Time Flies Ch. 02

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With the kids and dogs put to bed, Laura and I cuddled on the far-side sofa, drinking our drinks and talking.

"So tell me about this case." Laura said.

"As I'm sure Carole told you to no end," I said, "a dead body was found under rather... interesting circumstances. The victim has a history that possibly connects him to the drug trade, but there are some real strange aspects to it." I summarized what we knew about Fisher.

"Sounds like he's undercover for someone." said Laura. "Those priors and the cash seizure sound like a backstop, if you ask me. But don't let me influence your thinking on the case."

"Considering you've probably forgotten more about backstops than most of us will ever know," I replied, "I'm glad and grateful to have your input. We'll have to check the possibility that he's an Agent for someone."

I then put my arm around my wife and said "You must love being out of that cast."

"More than you know." Laura said. "But I still don't have full range of motion in my wrist and hand, so I can't perform surgery yet. I'm still rehabbing it."

"Mmmm," I said, kissing my wife's neck, "I have some rehab ideas for you."

"Jacking you off is good therapy." Laura said as her hand felt my crotch. "But I prefer your iron hard cock balls-deep in my pussy."

"That can be arranged." I said, thinking we were well on our way towards a hot night of sex. I was 'premature', mentally, anyway.

"There is something we need to talk about." Laura said. She then looked at me and said "Don't you think Carole is a little young to be at crime scenes? I know you were babysitting and it couldn't be helped, and I know you and I might be used to dead bodies, but she's still six years old. And most six-year-olds are in first grade, not the second."

"Well," I said, "she dealt pretty well with a dead body when she was four. And she was absorbing every word Sheriff Griswold was telling her at this last scene. But you're right, and I don't intend to expose her to every crime scene we have... at least not for a few years."

"Well!" Laura said with mock exasperation. "That sure makes me feel better. But... it's inevitable, isn't it? She's going to be a TCPD Officer, isn't she?"

"If she wants to be." I said. "And I think we both know she does. And she's going to be the next Iron Crowbar. If you don't believe me, just ask her. She'll tell you."

"And then it will be impossible to make her eat her stringbeans." Laura quipped.

"No doubt." I agreed. I finished my drink and said "Well, that's for the future. In the here and now, I suggest we go to bed and start on your wrist therapy..."

And Laura's progress was very good. She expertly jacked my cock with her injured left hand as she lay on top of me and sucked my raging hard cock. And then she gripped my shoulders with her hands as she smashed her pussy down onto my cock again and again as she rode to several orgasms around my throbbing hard meat...

Part 8 - Namedropping

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette from the anchor desk of the KXTC studios at 7:00am, Thursday, January 9th. "Chaos reigns in the State Capitol as Republican infighting tears their caucus apart!"

Bettina began: "Republican State House Minority Leader Wilson Hammonds, representing the Pottsville area, was re-elected Minority Leader by a thin margin at the beginning of this year's Legislative session, showing how badly deeply unpopular Val Jared has divided the State Republican Party! And those cracks showed when a faction of Republican State Representatives, led by State Representatives Billy Williams of our Town & County and Peter Long Cox of Nextdoor County, attempted a political coup to depose Mr. Hammonds as Minority Leader."

Bettina: "Those wanting to remove and replace Mr. Hammonds are considered loyalists to Governor Jared, and political experts believe they will support Lieutenant Governor Sharon Marshal in her attempt to win the Republican nomination for Governor. They issued a statement saying, quote, 'We believe that Representative Hammonds should be supporting Governor Jared, not openly opposing him as he has by working hand-in-glove with the Democrats on false charges leading to a sham Impeachment."

Bettina: "The so called 'palace coup' failed, but by only two votes, and Mr. Hammonds remains Minority Leader. Mr. Hammonds issued a statement saying that those who voted to oust him are as corrupt as Val Jared, and are traitors to the Republican Party and true Republican values. State Attorney General Karl Handel, who is running for the Republican nomination for Governor, issued a statement in support of Mr. Hammonds, saying that the actions of Lieutenant Governor Marshall's 'Minions' in the State House were hurtful to Party unity, and made compromise with the Democrats more difficult."

Bettina: "Meanwhile, State House Democrats want to subpoena Commander Donald Troy again, to force him to truthfully testify about his involvement in suppressing the credible claims of Hillary Braselton and Donna Rodman that Governor Jared sexually harassed them. Commander Troy's attorney, Mike G. Todd of the Madison & Ives Law Firm... again, that's Mike G. Todd of the Madison & Ives Law Firm... issued a statement saying that Commander Troy has already testified under oath under an Immunity Agreement, that new subpoenas would subject him to 'double jeopardy', which is a violation of the 5th Amendment of the Constitution, and that Commander Troy will not answer any subpoena issued by the Legislature pertaining to this issue."

Bettina: "And in local news, the body of a man identified by Police as Carlton Fisher was found in the southernmost area of Town yesterday afternoon. Commander Donald Troy and the Police have no leads so far on what sources describe as the murder of Carlton Fisher, and Commander Troy has yet again refused to respond to KXTC's repeated requests for comment..."

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"Is that true?" Tanya Perlman asked as the Command Group sans Cindy Ross drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room. "Can you really claim 'double jeopardy' if they try to subpoena you?"

"I dunno." I said. "I'm not a lawyer, I just play one during Police interrogations. Mike Todd wanted to try that and see what they said, and because of the previous Immunity Agreement, it may indeed be putting me at legal risk a second time. I personally think the Immunity Agreement would still hold, and if they do subpoena me again I'm going to say exactly what I said the last time, which was the truth." Everyone nodded.

"What is it with Hammonds?" Teresa Croyle asked. "Who's side is he on?"

"The Establishment Elites, a.k.a. the Swamp Frogs of the Republican Party." I said.

"Exactly." said the Sheriff. "And they are desperately trying to regain control of the Republican Party so they can re-impose their agenda of Crony Capitalism for the Big Boy businesses, keeping Illegal Persons in this State and this Nation and so their Big Business allies can continue using them as indentured servants at illegally low wages, and enriching themselves. Jared and other true Conservatives have put a huge dent in the Establishment Elites's agenda and goals."

"Yes sir, that's true." I said. "The Establishment Republican Party of Mitt Romney, John Boehner, and Paul Ryan is NOT the Party of the American Grassroots, and the Elites refuse to learn the lessons of what the People have told them... and of history. I can almost hear Wilson Hammonds and Karl Handel saying 'Let them eat cake.'."

Teresa said "At least some people are starting to stand up to the Establishment Elites, push back against them."

Tanya said "But not enough. Hammonds is still Minority Leader. He's still the face of the State Republican Party. And he's the one the Media will run to for quotes, not Peter Long Cox or Billy Williams."

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Come in!" said Chief Moynahan. The door opened to reveal Deputy Chief Cindy Ross and Captain Damien Thompson.

"Sir, you have to hear this." Cindy said. To Thompson, she said "Tell them."

"Gentlemen, Ladies," Thompson said, "Bettina Wurtzburg called me at 6:50am this morning, and I took the call and spoke to her directly. She said she was calling to confirm the name of the deceased in the murder case, and she gave his name 'Carlton Fisher'. I was recording the call, and I only said that we haven't given out the deceased's name because the next-of-kin has not been notified, and that they should wait until we do before saying any names on the air. Bettina didn't say anything more about that, but just asked me to transfer her to Commander Troy, and I did... sorta. I might've accidentally hit the button that disconnected the call." I smiled and gave Captain Thompson a thumbs-up at that.

Cindy said "And then she put the name on the air anyway."

Chief Moynahan said "Make a formal protest to KTXC. Also put out a public statement to all Media that KXTC broadcasted the name after we told them we haven't yet notified the next-of-kin, and we consider their broadcasting the name both unprofessional and callously heartless." Cindy and Thompson acknowledged the instructions, and left.

"Those guys at KXTC are unbelievable." the Sheriff muttered.

"How badly does this hurt us?" asked Chief Moynahan, looking away from me and at Captain Perlman.

Tanya said "Well, sir, we prefer the bad guys knowing as little as possible about how much or little we know. But at this stage of our investigation, I'm not sure how bad the damage is."

I said "Let's speed up our timetable. Instead of the 8:00am Angels meeting, call a meeting for that time with everyone..."

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

"Okay, let's start with Martha's autopsy report." Captain Perlman said.

It was a select group from the various Detective divisions meeting in Classroom 'E'. The Sheriff, Police Chief, Police Commander, and Deputy Chief also were in attendance.

"Yes ma'am." said Lt. Jerome Davis. "Martha puts the time of death between 1:00pm and 4:00pm, probably toward the later end of that, but the cold weather wasn't doing her any favors in pinning it down. He was shot twice in the chest from about four to five feet away and fell forward, which Martha suggests may mean he was on his knees when he was shot. The rounds were expanding bullets, and she recovered one slug and fragments of another. She thinks they were 9mmP rounds, but wants Ballistics to confirm that."

Davis: "Toxicology report came up clean for drugs, but his blood alcohol level was 0.02, so he either had a few drinks at lunchtime, and hadn't yet absorbed a lot into his bloodstream; or he'd been drinking the night before and still had some alcohol in his system. Further tests will show which, but she doesn't have that yet. Stomach contents were empty; he hadn't eaten for hours, probably not since dinner the night before. He may have had some coffee in the morning, and may have had some alcohol. He was not a smoker, either. And that's all she has for now."

"Okay, good." said Tanya. "So have we learned anything new about this guy?"

Sr. Detective Christopher Purvis of Intel said "Let me put this photo up for you." A DMV record from the State to our west showed up on the matrix board.

"Sure looks like Fisher." Tanya said. Everyone murmured agreement, even though the name on the ID said 'Carlton Ernest Bellows'.

Purvis said "That address is one of the good suburb towns across the State Line River from Southport. Mr. Bellows here passed his Series 7 exams and had a small investment and venture capital firm in Southport, which he started about 20 years ago. About eight years ago, he closed out or sold out his investment portfolios and slowly closed out or sold his venture capital investments as they matured."

I asked "Would that just happen to be right about the time Jimmy 'Coffin' Cerone got out of the Mob and became a humble servant of the People in the Legislature?"

"Uhh... yes sir, it was." said Purvis, looking at his computer screen. "I never realized it, but yes, it was right after Cerone was elected to the Legislature for the first time."

"And what do we believe about coincidences, Mr. Purvis?" I asked.

Tanya said "Your correct answer is 'what are those?', Mr. Purvis." Everyone laughed.

"Sorry to interrupt the narrative." I said. "Let's keep going."

Purvis said "He still has his residence in that cross-river suburb of Southport, but Carl Fisher has an apartment in our Town, on University Avenue above one of the bars there. The rents there are fairly high, and are meant to be paid by college roommates sharing the rent, so his pay from the University job isn't enough. It may be explained by his money as Carlton Bellows, but I'm not finding any transfers of money to himself, nor cash withdrawals there and deposits here. He's keeping them separate."

"He'd be aware of the money laundering laws," I said, "and would have avoided violating them."

Theo Washington said "I may have something on that, too. On my way home last night, I knocked on some doors of other janitors hired by the University. Some of them did not even know who he was, but a couple did." He named their names, then said: "They said Fisher had a very irregular schedule, and sometimes was assigned to areas that others had already gone through that day. Also, they'd see him two or three days in a row, then not see him for as much as two weeks at a time."

Theo: "So I checked the University's employment records database. He's paid for four hours a day, five days a week, just above minimum wage. Other janitors are paid for a full 40-hour week, plus overtime for events like football games."

"After this meeting, I want you guys to go talk to the managers there." Tanya said.

"Before you do," I said, "let's think about this. He's paid less, but he is on the payroll and steadily so. He is working, or he's seen working, irregularly. Now if any of you guys tried to do that, you'd get caught. But since this guy apparently wasn't, that suggests someone in that department knows what he was doing, and was covering for him. So maybe we go at that angle with that knowledge in mind."

Tanya asked "So we don't go talk to them?"

"Oh no, we do go talk to them." I said. "Since Bettina blabbed his name all over the airwaves, they should be expecting us to visit. And we will... but we'll play a bit dumb. Pretend to take what they say at their word, don't peer at them too hard, don't challenge anything, at least not at first. And then we'll compare notes, and see what to do next."

"Dayum!" said Micah Rudistan. "I'm a Lieutenant, and I've still got a lot to learn!"

"Don't feel baaaaad." said Chief Moynahan. "I'm a long time Police Chief, and I just learned something."

"One thing I did do." said Rudistan. "I checked his wristwatch in the evidence room at the Morgue. It's still exactly 40 minutes behind. So that's not because the battery is weak."

"That's excellent information to have." I said. "Good thinking, Rudistan. And before anyone asks: yes, I think that's important."

"Therefore, we think it's important." said Tanya with a grin. "Okay, who has the financial report?"

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

The door opened and the Duty Desk Sergeant poked his head inside. "Commander Troy," he said, "there are two Federal Agents who want to talk to you. They say it's urgent."

"It always is." I said. "Where are they, Sergeant?"

"In the lobby, sir." said the Sergeant.

"Muscone and Dwight Stevens?" I asked.

"Yes sir." said the Sergeant, not batting an eyelash at my correct guess.

"Escort them to my office." I said as I got up. To everyone, I said "Excuse me, everyone, but I suspect this has to do with our case. Talk amongst yourselves..."

Part 9 - Meetings

"Hi Jack. Hi Dwight." I said as FBI Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone and DEA Supervisory Special Agent Dwight Stevens came into my office. I shook hands with both, then said "Help yourselves to some coffee."

They both did, then sat down in my 'hot chairs'. Muscone was in his normal suit and tie, but Stevens was dressed more casually, including a tan jacket, red woolen shirt, and black pants. Not all that dissimilar to what Carl Fisher had been wearing, except Stevens was wearing shoes more appropriate for outdoor work.

"So we've got a lunch bet that you can tell us why we're here today." said Muscone.

I just smiled and said "How come I'm not the beneficiary of these bets?" They chuckled, then I said "You're here because of our murder victim, Carl Fisher. Everything we're finding on him is coming up drugs, and you're the DEA's Finest in those areas, Dwight."

"Okay, I'll pay for your lunch, too, if you come with us to the Cop Bar today." said Stevens. "Yeah, this guy Fisher has been in our sights for a good while now."

He handed me a file folder with a sheaf of papers inside. As I perused it, he said "Fisher came out of nowhere about six years ago. He took a custodial job on the University campus, and he came under our radar when a Tau Fraternity member that we suspected was a drug supplier on Campus talked to Fisher several times in a parking lot that Fisher was pretending to clean up."

Stevens: "So we started watching Fisher, to see if he was the Frat boy's supplier of product. The Campus Police independently began watching him, and impacted our operation when they began trying to do drug buys off of him, then running dogs by his janitor equipment. He was never found with any drugs, but that Frat boy met him several other times and passed him notes. So we concluded that Fisher was taking buy orders."

Stevens: "We got a warrant to increase our surveillance of Fisher, including tapping his phones and getting his cell phone metadata. But after a year, we had nothing to show for it. We never figured out how he was passing any information along. And that Frat boy that was contacting him graduated, and we never observed anyone else making contacts with him."

"Got a name for that Frat boy?" I asked.

"If it's in the papers there, yes; otherwise, no." Stevens said. "Anyway, a few years ago, we thought we had something on Fisher. The City Police pulled him over and found $28,000 in his car. He was non-cooperative, but the City Police couldn't charge him with anything. But they did seize the money under Asset Forfeiture laws."

Stevens: "We have a guy in the DEA named Fred Merkle. You'd like him: he's a redhead, though darker red than your hair. He's also a good Agent, certainly no Swamp Frog. Merkle tried to cut a deal with Fisher. He told him the DEA would help Fisher get his money back from the City... actually from the State, since they took the money... in exchange for Fisher working for him, Merkle, as a C.I."

Stevens: "Fisher never would admit to drug involvement, but he agreed to be a C.I. if he got his money back. Problem was, he never gave Merkle a thing, and Merkle never came through on the Asset Forfeiture. So that pretty relationship much fell apart. Jack?"

Jack Muscone took it up: "Thanks, Dwight. Don, Fisher came up more recently on the FBI's radar in Southport. Since Crenshaw and Jenkins have been assigned there, we are starting to get real information and in good quantity. It's definitely not like the days of that dirtbag Les Craig." I nodded vigorously in agreement.

Muscone: "Fisher was spotted talking to a couple of known Mob figures in Southport, and the facial recognition software came up with him as a DEA person of interest. So we started watching him. And we found that he very frequently came back up here, to your Town & County, and would sporadically do his janitor thing. While he was up here, he'd dress more like Dwight is dressed now; but when he was in Southport, he was always in a suit and tie, like I am now." I nodded.