A New Age Mystery Comes to Life Pt. 01

"Ok, the 'yet' tells me volumes. But I will shut up because neither of you will crack under anything less than waterboarding."

"Good move. I'll pour us some coffee and then I need to get the babies in bed. School tomorrow. You are coming to dinner Saturday night, aren't you?"

I looked at Glenda and asked, "Are you chauffeuring on weekends too?"

"Yes; I was invited too; so, your chariot will be available."

"Good. Maybe afterwards, we can go someplace and get a drink."

"We can get you a drink but I will be the designated driver."

"Who started that designated driver thing? I think that is was a woman who is trying to spoil a good evening."

Marla replied, "Shut up; macho man only goes so far at work or on the street but it doesn't sell at home." She looked at Glenda and said, "Don't tolerate that crap from him except at work. It's his way of hiding his soft and gentle side."

"I think that I figured that out tonight."

They got up and took the dishes to the kitchen while I navigated back into my chair. A few minutes later, I got back up to give the kids a hug and walked the four of them to the door. I gave Marla a hug and then looked at Glenda who looked nervous. "At work, this didn't happen." I leaned over and gave her a hug too. I could feel her relax as I gently held her. Then they walked out and I went back to my chair. Instead of turning on the television, I turned on the stereo to some nice gentle music and thought about Glenda. She had opened up about her background and the story that Marla had told me made perfect sense but I suspected that there was something else going on but didn't know what it was.

The next morning, Glenda arrived just before seven and I had coffee ready for her. She had brought three breakfast tacos but from a different place and she ate one while I ate the other two. As we walked out the car, she asked, "If this turns out to be something like we talked about, how could we get someone onto the dark web to find out what was going on?"

"That's a good question. I don't think that it would be a problem to find a computer geek who could get in but then finding the sites might be difficult. Finding someone with knowledge of those sites might requires turning a bad guy over in exchange for a lighter sentence. But again, most of the people we get are the little guys. The smart guys are still well hidden."

"That's the conclusion I came up with too. In college, I knew a guy who bragged that he could hack into almost any network. I don't know if he was bullshitting us or not but he did get in trouble for hacking the university network. I don't know where he is now or what he does but he might be worth tracking down and talking to. He might know someone who knows something about the dark web."

"That would be a good start. I wouldn't know where to start except with our own computer geeks and I doubt that any of them would admit to knowing anything like that. When you get back, see if you can track him down. That's a good idea."

Glenda beamed at the praise. Once I was settled in, Glenda asked if I was ok and if so, she was going to see the dealer. I said that I was fine and if she didn't get back before lunch, I will get something delivered.

"At least order something healthy."

"You mean pizza isn't healthy?"

She laughed, "It depends on what is on it."

"Three different meats on it ought to do the trick."

"As long as there is an equal amount of greens and red on there too. Be a good boy today."

"Just for that, it will be three meats and extra cheese. Go."

She had only been gone for ten minutes when the room already felt lifeless and sterile. Knowing that, I shut that door and opened my computer and got to work. Actually, the morning went quickly as I found a number of interesting bits and pieces. Marla picked me up and 11:30 for my doctor's appointment but I was back at my desk by 1:00 in time to order a pizza. Unfortunately, my call to the plumber was returned just after my pizza arrived. That meant that I would be eating cold pizza. I spent thirty minutes talking to him about the truck and felt that he was being honest and straightforward with his answers. They all sounded right and could be easily checked.

It turned out that he bought the truck to use on heavy jobs and this was a heavy-duty truck. Because he carried heavy products to be installed, he had a nearby shop fabricate a slide out tool drawer to fit under the bed. It worked perfectly for his needs. Then the engine blew out a water pump and that caused the head to crack when it overheated. As a result, he just parked it in back while trying to decide whether to scrap it or sell it or something. About a year ago, a guy stopped by and asked about the truck. He told him what the story was on it. The guy offered him five hundred dollars for it and said that he would bring a trailer to haul it off. It took a few minutes but he found his copy of the bill of sale. The name on it turned out to be Glenda's brother. That pretty well closed any link to either of the other trucks but it did give me the name of a shop that could build the hidden truck box. The owner was out but I was told that he would be back in the morning and that I could just drop by anytime to talk to him. I looked him up and found that he had a clean record and that the Better Business Bureau had no negative reports on him.

As I finally sat down with a piece of my microwaved pizza, Glenda walked in wearing a smile. "If you haven't eaten yet, the microwave will warm a slice up very nicely."

"Thanks. I didn't stop. Ooo, you got lots of veggies. I like that."

"They ran out of Canadian bacon and Italian sausage."

"Uh huh; I am sure that was the case. How did the morning go?"

"Nothing earth shattering but I did find out that the plumbing company sold the truck to your brother. So, I doubt that there is a link from him to these other two but I did get the name of the shop that built the under-bed box. We will go talk to him in the morning. What did you discover?"

"Before that, what did the doctor say?"

"He said that I was healing nicely and to continue to take it easy. I could have told him that. But he has to make his money by telling me the obvious. Now, about the dealer?"

"Nothing that points a finger directly but it turns out that it was pretty much as we talked about. There is a network of about thirty small dealers like hers throughout the South and up into the Midwest a bit. They all specialize in vintage vehicles and they work like we talked about. When a deal is made, the other dealer arranges for a driver to bring it to her place and she arranges a driver to deliver it to her customer. That saves them both some money. The guy in the wreck is a man she has used a number of times. He was a truck driver who got laid off and he appreciates any work he can get and this was the first incident he had been involved with. She has been trying to contact the buyer but her e-mails get returned."

"Now that is interesting. We can probably track down something on the e-mail. What else? Do you think she was being straight with you?"

"I already thought about tracing the e-mail and yes, I think that she was being straight. She is in her mid-fifties and is a retired school teacher. She and her husband are big into vintage cars and trucks and go to all of the shows and swap meets. So, I don't think she is a problem at all. But the biggest news is that she keeps good records. Most of her customers are people in the area that she knows but she does get calls from out of the area and has sold some vehicles that way. Most of them call her and talk but a few just send in a request by e-mail. This truck was an e-mail request. She also thinks that it might be the same guy from an earlier purchase. He had a different e-mail but she felt that it was the same guy because he misspelled Chevrolet the same way in both e-mails. Anyway, she printed off a list of all of the trucks and buyers that she has worked with in the past year with the buyer, his contact, and how she got paid. Most of the locals pay by check or cash but the out of town people send money orders or do a bank transfer from a small-town bank. So, on this list, there might be a couple of bad guys. What do you think?"

"I think that you just earned your paycheck for the year and maybe a promotion. Let's take a look at the names on the list and cross of the ones we can. Then we can focus in on the outliers."

That is what we did for the rest of the afternoon until the list was whittled down to five buyers and two of those had a name and an address. Both of these were in Mitch's back yard. A quick phone call to him got a confirmation that he would check them out personally. That brought us to the end of the day.

As we drove to my place, she quietly asked, "Umm...Would you like to stop for a beer first. You have been cooped up for three months now."

"Glenda, you don't have to unless you want but if we stop, we will go to dinner too. I know a nice quiet place that serves very good home cooking."

She smiled and replied, "Point me to your favorite watering hole."

That was easy since it was only three blocks from my house and was a favorite stopping place for the local cops. I was known there and Glenda's uniform wouldn't cause a stir. As I expected, no one bothered about her uniform but they gave me a ration of shit because I hadn't been there recently and there were rumors that the place was going to have to close. Then they started on me being with a woman, any woman. Glenda laughed at the barbs because she wasn't the target. But once we were seated and had a beer in front of us, she started giving it back to those who came over reminding them that I was one of them and was recovering from wounds in action. That brought about a lot of hoots about my inability to get out of the way of a beat up old pick-up truck and added that I was way too slow for a hot chick like Glenda. That made her blush.

I finally called a halt to it and told them to go arrest an old woman for jaywalking or something important. When they went back to their tables, I looked a Glenda and said, "Sorry about that. I should have known better."

"That's all right. I caught a lot of that in the Academy and I know that it is all teasing. I feel more comfortable here than in a civilian bar."

"If this becomes a permanent gig for you, you can lose the uniform and dress more comfortably. It makes going out in public easier."

She smiled and replied, "That would be nice." She paused and said, "Do you think that there is a chance that this could become permanent?"

"I have nothing to say about it but if you have Mitch and Rick on your side, it wouldn't surprise me at all. So far on this case, all I can report is that you are well-qualified and eager to learn." I paused and added, "And if it comes to push and shove, I can keep this limp going for a long time."

"Please don't do that. I want to earn my place on my own merit. I don't have a problem supporting you because you are the best in the state and I can learn better here than anywhere else."

"Who told you that?"

"Mitch was first but Rick told me the same thing when I first talked to him about working with you."

"I guess that I need to put both of them on my Christmas card list."

"I think that you owe them both a bottle of scotch." She thought and then added, "You really don't know how well-respected you are not just here but all over. I heard about you in the Academy as the best in the state. Whenever your name comes up down there, they always say that all of them should aspire to be the trooper that you are. You have to know that to some degree. Why do you lower yourself?"

Ok, she hit me in the gut with that one. "I guess that it goes back a long way. In school, Rick was the star and I was the wingman and backup. I always tried my hardest but I wasn't the guy who got recognized but was the everyday grunt. That carried over to the Army. I was a sergeant working with two officers. They got to do the clean work while I was groveling through the rubble and dirt trying to find clues about what happened. I know I do good work but it isn't all that visible. I work with the local cops and if we solve the issue, they get the credit and I go home alone. So, I guess that I am just one of those guys who wasn't meant to be the poster boy. That's about the best way I can describe it."

"That fits with what Marla had told me. She says that you have never bucked for recognition but are always the guy who lets the others shine. She says that your gruff front is to protect yourself from being recognized. Were you shy when you were young?"

"I guess I was at least until Rick showed up at school. For some reason, he and I clicked and he kind of pulled me out of my shell. That's how we got started and that built into a competitive thing."

"Ok, that's all I need to know today. I will wait for another time to probe some more."

She smiled a smile that I hadn't noticed before. It wasn't a public, happy one but a sincere sign of friendship. That made me feel good inside. When I had finished two beers while she nursed one, I directed her to a nearby strip center and into a small restaurant on the end. It didn't look like much from the outside but once you entered, you were assaulted by the aroma of wonderful food. The owner greeted me warmly and led us to a table in the corner. When Glenda asked for a menu to look at, I told her to just order the daily special and she would be pleased. She took my word for it and soon we each had a plate featuring a grilled chicken breast with four different side dishes, a basket of warm garlic bread, and a side salad. She was not disappointed when she took her first bite.

While we ate, a dozen couples about my age came in and ordered similarly without looking at a menu. This puzzled Glenda and she asked about it.

"It is pretty simple really. They have about five main courses. Today is chicken. Two days are beef, one is pork chops, and the other one is grilled fish. On the weekend, you can order what you want. They are all good. You can order anything you want but they take a little longer to prepare. Most of the regulars come in know what the special is and they just order it. They vary the vegetables depending on the meat but the salad and rolls are the same."

"As good as this is, I am surprised that they aren't bigger and more well known. I have driven by here dozens of times and never knew that they are here."

"I guess that they are kind of like me. They have built a good clientele of regulars and don't see the need to spend the money to get fancy or advertise or expand. It is run by a man and wife who work in the kitchen. The hostess is their daughter. She will be going to college next year but they have another one ready to step in. It is just good, straight forward food without a lot of embellishments. They open for lunch and then stay open until ten. I come here when I work late or come in for dessert which is also to die for. Sometimes, there are more than this in here at 9:30 just for coffee and dessert."

"Interesting. We will come here more often."

"You won't get an argument form me."

"Marla said that you are a good cook. How did that come about and when are you going to cook for me?"

"I can't really say. When I first started with the force after getting out of the Army, I decided to save money and make my own meals. I had a recipe book and started trying things. They turned out pretty good and then I started trying out different variations. Marla and Rick like them but I haven't really made anything for anyone else. I bake a cake for department parties but that is about it."

"Which begs the question, neither you nor Marla have mentioned a woman in your life. Is that a secret or am I asking an off-limits question?"

"Not off-limits but not much to tell. I dated in high school but nothing major. When I was in the Army, I travelled or was deployed almost constantly. So, I wasn't around to develop a relationship. Then when I got shot up in Afghanistan, I came home and did another recovery and rehab stint. When I joined the state police I discovered that many women admire at cop, they don't want to date or get close to them. So, there haven't been any threats to my bachelorhood. Pretty pathetic, huh?"

"No, I wouldn't call it that. The first part was out of necessity and the last part is just reality. I get hit on a lot but once they find out what I do, I get a lot of 'thanks but no thanks' blow-offs."

"That surprises me. I would think that a lot of guys would look past your career and see the woman you are."

"Would you date a woman who carried a gun and was a very good shot? And oh, I would bust your ass in a minute if you stepped out of line."

"I would but then I understand what and why you do what you do. They are still stupid for not at least giving you a chance."

She looked down and added, "It also doesn't help that I am very picky. Marla gives me grief about that sometimes."

"Join the club. She knows my history and says that I am picky too or, if she is pissed at me, she says that I am just a coward."

I looked at Glenda and saw that she was nervously looking at her hands. Then she took a deep breath and said, "Marla told me the same thing. So, here goes. Thomas, not this weekend but next one, my college is having homecoming and our swim team is being honored. Would you go with me as my date? I'll drive and pay for the hotel rooms."

I looked at her more closely and saw that this was a major step for her. "Glen, I would be pleased to go as your date to this. But I will insist that I pay my own way since I can't drive or do much to support you."

She let out a deep breath of relief. "Thank you. I was afraid that you wouldn't want to go."

"Ok, let's clear the air and put our cards on the table. First, I respect you and like you very much. This was true even before you became my partner. Since then, all that has happened is that I have come to admire you more and I find that your intelligence is just as admirable as your beauty. I haven't said anything or asked you out for the obvious reasons but also because I felt that you were way out of my league. But as I have gotten to know you personally, I find that in many ways we are very much alike. If you are agreeable, I would very much like to date you. Now, if it took all of your guts to ask me to your homecoming; I just spilled mine all over the table. If this ruins the work partnership we have been developing, I am going to kick my own ass."

She broke into a smile with a tear in her eye. "Tommy, if you kick your ass over this, I will kick it for beating yourself up. I would love to date you and I definitely don't want anything to come between us at work either. Work is for work; after-hours, I would love to explore things with you."

"I think that we each just stepped our foot in something and aren't sure what it is yet but I am thrilled at the idea."

"Me too. Can we have dessert now?"

"I just had my dessert; but we can have cake if you want."

"That was a sweet thing to say."

I raised my hand and nodded to the hostess and she quickly brought two pieces of Italian Wedding cake which just happens to be my favorite and it turned out to be hers too.

As we parked at my house, she got out to help me out. When we were inside, she seemed to get nervous again. "Ok, what is bothering you? I can see it all over your face. We have had an open relationship so far; let's don't let go of that at the start of our second relationship."

She took another breath and walked up to me, put her arms around my neck and kissed me. When we broke the kiss, all I could say was, "If you don't want to talk about it, then that is ok too." I pulled her to me and returned the kiss.