Price No Object Ch. 01

"Maybe, but I'm not going to speculate without data." I said.

"I understand." Carole said. "Sherlock Holmes said not to do that, too."

"Yes. Yes he did." I said. "Okay, we'll talk more tomorrow. You get some sleep."

"Okay." Carole said as she turned over. "Nite, Daddy."

"Nite, Fussbudget." I said... to an already sleeping disciple of Sherlock Holmes...

Part 3 - Puzzle Pieces

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!' shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, January 5th, from the Anchor Desk of the KXTC studios. "A husband and wife are dead after a murder-suicide in our County!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Police were called to a home in the Talbot Farms subdivision after gunshots were heard. Inside, they found the bodies of Dwayne Matheson and Julie Davalos Matheson. Let's go to trusted reporter Amber Harris for more. Amber!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said the short, athletic blonder reporterette, from just across the street from the Matheson home, still surrounded with Police crime scene tape. The address of the house was on the chyron at the bottom of the screen. "Police responded to a 9-1-1 call around 4:00pm yesterday, and found the owners and occupants of the home inside, dead of gunshot wounds to their heads!"

Amber: "The victims are identified as Dwayne Matheson and his wife Julie Matheson. She is the daughter of prominent Acropolis City attorney Richard Davalos. The Mathesons were self-employed as owners of a technology company called 'JDJ Security Software, LLC.', along with business parter Jeff Cawthorne."

Amber: "Police refused to confirm that this was a murder-suicide case, and refused to rule out the possibility of further foul play. An APB was put out by the Town & County Police for Jeff Cawthorne, who so far remains at large. TCPD Commander Donald Troy has not responded to repeated requests by KXTC for comment. Back to you, Bettina!"

"Thank you, Amber!" Bettina said, almost happily. "That was trusted reporter Amber Harris with that breaking news story. In other news, the new Session of the State Legislature got underway in earnest yesterday. The Legislature has until the end of March to pass a Budget and avoid a complete State Government shutdown, and the rancor has already started. For more, let's go to our State News Networks colleague Bill Hacosta at the State Capitol. Bill!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Hacosta from the helipad on the roof of the parking lot at the State Office Building, with the State Capitol in the background. "Tensions began when newly sworn-in Governor Sharon Marshall gave the most hate-filled, racist speech in State history, calling for the rounding up and deportation of hardworking Undocumented Workers, continuing the hurtful, racist policies of her predecessor Val Jared."

Hacosta: "Governor Marshall laid down the gauntlet to the State Legislature, implying that it's her way or the highway as she threatened to veto any Budget that does not include money to assist Federal Authorities in rounding up hardworking Undocumented Workers for deportation. She also said that any efforts to defund the Police will also be met with her veto pen."

Hacosta: "But in spite of very narrow Republican majorities in each Chamber of the Legislature, victory for the White Nationalist Conservatives is not assured. Wilson Hammonds of Pottsville, who narrowly won re-election as House Majority Leader after a bitter internecine battle, has openly stated that he will work with Democrats to assure that hardworking Undocumented Workers will not face persecution by the Governor and her fellow Conservative thugs in the Legislature."

Hacosta: "And Lieutenant Governor Corey Coons, who ran a campaign of sympathy for Social Justice groups that want to defund the Police, gets to name the Committee Chairmen of the State Senate, per the State Constitution. He has named Democrats to those posts, and their control of their Committees may be more than enough to stop any pro-White-Nationalist legislation from reaching the State Senate floor."

Hacosta: "I have with me Dr. Adam S. Keller, Senior Fellow of the Rodham Foundation for Political and Social Change." The camera panned out to show 'Pencil Neck' Keller. "Dr. Keller, what do you predict for the Legislative session?"

Keller: "Bill, the rabidly racist Conservatives are just going to have to understand that they are not the majority in their own Party, much less the entire Legislature. The State Constitution was well-set-up to prevent a Party without a mandate from running roughshod over the other Party and the People of the State, who wisely voted for Corey Coons as Lieutenant Governor as a check and balance to the racist ambitions of White Nationalist Governor Sharon Marshall."

Hacosta: "Will a Budget get passed, Doctor?"

Keller: "I believe a fair Budget will be passed, if Governor Marshall understands that she is not an orange-headed Dictator, and must work with Lt. Governor Coons and the Democrats as opposed to working against them like the racist Val Jared did."

Hacosta: "Thank God that Val Jared is gone! Thank you for your time, Doctor. Back to you, Bettina!"

"Thank you, Bill! Thank you, Dr. Keller!" Bettina said as the feed switched back to her. "And there are other issues in the Legislature for this Session. Let's go to political reporter Carl Lemay for more. Carl!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said the tall, slender, black reporter, from the roof of the building at Riverside and College, with the State Office Building in the background. "With the next U.S. Census and subsequent redistricting coming up very soon, both political Parties and many groups are calling for a restructuring of our State's political landscape."

Lemay: "Among the things that will be discussed are returning the Town and the County to separate entities with separate governing Councils. Also being discussed as part of a wider State initiative is merging some counties, and one proposal is that our County, Nextdoor County, and Coltrane County be merged into one county. Another proposal is that our Town & County, Midtown, and Southport be made semi-autonomous entities like The City currently is. It's a big legislative agenda, Bettina, and our State Legislature passed literally no bills last year. We'll see what happens..."

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

"The Press war on Conservatives has not stopped." said Lieutenant Commander Teresa Croyle as she, Sheriff Griswold, Commander Troy (me), Chief Moynahan, and Deputy Chief Tanya P. Muscone drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room.

"Neither at the State level nor the local level." Tanya said. "And just who is the 'orange haired' man they're taking that little shot at?"

"Not me, I'm strawberry blonde." I said. "I think that shot was at a National-level politician that the Establishment despises even more than they despise Jared and Marshall put together."

"What I want to know," barked Sheriff Griswold, "is how the Press has so much information on our murder case. They don't know whether or not the next-of-kin have been notified, but they put out a lot of detail about the victims, including the wife's maiden name and who her father is. And it bothers me that they were reporting things we have not put out there, like the murder-suicide, gunshots to their heads, stuff we have not put out there in any duty logs to any Precinct. And Martha's autopsy is not officially filed yet!"

"They can piece the information about the victims from many places, Sheriff." said Tanya. "KXTC has been getting into the habit of calling the Precinct Duty Desks if they can't get the Press Office or me here. We've given our guys training on how to handle the Press, especially in not letting the Press know where Commander Troy is at any given moment, but they might confirm something like the names of the victims in that house with the Police tape around it. The Press also has probably called Mrs. Jones and Alicia Tate and who knows who else. And they likely heard about the APB for Jeff Cawthorne the minute it was issued."

Teresa said "Not asskissing here, but I agree with gist of what the Sheriff is saying... they were putting everything they possibly could out there, and the crime is barely fifteen hours old and we have not released anything on it."

I said "What bothers me more, and should bother all of you, is the way they put it out there about Jeff Cawthorne... all but saying he murdered them both. That could really hurt us if he hears that and goes on the run or into hiding."

"No word on him?" the Chief asked.

I shook my head. "No sir. The Palmyra County Police went to his apartment and he wasn't there, and they watched the place overnight but he didn't go home. Ditto that for his condo here. And no one came to the Matheson house, either."

"Cellphone pings?" asked Teresa.

"If we knew a number, we could get a warrant to ping his cellphone." I said. "Dwayne Matheson's iPhone was recovered at the crime scene, but it has the new encryption system on it that will essentially destroy the phone after ten unsuccessful tries to enter the numbers... and none of his dead hands's fingerprints worked on the touch pad. Mary and Myron are working on that, as well as his computer, but they need time."

"Soooo, Sheriff," drawled the Chief, "will we get a Budget this year?"

"If Crowbar goes down there and beats some sense into their heads." replied the Sheriff without blinking an eyelash. "And then writes the Budget bill for them."

"Not me. I did that once before." I said. (Author's note: 'The French Connection', Ch. 03.) "And that was before all the violence and the movement to defund the Police. Now? Sheesh." I shook my head, then said: "Cerone, Molinari, Marshall, and Coons are going to have to figure this one out themselves."

"What's this hooey about merging counties, and separating our Town from our County again?" Tanya asked. "I know Myrtle L. James has been leading a group that wants to separate the Town and County, but I didn't think it had serious traction."

"On its own? Not much chance." I said. "But coupled with a merging of counties? Very likely it would happen if the county mergings happen."

"And why in tarnation are they merging counties?" the Chief asked.

"Looks to me like an attempt to dilute the rural Republican representation in the State Legislature, sir." Teresa said. I nodded vigorously in agreement.

"And have fewer County Sheriffs standing up to the politicians." growled our own Sheriff. I nodded vigorously in agreement.

"What are the chances?" asked the Chief.

"They gotta get a Budget done first." I said. "And I suspect that even if they do, tempers will be so hot and rancid, that they'll never agree to anything else."

"Unless the Establishment Republicans use it as a bargaining chip for the Budget." Teresa said. "I wouldn't put that past Hammonds at all." A red crowbar was waved in her general direction as I nodded vigorously in agreement...

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

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise!" said pretty, athletic blonde Catrina Pierce. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me as always is Meredith Peller. Priya Ajmani is also joining us in studio this morning. Hello ladies."

Priya: "Good morning, ladies."

Meredith: "Hello ladies. Hello everyone. Here's what's in the news. The Town & County Police are investigating a crime in a residential district north of Town. After responding to a 9-1-1 call, Police found the bodies of Dwayne Matheson and his wife Julie, both 26 years old, in what may have been a murder-suicide."

Catrina: "The couple were entrepreneurs, having formed a technology company together. The Police have not ruled out foul play by outside persons in the case. The Police also want to talk to the Matheson's business partner Jeff Cawthorne, and if you are hearing this, Mr. Cawthorne, please contact the Town & County Police."

After a few more details, they threw it to Priya, who said "The Legislative session is underway in Midtown, and it is crucial that they pass a Budget by March 31st, or else there will be a total State Government shutdown beginning July 1st. Our colleague Greg Wallace, who is also with the State Fox Networks, is in Midtown. Hi Greg!" A split-screen with Greg Wallace in Midtown came on.

"Hello Priya, hello Catrina and Meredith." said Greg Wallace. "Tensions are already high here under the gold dome of the State Capitol. Governor Sharon Marshall is at least as Conservative as her predecessor, Val Jared, and is expected to have similar policies. But Democrat Corey Coons was elected Lieutenant Governor, and despite the State Senate being Republican-controlled by a thin margin, he gets to name the Committee Chairmen, and he has named very progressive Democrats to those chairmanships. So the Republicans will have some difficulty just ramming their agenda through the committees."

Wallace: "For example, State Senator Cain Mitchell is the ranking Member of the powerful Senate Budget Committee, but Lieutenant Governor Coons named Town & County State Senator Katherine Woodburn as the Chairman of the Budget Committee. And Ms. Woodburn has stated that she will not accept any Budget that funds the SBI-IDE, insisting upon a return to the old SBI Narcotics Task Force, the SBI-NTF."

Wallace: "Additionally, the State House Majority Leader, Wilson Hammonds, a moderate Establishment Republican, has stated that Governor Marshall's 'radical', his word, Conservative agenda has no chance of passing. He also said that he will work with Democrats to, quote, 'run roughshod over Grassroots Conservatives', unquote, though he will not accept any proposals nor compromises that include defunding the Police."

Wallace: "Jimmy Cerone was elected State Senate Minority Leader, while Moe Molinari was elected State Senate Majority Leader. Those two men have successfully led tough efforts to make and pass Budget bills in the past, and it is hoped they'll be able to work with Governor Marshall, Lieutenant Governor Coons, and Majority Leader Hammonds to get a budget passed..."

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

"Doesn't seem right." Teresa said as I turned off the television to start the Angels+1 meeting in my office. "The Republicans control the State Senate, 19-17, but the Democrats have the Committee chairmanships because the Lieutenant Governor is a Democrat?"

"Cindy would say the exact same things if the roles were reversed." I replied. "It's meant to be a check and balance. The U.S. Senate has the filibuster, our State Senate has that chairmanships 'thingy'. Having said that, it's not very common that the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are not from the same Party, nor that the Lieutenant Governor's Party is the one in the minority in the State Senate. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out."

"Speaking of 'interesting'," said Cpt. Claire Michaels, trying to move the conversation out of politics, "what's going on with the murder-suicide case?"

I said "You may not know it yet, but you and Jerome Davis are going to call a meeting of the MCD Detectives involved plus whoever Intel wants to send. We'll find out a lot more then. I do know that Jeff Cawthorne is still in the wind, and that he is the key to finding out about a lot of things."

*CHIME!*

It was Tanya's cellphone. "Sorry." she said as she looked at it. Then she said "Don, Jack is texting that he wants to meet with you this morning, and that he'll come over here when you're able to talk."

"Which might be 'no time' today." I said. "Okay. Claire, round up the Usual Suspects for a meeting at 8:30 in Classroom 'E'. Yes, that's in fifteen minutes. I'll call Paulina and let her know, in case she wants to join us. Tanya, text or call Jack and tell him to come over at 9:00am. That way I have an excuse to walk out of that meeting if I want to..."

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

Chief Moynahan and Sheriff Griswold attended the 8:30 meeting. Paulina texted that she had to meet with District Attorney Miriam Walters, and would have to get the Cliff Notes later.

I set the boxes of doughnuts on the side table next to the pots of coffee. They disappeared with amazing speed; you'd think TCPD Detectives were starving, what with the way they consumed those doughnuts.

"Okayyyy." I said to start the meeting as we all settled in. "Anything new?"

Mary Milton said "I may have something on that van, and 'Morrison Plumbing & Electric', sir."

"That they're a Nevada Corporation but seem to have no offices anywhere?" I replied. "And that they're a front for Government Agencies like the DEA, FBI, and even the CIA to use when needed?"

Mary looked utterly shocked. "How do you do that, sir?" she asked. "Did you spend all night researching that, too?"

I chuckled. "No, I just happen to have an excellent Federal Government confidential informant. I get to sleep with her every night, too." Everyone chuckled, then I said "Seriously, my wife heard that name, and not from me, and she immediately recognized it. What else do you have on them?"

Mary said "Nothing more. I might have been wrong to do this, but I called my father-in-law when I came up against dead ends while checking on them, and he also recognized the name immediately." Dr. Marvin Milton, Professor of Mathematics at the University, was Myron Milton's father. And Dr. Milton was no fan of the antics of the Federal Government.

"I trust you to be very wise and discreet about what you tell that source." I said. "Anyhoo, what else do we know that we didn't last night?"

Joanne Warner said "Alicia Tate, the Matheson's next door neighbor on the other side, works at University Hospital in the Records Department. I'm planning on going there to interview her right after this meeting."

"Good idea." I said. "Lieutenant Davis, who do you want to go with her for that interview? And her regular partner Theo Washington is a 'wrong answer'. I have something else in mind for him."

"Corporal Scott, maybe?" Jerome said. "Get her some field time?"

Mary Milton said "Uh, she's the primary Intel person for this case. Otherwise, I'd be okay with it."

"Parker, then?" said Jerome. "He's not involved otherwise."

I nodded. "That's fine. Okay, what else?"

Mary Milton said "I tried to get some more information on the flag on that SBA loan. So far all I'll I've gotten is a code for 'missed payments'... but they didn't miss any payments. I'm going to call them and ask for more information about it, about the basics of the loan, insurance on it, and what the missed payments are about."

I said "Tell you what, hold off on that. I have a meeting in a little bit, and I won't be shocked to find out more about that in that meeting. And that reminds me... did we get warrants for Jeff Cawthorne's tax records?"

"His State ones, sir." said Penny Scott. "And as you know, State tax filings must include a copy of the Federal 1040 form filing for the same year. So we have that, even though we do not have a Federal warrant to compel the IRS to help us out."

"So what do we have?" I asked.

Penny Scott: "After leaving BigCommo, Jeff worked for exactly one year for a company called JGP Settlement Solutions, one of those companies that give cash against long-term settlements, as well as high-interest payday loans. He was providing security for their software. Then he worked for four months for a company called Aronis Software Solutions. They provide mostly small companies with IT solutions the companies can't afford on their own. Jeff was apparently providing a security piece, but his contract was ended after four months, and it may have been due to dissatisfaction with his software or his work performance."