by Ronald Craig
"Can we pull into this old lot first? Maybe park on the far side of that old building, out of view. I think Shadow needs to mark a few bushes." At the mention of his name, Shadow was wiggling between and behind them in the semi truck sleeper. Charlie had left the 53 foot trailer back at Watson Manor figuring more maneuverability without it.
When he parked the truck they all got out and Shadow wasted no time exploring the vacant building. They walked to the end of the building and the full depth of Crown Storage was visible through the ten foot chain link fence with hoops of razor wire running along the top. The first storage building filled the full depth of the lot less the ten feet behind it to the back fence and the same distance behind the office. It stood fifteen to twenty feet from the fence that they were looking through to allow for maneuvering a trailer to the roll up doors along the side.
"Let's walk to the back of this lot and take a look," Charlie said.
"Shadow," she called and he joined them as they strolled out through the back of the vacant building. When they reached the back fence, the sound of traffic on Interstate 101 behind them was deafening as cars and trucks rushed past 25 feet from where they stood at the same ground level. They could see the back side of all three two story storage buildings and, on the far side, an eight foot high cinderblock wall that blocked their view beyond it.
"What's on the other side of this place?" Jenny asked.
"Nothing, the other side is under the Main Street overpass."
"With this vacant building, the overpass and the farm field across Bentley, they are very secluded here."
"If that block wall runs along 101 you're right. It's only the overpass and that wall looks close to it."
"Ready for a bird's eye view…partner," she said smiling.
"Jenny…never mind. We'll be headed home soon enough." They walked back to the truck and as soon as he opened the door for Jenny, Shadow almost flew to his position between the seats. Jenny got in to find Shadow holding his water dish in his mouth. She pulled three water bottles from the cooler and, after filling Shadow's dish, offered one to Charlie. When they drove back past the entrance of Crown Storage they both noticed the block wall running just inside the ten foot chain link fence on the right side. The outer fence didn't run straight back but at an angle clearing the overpass center support pillars but still under the overhanging road way. The block wall they saw from the closed down steel supply lot did run straight back to the end of the lot forming a wedged-shaped area concealed by the block wall.
"There is a very secluded storage unit back there," Charlie said, as they passed. "And at least one UPS truck I can see from here."
"The question is what are they storing there? This could certainly be where they have the children, Charlie."
Charlie drove the winding road around to the intersection where Main Street was again at ground level. He turned left on Main to take them back over Interstate 101 to get them on the return overpass closest to the storage lot. The return overpass on Main was two lanes but without a shoulder they could use. As the overpass started to rise he said, "I can't stop, no shoulder. Use the video camera; I'll drive as slow as I can."
The backside of the Crown Storage was in clear view and showed the eight foot block wall ran about fifty feet along Interstate 101 and ducked under the overpass. A single story building was centered in this area and it was constructed and painted the same as the other storage units with the exception of a heating-air conditioning unit on the roof. The side of the building facing them was metal siding without roll up doors or windows. The width was maybe thirty feet and over a hundred feet long. As they crossed over the area a second electric gate providing access to this area inside the main gate was sliding open for a UPS truck waiting to enter.
Jenny shifted in her seat to continue shooting video as the overpass started it's decent. "The roll up door is on this side," she reported. "And it's opening for a UPS truck."
"I saw the UPS truck and inside gate but couldn't see much else from my side of this truck."
"We need to find a way to get under this overpass, to that side wall."
"I want to see the video. Let's find a parking place and eat lunch."
"I held the camera out the window. It saw more than I did," Jenny said.
Charlie pulled into a vacant lot off Main Street about a mile away from Crown Storage. Jenny pulled the picnic basket from behind the seat and gave Shadow the first sandwich.
"You're going to spoil that dog. I hope that wasn't my roast beef," Charlie said.
"His was an Alpo spread, would you like one of those?"
"Tough call. I'll stay with mine," he said taking the sandwich. Jenny rewound the video camera and set it on the dash between them and hit play.
*****
"Lew, we have a problem," Frank told him over the phone.
"What's going on?"
"We just happened to be receiving a shipment this morning and Linda was outside. She saw a slow moving semi truck pass over with a video camera hanging out the passenger window."
"Did she get a good look at the truck?"
"Just that it was white and had a long hood. Our man in the Watson Manor construction crew reported they had a semi rig on site that was white."
"Hold on Frank," Lew said setting the phone down then walked to the reception area of the Law Office in Marina. "Judy, run by the Watson's place and see if the semi truck is there. Call me on my cell when you get there."
"I've followed them for three weeks, every time I got a call from our man on site. What's the problem Lew?" Judy asked headed for the door.
"Give me a call; I'll fill you in later." Lew walked back into his office and closed the door. "Frank, I have Judy headed to the Watson's place. They haven't been to Marina PD or doing anything suspicious for the last three weeks. Why now?"
"We don't know if it was them. The slow moving truck caught Linda's attention and when she looked up and saw the camera…"
"Shit, I thought that Linda, I mean Special Agent Downey, persuaded them to stay out of this. Do you need to pay them a visit or call indicating the FBI has been watching all of Crown's holdings and spotted them? Spotted them interfering in a federal investigation."
"At this point, if it's them they have seen our out of the norm operation here and with their suspicions may not back down. My biggest concern is that if they saw Linda and recognized her as Special Agent Downey, this whole thing could blow up."
"That may work in our favor. Maybe she gives them a call indicating she is working undercover there?" Lew suggested.
"Our orders were pretty clear here if they continued snooping around. When we get confirmation from Judy, I'll have Linda call them like you suggested. That will keep them from going to Marina PD. It would be a real shame if an accidental fire on the third floor trapped them on the fourth of Watson Manor."
"Hold on Frank, I have Judy on my cell…Frank the trailer is there but the truck is gone."
Chapter 13
While eating their lunch in the truck in the vacant lot, Charlie and Jenny watched the video she had taken.
"Hit pause," Charlie said. "This is like Fort Knox. See the surveillance cameras along the roof line?"
"I've seen my share of storage places, but nothing like this."
"How is it possible that this place doesn't draw attention?" he said hitting play. The video continued as they were looking at the top of the building. "An air conditioned storage unit?"
The front of the building came into view as the overpass was dropping toward ground level and Jenny hit pause again. "Look beside the roll-up door, the sign reads Crown Treasures Vault. They are selling it as a place for high end valuables," she said.
"It could be just that, Jenny. Full of priceless art, antique furniture and such."
"Or children. If they didn't have something to hide why are they using UPS trucks and not their own trucks?"
"Ok, I give you that. It could be a drug operation, who knows. You realize, Karen was
seen in one of Crown's cars, but that doesn't mean Crown was into what she was."
Jenny hit play again as they turned their attention back to the display screen. A woman walked into view and stood beside the roll-up door and Jenny hit pause again. The woman was looking toward the gate and when Jenny advanced the video in slow motion, the woman's head turned toward the camera. "They spotted us, Charlie."
"She looks familiar; can you zoom in a little?" Charlie asked. Jenny pulled the camera from the dash and held it closer to them. The image grew on the screen as she held the enlarge button down and then backed it down when the image became fuzzy. They watched in slow motion until the end of the video where the overpass blocked the view. Jenny rewound the video and they watched it again. "It could be that FBI lady."
"Downey," she said. "That was my thought. The hair color, length and her build are right."
"If it's her, that puts a different spin on this place," he said.
"I think it is. I bet Detective Edwards can enhance this video to be sure."
"It won't be the first dirty cop that crossed our path. Did you catch how quickly she hid her face after seeing the camera?"
"Charlie, can we see if there is a way to get under the overpass and peek over that wall?"
"We are done here. You saw all those cameras on the building not to mention being spotted by whoever that woman was," he said starting the truck.
"Can we at least take the video to Edwards and talk to the Chief?"
"Yes, but after we take the rig and Shadow home. We didn't see anything to support our fears of what that place is."
"Unless we confirm that was Downey back there."
"I think it was her too, but we leave it in Chief Walker's hands and hope they don't know who was shooting video."
"I'm glad we took your rig, nobody has seen it before."
Ten minutes into the drive home Jenny's cell phone rang.
"Hello," she answered.
"This is Special Agent Downey with the FBI, you may remember me as the one that warned you to stay away from this investigation," she said sternly.
"So it was you at Crown storage, I…," Jenny started to say and was cut off.
"What the hell are you two thinking? It took me three weeks to get in here undercover and if anyone else would have seen your stunt here today, it could have thrown that hard work away! This is my last warning. If you or your husband are seen anywhere close to one of Crown's holdings or stirring up trouble at Marina PD, I will personally arrest you for obstruction! Do you understand? Do you hear me, Mrs. Watson?"
"Yes…I'm sorry, we didn't see anything happening to find those kids," Jenny said.
"It's not only blowing our case, these people are deadly! Remember Karen Meyers? The last thing I want to do is investigate your homicide scene! One of my agents positioned outside Crown Storage confirmed your truck, CW Trucking was our drive by. Listen, Jenny, I hate to come down so hard on you two, but we have hundreds of man hours in this already setting it up. We don't charge in like the cavalry hoping to snag the top guy by chance. It takes time and planning to make the solid arrest and a conviction that sticks. I know your heart is in the right place but actions like today will kill our efforts."
"I understand," Jenny said fear evident in her shaking voice. "Can you tell us anything?"
"One time, if we speak again it will be me reading you your Miranda Rights. I have only been here a few days. The operation is either moving around or went silent when Karen Meyers body and the video were found. There are no children here and we are on top of it. Don't screw that up, Ok."
"I got it, I'm glad you're going after these monsters."
"One more thing, my agent is following you a few cars back. Pull off to the side and hand him the video tape."
"But what…," Jenny was cut off again.
"Or he will read you those rights for obstruction," and then Jenny's phone went dead.
"Pull over Charlie," Jenny said pulling the tape out of the camera and handing it to him. "I'll explain when the FBI is gone."
Charlie pulled over to the side of the road and a few minutes later saw the man approaching the driver side of the truck. Charlie was angry with these people for upsetting Jenny over the phone and he fought his instinct to fight back. He opened the door and held the tape at arm's length. The man simply took the tape and then turned and walked back to his car without a word exchanged. Charlie pulled out on the road headed home before the other man even reached his car.
"I'm sorry Charlie, I was wrong to pull you into this trip."
"I wanted to grab your phone away and set that bitch straight when I heard her yelling at you!"
"But she's right. I could have ruined their investigation. This is no place for us and we know now they didn't bury it."
"Still, she didn't need to be such an arrogant ass to you."
"Her message was very clear and I didn't like either outcome. Odd, it was like she saw a stubborn streak in me and felt the need to pull out all the stops," she said producing a weak smile.
Charlie couldn't help releasing his tension in a laugh. "So I need to send that nice FBI lady a thank you card?"
"No. You were right, she's a bitch, but she pulled the blinders off. Let's go home."
"Works for me."
*****
Linda threw the disposable phone in the trash and turned to her husband Frank. "No loose ends and we'll have the tape in a few minutes."
"You did a fantastic job, dear, but you didn't wipe their minds clear."
"They saw Crown Treasure Vault and an FBI agent on site. I know she is content we are on the job, Special Agent Mills and scared of either death or jail time if she doesn't let this go."
"I didn't call him, but located our team in the event we needed help tonight."
"The Marina office and our crew plant are watching them. We still have a tap on their home phone. We're covered. If we act needlessly, it will bring Marina PD to our door."
"Are you that sure you got through to them?"
"Oh yeah. I don't see any need to postpone tonight's auction and deliveries through the week," Linda said.
"I hope you're right, but things will heat up quickly at Watson Manor if you're wrong."
*****
Charlie went down stairs the following Monday morning and was greeted by the foreman Bob, "Hey Junior, you ready to get back to work on the lower three floors?"
"Mornin' Pop. I have been a little focused on our floor."
"Understandable, any issues in the penthouse?"
"Not a one. We're so pleased to be in it. Where do you need my talent today?"
"Talent huh. Now there's a stretch, Junior," he said laughing. "We are running with a full crew. Hank's replacement is working out well and we have a third man now finishing drywall."
"I noticed the new faces, I really liked Hank. What happened there?"
"He called, a couple weeks back now and said he needed to take some time off, family issues. He recommended Art Dawson to take his place as head electrician."
"Oh no, I hope it's nothing serious with Hank."
"I didn't get that impression. He was very apologetic, but said it couldn't be helped."
"I thought the drywall was close to being done? A third man?" Charlie asked.
"Joe was out three days with the flu, hanging drywall is much faster with two. Stan was sent over by the union to fill in. He's good and half the rate, so I kept him on for the last two weeks after Joe came back, keeping us ahead of schedule. I know, we could use your talent, to help tiling the main kitchen floor."
"Sounds good, Pop. I'll say hello to the new guys and then go show the tiling crew how it's done," Charlie said smiling as he walked away.
*****
"Hello Chief," Jenny said into the phone. "Have you heard anything from Downey or Mills?"
"Not a word, but I really didn't expect too either," Walker replied.
"I feel kind of stupid, wanted to give you a heads up."
"
Oh Jenny," he said laughing. "What on earth did you do now?"
"I talked Charlie into a drive yesterday to Salinas."
"You'll note there is no surprise in my voice. What do you have to report, detective?"
"Good news actually. I was thinking the FBI wouldn't get serious about this, but Agent Downey was working undercover at Crown Storage."
"How do you know that?"
"Well, as we drove slowly past the place, the video camera found her outside one of the storage units."
"That was pretty fast. To get her in position within three weeks is unheard of. Are you certain it was her?"
"It looked like her on the video, but when she called us, it confirmed it. You don't need to say a word Chief, she threatened obstruction charges and pointed out these people are deadly. We are out of it. I just wanted you to know from me about it."
"She called you?"
"We were in Charlie's rig, one of her agents outside saw CW Trucking on the truck, and… well, she has all of our contact info."
"Bring the tape in, let's take a look."
"I couldn't even if I still had it. She specifically warned me not to involve, no, she said "stir up trouble" with Marina PD."
"You don't have the video?"
"An FBI agent took it on our drive home."
"What did you see there?"
"Chief, I shouldn't have called you, I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you about the stupid thing I talked Charlie into before the FBI contacted you."
"Jenny, this all sounds a little off…," he started to say.
"Really Chief, please forget I called. I've got to go now," she said and hung up the phone.
*****
"I just met Charlie, it will be easier now to get a little closer to him," he said into his cell phone on the job site.
"Listen, are you ready for a little overtime and big bonus?" Linda asked him.
"I thought you scared the hell out of them."
"So did I. Lew just picked up a call to Marina PD. Get everything ready. I'll call you later with a go," Linda said hanging up the phone.
