Red River Falls Stories By soldierboy50401

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Jesus, Quinn! This wasn't a terrorist act! This was a couple of guys going off the reservation over a FAMILY and CULTURAL dispute!"

"It is whatever the media says it is. And, in Mason County, the media says whatever I say it is." And I hung up.
So the FBI doesn't want to help track down the kid brother of a couple of cop killers.
Fine. I'll do it my damned self.
*****
I was right about Mitch. He was pissed that I came back to work early but I just couldn't stay gone longer. I had to get to work on the sad and somber task of getting Tristan's replacement candidates interviewed and eventually hire one of them. I couldn't do that by hiding in my home office all the time. Plus, I now had the extra task of trying to find the Hammadi kid and determining if he was a threat to me, my family or anyone else.
On Thursday of that week, Karen Landingham informed me that I had an unscheduled visitor who wanted to talk with me.
"Sure, send him in," I told her.
A smartly dressed gentleman entered my office in sport coat, vest and tie with an impeccably tied Windsor knot. He had a tweed hat and a light jacket on his arm and reminded me of a college professor. He was foreign and I initially pegged him to be from India or somewhere else on the Asian subcontinent.
"Hello! Welcome! I'm Pat Quinn, Sheriff of Mason County," I said, offering my hand.
"Good morning, Sheriff!" he said with a very thick Indian or Pakistani accent. I never could tell the difference. "My name is Salah Udi Pradesh," he answered, grasping my hand.
"Please, have a seat," I offered, sitting down myself. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Pradesh. What brings you by today?"
"Well, Sheriff," he said, taking his seat. "I wanted to stop and introduce myself. I was pleased to hear that you were back in your office following such tragic events."
"Yes, it was a difficult time for everyone, I'm sure."
"Indeed, Sheriff. That is why I wanted to speak with you. And to ask for your help."
"Oh? What sort of help do you need?"
"Well, Sheriff, I happen to be fairly close to the Hammadi family. I, too, am a '., though I was born and grew up in Pakistan. I teach at the university in Fargo."
"So, how did you come to know the Hammadis?"
"I was beginning the process of starting an ---c center here in Red River Falls and came to know them because of this."
"Oh? I was told we didn't have one in Red River Falls."
"That is correct, Sheriff. For now, anyway. We have rented space in a small building here in town."
"May I ask where?"
"Absolutely, Sheriff. We have nothing to hide. The address is 818 and ½ North Madison Avenue. It is an older, small commercial building attached to a smaller home there," he explained. As he did so, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I just nodded as he described the building and its purpose. But the warning bells were already going off.
"Well, I appreciate you coming by and informing me of your friendship with the Hammadis and I wish you the best of luck with your ---c center," I said, trying to sound friendly enough.
"That is not all I came to talk with you about, Sheriff," Pradesh continued. "I also asked for your help, remember?"
"Oh, yes of course. What kind of help did you need, exactly?"
"I need your understanding, Sheriff."
"My understanding? I guess I don't follow."
"Sheriff, what happened to your friend and deputy and the state security officerman was terrible and I pray daily for ,.' to have grace upon their souls and invite them to Paradise. But I want you to understand that it was not terrorism nor was it an attack on Christians by a '.."
"Well," I started, desperately trying to be diplomatic, "I think many people will see it many different ways. And I'm not sure how I can affect that impression, necessarily."
"You can affect it, Sheriff, by seeing it for what it was. Those young men felt a sense of duty to uphold their family honor. Muchtada and Ibrahim believed they were protecting the honor of their sister and that of their family. While it is an aspect of ancient Middle East culture that I do not expect many in this country to understand, it is something that was central to their cultural history and something they believed in since they were children."
I had to think for a moment. "Uh, Mr. Pradesh, I'm not really sure how I can change people's impression of those events. And while I recognize that honor killings are a part of Middle East culture they are most definitely NOT a part of American culture. And it is also my understanding that the practice of honor killings actually predates ., in many Middle East and Asian cultures, which is why I'm trying hard to get people to understand the separation between the two and not see this as some kind of terrorist act. I should think you would be pleased with that, Mr. Pradesh."
"In this case, Sheriff, I am asking you to simply look at this at a microcosmic level instead of the macro one. This needs to be viewed at the level of the individuals involved and not the larger society. The culture and upbringing of the individual and their sense of responsibility to that history is what is important here."
"Are you trying to get me to not see this as a criminal act, Mr. Pradesh?"
"Their cultural upbringing formed the basis for their sense of right and wrong, much the same way you were brought up with your own understanding of right and wrong, Sheriff. In their eyes, what they did was not wrong but a sense of duty to their family, their culture and, to a lesser extent, to their faith."
I was at a loss for words.
"Uh, again, Mr. Pradesh...I don't see how that is relevant. Individuals in this country are still required to obey the law - the civil law, which supersedes any religious or cultural laws in this country. While I have every last measure of respect for you, your culture and your faith, I cannot in good conscience try and excuse the behavior of the Hammadis because of it. And I don't wish to be rude, I truly do not. But I think it is best if we leave this subject and simply agree to disagree."
Pradesh studied me closely before breaking into a forced smile.
"Agree to disagree," he said. "That is a common euphemism in this country. And yet, Americans are always talking about open communication and dialogue - even on the most difficult subjects."
"I won't disagree that this is a difficult subject. But an open dialogue on allowing murder to be excused or overlooked because it is viewed as a responsibility to one's cultural upbringing or religious convictions is probably not going to result in a long conversation," I concluded.
"I like to think that, in my country, it would be a matter of serious debate."
"I'm sorry," I said, "but where in Pakistan did you say you were from?"
"I do not believe I told you, Sheriff. But since you asked, I was born in Abbottobad and attended university in Karachi as well as Cambridge in England," he said smiling broadly, obviously quite proud of his elite education.
"Abbottobad," I said, reflecting. "Isn't that the city where the US Navy SEALs found Osama bin Laden?"
The smile disappeared. "Nine hundred ninety-nine out of a thousand Americans could tell you nothing about Abbottobad. But the ones who even know my city exists know it only because of Sheikh bin Laden," he said, disappointment hanging in his words.
"Well, he too, used his culture and religion to justify taking a life - 3,000 of them."
Pradesh was visibly taken aback at that comments - and obviously deeply offended.
"Well," he said, standing. "This is not how I had hoped our conversation would go, Sheriff. I only hope that this does not prevent you from searching your heart and seeking the truth behind what I've told you. The Hammadi brothers, while committing a crime against the laws of this country, were certainly not criminals at heart. That is what you should take away from this."
"Thank you for coming," I said, standing and offering my hand. Pradesh shook it with much less enthusiasm this time.
He smiled again and said, "I will see myself out, Sheriff."
I watched him all the way to the elevator at the end of the hall and watched out the window to make sure he left the building. Then I wrote down his name and made a note to check out his credentials. He said he taught at the university in Fargo, which could only mean NDSU. I'd definitely be checking out the faculty and make sure he was legit.
The ---c center bothered me. It was not believed by the FBI that the Hammadis attended any mosque or ---c center within 200 miles of Red River Falls. There were '.s in the area, several of whom were terrific and highly reputed doctors who worked at Holy Family, along with other engineers and scientists who worked up in the oil shale fields. I'd have to have my people interview some of them to see if they attended any sort of religious services in Red River Falls or if this was just a ruse between Pradesh and the Hammadis.
Why did an ---c center bother me? It didn't, per se. Actually, it wouldn't bother me in any way, shape or form if it was located anywhere other than its current location, which was exactly one block away from Tristan's house. If I was a betting man, I'd wager that the ---c center only cropped up in the last couple of weeks since the killings.
Not long after 9/11, a group of '.s wanted to open a religious center near Ground Zero in New York City. When this was announced, all hell broke loose over it. It is widely believed that '.s often establish Mosques on or near the areas where they have won a battle against infidels. In 689, following the '. conquest of Jerusalem, '.s built a mosque on the Temple Mount - one of the holiest places on earth to Jews. Following the ---c conquest of Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia was converted from a church to a mosque.
Could Pradesh have established his ---c center in its current location because the scene of Tristan's murder was only a block away? Yes and no. When you look at the history of ---c expansion throughout the Middle East and into Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, it only stands to reason that the '.s would build mosques in those locations. Did the building of mosques serve as a symbol of victory or the natural manifestation of the proliferation of their faith? More than likely, it was as natural a progression for them as it was for Catholic missionaries to establish missions throughout the American Southwest, Mexico and Central America.
Was I reaching here? Was I overreacting? Was I blowing things way the hell out of proportion? Maybe. The smart part of my brain told me that Pradesh and his fellow '.s has as much right to an ---c Center or mosque as any Christian did to a church. But the reptilian part of my brain was still bugged by the proximity to Tristan's house. Could be something or could be nothing at all. But I was a firm believer in Ronald Reagan's old adage "trust, but verify".
A check earlier this week with Red River Falls High college revealed that Jaffar Hammadi was not currently enrolled as a student. And if Jaffar Hammadi was back in Red River Falls, I just found the number one suspect who may be harboring him or at least aiding him in some way.
Jaffar might not be in college.
But I had some homework to do.
*****
"BAHAHAHAHA!!"
That was the text I received from my unknown caller. The phone calls had stopped for about a week and now it was annoying and stupid text messages. Most of them were as equally inane and written in typical text abbreviations that could stand for just about anything. Or nothing.
Digging into Salah Udi Pradesh's background revealed little, other than to verify that he had, indeed, been born and raised in Abbottobad. He did, indeed, attend university in Karachi and subsequently in Cambridge, England. Teaching at NDSU was his third professorship since coming to the United States, which I thought was a little odd since most professors stay at one college or university to obtain tenure track. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing else significant or alarming about him. He wasn't on anyone's watch list and had absolutely no criminal record. Even the folks at NDSU were very cooperative and gave me the results of his background check, which were pedestrian in every respect.
So far, all attempts to ascertain the true number and identify of the phone had failed. Whoever the caller was obviously had some type of encryption that blocked any kind of back door access to the phone.
Agent Bryce Cooper and the FBI continued to be absolutely ZERO use to me. For some strange reason they had no interest in the fact that it appeared that Jaffar Hammadi had not boarded the flight in Atlanta. They referred the matter to the Atlanta security officer Department but nothing had followed through. Cooper's main problem was that I couldn't prove the calls were even coming from Hammadi or anyone he was associated with. But I couldn't prove they weren't coming from him and that worried me all the more.
*****
BLINDSIDE
I never would have believed I could have screwed things up so badly, even though Chris and Tonya Hayes both tried to warn me. It never even dawned on me that I had been so focused on and engrossed in the whole Hammadi situation that I completely ignored a brewing storm at home. Sometimes the persons that need help the most are the ones who refuse to ask or are unable to ask for help. And I never imagined that I was one of those.
Sitting at my desk on a Friday afternoon, I was one day shy of being married for three weeks. I was poring over some information Tonya had sent me to try and help me deal with the mystery phone caller when my cell phone buzzed. I had expected initially that it was yet another text from my mystery prankster.
It wasn't.
As I looked at the screen, I saw that it was Shannon's number. I smiled initially as I knew she would be soon on her way home from work. The boys were at Clarissa's condo for the weekend and I hoped she was going to tell me that Bridget was spending the weekend at Jack and Suzanne's place.
WE NEED TO TALK.
Uh-oh. That was never a good thing. I quickly shut off my computer, gathered my things and locked up the office. On the drive home a million things went through my head as to what Shannon could want to talk to me about. I tried vigorously to think of all the positive scenarios but none of them seemed to stick in my brain for long and were replaced by a sense of impending doom.
As I pulled into the driveway, I saw her Fusion parked outside instead of in the garage, like usual. It shouldn't have struck me as particularly odd but it wasn't exactly right, either. As I entered the front door, I saw her sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of tea. It was obvious that she had been crying. Oh, shit.
"Hey, sweetheart," I said, gingerly. "What's going on?" I asked, taking a seat across from her.
"I don't know, Patrick," she said, trying to hold back the tears. "You tell me."
"Uh, well, I don't know, either. You sent me a text saying you want to talk. I walk in the house and you're sitting here, obviously in tears. Was it something I did?"
"Well, (sniff) it was more like what you didn't do," she said, obviously steamed.
"Look, sweetheart, whatever it was, I'm sorry. Please tell me what I can do to fix it."
"You can't just fix it, Patrick! An apology isn't just going to make this go away! We obviously have a serious communication problem and a very serious trust issue!"
"What do you mean, Shannon? I trust you with my life!"
"Well, then, why can't I trust mine with you?!!"
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Oh, God, Patrick!" she said, obviously frustrated. "I had lunch with Tonya today! At her request! Can you imagine the bombshell she dropped in my lap today?"
Oh, holy-fucking-shit. All I could do was just look down sheepishly and say, "I thought she understood that I didn't want her to say anything."
"Don't you dare be mad at Tonya, Patrick! Or Chris, for that matter! How could you do that, Patrick?! How could you keep that from me? How do you think that made me feel to hear her tell me that there might be some lunatic who wants to sneak back to Red River Falls and try to kill you?!! Or me and the kids, for that matter? Did that even occur to you? That he might try to get at you by coming after me and the kids?!! Don't you think we at least had a right to know that, Patrick???"
"Look, Shannon, I know you don't want to hear an apology. But I had no proof that this was a credible threat. All we knew was that the Hammadi kid's boarding pass didn't get checked in Atlanta. And we have no way of verifying that he did or didn't land with his family in Dubai."
"Do you think that makes any difference, Patrick? We're married now! We're supposed to be a team! If there was some kind of threat to you, me and our family, I deserve to know about it!"
"Yes, you do. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't want to scare you and the kids or worry any of you until I had more credible information. I didn't want to blow it out of proportion."
"Oh, what a BULLSHIT excuse, Patrick! Apparently you felt it was important enough to call the FBI!"
"I was hoping they could verify some things, yes."
Shannon just looked away, shaking her head in disbelief.
"This is NOT how we are going to start our marriage, Patrick! Not on lies and deceit, even if they are lies by omission! And not telling me and our kids that there is a real and credible threat to your and our safety IS a lie!"
"I guess I didn't see it that way, sweetheart, and I'm sorry."
"That isn't the only thing, though, Patrick. You've been a million miles away from us the past couple of weeks. This explains all of that. Our first week together after was got married was wonderful. I've never been happier. And I want more of that. But the last couple of weeks, your body has been here but your brain is in outer space!"
"Look, sweetheart, I'll admit that I've been preoccupied with this whole situation. But I'm still focused on you and the kids."
"No, you're not, Patrick! Do you have any idea how many times I've seen and heard you snap at your boys the last few weeks? You've never talked to me or Bridget that way but you have been ridiculously hard on the boys, especially Nick! You always used to play with them and spend time with them. They were your best buds in the whole world but now you act like you wouldn't even give them the time of day!"
"That's not true! I've been busy, that's all!"
"Patrick, the boys ASKED to go to Clarissa's this weekend. They have NEVER done that before. And I don't have the foggiest idea what I'll do if you ever talk to my daughter that way!"
I was stunned, not just by the boys asking to spend time at their mom's, but by the fact that, for the first time in a long time, Shannon didn't refer to Bridget as our daughter.
"Don't you mean...our...daughter?" I asked, choking up.
"When it comes to protecting Bridget, Patrick, she will always be my daughter."
My heart felt like it was going to burst inside my chest.
"Just remember," I said, choking up, "I nearly died saving your daughter."
"I've never forgotten that, Patrick. But that doesn't excuse the way you've been behaving. I want the man I fell in love with. And lately, he's been nowhere to be found."
"So, what do you want me to do?"
Shannon took a moment to compose herself. "I want you to take this weekend to think about how important the people in your life are. I want you to think about your definition of trying to protect us. I'd rather be scared shitless and know what the threat is so I can watch out for myself and our kids rather than be happy and ignorant and get blindsided by a threat I never knew existed! And with everything that you've been through in the last couple of months, I want you to decide whether you're going to deal with it or not!"