Point Hollow Ch. 02

"Especially by this Blonde with the Blue Crowbar." I added.

"Heh heh heh heh." chuckled the Chief. "I, for one, cannot wait to see the Matches for the first time. Okay guys, I do agree with the Sheriff. You guys have been working your butts off for the last several months. Take a breather."

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

Saturday, April 30th, 10:30pm. Cindy and I drove up in my Police SUV to the crime scene in Hamilton County, just south of Coltrane County. We'd been called in by SBI Reserve Director Conlan, and on the way down the Governor had called to speak with us.

We were deputized into the SBI Reserve. As we got to the farmhouse, we were stopped by State Troopers Smith and Jones, whom we'd met in the Fake Badges case.

"Sir, ma'am," said Trooper Smith, "we've been ordered by our Post Commander to be your escort and bodyguard while you are here."

"Good!" I said jovially. "Glad to have you with us." We parked where the Troopers directed us, then got out, making sure to have our crowbars in our hands and very visible.

There was a large number of State Patrol Troopers on hand, and I had a good idea of why. We walked down to the crime scene, where the Hamilton County Sheriff greeted us warmly. The man next to him was not warm at all: he was SBI NTF Director Richard 'Dick' Ferrell. It was easy to deduce that Ferrell and the Sheriff were antagonistic towards each other.

"Why is Ferrell here?" whispered Cindy to me. "Wasn't he suspended?"

"The Union grieved it." I said. "The hearing is not until Monday morning." We walked on up to the Sheriff.

"Good to see you, Commander." said the Sheriff. "We've got a real problem here. This SBI asshole and his toy soldiers have been throwing their weight around. The Governor himself had to call down and tell them to back off."

"No doubt Ferrell is an asshole." I said. "If he gives you trouble, you just spit in his face. Isn't that right, Crowbar 2?"

"As long as I'm there to finish Ferrell off." Cindy replied. "So what's going on, Sheriff?"

"Come this way." said the Sheriff. We followed him, my Trooper bodyguards making sure Ferrell got nowhere near me nor Cindy as he followed us down... with his own State Trooper bodyguard.

"We had a pursuit onto the grounds of this farmhouse." said the Hamilton County Sheriff. "Guy named Scrawny Haskins. He's cousin to your boy Dirty Lennie up in your County."

"I know him well." I said. "I can smell Lennie from a mile away."

"Scrawny ain't much better." said the Sheriff. "Anyway he was pursued onto these grounds. Then these SBI pukes came in."

"You better start showing the SBI more respect, Sheriff." said Ferrell.

"Or what?" I thundered, turning and facing Ferrell. "What are you going to do, Ferrell?" My State Trooper bodyguard had moved quickly forward, as had Ferrell's. Still, I did not yield, continuing to confront Ferrell. "Thing is, Ferrell, you can't back up your words. You talk like a big boy, but in truth you're just a pansy begging to get fucked up the ass."

"Watch your mouth, Troy." said Ferrell.

"Again: or what?" I said. "If you want a piece of me, let's settle it right here and now. One of us doesn't leave alive. Let's see if you can back up your big mouth, Ferrell..." I readied with the red crowbar, aching to use it...

Ferrell was finally figuring out it might be a good idea to shut his trap. By now we were surrounded by a large number of State Troopers, SBI agents, and local Police Officers and Deputies. And all except the SBI agents were itching to see Ferrell get physically beaten down... and they knew I would do it.

"Why don't we go investigate the crime scene?" said SBI Agent Ted Ruble, trying to break up the showdown. SBI Agent Chow was behind him. But I wasn't ready to let Ferrell off the hook yet.

"Come on, Iron Crowbar." said Cindy, also ready to move along. "Everyone here knows Ferrell is a coward. Let's just treat him as the unimportant piece of dog shit that he is. Not even worth the time or effort of swinging your crowbar at him. Not even worth wasting spit on him." There was chuckling at that, and I 'allowed' myself to be 'persuaded' to continue along the gravel road with the Sheriff.

"As I was saying," said the Sheriff, "the SBI pukes came in. One of them circled around behind where Scrawny had run to, back behind the farmhouse here. There was an exchange of gunfire, and Scrawny ended up dead."

We went around the farmhouse, which was lighted brilliantly by the lightbars of the many LEO vehicles. Going around back, we went towards a copse of trees. A man in his thirties but looking much older and more emaciated, wearing a dirty t-shirt and jeans, was lying face-down on the ground, dead.

Sitting to one side, surrounded by State Troopers... was SBI Agent Leonard 'Sergeant' Sharples.

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

"I'm telling you, Commander, it was a good shoot." said Sharples, his voice whiney. "I circled around to catch him, yelled at him to freeze, he fired at me and I fired back."

I had ascertained that a couple of Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputies had heard Sharples shout "FREEZE!", that two shots were heard, and that drug packets had been found on Scrawny's body.

"So what happened," said the Sheriff as I examined the body and both Scrawny's and Sharples's weapons, "is that Scrawny here would sell drugs to the truckers at the Love's Truck Stop at the exit ramp to the Midtown-University Highway. Well, our guys got a tip, we saw him at the truck stop, but he made a run for it in a beat up car. Went to this farmhouse, just a mile and a half down the road to town. We began converging, but found that SBI cars were already pulling in."

"That asshole Ferrell came in and said this was their bust, and for us to stand down and let them handle it." said the Sheriff. "Well, I don't cotton to those bastards just coming in and giving me orders, just as you don't. While we were arguing, that fat SBI agent yelled that he saw Scrawny, and they gave chase. I called in the State Troopers, and then we heard the shots."

"I see." I said. "Thanks for telling me. Now I need to talk to a couple of SBI Agents, and you are authorized to keep Ferrell away with the use of deadly force, if necessary." I went over to Agents Ruble and Chow, and asked them to step with me away from the gaggle."

"Okay, Agent Chow." I said. "I think I'm a good judge of characters, and I think you are a competent and honest law enforcement officer. I also think you are ex-military, and I'm favoring you having been a Green Beret over a Navy SEAL."

"Good Lord!" gasped Ruble.

"Fifth Group." said Chow, showing no emotion. "You must've read my record."

"Uh, no, actually I did not." I said. "Anyway, Agent Ruble, if you wish to get back in my good graces..."

"Who the fuck are you to be saying that?" snarled Ruble.

"Are you seriously asking that question?" asked Cindy. Ruble glared at her, then relented.

"What I need to know, gentlemen," I said, "is why the SBI is making this massive show of force to bring down a really low-class lowlife. C'mon, what's the story here?"

"Sir," said Chow in his quiet, even voice, "we were told it was a gang. Eight people at least, big haul of drugs into here for delivery to a truck at the truck stop."

"That's right." said Ruble. "We were expecting a big haul, and when we heard on the radio that a guy was running from the locals, Ferrell told us to haul ass and get to him before the locals did."

"Did Ferrell tell you to take the guy alive or dead?" I asked.

"He didn't give any special orders like that." said Chow. "We try to take anyone alive, unless they're a deadly threat to us or innocents."

"One more question." I said. "Did either of you actually see Scrawny run behind the farmhouse?"

"I didn't." said Chow. "But I wasn't one of the first to arrive."

"I was with Chow." said Ruble. "I never saw the guy until after the gunshots. Scrawny was dead and Sharples was right there."

"All right, thanks guys." I said. I saw that Cindy was getting agitated, that she wanted to ask questions. I just whispered to her to let it ride and to watch our backs, then we went back to the rest of the group.

"Okay, so why am I here?" I asked the Sheriff. He drew me to one side where we could not be heard."

"I called the Governor and asked for you." he said quietly. "There's something really wrong here, Commander. Scrawny, he has never... ever... been arrested with a gun in his possession, on his person or in his car. He's been on probation whenever he's not in jail; searches of his house have never produced so much as a cap gun. Yet he was found dead tonight with a gun in his hand. And second... the SBI showing up at all. Of course they didn't say a word to us that they were coming. But I have yet to hear a reason why they're here, what led them to come here, what led them to go after Scrawny and get in front of us to do so."

"I hear you." I said. "There is definitely something wrong here. I take it the Governor sent the State Troopers?"

"Oh yes." said the Sheriff. "The Governor said he'd send State Troopers here to keep the peace, and you'd be here to investigate this crime."

"Have y'all searched the farmhouse?" I asked the Sheriff.

"Yeah, it's empty." said the Sheriff. "We searched attic to basement, and we'll do it again in daylight. But nothing's there, and it looks like no one has been in there in years. No marks in the dust on the floor, anything like that."

"All right." I said. "I'm sure you'll secure the scene and search the grounds at first light, but I doubt you'll find much. Unless someone has something to prove otherwise, then this'll be considered a 'good shoot' by Sharples. But kick the SBI out of your county, now; you have the prerogative to do that as the duly elected Sheriff. If Ferrell refuses, let me know; I'll arrest him, and if he resists arrest... the sun will rise upon his dead body."

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

A State Patrol vehicle was behind us, escorting Cindy and me back to our County, seeing as they were from our County, too. As we drove, Cindy took out her anti-bugging device and turned it on.

"What did you think of that, Crowbar 2?" I asked, knowing she wanted to talk.

"Lots of what you like to call 'strangenesses'." said Cindy. "I know the SBI is trying to muscle in on locals. I don't understand that, as they are going to alienate a lot of people in both political parties and cost Lewis the election. But this one, I really don't understand. Either they got bad intel, or something is going on that does not pass the smell test."

"I totally agree." I said. "What did you think... of that farm property?"

"Abandoned... nothing there..." Cindy said. Then it struck her. "Oh... it's like Point Hollow. You think there was a drug ring there?"

"They may find something, but likely they won't." I said. "It looked more to me like---"

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

It was Cindy's personal cellphone. She had to turn off the bug-killer so that the phone would transmit, and she did as she answered the phone. "Oh, hi Tommy... yes... oh really?... yes, I'll be sure to tell Commander Troy... okay, you too... yes, tell my father hello for me... bye."

She turned to me. "That was Tommy, my father's assistant at The Vision." she said. "There is a road that runs near The Vision's southern property line. Just a two-lane farm road, but asphalt-paved and in good condition. Bells Ferry Road."

"Ah, yes, I know it." I said. "Runs into Rivers County and to the State Line, over the bridge that goes over the river there."

"Yep." said Cindy. "The Vision monitors the road, as my father is a cautious man..."

"I'd say 'paranoid'," I joked, "except that, like Chief Griswold says, 'it ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you."

"Like uncle, like nephew." Cindy retorted neatly. "Anyway, Tommy said that two 18-wheeler big-rig trucks were going down that road at a pretty fast rate of speed, and my father wanted you and me to know."

"Hmm, interesting." I said. "What do you make of that?"

"If we were close enough," Cindy said, "I'd say we should go after them."

"Well, we're not close enough." I said. "But why would you go after them?"

"I think they're gun-smuggling trucks." Cindy said. "And they're too scared to go into the Iron Crowbar's home County. They're working their way around."

"I'd say you're right about the trucks." I replied. "But their fear is not of me... it's the guy who might waylay those trucks, kill the drivers and anyone else on the trucks, then steal the guns. The Consultant would love a haul like that."

"Except he can attack them anywhere." Cindy said. "You are bound to your jurisdiction, and they are avoiding that jurisdiction."

"True." I said. "Yet someone felt the need to take us out of our jurisdiction tonight, out of the way... and we're just not quite in time to go after those trucks as they pass by your father's place..."

Cindy turned to me with a gasp. "You mean... this whole SBI thing... was just to get us out of the way?"

"I think that's some of it." I said. "I figured this was a distraction when I first got the call."

"That's a large conspiracy, lots of people involved." Cindy said.

"Not really." I said. "Just needs a few high-level leaders to send in the SBI, then to call you and me into it. Most of those involved, maybe even Ferrell, have no idea of the big picture."

"So why did you take the bait?" Cindy asked.

"Well," I said, "I thought I might get an opportunity to beat Ferrell's head in. But they sent State Troopers to keep us separated. And I wanted to see that crime scene, too."

"And let the gun-runners go." Cindy said.

"Let me just ask you this, mon ami." I said. "Whose side do you think the gun-runners are on?"

That silenced my cousin and partner until we were at my home, the Mountain Nest, having a very late night snack with Laura and the redoubtable Bowser and Buddy, followed by Cindy staying the night in the guest room...

Part 11 - Honor Roll

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded MILF reporterette from in front of Police Headquarters at 7:00am, Monday, May 2d. "Channel Two News has learned that the FBI has found three of the four remaining missing students!

"Although details are sketchy, at some point this weekend Jason Stone, Natalie Jenkins, and Jeff Slake were found, all alive, between the towns of Rome and Apple Grove, a couple of States over from here. They were taken to a local hospital in Rome, where they are recovering. Danny Cantrell is still missing, and the FBI continues to search for him."

"And in local news, the Public Service Department's various branches will be honoring and promoting their personnel today." Bettina continued. "Channel Two News has learned that Lieutenant Tanya Perlman will be given a special honor as her formal medical retirement from the Town & County Police Department takes place..."

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

Cindy was looking at me as the newscast continued. "Don... are you all right?"

We were sitting in my office instead of in MCD, and we were in our formal uniforms. And I was one pissed off Police Commander.

"No, I am not all right." I said. "The FBI found those three on Saturday. No one, including anyone on Jack Muscone's team, has said one word to me about it. Considering that these students were last seen in this County and were found in my boyhood home county, I am really failing to understand the lack of communication."

"Did you talk to Agent Muscone about it?" Cindy asked.

"I tried calling him all day yesterday." I said. "Not one call was answered; all went to voicemail, and I have yet to hear back from him. I called Clark Webster, who didn't return my call but texted me that he'd get back to me as soon as possible... which seems to not have been any time up to right now."

"Well, Martin is here for his last day, and Sandra will be at the ceremonies." Cindy said. "Why don't you ask them about it?"

I exhaled, a sigh of release. "I don't need to ask them. But I won't be forgetting this. Anyway, Tanya will be here soon, and I don't want to be pissed off on her last day. It's going to be special."

"That's right. It is." said Commander Della Harlow as she came into my office after knocking on the door. "Would you like to see the medal?"

"Sure." I said. After the merger, the Council had set up all the medals. The Star of Gallantry was like a Bronze Star, and expected to be one of the highest awards. But above it was the Sheriff's Medal, Police Medal, Fire Medal, etc. Above that was the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Fire and Police Crosses, and the Medal of Valor on top.

The Fire Department put a medal between the Distinguished Service Medal and the Fire Medal, called the Conspicuous Service Medal. After complaints from the rest of the Public Safety branches, particularly the Police Force, a new medal was created.

Della opened the box, showing us the medal formally called the Public Safety Legion of Excellence. The drape was a red field with gray edges (denoting Public Safety Department) and thin white lines between the gray and red, then a gray stripe bordered in white down the middle. The medal beneath looked a lot like the Medal of Valor, like our badges but upside down, but did not have the enameled green of the wreath and gold wreath of the middle circle; it was more plain and unadorned but for the Great Seal of the Town & County Public Safety Department.

The Legion of Excellence had never been awarded. The Council had balked at awarding Lt. Perlman the Distinguished Service Award, and one angry Police Commander had railed that the Police Medal or Sheriff's Medal was not enough. But it was when Chief Griswold (literally) took my crowbar out of my hands and went into the Council's private meeting that something got accomplished...

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

The applause was long and loud when Lt. Perlman wheeled herself into MCD at 7:45am. She had been to Headquarters before, and cleaned out her office... saying 'good riddance' when she left that all-too-small space for the last time.

Now she was being served coffee and doughnuts as everyone chatted about the upcoming ceremonies and how baby Pete was doing. There would be gifts and cakes later on.

As the 8:30am time neared, Tanya said "Before we go out, I just want to say one thing to Lt. Masters." She turned to face him and said "These are great people, 'Coldiron'. You're lucky to have them working for you, and I know they'll be even better with you teaching them. Just take care of them for me, okay?"

"You know I will." said 'Coldiron' solemnly. "And I have you to thank for making them into the great Detectives they are."

"And to all of you guys," Tanya said, trying to not get emotional, "you really have been a Dream Team for any Police leader to have. I know you'll give Lt. Masters your best, just as you've given me. Keep on keepin' on, and keep the frickin' Iron Crowbar out of trouble, okay?" The room burst into cheering at that one as I laughed out loud...

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

The medals portion of the ceremonies was not too long. Martin Nash received a Public Service Achievement Medal from the Sheriff. Lt. Masters was not actually being promoted, so his Police Commendation Medal was the way to recognize his service as leader of the Uniformed Officers. They gave him a strong ovation as Chief Moynahan announced his position change.

And after a number of Certificates of Achievements and some Achievement Medals, Detective Joanne Cummings Warner was brought up. First, she was awarded a Public Service Commendation Medal by Sheriff Allgood. The Council again had balked at a full Star of Gallantry, and the Sheriff had gotten 'miffed'. He could unilaterally upgrade a Police Commendation Medal to a Public Service one, and he did so to spite the Council.