Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, Vol. 44, No. 4, April 1980

“Well, I don’t disbelieve you.” Lansing smiled thinly. “Captain Cross told me about SMITTEN. He said your were pretty upset when it was rejected.”

“Sure I was. So was the Captain. Hell, it was his ideas to start the investigation to consider SMITTEN for USAEUR.”

“But you were angry with Lieutenant Benton when SMITTEN failed.”

“Well, he did everything he could to louse it up. Damn right I was angry. Thanks to detente and these disarmament agreements, we’ve already given the Reds a military edge. SMITTEN could have added to our defense ability in Europe.”

“Would you say Benton committed treason by opposing the project?”

“Treason might be an exaggeration for what he did.”

“Might be?”

“What are you suggesting, Major?”

“You may have felt that Benton acted contrary to the national interests of The United States.”

“So I lulled him?” Smith snorted. “Honestly, sir. That would be pretty damn stupid. Killing Benton wouldn’t restore SMITTEN. You don’t think I go around knocking off people just because they do something I don’t like?”

“No,” Lansing mused. “I don’t consider you to be the psychotic type. However, if you thought

Benton acted against America’s defense interests once, you may have felt he’d do it again.”

“So you think I killed him because of what he might do in the future?”

“Just a possibility, not an accusation,” Lansing assured him. “By the way, I understand Lundy was working late with you the night he had his accident.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did he seem upset when you last saw him?”

“Well, actually, Lundy was rather moody for a number of days before the accident. I don’t know what was eating him. Whatever it was, it must have driven him to the bottle that night after he left S-2. Captain Cross could tell you more about that.”

“Cross?”

“Yes, sir. He gave Lundy a ride in his car after work. I understand he dropped Lundy off at the billets that night too.”

“Then Cross was with Lundy when he got drunk?”

“That’s right, sir. The Captain took him to his quarters at the officers’ bachelor section in the housing district near Nuremburg. Cross had a television set on the fritz and he wanted Lundy to fix it. Afterwards, they stopped at a tavern, Cross bought him a few drinks and... well, you know what happened then.”

“Maybe I don’t know,” Lansing remarked. “Maybe you don’t either.”

The bartender in the Montgomery Barracks officers’ club poured a scotch on the rocks for Captain Cross. Lansing slid onto the stool beside Cross as the Captain sat by the bar, sipping his drink.

“Had a long day, Captain?” the CID investigator inquired.

“Oh, hello, Major.” Cross smiled weakly. “Join me in a little bracer?”

“No, thanks. I’m still on duty.”

“I take it that means you have a few questions for me,” Cross remarked, glancing around the nearly empty cocktail lounge. Although dimly lit, the room was obviously occupied by only a few patrons, all of whom were indulged in their own conversations. “Here is as good a place as any to ask them.”

“All right,” Lansing agreed. “When you were telling me about the SMITTEN project, why didn’t you include the fact that the USAEUR adoption program was your idea?”

“I didn’t really see what that had to do with it.”

“It might have quite a lot. Didn’t you resent Benton for going against your brainchild?”

“Perhaps a little bit,” Gross admitted. “But he wasn’t responsible for SMITTEN’s rejection. I told you before that it was Washington that scrapped SMITTEN not Benton.”

“You seem to take such a setback quite calmly, Captain. If SMITTEN had been successful you’d be a shoe-in for a promotion this year.”

“Something else will come up. I’ll make rank sooner or later. I’m not in any real rush. I’m still young.”

“Yes, you are. You’re quite young for the rank you’ve already achieved. Of course, your ROTC grades were outstanding and you seem to find the military life quite acceptable.”

“Don’t you, sir?”

“I do now, but it took me some time to find an MOS that suited me. Of course, I’m an Officers’ Candidate School graduate. I never went to ROTC. You must have gotten a head start at a younger age.”

Cross shrugged. “I was in an orphanage or two that had pretty strict discipline. Maybe that helped.”

“Yes, I remember that from your 201 file. Your foster parents lost your adoption papers in a fire. The Army must have been quite distressed not to have a birth certificate or any document to replace it.”

“They were.” Cross extracted a pack of cigarettes and a butane lighter.

“Did Lundy repair your television set?”

“What?” Cross asked, an unlit cigarette dangling from his half open mouth. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you did take him out for a couple of drinks afterward.”

“I’m sorry I did.” Cross sighed. “I’d hoped to get him to open up, to tell me what had been bothering him. I didn’t think he’d try to drown his troubles after he started talking about them.”

“What was his problem?”