“I know of him,” the cop acknowledged. “His office is just off the square. He’s well thought of in town. Has a pretty wife, a couple kids. The wife is some kind of designer. Works with Realtors by staging the homes that are on the market. All high-end properties.”
“Thanks for the information,” Tyler said. “I’ll pay him a visit in the morning.”
“Doubt he’ll provide anything new.” Phillips smirked. “You know lawyers and client privilege.”
“You’re saying Harris had something to hide?”
“I’m saying you never know about neighbors.” Phillips made a clucking sound as he stared into the wooded area before turning back to Tyler. “Did you ever see Fellows hovering around Harris’s property?”
“Never. But then I’ve haven’t been in Georgia long.”
“Where were you stationed before Rickman?”
“Germany for three years. A little town called Vilseck.”
“Near the Grafenwohr training area.”
Surprised that Phillips knew of Grafenwohr, Tyler smiled. “You’re prior military?”
“Roger that.” The cop chuckled. “I enlisted after high school.”
Tyler liked Phillips. Knowing he had served elevated him in Tyler’s opinion even more. “Thanks for your service.”
“My contribution was insignificant compared to most. Present company included.”
Tyler appreciated the comment. At least Phillips would understand the role the CID could play in the investigation.
“With the army’s concern about fraternization between the ranks, something seems strange to me,” Phillips said as he pocketed his cell. “Why would a sergeant major rent his trailer to some young soldier?”
“Harris was retired, and even if he had been on active duty, it wouldn’t have been a problem if they were from different units. The sergeant major probably advertised on-post. Fellows may have been a country boy. Liked the outdoors and wanted to move out of the barracks.”
The cop rubbed his jaw. “Maybe, although I wonder if anything else was afoot.”
“I’ll talk to his first sergeant and the other soldiers in his platoon,” Tyler said. “They might provide a better picture of who Fellows was.”
Phillips nodded. “And why someone wanted to kill him.”
“What about questioning the neighbors?” Tyler asked.
“I’ve got a couple officers checking the folks who live nearby. I’m not sure how cooperative the Amish will be. They’re good people, but they stick to themselves.”
Tyler glanced at where the body was found. “The killer could have skirted Amish Road, by using the dirt road you mentioned. If he paid Fellows a late-night visit, they could have argued and gotten into a fight. Fellows might have run this direction to get away from the assailant. The killer follows and attacks after Fellows stumbled into the clearing.”
“Did you hear anything unusual?”
Tyler shook his head. “Not a peep.”
“Something must have alerted Ms. York.”
“She said her father’s dog found the body and started barking.”
Phillips pursed his lips. “Might seem like a stretch, but I wonder if she could be involved.”
Tyler hadn’t expected the comment, but as any law enforcement officer knew, no one could be ruled out at this point.
The cop slapped Ty’s shoulder. “My turn to talk to her.”
Tyler pulled out his phone as the officer climbed the steps and opened the door. Carrie stood in the foyer and glanced around Phillips to where Tyler lingered at the bottom of the steps. She tilted her head ever so slightly as if questioning why he was still hanging around outside. The door closed, leaving Tyler with a strange sense of being shut out.
He had allowed his emotions to get the best of him when he questioned her. A mistake he shouldn’t have made and wouldn’t make again. Still, he hadn’t expected an investigation in Georgia to open a painful memory from his past.
Pulling up his phone contacts, he tapped the number for the CID special agent on call. Everett Kohl’s voice was heavy with sleep when he answered. “What’s going on, Ty?”
“A soldier was murdered along Amish Road.”
“Fill me in on the details.”
Tyler shared what he knew about the case.
Once he had finished providing information, Everett asked, “Want me to notify the post duty officer? He’ll inform General Cameron. The commanding general needs to know what happened.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Any witnesses?” Everett inquired.
“Not at this point. The sergeant major’s daughter arrived in town late in the day. She knew nothing about her father until his lawyer called informing her of the property she had inherited.”
“Welcome to Freemont.”
“You’ve probably heard of Drake Kingsley, the senator from Ohio?” A ball of bile rose in Ty’s throat. Not that he would share his past with Everett.
“As I recall, the senator’s not enamored with the military.”
“You’re exactly right.” Tyler paused for a moment before continuing. “Kingsley is talking about the need to slash the defense budget even more than last year. He was also instrumental in convincing the president to cut troop strength.”
“What’s the connection with this case?”
“Carolyn York, the woman who found the body, works as a speechwriter for Senator Kingsley.”
Everett groaned. “She could be as vocal as her boss. We don’t need any more bad press or do-gooders from Washington interfering with our investigation.”
Tyler understood bad press. He also understood Everett’s concern. Budget cuts and troop reduction had decimated the army. Combat readiness was a thing of the past.
“How’d you get involved, Ty?”
“I heard the sirens. Came to see what was going down and found out the deceased was military, assigned to the engineer battalion.”
“That’s interesting.”
“In what way?” Tyler asked.
“Let me check the post paper. Seems I read the sergeant major’s obit not long ago.”
Tyler waited until Everett came back on the line.
“Here it is. ‘Sergeant Major Jeffrey Harris, recently retired from the US Army.’ This is the part that’s of interest. ‘His last duty station was Fort Rickman, where Harris was the command sergeant major of the engineer battalion.’”
“So he and Fellows could have served together, depending upon how long ago the corporal transferred to the battalion.”
“Doubtful the sergeant major would rent a trailer to someone in the same unit, unless they had some prior connection.” Everett voiced the same concern as Phillips had earlier. “Having a superior as a landlord could be seen as a conflict of interest.”
“Something to consider.”
Ty looked back at the Harris home. Carrie’s arrival the night Fellows died could also be significant.
“This case could explode in our faces,” Everett continued. “Especially since the woman has ties to Washington. I’ll confirm with Wilson tomorrow