He offered us a cocktail and suggested we talk in the living room while his wife finished fixing dinner. The kids and dogs traipsed in after us and we had a lively conversation about motorcycles for some time. One of the kids told me he was glad we were there because that meant they’d have a real dessert tonight.
The chief put up with them for a short time and then shooed them off. “Go do your homework or help your Mom set the table or something. We need to talk, okay?” he told them. Once they were gone, he turned back to us.
“I called Smitty and brought him up to date. While we were talking I asked him if it was okay for you three to stay here tonight. We’ve got three extra bedrooms and two guest baths. You’d be quite comfortable. Angie said she’d fix blueberry hotcakes for breakfast if you stayed.”
“What did Dad say?” Josie asked.
“If you really want to know, he told me that if I’d keep an eye on you two, it was okay by him.”
I looked at Josie and Josie looked at Gus and Gus looked at me and we stayed.
“So—what’s going to happen when?” he asked.
“It’s real simple. Hopefully, sometime late tomorrow you’ll get a call from Smitty. That’ll be your signal to serve the warrant.”
“That may be a problem,” the chief said. “I have to go before a judge to get the warrant and sometimes they’re hard to corner. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting it, just finding a judge.”
“Do you think we should delay the plan for a day?”
“No, I’ll get the warrant. In fact I think I’ll phone a couple of the judges right now and set up a meeting for tomorrow morning.”
The chief’s kids came in and announced it was time for dinner. The kids directed us to our seats. Evidently their mom had let them choose who sat where. They’d arranged us so that we were pretty much surrounded by the kids. We had a lot of fun and a great dinner. Nothing really fancy, just plain good— broiled chicken, green salad and some sort of rice dish.
And dessert, as the kids promised. Fresh strawberry shortcake.
I told them a little about my sailing background. Josie and Gus told them a little about the Devils. The chief told us a little about law enforcement, and his wife told us a little about the chief.
We watched the news and got to bed early. We weren’t prepared at all to stay overnight. No pajamas, no toothbrushes, Josie didn’t even have any make-up with her. Evidently, Angie had been warned about our lack of supplies. She had pajamas, towels and everything we needed on each bed, even toothbrushes and toothpaste. I almost expected to find a small chocolate on the pillow.
Breakfast next morning was as advertised. Blueberry pancakes and all the trimmings. Angie said she’d grown up being told to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen and dinner like a pauper. I told her I’d never met a pauper that had a dinner like last night’s.
“Well, you know what I mean.”
The chief hurried us along, got us to say goodbye to the wife and kids, gave her and each of the kids a kiss and a hug and we left. On the way to the cars he asked Josie if he could tell her dad I’d been a good boy last night. He has a wry sense of humor. I liked him and so did Josie.
“What about the search warrant?” I asked
“The judge told me last night that based on the sworn statements we had, he’d have no trouble issuing a search warrant. I’m stopping at City Hall on the way in to pick them up, He answered.
Gus interjected, sotto voiced. “I’m ready too. I’ll need a private room at the station to make my call to Carpenter.
CHAPTER 61
Gus had been rehearsing what he was about to say for some time. He and Josie and I crowded into the small room and Gus made the call on a speaker phone. Gus warned us to be as quiet as church mice.
He got Carpenter on the line right away and did a masterful job. He sounded real youthful and he talked as if he was in a hurry.
“Look, I work in this pawn shop antique place thing here in Alameda, and we get in all kinds a’ crap from all kinds a’ places. I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout antiques. All I do is kinda’ clean up the stuff so the experts can value them. Anyways, I always say what I find in drawers and under seat covers is mine.
“And what’s this got to do with me?” Carpenter asked angrily.
“Hey, buddy, slow down. I’m tryin’ to tell you!” Gus said with well feigned irritation. “If I find something hidden, I figure it’s mine. So’s I find this diary kinda’ thing – you know, like a notebook or something, stuffed in a box of papers somebody found on the freeway and brought in. I’m like asking, this ain’t no antique shit. What’rewe doing with it? I was told to just look through it quick like, and throw it away if there wasn’t nothin’ there. Well there wasn’t much – except this here locked diary book.”
There was a short pause. “Where’d you get my name?”
“It’s on some of the other papers in the box. I just looked up the name Carpenter in the phone book and started phoning. You’re the first one I caught home. If it ain’t yours just tell me and I’ll call the others.”
“What’s it look like?”
“It’s small. And black.”
“How small?”
“Real small.”
“About three by five?”
“Yeah, that’s ’bout right. Anyways, it looks valuable to me.Realvaluable. Got lotsa names in it. Interesting names. Interesting phone numbers. I was gonna keep it, but then I got to thinkin’ that maybe the right thing to do was to return it to its rightful owner. ’Course I ’spect a small reward.”
“Small?”
“Yeah, small.”
“How small?
“Oh, I was thinkin’ maybe five hundred would be about right.”
“Are you crazy? I hadn’t even missed the damn thing yet. Why would I pay five hundred bucks for it? Tell you what, just for sentimental value; I’ll give you two hundred. If I can get it today.”
They eventually settled on three hundred.
The next step Gus took was masterful in order to get Carpenter in person over to Alameda.
“How’ll I know you’re really this Carpenter guy, just because you answered the phone? You got a drivers’ license with a picture on it?”
“Of course. I’ll come personally, and I’ll have my driver’s license with me. Picture and everything.” It was obvious he really wanted the book.
“Okay, but I split at three-thirty, and it’s gotta be cash.”
“Give me the address and I’ll be there about two, okay?”
“Ain’t no address,” Gus told him. “It’s a huge warehouse, way at the end of Alameda where the air station used to be. Building number three-seven-five. Ask for Greg.”
“Greg as in Gregory?”
“You got it. See you at two.”
Wow, did it ever go good. Gus sounded just like some young dock worker or something, and Carpenter went for it hook, line and sinker.
Quickly Gus phoned “Gregory” at the antiques place and filled him in on the phone call he’d just made.
“So all I have to do is tell the truth? All I have to do is take quite a bit of time making sure for him there’s no Gregory working here and never has been?
“Yeah, but he might blow a fuse. He might think you’re in on it some way. You better be careful. Make sure you got a couple of guys with you all the time.”
We phoned Smitty and told him Carpenter’d be out of the way by about one thirty.
He said, “That’ll work. Gives us plenty of time. Oh, by the way, Josie, were you okay with the arrangements last night?”
“Yeah, Dad, they were fine,” she said with a sigh.
“Enough spare rooms to go around?”
She glanced at Gus and me and smirked. “No, Dad. Casey and I had to share a bedroom.”
Silence. She let him stew for a short time and then laughed. “God, Dad. I’m kidding. We each had our own bedroom, and the chief sat in the hall all night to make sure nobody left their ro
oms.”
“Okay, okay, I get the message!” Smitty groused and hung up.
The three of us had nothing to do but wait. The chief suggested we go back to Jerry’s restaurant for lunch and he’d arrange it for us and said we should try the gnocchi.
I wondered aloud as to what gnocchi was, and Josie said, “That settles it; you’re having gnocchi for lunch.” It looked like my lunch menu was settled, whatever gnocchi was.
A waiter led us upstairs to the same room we’d had before and told us he’d be right back with the wine. At Jerry’s, it seemed we were going to have wine whether we wanted it or not.
We all three had the gnocchi. But first Jerry appeared with wine and four glasses and sat down with us. Right behind him, the waiter appeared with crusty French bread and a big platter of salamis, cheeses, olives and pepperoncini.
Jerry was a great host. I could see why the chief liked him so much. Short and a little on the pudgy side, he was dark skinned with black glistening eyes. He didn’t walk; he bounced and was very entertaining.
He stayed with us while we enjoyed the wine and pretty much decimated the nibbles he’d brought. When the entrées arrived he excused himself and said he’d check in with us later. “Take your time eating. You can stay here all afternoon if you wish. Chief said he’d call you if he needed you and that you should relax and enjoy!”
Finally we were alone and it was gnocchi time. Josie told me that they were little “pillows” made from potatoes. Didn’t sound good or even interesting to me, but they turned out to be delicious. All three of us were more than satisfied with our meals and lunch ended all too soon.
When we’d finished the small dishes of ice cream that seemed to be mandatory with Jerry’s dinners, Gus said if we didn’t mind he’d head downstairs to the bar area. “I feel more comfortable in bars than I do in restaurants,” he claimed. We knew he just wanted to give us some time alone together. What a nice guy!
We decided as long as we had the whole afternoon to ourselves, we could afford to have a nice after-lunch drink and relax, as Jerry had suggested.
Drinks ordered and delivered, we started talking. We found out we both loved music but entirely different kinds. I leaned to light classical, while she was a devout disciple of jazz. In fact, Josie told me she had a pretty large collection of jazz. I had a rather small collection of light classical. I often took mine with me on boat deliveries if there was a player on board.
“We should be able to live with that, shouldn’t we?” Josie said, as if it were the most natural observation in the world. I wasn’t sure how much to read into that offhand remark.
What with the wine we’d had with lunch and the after-lunch drinks, the conversation flowed easily, and before we knew it a couple of hours had passed.
“Do you think you should check on Gus?” Josie finally asked me.
I found him at the bar, deep in conversation with a couple and a young lady. I asked him if he wanted to come back up with us, or if he’d like us to join him at the bar?
He told us to get lost, in the nicest way. The guy really was at home in a bar. I guess four’s company, six is a crowd.
On the way back upstairs, Jerry stopped us and said, “Boy, that guy Gus can sure hold his liquor, can’t he!” I had no idea if he could or couldn’t, and asked Josie if she thought he’d be okay.
“Heck, yeah. He’ll probably drink everybody under the table,” she laughed. “We had him over at the house at Christmas. He put a major dent in our liquor supply.”
We decided to go for a walk and spent the time in small talk about how each of us had grown up. After about an hour, Josie’s cell phone rang.
“Hi, this is Jerry. You better get back. The chief called for you. ‘Says he needs you. By the way, I hope you’re not counting on Gus driving.”
We got the message.
He was right. Gus was very, very happy. His friends had multiplied to seven or eight, all sitting around a table in the bar, where he seemed very much at home. He was also ready to leave.
Jerry helped us get Gus out to the car and waited to make doubly sure he wasn’t driving. Actually Gus didn’t want to drive. He sat alone in the back seat and talked all the way to the station. Amazingly, by the time we arrived he sounded almost sober.
CHAPTER 62
The chief said he was about ready to raid Carpenters’ house and we were supposed to call Smitty. Smitty said it’d gone off like clockwork. He said Carpenter had taken off for Alameda about one-thirty and taken his ex-con bruiser with him. He told us that as soon as he was out of sight, Smitty and two other guys had driven up in what looked like a UPS van and delivered several boxes of stuff to his side door.
Smitty said that what the neighbors didn’t see was that the boxes were not left at the door. They were quickly taken inside, thanks to Nips, our experienced locksmith, and tossed down the basement stairs for the police to find. He said the guys weren’t there long enough to make the neighbors suspicious. A routine UPS delivery”
He said, we were in and out so fast and so quiet, if there had been someone in another part of the house, they probably wouldn’t have heard us.”
“So now what?” I asked the chief.
“According to my guys, Carpenter’s back at his house, got there about fifteen minutes ago. Now we serve the warrant and search the premises. That’s why I called. You want to tag along? You can’t go in with the team, of course, but you can sit across the street in my car and watch the whole thing come down, if you want.”
Josie said, “Me too?”
“Sure,” O’Meara said. “And you too, Gus. If you want. There’re probably only two of them and there’ll be about a dozen of us. We’re gonna cover the front, back and both sides, so no one can slip out. You won’t be in any danger. But you have to promise not to leave my car once we get started.”
Gus said he thought he’d wait at the station and have some more black coffee if the chief didn’t mind. The chief winked at me and said he thought that was probably a good idea.
“First I’ll take a very slow drive by, just to make certain everything is nice and quiet. You’ll have to lie down in the seats when I get near, just to be safe. As soon as I’m satisfied, I’ll radio my men and they’ll come up and serve the papers.”
“Chief, Won’t Carpenter recognize you or your car?”
“Not the car – it’s brand new. Hardly anyone’s seen it. I’ll put on dark glasses and a golfer’s hat. I’ll look like any other golfer trying to find the gate to the course.”
As we got near Carpenters’ house, the chief had us lay down, out of sight. Over the next few minutes he gave us a running commentary on what he was seeing.
“Nothing unusual yet,” he reported. “His car’s parked at the side, near the side door. The front shades are up but I don’t see any movement. I think we’re okay to go. I’m ready to radio my team. Stay down!”
I’d started to lift my head up but quickly changed my mind.
“I’ll tell you when it’s okay to start watching.”
Several minutes passed.
“Don’t get up yet,” the chief said quietly. “My men are all in place. I’m going to the front door and serve the papers. I’ll have three men with me, just in case. When I leave the car, count to a hundred, slowly. Then start watching. That’ll give me time to get over there and focus their attention on me.”
With that, we heard him open his door and leave. I started counting to one hundred as instructed, and supposed Josie was doing the same. When I reached eighty, Josie said she’d reached a hundred.
“Chief said slowly!”
“I did count slowly!”
Adding our little exchange, I figured enough time had gone by. I cautiously raised my head so I could see Carpenter’s house.
“its okay, Josie. You can come up. Looks like it’s going peaceably. Carpenter and the other guy are at the front door and the cops are handcuffing the goon. I can see tattoos on both of his arms. Must be the ex-con, the on
e they said was so brutal.”
“Is he the one they said was the bomber?”
“I think they said he made bombs. I don’t remember anyone saying he was the bomber, but you’re right, that’s the guy!”
Nobody knew what to expect, not even the chief. They were looking for incriminating stuff, wherever it was. It wasn’t long before the cops discovered the secret room and the basement with the boxes of papers, not to mention a nice haul of marijuana plants. They had plenty to put the whole household in the clinker. The chief said he wished we’d been able to be there when Carpenter saw what they’d found in the basement.
“He knew immediately he’d been snookered but you could tell he had no idea how. He looked sick, like someone had just punched him in the stomach. Wait till he meets up with some of his gang already behind my bars.”
The chief took us back to the station and Josie phoned Smitty to tell him how well the plan had worked.
Shortly after that, Gus called his friend at the antique place and put him on his speaker phone.
“So what happened?” Gus asked.
“We had a ball. First he drove up like he owned the place and demanded to see Gregory. I told him I didn’t think we had anyone working here with that name.”
“Then?”
“He insisted. ‘Said he’d just talked to the guy on the phone. Told us the guy worked cleaning up new stuff just come in. I told him I didn’t think so, but I’d check for him, maybe it was a temporary guy. Then I went behind the door and just waited for a couple of minutes. When I went back I had five of my buddies with me and he was fuming. I told him I’d asked everybody and there’s no one here by that name. He said he wanted to see the boss. I told him I was the boss, at least today.”
“Did he give up then?
“Not yet. He had a big guy with him. Tattoos all over his arms. He tried to get tough with me, but there were five guys behind me so that didn’t work. He stood staring at us for a minute, then turned to his boss and told him he thought they’d been had and they’d better get back home in a hurry. Then they left. Fast! Like I said, we had a ball. It was like being in a play where we knew the script but they didn’t.”
Casey's Slip Page 21
