Point Hollow Ch. 02

And then came the medal I least like to give out: the Purple Order. Not because it's undeserved; quite the opposite. But it means someone got hurt, or killed, in the line of duty. I draped the purple-and-silver ribbon around Joanne's neck, the enameled Purple star and wreath hanging from it. She was loudly applauded.

Last, but certainly not least, was Lieutenant Perlman. I draped a Purple Order around her neck. The Council had fought bitterly about this award, some saying her wounds were not in the line of duty. Then John Colby went off on them, saying she'd wrapped a baby in her armor vest, then faced and shot at the perps who invaded her home, and if that wasn't a Police action, what was? And then the discussion ended... when Chief Griswold reminded the Council that he would be giving me back my crowbar within moments...

After the Purple Order award, Chief Moynahan read the proclamation as I pinned the Legion of Excellence Medal on Tanya's jacket, the first awarding of this medal in Town & County history.

As Tanya wheeled herself back into the group of officers in the bleachers, I scanned the crowd. If Jack Muscone was here, he was hiding himself very well.

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

The promotions were the big items of the day. There were a couple of promotions to Sergeant among the Uniformed officers, and a few pay grade increases, as this was the 'supplemental' awards, not the big ones of February 1st and August 1st. Then came the 'surprise' announcements.

First was the promotion to full Captain of Susan Weston, as she filled the role of Captain of Administration. Cmdr. Della Harlow had pushed for her. Cindy had grumbled to me about it, and I wasn't exactly thrilled about it. But, as I told Cindy, it was Della's choice to make, really. I reminded Cindy how I had pushed to make someone a Police Captain, and I could hardly refuse Harlow's action. Besides, Weston was a good administrator. And she'd be out of my hair as she'd no longer be a Precinct Captain.

I noticed the applause was particularly loud from the Third Precinct Officers, and I wondered if they were truly happy for their former leader... or if this was applause that she was gone and now reassigned.

And speaking of that now-open Third Precinct Captain slot, there had been a number of people that had emailed to the Chief, Cmdr. Harlow, and myself their interest in the position. Lt. Scott Peterson, the Public Relations Officer, had applied, even though he was in a full Captain's position now. Several Sergeants applied, though it'd be a leap for one of them to get it.

Teresa Croyle had been offered the position, but to no one's surprise (and to Cindy Ross's great relief) she turned it down flat. And then Chief Moynahan came up with a good idea:

"We're going to punt, Mr. Crowbar." he had said. "We're going to kick the can down the road, and give a deserving Policeman a promotion." And so Sergeant Bob 'Brick' Briscoe, from the 'Disappearing Act' case, who had been talking retirement, was promoted to Lieutenant and then brevetted a Precinct Captain. He was going to retire at the end of they year, so this would be a 'holding pattern' until we developed some talented people to take the role.

The Union had agreed to not file a grievance, as there had been an agreement to not brevet to the PCpt. position, but the Chief and I said that Briscoe would be able to retire a legitimate PCpt. or even a full Captain. And we would honor that agreement months later.

I did notice as the announcement was made, and the Chief and Briscoe's wife pinned his gold Precinct Captain bars on his shoulders, that Lt. Peterson looked very unhappy at this turn of events...

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

I'd asked Tanya where Jack Muscone was. She said he was out of Town, and had asked Sandra to come in his place, especially as it was also Martin's last day.

The farewell party was in MCD, complete with both serious and gag gifts for Tanya and Martin. She and Martin both got framed pictures of the MCD group taken on the last Orange Order Day. Many of the Crime Lab people also came by to send Tanya off.

And then... it was that time. Chief Moynahan came to the door and asked if Tanya and Martin would step into his office for a moment.

Once inside, Chief Moynahan said "I haven't been here very long, but I have been here long enough to say that I have enjoyed working with both of you, and I'm honored to have worked with you. I know you will do very well in your new jobs, and if you ever need some friends to shoot the bull with, feel free to drop in on us any time."

They thanked the Chief, then Tanya said "Where is Commander Troy? Or has he got something up his sleeve?"

"The party never stops with the Iron Crowbar in the House." said the Chief.

"If I did nothing else here," Tanya said with that cherubic grin of hers, "at least I have the honor of knowing I was the one that named him that."

"Heh heh heh heh." laughed the Chief. "Yes, I heard you were the one that started all the trouble. Okay, Martin, would you mind driving Tanya to the Duty Desk, where you'll both be signing out for the last time?"

"Yes sir. I'd be glad to." said Martin.

"I'll get the door." said Moynahan. He got up, shook hands with Nash, gave Tanya a warm hug, then opened the door. Tanya gasped when she saw it.

There was a double line of people, a gauntlet much like the one that had formed to honor Chief Griswold on his last walk out of the building. This one led the long way around the building, as many more officers were inside (some had been in the parking lot for Griswold's exit).

As Nash pushed Tanya into the line, another difference became apparent: instead of being at attention or being formal, everyone reached out to shake Tanya's hands or pat her on the shoulder as she went by. She returned all the well wishes, shook or held hands, trying not to cry too much. That ended when Christina Cho, in a rare show of emotion, bent over and hugged Tanya, a hug that lasted a moment as both women shed tears.

Finally, as the cordon wound around the halls to the front Duty Desk, Tanya finally saw him. The Iron Crowbar himself had taken the Duty Desk Station, to personally sign her out.

First Martin Nash came up. He handed me his TCPD badge and signed out on the sheet on the clipboard. I then held up an FBI badge, which most didn't know was already Martin's, and that I had picked his pocket to acquire. I handed it to him and shook his hand. The Police Officers in the lobby, including Sergeant Rudistan and his team, and Chief Griswold at the front door, applauded, and shook his hand as he left. Martin went ahead and left the building, waiting outside for Tanya.

Then came one of the hardest moments of my life. Tanya wheeled up and signed out on the sheet. Then she took her TCPD badge off her uniform jacket and placed it in my hand... pressing it into my hand with both of hers as our eyes locked. I fully understood. Then she handed me her gun. I handed her her 'Retired' badge in its plastic sleeve, then handed her back her gun... pressing it into her hand with both of mine, our eyes locked. She fully understood.

"Good luck and Godspeed, Lieutenant." I said, then raised my hand to my eyebrow in a formal salute. Tanya returned the salute in the utter silence of the hallway, and I could see she was trying to not break down. I was having to work at it, also.

"I'll be back, Iron Crowbar." she whispered. Then she wheeled towards the front door, hugging other Officers along the way. At the door, Chief Griswold gave her a hug, then escorted her out to the parking lot.

Part 12 - Puzzle Pieces

Early in the afternoon of Monday May 2d, I finally got my first reports about the three found students. Detective Teddy Parker greatly impressed me by digging out the information. I did not ask for his sources. Cindy was in my office, listening in as Parker gave his report:

"The three of them, Slake, Jenkins, and Stone, were found in your boyhood county, near the town of Rome on the north-south highway. They were found by the side of the road that leads towards Apple Grove. Tests showed them to have drugs in their system similar to Reynolds and Kim. Hallucinogenic drugs. They don't remember anything. They all were dehydrated, but must've had some water and food at some time because they were in relatively okay condition. Jenkins was sexually assaulted several times, but apparently not as violently as Kim was."

"And that reminds me, sir." continued Parker. "Annemarie Reynolds had a good bit of the hallucinogens in her system, like the other three recently found. But Kim had less in her system. Significantly less."

"Have you had any chance to talk to those girls in University Hospital?" I asked.

"No sir." said Parker. "Dr. Fredricson, your wife of course, has been very helpful to us. Annemarie was able to talk with us a bit. She said she was having sex with Stone in the Hollow. She remembered having an orgasm, then hearing a sound like a scream... and then she doesn't remember anything else from that point on until she woke up in the Hospital. Kim... every time they wake her up, she goes into hysterics. Dr. Fredricson thinks she remembers a lot more than Reynolds, because she had less drugs in her system."

"That's good work, Parker." I said. "Really good work gathering this information. Let me ask this: have you talked more with friends of these six people?"

"Theo and I talked with as many as we could find." Parker said. "And while I'm not saying anyone was uncooperative, no one had very much to tell us, or had much they were willing to tell. Jason Stone was popular, a BMOC. Annemarie Reynolds was hot and she knew it, but nobody hated her that we could find. Natalie Jenkins was one of those with friends due to her politics. She and Councilwoman Malinda Adams are or would be very good friends if they met."

"I understand." I said. Cindy was nodding. "What were her political causes?" I asked.

"Women's rights." said Parker. "But that's the standard cliché these days. She was more into LGBT issues, but lately had begun organizing a movement to legalize marijuana in this State."

"Do tell." I said. "Okay, keep going with the rest of the students."

Parker continued: "Slake was the kind of guy that girls thought was a bit perverted, but he didn't get into fights or anything, and nobody said anything bad about him. Sherry Kim was close to the Asian exchange students. The Asian girls tend to form groups, mostly to keep guys off them. They can be hard to penetrate--- er, that might not be the right word, sir."

I laughed, and Cindy suppressed a snicker as I said "That was a good pun, though, Parker. Keep up that sense of humor. So... what about Cantrell?"

"He's... well, he's the outcast, the loner type. Has no real friends. Would hang around with the computer programmers, but they didn't care for him, took no notice of him. Neither did the chemistry majors. He's... sir, this may not be a fair comparison, but he reminds me of that Jimmy Tolson guy from that disappearing couple case... everyone hated him, didn't want him around or ignored him."

"It's a fair comparison." I said. "Remembering someone or something from the past could well be a clue to a current or future case. That's why I suggest to you guys to read old cases and keep up with our current ones. Nothing new under the sun, Mr. Parker."

"Yes sir." said Parker. "Anyway, he was always trying to find ways to be noticed. He'd try to play the intellectual, the know-it-all, and of course even I know that turns off women faster than a loud fart. He tried all he could to get Sherry to like him: flowers, took her to dinner, even changed his major to be with her more. Her friends said, as they did before, that she basically tolerated him, let him buy her dinners for the free food, and she studied with him some. But she didn't let him so much as kiss her."

"How did these six people like each other?" I asked.

"Seemingly well, sir. For the most part, anyway." said Parker, perhaps surprised at my question. "Stone and Reynolds were dating, or at least having sex regularly. Jenkins and Slake may have been dating, and we know Cantrell has a crush on Kim. Jenkins may have been Reynolds's 'wingman', or 'wing-woman' I should say, on social occasions, and of course they're both interested in marijuana legalization. Other than that, this was a group sort of put together by circumstances... that being the sample collecting."

"Good, very good." I said. "That is a very important question to answer in order to solve this case, by the way. So... Parker: based upon the data you have now... what do you think happened out there?" Parker paused, and I said "No wrong answers here, Teddy. Just let your mind work. Think out loud."

"Yes sir." said Parker. "I... well, based on that drug lab you and the FBI found, it looks to me like these guys came across a drug gang. They were kidnapped, taken up to that cabin, and at least some of the girls were raped while Danny Cantrell was beaten up. The others were then taken away by vehicle, then eventually let go. Not sure why, but that's what it looks like."

"Not bad." I said. "Captain, care to take a shot?"

"On the face of it," Cindy said, "it looks like what Teddy said: drug gang kidnapped them, drugged them, took them away. I would make this guess, though: knowing Danny's crush on Sherry Kim, and his wanting to be the guy in the spotlight, he might have tried to play hero and tried to save her from the perps, telling them to leave her alone and such stuff. So they beat the shit out of him, and they made him watch as they raped her as brutally as they could, for his viewing benefit as much as anything else."

"I like that theory." I said. "It would fit why his blood and vomit are at that scene, and why Sherry was injured more than Annemarie. May even explain the lack of drugs: they wanted him to know she was feeling more pain."

"I'm not sure the two women were raped right at the same time." said Cindy. "Annemarie's ordeal could've come later, or with other perps."

"DNA will tell us that." I said.

"There's still a ton of questions, though." Cindy said. "How did the perps get them to that cabin? Did our students walk up that way and were captured up there? If they did, then how were the other students taken out of there? I dunno, some of this stuff doesn't make a lot of sense."

"Well, let's come back to the first squares, to the basics." I said. "Here are the questions I would ask, and you guys can work on answering them for me while I work on another matter."

I started: "I've asked this before, and the answer is imperative: what were the arrangements to pick up these six people and bring them back to the University Campus? There had to be something... they couldn't just take those samples and not bring them in."

I continued: "And as I said, I would also really like to know why these six people were on this trip. There are some connections, but I'm not really seeing this particular group as a group. And I'm not understanding the tent arrangements, either. So... who put this little party together, and for what reason.. besides sample collecting?"

I went on: "I'd really like to know more of what happened during their time out there. All of their cellphone were found at the camp. If we get a chance to talk to the recently found students, we might get more information. I really want to see the picture on the jigsaw puzzle box... then we can start putting the actual jigsaw together---"

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

It was my Police cellphone. I answered it, took the message, then said "Yes sir, I'll be right over." Hanging up, I said "That was Campus Police Commissioner Dexter Robinson. He'd like for you and I, Captain, to go see him..."

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

"It's been way too long since I've seen you, young man." said Campus Police Commissioner and Provost Marshal Dexter Robinson as Cindy and I came into his office. "You too, young lady."

"I hope you're doing well, Commissioner. I said as we both shook hands with Robinson before we all sat down.

"Oh, it's not too bad these days." said Robinson. "Kids are too scared of the Iron Crowbar across the street there, to get into any real trouble, these days. We may be the only University in this country that can say that, too."

"So how can we help you, sir?" I asked. "Is it the missing students' case?"

"No, no," said Robinson, "that's clearing up a bit. They've found five of the six, and alive. The three that were found a couple of States over are going to be transferred to University Hospital here in the next day or two. We'll be sure to let you know, so you can interview them."

"I appreciate that." I said.

"What I called you about," said Robinson, "is that I've got a couple of friends of yours that wanted to meet with you and talk with you... without really being seen or arousing suspicion. Ostensibly, my daughter is visiting me, her father." With that, a side door opened, and in walked City Police Detective Robin Ventura, Robinson's daughter, and her partner Detective Thomas 'Sapper' Warren.

We all shook hands and then sat down around the table that was in the office. The Commissioner excused himself, leaving us to talk. Per a previous conversation with Cindy, it was my bug-killer in operation for this one.

"We wanted to share some stuff with you about that SBI raid into the City." said Ventura. "We're starting to find out that there was a lot more going on that originally met the eye."

"We're treating this as a crime by the SBI." said Warren. "The judges have given us every warrant we could possibly want, and then some. They want to stick it to the SBI as badly as we do."

"So we're not the only ones with bad blood with the SBI." I said, somewhat whimsically.

"No sir, you are not." Robin Ventura said emphatically. "Especially Sapper and I... as we're both black." That got my ears perked up and my eyebrows raised.

"We can talk about that later. Here's the story of that raid." said Ventura. "You know Agent Sharples, formerly of your own Police Force. He got a couple of black guys, 'Chubby' and 'Skinnydip', to make a drug buy from the 8th Street Gang, which is mostly Latino. He'd promised them immunity, would get them off some petty charges that Skinnydip was being charged with, and such."

"So they made the buy, and in comes the SBI... in tremendous force." Ventura continued. "They arrested the 8th Street Gang, but also arrested the two black guys, who really are no more than vermin on the streets. Set them up all the way, it looks like."

"He's done things like that before." I said, of Sharples. "What's new and different here?"

"Not much, really." said Ventura. "Except the SBI's Narcotics Task Force Director, Dick Ferrell, was actually on the scene. He personally outed our mole in the 8th Street Gang. We've lost a good man and a huge asset, but at least he's alive and okay. We've gotten his family in Witness Protection. He's no longer in this State or any State touching ours."

"Good." I said. "That really was a dirty thing to do."

"And since the SBI raid was illegal," said 'Sapper' Warren, "the 8th Street guys are fighting the charges, and are being released at their arraignments. If the SBI had let it be a joint operation, they'd be in jail awaiting trial, but it was all for nothing. So it's a damn good thing we got Vasco out of the State."

"No doubt." I said.

"Here's where it gets good, I.C." said 'Sapper' Warren. "First, since you busted Captain Wexler, our Drug Units have had some good successes. They were able to slip moles into several gangs as Wexler's favorites suddenly found they had competition. Gangs were bidding up for good members, like a hiring spree, if you know what I mean. Some of those are still in place, some we've taken out as a precaution."