Break-In Ch. 02

"You think that was a threat?" Claire said angrily. "Here's a real threat: after I call your company and talk to your boss or bosses, you won't have a job any longer."

She then drove forward just before the gate came down and almost hit her vehicle. As she did, the blue LED lights of the Police cruiser interdicting the KXTC news van lighted the inside of the car...

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

They arrived at the home of Tom and Tia Maple. They were wearing their Duty Dress jackets. They rang the bell. When there was no answer for over a minute, Theo said "Let me try something."

He dialed Tia Maple's cellphone number, and a woman answered "Hello?"

"Mrs. Maple," Theo said, "I'm Detective Theo Washington with the Town & County Police, and Captain Claire Michaels is with me on your front doorstep. Can you come to the door, please?"

"Would you please display your IDs?" the woman asked. Claire held up her badge and ID in their holder up to the peephole in the front door. The door opened, and a relatively young redheaded woman looked out.

"I'm Captain Michaels with the TCPD, and this is Detective Washington." said Claire. "Are you Tia Maple? When the woman nodded, Claire said "May we come in for a moment?"

"What's it about?" Tia asked skeptically.

Claire said "It's about your husband, ma'am. We have a couple of questions for you, and we would rather not stand out here where your neighbors can see something going on."

"Uh, sure." said Tia. She opened the door to admit them, then directed them into the living room to the left. "Have a seat." She said as she came in behind them.

Tia Maple was a redhead, darker than Commander Troy's strawberry-blonde hair but lighter than Jenna Stiles dark red, almost auburn hair. She had an attractive face, but it had a look of cynicism that was remindful of Teresa Croyle's normal demeanor.

Her body was relatively thin, lithe, and her breasts were ample on her slender chest. But it was her legs that were her most striking feature. Her trim thighs were firm, and her calves were perfectly shaped and tapered to slender ankles and shapely feet. Her legs looked magnificent in high heels, which she often wore.

"What is this about?" she asked as they all sat down.

Claire said "Before I answer, can you tell me where your husband is? Are you expecting him back tonight?"

Tia said "He... he had a business dinner with his partner, Chuck Hogue. He never said what time he'd be back, but I thought it would be before midnight. Why? Has something happened?"

"Just one more question, and then I'll tell you everything." Claire said, which instantly put Tia on her guard, and a look of worry on her face. Claire asked "How well does your husband get along with Chuck Hogue and his wife, and with their partner Stanley Locklear and his wife?"

Tia said "Oh, Stanley Locklear is not a partner in the firm. He's whatever is below 'partner'... associate, maybe? They were considering him for partner, but the other day Tom told me they were not going to make him a full partner. And Tom and Chuck get along very well with each other, and we all get along with Chuck's wife Harriet; in fact, she and I are pretty good friends."

"And the Locklears?" Claire asked.

Tia: "Stanley Locklear is kind of weird, but he's okay. I think everyone likes him well enough. But his wife Marla? That's a different story. I don't like her very much. I don't think we're the uppity kind of people that live in the Heritage Cloisters, but Harriet once said that she thought Marla Locklear was beneath all of us, that she was one step above 'trash'. Okay now, you Police are here at 4:30 in the morning, and my husband is not. Has something happened to him?"

Claire and Theo exchanged a glance, then Claire said "I am sorry to inform you, ma'am, that your husband was shot and killed earlier this evening."

"Oh my God!" Tia cried out as tears sprang into her eyes. Her hand had come up to cover her mouth, then she said "Are you sure? Are you sure it was Tom?"

"I'm afraid so." Claire said. "And we may have to ask you to identify the body, but that won't be until the Coroner is ready, if you're needed at all." Seeing that Tia was breaking down sobbing, Claire asked "Is there anyone we can call to come stay with you? Your pastor, or a friend?"

"Reverend Derkins of the First Baptist Church." Tia said. "But gosh, we haven't been to church in so long..."

Theo said "We can call the Police Chaplain, if you'd like." Tia decided that Reverend Derkins would do. He arrived within minutes of being called, as he lived on the northside also.

"Can I get a drink?" Tia asked as they waited.

"Sure." said Theo. He helped her to her liquor cabinet, which had the basic bourbons and Scotch libations, and she poured herself a drink, gulped it down, then poured another.

Once Pastor Derkins was there, Claire said "Ma'am, unfortunately we're going to have to ask you more questions, but we'll do it at a later time. I'm so sorry for your loss." With that, she and Theo left.

Once in her car, Captain Michaels said "Detective, why did you let her get that drink? Once she drank alcohol, we couldn't question her on the spot anymore."

"Ma'am, you saw her." Theo replied. "She wasn't going to be able to answer any more questions anyway, and we can always come back."

Claire said "And why did you offer her one of our Police Chaplains? They're all Captains or Lieutenants."

Theo said "Because that's what Commander Troy told us to do. And he's talked to them about it, and they're good with it. I've never heard any of them say they had a problem being called in to help the grieving..."

Part 11 - Denied!

6:30am, Sunday, June 6th. I got up and dressed in civilian clothes, and went downstairs. I let the dogs out the back door (of The Cabin), but did not go out with them. Instead I made coffee in the kitchen. As it percolated, I got on my Police iPad and began looking at data that had come in.

The techs sent an email with their fingerprint report to Mary Milton, Jerome Davis, Captain Michaels, and me. The revolver used in the shooting had only Stanley Locklear's fingerprints on it. The cartridges in the revolver as well as the speed loader had only Stanley's fingerprints. And the 40 cartridges in the box had no fingerprints at all.

Also, a nine-millimeter Kel-tec with clip holster was found in Stanley Locklear's automobile, and the wear on it suggested he carried it a lot. No weapon using the.45 ACP cartridge had been found.

I forwarded the report to all the MCD Detectives. Then I looked at the uploaded videos from the Officer-cams of the Detectives and the Chief, of them notifying the wives. There were a few points of interests that I made notes of (on my Police iPhone), that I wanted to ask when we re-interviewed the wives.

I also realized that because the wives now knew their husbands were dead, we were going to have to move fast to secure the papers of the Maple & Hogue firm. I speed-dialed the Duty Desk at Police Headquarters and asked the Sergeant that answered if there was anyone in MCD or the Intel Center, and if there was to have them call me back.

A moment later my phone rang. It was MCD Lieutenant Jerome Davis.

"You're in early, Jerome." I said. "Anyone there with you?"

"Yes sir." replied Davis. "Julia Rodriguez and Teddy Parker just came in. And Mary Milton and Ranger Halston are in the Intel Center doing Intel things."

I chuckled, then said "Good. Okay, I need someone to call the Courthouse and get warrants to obtain the paper and digital records of Maple & Hogue, the company whose top people were shot dead last night. Then assemble a team of Officers to execute the warrants. Get Julia and Teddy up to speed, then have them lead the raid, for lack of a better term."

"Wilco, sir." Jerome said. We disconnected the call. I looked up to see Paulina Patterson come out of the kitchen with a mug full of coffee in her hand. She went over and let the dogs back inside, then came over and sat down next to me.

"New case?" she asked.

"Yes." I said. I filled her in on the details to this point.

Paulina said "I couldn't help but overhear you asking for a warrant to get the dead men's company data. Why are you doing that?"

I replied "Right now I'm inclined to think that this was a tragic mistake but a good shoot in self-defense for Stanley Locklear. But I need to eliminate the possibility that there was something going on in the company that would give Locklear a motive to murder his associates."

Paulina said "So you're going fishing?"

I said "That's not how I was looking at it. Why?"

Paulina said "Don't be shocked if your warrant request is denied, unless you already have some kind of probable cause."

"Two dead men shot by their business partner sounds like good probable cause, I would think." I replied.

"Just the deaths aren't enough---" Paulina said.

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

It was Lt. Davis. "Sir," he said, "I called the Courthouse and put in the warrant request. They called the Duty Desk back and said that the warrants have already been applied for."

"By whom?" I asked.

"They didn't say, sir." Jerome said. "I can call back and ask---"

*CHIME!*

I looked at my Police iPhone and saw the text from Captain Claire Michaels to MCD and Intel, and also to me: "I'm handling getting the warrants for the Maple & Hogue records."

"Did you get that text?" I asked Jerome. When he said he did, I said "Well, that answers that. Get ready to execute the warrants when we get them." Jerome said he would, and we disconnected.

"Claire pre-empted you? What's that about?" Paulina asked when I told her what had just occurred.

"I'm not sure." I said. "I'm going to go on in. Jim's birthday party is at one o'clock. I should be back long before then." I went upstairs and dressed in my uniform...

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

At Headquarters I went into MCD. "Mind if I get some of your coffee this morning?" I asked. "I need the caffeine fortification."

"Sure, sir." said Jerome, who was sitting at one of the extra desks. Julia Rodriguez and Teddy Parker were at their desks.

"Where's Captain Michaels?" I asked. "She's not in her office."

"She's not here at Headquarters, sir." Jerome replied. "She apparently sent the email from home. And to that point, the warrant has not been issued yet. And sir... did you get Detective Washington's email to me?"

"Uh, no." I said. "When did he send it?'

"Just a few minutes ago, sir." Jerome said. "I'll forward it to you. It's... important."

I went to my office and checked my emails. Theo had copied to me the email, and Jerome's was also in my box. I gasped as I read the contents. It described the 'altercation' with Captain Michaels, and that Theo was asking for a Union Rep.

The party never stops in my TCPD, I thought to myself as I forwarded the email to the Chief...

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

At 8:00am, Chief Moynahan came into Headquarters and stopped by my office on the way to his, a full coffee mug in his hand. He stopped me from standing, then said "Ah, you got some of Jerome's 'Navy' coffee, tooooo."

"Yes sir." I said. "Did you get any sleep, sir?"

"A couple of hours." the Chief said as he sat down in the near-side hot seat. "I'll probably lock my office door and get a couple more hours of sleep, but feel free to knock and wake me up if anything big breaks. Oh, by the way, did you see the video of our notifica-shunnn?"

"Yes sir." I said. "Is Harriet Hogue as dominating a woman as she appeared to be?"

"Yezzz." said the Chief. "But I did get the sense that she loves... loved... her husband, and was verrrry upset to hear of his death."

I nodded, then said "Sir, there's two things I need to tell you about." I told him about asking for the warrant, and then about the issue with Theo and Claire.

"Hoo boy." the Chief said. "Okay, let me know how both of those gooooo." He got up and said "In the meantime, I'll be in my office. And Mis-ter Crowbarrrr... I know you're trying hard not to micromanage this, and I appreciate it. We're getting to see how these Detectives handle things on their owwwwn..."

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

Ten minutes later, my phone rang. "Hi, Don, this is Hannah Doss." said Magistrate Judge Hannah Doss.

"Good morning, Your Honor." I said. "What can I do for you?"

"You can stop the formality, and call me Hannah when we're on the phone like this." she said. "I'm calling about the warrant request. It says that the partners of Maple & Hogue were shot by their partner Stanley Locklear, but didn't give any details nor probable cause."

I said "Who specifically filed the warrant request?"

Judge Doss said "It says here that ADA Savannah Fineman requested it."

"Oh." I said, my voice connoting my complete shock at that. "Well, here's what's going on." I explained the details of the previous evening's incident, then said "I think it's a tragic mistake and will end up being a self-defense shoot, but I need to make sure there was no business-related motive before we close it out.".

Judge Doss said "Wow, that is a lot different than what I was initially thinking. So basically you're trying to exonerate Mr. Locklear, and you're on a fishing expedition in order to do that?"

"Well," I said, "I wouldn't put it in quite those terms..."

Judge Doss: "I understand, but there's a problem. It's rare that you're subpoenaing records to exonerate someone, and I understand what you're trying to do. But the problem is the same as if you were trying to show he's guilty of something. Ultimately, Don, this is a fishing trip, and you're not showing probable cause for it."

I said "So eliminating possible motive isn't probable cause enough?"

"I'm afraid not." Judge Doss said. "Like I said, this is a bit backwards. You actually need to have probable cause that there is a motive for murder, and show that in order to get the warrant. So unless you do have something, I can't sign off on this."

"I understand." I said. "Okay, we'll keep plodding along. Thanks, Hannah."

After disconnecting, I got up to go to the Chief's office and let him know. I knocked on his door and heard him call out "Come in!" I opened the door and stopped short. Sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk was Captain Claire Michaels.

"I was just about to call you in, Commanderrrr." said the Chief. "Come on in, and have a seat." I came up and sat down in the chair to Claire's right.

"Sir, Judge Doss denied the warrant." I said, then explained her rationale.

"I understannnnd." drawled the Chief. Then he got down to business. He said "Commander, I called Captain Michaels in, and she told me she wants to talk to both of ussss about somthinnng. So she wasn't going over your head. Go ahead, Captainnnn."

"Thank you, Chief." Claire said. "And what I need to talk to both of you about is this: I would like to replace Jerome Davis as MCD Lieutenant... immediately."

To be continued.