"Perhaps…"

If she thought so, then so did I. But she also thought I was informed, which I was not. I said, "Can you add anything to what we know about the Waycliffs' deaths?"

"Not much more than was in the papers."

"Which story did you read?"

"Which story? The Air Force Times. It was also reported in the Washington Post, of course. Why do you ask?"

I looked up at Kate, who was already on her computer banging away at the keyboard. I replied to Mrs. Hambrecht, "Some of the stories were inaccurate. How did you first hear of the deaths?"

"The Waycliff daughter-Sue-called me yesterday." She added, "They were apparently killed sometime Sunday."

I sat up in my chair. Killed? As in murdered? Kate's printer was spitting something out. I said to Mrs. Hambrecht, "Has anyone from the FBI or the Air Force spoken to you about this?"

"No. You're the first.".

Kate was reading her printout and marking it. I motioned impatiently for her to hand it to me, but she kept reading it. I asked Mrs. Hambrecht, "Did their daughter indicate to you that she thought there was something suspicious about her parents' deaths?"

"Well, she was very distraught, as you can imagine. She said it appeared to be a robbery, but she sounded as though she wasn't sure." She added, "Their housekeeper was also murdered."

I was running out of generic questions and finally Kate handed me the printout. I said to Mrs. Hambrecht, "Please hold." I put her on hold.

Kate said, "We may have hit on something."

I quickly read the online news story from the Washington Post, discovering that Terrance Waycliff was an Air Force general, working in the Pentagon. Basically, it was reported as a straight homicide piece, saying that General and Mrs. Waycliff and a housekeeper were found shot to death in the Waycliffs' Capitol Hill town house late Monday morning by the General's adjutant, who became concerned when his boss didn't report for work at his Pentagon office and didn't answer his telephone or pager.

There was sign of forced entry-the door chain had been ripped from the jamb-and it appeared that the motive was robbery-there were valuables and cash missing. The General was in uniform and had apparently just returned from church, setting the time of the robbery and murder at about Sunday morning. The police were investigating.

I looked up at Kate and said, "What is the link between General Waycliff and Colonel Hambrecht?" "I don't know. Find out."

"Right." I got back on the line and said to Mrs. Hambrecht, "Sorry. That was the Pentagon." Okay, Corey, give it a shot. I decided to be blunt and truthful and see what happened. I said to her, "Mrs. Hambrecht, let me be honest with you. I have your husband's personnel file in front of me. There is deleted information, and I'm having a difficult time accessing that information. I need to know what was deleted. I want to find out who killed your husband and why. Can you help me?"

There was a long silence, which I knew was not going to end. I said, "Please." I glanced up at Kate, who was nodding approvingly.

Finally, Mrs. Rose Hambrecht said to me, "My husband, along with General Waycliff, participated in a military operation. A bombing mission… Why don't you know this?"

All of a sudden I did know. What Gabe had said earlier was still in my head and when Rose Hambrecht said "bombing mission," it all came together like a key turning fifteen lock tumblers and opening a door. I said, "April fifteen, nineteen eighty-six."

"Yes. Do you see?"

"Yes, I do." I looked at Kate, who was sort of staring into space, thinking hard.

Mrs. Hambrecht further informed me, "There might even be a connection to that tragedy at Kennedy Airport, on the anniversary date, and what happened to the Waycliffs."

I took a deep breath and replied, "I'm not sure about that. But… tell me, has anyone else who was on that mission met with a misfortune?"

"There were dozens of men involved with that mission, and I can't account for all of them."

I thought a moment, then said, "But within your husband's unit?"

"If you mean his squadron, there were, I think, fifteen or sixteen aircraft in his squadron."

"And do you know if any of those men have met with a misfortune that could be viewed as suspicious?"

"I don't think so. I know that Steven Cox was killed in the Gulf, but I'm not certain about the others. The men in my husband's flight on that mission kept in touch, but I don't know about the rest of the squadron."

I was trying to remember Air Force terminology-flights, divisions, squadrons, air wings, and all that, but I was up in the air, so to speak. I said, "Forgive my ignorance, but how many aircraft and men are in a flight and a squadron?"

"It varies, according to the mission. But generally there are four or five aircraft in a flight, and perhaps twelve to eighteen in a squadron."

"I see… and how many aircraft were in your husband's flight on April fifteen, nineteen eighty-six?"

"Four."

"And these men… eight of them, correct?"

"Correct."

"These men…" I looked at Kate, who said into the telephone, "Mrs. Hambrecht, this is Kate Mayfield again. I'm wondering, too, about this connection. Why don't you tell us what you think so we can get quickly to the heart of the matter?"

Mrs. Hambrecht said, "I think I've said enough."

I didn't think so, and neither did Kate. She said, "Ma'am, we're trying to help solve your husband's murder. I know as a military wife that you're security-conscious, and so are we. I assure you, this is one time you can speak freely. Would you like us to come to Ann Arbor and speak to you in person?"

There was another silence, then Rose Hambrecht said,

"No."

We waited through yet another silence, then Mrs. Hambrecht said, "All right… the four aircraft in my husband's flight of F-111's had the mission to bomb a military compound outside of Tripoli. It was called Al Azziziyah. You may recall from the news at that time that one of the aircraft dropped a bomb on the home of Moammar Gadhafi. That was the Al Azziziyah compound. Gadhafi escaped, but his adopted daughter was killed, and his wife and two sons were injured… I'm only telling you what has been reported. You can draw any conclusions you wish."

I looked up at Kate, who was again banging away at her keyboard, looking at her video screen, and I hoped she could spell Al Azziziyah and Moammar Gadhafi, or whatever she needed to get into this. I said to Mrs. Hambrecht, "You may have come to some conclusions of your own."

She replied, "When my husband was murdered, I thought that perhaps it had something to do with his Libyan mission. But the Air Force positively assured me that all the names of those men involved with the bombing of Libya were top secret for all time and could never be accessed. I accepted this, but thought perhaps that some person involved with that mission had spoken too freely, or perhaps… I don't know. But I put it out of my mind… until yesterday, when I learned that the Waycliffs had been murdered. It could be a coincidence…"

It could be, but it wasn't. I said, "So, of those eight men who bombed… what's it called?"

Al Azziziyah. One died in the Gulf War, and my husband was murdered and so was Terry Waycliff."

I glanced again at Kate, who was printing out information. I asked Mrs. Hambrecht, "Who were the other five men on that mission? The Al Azziziyah mission?"

"I may not and will not tell you. Ever."

That was a pretty definite "no," so there wasn't any point in pursuing it. I did ask, however, "Can you at least tell me if those five men are alive?"

"They spoke on April fifteenth. Not all of them, but Terry called me afterward and said everyone he spoke to was well and sent their regards… except… one of them is very ill."

Kate and I made eye contact. Kate said into the phone, "Mrs. Hambrecht, can you give me a phone number where I can reach a member of the Waycliff family?"