Break-In Ch. 03

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

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, racism, 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.

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Part 12 - Sunday Morning Data

8:30am, Sunday, June 6th. To say I was dumbfounded at Captain of Detectives Claire Michael wanting to remove and replace MCD Lieutenant Jerome Davis would be a massive understatement. I'm sure the shock showed on my face as I gaped at her, then looked at the Chief and back to her.

Chief Moynahan said "If your intent was to sur-prizzze the Iron Crowbar, Captain, you have exceeded all ex-pec-tay-shunnns."

"No doubt about that, Chief." I said, regaining control of my wits. "Why? And why now, of all times?"

Claire: "I've been meaning to bring this up, but Detective Washington was insubordinate on the way to notifying Tia Maple. I told him that, and he immediately asked for a Union Rep. And it's that culture of insubordination and outright disrespect that has been fostered by Lieutenant Davis, so I don't feel I can wait any longer to discuss this."

I said "Give me every detail of what happened between you and Theo." Claire did, though slanted towards her side.

The Chief said "That is hardly insubordinate, Capt-nnnn. You asked what amounted to a personnel question, and he didn't want to answer it within a protocol environment. And you could have handled that in in a much more reeeee-sonable fashion."

I added "And why are you taking this situation with Theo out on Jerome?"

Claire said "First of all, when I brought up these partnership changes, I was met with resistance from the very start, especially by Davis. He didn't give me the report I asked for in the time I asked for it, and when I pressed him and he did send it, it was not what I asked for."

"Furthermore, gentlemen," she said, to include both me and the Chief, "since I took the Captain of Detectives job, I've been evaluating the people within the three divisions. And I just don't think Davis was ready for the MCD Lieutenant job, and he's not ready for it now. He's not in the top four in MCD as far as being a Detective, and I simply don't feel I can trust him to get the job done in my absence and y'all's absences."

"Your response, Commanderrrr?" the Chief said, and I could sense he wanted me to totally demolish Claire's arguments. I proceeded to do so.

"Obviously I don't agree with your assessment, Captain, and that's based on my much longer assessment of him, as well as my assessments of everyone else, and all the leadership's evaluation of Davis." I said. "I think the Chief will back me up on this when I say that making Jerome the MCD Lieutenant despite his youth was a Team decision. Lieutenant Davis is a good Detective, but it was his leadership skills that attracted us to him. The other Detectives follow him because they want to, not because they have to. And he has stepped up into that leadership role every time that leadership is needed."

Me: "I also need to say this: the partnership changes have had a deleterious effect on the morality of the unit. The Detectives are unhappy with them, and there are even discussions by some of them of finding other jobs. I permitted you to do a trial run on those changes because it's your Division to run. Unfortunately, I think you are not correctly reading the room on the subsequent effects... and this conflict with Detective Washington is a manifestation of that. We're busy with this case right now, but when it's done we need to have an in-depth re-evaluation of it."

"I agreeeee." drawled the Chief. "Captain, the Commander and I are duty-bound to consider your request, and we will sincerely do so. But for now, we'll leave things the way they are, and sort it all out when we finish this case."

Claire nodded, but I wasn't finished yet. I said "I have one other thing, Captain: why did you go to Savannah Fineman to get the warrant to see Maple & Hogue's papers and financial records?"

Claire looked genuinely surprised by the question. She said "She's the ADA assigned to the case, sir."

I said "First of all, there is no case that we have referred to the D.A.'s Office. We're still investigating to determine the true facts for ourselves, so D.A. (air quotes) 'assignments' are moot. Second of all, I thought that after you observed me kick Fineman off of the crime scene and made it clear to you that Fineman was a problem, you would make the correct deduction and understand that we don't work with Fineman. If I have to make that a formal order, I'll be glad to do so---"

"You won't have tooooo." said the Chief. "I'll make that order myself... if Sheriff Griswold doesn't beat me to it."

Claire said "I understand you don't like her, Commander, but I was trying to diffuse a lot of tension with the District Attorney's Office by working with them in a normal way."

"Things aren't (air quotes) 'nor-mullll' with Fineman and Walters, Captain." the Chief said. "From now on, you defer to Commander Troy on all matters involving the D.A.'s Office. And Commander, I am asking you to micromanage that aspect of our oper-ay-shunnns..."

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

10:00am, Sunday, June 6th. I convened a meeting in Classroom 'E'. The Chief was at it, and appeared refreshed after having gotten an hour's sleep. Sheriff Griswold had arrived, as had Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle.

"You didn't call me and pick me up this morning?" the Iron Wolf asked me when she'd arrived moments before, not sounding miffed but merely surprised.

"I let you sleep in." I replied. "I'm going to be tasking you with some stuff soon, and you'll be grateful for that sleep."

Also present at the meeting were Captain Claire Michaels; Lieutenants Jerome Davis and Mary Milton; Senior Detectives Joanne Warner, Theo Washington, and Teddy Parker; Detective Sergeant Julia Rodriguez; Detectives Roark Coleman and George Newman; Corporal Penny Scott, and Auxiliary Detective Terry Halston of Intel.

Ranger Halston was wearing a black t-shirt with the yellow-and-black Ranger Tab on the front, and underneath it were the words: 'Often mistaken for the wrath of God'.

"Really, Halston?" Claire Michaels said disdainfully when she saw the shirt. "You can't dress better than that?" A silent pall filled the room.

I said "I gave him that shirt, Captain. Do you have a problem with the U.S. Army Rangers?"

"No sir." said Captain Michaels. "Just Halston wearing that unprofessional t-shirt in this professional environment."

"It's Sunday morning, ma'am." Lt. Mary Milton said fearlessly. "And I'm Ranger Halston's direct boss, and I have no problem with it. At all." Claire glared at Mary, who glared back.

"Neither do Iiiiii." drawled the Chief. "Let's be-ginnnn. Commander Troy, it's your meeting."

"Thank you, sir." I said. "Before we begin, I have an announcement to make. In an attempt to (air quotes) 'not micromanage' you guys, and let your various talents shine, I'm taking a step back... and I'm putting Commander Croyle in charge."

There were looks of surprise to various degrees on many people's faces, including the Chief's... but despite the fact I had not told her I was going to do this, Teresa did not eve blink an eyelash. Remind me not to play poker with the Iron Wolf, I thought to myself.

I continued: "Captain Michaels, you can still come directly to me if you need to, but keep Commander Croyle in the loop, and all of you will follow her guidance and instructions, which you may consider to be coming from me. Everyone clear on that?" Everyone (wisely) nodded.

I said "Before I hand over those reins, I'd like to ask whoever gives the report on the actors involved to start with the two victims. Commander Croyle, it's your party."

"Yes sir." Teresa said. "And don't skip any details thinking everyone knows something; you'll be bringing me up to speed. Go ahead, Mary." Mary Milton called upon Corporal Penny Scott.

"Thank you, ma'am." said Penny. A photo of Tom Maple appeared on some of the matrix screens on the wall, showing a handsome man with a full head of dark hair. Penny said "I'll start with Tom Maple. He's 36 years old, and the Senior Partner of Maple & Hogue, which is a business solutions firm. They create ad campaigns, software solutions, staffing solutions, and what is termed as 'forensic audits' on companies that hire them to make them more productive and profitable. I'll talk more about the company after I talk about the victims and their wives." Teresa and I nodded vigorously in agreement.

Penny: "Tom Maple graduated from the University here with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration fourteen years ago. He worked at BigPharmaCorp in their Administration offices for three years, then left abruptly. I say that because their paperwork with the Department of Labor said he resigned, but it wasn't a two-weeks notice, it was immediate. There is no employment record for him for the next year."

Penny: "A year after leaving BigPharmaCorp, Tom was enrolled in graduate school at the University, studying Organizational Management. While an undergrad he was not a member of any Fraternities, social or honorary, but as a grad student he was active in three business student organizations as well as the College Republicans. He also worked at the Heritage Cloisters Country Club, in the Pro Shop, to pay for his schooling. And due to having to work to earn his keep, he took four years to complete what normally would be a two-year graduate degree."

A photo of Tia Maple appeared on the matrix boards, and Penny said "Tia Maple is now 28 years old, and she married Tom right after graduating from the University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, and him graduating with his Masters at the same time."

Penny: "Tia is originally from Westphalia. Her parents divorced when she was 12, and she lived with her mother until she was 14, at which time she petitioned the Court to go live with her father in Cedarville, in the southern part of the State. The petition was granted. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, her mother was arrested shortly afterwards, for running an escort service in The City."

Penny: "Tia is on the payroll of Maple & Hogue, but there's no record of what she actually does there. Tom, and Chuck Hogue also, have always had small salaries, but pay themselves good bonuses after successful projects. The Maples have one personal credit card, used mostly by Tia, unless Tom was buying dresses and high heel shoes." Everyone chuckled at that.

Penny: "They would carry as much as a few hundred dollars on the credit card until a project paid off, then the card was paid off. He had a credit card in the business's name, which he used for expenses that he could take off his taxes. Both their cars were in the company's name. They had a mortgage on their home, which was being paid off in a regular and timely manner. They had a brokerage account with BOW Investments Group that was doing well."

"Is BOW Investments related to BOW Enterprises?" Claire Michaels asked.

"Yes and no." replied Teresa. "It's part of BOW Companies Group, the parent holding company of BOW Enterprises. It was set up so that Todd's employees could have a reliable investment company that would grow their money instead of stealing it. They do allow outsiders to set up accounts, as well, but they don't advertise."

"I've got a brokerage account with them, too." I said.

"I was only asking in case there's a possibility of a conflict of interest." Claire said.

"It's not." I replied. "If it was, it'd be a conflict of interest if we shopped at the same Kroger as the Maples."


"Carry on, Corporal Scott." Teresa said, her voice flat and reptilian.

"Yes ma'am." said Penny Scott. Photos of Chuck and Harriet Hogue popped up on the matrix of monitors. Next to his 'stark' looking wife, light-brown-haired Chuck looked very 'unexceptional'.

Penny said "Chuck Hogue is 41 years old, and his wife Harriet is 46. I'm talking about them together because they're very intertwined. Chuck graduated from State Tech with a Computer Engineering degree 19 years ago. He got a job with... wait for it... BigBenefitInsurance, as part of their I.T. team. He left there after two years, and the DOL record said he was part of a layoff."

Penny: "He then got a job with a small company contracted with the State Department of Education. He did good work for them, but eight years after he started there, the owners of the company got greedy and colluded with some bad politicians, and the SBI actually did some good work and busted them up, hard. When the company went under, Chuck negotiated with the State Government to retain a contract, then he bought the company in the bankruptcy sale on the Courthouse steps. The business struggled, but he got some referral work, and was able to keep going."

Penny: "One of his customers was 'Harriet's Staffing Solutions'. It was owned and run by Harriet Hague, now Hogue. Chuck and Harriet got married a year after they met. At the same time, Harriet's staffing company was bought out, by Tom Maple, and Harriet, not Chuck, became Tom's partner. Harriet provided staffing solutions, and people, for Tom Maple's clients, and Chuck became the I.T. and software solutions guru."

Penny: "Two years later, four years ago from now, Harriet essentially restarted the Staffing Company, still within the Maple & Hogue umbrella, but getting her own clients and providing staffing. Chuck Maple took Harriet's place as Tom Maple's partner, and Harriet is still listed on the Incorporation paperwork filed with the State as company President... which would be so that Maple & Hogue can list themselves as a minority-owned company."

Penny: "The Hogues have invested their money well, and they are not wasteful spenders. Their credit cards are with American Express, so they pay off their debt every month. They own two SUVs, one a Ford Escape Hybrid, and the other a much larger Ford Expedition. Both vehicles are paid for, and their only outstanding debt is the mortgage on their home, which they've paid every month in a timely manner. Okay, are there any questions before I segue into the Locklears?"

"How are the company's finances?" I asked. Nope, I was simply unable to keep my potty mouth shut.

Penny said "They appear to be okay, sir. But I'm going to ask Chris Purvis to go over the data with me, as well as any more data we can get, such as seeing their books if we can get a warrant for them. If there are issues, he'll spot them faster than I will."

Claire Michaels said "Where is Purvis now? Why isn't he here?"

Mary Milton replied "He's out of Town this weekend for a long-planned trip. He let me know about it weeks ago." Claire glared at Mary again, but (wisely) said nothing.

I said "That's fine, Corporal. And while I don't want to speak for her nor volunteer her, we can very nicely ask Chief Deputy Sheriff Ross to look at the data if push comes to shove and time is of the essence."

Me: "And that brings up something that I was going to talk about later, but I'll mention it now. Our request for a warrant to obtain all of Maple & Hogue's financial and other papers was denied the Judge. She correctly said that the request did not state specifically what we were looking for, and that we didn't have sufficient probable cause anyway."

"Not even to exonerate Mr. Locklear?" Claire asked.

Roark Coleman also spoke up: "The deaths of the two partners of the company are not enough 'probable cause', sir?

"It's a funny thing." I said. "The Judge said that even though the reasons might be noble, it's still a fishing expedition. And no, the shooting itself is not enough probable cause. And that's what I was going to task you to do: find and develop probable cause, if it exists. No, don't invent anything nor make false claims, like the FBI did when raiding the Florida home of a prominent politician they despise, but we need to see if there's any reason besides self-defense that Locklear shot the two men."

"If I may, sir?" Teresa asked. I nodded, and she said "We will be re-interviewing Tia Maple and Harriet Hogue, and I hope you guys came up with the same questions I have for them as we listened to Corporal Scott's excellent report. While we do that, we can ask them if they're willing to let us copy their data, especially the financial records. If either of them agree, assuming they are the beneficiaries of their husbands's wills, then we're golden. If not, we'll need to determine if there is any 'there' there, and re-submit our warrant request based upon it."

The Chief said "Corporal, I bee-lieeeeve you have more for us?"

"Yes, Chief." Penny said. We nodded, and photos of Stanley and Marla Locklear were brought to the matrix of screens as she said: "Stanley Locklear is 42 years old, and graduated from the University with a Bachelor's Degree in Advertising and Marketing nineteen years ago. He worked for The Cannon Group, for whom the Cannon Building in The City is named, and he was with them for six years. They were an 'old school' advertising firm, relying on print media and television and radio advertising, and when things started going digital and on social media, they suffered. And he suffered when he was laid off with about half that company's staff."

Penny: "He was out of work about a year before he caught on with a smaller company here in Town, called 'Ad Advisors'. They did work for small companies, and they did both traditional print and radio advertising, and more newfangled digital advertising. Stanley was there for five years, then was laid off, according to DOL records. He was one of two persons laid off----"

"How is Marla Locklear fitting into all this?" Roark Coleman asked, his voice connoting impatience.

"I'm getting there." said Penny, whose face showed she did not like having been interrupted. "Finishing up with Stanley Locklear, he struggled to catch on anywhere; by that time the digital and social media crazes were in full force. So he self-incorporated, and got enough work to keep going, until three years ago, when he came to Maple & Hogue."

Penny: "With the data I have, it's not clear to me at all how he knew either Tom Maple or Chuck Hogue, but they brought him in to bolster the advertising wing of their overall business solutions business. He was paid a salary roughly on par with Chuck Hogue's."

Penny: "Now for Marla Locklear. She is 37 years old, and graduated from the University with a Bachelors degree in Sociology fifteen years ago. There is no record of employment for her for three years. At that time, she got a job with Ad Advisors at low pay, so I'm surmising she was a receptionist or something similar."

Penny: "I'm also surmising she met Stanley Locklear there, because she married him one year later, eleven years ago. And when I said that Stanley was one of two people laid off... the other was his wife, Marla."

Roark Coleman said with a tinge of withering anger in his voice: "Why didn't you just tell us that when you told us he was laid off?"

"Stay in your lane, bro." Lt. Mary Milton 'warned' Roark. He said no more, but had a look of exasperation on his face.

Penny Scott said viciously: "I was going to say she was the other layoff, but you interrupted me. Anyway, she quickly found a job as a receptionist for Clark & Washington, the bankruptcy law firm. She left it a year later, by resignation, when Stanley had gotten his own business started and was beginning to make money. She apparently did not work again until early last Autumn, when she was hired by the County Library System. She left there two months ago, and while the paperwork said she resigned, it was a no-notice resignation.