Fire and Fog

by Andrew Grey

  “Okay.”

  “That’s fine, but the guy doesn’t appear to be working, and I doubt his wife is making that kind of money.”

  “So is it drug money he’s hiding?” Dwayne asked, and Carter leaned forward and went back to checking.

  “There aren’t any convictions or charges brought against him. The only charge is four years old for punching a guy in a bar, and that was dropped,” he said with a shrug.

  “Okay….” Dwayne thought. “So he’s making regular deposits and building up bank balances. Over time, aren’t people going to get suspicious? The balances are going to get pretty high, and then if nothing else, the bank is going to start paying attention to him just because of his balance.”

  Carter looked up from the screen. “I don’t know. All I have is the raw data.” He raised his eyebrows, and Dwayne had forgotten sometimes they all expected the computers to have the answers to everything. “I can tell you that he’s recently opened an account at one of the Carlisle bank branches. It’s the Wells Fargo on High. That was in the last two months.” Carter did another search, but he didn’t come up with anything. “That’s all I have right now. I could try to look further, but that’s going to require authorization and the help of other agencies, and you know that isn’t going to work if there isn’t an official investigation.”

  “I know.” Dwayne stood. “Thanks, Carter. You were a big help.”

  “What are you going to do with all this?” Carter’s printer came to life and began spitting out pages. “I’m printing out some of the basic information for you. You might talk things over with Red. He has great instincts about things like this.” Carter reached into the printer tray and handed Dwayne the papers. “There’s something suspicious here, but I don’t know exactly what it is. Maybe talk to the guys in narcotics, or see if he’s on the radar in Mechanicsburg or Harrisburg. They might know something that isn’t in the files.”

  “Thanks.” Dwayne took the pages and hurried back to his desk. He and Red were scheduled to be on patrol in a few minutes. He figured they’d have time to talk about what he’d found.

  Dwayne met Red back at their car and got in the passenger seat, and Red took them out of the parking lot and toward the north end of town. He told Red everything he could think of, including what Robin had told him and what he’d found out from Carter.

  “I’m not sure what to do. We don’t have a complaint of any type, and he isn’t even in our jurisdiction.”

  Red pulled to a stop. “Dwayne. As far as we know, he hasn’t committed a crime. He isn’t someone we can investigate. Part of our job is to look into complaints, but we can’t just review the background of people we don’t like to see if there’s a possible crime. We don’t do witch hunts. Even if the person is someone we don’t like.” The light changed and they moved forward. “I know Robin doesn’t like this man, and what you’ve found is suspicious, but it’s not a crime. That’s what we do, so in order to take this further, there has to have been a crime and it has to have taken place in Carlisle.”

  They received a radio call of a report of a home with squatters in residence. It was only a block from where they were, so Dwayne answered it as Red hurried to the location.

  “This is the second one this week that I know of.”

  “Yeah. The paper reported on the other one, and apparently now home sellers are afraid to leave their buildings unattended.” They pulled up to where a family of four was gathered in front of one of the small row houses, with a man, about fifty or so, out front, waving his arms and yelling.

  “Thank goodness you’re here. These people are living in my house illegally.” He motioned to the people who stood across from him.

  “I have a lease on the house,” the woman said before turning to the children. “Take your brother and sister inside and lock the door. I’ll handle this.” The youngsters hurried off, and the front door closed with a bang.

  “Officer Markham. May I see your lease?” Red asked, and she handed him the paper.

  “They can’t have a lease. I’m the owner of the property, and I never leased it. The house is for sale.” He thrust papers at Dwayne, who took them and asked to see his ID. “Reginald Hoover,” the man said by way of an introduction. He’d given Dwayne a receipt for the spring tax bill, which was paid just two months ago, as well as a copy of the deed to the house. Reginald pointed to the papers Dwayne was holding. “It’s my house, and you can also check with the borough and whatever lease she has.”

  “May I see your identification?” Red asked the lady, and she handed it over.

  “Ma’am, who did you sign this lease with?”

  “William Harvey,” she answered nervously.

  Dwayne and Red shared a brief look. “Can you describe him?”

  She nodded. “About thirty-five or so, heavy, not very tall, maybe five foot ten. Dark hair and eyes.”

  Dwayne knew that description. It was nearly the same one Robin had given him after he’d been hurt. “I’m sorry, ma’am. That description matches with a rent scammer.”

  “Excuse me?” she said as she rocked a little from side to side.

  “Yes. He rents rooms in vacant houses. In your case it seems he rented the entire house.”

  “Oh God.” She went pale, and Dwayne caught her before she hit the ground. Thankfully she came back around. He got her settled on the lawn. “It was all the money we had. I paid the first month and security deposit, two thousand dollars… in cash.”

  Dwayne stifled a groan. He hated when people decided to do business in cash. It gave them little recourse and was an easy way to get duped. “How long ago?”

  “About a week. I just got the kids settled.” She put her hands over her face and began to cry. Dwayne stayed with her while Red talked to the property owner. “It was all I had. I started a new job as a shift chief at Gorway, one of the warehouse companies, and now what the heck am I going to do? I can’t just leave them homeless.” She waved her hand toward the children in the house, her tears coming steadily now.

  Dwayne handed her a tissue from his pocket and helped her to her feet. “Let me get your information. We’re trying to find these people, and any details you can give me is a huge help.”

  “I’m Judy Garwood, and the only address I have is this one.” She gave him her phone number and date of birth. Then Dwayne collected as much information as she could give him. “We met at Faye’s Diner to sign the lease.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes before blowing her nose.

  “Thank you. Give me a minute.” Dwayne went to where Red was still standing with Reginald. “They rented the place in good faith.”

  “I know. But it wasn’t to be rented,” Reginald said.

  “Do you want to evict her and the kids?” Dwayne asked, purposely phrasing the question that way.

  “Shit. I just want to get the house sold. It was my mother’s—she passed away six months ago. It’s taken us this long to get it cleaned out and ready for sale. I was meeting with the real estate agent tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Then why don’t you rent it to them until you sell it? They can pay you rent next month, and you give them thirty days’ notice to leave once it’s sold. At least they will have a place to live until they can find someplace new, and you’ll get some money out of it while the house is for sale.” It was worth a try.

  “But… I’ll be eating the rent for this month.”

  “Which you never expected to get, and she’s going to eat her security deposit. But at least the family will have a place to live, and you’ll have someone to watch over the house for you. It’s a win for both, and all you need to do is try to work it out with her.” Dwayne stepped back and watched Reginald’s face, knowing the exact second he caved.

  Reginald sighed and walked over to Judy, who stood wringing her hands.

  “Very good idea,” Red said. “Once they talk, let’s see if we can get any more information.”

  Dwayne agreed, and they waited patiently a few paces away. When Reginald
and Judy shook hands, she seemed much less fearful. “Thank you. We’ll begin looking for another place after the first of the month.”

  “I’ll keep you informed if there are any showings. Just please keep the house neat and clean, and I’ll draft an agreement so we’re both protected.”

  “We will.” Judy walked over to Red and Dwayne. “Thank you. This isn’t ideal, but it isn’t as bad as it could’ve been.”

  “Good,” Dwayne said. “We have some questions for you that may help us catch the guy behind this.” He referred to his notes. “I have a description of the man. Is there anything else you can tell me, any defining marks or tattoos?”

  “Not that I remember,” Judy said. “I did meet him at Faye’s. We had breakfast, and he paid in cash because that’s all they take. Then I signed the lease and gave him the money. He gave me the keys, and the kids and I started moving in.”

  “How did you find out about the house?” Red asked.

  “One of the guys at work told me about it.”

  “Can we get his name?” Red asked.

  “Phillip Wedgston,” she answered, and Red wrote down the information she gave.

  “Does he work the same shift you do?”

  “Yeah,” Judy answered. “He’ll be working tomorrow.”

  “Good. Don’t say anything to him, if you’d be so kind.” Red smiled, and Dwayne realized they might have gotten a break. At least they had some sort of trail to follow. “Thank you.” Red nodded, and Judy went into the house.

  Dwayne scratched his head. There was something they were missing….

  “Keys,” he said under his breath. “He gave her keys to the house.” He turned to Reginald. “After your mother died and you cleared out the house to get it ready to put on the market, did you have the locks changed?”

  Reginald shook his head and then paused, eyes widening. “Someone tried to break in, and I had to have the back door handle repaired. I called a locksmith for that.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Halverson’s. They sent someone right out and took care of it.”

  Dwayne wrote down the details. “Thank you.” He gave Reginald his card. “Please call if you have any other issues.” He checked with Red that they had everything, and then Reginald went back in his car.

  “What are you thinking?” Red asked.

  “I need to call Manning from the other day and find out who he used for the locks at his place. Our scammers have keys, and they’re getting them from somewhere. What if someone at the locksmiths is providing them? Both this place and that one had work done prior to the scam.”

  Red nodded. “Go ahead and do that. I’ll write up the report on the stop while you make the calls.” They got in the car, and Red logged in and began typing on the laptop while Dwayne looked through his notes and made his phone call.

  “This is Officer Rappaport with the Carlisle Police, and I have a few follow-up questions if you have a minute?”

  “Sure, Officer.”

  “Did you change the locks? Which locksmith did you use?”

  “Let me look.” A shuffling of paper. “Halverson’s.”

  “Thank you very much.”

  “Do you think that’s the problem?”

  “We aren’t sure, but we needed to know.” He thanked Mr. Manning and hung up. “We have a connection. But it seems too easy.” Dwayne reviewed all his notes once again. “When we get back to the station, I’ll check the other cases and see if they mention any locksmiths. That would make sense and is an easy way for them to get keys if they were being provided.”

  “I do find that hard to believe. Something like this would kill any locksmith business. No one would ever trust them again.” Red finished up what he was doing and then put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb.

  “Let’s finish our research, and then we can plan how we want to follow up these leads.” They continued their patrol, with Red driving and Dwayne looking things up.

  “How are things going with Terry?” Dwayne asked once he’d searched the cases and come up with a few other follow-up calls to be made.

  “Okay. He had that meeting in New York, and they want him as an underwear model.” Red shook his head. “Is it weird that I don’t want Terry on posters in Times Square in nothing but a pair of briefs and a smile?”

  “Hey. Remember that you’re the only one he’s coming home to,” Dwayne said. “You aren’t really worried about something like that, are you?”

  “I guess not. But where does it end? It’s been months, and the interest doesn’t seem to be waning.” Red turned the corner and pulled to a stop in traffic.

  “Does this make him happy?” Dwayne asked. “If he likes the attention and he’s enjoying the work, I think you need to get over it.” He turned in the seat. “Seeing the two of you together used to make me jealous because I wanted what you guys have. Terry loves you, and all this is a byproduct of him working so hard all those years.”

  “I know, and I feel like a dick about it. I should just be happy for him.” Red glanced up in the mirror, and Dwayne wondered if this was about how he looked. Granted, Red had a scar, but the man was hot, with the trimmed beard and all.

  “Then why don’t you get some time off and go with him to the shoot? Be part of it instead of sitting on the sidelines.” Dwayne saw the surprise in Red’s eyes. “I know I’m being pretty free with my advice.”

  “We’re friends, Dwayne.”

  “Then I say, take some time, go with Terry, and let him know that you stand behind him. These are big-time people who are used to getting their own way. They’ll push and cajole him into doing what they want and will have their own agendas. So be there for him and let him know that no matter what happens and what everybody else wants, you’ll be by his side.” Dwayne watched as a smile tilted upward on Red’s lips.

  “You’re right.” He pounded the steering wheel. “I’ve been a dipshit. Terry needs me, and I’ve been worried we’d grow apart or something.” His smile was bright now, and Dwayne loved the look of it.

  THE PATROL continued as could be expected, with a number of calls, mostly domestic disturbances, which were always unnerving. He saw people, mostly under someone’s thumb, too afraid or turned around to get out. He knew it was a hard thing to do, but seeing it over and over again ate at his soul a little bit. Toward the end of the shift, they headed in and wrote up their reports. When it was quiet, Dwayne made his calls and found a further pattern around Halverson’s locksmiths. It certainly looked as though someone was dirty.

  He reported it to the captain before heading home. “It’s all in my report.”

  “Good. Tomorrow, you two head out there and see what you can find.” Captain Norris seemed pleased. “We may finally have a break in this situation.”

  “Today’s victim works with someone who told her about the house. Now, there are no signs, and we’ve checked and ads aren’t being placed in the papers. So how do people know?”

  “You think this guy might lead you back to them?” Captain Norris seemed suspicious. “By all means, talk to him. Just don’t get your hopes up. As for the locksmith, talk to Dean Halverson first and get his support. He isn’t going to stand for any monkey business if someone on his staff is dirty.” He returned to the papers on his desk. “Good job shaking the trees. This whole situation sucks for the homeowners and the victims, and we need to shut it down.”

  “It’s bigger than just here in town,” Dwayne said. “The same man who was running the scam in Harrisburg was seen here in town.”

  “Then I’ll get someone to call the other municipalities and we’ll share information. You two go on home. We can help you with some of this. Have a good night and get some rest. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” He shooed him out of his office, and Dwayne said good night to Red and the other officers he passed as he headed out.

  He was so damned tired, he could barely keep his eyes open, and the only reason he was able to stay awake was because Robin was at hom
e waiting for him.

  DWAYNE WALKED into the dark apartment, and it felt strange. Not like something was wrong, but he’d expected Robin to wait up for him. He knew the place wasn’t empty, and when he approached the bedroom, Robin’s breathing reached his ears, soft and steady. He turned on one low light and got something to eat, just a few bites. Normally he’d sit up a while and unwind, but he was tired and Robin waited for him. Dwayne brushed his teeth and cleaned up before stripping off his clothes. Then he turned out the single light and got into bed.

  Robin scooted right up to him. God, this was nice. Dwayne wasn’t sure if he even woke up, but just knowing that someone trusted he was there and wanted to be this close to him was certainly a turn-on. Hell, he was rock-hard, and the sheets slid over his dick in a great way. Dwayne turned, and Robin pressed his butt right against his hips. Dwayne bit his lower lip as his dick slid over Robin’s smooth ass. He knew what delights he could have if he woke Robin with a kiss, or two, and then made love to him in the dark. But instead he wound his arm around Robin’s belly, held him close, and closed his eyes as Robin slept on.

  Dwayne let sleep overtake him, and soon he was nearly there, floating on the edges of the sweet abyss.

  “No!” Robin screamed, cutting into his sleep. He leaped out of bed, and Dwayne lunged right after him, caught, and held him. “Stay away! Don’t hurt me.”

  “Shhh,” Dwayne crooned. “It’s Dwayne, and I’m not going to hurt you.” He stroked Robin’s back, soothing him. “You need to wake up.” He continued holding him as Robin struggled for a few seconds, then stopped and gasped.