Chapter 7 - The Desperate Strike
By the third week of November, the legal pressure on the Pembroke family had reached a critical mass.
The federal grand jury in Billings had handed down twelve indictments against Charles, Margaret, and Wesley Pembroke, ranging from federal timber theft to tax evasion and computer fraud. The state of Montana had also initiated a separate investigation into the family’s water rights, alleging that they had systematically diverted water from the Gallatin River to feed their private trout ponds during the dry summer months.
But the Pembrokes weren't going down without a fight.
On a Tuesday morning, I was sitting in my office at the military logistics command in San Antonio when my commanding officer, General Robert Vance, called me into his office.
General Vance was a veteran of three foreign campaigns, his face lined with the gravity of forty years of service. He didn't look at his desk; he looked at me with a serious, focused intensity as I walked in and saluted.
"Sit down, Nora," Vance said, gesturing to the leather chair opposite him.
I sat, my posture straight, my hands clasped in my lap. "General?"
"We received a formal congressional inquiry this morning," Vance said, sliding a thick blue folder across the desk. "From the office of Senator Higgins of Montana. The Senator’s office is alleging that you have used your position as a procurement officer to launch an unauthorized, politically motivated investigation into Pembroke Beef LLC—a major employer in his state. They are demanding a full review of your service record and are suggesting that you be suspended from duty pending an internal audit."
I looked at the folder, but I didn't reach for it. My heart beat in a slow, rhythmic cadence. "I expected this, General. Senator Higgins’s campaign has been funded by the Pembroke family for a decade. He’s trying to protect his investors."
"I know he is," Vance said, a small, cold smile touching his lips. "But what Senator Higgins doesn't know is that the Department of the Army doesn't take orders from county-level politicians. I’ve already sent a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee, along with the CID reports on the timber theft and the computer fraud. We’ve also included the satellite imaging showing the encroachment on federal land."
He leaned forward, his hands resting on his desk. "Your record is clean, Nora. You’ve served this country for fifteen years with absolute honor. If these people think they can use a congressional inquiry to intimidate a decorated officer, they are about to find out that the Pentagon has a very long memory."
"Thank you, General," I said.
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"Get back to your work, Lieutenant Colonel," Vance said, standing up to return my salute. "And tell your father I said hello. He was my tactical instructor at West Point in eighty-eight. I still remember the way he used to yell at us when we missed our targets."
"He hasn't changed much, sir," I smiled.
