by Diane Roads
CHAPTER 14
At that point, there was a lot of commotion going on out in the other room. From the sound of it, all Jasper could tell that was the FBI had shown up. It sounded like they were in a little bit of a hurry. Maybe it was because they didn't want anybody to rub it in, that the Quagmire police department had caught their man. Jasper looked at his watch and thought. They made really good time.
A very authoritative voice said. "Okay, people, we've got our paperwork in order, and we are ready to take custody, and it's not getting any earlier. Get him out here, and that painting also."
One of the two men handed over the paperwork and identification to Jim. It took a minute to read it all over, and check to see if the identifications were legitimate. Jim told the man he would have to have the Sheriff check it over, and it would be just a few minutes, because he was in a meeting, and to have a seat and a cup of coffee.
Jasper was in the office with Mark McMillan when Jim walked in, and was asking Mark if he had seen the agents before.
Mark said he had seen most of the guys in the area, and he had never seen either one of them before, but that didn't mean anything. They had a lot of guys working the area.
One of the other guys walked in and said, "Here are the tag numbers, and they have a Nebraska tag on the van, and it's not a government issued tag."
"Thanks," answered Jasper.
Jasper was already on the phone to the local FBI. "Hi, this is Sheriff Quagmire with the Quagmire Police Department. We were expecting a couple of agents to show up, and we have a couple of guys here that say they are from your office. I just wanted to check to see if you have a Floyd Gossett that works for you, and a Cole Palmer?"
"Yes we do, but that's not at all who is coming out."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, Floyd is on vacation. I sent Cole Palmer and Miles Swearinger out to do the pick up. They left here about twenty-five minutes ago. Unless they have wings they shouldn't be there for another ten or fifteen minutes at the earliest. Are you sure that's who they say they are?"
"Yeah, and they have the identification to back it up. I think we are going to need a little more help."
"They are on their way as we speak. This is getting out of control. I think I had better show up also. Apparently Earl Scooter was working with someone else on this one. I didn't think we would get this lucky. I figured whoever else was involved was out of the country. This is the best news I have heard in a long time. We may catch the other two we have been looking for. Tell Cole and Miles to wait for me. I am going out the door now."
Jasper said, "Okay, men, let's let 'Agent Gossett' and 'Agent Palmer' see their prisoner."
Jasper walked out of the room with the proper stamps on all of the paperwork in hand. "Hi, Agent Gossett, Agent Palmer, I'm Sheriff Quagmire."
Agent Gossett had a hard time keeping from laughing thinking about what Earl had said. "Sheriff Quackmire"
Agent Palmer reached out to shake his hand and then said, "It's getting late and we would like to hurry and get back on the road. Do you think you could speed this up?"
"Sure, no problem," said Jasper. "Just give Jim your guns, and he will take you to the holding cells so you can put your chains on him."
The two men were very hesitant as they handed the guns to Jim. They didn't like giving up their guns, but if they didn't they would draw suspicion, and that was the last thing they wanted at this point. Everything seemed to be going by the book so far. Quagmire police had fallen for their ruse, so what did they have to worry about?
They would have Earl and the painting, and be back on the road in just a few minutes. Then they would ditch the van. They had a get-away car waiting for them just outside of town. Then it was off to a little airport just outside the Big City to a plane they had chartered. These small town cops would never know what had happened to them, and they would be long gone before the FBI knew what had hit them, again. They were good, real good thought Agent Gossett, but then he was always just as cocky as Earl Scooter his brother.
Shock went through Agent Gossett as he heard Jasper shout. "Put your hands behind your head and drop to your knees!" Jasper was carrying a 38 in his hand. One by one, the men dropped to the floor. "I'd tell you boys to say a prayer down there, but the only prayer God would listen from you is the prayer of salvation."
The men frisked them both, and read them their rights. Agent Palmer was asking what was going on in more colorful language, and he was using that colorful tone when he mentioned the Lord and it wasn't in a prayer. Agent Gossett seemed to have lost his voice and was looking very pale at the time.
"Oh, boy, I think we just found who Earl Scooter was working with."
Agent Gossett seemed to have found his voice, "Working with! We’re with the FBI. Didn't you check with our superiors?"
"Oh, I checked all right, but Agent Gossett is on vacation, and Agent Palmer is on his way here, along with a few other choice agents. You boys must have been really bad to have the director coming all the way down. He sounded very happy, let's say, don't worry; we'll give you a nice room to rest while you are waiting for them to show up. Now, just so there is no mistake, you boys did understand your rights, didn't you?"
It had been too long of a day, and Jasper was grateful for all the help they had had. It was times like these that teamwork, and going by the book, really paid off. His phone rang at that time and he said, "Oh, Lord, let it be some good news."
"Hi Jasper, this is Pastor Michael calling. Our prayer meeting had gone into double over time tonight. It seems that Thomas Twilliger had touched a lot of lives, and the people really wanted to pray for him and everyone helping that found him. Then I stayed late working on my sermon notes for Sunday. I was driving home from the church. I saw the lights on all over the station, and cars everywhere. I hope everything is okay."
"Well, Pastor Michael, I want to thank you for all of your prayers. I know I would not have made it through the night without them, but that's another story. I do have some good news for you all, and I haven't had a chance to call. Everything has been moving so fast around here. As it is, I am waiting for the FBI to show up, so I will make this short, and explain it all later."
"First of all, we have found Thomas Twilliger, and he is safe up at the Big City Hospital, and should be home in a day or two, as you probably know. Also, we have caught the people responsible for his disappearance. There were three of them, and get this, we also recovered a stolen Van Gogh. That's it in a nutshell, so, as you see, we would have never made it without all of your prayers. I'll call you in a day or two, and fill you in on all that has happened."
"Okay, but it sounds like a testimony out of all of this."
Jasper hung up the phone and laid his head down on the desk. He was beat and not sure what he had just agreed to; there was nothing more to do than to wait for the FBI to show up. Mark was still in the other room doing the same thing. He knew what the director looked like, and knew most of the men coming with him. Mark had been up for 17 hours, and he knew that Jasper had been up longer than that. The clock had been ticking for seven minutes when Cole Palmer and Miles Swearinger walked in to claim custody of Earl Scooter, alias Earl Skinner.
"Well, men, you had better sit down for this one. A lot has happened since you left your office. First of all, let me see your paperwork.” As Jasper looked it over he then said, “I want you to look at what we just got a few minutes ago."
Cole piped up and said, "This can't be real because one of these guys is me, and my partner, the other one, is on vacation. What in the world is going on here? You didn't let them take him, did you? You did check them out, didn't you?"
"I will tell you no, and yes. I think I answered all of your questions."
Cole had this look of confusion on his face. He had asked his questions so fast that he wasn't sure if they still had him or not.
"We checked out the two guys and found out they were phonies. They are locked up just
the same as Earl Scooter, Skinner, or whoever you are calling him. Your director, and a few other agents, are on their way here, as we speak. He wanted you to wait for him. I'll explain the rest of the story when they get here. So make yourself at home."
"No problem, we can find our way to the coffee pot. I can't wait ‘til I hear the rest of the story. It sounds like a doozy." The break room was in plain sight. The men could see the coffee pot from the doorway. Each grabbed a cup, and Cole poured coffee into both cups. Jim and Kevin were already in the break room drinking a cup of coffee when they arrived. They shook hands, and sat down for the waiting game.
When District Director Jack Riley of the FBI and six other men walked in, Jasper was beginning to feel like this was Grand Central Station with as many people that were coming in the door. He was glad he didn't have to babysit the three prisoners very long.
Mark looked up and stated. "Hi, Jack, it's nice to see a friendly face that I know. Let me take you in to meet the Sheriff, and guys help yourself to a cup of coffee."
The meeting went well with the three men as Jasper and Mark filled in the director. Jasper told the director that the Bruskey was an anniversary gift for Mrs. Twilliger, and it sure would be nice if they could get that back in time. The director said he would see what he could do to speed things up, but not to hold their breath. He would let them know in a day or two.
"The Twilliger's have really had a tough week of it all. This sure would put a smile on their faces. Is there anything else you need?"
"Yes, I will come back tomorrow afternoon and check out that tunnel to see if there is anything else down there we need. I will send men over right now to guard the entrance. It's late, so we will take the three of them and get out of your hair so you can get some sleep. I'll be back about one tomorrow, will that work for you?"
"That will be great, I might even sleep until 8:00 tomorrow and then I want to go see the Twilliger's and fill them in on everything. Thanks for all of your help."
Jasper seemed to be the last man out. He turned off the lights, locked the door and went around back to get Smokey. "Come on boy, it's time to go home." Smokey got up with a long stretch before walking out of the dog run.
