Price No Object Ch. 05

Me: "Matthew Willis had relatively recently become CEO of BigCommo. He was driving the employees of two of his projects relentlessly, especially the one known as 'Charrington', which is a 'dark arts' project that angers me to even hear about. It's a program that is designed to use the communications infrastructure of the Nation to spy on American Citizens, to listen to our phone calls, to see our texts, to watch the videos we have on our iPads."

"Sounds like we need the Guardians of Justice to come back." said Tanya P. Muscone. "The real ones, not the motorcycle club."

"No doubt, but let me get there by filling in the gaps along the way." I said. "So the apple does not fall far from the tree: Matthew Willis is as heartlessly cruel as his father ever was. He was on his way up the ladder to corporate and political power like his father before him. And he had the tools to fast-track himself to the top: the 'Charrington' project."

Me: "I was convinced that Dwayne was the key programmer of Charrington, and when he left it created a huge problem for Matthew Willis. Since Willis is greedy for money, he assumed Dwayne was, as well. But then Dwayne turned down a bonus to stay on, then refused several offers to return, including the one Carole found. I believe he and Julie got it, he tore it up and threw the pieces at the trash can, and that one bounced off and behind the desk. And the killers missed it when they cleaned out the house of all paperwork and also took Julie's cellphone.

Me: "When that didn't work, I believe that Matthew Willis's mind is so warped that he truly believed what he did next would work to bring Dwayne back... he had Julie murdered. Now you may argue that he just wanted to have Julie assaulted as a warning to Dwayne, but that.22 WMR being brought to the scene and the sheer cruelty of Matthew Willis's mind... he was part of the Tau Fraternity and participated in those rituals that we finally solved and stopped... showed me that he meant to have Julie killed. And he believed that if her influence on her husband was gone, Dwayne would accept the huge financial offer and return to BigCommo and save Willis's program." (Author's note: 'Unresolved' for the Tau Fraternity case.)

"You're right about one thing, sir." said Joanne Warner. "I never would've considered Matthew Willis stooping to that low a level." There were murmurs of general agreement around the room.

"Again," I said, "I hope you never had to experience what I did when Peter Toole shot Mitt Willis, but if you do, you'll see it. And then there's the Tau Fraternity's actions towards those women, and towards Stephen Henry and Wendy Withers. Yes, Matthew Willis has been schooled in the cruelty of his father and the Corporate Elites, and he had taken their lessons to heart."

"Why not just threaten Dwayne?" asked Janice Holloway, who was here with her fiancé Teddy Parker.

"He may have." I replied. "I think Dwayne knew about that SBA loan flag, and maybe Julie did, too. Dwayne and Julie had already gotten carry permits and were often armed. On the day of the murder, Dwayne was very concerned about getting back to Julie. And when he got home and found her dead, I think he knew the threats had been turned into an execution, and with his world ended... he chose to end himself."

"So why did she let those plumbers into the house?" Roark Coleman asked. "If she knew there was a threat, wouldn't she be on guard?"

"And we may be back to the Theo Washington theory." I said cryptically. I saw the lights come on behind Joanne Warner's eyes.

"Anyhoo," I said, "from that point on, my goal was to find a way to get evidence on Matthew Willis. Davalos had made the mistake of assaulting Dwayne Matheson's father, and I was trying to make him sweat and turn him... and then Savannah Fineman cut my legs out from under me and let him go."

"Sorry if I stop your narrative," said Cindy Ross, "but why did she do that? And was going to do it a second time..."

Paulina Patterson said "I don't think Miriam ordered Savannah to do that, either, though Miriam went along with it just to show you and the TCPD who's boss."

I said "Davalos is... was... on the fringe of the Corporate Elites and the Swamp Frogs. But there I repeat myself. Anyhoo, either Masterson and Munson and their ilk are paying Savannah off, or they're cajoling or threatening her some other way. But there's clearly something there. For example: Savannah wanted to press felony lying to Police charges against Alicia Tate. Full felony charges... but didn't even blink when I showed her the photos of Mrs. Davalos and the beating she took from her husband, and was going to drop the battery charges against him."

I said "Anyway, and to wrap up, y'all saw what happened. I couldn't get Davalos to turn, I couldn't get enough probable cause to go after BigCommo with a sledgehammer... sometimes a crowbar ain't enough, Carole... and Matthew Willis was able to walk out of my Police Headquarters unscathed."

"This time." Carole said darkly. "And next time, Daddy... a crowbar will be enough." I patted her on the back.

Part 19 - Aftermath

10:00am, Saturday, January 9th. Theo Washington pulled his POV (privately owned vehicle) into the driveway of the Matheson's neighbor, Mrs. Jones. Joanne Warner was riding shotgun.

"Look." Theo said. "There's a For Sale sign in front of the Tate's house."

"Seth told me that Alicia Tate gave her notice, but it was immediate instead of two weeks." Joanne said. "They're moving to Midtown. Mr. Tate got a promotion within the State Department of Labor, wouldn't you know."

"Fuck up, move up." said Theo. "He could easily be in jail, as could she. But Franklin dropped the charges in spite of Savannah's attempt to upgrade them."

"Things won't end well for Savannah if she keeps up with her antics." said Joanne. "Commander Troy's patience with that situation is already wearing thin."

"Yep." said Theo. "So tell me again what we're doing here?"

Joanne said "I want to re-interview Mrs. Jones. Something Commander Troy said last night struck me... that you might've been right, and Mrs. Jones's eyewitness account may have been very faulty."

They got out of the car and went to the front door. Theo knocked and rang the bell, but got no response. He knocked harder and said "Police!", the tried the door handle. It was unlocked and the door opened an inch.

"Exigent circumstances?" Theo said, drawing his weapon.

"You betcha." Joanne said. "TOWN & COUNTY POLICE!" she yelled as she pushed the door open. Theo rushed inside and Joanne followed as they began to clear the house.

It was empty, totally devoid of furniture. They walked through the main room towards the kitchen in back. And then they saw a flicker of movement!

"Police! Come out with your hands up!" Joanne yelled. A second later, a large shadow appeared in the doorway, hands raised.

"Please do not shoot the Police Commander." said the Police Commander, Your Iron Crowbar.

"Commander!" Joanne said as she and Theo relaxed and pointed their weapons at the floor. "We almost shot you!"

"Thank goodness you didn't" I replied. "Seriously, I just got here myself. As you can see, Mrs. Jones has flown the coop. You were right about her, Theo. And she was gone last night. Teresa and I came over and the place was already empty."

"And that's what you were hinting at last night, sir." Joanne said. "Julie Matheson would've been on guard against strangers showing up in a plumbing van. But she might have let Mrs. Jones in the house."

"So I read the riddle." I said, then handed Joanne a sheet of paper. "And here's more... Mrs. Jones bought a.22 WMR autopistol just before Christmas."

"In her own name?" Theo asked.

"Yes." I said. "Which shows she did not intend to be 'Mrs. Jones' all that much longer. She's in the wind now, probably with a whole new identity."

"Did Mrs. Jones kill Mrs. Matheson?" Theo asked.

"Maybe." I said. "I think Julie let her neighbor into the house, then either Mrs. Jones held Julie at gunpoint and forced her to open the door, or Mrs. Jones opened the door and the men rushed Julie and subdued her. It is also possible that when Jimenez was attempting to rape Julie, Mrs. Jones ended that by shooting Julie and then telling the men to get their shit together and clean out the desks."

"So Mrs. Jones was spying on the Mathesons for years?" Joanne asked.

"Looks like it." I said. "Obviously, Mrs. Jones was a lot more than just a blatantly nosy neighbor. What with the nature of the project Dwayne was working on, she may have been a watchdog spying on him... or protecting him. And then her handlers told her to go to the Matheson home, and let the plumbers in."

"So why are you here this morning, sir?" Theo asked.

I smiled and said "To test your house-clearing skills. No, seriously, this may be a situation where we don't want to create any paperwork. This one is bigger than the TCPD. So I'm here to tell you to stand down, forget you were ever here. I've notified Muscone and Laura, and they can take it from here as they see fit."

"So why did she give me the 'Morrison Plumbing & Electric' name from the van?" Joanne asked.

"In case we found someone else who had seen the van." I said. "Everything she told you was the truth... except that it may have been her answering the door. And she was waiting for Dwayne to get home to see what he did, and when he shot himself she called 9-1-1 herself, which she thought would allay suspicions about her."

After a moment, I said "Okay, why don't I buy you two breakfast at the Town Diner... and I'll tell you about the Tates being taken into Witness Protection, not the fake news story of them being in Midtown." My invitation was accepted, and we left the empty house...

Part 20 - Night of January 16th

(Author's note: Like the SEC Network says about football games replays: 'We now move ahead in our coverage...')

5:00pm, Friday, January 15th. Cindy Ross and Callie Carrington were at the Title Company with their lawyer Cy Hart. The properties they were buying had belonged to the County, so a City Attorney was handling the seller side of the property transaction.

Cindy handed over the cashier's check, buying the properties outright, and was handed the Title Deeds. "It's all yours." said the Town's attorney. "The County will run water to wherever you're going to build your house, and pave a road to the property line. Just contact the Public Utilities Department... and be advised they sometimes take their sweet time about things."

Cindy said "I think I can find new ways to motivate them... uhh..."

"What is it?" Callie said.

"I just had a contraction." Cindy said...

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

12:10am, Saturday, January 16th. We were in the waiting room of the newly rebuilt and refurbished wing of University Hospital, the Dr. Laura W. Fredricson Maternity Ward and Neo-Natal Center. Its namesake, Laura Fredricson, was in the delivery room, helping Cindy deliver her baby.

The waiting room was crowded. Along with me were Teresa Croyle, Tanya P. Muscone and her husband Jack Muscone, Sheriff Griswold, Chief Moynahan, Nextdoor County Police Chief Molly Ross Evans, her and Cindy's mother Maggie Ross, and Cindy's father, the founder and great leader of 'The Vision' self-help empire, Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart, wearing his stereotypical white button-down shirt, khaki pants, and dark blue sportscoat.

Paulina was keeping the kids at The Cabin, including Betsy Ross and the Muscone girls, and Todd was at his home with his boys and little Pete Feeley. They were all getting a good night's sleep.

Not so much at the Hospital. Also in the waiting room... was Tim Jenkins, the baby's father. Callie Carrington was in the delivery room with Cindy. Supposedly, only one 'spouse' was allowed in the room with the mother as she delivered the baby, and Tim had said that Callie could be in there and he'd wait with us.

But I knew that Laura could've done as she pleased and allowed both to be in the room, and Tim knew I knew. So he told me quietly that he'd seen blood and death, but didn't really want to see surgery, not to mention the live birth of a baby, even his own. I told him I understood, that I'd recorded Carole's birth (Author's note: 'Interlude', Ch. 07.), but that I'd never gone back and watched it.

Still, Tim was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, and was pacing the room a lot. Jack Muscone tried to get him to sit down and talk FBI 'shop' with Jack and myself, but Tim was too distracted. And when I looked up and saw that the clock on the wall has passed 2:00am, I started feeling like that proverbial cat around the rocking chairs.

Maggie Ross tried to mollify me: "Oh, I was in labor with Molly for 12 hours, and 8 with Cindy. I'm expecting we'll hear soon that the baby is born and everything went very well."

Molly did not share her mother's optimism. She said quietly to me a few minutes later: "My own deliveries did not take this long. I know Laura is the very best doctor Cindy could have in there... and I'm glad she is in there with her. I know Laura will take care of any problems Cindy is having..."

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

"AAAAUGHHH!"

3:40am, the Night of January 16th. With that final scream and a final, mighty push, Cindy's baby's head came out enough for Laura to grasp it and gently pull the baby on out. As the new mother collapsed, Laura tied off and cut the umbilical cord as a nurse held up the baby. Seconds later, and a joyous sound was heard in the delivery room:

"WAAAAAH!"

"It's a boy." Laura said. "And he has a mighty pair of lungs. Congratulations, Cindy." She handed the newborn baby to the nurse to get him cleaned up and weighed, then turned to the work of supervising as Dr. Kim Chang sewed up the episiotomy Laura had performed.

"Thank you, Doctor." Cindy said weakly as she held Callie's hand. "I'm glad you were here. This was a hard one, wasn't it?" She'd been getting vibes from Laura, Dr. Kim Chang (Author's note: 'Believer', Ch. 01.), and the nurses that things had not gone perfectly.

"Yes, it was." Laura said. "I was literally ten seconds away from doing a C-section on you. As it is, the episiotomy worked, and you were able to push him on through."

Moments later, all the post-birth work was done. The nurse handed the baby to Cindy, and had her hold him chest-to-chest. "I think he's going to be a blonde." Callie said with a grin.

"Yeah." Cindy said as she leaned down and kissed the top of her new son's little head...

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

4:05am. Dr. Kim Chang came into the waiting room, and immediately became the center of attention. "Congratulations!" she said. "It's a boy, and mother and son are doing well." Everyone cheered and applauded.

"They're taking them to her room now, and you'll be able to visit... a few at a time." Dr. Chang said. "Tim, come meet your new son."

Tim Jenkins was standing there, tears running down his cheeks. "It's a boy." he kept whispering. I went up and patted him on the shoulder and told him to get moving. He followed Dr. Chang out the door and down the hall.

Some moments later, Callie came in. "Everything okay?" I asked as I observed the look on the beautiful blonde's face and especially in her eyes.

"Yes, everything's wonderful." Callie said. "Tim's in there holding the baby and they're talking, so I gave them some space. Cindy had a difficult delivery, and Laura did an episiotomy on her, so they're going to monitor her closely for bleeding, and things like that."

I saw Teresa's face change ever so slightly at that; after all, her mother had bled out and died in childbirth with her. I quickly asked "But she's okay?"

"Oh yes!" Callie said quickly. "She asked me to bring Maggie and Dr. Eckhart to her room." Maggie and Dr. Eckhart left with Callie.

Some minutes later, Dr. Eckhart returned. I felt a strong wave of emotion emanate from Dr. Eckhart. His emotions overwhelming him, knowing that all of his hopes and dreams for the continuation of his line now rested in his new grandson.

"Young Donald," my uncle said to me, "Cindy would like for you, young Teresa, and young Sheriff Griswold to join her for a moment."

"Har. 'Young' Sheriff Griswold." I said, teasing Our Sheriff.

"Har, indeed, young Crowbar." the Sheriff growled back...

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

"Oh, he's beautiful." Maggie Ross was saying as we came in. She was sitting in a chair next to Cindy's bed, holding her third grandson.

"Congratulations, Cindy." growled Sheriff Griswold. "And you too, Tim."

"Thank you, sir." Tim Jenkins said as he shook the Sheriff's proffered hand.

"So what are you going to name him?" the Sheriff said. And I felt another emotional vibe in the room.

"Tim's grandfather, who raised him, was named Benjamin." Cindy said. Tim nodded, then Cindy said "And I thought about naming him after my father and also my dad that raised me, but then I realized there was someone else who has meant even more to me and my life. And 'Teresa' is not a boy's name, so sorry."

"Says you." Teresa said. "I think it'd be a great boy's name."

Cindy smiled, then said "So... we're naming him Benjamin Antonio Ross..."

Part 21 - Blast From The Past

Flashback...

Detective Cindy Ross came into MCD at Town & County Police Headquarters. She had just been hired into the recently merged Police Forces after graduating from the University and working with the Campus Police as a student Cadet and then an Officer.

"Hi." said a lithe woman with a huge mane of tawny blonde hair. "I'm Tanya Perlman. That's your desk there, right behind mine. You'll be meeting everyone as they come in."

"Thanks." Cindy said as she put her box of stuff down on her assigned desk. She looked around the room, noting that only a few of the available desks were occupied.

"Yes, it's a huge room." Tanya said. "They built us this beautiful, brand-spanking-new Headquarters building with a State grant when the Merger went through. Most of the old-timers are in Vice, and the Chief is rebuilding MCD almost from scratch."

Cindy nodded and Tanya grinned as she (Tanya) said: "You're good. You are wondering why all the veterans are in Vice when they should be in MCD, but you're not saying it out loud. And that's good. Captain Malone, he values loyalty and discretion above all things. But while he's technically over us, Chief Griswold has pretty much limited him to Vice, and Captain Malone doesn't seem to mind."

"O-kay." Cindy said. "What is Chief Griswold like?"

"Compliment him, and he'll say 'good asskissing skills'." Tanya said. "But in truth, he is looking for honest Detectives, not asskissers like Malone wants. I'll let you evaluate the people you meet for yourself; it'll be good practice for you. But I will tell you this much: there's a lot of corruption around here, too... in our Police Force, in the merged Town & County political systems, everywhere. The Chief will tell you more about that later..."

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

"Detective Cindy Ross reporting for duty, sir." Cindy said, saluting as she stood at attention in front of the Chief's desk.

"Glad to have you here, Detective." Chief Griswold said, returning the salute. "And I appreciate the salute, but we're not really that formal, here. Have a seat, have a seat." Cindy sat down in the chair in front of the Chief's desk.

"I'm glad you accepted our offer to join us." Griswold said. "First of all, you have a very impressive record. Good grades at the University, good work with the Campus Police. And you're competitive... 'Miss Physical America' competitions. And my friend Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart of 'The Vision' thinks the world of you, and he's never steered me wrong about anyone."