Send in the Clowns Ch. 04

"I don't know." growled Griswold. "But knowing Val, he wouldn't have."

Chief Moynahan said "And we'd be having a shutdown that would've lasted for months, totally destroying this State and its economy. No disrespect to Mr. Jared, Sheriff, but when he said the equivalent of 'build the wall', he became one."

Sheriff Griswold retorted: "Yes, Val was very direct, and stuck to his principles, which is one reason I like him as a man. Crowbar is the same way. Sharon Marshall is a very savvy politician, and she knows how to read the room, politically speaking. But how it's perceived will depend on how she and her team handle the Media's dishonest attempts to distort the truth."

I eased the potential tension by saying "Strangely enough, Wes Masters's testimony the other day actually helped Cerone and Molinari get the Budget and SBI bills passed."

"I was thinking that his testimony killed any hope of compromise." said Tanya. "So how did they get this compromise through? And why is Governor Marshall willing to sign it?"

I replied: "Paradoxically, Wes Masters's testimony gave them what they needed. Wilson Hammonds thinks he's getting a big win, but it doesn't realistically amount to a hill of beans. For the Conservatives, including Sharon Marshall, the Police and SBI are fully funded. And for the Establishment Republicans, they can't be pasted with the blame for a shutdown, which is what the cowards were truly afraid of, and which the Mainstream Media was going to do. The Sheriff is correct in that the Governor's team has to actively fight the Media's narrative on it."

Tanya said "But Katherine Marshall got her strong SBI. Even got a new division out of it, to lord it over the local jurisdictions."

"You really think Coldiron Masters will allowwww that?" Chief Moynahan asked.

Tanya replied fearlessly: "No Chief, he won't allow it. Coldiron is a good man, and he means it when he says he wants the SBI to be a support organization. But Don tried that with the SBI-SIS, and local jurisdictions shunned it like the Plague. And no matter how good Coldiron's intentions are, SBI Agents are going to go in and more often than not find that they must take over a case to make any progress, and you're right back to Square One on the mistrust and hatred issues."

Tanya added: "And Katherine Woodburn will be pushing the SBI to take over more and more. And if she becomes Governor, or if any Democrat becomes Governor, the groundwork has been laid to really strengthen the SBI and truly lord it over the locals, like Derrick B. Harland is trying to do with the FBI at the Federal level."

Cindy said "Incrementalism at it's finest, wouldn't you say, Don?"

She was really rubbing it in, I thought to myself. And she's enjoying this just a little too much. Outwardly, I just shrugged my shoulders. When the other side has scored a win, just let them have their moment for one moment...

Teresa had been silent to this point, but now she said "I'm more concerned about those IG complaints against Don. What's up with those?"

"They're both crap." I said. "I'm on solid ground on both of them."

"Let's say no more about those." growled Griswold. "Crowbar, I'll talk to you and the Chief about that later." Silence was instantaneous, as everyone knew that meant trouble...

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

The Sheriff followed me into my office. I poured us both cups of coffee, then he sat down in the near-side hot chair as I sat down in my comfortable 'Command Chair'. I figured I'd need the lumbar support for my aching back, and I figured correctly.

The Sheriff began: "The problem here, Crowbar, is that both Carnes and Walters filed those complaints as groundwork to file lawsuits against you. Now Carnes's lawsuit is baseless, without merit, and you can and should countersue and beat the snot out of her."

"And Walters, too." I replied.

Griswold: "Crowbar, you need to listen to me, here. Miriam's complaint is a lot more serious, and will be taken a lot more seriously by the IG as well as the Judge taking up the case."

I was about to speak, but the Sheriff said "I've already talked to Curly Goodwin, and here's the issue: the power to sign contracts was meant for the Chief, you, and especially the Deputy Chief to be able to conduct business on the TCPD's behalf, like orders to buy stuff, and like when you signed that mutual cooperation deal with Nextdoor County and Coltrane County. And the contract with Teresa; that was legit, and it was righteous. I can't wait to blast Kelly Carnes even more on it."

Griswold: "That power wasn't really meant for plea deals. There's precedence now, as it was allowed for us to be able to give someone a plea deal in exchange for information that had to be obtained and acted upon quickly. But it wasn't meant to be used regularly, nor to completely replace the District Attorney's Office."

"Yes sir, but-------" I started.

"Let me finish, Crowbar." the Sheriff said with some authority in his voice. "Miriam says you are usurping her prerogative as District Attorney, and she's ready to take it not only to State Court but to Federal Court. She and I really got into it Monday, and she is really, really dug in on forcing Savannah Fineman on us. But to do that, she has to stop your workaround with your own plea deals."

Griswold: "So she went to the IG first. Curly Goodwin is going to talk to you, me, and Chief Moynahan, and he'll probably talk to Miriam and her blonde bimbo barbie doll, too. In the meantime, you get with your lawyer and your Union Rep, and get ready for one hell of a fight..."

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

12:30pm, Wednesday, March 24th. ADA Paulina Patterson came to Police Headquarters and I took her to the Cop Bar for lunch. We sat in the back 'Command Room'. She had a steak Caesar salad and I had the Double Breakfast Burger plate.

"How were the arraignments yesterday?" I asked after some small talk.

"Good." Paulina said. "Judge Watts gave me everything I wanted. No bail for Corning nor Langdon, and the plea deals were accepted. He also accepted dropping the charges against the other guard, Joseph T. Baker without prejudice."

"There were obstacles, though." she continued. "Nathan Masterson was really pissed off when I came in instead of Savannah. And even though Federal Judge Landis shot down any hopes to have the cases transferred to Federal Court... after Laura had a quiet talk with him, I might add... U.S. Attorney Richard Baldwin showed up and tried to get custody of Diane Langdon. But Judge Watts shot him down. Hard."

"And another issue came up." Paulina went on. "When Judge Watts accepted Marine Captain Nicholas Mancini's plea deal, Baldwin demanded Mancini be transferred to Federal custody so that he could be court-martialed. Judge Watts said U.S. Attorney John Jones's plea deal with Mancini resolved that, and ruled solidly against Baldwin. But the Marines still might go to Federal Court to try and get Mancini back. So we'll see how that goes."

"Cool beans." I said. "And Fineman wanted to throw the book at the ones I gave plea deals to. And speaking of that, how are things in the D.A.'s Office?"

"Well..." Paulina said, and then paused. After a moment, with me looking up to look steadily at her, she said "Vice cases are steady, and they're pretty easy, or maybe I should say straightforward. And all the cases I have coming up are ready to go; evidence, documentation, witnesses, the whole nine yards. Miriam rarely asks me anything about any of them."

Paulina: "Yesterday afternoon, Miriam came into my office and made me give her a full report on every case I have, which took over two hours. It was like being in Law School, when a professor would grill me. So I gave the reports, and afterwards she just got up and left. No 'okay', no 'thank you', no 'carry on'... she just left."

"Is that good or bad?" I asked. "I'm holding out hope she may be thinking of putting you back on MCD cases."

"So am I, but I think Miriam is inexorably dug in on keeping Savannah on MCD cases." Paulina said. "As to her coming in and getting the status report, it's usually bad, or at least foreboding. The only times she's done that before is when racial talk has come up, like when Franklin left to run for Nance's judicial seat, and he really wanted me to file a racial discrimination complaint against Miriam. And I really got the feeling that she was determining where I am with things so she can get someone else up to speed... after she fires me."

I nodded. "You still don't think she's a racist, or acting in a racially discriminatory way towards you?"

Paulina said "No, not really. It started out as trying to get Savannah a better résumé off of you solving cases, but now I think it's just a tug-of-war that she wants to win no matter how Pyrrhic the victory would be."

I said "And it would be badly hypocritical of me to suggest you file a racial complaint against Miriam, especially if you don't totally believe her actions are race-based."

Paulina: "With one exception: if she were to fire me because she erroneously thought I was going to make a racial complaint, then I would actually go ahead and do it. Franklin is more than eager to back me up on it, even if it causes conflicts of interest for him as a judge."

I said "And if someone else said something, and Miriam retaliates against you because of that?"

Paulina peered hard at me, then said "You know something that I don't?"

I replied "I don't factually know anything, but I'm not the only one embittered by what Savannah is doing, dropping charges against Swamp Frogs and such. And I haven't said anything, and wouldn't without at least telling you first... but others may have played the card. And after you just told me Miriam made you go through your cases with her? And her filing that IG complaint against me? My 'Spidey-sense' is going off the charts."

"Yezzz, there's that elephant in the room." Paulina said. "Miriam's IG complaint. How is that going to go, do you think?"

I said "Legally I'm on solid ground, so I'm not worried about that. And I think once I show those photos of Mrs. Davalos to Curly Goodwin, then tell him Savannah let him go just to spite me, Miriam will have a tough case of it. But the problem is that Miriam is filing the IG complaint merely as a precursor to a lawsuit. And if the Court enjoins me from making plea deals without the D.A. Office's consent, whether temporarily or permanently, and Miriam uses that to force Savannah on MCD, and particularly on me?..."

I let the sentence hang. Paulina just nodded and we said no more about it...

Part 20 - Epilogue - Frozen in Time

Back at my office, I felt a sudden impulse to take a look at the clown painting the criminals had created and left behind to cause some of us pain and anguish. I went to the evidence rooms in the basement, and brought it out and back up to my office, propped it up against my computer monitor, and sat back in my 'Command Chair' and studied it.

Teresa and I had taken it to the University's Art School, exercising two-man control. Dr. Nicole Haven had used their 'fluoroscope' (for lack of a better term), which revealed that the killer clown had originally been Jack Muscone, which really would've caused Tanya pain.

But it had been changed, and now I could see where the image of Westboro had been painted in. Why? I thought to myself. Why change it? And to Westboro, of all people? I defeated him, he's doesn't cause me pain... unless my back is hurting...

"Oh, Commmannnnderrrrr..."

"What, Angela?" I said inside my head, seeing the Black Widow sitting on the edge of my desk between me and the painting, wearing her spidery negligee and showing off her legs in those black high heel pumps...

"Such a lovely painting." Angela said, her voice reverberating in my head. "Especially Pete Feeley's last moment on this earth after he came in me." (Author's note: 'Case of the Black Widow', Ch. 05.) The black and white I was seeing was now tinged with red...

"Oh my, you're still angry about that, my lovely Commanderrr." Angela intoned. "And it's distracting you from what's real, what's important... George Aurus... the man with the golden touch..."

And then I blinked. Angela was gone; only her words and the painting remained. My eyes were drawn again to the image of Westboro, looking hideously evil...

... and I understood.

George Aurus had not painted the entire painting... but he somehow was the one that had the image of Westboro painted in. And I understood why... it was a clue, left for me. And now I realized why, and what it was all about. What everything was about...

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

Three months later...

The gravel of the driveway crunched under the tires of the three vehicles that pulled into the home of Ruth Heidelmann Baker. I was driving my Police SUV and Teresa was riding shotgun. In the backseat were Carole and Marie.

The second vehicle was Cindy's Sheriff Dept. SUV, carrying her, the Sheriff, and her father Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart. The third vehicle was Laura's Mercedes, being driven by her, with Edward and Stephanie Steele and Alison McFarland, who was going to record the event about to take place.

As we got out, I noticed the 'For Sale' sign in the front yard, with a 'SOLD' sign on top of it. Mrs. Baker had sold the home, and was moving into a retirement community on the lake in Coltrane County, which was similar to my mother's community on Lake Donald Troy in Apple Grove. (Author's note: 'Cat's In The Cradle', Ch. 01.)

The 'Lost Greuze' had sold at auction for $2 million. Someone was bidding heavily, then someone would exceed the bid by just $1000. The big bidder jumped it to $1.5 million, and the second bidder increased that by $100. So the big bidder bid $2 million, which just ended it.

The big bidder had been hidden behind a cloak of anonymity, but the money was good and was duly deposited into a trust fund for the Jewish Holocaust Museum. And I would learn the bidder's name when I visited my uncle, Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart, and observed the Lost Greuze hanging on the wall behind his desk in his office, where two 'Fourth Runes' had once hung. (Author's note: 'Reichenbach', Ch. 05.)

I helped Carole and Marie take something out of the back of my Police SUV, and I carried it inside. As we came inside, I noticed that most of the furniture had been removed from the house. Only the study/bedroom remained in use.

Mrs. Baker greeted us enthusiastically and had everyone help themselves to iced tea and snack cakes in the kitchen. We all sat down and Alison got out her videocamera. Then Carole and Marie took the package I'd brought in and handed it to Mrs. Baker.

"I did my best with it." Marie said. "I hope you like it."

"Oh I know I will... ohhh, myyyy." the 90-year-old woman said as she tore off the brown paper. Underneath was the promised painting of three clowns, an exact duplicate of the one under which Mrs. Baker's father had hidden the Lost Greuze.

But in reality, it was a painting within a painting. The clown painting was the feature in the middle of the larger painting, which showed a man in a dark gray business suit and hat, and his wife beside him, wearing a dark brown skirt and jacket, and looking profoundly sad. The man was handing the clown painting to a ten-year-old girl in a white blouse and green-plaid overall dress. And the setting was a train station, with yellow-brown walls, timetables on them, and gray skies in the upper left corner.

"How?..." Ruth Heidelmann Baker said as she looked at it. "This... this is exactly what the train station looked like when my parents sent me to England! My mother's suit was exactly that color, and my father's suit was that color gray! And that... that is what I was wearing that day! How did you know?"

Carole said "I saw it in my mind's eye, and I sketched it for Marie. I hope we didn't hurt your feelings." She had felt the strong vibe from Mrs. Baker, and was worried they'd gone too far.

"No, I'm just surprised." said Mrs. Baker. Then she said "It is absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much!" She hugged Marie warmly, then hugged Carole warmly. Then she said to the adults: "This is exactly how I remember that moment, when my parents said goodbye to me and put me on the train. Exactly. I don't know how you saw it, Carole, but this is a wonderful gift."

Yes, Carole had seen it in her mind's eye... her mind's eye seeing into Ruth Heidelmann Baker's mind's eye, and the old woman's supreme memory. Carole was either learning her manners or she was afraid of her mother; she did not say out loud how she knew.

But Cindy and I knew: it was a Michaux family trait.

Ruth Heidelmann Baker would live three more years. She would bequeath the painting and its story to the Jewish Holocaust Museum. Many years later, someone would recognize it as a Marie Steele painting, and its value would skyrocket... though not to the level of her greatest paintings of them all. But that is for another story...

Finis.

Author's note: Your Author is entering the 2022 Mickey Spillane Challenge, which will come out in July. My submission for the Challenge will be the sequel to this story. Thank you for your patience, and it should be a lot of fun.