BA Hammer Mary Ch. 02

B.A. HAMMER MARY CH 2

Tom Thomas called me the next day and I met him at a coffee ship near his station. "I found the file on this case. What is it you want to know?"

"Whatever background you might have. Opinions, thoughts, doubts. Whatever you remember from the case. Did you cover this case for the station?"

"No, it was another older guy. He retired long ago and is gone. I have looked through his files. He doesn't have much. He probably thought there wasn't anything interesting in this case. Was he wrong?"

"About as wrong as he could have been."

"I'm not surprised. He wasn't top of the tree. You know..."

"The girl was innocent. It took me one day to prove that. Why were the police willing to just go along with this ridiculous story? Why did the DA not say anything about this shoddy case? I have already been warned off this, so something is out there."

"I'm interested now. If I can get first dibs on whatever you find, I will help you."

"Okay, first question. The girl, Liz Besson, had a brother. Do you know his name?"

"The file says his name is Jeffery Lewis Besson. I don't have anything else, except he threw quite a fit during the trial."

"Do you have anything on Rutherford's company? I don't find it around now."

"No, we'll have to check on that."

"If you could do that, I will look up Mr. Besson." We agreed and headed our separate ways.

I thought I would ask Ed. He is getting tired of seeing me. "You can't expect me to keep doing your legwork. Especially if you are trying to blow up an old case."

"What makes you think I am going that?"

"Come on, Britton. How long have we been friends? Twenty years?"

"I know the girl was innocent. It took me one day to prove that. Why did Baker just let it go? Was he threatened? What is so important about this case that has everyone scared? I've already been warned off this once, and I have only been on it for two days." Ed sat quietly. He wasn't responding, and that was enough for me. "Okay, I get it. I will leave you alone on this one."

I needed another way to find her brother. It is 2014, but I don't understand anything about computers. There was this thing called "Facebook". It had a lot of members and was now the largest social application. I don't know anything about it, but I knew someone who would.

I went to find Lenny. He worked at the same TV station Thomas did. I explained what I wanted, and he asked me to come to his office. It took him a couple of minutes to locate Jeff Besson's page. At this rate, I would be out of a job soon. A couple of clicks, and boom, there he is. It was a page dedicated to his sister. Boy was this guy bitter. I couldn't really blame him. She had been railroaded. I just needed him to let me talk to him.

I decided to go right to the source. I looked up where Liz Besson was serving her sentence. She was in Bedford Correctional in Bedford Hills. I headed out past White Plains to see her. I signed in, and waited to see if she would see me. Surprisingly, she came at once. We met in the visiting room.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" I couldn't blame her at all. I thought it best to leave Mary out of this at first.

"I am looking into your case. I am a PI and have been hired to find the truth. I know you are innocent."

She smirked. "Yeah, lot of good that will do me. I get out of here in three months."

"Yes, but wouldn't you like to have your name cleared?"

"Will that give me back the last ten years?"

"No, it won't, but I wasn't here then. All I can do is what I can do. I have a question to ask you. Can you tell me where your brother is now? I think he could help me."

She looked at me, coldly. If I was going to get on her better side, I was going to have to work harder. I couldn't blame her. "He comes to see me every week. If you give me your number, I will give it to him. He can decide if he wants to talk to you."

"Fair enough. I won't promise you anything. I am not looking into this for you directly. However, I know you were railroaded, and no one would listen then. I will see what I can do."

I got up and left. I would have to wait to see if he would call me. I had a hunch he would. Curiosity alone would do it.

Thomas called to tell me Unique Computing Opportunities went bankrupt right after Rutherford died. It fell apart real fast. In less than six months it went from a promising new company to nothing. I thanked him and told him I had talked to Liz Besson about her brother. I was waiting for him to call.

I decided to go by the theater and see Mary. I didn't think Ester would mind if I came around a few times. I was right. She was happy to see me and let me hang around backstage. Mary was happy to see me, but she was busy, so I didn't stay long. I just told her what I had found out, and that I was looking for Jeff Besson. She smiled and went back to work.

I went home and got a beer. I sat in my favorite chair to think this case through.

Why had the police bought an obviously slim case without question?

Why had Rutherford sold his coins to the fence after calling the police saying they had been stolen?

What was he trying to hide? He obviously needed a police report, but it wouldn't be for whatever was really stolen.

Who else in that company knew what was in the safe?

What could be so important that it would cause everyone involved to take such drastic action?

The first thing I would do in the morning was find out the other officers of Rutherford's company. One of them would know something.

Mary came home late. She had stayed for the performance. She was impressed with each of them. She would be replacing someone who was very good in the role. This would be make or break for her and she knew it.

The next morning, I went to the hall of records to find the incorporation papers for Unique Computing Opportunities. It didn't take long to find what I needed. Rutherford was the CEO and President of the company. Someone named Randal Binghamton was Vice-President of development. William Harper was the Controller. One of them would probably be able to answer my questions. I just had to find them now. It didn't take Lenny long to find their page. Binghamton was now the President of a new company, Computerized Defense. Harper was a VP and Controller of the same company. I guess we have found the company that picked over the bones of Unique Computing Opportunities.

I needed an attorney. That would be a strange statement, except I had a feeling Liz Besson was going to need an attorney. There was no better time than right now.

I got a call from Jeff Besson later that day. He agreed to come to my office. I let him in when he arrived.

"Thanks for coming, Mr. Besson. I don't know what your sister told you, but I think I can help her."

"Where were you ten years ago?"

"In Afghanistan. I've only been back for three years. I never heard of you or your sister until two days ago."

"So, what happened then?" I showed him the letter we had received.

"What is this?"

"You know, you sent it to Mary. Mary is my wife now." The look in his eyes told me I had hit the jackpot. I had just taken a wild shot at him having sent the letter. "It's okay Jeff. I know the story about Mary and your sister. I know Mary left first, and you know your sister didn't take any coins. Therefore, it had to be Mary. Am I on the right track?" He nodded. "The problem is nobody stole the coins. Rutherford sold the coins himself and lied about them being stolen."

"That bastard. I should have guessed. So, what now?"

"I am looking into why he would fake a police report. I am also hiring an attorney to try and get Liz's conviction overturned. Give me your phone number and I will keep you up to date. Please tell your sister we are working on this, and that Mary has been worried about her."

"She isn't going to want to hear that. Mary has never visited her in jail, and she knows about Mary's fame now. It would be best if we leave Mary's name out of it." I agreed and he left.

I was sitting in my office thinking this over when I had a guest. He was a slick looking young man in a black suit.

"Hello, Mr. Hammer. My name is Jethro Plummer. I am with the FBI." He showed me his badge. "I understand you have been looking into a ten year old case of theft."

What the hell was the FBI doing in this. "I might be. Why is that of the FBI's concern?"

"There are aspects of that case that touch on national security. You will need to leave it alone."

"Mr. Plummer. Now I know why everyone railroaded a young girl into prison. It was to protect whatever the fuck you think is more important than her life. We will see about that."

"I advise you to be very careful of what you do. National security is a very serious matter."

"I have had plenty of experience with people telling me what is in the best interest of the country. I have found by bitter experience that the country's interests often are confused with individual's interests."

"We are very well aware of your situation in Afghanistan. Be very careful you don't have a repeat of your experiences in the military."

"You really ought to be more careful who you threaten, Plummer. Otherwise, I would have to guess you don't have the entire picture of what happened in Afghanistan. How about you leave now before you find out?"

Plummer looked at me for a few minutes before he finally turned and left.

Now I really needed an attorney.