2 comments/ 39478 views/ 12 favorites Caught in the Act Ch. 01 By: WifeWatchman The chronological order of my stories is as follows: Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Trilogy Series, Dark Side Of The Force series. Caught In The Act Ch. 1. Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas. This story contains graphic scenes, extreme language, and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial or racist language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above. Part 1 - Prologue The young stud pumped his huge meat in and out of the beautiful trophy wife's smoking hot cunt, his hard muscular ass bobbing rapidly as his groin slapped hers and his big balls smacked against her ass. She was meeting every thrust, fucking her young lover back with everything she had. The sweet, staccato slaps of flesh on flesh filled the air of the bedroom as the rutting couple hungrily mated. It was late afternoon on September 27th, and Shayla Belle was fucking her young lover in her marital bed. "Oh yeah, baby, that's so fucking good!" she moaned moaned in her deep, husky voice, urging her young man to fuck her harder and deeper, and to pump his full climax deep inside her eagerly receptive cunt. Shayla was short at 5'2" tall, in her mid-40s, but her body was in shape and perfectly curved, especially her legs and elegant feet. "I'm close... I'm going to fucking come..." said Seth Warner, his thick head of longish black hair matted with sweat as he neared the crest. Shayla was magnificent fuck, and he loved pumping his huge 9+ inches of hard male meat in and out of her before filling her with his large, virile load. They did not hear the creak of the floor as the lovers hurtled toward an intense mutual climax, and then Seth was gasping "I'm coming... OH GOD!" Hot jets of molten man-lava fired out of his pistoning prick and into Shayla's snug, welcoming pussy. --------------------------- "Mmmm, that was sooooo good." said Shayla as she and Seth shared warm kisses. "Why don't I warm you up, and we'll take our time when we do it again." She began to maneuver into position, leaning over and licking and kissing Seth's half hard meat, her hand gently but expertly jacking him to rock-hardness. "Are you sure your husband won't come home?" Seth asked, not really worried about it but idly curious. "I told you, baby, that bastard already filed the divorce papers, so it doesn't matter. Now let me suck on this big thing..." Seth closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Shayla's mouth sliding up and down his big man-pole, his cock beginning to throb again, though with less intensity than when he'd first sunk his dick balls-deep into the hot wife's sopping wet quim. "Mmmmmm" moaned Shayla around his meat as she deeply sucked him. Seth felt the vibration clear to his balls, and it felt fantastic. He opened his eyes... "Oh shit!" Seth gasped. Shayla's husband, Derrick Belle, was in the doorway watching them. "You whore!" Derrick yelled at his wife as her mouth came flying off Seth's cock, a thick string of spittle still connecting her wet lips to the young stud's cock. "You get the hell out of my house right now!" "Fuck you, asshole!" Shayla countered as she got off the bed. "Been standing there and watching us like a fucking Peeping Tom? Liked what you saw?" "You cheating bitch! I'm gonna kick your whore ass right out of here--" Derrick growled, taking a step towards his estranged wife. "Hey!" yelled Seth, moving quickly to protect Shayla from her husband. Derrick Belle was in his early 40s, in decent shape with brown hair and a thick mustache and beard. He'd have been a poster-boy for the '70s look, but he was no match for the younger, well-built, muscular Seth. "Stay out of this, boy." said Derrick. "This is between me and that slut behind you." "Not anymore." said Seth. "You leave her alone." "Are you telling me what to do with my wife?" Derrick said, his voice low and menacing as he looked at Seth. "I'm telling you that you're not going to touch her, or I'll whip your ass." Seth said, ever chivalrous. "Get out. You're trespassing." Derrick said. "And take your filthy little whore with you." "Fuck you, turd." Shayla said. "This is my house, too. You get the fuck out!" "We'll see about that." said Derrick, taking out his cellphone. "I'm calling the police." "Come on, Shayla, get dressed." Seth said. "We'll come back later... with reinforcements." He began gathering and putting on his own clothes. Shayla got dressed and they left the house together. "Don't come back or I'll have you both arrested." yelled Derrick Belle, thinking he'd won. Part 2 - The Crime Scene The air at night was getting cooler as Laura and I sat on the back patio of the Mountain Nest. The kids were put to bed and my mom was in the house watching over them. Laura's recovery had gone well, though it would be at least two more weeks and maybe a month before she could have full intercourse again. We were talking about things as we relaxed and enjoyed the night air, the view, and of course each other. "You're starting to really get around again." I said. "But I'm getting very horny having to wait to have sex with you again." "Mmmm, it's going to be sooo nice having you inside me again, but we do have to be patient and let everything heal up completely." said Laura. "Oh, and the early hormone therapy Dr. Muncie put me on has worked really well. I was getting really horny watching those football players working out today." "Well, you take it easy." I said. "And get completely well... and then you can fuck their brains out and maybe get them to play better.." "Well, I can still use my mouth... maybe I'll practice on your iron-hard prick tonight... just to keep in practice, of course." Laura said as we began kissing. Soon we'd be back inside and I'd be enjoying my wife's tremendous oral talents-- *BRING! BRING! BRING!* It was my Police cellphone, which read '8:30pm', and the caller was Lieutenant Cindy Ross. This had better be good, I thought to myself as I answered. "We've got a murder at--" she said, giving the address. "One Derrick Belle. Hit in the back of the head with a blunt object that Labcoat says might be a crowbar or something like it." "Who have you assigned to the case?" I asked. "Claire Michaels and Lorena Rose." Cindy said. "You got it handled?" I asked, not really wanting to go out, and also knowing my team needed to work without me on occasion. "With respect to the investigation, yes." Cindy replied. "But that's not why I called you. Your nephew Todd is here. He was one of the group that found the body..." -------------------------------------- "Okay, Detectives Michaels and Rose, whaddya got?" I asked upon entering the house, which was in one of the better, though not the very best, gated subdivisions outside the northern part of Town. "Derrick Belle, owner of the house." Claire said as I looked at the body. She, Lorena and Cindy were all in plainclothes. Derrick Belle was lying face down, the back of his head crushed in by a heavy, stick-like object. Certainly in this County a crowbar would come to mind. I swiftly observed the body from head to boots, then looked around the room as Claire continued. "His wife, Shayla Belle, found him when she came back home. She was not alone, though; she had four young men with her. Apparently she and one of those guys were caught having sex this afternoon by our victim here, and they left but came back with reinforcements to get her clothes and stuff." "Where are they all now?" I asked. "On the back deck." said Lorena Rose. "Rudistan and Morton are keeping watch over them. One of them said he was your nephew and asked us to call you." "Smart kid." I said. "So what have you observed and deduced from this crime scene, Detective Rose?" I asked, testing my youngest Detective J.G. I saw Cindy grimace, feeling sympathy for what Lorena was about to endure. "He was hit in the back of the head by what was described as a heavy stick--" "Like a crowbar." I said, using the word that she'd hesitated to use. "Well, I have an alibi. I hope you have one, Lieutenant Ross." I said, teasing my partner. "Best one possible, an Assistant District Attorney." said Cindy, referring to her new lover, ADA Jenna Stiles. "Okay, so has a murder weapon been found, Miss Rose?" I asked, steering the conversation back to the crime scene. "No sir." said Lorena. "Not yet." "The house doesn't seem to be torn apart." I said. "Doesn't look like a struggle took place." "Yes sir." said Claire Michaels, an experienced Detective from L.A. "No skin under the fingernails or anything like that, either. We think he may have been surprised and ambushed." "So tell me about the weather, Detective Rose." I said. I had a point in saying that. "Sir?" Lorena replied, her pretty face a mask of confusion. "The weather, Ms. Rose." I said. "Tell me about the weather." "Er, the sun just set, it's clear outside. It rained early this afternoon, but that moved out." "Very good." I said, then added upon seeing the looks upon their faces: "And I'm not trying to be facetious here, everyone; I have a reason for asking that. Do you see these slight traces of mud on the floor here?" I asked, pointing to some scrapings of dirt and a couple of small spheres. "Yes sir." Rose said. "But the bottoms of Mr. Belle's boots here are clean." I said. "What does that tell you?" Everyone was watching as Detective Rose got some huge on-the-job training. "That he didn't track in the dirt?" Lorena replied. "Yes, exactly." I said. "So it stands to reason that the mud came from Shayla or one of her friends.... or from the murderer." "I'll go check and see how muddy the boys' shoes are." Cindy said as I opened the small coat closet in the hallway, in front of which I'd found the little dirtballs and trackings. "Be sure to ask them if any of them stood in this closet." I said. "Look, see the little mudballs here?" "I saw those." said 'Labcoat' of the CSI team as he took the first dirt sample into evidence. "I thought maybe someone put dirty shoes in there." "Maybe." I said, "but photograph it and then take the dirt up for analysis. Take some reference samples from the front yard or any place where there is loose dirt around the house. See if this stuff matches." Labcoat got right on that. I looked at the fireplace. The brass pokers were on the left side, between that closet and the fireplace proper. Derrick Belle was lying in the middle of the room; his feet were towards the fireplace; his head the other way, towards the front door. "One of the fireplace pokers is missing." I said, pointing to a spot. "It's a set, and the largest poker isn't here. You can see by the ash spot there that there is a missing poker. Detective Rose, what does that suggest to you?" "That the missing poker is the murder weapon?" Rose said. "We haven't found a poker anywhere else in the house. "I won't be surprised to confirm at some point in time that the poker is the murder weapon." I said. I was glad Detective Rose was thinking so well on her feet at such a young age, especially when the Police Commander was relentlessly grilling her. " And as you implied, it does look as if the murderer took that weapon with him... or her." "Okay, guys, y'all wrap this up." I said after another minute of observations. "Claire, Lorena, before I talk to those guys out back, tell me what their story was." Claire filled me in, and I condense the story for brevity here: Shayla and Seth had arrived at the house at around 5:00pm and gone to the bedroom and engaged in sex. About 6:00pm Derrick Belle had surprised them, and there was a verbal altercation. Seth and Shayla left, but around 8:00, as the sun was low in the sky, Seth and Shayla returned with three other guys to get Shayla's clothes and jewelry and such stuff. They found Belle on the floor, dead, when they arrived. The names of Shayla's bodyguards, besides Seth: Todd Burke, Teddy Franklin, and Barry Oliver. -------------------------------------- "Okay, Claire, you take Todd Burke into the back left corner of the backyard and interview him. Cindy, you take Teddy Franklin to the back right corner, and I'll take Barry Oliver. Make sure they understand they're giving affidavits and will have to sign under penalty of perjury." I said. "Lorena, keep Shayla and Seth on the back porch for now." Taking Barry to the side, I gave him the legalities, then asked what happened. Barry replied "We got here and went inside. The screen door was closed but the main door was open. Shayla's husband was lying on the floor, dead. I checked for a pulse but he was dead already. I told everyone to stand still and not touch anything, then I called the police." "How is it that you came to be here in the first place?" I asked. "Todd, Teddy and I were eating dinner together." said Barry. "We'd been working together all day on getting some stuff set up for our manufacturing. Seth called Todd around 7:15pm and we went to his place. He and Shayla were there. They wanted us to go with them to get Shayla's clothes and jewelry and stuff, so we did." "Anyone armed?" I asked. "You bet." Barry said. "You know I carry, and I just joined the Police Auxiliary. Lt. Ross has my gun right now." "So you found Mr. Belle dead." I asked. "As a former police scientist, what can you tell me about the scene?" "Good bit of blood on the floor from the wound. I think he died due to bleeding out rather than the blow itself, but that's a guess. I didn't check very much, but the neck was stiff, so I think he'd been dead for a little while. As you know, sir, rigor mortis starts in the jaw and head area and works down over several hours." "Yes." I said. "Anything else you can tell me?" I asked as I finished writing the notes. Barry shook his head, and I had him sign the affidavit. Moments later, I had affidavits from all the guys. I scanned them quickly, finding their stories to match in every particular. "Okay, Cindy," I said. "Tell these three amigos to get their butts out of here, but to stay in Town and notify the Police Department if they do have need to travel. You can give Barry his weapon back, too." "Wilco." she replied. "What about Seth and Shayla." "Oh, they're coming to the Station with us." I said. "Separate interrogations." Part 3 - Interrogations The clock in Interrogation-A showed 3:58am as I watched the interview inside. Shayla Belle had called Jeanine Olivet Burke in as her attorney. Seth had Tina Felton with him. This had created an interesting situation just after we began interrogating them, when Shayla told Cindy and Claire that she knew her husband had filed for divorce and that she'd retained Jeanine as her divorce attorney. At that point I had to go into Interrogation-A earlier than I had wanted to. "Mrs. Belle," I said, "I need to inform you that you might later want Mrs. Burke to answer questions on your behalf. In that case, I'd advise you that you might want to get someone else as your representation." Jeanine said something to Shayla, but Shayla said she was fine with her current legal eagle. I had Claire and Cindy interrogate Shayla exhaustively, keeping the now-widow awake and exhausted as they questioned her in every way possible, going back over things. I then peeked into Interrogation-B, where Martin Nash and Teddy Parker, whom I'd called in, were doing the same with Seth Warner. Now, at the end of the road, it was my turn to make the final push. I went for Shayla first, coming in and letting Cindy leave. "Okay, Mrs. Belle," I said, "I know it's been a long evening, so I want to wrap this up. To clarify, you were having sex with Seth when your husband came in, yes?" "Yes sir." Shayla said. "And that was at 5:00pm, give or take?" "Yes sir, that's when we got to the house." Shayla said. "My husband walked in on us about an hour later." "So you say that your husband acted as if he was going to physically assault you, but Seth got between you and your husband?" "Yes sir, but Seth never touched him. Derrick backed off." "So you and Seth left, went to his place and talked, then went and got friends to go with you to get clothes?" I asked, setting a trap. "Uh, we were at Seth's place, but he called his friends and they came over." Shayla replied, being consistent and avoiding my trap. "Then we all went over to my house and found Derrick on the floor, dead." "Okay...." I said, then after a pause, pretending to read my notes, "... so you say here that your husband had filed for divorce?" "Yes sir, some weeks ago." Shayla replied. "When and how did you find out?" I asked. "When you were served with the papers?" "I found out before the papers were served, from a friend, Nora Larrington." Shayla said. "She works at the Courthouse and saw the papers when they were being filed. That's when I went and hired Jeanine, here." Nora Larrington had one side note of notoriety: she was Goth Girl Kathy's mother. "Can I have your permission to ask your attorney about this situation?" I asked. Jeanine whispered to Shayla, but Shayla said "No, it's okay, you can talk to him." Jeanine then proceeded to confirm that she'd been retained by Shayla, that she'd filed counterclaims to Derrick's divorce filings, which sought to cut off Shayla completely without any settlement, division of property or alimony from him. "And you said you knew that your husband had changed his will and disinherited you?" I asked. "Yes sir." Shayla said. "He made a point to show me a copy of his new will." "And where is the original copy of that will?" I asked. "With his lawyer, I guess." said Shayla. "Good enough. So, to make sure I have this in my head straight... from six to seven o'clock, give or take, you and Seth were alone?" I asked. "Yes sir." said Shayla. "What did you discuss?" I asked. "The divorce, how much I hated the bastard. After we made out for a while, I thanked him for standing up for me and protecting me by giving him a blowjob." Shayla said, discussing her sexual actions with Seth as if they'd been no more than talking on the telephone. "After he came in my mouth," Shayla continued, her face unperturbed by the lewdness of her words, but not throwing them at us either, "Seth said that we needed to get my stuff out of the house before Derrick stole or threw everything out. That's when he called his friends..." ----------------------------------- "We're not going to arrest them?" Lorena Rose asked when I came out from interviewing Seth. It was almost 5:00am. Seth had also told us without being prompted that Shayla had given him head while they were alone. "No," I said. "I've told them to stay in Town, but why should we arrest them?" I was testing my young Detective. "Sir..." Lorena said, discombobulated by lack of sleep and amazement, "... she's the deceased's estranged wife, she was caught in bed with the other guy we have here..." "And what actual evidence do you have that they committed the crime?" I asked. "Uh... er... well, none yet, but..." "Detective Rose," I said, "I understand what you're thinking." I said. "But so far, their stories match and we're going to need more proof. Now head on home and get some rest." Caught in the Act Ch. 01 Lorena Rose left, looking as perplexed as she felt. I could understand, some of my other Detectives were also surprised that we were not holding these two. But I had reasons for not arresting them just yet... not the least of which was that I had doubts that either was guilty of the crime. ----------------------------------- At 1:00pm, a meeting convened in the main conference room. I'd sent my Detectives home at 5:00am after I interviewed Seth, telling them to come back for this meeting and to get some sleep, a shower and some food in the interim. Present were: me, at the head of the table where the Chief used to normally sit, Cindy Ross, Martin Nash, Teddy Parker, Lorena Rose, Claire Michaels and Crime Lab Technicians Christina Cho and Joey "J.R." Barnes, who'd been sent by Dr. Woodrow on purpose to get them some experience in these things. "CMB says that death was by bleeding out from the blow to the back of the head." said Barnes, who was youngish, had dark brown hair and thin sideburns leading to a goatee beard. He was not nearly as good a technician as Christina Cho was, and he was not the most promising crime scene investigator; however, Dr. Woodrow thought that he had the most leadership potential, while Christina all but refused to take on nor exhibit leadership. J.R. said "The blow was to a slight angle, to the right of dead center. CMB thinks someone snuck up on Belle where he stood, and he was just turning to see who it was when he got whacked. It was a pretty savage blow that fractured the skull. That in and of itself was probably not fatal, but it did enough damage to cause bleeding, and enough of that to be fatal." "Any drugs or alcohol, in the man's system?" "No sir." said Christina Cho. "He was sober. So was Shayla Belle and Seth Warner. They all came up clean." "Okay, thanks Christina, Joey. You guys can head on out, and let Detective Michaels know anything else you find." The technicians left. "Okay, guys, any ideas yet?" I asked. "Sir," said Detective J.G. Lorena Rose, "I still think Mrs. Belle and Mr. Warner are our prime suspects." "Sure, but why?" I asked. "She may inherit his fortune, by fighting his new will," said Lorena, "she stood to be left penniless by the divorce, there was some deep animosity between them, she and Mr. Warner were the last people to see him alive that we know of, and they both admit that Mr. Belle caught them in bed together." "Definitely some things we can look at." I said. "We'll have to see the will when it's probated, to see if it's strong enough to hold up... I suspect that it will be. Yes, Derrick Belle fully intended to leave his wife as penniless as possible, but killing him might not do anything to alleviate that.... which brings to mind life insurance; Michaels, be sure to check and see if there was a policy on the guy." "Yes, sir." said Claire, making notes. "There is also one other thing, which you don't yet know, Detective Rose." I said. "And that is the past history of this couple. I happen to know about some of it from the time Seth Warner's father was murdered. Seth and Shayla were having an affair then, but at that time she was being very careful to not get caught by her husband because he'd threatened to divorce her." "Now we have a very interesting change in the scenario." I continued. "Shayla brings Seth to her home instead of going to his, risking getting caught, because she already knows that she has been disinherited and that her husband has filed for divorce. What does that suggest to you? Anyone?" No one answered for a moment, then Martin Nash said "I don't think this diminishes a possible motive for her or Seth killing him, but she definitely would be better off with him alive so she could fight the divorce and get something out of it. This way, she gets nothing." "That still leaves 'crime of passion' as a motive." Cindy said. "Seth could've snuck back inside, killed Derrick, then he and Shayla go through the motions of calling his friends." "Unfortunately, that doesn't fit well with the evidence at the scene." I said. Cindy became thoughtful, as did Teddy Parker. It was at that moment Detective Rose chose to speak: "Sir..." said Lorena, "I... I'm still trying to understand why we didn't arrest Mrs. Belle and Mr. Warner last night. They now have time to get their stories straight, and they might even skip town" It became silent and a tension filled the air. "Sir," said Martin Nash," I have to say that I probably would've arrested them, too, and at least put them through booking before interrogating them." "I get that." I said. "And this can be a teachable moment for everyone. There are two reasons I didn't arrest them: first, because we lack true probable cause, especially based upon the evidence that I observed at the crime scene last night. I suggest all of you really re-examine those crime scene reports. Second, because I'm holding that as my ace up my sleeve. If I'd arrested them last night, they might've become non-cooperative. I also want to see what they do the next day or two. Captain Charles has assigned some plainclothes Patrolmen to keep them under surveillance, not only to make sure they don't skip town, but just to see what they do." I concluded: "So if I'd arrested them last night, when everyone was exhausted, then it wouldn't have had much effect on them. But we can always arrest them and run them through the process at a time it might have a better effect on them, and maybe one of them will slip up and crack then." "Ah," said Cindy, as if she were 'getting' me, "so you do think it might be them!" "Oh, no doubt they're suspects." I said. "But Michaels and Rose, since you two are assigned to this case, here's your next task. You can do it in here or in Classroom 'E', but you're going to watch every minute of their interviews last night, which we recorded. Every minute. If you can show me one single instance where they contradicted themselves or each other, one instance where their stories don't match, I'll let you go to Paulina for the arrest warrants and you can personally bring them in." "And do what the Commander advised, also," Cindy said, taking charge like she should, "go over the reports of the crime scene again. In fact, if you want to go back and look at it again, let me know and I'll go with you." I ended the meeting and dismissed the team. As they left, I pulled Cindy aside. "Do not correct nor discipline Rose for asking that question." I said. "See if Claire talks to her, which she should do, but I also have no problem with my Detectives asking questions like that. It'll make everyone better in the long run." "Yes, sir." Cindy said, knowing I was pre-empting what she had been about to do. "And by the way," I said, a gleam in my eye, "just remember another Detective who has been questioning my every wild-ass thought for two years now. I even gave that person the blue crowbar for her 'brazenness'." "Okay, you got me there." said Cindy. "But I'd been around the block for years before you even got here; Lorena is young and inexperienced, too young an inexperienced to be asking stuff like that. She needs to be listening and learning." "I ultimately agree, but I like her spirit. We just have to harness it without demoralizing her in the process." I said. Another teachable moment, another lesson delivered, I thought... well at least hoped. Part 4 - Taking Care of Business At 2:00pm I had another meeting, to take care of some police business. I assembled the sixteen young men of the SWAT Team in Classroom 'J', as well as one Detective, and gave them the news. "Okay guys, while the SWAT Team's success has been very good to this point, we have a few people in Town whining to their Council members about our police having and using 'Gestapo tactics'. While the militarization of the Police really is happening in many places in the Nation, that is not what we're trying to do here. So the Council has come down on us, to wit: "First, the Council has said that only four SWAT members can train for eight hours per week. However, I can have two four-man groups, i.e. one of the two squads, train every other Friday to get around that. "The next problem is that only the squad leaders can be full-time SWAT. That's Squad One with Senior Sergeant Hugh Hewitt, and Squad Two with Sergeant Gregory Charles." Sergeant Gregory Charles was Captain Leslie Charles's son, and had been wounded in the raid that also wounded Cindy Ross. He'd received a Purple Order and a Star of Gallantry with Valor Device for his part in that raid. I'd tried to get him a higher award, but the Council considered his actions as part of his job, while what Cindy did was to not only cover him to save his life, but she took on the perps shooting at them against the odds. "So the rest of you are going to be back to regular duties of some kind." I said, getting a groan from the men. Couldn't blame them for that, I thought as I continued: "Each squad will still be 'on call' for a week, and I'm working to get you duties here at HQ while on call, so you can drop anything on a moment's notice, get your gear and be ready to move out. But the other squad will be on full duty somewhere, and that is Captain Charles's call on what to do with you." "By the way," I said, "the overall SWAT Team Leader is being considered. Hewitt and Charles, don't get any ideas, because you are locked in to your current positions for now. Detective Michaels here had Sniper and some other SWAT training while in L.A. She's not officially on the SWAT Team yet, so she's going to be out both training Fridays, working with you guys... as your new leader." The SWAT squads were surprised, but I knew that once they saw what Claire Michaels had in store for them, they'd warm up to her leadership... very quickly. ------------------------------------- At 4:00pm, still Sep. 28th, I was in the FBI's suite of offices, looking up some stuff on the computer, when Jack Muscone walked in. "Hi Don," he said. "What brings you here?" "I might ask you the same question." I said. "You're not in Town just for the cheeseburgers at the Cop Bar, I suspect." "Well, that's always a reason to come here," said Jack, "but you're right: Derrick Belle's death set off some red flags in one of our ongoing investigations. Seems he was selling his business to one company, though another was bidding fiercely. Old friends Thaddeus Ward and Henry Wargrave's names have popped up. Is that what you're looking at?" "No." I said. "Myron will tell me all about that tomorrow morning. I'm doing some secondary research, since I now have this Consultant role with you guys." "What's it about?-- hey, how did you get that stuff?" he asked, seeing what I was looking at on my screen. "How did you get your Top Secret clearance so fast?" "Our good friend the Deputy Director expedited it." I said. "I had a TS clearance in the Army, and he's... well, he's the Big Boy in Washington, D.C., so he gets what he wants... and what he wants is for me to be able to access certain things to help the FBI, and especially your team, Jack." "You got that right. I have never seen that man as happy as the day you signed the papers to work as a part-time consultant with us." Muscone said, sitting down in the chair beside the desk. "He also expedited my Federal Firearms Carry Permit, so I can be armed when out of my own jurisdiction and the State." I said. "That was my first demand in exchange for signing up. The second and last demand was the non-compete clause to keep the CIA at bay." "Good ideas, both." said Jack. "So what are you looking at?" "There has been one thing bugging the living shit out of me for months now: the woman that tried to kill Brody when you had him in Federal custody. She was a well-placed deep mole within the FBI, she was well-trained, and that means expensively trained... she was a huge asset to someone... yet she was burned in a rather weak attempt to kill Brody, and she committed suicide rather than let herself be extracted by her buddies... which I fully believe could and would have been done if they'd wanted. But no, they let her... or ordered her... to die. My question is: what in the heck was so big that they burned such a great asset?" "My group and I had variations of that same discussion several times." Muscone said. "At the time, Brody hadn't talked and we hadn't gotten much in that case. So we concluded she was trying to keep Brody from telling us what he knew. But you're right: that's never been a satisfactory answer. What do you have on it?" "Nothing, yet." I replied. "I've eliminated her as the motorcyclist that I believe was going to kill Brody and Gunn in our Courthouse Square. I've gone over what Brody gave us, and while it was good in getting the Black Badge gang, I'm just not seeing what was so big that they burned that big an asset over it. Even Conrad King didn't seem to be overly upset when we bagged his son in our raid, so that takes the 'Powers That Be', the real Big Boyz, out of the equation-- oh, wait..." "What?" Muscone said, prompting me as I had a small reverie. "Jack, what happened to Brody?" I asked. "Witness Protection." Muscone replied. "The Federal Marshals have him. I have no clue at all where he went or what he's doing now." "Any chance we can arrange to talk to him again?" I asked. "Don't count on it." Muscone said. "That would mean getting the Marshals to extract him from where he is, set up a meeting that we'd have to travel to, all of which creates huge risks all the way around. I understand why you're asking, but I'm skeptical it's worth the risk... unless you can show me... and not really me, but the Marshals... something big." "I don't have anything yet," I said, "but it occurs to me that Brody might not have told us everything. About the Black Badge workings, yes. But what if there is something more, a lot more, a lot deeper, that Brody knows about, and that is why an asset of that magnitude was burned..." "I like your ideas. I'll report them up the chain." Muscone said, then teased me by saying "At least they'll think you're worth the money they're paying you. But don't get your hopes up, especially about talking to Brody again." Part 5 - Findings, Investigations, and Clues The tedious part of the job of police work had begun: gathering data. But I have an excellent team, and at the 10:00am meeting the next morning, Sep. 29th, I was being given some good information by Myron Milton. Also present were Cindy Ross, Claire Michaels, Lorena Rose, Martin Nash, Teddy Parker, ADA Paulina Patterson, Detective Julie Newton from Vice... and Chief Griswold, who likes to keep abreast of the tactical situation at all times. He took his normal seat at the head of the main conference room table, by the door, while I took the one at the far end, per usual. "Okay, Derrick Belle." said Myron Milton. "Ran a company called 'Belle Settlement Solutions'. Company gives out loans at high interest rates to people who have time-payment settlements, lottery winnings, and such stuff. He had good money, but not really enough to do a big-time cash business like this one, so he had backers: venture capitalists and the like. "Interesting thing, here," Myron continued, "is that he was in the process of selling the company. His financial backers, Acme Venture Capital & Trust, LLC, and a holding company called Peanut Settlement Solutions, LLC, were buying him out, but there was some competition from a company called 'Boxall Holdings, LLC'." The Chief and I looked at each other upon the mention of that name, as Myron continued "So Belle had money, but his business was leveraged to the hilt, and it's not like his heirs are going to get a big whopping payoff. Mary and Detective Newton here are still trying to get info on who Acme, Peanut and Boxall really are behind the curtains, but that might take some time." "What about his will?" I asked. "His personal attorneys are Succup & Payne, P.C." said Paulina Patterson. "They are not his divorce attorneys, those would be from Effim, Goode & Hart, P.C. Succup & Payne were surprisingly reticent to help us regarding any of this. They may think we're trying to help Shayla. But after I threatened to have a judge issue a warrant to force them to probate the will, they relented. From what I saw, Shayla is completely cut out, not even a dime, not mentioned at all. There was nothing I could see that would allow her to effectively contest the will." "Who are the heirs?" I asked, which is what I really had wanted to know in the first place. "He has a younger sister, who is married, and he has a first cousin, his mother's sister's son." said Paulina. "He left the bulk of his personal holdings to them, about 2/3s of it. The other third went to several charitable trusts. His business interests were handled by a codicil to the will, and it's a very complex legal document due to the complexities of the business's ownership. And before you ask, Shayla never had anything to do with the business, so she has no inroad there to contesting the will." "What about life insurance." I said. "Anyone find anything on that?" "There was a ten-year term life insurance policy, issued by Allen & Allen Insurance Company, with his wife as the beneficiary. But he cancelled it two years ago." said Claire Michaels. "Right about the time he first warned his wife that he'd divorce her if he caught her cheating on him again. So Shayla is pretty much left with nothing?" I asked. "Not so fast my friend!" Myron said jovially, then caught himself and added "er, Commander. That's why I asked Detective Newton to come in." "Sir, " said Julie Newton, looking very fuckable in her white blouse and very tight lavender skirt, "Shayla does have some money squirreled away. She set up a trust in her own name some years ago, and has been putting money in it. Irregular amounts at irregular intervals. I'm trying to see if she siphoned money off her husband's accounts or business." "How much?" I asked. "Looks like she accumulated about $200,000." Julie Newton replied. Just then, Cindy Ross's cell phone rang. "It's the Coroner's office." she said, getting up to take the call outside. A minute later, she was back. "Strange." Cindy said. "Mr. Belle's body was just claimed. His parents and sister came into Town. Shayla Belle made no effort at all to claim it, and someone in the office called Shayla to ask if she was going to claim it, as she had first right to do so as the wife of the deceased. Shayla is reported to have said 'No, I don't care, dig a hole in the ground and throw the bastard in it, for all I care.'." "Where's the family staying?" I asked, ignoring the several looks of shock on various Detectives' faces at Shayla's callousness. "University Hotel." she replied, giving room numbers. I looked at Claire and Rose, who at first did not get my gist. "Ladies?..." They just sat there, looking confused. "Ladies, on your way!" I said. "You have interviews to do, with the family of the deceased!" They finally got the hint and scooted out of the room. ------------------------------------- "We're very sorry for your loss," Claire Michaels said to the mother, father and sister of the late Derrick Belle, "but we need to ask you a few questions. First, how was the relationship between Derrick and his wife Shayla?" "Bad." said the sister, whose name was Cheryl Belle Dunston. "Derrick was getting a divorce. He said he was tired of Shayla cheating on him all the time. He said--" the woman stopped, glancing at her parents. "Go on." said Lorena Rose, coaxing the woman. "He... he said he was tired of her coming home with other men's semen running down her legs." Cheryl finished. "Sorry, Mom." Mrs. Belle just nodded, her face red from crying during the past couple of days. Caught in the Act Ch. 01 "Were their relations good in the past? When did things start changing for the worse?" Claire asked. "A little over two years ago." said Mr. Belle. "He came to a July 4th family gathering without her. He said then that he thought she was cheating on him. We talked with him about it, and he said he was going to tell her to cut it out or he'd divorce her." "We told him to take legal steps then." said Cheryl. "Just in case. I figured they would split up pretty quickly. I'm surprised they're still... well, that they didn't get a divorce already." "Did any of you ever talk to her during this time?" Claire asked. "She came to the last couple of his company's Christmas parties with him." said Cheryl. "My husband and I work there, too. In fact, my husband is neck-deep in legalities over Derrick's passing, which is why he isn't here right now." "How was Mrs. Belle at that time?" Lorena asked. "How did she and her husband get along?" "She was nice enough; in fact, she's a friendly lady and I always liked her." said Cheryl. "But I always had this feeling that she wasn't happy, that she was at the parties just for appearances sake." "Do you think she was concerned about Mr. Belle leaving her or divorcing her?" Lorena asked, very directly. "I'd say so." Cheryl said. "I'd say she stayed with him only because of his money." "Did you know he'd filed for divorce from her?" Claire asked. "Yes, he told us at this past July 4th's family gathering that he was going to file the papers." said Mr. Belle. "He said she was still cheating on him, and he'd re-written his will already." "When was the last time any of you saw Mr. Belle?" queried Claire Michaels. "July 4th." said the victim's father. His wife nodded. "I saw him the day before he died." said Cheryl. "Nothing about her was discussed. He talked mostly about the sale of the company." "So you live in Town, Mrs. Dunston?" Claire asked. "No ma'am, I live in the City, where our offices are." replied Cheryl. "Did your brother have a place in the City, or did he commute?" asked Lorena, catching on quickly. "He lived here." Cheryl replied. "He would come into our offices every two to three days, but he mostly worked from a rented office here in Town." "So you were his liaison at the company in the City?" Lorena asked, a bit more pressing in her tone, Claire noted. "Not really. He talked to all of his executives, and he sent and received a ton of emails." Cheryl replied. "How did you feel about him selling the company, Mrs. Dunston?" Lorena asked, again sharply and directly. "Uhh..." Cheryl paused, then said, "I... didn't really feel anything about it. Derrick said he was going to make a clean break; he was going to sell out and move away, maybe to California." "But wouldn't you and your husband be losing your jobs?" Lorena asked. "Not to mention any ownership interests?" Cheryl turned a bit defensive and sharp herself as she said "We had no ownership stake in the company, Detective. And the new owners might well have kept us, who knows what would've happened? We were not going to be affected by Derrick selling the company, except he'd be moving away and we wouldn't see him as often." "One last question." Lorena Rose said, "Is there anyone you know of that would want to harm Mr. Belle?" The family looked at each other awkwardly, then Mr. Belle said "I don't care to speculate, but I don't know of anyone other than Shayla that had any problem with Derrick." "Ditto that." said the victim's sister Cheryl. "No one at work had any problems with him, that I know of." ------------------------------------- At 4:00pm, Cindy and I met with Lorena and Claire in Classroom 'E', where they filled us in on what Derrick's family had to say. "What was your evaluation of the sister?" I asked. "She seemed truthful." Claire said. "She started getting a bit defensive when Lorena pressed her about her job if the company was sold, though." "Yes, sir, she definitely did not like it when I brought that up." Lorena said. "We've subpoenaed the executive emails. Those might tell us just how close to Derrick she was vis-a-vis company operations, and how important she really was, despite her efforts to say she had no problems with the company's sale." "So do they think Shayla is behind Derrick's murder?" Cindy asked before I could stop her. "They said no one else had animosity towards Derrick." said Lorena Rose. "They didn't say it out loud, but I think that's what they are thinking, and who can blame them?" "Ah, shit." I said. "Looks like you're going to have to round up some good interviewers and run through Belle's employees. About 100 of them, from sales people to lawyers, to paper-pushers and I.T. people." I saw the looks on my Detective's faces, so I reinforced the point I was trying, and apparently failing, to make: "So, ladies, you reviewed the tapes of our interviews that night?" I asked. They both affirmed that they did. Lorena's face fell. "Yes sir." she said, obviously disappointed with the result. "There were no inconsistencies." Claire added "They both said the same things when asked about their private conversations, they said they did the same things, including graphic descriptions of several sex acts, and spoke the same words to the last detail. I don't see how they could've plotted to do that. It's like the story of 'which tire'." "What's that?" Lorena asked. Claire said "It's an old joke: there were four college students that partied too much, were hung over and missed a big chemistry test. They concocted a story that they'd been traveling and had a flat tire and the spare was bad. They went together and asked the professor if they could take a make-up test. The professor said okay, and put them in four separate rooms and gave them identical tests." She finished: "The tests had only two questions. One was about the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The second question simply said 'Which tire?'." Everyone laughed, and I said "That does illustrate a great point. So far, Shayla and Seth are not inconsistent at all, and I agree that they could hardly plan that ahead of time nor keep it going for any length of time. So... what about the crime scene? Was it not of interest to you?" "I'm sorry, sir," Lorena admitted, "I'm stumped as to what you're wanting me to see." "Why, I simply want you to see what's there." I said. "It's what you deduce that interests me. What about you, Lt. Ross? Anything?" "Someone stood in the closet." said Cindy. "Left that dirt there. Very likely the killer." "Yep. That reminds me: two days and nothing from the lab yet?" I said. "I've got to call Dr. Woodrow." At that moment, my cell phone rang. "Speak of the devil, there's Dr. Woodrow himself. I answered, and Dr. Woodrow asked me to come to the Crime Lab. ------------------------------------ "I'm sorry we didn't get back to you sooner," said Dr. Woodrow, "but I really wanted to confirm this." "I understand, Doctor," I said, "but next time, let me know immediately that you're working on something, so I can sit on pins and needles waiting for the results, and so I can push you on it." I was only half-kidding, and he got the message. "So, what do you have?" Standing in the lab with Dr. Woodrow and myself were Technicians Christina Cho and Joey "J.R." Barnes. She handed me a vial full of water which contained a couple of what looked like little green blades of grass. Dr. Woodrow said "We recovered these when we put some of the dirt samples into water, which broke up the dirt. We ran one of these fibers in the mass spectrometer." We had a mass spectrometer because the University's chemistry department bought a new one for half a million dollars, bought for them by part of Jack King's endowment to the Chemistry Department. At Henry Wargrave's request, the School then generously donated the old $100,000 model to our Crime Lab. I was not complaining a bit; indeed, I was grateful for the generosity all the way around. Dr. Woodrow said "These are nylon fibers. We also found some rubber compounds when we ran a dirt sample through the mass spec." "Artificial turf." I said immediately, the answer somehow just coming to me. "Yessss...." said Dr. Woodrow. "That's very possible. Does that help your case?" "I think it ultimately will." I said. "Not too many places where there is artificial turf around here." "The football fields at the University Stadium and all three high schools are natural grass." said J.R. Barnes helpfully. "Yes, they are." I said. "Okay guys, document this as evidence. I think it'll come into play in the near future. And this is great work guys. Going forward, please inform me or the lead Detective of anything you find without delay..." Part 6 - Decisions and Breakthroughs The University President's office was a somber room as Dr. Sidney P. Wellman, University Regents Henry R. Wargrave and Austin R. Murphy, and booster Tom Riordan met to discuss a serious problem. "It's confirmed." Wellman said. "The cancer has metastasized. It's going to be a long haul for him... if he survives it." "Yes." said Riordan. "It's a shame, and I hate to sound callous, but the football team is going in the wrong direction. We've stood by the man in some situations where we might should not have, but this might be the opportunity to let him get himself well while we move forward. The boosters are going to want a change. This might be the easiest way of making that change." "But how callous do we look if we force him to step aside now?" asked Murphy. "And the team loves him; they're playing their asses off for him. We just don't have the talent this year. Nick Eastwood can't do it all himself on offense, and we just don't have the defense that we did last year. We get rid of him now, the team might essentially quit, and a mediocre season becomes a disaster." "You sound like a politician." Henry Wargrave said, teasing his friend. "But you make a good point. The answer to that is to announce his illness, he takes a leave of absence, his team is inspired to play for him, and everyone understands and hopes for his recovery while we quietly move on." "I agree, Henry. That's the way to go with it." asked Wellman. "But will he go along with us on this?" Wargrave said "I think we can persuade him to see the light on this. We're talking about his health and his life or death. I think he knows that. As an aside, we also get to look at Coach Bronson as the interim head coach. Certainly we have some things to consider, President Wellman." With the last sentence, Wargrave looked right at Dr. Wellman, communicating a silent signal which Wellman understood and acted upon. "Okay, then." said Wellman. "Thank you for coming by, gentlemen. I'll be talking with you again soon, very soon. Henry, if you can stay behind a moment, I need to discuss that endowment with you that we talked about the other day." After the others were gone, Wellman said to Wargrave "I take it there's more?" "Yes, I'm afraid so." said Wargrave. "You know how I've said that there might be times when I will have to say 'Trust me, you don't want to know.'?" "Is this one of those times?" Wellman asked, understanding. "Trust me. You don't want to know." said Wargrave. "I'll just say this: the Iron Crowbar has very effectively consolidated his power in this County. And that has implications for Coach Harlan... and for us if we're not careful." "For crying out loud." said Wellman, shaking his head. "All right, if there was any indecision before, it's gone now. I'll call all the Regents, then tell Brian." "Let me tell Coach Harlan myself." Wargrave said. "I'll make it clear that we'll support him financially through his treatments, and of course I'll persuade him to do what we want." -------------------------------- The morning of September 30th started off with a bang. First came our 7:00am coffee date with Bettina! "This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette... and yes, as I saw the microphone in her hand, I unstoppably thought about something else Bettina had put her mouth on. I tried to clear my mind and I listened as Bettina continued: "Channel Two News has learned that University Head Football Coach Brian Harlan is taking a leave of absence following a diagnosis of cancer! Let's go to Chuck Pringle at the Sports Desk. Chuck!" "Thank you, Bettina," said Chuck Pringle, and this time he actually was on live. "The University Sports Information Department has confirmed that Coach Brian Harlan is going to be taking a leave of absence while he receives treatment for cancer. Details of what type of cancer he has and the severity of his illness have not been released at this time, but the SID spokesman has stated it is serious enough to warrant Coach Harlan discontinuing all coaching duties to concentrate on his treatment and recovery. Defensive Coordinator Russ Bronson will be taking over the head coaching duties on an interim basis." "Chuck, has the football team been informed of this sad news?" asked Bettina as the television went to a split-screen of the two... who in reality were standing only ten feet apart, just making it look like they were in separate places. Is it any wonder I have a deep distrust of the Press? "Yes, Bettina," Chuck Pringle said, "The team was notified last night at a team meeting after practice, and we have reports that Coach Harlan addressed the team himself and gave them the news. We'll be getting player reactions all through the day, of course, as Channel Two Sports follows these breaking developments." "Thank you Chuck!" shouted Bettina. "Sources have told Channel Two News that Coach Harlan's position was tenuous after a 1-3 start, but that the University will be taking no further actions regarding Coach Harlan's status until he has been treated and fully recovers from his illness." "In other news, Police have no new leads in the murder of Derrick Belle. Asked if his wife Shayla was a suspect in his murder, Commander Donald Troy stated that the case was ongoing and that all leads were being pursued, but he would not state outright who might be a suspect in the case." "Last, but not least," said Bettina, wrapping up, "the County Democrat Party has stated it will not attempt to put a new candidate on the ballot in the race for Sheriff, citing a lack of time until the Election and the overwhelming popularity of candidate Daniel Allgood, who is not relaxing his campaign despite being wounded while protecting his wife during a home invasion. The County Democrat Party does plan to announce a candidate to replace the late Senator Nathan Allen in the State Senate race tomorrow, October 1st, stating that it is imperative that TEA Party Conservative John Cummings be vigorously opposed in order to preserve abortion and contraception rights for all women. This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" And that wasn't even the big news of the day. Just as I turned to re-fill my coffee cup, a uniformed officer burst into the MCD room. "Commander! Can you come to the front Duty Desk please? A woman is demanding to see you!" "What in the hell? You're coming in here demanding the Police Commander jump just because some woman is up front?" shouted Cindy Ross to the poor uniformed kid. "Get your ass back up front!" "I... I'm sorry," said the patrol officer, quaking, "but she... she said she has something important for the Commander to see." "I'll be there in a minute, Patrolman." I said. "Head back to the desk and tell her I'll be there in a minute." "Of all the frickin' nerve..." Cindy said, still red faced as the young officer quickly fled her presence. "It's okay, Crowbar 2." I said. "The Citizens have a right to make demands of my time... just not to abuse it. Let's see what this good citizen has for us today. Come with me." We made our way up front to the Duty Desk. "I have something very important for the Commander to see, and I need to see him now." I heard a woman say, and I knew who it was from the loud voice even before I got to the desk. Sure enough, Old Mrs. Boddiker was in the front hallway, berating two police officers. She was the 'theoretically' homeless woman who had seen Joe Arruzio, giving me a vital clue in that case. Little did I know how much bigger her visit today was... "All right, guys, I'll handle it." I said. "Hello Mrs. Boddiker, why don't we step into the waiting room here, and you can tell me what you've found." As we settled down in a couple of chair, Mrs. Boddiker handed me an object wrapped in plastic. I put on latex gloves, which I always keep in my pocket, and pulled out the object. It was a brass fireplace poker, and it was indented in the middle! "Why Mrs. Boddiker!" I said, my heart surging, "where in the world did you find this?" "It was in one of the trash cans on the University campus." replied Mrs. Boddiker. "My friend, the widow Athena Jones, she actually pointed it out to me and suggested I bring it to you personally, Commander. Mrs. Jones thinks it might be the weapon that killed that that young man Mr. Belle the other day." I yelled to the Duty Desk to call someone from the Crime Lab to come over. "Mrs. Boddiker, you have done us a great service today. Now I'm going to get your fingerprints, so we can tell yours apart from any others we may find. Sergeant!" The Duty Desk Sergeant hurried over in response to my call. "Take Mrs. Boddiker back for fingerprinting, give her the grand tour." The Sergeant led Mrs. Boddiker through the booking process as if she were being arrested, though of course she wasn't, and I knew she'd love going through it. Today's fingerprints are not done with paper and ink any longer, but with glass and digital photography. I'm told Old Mrs. Boddiker was amazed at the technology, asking what had happened to the ink and paper, and fluttering like a parakeet about the 'old days'. After all that, I had Old Mrs. Boddiker accompany me and Cindy in my SUV to the trash can in which the poker was found. It was on the University campus, on a major walkway that led between some of the academic buildings and the athletic complex. While there, I looked around... ------------------------------ "So," said the Chief as I sat in his office, briefing him, "that old lady found the murder weapon, eh?" "Yes, she did." I said. "And I've already contacted the Mayor's office about a proclamation for her. It'll get her picture in the paper, and all her friends at that Community Center she goes to will be all agog over her." The Chief laughed. "Best reward you could give her." he said. "I may be going to that place myself in my declining years. You really can learn a lot of gossip there." I just smiled knowingly at the Chief, and he understood. "What Mrs. Boddiker could not tell me is where I could find the widow Athena Jones. I really wanted to talk to that woman, who'd actually found the poker in the trash can." I said. "I've got Detective Rose looking for her, but I suspect she's going to stay out of sight for a while." "Why's that?" asked the Chief. "She didn't come forward herself, she got Mrs. Boddiker to bring us the poker." I said. "Something very interesting about that..." "Only you seem to find importance out of what the rest of us would consider mundane." said Chief Griswold, and he did not mean it in a bad way. "So, what about the weapon, the poker?" "No fingerprints other than Old Mrs. Boddiker's, but some serious DNA where the poker was bent, very likely Mr. Belle's." I said. "Even though the poker was wiped down, they found some good hair and tissue in the creases." "Good." said the Chief. "So, just between us, any theories? I'm catching some flak from Council members who don't understand why Shayla Belle wasn't arrested on the spot." Caught in the Act Ch. 01 "If they ask again," I said, "you can tell them that I have indications that suggest she is not the perp, nor is Seth Warner. As to who it is, I'm still searching for motive, means and opportunity. Finding the murder weapon and its location was tremendously important." "How are your new people doing?" the Chief asked. "Pretty good." I said. "Lorena Rose jumps the gun a bit, she's excitable, forms theories before getting facts... but I think she holds a lot of promise. Claire Michaels is really great, but I'm afraid she's going to end up in SWAT full time. Teddy Parker has some imagination, but needs experience badly. Dr. Woodrow is doing well in the Crime Lab, now that he knows not to delay telling the Commander anything of even little importance in evidence collection and processing. I am disappointed in just about everyone, though... the clues at the crime scene were very strong, but are not being given the attention they deserve." "Be sure that in teaching these guys," admonished the Chief, "that you don't keep anything from them that they need to know." "Yes, sir." I said. "Which reminds me sir, I need to give Lt. Ross a briefing on some things, if you'll excuse me." The Chief dismissed me. Part 7 - Evidence Collection October 1st. I arrived at Police Headquarters at 6:00am as usual, finding that Martin Nash had arrived ahead of me. "Sir," he said as I came into MCD, "ADA Patterson called and said she was at the Courthouse getting that warrant you asked for, and she should be here by 6:30." "Good, thanks." I said. "And when Detective Rose comes in, tell her to come to my office. If she's not here by the time Paulina gets back, I'll have to give her a call." Martin Nash knew was I was implying, and as I left to go back to my office he was already pulling out his cell phone to call Lorena and get her into my presence, pronto. Lorena did arrive just as Paulina did. "Okay, Detective Rose, let's go." I said. "We're going to go collect some evidence." Detective Rose was perplexed but remained silent as we got into my Police SUV. "So how are you liking MCD?" I asked. "It's good sir, but this case is showing me I have a lot to learn." Lorena replied. "And my partner and Lieutenant Ross think I speak too much and too quickly, so I'm trying not to say too much and just learn." "That's good, but just between you, me and the lamp-post, don't let that curb your enthusiasm." I said. "You're doing just fine, just be sure to twist your theories to the facts rather than twist facts to suit your theories." "Yes sir, thank you sir." Lorena said. I could tell that my praise was having a very positive effect on her, that the 'training' she was getting from Cindy and Claire had been tough-love and could be hard to take, mentally. What they were doing was right, but I didn't want to dampen Lorena's edge, which would serve her well once harnessed. The sun was just getting to the top of the mountain ridge to the east where my home was as we drove through the University campus. I parked at the Athletic Building where the coach's offices and player locker rooms were. I grabbed my bag of tools and we went behind the building towards the practice fields. They had just been unlocked; the football team would be taking the field at 7:00am for morning practice. Lt. Bill Hanson of the University Police met us there; I'd called him and asked for his assistance. "What are you looking for, sir?" Lorena asked. I looked around and saw some rather muddy areas where the artificial turf of the practice field. "You see that path that comes from the sidewalk between the Athletic Building and the practice field, that leads up the hill?" I asked Lorena, pointing to a path that ran along the far side of the practice fields, between the fence of the fields and the beginnings of the slope towards the mountain to our right. "Yes, sir." she said. "That leads to the track and field areas." I said. "They carved out a flat place and put a track there, literally against the side of the mountain. A lot of people go there to exercise; athletes, students, and even Townspeople. It's free for everyone. "I'm thinking someone walked along this path to... right here." I said, pointing at the edge of the artificial turf along the path. I knelt down, opened my back and took out my tools -- scissors and an evidence bag. I cut some of the artificial turf and bagged it. "Lorena, take this to the Crime Lab, pronto. They're expecting it, and it's under this warrant." I said, handing her the folded piece of paper that the warrant was printed upon. "Lt. Hanson, would you go with Detective Rose, to keep two-man control of this evidence?" "Sure." said Lt. Hanson. "In fact, I'll drive. I've got a meeting with your Chief this morning, so I need my car there." They left as I watched in the gathering light. At the far end of the Athletic Building, a single file line of football players ran out the locker room door and to the gate to the other side of this practice field. They ran down he sideline, then the first guy cut up the 45 yard line and eight guys followed. Behind that line, the next group of guys cut left at the 40 yard line, then the next on the 35, and so on. It was a precision drill that rivaled a military march exercise. It was too bad this team wasn't as good on the field as they were starting practice. "Commander Troy... can I help you with something?" It was Interim Head Coach Russ Bronson, a tough, swarthy man with broad shoulders, a good physique even at his age, a head full of longish brown hair, and a big mustache. He did not look particularly happy to see me; he was a good friend of Coach Harlan, and had been sympathetic to Coach Harlan when Harlan was attacking me over the handling of the Black Widow's demise. "Hi Coach." I said. "No thanks, I just stopped to watch the football team come out to practice. How's Coach Harlan?" Coach Bronson sighed, "He's not good. Just between us, it's much more serious than they're letting on. Even if Brian survives this, I doubt he'll ever be able to come back to coaching full-time again." "Sorry to hear that." I said, mostly out of politeness. "I'll get out of here and let you get back to work. Good luck with the rest of the season." "Thanks." said Coach Bronson as he jogged onto the field. As I was driving back, I saw the large field called "The Quad", which was ringed by Old Dorm, New Dorm and other dorms and buildings. The Army ROTC Juniors were in formation, learning drill and ceremonies. Now that took me back! I was thinking as I slowed down, then pulled over to watch the cadets. This class was a good looking group. ------------------------------------- "Commander!" yelled Cindy Ross, bursting into my office right at 9:00am. "You've got to come see this!" That breach of protocol suggested something huge, and I followed Cindy to MCD, where everyone was watching the television set. Filling the television screen was Katherine Woodburn, former owner of KXTC, standing behind a podium at what appeared to be a political rally in the Courthouse Square... and the words she was angrily shouting confirmed it: "We cannot let John Cummings be elected and take away a woman's right to choose and a woman's right to contraception! As your next State Senator from the First District of the State, I promise you that I will fight against the Republicans' War on Women!" The crowd cheered enthusiastically. "Yep," said Cindy, "she's running for State Senate in Nathan Allen's place. They've already rigged it to get her on the ballot, and she's announcing it now." "Out of the frying pan, into the fire." I murmured, mostly to myself. Vice Detective (J.G.) Joanne Cummings agreed. John Cummings was her cousin, and they were both very Conservative in their politics. But I realized as I watched Woodburn on television that things were just heating up in the ol' Town & County. It was 'Game On'. Just then my cell phone rang. And as far as I was concerned, the news I was told when I answered was absolutely the biggest... To be continued.