A Case of Revenge Ch. 01

Molly noticed Vicki's eyes going from Masters to hers, back and forth, but more often to her, as if studying her. "I'm sorry, Detective..."

"Evans." Molly said.

"Yes, Detective Evans." said Vicki. "You look familiar to me, have we met before?" Molly played it cool, shaking her head, realizing the woman was observant enough to see the resemblance to Cindy in Molly's face. She was a smart, tough adversary, Molly surmised.

"No ma'am, we have not." Molly said, then to change the subject, "Mrs. Oldeeds, can you tell us the last time you saw Mike?"

"Uh... yesterday, yesterday morning." Vicki said. Molly watched her, becoming more convinced every minute that Mrs. Oldeeds was not telling the truth. She wished Don could be here to observe the woman; he'd be seeing right through her. She continued to observe as Vicki continued "He... he asked for the day off so that he could visit some friends at the University, and he left about ten o'clock. That's the last I saw or heard from him."

"No texts? No phone calls?" Sgt. Masters asked.

"No, none at all." Vicki said. "I... didn't really think anything of it before now, before you got here. I thought he was still up there visiting his friends."

"Do you know who those friends are?" Sgt. Masters asked.

"No... no, he didn't mention any names." Vicki said. "He said they were graduating in May, but that was all."

Interviews with other members of the Oldeeds contingent yielded nothing, everyone's story was the same.

---

"Well, one thing she's lying about," said Cindy Ross, "Mike shows up on the Hyatt's front lobby camera about eight o'clock in the evening, and in the elevator, getting off on the floor the Oldeeds group had rooms on. The cameras of the hallway were inoperative, however, and Mike never re-entered his own hotel room by using his key."

"How did you get that footage?" asked Lt. Moynahan, very impressed.

"Uh, I asked your I.T. data guy to get it from the hotel." Cindy replied. "Don't you normally get the footage as quickly as possible?"

"Of course we do." said Sergeant Masters, obviously miffed at Cindy's question.

"Actually, Sergeant," said Cav Moynahan, "we could probably do things like that more quickly. Learn from our friends in our fellow departments, that's what the SBI Reserve program is about."

"Yes sir." said Masters, his face showing nothing, but I sensed some anger and frustration within him.

"The one other thing I have," I said, "is that he was on campus of the University yesterday afternoon. My wife is a professor there, she knows him, and she said she saw him yesterday. She said he left for Midtown late that afternoon, which with a two-hour drive and possible stops would put him in Midtown at seven to eight p.m." I did not divulge that Laura had told me she'd spent several pleasant hours fucking young Mike, nor that he was a young CIA operative on assignment inside the Oldeeds' empire. It was pretty obvious to me that Mike's cover had been blown, and Vicki Oldeeds had had him murdered.

"Guys, we need to get a warrant and get Vicki Oldeeds and her entourage in the house immediately." I said. "Before they skip town."

"A warrant will take two hours." said Masters. Perhaps my look of utter shock caused his next statement. "It doesn't take that long for you guys?"

"Uh, no." I said. "We call an ADA and unless a judge has a problem with the probable cause, we get what we need in minutes."

"Call the Courthouse, Wes." Lt. Moynahan said. "Get the warrant based upon the conflicting testimony of Mrs. Oldeeds to what these cameras show."

Part 5 - Federal Takeover

"I don't know what the delay is." Cindy said as she, Molly and I ate sandwiches Cindy had grabbed at a sandwich shop a few minutes before. "We'd have a warrant and a crowbar stuck up the perp's ass by this amount of time."

Molly laughed at that. "Sergeant Masters is absolutely by-the-book." she said. "He hasn't cultivated the relationships you have with Paulina and Vice had with Sanders. He actually types up the warrant request, prints it, has a courier take it to the Courthouse, who then waits and brings it back. You guys just say 'Hey, Paulina!' and magic just seems to happen for you."

"Yep, Paulina is great about that." I said. Just then, Lt. Moynahan came and asked us to come into his office, which was even bigger than mine back at my HQ.

As I walked into the room, I saw two men. You know how it is when you get an 'epiphany', when you suddenly get a vibe and just know something? Well, I had that vibe about the man sitting down. His face was a bit pudgy, hair only on the sides, something of a mustache and goatee. He was in his 40s at least, but looked overweight and more like he was in his 50s.

And my vibe was that this man was a danger and an enemy, an even greater threat than Wargrave, though I'd never seen nor met this man before... that I could remember.

"Lieutenant, I'm Joseph Corrigan, a Deputy Director of the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology, same general level as your wife, but with a different group. My friends call me Jody. I do not consider you one of them." the man said, not offering to shake hands and not getting up out of his chair."

"Well then, the feeling is mutual." I said. "Why am I not surprised to see you here today?"

"Allow me to introduce FBI Special Agent In Charge Lester Craig." said Corrigan.

"Call me 'Les'." said the FBI agent, who was younger, tall, slender, his brown hair styled in a military haircut. He did offer his hand, which I shook. "Jack Muscone is a friend of mine, he's told me a lot about you, Don, if I may call you Don."

"By all mean, Les." I said. "Good to meet you."

"We're federalizing your case." said Director Corrigan. "Special Agent Craig is going to be taking over the investigation into the murder of this young man Mike. I was just telling Lt. Moynahan and his team that the victim was working with the CIA and we're treating this at a very high level."

"Our Police Chief has agreed to let them have it, too," said Lt. Moynahan, showing no emotion, "so we're standing down."

"Anything you can tell us that might help us?" asked Agent Craig. Molly was looking at the bulge in his pants, which had me wondering if Les Craig was well-hung.

"Well, you know about the Oldeeds association." I said. "I think they found out he was a mole and they whacked him last night."

"They also skipped town just as soon as we left their hotel rooms." said 'Coldiron' Masters. "We're not sure if they went to the City or to the University."

"The City." I said, feeling very sure.

"How can you be sure of that?" Corrigan asked, derision in his voice.

"Simple." I said, again not revealing everything I knew. "Jonas Oldeeds was murdered up there in my County. I doubt Vicki is going to want to go there right now. If she had business in the City, that's where she went. Alternatively, the City International Airport is also there, if she means to put some distance between herself and you guys here."

Something in the way Corrigan was looking at me bothered me. It was almost as if he were smirking at me, as if he knew something I didn't. I knew I'd have to think about that one while I drove home...

--

"Okay, guys," I said to the Midtown team after the Federales had left. "Before I de-commission myself, why don't I take you guys to dinner on the SBI's tab?"

"I'm going to have dinner with a friend." Cindy said. "You guys go on ahead."

"Tell her 'hello' for me." I said, knowing who Cindy's friend was. Teresa Croyle, being in the Midtown Police Internal Affairs Department, would not be able to associate with the rest of Molly's team, per protocol. Teresa really shouldn't even be talking to Molly, but they risked it from time to time. Of course nobody would have a problem with Cindy and Teresa talking... and if they did, it would be most very good for that 'nobody' to choose not to have the guts to say anything...

At dinner, I insisted that since I was paying for it, I wanted everyone to drop ranks, at least with me, and talk like normal people. That made Sgt. Masters uncomfortable, but it lightened the conversation. Then Masters lamented that they didn't even get the warrant to bring in Vicki Oldeeds as a material witness.

"Don't blame yourself." I said. "The Feds shut that down very quickly. They wanted this case solely in their hands."

"Don, I want to say something." Cav Moynahan said. "You, and Detect- er, Molly, too, are exactly what the SBI Reserve is supposed to be about, and I've already sent Deputy Director Conlan and Governor Jared my most glowing report of your helping us. I'm glad you didn't come in here bowling us over. Those bastards on the regular SBI... God! what assholes. We're almost at the point we don't talk to them anymore."

"We're already past that." I replied. "As is the City."

"True enough. Anyway, I'd like you to give us any advice you can on how we can make our operations better. I'm sure all my guys understand that any such advice is to help, not to criticize."

"I do have one question: do you guys go to one ADA for warrants, or do you have to just try to grab any of a number of them?"

"We have one guy that is our regular for this precinct." Wes Masters said.

"Get to know that guy, personally, and a lot better." I said. "Then when you call him up or email him, he'll want to get the job done for you as quickly as he can. I don't know how good he is, and if he's not good, go shopping for a new ADA to befriend. But make it where a simple email or phone call will get that warrant process started right away. Other than that, you may be different from us in some respects, but you're fine, as far as I'm concerned."

---

After dinner, Molly and I went back to her apartment.

"Molly," I said, "I've got to get back home, I need to leave now. This dead guy is going to be an issue up there."

"I understand." Molly said.

I called Cindy. "Cindy, I've got to go home now. Can you come with me, or do you want to stay down here and hitch a ride with someone later?"

"I'll stay." said Cindy, her voice a bit blurry already. "Teresa and I are downing shots and shooting the shit."

"Alright, see you at home." I said. I hung up then gave Molly a passionate kiss goodbye. "I'll see you soon." I said. "We'll have a new house to move into."

"Out with the old, in with the new... which is same as the old." Molly joked.

---

It was late when I got home to the Mountain Nest. Laura and my mother were there, and somewhat to my surprise, Jack Muscone was also there.

"Honey, are you okay?" I asked as my wife and I hugged each other tightly. I could tell that it was a lot more emotional for her than she was wanting to let on.


"I will be." Laura said. "It's just... just so shocking. Such a young man, full of life."

"Son, I'll be going downstairs, and to bed." my mother said. "Carole's asleep, and there's hot water for green tea if any of you want some." We said our goodnights and my mom left.

"So, Jack," I said, sitting down by Laura on the sofa as he sat down in the easy chair to the side, "tell me about Les Craig."

"Good guy, good agent." Jack said. "He's young, but rising fast. He was on my Missing Person's team for a couple of years, then got a promotion."

"He's working with this Director Corrigan of the CIA?" I asked. My peripheral vision caught the looks on Laura's face as well as Jack's; a look of disgust. So they hated the man, too, I thought to myself.

"No." said Jack. "Les is assigned to Southport, overlooking the river and rail shipping going on down there. He came up to Midtown simply because Corrigan asked him to, to give some jurisdictional presence."

"So where does Mike fit into all this?" I asked.

"I'm- I was his handler, though he doesn't- didn't directly work for me." Laura said, near tears. "He was a good kid, but a bit young. Training since he was sixteen, and really promising, but he needed more time, I thought. They sent him into the Oldeeds organization anyway, and he'd been inside for well over a year. He was never supposed to get heavy into anything and to walk out the minute there was any problem..." Laura struggled to regain her emotions. I hugged her and held her in my arms.

"He was keeping my team in the loop on Vicki Oldeeds, too." said Jack Muscone. I knew that there was much more to it, and another reason for Jack Muscone's presence here, but I decided to stay silent for now.

"Well, guys, I'll head on out now." Jack said. "I'm staying at our FBI apartment here in town. I'll come by and see you tomorrow, Don."

"Thanks for coming by, Jack." Laura said, hugging him. He shook hands with me and left.

"Any clues to what happened in Midtown?" Laura asked me as we sat down again.

"Well, he came up here, and he might have been spotted by someone who told Vicki Oldeeds." I said. "I suspect that he was totally ambushed, shot dead, and dumped before he even realized he was in trouble."

"That's what hurts." Laura said. "He came up, visited his friends for real, then came by my office and gave his report. Oh God, if someone saw him coming to see me and put it together..."

"Keep your eyes peeled." I said. "They may be watching your office, or there might be a mole in there somewhere."

"That's all I fucking need." Laura said. "Now I'm not sure who to trust."

"So what did Mike tell you while you were fucking his brains out, if you don't mind my asking." I said.

"It was good sex, too. I recorded it so you could watch." Laura said. "Afterwards, he said the Oldeeds' people were on the move, that something was going on, but they were being tight-lipped and he wasn't overhearing nearly as much as he used to."

"Sounds like they got suspicious of him." I said. "They may have had someone follow him up here, and when he went into your building, they just assumed he was a mole and murdered him first and asked questions later. That... yeah, that's the likely course of events..."

I went into a reverie for a moment, then as I came out, I said "So he said the Oldeeds Gang is on the move? Hmmmm... Well, that'll keep. You must be exhausted, honey. Let's go on up to bed."

"Good idea." Laura said. "I'm glad you came on home; I need you to hold me tonight."

"That's why I came back..."

---

"So you found the mole in your gang." Senator Nathan Allen said to his guest as he poured himself a large bourbon. "You want a drink?"

"No thank you." said Vicki Oldeeds. They were in Allen's private study in his home.

"Well, give me a little credit." Allen said. "I saw that Mike kid and called your security man immediately."

"Pul-eeze, Senator." Vicki said. "First of all: yes, you called my security man... but it wasn't you that actually saw Mike entering the University's Psychology Building, which is infested with CIA operatives. Someone else told us that. Second, your call to my security man has probably been spotted by the CIA and FBI who took the case over from the local Midtown hicks. And if they can trace Mike's killing to me, they won't come trying to arrest me and put me on trial. They'll take revenge, their way. You didn't help yourself or anyone else calling my security man like that."

"Aw, it'll blow over." Allen said, taking a large swig of his drink. "They don't have anything to touch you with, at least I hope not. You did avoid all the cameras, didn't you?"

"Of course." the beautiful blonde trophy wife said, lying through her teeth. "Though one of the idiots forgot to erase the tape of Mike coming into the front entrance. That's a typical 'Nathan Allen' bonehead move."

"Now just a minute, young lady!" Allen said. "There's no need to be making insults like that. I've been around a long time, and in the State Senate a long time. I'm not an idiot, and I have been extremely helpful to Jonas and now to you."

"That's why I came by, Senator." Vicki Oldeeds said, knowing her personal bodyguard was just outside the door, and that she was armed herself. "I came to tell you that we will not be moving forward with you in our arrangements. We've made other plans."

"What? Aw, c'mon." said Allen. "Sure you don't want a drink?" he asked as he poured himself another large one, trying to hide his growing frustration... and fear.

"You've made a lot of mistakes lately, Senator. You're slipping." Vicky said. "First was getting emotionally involved and going after that bitch cop who beat up your son. If you'd let that go, then quietly handled your son's vehicular homicide case, you wouldn't be doing so badly in the polls. Second-"

"Look, that was family." said Allen. "That bitch fucked up my boy."

"Second, Senator," said Vicki, not bothering to acknowledge the half-drunk Nathan Allen, "your emotional response in attacking the Iron Crowbar's family brought down the Black Badge gang and damn near tore out the heart of everything we were setting up in this County! I was hoping to piggyback on that, get my people in here. Now, because of you, my efforts to re-route Jonas's empire is in danger, the CIA and FBI are all over us like white on rice, and we're having to rebuild from the ruins where before we were starting to make some headway. If Malone doesn't win the Sheriff race, we're done, at least in this State, and if he does win, our negotiations with him are set back... thanks to you, Nathan Allen."

"Look," said Allen, trying and barely succeeding in controlling his fury at being cut down by this bitch in his own home, "I've got some serious connections, and I can still get you in this County if you want it. And if you want the Iron Crowbar's head on a platter, like that of John The Baptist, I'll deliver that, too."

"It's unreasonable sentences like that last one that caused us to decide to go forward without you, Senator." the lovely blonde said. She was growing weary, both mentally and physically, it had been a traumatic past 30 hours for her. "Guess who was in Midtown today, working with the locals on the murder? The Iron Crowbar. He's already on top of us, and if it wasn't for the CIA and FBI coming in and taking the case for themselves, I might already be under arrest and getting raped in his jail cells. Okay... I've got to meet my plane at the County Airport and get the hell out of here. So long, Senator."

"I'm telling you, I can make it all good." said Nathan Allen, trying to hold Vicki Oldeeds, and hold the rapidly-shredding deal in place. "I was a friend to your husband for many years. No matter who wins the Sheriff and D.A. elections, I'll have my networks and my people. But I'm telling you, young lady... don't burn your bridges. It's much better to have Senator Nathan Allen as a friend, than as an antagonist. By the time you learn that, the train will have done run, to coin a phrase."

Vicky laughed out loud. "Senator, you weren't a friend to my husband, you were a client. He took your money and gave you girls to fuck. Any connections you had, he was laying others elsewhere, pun not intended. He didn't need you!"

"And I have not forgotten, Senator..." Vicki said venomously, beginning to rant, "I have not forgotten that he had to come down to this County last year to try to arrange a deal with Malone... a deal you were to have secured by the time he got here. And because you failed, Senator, my husband had to come here and he was shot dead in front of me. Senator... you want to talk about burning bridges? You've burned a lot of them already... and quite frankly, you're lucky to be alive. Goodbye, Senator."

Vicki Oldeeds strode out the door with a great deal of what she considered dignity, leaving Senator Nathan Allen feeling very alone... and very scared. All of his deals, all of his connections were dropping, and he was even facing electoral defeat without a serious rigging of the Election.