Excerpt from Green Power: FBI Agent Interviews Dirk

Thriller with detective story twist.

When Dirk opened his door, Ted was amazed by the size of this man. He presented his credentials. “Mr. Hendrickson, I’m Agent Cosgrove. I need to ask you a few questions in regards to some cases involving a Dr. Raymond Pendleton.”

“I’ve already talked with detectives from both the San Joaquin County and Yolo County Sheriff’s offices about that. If you talk with them, I’m sure you’ll get all the information you need.”

“I have already talked with both detectives. And I’ve reviewed their reports. So I’ll skip questions they’ve already asked. It appears that you had good alibis. However, there are some loose ends that need to be tied together.”

Dirk let Agent Cosgrove in and led him to the living room. They both sat in two lounge chairs that swiveled so they could face each other. Dirk got defensive as he asked. “What more do you need to know?”

Ted caught Dirk off guard as he asked, “Are you a member of the Delta Valley Militia Group?”

Dirk hesitated and then asked. “Why do you want to know?”

Agent Cosgrove didn’t like Dirk’s attitude as Ted took control of the interview. “Mr. Hendrickson, I’m asking the questions here. Now again, are you a member or not?”

Dirk’s jaw tightened as he answered. “Yes, I’m sure you’ve already checked that out.”

“Did you serve with the armed forces in Viet Nam?”

“Why do you keep asking me questions that I’m sure you already have the answers to?”

Ted was like a lawyer in court as he said. “A yes or no answer will do.”

“Okay, I was a first lieutenant in the army.”

The next question just popped into Ted’s head as he asked. “Are any of the members of the Delta Valley Militia former comrades of yours from the Viet Nam War?”

Dirk was really upset. “Maybe, but we prefer that the names of our membership be kept confidential. You seem to have information on our group already since you asked me if I was a member.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Come on. I wasn’t born yesterday. I know you Feds keep records on us.”

“Maybe we do. All I’m trying to do is substantiate that the information we have is correct.”

“Well, I’m not willing to help you prove if it is or not. I prefer not to answer any more of your questions.” With that, Dirk got to his feet and pointed to the door and said. “I think you can find your way out, Agent Cosgrove.”

Ted stood up and looked at Dirk with dagger eyes. “That won’t be a problem. However, I can assure you that we will be talking again.”

Author's Note

Does this appear to give a detective story flavor to this novel?