It was Admiral Chegwidden. �Did you get my fax this morning, Commander?� he asked.
�Yes, sir, I got your fax.�
�Then you understand that you and Commander Rabb are a day late both in returning to Washington and turning in your final report on the investigation.�
I cringed. I knew there was something I was supposed to have done before I went to bed last night. The report was saved to my hard drive, waiting to be e-mailed to the Admiral. �Yes, I understand that we are a day late.
�And you realize that you once again went over your budgetary limitations.�
I cringed again. We�d been given this case to try to keep our budget in line. Unfortunately circumstances got away from us yet again. �Yes, I realize that we went over budget again.�
�Is Rabb there?�
�No, Commander Rabb is not with me at the moment.�
�Tell him that you two are to stay in San Diego for another investigation. This came right from the top, Commander.�
�Yes, sir. I�ll be sure to pass that along, sir,� I said somewhat reluctantly. The last few cases we�ve received that have come �right from the top� have not gone well.
�I�ve already sent the files you will need to get started. The courier should arrive by 1200 your time. I expect a report by 1900,� Admiral Chegwidden said. I cringed again. That didn�t give us much time to go over everything. So either there wasn�t much to the case�which wouldn�t make sense if it came right from the top�or the timetable was incredibly tight. Another bad omen.
�Yes, I�ll be waiting for the files to arrive, sir. You�ll have a preliminary report by 1900.�
�Tell Rabb that there are to be no heroics this time. You�ll be working in conjunction with outside agencies. Let them do the dirty work. You two are only there to ensure that the Navy�s best interest is represented,� Chegwidden said.
�Yes sir. I�ll be sure to tell Commander Rabb you said so, sir,� I said. I was starting to get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. �If you don�t mind my asking, sir, what outside agencies will we be working with?�
�I don�t know,� Chegwidden said honestly. �I expect daily updates on the progress of the investigation.�
�Of course, sir,� I said.
�That�s all, Commander,� Chegwidden said.
�Aye, aye, sir,� I said, standing a little straighter�not completely at attention but close enough. Some habits are hard to break.