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The Phyllis Files Ch. 01

By: WifeWatchman



Cold Case Files: The Case of the Executed Environmentalist.

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.

The Phyllis Files, Ch. 1

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, 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 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

"I'm bored."

Such were the words Cindy Ross uttered to me in my office. I could understand why. It was in August and she was still on "light duty" as she recovered from her near-fatal wounds. Though brevetted a Lieutenant, she was not yet allowed to really take over the MCD leadership duties nor could she join her fellow detectives in their field investigations until she re-qualified with a gun. She wanted to get back into the game, and I couldn't blame her.

"Tell you what I'm going to do, my friend." I said. "I'm going to call my mother down, and you can work with her looking at some old cold case files."

"Do we get to investigate them?" Cindy asked. The fact that she did not complain a bit about going through old cases nor about working with my mother showed me just how bored and desperate she was to work. And I wanted for her to keep her skills up; perhaps a cold case would be the right prescription.

"Yes, but if anything... 'exciting'... comes up, you have to call for support." I replied. "That's why you get to work with my mom. Let me say it again: I am having her keep an eye on you so that you don't over-exert yourself while on light duty. Do I make myself clear, Lieutenant Ross?""

Cindy sighed. "Yes sir, you do."

"Good!" I said jovially. "You might ask around to see which case people around here remember and would like to see re-opened."

"I've already got one in mind: the Crown Chemicals case." Cindy replied.

"Oooh, already stirring up the political pot, are you now?" I said. "Be cautious with that one..."

Part 2 - The Details of the Case

"So tell me what you know about this case already." Phyllis said to Cindy. "And what 

you've read to this point." They were in an empty Lieutenant's office, which Phyllis's son Don had suggested they use for this investigation. There were several boxes of files in the office.

"Sure." Cindy said. "This happened about eight years before Don and Melina first came to this Town. The Crown Chemicals company has a large plant on the other side of the River, technically in the Industrial District, and just south of BigPharmaCorp, which is even larger. It's still there, making basic chemicals as well as some specialty compounds.

"Crown Chemicals and BigPharmaCorp both were accused by an environmentalist extremist group, known as 'The Proactive Citizens of GreenWorld', a.k.a. 'The PCGW', of committing environmental crimes. The PCGW was staging protests against several chemical companies in the United States, but for some reason they really went after Crown Chemicals, targeting them especially hard. BigPharmaCorp is unionized while Crown is not, and that might have been a big reason.

"The PCGW first accused Crown and BigPharmaCorp of polluting the river by dumping raw chemicals and wastes directly into the river. Tests at the site and downstream showed that there were no chemicals of significance; in fact, most of the chemicals downriver were agricultural chemicals that one might expect from the farmlands that drain off into the river.

"That wasn't good enough for PCGW, and they began staging massive protests at Crown, demanding full audits, shutting down their factories, and of course the payment of money to environmentalist causes."

"A shakedown, in other words." said Phyllis.

"That is definitely one way of putting it." Cindy replied. "And Crown not only refused to pay, they put out a very strongly worded statement that said that they would never contribute to 'wacko environmentalist terrorism'. In reaction to that, the PCGW imported hundreds of people from around the country, stopping protests against other companies to bring in more people to attack Crown, and at one time there were well over 1000 protestors surrounding the fences of the plant.

"The County and Town did not have shared police forces then. The County Police and Sheriff Deputies did the best they could to get employees in and out, but every day for a week things became increasingly hostile until the County requested State Troopers and even asked the Governor to raise the National Guard to help protect the company. That created an even larger political stir in the County."

Cindy took a drink of water and continued, "The Media was there, of course, and portraying things on behalf of the PCGW protesters... and of course it's my personal opinion that the Media was trying as hard as they could to incite riots and instigate violence so they could film it.

"Well, for five days Crown refused to even talk to, much less negotiate with the protesters, and the dam finally broke. The PCGW protesters attacked the front gate and fences, breached them, and stormed the place. Crown's private security as well as the County Police found themselves under attack and, fearing for their lives, opened fire on the protesters. Some police fired tear gas, but the Crown security people didn't play around: they shot to kill, and they did kill 24 protesters and 4 Media crew members. Two County Police officers were injured fairly badly, but they ultimately recovered, and that was the closest we had to a Line-of-Duty death until Pete Feeley was killed.. Anyway, the attack faltered immediately when the gunfire began, but you can imagine the stories that were coming out from the Media about the 'unprovoked murders' of protesters."

"I certainly can." Phyllis said. "I'm beginning to remember seeing some news reports of the riots on the national news. Like you said, the Media really distorted the facts of the case in their reporting. The Media is a very dishonest bunch."

"Your son very much shares your opinion." Cindy said. "Anyway, I was in high school here when it happened. It was almost neighbor-against-neighbor in opinions around here. After the attack, the Governor brought in State Troopers and national guardsmen by the hundreds, and the environmentalists didn't try violence again. And over the next three days the State Troopers began arresting protesters in large numbers until the protests essentially were over within a week."

"If I recall," Phyllis said, "the company and the security and police were exonerated from guilt in the killings of the protesters."

"Yes, two juries brought acquittals for the company and the security people." Cindy replied, "though public opinion was against the company. However, they survived even in the face of the PCGW's relentless boycott calls. The PCGW website is even today still calling for Crown to be boycotted, but Crown weathered the initial storm and today is very active and profitable."

"So what is there for us to investigate?" Phyllis asked.

Cindy replied "A little over a week after the protests broke apart, on the weekend, a woman cut through the back fence of the company and headed towards the water treatment plant, where the water used in the processes is cleaned up before being put back into the river. This woman was shot in the back multiple times and died immediately. On her body was found several flasks of different poisons and wastes, including a highly radioactive material that probably did damage to her but she didn't live long enough to develop symptoms.

"Anyhoo, she was found dead with the chemicals. The company immediately went on a PR campaign that she was trying to sabotage the plant and harm the river water herself, while the PCGW accused the company of murdering her and planting the chemicals on her body to cover up their crime. Security cameras showed that she'd trespassed, but the SBI and local County Police couldn't quite figure out where the shots that killed the woman came from. No security personnel admitted to shooting her, and inspections of their weapons showed that none had been fired that night and that the caliber they used, 9mmP, was not the caliber of pistol bullets that killed the woman... those were .45 ACP. The FBI even came into the case and did a very thorough investigation, but could shed no new light."

"So who was blamed?" Phyllis said.

"Nobody, at least not officially." Cindy replied. "Town and County opinions were evenly, and hotly, divided over what had happened; was the woman trespassing? and had she'd been murdered?, such questions as that. But there was no evidence to arrest any individuals. After a while interest died down and all the trails the police were following went cold. The PCGW left Town and essentially have not returned.

Cindy finished her summation by adding: "One byproduct of all this, especially the riots, was that the first talk of merging the Town and County governments began in earnest, leading to that merger a few years later. So in a way, that case led to where we are today with the government structure."

"So who was this woman that was murdered?" Phyllis asked, even though she'd read the report on the victim.

"Her name was Linda Ferris. She was in her mid- to late-40s. She was short, no more than about 5'4", overweight and very chubby. Her nickname was 'the Fat Bitch'. Even her PCGW colleagues considered her to have extremely poor hygiene--"

"Which for that bunch is extraordinary." Phyllis interjected. "Sorry to interrupt, dear. Keep going."

"Please, interrupt anytime." Cindy replied. "So she had bad hygiene and wore dirty clothes. She actually told people that her clothes were in a pile on the floor and she just picked something out of the pile and put it on. She smoked heavily, probably drank, and was a real uber-feminist and environmentalist activist. She was not particularly well liked by anyone, not even her PCGW associates. She had been a public high school teacher at one time and had gotten fired."

"Ah, that's interesting." Phyllis again interjected. "Do you know how hard it is to fire a public school teacher? That's something to tuck away in our minds."

"You're right." Cindy said, making a note in her notebook. "Meanwhile, her husband, Robert Ferris, was an environmental chemist. He was about six feet tall, not overweight at all, hair frazzled and falling out, around 50 years old. He'd had his own environmental lab once, but it went bankrupt and he was still paying off debts from the closing of that when the PCGW/Crown protests began. He then went to work for other environmental labs, was considered to be pretty knowledgeable though his relations with other employees were never very good. He was not as strong nor frequent a protester as his wife, but he was at the Crown protests and was still in Town when his wife was killed."

"What were the relations between the husband and wife?" Phyllis asked.

"By all accounts, fairly good." Cindy said. "Most who knew them thought they loved each other. There were some stories of arguments between them, particularly around the time of their financial troubles, but nothing of note in later years."

"So what's your plan?" Phyllis asked, adroitly steering Cindy while allowing the younger woman to believe she was in the lead.

"Well..." Cindy replied with something resembling a sigh. "First I have to skim through all of this old paperwork, then I'll try to find and interview people who were involved at the time and still around here now. What about you?"

Phyllis replied "Oh, I think I'll... follow the money. I'll try to get financial records of the company as well as the PCGW group and see where that takes me. I'll just have to find someone to help me with these newfangled computers. Back in my day, the telephones were mounted to the wall..."

Cindy smiled. "I'll work with you on the computer, and then we can interview people together, how about that?"

"That would be just fine, dear." Phyllis said, inwardly smiling as she steered Cindy onto the right paths...

Part 3 - More Details of the Case

The next morning dawned clear and beautiful. Phyllis came into the office to find Cindy already there, poring over data.

"Cindy, dear," Phyllis said in her most grandmotherly voice, "I certainly hope you did not stay here all night."

"No ma'am." Cindy replied. "I got about four hours of sleep. But I have to admit that I'm getting into this case. I finally left at 10:00pm when Don called the Duty Desk and ordered them to throw me out, but I came back about 4:30am."

"I'm happy to hear that my son is taking care of his people." Phyllis replied. "You're supposed to be on 'light' duty, which means heavy on sleep... but I understand your excitement; I'm beginning to get very interested in this case also. So what do we have?"

"I got the financial records yesterday." Cindy said. "Sandra Speer of the FBI was very helpful, especially with PCGW's records, which are very spotty. Sandra thinks the U.S. EPA might be helping PCGW hide some of their records, but that's for another day."

Cindy continued: "Crown Chemicals is spotless in their finances. They were audited by the IRS during the time of the riots and a couple years afterwards, again upon request from the US EPA, but nothing wrong was ever found; they are accountable to the penny. PCGW's records show they received a tremendous number of contributions from many special interest groups, especially right after the riots in an effort to help them crush Crown Chemicals."

Phyllis nodded as Cindy continued: "However, I'm not finding anything of interest in the murder of Linda Ferris. No 'black box' payments from the company, and no special expenditure that would suggest hiring a killer. And for that matter, no expenditure from the PCGW over the Ferris incident."

"So what does this tell you so far, Cindy? Who had motive?" Phyllis asked.

"Oh gosh..." Cindy said, then her voice trailed off before picking up again. "It looks like PCGW financially gained from all of the protests, since they got huge donations, but they pretty much lost the battle when none of their demands were met and two dozen of their people were killed. The company held firm, but there was no real way they could be considered the 'winner' in any case."

"True." Phyllis said. "So, let's sit back a moment and get our ideas straight about who might have killed Linda Ferris."

"Don always says to never theorize without data." Cindy says. "And right now, I have no data."

"Don is an excellent detective and a careful policeman," Phyllis said, "and I am not saying he's wrong about that Conan Doyle quotation. However, I myself have a slightly different view: put our initial theories out quickly based upon this initial data, then see where things go. By getting our ideas out in the open, we can gain working hypotheses. Then we let the evidence trail prove or disprove them."

"I understand what you're saying." Cindy says. "Right now, I have years of memories that are saying the woman broke into the company grounds with the intent to frame them by dumping chemicals, was found out and shot by someone associated with the company. Perhaps not the normal security people, who were humiliated by having this woman break in on them, but by someone in the company that intercepted Ferris and shot her dead."

"And you still think that?" Phyllis asked.

"Until something more factual comes along and blows that up, I can't see any other reasonable explanation." Cindy said. "Do you have something different in mind?"

"Oh, I think your idea is very good, and the facts so far and the logic suggest it." Phyllis said. "But as my son and Agatha Christie both say, the spouse must always be looked at as a possible suspect."

"Ah, you think Robert Ferris was involved?" Cindy asked.

"Well, we must certainly consider his role in his wife's actions and death that night." Phyllis replied. "We also have to find out who Linda Ferris's associates within the PCGW were, and see if anyone had reason beyond the immediate company/group crisis to harm her."

"Now," Phyllis said, "let's play another game, one I think Don does but doesn't tell all of you about: let's imagine ourselves at the crime scene, seeing it happen, observing in our minds as we go along. Do that, and tell me what you see, my dear."

"Oh, so that's one of Don's secrets?" Cindy said. "But he has mentioned it.... hmmm..." Cindy was allowing her mind to 'see' what had happened all those years ago, as if she herself were doing it. After a few moments, she came back to the present. Phyllis was still deep in thought, and Cindy allowed her to finish, noting that her son's semi-trances were of a similar nature. Like mother, like son, Cindy thought.

Opening her eyes, Phyllis peered at Cindy. "So, dear, what did you see? And what observations did you make?"

"My first thought is to wonder how Linda Ferris breached the fence." Cindy replied. "According to these notes, she cut a hole in it and pushed back the fence. My question is how she could've done that without setting off an alarm. It was a high-tension situation, and I'd think the fences were patrolled and maybe electrified or filled with sensors."

"Excellent." Phyllis said. "What else?"

"Lessee...." Cindy said, thinking hard. "The fence at the place it was breached was some 75 yards from the building proper, so Ferris, who was badly out of shape from all reports, had to traverse that distance quickly in the dark, unerringly find the location from where she could distribute the chemicals and do so, and then find her way back without tripping any alarms or being detected. Obviously she was detected, and shot in the back.... and the notes said she was still about 30 yards from the building when she was shot."

"Very good." Phyllis said. "We can infer a lot from that, also, can't we?"

Cindy thought a moment. "I guess one observation is that Linda was doing this without the help of the PCGW."

"Oh? Why do you think that?" Phyllis asked.

"She was so out of shape. Why not send someone who could quickly and stealthily get the job done. As an analogy, if I were going to do this with police assets, I'd have Hugh Hewitt or Don execute this mission, not some fat hag or idiot like Sergeant Sharples."

"Fantastic!" Phyllis exclaimed. "You've done brilliantly."

"What did I miss?" Cindy said, sure of it from some slight inflection in Phyllis' voice.

"Oh not very much." Phyllis said adroitly. "But let's talk about your hypothesis first: there are several reasons besides Ferris acting alone to explain her being the one to go on this mission. One is that she best knew the layout of the land and where to put the chemicals. Another is that she was set up; again I bring up her husband in this mix."

"Oh... wow, yeah..." Cindy said.

"But your reasoning might be the correct one." Phyllis said. "We'll just have to see what is borne out. And you did miss one thing that I consider of extreme importance: the chemicals."

Cindy caught her breath as understanding flooded her mind, and Phyllis went on: "Yes... first of all, what exactly were those chemicals? We'll need to review those notes and get very familiar with what the chemicals were. Then we need to ask who made those chemicals, especially the radioactive ones, how they were acquired and from whom, and why they're the chosen chemicals for Ferris to use to attempt to damage Crown."


The Phyllis Files Ch. 01



"Well, I didn't see anything in the financial records," Cindy said, "but now I'll have to look again, this time a bit harder and more focused on that."

"They could've been taken out of Crown Chemicals." Phyllis said. "And that means we're looking for someone paid off to deliver those chemicals, or someone who was a mole inside the plant."

"Okay, it's starting to get a bit crazy in my head." Cindy said. "Let's go back to letting data form our theories instead of theorizing too much without facts."

Part 4 - The Crown Chemicals Connection

"Okay ladies, whaddya got?" I asked. My mother and Cindy Ross were in my office, telling me their plan to interview people in the cold case of the dead environmentalist activist.

"Nothing really new, so far." Cindy replied. "Sandra Speer of the FBI has sent us everything the FBI had on the Crown/PCGW case, but aside from ballistics and labwork, they didn't do much. Inspector Maxwell got us copies of the SBI's files on the case, at least the ones they still have. They were mostly trying to ascertain what happened during the attack on the facility and the shootings of the PCGW invaders. They did virtually nothing with the Linda Ferris shooting."

"We've made some interesting findings." my mother Phyllis said, "The chemicals that Linda Ferris brought in with her were not chemicals made by Crown, especially the radioactive ones. No one at the time tried to figure out where those chemicals came from, but the radioactive ones were mostly isotopes of cobalt and silver."

"Whoa!" I said. "Especially on the silver... that stuff is highly radioactive, highly dangerous to even be exposed to... and I can't think of any place outside the Oak Ridge, Tennessee government facility and a few medical facilities where silver isotopes are created or allowed. Hmmm, very interesting where that might have come from."

Both women made notes in their notebooks about that. With my degree in chemistry and some knowledge of radiochemistry, I'd given them some information that they otherwise wouldn't have known and would not have easily been able to find out.

Cindy Ross said "Thanks for that tip. After looking at all the data, we're working off the idea that Linda Ferris's actions were not a larger PCGW plan, but limited in scope to a few individuals. The reason why is that most of the PCGW troublemakers had left town and gone home or were in jail, and there was no follow-up nor obvious expenditure of money in the timeframe relevant to her actions."

My mother chimed in: "At this point, Son, we're going to have to talk to people and hope something shakes out that didn't come out at the time. That does happen during cold cases, of course."

"That's true." I said. "So who is on your plate to be interviewed?"

Cindy said "We're lucky in that several key people to the crime are available. The Chief Operating Officer of Crown Chemicals has agreed to see us today; he was an executive with the company then. Their chief of security also was on site as a security officer then.

"On the PCGW side, some of the leaders are actually still around: one man, Gordon Snow, is actually a teacher at the University here, trying to get professorial status and tenure. His assistant, a girl we only know as Lilac, was also one of the PCGW leaders at that time, and they were both college students from other schools that came in. The dead woman's husband, Robert Ferris, works in an environmental lab in the suburbs west of the City, we're going to interview him.

"Then Phyllis is going to try to have a chat with Bettina Wurtzburg, to see if we can get any clues or angles from the Press side. They had some fatalities also, though those were national TV media people. Last, but certainly not least, I'll talk to some of the Sergeants in our Police Force here who were either Town or County officers at the time."

"Good." I said. After a pause, I sat back in my chair and said what needed to be said. "Ladies, I'm really liking what you're putting together here, but I have to say a couple of things. First of all, do all of your interviews together so that you both can observe people. Mom, you know that already. Also, be careful in all of your interviews. You may be riling up some people, and they may do something rash like try to destroy evidence that otherwise was sitting here all this time. And to this end, have a story ready for why you're re-opening this case. One idea that might work is to tell anyone who asks that you periodically review cases."

"We have that worked out already, Son." my mother said. "I'm going to tell people that I, the little old lady, have been assigned to periodically review old cases, and Detective Ross is assisting the little old lady with the interviews."

"Little old lady, my fourth point of contact." I said, grinning as I used a little Airborne Paratrooper lingo to keep things a bit cleaner in front of my mom. "But it sounds good. Meanwhile, my second point is to be careful because as I understand it, this case really brought out the political tensions of the town and the county. With the Elections coming up in November, we do not need any more gasoline thrown onto those fires. So discretion is the better part of valor in every aspect of this."

"Third, and last, be especially careful with Bettina and the Media. Make sure Bettina knows that everything you say to her is 'deep background' or 'off the record'. I absolutely do not want to see her reporting on the re-opening of this case... unless and until you solve it, of course."

"Gotcha." Cindy said.

----------------------------------

"Thank you for making time to see us, Mr. Roth." Phyllis said as the chief operating officer of Crown Chemicals Corp. bade them to be seated in plush chairs in his office.

"My pleasure, ladies." Mr. Roth said. He was a well-built man in his sixties, his hair graying but still full on his head, and he projected an aura of skill and leadership, a very model of a C-level executive of a strong business company. "This is Mr. Hyburn, the company's chief legal counsel, and I hope you'll understand that he'll be sitting in with us today."

"That's quite fine, sir." Phyllis said. "Mr. Hyburn, may I ask if you were with the company during the time of the PCGW crisis?"

"Yes, I was." the legal beagle said, his voice something between a professor teaching in a classroom and a Southern drawl. "I was a junior member of the legal team then, of course."

"May I ask why the police are reviewing this case?" Mr. Roth asked.

"I am assigned to periodically review cold cases in the police files." Phyllis said. "Detective Ross has been kind enough to assist me. We just want to get a few loose threads tied up, if possible."

"Aren't you the police officer that was shot and wounded a few weeks ago?" asked Mr. Roth to Cindy Ross.

"Er, yes sir." Cindy replied.

"Well, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you sitting here in front of me in such good shape, Detective Ross... but I thought you were promoted to Lieutenant." Mr. Roth said.

"Thank you, sir, and I'm still a Detective despite the attempt to make a paper pusher out of me." Cindy said, causing everyone to laugh. She also realized that Roth was doing a bit of social conversation to hopefully ingratiate her. "If I may ask, sir, what do you remember about the night Linda Ferris broke into your property and was killed?"

"Ah yes, I do remember that." Roth said. "I was a lower level executive then, but it had been nearly a month of intense crisis for us. Those eco-terrorists did all they could to shut us down, even charged the fences. As to the night of that woman trespassing, I mostly remember getting a call in the early morning hours that someone had broken into the grounds and had been shot. Our security at the time locked down the plant and we called in the FBI."

"You called them in?" Cindy asked.

"Well, I told someone, probably the plant manager, to call them." Roth said. "When I heard that this woman had some chemicals on her, it was immediately apparent that she intended to commit some sort of sabotage or frame-up job. I wanted the FBI to come in and ascertain exactly what happened. Fortunate that we took that step, also, as the world would only believe that none of our people had shot the woman when it was the FBI telling them."

"So none of your security people shot her, we understand, but did anyone else on the property have weapons?" Phyllis asked.

"Oh yes." Mr. Roth replied. "We had told our senior people and managers that they could bring in and wear arms while the eco-terrorists were howling at the gates. Many of them did, bringing in their personal weapons from home. That was one reason we were able to repel their initial attack on us; the eco-terrorists didn't expect to be met with a well-armed crew of employees, and they backed off like the cowards they were when we confronted them with lethal force."

The lawyer leaned over and whispered something to Mr. Roth, and the COO nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, the FBI checked all weapons of employees, especially those of the same caliber that had shot the woman that trespassed, and none had been fired." Mr. Roth said.

Cindy took up the questioning: "So Mr. Roth, it was company policy to simply stand up to the protesters and not negotiate with them in any way?"

"Yes, that was our general policy then. The CEO at the time, Mr. Bonniker, he was a tough old war veteran, and he felt nothing but contempt for the eco-terr-- er, the protesters."

The lawyer again whispered something to Roth, who then said "Ladies, let me hasten to say that Mr. Bonniker has passed on, and it wouldn't be right to put words in his mouth or thoughts in his head. What I just said is sheer surmise on my part, and can't be construed to reflect the official position of the Company at that time."

"Understood, sir. Just a couple more questions, if I may." Cindy said. "The security people did not detect Linda Ferris until she was near the building?"

"That's right; in fact, she was not detected until she had been shot and killed." Mr. Roth said. "The security then wasn't what it is today, even in those times of heightened alert. Our chief of security definitely took a chewing out for that one, and about a month later, after things had calmed down somewhat, we began phasing that company out and bringing in a new group. They're still with us today. Is there anything else?"

"Yes sir." Cindy said. "Is there anything else about the Linda Ferris shooting or the events of that night, anything not brought up before now that you can tell us, anything that comes to mind at all?"

"No, not that I can think of. It was quite a while back, of course."

Phyllis asked "Can we see where the woman breached the fence and where she was found?"

"Certainly. I'll have a plant manager show you. Hyburn, call up Spinks and go with him to show the officers the grounds."

---------------------------

"The actual place of the fence breach isn't marked." said Plant Manager Spinks as the group stood near the back fence, the lawyer Hyburn looking incongruous in his expensive suit. "They didn't want it becoming some sort of shrine to the eco-terrorist that was killed."

Phyllis and Cindy surveyed the area. The grounds of the company were on a raised plateau, built to be above the 500-year flood plain. The land was flat and grassy, with no trees at all to block their view. Outside the fence was more cleared grassy plain. The back fence faced South, the side fence to the East faced the southerly-flowing river which was about 100 yards away. Barbed wire topped the fence, which had sensor and possibly electric wires interwoven into it. Ten yards inside the fence were a series of cameras on poles about 15 feet high, the camera's lidded with metal conical sheets to protect from above and special plastics boxing them in to protect from gunfire from below. Another line of cameras ringed the building.

Phyllis said "So let's say Linda Ferris breached the fence about 15-20 yards from the corner, which was in the police notes at the time." She walked to a spot. "Somewhere around here. Now Mr. Spinks, which way would she have gone to get to the water treatment plant?"

"This way." Mr. Spinks said, heading north, parallel to the riverside fence.

"Are these grounds lighted at night?" Phyllis asked.

"Yes ma'am, to some extent." said Spinks. "But when all this happened, there was not nearly as much light. There were floodlights on the plant building, but the light out here was no better than strong moonlight."

"Detective Ross, do you hear that sound?" Phyllis asked Cindy as they walked the 50 or more yards.

"Yes, that's the water treatment plant." Mr. Spinks said, overhearing them. "It's louder than the factory, even when the factory is in full operation."

"Was it this noisy at the time of the incursion?" Phyllis asked.

"Probably even worse." Spinks replied. "Why, do you think there's something in that?"

Phyllis replied "It helps me to understand how Linda Ferris could navigate the dark grounds at night; she followed the sound. So where did she fall?"

Mr. Spinks walked forward a bit longer, then stopped and looked around. "It was around here." he said. "Again, the exact spot isn't marked, but she didn't make it all the way to the building."

"If she had gotten there and been able to distribute the chemicals, what would the damage have been?" Cindy asked.

"I can't be sure." Spinks said. "It would depend on exactly where they were introduced. My understanding is that she didn't have a lot on her, but enough to contaminate the pipes, maybe to be detected discharging into the river."

"Mr. Spinks, please don't speculate too much." the lawyer Hyburn cautioned the plant manager. "Detectives, all of that was surmise and hearsay."

"Okay, can we now speak to the chief of security?" Cindy asked. The plant manager got onto his radio and asked the chief of security to meet them at the water treatment plant entrance. He drove up in a golf cart moments later. Mr. Spinks then walked back to the plant, while the lawyer Hyburn stayed.

"I'm Chet Burleson." the security chief said, introducing himself.

"Are you related to the 'Burleson' that worked for Ward Harvester?" Cindy asked. 

"Sure am. He was my younger brother." Burleson said. "At first I wondered if his murder was related to the PCGW incidents, but it seems to have been unrelated. I appreciate you Police officers finding out who killed him and solving that case."

"I'm glad we were able to." Cindy said, then asked "So you worked here during the time of the problems with the PCGW?"

"Yeah." Burleson. "I was on duty at the front office of the building, so I was one of the very few security people that did not lose their jobs after the Ferris woman was found dead. I formed a new security company and we replaced the old guys."

"So how did she manage to breach the fence and get in?" Phyllis asked.

"I personally don't know, but the scheme was obviously flawed in the first place. At the time, though, the lighting wasn't as good as it is now, and we were still reeling from the frontal attack the week before. It was a nightmare for three weeks."

"Who was in charge of security then?" Cindy asked.

"His name was Jones. Bert Jones, something like that. So simple I can't really remember." Burleson said. "He was fired almost immediately after the murder. I don't know where he went, but I'm pretty sure it was out of the State."

"So what happened the night of the Ferris shooting?" Cindy said.

"All I know is that someone radioed in saying gunshots had been fired." Burleson replied. "Security people rushed out to the grounds and found the body of the woman about 25-30 yards from the water treatment facility. None of the guys stationed around there had drawn their guns, they vouched for each other, and then the FBI came in and took our weapons and analyzed them. Nobody had fired a shot."

"So where were your security people stationed?" Phyllis asked.

"Most were watching the front gate and fence areas, which were still undergoing repair from the first attack." Burleson said. "We had men stationed around the factories and around the locker rooms and showers and breakrooms, places like that. We had a contingent around the front desk, where I was stationed; these were the guys that would respond to any emergency call."

"Any men stationed around the water treatment plant?" Phyllis asked.

"Yeah, they were actually around Factory 1, but were keeping the water treatment plant and the fences in that area under observation."

"So anyone approaching the water treatment plant would be seen?"

"Probably. The lighting was not good in those days; it's much better now. But anyone coming within ten yards of the water treatment shed's doors would have to come into light and would be seen."

After looking over the area outside the water treatment facility, the detectives thanked the two men and made their way back to their cars.

"So Miss Ross, did you observe anything of interest?" Phyllis asked Cindy as they drove back to town.

"Like you said, Linda could've navigated by the sound of the water treatment plant, so that solves part of that issue. What about you?"

"Yes, I observed quite a few things." Phyllis said. "The COO was very helpful to us, even with the lawyer present, leading me to believe that the company's leadership truly believes in their innocence in the matter. There was also absolutely no quarter asked nor given in the hatred between the PCGW and the Company leadership. And then there is one other thing, which follows a theory I've been thinking about... but I have to check something first."

"Like mother, like son." Cindy complained. "Don gives those little teasers without giving us the full details, also."

"Oh, I'm not trying to tease you, dear." Phyllis replied. "I just need to look and see if anyone made notes of the trajectory of the bullets that struck Linda Ferris."

"Yes, I remember seeing that in the FBI's ballistics reports." Cindy said. "They worked that out pretty meticulously. Ferris was shot from approximately seven o'clock, slightly left of straight behind. And from a distance of at least four to 10 yards away."

"Oh now that is interesting. Is it not suggestive to you?" Phyllis asked, peering at Cindy, who could not peer back because she was driving.

Part 5 - The PCGW Connection

"Hi ladies!" Lieutenant Bill Hanson of the Campus Police said happily as he got into the backseat of the car. "What are we going to be doing today?"

Cindy filled Hanson in as they approached one of the buildings on campus, the Biology building that housed the Environmental Sciences as well. It was the least kept-up building on the campus.

"Biology is badly overlooked when it comes to University grant money." Hanson said. "You'd think that with the liberal leanings of most of the University's academia, they'd pour money into the environmental sciences to study climate change, but apparently the big-money donors don't go that way."

"If I recall," Cindy said, "while there were big rifts in the Town and County, the leanings were towards the company and against the protesters, except on the University campus, of course."

"Yes, the students were pretty riled up about it, and were on PCGW's side." Hanson said. "Mr. Snow was one of the leaders of the PCGW protesters at the time, and I looked up his record while I was waiting for you to pick me up. You'd think he'd be a hero, but his PCGW connections have held him back. He was fired from his previous school, and has only been hired here as a teacher and not given a professorship yet."

Inside the building, the three officers found Gordon Snow's small office pretty quickly. They were ushered in by a petite redhead woman, very plain-faced, hair unkempt, wearing no makeup and clothes that could use a washing. Gordon Snow himself had his long stringy hair in a ponytail, or really more of a bob. He wore thick glasses in black frames, needed a shave, and his clothing was clean but crumpled. He was not overweight and appeared to be in decent shape for a man his age, despite the lack of hygiene.




The Phyllis Files Ch. 01



"Lieutenant Hanson, what can I do for you and these ladies?" Snow said. He bade them to sit down, which they did. Snow peered hard at Phyllis.

"I know who Lieutenant Ross is, and of course Lieutenant Hanson." Snow said. "But I have no idea at all who you are, Detective..."

Phyllis introduced herself and added "I've only moved to this town recently, to be with family. I'm assigned the duties of looking into cold cases, and Lieutenant Ross has been kind enough to assist me."

"The Town & County Police often ask me to work with them when they need to visit the campus." Bill Hanson said.

"I see." said Snow. "And you wanted to ask some clearing-up questions about Linda Ferris, you said?"

"Yes." Phyllis said, taking charge. "By the way, your assistant out front, her name was 'Lilac.' She was involved in the protests? If so, why not invite her in so that we can speak with both of you at the same time, and save a few moments?"

"Er, yes, she was one of us." Snow said. He called Lilac into the office, and she sat down at the side of the desk.

"So you two were leaders of the Progressive Citizens of GreenWorld? In what capacity, president? Chairman?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, we were part of the original leadership council." Snow said. "We didn't have formal titles, those are for the bourgeoisie and the rich capitalists."

"I see. And to refresh our memories, why were you targeting Crown Chemicals? Why not BigPharmaCorp, which was just up the river from Crown?" Cindy asked.

"Crown was polluting the river, no matter what the tests said, and we thought we might make better headway in getting them shut down." Snow said. "By the way, I understand the Statute of Limitations, and everything we did then is way past being prosecutable."

"Except for murder, Mr. Snow." Phyllis said, her voice cold and cutting. "There is no Statute of Limitations on the murder of Linda Ferris, which we are investigating. But you are correct about the rest of it, and we're really not interested in any of the rest of it in the capacity of other crimes."

Cindy asked, keeping her voice neutral, "So after some of your people were killed crashing the fences, what did your leadership decide to do?"

"Some of us wanted to take up arms and attack them again." Snow said. "But we knew that would be a bloodbath. Besides, most of our group abhor guns. They should be completely outlawed and only in the hands of Government authorities, don't you agree?"

The women did not rise to the bait, but Cindy Ross sprang her trap: "Mr. Snow, records show that you yourself owned a gun. What happened to it?"

"Oh, I think I gave it up in a buyback program, years ago." Snow said as Lilic glanced at him a bit harshly. "I hated having it and couldn't wait to get rid of it."

"How well did you know Linda Ferris?" Cindy asked.

"I didn't know her very well at all." Snow said. "I knew her husband, he was a chemist that helped us by running tests to prove the companies were breaking the law and polluting the waters."

"Miss Lilac?" Cindy said, her eyes wandering to the geeky redhead girl and fixing upon her. "Did you know the Ferrises?"

"I knew her and her husband." Lilac said, her voice short and as uncooperative as she could convey.

"Did people that knew her like her?" Cindy queried.

"Not really. She smelled bad, really bad. She wasn't so much an environmentalist like most of us; she was a feminist and protesting that the company was dominated by men. She was a real bitch, we called her the 'Fat Bitch' behind her back."

"Did either of you know that Linda was going to try to poison the waters?" 

"Yes." Gordon Snow said without hesitation. "We knew her plan. She was supposed to spill the chemicals, then we were going to call the Press and have them film us taking water samples for testing, which would come up positive."

"Did either of you supply Linda with the chemicals?"

"No, I don't know where she got them." Snow said.

"Uhhh, neither do I." said Lilac, her eyes cutting to Snow and then back to the policewomen.

"Were either of you there at the Crown plant that night?" Cindy asked.

"We were in the area." Snow said. "But only Linda went around back and snuck onto the grounds. Then we heard gunshots and we fled."

"Who is 'we'?" Phyllis asked.

"Myself, Lilac here, and another man named Brent Crow. And before you ask, I have no idea where Brent is now; we lost touch over the years." said Gordon Snow.

"So all of you ran away, didn't try to ascertain what was going on with Linda Ferris?" Phyllis asked, her voice a bit accusing. "Miss Lilac, is that the case?"

"Yes ma'am." Lilac said. Phyllis noted the change in her demeanor. She was quiet, looking more nervous.

"Where were you, Miss Lilac, at the time of the gunshot?" Phyllis asked.

"There...was more than one shot, if I remember correctly." Lilac said, deftly avoiding the trap she had been placed in. "And I was near the water treatment plant, but outside the fence."

"And the others were with you?"

"Er, yes, yes, they were nearby. Gordon was near me and Brent was closer to the parking lot where the cars were." Lilac said.

"Mr. Snow," Cindy asked, beginning to bear down, "what happened to your career after this incident? Has it hurt your getting a professorship?"

Snow sighed. "I have to admit that my association with the PCGW, especially participating in its leadership, has... not had the positive effects I had hoped it would. It seems that many of my colleagues are not as committed to the cause, and certainly not as willing to give their lives for the cause like I was willing to, as I had hoped."

"Hmm, I see. And Mr. Snow," Cindy asked, bearing down harder. "Perhaps you can help me to understand something that is bothering me: I would imagine that a decade ago you were a young man in good physical condition?"

"Er, yes," Snow said, "I was a college student at the time, and I was in relatively good shape."

"So," Cindy said, getting to the point quickly and brutally, "I don't understand why you allowed an overweight woman who was a chain smoker to cover 75 yards to the water treatment plant, cover 75 yards back to where the fence was cut, in the dark, weighed down with flasks of chemicals... when someone in better condition such as either one of you would've done the job much more quickly and efficiently."

Lilac looked over at Gordon Snow, but his face was smooth and showed no signs of discomfiture. "All I can say, Detective, is that it was Linda's plan and she wanted to go in herself."

"And why not--" Cindy began, but stopped when Phyllis interrupted her.

"Just one last question for both of you." Phyllis said. "Do either of you know someone besides the people at Crown who might have had reason to wish Linda Ferris harm?"

"Er, why no." Snow said, his face a mask of perplexed confusion. "I've always believed that the Crown security people simply shot Linda dead instead of detaining her, then worked with the FBI to cover it up."

"You think there was a cover-up? And why would they just shoot her? She was so out of shape that she could not possibly run away from them." Phyllis asked.

"Tensions were high, and I think the Crown criminals shot first and thought about it later, if at all." Snow said. "And of course the bourgeoisie always cover themselves when they use brute force against the People. But they know that their filthy sins will catch up to them; to this day the filthy rich executives of Crown Chemicals maintain bodyguards and luxury bulletproof limousines to protect them from the Justice that surely will befall them one day. Their CEO even had bulletproof glass put into his small house on the mountainside just above the University here. He died of natural causes, unfortunately, but the rest will someday pay for their crimes."

"Mr. Snow, Miss Lilac, we really appreciate your time as well as your candor." Phyllis said, standing up to end the interview. The police officers excused themselves and left.

"Let's have lunch together and talk about that interview." Phyllis said as they walked to their car. She was clearly excited. "It was scintillating, don't you agree?" 

"It was indeed interesting." Lt. Hanson said. Cindy was thoughtful.

----------------------------------

"Laura, it's wonderful of you to join us." Phyllis said as her daughter Laura Fredricson joined them at the table. They were eating at one of the bistros on the Town Square, sitting outside in the warm sun, and Laura had come up to their table.

"So, how can I help with this cold case you're working on?" Laura asked, sitting down.

"We need 'scoop', or 'dirt' I might say, on Gordon Snow in the Environmental Sciences Department, as well as his secretary, one Miss Lilac." Phyllis said.

"Ah yes, the 'eco-terrorist couple', as they're called behind their backs." Laura said. "Their reputation with the PCGW group goes further than they realize. But if you want some dirt, the only thing I have is that Gordon Snow got fired from the school he was at previously for having inappropriate sexual relations with his female students. His girlfriend Lilac still has no clue about that, nor that he's likely having sex with female students here. He's a bit more careful now, of course."

Phyllis insisted on not talking further about the case until their meals were eaten, preferring to discuss family and friends and grandchildren and small chit-chat. Laura excused herself as they finished their meals, and Lt. Hanson said he had to get back to his Campus duties. They left together, which was Phyllis's cue to get back into the case.

"So, Cindy," Phyllis said, "what did you think of Mr. Snow and Ms. Lilac?"

"I was shocked that he came out and admitted being near the scene the night of the murder." Cindy said. "That's some arrogance. The Statutes of Limitations notwithstanding, it's stupid of him to say anything. I also saw that Lilac was fine until one point when Snow admitted they were all there. Wonder why she suddenly got nervous?"

"Yes, we need to talk to Miss Lilac again, but separately from Mr. Snow." Phyllis said. 

"What did you observe, Phyllis?" Cindy asked.

"Oh, Mr. Snow provided me with a veritable wealth of observations." Phyllis said, her eyes twinkling. "First of all, does anyone really expect us to believe that Linda Ferris cut that fence all by herself? Certainly others had to help, which means they all were around back and at the place the fence was breached, not around the side where the water treatment plant was. So they are either lying about who was there, or about where they were. I suspect it was about where they were, that they were all at the fence breach area."

"Is that why you cut off my questioning?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, dear." Phyllis replied. "You were about to ask why they didn't breach the fence near the water treatment area, and not have to cover all that distance. And if they were standing in that area undetected, they should've been able to attack the fence at the water treatment facility without being immediately caught. Yes, that stands very well to reason. But I wanted them to think that I believe their story of being in a separate place from Linda Ferris."

"So you think they're lying?" Cindy asked.

"Oh absolutely." Phyllis said. "And so far the little ideas I'm working out have not been eliminated by the facts we're learning."

"Which you're not telling until you're ready." Cindy said.

"You've seen all that I've seen." Phyllis replied.

"That's what Don always says, too." Cindy said. "So what is our next step?"

"Why don't you meet Inspector Maxwell in the City and interview the woman's husband," Phyllis suggested, "while I have a few words with Ms. Wurtzburg. I also need to call my son."

Part 6 - Press Relations and Family Relationships

"Mr. Ferris, we appreciate your time." Cindy said after introducing herself, then introducing Britt as being with the SBI. 

"I'm glad to help, but I am curious as to why you're bringing up this old case?" Ferris said, peering through his glasses at the women.

"We routinely glance back at cold cases." Cindy said. "And some possible new information has come out about the death of your wife. If I may ask, were you in Town the night your wife was killed?"

"Yes, I was in Town." Robert Ferris said. "Linda and I were staying in a communal home that the PCGW leaders had rented. A bunch of us slept there in sleeping bags during the weeks of the protest."

"So, just to get this straight in my head, it was leaders of the movement staying there? Do you remember any of their names?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, it was where the protests were planned and the press releases put together." Ferris said. "It's hard to remember all of their names, but Linda was friendly with a girl named Lilac, and there was a guy named Snow... Gordon Snow, maybe? Then there was a guy name Brent, he didn't seem to have the stomach for the protests, and another girl... Mary or Marie, perhaps."

"Did you go with your wife to the Crown Chemicals plant the night she was killed?"

"No." said Ferris. "I stayed behind and waited. We were going to skip town after Linda dumped the chemicals in the water treatment plant. But she never came back, and the next thing I know I was being seriously questioned by the police and the FBI for three days while the rest of those sniveling little cowards ran to the four corners of the earth."

"Do you know where your wife acquired the chemicals that she was found with when she died?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Robert Ferris said. "I heard later that some of them were radioactive and were dangerous for her to be carrying. I'd have never let her get near stuff like that."

"Mr. Ferris, what you've said to this point has been generally corroborated." Britt Maxwell said. "So I'd like you to be honest with us and tell us who you think might have had cause to harm your wife, besides the Crown Chemicals people."

"I... I always thought the security people shot her." Robert said.

"Maybe they did." said Cindy, "But your wife was the one who actually took the risk of running the mission. Do you think there was anyone else that might have wanted to see her come to harm?"

"Specifically, no. But..." Robert paused, then continued in a rush, "one reason I disassociated from the PCGW was because of the way they acted after her death. They were using her death as publicity to advance their own cause, riding it to the hilt. I began to see that they didn't give a damn about her dying, but loved the controversy and issue that came out of it. I loved my wife and she had died for the cause, and they... just didn't care..."

"I can understand how you felt." Britt Maxwell said. After a couple more questions, they wrapped up their interview and left.

On the drive back to Town, Cindy said "That was an interesting comment about them using Linda Ferris's death for publicity. I wonder..."

"Yes?..." Britt said.

"I think I know where Phyllis was going with her idea." Cindy said. "Let me run this by you..."

------------------------

"Thank you for meeting me, Ms. Wurtzburg." Phyllis said as Bettina met her at the Starbucks coffee shop at the County Mall, which was northwest of Town and served the more affluent people that lived in the area.

"Please, call me Bettina. May I call you Phyllis?" Bettina said, almost gushing. "I am so glad to finally get to talk with you in a setting other than some party."

"First," Phyllis said, "you understand that this meeting and all that is said is 'deep background'?"

"I'll take that." said Bettina. "At least it's not 'off the record'."

"So let me ask you some questions first." Phyllis said. "We're looking into a cold case, the one about the woman that died about a week after the Crown Chemicals riot."

"Ah yes, I remember that." Bettina said. "I had just started as a reporter with KXTC. I found out really quick that we local reporters weren't worth a damn when it came to the national reporters. They literally pushed people down and out of their way to get to the front of the line. I have to say, though, that it saved my life."

"How so?" Phyllis asked, to keep Bettina talking.

"Well, one of the national news crews pushed to the front when the rioting started." Bettina replied. "And then the Crown Chemicals people opened fire. They had guns by the hundreds. Remember that national news anchor Walter Jensen? He was shot dead, and his cameraman was blown away also. I've always believed that they were specifically targeted, but a lot of protesters were shot and they were lucky that only 24 died."

"So how did the Media take the killings of their own?" Phyllis asked.

"Bad, Phyllis, we took it very bad, very personally." Bettina said, her voice lowering a bit. "It definitely biased the coverage from then on. We were hoping to somehow get the Crown bastards, but the truth of the matter is that they were clean and always had been."

"So what do you remember about Linda Ferris being killed?" Phyllis asked, sipping her coffee.

"I remember a lot of people being skeptical when the FBI exonerated the Crown Chemicals security people." Bettina replied. "But I knew it was true because I heard from some of the national reporters that the U.S. EPA was pushing the FBI to find something so that they could go after Crown. But the FBI really did find nothing, and they firmly held their ground on that, not playing the EPA's corrupt political games, so I have to say that I believe them."

"Did the news people work with the PCGW to make the most of the Ferris killing?" Phyllis asked.

"Oh, you bet they did." Bettina replied. "At the national level, anyway. What I remember is that by the time Linda Ferris died, we were being pushed to calm things down in the Town and County, and the politicians were beginning to talk about merging... which happened not too much later. The national media gave the Ferris death a couple of days, then a couple more after the FBI report came out, trying to work the angles to help the PCGW. But the story was dying by that time. The PCGW got a lot of donations around that time, but the story moved on, as it always does." 

"Anything else you can remember from that time that might help us?" Phyllis asked.

"Only that the Fat Bitch, as the murdered woman was called, was not well liked by her PCGW colleagues. They didn't have much to say about her after she was killed, except to call the company murderers and such. She was a supporter, but her lodestone was feminist causes, not the environment. I always wondered if she wasn't set up."

"Thank you, that's very helpful." Phyllis said. "So, what can I tell you in payback, under deep background, of course."

"Something juicy about your son, the Iron Crowbar." Bettina said, her eyes sparkling. Phyllis made some observations as Bettina continued. "For example, with the election coming up, what does your son plan to do if the wrong people are elected? He could be out of a job... or worse."

"Well," Phyllis said, "my son has done very well and has caught the attention of the law enforcement community at every level. He'll have no problem finding good employment elsewhere. But even if the so-called wrong people win, I'm not sure they want to take on the Iron Crowbar... far worse people have gotten badly hurt doing that."

"I'm hearing that the interest in him at the Federal level is not all positive and that your son should watch his back." Bettina said, as much as a warning as an inquiry. "Any deep background on that?"

"Like I said," Phyllis replied, "taking on the Iron Crowbar can be very dangerous to a bad person's health. And for all the enemies he has at the Federal level, he also has some very good friends."

"Thank you." Bettina said. "By the way, anything you can do to get me an interview with him, even off the record, you'll get my undying appreciation."




The Phyllis Files Ch. 01



Phyllis put down her coffee cup, clasped her fingers together in front of her, and looked straight into Bettina's eyes. "Bettina, I think you're going to get your interview, and perhaps a whole lot more. And I think you and my son will be hooking up, too... if you haven't already. And if you're not on birth control, Ms. Wurtzburg, I might become a grandmother again..."

Bettina didn't say a word, and did not break Phyllis's eye contact...

Part 6 - The Puzzle Pieces

"I think I finally figured out where you're going with your theory." Cindy said to Phyllis as they ate supper at Phyllis's basement apartment at the 'Mountain Nest'. Phyllis nodded and beamed as Cindy presented her ideas.

"I knew you'd catch on eventually." Phyllis said. "And the information you obtained from Robert Ferris is very valuable. The problem is, we don't have anything actionable enough to make an arrest."

"Agreed." Cindy said. "What we need to do is get this Lilac woman into the interrogation room, alone, and get the truth out of her. And we need to do it soon, if what we're thinking is right."

"You're right, and after supper we're going back to Headquarters." Phyllis said. "I talked to Don earlier today. He's already had Paulina Patterson obtain a material witness warrant to bring Miss Lilac in."

((Readers, at this point you have all the clues to solve this mini-mystery. The Solution will be revealed in The Phyllis Files Ch. 02.))

To be continued.



The Phyllis Files Ch. 02



The Phyllis Files: The Case of the Neighborhood Break-Ins.

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.

The Phyllis Files, Ch. 1-2

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, 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 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 0 - The Solution to The Case of the Executed Environmentalist

Paulina Patterson and I just watched as my mother and Cindy Ross interviewed the woman Lilac in Interrogation-1, listening in as the microphones transmitted their conversation. A lawyer had already been provided for Lilac, as she'd invoked immediately upon arrest.

"Lilac," Cindy Ross stated, playing the role of bad cop, "there are so many holes in your story that I can make a swiss cheese sandwich out of it. There is no way you could've been on the outside of the fence near the water treatment area that night; it was being watched by Crown Security. There is no way that Linda Ferris cut that fence and got in by herself; she had to have help. There is no way Gordon Snow's story holds up. We have further evidence on him, as well."

"You don't have a damn thing on any of us." Lilac said, her voice a snarl. "You can't prove that one word of what I said is not true."

"Miss Lilac," Phyllis said, playing good cop. "I don't think you killed Linda Ferris, nor did you know that she was going to be killed that night. But right now, if you don't help us, you're going down as an accessory to first degree murder, maybe even conspiracy to commit murder, which will bring the death penalty."

"I'm prepared to die for the cause!" Lilac said defiantly, and enjoying the moment. "I'm prepared to die for the environment, to save the earth from the filthy capitalist swine that are polluting our waters, killing our animals, and causing global warming across the globe!"

That path wasn't going to work, Phyllis realized, so she tried a new way: "Miss Lilac," Phyllis said, "You can't fight for your cause if you're dead, and dying for it won't help your cause. Linda Ferris died for your cause; you couldn't even generate press coverage from it. Linda Ferris died, and Crown Chemicals continues on. She was your colleague for the cause, but you don't have to die for Gordon Snow's sake."

The lawyer whispered something to Lilac and she nodded.

"We're done here," the lawyer said, standing up, "unless you're going to arrest her and charge her with a crime."

"She already is under arrest under a Court-issued warrant; she is not free to go." Cindy Ross said, in her best imitation of what her mentor the Iron Crowbar loved to do with Legal Beagles. "And charges will be coming in the morning at her arraignment if your client doesn't cooperate. Now sit back down, Counselor, or leave. But Lilac stays with us." The lawyer was red-faced but complied, sitting back down, his bluff thoroughly and brutally called.

"Lilac," Cindy continued, "you need to understand something. The Crown security people did not shoot Linda Ferris, which means that someone in your group did shoot her. I think you know this in your heart, you know that Gordon Snow committed the murder. And once we arrest him, he's going to turn on you and throw you to the dogs. He doesn't give a damn about the cause nor you; he only gives a damn about himself."

"He loves me." Lilac said.

"Yeah, right." Cindy said. "That's why he's banging female students, and has been for years. He got fired from his last job for it- oh yes, you know it to be true." The Detective had seen the change in Lilac's eyes. So had Phyllis.

"Dear," Phyllis said, "you must realize that Gordon Snow is not worth going to prison or dying for. He has no loyalty nor love for you."

"Oh geez..." said Lilac as tears began to stream down her face as the Truth slammed into her mind with ruthless force.

"Just tell us the truth." Phyllis said. "Gordon did not stay with your group that night, did he, Lilac?"

The dam burst. "NO!" Lilac screamed, releasing her anguish. "No... he went inside the fence after the Fat Bitch. He said he was going to make sure she got to the water treatment shed okay. We heard the shots, then he came back, running as fast as he could. He said the security people had shot the Fat Bitch and told us to scatter and run. We got back together at the house where her husband was, and told everyone there the story."

-----

I'd heard enough. I turned to Paulina. "You have probable cause. If you get the warrant, I'll get Nash to pick up Gordon Snow, and search his premises and University offices for a .45 ACP pistol."

"On my way." said Paulina, rushing out the door.

-----

"You are truly an idiot." Cindy Ross said as she faced Gordon Snow across the table of Interrogation-2. "You kept the frickin' gun all these years."

"I knew I could never legally buy another one after my association with PCGW." Snow said. "And I knew I needed a gun to protect myself. PCGW is a very militant group; sometimes they eat their own."

"What, you don't trust the police to be the only ones armed and to protect you?" Cindy said witheringly.

"Why are we still talking?" Snow asked.

Paulina Patterson picked up the conversation. "Tell us the whole story and the death penalty will be off the table. D.A. Krasney might even go to 25-to-life with possibility of parole if you spare him and the taxpayers the expense of a trial -and- tell us the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

Snow began talking.

--------

The next weekend we were on the back patio of the "Mountain Nest", talking about the now-solved cold case. Bettina Wurtzburg had somehow gotten the scoop on the story, which got her a bit of national attention as the Big Media types just ran with her pieces instead of sending their own peeps here. Fine by me.

My mother and Cindy were holding court talking about this one. Present to listen with utter fascination were the Chief and his wife, myself, Lt. Bill Hanson, Martin Nash and Sandra Speer. Laura was in meetings in Washington.

"Ten years ago, Gordon Snow wasn't saying a word." my mom Phyllis said. "Then with the Statute of Limitations expiring, he thought he could boast a bit more. But like most stupid but arrogant criminals, he said too much."

"What cracked it for you?" Martin Nash asked.

"Let me first tell everyone what happened, as Gordon confessed it." Phyllis said. "After the big riot, when most of the PCGW people realized they were badly outgunned and couldn't use violence without dying in large numbers, and with Crown itching for a fight and not negotiating with them in any way, the protests began dying off."

"It was Gordon Snow who had the idea of breaking into the Crown grounds and contaminating the water that was being dumped out. He also hoped that the radioactive materials would contaminate the pipes and shut down Crown's water treatment plant. He said he had a deal with one of the national news firms that as soon as the water was poisoned, they'd swoop in for the story."

"Wow, the Media would do that?" Sandra asked.

"Hell yeah, they would...and they DO, on a very regular basis." I replied. Have I mentioned that I am not exactly a fan of the Press? "Anyway, Mom, you were saying?"

Phyllis continued "Snow managed to convince Linda Ferris, who was not a very popular person, to actually go in and contaminate the water works. Her husband was aware that she was involved in the scheme, but did not know her level of involvement nor that she was going to be carrying radioactive chemicals. For that matter, she did not realize the level of danger from the radioactive stuff; she was not a particularly bright woman despite her purported education."

"So Gordon, Lilac and Brent helped cut the fence and get Linda through. Lilac says she didn't understand why Gordon had stayed away from Linda until she went through, not knowing that he was avoiding the radioactive materials-

"So Gordon obtained the chemicals?" Britt asked.

Sandra Speer piped up. "We're looking into that now, and Homeland Security is taking a big interest. We think that there might have been a mole in a Government lab that acquired the stuff. We're more interested in keeping that stuff out of the wrong hands in the here and now than in finding the supplier from 10 years ago, so don't get your hopes up on an answer any time soon. Phyllis?"

"Gordon did obtain the chemicals," Phyllis said, "and let me add here that there might have been a PCGW insider within the Crown company. A security chief with the too-simple name 'Bert Jones', who had two badly failing security plans, is my guess."

"But to continue," Phyllis continued, "Gordon followed Linda Ferris inside the fence, caught up to her when she was very near the water shed, and shot her from behind, the first shot being from some yards away, and the final shot being from fairly close after she'd fallen. He had planned to murder her all along and leave her body to be found with the chemicals. He high-tailed it back to the fence breach and everyone scattered for miles."

"The reason for Gordon's plan to murder Linda Ferris is that he expected the national Media to really work up the story that she was murdered in cold blood by Crown Chemicals. He was hoping that the deadliness of the chemicals would be heard about and read about as opposed to the fact that his PCGW colleague was actually sabotaging the plant. But his plan backfired: the overall story was getting old to the Press, and they realized that people were more interested in the fact of the attempted sabotage than anything else. So the Media squashed the story and let it die, and thus ended The PCGW's moment in the sun."

"Gordon was arrogant enough to think he'd committed the perfect crime." Phyllis said. "He only had his friends Lilac and Brent to worry about. Brent, if that's even his real name, disappeared. I suspect Gordon killed Brent, though he has not confessed to that. However, he couldn't bring himself to kill Lilac, with whom he was having a sexual affair that continued for years. So he brought Lilac to his schools with him as his secretary, to keep a watchful eye on her as well as enjoy sex with her. And he indulged in sex with other women, as well, particularly female students."

"And to answer your question, Martin," Phyllis said to wrap up, "when I saw that the angle of the bullets were from almost directly behind rather than from the side or in front, as I would expect from security personnel intercepting Linda Ferris, I realized that the killer was someone who crept up behind her. And it was far more likely that it was one of the other PCGW people than the security people to do that. After that, just about everything else fell neatly into place."

Bill Hanson then asked "I guess my only question is: why wasn't this solved back then?"

"Ah," Phyllis said, "that is the beauty of cold cases. Sometimes information comes out with time. Sometimes people talk that had not talked in the past. Sometimes the Detectives, like Cindy here, are much better than those in the past."

"And sometimes we have Phyllis on the case the second time around, giving the perps no chance." Cindy replied.

Everyone laughed, but Phyllis said "Seriously, I think politics played a part back then that aren't as strongly felt today. The tensions were high then, and nobody really wanted to look at the FBI's ballistics data, which showed she was shot from almost directly behind. And everyone was distracted by Linda Ferris's act of sabotage, not realizing that someone else's plan was for her to be found dead as their act of sabotage... and so it all fell apart until we could re-examine it."

"Well," I said, "at this rate, I expect the two of you to solve one cold case every day. We'll have the storage rooms cleaned out in no time." Everyone laughed.

"Bring it on." Cindy said as she and Phyllis did a fist-bump. "At least until I get off this damned light duty."

Part 1 - The Case of the Break-Ins: The Crime Scene

"Good morning, Lieutenant Ross!"

The voice was Phyllis's. Cindy looked up to see the Auxiliary Policewoman enter her office. It was early September, and Cindy was not yet re-qualified with her gun to be on full field duty.

"Did you hear about the break-in at the Jones's home, in the Lakeview subdivision?" Phyllis asked.

"Yes, the patrol officers went over there this morning. Sergeant Thompson and Senior Patrolman Hicks. They're filing their police reports now." Cindy replied. "I was wondering if I should even send a Detective over there."

"Oh, but it's the second crime in that subdivision within a month. The Smith home nearby was robbed just a few weeks ago." said Phyllis. "Don't you find that interesting?" Cindy knew enough of Phyllis to know that the older woman had something in her head.

"How so?" Cindy asked.

"That's what I want to find out. I suggest that we not waste your busy Detectives' time, but that you and I take a quick glance into the case." Phyllis said. "I'll clear it with Don to let you out of the cage for a few hours. We'll only go around to look at the crime scene and talk to the Smith family."

"I thought it was the Jones house that just got robbed." Cindy said.

"Oh, yes, that must be what I meant." said Phyllis, her voice mysterious. Cindy knew for sure Phyllis was up to something.

"Okay, if you can get Don to let us, I'll go out there with you." Cindy said.

---------

"Ah, there's the lake." said Phyllis as they drove into the subdivision. "Such a difficult time they've had."

The Lakeview community was a gated subdivision to the north of Town, farther north than other super-rich gated communities. They developers had wanted to dam the River to create a lake, but that would've flooded the entire Fire Academy Range, the Water Works, and other buildings and farms, so the Town & County Council put the kibosh on it.

Instead, the developers had to tap an underground spring, then build an outflow to the River. The lake looked nice, but was not the huge development they'd wanted; they had wanted something to rival the Big Reservoir between the County and Nextdoor County, where the Police Chief lived on one side and the Riordans on the other, amongst others.

"Yes." said Cindy. "And after the economy took a downturn, the development hasn't sold nearly as well as they'd hoped. It's only a third full, and that's just Phase I of the construction."

"Ah, you seem to know something about it." Phyllis said.

"I was considering investing in two lots in the Phase II area, and building two houses for re-sale or rent." Cindy said. "But they didn't even start that phase yet. So, do you want to visit the Jones house or the Smith house? They're close together, and both houses' backyards are on the lake."

"Let's visit the Jones home first. The crime that occurred this morning." said Phyllis. Cindy drove to the location. Upon their knock on the door, a handsome woman in her late 40s or early 50s answered the door, and admitted them. She was Mrs. Jones. As they were seated in the living room, Mr. Jones came in. He was in his upper 50s, tall and spry, with glasses and wild hair that seemed to jut out in places. His graying beard also seemed to jut forward, creating the impression that he was jabbing at you as he talked.

Cindy introduced herself and Phyllis, then said "We're following up on the break-in. Our officers were here this morning."

"Yes, they were." said Mr. Jones. "As I told them, the burglars apparently came through the back door into my study. They took the darndest group of things imaginable."

"May we see your study?" Phyllis asked. They were led by Mr. Jones to the room that was the scene of the crime. Mrs. Jones did not follow them.

Papers were strewn about the desk and on the floor, some books thrown out of the bookshelves on the side wall. "Not much was taken." said Mr. Jones, pointing at the bay window. A clean spot could be seen on the window shelf where something had been. "There was a statue there, of one of the gods holding what looked like a half-globe. When the sunlight hit it, it cast a funny shadow, and could be used as a sundial of sorts. There was also a globe on my desk that was taken, as well as the stapler and a clock that sat on the desk. They took a deck of cards that was in the drawer, that I played Solitaire with. My computer is gone, but they left the copier there, and left the TV and radio in this room. They didn't take any TVs around the house, either."

"How very odd!" said Phyllis, her eyes darting all around. "So nothing of value taken?"

"The computer, and some of our silver plate was out." said Mr. Jones. "My wife was polishing it in anticipation of a party I was planning to throw. They got all of that."

"So was the plate insured?" Phyllis asked.

"Fortunately, yes." said Mr. Jones. "The computer was, also."

"Who are your insurers?" asked Phyllis.

"State Farm." said Mr. Jones. "Mr. Tennison is my agent."

"Were any papers stolen? Any important documents?" Cindy asked.

"No... well, not that I can tell." said Mr. Jones. "They certainly made a mess of things, and I haven't gotten everything back in order. But my most valuable papers are upstairs, in the gun safe. And that also reminds me, they didn't even try to get in the safe. There are some antique guns in there that might be worth something, but the safe wasn't bothered."

"So, they came in through these French doors?" asked Phyllis. As Mr. Jones affirmed it, the lovely mature woman opened the door and went through to the patio out back. 

"Well, Lieutenant," Phyllis said as she and Cindy looked at the lake that was at the end of the backyard, where sprouts of grass were beginning to get tall. "I seriously doubt the criminals swam through the lake to get here. So they must've come around from the side." Phyllis was looking closely at the patio planks, then the grass. She walked to the edge of the fence gate, looking out towards the driveway and front of the house.

"So what do you make of this, dear?" Phyllis asked as she made her way back to the patio.

"Grass needs cutting," Cindy said. "I can see your track marks where you walked to the gate. Other than that, I don't see anything."

"Indeed, we seen nothing." Phyllis said. "It's very interesting that the burglars decided to come up the driveway to get here, very much in view if the street lights were on and working. And to risk going into a fenced yard, where a dog would likely be- Oh, Mr. Jones, do you own any dogs?" she called out to Mr. Jones, who was inside the study.

"No ma'am." said Mr. Jones as he stepped to the door.

"Well, I think that concludes our visit." said Phyllis. "I'm sure a police report will be ready soon, so that you can make your insurance claims."

"Thank you, ma'am." said Mr. Jones. Cindy and Phyllis took their leave of the Joneses and went back to Cindy's car.

"Where to now?" Cindy asked.

"Oh, to the Smith's. They're a couple doors to the left of the Jones's here, and the house between them is empty. It was foreclosed upon a couple of months ago."

---------




The Phyllis Files Ch. 02



"Yes, it was a strange thing." said Mr. Smith, a short, portly man who spoke in a gravelly voice. "Three weeks ago. Someone broke into the patio door to the den. They trashed the place, but didn't take much."

"Where is Mrs. Smith?" asked Phyllis.

"Oh, she's visiting her sister in California." said Mr. Smith, as he led them to the study room, both women noticing his difficulty in walking with any measure of speed. "And we were both in Florida when the break-in occurred. We got back just the next day to find the place a mess."

"How do you know it was the night before?" asked Cindy.

"Because our neighbor, Mr. Jones, had been getting our mail and leaving it inside for us. He said there was no damage when he got the mail the afternoon before we got back, so it must've been later that night."

The women looked around the room, noting that the floor plan was similar to the Jones home, though not exactly alike. Mr. Smith was talking as they looked around. "We've cleaned up now, but at the time, there were papers everywhere, everywhere! Every desk drawer emptied and thrown about, books thrown everywhere, almost as if they were just throwing stuff around for the fun of it! In fact, that's what I first thought, and what the Police thought when they came and looked at it. We thought it was kids vandalizing the place."

"Was anything of value taken? Papers? Jewelry? Silverware?" asked Phyllis.

"Strangest damn thing." said Mr. Smith. "They took the lamp from my desk, they took the wi-fi router to the computer... no, I had the computer with me in Florida. They took a framed sheet of stamps off the wall, and an old map of the Town from fifty years ago. But they didn't take any of the televisions, just trashed this room and the living room. I have a built-in safe upstairs, but they didn't even try to break into that, as near as I can tell."

"So no papers were missing?" Phyllis asked. "From what you're saying, it sounds like they were after documents."

"None missing that I could tell." said Mr. Smith. "Any important stuff is in the safe upstairs. Everything down here is just old receipts, some correspondence from when I was in business, but nothing really valuable."

"I just have one last question before we go." said Phyllis. "I see Mrs. Smith's pictures on your fireplace mantle. Is she in good condition, physically that is?"

"Well, she's more active than I am." said Mr. Smith. "Arthritis has really hit my knees. But she's no spring chicken anymore, either. She gets around, but it's a bit harder for her than it used to be."

"I see. Thank you very much for speaking with us, Mr. Smith." said Phyllis. "If we find out anything new, we'll be sure to contact you."

"Let's speak to the neighbor across the street from the Smiths." said Phyllis. They knocked on the door and a middle-aged woman answered. She invited them in, but Phyllis declined, saying "I only wanted to ask you if you've seen any strange persons hanging around the neighborhood, particularly the Smith and Jones residences."

"Oh no." the woman said. "Like I told the other police officers that asked, there have been no strange people around. Mr. Jones was getting the Smiths mail while the Smiths were out of town, but no strangers were hanging around, no strange cars driving around."

"What about kids?" asked Cindy. "Any groups of kids clustering around, walking or riding bikes on the streets?"

"No," said the woman, "most of the people around here are older, retirees and such. Their kids have grown up." Cindy and Phyllis thanked the woman and returned to their car.

After a quick loop around the full subdivision to get a feel for the lay of the land, they headed to the front gate to leave for Headquarters. At the front gate, Cindy pulled up to where the guardhouse was. She talked to the security man on duty.

"Is there much crime here?" Cindy asked. "Do you have much vandalism?"

"No, Lieutenant." said the security man, who was a police officer currently off-duty, and knew who he was talking to. "We haven't had any problems at all, except for those two burglaries. There have been some vandalism issues in a couple of the gated subdivisions closer to Town, but this place is on the 'edge of civilization', as I like to say. No problems at all." Cindy thanked the man and drove on out.

As they drove back towards Police Headquarters, Phyllis asked Cindy "Well, dear, what did you think of that?"

"Couple of strange crimes." said Cindy. "I'm going to check the logs and ask around Vice, and see if there are any more reports of vandalism or burglary there. From memory I can't remember that neighborhood being a problem area, and the security guard said the same thing. He's a cop, by the way, and moonlighting here. So what do you think, Phyllis?"

"Well, the inventory of stolen objects is very interesting, wouldn't you say?" Phyllis said. 

"Practically no value, except maybe the stamps as collectables, the globe for the bronze, the silver plate, and of course the computer stolen from the Jones house." Cindy replied.

"Yes, and the theft of the standard deck is interesting, but certainly won't fetch much on the open market." Phyllis said. "The Smiths weren't home when their house was burglarized, but it was trashed worse, from what I was hearing and from what the police report of that incident said... oh yes, I read it before I came to see you. But both homes had safes, and while the Jones's were home, the Smiths weren't, and in both cases there was no attempt to burgle the safes. What does that tell you, dear?"

"That these aren't professional thieves." said Cindy. "I think the idea of kids vandalizing the houses is getting better and better."

"Oh nooooo." said Phyllis. "No, I believe that a serious crime has taken place here. Very serious, indeed."

Part 2 - Leads

"Don, if you wanted to fence something of value, such as silver plate, how would you go about it?" my mother Phyllis asked. She and Cindy were sitting in front of my desk in my office. My mother had complimented me on the comfort of the chairs.

"I'd ask Sergeant Sharples." I quipped, then said "Seriously, I'm not sure. I'd probably make some contacts in the Tenderloin District, maybe the Southern Ghetto area." The Tenderloin District stretched from the main north/south road westward along the southern part of Town, and was where the strip clubs and nightclubs were, as well as the main places for acquiring recreational drugs, it's proximities giving University Students access as well as persons staying at one of the establishments along 'Hotel Row' in the South part of Town and below it.

The Southern Ghetto area was the blighted area in the Southwest part of Town, where the Government Housing tenements were. It was predominately Black and was rough, especially at night. The Industrial and Warehouse districts had once dipped down into that area, but as it became worse the businesses left the area.

"So you think the plate stolen last night is going to be fenced?" I asked. "We can ask the guys in Vice to keep their ears and eyes open."

"That might be wise," said Phyllis, "but I wouldn't waste too much time on it."

"What do you think we should do?" Cindy asked Phyllis.

"I would suggest that we do a bit of research into the Smiths and the Joneses." replied Phyllis. "See how their finances are doing. I'm also going to pull some logs and see about their crime rates in that neighborhood. Cindy, I might suggest you and I drive around that community after dark. I want to see how the lighting is."

"Y'all go to it." I said. "Let me know if you find anything that needs backup. Remember, you're still on light duty, Cindy."

"How could I possibly forget?" Cindy said witheringly. I did not smile in reply, and Cindy knew she was touching the edges of my patience. She hurriedly excused herself and left, my mother following with a smile on her pretty face.

--------

The sun had set an hour before as Cindy drove a Police SUV towards the Lakeview subdivision. The guard let them in when Cindy flashed her badge. As he was not the same guard as earlier in the day, Cindy took a moment to ask him about crime rates and vandalism. He replied that except for the two burglaries, there was virtually no problems, and of course the community being gated helped.

"Yes, the streets are well lighted." said Phyllis. Unfortunately, not all of the homes are. Too many empty ones."

"Yes." said Cindy. "Okay, there's the Jones house. Wow, that driveway is lit up very well. I wouldn't want to walk down it to get to the backyard."

"Yes, but it's the only way to the back patio, there was a huge hedge between the Jones house and the one to its left, and the street light is right there lighting it up." Phyllis said. "Now the Smith's home is a bit less well-lighted, and I can see the possibility of someone sneaking around there... but it's still a bit iffy. And with the lake at the backs of the houses... Cindy my dear, would you choose these houses as a target if you were a criminal burglar?"

"Probably not the Jones house, but maybe the Smith house." Cindy replied. "If I knew they weren't at home, and if I could drive up in a car that looked very much like theirs, and if I knew what I wanted to steal, then yes. But with respect to what happened in the actual crimes? Not so much. The neighbors keep good watch, as well."

"I agree." said Phyllis. "And don't you agree that if kids were hanging out and possibly vandalizing places, that they'd be seen even more easily, that attention would be paid to them, especially with the neighbors watching out?"

"Absolutely." said Cindy.

"Let's go that all-night diner that Don likes so much." said Phyllis. "My treat. I'm hungry!"

-------

As they ate their breakfast foods at the diner, Phyllis asked Cindy "So what did you learn from your computer searches today?"

"Nothing." said Cindy. "No police reports in that area, other than the two burglaries and a couple of car accidents, fender-benders. I talked to the Vice Detectives, and they were really shocked by the whole thing; they said that two burglaries in the same area in such a short time was very unusual for pro thieves. I totally agree with that."

"As do I." said Phyllis. "And fencing the plate?"

"Vice said that there has been very little fencing of things like silver plate. It's all computers and iPhones now. They also called all the pawn shops in the area that might've taken in plate... no joy on that. And Don wasn't kidding... Sharples has several CIs that are aware of any big burglaries and fencing going on... no chatter at all, so he says."

"Yes, I suspect that we're going down the wrong rabbit hole in pursuing that." Phyllis said.

"What did you learn today?" Cindy asked as she drank her coffee.

"The Smiths were one of the first residents of the Lakeview neighborhood." said Phyllis. "He's long since retired, worked at Crawford Mattress for years, she was a school teacher, and they saved and invested wisely. Her health isn't very good, almost as bad as his.

"The Joneses came in a few months later. He worked at the University Library for years, and knows his way around the value of books. His wife, well, she's not really on the grid at all. He has credit cards but she doesn't, the checking account is in his name, but she doesn't have one either in her name or jointly with her husband. I find that remarkable."

"Maybe she had bad credit in the past, so they didn't put her name on anything." Cindy suggested. "She also made herself scarce once Mr. Jones arrived to escort us around their home."

"Yes, that's a very good observation." said Phyllis. "Of course, neither that nor not having credit cards is a crime. But to sum up: the Smiths are not suffering any financial problems, their house is paid for, their lawn is neatly manicured. The Joneses are struggling to make their house payments, their lawn was in poor shape, and his credit cards are maxed out or nearly so."

"I think I see what you're getting at." said Cindy, "but I'm not sure where I've seen a crime committed, other than the break-ins."

"Ah, but that's just it." said Phyllis. "And I think that this case is going to come down to timing."

((Readers, at this point you have all the clues to solve this mini-mystery. The Solution will be revealed in The Phyllis Files Ch. 03.))



The Phyllis Files Ch. 03



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 series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series (when published).

The Phyllis Files, Ch. 3

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, 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 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 0 - The Solution to The Case of the Break-Ins

"Okay, Mom," I said, "where is your probable cause?"

"Well, it's a current investigation." said my mother. We were in my office, with Cindy Ross and Paulina Patterson also in the room. "We could take a team there, say we're following up on a lead, then have someone go into the lake and-"

"Mom," I said, "I agree with everything you've said about what is going on and why, but if we don't have a warrant, they can order us off the property, and the case will be over. To get a warrant, we need something to give the judge. And right now, we have nothing but your hunches. Good hunches, to be sure, but not legally actionable. Am I right, Paulina?"

"Yes, Commander." said Paulina. "Now you know how I feel when I talk to you sometimes." It's a good thing Paulina is so beautiful; I could not give her my withering look for too long.

"Let me ask this..." said Phyllis, ignoring the looks Paulina and I were giving each other, which were more flirtatious than anything else. "In the subdivision, the lake itself... whose property is it? Do the property lines of the lots extend into the lake itself?"

"I don't think so." Cindy said. "I remember something about that from when I was looking at investing in the place. The lake belongs to the developers, but the County has some kind of jurisdiction over it to control flood issues."

"If the lake is not part of the properties, then divers can approach from another property, such as the empty home between the Smith and Jones homes." Phyllis said. "And if the divers find what I think they'll find, you'll have what you need for a warrant."

Paulina got up. "I'll go ask about that right now." She left the room.

"Maybe. I said. "Okay, while we're waiting, run the whole thing by me again..."

-----------

We were in the backyard of the empty house between the Smiths and the Joneses. The J.P. Goldman Bank, which had foreclosed upon the house and now owned it, had given us permission to go onto the property. It's nice when the bank's Chief Operations Officer, Selena Steele, continues to show gratitude for her life being saved from the Black Widow's vicious plot against her.

We watched as a Police Diver, actually a member of the SWAT Team, surfaced near the water line. He throw a globe onto the bank. A second Diver came up with what appeared to be a weird statue of some Greek god holding the world. A stapler also was fished out of the water.

I looked over to the side, seeing Mr. Jones watching from his patio. The divers had made sure not to touch the dry land that was his property.

"All right." I said to Sergeant Thompson and Patrolman Hicks. "Bag that shit as evidence. If this does not get us a warrant, I don't know what will. If the Jones' try to leave, go ahead and arrest them."

-----------

"Mr. Jones," I said as I entered the Jones's home. "This is a warrant to search your home for property that was reported to the insurance company as stolen." I handed Mr. Jones the papers. "Would you please open your safe upstairs?"

"I will not." said Jones. "I will not help you in any way. I want a lawyer, and I want a lawyer present before you conduct your search."

"He'd better get here fast." I said. "I don't need to wait, and if you won't open the safe, I'll have it cracked." Jones said nothing, but got out his cell phone to call his lawyer.

Thirty minutes later, the safe was open, thanks to my close associations with the FBI. What most people don't know is that when they buy a gun safe or other safe for their home, the combination is known to the manufacturers and to the Government; and unless the new owner knows how to change it, it sits there... known to the Government. I had the serial number to the safe from the label, the name of the maker, and within thirty minutes had the combination to open the safe. (Note: people, that really is true.)

Inside the safe was a computer, silver plate, a framed sheet of stamps showing the State Flags in the era of the American Bicentennial, and some other items. I wasted no time in having my officers place the Joneses under arrest.

"Add insurance fraud to the charges." I said at Headquarters as they were being processed. They were taken to Interrogation-1 and Interrogation-2, but both invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and demanded lawyers, which were quickly provided.

----------

"Okay, Mom, Cindy, you did an amazing job." I said as we sat on the back patio of the 'Mountain Nest'. My daughter Carole had been cranky when anyone else would hold her, but she was happy as could be sitting on Cindy's lap. I was holding baby Jim. Laura and Paulina Patterson were also there. "So, tell us the whole story."

"It was all your mom." said Cindy. Carole cooed.

"By no means, my dear." said Phyllis. "I could not have done it without you, Cindy. But as to the solution, I'm afraid that it wasn't all that difficult."

Phyllis settled in and began talking. "What got my attention about the case, and caused me to go get Cindy to investigate with me, was the odd nature of the stolen items. With only rare exceptions, the items were of no value. The houses were ransacked, especially the Smith home, but that was nothing, as both Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones said they had no papers of value in their studies."

"Let's look at the first crime, the Smith home." said Phyllis, "I could see that because the Smiths were away from home, professional thieves would've had plenty of time to crack the safe, but they elected not to. Therefore, I eliminated professional thieves in that case, and thought about vandalism. However, it became very clear during our investigation that there were no marauding groups of kids, and that neighbors were watching pretty well. So I ruled out vandalism. That left no good reasons for that crime."

"And then came the Jones break-in." said Phyllis. "Now there were some items of more value taken, but still there were some oddball things that disappeared. The room was trashed... but not as badly as the Smith home, from my evaluation of the photos of the Smith home. Last but not least, it was an amazing coincidence that the Joneses had their silver out and was cleaning it just when the break-in occurred."

"EWWWWW!" shouted Carole.

"Like father, like daughter." I said. "I don't believe in coincidences, either, right Carole?" Carole looked at me and smiled brightly and giggled. Everyone laughed.

"She is just so precious." said Phyllis, ever the doting grandmother. "Anyway, I went to the back yard of the Jones home. The grass was not trampled down at all, meaning that no one had snuck around back to the patio door. The driveway was lit up, as well. The only possible access to the Jones backyard was through the empty house between the Smith and Jones homes, and that looked a bit iffy. Cindy made many very good observations about the difficulties of intruders from the outside. In the end, I was thoroughly convinced that there had been no intruders, and that the Jones's whole story appeared to be unrealistic."

"So," Phyllis continued after drinking some water, "I thought about the Smith break-in. We learned that Mr. Jones had been getting Mr. Smith's mail and taking it into the house. He had access to the house, so if he really wanted to steal anything or find papers, he could take his time and search at leisure. I suspect strongly that he trashed the house on the last afternoon before the Smith's came home. Of course, it was attributed to a night-time raid when he, Mr. Jones, said everything was fine when he left."

"Why do that?" asked Laura.

"I believe it was to set a precedent." replied Phyllis. "The plan was to trash his own home, steal his own stuff, and make an insurance claim."

"Makes sense." I said. "The insurance company will see it's the second burglary in the neighborhood, and not be as likely to investigate Jones himself."

"Yes, I believe that was Mr. Jones's thinking. But now we're honing in on him." said Phyllis. "The Smiths are not very healthy at all, but the Joneses are. So there's another reason to eliminate the Smiths as possible suspects. Now came the question of why. As I looked into their financial records, I found the Joneses were in dreadful shape, while the Smiths were in no trouble at all. I still am not sure what Mrs. Jones's involvement was, but she certainly was not contributing to the family finances." 

"I can answer that." I said. "She had been involved in the sex industry. Probably a hooker, maybe a porn star when she was young. She still looks good today. Jack Muscone and I think she had an internet porn site going, which was doing well enough for them to buy that house. However, the site may have crossed the line, age-wise, so it was shut down. Mrs. Jones had to disappear, lest she be arrested for child pornography, so she went completely off the grid, and of course her income contribution was lost in the process."

"That sounds quite reasonable." said Phyllis. "So I had motive, I had means, and I had opportunity. The only problem was actual evidence and that bugaboo known as 'probable cause'."

"That 'bugaboo' gets more criminals freed than I want to think about." said Paulina.

"Yes, and because you are such an excellent District Attorney," Phyllis said in her most flattering voice, "we knew we had to make a solid case to get a warrant. Fortunately, the lake itself was communal property and we could search it. I suspected Mr. Jones might have thrown those larger, bulkier items into the lake... such a convenient hiding place, wouldn't you say?"

Cindy said "And Mr. Jones made a huge mistake telling you who his insurance company and agent was."

"Yes, indeed." said Phyllis. "And that was the crux of the matter. I'm not sure what charges might have been brought to bear against the Joneses. Technically, he cannot steal his own property, and we still didn't have any real proof he'd trashed the Smith home and stolen anything from there. But once he filled out that insurance claim... he committed insurance fraud, and that is a felony offense. Once we knew the claim had been filed, we only needed to find the stuff thrown into the lake to show probable cause for a warrant, and once we had the warrant and got into the safe and found the stolen items there, it was all over for the Joneses."

"So it was all a ruse, and really for not all that much money." said Laura. "Very nice how you saw through it."

"True." I said. "But I still have to keep my eye on you two as a partnership. It was all I could do to keep you from personally going out there and serving the arrest warrants."

"Just wait until I'm off light duty." said Cindy.

"At this rate, I'll see to it you never get off light duty." I said. "You and Mom can just keep solving these cases and other cold cases."

"What do you think of that, Carole?" Cindy asked my daughter as she held her.

"EHHHHHH!" screeched Carole unhappily.

"That's my girl!" said Cindy.

"I see I'm being ganged up on, soooooo... it's your bedtime, Carole." I said. "And that goes for your buddy, too. Go home and get some rest, Cindy. No telling when my mom will be at your doorstep again..."

Part 1 - The Case of The Home Invasion

It was getting cold outside in the early part of November. The Elections were over and the Town & County were settling back into the routine of Life that precedes the Holiday season that ends the year.

That routine was interrupted at Town & County Police Headquarters when a youngish man and woman entered through the front door. The man was practically dragging his wife into the building.

"Police!" he all but shouted as he approached the Duty Desk. "I need the police! My wife has been raped!"

"Would you keep your voice down!" the woman hissed, her face crimson with embarrassment and anger.

"Ma'am, sir, you're in the right place." the Duty Desk Sergeant said. "Kirkpatrick, would you take this couple to Room Alpha over there? I'll have a Detective come to see you immediately." The Sergeant was following instructions of not calling the room 'Interrogation Alpha', as 'Room Alpha' would be far less intimidating and far less understood by the Citizens than the actual use of the room its real name implied.

---------

Lieutenant(B) Cindy Ross was sitting behind her desk. On the sofa in front of the desk sat Auxiliary Police Detective Phyllis Troy, mother of the Police Commander. They were chatting about Phyllis's latest observations of the politicians of the County when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" said Cindy. Detective Teddy Parker appeared in the office.

"Ma'am, we have something unusual in Interrogation Alpha." said Parker, a youngish but perceptive Detective in the Major Crimes Department. "Lieutenant Perlman isn't here, so I thought I'd bring this to you. There's a couple that came in, a husband and wife. Guy says his wife was raped, but she's tried to leave twice and he's dragged her back... to the point we had officers having to separate them and stand guard over them."

"Oh, this should be most interesting!" exclaimed Phyllis. "Lieutenant, would you have any objections to me observing this one?"

"None at all." said Cindy. "In fact, until your son gets back and fires me for allowing it, you pretend to be a full Detective yourself. Okay Parker, let's go see what's going on." The three Detectives headed down to Interrogation-A, with Parker giving details of the couple's entrance into Headquarters, and entered the anteroom to the Interrogation rooms.

One peek through the one-way glass showed some raw emotions being displayed. A youngish man with sandy brown hair and an angry, red face was sitting at the table. He was slender, almost gaunt, and fairly tall but not what anyone would consider physically strong. His wife, who was possibly in her late twenties or early thirties, was beginning to show some weight gain but was otherwise shapely, and she had with reddish hair. She was also red-faced with anger, and was being guarded by Corporal Kirkpatrick and Patrolman McGhillie.

Before Cindy could enter the room, Phyllis stopped her. "Tell me, Cindy, what do you observe about these two?" Cindy looked at them for a few moments.

"Fairly well-to-do couple." Cindy said. "They're angry right now, so that hinders a reading on how they feel about each other and thus the state of their marriage. She dressed very hastily; from what I just heard about him dragging her in here, it would seem he drug her right out of bed and down here."

"Very good!" said Phyllis. "Teddy, do you have anything to add?"

"He's been injured." said Parker. "He came in here with a slight limp. He also has some scarring on his face and neck right around his right ear. Maybe caught in an explosion of some kind?"

"Oh, that's very, very good." said Phyllis. "I'll be sure to tell the Commander of your powers of observation, young man." Parker blushed slightly, but was ecstatic to hear that the Commander's mother was promising to say good things about him to her son.

"Okay, Phyllis, what did we miss?" Cindy asked.

"Only that- oh my." Phyllis started, then was stopped as the woman tried to get up and leave again, only to be detained by the patrolmen. She began shouting at them, prompting Cindy to enter the room.

"Ma'am!" said Cindy, getting the woman's attention. Once she had it she said "My name is Lieutenant Cindy Ross. What is the world is the problem?"

"Am I free to go, Lieutenant?" the woman asked angrily.

"Not until she tell you what happened to her the night before last!" growled the husband.

"Okay, guys." Cindy said, taking charge. "What are your names, please?"

"My name is Paul Goldberg, and she's my wife Lisa. She was-" the man started, but Cindy held up her hand in a 'stop' sign.

"One thing at a time, Mr. Goldberg." Ross said. "This is Detective Phyllis Troy. Mrs. Goldberg, would you please go with her and Corporal Kirkpatrick to the room next door? Corporal, take her to Room B. I'll be there in a minute. And Mrs. Goldberg, you are not free to go until I get the whole story here, so you might as well go with them and get comfortable for a few minutes."

"But, I want her to tell her story!-" the man started, while at the same time his wife almost screamed "Now just a damn minute!-", but Phyllis interrupted both of them.

"Mr. Goldberg, I perceive that you have been in Afghanistan, and that you were wounded while in military service." Phyllis said.

"Uhhh, yes, that's right." Goldberg said, wonder in his eyes.

"And Mrs. Goldberg, I know that sitting behind a desk in your work can be very tedious, but we really are going to have to ask you to sit just a few more minutes, in the next room." Phyllis said to the wife. The woman's sullen face was turned to surprise as she went with Phyllis and the Corporal to the next room. Meanwhile, Cindy sat down and said "This is Detective Parker of the Major Crimes Squad. So you want to report a rape?"

"Yes." said Goldberg. "The night before last-"

"Hold on." said Cindy. "Just let me spoon-feed you the questions. First, where do you live?" Goldberg gave the address, which was in a decent neighborhood just south of the Courthouse Square. His was one of several long buildings of three-story townhouses, eight to a building, in a gated subdivision.

"And where do you work?" Cindy asked.

"I don't." said Goldberg. "Well, I'm not discharged from the military yet, but the paperwork is being processed. Medical discharge, honorable."

"I appreciate your service." Cindy replied. "How were you wounded?"

"I was in a supply depot with the Quartermaster Corps." Goldberg said. "Some idiot was playing with a grenade when the pin fell out. Instead of throwing it where nobody was, the bastard threw it into our Tent City, where I was. It was two tents over, but shrapnel still got me on the right side of my head and in my groin area. I didn't even get a Purple Heart or combat compensation for it. The fucking bastard who was playing with the grenade... nothing happened to him. They just sent him to a combat unit, and next thing I hear he's getting a Silver Star."

"That's too bad, for you." Cindy said. "So, what happened the night before last?"

Goldberg exhaled. "We were watching television, and I began getting sleepy. That happens to me sometimes after I've taken my medications. So I was dozing in and out, and the next thing I know I'm tied up to a chair in my bedroom, and on the bed in front of me, some guy wearing a mask is on top of my wife, raping her."

"Can you describe the man?" Cindy asked.

"He was tall, very well-built and muscular." said Paul. "He was wearing a full mask, like a ski mask, that covered his whole head."




The Phyllis Files Ch. 03



"Did you see what color his hair was?" Cindy asked.

"No... in fact, he had no hair at all... all of it had been shaved off his back and legs and... and his crotch." Goldberg said, wincing at the memory of the man's crotch.

"Did he say anything? What was his voice like?" Cindy asked.

"He talked in kind of a whisper." Goldberg said. "I heard him grunting while he was raping my wife. He was saying 'I'm going to come inside you, bitch! I'm going to knock you up!'. After he finished with her, he was getting dressed to leave and he looked at me and said 'That's how a real man fucks a woman, you little cuckold. You'll never be able to fuck her like I just did!'."

"What clothes did he put on?" Teddy Parker asked.

"All black. Slacks and some kind of black sweatshirt with long sleeves."

"What about your wife?" asked Cindy. "Was she tied up? Gagged?"

"She had duct tape on her mouth, like I did." Goldberg said. Her hands were tied to the headboard."

"Did you happen to see a clock in the room?" Parker asked.

"No." said Goldberg. "I was on the far side of the bed, next to it. The clock on the table next to me was facing the bed, where I couldn't see it. I didn't really see the other one because of... them on the bed."

"Any identifying marks on the man, or anything that could help us identify him?" Cindy asked.

"Just... just that his penis was large... very large. I thought that it must really be hurting Lisa..."

"So what happened next?" Cindy said.

"The guy said 'Bye, Cucky!' to me, then put a rag with chloroform on it over my nose and I blacked out. I woke up the next morning, as Lisa was untying me. She said she'd worked free of the rope tying her to the headboard. I wanted to call the police then, but she started crying and telling me not to, that she was too humiliated. We argued about it all day."

"Parker," Cindy said, "we've got to get a Crime Lab team over to the Goldberg townhouse right away. Secure the sheets, the ropes, anything Mrs. Goldberg was wearing-"

"Detective," Paul Goldberg interrupted, "that's part of the problem: she washed the sheets and her clothes before I could stop her."

"What?!" Cindy gasped, then recovered. "She destroyed the evidence?"

"Yes ma'am." said Goldberg. "She also showered and douched. She said she wanted to wash what he left inside her away, that she felt polluted."

The look on Cindy's face was that special kind of exasperation in comprehending the stupidity of human beings.

-------

Coming into the anteroom, Cindy almost collided with Phyllis.

"Phyllis!" Cindy said. "You know the Commander insists that females be attended by female officers at all times! What are you doing out here?"

"Relax, Lieutenant." said Phyllis. "Patrol Officer Lydia Green is in Interrogation-B with Mrs. Goldberg. I was watching your interview with Mr. Goldberg. Fascinating, wouldn't you say?"

"I think 'stunning' is more likely what I'd say." said Cindy. "Do me a favor and keep me from losing my temper when I ask Mrs. Goldberg about destroying the evidence."

The two women went into Interrogation-Bravo. "Officer Green, please stay with us." Cindy said. "Corporal Kirkpatrick, you can go. Stay with Mr. Goldberg until I get back in there." Kirkpatrick left.

"Okay, Mrs. Goldberg-"

"Am I free to go?" Lisa Goldberg asked roughly.

"Mrs. Goldberg," Cindy said, "your husband just reported that you were forcibly raped. Don't you want to help us in our investigation?"

"No!" Lisa said, nearly yelling. "Now am I free to go, or am I being detained against my will?"

"Mrs. Goldberg," Cindy said, "I simply don't understand-"

"Detective, have you ever been raped?" Lisa Goldberg hissed.

"No." said Cindy.

"Yes." said Phyllis, touching Cindy's arm to let her know that she, Phyllis, was taking charge of the questioning, remembering how Jonas Oldeeds had helped himself to her (Phyllis) many years before.

Phyllis reached across the table and gave Lisa Goldberg's arm a reassuring squeeze, observing the woman's wrists as she did so. "And I understand how you feel, dear. But at this point, your husband has made a report to Police. It's in our hands now, and the genie is out of the bottle and cannot be put back in, so to speak. We can be discreet, Mrs. Goldberg, but at this point, we must make a formal investigation. Now, would you please tell us what happened that night?"

"I will not." said Mrs. Goldberg. "I will not answer any of your questions. I am invoking my right to remain silent. Now either get a warrant to arrest me, or let me walk out of here. Otherwise, you're holding me against my will illegally."

Cindy Ross simply could not hide the astonishment on her face, but Phyllis remained cool. "Lieutenant, I believe we should let Mrs. Goldberg go, but not let her go into her home until the search warrant is executed."

"Sounds good." said Cindy. "Officer Green, escort Mrs. Goldberg to the waiting room out front and wait with her until her husband arrives to take her home.

Part 2 - Roadblocks

"Did you notice Mrs. Goldberg's wrists?" Phyllis asked as Cindy drove to the Goldberg townhouse.

"Yes." Cindy said. "She had abrasions, as if she'd been tied up."

"Yes," said Phyllis. "Mr. Goldberg's abrasions were much worse, though. He was tied up very tightly."

At the townhouse, the Crime Lab team found that the sheets in question, as well as Mrs. Goldberg's panties, had been washed with a goodly portion of bleach. In addition, when Technician Christina Cho brought her fluorescent light to bear on the mattress, there was no fresh semen that had seeped through for her to extract as evidence.

"There's nothing fresh at all on that bed." said Christina. "I'd even suggest the Goldbergs have not been having unprotected intercourse on that bed for months." The same result was found with the guest bedroom's mattress: no fresh semen stains.

"I can clear that up." said Phyllis. She made her way downstairs, to the den where the Goldbergs were sitting... and sitting apart, not speaking.

"Mr. Goldberg, may I have a moment with you?" asked Phyllis. He followed her into the kitchen.

"Mr. Goldberg," Phyllis said in her most grandmotherly voice, "would you mind telling me the nature of your wounds... the full nature?"

Goldberg hesitated, then said "One piece of shrapnel got me right in the n- er, the testicles. They had to be removed. I can still have sex, using Viagra, but I'm totally sterile."

"I see, and I'm so sorry to hear that." Phyllis said. "So tell me about your deployment: when did you leave, and when did you get back?"

"I got back about four months ago." said Goldberg. "I'm in the National Guard. We were called up for a one year tour, then we were back a year, then called for another year... but that became almost two years. After I was injured, I was sent on home, but my unit is just coming back now."

"I see." said Phyllis, using a phrase her son used way too frequently. "Now I must ask you to be honest with me: are you being treated for PTSD?"

Goldberg again paused, then said "Well, the therapist keeps coming around and asking me questions, but I really am having no problems. I've refused to go in for appointments, even went to the JAGs about it, but they asshole doctors are still trying to say I have it. I think they're only doing that to try to keep me from being able to have a gun and be able to exercise my Second Amendment rights, so I've taken legal action over it." That was a huge national issue, Phyllis knew, as it got her son riled up at times, but she went past that for now.

"So you're not on medication for anything psycho-traumatic?" 

"No ma'am." Goldberg said resolutely.

"Thank you, Mr. Goldberg." Phyllis asked. "Now let me ask you this: how did the criminal get into your home here?"

"I'm not sure." said Goldberg. "I'm thinking a door must've been left unlocked by accident. There's no damage to any of them. I also thought I'd set the door and window alarm that night, but apparently it didn't go off... maybe I thought I set it but really didn't."

"Don't stress on that." Phyllis said, again in her grandmotherly voice. "So do you have any idea why your wife is so adamant about the police not investigating this crime against her?"

Goldberg's face became angry. "I have no idea, and to be honest with you, Detective, it's pissing me off. I had to drag her to the Station to report the crime, and she fought me tooth and nail the whole way. She says she doesn't want to be humiliated, but I just don't buy that. Hell, I'm humiliated by what happened, but I want the police to find the bastard that raped my wife and put him in jail... let him get his ass raped and see how it feels..."

"Easy now, Mr. Goldberg." Phyllis said. "Just one final question: before this incident, how were relations between you and your wife?"

"Uh... they were pretty good, but it's been difficult after I came back from Afghanistan... in my condition. By the way, ma'am, how did you know that I'd been there? We've never met, have we?"

"Oh no, we've never met." Phyllis said, her eyes twinkling. "But take a look at yourself in the mirror and you'll easily see how I was able to deduce that you'd been in service in Afghanistan."

"She's a regular Mycroft Holmes." said Cindy, entering the kitchen. "Detective Troy, we're wrapping up here, unless you have something further you'd like to ask."

"Is Mrs. Goldberg still remaining silent?" Phyllis asked.

"Yes." Cindy replied.

"Mr. Goldberg," Phyllis said, "where does your wife work?"

"Forbes & Sehgal Engineering." said Paul Goldberg. "They're an Environmental Engineering company in the City, and my wife works at the local branch office here. It's in the Office District." The Office District was in the Northeast sector of Town, just northeast of Courthouse Square, stretching towards the University to the East. 

"She's a paralegal for one of their lawyers, there." Goldberg added helpfully.

"God damn you, Paul, would you shut the fuck up and stop telling the police about me?" Lisa Goldberg said menacingly as she entered the kitchen.

"I'll tell them anything that will help them put the man that raped you in prison, Lisa." Paul Goldberg replied matter-of-factly.

"You bastard, you just won't drop it will you?" Lisa said, tears springing from her eyes. "You want this to get out, don't you? You want me to be humiliated in front of my friends, don't you... DON'T YOU!!"

"Come on, Mrs. Goldberg." Cindy said, leading the increasingly upset Lisa Goldberg out of the room. 

Phyllis turned to Mr. Goldberg and asked "Who are your wife's friends, her social circle, especially while you were away with the military?"

"Most of her friends were work-related, especially the other paralegals. I've been able to talk to them about my legal issues, as well." Goldberg said. "And I think they'll be a lot more understanding than she realizes."

"Thank you, Mr. Goldberg." Phyllis said. "However, let me say this: your wife is right and you are wrong about how people will react if they find out about her being raped. They will look upon her as a defiled woman, as someone who is soiled and shamed. They will not understand how she feels, and while they might be sympathetic to her face, she will find that they are not the true friends she needs at this time."

"If that is all, Detective," Goldberg said coldly, "I think you should begin searching for the man that invaded my home and raped my wife."

-------

"Not a thing." said Crime Lab Technician Christina Cho. "No sign of forced entry, all doors and windows are fine. Patrolman have already knocked on doors, and no one saw any strangers last night, though they admitted they weren't exactly looking out their windows. Mrs. Goldberg totally destroyed the evidence of the rape, and this is not the first time I've seen a woman do that after being raped. So all we have is the husband's description of the rapist "

"Thanks Christina." Cindy said. "You and the Crime Lab team can head back when you're finished." As Christina left them, Cindy said "Well, this one is going to be hard."

"Nonsense, my dear." said Phyllis. "Let's get some lunch, and then we'll go out and solve it." Cindy knew enough to just shut her mouth and go with the flow.

Part 3 - Like A Good Neighbor...

"Oh, that was such a delicious lunch." Phyllis said as she and Cindy finished up lunch at a cafe near Town Fitness Centers that Cindy had wanted to try. "So, my dear, what do you think of this case, so far?"

"I know only ten percent of rapes are reported to police." said Cindy. "Still, I can't ever recall a rape victim taking the Fifth to avoid publicity. So this one is strange from the get-go."

"Indeed." Phyllis said. "And in the same vein, I can't recall hearing of a husband so eager for the police to investigate his wife's rape. Most men who are subdued and unable to help their wives, especially those forced to watch or be in the same room, are just as humiliated and don't want the publicity. But not Paul Goldberg."

"I overheard some of your conversation with him." Cindy said. "You think he's okay... or maybe they're right about him and he does have PTSD?"

"Oh, that one is more for the realm of my daughter." said Phyllis. "So, what shall we do next? If you have no other plans, I'd suggest we go by Mrs. Goldberg's place of work."

"I have a meeting with your son and the Police Chief when I get back." Cindy said. "I'll ask Patrol Officer Lydia Green to go with you. She's something of a feminist, so keep her in check. By the way..." Cindy said, then stopped, thinking.

"Yes, dear?"

"I'm just wondering how you're going to approach the co-workers." Cindy said. "Obviously you don't want to go in there shouting to the four corners that Mrs. Goldberg was raped in front of her husband."

"That's very true, dear." Phyllis said. "I think I'm going to call my son and get you out of that meeting, and ask him to let me borrow you for the day. We'll become a Police Psychologists, and if you'll be may 'wingman', I'll be asking about the relations with the husband."

"Be careful, there, too." Cindy said. "If the shit hits the fan on that, Don'll fire me for sure."

"Don't worry, dear." Phyllis said. "Don doesn't want to feel a blue crowbar on his own ass..."

Cindy burst out laughing at that sentence...

--------

As Phyllis and Cindy were escorted to the office of Kevin Granger, who was Lisa Goldman's boss at Forbes & Sehgal Engineering, Phyllis noted the modern office with cubicles, brightly lighted. It felt very professional.

"What can I do for you ladies?" asked Granger, as he had the ladies sit down. Phyllis noted that Granger was tall, with black, somewhat curly hair, and a solidly strong physique underneath his crisp, white, collard shirt and expensive, in-fashion silk tie. He was also very handsome, and had an engaging but commanding personality. And Phyllis was definitely impressed with the huge bulge in Granger's pants. He had a package, and Phyllis would not have minded trying Granger out... sexually, that is.

"Thank you so much for seeing us today, Mr. Granger." said Phyllis. "I hope that I may rely upon your total discretion for the questions I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask. It's about your employee Lisa Goldman, or rather about her husband, Paul. I'm conducting a routine investigation on behalf of the V.A. about his post-injury status."

"Uhhh, sure," said Granger, looking concerned, "but I'm not sure I can help you."

"Well, I'm hoping you can tell me if you've heard anything about Mr. Goldman's state of mind since coming home from the war."

"Well, not really." said Granger. "I know that he was wounded pretty severely, and... well, I don't want to break Lisa's confidence in me..."

"I quite understand." said Phyllis. "So Lisa is your administrative assistant?" 

"Oh no, she's my paralegal." Granger said.

"You're a lawyer?" Cindy asked.

"No, I'm an engineer." said Granger. "I'm a principal with the firm here, authorized to sign contracts. She handles the contracts that come my way. By the way, madam, you look familiar to me. Have we met?"

"No sir, I don't think so." replied Cindy, realizing that Granger might've remembered seeing Cindy on the news when she received the Medal of Valor. She was a bit too public a figure to be doing this 'undercover' work with Phyllis, she realized.

Phyllis came to the rescue: "So Lisa has not said anything that would suggest Paul is having problems adjusting to civilian life?"

"No, only that he's had what I think are typical adjustments to civilian life after being in a war zone." said Granger. "Occasional nightmares he wakes up out of, things like that."

"I see." said Phyllis. "And no unusual problems in the Goldberg's marriage?"

"Uh... not that I know of," replied Granger, "and to be honest, I don't think I would want to tell you even if I did know. I don't want anything I say to be misinterpreted or to cause... problems with the Goldbergs."

"I perfectly understand." said Phyllis. "And I do hate having to trouble you and others with questions. We're simply trying to make sure Mr. Goldberg is doing well after his return. If I may ask, does his wife have any particularly close friends here at work?"

"She and a couple of the other paralegals would sometimes go out after work." said Granger. "I'll call them into the conference room next door for you."

"Oh, is that your family, Mr. Granger?" Phyllis asked, pointing to a picture of a pretty woman with brown hair and two small children.

"Oh! Why yes, it is." said Granger, his eyes lighting up.

"Oh, the kids are just precious." Phyllis said. "My son has two babies, and I'm sure yours are as much a joy to you as his are to me."

"Yes, they're wonderful." said Granger as he picked up the phone to call Lisa Goldberg's friends.

"So has your wife returned to full health?" Phyllis asked. Granger dropped the phone, which landed on the desk with a clatter.

"How could you possibly know..." he said, staring at her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Granger," said Phyllis, "I did not mean to intrude on your personal lives that way. I just can see the scar from her operation just under her hairline in the photograph. Again, I apologize for upsetting you."

"Oh my goodness, that was a trick worthy of Sherlock Holmes." said Granger. "And to answer your question, she's just about 100% now, though she tires easily."

"Ah, that's wonderful. I hope she'll continue her recovery." said Phyllis, getting up to leave a very startled Kevin Granger in the office.

A few moments later, two women came into the conference room. Phyllis gave her spiel about the V.A. "I know that I'm asking you to possibly break confidences, and I will be sure to be discreet, as I know you'll be about the nature of this inquiry. Can you tell me if Lisa said anything about her marriage or her husband that was out of the ordinary?"

"Well, she was very unhappy about him having to make a second tour." one of the women said. "And then they extended it. And then he was wounded and came home early, and he's been recovering from his wounds. He was hurt pretty badly, but they wouldn't give him combat compensation... said something about it being an accident and not a war casualty. She was mad about that."

"Since he's come home," Phyllis asked, "how has their marriage been, in your respective opinions?"

The two women looked at each other. "Lisa hasn't really said anything." one of them finally said. "But I can tell she's been under some strain. Especially the last two or three weeks or so. We wanted to take her out for a drink after work the other day, to talk about it, but she said she was swearing off alcohol and that she also needed to get back home."




The Phyllis Files Ch. 03



"Just one more question." Phyllis said. "Does Paul have any friends?

"Yeah, Kevin has been pretty good to him since he got home, and a couple of guys from his National Guard unit." said one of the women. "One guy, named Saul Gable, he and Paul hang out a lot. 'Paul and Saul' we call them."

"And you've been dating Mr. Saul Gable, haven't you?" asked Phyllis, seeing the light in the woman's eyes.

"How did you know that?" the woman asked, her amazement quickly turning to suspicion. Phyllis quickly concluded the interview.

"What's next?" Cindy asked.

"Better call Saul." Phyllis quipped, thinking of the television show Breaking Bad.

Cindy groaned. "And the jokes don't get any better, do they?"

---------

Strangely enough, Saul Gable was located at Paul and Lisa Goldman's home. When Cindy and Phyllis arrived, they walked right into a shouting match between husband and wife, with Gable trying to referee.

"Officers," said Lisa, "I want to press charges for domestic abuse against my husband. I want you to get him out of here, right now!"

"Officers," Saul Gable said, "Paul has done nothing to his wife, neither physical nor verbal." That started up another shouting match between the three, until Cindy got out her police whistle and blew it as hard as she could.

"Okay, now that I have your attention," Cindy said, "I'm going to end this before it becomes an official Police matter. Saul, can Paul stay with you for a few days?"

"Sure." said Saul.

"Paul, go pack a bag." Cindy said. "Lisa, can you stay with friends for a few days?"

"I guess so... but why do I have to leave my home?" Lisa snarled.

"Because it's not just your home, it's your husband's also." Cindy said. "I've already looked up the title deed. And I'm officially calling it a crime scene, so neither of you will be staying here for at least two days. Pack bags, Lisa first. Paul, into the kitchen with me. Detective Troy, talk to Saul."

"Hello, Saul." Phyllis said. "Let's sit down, shall we?" Saul complied. Phyllis looked Saul over. He was youngish, about Paul's age, late 20s, handsome with dark brown hair, broad shoulders, and a good physique. Phyllis also noted the large bulge in his pants.

"Tell me, what are your relations with the Goldmans?"

"Paul and I were in the same unit in Afghanistan." said Saul. "We were pretty good buddies. We both got wounded in the same grenade accident, and both got sent home, though my wounds weren't that bad, just shrapnel in the leg. I think they sent me home more to look after Paul than because of my own wounds."

"Ah, so you were there at the time. Out of curiosity, what happened?" Phyllis asked.

"We were in our tents; it was off-duty time." said Saul. "I remember hearing someone shout, then *BOOM!* and my leg was bleeding. Paul's tent was closer to the grenade blast than mine, he got more of it."

"How has Paul been doing since returning home?" Phyllis inquired.

"Pretty good, actually." Saul said. "I don't think he has the PTSD the doctors are trying to say he has. I think they're trying to generate business for themselves. That's the only problem he has, having to fight a legal battle against them."

"How well do you know his wife?" Phyllis asked, peering closely at Saul Gable as she asked the question.

"Pretty well." said Saul. "I've been friends with both of them for years. They met at a party I was throwing. I was one of Paul's groomsmen, too."

"Would you say you know her as well as you know Paul?" Phyllis asked.

"No, when you've been to war with someone, you get to know him like family." said Saul. "I've known Lisa very well for years, we're good friends, we dated before she met and married Paul. But Paul is a war buddy, and that's just a different thing."

"How has Lisa been, these past few months?" Phyllis asked.

"Well, like a lot of military wives whose husbands are away, she's become a lot more independent, self-reliant. She's also been taking care of Paul while he's been recovering. He was having trouble walking for a couple of months. I think once he got his sexual function back, they were both a good bit happier, if you know what I mean. But then the last month or so... she's been under stress again. I asked her about it, and she just said things at work were hectic."

"Do you know what happened here the night before last?" Phyllis asked.

"Yeah, Paul told me." Saul said, shaking his head. "Ugly..."

"What do you think of their reactions, their fighting?" Phyllis inquired.

"I'm not married, ma'am," said Saul, "so I couldn't say what kind of stress it would be on me if my wife were raped in front of me. But it's really torn something open between them. I dunno, maybe that rift was there all along, and this is what opened it up. But it's ugly. I was trying to get them to talk, but she's so bitter about him going to the police, and he's just as upset that she won't cooperate with the police..."

Part 4 - Bringing It Home

I was at the FBI suite in the Federal Building on Courthouse Square when the phone rang. It was Jack Muscone in the City.

"Hey, buddy, what are you doing over there?" Jack asked, referring to my use of his computers.

"Oh," I said, "there's a rape case over here, and Ross wants to know the military record of the victim's husband. Not like I have anything to do at lunch. Eating is overrated."

"You're missing a double-cheeseburger opportunity at the Cop Bar, and Life is short." Muscone chided. "Anything of interest?

"Yep." I said. "The official story is that a pin fell out of a grenade and someone threw it into what they thought was an unmanned area. But it wasn't unmanned; two people got hurt. But I've also been looking at the notes in the file from officers investigating the incident. They couldn't tell for sure where the grenade came from, nor who actually had it in their possession before the incident. One officer made a notation that one of the two injured men could've exploded it."

"Why would they do that?" Muscone asked.

"Well, that's why I'm researching our husband's record. He was upset about having to go on a second tour, and then it was extended. His commanding officer and a couple of Sergeants made notations that he had been talking a lot about getting back home, and he'd tried to get leave to go home several times. This was after his buddy, who also was wounded in the accident, had just returned from leave for a family funeral. Gotta wonder if hubby set the grenade off himself somehow."

"To get back home?"

"Yep." I said. "Lots of 'coincidences' in that short amount of time over there..."

---------

"Thank you for the information, son." Phyllis said as she and Cindy drove back to Headquarters. After hanging up the cellphone, she told Cindy what her son had found in the military files. Then she went silent.

Cindy asked "Okay, you're thinking of something. Do you know what's going on?"

"Oh yes, this case is easy. Don's information cements it." Phyllis said. "Surely you see the answer."

"Nope, not even close, and don't call me 'Shirley'. Going to tell me who it is?" Cindy asked.

"No, not yet." Phyllis said, her mind in a reverie.

"Like son, like mother." Cindy said, no small amount of exasperation in her voice.

"Oh my dear, you are being very unfair to Don." Phyllis said reprovingly. "He really does tell you what he knows as soon as he feasibly can. As for me, yes, I'm holding back, and I have very good reason to. I'm remembering little Johnny Fortescue."

"Come again?" Cindy said, bewildered.

"Back in Apple Grove, when Don was about four years old, and his sister was twelve, there was a boy named Johnny Fortescue, who was about ten years old. His mother was an alcoholic. Well, one day she called the Police and said some money was missing. They found Johnny walking down the street, and the money was in his pocket. The Police threatened to put him in juvenile detention, and when he wouldn't tell what he was doing with the money, his mother threw him out of the house."

Phyllis continued: "Well, it turns out that the bank president came to Johnny's defense. He said that Johnny was taking some of the money his mother earned and was putting it in the bank to save it, so that his mother wouldn't buy alcohol with it. The Police didn't charge Johnny, but his mother forced the bank to return the money to her, which she promptly squandered on liquor. She still wouldn't let Johnny back in the house, and she drank herself to death within a year."

"Sounds like he was trying to do the right thing." Cindy said. "So what happened?"

"People only heard what they wanted to hear: that Johnny had stolen the money." Phyllis said. "Even after the truth came out, they treated Johnny like he was a thief. Don's father said Johnny was a bad kid, but worse, Johnny's teachers openly called him a thief and liar to his face in school. Other kids picked fights with him. One time he was beaten up so badly he had to be hospitalized. Finally, Social Services took him into their system, where he was put in several homes and was sexually molested in every one of them. He shot himself to death when he was sixteen."

"Oh, geez." Cindy groaned. "Just for trying to do a good thing. So how does that relate to this case?"

"It relates in that I need to get some very sound advice before I say anything to you, lest I do more harm than good." Phyllis replied.

To be continued.

Do you know what happened?

And who is the rapist?



The Phyllis Files Ch. 04



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, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, The Phyllis Files 1-2, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Phyllis Files 3, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series, The Eightfold Fence series.

The Phyllis Files 4

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, 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 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 0 - The Solution to The Case of the Home Invasion

The next morning, Phyllis entered the conference room at Forbes & Sehgal Engineering, where Lisa Goldberg and Kevin Granger were waiting.

"I do appreciate the two of you meeting me here today." Phyllis said. "It's certainly more discreet than the Police Station, don't you agree? Oh yes..." she continued, noticing their looks at her companion, who was dressed in a form fitting black sweater and black pants, "this is my daughter Melina. Please ignore her presence; she's here as my bodyguard and is not paying attention to a word of our private conversation."

Phyllis did not mention what the other two people in the room could not know: that her bodyguard, Melina Allgood, was one of the Central Intelligence Agency's deadliest assassins.

"What is this about?" Kevin Granger asked.

"It is about a little stage-play that took place in Mrs. Allgood's home the other night." said Phyllis. "I really am in a dilemma, as I don't believe either of you meant to do harm. But there are some serious difficulties in this case."

"What are you talking about?" said Granger. Lisa Goldberg simply stared at the attractive older woman.

"Oh yes, I know, Mrs. Goldberg has invoked," said Phyllis, "and I certainly don't wish to violate her rights. So I'll just tell the both of you what happened, and you'll please correct me if I stray from the path."

"I know that you, Kevin Granger, and you, Lisa Goldberg, have been having a sexual affair." said Phyllis. "I understand how these things happen... Mrs. Goldberg's husband was off to war, and Mr. Granger's wife was very ill. Your need of talking with each other turns to needs of a more sexual kind, and even though you love your spouses, you end up having a relationship between the two of you."

"Unfortunately," Phyllis continued, "two things happened. First, Mr. Goldberg was seriously wounded, and is unable to sire children. Second, you, Mrs. Goldberg became pregnant by Mr. Granger here within the last few weeks. Oh yes, Mrs. Goldberg, it really is that obvious to me." She had seen the look of shock on Lisa Goldberg's face.

"Of course there is simply no way to explain this to your husband without the father becoming known, and I'm sure neither of you wanted that, especially you, Mr. Granger, as you do love your wife and children."

"Yes, I do." said Granger. "By the way, just how discreet can we expect you to be, here?"

"That is my dilemma." said Phyllis. "I am a Police Auxiliary Detective, but if I keep my mouth shut, how are they ever going to know what I know? Of course, my daughter here knows, and she'd be most very upset if something happened to me, but she is not the police and has no obligation to say anything. And again... I'm searching for a solution that will cause the least amount of pain. So, allow me to continue:

"Mrs. Goldberg, you disconnected the alarm and left the door unlocked." Phyllis continued. "Perhaps Mr. Granger was brought into the garage in your car, and only had to wait until a late enough hour, where the extra sedative you put into your husband's evening drink knocked him out. When he woke up, he saw you, Mr. Granger, wearing a mask and having sex with his wife. I won't call it 'rape', as it certainly was consensual sex. You put on this little act to explain Mrs. Goldberg's pregnancy when it cannot be hidden away any longer. She could abort the baby, or have the baby claiming religious grounds, but either way, the baby is explained."

"So what's the problem?" Granger asked.

"Unfortunately for both of you," Phyllis said, "Mr. Goldberg did not accede to his wife's wishes to keep everything silent... he insisted on going to the police, to the point that he dragged you into the Station, Mrs. Goldberg, and insisted upon filing a police report. And there is nothing that can 'undo' the Police being introduced to the situation. The proverbial cat is out of the bag."

"I don't see that we've committed any crime at all." said Granger. "Like you said, no rape has occurred."

"Ah, but there indeed lies the problem..."said Phyllis, "though there was hardly any way out of it. Mr. Goldberg had to actually see his wife being 'raped', and how could he see it without being tied up. Unfortunately, by tying him up, you've unlawfully imprisoned him, and the technical charge in this State is kidnapping. So he could file those charges against the both of you."

"However," Phyllis went on, "that is not your worst problem... which is that Mr. Granger does not want his wife to learn of his infidelity with Mrs. Goldberg. Certainly her impregnation by him would not sit well with Mrs. Granger. And I do think, until the past couple of days, Mrs. Goldberg loved her husband and had no desire to leave him."

"Okay, you're right-" started Granger.

"Kevin, would you shut up?" Lisa scolded. "Just don't say anything!"

"Lisa, it's my marriage that's on the line, here." Kevin said, staring at his lover. "Okay, Ms. Sherlock Holmes, or whoever you really are, you're essentially right. Lisa and I did begin an affair while my wife was sick. Her husband had been away, and was being re-deployed. Well, it was an off-and-on thing, and spotty. About three weeks ago, we were talking in my office. My wife hadn't been feeling well as she recovered, so no sex; and Lisa's husband was flagging, as well. He's had worse erectile problems than anyone let on."

Kevin continued: "So one thing led to another, and Lisa and I had intercourse on my desk. We did not use protection, and I came inside her during her most fertile time. When she found out she was pregnant, I suggested she could get an abortion, but she wanted to keep the baby... she knew she could never have one with her husband, and having my baby was better than an anonymous father at a fertility clinic in the future. I could understand that."

"So we came up with this idea." Kevin said, wrapping up the story. "And you're right... it would've worked beautifully, except that Lisa's husband went to the cops. I even said some words that night to humiliate him, but nothing deterred him. So what's next for us?"

"I don't know." Phyllis said, getting up. "I'm seeking advice now on what to do. If it were up to me, I'd not say another word. But I'm very concerned that Mr. Goldberg won't give it up. Let me see what I can come up with in the next couple of days..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So, that's the story." Phyllis said as we ate supper at the Mountain Nest. Laura and I listened with fascination, as did our other guest, Jeanine Olivet Burke. It was her legal advice that we were seeking.

"Yes," I said, "the sticking point is that they legally kidnapped the husband, unlawfully detained and imprisoned him."

"If he finds out." Jeanine said. "Legal proof of those charges would not be easy to make stick, though. No physical evidence."

"No, that's not true." I said. "We have photos of the abrasions on his wrists, and the ones on hers. We have the rope used to tie her up; the Crime Lab got that out of the trash can where Lisa had thrown it away. And his statement would be allowed for consideration by the Grand Jury, if not a trial Jury."

"And there's more: the birth of the baby." Laura reminded us. "Then a DNA test will prove who the father is, and then they're right back in a world of shit."

"And worse," Phyllis said, "and the problem for me is Mrs. Granger. Poor woman had an operation, she's still not completely out of the woods yet. This news would not only destroy their marriage... I believe the stress might kill her."

"Yes," said Laura, "the mental anguish would do great harm to her physically, and she might just lose the will to fight to live."

"Where's Cindy?" I asked.

"She's in the other room, looking after your kids and mine." said Jeanine. "And I told her that as a police officer, she shouldn't hear this conversation. Don, your hearing it is bad enough."

"Bring her in." I said. Within moments, Cindy was in the room. I definitely wanted her to hear this one. I asked Phyllis to tell Cindy everything, which she did.

"Geez, no wonder you didn't want to tell me." Cindy said. "Now what?"

"Mom," I said, "why do you think Paul Goldberg wanted to file a police report? Why was he so obsessed, so hell-bent on bringing his wife's rape irreversibly into the public sphere?"

"I haven't thought of that." said Phyllis, who then became introspective.

"I have no idea." said Laura. "It really is uncommon for a man so humiliated to want his wife's rape to be exposed like that, especially when she doesn't want it exposed."

"I agree." said Cindy. "I heard the woman begging and pleading for her husband to not say anything, then she was accusing him of wanting it to be made public."

"I'm surprised Mycroft didn't figure it out." I said to Cindy. "It's pretty obvious: Paul knew his wife was having the affair with Kevin Granger!. My idea is this: Paul and Kevin were friends. Paul's friend Saul comes back to the States on leave, finds out about Kevin and Lisa, goes back to Afghanistan and tells Paul in every lurid detail about Paul's wife and another, well-hung man having an affair. Paul is just burning up after that, trying to find a way to get back home, then actually explodes a grenade to injure himself in order to get back home. He thought he was alone; he didn't realize Saul was also in the Tent City."

I added: "By the way, Saul and Lisa have been having a hot affair as well. I thought that he might be the father, but then she'd be several months pregnant, not just a few weeks. So Kevin being the father was much more likely.

"Anyhoo, Paul makes it back to the States, and he's watching and waiting to catch his wife having her affair. Little does he know that she had been impregnated by her boss and that they've planned a rape scenario to witness. But when they act it out, Paul already knows who the masked man is! So, he drags his wife to the Police Station and demands an investigation of the case, despite her desperate attempts to shut it all down... even taking the Fifth."

"Yes, but he allowed his wife to destroy the evidence." Cindy said.

"True." I said. "And that's what has me thinking he's not operating on all cylinders. He should've called the Police immediately after his wife released him, but I suspect she cleaned herself up and changed the sheets before waking him up, then washed both sets of sheets, not just the potentially soiled ones, and did so as they argued. He didn't quite realize what she was actually doing; he just saw her doing laundry. At any rate, she won't budge, she's washed the sheets, and he finally in desperation drags her into our Headquarters."

I went on: "He was hoping we'd find out somehow that Kevin was the 'rapist'... then his wife would have to come clean to save Kevin. If she does, then Paul would tell Kevin's wife, and Kevin's marriage would be over, and Paul would not care if the news caused Mrs. Granger anguish enough to get sick again and die.

"If Lisa doesn't tell," I went on, "Kevin could possibly go to prison, and his wife finds out anyway. Once the baby is born, Paul can demand a paternity test, and the baby would be proved to be Kevin's. It would all come out, no matter what."

"Wow," said Cindy, "I think Sherlock got one over on Mycroft, for a rare change."

"I have a brilliant son." Phyllis said, not at all perturbed, and proud of me, of course. For me, I wanted Cindy to see me one-up my mom, since it so rarely happened. "But what do we do now?"

"Leave it to me." I said. "It pisses me off greatly when someone tries to use my Police Force to implement his revenge on other persons, and possibly falsely imprison them."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Fire Department had the road blocked off as I drove up in my Police SUV at 2:00am that next morning. The man was at the very top of the University Stadium bleachers, and was on the ledge facing outward with nothing but a long space down to the pavement beneath him. He was just sitting there.

"I've got this." I said. I hurried into the stadium and climbed the stairs and ramps to get to the upper deck. Then I walked up the final set of steps to where he was.

"Don't come any closer. I've got a gun." the man said. It was Paul Goldberg. I came on up anyway, still on the 'safe' side of the bleachers. He was looking outward and did not notice me attach a bungee cord to the seats.

"Your gun is empty." I said. "They took the bullets out the other day when they searched your townhouse."

"What?" Paul said drunkenly. He popped the magazine out. "Shit." I had actually asked Saul Gable to find and empty all of Paul's guns, and he had, and I could tell a loaded semiautomatic vs. an empty one.

"Not only that," I said, "you're not jumping either." I had the bungee cord wrapped around him before he realized what was happening. If he had jumped, it likely would not have held, maybe would've sliced him in two... but I was counting on him not having time enough to think about it, and be surprised by my swift action. He froze in place and I was able to pull him back over the edge to the seats. He was crying as I sat down beside him.

"Why won't you let me die?" he gasped. "My wife has been fucking two other men, guys who I thought were my friends... one of them knocked her up... what've I got left to live for? Why did you stop me?"

"Because I don't want to clean up the mess." I said, rather harshly. On the one hand, I felt sorry for the man. On the other, he'd attempted to use my Police Force to imprison another man out of jealousy. And I also had an obligation to get this mentally ill man the help he truly needed.

I noticed several men coming up the stairs. "Go with these men, Paul." I said. "They're going to get you the help you need. Forget about your past. You can have a future, if you're willing to work for it." Paul Goldberg went with the two men, his eyes dazed, which I knew was because he'd been pulled back from an attempt to freely meet Death.

"Good job, Commander." one of the EMTs complimented me. I just waved them away as they took Goldberg down the stairs. I sat in contemplation. Nathan Allen had had a man committed to the Asylum; I was now doing the same thing, committing a man to mental care. But Allen had done it to a sane man for evil reasons; I was doing it to a man who truly needed the help in an effort to save him. And now Lisa Goldberg and the Grangers would not have to endure the pain his plan was meant to cause to them.

Still, why did I feel so bad about it?...

Part 1 - The Almost-Kidnapped Blonde

(Author's note: You may wish to review the story A Case of Revenge, Ch. 6 to refresh your memories on Tammi Edmonds.)

"STOP! POLICE!" yelled Patrolman Roy McGhillie on the night of Thursday, January 22d. Two masked men were trying to drag a small blonde woman into the back of a van. As McGhillie was catching up to them, they did not drop the blonde, but continued to try to get her to the van.

With McGhillie was Patrolman Johnson, who was catching up fast. As one of the masked men pulled a gun from inside his jacket, Johnson fired his own drawn weapon. The shot missed, and slammed into the back window on the van's right side, shattering it. At that, the two perps did drop the girl and leaped into the van as it took off.

"We'll never get back to the car in time to go after them." lamented Johnson.

"I got the plate." said McGhillie. He quickly called it in on his police radio before he forgot the numbers as Johnson attended the half-conscious woman.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Tammi Edmonds." said Teresa Croyle as she, Cindy Ross and Tanya Perlman met in Cindy's office on the morning of Friday, January 23d. "Now where have I heard that name before?"

"She was one of the three women broken out of the Asylum by Don's nephew Ned." Cindy replied. "She and Gloria simply appeared together in the Tenderloin District. The rapper 'T-Square' had Tammi brought to University Hospital. I don't think Don ever worked on figuring out who broke Tammi out or why, since he was dealing with Eleanor Burke and Ned at the time."

"Ah yes, I remember." Tanya said. "By the way, where is Don?" Tanya asked.

"He's consulting with the FBI for a couple of days." Cindy replied. "And I'm pretending to be in charge while I'm restricted to desk duty so my lung can heal up." It was just two days before that Cindy had learned of the inflammation of her old wound that would cause her to miss defending the Independence Day County Triathlon next summer. "So what were the details of this?"

Tanya replied: "Last night, Officers McGhillie and Johnson saw two masked men trying to drag a woman into a white van. They gave chase on foot and prevented the woman from being kidnapped. One man pulled a gun and Johnson shot at him, so there's a Board of Inquiry happening on that, but I expect it to be ruled a 'good shoot'."

Tanya continued: "The license plate came up as stolen in Southport, and no one has seen a white van with a window shot out as of shift change this morning. In the meantime, Johnson and McGillie took the woman to the hospital instead of calling for the EMTs. She'd been hit over the head and possibly drugged with a sedative, but she's otherwise okay, just a mild concussion. Her fingerprints quickly came back as being Tammi Edmonds. When Johnson called in the report to Martin Nash, Nash had them put Tammi in the secure wing of the hospital, to protect her but also keep her in custody until we can talk to her. We need to do that soon, though; if she wants out of the Hospital, we can't really hold her."

"Okay." Cindy said. "Tanya, take Nash to the hospital and interview Ms. Edmonds if you can. Teresa, get the data people to gather everything they can about Tammi Edmonds, including all the old information about her being put into the Asylum in the first place."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 1:30pm a very bored Cindy Ross admitted Tanya Perlman and Martin Nash into her office. "What did you guys find out?"

"She has no memory of the attack." said Martin Nash. "When we asked her what she was doing that day up until the time of the attack, she was pretty hazy there, too. Lt. Perlman was asking the questions, and I observed that Tammi's reticence might be much more than just the effects of the concussion."

Tanya picked it up: "The attack happened just west of University Avenue and just south of First Baptist Church. There are bars and restaurants along University Avenue, since the School is just across the street. Tammi said she didn't remember last night, but she often went to bars in that area."




The Phyllis Files Ch. 04



"Think she was hooking?" Cindy asked.

"It's always possible," Tanya replied, "but the vast majority of that goes on further south, nearer the Tenderloin District. This area is mostly college students. There are apartments further west, past that first block of businesses on the main drag, and they're mostly college students, as well."

"After interviewing Tammi, we called in some uniformed officers and canvassed the area." Nash said. "Nobody anywhere remembered her, but we may have to go back and interview the people that work in the afternoon and evening to get more. We tried to get videotapes from the businesses, but a lot of them demanded a warrant first. We've called the D.A.'s office to get warrants for the businesses as well as street cameras and such, but we haven't gotten it yet, and by now anything pertinent can easily have been erased."

Just then there was a knock on the door, and Paulina Patterson came in. "Hi guys." she said after being admitted into the now-crowded office; this room wasn't as big as the Iron Crowbar's space. "I was denied the warrant until you guys can show more specificity and more probable cause."

"Really?" asked Cindy. "Who was the judge?"

"Harry 'Spud' Nance." said Paulina. "I did try to go backdoor and talk to Judge Watts, but he's taking a long weekend with his wife and is out of town. Folsom would come down like a triphammer if I went to him after Nance denied us."

"Hunh!" grunted Cindy, who then broke into some coughing. "Excuse me." she said after drinking some water. "Okay, so do we need to write up something for Judge Nance?"

"No, it won't matter." said Paulina. "I didn't go to Nance myself; Jenna went for me, since she's white, I'm black, and Nance has a history. It was still 'no go', and to be honest... Nance's reasons were pretty... well, reasonable."

"Okay." Cindy said. "Martin, call the hospital and tell them that Tammi has to be released into your custody, then you bring her here to the Station for another interview. In the meantime, I am going to walk downstairs and find out why Myron and Mary have not given me a shred of data yet. Tanya, wanna come with me?"

"I have to." Tanya admitted. "The Commander told me to keep you in my sight any time you left this office." When Cindy rolled her eyes, Tanya said "He only did that because he loves you and wants you to get well."

"I know." Cindy said. "But I am still going to beat the shit out of him in the gym when I get back up to speed." Everyone laughed as they got up to leave the office. At that moment Master Technician Myron Milton appeared at the door to Cindy's office.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Yes ma'am, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner." said Myron. "Sonali and Newton are both downstairs and can hear anything said in other cubicles, so I came up here."

"Where Internal Affairs can probably listen in at any time." Cindy replied. "So what did you get?"

"Ma'am, the reason I thought we should keep this private," said Myron, "is because I can tell when data is hard to get because it isn't there, and when it's hard to get because someone doesn't want it to be seen. Someone does not want us to see any information about Tammi Edmonds."

"Like that's ever stopped you before." Cindy said drily.

"Yes ma'am." Myron said, grinning widely. He was beginning to like the Iron Crowbar's partner more and more. "I did do some 'extra' digging, and.. well, let me just put this in somewhat chronological order."

He began: "Tammi Edmonds's exact age is not known, but it's believed she's in her early 40s. She was arrested a number of times for prostitution when she was in her late teens and early 20s, almost all of the arrests in this County, but two in the City. She is slender and has very nice legs, but her face is not all that pretty and she didn't get a lot of work at the clubs or the strip joints, especially as she got older. Then there is a gap in time where we have absolutely nothing on her, from her late 20s into her mid-to-late 30s, assuming she's 42 today."

Myron continued: "We pick her up again right around the time for her arrest for supposedly being on a 'bender' after a frat party. This was a few months before Commander Troy came here. She was actually arrested on Campus grounds, so the State took charge of the case, and her arrest got her assigned to the Asylum.

"I looked to see who committed her to the Asylum and why she fell through the cracks and stayed there. And that's where the walls start being put up. Her records are sealed, as are most medical records. But even when I broke through that, there is almost nothing. There are two reports that are heavily redacted in the State Asylum's files, and there is nothing at all in our police logs nor the Campus Police logs."

"Nothing?" Cindy asked, stunned. "How can that be?"

"Ma'am," replied Myron, "you might remember during the case of the Murdered Chessplayer that some logs were being fooled with?" Cindy nodded as Myron continued "Commander Troy and I fixed most of the security stuff, but before then it was pretty weak. And I think it's very possible that whoever messed with the logs probably removed the Tammi Edmonds files completely, at least beyond the initial arrest."

"Oh wow." Cindy said. "so what else?"

"Tammi's family attempted to find her right after she was committed to the Asylum, but the Police had nothing to give them because, of course, the file was missing." Myron said. "It essentially became a missing persons case, but was not looked into very hard. There was never a record of her being committed to the Asylum, as that happened under a false name, as well. The Asylum kept some records of her presence, but we know that they didn't keep very good record-keeping, and there's not a lot there... just enough to keep her in the Asylum in perpetuity."

"So," Cindy said, "after she got out, what then?"

"We have absolutely nothing on her until last night." Myron said. "By the way, she was never released from the Asylum; the Commander's nephew broke her out and the Commander thought Ned was paid to do it. Technically, she could be re-arrested and taken to the new Ladies Asylum at Women's State Prison, but she could demand a new hearing and probably would be set free."

"I see." said Cindy. She told Myron to keep looking, and dismissed him. She sat at her desk, trying to think as the Iron Crowbar would... and realized that she needed help. She needed a brain better than hers, the one and only brain better than the Iron Crowbar's. She picked up the phone and made the call.

Part 2 - The Cold Case Team

"I am so glad that your condition was not any worse that it turned out to be." said Phyllis after she and Cindy exchanged a hug in Cindy's office. It was 3:00pm, still Friday, January 23d. Phyllis was wearing her Police Auxiliary 'duty' uniform. "Don was scared to death it was going to be cancer. Don't tell him I told you, but he was greatly relieved you're going to be okay."

"Thanks for telling me." Cindy said. "The reason I asked you to come in is because Don is doing FBI stuff, and this technically could be considered a cold case. Tammi Edmonds was arrested and committed to the Asylum about three years ago..." Cindy told Phyllis the full details of the past and current situations."

"Oh my, this is an interesting case." Phyllis said. "It is obvious, is it not, that someone had great reason to want Ms. Edmonds out of the way, to the point of committing her to the Asylum, yes?"

"Yes, I agree." said Cindy. "My first thought on this has been Senator Nathan Allen was behind it."

"And he well may be." Phyllis said. "Of course, he's dead now."

"Thank God for small favors." Cindy replied. "So, Detective Troy, how do you suggest we proceed with this case?"

"First, let me ask..." Phyllis replied. "Did Tammi's family claim her and help her after she got out of the Asylum? By the way, where are they now?"

Cindy consulted the papers Myron had left. "They lived here for years. Her father worked at King & Ebenezer Food Industries until they went broke. He and his wife moved to some of the industrial farming areas in the middle of the State west of us, and he's still working there. They have four children, Tammi being the third one. The family did come to see her in the hospital right after she was taken out of the Asylum and returned here."

"That is one place to look." said Phyllis. "How long would it take to drive out to see them?"

"An hour and a half to two hours." Cindy replied. "Think it's worth the trip?"

"I'll call and tell them Tammi is in the hospital." Phyllis said. "If they come up, then we can talk to them here. If not, then I think it would be worth it to go visit them."

Just then there was a knock on the door. Detective Martin Nash popped his head in. "Lieutenant Ross, we just got a report from the Hammondsville Police Department across the State line. They found a burned out van in a farm field south of town. No license plate on it, and when I asked if the right-side rear window was shot out, they said most of the windows were broken out, but there was no glass on that side where that window was. It was enough for their CSI people to notice, and they thanked me for the likely reason."

"Ask them to send us their full report, with our thanks." said Cindy. After Nash politely said hello to Phyllis, he withdrew.

"So," Cindy said, "I guess I can call the FBI in on this one. Think I should do so?"

"Yes, but not until Tammi is out of the hospital." Phyllis said. "And may I recommend that Police guard Ms. Edmonds if she is staying at the hospital overnight. In fact, I'd have police guarding her right now... someone you can trust."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

That evening, Cindy and Jenna were having dinner with Martin Nash and his girlfriend, Special Agent Sandra Speer of the FBI.

"Jack and Don are working on something together." Sandra said. "I haven't seen either of them for a couple of days now. No, I have no idea what they're working on, but I think it's about Harold Malone's death."

"Yeah, that hit Teresa pretty hard." Cindy said. "He was a bad apple, but he really took care of her in the Police Department and developed her into a great Detective."

"Understandable." said Jenna. "I guess every family has its issues." That was a pointed comment at Cindy and the way her family wasn't very accepting of Jenna. Cindy did what she normally did... let it go.

"Speaking of that, this Tammi Edmonds case has cropped up again." said Sandra. "The vehicle was found in the next State. Gonna call us in on this?"

"Not yet." Cindy said. "Don would be mighty interested in this case, but as you said, he's busy with Jack and I don't want to distract him. You'll get an 'official' call after we talk to Tammi after she gets out of the hospital."

"I'm wondering why Ned broke her out along with the other women." Martin Nash said. "She had no ties to T-Square or his Posse, no ties to Gloria Cagle or Eleanor Burke. Ned is dead now, but maybe someone else associated with him now wants her for some reason?"

"I think you're asking the right question, there." Cindy said. "And the answer to it will go a long way to answering why someone was trying to kidnap her... and they meant business, from what I can tell. McGhillie said they didn't drop her and run until Johnson shot at them, even with our officers about to catch up to them. They really wanted to get her into that van. So, Jenna... solve this case for us before I get dessert out."

"Yeah, right." Jenna said. "I prosecute cases that you guys and Don brilliantly solve; I wouldn't know where to even begin looking at this one."

"Still," Sandra said, "tell us your perspective as a prosecutor."

"Well..." Jenna said with a breath, then continued: "As a prosecutor, it strikes me that this woman was committed to the Asylum with almost no record of the legal proceedings, the medical proceedings, or anything else. Yes, there were some records that were apparently destroyed, but this kind of non-records bespeaks some serious, serious Government power at work. That's what strike me about it... someone really wanted her to disappear, yet they did not kill her, just put her away in the Asylum."

As Cindy went to get dessert, she contemplated what Jenna had said, knowing her girlfriend was spot-on in her analysis...

Part 3 - The Transfer

Saturday morning, January 24th. Tammi's parents arrived at the hospital and she was glad to see them. They wanted to take her home with them, but Phyllis was there and intervened. She was wearing plainclothes, a black sweater, gray skirt and black pumps, but she flashed them her badge and asked to speak with the parents in a breakroom.

"Mr. and Mrs. Edmonds," she said after introducing herself, "there are two reasons that we cannot allow you to take your daughter out of the County but especially out of the State. First, she's technically under arrest for some legal issues surrounding her original sentence to the Asylum, which we want to resolve without the added complication of her leaving the State. Second, I very much fear that her life might be in danger, and until we resolve this issue, it might be dangerous for both her and you if she left with you. We can safely guard her here."

"I don't know." said Mr. Edmonds, who had medium height, hair around the sides of his head but not on top, and that hair was white, and looked like a cross between a farmer and a politician. "This County has not done a good job of protecting our daughter in the past, and she ended up in that Asylum being raped every night for three years."

"I understand how you feel." Phyllis said in her most soothing voice. "But this Police Department did not have my s-- er, Commander Troy back then. May I ask you some questions about your daughter and her disappearance then?" The Edmonds acquiesced.

"First, tell me about Tammi growing up." Phyllis said.

"We didn't have a lot of money, and we had four children." Mrs. Edmonds said. Her face looked like Tammi's but her hair was black (and obviously dyed), and she looked like a chronic chain-smoker. She was short, but taller than her daughter, and her body was nicely proportioned though becoming curvy in certain areas. She had also had breast cancer and her mental state was not all that great. That was all Phyllis could deduce from a first examination.

Mrs. Edmonds continued: "Tammi was a very average student. Her friends were in the same social and financial class as our family, okay kids for the most part but sometimes smoking, staying out too late, risking pregnancy by having unprotected sex. When Tammi graduated high school, she couldn't get into nursing school or junior college, and she mostly had jobs waiting tables."

"Dear, let's be honest with the Detective." Mr. Edmonds said. "Tammi turned to prostitution around the time she graduated high school. She went to parties where there were drugs and alcohol, but she was there for business and she didn't use drugs. To be honest, that always stunned me that she was able to stay clean."

Mr. Edmonds continued: "Tammi lived in Town but we rarely saw her. She could've come home but she never did. Then we had to move away because King & Ebenezer was going broke. I was lucky, found a job in the next State where I could finish work and retire.

"As to Tammi, the last we heard of her, she was living in a Fraternity house near the Campus. We then heard she'd been arrested after being found heavily intoxicated. I knew that sounded wrong, so I began trying to find her. She wasn't at University Hospital, which had no record of her ever being there. The Police in Town didn't have her; they said it was a Campus Police case. The Campus Police said she wasn't in their jail, and they had no idea where she was. When they looked for her on the computer, they had a record of her arrest, but nothing after that: no release information, no transfer information. Tammi had just disappeared."

"Sir, if I may ask," Phyllis said, "do you know which Fraternity house she was living in?"

"I do." said Mrs. Edmonds. "It was the SAE's house. I know because they were always getting into a lot of trouble with the authorities, not only here but on other campuses, and they were in the news a lot."

"Just prior to her disappearance," Phyllis asked, "did you ever become aware of any problems with anyone that Tammi was having, or any reason for someone to harm her?"

"No, but admittedly we weren't in touch with her very much." said Mr. Edmonds.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"She's being released." said Detective Martin Nash. "Sergeant Rudistan, would you drive her straight to Police Headquarters from here?"

"Just a minute." said a voice coming up. Sergeant McCombs came walking up with a youngish looking patrol officer. "She should go to the Campus Police station. They have jurisdiction over her."

"No, they don't." said Nash, squaring up to McCombs. McCombs was an older man, a bit swarthy, and he liked a good mean fight. Nash was clean cut, looked good in a suit, was relatively slender and fit, and didn't like fighting but could do so, and very well. "We're taking her to Headquarters. Those are my orders... Sergeant."

"That's wrong, Detective," said McCombs, "and I insist she be taken into her proper jurisdiction, even if you do try to pull rank. I'll have the Union all over you for this."

"So be it." said Nash. "File your grievance, but she's coming to TCPD Headquarters."

McCombs squared up to Nash. "No, she's not. I won't let her go anywhere but the Campus Police Station, to be transferred to State custody, and I'll shoot you if I have to... Detective."

"As you were, McCombs!"

The voice from behind McCombs came from Lt. Cindy Ross, who had just walked up. The fact that she was brandishing a blue crowbar might have slowed down McCombs. The fact that Sergeant Rudistan and Sr. Patrolman Morton were standing behind her, ready to draw guns on McCombs, might have stopped McCombs altogether.

"Nash, take Ms. Edmonds to Headquarters." ordered Cindy. "My orders. Sergeant McCombs, run to your Union butt-buddies if you want, but be advised that you are about two inches from a formal demotion for threatening a senior officer."

"You'll be hearing from the Union about this." said McCombs. He stalked out of the area and disappeared down the hall."

"Lieutenant, what the hell was that all about?" asked Nash.

"I have no frickin' clue." Cindy replied.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tammi was brought to Headquarters and taken to Interrogation-A. That did not suit Phyllis very well. She asked Cindy if they could take Tammi somewhere she would be more comfortable.

"My office." said Cindy. They led Tammi through the door to the Headquarters side and down the hall to Cindy's office.

"Would you like some tea, dear?" Phyllis asked Tammi as they sat on the love seat in front of Cindy's desk. Cindy sat behind her desk.

"Thank you." Tammi said, her voice quiet and even, showing no emotion. Phyllis poured tea for both of them, as Cindy had declined. She did notice Tammi looking at the few framed items on Cindy's wall. One was a picture of Cindy and Teresa holding their medals after winning the Triathlon the previous summer. Another was her citation for her Medal of Valor. Third was an old picture of Cindy on stage during her 'Miss Physical America' competitions, looking much more cut and muscular than she was now. A picture of Molly and little Ross were in a frame on Cindy's desk.

"Tammi, dear," Phyllis said in her most soothing, grandmotherly voice. "I'm sure you understand that we need to talk to you about what happened the other night, and I'm afraid there might be some painful memories for you about what's happened to you in the past."




The Phyllis Files Ch. 04



"If you mean the Asylum," Tammi said, sipping her tea, "don't worry. I'm over all that. Dr. Fredricson really helped me a lot, and I stayed with Dr. Eckhart at his place for a few months. They're really good people down there, and they helped me put the painful things away."

"That's good." said Phyllis. "So Tammi, what have you been doing the last few months, since you got out of the Asylum?"

"Just working." Tammi said. "Mostly at Target, and some extra work over the Holidays at the mall."

"Where do you live?" Phyllis asked.

"I've been staying at an apartment near the campus, with a couple of other girls who are college students." said Tammi. "They call themselves the 'Flamingo Sisters' because they have a pink flamingo hanging in the window." She gave the address, which Phyllis and Cindy noted was near where the incident with the van had taken place.

"Can you tell us what happened four years ago, when you were found on campus apparently very intoxicated?"

"I don't know." Tammi said. "I was living in an attic room at the SAE House. In exchange for room and board, the guys would come up and fuck me whenever they needed sex. There were a couple of other girls there, too."

"And you never used drugs or drank while you were there?" Cindy asked.

"Oh no, I never got into that stuff." Tammi said. "Maybe a drink or two, or a beer from time to time, but I never got wasted or anything."

"Tammi, did you associate with black men while living in the SAE House?" Phyllis asked. Cindy could not hide the shocked look on her face at that question.

"Not then, there were no black fraternity members." Tammi said. "But before then, when I was trying to get work in the Tenderloin District, I had sex with a lot of black men."

"Did any of them ever talk about race wars in your presence?" Phyllis asked. Cindy's eyes were about to pop out at this line of questioning.

"No, not really." Tammi said. "There was always talk about 'The Man' and cops arresting blacks, but I never heard anything in an organized way.

"Did you ever have sex with any politicians or people who were well-known publicly?" Phyllis asked.

"If I did, I'm not aware of it." Tammi replied.

"So what happened that got you arrested? That night at the Fraternity house, or on Campus near it?" Phyllis asked.

"I don't remember." Tammi said, her face looking forlorn. "There was a party one night, I had sex with three different guys in my bedroom, and the next thing I remember was waking up in the Asylum. Didn't even know where I was for months." Cindy shook her head, unable to believe something like that could be going on so close to where she lived.

"Let me ask this." Phyllis said. "The young man who broke you out of the Asylum, did you know him or who he was?"

"No ma'am." Tammi said. "He was an orderly there. His name was Kyle. He would come in and rape me once every month or so. One night while he was on top of me, raping me, he asked me in a whisper if I wanted him to help me escape. Of course I said 'yes', and a couple of days later he had me get in a van with two other women. We drove out of there and up here, and I was let go with one of the other women. I think her name was Gloria. Her boyfriend, a black guy who worked for that rapper, had me taken to the hospital."

"Did you know those other women? At the Asylum, or before?" Phyllis asked.

"No, that was the first time I ever saw either of them. I almost never left my room while I was in the Asylum." Tammi replied.

"Tammi, about the other night: do you know of any reason why someone would try to kidnap you?" Phyllis asked.

"Uh, no." Tammi said. Phyllis noted the look of fear on the woman's face... the fear of knowing something and concealing it.

"Are you sure, dear?" Phyllis said. "Let me explain: someone went to great trouble to have you sent to the Asylum and then erase all traces of you being there. And then someone had this Kyle get you out of the Asylum, for either good or bad reasons, we don't know which. Now someone has tried to kidnap you again, and I really fear for your safety. Is there nothing you can tell us that will help us protect you?"

"I really don't understand any of it." Tammi said.

"Tammi," Phyllis said, "If there is something, it would be better, and make you safer, if you tell us what it could be. Once it's out and we know, the person wanting to harm you would have no more reason to harm you. I want you to think, really hard. I want you to try to remember if you ever saw something, saw a crime or saw someone doing something out of the ordinary, something that might cause someone to want to harm you."

"I... I've thought a lot about a lot of things like that." Tammi said. "Dr. Eckhart tried to help me remember, also. But I just don't know what I saw or did that got anyone's attention." Phyllis noted that the same look of concern was still on Tammi's face. She knew something, or had some idea of something. But it was apparently so frightening that she would not speak of it.

"Tammi," Phyllis said, "Kyle, the man who helped you escape, he has passed away and can no longer have any influence on your life. If there is someone else who is a threat to you and you know it, please do tell us."

"Tammi," said Cindy Ross, her voice cutting through the air of the room, "did you know a Senator Nathan Allen?"

"No ma'am." Tammi replied.

"What about a Dean Allen." Cindy said.

"No, not that I know of."

Cindy looked over at Phyllis, her eyes silently asking "What do we do now?" Phyllis just nodded.

"Tammi," Phyllis said after a moment's thought. "I believe there is only one way to keep you safe from the grave danger you are in." Phyllis told Tammi her plan. Tammi agreed to it.

"You'll need to say goodbye to your parents." Phyllis said. "Then I'll escort you to your apartment to pack your things. Lt. Ross, would you be kind enough to come with us?"

"Of course." Cindy said. "And I'll have a Police SWAT unit with us to protect her, as well."

Part 4 - Hoops of Steel and Stone

The two vans pulled up to the front of 'The Vision' World Headquarters in Coltrane County. From the first van exited Phyllis Troy and Cindy Ross, both wearing civilian clothes. The driver of that van as well as all occupants of the second van did not open the doors nor exit their vehicles.

Walking inside, they were met by a young man. "Ah, Lieutenant Ross! How nice to see you again."

"And you, Tommy." Cindy said. "How are you and Candy doing?" They remembered each other from the case of the Murdered Football Player.

"Wonderfully well." Tommy said. "We're married now, and Candy is expecting." After another moment of chit-chat, Tommy asked "How may I help you?"

"We need to speak with Dr. Eckhart." said Phyllis.

"Er, I'm sorry, but Dr. Eckhart is in meditative study, and he is not seeing anyone at the moment."

"He will see me." Phyllis said severely, handing the young man her card. "Please ask him." Tommy took the card, his face looking stunned, and went to the elevator that Cindy knew led straight up to Eckhart's office. Cindy strolled around the lobby, her eyes glancing everywhere, while Phyllis stood stock-still and watched the elevator.

A moment later, the elevator door opened and out popped Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart, founder and great leader of 'The Vision'.

"Phyllis Troy, as I live and breathe..." said Eckhart, his voice jovial but his facial expression anything but. "I must say that I am utterly... stunned, yes, stunned!... to see you here."

"I feel the same way, Dr. Eckhart," Phyllis said, her voice in the tone of a tough business negotiation, "but I have an urgent matter upon which I need your assistance. Do you know my friend, Lt. Cindy Ross?" she asked as Cindy came up.

Phyllis observed how Eckhart's eyes lit up upon seeing Cindy. "Ah, Miss Ross, it is so wonderful to see you again." he said.

"It's good to see you, too, Dr. Eckhart." said Cindy. She came up and gave the older man a warm hug, which he returned.

"Ah, let me look at you, child." he said, taking Cindy's hands in his and examining her. "Ah, fully recovered from those grievous wounds, and... ah, yes... hopelessly in love if I don't miss my guess." His voice was playful, and Cindy could not help but smile brightly at the thought of Jenna. 

"Yes, sir. She's a wonderful woman." Cindy replied.

"I would love to meet her, since the effect she has on you is so wonderfully positive." Eckhart said. "Ah yes, Mrs. Troy has business to discuss. Let's step in here, shall we?"

Eckhart led them to the curved wall to the left of the elevator. It looked like a solidly paneled wall, but Eckhart deftly reached for a concealed indention and pulled the wall to the right: it was a concealed sliding door. Behind it was a small room with sofas and chairs, well appointed, looking like a sitting room.

"Tommy, if you'll be good enough to bring us some tea." said Eckhart. Tommy rushed off as the women entered the room. Eckhart closed the door behind them and asked them to be seated, sitting down himself in one of the chairs.

"So, ladies," Eckhart said, his jovial hosting voice a mere front, "how may I be of service today?" Cindy looked at Phyllis; therefore, so did Eckhart.

"Doctor," said Phyllis, "do you remember a woman named Tammi Edmonds?"

"Tammi... Edmonds." Eckhart said, pretending to think. "Ah, yes. The woman that managed to escape from that hideous Asylum down the road. Yes, she was here for some months after your daughter worked with her. My people were able to help her come to terms with her ordeal, and she was a much happier person when she left."

"The fact is, Dr. Eckhart," Phyllis said, "that Tammi's life is in grave danger. We're not sure why, we're not sure what caused someone to have her put into the Asylum and then tried to have her kidnapped the other day. But she is in danger, and the one place she will be safe is here with you again. Would you be willing to take her in again?"

"Oh, but of course! Of course!" Dr. Eckhart said. "We'll be delighted to have her back. Oh, thank you Tommy." The young man had brought in tea, and Eckhart poured three cups. Tommy handed one to Cindy and one to Phyllis. Cindy sipped hers, while Phyllis adroitly placed hers down on the table untasted. Eckhart also sipped his and then said "Tommy, have someone prepare a room for a female guest in Dorm A. Tammi Edmonds is her name, and if her old room is available, she may have it again if she likes."

"Yes sir." Tommy said, then withdrew from the room, closing the sliding door behind him.

"Thank you very much, Dr. Eckhart." Phyllis said. "I only hope she can... and will... tell us her secret so that we can help her."

"Ah," said Eckhart, "I tried to learn that secret myself when she was here last time. I began to understand that she does not realize whatever it was that she saw or learned. But we shall keep her very safe here, and I will let you or your son know immediately if I learn anything new. Now... tell me about those wonderful grandchildren of yours."

"Ah, I'd be here all day if I did." said Phyllis, not falling for the bait. "If you'll excuse us, we'll bring Tammi inside."

They made their way out front, and Phyllis opened the side door of the second van. Tammi came out, and everyone could see the four heavily armed men inside. They did not get out, as eight of Eckhart's acolytes had Tammi protectively surrounded as they led her inside.

"Thank you for your help!" Tammi called out to Phyllis and Cindy.

"Good luck!" Phyllis said. Under her breath she said to Cindy "Let's get the hell out of this place." They returned to the first van, Cindy driving, and began the drive back home.

Part 5 - Solution, Such As It Is

Sunday, January 25th. Getting a break from my work with Jack Muscone, I had a wonderful lunch with my family at the Mountain Nest. Cindy Ross was also there, to my daughter Carole's great delight.

After lunch, we sat in the den and talked about the Tammi Edmonds case. My mother Phyllis filled in the missing pieces.

"If we look at Ms. Edmond's horrific adventures over the past several years," Phyllis said, "it was obvious that someone wanted Tammi Edmonds to disappear. What I am not sure I understand yet is why she was incarcerated in that awful Asylum rather than simply be murdered."

"I might venture to guess," I said, "that it was Nathan Allen's doing. It was his modus operandi with Phil Kearnes and others. Having another person in the Asylum brings more State money into his district, which means he gets more skimming off the top. Maybe a 'finders fee' bonus, as well."

"That is a strong possibility." Phyllis replied. "And Nathan Allen was the type of man who would enjoy having an enemy put in the Asylum and raped every night instead of merely killing her. He's obviously had something to do with it."

"Something to do with his son?" Cindy asked. "And why did you ask Tammi about blacks and race wars?"

"Ah," said Phyllis, "because black and white issues are the undercurrent to some political things going on even now. Captain Malone was very much involved in those issues, and this rapper 'T-Square' is heavily involved on the other side. I was hoping Tammi would remember hearing something that implicated someone in something, but no luck there."

"Was Nathan Allen really powerful enough to make all the records of Tammi Edmonds disappear?" Cindy asked skeptically.

"No, he wasn't." I said. "And that means he had help... someone who was powerful enough or had contacts enough to make that happen. And as Mom said, someone possibly involved in the higher level stuff that's going on."

"Yes." said Phyllis, smiling in her knowing way as she saw that I understood. "And what I also noticed was that after Tammi was broken out of the Asylum, she remained safe until just a few days ago. The reason why became evident when I learned that she was at 'The Vision' compound for several months. Whoever wanted to harm Tammi apparently fears Dr. Eckhart, as Dr. Eckhart has the means to protect his people from this wicked person. One of the very few people, I might add. That's why I asked him to protect her again, as distasteful as doing so was."

Cindy changed the subject by asking "So why did Ned break her out of the Asylum? So that whoever hired him could get to her and attack her?"

"Probably not." I said. "In fact... oh!... wait a minute..." I went into a reverie. It lasted a while, and the ladies were chatting during that time.

"I think my son is right." Phyllis said. "Whoever paid my wicked nephew to extricate Tammi did so to help her."

"Indeed." I said, my voice almost a whisper.

"Okay, Crowbar 1, time to spill it." Cindy said.

"Sure." I said. "I just realized that Nathan Allen was working with... or more likely for... someone, and that someone very likely had access to Tammi at the Asylum. So he did not need to get her out of the Asylum; he could've murdered her inside that place if he wanted to. But even if he got away with that, killing her would draw attention to himself, and that is what he abhors over all things."

"Who?" Cindy asked.

"Our 'Moriarty', of course." I said. "And let me say... oh, yeah, that's why Ned did it!" Another reverie, and Cindy was getting impatient.

"Tell us, son." Phyllis said as I came back into the world.

"I just realized it." I said. "Ned was being hunted by a lot of people, both in the criminal world and law enforcement. The Corrigan Cell wanted him very badly for his drug compounding, and I think they wanted to make a 'meth lab slave' out of him, which of course he did not care for one bit. We also know that Wargrave and 'Moriarty' had connections to the Corrigan Cell. Therefore it stands to reason that someone saw Tammi... and whatever knowledge she possesses... as a hedge against 'Moriarty'."

"I see what you're getting at." Laura said. "If Ned is captured, Tammi exposes who the real 'Moriarty' is."

"You mean Tammi knows who this person is, and we just let her go?" Cindy asked, almost getting up out of her chair.

"No, no." I said. "Tammi is not aware of who 'Moriarty' is, but I think she may have seen Nathan Allen and 'Moriarty' together, not realizing his real identity nor that he is the Spider in the center of the Web. 'Moriarty' may also have thought Tammi overheard something said between the two. So he has Allen take care of Tammi, which Allen did by having a college kid spike her drink, having her arrested and putting her in the Asylum, then 'Moriarty' had her files erased."

"Ned had an idea of this," I said, putting the thoughts together in my head as fast as they came to me, "though he likely did not know who 'Moriarty' was, either. But it was enough. Ned was not paid to get Tammi out... he broke her out himself for his own purposes."

"Yet he let her go when he let Gloria go." Cindy said.

"Exactly." I said. "I think Ned just wanted to release Tammi to let 'Moriarty' know not to fuck with him, with Ned. Just by letting her out, Ned showed that he was a force for 'Moriarty' to reckon with. Man! what a mental battle that would've been, the two of them!..." My mind drifted off again.

"Why am I glad we didn't have to bear the brunt of that?" Laura said sardonically.

"No doubt about that." I replied.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Ah, this is extraordinarily fine sherry, sir." said Henry R. Wargrave. He and his guest were in the study of his (Wargrave's) home in Town. Wargrave's wife was in the City and the staff had been given the night off provided they leave the premises; the two men had the house to themselves. Wargrave's guest had brought the sherry, a rare and expensive bottle, as a gift to the billionaire magnate.

"Yes, I've always had a fondness for it." said the guest.

"Hits the spot on a cold winter night like this." Wargrave said, savoring the smell and the taste of the sherry.

"Ah, indeed." said the guest. "I just hope... that this does not become our winter of discontent."

"What do you mean?" asked Wargrave. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I believe you're about to find out." said the guest. "That will be your associate, Mr. Murphy. Bring him in here and I'll become the man behind the curtain, literally, and listen in."

A moment later, Wargrave escorted Austin L. Murphy into the room. "I'm sorry to bother you tonight, Hank." Murphy said. "But I've got several important news items for you."

"I trust your judgement." said Wargrave. "So, what do you have?"

"First," said Murphy, "as you know, Robert Brownlee will be appointed Deputy Chief, and take the job February 2nd."

"Yes, I know." said Wargrave.

"Second," said Murphy, "you might remember a girl named Tammi Edmonds. She was one of three women the Iron Crowbar's nephew helped escape from the Asylum, the other two being Gloria Cagle and Eleanor Burke."

"I have some vague recollection of that." Wargrave said.

"Someone tried to kidnap Ms. Edmonds the other night." said Murphy. "The police extracted her from the hospital before our man could get her away from them. And now they've taken her to Eckhart's compound in Coltrane County."

"I see." said Wargrave. "So she's essentially out of reach now. This was the Iron Crowbar's doing?"

"Uh, no sir. It was his mother."

"Oh really?" Wargrave said, surprised by that news.

Murphy said. "Yes sir. She's an Auxiliary Detective, and Lieutenant Ross worked with her and took Edmonds down to 'The Vision'. Anyway: third, we have information that the Iron Crowbar and FBI Agent Jack Muscone are going down to Atlanta. We think they may go over to Alabama, where Harold Malone was murdered."

"It would be a very good idea if they never return from there." said Wargrave. "Alert the locals to be on the lookout for them, and to give them a very warm reception if and when they show up."




The Phyllis Files Ch. 04



"Yes sir, I'll do that." Murphy said happily.

"Okay, thank you Austin." Wargrave said. "I'll talk with you again tomorrow." Murphy left, and the guest came out from behind the heavy curtain.

"Brownlee is a hopeless fuck up." said the guest. "But maybe he'll agitate the Iron Crowbar and keep him occupied."

"If the Iron Crowbar returns from Alabama alive." said Wargrave. The guest said nothing, knowing that the Iron Crowbar was a step ahead of Wargrave, who added "By the way, sir, I don't know anything about this Edmonds woman. Does she ring a bell for you?"

"If memory serves me correctly, she was a problem of the late Nathan Allen's, may he rest in peace." said the guest. "He had her put in the Asylum, as he did Phil Kearnes. Allen was a very stupid man, very stupid. He has cost us tremendously, much more than the Iron Crowbar has. But still... the Iron Crowbar is formidable man, a foeman truly worthy of our steel. If he does survive Alabama... then this could indeed become the winter of our discontent..."

Finis.

*****

(Dear readers, this story was written to proved the solution to the previous 'Phyllis Files' case, and to throw in some valuable information that will be cluuuuuues to future stories. This chapter will conclude 'The Phyllis Files' experiment, and more answers will be provided in the regular series of stories to follow. As always, thanks for reading and for your ratings and your votes.)