by Doug Ball
She punched the numbers for Tan’s office.
“Special-Investigator-to-the-Governor’s office, how may I direct your call?”
“Didn’t know you had more than one direction, Gabby.”
“Really don’t, Gov, but we like to think big. You want Hoppy?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll see if he’s back from the john, we just got in from Tucson.”
The phone rang in the next room as Chuck buzzed Tan.
Tan answered with, “Hello, Governor. How may I assist you today, I hope.”
She came back with, “Got a big one for you. How you and Charles getting along?”
“He’s a good man, not as good as my last partner, but good.” The sorrow oozed through the words.
The Governor remembered Robert Jaegar’s funeral; the long procession of law enforcement vehicles, the Tribal Representatives, the speeches, the military honors, the Army Chaplain at the grave, the flag, - oh did she remember the flag - her speech, and her presentation of the first Arizona Purple Heart medal and the first Arizona Freedom Medal to his mother. She cried like a baby with the mother. She gave the second Arizona Purple Heart to Tan that same day. Thousands were given out after that day, each one tore a hole in her heart that somehow made her stronger.
“Robert was a hard man to replace. His memory and the others who died in the wars of those few days will live as long as Arizona does.” She reached for a tissue.
Tan jerked out his own handkerchief while listening to her before asking, “Where from here, Governor?”
“Maintaining freedom and the Republic, Tan, maintaining.”
“How may I assist in that effort today?”
“Well, if you’re so anxious, let me tell you.”
“Please do, and I pray it will not be another rinky-dink case like the one in Nogales.”
“Hey, you wanted work. You got it. How was I to know it was rinky-dink, I’m not a cop?”
He closed his office door on his way out.
6 PM
The Brown’s home
As he drove into the driveway, Tan saw the swing set going full blast with three kids using its various parts. The two older ones were swinging as high as the cross bar to the point that the swings bucked with each change of direction. The baby tried to walk up the slide and did not get very far. The new dog ran in circles around the entire scene barking as only a 10 week old pup can. He figured if they kept feeding the kids and the dog, the dog would end up biggest from the size of feet on that shaggy mutt.
One of the swingers saw Tan as he watched and took the easy way off the swing by running off it as it hit the bottom of the arc. He ran all the way to Tan crying, “Daddy’s home. Daddy’s home.” The other two joined the chorus with the baby going down flat on his face during his run. Good thing he had spent the money on the turf that was installed just three days earlier. He hit a knee just as the first kid wrapped his arms around Daddy. Within no time at all, all three of them hugged various parts of Daddy and shouted all the things they had done since he left this morning.
The back door opened and his bride appeared on the chaotic scene. His smile grew. Hers mimicked his. The kids shouted, “Daddy,” over and over again. The dog continued its run around a new focus point as she barked her joy at everyone else’s joy.
Les said, “The neighbors aren’t going to let us keep this mutt if we don’t curb the barking. Or, maybe it would be easier to teach the kids how to drown out the dog. What do you think?” His smile grew.
Les and Joan had met one wonderful day in Disneyland. He was there with a couple of buddies, in uniform. Dumbest thing he ever did was go there in uniform. Regs would not allow them to take their cover off out of doors. It was hot and the straight up collar was itchy and tight. Sweat ran down his back to the point that by the time he met a girl that appeared to be impressed by the uniform the back of his britches was sopping wet. She ooohed and aaaahed appropriately as he tried to talk her into a date for the evening. Finally, she said ‘yes’ and all was well. They agreed to meet in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel where they were both staying.
Three hours later, Tan was in civvies, prowling around the lobby until a uniformed female of the Navy persuasion walked up to him, “Ready to go, jarhead?” His jaw dropped. She outranked him by one pay grade according to the stripes on her uniform.
“What’s the matter? Haven’t ever seen a sailor before?” she asked.
He stammered and stuttered until she was laughing so hard some guy came over and asked if this man was bothering her. She replied in the negative. He said, “Thank you for your service,” and left the scene.
Tan finally got himself under control enough to say, “I have to say, I am surprised. You wanna take yours off or do you want me to put mine back on.”
“Take my clothes off, you really work quick, Marine.”
He turned bright red and hid behind a couch.
She left the lobby.
He sat on the floor behind the couch trying to compose himself until her head popped over the couch, “I figured you’d still be here. Ready to go?” She was in civvies.
She still surprised him from time to time with antics almost as good as that first date.
“Got a call from the case manager from Child Protective Services,” she said.
“And what did CPS want this time? Another life history while hooked up to two polygraphs?”
She gave him the ‘shut-up’ look. “No, they have not been able to find any living relatives for out little Rupert Downing there and we can proceed with the adoption paperwork. The whole procedure will require him being in our home for over six months.”
“Well, that will give us a chance to change his name. Rupert, who’d name a kid that?”
“The lady that got killed in the gun battle you were in last summer. You remember, it was when you sent me off with the kids to my family in Texas because of threats.”
She reminded him of the worrying she did in Texas. Just as he called to say, ‘come home,’ she was packing up to leave the kids there and come back to be with him. In the course of his work, Robert had been killed and Tan went after the two killers that had been identified. It wasn’t a good night. Rupert’s mama dead. One suspect dead. One suspect wounded. Tan wounded. The court case on Robert’s murder was still going on.
“Come on, Jarhead, supper’s ready. Despite it all, I’ll still feed ya.”
“Special Investigator for the Governor Jarhead, I’ll have you know. How about a little respect?” He grabbed his case.
“How much is a little?”
He slapped her rump before carrying his case and three boys up the back porch steps. She smiled. He laughed. The kids all giggled. The dog barked and barked until they were inside when she shut off like her batteries had just died.
“Gotta pack tonight, Lover, off to Pinal County and the thriving metropolis of Oracle to find a truck somebody lost.”
“The one with the exposives?”
“That’s the one.”
“Let’s eat and then I’ll help you pack.”
“Ah, anxious to get rid of me, huh?”
“Yup, my three little Marines wanna go to the zoo tomorrow.”
Three kids jumped and shouted with the idea.
“What’s for dinner?”
Hassayampa Hotel
Prescott
The man stared out the window at Thumb Butte which reminded him of how he was going to stick it to the State of Arizona for half a billion bucks. Visions of the island he had already picked out for his new home danced in his mind. Yeah, the Chinese were moving into that region, but he had connections there. For money they bent their own rules quickly. For lots of money, there were no rules. The plane was ready to take him there at a moment’s notice. All the preliminary paper work was done. His second and third passports were in hand, both were genuine State Department issue, just names of the dead and addresses, the addresses went with the names. Even cemeteries had addres
ses, many of them had mail boxes.
All the people he would use in this caper were checked out and ready to roll, each thoroughly briefed as to his or her part, although none had met or knew of the others. He talked to only two men and a woman. That one man talked to another man. That man talked to the flunkies. The cutout was out of the country and was commanded to stay out until five years after the paycheck rolled in. The woman talked to only the one man and him. He was safe. Neither of the two he talked to would survive the final act in his play. The scheme was fool proof. He would take care of the woman and the contractor on the phone had never failed yet and all he knew was a phone number which would disappear the next day.
After going on-line and checking the water flow into Roosevelt Lake, he picked up the phone and ordered coffee.
Friday
11 October
Early
Oro Valley
The two men sat across the table from each other eating breakfast. Neither was too happy. After a day’s work of reading reports and talking to Deputies, nothing jumped out at them concerning the heist of the truck and the explosives. Pinal County Deputies had done a great job and left no leaf unturned. There just wasn’t much to go on. The rig or the phony cop car had to be found, preferably both. The Sergeant at the Oracle Substation had even tried infrared scans at night. They found many discarded scraps of metal and abandoned cars and tin sheds, but no truck or the car.
“Okay, Tan, what’s next? Yesterday was a bust.” Chuck asked after he drained his coffee cup.
With a mouth full of pancake, Tan just waved a hand to his mouth until he swallowed. “Man, you’re worse than a waitress. They always wait for you to get your mouth full before asking about the food or your needs, just like you did.
“I think the only avenue open to us now is to redo all the interviews and recheck the scene with the driver and the first officer on the scene there with us. Recheck every lead and, hopefully, we’ll come up with something. The deputies have done a great job so far. Their only problem is lack of manpower and we can be that manpower for them now. The Sergeant seems to be more than okay with us being here and helping out, which is a whole lot better than the response we got in Nogales.”
“Yeah, that Chief was not happy with us on his terrain. Can’t blame him really, can you?”
“No, but that’s what we were told to do. Nobody talked of dancing with the locals.”
Tan looked around waving his coffee cup in the air until he finally caught the waitress’s eye and got his cup filled. “You start out with the scene. Check it with a magnifying glass if you have to. I’ll interview that good looking Deputy - what was her name - that was first responder.”
“Look, I’m the single guy here. I ought to be doing the chat with the Deputy, her name is Trish Harden, and you go check out the scene.”
“She’s married and so am I. We’re both safe from the lustful thoughts of the young, healthy, and single.”
“Bull. What are we going to do for another car?”
“I’ll call for a rental. You take the state car. Our stuff is in the trunk. I’ll get a four wheel drive and maybe we’ll do some four wheelin’ this afternoon.”
“Let’s do it.” Chuck got up and left Tan to take care of the bill with his new state credit card.
“Don’t forget about the wedding tomorrow. Command performance, you know, and all that political stuff.”
“Naw. Josie’s a neat gal. Wish I’d caught her instead of Hilliard.”
“If the force had wanted you to have a wife they would have issued you one with the badge and gun. Got your radio?”
Chuck cracked up. “Sounds like the Corps to me. Radio is here.” He slapped his hip pocket, turned, and walked away.
Tan watched the man move away. He was going to make a great partner if this kept up. Memories flooded his mind as he tried to get focused on the case at hand. What had they missed? Where do we go next? This case bugged him, only a terrorist or other serious troublemaker would steal all those explosives. Anyone out to take the truck would dump the explosives in a minute. Nobody likes being around explosives, except pros and weirdoes. Arizona didn’t need any more weirdoes, none at all. It was going to be easy to check out the pros, but finding weirdoes was never easy, not specific ones, that is.
This had to be connected to the inside somehow. The trucking company, mine, explosive manufacturer, one of these had the insider that provided the inside information. It had to be. How else could the information needed get to the hi-jackers?
He walked to the desk and asked for a rental car. The desk clerk said, “I can get that outfit up here right quick, Sir. You want to wait or should I call your room?”
“I’ll wait while I read the morning paper.”
“Very good, Sir.” He turned to make the call. “Oh, Sir. What kind of car do you want.”
“Four wheel drive. High clearance.”
“Yes, Sir.” He finished the call.
Governor’s Limo
“Biltmore Mall, Driver.”
“Yes, Governor. You going to get a new dress for the wedding?”
“None of your business, but yes I am. Hey, let’s pick up Art on the way.”
“Home it is.”
She grabbed the phone from the console and hit the speed dial for home.
Art answered, “Yes, my love.”
“Get ready to go shopping. We’re on the way.”
She could picture Art as he rolled his eyes, “Oh, goody, you know how much I love to shop with you when you want a special dress. I’ll go, but you cannot, CANNOT ask my opinion. I don’t want a fight again.”
“Me fight with you. What do I care about your opinion? You’re not the Governor or something.” The tease in her voice got Art to laughing, as always. She had been keeping him laughing for many years.
“I’ll be ready when you get here. Can I get a dog from the adoption shop?”
She hung up only to have the phone ring in her hand.
“I have a call from the United States Attorney General. Shall I take a message or patch it through to you?”
“I’ll take it.” As the phone clicked in her hand, she settled into the seat.
The operator finally said, “You’re connected. Go ahead.”
“Arthur Bryte here.”
“Governor will do nicely, thank you, and what can I do for you, Mr. Attorney General?”
“The President of the United States asked me to inform you that we are drawing up the papers for the United States of America versus the State of Arizona for breach of contract, contracts actually. The papers will be served to Arizona and the Supreme Court of the United States of America will hear the case.
“The President is also charging you and the Arizona Legislature with sedition. That’s a very serious charge, ma’am.”
She hung up. “Pompous Jackdonkey. Mr. President’s the one that separated the Federal Government from Arizona. All we did was tell them we wanted no more of their money if it had strings attached. That’s all.”
5
Oracle
Just as Tan was finished with the funnies, a young lady walked up to him and said, “Guy at the desk said you wanted a four wheel drive and you were a cop. I brought you a Jeep. Ready for a ride?”
“Why, yes, I can definitely use a Jeep. Where do I sign?”
The paper work done and the young gal gone, Tan started looking at the newly purchased book of Arizona topographic maps, specifically the area north of the highjacking. After a short stint with the maps he decided it was time to look things over from the ground.
Five miles north of Oracle he saw the yellow police tape alongside the road, checked the mileage, and the mileage marker, “Yup, Jeep, here we are.” He continued on the highway until he could no longer see the spot where the tape was. Slowing, he started marking the map with all the exits through the right-of-way fencing on each side of the road. When he got to 50 he stopped. “This is gonna be a bigger job than I thought. Now if I wa
s the highjacker, and I wanted to get outta sight fast, and end up at a spot where I could transfer the stuff and ditch the rig, where would I go?”
He stopped and checked his maps again. He drove on until he reached Mammoth, an old mining town. Stopping at the Circle K, he bought a Coke and a large bottle of water. The place wasn’t busy so he asked a man with multiple tats showing, “This road here across the river, what kinda shape is it in?”
The guy looked him over and figured him for a wanna be prospector. “Well, I’ll tell ya. You could drive a Cadillac down that road all the way to Benson if it weren’t for the river crossings.” He paused and looked outside. “That your Jeep?”
“It’s a rental. Trying it out to see if I want one.”
“You’ll make it in the Jeep, but you’ll get the Jeep dirty.”
“Not a problem. Any tricky spots in the road or things I oughta watch out for?”
“Snakes and private property. Don’t cross a fence except at a gate and then only if there ain’t a sign saying don’t. You could get shot quick crossing onto someone’s mining property and most of the country down there is somebody’s mine property. Look, tell ya what, I am off work today if you want a guide. Ten bucks an hour and I am all yours.” He looked Tan in the eye without a flinch waiting for an answer.
“You know that probably would be a good idea and I appreciate the offer, at a tempting price, but I like to make my own adventures. Me, four wheels, and a map usually survive. Only died twice so far.” He smiled at that last.
“Died?”
“Ya, fell off a cliff once and died of thirst the second time. Fortunately, it’s only a game I play with myself. Things that almost happened, but because someone is watching out for me, I’m still alive.”
The guy looked at Tan like he was a nut, “You’re different, man, but I catch your drift. Hey, let me give ya my phone number and if you decide you need me, call. I haven’t worked in six months and could sure use a break. Maybe help you find a gold mine – I got one I’ll sell ya - or something.” Again the expectant look.
