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Rankin leaned forward. “You filed a report against Chief Petty Officer Owens, accusing him of stealing.”
“Untrue.”
When she blinked, he could see the uncertainty creep into her eyes. She tried again. “We have a signed statement from you claiming you saw Owens stealing.”
“False.”
“Chief Landry, I’ve seen the report. I know you accused Owens of stealing.”
He shook his head. “No. I went in and spoke with Senior Special Agent Lawrence and told him what I saw.Hefiled the report. I specifically said I didn’t want to file anything. I just thought what I saw should be investigated. Lawrence, or Casper as you call him, told me that he’d write up my statement and keep it on file while the incident was investigated. Instead, he forged my signature, filed the report, and then told Owens that I’d accused him of stealing.
He was having a hard time holding his anger in check. “At no time did I give him permission to file a report on my behalf, but he went ahead and did it anyway, and I ended up in the hospital with a broken back.”
CHAPTERSIX
Mac’s stomach hit her feet. The moment Landry said Casper’s name, she knew,knew, her boss had fucked this up somehow. He’d screwed over Landry, and now they were hip-deep in a homicide that might have repercussions since he mishandled the original investigation. Maybe that was why he sent her to speak with Owens’s wife and then over here instead of with him and Rutledge when they interviewed the rest of Owen’s team. He knew he had fucked up, and since she was the junior agent, it didn’t matter what she found out.
She drew in a deep breath and then blew it out again. “Maybe we can start again.” She looked up and met Landry’s gaze. “In your own words, can you please tell me what you witnessed with regard to Senior Chief Petty Officer Craig Owens?”
Landry grunted then glanced around at his teammates.
It struck her that he hadn’t told them the story about his injury yet.Interesting.It was her gut feeling that he still wasn’t sure about telling them, which made it even more interesting.
“About ten months ago, I filled the place on Owens’s team of a guy who’d left the service. The team didn’t exactly welcome me with open arms.” He tapped his fingers on the table and looked at his teammates.
He wasn’t talking just to her. He was telling them as well.
“There was always an undercurrent with Owens and the others. Like something was going on, but no one wanted to include me in it. It was…weird. I tried to be friendly, but they just weren’t having it.” He shook his head. “Fair enough, I thought at the time. I’ll just do my time and transfer when the opportunity arises.
“Then one night after shift, the guys all said they were going home. Owens had said specifically he had to be home because his kid was sick and he needed to give his wife a break. I took it at face value and left. I got home and was about to go to bed when I realized I’d left my cell phone on base. Stupid, I know. I was going to leave it until morning, but it would be my luck that I’d get a callout and not know. So, I hauled my ass back to base.
“Anyway, I got to base, got my phone, and I was leaving when I see Owens’s truck. It’s parked in an odd spot. It’s over by the port, parked next to some containers. I knew it was his because he had a dent in the front right quarter panel and a cross dangling from the rearview mirror. I thought it was weird he was there and was just going to let it go, but I saw movement so I killed the lights, swung around, and parked by some other cars. I know it sounds strange that I would spy on my teammate, but that team, there was just something…off about it. They made alarm bells ring in my head.”
She didn’t want to break the flow of the story, but she desperately wanted to ask questions. She wanted to take notes, too, but she was sure Landry would stop talking if she did that. This wasn’t easy for him. Telling this story. It made her want to reach out to him, and offer him encouragement, which was just ridiculous since this was supposed to be an interrogation. Was she losing her edge? Or was it just something about Chief Petty Officer Dane Landry that drove her to distraction?
“It was close to oh-two-hundred when I saw Owens coming out of a container with some sort of bag. In the end, he loaded three of them into his pickup and then left. I followed him. He went to the other side of the island, to a small beach next to one of the big parks. He transferred the bags to another pickup driven by some other guy. I got a plate and even took a picture but”—he captured her gaze—“it all turned to shit.”
Mac swallowed. Landry’s eyes were captivating. She was having a hard time turning away from them. They turned a deeper blue when he was angry. What color would they be when he was excited?Jesus. Get it together.
“Before you go on,” she started, “can I ask, when exactly did you decide there was something wrong with the team? Was it from the first day or did it build over time?”
He leaned back. “I think in the beginning they were feeling me out, which is pretty normal, but somewhere along the way, maybe a month or so in, it started to change.”
“Do you remember a specific event?” she pressed.
He stared at her, but she knew he didn’t see her. She was pretty sure he was lost in thought. “I think it was right after we finished clearing a yacht. We’d been called out on a tip from someone. I have no idea who or any details on that. It wasn’t my job.
“Anyway, it was a tip on drugs being smuggled on a small yacht. We boarded and started to clear the ship when Owens suddenly called it, said we were done. Owens let the yacht go. I asked him why later, but he just brushed me off. I think it was some sort of test, and I guess I failed because they froze me out after that.”
She licked her lips as she decided how to approach her next topic. “You said you told your commanding officer about seeing Owens.” At his nod, she continued, “Who was that?”
“Commander Carter Wainwright.”
“Okay. Isn’t he still your commanding officer?”
Dane turned to Maddox.
The other man stared at her before he said, “It’s complicated.”
