Bullies Spit On A Waitress — Unaware She Was A Commander For 10 Years!
Chapter 14
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The piece was vague in the way investigative journalism is when it's protecting sources and ongoing process, but certain details were clear: a federal grand jury was reviewing several county-level law enforcement offices in the Shenandoah Valley area; allegations included misuse of public funds, suppression of witness testimony, and abuse of process. No names were named in the article, but there was a date at the bottom: a hearing scheduled for Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Harrisonburg.Tomorrow.Frank looked at her; Claire looked at the date."You knew about this," she said."I know people," he said simply. "I'm old. I've been paying attention for a long time. And when a woman walks into a diner in a town like this one and takes a waitress job and starts watching everything very carefully, and she moves the way she moved last night, a person starts to put things together." He folded his hands on the table. "The hearing tomorrow," he said. "They need witnesses who will hold up. People who were there. People who can speak to what actually happened on Route 7 that night.""Kevin's the witness," Claire said. "Kevin was there.""Kevin hasn't left his house in two years," Frank said."I know," Claire said."Dale Mace knows that, too," Frank said. "And Dale Mace is not a stupid man. He knows what's coming tomorrow. Which means he's going to spend tonight making sure that every loose end in this town stays tied."The kitchen was very quiet. Outside, the gray sky had gotten grayer.Claire sat with that for a moment. Then she said, "Tyler wasn't drunk last night."Frank looked at her."Not all the way," she said. "He was performing it. The things he did in that diner, they were specific. They were designed to create a provocation, to give his father's office a reason to document an incident involving me." She paused. "Dale Mace knew I was in town," she said. "Probably knew why. And last night was his way of putting a file on me before I could put a file on him."Frank was very still. "He used his son," Frank said."He uses whatever works," Claire said. She stood up. She buttoned her jacket. "Frank," she said, "I need you to do something.""Name it," he said."Stay in the diner today. Keep Donna steady. If anything happens, if anyone comes in asking questions or making threats, I need you there."He nodded."And Frank," she said, "don't call anyone yet. Whatever contacts you have, whatever people you know... not yet."He looked at her."Because if Dale Mace finds out there's federal involvement before tomorrow morning," she said, "he will burn every piece of evidence he hasn't already burned. And Kevin Webb spent two years in that house for nothing."