Mystery At Mystery Lake Ch. 01

"Where's that burner phone?" I asked.

"After I wired the money, I got one more phone call." Wade said. "They said my daughter would be returned to me at my home within 24 hours. They also said to destroy the phone, to pull the SIM card and then put everything in a baggie and take a hammer to it, then to drive along the road towards the gate at the county line on the north side of the Lake, and throw the pieces into the lake every 100 feet or so. So I did."

I said "Who taught that security seminar you just said you attended?"

Garrett said "It was sponsored by BigCommunicationsCorp, who is my biggest client. They had several speakers, some of them ex-Government agents. I don't remember the name of their company."

"And they didn't tell you to contact the FBI if something like this happens to a family member?" Garrett shook his head 'no', and I said "That's interesting. I know several companies that put on seminars like that, and the FBI itself will give those clinics to certain high-value target groups. And they always, always say that the perps will tell you not to contact the Police, but that you always should."

"That's easy to say, until it's you and your child that's involved." countered Garrett. "You have no idea what it was like, Commander, going through that."

"Au contraire, Mr. Garrett." I said. "I have been through that. My daughter was kidnapped on Christmas Eve a few years ago. And the perps were not asking for ransom; they fully intended to kill her while I watched. Fortunately, this incredibly brave Officer saved my daughter's life, at almost the cost of her own." I was pointing at Teresa Croyle, who had saved my daughter Carole. (Author's note: 'Teresa's Christmas Finale'.)

I continued: "The statistics show that it doesn't make a difference whether you call in the FBI or not. But if you do, they can arrange to get money for the ransoms. They have powerful tools that can track down the criminals, and well-trained people to retrieve the victims alive. I really am surprised you did not call them, Mr. Garrett... especially since it's been more than 24 hours since they told you she'd be returned."

"Water under the bridge now, Commander." Wade Garrett said. "But you're right in that they haven't returned her yet, and yes, I'm getting worried."

"Commander," Silvia Garrett said, her voice cutting through the tense, awkward silence. "Now that the Police know, what can we do to help you find Sage, and bring her home."

An eerie silence filled the room. Roark Coleman said "There's one thing you can do right now, Mr. Garrett. Where is your cellphone?"

"Right here." said Garrett. He stood up and pulled it out of his left trouser pocket.

Coleman said "Would you please open it, and call your daughter's cellphone?"

"Why?" Garrett said. "What's the point?"

"Yes, what is the point?" Lieutenant Joanne Warner asked harshly. I looked at Joanne harshly, and Teresa had already grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the group. An asschewing was 'imminent'.

Roark Coleman said "Indulge me, please, Mr. Garrett."

But Garrett had his hackles up. "No." he said. "I'm not opening my cellphone while you're here. Commander Troy physically took the other one from me, and I'll ask you to get a valid warrant before I open mine to your scrutiny."

Roark said "Mr. Garrett, are you aware that the Supreme Court upheld an action by a local Police Department, where they forcibly pressed the fingers of a man's hand to his cellphone to open it up, then used what they found on the phone to convict him, and all without a warrant?" (Author's note: true story. That's why my iPhones cannot be opened with fingerprints nor Face ID.)

Roark: "In other words, sir, we have the power to take that phone, use 'actual physical violence' to force your fingers to open it, and then I'll make that call myself. So... what will it be, sir?"

Garrett looked at us with disgust bordering on hatred. He stepped away from us and opened his phone, then showed us that he was speed-dialing his daughter's number.

The phone in my hand did not ring.

But what I noticed was the look of total shock on Wade Garrett's face. He tried again, then said "How can that be? This is the number!"

"Good job, Mr. Roark." I said quietly. "Mrs. Garrett, what is your daughter's birthday?" Mrs. Garrett recited the number and I entered the month, day, and year as one six-number code into Sage's phone in my hand. It worked the first time, and the cellphone opened. I set it to have no password required to open it, then bagged it into evidence.

To the Garretts, I said "Okay, Mr. Garrett, I'm going to take your cellphone into evidence, and we will get a warrant before opening it. All I want from it is your daughter's phone number on that phone, which Sergeant Rodriguez has already recorded. Mrs. Garrett, I'm afraid I will have to take your cellphone into evidence, as well."

That was done, then I said "I'm going to ask you both to come to Town & County Police Headquarters with us, to make your statements on camera as well as to help us with the case."

"Do I get to call a lawyer?" Wade Garrett asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way." I said...

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

Chief Moynahan rode shotgun in my Police SUV and Roark Coleman in the backseat. Wade Garrett rode with Lieutenant Parker and Jason Folby. Silvia Garrett rode with Julia Rodriguez and Chief Molly Evans, and Joanne Warner rode with Teresa Croyle in Teresa's Police SUV. I was glad I was not in that vehicle, and I correctly surmised that a one-way conversation took place all the way home.

As we drove, I said "That was a really good job, Roark, forcing Garrett to make that phone call. It showed me a lot."

"What did it showwww, Commanderrrr?" Chief Moynahan drawled.

"Not trying to be facetious, Chief, but it showed that Sage changed phone numbers." I said. "And I'll bet she had her phone, the one that rang when her mother called it, for less than a week. The number her father had was different, probably to her old phone. And the look of shock on his face when realized that, was priceless."

"But why, sir?" asked Roark. "I just wanted to get pings so we could get metadata on his cellphone from the Feds. What did you see that I missed?"

I said "It was at that moment that Wade Garrett realized the phone they sent him as 'proof-of-life' wasn't the one he thought it was. And that... is a 'strangeness'."

"Sir," said Roark, "may I say something off the record?"

"That you're getting sick and tired of the harassment from Lieutenant Warner?" I 'guessed'.

"Yes sir." said Roark.

I said "Talk to your direct supervisor, Lieutenant Parker, about it. On the record. He was there and he saw that latest incident. Do everything the right way, by the book, and that means talking to Parker first."

"I a-greeeee." drawled the Chief.

Part 8 - New Dangers

We got the Garrett's statements on camera in Interrogation Rooms A and B. Wade Garrett had Edward N. Parker of Gresham & Mason, P.C. as his attorney. Parker had represented BigCommo and did everything he could to thwart our investigation of them in a previous case. (Author's note: 'Price No Object', Ch. 04-05)

Silvia Garrett was represented by Virginia Madison, formerly of Dewey, Burnham & Winn, and currently with the Madison & Ives Law Firm. I'm told she is not related to the 'Madison' the firm was named after. I did not need to be told that the buxom, redheaded Virginia Madison had a pair of legs to die for; I very happily observed that firsthand.

We also got warrants to open and download the three cellphones in our possession as evidence, and Lieutenant Myron Milton, the TCPD's CIO and technology guru, downloaded their contents into the evidence servers.

"Okay," I said to Teresa, "one last thing to do. Bring the Garretts into the Pastor's Room. I'll go get Father Romano."

Teresa said "You're going to go ahead and tell them?"

I said "Yes, there's no reason to put it off any longer. We're not going to get anything more from them under the current circumstances. And I think Mrs. Garrett is beginning to suspect the truth." Indeed, I'd had a 'vibe' that Silvia Garrett knew more than she had told us to this point, and that her hidden truth would come out once the truth of Sage's status was known to her.

A few minutes later Chief Moynahan, wearing his Duty Dress jacket, and Chaplain (Captain) Alberto Romano, wearing his dark blue Police uniform with a black shirt and white clerical collar, walked into the Pastor's Room behind me. Father Romano sat down by Mrs. Garrett on the sofa. Mr. Garrett and his attorney were seated in chairs at a 90 degree angle to the sofa. The Chief and I sat down in chairs, facing all of them.

"This cannot be good." said Silvia Garrett, whose face had turned most very worried when she saw Chaplain Romano come into the room.

I said "Mr. and Mrs. Garrett, did you hear the news of six bodies found in Nextdoor County over the weekend?"

"Yes." said Mrs. Garrett as Mr. Garrett just nodded. Then she began whispering "No... no..."

I said "I am sorry to inform you that your daughter Sage was one of the six bodies that we discovered. I am truly sorry for your loss---"

"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed Silvia Garrett. "Nooooooooo!" She pitched forward, but Father Romano was there to catch her, and he held her as she began fiercely crying. "Nooo! Saaage!" Mr. Garrett just sat in his chair, looking miserable as he stared at the floor.

Recovering after a moment, Silvia said "What did she die of? Was it painful? Did they hurt her?"

I said "The Medical Examiner is not finished with her investigation, but we do know Sage died of a fentanyl overdose." I was cherrypicking what I was telling them for an abundance of reasons.

The attorney Edward N. Parker was coldly furious with me. "You... you knew their daughter was dead, yet you misled them into thinking she was just missing? You lied to them like that?"

I said "Spare me your theatrics, Counselor. I never actually told a lie. And you know it's standard Police procedure to ask questions before telling them the whole truth."

"It's outrageous!" yelled Parker. "Your conduct has been totally inexcusable! You're a despicable son of a bitch, Troy!"

"Cry me a river, Counselor." I said witheringly. "Wade Garrett, you are being detained as a person of interest in your daughter's disappearance and subsequent murder. The people we believe murdered your daughter are extremely dangerous men, and may come after you if they think you have something to tell us that might lead us to them. I hardly need to add that if you do know something, you really need to talk to us."

I added: "You may choose to have an ankle monitor and stay at the University Hotel under guard tonight, -or- we will hold you here in protective custody overnight. But you cannot go back to your home. Mrs. Garrett, you are not being detained, but I would recommend you not go back home, and that you stay at a hotel under guard, or stay with friends."

"Let me talk to my client about that." said Edward N. Parker.

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

Somewhat to my surprise, Chief Moynahan followed me into my office. I had him sit down in the chair nearest the door, and I poured us both cups of coffee before sitting down behind my desk.

"I just have one questionnn, out of sheer curio-si-tyyyy." drawled the Chief. "Why did you ask them if they'd seen the news about six dead bodies before telling them that their daughter was one of them? I'm sure you had a reason, but it seemed a bit cruel."

I replied "Yes sir, but I needed to see their reactions to my asking about the six bodies. If I'd asked after telling them their daughter was dead, I would not get the same reactions. Ergo, the order I did it in."

The Chief nodded thoughtfully, then said "And did yooo seeee what you were looking for?"

"Their reactions in the moment were normal, sir, well within any reasonable expectations." I replied. "But I'm hoping it'll lead to a future action that will crack this case wide open..."

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

4:45pm, Monday, May 9th. Teresa Croyle came to my office upon my 'invitation', in the Japanese sense. She got some coffee for herself and sat down in the far-side chair in front of my desk.

I said "I called you in here to ask what happened with Warner, and any conversation you had with her on your way home from the Garrett home."

Teresa nodded, then said "I wrote a memorandum-for-the-record with my closest recollection of the conversation in transcript form. But to answer your question... it's bad, sir. It's bad."

"Details, or it didn't happen." I said.

Teresa replied. "I chewed her out for interrupting and belittling Roark in front of everyone at the Garrett home. She said he was wrong for asking Garrett to open his phone. I told her that that was not her call to make, especially with Roark's immediate supervisor right there, me right there, Commander Troy right there, and the Chief right there."

Teresa: "I then said she had done that same thing to Roark in front of everyone at our meeting the other day, belittling his idea that turned out to be good. She said she didn't think it was good, that it was bad, and I name-dropped: I told her to go tell Commander Troy that Roark's idea was bad, and you'd redirect her suppositions in a hurry."

Teresa: "Then she lamented that we were taking Roark's side against her. I said that was not only incorrect, it was insubordinate. She immediately said 'I want a Union Rep'. We said nothing else to each other the rest of the way home. And I don't need Carole's, Cindy's, or even your Power of the Vibe to know that she was very angry, and that that anger is turning into a deep bitterness that is going to undermine the smooth operation of the Major Crimes Division."

"Yeah, I know." I said, leaning back in my chair. "And to this point I have obviously and utterly failed to do my job and resolve this problem---"

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

It was my Police iPhone, and when I looked at it to see who it was, a shock ran through me. It was my wife Laura. She would never call my Police number unless something was very wrong.

"Laura?" I said as I answered it.

"Don, we may have a big problem." Laura said. "Sherry Estrich and Charlene Theranikos called me and said they think they are being followed, and Charlene said she thinks two men dressed as gardeners were at her house, looking into the windows. And then Carl Bacon called and said he and Chris are being followed, as well..."

To be continued.

Dear Readers, you have nearly all the clues to lead you to the solution of the case. Take your shot at the title and put your guess (the perp(s) and why) in the comments section before proceeding to Chapter 2.