Case of the Executed Evangelist Ch. 04

"And the driver?"

"Shit, Santa Claus? I dunno, maybe he is and maybe he isn't. But he'd better head to Punk City and sing like a canary if he wants to live. Witness protection is his destination, if I don't miss my guess. He's part of your syyssss-tem now."

"So you have been giving Ned information from the hospital." I said. "Including those paternity tests. And you're the one who helped him escape from the Hospital both times, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I wanted to get paid and not get found dead in a ditch, so I helped him escape. And yeah, those paternity tests were a shock to him, too." Gruff said. "I mean have you seen a cat that gets ambushed? Your boy jumped sideways just like a fucking cat when he saw those papers."

"So why would you or he want to kill Jonas Oldeeds." I asked.

"Oh, Detective, you bore me." Gruff said, his eyes gleaming. "You know I was shooting at your ass, which you call your head. I still don't know how I missed."

"If it's any consolation, you didn't." I replied, remembering the 'intervention' on my behalf that day. "So where is Ned now?"

"No idea, brother." Gruff said. "Memory does not serve me correctly at this time."

"Where is his mother?" I asked.

"How's your wound, brother?" Gruff replied. "Does it ache on cold days?"

"Nope. Thoughts of you in jail keep it from hurting and keep me warm at night. Do you know where his mother is, Gruff?"

"Oh seriously? If she ever shows her face in public anywhere on this planet, she's a dead bitch. That boy seriously wants to kill her, and he ain't gonna rape her first like he did the last time."

"What's he gonna do next, Gruff?"

"Does not compute. Memory failure on RAM chip 1."

I knew I wasn't going to get anything more from Gruff. I got up to leave.

"You have a nice day, brother." Gruff said. "And keep your eyes peeled."

I turned to face him. "Is that a threat?" I said, my voice menacing.

"No, brother. I had my shot. I'm out of the loop now, I'm part of your system, brother, the one you call 'hard time'. But he's still out there, brother. And so are the people protecting him."

I sat back down. I was now fully interested.

"Who are those people, Gruff?" I asked.

"System error. Blue Screen of Death if I respond."

"I can make your time much less hard, Gruff. Who's protecting him, and why?"

"Hear the words, brother." His voice slowed way down. "Ssssyyssstemmmmmm error."

And then I realized it, Gruff was giving me a clue. He would say no more, but that was a clue.

"You have a nice day too, Gruff." I said, getting up.

"Just one more thing." Gruff said. I turned and peered at him as he played his trump card in our little repartee. "Why did your wife fuck your nephew when he was in the hospital?"

"My wife?" I said, shocked.

"Oh, maybe it's ex-wife now, but she was hot to fuck your boy's big cock. She rode him like a whore on payday."

"Thanks for the info, Gruff." I turned and exited the room as Gruff grinned evilly at me. "And no, I have no clue about that."

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Once outside, I was virtually attacked by Paulina Patterson, Cindy Ross, and Captain Malone, who all had been watching and listening.

"He confessed to the attempt on you, Don." Paulina said. "But what was all that other stuff about?"

"Let's go to MCD." I said. Once there, we were joined by my entire MCD team, Jack Muscone, and the Chief.

"What was that paternity test shit about?", "What was that about Ned raping his mother?", "What is the 'mole' stuff about?" The questions came fast and furious and all at once. Finally I got a chance to speak.

"The paternity test stuff is something private with Dr. Fredricson, not related to any police investigation. The stuff about Ned's mother is not clear to me." Yeah, that was a lie: that night wasn't so hazy that I don't remember watching Ned rape Elizabeth.

Quickly moving on, I said "As to the mole: Gruff was Ned's mole in the hospital. I don't know if the other two are moles, but they're working with Ned.

"So why was the evangelist executed?" Malone asked.

"Right now, I have no clue." I said. And I wasn't lying: I didn't know 'why'.

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What a lot of people don't know is that most GPS devices have memory and store recent places that the vehicle has been. The ambulance GPS showed the route the ambulance had taken on Saturday, as it had not been driven since being cleaned out, and Myron soon had the data in Tanya Perlman's hands. A Crime Lab team not only retraced the route, they went to two locations where the ambulance had stopped and found the stock of the disassembled rifle, covered with Gruff's fingerprints.

Further down the road, Sergeant Seymour found the rifle's bolt, which had been thrown out of the window of the moving vehicle. Damn good dog, he was!

But we never found the barrel. Even so, we had enough physical evidence that Gruff was bound over for trial with bail denied to him upon consideration that he was an extreme flight risk and a significant danger to the community.

Part 15 - Promotion, Redux

The National Media was agog at the news that arrests had been made, firing out stories that barely had resemblance to the truth of what happened. They were already beginning to move on... the FBI was expanding its investigation of Jonas Oldeeds's business activities, which interested the rabidly anti-Christian Press more than any solution to Oldeeds's murder discovered by some local hick cop.

Jack Muscone and his agents had left for the City that evening after dinner. As we shook hands and said goodbyes, he said he'd be back soon for wrap-up activities. "By the way, if you ever want a job with the FBI, let me know. I'll do whatever it takes to get you in."

"Thanks, but I'm very happy here." I said.

"I can tell... but just keep it in mind... for the day you may change your mind." Jack said, somewhat mysteriously and as a warning.

The SBI was furious again: Bettina Wurtzburg, who got the scoop and first reports of the arrests, told her viewers that I had been the one to crack the case leading to the finding of the evidence and the arrests, that the SBI had played no significant part in bringing the case to its successful close... and that a "shake-up in the internal structure of the SBI" was imminent.

Everyone wondered who'd leaked that to Bettina; had Ikea actually returned the favor I'd given him of making the arrests? For myself, I was wondering about something different: the Press was already saying the case was solved and closed. I knew that it was not, that there was a second shooter, and we were still working to find perps.

The next day was Tuesday, and the Town & County Council went into executive session at their meeting that evening. It lasted three hours, and I heard reports that it was bitterly contentious. But Chief Griswold was smiling when his cell phone rang, and smiling more brightly when the call ended. On Wednesday morning he made it his first order of business to instruct the MCD Department to be in formal uniforms on Thursday morning and report to the Courthouse Square at 9:00am sharp.

And on that Thursday morning, I became the youngest Lieutenant in the Town Police Force in 25 years as the Chief and my mom pinned silver bars upon my shoulders in the open-air ceremony on the Square. After accepting congratulations from the politicians and police officers that were present, Bettina Wurtzburg corralled me for a brief interview.

"She's hot for you, son." my mother said after the interview was over. "Did you see the way she was looking at you? She would fuck you right here in front of everyone if she could get away with it."

"You don't think that was a bit of acting for the TV cameras?" I asked.

"You might be right." Mom said. "but anyone watching on TV is going to see her looking at you with worship in her eyes. That will be very good for your stature in this Town." Before I could reply, Cindy Ross was walking quickly up to me.

"We've got to go." she said. We hustled into the police SUVs and sped over to Old Hall on the University Campus. Taking our seats inside the auditorium of the oldest building on campus, rich with history, we watched as more history was made: University President Wellman and University Police Commissioner Dexter Robinson pinned well-deserved and long-overdue Captain bars on the shoulders of Brittany M. Maxwell, the first woman to become a Captain in the history of the Campus Police.

At the reception after the ceremony, I congratulated Britt. Her eyes were sparkling more brightly than I'd ever seen before as she bore in on me.

"This was your doing, I understand." she said.

"I think Commissioner Robinson pushed pretty hard for it." I replied modestly.

"Uh huh." she replied. "You really are a miracle man, Don. I heard how you twisted some arms. I don't think anyone else could have gotten my promotion through." Then she added playfully "But I guess the Regents didn't want crowbars applied to their butts."

"They can't keep a good woman like you down, Britt." I replied, smiling. But Britt was right: while I had not threatened the Trustees in any way, I'd recommended Britt's promotion in the strongest allowable terms, and they weren't about to say 'no' , what with my recent success and with the National Press still in Town.

"I do appreciate it." said Britt.

"Well, it was you that pushed them to bring me in," I replied, "so I had to return the favor--"

"Well, congratulations Major!" a voice said behind me. It was my nephew Todd. He was in a suit and tie, had most of the women in the room mesmerized, and was sparring with Britt again.

"There is no 'major' in the Campus Police, Todd." Britt said, trying to make her voice withering but unable to hide the underlying playfulness. "Captain is the highest rank except for Commissioner. Now there's nobody stopping me from busting your ass if you step out of line."

"That'll never happen, Colonel. Congratulations to both of you." Todd said, then walked away to begin talking to a beautiful college girl and her equally lovely mother.

"What'll never happen?" I asked. "He won't step out of line? Or you'll never bust him for doing so?" Before Britt could answer, Laura stepped up to us. She was looking marvelous in her white dress with a black belt, and high heel black pumps.

"Congratulations, darling." Laura said, hugging Britt. "There's going to be a celebration dinner for both of you at President Wellman's home tonight. But afterwards, Britt, I'd like you to come home with us." Laura's eyes were on fire with seductive lust as she said, "I'm going to show both of you what a real celebration is."

"Mmmm, I can't wait." Britt replied seductively.

"Excuse me a moment." I said, separating myself from everyone. I then made a quick phone call to Headquarters, and made sure that Cindy Ross was put on duty for that evening. If she had wanted to celebrate with Britt tonight, she would think that duty had intervened instead of Laura. I liked covering all the bases.

Part 16 - A Proper Celebration

"Take that, you fucking bitch!" I snarled as I fit the head of my throbbing cock into the woman's slit and thrust as hard as I could, shoving the full length of my meat balls-deep into her cunt. My right hand held her arm against her back as I withdrew and violently thrust forward again, knowing that many more pressure on her twisted arm might break it. But I didn't care.

My left hand pushed against the small of her back, keeping her pressed flat against the surface of the desk. I was standing behind her, our feet on the floor, and I was fucking her with all the furious power I could muster. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the other woman watching us, a mixture of lust and vengeance in her eyes...

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The promotion dinner at President Wellman's was a semi-formal affair, once again combining the odd partners of the Town & County Police with the University's elite. On the police side, the Chief and his wife were present, as were Captain Malone and his wife. Tanya Perlman had brought Pete Feeley as her date, and he seemed stunned by the spectacle and pageantry of it all.

Todd was there, in the company of Melina and his parents Michael and Eleanor Burke. My mother had also come and was charming the socks off of everyone in the room. I, of course, was with the lovely Dr. Laura Fredricson, who was showing off her considerable charms, and her pregnancy, in her beautiful black evening gown.

Jack Muscone had arrived with a lovely strawberry-blonde woman, who he introduced as FBI Special Agent Sandra Speer. She didn't look German, so I surmised that "Speer" was not her maiden name. I did observe that Laura and Jack were a bit formal during the introductions, and that they did not talk to each other very much.

The entire Town & County Council was present, even Malinda Adams, who had bitterly opposed my promotion. Pastor Raymond Westboro of the Council led a small gaggle that I observed to be the Town's "Religious Elite", which included Councilwoman Kelly Carnes and Councilman Thomas P. Cook.

The University side was composed of a large number of professors and their spouses or dates. It did not take me long to observe the tremendous brown-nosing and politicking going on amongst them, especially with the Trustees and President Wellman. University Commissioner Robinson had brought his daughter, City Detective Robin Ventura along, and I was glad to be able to talk with her for a few minutes, as I was considering asking her to join our Force as a Detective.

The Regents, a.k.a. the University Trustees, were there. Myrtle L. James was extremely effusive in her praise towards me for "solving" the Oldeeds crime. She and Beatrice S. York, also very religious and a fan of Oldeeds, had me trapped for too many minutes, until I was finally rescued from her by Sally Wellman bringing over Henry R. Wargrave and his wife for introductions, and adroitly moving the other ladies along.

"Don, this is my wife Lilly." Wargrave said. Lilly Wargrave was a stunningly lovely woman. Her hair was styled in a relatively short cut and was dyed blonde. She had deep, penetrating eyes. She was slender with smallish breasts, and as nearly as tall as Laura, who had come up to us and joined in our light conversation.

Sally Wellman was playing the perfect hostess, introducing people here and there to each other, looking terrific as always, her luscious body well toned by yoga and exercise at Melina's fitness center. At first she kept Britt and myself nearby to introduce people to us until the guests had all arrived.

But I did notice that there was one person Mrs. Wellman did not introduce me to, seemed to be making sure I had not contact with... someone who I could not believe was here. Vicki Oldeeds, widow of the late Rev. Jonas Oldeeds, was working the room, dressed in black but fully interacting with the "money" people.

"Well, Teresa," I said, "what do you think of that?" Teresa Croyle and Hugh Hewitt, still wearing their formal police uniforms, had come together as a matter of convenience.

"She's actually asking these people for donations to the Oldeeds charities." Teresa said, barely able to contain her disgust. "Her husband is dead less than a week, and that whore is harping for money." Hugh Hewitt's face showed a mixture disgust and humor at the spectacle.

"Now that is a cute couple." Teresa said, almost mockingly. She was looking at Tanya Perlman and Pete Feeley, Tanya intermingling with people, her cheeks rosy and her eyes bright as she enjoyed the social rituals... and Pete nearly a frozen statue by her side.

We heard the call to dinner and went outside, where many large round tables had been set up. The dinner was delicious. I was sitting between Laura and my mother at one of the head tables, joined by the Chief and his wife, and Tanya Perlman and Pete Feeley.

Also at my table were Town & County Council members Dagmar Schoen, a smoking-hot Teutonic, tall blonde trophy wife, and John "Jack" Colby, a slender, handsome, tough-looking rancher in the agricultural western part of the County. They were very much my allies on the Council, and I observed that though they were with their spouses, their furtive looks toward each other suggested extramarital carnal knowledge between them.

Britt was at the other head table with Commissioner Robinson and some Trustees and the Wellmans. Her table looked a bit less comfortable than ours. Jack Muscone and his lovely fellow agent had been seated there, also.

Melina was sitting with Cindy Ross at one of the other tables down the way, with Teresa Croyle, Hugh Hewitt and Jeanine Olivet and her law firm partners. Hoo boy, my divorce lawyer was breaking bread with my soon-to-be-ex-wife. I made myself not worry about it.

To my surprise, I saw Daniel Allgood of Internal Affairs, sitting at another table with Captain Malone and his wife Madelyn, chatting mostly with her. Steven Ikea was at their table, still looking like a lost puppy dog having witnessed the death of his idol Jonas Oldeeds.

"They didn't put this together in 3 days." I said to my mom in a low voice as we ate.


"Obviously not, son." my mother replied. "They knew Miss Maxwell was going to be promoted and they simply anticipated that the Council would approve yours on Tuesday."

"Kind of a big spectacle for a couple of police promotions, don't you think?" I asked.

My mother smiled knowingly. "With these people, the politicians and money people, it's any excuse to throw a party and intermingle with each other. Even in a small town like Apple Grove, your father and I had to attend entirely too many of these events."

She paused, then added, "Don, you're reaching the point you have to play the political games at times. I know you hate it, and you should never give up your integrity, but get to know these people for the times you'll need to use them."

"And that's why you're here, Mom?" I asked, realizing that my mother was a lot better at "the Game" than she let on.

"Oh, I'm here being the proud mother of my wonderful son." she replied, teasing me.

As dessert concluded, President Wellman stepped up to the podium that had been placed on the second step of the stairs leading back into the house, near our tables.

"I want to thank everyone for coming today. This evening has been far too long in coming, and I am extremely happy to be able to host this celebration of the promotion of some wonderful law enforcement officers. I'd like to ask Chief Griswold to come forward and introduce our three promoted officers." A small gasp went out; who was the third?

"Thank you, President Wellman." the Chief said, his gruff voice carrying well over the sound system. "Of course we've had two promotions this past week, but I'd also like to acknowledge another promotion that occurred a few weeks ago. This lady has taken our Crime Lab and made it into an organization that I was proud to show off to the SBI and FBI these past few days. Her leadership made this recent crime much easier to solve. Would everyone please congratulate Detective Supervisor Tanya Perlman."

Tanya blushed as she stood up to the loud applause filling the air. She had not expected this, and neither had I: the Chief had gotten us again, and in a great way. Tanya deserved the acknowledgement.

My introduction was next. I felt a bit embarrassed hearing his praise of my heroism in being wounded while rescuing the children, and the rest of his words were a bit flowery, but I stood and accepted the applause for me. For a moment they would not let me sit back down, but finally the applause died down.

"And third, this lady has done an incredible job of keeping our University and its students safe while keeping order and handling cases under extremely stressful conditions..." the chief said as he introduced Britt Maxwell. I took note that the Town and Police applause (including my own) was loud and raucous... the University and State side much less so.