Case of the Lost Drone Ch. 02

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 7 - Distractions

(Author's note: this story overlaps the timeframe of the last chapter of 'Teresa's Christmas Finale'.)

I was surprised to hear that Bettina was so drunk that she could not stand up. Still, I said "Theo, bring her up to The Cabin. I'll meet y'all there."

Then I called Laura and asked her to meet us at The Cabin. She got there first, me second, and soon afterwards came the Washingtons and Warners with Bettina. Theo had driven Bettina's car, as well.

"Wow, she really is out cold." I said as Theo carried her inside and deposited her on the sofa-bed in the main room. Laura began examining her as the others reported what happened.

"We were having dinner, sir," said Theo, "and Bettina was at a table when we arrived. She was with her colleague Amber Harris, her cameraman Scott Turnbull, and some other KXTC people. They were all talking about Roger Eldon, and we listened in but didn't interrupt them."

Joanne took up the story. "It wasn't much, sir. They were just talking about him being a decent guy and why would anyone kill him, and kill his family, and all that. And then I noticed that Bettina was drinking a lot of wine; she eventually asked for a bottle. Afterwards, everyone else but Turnbull left, and he and Bettina sat at the bar. She was drinking shots, and he was just there to make sure she was okay. The bartender stopped serving her, and when she got up to go, she stumbled and fell, pretty hard. We all went over to see if she was okay, and she was just about passed out."

"Okay." I said. "My favorite doctor and I will take care of her tonight. And we'll talk more of the Eldon case in the morning."

Joanne finally started getting it. "You think Bettina getting wasted is related to the Eldons' deaths? She did know them."

"Give that some thought. And we'll talk tomorrow." I said. I escorted them to the door and we made our goodnights. I came back inside to see how Bettina was doing.

"I'm giving her an IV and catheterizing her." said Laura. "It'll get the alcohol out of her system more quickly, and prevent dehydration. I have a feeling you want to talk to her when she wakes up."

"Yes, yes I do." I said. "Bettina getting ripped on a weeknight is what we call a 'strangeness'. And yes, I think it has to do with the Eldon case. Is Mom taking care of the kids?"

"Yes. And Selena Steele, too." said Laura. "She and Marie were over, and when you called I asked if they could just stay overnight. Marie and Carole were ecstatic about it. And Bowser, too, of course." I just smiled.

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

Alas, I did not get to talk to Bettina. At 4:00am, Wednesday, January 10th, I received a call on my Police iPhone. It was Cindy Ross.

"First, sir, nobody's hurt." she said.

"I get the feeling I'm going to hear that a lot from my kids when they are teenagers." I said, making Cindy burst out laughing on the other side of the line. "Okay, what happened?"

"Gun battle, sir. West of the old Cub Club." said Cindy. "Police responded pretty quickly, but the perps had scattered. We got some eyewitness reports, and as usual they're all over the place; no two persons saw the same thing."

"Par for the course." I said. "I'll be right down."

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

It was a sea of flashing blue lightbars that greeted me when I drove down MLK Jr. Drive. Crime Lab techs were all over the place, as were a number of heavily armed and armored SWAT personnel.

I pulled up next to Cindy's vehicle. She and Mary Mahoney Milton were inside the car, both wearing armor. I'd have fired them on the spot if they hadn't been wearing armor, and they knew it. Yes, I was also wearing armor, and the 'girdle' as well.

"It's interesting, sir." said Mary as I got into the backseat of Cindy's Police SUV. "We had tips that drugs might be coming into one of three places. This was one of them. Up near Luigi's on the River was the second location, and the third was on County Road 2 west of the Midtown Highway where it comes in from Coltrane County. We weren't going to interdict any of them; we didn't have the info to do that. So we just sent some people to do surveillance."

"Sounds good." I said. "What did you find?"

"A good old fashioned gunfight." said Mary. "Captain Croyle will be mad I didn't call her in to be a part of it." She was obviously teasing, but Cindy did not see the humor, and turned to glare at Mary. Mary blanched.

"And I would've been mad if you had called her in. She gets into enough trouble as it is." I said, rescuing Mary from the potential wrath of the Green Crowbar.

"Yes sir." said Mary. "Anyway, my guys reported that the two sides were really wary of each other... as if they suspected the other was Police and this was a sting. I don't know what set it off, but it went from business negotiation to all-out shootout. Amazingly, no one was hurt."

"Are we getting camera footage of the area?" I asked.

"Yes sir." said Cindy. "Patrolman Meir has been working with our systems on night shift. He's not Myron, at least not yet, but he's done a pretty good job. He's called for the warrant and he's collecting the footage now."

"Good." I said. "So these perps had the idea the Police were already on them, were antsy, and the least little thing set it off. Hmmm... interesting, don't you think?"

"It's all interesting to me, sir." said Mary.

As I looked around, I said "I see T-Square has started building a new club here, to replace the Cub Club."

"Yes sir." said Mary. "It's supposedly going to be a members-only club, swank but laid back." I nodded, having myself heard a few things about T-Square's ideas for that new club...

Part 8 - What Happened

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, January 10th, from in front of City Hall. "Fox Two News has learned that the exchange of gunfire in the early morning hours of the day has been attributed to a drug deal gone bad. The Town & County Police Department will not confirm that this incident is an indication that drug gangs are moving back into our County after months of relative quiet, but the Police did say that no one appeared to be injured in the gunfight, and that no arrests have been made."

"And in State news," said Bettina, "Governor Jared continues to come under withering fire from all sides, including his own Party, and the calls for him to resign are growing louder. Several prominent Republicans, including Rep. Wilson Hammonds, Lt. Governor Graham Collins, and State Senator Cain Mitchell, are urging Jared to step down for the good of the Party. The Democrats continue to accuse Jared of abuse of power, racism, and betrayal of the People's trust."

"And there appear to be no breakthroughs in the the triple murders of the Eldon family." said Bettina. "While the investigation is just beginning, local officials are asking if Commander Donald Troy is too distracted by State politics and working to keep Val Jared protected from political attacks to give his full attention to this case..."

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

"She doesn't look all that bad," said Joanne Warner, "for a woman that couldn't stand up on her own last night."

"That's because she had a good doctor giving her an IV, that doctor being my wife." I said. "And apparently she has not learned her lesson when it comes to showing some gratitude. We could've arrested her for public intoxication last night. Captain Ross, if you'll have a quiet word with Captain Briscoe and ask him to tell KXTC that if Bettina accuses me of dereliction of duty again, she will find herself under arrest... but not for the public intoxication."

"Then what for?" asked Cindy.

"Oh, I'll save that for when we get the warrant." I said. "Okay, I've got the Chief's meeting this morning at 9:00am. When it is over, my fellow Detectives, we'll have a big 'come-to-Jesu's meeting about the Eldon case. I certainly hope you're prepared for it." I noticed that appetites for doughnuts and more coffee diminished rapidly.

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

The Chief's Wednesday meetings are very formal. Attending today was myself, Captain Ross, Captain Aaron, Captain Briscoe, Lt.(B) Holloway, PCpt. Thompson, and Lt. Irwin.

"I have ex-scuuuuused Captain Croyle from this meeting." said Chief Moynahan. "She is getting a checkup on her recent injuries, and has efficiently combined that with a routine cancer recovery checkup. I expect to hear a glow-ing report around nooooon. In the meantime, let's get started. Captain Ross..."

The good news was that I basically got to sit like a bump on a log during these meetings, though I was fully prepared to answer any question the Chief might have. Cindy began giving the Detectives report:

"Sir, MCD is working on the Eldon case." said Cindy. "Vice is having the most fun they've had in months, and are working on this infiltration of drug runners. The perps got in some 'range time' last night, and they apparently need it, as no one was struck by gunfire that we know of." There were some chuckles about 'range time'. This Police Force did not know of their Commander's plan to put them through hell in the next month or two vis-a-vis self-defense.

"Soooo, Captain," said the Chief, "are you not assigning anyone in MCD to investigate the shooting?" Cindy just looked at me.

"No sir." I said. "Vice can handle investigating it as part of their overall work on the drug runners. If we see any reason for a crossover assignment, we'll make it then." The Chief nodded.

"Okay, where are the Precincts in terms of manpower, Lt. Irwin?" asked the Chief.

"Sir," said Irwin, "Precinct 1 is fully manned, all Officers present the last three days with no absences, excused or unexcused. Nothing unusual to report in terms of tickets issued nor incidents."

"And Precinct 2... Lt. Irwin?" asked the Chief, trying to rattle young Lt. Irwin.

"I'm sure Captain Thompson will correct me where I go astray," said Irwin, "but I understand they've had some flu bug illnesses in the past week. Three Officers."

"That's correct." said Thompson.

"Good job, Irwin." said Moynahan. "I know Captain Croyle has you guys keeping some track of each other's stats, for cooperation purposes as well as being able to keep her informed. I would have loved having Captain Croyle as my S-3 in my Army units..."

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

Classroom 'E' was swept for bugs... and then I did my own sweep. No bugs were found. Cindy, Joanne, Theo, Jerome, and Teddy Parker were in attendance, as were Myron Milton and Lainie Everett.

"All right." I said. "Any new information in the last couple of days?"

"Just the interviews with everyone we could find that knew the Eldons, sir." said Joanne. "And it was like a parrot repeating the same words over and over: nice family, Roger was a good husband and father, Carla was a good wife and mother, Jimmy was a smart kid, bit on the nerdy side, but minded his manners and his parents."

"So, let's talk about the crime scene. What happened there?" I asked.

"Sir," said Joanne, "we've pretty much determined that they weren't killed where they were found. So we're not sure where the crime scene is, much less what happened."

"And I am disappointed to hear you say that, Detective Warner." I said. "Excuse me for being harsh, and it's not personal as none of you seem to have figured it out. But I think it's pretty clear what happened at the actual crime scene, wherever that may be."

I was met with a lot of blank stares, and Cindy was looking at me with a 'Just give us the Cliff Notes and tell us.' look. I peered around the room.

"Okay, guys, come on." I said. "How did the father die?"

"He was shot in the back and then the head, apparently while struggling with the killers." said Theo.

"Yes." I said. "And how did the son die?"

"Gunshot." said Theo. "Rifle caliber to the back, then a finishing head shot from point blank range."

"So, guys, use your imaginations based upon this data, and come up with a plausible scenario."

After a couple of minutes of tense silence, Jerome Davis spoke up. "Sir, it's pretty obvious these killers surprised the Eldons. Mr. Eldon tried to fight them off, and was shot while doing so."

"Ohhhhhhh!" exclaimed Joanne, finally getting it. "He was trying to fight them off while his son was running away! They shot him, then shot his son while running, then brought the bodies and their car back to our County."

"All right, you're finally getting somewhere." I said. "So, what were the Eldons doing when they were surprised by the perps? This brings up a question I have not heard yet: why were they there in the first place? By that I mean what were they doing outside, and in a farm field, any farm field?"

"Oh." said Cindy. "Flying the kid's new drone."

"They were flying the kid's new drone!" I repeated happily. "So, the story starts to take shape: they were flying the drone, perps come up. I would suggest a short conversation took place. Then Eldon told his son to run while he tried to run interference with the perps.

"Jimmy did run," I continued, "and I'd imagine that three perps handled Roger, two grabbing his arms and throwing punches into his face and body, then the third shooting him in the back. Meanwhile, a fourth perp shot Jimmy in the back with a high-powered rifle. So, another 'teachable moment': who died first?"

"Come on, Commander." Cindy said witheringly. Her patience with me was wearing thin. "It's obvious you're seeing what we're not. Just tell us."

I wasn't happy to hear that. "It's important, though. And I'm just prodding you guys to draw inferences from the data. But okay: based on the autopsy report, I'd say Jimmy died first. If I were running and I heard a gunshot that likely killed my father, I'd be looking back to see what happened, but Jimmy took the bullet full-on in the back. Roger tried to turn towards his son, and that's why the shot into him was angled like it was."

Everyone nodded. Cindy then asked "So the question now is where were they when they were shot? The original crime scene?"

"Yes." I said. "Because the bodies were found in our jurisdiction, we have habeas corpus for the case, but we need to consider that the killing occurred outside the County, and maybe even over the State Line."

"Another reason to talk to the Hammondsville LEOs." said Cindy. I nodded at her.

"So what I'm also getting at," I said, "is that if this does cross County and/or State lines, I'll have to help you guys out in my State Inspector or FBI Consultant capacity. Don't take offense if I do have to take the lead in that manner, and you've done well so far. So that brings up the next question, which is..." I let the sentence hang.

"Why kill Mrs. Eldon." said Joanne. I nodded.

"Yes, what was their purpose for that?" I asked.

"If I may, sir," said Jerome Davis, "I'm thinking she died because she was at home. The perps went to the house to find something, maybe some kind of information, and when they saw her at home they blew her away. Same for the family dog, I'd imagine."

"I think you're close to the mark on that." I said. "I said the other day that the dog was the starting point of my analysis of the home invasion. And I'll explain that now: they did not kill the dog until they came up against him in the office, which we old-timers call the 'study'. The dog either came down from the kid's room, or was in the study."

"So my thesis is that Mrs. Eldon was in the kitchen, the perps came in through the kitchen door, blew her away, then began doing their housecleaning operation... and that's what it was... and killed the dog when he confronted them. By the way, I think the dog was at least partially deaf, or else he'd have come running immediately upon hearing the incident in the kitchen. So what's the next question to answer?"

"Why did they bother doing such an operation?" asked Cindy. "And further, they really worked their asses off to keep us from easily identifying the Eldons, from determining that they'd bought a drone, from leaving any clue where their car had been."

"I think you just answered your own question, there, Captain." I said.

"They really don't want us to know where the original crime scene is." said Joanne. "Maybe they were hoping we wouldn't find out the Eldons were flying a drone that weekend... ohhhhh! That's the real reason... what did that drone possibly see?"

"Excellent thinking, Joanne!" I said. "We are really starting to get someplace now. So, what's your next step?"

"If they saw a drug transaction taking place," said Joanne, "then we'll never get anywhere. But maybe we should look for places drones should not be flying, like the nuclear power plant. I have a Top Secret clearance, so maybe I can get some data that these other guys can't."

"Good idea." I said. "But do it cautiously, and let Myron help you make sure your computer is really, really secure."

I stood up. "In the meantime, Captain Ross and I have an appointment. You guys keep up the good work, and we'll talk more about it later today." With that, I left, Cindy in tow.

"Wow." said Joanne. "No wonder he solves all the cases. I'd still be lost if it weren't for him feeding us bread crumbs and walking us down the trail."

"Aw, we'd have figured it out eventually." said Jerome. "But you're right: he's seeing things immediately that we have to work hard to figure out."

"I'll bet he knows something we don't." said Teddy Parker. "I don't mean that in a bad way, or that he's holding back on us, but he's always said it's about observation, deduction or inference, and knowledge. I'll be he has some knowledge of something that we don't have yet."

"Well," said Joanne, "let's go find out what that something is. Myron, can you stop by my desk?..."

Part 9 - Crossing The (State) Line

We drove to Hammondsville in my Police SUV. Cindy was riding shotgun, and Supervisor Mary Milton and Vice Detective Christopher Purvis were in the backseat.

Hammondsville, in Hammonds County wouldn't ya know, was and is a mostly farming county like Coltrane County. The town was once a fairly important railroad junction, and still had about 6,000 people in it. Rural Americana at its finest.

We arrived at the Hammondsville Courthouse Complex, which housed the Police Department. Going inside, we were met by their principal LEOs. Sheriff Gleason, who was very aptly named because he looked just like Sheriff Buford T. Justice in the 'Smokey and The Bandit' movie, was chomping on an unlit cigar. Police Chief Pascal Floyd, who I'd met before, was older and leaner, his hair and thin mustache silver white. He reminded me a good bit of our former Police Chief and now Regional SDOJ Director Harold Bennett.

I introduced my people: "This is Vice Supervisor Mary Milton, and don't let her good looks fool you: she's a very sharp Detective. This is Detective Christopher Purvis, and this is Captain Cindy Ross, my Chief of Detectives. We'd like for them to talk to your Vice people about a drug ring that's cropped up, while Chief Floyd and I have a discussion about another matter."