93 (9)

Laura looked back and forth nervously.  Jebediah was underneath Bob’s Pontiac, and Jeremiah was checking the trunk.  The garage was empty for the moment, but Laura knew someone could show up at anytime.  “Would you two speed it up?”

“Relax Laura, our stories will check out.”  Jeremiah kept talking as he tugged on various parts of the trunk’s interior.

“I have no doubt your visitor passes can easily be confirmed.  People will still ask questions.  It isn’t like we get a ton of visiting officers from San Diego.  That and they’ll want to know why you’re checking this car out.”

“We can deal with anyone who asks too many questions” came Jebediah’s voice from under the car.

“That’s another thing.”  Laura walked quickly by the car and lowered her voice.  “Which of you two thought it was a good idea to shoot an officer?  The cops here are practically foaming at the mouth looking for someone who shot one of their own.”

“Funny you should ask us that” said Jeremiah, as he closed the trunk.  “I regret to inform you that you’re asking the wrong guys.  Maybe you can call Mokoto and ask her.”

“She’s the shooter?”

“That’s right” Jeremiah kept his eyes on Laura as he opened the rear driver’s side door.  “We were on our way out of town when that happened.”

“What were you doing in town?”

“We came looking for Gerrard, but we couldn’t find him, and then we got word that he was dead, so there was a…a change in the ‘weather’, so to speak.”

Jebediah popped up behind Laura.  “Doesn’t that weather mumbo-jumbo bother you?  I can’t stand it.”

“Why Jebediah, you have an opinion on something.”  Jeremiah smiled as he started checking the backseat.

Laura spun around.  “Anything?’

“Nope.  I don’t think Gerrard hid the information on this car.  We’re wasting our time.”

“Well, just let me check back here, then we can waste our time elsewhere.”

Laura walked back to where she was standing before, and started keeping watch again.

***

Phil ran up to Bob, just before he opened the dumpster.  “Are you out of your mind?”

“Don’t you think it will be suspicious if they find something?  There could be security footage of the pay phone, then they’ll have us on the run, tied to a dead cop and a dead kid.”

“It already isn’t suspicious that two guys who look like they slept in a boxcar are rooting in some dumpster behind Kmart?  The longer we stay back here the more attention we draw to ourselves.”

“Then shut up and let me look and we can get out of here.”  Bob reached for the dumpster lid.

“Wait!  At least use your sleeved arm.  We don’t want fingerprints.”

“Oh for the love of…”  Bob grabbed the lid and flipped it up.  He saw and smelled a lot of garbage, but nothing else.  “One down, three to go.”

“You’re going to check all three?  Why not find us some lunch and we can really live the wandering hobo stereotype?”

“Can you can it for a second?”

“What are you two doing?” came a voice from behind them.

92 (8)

Officer Felix Moore sighed. He was the captain’s go to guy for any and all info about anyone and everyone, but right now he didn’t have a thing to offer. N.R.O. agent Raymond Garrett’s record was fairly easy to find, but there was nothing in it that Felix could find that would trip any alarms. N.G.A. agent Allison Lewis also had a record that wasn’t hard to acquire, but like Garrett’s it was clean and in order. Felix put the records side by side. They’re both too perfect. Something isn’t quite kosher here. Felix maneuvered his mouse and clicked on a record of his newest target, officer Laura Black. She had been on the force for six months, and had done nothing to warrant suspicion. She had arrived fresh from the city police of Tacoma, Washington. Her records were in complete order, but something didn’t match up. Felix looked for a long time, then switched back to the records of Mabel Gravley and Bartholomew McGillcuddy. He then looked at the records on his desk for Phillp Anderton, Robert Fulton, and Gerrard Dinkley. Somehow these records were all converging in a way Felix couldn’t explain. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate. It was a text from the captain:

DO SEARCH F.B.I. CLAYTON IRON-HORSE ASAP

Felix sighed and flipped his screen again. “I’ll count myself lucky if I don’t get busted by some governmental organization today” he muttered to himself. I hope Laura is late for our lunch date.

***

“My phone? Don’t you have a phone?” Phil crossed his arms and backed away.

“Mine is dead. The battery life is awful. C’mon, give it.”

“You’re going to call the cops?”

“Phil, we have to. This girl is someone’s daughter, maybe somebody’s sister.”

“It is just a bike. We don’t even know if it is the right pink bike. How many pink bikes can there be in this town?”

“Phil, I can’t believe you’re hesitating. You’re the one who wanted to go to the police before. Won’t this be something on our side? If we show we’re not bad people?”

“Look, I know we aren’t bad people. I’m just worried about going in here. I mean, how big is the police force here? It’s a long ways back to Sioux Falls…a lot can happen…”

“Jeez, are you still worried about the assassin thing? There’s no way she’d be here. Now give me the phone and let me call.”

Phil took a few steps back. “Let’s use the pay phone in the store. That way we won’t have to give names and it can’t be traced.”

Bob stared at Phil, dumbfounded. He was really surprised that Phil was being this way. “Well, I suppose we could do that. That actually seems like a nice compromise.”

“Good. I could get used to winning these arguments.” Phil turned and started walking. After a few steps, he realized Bob wasn’t with him. He turned around and saw Bob walking towards the dumpsters. “Bob, what are you doing?”

“I just want to make sure we’re reporting just a bike.”

91 (7)

“You heard me.  I want an unmarked car in Dell Rapids.  Trust me, you’ll spot the action.  The town is what, two-thousand or so?  MAKE IT HAPPEN.  What?  If they need assistance?  Well, give it and I’ll explain later.  I doubt my luck is that bad.  JUST DO IT.”  Captain Hale slammed the phone down.  He had really enjoyed his minute nap, and right now he was wishing for about four hundred more, preferably consecutively.  He heard a knock at his door as he put his head on his arms again.  Springing back up, he yelled “COME IN” while he snugged his tie.  The door opened and Will walked in.

“Captain, you wanted to see me?”

“Yes, yes I did.  WHY DID YOU NOT GO TO THE RAIL YARD?”

“I had a LEAD on Richmond.  I had to get to the airport.”

“Why did you, oh, I don’t know, CALL SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE THAT?  YOU DROVE ACROSS TOWN RATHER THAN CALL SOMEONE CLOSER.”

“It’s my case, and I was pretty sure that there were no flights leaving.”

“PRETTY SURE?  DAMMIT HETFIELD, PRETTY SURE?”

“Hey, we did find him.”

“Yes…yes you did.  NEARLY DEAD.”

“He was poisoned…”

“Wait, I almost forgot.  Richmond deals with Dinkley, who is also dead, AND WAS DEAD BEFORE WE LOST STEVENS LAST EVENING.  DID I OR DID I NOT PUT  YOU ON A CASE TO FIND OUT WHO KILLED OFFICER STEVENS?”

“You did, but I have r-”

“SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH.  DROP THIS DINKLEY BUSINESS.  I’VE GOT OTHER OFFICERS AND SOME FEDS ON THAT.  YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHO SHOT OFFICER STEVENS.”

“If I may…”  Clayton stepped forward, almost standing between Hetfield and Hale.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?”

“Clayton Iron-Horse, F.B.I.  Part of this is my fault.  I involved Detective Hetfield in the Dinkley matter.  Plus, I thought finding Dinkley might lead us to his landlord and to Anderton and Fulton.”

“Ah yes, Garrett and Lewis told me about you.  You always get your man, or at least, your record says as much.”

“Just doing my job.”

“How admirable.  Now, let me do mine, in reminding my detective TO DO HIS DAMN JOB!”

Clayton took a step back.  Will looked at him and shrugged.

***

Phil closed the distance to the bicycle.  Bob was right behind him.  “We need to call the police.”

“Well, that means we go in too.”

Phil stopped in his tracks.  “Damn.  Damn damn damn.  I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Yeah.  Me either, until just now.”

“Maybe the bike is just by the dumpster because it’s garbage?”

“Let’s check it out, just to be safe.”  Bob started walking again, and Phil was right behind him.  Bob got to the bike first.  “Well, it looks like a decent bike.  The streamers and Hello Kitty stickers tell me it isn’t quite a floor model they put out.”

“So, what do we do?  Call the police, tell someone else, walk away?”

Bob looked around.  He crossed his arms and shook his head.  “We have to do something.”

“Well?”  Phil looked around and and scratched his head.

“Give me your phone” Bob said.

90 (6)

Will shoved the door open and flashed his badge.  Clayton walked in and did the same.  Will turned around.  “Let me guess, you called ahead to let them know you were coming?”

“Actually, after last night at the morgue, I’m sure everyone is aware I’m in town.  Remind me to bring that up with the Captain if he gets to obnoxious.”

“Ah, Captain Hale likes to bust my balls, but he lets the Feds walk all over him when they’re in town.  You’ll be fine.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.  I might get involved if he goes after you too much.  Part of it is my fault.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it.  Hale knows I’m one of his best.”  Will pushed the button on the elevator, while Clayton looked around.

“Why don’t we take the stairs?”

“Mainly because I want to get this over with and get back out there.”

“I see.”  Clayton kept looking around.  He noticed an older woman with a visitor pass disappear into a restroom.  She looked to be in her fifties, and she almost looked like she was sleepwalking.

“Hey, you coming?”  Will was already standing in the elevator.

“Yeah.”  Clayton turned away as the woman disappeared into the bathroom.

“Going up or down?”  Came a voice from outside.  Will pressed the button to keep the door open.

“Up.”

“Never mind, I’m going down” said Laura.  The doors closed while Jeremiah pressed the down button.

“Do you think we should share an elevator with other people?”

“No offense Jeremiah, but the sooner you two get your look-see, the better.”

***

“I like where this looks like it might be going.”  Phil said, as he started to veer onto Wilson Street.

“A right turn after crossing a river?  I can’t remember if that’s good luck or not.”

“Bob, sometimes I wish I knew when you were yankin’ my chain about stuff like that.”

“Here’s a hint, when you think I am, I am.  When you think I’m not, I am.”

“So you always are?”

“Unless I’m not.”

Phil shook his head.  “I’m taking a right turn, because this looks like a larger building, and I can almost hear more traffic from this direction.  I think that’s worth a look.”

“Fair enough.”  Bob walked along with Phil Southward, and soon they saw a bustling parking lot.  Bob nudged Phil in the ribs.  “Look at that!  That’s a Kmart shopping cart.  Well done, you found the Kmart, and even during the day when the blue light isn’t visible.”

“I’m glad our situation and hunger hasn’t dulled your keen eye and rapier like wit.”

“Now Phil, does sarcasm get us anywhere?”

“No, but maybe we can get some beef jerky or find a place to eat.”  Phil looked over at the shopping cart, then stopped in his tracks.  “Bob…look, there, in the back by the loading dock.”

Bob squinted his eyes.  “What?”

“Take of your lucky specs and look there, by the dumpster.”

Bob lifted his sunglasses and balanced them on his forehead.  There was a pink bicycle by one of the dumpsters.

89 (5)

“Good job Felix.” Captain Hale hung up the phone and smiled. Agent Garrett and Agent Lewis looked up from their laptops. “We have a match. It looks like there is someone in Dell Rapids that could be harboring them. Fulton has a friend who lives there named Eli Elson. We even have some recent cell calls between them.”

“What’s the strength of the Dell Rapids police?” Garrett closed his laptop.

“They don’t have a police force. The county Sheriff handles the policing.”

Lewis also closed her laptop. “We’ll meet with the Sheriff to observe. Thanks for all your help Captain Hale.”

“Let me guess. If you don’t find Bob you’ll be back, or at least let us know. We’d still like to ask them about our guy.”

Garrett flipped open his sunglasses. “We’ll let you know. You should get some sleep.”

As the door closed, Hale put his head on his desk. He was out instantly.

***

Will Hetfield sat in his car. Slowly, Clayton pulled in next to him. Clayton got out of his car, then straightened his suit up. He reached inside, and pulled out a lint brush. He proceeded to de-lint his suit. Will rolled down his passenger window. “What are you doing?”

“It never hurts to make a good first impression. I try to look my best when I talk to the local law types.”

“I never get that linty at my place.”

“Really? I think you just stopped noticing.”

Will looked down. He started getting out of the car. “Can I borrow that?’

“Looking good for the Captain or someone else?” Clayton asked as he handed the lint roller to Will.

“Anyone at this point.” Will started rolling as Clayton checked his phone.

***

“Let me handle this” Bob said out of the corner of his mouth to Phil. The Aberdeen police car rolled to a stop, and Bob walked across the street towards it. Phil slowly followed.

“Yes officer?”

“Have you two been walking for very long?”

“Not really. Just from a rented house a few blocks back.”

“Have you seen a girl, about ten years old, or a pink bicycle?”

“No sir.”

“There’s a young girl missing, or at least her mom won’t stop calling us. Say, if you don’t mind me saying, you two don’t look familiar.”

“We used to go to Northern. We’re visiting for a few days.”

“So, why the walk from the rental house?”

“Sir, I think you’re familiar with the walk of shame?”

“Ahh. Both of you?”

“I know right? We each meet these girls at the zoo, and we agree to call each other for a ride at the end of the night. Imagine our surprise when we wake up at the same house in different rooms. Now we’re walking back the Super 8 and hoping our other friend has the car.”

“Well, good luck with the car. If either of you see anything, don’t hesitate to call.”

“We will. Have a good day officer.”

The police car pulled away. Phil took a deep breath. “Rented house, walk of shame, The Zoo? How do you think of this stuff?”

“Carefully and confidently.”

The policeman looked in his rear view mirror, then looked around for a pink bicycle. He didn’t notice the fax from Sioux Falls in his stack of paperwork.

88 (4)

Old man B snapped upright.  He had almost fallen asleep, but the slamming of the door brought him back to his life, which currently had found itself in an interrogation room.  “Listen, I’m sure my friend is waiting and…hey, you’re a different cop.”

“Well, your mental faculties seem to be in order.”  The officer pushed her glasses up and yawned.  “I just need to finish up some paperwork to let you go.  Laura did most of it already.”

“Where did she go?”

“Beats me.”  The officer yawned again.  “I had a nice three hour nap before I got a call to come back in.  Something big must be about to go down somewhere.”

Old man B yawned now as well.  “Well, let’s get this done.  I’ve got places to be…Wig?”

“It’s Vig.”  Tina sat down and clicked her pen.

***

The South back exit swung open.  Laura found herself face to face with Jeremiah and Jebediah.  “I’m taking a big risk here.”

“You knew when you signed up things would get risky now and then.”  Jeremiah was smiling as he flipped through the report on Bob’s car.  Jebediah simply stood and waited.

“Well, the car is in the basement level.  I’m guessing you two want a look.”

“How thorough was your look through?”  Jebediah started thumbing through the report.

“I didn’t have much time, but I checked all the usual places police don’t normally check.”

“Well, this shouldn’t take too long.  I know a few other places.  Any word on Jer’s car?

“Right now it’s listed as missing.  We haven’t been able to find it.”

“Lanyards?”

Laura looked behind her as she pulled out visitor passes for the two of them.  “Don’t talk so much Jeremiah.  We need to keep a low profile.  Jebediah…maybe you should talk just a bit more.”

***

Bob took a few steps to the right, and Phil started walking to the left.  Bob turned to look, and spotted Phil walking away.  “Hey!”

“What?”

“I think we should go West.”

“East.  Trust me Bob.”

Bob walked up to Phil.  “How do you figure that?  So far we’ve walked a few blocks and managed to miss Second Avenue.”

“We don’t even know if second avenue exists.  Besides, at least we agree to turn here.  I just think East is the way to go.”

“West is probably Main.”

“East is probably the mall.”

“So you want to hit the mall?”

“What’s so important on Main?”

Bob looked around, then shrugged.  “Nothing.  Nothing is important on Main.  So why the mall then?”

“I’m not looking for the Mall, but that’s where the new development in the town is.  That and I’m guessing the police station is closer to Main than the mall.”

Bob shook his head.  “Phil, if I didn’t know you better I’d say you have a criminal mind working up there.  I hadn’t even considered that.”

“C’mon.  I’ll fill you in on my bank heist plan while we go East.”  Phil started walking again, and Bob followed.

“I wonder if this mall has a Cinnabon?”  Bob’s thoughts were to breakfast, but not for long.  The sound of a car pulling up behind them stopped them dead in their tracks.

87 (3)

The red light, much like the last, seemed to taunt Will Hetfield. He was supposed to be back at the precinct in 30 minutes, but every intersection sprung up to stop him. Will had gone through at least ten lit intersections, and every time he got to a light it had been red. This was around number eleven, and it was red like the rest had been. Will sighed and looked at his car stereo. He had five minutes and was proceeding at a pace that would put him back at headquarters in about fifteen. Will glanced up at his rear-view mirror. Clayton’s black Crown Victoria was behind him, and Clayton was on his cell phone again. I wonder if he has another F.B.I. trick up his sleeve to get me out of this. Will looked back up at the light, which was still red. He flipped open his cell phone. There wasn’t a response from Tina in his inbox. He started thinking about the text he sent. Was it too…playful? Too professional? Maybe it was too long. Too short? No, no it wasn’t too short. Maybe too professional. Crap! Why don’t they have an unsend button for messages that might not have been read yet?

*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

Will’s head snapped up. The light was green. He tossed his cell phone into the passenger seat and gunned the gas. He had enough mental red lights, and he wasn’t about to hit anymore physical ones.

***

“We keep going on Lancelot.”

Bob shrugged and kept walking. He knew Aberdeen about as well as Phil did, but Phil seemed to have a purpose and a plan. Bob felt like letting Phil make all the decisions for a while, since his hadn’t done all that well since last night. “You’re the boss.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I defer to your judgment on where to go in this town. I’ve never been here sober.”

“Hmmph.” Phil looked forward.

“Hmmph? Why hmmph?”

“Because, I’m sure you can’t wait to take charge.”

“Excuse me?” Bob reached to his right and grabbed Phil’s shoulder.

“Your exploits camping in the Black Hills were always the talk of the supper table at the caffeteria.” Phil shrugged the hand off and kept walking.

Bob took a few quick steps to catch up. “Hey, just because I’m good in the woods doesn’t mean I want to figure out where to go in Aberdeen. This isn’t exactly West River South Dakota. You’re the urban guy, such as it is living in a state with minimal urban settings.”

“Let’s stop calling Aberdeen urban. It might spook the locals.”

“You’re right. It’s probably what, ten thousand? Fifteen thousand?”

“Try around twenty-five thousand. It’s the third biggest city in the state.”

“Third biggest at 25-K? I’m revoking your urban cred.”

“Hang on, maybe you should anyway. Did we walk by another street?”

“No. This is the first intersection since First Avenue.”

“I know” Phil said as he pointed upward. “This is Third Avenue. Where the hell is Second?”

“Beats me. Maybe Aberdeen has crazy streets like Brookings.”

“Great, just great.”

“So, now that we somehow lost a street, are we lost as well?”

86 (2)

*CLICK*

Officer Baker took another picture of the fence. Julio was watching him while he waited on hold.

“Sorry about that Perez. Are the police still around?”

“I’m afraid so. I might need a half day to catch up on sleep. I’m way past my bedtime.”

“You’ve got it. In fact, take the whole weekend off. I think Litz and Tavarez can handle things this weekend. They each have been asking about more hours.”

“Sounds good to me.” Julio was rubbing his eyes as Officer Bucholz walked towards him with a notepad. “Listen, it looks like question time. I’d better go. I’ll call you back.” Julio lowered the phone and glared at Bucholz, who had the look of a man who was trying not to be intimidated, with moderate success.

“I just got word that the old man you brought in caved. He claims he got the two men we’re looking for on a train going North.”

“North?”

“Yep, I just had a call from the interrogating officer. She said he confessed to putting two men in a boxcar. Then he mentioned one of them had a friend in Dell Rapids. Do you know when that train left and when it got there.”

“Yeah, hang on.” Julio pulled out his Blackberry and started looking through the train schedule. “I have all the times here, but hang on. Are you sure that’s what the old man said?”

“Yes indeed. So, you have the time the train left and when it would have gotten to Dell Rapids?”

“I do, but I find it unlikely that they would have been on that train.”

“How come?”

“That train was loading pretty far away from where I found him, compared to when it departed.”

“Well, the man insists it was a train heading North to Dell Rapids.”

Then that’s where they are, because Dell Rapids is the end of the line on that track.”

***

“So…Lancelot Drive? At least it’s a starting point.” Phil started walking down the street. Bob looked around, but didn’t find anything familiar.

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?”

“South.”

Bob shook his head. “Fair enough.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Dead. How about yours?”

“Probably around half or so.” Phil pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. Three of the four battery bars were showing. “Maybe more. Like it helps us. We can’t even use them.”

“Well, we don’t know that for sure.”

“So, do you want me to call a cab?”

“Does Aberdeen even have cabs?”

“Probably not.”

“Are you sure this is the right way?”

“Well, to the North was a lot of nothing, and we’re walking by houses here. This has to be the way.”

“Have we figured out what we’re doing next?”

“I didn’t know I was in charge.”

“You picked a direction?”

“Well, a navigator and a leader aren’t always the same.”

“Here’s your chance to be both. Do we stay on Lancelot or take 1st Avenue Southeast?”

Phil looked left and right. He honestly didn’t know what to do.

85 (1)

Bob pushed the branches away and looked around. Somehow, someway, he’d found his way back to the Black Hills, and his favorite campsite. The clearing in the forest was almost perfectly circular, and there were a few stumps around the middle which made perfect seats for a campfire. Bob walked into the middle of the clearing and looked in all directions. The sounds of the forest filled his ears, and a wave of calm washed over him. The calm was quickly broken by a loud scream, followed by a large growl. Bob ran towards the scream, but the trees almost seemed to thicken as he got closer. Bob pushed through, but his world was becoming a blur. A blur of trees.

Blood.

Trees.

Mountain Lion.

Trees

Sunlight.

Leaves.

Marta.

Trees.

Blood.

Suddenly, the blur of images evaporated. Bob opened his eyes. He was looking up at a blue sky, with one small cloud. Bob’s eyes shifted to that one cloud. It was the first cloud he’d seen all day. He wanted to reach out and pull himself onto that could. He wanted to float above all this. He longed to float away from Aberdeen, from Michelle, from Phil, from Mokoto, from the police, and from everything he was remembering about the Black Hills. The cloud slowly drifted out of his line of sight. Bob took a deep breath and turned his head. His neck didn’t hurt, and Bob was starting to feel less worried about his landing. Slowly he wiggled his fingers and toes. Bob took another deep breath and sat up. His body didn’t ache, but his hands were smarting. He looked at his hands and saw numerous nicks, streaks of dirt, and grass stains. His pants looked about as bad as his hands. He slowly stood up and dusted his jacket off. He checked his pockets and found his cell phone, along with some gum and old receipts. He looked back at the railroad tracks. The train was almost out of sight. He walked towards the pink-hued rocks around the tracks and spotted his sunglasses. Squinting his eyes and gritting his teeth, Bob reached down expecting his glasses to come up in two pieces. The glasses remained in one piece as he lifted them from the rocks. Bob put them on as he walked towards the spot that should have been where Phil landed. “Phil? Are you alive?”

“Uhhhhhhhh” came a voice from some tall grass. Bob walked over and found Phil on his back. Phil was wincing and moving very little.

“What have we learned today Phil?”

“Shut up.” Bob offered his hand to help Phil up, and he took it. Phil brushed off his arms and stood up. He walked five steps away from Bob, then turned around and came back.

“How was your landing?”

“I think the Romanian judge won’t give me a ten, but other than getting the wind knocked out of me and my back hurting, I’m fine. How about you?”

“I think I blacked out for a few minutes. I remember the ground rushing up to my face and then I was on my back.” Bob looked around in every direction. “So, now what?”

End Part 3

Part three has wrapped up, and Bob and Phil have found their way to the “Hub City” a.k.a. Aberdeen, South Dakota. When I first conceived of this story, I was really looking forward to writing all the boxcar scenes. As it turned out, I had a hard time really getting into them and was unable to stay a few days ahead. I also don’t think part three will be one of the better parts when the story is finally done next year. I hope you’ll all stick around for part four, as I have high hopes for how things are shaping up. Once again I’ll say that I think all the main characters are now in play, but I said that a month ago and now we have Felix Moore. As usual, I have tacked up a new summary page along with a character bio of our favorite S.F.P.D. detective, Will Hetfield. Part four, complete with a new template, starts tomorrow.