Safe Room Ch. 02

"Anything going on?" I asked the Uniformed Officers as we walked to the front door. "Anyone try to come up?"

"No sir." said Johnson. "A KXTC van came up to get some footage of the house, but they didn't cross the yellow tape. A couple of cars drove up and looked at the place, but then turned around and went back. We got the license plates, and they're in our report."

"Good." I said. "Nobody trying to sneak through the woods in back?"

"No sir." said Barker. "The Crime Lab set up a fishing line tripwire back there. If it's broken, a loud alarm goes off."

"Oh, that's cool." I said. "We did stuff like that when I was in the Army, but we had flares and stuff. If it'd been a real war, it would've been Claymore mines."

"That would sure ruin any curious tourist's day." Chief Griswold growled drily.

We went inside, and to the study room. Going into the safe room, I pointed out the tiles with the raised bumps. "Notice anything peculiar about these?"

"Kind of post-modernist." said Cindy. "Some of the high-tech places have these kinds of tiles on the walls."

"I get the feeling the dots are in some kind of pattern, Commander." said Jerome Davis. "But I'm not sure what pattern it would be. Some tiles are the same configurations."

"Very good, Detective Davis. Very good." I said. "What would you say if I told you these dots were letters in Braille?" I heard some gasps.

"I don't know Braille, sir." said Davis. "But that would make sense."

"Another thing we need to get up to speed on." said Cindy. "The Iron Crowbar knows Braille."

"While you're at it, learn Morse Code, too." I said. I began writing letters down in my notebook, corresponding to the tiles. "Johnson," I said, "I want you to call the Crime Lab and have them come re-videotape all of the tiles like this, with markers as to which wall is which. They'll know how to do that to make it presentable as evidence in Court."

"I'll do that now, sir." said Johnson. He stepped back into the main room.

As I took down the letters in the order they were on the walls, I was seeing blocks of five letters. And I realized... no, could that really be? I thought to myself. I finished up, then began looking around.

"Okay, guys," I said, "are there more tiles down below?"

"No sir." said Barker. "It's dug out dirt, then the walls of the shelter down there; no bumps, tiles, or indentations--- er, sir?"

I was easing myself down the stairs, backwards. Once down at the bottom, I looked around. There were no tiles on the walls down here. There had been some drywall, but it had been removed to make way for the metal capsule of the shelter.

"I suspect," I said, "that the room above was there in the time of Tim Burris's parents. It was likely meant to be a safe room. Someone starts trying to invade the house, and the Burris family can run in there, put metal bars on the doors to keep them from opening, and be safe for a little while."

"This lower section was probably a wine cellar, and also a place where emergency foodstuffs and other supplies could be stored." I continued, not mentioning that The Cabin had an underground 'wine cellar' that I was using for more secretive purposes. "I think right here is the end of the house or the patio, and not underground yet. I also doubt the capsule was here at the time... too new."

"It could've been dug out to be a fallout shelter in case of nuclear attack." said Chief Griswold. "A number of homes in the area had those back in the day, though anything in a low-lying area would get flooded."

"That would make some sense." said Cindy. "And Tim came along and improved the shelter to modern-day prepper standards."

"Such as they are." I said. "From what I understand of prepper shelters, this barely meets the minimum standard. But it does make sense that Tim would have the space to build his shelter without his wife knowing about it, if she indeed did not know about it. Barker, is it safe to enter the capsule?"

"Yes sir, as long as we're here outside." said Barker. "There's an alarm hooked up if the carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide levels get too high, as well."

"Great." I said. I went inside the open door of the shelter and flicked on the light switch. A fluorescent light came on, bathing the gray-white walls in bright light. Almost everything had been taken out of the shelter as evidence.

"The tanks were in this little side-space here." Cindy said, pointing to the left wall of the cylindrical structure. "The filtration system was at the back end, with inlet and outlet valves to the surface."

"And under the floor, here," I said, lifting a floor panel with Parker's help, "was more storage space, mostly for food, water, and tools. Batteries are in the right rear section, supposedly recharged by solar panels above."

"I didn't see any of those." said Parker. "And we looked around up there pretty good. Found the inlet valve for the filtration system, but no exit tunnel that someone inside could crawl out of to safety."

"You know," Cindy said, "I couldn't do it. I could not live down here for any length of time."

"Neither could I." I said. "I've always thought that if an asteroid or nuclear bomb is going to come down and hit us, I'm going to get my baseball glove and personally catch that son of a bitch." Everyone laughed.

"I can understand a tornado shelter or something, and having to survive a few days." said Chief Griswold, "but if civilization was ending and there were no more fish to catch, what's the point?"

"I'm just not going to think about it until it happens." said Cindy.

"Cool beans." I said. "Well, Chief, before the world ends, why don't we go have some lunch..."

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

As we ate our double cheeseburgers at the Cop Bar, we filled the Chief in on the Burris case, and how it was exploding into something bigger.

"Crowbar, you never cease to amaze me." said the old Chief. "Never in a million years would I have seen that those dots were Braille."

"It's come in handy, knowing Braille." I said. "Dunno if it'll help us on this case, though."

"Any ideas what those letters mean?" asked Cindy. "They seemed to be almost random. Are they some kind of code?"

"Yes, they may be some kind of code." I replied. "We'll look at it some more in my office when we get back."

"Are you keeping tabs on the wife and the best friend of Mr. Burris?" asked the Chief.

"To the extent we can, Chief." I said. "But Jeffrey Burnham is anti-Police, and wary of us. Melissa is in Nextdoor County."

"Better bear down on them, quick." said the Chief. "And this Braille stuff only adds to the urgency of it."

"Good point, Chief." I said.

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

Back at Headquarters, I told Cindy to come into my office. I had my anti-bugging device on. "I didn't tell the Chief this, but the FBI is already watching both Melissa Burris and Jeffrey Burnham."

"Do they have a warrant?" asked Cindy as she looked at the blocks of letters she'd copied from my notebook.

"As part of an ongoing investigation of Superior Bloodlines and the Oldeeds Organization, yes." I said. "And while I have not given this to the FBI, and may not at this time, I have a further connection."

I opened the safe in my office and took out the letter Sharples had had his lawyer deliver to me. "Take a look at this." I said, handing it to Cindy.

"Wow, they're putting him to death and he still sent you this." Cindy said as she read it. "Gotta admit, I didn't expect this of Sharples."

"I think he figured out he was being betrayed by them." I said. "And it would give him some vindication and satisfaction if he knew he helped take the Oldeeds people down."

"This code..." Cindy said, looking at the blocks of letters in the Sharples epistle, then on her paper. "Don..."

"Yes..." I said. "They are exactly the same letters, arranged in exactly the same way."

Part 7 - Setting Those Brackets Up Right

Thursday, May 4th, 2:58pm. The doors to the Police Headquarters gymnasium were closed, and the doors stayed closed pretty much solely due to the power of the ranks on my shoulders. With Lt. Wes 'Coldiron' Masters's help, I was putting up the huge printout of the Police Boxing Matches (Freestyle Division) brackets.

With 97 Police Officers entering, it would be six full rounds and a play-in round. But by a quirk, the No. 1 seed was not waiting for a play-in, and had an opponent, to keep the tradition of the past champion being the first match of the event. Since I wasn't competing, that fell to Cindy Ross, runner-up last year and previous year's champion. The compensation was that if Cindy won, she had a bit more time for her next round.

Once the brackets were up, I closed the huge plexiglass cover over the bulletin board and locked it. "Okay, Chief, Coldiron," I said, "we'd better get well out of the way before I let them open the doors."

"No worries, Commander." said the Chief. "Captains Croyle and Ross are pulling rank to get to the front of the line, and have already made it clear they'd better not be passed on the way."

"Probably the number one perk of being a Captain, eh, Wes?" I said jovially. "To be in front of the line for the Boxing Matches."

"For those two Captains, yes sir." said Coldiron, and more seriously than humorously.

I shouted to Hicks and Morton: "Open 'er up, and get the hell out of the way!" They did both as a sea of humanity in Police Blue rushed through the doors and across the gym. Cindy and Teresa burst out running about halfway through.

All the rest of it was what it was. The main thing to know is that Cindy Ross was the No. 1 seed in the top left hand corner... and Teresa Croyle was the No. 2 seed in the bottom right hand corner.

"Yes!!" Teresa hissed, fist pumping repeatedly. She came over to me and said "Thank you sir, for setting those brackets up right!"

"My pleasure. Good luck to you." I replied. I hated my name not being on the list. But it was going to be fun to watch these guys...

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

The pretty receptionist at Town Fitness Centers smiled as the beautiful blonde approached. "May I help you?" asked the receptionist.

"I have this VIP pass from the owner." said Callie, exhibiting the card Cindy had given her.

"Oh, just one moment." said the receptionist. She called Ariel, who got Wanda, and they both went to the front.

"You must be Callie." said Wanda. She introduced herself.

"Ah, Callie." said Ariel. "I met you at that Miss Physical America convention. You tried to recruit me for your film company."

"And I'm sorry I didn't succeed." said Callie with her brilliant smile. "But at least Cindy managed to snag you."

"I can see why Cindy has been so happy lately." said Wanda. "So, would you like to see the facilities? Or just work out?"

"Oh, I'll take the tour." said Callie. "I love it that you have a women-only section, but the co-ed section is where one meets people."

As they showed Callie around, she noticed an older woman working out... in the co-ed section. "Isn't that Don Troy's mom?" she asked.

"Oh yes." said Wanda. "She's in great shape, even though she's more than ten years older than me. When she's in the women-only area, she's working out seriously. When she's in the co-ed section... she's there to meet men."

"I see." said Callie, with a knowing grin. She did not say out loud that the Iron Crowbar had inherited his sexual prowess... and that's what the man's wife had told her...

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

"Mr. Burnham is at home." I said as Detective Parker and I pulled into the RV park west of Junction Station. I could see the backside of BOW Enterprises on the far side of the River in the distance to my northwest.

We got out and knocked on the door. "Mr. Burnham?" There was no answer, but I'd heard movement inside, and the slight movement of the curtain behind the small window in the door. I knocked again, hard. "Mr. Burnham, this is the Police!" I called out. "Come to the door!" Still nothing.

"Okay, Parker, come to the vehicle." I said. We got back in the SUV.

"Watch the doors and windows like a hawk." I said. "He's in there. We're in the car because the windows are bulletproof. I'm calling for backup."

I got on my Police cellphone and called Captain Croyle. "Hi Captain." I said. "I need a warrant to arrest Jeffrey Burnham as a material witness, and a heavily armored team to extract him from his RV if he won't cooperate..."

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

With six Police vehicles, including a SWAT paddywagon, surrounding the RV, and well-armed Officers ready to invade, I knocked on the door again. No answer. I got the megaphone.

"Jeffrey Burnham," I said on the megaphone, "I have a warrant for your arrest. Come out slowly with your hands up, or we will come in and take you."

The door opened and Burnham walked out, dressed in a t-shirt, short pants, and sandals. "What the hell is this, Commander?" said Burnham. "All right, if I'm under arrest, let's go."

"Search his RV." I said. "See if anyone else is inside."

"Now wait just a fucking minute---*AWK!* he gasped as he was roughly grabbed, bent over, and his hands brought behind his back to be cuffed.

"Shut the fuck up, Burnham." I said. "You're close to being charged with resisting arrest."

"I'm not resisting anything!" yelled Burnham. "You have no right to search my home! No probable cause!"

"You not coming to the door was probable cause to get a warrant." I said. "And having a warrant means I'm solid gold to go through every inch of your home, property, and vehicle. Having a warrant means I own you, Burnham, I completely own you." I was saying this to agitate the anti-Government prepper.

"Captain Croyle," called out Lt. Irwin from the door. "We need a woman in here." Teresa went in. A moment later, a handcuffed Melissa Burris was brought out, hands cuffed behind her, wearing a dirty white blouse, Daisy Dukes jeans, and flip-flops.

"Well, well, well." I said. "Looks like we need the Crime Lab out here to strip the sheets. I'll bet we get some good evidence that sex has taken place between you two."

"That's not illegal, Pig!" shouted Burnham.

"It's a possible motive for murder, Mr. Burnham." I said. "And the murder of this woman's ex-husband, and you being his friend and having called us in to his home... may I suggest you exercise your considerable rights, which Lt. Irwin will read to you right now. And get it taped, Irwin."

"Yes sir." said Irwin, who moved quickly to comply with my instructions.

"Well, Captain Croyle," I said to Teresa, "looks like we've set these brackets up right, also." Teresa smiled about as brightly as I have ever seen her smile...

Part 8 - Affairs and Preparations

Jeffrey Burnham was taken through full booking, then taken to Interrogation-1, where he called a lawyer. Melissa Burris was not under arrest (yet), and so was taken to Interrogation-C, at the far end of the 'public' interrogation rooms. She also immediately demanded a lawyer.

Somewhat to my surprise, Burnham's lawyer was Robert 'Bob' Berry of Chase, Lynch & Berry, P.C. If H.J. Lynch was bad, Bob Berry was even more hateful of Police. He was an older man who'd once been very athletic and had even played semi-pro football. Meanwhile, Melissa had called the only lawyer she knew, her divorce lawyer, Tina Felton of Dewey, Burnham & Winn (the 'Burnham' being no relation to Jeffery).

I took Parker into I-1 with me, and was immediately greeted with hostility.

"What the hell is this, Troy?" growled Berry. "What was the frickin' probable cause to get this warrant?"

"I knocked on the door and the man didn't answer." I said. "He's a material witness in the murder of Tim Burris. He left me little choice but to procure that warrant. If he had just come to the door, we wouldn't be here now."

"Just more of your intimidation and brutality, Troy." said Berry, his voice guttural with his hatred. "I want to talk to my client."

"Fine." I said. "I'll be back... when I'm ready." Parker and I got up and went into the anteroom, where Cindy and Joanne Warner were watching.

"I know it's Parker's case," I said, "but I want Warner to come with me to interview Melissa." We all went down the long hallways to the other end of the building, and into I-C.

"Have you talked to your client, Ms. Felton?" I asked.

"Yes, Commander." said Tina. "This is not really my forté, but I've advised my client that she can stop answering questions at any time she's not comfortable with them."

"That is sort of the point." I said. "Some of these questions will be uncomfortable, no matter what. Okay, Mrs. Burris... how long have you been having sexual relations with Jeffrey Burnham."

"Couple of years." said Melissa dispiritedly.

"Did your husband ever know you were having sex with his friend, Mr. Burnham?" I asked.

"I don't know." said Melissa. "He never said anything if he did. And for all I know, if he did know he might not have cared. He was always into his prepper shit."

"While you were married to Mr. Burris," I said, "did you have any other extramarital affairs?"

"No. Just with Jeffrey." said Melissa. "He's lousy in bed, too; but at least he gave me some... attention. Tim could have cared less."

"Where did you and Mr. Burnham have sex?" I asked.

"In his RV." said Melissa.

"Did you ever do any prepper exercises with either your husband or Mr. Burnham?" I asked.

"No." said Melissa. "I didn't care about that stuff."

"When did Tim do his prepper tests?" I asked.

"I have no idea." said Melissa. "Never when I was at home, for sure."

"Did Tim ever disappear for a day or two, and you didn't know where he was?"

"No." said Melissa.

"How about Jeffrey?"

"He traveled for his work, but never disappeared without saying something first." Melissa replied.

"Did either of them discuss their plans, what they'd do if the balloon went up?" I asked.

"Tim said we'd be okay, that was all he said." Melissa replied. "Jeffrey intended to take his RV on the road, keep moving, go hide in the woods."

"Did he ever say where?" I asked.

"He said there were areas north of here, in the mountains, where he could hide." said Melissa.

"What threats did Tim and Jeff think would cause them to have to implement their prepper plans?" I asked.

"Anything." said Melissa. "War. EMP attacks. Riots, insurrections, stuff like that."

"Okay," I said, "stay here a few more minutes. Officer Green will escort you to the restroom if you need to go." With that I got up, followed by Joanne.

"What did y'all think?" I asked as I got into the hallway.

"Her husband was keeping her in the dark, but her lover was telling her his plans." said Joanne. "And how could she not know her husband had that underground rabbit hole?"

"Good point." I said. Just then, Lt. Irwin came up.

"Sir," he said, "the Crime Lab and our Officers searched the RV thoroughly. We found $20,000 concealed in the sides of the RV, as well as silver coins. We also found a two-year supply of freeze-dried foods in a secret pull-out panel between the refrigerator and kitchen counter. I had seen that on TV before, and knew where to look."

"Oh, you're a prepper too?" I asked humorously.

"No sir." said Irwin. "I watched to get ideas of where perps might hide drugs."

"Wow, that's Iron Crowbar thinking." I said, handing Irwin the red crowbar.

"Thank you, sir." Irwin said, and continued as he examined the red crowbar: "The water filtration system is pretty high-grade for an RV. It's not airtight, but there is a place to hook up an air filtration system, though we found none in the RV. Had more propane tanks for cooking than normal, but not excessive."

"Okay, thanks." I said. "Keep that money under control at all points until it's in the evidence room safe. I don't want to hear of any of it being lost; the lawyer is an asshole enough as it is. And we can potentially charge him for having that much cash, too, but that's for later. Okay, Parker, let's go talk to this idiot."