“There will be order in this court!” the judge shouted. “There will be order in this court!” Many security guards were called in to restore order. It took some time for everyone to settle down and return to their seats.
Caroline looked haggard and thin. She was no longer physically attractive. Her wrinkled face looked very frightened. I felt sorry for her. Despite the tragedy of this sad outcome, I did owe Caroline a special debt of gratitude. At the time I was with her, she made me whole. Her love had changed me completely. I was no longer haunted by the demons that plagued me for most of my life. As the proceedings in the courtroom got underway, I could no longer watch this televised melodrama. I turned off the television in disgust. I felt confident that justice would be served. I was assured by the prosecution that the case against both of them was strong, and the evil Colonel and my former girlfriend would get what they deserved.
Several more weeks passed. One day I took Angie out to the Hanging Cliffs at Dennison. This place had magnificent rock striations. Some of the overhanging cliffs seemed suspended in midair. We walked under them and found a safe perch within the colorful rock structure. We gazed out at the vast sea, then waxed philosophically about the meaning and nature of life. I told Angie that most of what I knew about living was shrouded in mystery—the fog of experience, I called it. I felt the mysterious nature surrounding us could never really be understood or fully appreciated. My wife was a simple and loving person. She was highly intelligent and intuitive with many dimensions to her personality that I found intriguing. She had chosen a path of love and kindness. Angie was the perfect foil for my detailed and analytical mind. We continued to chat, enjoying the afternoon. After this wonderful interlude of shared experience, we left the cliffs at Dennison and returned to the city. It was getting dark, and the ocean air made it feel cold.
That night, we attended the theater and got home quite late. We were preparing for bed when the phone rang. My wife answered it. She said it was Captain Goloft and handed me the phone.
“Hello, Brandon, is something wrong?”
“Colonel Richards has escaped!”
“What? How can that be? He was being held in maximum security. How the hell could he escape?”
“I have more bad news. Caroline Prichard was found dead in her cell tonight.” I sat on my bed in shock and disbelief. The phone dropped to the floor. I couldn’t respond to what I just heard. I felt sad for Caroline, especially after my last visit with her in jail. And now she was dead. My loving wife was right by my side, holding me.
I swore on my mother’s grave that I’d hunt this monster down and bring him to justice, again. This incarnate devil wouldn’t be allowed to roam free in my city. The Colonel had murdered many innocent people in the subway bombings, and now he’d killed Caroline. He was in maximum security, so I knew he had help in his escape, but who would help that man after what he did? I’d find out how he escaped, but first I needed to go to the jail. The Colonel’s wealth may already have him on a plane and out of the country, but I didn’t believe it. The Colonel was a madman and a murderer, but he was also a fool. He was a hateful man filled with vengeance. He’d stay in the city until he could find a way to kill me for capturing him. This arrogant and foolish man would seek revenge and, in so doing, would tempt fate where life and death hang in the balance. Of that I was certain.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I quickly got dressed and headed downtown to police headquarters. I needed to speak to Brandon right away. Before I left, I told Angie to turn on the security system and not to worry. I’d return home shortly. I brought along my service revolver in case Colonel Richards was still in the city. I didn’t think he’d come after me tonight, but I had to be prepared. Soon I arrived at the police station, parked in back of the building, and walked into the Captain’s private office. Brandon was staring out the window, looking dejected. He seemed preoccupied.
“Hello, Jimmy,” he finally said.
“I need to know as much information as you can tell me about the Colonel’s escape.”
The Captain kept staring out the large window, mumbling incoherently to himself. Finally, he turned and looked at me. “I don’t know how this terrible thing could’ve happened. I really don’t know.”
“Brandon, stop wasting my time!”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m still in a state of disbelief. I can’t believe the Colonel is gone.”
“Please tell me what happened.”
“I first learned of the prisoner’s escape around 9:20 p.m. Officer McGilroy was checking on the prisoners when he stopped at the Colonel’s cell. The Colonel looked like he was sleeping in bed. He then checked on Prichard. He noticed a pool of blood on the floor under her bed. He immediately opened the cell door and found her dead. Her throat had been cut. McGilroy called security, then opened the Colonel’s cell, only to find an elongated bundle of crumpled clothes under his covers. The Colonel was gone. Jim, I swear there was no way in hell the Colonel could’ve escaped that jail cell. He must’ve had help.”
“Are you suggesting this was an inside job?”
“I’m sure of it.”
I got up and poured myself some coffee. “It’s imperative we find and capture the Colonel. It was clear from the beginning that he had help in his escape. I’m positive he killed Prichard, and I believe that he’s hiding somewhere nearby. I take it you’ve checked all means of egress out of the city?”
“We’re watching the rail lines, airports and roadways. We had that covered from the time he escaped.”
“Is Prichard’s body still in her jail cell?”
“No, we had her body moved to the city morgue.”
“Please keep the citywide surveillance video camera system active and monitored. We’ll need to be vigilantly watching for him. I feel he’s still in the city. And he may be getting help from an unidentified source.” The Captain nodded his head and instructed his officers to fan out across the city.
I visited the cell block where Caroline and the Colonel had been detained. In examining both cells, I didn’t notice anything unusual. Time was of the essence now, as I conducted several late-night interviews with jail personnel, and I studied surveillance tapes. I spoke with anyone who had any contact with Caroline and Colonel Richards. Fortunately, that section of the jail was constantly monitored. I was confident that the answer to how he escaped would be revealed on those tapes. It was late in the night and I was very tired. I returned home to be with Angie. I poured myself a drink, then quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, I returned to the jail early and continued my examination of both cells. It was no surprise that the Colonel’s cell revealed few clues in how he escaped. Caroline’s cell was nearby. Except for some clues under her bed, like hair samples, there was little to go on. I spent two hours at the police station reviewing surveillance videotapes. I then analyzed all the recorded conversations I had with police personnel and others. I checked security cameras in other parts of the jail and outside the building searching for evidence. Finally, after an exhausting morning, I returned home to Highgate to analyze all the data that I’d collected.
According to the autopsy report, Caroline was murdered somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. Somewhere in that interval of time, the Colonel had to escape his own cell and enter Caroline’s cell. In carefully observing the surveillance videotapes, I noticed a small glitch on the videotape occurring at 8:41 p.m. This glitch lasted four minutes, until 8:45 p.m. During that time, the surveillance cameras in that section went dark. Neither the Colonel’s cell nor Caroline’s could be seen during that four-minute glitch, which had self-corrected at exactly 8:45 p.m. Police personnel monitoring the surveillance cameras in the jail did experience a blackout in the isolation block where Caroline and the Colonel were being held. The glitch would’ve been attributed to equipment malfunction. That glitch, however, was crucial in solving the Colonel’s brilliant escape.
The Colonel’s escape had to occur during that brief time.
Four minutes wasn’t much time to arrange his bed, pick the lock in his cell, open Caroline’s cell, murder her, and then find a way out of the highest security block in the jail.
In analyzing all of the information, police detectives were confident that this escape couldn’t possibly be accomplished in just four minutes. The police analysts were completely baffled at how the Colonel could’ve accomplished this, even with help from others inside the jail.
The Colonel did have help in his planned escape. Someone with a key had opened his cell door while the Colonel was preparing his bed. The surveillance video camera “glitch” was probably planned well in advance by the Colonel and his accomplice. In the next four minutes, the Colonel arranged his bed to appear like he was sleeping in it, entered Caroline’s cell and murdered her, then made his escape from the maximum-security block. But how? Where did the Colonel get the knife to kill Caroline with?
When the surveillance cameras went dark, this is what I believed had happened. Someone entered the cell area. He approached the Colonel’s cell and unlocked the door. At the same time, the Colonel was quickly preparing his bed to make it appear like he was sleeping in it. He probably used bed linens from the laundry cart that his accomplice brought with him. When he finished making his bed, the Colonel’s cell door was closed and automatically locked. Everything in the cell appeared as usual. The bed now looked like the Colonel was sleeping. Perhaps less than a minute had passed. The accomplice now unlocked Caroline’s cell door and silently passed the knife he’d brought with him to the Colonel. With one determined sweep of his strong and muscular arm, the Colonel slashed Caroline’s exposed throat. He then lay Caroline on the bed and pulled the covers over her to make her appear like she was sleeping. Caroline probably thought she’d be part of the escape plan and was totally relaxed. The Colonel must have turned on her at the last conceivable moment. The door to her cell was closed and automatically locked. With less than two minutes to go before the surveillance cameras snapped back on, the Colonel and his accomplice had to escape from the highest security block in the prison.
At this point, I retired to my study to contemplate how the Colonel and his loyal accomplice could complete this unusual escape. I lit-up my pipe and watched the swirls of smoke rise to the ceiling. I reviewed all of the information I’d collected about the operation of the jail, especially the maximum-security isolation block. As I was thinking about the time chosen to make their escape, it occurred to me that there must’ve been some compelling reason why Colonel Richards picked that time in particular to plan his bold escape.
The first sleep check for the night started at exactly 9:00 p.m. The officer on duty began his rounds until all of the prisoners were observed in their beds and checked off. Every prisoner had to be accounted for. The typical time it would take an average guard to complete this task was about twenty minutes. On the night Caroline was murdered, McGilroy started his rounds at precisely 9:00 p.m. The log confirmed this. Thirteen minutes later, he arrived at Caroline’s cell and discovered her body. However, since Caroline’s murder occurred about thirty minutes earlier, there was an interval of time between the discovery of her body and when she was actually murdered. One of the things I examined was what routine activities occurred each day in the isolation block between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. That’s when I discovered how the Colonel and his accomplice escaped the jail.
Twice a week, there was a laundry pickup between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. This exchange with the prisoners occurred just before the first sleep check of the night. Dirty laundry was collected, and clean bed linens were handed out to each cell. This routine task always took about thirty minutes to complete. This would easily be accomplished by a single laundry worker rolling along a large cart of bed linens and an attached collection basket for dirty laundry. In the remaining two minutes the Colonel and his accomplice had to escape, the linen cart and laundry worker must’ve been nearby or very close. This escape was brilliantly planned and timed perfectly. The knife-wielding Colonel must have surprised the laundry worker, killed him instantly, then dumped his body into the collection basket of dirty bed linens. The Colonel must’ve jumped in after him to hide from being seen when the surveillance cameras snapped back on at exactly 8:45 p.m. They probably made room in the basket by dumping out dirty laundry. While the Colonel hid in the covered laundry basket with the dead body, the accomplice, probably dressed to appear like a laundry worker, kept pushing the laundry cart out of the area. The special keys for exiting the cell block were probably taken off the dead man’s body. With seconds to spare, the Colonel and his accomplice could now leave the cell block without drawing any undue attention to themselves, when the surveillance cameras snapped back on at 8:45 p.m. This, I believed, was how Colonel Richards and his accomplice escaped.
My wife returned home. I asked Angie how her day went. She said it was a wonderful day, but she’d gotten caught in a nasty traffic delay downtown. Some miserable construction work in Lafayette Circle was the culprit. She had to wait in traffic for over an hour before she could get home. The traffic in the city in the late afternoon was miserable. We both had a relaxing glass of wine and agreed how simple life would be living in the quiet countryside. Angie was tired from her exhausting day and wanted to go out for dinner. I told her that I couldn’t go because I needed to speak with Brandon downtown. I’d probably be coming home very late. Angie was disappointed, but being the trooper, she was, went into the kitchen and prepared dinner. After dinner, I gathered my things and left the apartment. I reminded her to always keep the security system turned on. With the Colonel on the loose, she understood that it was important.
Soon I was at police headquarters sitting down with the Captain. We were meeting in his private office. After exchanging some pleasantries, I told him my thoughts on the Colonel’s escape.
“Brilliant!”
“This is what I need you to do,” I said. “I want you to check the laundry facilities in the jail. You’ll need to find that dead body. It may be anywhere in the laundry area. I’m sure they didn’t take it with them. The Colonel and his accomplice probably disposed of the body in some hasty fashion, or it may still be in that dirty laundry collection basket. At any rate, you must find it.
“Next, we need to locate the Colonel’s accomplice. He’s probably right here inside the department. Check your personnel roster and see what you can come up with. This person may provide clues as to the Colonel’s whereabouts.”
“I’ll get on it right away. I’ll instruct my men to get moving quickly. Is there anything else?”
I looked at my friend and spoke softly. “I caught Colonel Richards and unmasked him as the Shadow Stalker at a time when he thought he was invincible. I humiliated him at his home when we arrested him for being the killer of dozens of innocent people. He’s probably still hiding somewhere in the city. He may be getting help in eluding the massive dragnet that is searching for him. He’s out there. I’m sure of it. He’s waiting for a clean opportunity to get revenge on me for his capture. I want to flush him out, but we must be careful. Brandon, you’re my friend and I feel I can trust you. I don’t want any officers patrolling the streets near my apartment or in that area. I want no effort from you or this department to protect me and my wife. He’ll never come after me if he thinks I’m being protected by the police. The Colonel is a fool and a coward. He’ll only come after me if he believes my guard is completely down. I’ll flush him out by making him think that I’ve written him off. That’s how I plan to capture him.”
“Isn’t that approach taking too much of a risk? The Colonel is a madman and a killer. Maybe you should let the police handle this.”
“I want this done my way. I know this man. I’ve studied his behavior for months. He needs to be in control of everything, every little detail. He’ll only come after me if he’s confident. He’ll try to kill me, but only if he’s assured of a clean getaway. I hope you understand my wishes. I still carry my registered gun from my days in the Bureau, and as you k
now, I’m a marksman. The new security system I installed at Highgate will help keep me and Angie safe. If the Colonel is stupid enough to come after me in public, then I’ll end this madness.”
He studied the intent and seriousness of my expression. “All right, Jimmy, we’ll do it your way, but here at headquarters we’re still going to find this madman. I’m in charge of the police department in this city, and I have the people who live here to think about. If the Colonel is hiding in the city, we’ll get him.”
After our meeting, I stayed on and went to the police lab. I wanted to review more live surveillance videotape. Trying to locate the Colonel’s movements in a city like this would be like looking for a single hair in a haystack. Quite a daunting task. Still, I had to try. Maybe the foolish and deranged Colonel might be tempted in getting on a subway train to visit his favorite ice cream shop?
I spent several hours in the lab reviewing surveillance video. It was getting late, and I decided to pack it in for the night. I returned to Highgate where Angie was at the front door to greet me. We embraced tightly. I could smell the oils and gentle perfumes from her bath. Angie’s intoxicating smell was like a potent aphrodisiac. My wife seemed so full of life and energy. I took her hand and we walked into the bedroom. I undressed and we snuggled in bed. She threw off her chiffon nightgown. Her warm, naked body felt wonderful rubbing up against me. We started kissing in bed. After we made love, I fell into a deep and relaxing sleep.
The next morning, I got up early. My breakfast was waiting for me in our newly decorated dining area. Angie and I discussed the people we were going to meet. There was a dinner party invitation in the evening. It was a charity function sponsored by the Wilshire Club. This organization regularly held fundraising dinners to help the homeless. Mimi Bronstein was the head of this powerful organization. Angie felt strongly about helping people who had no place to live. My wife wanted me to attend the dinner. I was involved in this effort, enthusiastically donating my time and money in all of its charitable giving. I was about to say yes to her request when the phone rang. It was the Captain. He told me there were a number of developments with the Colonel’s escape that he wanted to share with me at police headquarters. I kissed my wife goodbye and rushed out the door.
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