38
›› NCIS Offices
›› Camp Lejeune, north carolina
›› 1909 Hours
“Did I just see Shel leave carrying a duffel?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah,” Will said as they walked through the hallway toward the main computer area.
“Where’s he going?”
“Home.”
“Why?” Maggie sounded unbelieving.
“He asked for leave to go home.”
“Why would he want to go home? He never asks for leave.”
“I’m aware of that,” Will said.
“Did he give you a reason?”
“I asked.”
“And?”
“He said he had leave coming. He said he hurt his arm today. He said he felt like going home. He said Victor Gant threatened his family.”
“Do you believe any of that?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah. My answer would be all of the above.”
“No.”
“No?”
“You’re smarter than that.”
“Am I?”
“Shel will always have leave coming,” Maggie said. “If he hurt his arm, Shel would rather cut it off than let you bench him to a desk under a medical restraint.”
Will had to admit that was true.
“Shel is conflicted about going home,” Maggie said.
Since she was the team profiler, Will was certain Maggie knew what she was talking about.
“And if Victor Gant threatened his family,” Maggie went on, “he’d definitely stay with us. We offer the best chance at finding out where Gant is.”
Will nodded. He couldn’t argue the logic. He’d been chasing the same conjecture.
“So what’s changed?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know. That’s why I thought I’d ask Estrella.”
›› 1919 Hours
“Shel didn’t mention anything to me about going home,” Estrella said. She sat in the ergonomic chair at her station and looked worried. “Usually he tells me everything that’s on his mind.”
“Not everything,” Maggie said. “I don’t think Shel tells anybody everything.” She glanced apologetically at Estrella. “Though he tells you more than most.”
Will looked out over the workroom. Several other NCIS agents were in their cubicles, striving to clear their caseloads.
Estrella looked troubled. “There is one thing that he talked to me about that I haven’t told you.”
That drew Will’s instant attention. “Now would be a good time to discuss that.”
“It doesn’t seem like it connects anywhere.” Estrella turned her attention back to the computer. Her fingers glided across the keyboard in swift syncopation. “Shel asked me to look up his father’s service record.”
“His father was in Vietnam,” Will said.
“I know.”
“Shel doesn’t talk much about his father,” Maggie said.
“No,” Will agreed.
“How did you know he was in Vietnam?”
“Because I know that Shel’s father is a sore point with him. When Shel mentions him, I listen.”
“Have you ever asked him about his father?”
“No,” Will said. “Men try not to do things like that to each other.”
“Right,” Maggie said. “But you’re not just a man. You’re also his commanding officer.”
“I play the counselor role when a man needs me to. But I wait for him to make that decision. I don’t make it for him.” Will stared at the computer screen. “What was Shel looking for concerning his father?”
“I don’t know,” Estrella said. “Not exactly. I know he was interested in finding out if Victor Gant was ever in Qui Nhon.”
“What’s Qui Nhon?” Maggie asked.
“A key port for American forces in the Vietnam War,” Will answered. “A lot of people passed through there.”
“‘A lot of people’ included Tyrel McHenry and Victor Gant,” Estrella said.
Maggie moved in closer as well. “Both of them were there?”
Estrella nodded. “It looks like they were there for a time together.”
“Same unit?” Will asked.
“No. Different units. But both of them were assigned to units that patrolled the roads in and out of Qui Nhon. Those roads were regularly attacked.”
“Because they were major supply lines for the American offensive,” Will said. “They drew a lot of heat. And the PBRs-”
“Sorry,” Maggie broke in, “what are PBRs?”
“It stands for Patrol Boat, River,” Estrella answered. “They were fast-attack watercraft used for attacking North Vietnamese boats and ships and for attacking ground units within striking distances of the rivers.”
“And they were a big threat to the North Vietnamese,” Will finished.
“If Victor Gant and Shel’s father were both there at the same time,” Maggie said, “you have to ask yourself if they knew each other.”
“I think that’s what Shel wanted to know,” Estrella said.
“Did he ask you to find out?” Will asked.
“No. But he did ask me to match up his father’s time there with what we knew about Victor Gant.”
“Does Shel know they were there at the same time?”
“He does.”
“When did you tell him?”
“Shortly after his return to Lejeune.”
“If Shel’s known about that this long,” Maggie said, “why is it so interesting to him?”
“Because Victor Gant threatened Shel’s family,” Will said.
“Do you think it has something to do with what happened back then?” Estrella asked.
“Did you find anything to suggest there’s a link?”
“Other than the fact that Tyrel McHenry and Victor Gant could have known each other, nothing.”
“Even if they did know each other,” Maggie said, “they’d have been, what, twenty or twenty-five years old? Suddenly, forty years later, that’s going to matter?”
Will stared at the photograph of a young Army private. Tyrel McHenry had been little more than a boy, not much older than Steven when he’d been dropped into Vietnam. Thinking back on that war, thinking about the one in Iraq, Will realized again that war often ran on the lives of the young.
“Did you talk to Shel about this?” Will asked.
“A little.”
“Did he give you any idea what he was looking for?”
“No. He just asked about the time frames.”
Will considered that. “As I think back on it, until today Shel hasn’t had any contact with Gant. Anybody remember it any differently?”
Maggie and Estrella answered negatively.
“But if Shel asked about the time frames while he was in Charleston,” Will said, “someone had to have told him. And only two people would have known whether Tyrel McHenry and Victor Gant knew each other.”
“I talked to Don,” Maggie said. “Shel was agitated one day. He didn’t talk much. I asked Don about it, and he said that they’d gotten a phone call from their father in the middle of the night.”
Will turned that over in his mind. Although he hadn’t said anything when Shel’s father didn’t put in an appearance at the hospital after Shel was so grievously wounded, he’d wondered.
“What was the phone call about?” Will asked.
Maggie shook her head. “Don didn’t know. But he said ever since he’d gotten the call from his father, Shel had been agitated.”
“I didn’t notice it.”
“You,” Maggie said, “had your hands full dealing with getting Bobby Lee Gant’s body back here and leading the investigation there.”
Will took in a breath and let it out. He had been busy. He was still busy. But he got the distinct feeling that Shel McHenry was taking a long stride toward trouble.
Maybe big trouble.
“How much time have you spent on these files?” Will asked.
Estrella shook her head. “Not much. Shel only wanted me to confirm any overlap. I did that.”
“We need more.” Will rubbed his tired eyes. “Prioritize this and dig into it like it was an ongoing investigation.”
“All right.”
“But keep it quiet.”
Estrella nodded. “How quiet?”
“If Shel calls and asks, don’t tell him we’ve got an interest in it.”
A troubled look twisted Estrella’s features. “I don’t like doing that.”
“I know. Neither do I. But whatever’s inside pushing Shel has got him in a death grip. If he finds out we’re digging into his turf, he’s not going to handle it well. I don’t want his distraction with what we’re doing to get him killed. Victor Gant tried to kill him today. I don’t think he’s finished.”