by Thomas Scott
He went back to the front of the house, through the kitchen, and pulled open the door that led to the garage. Hall’s personal vehicle was there, but his county squad car was not. He opened and closed his left hand, trying to get the pain and tingling to go away. He could feel the perspiration running down the back of his spine. He wiped the sweat off his brow with his shirt sleeve.
When he took out his phone and called Betty, the tone of his voice was one she didn’t often hear. “Betty, it’s me. I’m on my way back. Get on the phone and wake the night shift boys. Keep trying until you’ve reached them all. I want everyone in my office as soon as possible, including the day shift that’s out right now.”
“Ben, what’s going on?” Betty said.
“I’m an old fool is what’s going on. You were right to be worried. Hall’s not at home, and his squad car isn’t here either. Start making the calls. We’ve got an officer missing.”
Chapter Twenty
When Virgil walked into Cora’s office, she gave him a particular look. “What are you doing here?”
“How are you, Cora?” Virgil said. “Are you still chewing your nicotine gum? You seem a little wound up.”
Cora ignored Virgil’s questions and said, “I wonder why that might be. You’re supposed to be out looking for these killers and thieves the DEA is hounding us about, but instead, your standing in front of my desk.”
“We’re using every means at our disposal to find these guys, Cora. It’s only a matter of time.”
“How much time will it take for you to answer my question?”
“Not much,” Virgil said. “I’m here to have a word with Mac.”
Cora turned to her computer and punched a few keys. “You’re not on the schedule.”
“It, uh…was sort of a last-minute thing.”
Cora put as much sarcasm in her voice as she could. “Well, I’m the one, uh…who manages the governor’s schedule.”
“I’ll only be a few minutes, I’m sure.”
“Jonesy, it doesn’t matter. If you need to get with Mac, you go through me.”
Virgil was about to respond when the governor opened his door. “Jonesy, I thought I heard you out here. Come on in.” Then to Cora: “I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you. I need to have a word with Virgil. Block me off for the next fifteen or twenty minutes, will you?”
“That time has already been scheduled by the lieutenant governor, it seems,” Cora said. “Maybe I should go home for the day.”
Once they were inside the governor’s office with the door closed, Virgil looked at Mac and said, “Thanks. Boy, she can get pretty wound up sometimes.”
“I can only save you so often, Jonesy. The truth is, she’s right. If I didn’t have her handling my schedule, nothing would get done.”
Virgil nodded. “I get it. Really. But this is pretty sensitive and I didn’t think I’d make it past the gate without Sandy’s help. She’s supposed to be here, by the way.”
Just then the door opened again, and Sandy rushed through like she was being chased by a tiger. “Wow. Cora’s in a mood.”
“That’s probably my fault,” Virgil said. “Could we all sit down for a few minutes?”
The governor motioned everyone to the small conference table in the corner of his office. Once they were seated, he looked at Virgil and said, “What is it?”
Virgil looked at Mac and said, “That day when you and I were sitting down by the pond, you looked at my father’s cross and rather diplomatically asked if it was true…that my father speaks to me. Do you remember that?”
“Of course I do,” Mac said. “What about it?”
Virgil not only worked for the governor…they were good friends. He knew what he was about to ask was in all probability a useless exercise in an attempt to chart a future course of his own making, but he felt like it was the only solution. “I need a favor,” Virgil said. “And it’s a big one.”
Mac looked him in the eye and said, “Let’s hear it.”
“I need to operate the MCU off the books until we clear this case.”
The governor tipped his head slightly, and said, “Why?”
So Virgil told him.
“He said those exact words?” The governor said. “That you’d be asked to do something and you must refuse?”
“He did,” Virgil said.
The governor looked at nothing for a few seconds, then said, “It’s the set in stone part that’s troublesome.”
“I know. Murt said the same thing.”
“But you have no idea what it is?”
“None,” Virgil said. “But he emphasized I must refuse, even if it cost me my job.”
“And he wouldn’t tell you what it is?”
“He said he didn’t know,” Virgil said.
The governor puffed his cheeks and said, “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Jonesy, but with all due respect to your father, and the, mmm, unique relationship you now have, do you believe him?”
“Mac, asking that question in no way implies disrespect. The truth is, I have no reason to doubt him. He’s always had my best interests at heart.”
They sat quietly for a few seconds, before the governor said, “So basically you’re asking me to not tell or order you to do anything until this case has been resolved.”
Virgil nodded. “Yes, but not only you. I’m speaking of you, Cora, and anyone else that has any operational authority over the MCU.”
The governor had a mischievous look on his face. He looked at Sandy and said, “I think what he’s trying to say is that includes his lovely wife.”
“I gathered,” Sandy said, her voice a little dry.
“I’m afraid there’s more,” Virgil said.
“I’m not surprised,” the governor said. “Do tell.”
“Cora said you wanted Ross and Rosencrantz to go to Grant County to cover for some of their deputies.”
“That’s right.”
“For reasons I’ve already explained, I don’t want that to happen.”
The governor pursed his lips and gave a slight nod. “I understand, and I’ll even go along with it, but they’ve got quite the mess up there right now and they want the state’s help.”
“I know they do, and as a point of fact, I think we should give it to them.”
“In what way?” Mac said.
“I was hoping that you might be able to get with the ISP Superintendent and have him rotate some uniformed troopers in. It really is the best way to handle it. The MCU was set up to handle major crimes, not be the on-call squad for county staffing shortages.”
The governor rubbed his temples with his fingertips. “You’re right, of course. I was simply trying to find a quick and easy solution.”
“I can call the superintendent,” Sandy said. “As you’re aware, I know him rather well. I’m sure I can get it done.”
The governor tipped a finger at her. “Do that. Right now, if you would.”
Sandy stood, kissed Virgil goodbye, then left the office. Once she was out the door, the governor looked at Virgil and said, “As of this moment, you and your entire squad are officially unassigned. Unofficially, I want you to catch these bastards.”
“Thank you, Mac,” Virgil said. “We won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” Mac said. “Go do what you do, Jonesy.”
Virgil stood to leave, then looked at the governor and said, “Uh, you’ll speak with Cora?”
“I guess I’ll have to unless you want to tell her yourself.”
Virgil’s eyes got wide. “I think I’ll take a pass on that. Good luck.”
“That better be a nice pad you’re putting in.”
Virgil was already backing out of the office. “It is, it is. You’re going to love it, I promise…”
Johnny and Dakota got the van painted and the decals in place, and when they were finished, they had to admit, it looked pretty good.
“Man, this is great,” Johnny said. “Everyone sees these things al
l the time. They’re like trees on the side of the road. You drive right past, and you know there are trees there, but you don’t really see them. The van is the same thing.”
“Hope you’re right,” Dakota said.
“I am. Plus, no matter what, it’s better than what we had. They’re looking for a white van, and now they can look all they want. We’re invisible with this thing. Is your guy ready for another delivery?”
Dakota nodded. “Yeah. He said whenever we can get it to him.”
“Let’s get loaded then. Tell him whatever time works for him today, and you can head up there. I’ll cover the next cook.”
Dakota nodded and pulled out his phone. They were rolling.
Sheriff Holden walked into his office like his hair was on fire. He didn’t even let his knees slow him down. The entire group of deputies all started asking him questions, but he held up his hand and said, “Conference room. Right now. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
The deputies shuffled off, and when they were out of earshot, Holden looked at Betty and said, “What’d you tell them?”
“I told them the truth,” Betty said. “It was the only way I could get half the night guys to show back up.”
“That’s fine,” Holden said. “Where’s the aspirin?” He was rubbing his left arm as he spoke.
“It hasn’t been long enough since you took the last dose, Ben. Are your knees that bad?”
“Are you the doctor now too? Just grab them for me will you please?”
Betty got the container and was about to shake out a couple of pills when Holden reached out and took the bottle from her hand. “I might need more later. Hall has an ex-wife…Janie, or Judy, or something like that. Get her on the phone and ask if he’s been there. Try not to scare her. Where’s last night’s radio logs?”
“Right here,” Betty said. “I printed them out while you were gone.”
“Good work.”
Betty picked up the phone and Sheriff Holden walked quickly down to the conference room. When he walked in, everyone once again tried to ask him questions all at the same time.
He held up his hand and said, “Listen up. What I’m about to say will probably answer most of your questions. Undersheriff Allen Hall is missing. His house is empty—I checked it myself—and his squad car is not there either.” He looked at the radio logs from the previous evening and said, “He only radioed in four times. The first was to announce he was going out on patrol. Then at fairly regular intervals, he made three more calls: Two speeders and one roll-through. He never called in at the end of his shift, and as of this moment, no one knows where he is. Hold your questions for a minute, because I’m about to ask two, and all I want is a yes or no answer. Got it?”
Everyone nodded at the sheriff.
“Question one is this: Over the last week or two, has he said anything to any of you that would make you think he intended to do himself harm?”
Every single deputy in the room shook their heads, a few of them saying something like, ‘no,’ or ‘no way,’ or ‘not Allen.’
Holden nodded. It was something of a relief. He knew that sometimes cops couldn’t cope with the job, and took their own lives. “Last question: Did he seem upset or angry or preoccupied with something either personal or work-related?”
Again, everyone shook their heads. One of the deputies said, “You know Allen, Ben. He was solid.” Everyone else in the room mumbled their agreement with the deputy’s statement.
Holden walked over to a giant map of the county that hung on the side wall. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do: I want every inch of this county covered by each of you. We’ll divide up the sectors and start a search. Run the grids and keep your eyes on some of those ditches. They run mighty deep, and I know Allen has been putting in extra hours. If he nodded off or lost control, he could be so far down in the ditch we might miss him. That means go slow and watch for tire tracks that disappear into the weeds.” Then he told the deputies what sector he wanted each of them in, and finished with, “Nothing else matters at this point except finding Allen. Let the speeders and the drunks and the fender benders work it out themselves. I’ll get with the state and see if they’ll help cover for us if anything major pops up.”
One of the deputies raised his hand and said, “What about that helicopter the state has? Wouldn’t hurt to have some eyes in the sky.”
“Good point,” Holden said. “I’ll see what I can do. Listen, I know some of you are as tired as all get out. Day shift, get ready to pull a double. Night shift, you’ll go home when the sun sets. If we haven’t found him by nightfall, we’ll start again in the morning. I’m going to stay here and handle as much of everything else that I can. If there are no questions, get going. And for God’s sake, be careful.”
Chapter Twenty-One
When Virgil got back to the MCU, he pulled Murton, Ross, and Rosencrantz together again and without going into too much detail, told them they were operating off the books until the case was closed.
“Why?” Ross said.
Virgil squinted an eye at nothing, then said, “Because I asked the governor if we could, and he said yes. You and Rosie will not be going to Grant County as Mac had previously asked. The ISP troopers will be covering their staffing problems.”
“Thank god,” Ross said.
“Uh, don’t get too excited just yet,” Virgil said.
“Why?” Ross said again.
“Because on the way back over here, I had a phone conversation with DEA Agent Carla Martin. I convinced her that one way to find Hawk and Dakota would be to put a team of agents in place at the RV factory where Dakota used to work. She agreed. She and I both feel that if a few of the right people could be squeezed just so, it might help them climb the ladder from dealer to dealer, which could lead us to Dakota, who we know for a fact killed David Boyd.”
Ross was suddenly wary. “And this involves us how, exactly?”
“Murt and I toured the RV factory, and when we did, it wasn’t very hard to tell who was working with what any reasonable law enforcement official would describe as a little chemical assistance. I offered Agent Martin our help, and she readily agreed. The factory is located—”
Ross put his face in his hands. “Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.”
Virgil smiled at him. “What can I tell you? It’s part of our state, which means it’s part of our jurisdiction. I volunteered you and Rosie to go up there and assist Agent Martin in whatever manner she deems appropriate.” Virgil tipped his head sideways, and said, “Elkhart awaits, young man.”
“Jonesy…”
“Sorry, Ross. You and Rosie pack your bags and take a personal vehicle. You might end up doing a little factory work, though I’m really not sure. Agent Martin is already in place. She’s expecting you in five hours, so that gives you plenty of time. I’ll text you the address.”
Ross shook his head. “If she’s expecting us in five hours, you better call her back. I get lost just thinking about that city.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Virgil said. “Get going. I want daily reports sent to Becky. Watch your backs.”
Rosencrantz said they would, mostly to keep Ross quiet, who was mumbling a few choice vulgarities under his breath. He put his arm around his partner and led him out of the room.
A few minutes later, Lawless stuck his head in the conference room doorway, looked at Virgil and Murton, and said, “Just wanted to let you know that the partial print from the shotgun is an exact match with Dakota’s prints from the tire iron. Not saying it would hold up in court because it’s such a small partial, but in my opinion, there’s no doubt…Dakota killed that Grant County deputy.”
Five hours later, Ross and Rosencrantz showed up at the designated rendezvous point in Elkhart County…a Holiday Inn Express, which to Ross’s satisfaction, was well south of the city’s center. They found Agent Martin of the DEA, and the sum total of her greeting went like this: “I’m Agent Martin. I’ve already got you both booked into the
hotel for the duration. Which one of you is Rosencrantz?”
“I am,” Rosencrantz said.
She looked at Ross then said, “That makes you the Elkhart hater.”
Ross, who was in no mood, said, “What of it?”
“I grew up here,” Martin said. “I believe it’s one of the finest counties in the state. Your boss says you don’t like it much.”
“I don’t. You can get lost if you blink at the wrong time.”
“It’s not quite that bad,” Martin said.
“Whatever. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, not their own facts. They built this city like the compass hadn’t been invented yet.” Then, before Martin could respond, he said, “If it’s so great, why’d you leave?”
Martin seemed to soften a bit, her shoulders loosening up. “What can I tell you? Duty called, and I answered. But I try to get back as often as possible.”
Ross shook his head. “I try to stay away as often as possible. Anyway, how are we running this thing?”
Martin checked her watch before answering. “The plant we’re going to be focused on is the one where Kono and Dakota used to work. They’ve already shut down for the day, but I’ve arranged for us to meet with the plant manager…Scott Green. He’s waiting for us right now. Hop in your car and follow me.”
When Virgil’s phone buzzed at him, he looked at the screen and was mildly surprised to discover who was calling. “Hello, Ben. How are you?”
“I’m old, tired, worn out, and with god as my witness, in need of a favor…from you of all people.”
Virgil and Holden had a mutual tolerance of each other, their histories intertwined any number of times, each to neither man’s exact liking. “We’re a little tied up right now.”
“That sounds just about like the answer I was expecting from you, Jones. Forget I called.” Then he hung up.
