Return To Point Hollow Ch. 03

"What's going on, Crowbar?" growled the Sheriff as I disconnected.

"I don't have all the details," I said, "but it is very obvious that something is planned for tonight at Point Hollow. If you'll excuse me, Sheriff, Chief, we have work to do."

"Hold on!" growled Owen Lange, his scratchy voice about as loud as he could make it. "You've got to tell us what you know!"

"You have seen everything that I have seen." I said. "I don't have any details that you don't have. We're now trying to stop a murder from taking place. Come on, Ross, let's go." And with that, Cindy and I exited the room, leaving behind a stunned, and likely pissed off, group of Federal and local LEOs...

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

After praying together, Father Romano stood up. "I'll be going back to Police Headquarters. Why don't you come with me, at least for tonight?"

"No. Thank you, but no." said Dr. Mickelson. "I'm feeling much better. Thank you, Father."

"I'm afraid that neither of you are going anywhere. Except with us." said a voice. They turned to see Dr. Charles Westbrook enter the room, a very sinister look on his face that caused Father Romano to cross himself. Behind him were Lawrence Evans and Gary King, aiming Uzi submachine guns at the professor and the priest...

Part 15 - Swamp Frogs Rising

"Where are we going?" Cindy asked as we drove through Town in my Police SUV.

"University Campus." I said. "I need to talk to Dr. Mickelson again. But I'll also say that I pulled you out of that meeting, and got out of there myself, to get away from that idiot EAD Isley and the FBI. Some serious shit was about to hit the fan, there, and I didn't want you to get splattered by it."

"I got the vibe that Chief Moynahan was not happy with us... with you." said Cindy. "But I'm on your side. EAD Robin Isley is one arrogant bitch. So... why do you need to talk to Dr. Mickelson?"

"He said Dr. Charles Westbrook came to visit him." I said. "I didn't press that last time, and I need to know more now."

We were pulling up to the Biology Building. A Campus Police cruiser was in the parking lot, blue lightbar blazing. "Uh oh." I said. "This does not look good."

We pulled up next to the Campus Police vehicle, then went inside. Two female students were talking to two Campus Police Officers. Dr. Mickelson's secretary was at her desk, crying, as another Campus Police Officer spoke to her.

"Hello, Commander." said Officer Coates, who I remembered from the 'Porno Set Mystery' case. "This is Cadet Officer Tatum. Cadet Officer O'Neal is in the other room."

Cadet Officer Tatum was a woman, white with black hair, very fit, with excellent posture. Her uniform was very sharp, creased perfectly. I could see that she really wanted to be a Police Officer. Cadet Officer O'Neal was male, white, red hair (a definite plus with me) styled perfectly, also fit and squared away. I figured that if he had a big dick, Laura would like him... except that he was short.

"What happened?" I asked after shaking hands with Officer Tatum.

"We haven't even put this out yet." said Coates. "We got a call that armed men came in and kidnapped Dr. Mickelson and the priest he was with in his office. These two ladies saw them leaving the building. The secretary didn't see them, but confirmed that the priest was Father Romano, your Police Chaplain."

"Ladies," I said to the two students, "I'm Commander Troy with the TCPD, and this is Commander Ross. Can I show you some photos?" The girls assented. I pulled out my Police iPhone and pulled up a photo of Charles Westbrook.

"Yes, he was one of them." said one of the girls. "He didn't have a gun, that I could see."

I began slowly flipping through the photos of the survivors. When I got to Gary King, one of the girls said "He was one of them!" I flipped on through, and both girls said "He was one of them!" when Lawrence Evans's face came up.

"Thank you, ladies, you've been very helpful." I said. "Officer Coates, finish up here, and I'll be in touch with you about what's going on. We're in pursuit of these criminals, and will take over from here, so don't put out any APBs yet."

"Yes sir." said Coates. Cindy and turned and left, running down the hallway.

"That was the Iron Crowbar?" Officer Tatum asked. "Mmm, what a man..."

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

"Well," said FBI EAD Dr. Robin Isley, "let's go back to the Federal Building. We're obviously not going to get much help here." She stood up to go.

"You should put your trust in the Iron Crowbar." growled Sheriff Griswold. "Let him finish this, then you'll get what you want."

"I doubt it." sneered Isley. "Quite frankly, Sheriff, Chief, I'm very unimpressed with Commander Troy, and with this Police Department. You said he was a highly decorated Officer; I sure don't see that. And you have a worthless cripple as your Captain of Detectives? Is that really the best you can do?"

Jack Muscone said "You do realize that's my fiancée you're talking about?"

"Oh really?" said Isley, her eyes glinting at seeing an opportunity. "Then go in there and get her to tell you what we need to know to solve this case ourselves." The Chief looked shocked. The Sheriff looked angry. AD Owen Lange looked worried. Jack Muscone... well, those beady black eyes were shooting black fire.

"No." said Muscone, standing up. "I won't put her on the spot like that. She may be engaged to me, but her loyalty is to this Police Force, to that Sheriff, and to the man you just insulted, who left before you said something that you'd regret. If he'd heard you call Captain Perlman what you just did..." Muscone just shook his head, then began leaving. When he go to the door, he turned and said: "... and he will hear about it." He then left the room.

"Well, Lange, are you coming?" said Isley. "We have things to discuss... like who the next Special Agent In Charge for the City Office is going to be."

"No," said Owen Lange, "I'm going to try to salvage the FBI's relationship with this Police Department, which you have badly damaged."

Robin Isley's eyes flashed fire. "I don't think it's worth saving. But suit yourself. It's your career." She moved to the door and walked out.

"Don't worry about her." said Owen Lange. "She think she's Queen, but the optics are more important to her than anything else. When word gets around what she tried to make Muscone do, it'll hurt, and badly."

"That's not the problem, Mr. Assistant Director." replied Melina. "I'm worried about what she's going to do in the here and now. She's probably calling someone to have the Rovers BAU team come back in, and she'll get a Federal warrant to back it up. And then God have mercy on us all when someone else dies..."

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

"Dr. Mickelson and Father Romano were kidnapped at gunpoint." I said as I practically flew into MCD. "Put out APBs in the tri-State area for them. Send it out that Romano is a Police Captain, as opposed to being a priest; I want LEOs everywhere to give this some attention."

"Yes sir." said Lt. Jerome Davis, who was sitting at one of the desks.

"Where's Julia and Parker?" I asked, looking around.

"They went to find Mary Gabriel." said Davis.

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

It was my Police iPhone ringing. I answered it.

"This is Detective Rodriguez, Commander." said Julia Rodriguez. "We can't find Mary Gabriel anywhere. Her cell phone isn't pinging anywhere, either."

"Ohhhh, crap." I muttered to myself. To Julia I said "Where are you now?"

"At her dorm on Campus." said Julia.

"Okay, keep looking." I said. After disconnecting, I said "Mary Gabriel is missing. Put out an emergency tri-State-wide APB for her. Maybe an Amber Alert, too. Say she's with Dr. Charles Westbrook."

"Is she, sir?" asked Roy McGhillie.

"Hell if I know." I said. "But it's critical we find her, and before the sun goes down..."

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

"So that's all we know, right now." I said as Cindy and I sat in the Chief's Conference Room. Sheriff Griswold was also present. "I'm not sure why they kidnapped Father Romano. He has his badge, and we're looking for an RFID signal from it, but it's no joy on that. And he doesn't carry his service weapon, so the transmitter-in-the-holster trick won't work."

The APBs were out. I'd also sent Officer Coates of the Campus Police the photos and our info on the three men that had kidnapped Father Romano and Dr. Mickelson, and I added a request to look for Mary Gabriel.

"Don't we neeeeed to contact the FBI? Jack Muscone, at least?" asked Chief Moynahan. "If they've been taken across the State Line---"

"NO!" growled Sheriff Griswold. "And that's coming from me, the County Sheriff. We will not contact the FBI unless and until we find absolute proof that the were taken across State Lines... and even then, we'll try working with that State first."

Chief Moynahan said "I'm concerrrnnnned, Sheriff. That might take time, and we don't have a lot of it right now."

"I don't care." said the Sheriff. "After what that bitch Isley said about Tanya..." I made like an owl as I turned my head to face him.

"What did she say about Tanya?" I asked, my voice venomous.

"We'll deal with that later." tried the Chief. It was a poor try. Sheriff Griswold made a point to tell me what EAD Isley had said about my Captain of Operations.

"Deal with that later, Commanderrrrr." drawled the Chief. "We've got more immediate problems right nowwww."

"Yes sir." I said, feeling Cindy's anger as well as my own. "But Isley's comment will not go unavenged." I got up, as did Cindy. "If you'll excuse us, Chief, we have work to do." The Chief just nodded.

After we left, the Chief looked at the Sheriff and said "Why did you tell him that? And now? We've got a lot more to worry about."

The Sheriff said, his mustaches quivering a bit, "Did you see the look on his face? All I did was light a fire under his ass, not that he really needed it. And Sean... do not underestimate the damage that has been done between us and the FBI... not just the Iron Crowbar, but me, too. And not just Isley, but all of the FBI..."

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

Green Crowbar followed Red Crowbar into my office, and shut the door behind us.

"Okay," she said, as we sat down in our respective chairs, "this is the point where I insist upon you telling me what's going on, or at least what you see going on."

I sighed, then turned on my bug-killer. "It's in two parts, running concurrently. One is the murders Guru Stevens and his acolytes. The attack was on him, but his poor acolytes were murdered along with him, perhaps just as a precaution. The drugs used closely match those used to murder Louella Hopper, and I strongly believe a Government presence there."

"The second part," I continued, "is this ritual they're calling 'the Release'. Dr. Charles Westbrook, cousin of Pastor Raymond Kyle Westboro, is equally evil, and possibly much more deranged. Westbrook believes he can release a trapped demon by sacrificing a virgin woman on an altar in a special location. It is possible that Westbrook has done this, or attempted to do it, in the past."

I continued: "Where the cases merge is the Rovers BAU and the FBI wanting to come in and bust Westbrook, and take all the credit for his capture. I normally would not give a damn about that, but those bozos are going about it in a way that has already gotten six people killed and will get more people killed because they don't know what they're up against. We, on the other hand, have a chance to stop further deaths."

Cindy said "I think I see what you're saying. What is EAD Isley's part in this? Is she working with the Rovers BAU?"

"Maybe." I said. "I'm not privy to those national-level twists and turns, and who's in bed with who in the top echelons of the FBI and other Federal Agencies in Washington, D.C. I do know that Isley's lodestone is to get the credit for getting Westbrook; she wants that trophy on her wall."

Cindy peered at me and said "That pissed you off, her comment about you not having a lot of citations on your wall, didn't it?"

"It didn't piss me off." I said. "If I wanted the citations on the wall, they'd be on the wall. But it showed me an insight into her, and what she values. She thinks the citations and the accolades are more important than just getting the job done. And that's why I do think that Dr. Isley is working hand-in-glove with the Rovers BAU team, and possibly others... she wants accolades over results. And that's all fine and good... as long as people aren't being slaughtered in the process."

"Or taking credit for your work." Cindy said, her ice-blue eyes sparkling just a little bit.

"Speaking of my work," I said, "I need to get with Teresa on security for Point Hollow tonight. And check in with Tanya about the cases..."

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

I knocked on Tanya Perlman's door and heard her say "Come in!" I entered her office and blinked in surprise. Sitting on the loveseat sofa opposite her desk was FBI Special Agent In Charge (at least for now) Jack Muscone.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were talking." I said, but before I could withdraw, Tanya said "Come on in, sir, please!" I came on in, and sat down on the chair beside her desk.

"I heard the Sheriff told you what that Isley woman said about me." Tanya said. "And even worse, how she tried to make Jack make me choose between the TCPD and the FBI."

"And to his great credit," I said, "I heard what your fiancé said and did in reply, standing up for you."

"Yeah, that's what we were talking about." Jack Muscone said. "How much do you know about EAD Isley?"

"Not much at all, except she judges people by the quantity of citations on their walls, which means she think's I'm a local cop that's never achieved anything." I replied. "What's the scoop on her?"

"You're right about the citations thing." said Jack. "She was made EAD of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch, arguably the most important branch in the FBI, due to an excellent record as a Special Agent, and effectively and efficiently climbing up the ladder. She also did a stint in the Office of Professional Responsibility, the OPR, which is the FBI's Internal Affairs. But Melina began looking into her, and found some things."

Jack: "Once she was promoted to a desk in Washington, she apparently realized that her further advancement depended on the success of those under her... the success that she could take credit for, that is. Melina also found out that Isley opposed Owen Lange as Assistant Director for the Criminal Investigative Division, but the Associate Deputy Director put Lange in there, anyway. So Lange has people that have his back. Me... not so much."

"Nonsense." I said. "So, is she a Swamp Frog?"

"I don't know for sure," said Jack, "but I sure don't trust her nor her motives right now."

Tanya said "I'm really worried about what that bitch is going to try to do to Jack. And I know you have my back, Don, but if you do anything to her, she might retaliate against Jack."

"She'll do that anyway, if that's what she wants to do." I said. "And I wouldn't blame you, Jack, if you want to wash your hands of the mess. You're eligible for a pension by now; you can safely retire and find other things to do."

"That's what Tanya and I were talking about." said Muscone. "I'm just not sure what I want to do. The FBI is my life."

"How about... Director of the SBI?" I said.

You could've heard a pin drop.

"Hey!" I said. "I had this woman as head of the State Crime Labs until I brought her home again. Goodwin is doing okay, but the Governor will find him other State jobs and let you take the Director chair, if you like. I'm sure the Sheriff will help make that happen, also."

"You know..." said Jack thoughtfully, "... that's a thought."

Part 16 - The Demon Rising

6:00pm, Saturday, October 5th. I was sitting in Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle's office.

"The Chief authorized overtime shifts." said Teresa. "First shift is staying on until 8:00pm. Third shift will come in at 8:00pm, and work to 8:00am tomorrow. Second shift, all of second shift, was told to come in at 6:00pm, and will be on duty at Point Hollow until 6:00am. That gives us about as much manpower as we can hope to have."

Teresa continued: "Cindy put the I.T. people on rotating shifts with overtime authorized. They're going to be out there flying drones as well as making sure our communications and computer systems are up and not hacked."

"Good." I said. "Sounds like you've done all you can."

"Sir," said Teresa, "any word on Father Romano?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet. We contacted his family, Cal and Drusilla Romano, and they haven't heard from him. We have checkpoints at the County lines, including the State Lines, and we're checking every black van we can find and pull over, warrants be damned... well, not really; anyone refusing to let us look in their van gets to sit there while we apply for a warrant, then we 'vigorously' search when we get the warrant. We also had the Point Hollow property swept yet again, including the house from attic to cellar. So far, nothing."

Teresa nodded. "I just don't understand why they'd kidnap him."

"Because he was there." I said. "They came to get Mickelson, they didn't know what he'd told Father Romano, so they took him as a precaution."

"Then they'll... kill him." said Teresa.

"Maybe not." I said. "Keep hope alive on that. And I have a feeling... that he's going to play a part in whatever they have in store for us tonight..."

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

*WHAM!*

Gary King's closed-fist punch landed hard on Father Romano's jaw. "Hit them again." said a voice behind them.

*WHAP!* *THUD!*

As King punched Father Romano in the face again, Lawrence Evans delivered a hard blow to the side of Dr. Mickelson's head. The professor was already bleeding from his nose and mouth.

The third man in the room came up to the two captives as they sat in the chairs, their hands tied behind them. "I will ask you only one more time." he said, his voice a hiss. "What did he tell you, priest?"

"In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti..." gasped Father Romano.

"You pray to your false god." said the third man. "My friend Lawrence once worshiped the false god, but he saw the error of his ways, and turned to the Mighty One. It is time for you to do the same, denounce the false god... AND TELL US WHAT MICKELSON TOLD YOU IN CONFESSION!"

"I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God." whispered Father Romano. "Best ye pray to his infinite mercy for the forgiveness of your hideous sins..."

*SLAP!*

"Let me tell you something... Priest!" snarled Charles Westbrook as he hit Romano on the side of the head with his open hand. "Your beloved Jesus Christ was the bastard son of a Roman guard!"

Chaplain Romano just mumbled something. Westbrook said "I want you to see what a true god is. You will be witness to the resurrection, all right! To the release of the demon!" Westbrook cackled in laughter, joined by Lawrence Evans...

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

10:00pm, Saturday, October 5th. I was wearing my 'black' civilian clothing and beige trenchcoat with my rank insignia on the shoulder epaulettes (of the trenchcoat), my badge on my belt, and my holstered gun under my armpit. Cindy was likewise attired in all black as we got into my Police SUV and drove up towards Point Hollow.

"At least you're not trying to sneak out and go up there alone, like you did last time to confront the Slender Man." Cindy said. (Author's note: 'Return of the Slender Man', Ch. 02.)

"I almost wish we were dealing with the Slender Man tonight, instead of what I think is going to happen." I said.