summer day and only worn it for disguise. Some blood had gotten on it so he rolled it up and tied it around his waist. Hardly any blood had gotten on the rest of him as he was standing behind William when he killed him. The small amount of spatter on the rest of his clothes would only be seen on close inspection. He crossed the street, got into his car and drove away from the murder and from the town of Crofton being careful to follow the speed limits, as he did not want to be stopped by the police with blood on his clothes.

State Police Barracks J

The Maryland State police are headquartered in Pikesville, Maryland. They watch over the state from a network of 23 barracks each given a letter of the alphabet to distinguish them from one another. Barracks ‘J’ is located on Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis, Maryland. Sergeant Neil Brock was manning the front desk at barracks ‘J’ on the day William Peranton was murdered.

Sergeant Brock was a strong man with large biceps and a shaved head. With tattoos he could have passed as a neo-Nazi skinhead. As menacing as he looked, Neil was inexperienced with children. He wanted to know, Who found the body?

Lieutenant Jacobs told him, One of the neighbors.

Then Neil wanted to know, What are they going to do with the four kids?

Family Services has been called. They should be here soon to take them away.

Neil Brock said, "They should get here REAL soon. This isn’t a daycare.

Thomas Jacobs told Neil, You’ll have to handle it. Here comes Alice. I have to go.

Detective Alice Rhodes asked Thomas as they left the barracks, Where do you think the wife is?

Thomas replied, You’ll have to ask the guy who called in the murder.

Crofton, Maryland

The crime scene was busy with forensic crime scene investigators, police keeping curious onlookers away and the coroner. The uniformed officers and crime scene investigators had already searched the house for Mrs. Peranton or anyone else that might have been there. They took the four children away. They had not found their mother. Alice and Thomas had been given that information when they were assigned to the case. They stopped at the crime scene for an update and to get a look at the evidence found so far. After talking with the coroner they went to speak with the man who called in the murder.

When they walked up to the house next door to the crime scene, Burke Thompson was on the front porch. Alice spoke to him, I’m Detective Alice Rhodes from the State police. This is Detective Thomas Jacobs. Are you the person that called in the murder?

Burke said, Yes.

Thomas was taking notes. He asked Burke, Would you please tell us what happened?

After Burke told them about finding William dead, Alice asked him, Do you know where the victim’s wife is?

Burke replied, I don’t know. You don’t think she is involved somehow, do you?

Thomas said, Why do you ask? We don’t know at this point why she isn’t here.

Burke Thompson responded, Do you think she was kidnapped? I can’t imagine who would want to kidnap a shrew like her. Maybe she left because they had another fight. I don’t think she would have killed him. By the way, did you see that big knife next to the body? Was it the knife that was used to kill him?

Lieutenant Rhodes told him, We won’t know those sorts of details until after the autopsy. You didn’t touch the knife did you?

Burke said, Hell no. I didn’t touch anything.

Alice continued, Do you or your wife know the names of the Peranton’s relatives? And are any of them living in the area?

Burke said, I live alone. I don’t know of any relatives. You should ask the neighbors across the street or maybe the people who live next to the Perantons on the other side. The Peranton’s kids play with the kids from those families sometimes.

Was there anyone in the neighborhood that didn’t like the Perantons? asked Thomas.

Burke told him, "No one I know likes them.

Thomas asked, You didn’t like them either?

Burke said, No. I didn’t like them either. But no one disliked them enough to kill them. Hell, I never even called the homeowners association on them.

Thomas thanked Burke for his assistance. Then Alice and Thomas split up and each took one of the homes Burke had pointed out to them. After they interviewed the neighbors they met at the car.

Thomas asked Alice, Anything interesting with them?

Alice replied, No. They haven’t any idea where Mrs. Peranton might be.

Thomas said, It’s late. Let’s go back to the barracks and clock out.

Alice climbed into the passenger seat and said, We can go over the details of the case tomorrow.

Thomas got behind the wheel and then pulled away from the curb. Meanwhile the forensic crime scene investigators were working the murder scene. They collected what evidence they found including the oddly decorated knife. They made plaster impressions of some footprints they found on the far side of the house. The coroner took the body away.

Riverview Apartments

Thomas had been a police detective for a long time. He had originally joined the Maryland State police force at the age of twenty. He had been a wrestler in high school and had no trouble with the physical training for police recruits. Now at thirty-eight he rarely worked out. He was sporting a hint of a spare tire around his tummy from a poor diet. That evening Thomas was watching re-runs alone in his apartment while eating dinner.

Dinner since his divorce was usually fast food of some kind. Tonight’s it was chicken and macaroni ‘n’ cheese. He always sat in his recliner when he ate. His black schnauzer, Sparky, was sitting on the floor with his hairy face and bushy eyebrows watching Thomas eat. He waited with eager anticipation that before it was all gone he’d get a little piece.

Thomas was ignoring the dog and the TV. He was thinking about Alice again. Unfortunately she was not interested in him. He sighed. From the beginning he would never have acted on his feelings for Alice because he was married.

His wife thought otherwise. They had several arguments during the year before the divorce about Thomas and Alice. Rachel, Thomas’ wife, would start the argument if Thomas were late getting home from work. In reality Thomas was always faithful to Rachel. Maybe she had been hoping he was having an affair. It turned out she certainly was even though she denied it. When Rachel asked for the divorce Thomas demanded to know what the reason was. She told him she just wanted out.

Thomas was suspicious. He had friends that worked for a private investigator. One of them followed Rachel for a few days as a favor for Thomas. It hadn’t taken very long to uncover her affair. The pictures were shocking and saddened Thomas. But he showed them to Rachel and promised her a fight if she caused him any problems during the divorce, which at that point he was happy to agree to. At least her infidelity and the fact that she made more money than he kept the court from making him pay her alimony. Plus he got to keep Sparky.

At that thought he looked down at the dog and gave him a bit of chicken and a pat on the back. He was a good dog. Sparky always ran to the door to be there when Thomas got home from work. Sparky was always happy to see him. Thomas was very thankful that his Ex’s new guy hated dogs. What kind of a man hated dogs? The idiot had a bird for a pet. It was a loud, big, white bird of some kind. Rachel told him the bird was very expensive. Thomas could care less.

Working Out

Alice’s routine included going to the gym after work on Tuesday and Thursday. She was proud of her shapely body. She knew the basic structure of her body and face were something she was born with but she worked hard at keeping what she had in good shape. Exercise also helped her to work off the stress from police work. Crime scenes like today’s murder were hard to push out of your mind. Physical exertion helped. She never used the gym at the police barracks because she hated to workout around the people she worked with all day.

Today she was taking her aerobics class. The aerobics class ended. As she was heading toward the shower and locker room, Raymond Osting, one of the men who frequently worked out at the gym at the same time Alice did, approached her.

Hey Alice, want to go to dinner? He had asked before and she had said no. He wasn’t bad looking, just kind of ordinary. What a police description of ordinary would be: medium height, medium build, and no distinguishing features. This time she changed her mind.

Sure, can we go to D.C.?

Raymond felt his heart stop; he had some favorite restaurants in the District. Which one should he say? Choose the wrong one and she might back out. Anywhere you want to go. My stomach is yours. What a stupid thing to say. God, what an idiot I am.

Well the rest of you can come too, she said. How about going to Georgetown? She gave him her address and told him she would be ready in an hour and a half.

He picked her up and took her to Le Chastel, a French restaurant on M street in Georgetown. Dinner was enchanting, expensive and didn’t end until almost 11 o’clock. It turned out that Raymond was a very successful lobbyist with offices on Capital Hill. She gave him her cell phone number and was expecting him to use it.

State Police Barracks J

Betty Peranton showed up at the police barracks the next day. She was not a pretty woman. After four children her body no longer had a waistline. Her hair was cut short and dyed with an unattractive hair dye that made her hair all one muddy shade of brown. Her voice was her least attractive trait. She only had one volume setting-LOUD. Thomas heard her at the front desk berating Sergeant Brock.

Where are my children? What happened to my husband? OHHHHH. Someone help me. Tell me what happened. Give me my children BACK.

Alice arrived for work at that moment and Sergeant Brock handed Mrs. Peranton off to her with a grimace and a sigh of relief. Alice took her down the hall to an interrogation room where she could talk to her. Even with the door closed everyone could still hear Mrs. Peranton carrying on. Alice calmed her down some and explained that her children would be returned to her as soon as possible.

Then she told her about the murder. Betty wailed and when Alice asked her to explain her whereabouts at the time of the murder she flew into a fit of rage that made Alice hit the hidden backup needed button.

Thomas came to the interview room. Alice, with Thomas now in the room, told Betty to calm down or she couldn’t see her children. Betty sat down, crying and answered Alice’s question about her whereabouts. It turned out that Burke, the neighbor, had been right. The Peranton’s had a fight and she left him the children and went to her mother’s to teach him a lesson.

What was the fight about? Alice wanted to know. At that point Betty became guarded in her responses.

About his work

What kind of work did he do? asked Alice.

Betty wouldn’t tell them anything except her husband’s boss’ name and phone number. She wouldn’t even tell them what company he worked for. She claimed not to know. Alice was not satisfied with the answer Betty was giving but Betty wouldn’t budge. Alice let her go. She knew she could always ask Betty more questions later after she had a chance to call the number for William's supposed boss.

Paris, France

Gilbért sat at the outdoor café having breakfast. He came to this café frequently as it was near his home in this predominantly Muslim neighborhood of Paris. He was nervous. William Peranton was dead. At least that was what the woman who answered the phone had said. He had made his routine call but William had not answered. Instead a woman had answered the phone. No one was supposed to answer that phone but William. Gilbért knew William was married and so without giving away his identity or location and doing his best to hide his French accent, he had asked her, May I please speak to William Peranton?

The woman screamed into the phone, No. You may NOT. Do you know why? I’ll tell you why. Because he is DEAD. Don’t call here anymore. He was killed. Murdered. I’m going to destroy this phone. Don’t call again.

Gilbért had gone to the meeting of his cell that day and informed the others about William’s apparent death. William had been their contact in the United States. The leader of their cell had told them all to go home and stay out of trouble. All activities were to cease until he could get instructions from the organization. Gilbért was nervous because the organization was rumored to sometimes terminate entire cells if they were determined to have been compromised or too close to another cell that had been compromised.

Maybe they would let him return to Afghanistan instead, he mused. He liked Afghanistan. The women there were much easier to deal with than those in Paris.

Gilbért drank his coffee and pondered how long it might be until their leader could contact the organization and bring them instructions. It looked like their plans in the United States would be on hold for a while. Gilbért understood that it had taken a long time to set things up with William. Gilbért was unhappy about the delay. He was eager to help carry out the plans against the United States. He’d been a member of the organization since he was a young man. He knew taking part in any action against the United States would secure his place in heaven if he died. If he lived it would secure his place high up in the organization so that he would have great wealth and stature here on Earth.

Langley, Virginia

David Cross answered the phone simply, Cross.

The woman who was calling said, This is Detective Alice Rhodes with the Maryland State police. I am investigating the death of William Peranton three days ago. I understand that you were his employer?

David Cross asked, Where did you get this phone number?

Alice explained, Betty Peranton, William’s widow, gave it to me.

Cross asked, Alice Rhodes, right? Where are you calling from exactly?

She said, "Yes, you got my name right. I’m calling from the State police barracks in Annapolis. That is barracks ‘J’.

Cross wrote down the information then told her she would be contacted and abruptly hung up.

David Cross was alarmed. He was going to have to take some kind of immediate action. That is if Peranton was really dead. Damn. The visas and other papers for the people in Paris would be ready for delivery today. Who was going to deliver them with Peranton dead? Cross had to contact his boss and let him know what was happening. He in turn would have to talk to the Department of Homeland Security, Central Intelligence Agency Liaison (DCL) neither one was going to be happy about the news.

First David Cross would go see Fairfield, get the death confirmed and come up with a plan for the visas. David Cross didn’t know how William had planned on delivering the documents. It was possible that he was just going to mail them. Gary would know. He was William’s partner on this case. If the documents were just being mailed maybe if they got them into the mail with a postmark of the day before the murder the people in Paris would think Peranton had been killed after he sent them the documents. They certainly would be alarmed to find out the papers had some how been mailed after his death. He was figuring this out as he was walking over to Fairfield’s office.

As he arrived at Fairfield’s door he started talking. Charlie. We’ve got problems.

Charlie looked up from his desk. Not Peranton again. Is it Betty? What has she done now? That woman is going to destroy us.

William is dead.

Who says? Betty?

No. The Maryland State police in Annapolis say so. Detective Alice Rhodes called. She is at barracks ‘J’ in Annapolis. Get it checked out.

I’ll send Gary.

Make sure he gets everything. We need to know precisely what happened so we can get the documents to Paris without raising suspicions. Gary is the only one that will know how William had planned on delivering the documents.

Gary will take care of it.

Cross left to tell the boss what was happening. Charlie reached for the phone to call Gary. He would be able to get to Annapolis fairly quickly as he was currently on assignment in Laurel, Maryland.

State Police Barracks J

Alice called the number for Mr. Cross again. This time the phone went unanswered. Alice gave up and went back to working on her report for the Peranton case. In about half an hour she would meet Thomas for lunch. Thomas was a good partner though she sometimes caught him with a blank look on his face like his mind had wandered off. He had recently divorced. Alice thought he was happier alone. Before the divorce he complained a lot about his wife.

He complained that she didn’t want to have any children to make it a real family. Thomas also seemed to resent her spending habits though Alice understood that she was a lawyer with an office on West Street and made more money than Thomas did. Maybe that was part of it. He might have resented her successful profession, as she seemed to like being a lawyer so much she didn’t want to be a mom.

After typing all the details she had from the interview with Burke Thompson and his neighbors as well as today’s conversation with David Cross, Alice closed up her report and went to lunch in the cafeteria with Thomas.

Thomas was listening politely to Alice’s non-stop conversation. Alice was comparing the food the cafeteria was serving with the food she had the other night in Georgetown. For what seemed to him the tenth time she was describing some dish that he’d never heard of and could care less about. It was French food. They eat snails, right? Chinese was as cosmopolitan as his taste buds ever went.

THOMAS. You’re not listening to me.

What? Yes I was. I was just imagining the restaurant as you were describing it.

Well, they just paged us overhead. We need to go to the captain’s office.

Now?

That’s what they said.

O.K.

Captain Liberata introduced them to Mr. Gary Bromley. Mr. Bromley was very round. His head was round (and bald). His body was round. He was a sweaty man. Thomas surreptitiously wiped his hand on his pants after shaking Mr. Bromley’s hand. Alice only grabbed the offered hand with her fingertips.

Mr. Bromley is from the FBI. He is here about the Peranton case.

Yes, Mr. Bromley lisped, I need all of your notes. Everything. Captain Liberata is having all the physical evidence collected. I don’t have much time. Please go and get your case files and bring them without delay.

Alice and Thomas were glad to be away from Gary