by Henry Hack
“Seems that way. The CIA also cracked Minuteman Paul Revere whose real name is Sanford Green. Green gave up the names of the Committee which matched the ones you gave us. They are still working on him for more information.”
“Any line on those two guys – Herman and Jeremy?”
“Yes, a uniformed cop stopped the two of them as they were walking to the school before the attack. They produced phony IDs, but the cop’s description fits what we know of their looks from what Stutzer told the CIA. They used the same phony ID to board a flight to Denver just about the time the attack was taking place.”
“You think they are still here?”
“Don’t know. We have the Denver office heading over to the airport now. After they find whatever they can find on their whereabouts, they’ll call you there.”
“Thanks, Joe. Maybe we did catch a break here. Uh, do you know how the CIA got Stutzer to open up?”
“Not a clue. They didn’t tell me, and I didn’t ask. Get some shut-eye. You may be busy in the morning.”
Harry decided to not wake up Danny and George, and cancelled their six a.m. wake-up call. They could learn what he knew after the sun rose. He put his head on the pillow, and satisfied that some progress in the case was being made, he shortly fell asleep.
The phone in the hotel room woke Harry up immediately. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand as he reached for the phone. It was after eight, meaning he had a good six hours of sleep, more than enough for whatever would transpire that day, or so he then thought. The FBI agent from the Denver office, Jack Leone said, “We’re making progress, sir.”
“I’m all ears.”
“They got in to Denver around four a.m. and booked themselves on the 8:30 flight to Cheyenne. They had a couple hours layover there and then they took a puddle jumper to Yellowstone airport near Cody, after a stop at Casper Cody seems to be the end of their travels.”
“We just came from there last night. Guess we’ll be going back shortly.”
“We have the Casper office sending a couple guys to Cody as we speak. They’ll see if they can find where these two birds went after they landed. Maybe a taxi, or maybe they had a vehicle parked there.”
“Terrific, Jack. Thanks a lot for your work. We’ll be out of here shortly after we grab something to eat. Call me on my cell phone from now on. Here’s the number….”
“Already have it from Joe Ramos,” he said. “Good hunting.”
* * *
“Holy crap!” Danny Boyland said when he answered Harry’s call. “We missed the wake-up call. We’ll miss…..”
“Stop, I let you sleep in. We’re not going back to New York. We’re going back to where we just came from – Cody.”
“What? Why?”
“Just wake George up then meet me for breakfast downstairs in half an hour – all shaved, showered and packed up to check out. I’ll tell you all about it then.”
Harry waited for the waitress to pour their first cup of coffee and leave the area before he began telling them what had transpired during the previous few hours. When he finished, George Washington said, “I’m looking ahead here. Tell me if you two are maybe thinking the same thing that’s charging through my brain, okay?”
“Shoot,” Harry said.
“We get lucky later today or tomorrow and track down Herman and Jeremy. They tell us where Steadman and his Committee are holed up. We call in the troops and lock ‘em all up. The threat is over, the election proceeds as planned, and normalcy is restored.”
“That would be just peachy.”
“Assuming we do get lucky and catch Herman and Jeremy,” Danny said.
“And they readily talk,” Harry said.
“And they know where Steadman and his band actually are. They could have, most probably have, moved the hell out of here.”
“Man, what a couple of pessimists you two are,” George said. “Ruining my carefully laid out plans and shit.”
“Just kidding, partner,” Danny said with a smile. “Here comes our breakfast. Let’s wolf it down, head to the airport, and go catch these bastards today.”
“Now you’re talking, partner. Right, Harry?”
“Right you are, George.”
* * *
Harry’s cell phone rang while they were in the Cheyenne airport early that afternoon awaiting the small two-engine prop plane that would eventually take them back to Cody. “We hit a home run,” Agent Jack Leone said.
“Tell me.”
“The agents from the Casper office viewed the parking area videotapes and got a white Ford pickup truck leaving the Yellowstone airport shortly after their flight landed. The two guys in it fit the description and we got the plate number…”
“Which comes back to…?”
“Herman Muntz. Local address is right in Cody. I have a team on the way to check it out.”
“Have them sit tight until we get there. Then we’ll all have a chat with Mr. Muntz.”
“Yes, sir,” Leone said.
“Great work. And please, call me Harry.”
“Will do. Let me give you the agents’ names and cell phone numbers. They already have yours.”
Harry disconnected from Leone and related what he had just learned to Danny and George. “Told you so,” George said. “Our lucky day, but very unlucky for Herman. Man is he going to be surprised to see us. Hope his buddy Jeremy is still with him.”
* * *
They rented a car and made contact with the two FBI agents who sat in their unmarked car down the street from Muntz’s small cape-cod house. The truck was parked in the driveway indicating Muntz was inside. Harry called the agents on his cell phone and said, “We’ll drive past you. Follow us around the corner, out of sight of the house, and we’ll have a pow-wow.”
In five minutes, they had their plan of approach. Danny and George would cover the back door, while Harry knocked on the front door. The Casper agents, Ed McGoey and Tony Jackson, would be at the front corners of the house to assist Harry, while covering the windows on the sides. When they were all in place, Harry withdrew his automatic and knocked on the door with his left hand. He knocked again, harder, and this time he got a response. “Yeah, who’s there?” a voice shouted out.
“Package delivery,” Harry shouted back.
“Leave it on the porch,” the voice said, closer now.
“You gotta sign for it.”
“Jesus! Just a minute,” Herman Muntz said, reaching for the doorknob while glancing at Harry through the windowpane. Herman’s eyes opened wide. His hand slipped from the doorknob and he slithered away from the door then turned and ran through the house, out the back door and into the waiting arms of Danny Boyland and George Washington.
“Gotcha, Herman,” George said. “Don’t fight us, and let’s all go back inside. We’re going to have a little chat.”
“I have nothing to say. I know my rights. I want my lawyer right now.”
“Oh, you may have a lot to say,” Danny said, “but for now, all you have to do is listen.”
They dragged Herman into the living room and told him to sit on the sofa. Danny watched over him as George went to the front door to let the others in. When they all stood in front of Herman he again said, “I got nothing to say. I want my lawyer now. And if you lay a hand on me, I’ll sue you all for police brutality.”
“That’s assuming you’ll still be alive after we’re done with you, which is a big assumption, right partner?” George said.
“Right on,” Danny said. “Geez, who wants to get sued? Dead guys can’t sue us, though.”
“Look, Herman,” Harry said, “disregard my partners. We didn’t cuff you, and we are not going to beat you up. We just want some information.”
Herman smiled and said, “I get it. The old good cop, bad cop routine. I ain’t talking and I have no information.”
“You know who I am, don’t you Herman. You spotted me through the window.”
“Yeah, I know who you are. The famous Harry Cassidy. The
good cop.”
“Herman, we are all good cops here, and it’s time for all of us to get serious. But although we are not going to threaten you, lay a hand on you or shoot you to death, what awaits you, I assume you must know, is worse than death. Much worse than death.”
Herman put a scornful look on his face, but Harry knew he had gotten to him. “Give me a break, Cassidy.”
“That’s just what I want to do Herman – give you a break. Let’s talk a bit. I’ll start and you can jump in at any time to comment or clear up any misconceptions.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
George Washington started to giggle pointing to Muntz and whispering in Danny’s ear.
“What the fuck’s so funny?” Muntz asked.
“Allow me to introduce myself. In fact, I might as well introduce us all as we may be here together for a long time.”
After George pointed out each the agent by name he said, “Oh, you have anything to drink?”
“Yeah.”
“Like what?”
“Soda, water and beer, but you guys ain’t welcome to any of it.”
“Oh, don’t get up, Herman. We’ll help ourselves when we feel like it. Now, why I was laughing before? I wasn’t really laughing at you; I was laughing at your name.”
“Screw you,” Herman said knowing exactly what was coming.
“Every time I hear Herman Muntz, I can’t help but thinking of Herman Munster, you know that old TV show The Munster’s, where old Herman Munster was dressed up like the Frankenstein monster….?”
“Yeah, I heard that shit all my life, probably as many times as you heard ‘George Washington? Man you don’t look like the dude on the dollar bill.’”
“Right on, Herman. See guys, I told you Herman here has a sense of humor. But there wasn’t anything humorous ‘bout that attack you pulled off at the high school, was there?”
“I didn’t sanction….” Herman caught himself and clamped his jaws shut.
“We know you didn’t,” Harry said. “We know you and Jeremy called it off, but your nut- job buddy Stutzer went ahead with it anyway, directly contrary to your orders. We know.”
Herman said nothing so Harry said, “Want a beer, Herman? I know I do.”
“I’ll get them,” Danny said. “Anyone else?”
“Water for me,” Agent McGoey said.
“Soda for me,” George said.
“Me, too,” Agent Jackson said.
Muntz, who had not responded to Harry’s question, finally said, “Yeah, I’ll have a beer.”
Harry inwardly smiled. This was good. Muntz seemed resigned to the fact that they would be here a long time as they all slowly sipped their drinks. “Okay, Herman, here’s the deal. We know you and Jeremy are Minutemen. We want you to tell us where Jeremy is and we want you to tell us the location of Chris Steadman and his Committee. And if you know the locations of any other Minutemen, please tell us that, too.”
Herman shook his head and laughed out loud. “I thought old George here was the funny guy, but you’re funnier – crazy funnier. Minutemen? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Herman, how do you think we found you? Take another minute and really think on it.”
“I don’t need a minute, Cassidy. You’re the super cop, so I guess you and your guys here did some super police work.”
“Yes we did, and that police work led us to you, even if we didn’t have William Stutzer tell us your real name beforehand.”
“I have nothing more to say,” Muntz said, crossing his arms and staring defiantly straight ahead.
“Okay,” Harry said, standing up from the chair he was sitting in. “Then we are done here. Drink up boys. It’s time to go.”
“You mean you’re letting me go?”
“Oh, no, you’re coming with us.”
“Where?”
“To where William Stutzer and your fellow Minuteman, Paul Revere, confessed. Somewhere in the deep, dank depths of the CIA’s dungeons in Washington. That’s where.”
A look of fear briefly passed through Muntz’s gray eyes then he said, “Bullshit! That type of stuff is illegal.”
“Don’t matter anymore,” George said. “The President okayed it. You ain’t got any rights anymore. Ask Stutzer and Revere.”
“What’d they do to them?”
“Truthfully, we don’t know,” Harry said. And truthfully we don’t want to know. I, for one, take no delight in torturing a fellow human being. Water boarding, electric shocks to the testicles, fingernails yanked out…that stuff’s just not my style.”
This time the fear stayed in Herman’s eyes as he sank back into the sofa. He said, “Wait a minute, let me think about this.”
“Take your time,” Harry said. “We have over an hour before we have to leave for the airport.
* * *
The five agents moved away from Herman Muntz, Harry handing him his beer as he left, leaving him almost alone in silence. Although Herman was a true believer in Chris Steadman and the Minutemen, he was not tolerant of pain of any type. In fact, if Harry and his men had smacked him around to any degree, he probably would have given it up right here and now. He had to think, to reason out his best course of action to result in the least damage to the cause.
He finished his beer and asked for another. “How about a soda this time?” Danny asked.
“Sure,” he said.
Another ten minutes went by as Herman slowly sipped his soda out of the can. George looked at Harry, but Harry shook his head letting them all know to wait some more.
Herman had come to several conclusions. He could not tell them where Jeremy was because he knew as much as he did, and who knew how long he could hold out under torture? He could not allow himself to be brought to the CIA because he knew he would tell all, and tell it quickly. But he had to give them something, and he hoped it would be enough. He put his soda can down and said, “Okay guys, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
They gathered in chairs around the sofa and waited for Herman to speak. Experienced investigators and interviewers all, they would analyze every word, every pause, and every hesitation in Muntz’s recitation looking for lies, omissions, and subterfuge. He said, “Me and Jeremy were charged with running the attack at Cardinal Cooke High School. I contracted out the job to Stutzer, a boyhood friend from Queens. As you know, that turned out to be a huge mistake. They got our four targets, but the other killings were not in our plans. I’m truly sorry for all those unnecessary deaths.”
He paused and bowed his head. Self-serving, or true remorse they all wondered? They couldn’t tell right now.
“I’m the only Minuteman who lives locally. We have a place maybe twenty miles from here where we all gather for training. Some of the guys live there full-time in the barracks.”
“How many Minutemen are there?” Harry asked.
“Sixty, plus the five in the Committee. And I understand there are many financial supporters as well spread throughout the country.”
“Will you lead us there?”
“Sure, but it won’t do you any good.”
“Why not?”
“It’s been abandoned. No one is there.”
“How come?”
“After the fuck-up at the high school, Chris gave orders to everyone to get out of there fast. We were told to go back to our house and lay low. He told us we had this thing won only if we managed to avoid arrest until after the election.”
“What else can you tell us about the Committee?” Harry asked.
“You mean like their names?”
“Yeah, for a start.”
Herman ran through their names and when he finished Harry said, “Now how about their real names, Herman?”
A genuine look of surprise appeared on Herman’s face and he said, “Those are the only names I know. Are you saying that’s not their real names?”
“That’s the same names Paul Revere gave up to the C
IA, but they are all phonies. By the way what is Paul Revere’s real name?”
Herman spotted the trap immediately, the casual question by Cassidy looking to catch him in a lie. But Herman was too smart for this super cop. If Paul had given up the names of the Committee, he no doubt gave up his own name as well. “Sanford Green,” he replied, “and I’m telling you the truth again.”
“We believe you. Ready to show us the location?”
“Sure, let’s go.”
They all got up to leave and Danny said, “Sorry Herman, we have to cuff you now.”
“No problem,” he said, hoping beyond hope he sold his story all the way and maybe he would be sleeping in a local jail tonight and not on his way to Washington.
* * *
Harry called Joe Ramos and gave him an update on what had just gone down, and where they were heading. “Do you think five of you will be enough to handle that compound?” Joe asked.
“Sure, if Herman was leveling with us and it’s vacant. But we’ll check it out carefully before we make a move. If it looks occupied, we’ll get backup from the state police. And if it’s abandoned, I’ll get back to you to get a Crime Scene Search Team out here pronto. We won’t touch or disturb anything pending their arrival.”
“Good plan. Do you think Herman told you everything?”
“Hold on, I want to switch you to speaker. Danny and George are in the car with me. Herman’s in the other vehicle with the other two agents.”
Harry engaged the speakerphone and said, “Guys, Joe just asked me if Herman told us everything. I’ll give my answer and then you two can add your opinion, okay?”
“Okay,” George said. “I’m curious if we all agree on Mr. Muntz’s veracity, or lack thereof.”
Harry said, “Most of what he told us was true – about the attack and his part in it, and I also believe he does not know the true names of the Committee. However, he’s holding back. I believe he knows exactly where Jeremy is, and that it is close by. I also believe he must know the whereabouts of at least several more Minutemen. What say you Danny and George?”
