The guy at my desk was a lieutenant colonel.
‘Where do I sit?’ I said.
‘Anywhere you like,’ the colonel said.
I said nothing.
‘I saw the telexes from Irwin,’ he said. ‘You have my sincere
congratulations, major. You did an outstanding job.’
I said nothing.
‘And I heard about Kramer’s agenda,’ he said. ‘I just got a call
from the Chief of Staff’s office. That’s an even better result. It
justifies Operation Argon all by itself.’
399
‘You’re not here to discuss the case,’ I said.
‘No,’ he said. ‘We’re not. That discussion is happening at the
Pentagon, with your lieutenant.’
I took a spare visitor chair and put it against the wall, under
the map. I sat down on it. Leaned back. Put my hand up over my
head and played with the push pins. The colonel leaned forward
and looked at me. He waited, like he wanted me to speak first.
‘You planning on enjoying this?’ I asked him.
‘It’s my job,’ he said.
‘You like your job?’
‘Not all the time,’ he said.
I said nothing.
‘This case was like a wave on the beach,’ he said. ‘Like a big
old roller that washes in and races up the sand, and pauses, and
then washes back out and recedes, leaving nothing behind.’
I said nothing.
‘Except it did leave something behind,’ he said. ‘It left a big
ugly piece of flotsam stuck right there on the waterline, and we
have to address it.’
He waited for me to speak. I thought about clamming up.
Thought about making him do all the work himself. But in the
end I just shrugged and gave it up.
‘The brutality complaint,’ I said.
He nodded. ‘Colonel Willard brought it to our attention.
And it’s awkward. Whereas the unauthorized use of the travel
warrants can be dismissed as germane to the investigation, the
brutality complaint can’t. Because apparently the two civilians
were completely unrelated to the business at hand.’
‘I was misinformed,’ I said.
‘That doesn’t alter the fact, I’m afraid.’
‘Your witness is dead.’
‘He left a signed affidavit. That stands for ever. That’s the
same as if he were right there in the courtroom, testifying.’
I said nothing.
‘It comes down to a simple question of fact,’ the colonel said.
‘A simple yes or no answer, really. Did you do what Carbone
alleged?’
I said nothing.
The colonel stood up. ‘You can talk it over with your counsel.’
400
I glanced at the captain. Apparently he was my lawyer. The
colonel shuffled out and closed the door on us. The captain
leaned forward from his chair and shook my hand and told me
his name.
‘You should cut the colonel some slack,’ he said. ‘He’s giving
you a loophole a mile wide. This whole thing is a charade.’
‘I rocked the boat,’ I said. ‘The army is getting its licks in.’
‘You’re wrong. Nobody wants to screw you over this. Willard
forced the issue, is all. So we have to go through the motions.’
‘Which are?’
‘All you’ve got to do is deny it. That throws Carbone’s
evidence into dispute, and since he’s not around to be cross
examined, your Sixth Amendment right to be confronted by the
witness against you kicks in and it guarantees you an automatic
dismissal.’
i sat still.
‘How would it be done?’ I said.
‘You sign an affidavit just like Carbone did. His says black,
yours says white, the problem goes away.’
‘Official paper?’
‘It’ll take five minutes. We can do it right here. Your corporal
can type it and witness it. Dead easy.’
I nodded.
‘What’s the alternative?’ I said.
‘You’d be nuts to even think about an alternative.’
“What would happen?’
‘It would be like pleading guilty.’
WVhat would happen?’ I said again.
‘With an effective guilty plea? Loss of rank, loss of pay,
backdated to the incident. Civilian Affairs wouldn’t let us get
away with anything less.’
I said nothing.
You’d be busted back to captain. In the regular MPs, because
the 110th wouldn’t want you any more. That’s the short answer.
But you’d be nuts to even think about it. All you have to do is
deny it.”
I sat there and thought about Carbone. Thirty-five years old,