Send in the Clowns Ch. 01

"I didn't betray him!" Cindy fired back, her voice connoting both sheer disbelief and furious anger.

"And she didn't ask that in front of everyone." I said, my gray eyes boring into Cindy's ice-blue peepers as hard as I ever had. "You did. And I haven't had to threaten to resign or retire over her opposing me on everything. I did almost quit because of you, at least once." (Author's note: 'Believer', Ch. 03.)

To say it was tense in the now-silent room would be the understatement of the century. Chief Moynahan was in open shock, witnessing not only Red Crowbar vs. Green Crowbar, but Angel vs. Angel. If the Sheriff was as shocked, he wasn't showing it. But he did take control of the situation.

"Okay, enough of this." Griswold growled. "Chief, take Cindy and Teresa to the gym and let them either talk it out or fight it out. Crowbar, you stay here with me." When no one moved, the Sheriff said "Go, people. Move!" They got moving.

After they exited, the Sheriff said "Your office, Crowbar." I followed him to my office. On the way in, he told my assistant Helena to hold all my calls, even if the President of the United States called, and to not admit anyone into the office. Once in the office, he closed and locked the door and pulled the Levolor blinds shut.

"Have a seat." the Sheriff ordered as he sat down in the near-side hot chair. "And pour us both a shot of that medicinal stuff in your drawer." I opened the drawer, took out two 'jigger' shot glasses, which were larger than 'normal' shot glasses, and poured two shots of Buffalo Trace bourbon.

"Salud!" the Sheriff said. We clinked glasses and downed the shots, then I poured two more. We sipped on those as I waited for my asschewing at the Sheriff's hands to commence. But he didn't speak for a long moment, and when he did, the question surprised me:

"So, do you like the Wild Turkey or the Buffalo Trace products better?"

"I prefer the basic Buffalo Trace over the basic WT101." I said. "And I like Eagle Rare 10-year a lot. But the Wild Turkey Rare Breed Rye is very, very hard to beat."

"Har." barked the Sheriff, though quietly. "You're beginning to appreciate whiskeys like they should be appreciated. So you don't love Pappy Van Winkle like your wife does?"

I said with a little smile "Pappy, Weller... they're good, but they're not worth the secondary market prices I've been hearing about. And my wife having bottles of the Pappy? That's just showing off." The Sheriff barked a laugh at that, his mustaches twitching merrily.

Then he got serious. He said "I thought you were pretty restrained in the meeting in Classroom 'E'. Cindy shouldn't have asked that question in front of everyone. Having said that, she was just trying to get you to talk about protecting the Greuze. I didn't see it as you trying to embarrass her, but she sure took it that way."

"I know." I said, almost sadly. "But gosh darn it, Sheriff... she's intelligent, but she has never seemed to grasp the potential danger of the Swamp Frogs and their Media allies. How often has she trusted the Media, even taken their side against me? And despite them fucking her over time and again?" (Author's note: 'The Nuclear Option', especially Ch. 03-04.) "And she just doesn't seem to get just how dangerous the Swamp Frogs are, and what they're capable of."

"And what about that Trouble in Paradise?" the Sheriff asked, meaning Teresa and Cindy's altercation.

"Teresa loves Cindy and Tanya like sisters." I said. "But sometimes sisters quibble, or even fight. And Teresa has said it out loud, that her loyalty to me outweighs her loyalty to anything else, even the TCPD, even her husband, and even her fellow Angels. I was surprised that Cindy tried to bring Teresa's name into Cindy's, argument with me, and that obviously was a (air quotes) 'wrong answer'."

The Sheriff nodded, then finally got to the crux of the matter, at least to him: "Well... you have a reputation, Crowbar. You tend to hold your cards close to the vest, and some think you do so too much. Your Detectives have learned to different degrees to trust you, and to go along without asking too many questions, knowing you're virtually always right, and you do end up getting the case successfully solved."

Our Sheriff: "However, Dwight Stevens is a good example of not being as trusting. In fact, you may not realized how often Chief Moynahan and I have been subjected to tirades by him and his superiors over your reticence to share information. And I think Cindy is at a point where if she doesn't understand something, she's going to ask rather than blindly trust you, your family relationship notwithstanding."

I briefly laughed mirthlessly, then said "And I think this is a perfect example of why I'm reticent to talk too much. As I said earlier, I made a huge mistake saying anything to Muscone at all, and an even bigger one by talking to him in front of others... not just Cindy, but all the others. And the time I did talk and say too much, it came back to bite me in my fourth point of contact."

I suspect those were the words Sheriff Griswold did not want to hear, and that he thought there was danger I would retreat further inward, and share even less of what I was observing and deducing during cases. And he was very possibly correct.

"All right." he said as he put his empty jigger glass on my desk and stood up. "So who do you think will win the fight?"

"They won't fight." I said, knowing what he meant. "Cindy will apologize, Teresa will accept it, and they'll hug and make up... and probably blame it all on me." The Sheriff's mustaches quivered with amusement as he chuckled.

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

They didn't make it to the gym. Cindy instead led the way into the empty breakroom just before reaching the gym. Once inside, she turned and faced Teresa.

"Sumimasen." she said as she bowed formally. "I sincerely did not mean to offend you."

It would be very bad manners, as well as a deliberate insult, to refuse to accept the apology. Therefore, Teresa did the right thing; she bowed back formally. Honor maintained, she said "He wasn't trying to embarrass you or call you out. And yes, if I'd asked that question like that, in front of everyone, he would've said the same thing."

"Yeah... maybe." Cindy said, her voice connoting that she didn't believe it for a minute.

"Now that you ladieeees have patched things up," said Chief Moynahan, "I need to ask you to elaborate on what yooo think is the cause of the Iron Crowbar's agi-tay-shunnn..."

Teresa said "I get the feeling he knows a lot more about this whole thing than he is telling us------"

"And he won't tell us." Cindy interjected.

"Yes, but that's not my point." Teresa said. "I think he knows something at a whole 'nuther level, a much deeper level than any of us are seeing. It's like a chess player who sees two moves ahead versus a chess grandmaster that truly understands the position without having to see any moves ahead."

"That could well beeeee." drawled the Chief.

"You know," Cindy said, seemingly lost in thought, "it could be something else. Don sometimes can't help showing a temper or agitation about something, but what he seems to be upset about is not what he's really upset about. I wonder..."

"What?" Teresa and the Chief said simultaneously.

"Who was Dr. Wellman's stand-in as host of the lunch today?" Cindy asked.

"Ohhhhhhhh...." Teresa said as it hit her. "Laura. And it was almost as if she's being groomed to be his replacement...as University President!"

Cindy nodded with a 'knowing' look. "And if she is appointed to that job, that is going be a major change in Don's life..."

Part 5 - An Ounce of Prevention...

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Thursday, March 18th, from the Anchor Desk of the KXTC studios. "Authorities scramble to protect the 'Lost Greuze' painting amid threats that it will be stolen!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "The Lost Greuze, a recently-discovered painting by eighteenth-century artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze, is scheduled to be displayed at the University Museum this Saturday, and will be sold at the subsequent auction that afternoon. The owner of the painting, 90-year-old Ruth Heidelmann Baker, who fled from Holland during the Nazi occupation of that country in the 1940s, will donate the proceeds to Jewish causes."

Bettina: "Channel Two News has learned that there are credible threats to steal the Greuze by George Aurus." A photo of Aurus was shown as Bettina said "Some of our viewers will remember Aurus as the Black Velvet Killer, who murdered a Walnut Prep teacher and student in Nextdoor County, and was later discovered to have tortured and murdered at least a dozen other people."

Bettina: "Sources tell Channel Two News that since escaping Federal Supermax prison over a year ago, George Aurus has assembled a gang of criminals that are believed to have burgled two other museums in recent months. The FBI asks that anyone seeing this man immediately call the authorities, as Aurus is considered armed and extremely dangerous."

Bettina: "And now let's go to political reporter Carl Lemay in Midtown, for more on the totally deadlocked State Legislature. Carl!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said the tall, slender black man in his well-fitting suit, with the State Capitol and the sunrise behind him. "Channel Two News has learned that SBI Director Wes Masters will testify before a joint hearing of the State House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Budget Committee next Monday, but not under oath. He is expected to explain what he believes the SBI should be, as well as his expectations and goals for the agency going forward."

Bettina: "Let me interrupt you with a question, Carl: why is Director Masters not going to be under oath? What is he trying to hide?"

Lemay: "Bettina, I'm told that he was not going to testify at all if it was under oath, and that's because he will be making forward-looking statements and giving opinions that theoretically could be held against him. His attorneys specifically cited previous attempts to coerce TCPD Commander Donald Troy to testify under oath, and then charge him with perjury no matter what he said." (Author's note: 'One Night In Bangkok', Ch.04; 'Shipping And Handling', Ch.01.)

Bettina: "Carl, are they any closer to a Budget agreement down there?"

Lemay: "No, Bettina, they are not. And several sources told me that a lot of Legislators are waiting on Director Masters's testimony before deciding what to do. These same sources told me that most of the Budget is not a contested issue, but issues concerning the SBI and local law enforcement funding remain 'hot button' issues. Back to you, Bettina."

"Thank you, Carl!" said Bettina. "That was KXTC's trusted political reporter Carl Lemay, reporting from Midtown. In other news, Town & County Council Members Kelly Carnes and Edgar Silas have demanded that Police Commander Donald Troy be suspended without pay pending starting the procedural actions necessary to fire him, and they are threatening to sue the Mayor and Sheriff if they do not suspend Troy."

Bettina: "Carnes and Silas had demanded that Troy appear at last Tuesday's Council meeting to explain his actions in signing a contract with Lieutenant Commander Teresa Croyle that allows her to be both a TCPD Officer and an SBI Reserve Agent. Troy did not appear at the Council meeting, and Carnes called it, quote, 'a deliberate and disrespectful insult to the Council, and a slap in the face of the People of the Town & County', close quote."

Bettina: "And Channel Two News has just learned that the Global Climate Change Conference will be held here, at our University, Considered to be one of the most important Climate Change conferences it the world, many high-ranking Government officials as well as some of the world's most renowned scientists will be giving lectures at the event. The exact date has not yet been revealed, but it's expected to be within the next couple of months..."

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

"Our University must be a boring-as-hell place," said Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle, "if they can schedule a conference of that magnitude in just a few weeks." She, Sheriff Griswold, Your Iron Crowbar, Police Chief Moynahan, and Deputy Chief Tanya P. Muscone were drinking coffee and watching the broadcast in the Chief's Conference Room.

"It was scheduled and the rooms reserved over a year ago." Sheriff Griswold replied. "It's going to be the last week of April and, curiously enough, will end with a big rally on May 1st... May Day."

"Workers of the World Unite!" Teresa said with great acerbity.

"And we will have to provide se-CUR-i-teeee." groaned the Chief. "So why didn't they inform us much further ahead of time?"

"They did... sort of." growled Sheriff Griswold. "They informed the Sheriff's Department, but they said they would have their own security and would be working with Federal Agencies, and that our role would be little more than what we normally do, such as traffic control." After a pause, he said "I took 'em at their word, and told them we wouldn't do anything... unless people started violently rioting. They didn't like that at all, and I haven't heard from them since."

"Changing the subject, if I may," said Tanya, "who leaked it to the Press about George Aurus targeting the Greuze?" All eyes went to me.

I looked around and said "It sure as hell wasn't me."

"Of course not." said the Chief. "But what does it meeeeen, that someone else did?"

I just shrugged my shoulders, and didn't answer. I'd been this way since Monday, morose and not saying much of anything to anyone, especially not about this case. And Tanya the Chief's latest attempt to draw me out had just utterly failed.

"So Don," said Tanya, "Wes Masters invoked your name in refusing to testify under oath?"

"His lawyers did." I said dully. "And they were very, very smart to do so."

"You think they'd try to entrap Masters like they tried to mess with you?" the Chief asked. "I'm asking for a friend."

"Yes sir." I said simply.

"By the wayyyyy," drawled the Chief, "Our FBI friends will be holding a security meeting at the Museum at 9:00am, and we are in-vi-teddd."

"Is that an invitation I can refuse?" I asked, making everyone but the Sheriff look wide-eyed at me.

"No, Crowbar." growled Griswold. "You're going to be there, and you're going to be on your best behavior. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir." I replied...

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

8:30am, Thursday, March 18th. Lt. Mary Milton came to my office. Offers of coffee or water were politely refused as she sat down at my bidding.

"I'm glad I caught you before you left for that meeting this morning, sir." said Mary. "There's some things you need to know."

"Don't keep me in suspense." I said. "Something about Aurus?"

"Yes sir." said Mary. "But first... you got my email on the construction company?"

"Yes, and thank you for the information." I said. "Northwest Construction Company is a well-known company in this part of the State, and pretty clean and aboveboard though they have some connections to politicians that get them State jobs others can't really get."

"Yes sir." said Mary. "But I dug a little bit deeper, sir, and found that when that hidden space was found, they contracted with a small company to take out the sandstone on the walls and prep the walls and floor to be waterproofed and such stuff. That company was called 'The Powers Group, LLC'. They are a Nevada corporation."

Mary: "Their employees did a good bit of the work that did not involve security, as they were not permitted to work on the security aspects because many of their workers had past criminal records. Petty stuff, but they still had rap sheets. But their work was considered very good, and Northwest Construction gave them a good reference."

"Interesting." I replied. "Okay, what else?"

Mary: "LaTasha Thompson started looking into how George Aurus escaped Supermax the last time. She couldn't access the records because they were classified. So I asked Corporal Penny Scott and Ranger Halston to try, as they have higher clearances. It was still a 'no go'."

Mary: "So I went to Joanne Warner, whose clearance is higher than anyone in the TCPD except yours. She also struck out. She said that the records of Aurus's escape and any intel on what they may know of him since was classified Top Secret and compartmentalized."

Side note: It is not enough to have a Top Secret clearance. When something is classified Top Secret, it is given a compartment classification, and one has to be authorized to see what's behind the compartment. 'BEEKEEPER' was a compartmentalization to seal off Dr. Casey B. Walker's files on Your Iron Crowbar. (Author's note: 'BEEKEEPER' begins in 'Six Degrees', Ch. 03.)

"Wow." I said, feeling rocked on the inside. "Any idea why it's so highly classified?"

"No sir." Mary said. "You told me to assume that the Swamp Frogs were watching what we're doing, so I didn't try any 'backdoor' tricks. And the only thing I can think of is that Aurus found a way out of Supermax that they don't want to get out, so they classified it."

"That's one possibility." I said. "There's another... oh, never mind."

"Aw, don't do that to me, sir!" Mary protested, though jokingly.

"Okay, just between you, me, and the crowbars. And don't you dare repeat this to anyone." I said. Mary nodded as I turned on the bug killer, and I leaned over and whispered as I said "They let him out..."

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

9:00am, Thursday, March 18th. University Museum was closed to the Public until noon. The Chief, Teresa, and I were let in the front doors by two men in suits and ties, with sunglasses over their eyes and earbuds in their ears. At first I thought they were Federal Marshals, and then I glimpsed the badge of one of them. They were members of the U.S. Secret Service.

We were followed in by Sheriff Griswold, Chief Deputy Cindy Ross, Senior Deputy Louis Bailey, and Deputy Anya Krush, who I remembered from the 'Time Flies' case. There were a number of Campus Police personnel present, as well.

We were ushered into the conference room. I noticed that Terence Johnson was the only SBI Agent present; Karina White and Norm Chow were nowhere to be seen. After greeting Johnson, I asked "Where's Lieutenant White and Lieutenant Chow?"

"They're skipping this one, sir." said Johnson. "We're really not needed here at all. The Feds asked for someone from the SBI to be here, and I drew the short straw." That didn't sound kosher, but I did not say anything more about it.

As we sat down, the Sheriff sat next to me, and Cindy sat to his other side. He growled "These Fed assholes have been trying to push me around the last couple of days. They want us to provide most of the security on Saturday. I told them we'd provide the standard security we provide at any University event... except football games, of course."

"How'd they take that?" I asked.

"It was hard to tell... they hung up on me without a word." the Sheriff quipped, his mustaches quivering with merriment.

Cindy said "Tanya says that Jack Muscone is very frustrated with all the State and local agencies. He thinks we're not taking this seriously, and he thinks you are the reason for that, Don."

"Yeah, blame the good-looking redheaded guy." I said. "But------"

I was interrupted as the Federal contingent came in. Special Agent Julius Jefferson took the podium as Special Agent Tracy Stone took a seat in the front row. Behind them came EAD Owen Lange and SAC Jack Muscone, and SSA Miles Winters of Homeland Security, followed by a contingent in suits and ties; they appeared to be Federal Marshals as well as Secret Service.