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“What’s up?” Gonzo asked.
Freddie had been so engrossed in his task that he hadn’t heard his friend approach. “Digging into Stahl a bit. I found out why he went to live with his father at thirteen.” He handed Gonzo a printout of the report on the incident that had put him in the hospital. “His mother beat the crap out of him.”
As Gonzo read the report, his expression never changed. “This explains a lot.”
“I know.”
“But it doesn’t excuse anything he’s done.”
“I agree.”
“Good work, Freddie.”
“Thanks. I’m trying to figure out where the mother is now, and I’m going to read more about the brother who went missing.”
“Let me know what you find.”
After Gonzo walked away, Freddie searched for the reports about Michael Stahl, Leonard’s half brother. The fifteen-year-old had gone missing while walking home from school. There’d been no witnesses or anything for investigators to work with when the teenager went missing. His parents and friends had reported that he was a happy kid with lots of friends and interests, that no one disliked him that they knew of and that he got good grades in school.
Freddie wondered if Len had hated Michael because he was happy and well-adjusted.
It was a theory worth looking into.
According to articles he found about the teenager’s disappearance, Michael’s parents had done everything they could to find their son, including annual events to keep his name in the news and regular contact with the MPD. They’d had age-progression photos created and papered the neighborhood with flyers.
The family’s efforts had ended with Richard’s death and then his wife Karen’s a couple of years later, leaving only Leonard and his half sister, Cindy.
Gonzo came out of the office. “I just talked to Malone’s informant, looking for more info on how he knew to point us in Stahl’s direction on the missing women. He said it was a conversation he overheard about how the cops had one in their ranks who’d done his friend’s sister dirty and probably a bunch of others, too. The guy had a real problem with women, and everyone knew it. Malone’s informant, who doesn’t want me to know his name, said he worked his way into the conversation to ask which cop the guy was talking about. He said, ‘The same one who tried to kill the first lady.’ Malone’s guy asked how he knew, and the other guy said, ‘People talk. That’s been word on the street for a long time.’”
“Wow,” Freddie said. “So people knew about Stahl and did nothing?”
“They probably figured we’d take care of our own, so what was the point in reporting it?”
“I can see that. Still, they could’ve called the tip line and reported it anonymously.”
“Sure, but, playing devil’s advocate, maybe they were afraid we’d figure out who they were and come after them. They might’ve had their own skeletons to keep hidden and weren’t willing to risk their own necks to report him.”
“True.” Freddie shared what he’d learned about Michael Stahl’s disappearance. “Gone without a single trace for more than twenty-five years.”
“How can that not be related to Stahl?” Gonzo asked.
“There’s no way it isn’t related.”
In the morning,with Nick next door dealing with the Fort Liberty shootings, a wildfire in Southern California and flooding in Kentucky, among other things, Sam checked in with Freddie.
“Hey,” he said. “I was going to text you to see how you guys are doing. I just can’t believe the news about the tomatoes or what happened in North Carolina.”
“I know. That’s awful, and Nick is blaming himself because it was tied to the situation with the Joint Chiefs.”
“I heard. All the news shows are focused on the gunman’s rants to his coworkers ahead of the shooting.”
Sam had intentionally left the TV off. “Of course they are.”
“Plenty of pundits are saying this falls squarely at the feet of the disgraced former Joint Chiefs, who put the wind in this guy’s sails with their actions.”
“I’m glad someone is saying that.”
“A lot of people are. If they hadn’t done what they did, this guy wouldn’t have thought it was okay to kill his fellow service members.”
