Let's see, where was I? Oh yes. Chapter twenty-one of The Magruder Mysteries Murder 8; The Inert Ingredient
She sought to remedy the situation, as she found she often must with her patients. Chemotherapy ha d a way of distorting one’s memory; at least temporarily. Linda was concerned that her husband’s memory had been distorted from the stress he was under from conducting interviews for his pro bono case.
“Jack, you don’t have a brother,” she said as gently as she knew how. What Jack told her next almost took her breath away.
“Miko,” he began, “is my brother.”
Linda leaned forward as if to hear the story better. “I thought your parents couldn’t have any more children after you were born. That’s why I always assumed that you were an only child. Did your dad have an affair — ”
Jack shook his head and interrupted his wife. “No, it’s nothing like that. Miko is my adopted brother. That’s not his real name. We use it as a code name for him because it’s the Japanese word for three trees growing together. We selected the name because he has gone by three names in his life.”
The usually unflappable Linda was reeling. She ’d never heard about any of this before. It was a part of her husband’s life that he ’d hidden from her. She was not happy about this turn of events.
What Jack said next made her head spin.
“My parents, as you know, suffered secondary infertility after I was born. Even though they both wanted more children, they never were able to get pregnant again. Their doctor finally suggested that they look into adoption. This happened when I was twelve. My parents found what they were looking for when they visited their second choice in adoption agencies. A newborn boy was up for adoption. The name on his birth certificate was Jonathon Peter McCafferty.
“I don’t know if my brother is the biological son of one of Houston’s sitting junior state representatives to the Texas State House of Representatives. McCafferty is a fairly common name. It may have been wishful thinking on the part of his mother. If he is, though, that politician will never admit it. He has designs on both the governorship of Texas and the presidency, according to the political analysts. At any rate, his mom didn’t want to keep the baby. She put Miko up for adoption. Jonathan’s mom said she couldn’t keep the baby because the father would neither acknowledge nor help her with him. Since she was only seventeen and didn’t even possess a high school diploma, she couldn’t support her baby and herself. Her parents had no idea where she was or how to contact her. She couldn’t contact them, either. I don’t know the reason for this. I only know that she was willing to put the baby up for adoption because she had no visible means of support.
“My parents didn’t want the biological mom to come looking for her baby after they adopted him. She may have decided to raise him herself, after reconsidering the situation. Some courts will side with the biological mom when that happens, even after the child has been with his or her adoptive parents for several years. My parents wanted a baby so badly that they weren’t willing to take that chance . My parents renamed the baby Robert Leonard Moore , Bobby for short. Because there are literally thousands of Bobby Moores in the world, h e would be hard to identify if his mom did come looking for him. My parents also had his birth certificate changed to list them as the biological mom and dad.
“Bobby’s mom never came looking for him, and my parents never told Bobby he was adopted. He was the same ethnicity as we were, and he looked very much like a younger version of me when he was a toddler. Not telling my brother about his beginnings was a mistake, though, I think. His life has not been pleasant, and that is part of the reason.
“Our dad died of a heart attack when I was fourteen, but Bobby was only two. He didn’t remember Dad very well. He became attached to Mom easily because she brought him home with her from the hospital when he was two days old. She was the only mother he could ever remember taking care of him. Mom probably spoiled my brother because she ’d wanted a baby so badly for so long.
“I went to college and law school, leaving Mom and Bobby alone after my father died. They became even closer. Unfortunately, my mother passed away with multiple myeloma when I was fresh out of law school. My brother was only sixteen. He was devastated when she died. What disturbed Bobby even more than Mom’s death, however, was the fact that she never told him he was adopted. He was devastated when she shared that information with him from her deathbed. He ran away from home right after that, joining a gang.”
“I couldn’t find him. Therefore, I couldn’t have the paperwork drawn up to make me his legal guardian. The law requires a signature from each party involved if both parties are sixteen or older. B eing part of a gang made my brother feel as if he had a family. He was confused about his origin. I don’t believe he thought of me as his brother at that time. Not until he needed my help, that is.
“Gangs have unusual and sometimes cruel initiation rituals. The gang Bobby joined made him rob someone at gunpoint to get into it . The initiation fee, from the victim’s possessions, was one dollar. The new gang member could keep the rest of the loot. This made him or her feel as if the gang was trying to help that person financially. It also encourages that person to rob the richest person he or she can find. Bobby wanted to fulfill his obligation. Unfortunately, the man he chose to target was an undercover cop. Because of this, Bobby was thrown in jail for armed robbery. He was sure the gang would help him beat the rap. And they didn’t . They had plenty of money from dealing drugs and robbing houses and people at gunpoint. Even though the gang could afford an excellent lawyer for my brother, they didn’t offer this service to him.
“ Bobby was assigned a public defender. However, she was working on three other cases and couldn’t be bothered to help a gang banger. My brother’s case was her lowest priority. She advised him to take the deal the S tate was offering. It was the maximum sentence for armed robbery–twenty years in prison. She said he could get out in fifteen years with good behavior. That’s when Bobby remembered that his brother had finished law school. He called me and asked me to defend him. I was reluctant, but I agreed. I didn’t want my brother to go to prison. I hadn’t tried many cases as a first-chair lawyer. In fact, this would only be my third, so I had little experience dealing with juries. That made me very nervous. When the State offered a deal, I encouraged my brother to take it. The deal the State offered was that Bobby would testify against the gang, giving whatever information he had about them after he was let out of jail.
“He told the gang members he ’d got out on a technicality. They were suspicious, so he did some things to convince the gang members that he was legitimate. I will not discuss those things with you or anyone else. They’re too disturbing. In return for his testimony, Bobby would go into the witness protection program instead of going to prison. His cover would be as a soldier. He told his gang that he wanted a different life and he thought joining the armed services was the best way to accomplish this. My brother joined the US Army right after he gave the information he ’d gathered to his handler. He was then given a new name , o ne I was never told.” Jack stopped and headed for the bathroom.
Linda was thoroughly confused. She confronted her husband when he sat back down. “What did the text mean, Jack?”
“The army wanted him to be a sniper in the Rangers, but my brother broke his back climbing out of a sniper stand.” Jack continued his commentary, ignoring his wife’s question. “Before his accident, he was an extraordinary shot, as well as a very good athlete. He excelled at that until his accident. He took a job training other snipers in the a rmy after his injury. They employ him to train snipers in both the FBI and the CIA. They think that traveling around the world is a good way to keep him safe. It also helps that he ’s surrounded by well-trained soldiers with guns! That is good security .
“Bobby and I came up with the name ‘Miko’ for him so I ’d know who’s texting from an unknown number. He’s allowed to do that once a month. I guess today was the day. He has already destroyed that burner phone he texted me from. I cannot contact him, because he doesn’t want to be traced. We made up code words so he could let me know how he ’s doing. In case the burner phone — or my phone — is bugged, the person listening in won’t know what we ’re talking about.
“‘Code Green’ means everything is fine. Yellow means he may be in some danger, but will probably be able to handle it. He has better than a 50/50 chance of survival. Red means that he ’s in a very dangerous situation, but expects to survive. It ’s a 75% possibility, though, that he will be killed. My brother has survived numerous ‘Code Red’ situations, however. Thirty-six at last count.
“Unfortunately, Bobby—Miko— doesn’t care if he lives or dies. He only cares about doing his job properly and protecting others from a fate worse than his.” Jack took a breath and continued.
‘Code X’ means he’s in a dangerous situation and the outcome is unknown. We chose the letter X because it represents an unknown in mathematical equations. He doesn’t know if he will accomplish the mission — or survive it .
“Miko is 98% effective in his missions that fall into the first three categories. He ’s the best who ever lived when it comes to missions that offer little hope of survival. However, my brother probably won’t survive this mission, although the outcome is unknown. He has never been in this situation before. He has a 98% chance of not surviving this mission, as well as failing at it. In other words, it ’s a virtual guarantee that he will not only not survive the mission, but he will also probably not succeed in accomplishing what he set out to do. He ’s in an unfamiliar position, since he usually succeeds when others fail. The 911 meant that the situation was either imminent, or was already happening. There ’s nothing I or anyone else can do about it. He just wanted me to know,” Jack stated grimly. Then he went to the bathroom and undressed to shower, leaving Linda alone with her thoughts.
C.: I hope this book gets printed soon. I want to know what happened to Miko!
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