Tip of the Spear Pt. 04

Tip Of The Spear, Pt. 04

A Sheriff Ryan Caldwell story

I would like to thank QuantumMechanic1957 for giving this a beta read, as well as those who have offered comments and constructive criticism on my previous stories.

And now, the disclaimers:

For those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper... In addition:

1. Characters in this story may participate in one or more of the following: Smoking, consumption of adult (meaning, alcoholic) beverages, utterance of profanities.
2. All sexual activity is between consenting adults 18 years of age or older.
3. Statements or views uttered by the fictional characters in this story do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the author.

Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. (Yes, I DO moderate comments) And please remember, this is a work of fiction, not a docu-drama...

...

End of "Tip Of The Spear, Pt. 03"

"You did good today, sweetheart," she said.

"Then why do I feel like such a damn hypocrite?" he asked.

"You mean, with what happened with Knight?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "And now, here I am talking about not putting up with vigilantes."

"Well, you weren't exactly wearing a badge then, you know. Besides, you had a Special Agent with the FBI who could very easily have arrested all of us. And Sheriff Coltrane even escorted us to the state line. Remember? You did the right thing then, and you did the right thing today," she said.

"I guess you're right," he said.

"You know I'm right," she said. "Now, why don't you get out of that uniform and have dinner. I made meatloaf. Full of cheese and mushrooms. And Mrs. Anderson gave me a pecan pie. Then I intend to take you upstairs and fuck your brains out. How's that for dessert?"

"Now that sounds like the best offer I've had all day," he said with a smile.

...

And now, "Tip of the Spear, Pt. 04"

Ryan got his coffee as he always did and made his way to the office on Tuesday. He couldn't help but notice that the mood in town had become more somber since news of Bertram's murder broke just eight days ago. Even Sarge, the old Vietnam vet who spoke with everyone, was quiet these days. He finished his morning cigarette and went into the station.

He did his usual morning routine, checking the overnight activity reports and such, and filled out his daily paperwork. Elaine Bledsoe, the day shift desk sergeant, tapped on his door.

"Sheriff, Commissioner Higgins' son, Brian, is here to see you," she said.

"Please, send him in," Ryan said. He looked up to see a younger version of Bertram in a blue Air Force uniform, his captain's bars gleaming on his shoulders. The rows of ribbons on his chest indicated he had seen his share of action. Ryan stood and shook Brian's hand.

"How are you holding up, Captain Higgins?" Ryan asked.

"Getting by, Sheriff. Thank you for asking," Brian said. "And please, call me Brian. I'm heading back to base, and I wanted to drop this off for you." He handed Ryan an envelope addressed to him in Bertram's handwriting. "It was in my father's private safe deposit box at the bank. Mom never knew he had it. He wrote one for me and another for my uncle. I really think you should read it. It explains quite a lot."

"Pretty graphic?" Ryan asked.

"A bit too graphic in places," the young man said. "I never knew any of this was going on."

"None of us did," Ryan said.

"Dad was real big on the teachings in the Bible. Used to take us all to church on Sundays when I was a kid. Says we're supposed to honor our father and mother. After reading that, I don't see how I can possibly do that anymore. Honor my mother that is. Not after all the pain and humiliation she put him through."

"I'm sure the woman in that cell downstairs isn't the same woman you remember growing up," Ryan said.

"No, she's not," Brian said quietly. "Listen, I have to get to the airport. Could you do me a favor and let me know when the trial starts? I'd like to be here for that if I can."

"Of course," Ryan said. "And if there's anything I can do, call. You hear?"

"I hear ya, Sheriff," Brian said. "Thank you for everything." They said their goodbyes, and Ryan watched him leave. He opened the envelope and read the lengthy statement Bertram left for him. From what the commissioner wrote, things were worse in the Higgins household than he ever could've imagined.

Bertram minced no words detailing the horrible abuse Trudy put him through. At first, it was a general disrespect followed by her non-stop cheating with as many men as she could get into her bed. He installed security cameras to document her cheating more than once, but she always found them and disabled them before they recorded her activities, tossing their destroyed remains in the middle of the floor. The physical part of the abuse started shortly after Ginger and Jeremy appeared on the scene, Bertram said.

Ryan wondered why Bertram didn't just divorce his wife. Bertram explained that Trudy threatened him financially and politically. While the prenuptial agreement protected the family farm, it did nothing for his political reputation. And in these parts, people were still a bit old-fashioned when it came to elected leaders having a stable family.

Bertram went on to explain that he suspected Trudy was not acting alone and began hacking into her email and private communication. He got help from a county IT person and was finally able to get into Trudy's secure email system. It was then he learned that Trudy was in contact with Nancy Garrison, Sen. Legstrom's wife.

Ryan had heard that name before but couldn't quite place it. He set the letter down and did a search on the Internet. That's when he saw that Garrison and a number of her accomplices had been executed under the provisions of the Enhanced Patriot Act. For all practical purposes, she had been labeled a traitor. What the hell was Trudy involved with, Ryan asked himself.

Bertram went on to say that his wife was also in contact with a mysterious person who only went by the initials "AG." Nothing he saw gave any indication of who that person might be or where he or she was located.

The commissioner's lengthy statement became more shrill and angry in tone as he began to realize that he would probably not last much longer. He confessed his desire to kill Trudy and admitted that he had stood over her slumbering body, gun in hand, more than once. The only thing that stopped him from putting a bullet in her head was his own belief that he would end up in Hell for murdering the woman who caused him so much pain and heartache.

"I don't have much time left," Bertram wrote toward the end. "Just know that when you find my body, the person responsible is none other than my so-called 'loving wife,' Trudy."

The bottom of the printed statement had two words, written in ink above his signature: "Avenge Me!" Ryan set the letter down and called Ray, who happened to just report in.

"Hale," the former NYPD detective said when he answered.

"Ray, good to see you decided to come to work today," Ryan said.

"Hah hah," Ray said jokingly.

"Got something here you might be interested in," Ryan said. "Why don't you come up to my office, and we can discuss it over a smoke."

"On my way," Ray said. When Ray showed up, Ryan handed him Bertram's letter and headed for the smoking area. Ray read as he followed Ryan out the door and continued reading as he smoked his cigarette. He shook his head when he finished.

"Damn," he exclaimed.

"My thoughts exactly," Ryan said. "Is that something you can use?"

"Absolutely," Ray said. "It gives me a timeline to work with. The evidence I've seen so far fits everything he mentioned. What I don't fully understand is how this 'AG' fits into the picture."

"Maybe Ron found something on Higgins' hard drive," Ryan said.

"Maybe," Ray said. "I think we need to get Jackson back out here. Help us put this all into context."

"I agree," Ryan said. "You ever talk to this Sheila Robertson?"

"Yeah," Ray said. "She swears there was nothing going on between her and Higgins. She's engaged to a Border Patrol Agent working out of El Paso. They're planning to get married pretty soon. She said Higgins was overjoyed to hear that she found someone to settle down with. His wife, on the other hand, didn't seem to care."

"Because she already had it in her head her husband was screwing Sheila," Ryan said. "And nothing he said or did made any difference. But how do we draw a line from her thinking her husband is having an affair to her becoming involved in a murder plot and a threat to national security?"

"Good question," Ray said.

"So, your trip to California give you some insight into the Rodgers kids?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," Ray said. "Samuel Colt Rodgers is a bitter, lonely old man, living on a piece of crap dirt farm outside Clovis. Wife left him and the kids when they were toddlers. Ran off with a doctor. Never looked back, not even to send the kids a birthday or Christmas card. Rodgers raised them, then caught them screwing behind the barn and kicked them out of his house.

"He told me he hasn't heard from them since they left, although he does get some mail for them from time to time. Mostly ads and junk. Says he still loves them and misses them, though," Ray said. "Also did a local records check. Nothing came up. Even if they did have a juvenile record, though, it probably would've been expunged by now."

"You said a counselor is set to meet with Jeremy Rodgers. Tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, tomorrow," Ray said.

"Maybe you should have this counselor interview the other two as well," Ryan said. "None of them seem too tightly wrapped to me."

"I agree," Ray said. "I'll get it set up." Just then, Ryan's phone buzzed. He saw it was a call from Ron, so he answered it.

"Caldwell," he said when he answered.

"Sheriff, I found something I think you and Detective Hale should see," Ron said. "I also think DA Olmstead should see this as well."

"What is it?" Ryan asked.

"A piece of video I found in that stack of DVDs in Jeremy's van," Ron said. "Actually, it's the audio on the DVD I think you'll be more interested in."

"Alright, Ron," Ryan said. "We'll be down in a bit. Go ahead and call the DA, let him know."

"Will do, Sheriff," Ron said. Ryan ended the call and turned to Ray.

"Ron says he has something we need to see," Ryan said. "He's calling the DA over. Might as well finish these and go take a look." They finished smoking their cigarettes and headed for Ron's lab. Marvin was already there when they arrived.

"What have you got for us, Ron?" Ray asked.

"You've wanted proof of premeditation. I think I just found it," Ron said. "Take a look at this." Ron started a video on his computer, and they watched as Jeremy and Ginger lay next to each other on the small bed in the backroom of Ginger's shop where she slept. Both of them were naked and looked like they just had sex. They could see semen dripping from Ginger's swollen pussy onto the bed.

"That was so wonderful," Ginger moaned as she ran her hand over Jeremy's body. "You make me feel better than anyone, my dear brother." He smiled at her before responding.

"And you always make me feel like the king of the world," he told her. She smiled and cuddled close to him.

"I spoke to Trudy today," she said. "It's happening this Sunday."

"What's happening?" he asked.

"You know. The final solution. Trudy told us this would be coming soon," she said.

"You mean, she really wants to go through with killing her husband?" he asked. "I thought that was just talk. You know, to scare him." She shook her head.

"No. She's serious. She's convinced he's hacked into her emails and knows more than he's letting on," Ginger said. "She's also concerned about his growing hostility. She thinks he's going over the edge, and she wants to strike before he does."

"We have been pretty rough on him," he said. "Rougher than with anyone else. I don't know anyone who could tolerate the level of pain we've dished out and not go a little bit crazy. But killing him? That's a bit extreme, isn't it?"

"Yeah, a bit," she said. "But we're paid to do what the client wants, remember? That's in our contract. If we fail, then we pay the price. I got the package AG said she had sent to me. It's supposed to make things go a bit... easier for him."

"I don't know about this," he said.

"It's okay," she told him. "You can do it. I have faith in you."

"Me? You want me to kill him?"

"Trudy does." He shook his head. "And she wants you to use your spear gun."

"Wait a minute," he said. "It's one thing to kill a fish, but it's something else to actually kill a man. I don't think I can do that."

"It's alright, sweetie," she said softly. "I'll be there with you. I'll give you all the help and support you need."

"This Sunday?" he asked.

"That's right. Sunday night. That's the day after tomorrow. After we do this, we'll pack up and blow this hick town. Maybe go back home. Stop in and see the old man for a day or two, then head for the coast. I really could use a vacation," she said.

"What about your shop?" he asked.

"Fuck it," she said. "I'm not really cut out for the business world anyway. I'd rather just lay on the beach naked and spend the rest of my life fucking your brains out. We've got plenty of money saved up. One last final job and then we retire. What do ya say, lover? For me?" He looked at her and smiled.

"You know I'd do anything for you, my sweet sister," he said. She reached for his cock and began stroking it.

"Then fuck me full of your cum, one more time," she cooed in his ear. Ron stopped the video at that point.

"That's... sick," Marvin said. "I can't believe they actually recorded that."

"They recorded a lot of their trysts," Ron said. "I've got hundreds of hours of video."

"Can you blur out the private parts and get me a copy of that?" Marvin asked. Ron handed him a flash drive.

"Already done," Ron said.

"Thanks," he said.

"What about the emails and information on Higgins' hard drive?" Ray asked. "Anything there?"

"A ton of stuff, Detective," Ron said. "I've got flash drives for both you and the DA. Trudy Higgins was in contact with a Nancy Garrison until about six months ago. That's when Garrison was arrested. From what I saw, it looked like Garrison was grooming Trudy for something. I just don't understand what, exactly. I do know she wanted the commissioner to run for federal office, but he already refused."

"What about this 'AG' person? What did you find out?" Ray asked.

"Mrs. Higgins was in contact with this 'AG' for quite some time," Ron said. "There wasn't much communication between them until after Garrison was arrested. Then they started talking more frequently. From what I can tell, it was all done by secure email. I do know from the drive and Ginger's phone that AG is the one who dispatched the Rodgers kids.

"As for who or where this 'AG' is, I'm drawing a blank. 'AG' used a secure VPN connection that hid his or her actual location and all of the messages were bounced off a number of servers. All I can tell you is that 'AG' is probably somewhere in England. I'm hoping that Jackson's people can nail it down further," Ron added.

"England," Ryan said. "Interesting. When is Jackson coming next?"

"He's scheduled to be here Thursday, Sheriff," Ron said.

"How long before we get the toxicology report back?" Marvin asked.

"Two and a half to four weeks," Ron said. Marvin shook his head.

"I can't wait that long," Marvin said. "I think we have enough evidence for a conviction without it. I'm going to meet with Judge Brown and see if we can't get an arraignment on the docket pretty soon. I've already secured indictments from the grand jury against all three of the defendants."

"I thought there already was an arraignment hearing," Ryan said.

"That was just a hearing to determine if bail would be set," Marvin explained. "By the way, I think we're going to need a much bigger jury pool to pull from, Sheriff. Callender is pushing for a change of venue and if we can't seat a jury he'll probably get it."

"I'll take care of that, Marvin," Ryan said.

"Thank you, Sheriff. Detective Hale, can you put together a comprehensive evidence packet by the end of this week?"

"I believe so," Ray said. "There's an awful lot to go through, though."

"The more the better," Marvin said. "I want to bury Callender in evidence. Get me everything you possibly can."

"Consider it done," Ray said.

"Thank you," Marvin said. "I'll be in touch. Nice catch, Ron."

"My pleasure," Ron said.

"I guess we'd better get back to work," Ray said after Marvin left. "Think we can get a forklift for all this evidence?" he joked, causing Ron and Ryan to both laugh.

"I was actually thinking something along the line of a big rig," Ron answered. They all laughed, as Ray and Ron gave each other a fist bump.

...

Later, that afternoon, Jake Callender sat at the small table in one of the tiny conference rooms at the jail, his briefcase in front of him. He pulled out the folder with the fairly thick indictment he just received and waited for his client to be brought into the room. Eventually, the door opened, and a thin Trudy Higgins was escorted in, her wrists shackled and connected to a chain that went around her waist. Another set of chains went from her ankles to the chain around her waist, making it difficult for her to walk. The guard sat her in the chair and placed her wrist chains in the small loops on the table.

"Hello, Trudy, how are you holding up?" he asked after the guard left the room. Tears began falling down her face.

"Horrible," she cried. "They make me sit in that tiny room by myself all day. They only let me walk around outside for about an hour a day. The food tastes like crap, and I know the guards would kill me if they thought they could get away with it. Please, Jake, you have to do something."

"I'm sorry, Trudy," he said. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's probably the safest place for you right now. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true. I take it you received the indictment from the grand jury."

"I did, but I don't understand much of what's in it. It's so long and full of legalese," she said.

"Yes, Marvin Olmstead is pretty good about putting indictments together that are fairly lengthy and wordy," Jake said with a smile. "Let me see if I can break it down for you in English, okay? Basically, he claims you, Ginger and Jeremy conspired with a group of known domestic extremists who have already tried to bring down the government. It's his contention you did this for the express purpose of undermining your husband and eventually killing him.

"He also claims the three of you conspired to sexually assault your husband, with the aid and assistance of at least one other person, who he admits is unknown to him at this point. I get the impression from this that he intends to seek the death penalty for all three of you under the auspices of the Enhanced Patriot Act. Do you understand what that means?"

"No, I don't," Trudy said.

"That means if you are found guilty and sentenced as he wishes, there will be no appeal. You will essentially be taken from the courtroom, straight to death row, and executed shortly thereafter," Jake said, causing Trudy to break down sobbing.

"Please. You have to do something," she cried.

"I'm doing what I can, Trudy," he said. "The fact is, you've gotten involved with a very dangerous group of people. Maybe you didn't fully understand that when you got involved with them, but that may not matter to the jury."