NOTHING TO LOSE - Angie Bartoni Case File # 5 (ANGIE BARTONI CASE FILES)

by Marshall Huffman

  I walked over and took his right hand and brought it down and put it behind his back and handcuffed him. Then I did the same thing to the other side.

  “Mr. Rice, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have...”

  “Look I know my rights. I’m not an idiot.”

  “The right to an attorney. If you can’t afford one, one will be appointed to represent you. Do you understand these rights?”

  “Well duh.”

  “Yes or no Mr. Rice?”

  “I understand them.”

  “Good. Dan, get him in the car. I want to thank the lady that spotted him.”

  I walked over to an older lady who still was holding onto her cell phone.

  “Mrs. Peavey?”

  “Yes.”

  “Detective Bartoni. I just wanted to thank you for calling as quickly as you did. Your action helped us grab this perpetrator.”

  “I saw him loading box after box of nails and screws. He wasn’t even looking as sizes or anything. He just kept stacking them on the cart. I went online and found the pictures of the alleged bombers and sure enough he was one of them. That’s when I called,” she said.

  “You did the city a real service. Thank you for helping take a stand instead of just ignoring it and going on.”

  “My pleasure.”

  That is exactly what we need if we are ever going to get this crazy stuff stopped, people willing to get involved rather than hopping someone else will do it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Dan had Rice already sitting in the interview room by the time I got there.

  “You say anything to him yet?” I asked.

  “Just asked what he wanted to drink.”

  “We’ll let him sweat it out another forty-five minutes or so before we go in to talk to him.”

  “Potts and Pendergrass know about this as well. They are on their way in.”

  “Hummm. Maybe we should have a change of plans. Talk to him before they show up,” I suggested.

  “I don’t want to be argumentive but to what end really? We will have to share the information at some point. All it will do is cause tension.”

  He was absolutely right. We were all getting along so why rock the boat?

  “Okay. You’re right. Let’s wait.”

  “I’m right? Me? Angie Bartoni is saying that I’m right? Let me put this down on my calendar,” Dan said doing a silly little happy dance.

  What the heck could I say? I just shook my head and went to my desk, picked up Rice’s file, and started reading through it again.

  **

  I was quite happy to be in the interview room instead of squished up in the observation room.

  “Mr. Rice, I’m pretty sure you realize you are in a world of hurt right now.”

  “There is no law against buying nails is there? I mean is that the latest government target, taking away the right to buy nails and screws?”

  “Don't be a jerk. I really don’t have time for it. How did you come to work with Belk?” I asked.

  “Who?”

  “Mr. Rice. You need to get something straight right here and now. You are in the police station and talking to a detective who is pretty fed up with smart mouth scumbags like you. At any time I can turn you over to Homeland Security and they will ask the questions. Maybe you didn’t realize it but you are officially being classified as a domestic terrorist. That means they can and will take you to someplace less pleasant and question you. I can assure you, you do not want that to happen,” I told him.

  “Our government kills hundreds of people every day. They are the terrorists,” he shot back.

  “We don’t kill innocent women and children just for sport.”

  “That’s a very thin line. It sounds more like justification to me. Do you think someone who had his family killed as so called collateral damage gives a damn? All they know is that their family was murdered. Where is the difference?”

  “Rice you cannot be serious. You actually think that blowing up a library is the same thing as taking out a terrorist complex?”

  “What about when we hit the wrong target?” he asked.

  “A mistake isn’t quite the same thing. It is not just killing for the sake of killing,” I argued.

  “And again, I say that is a thin line. Who determines who lives and who dies? The government? What the hell do they know about how people feel? They lost touch with reality a long time ago,” Rice said.

  “Rice you’re dancing around the question. How did you find Belk?”

  “He found me.”

  “Explain.”

  “I worked as a building demolitions expert for fifteen years. We were getting ready to bring down a building and I had hung one on the night before. Actually I was still pretty drunk. I thought the all clear had been sounded. I pressed the detonator. We lost ten good men. It was considered a tragic accident but I was fired. I should have been. I killed those men as sure as I’m sitting here,” he said taking a deep breath.

  “Go on,” I prodded.

  “I started to drink even more. My wife left me and took the three kids. I lost everything. Hell I spent more time in the gutter than I did in a bed. Finally one day Belk literally kicked and dragged me to his van. He took me to a garage someplace and locked me away. He wouldn’t let me out for six days. He would pass food and water to me but nothing else.”

  “So he got you through the DT’s”

  “Yep. Did you know he actually had a company that did demo work for several years? He put me to work. When he went off the deep end, he made sure I had a good job with another company. I kept in touch while he was in prison.”

  “So you helped him to escape.”

  “I helped to set him free. Escape is your word,” he said.

  “You got the materials for him.”

  “Some. Obviously you know the armored car was taken by Hall. He was a moron if you haven’t figured that out already.”

  “Yeah, I pretty much got that.”

  “Anyway a year ago Belk started planning his escape. Hell, I owed him big time.”

  “Who passed the stuff to Belk?”

  “Hall would be the mule. There was a guard on the inside that made sure it got to Belk.”

  “What was the guard’s name?” I asked.

  “All I know is a first name. Jeff,” he said.

  “Jeff Adams?”

  “Could be. All I ever heard was Jeff.”

  “Do you know where Belk is now?”

  “You don’t really expect me to tell you, do you? Think about what you’re asking. I have three kids and he knows where they live. On top of that he is smart. I’ll bet you he already knows I have been captured and is moving as we are talking,” Rice said.

  “He can’t know yet.”

  “Come on detective. Of course he knows. Half the people in the store had cell phones. This is already on the news,” he said.

  I looked up at the window. Damn. He was probably right. I got up and went next door and stuck my head in.

  “Is he right?”

  “Yeah. We just go word. It’s breaking news on almost every channel.”

  “Son of a...”

  “I know what you mean,” Pendergrass said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  “We still need to check it out,” Potts said.

  “Damn cell phones.”

  I was still pretty hot. It hadn’t occurred to me that it would hit the news that fast. I had wasted time waiting for them to get back so I wouldn’t raise tension. I should have been in there pounding the hell out of him. I’m speaking metaphorically of course.

  “It’s in the county. We are going to need to notify the Sheriff in that area.”

  “What county is Zionsville in?” Potts asked.

  “Boone.”

  “Doesn’t anyone know who the Sheriff is for that area?”

  “No, but the captain has a directory. I’ll ask him to make the notific
ation,” I told him.

  Dan followed me to the captain’s office.

  “You know Belk and Anderson are long gone.”

  “I know but we have to keep looking under every rock. He seems to be consistently one step ahead of us.”

  “It’s the technology today. It gives the criminal element the advantage,” Dan pointed out.

  It was hard to argue with that at the moment.

  The captain’s door was closed and I knocked.

  “Come,” he bellowed.

  When I opened the door I was taken aback to see the Mayor and Police Commissioner sitting there.

  “Sorry captain. I just need a quick favor.”

  “What is it Bartoni?”

  “We have reason to believe that Belk is in Zionsville. We need to alert the Sheriff of Boone County that we are on our way and would like his cooperation.”

  “Consider it done. Come on in a minute.”

  Oooh. Run Forest, run. I did not like the idea of being in the same room with this much rank. I could feel Dan trying to move back and grabbed his arm and dragged him into the room with me.

  “You know the Mayor and Commissioner.”

  It wasn’t a question so I just nodded.

  “The Mayor and Commissioner believe that there are too many chiefs butting in on this case.”

  “Okay.”

  What else could I say? No way was I going to expound on that statement.

  “They have a meeting set up with Senators Long and Clark later this afternoon. They want to see if it is possible to get Homeland out of the equation and have the FBI focus on the Bank element of the bombing.”

  I’m smart enough to just wait for the other shoe to fall so I said nothing.

  “This would mean that we would be back in charge of the operation. It would fall on us to get Belk.”

  I waited.

  “Detective?” the Commissioner asked.

  “Sir. Is there a question in there someplace?”

  “We are asking what you think of that.”

  “I think it’s a big risk on your part. If something goes wrong you are going to look pretty bad,” I said.

  “We are aware of that,” the Mayor added.

  “I guess I don’t really see the upside. I don’t like having to tiptoe around. The captain knows better than anyone that I do not play well with others. I hate the politics. I’m not good at it. I just catch people and put them in jail. Having said that, if Belk would continue this pattern and bring down an even larger building or kill even more people you would have a considerable amount of egg on your face. Could you survive such criticism?” I said.

  “Captain,” the Commissioner said, somewhat startled.

  “Sir, I told you. Don’t ask her unless you want to hear what she thinks. I made it clear that she would pull no punches.”

  He glared at me for a few seconds then nodded his head. Finally he cleared his throat.

  “What would you need to get this guy?” he asked.

  “Twelve good people plus Dan and a good tech guy to gather information. No budget restrictions. No interference in cutting across other precinct lines. A chopper we can use when we need it. No press conferences until he is caught. Anything released to the news, I want access to first and the right to change it. A great bomb squad at our disposal, on call 24 – 7.”

  The three of them looked back and forth at each other. It was kind of like watching a tennis match. The Mayor looked at the Commissioner. The Commissioner looked at the captain and back and forth. I had to be really careful or I would laugh.

  “Is that all?” the Commissioner finally asked.

  “Automatic weapons and a good sniper would also be appreciated.”

  “Bartoni,” the captain interjected.

  “Captain this guy has already killed close to four hundred people. The next time it will be a lot more. I need what I need to get the job done. You asked me and well, there it is,” I said.

  “We will let you know as soon as we talk to Senators Long and Clark.”

  “I’ll wait to hear from you. In the meantime, captain if you would notify Boone County.

  **

  “What in the world,” Dan said when we were back at our desks.

  “I’m not sure what prompted this. I don’t see what they hope to gain. This could blow up in their faces so big time,” I replied.

  “Are we missing something?”

  “Probably,” I confessed.

  It made no logical sense that they would want to take such a risk. If we succeeded, they were golden but if we didn’t it would bring them down like one of Belk’s buildings. Politicians do not take that kind of risk. I decided not to spend any more time on it. The chances of two Senators from different political parties giving their blessing were slim to none. I went to find Potts and let him know that the Sheriff would be notified immediately.

  **

  “I can pretty much guarantee that no one is home,” I whispered to Dan.

  “I agree. It looks pretty dead. It’s probably rigged to explode like the last one,” he said.

  “What did they use last time?” Potts asked.

  “Some sort of device attached to the door.”

  “He probably used the same thing here,” he said.

  “Don’t be so sure. He has had almost two hours now. We need to be really careful. We go tromping up there and someone will get the hell blown out of them.”

  “I don’t want to wait for a robot. It will take hours to get one here.”

  “Agent Potts. I’m just telling you. You send someone up there and they are going to get blown to hell. I arrested him. I know what he is capable of. He had a hundred different ways of killing. For all we know he could be watching us right now and just waiting for someone to walk up to the house. We need the robot,” I told him.

  “We will lose valuable time. The trail could be cold by the time it gets here.”

  “I have a news flash for you. The trail is already cold. The minute it went on the television we were too late. A few more hours will not make a difference,” I insisted.

  Finally he gave in and we sent for the robot.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The shock wave knocked me right on my butt. I looked over and saw Potts picking himself off the ground. I saw our cute little robot all tangled with his treads in the air. It had flipped him on his back. At least I think it was a him. Who can tell with robots?

  My ears were ringing so loudly I couldn’t hear a word Dan was saying. He had a cut above his eye that was bleeding profusely. I looked around and saw Pendergrass still on the ground. He looked pretty bad.

  “Brad,” I said, even though I couldn’t hear my own voice.

  He was pale and breathing shallowly. I felt his pulse and it was definitely weak. I couldn’t see any obvious problems so I decided he must have collapsed lungs. I put my finger over his nose and started giving him CPR. I worked on him for what seemed like a lifetime before a EMT came and relieved me. He looked better when they put him on the gurney and wheeled him away.

  I made Dan have his head looked at as well. He only argued for a few seconds before he gave in. I knew he was really hurting or he would have argued longer.

  It had been a hell of an explosion. It had flattened the outbuilding twenty feet from the house and several trees were totally decimated. The cop cars were covered with debris. My hearing was starting to return but I’m pretty sure I was shouting every time I talked.

  “Damn big explosion,” I shouted.

  “Fertilizer bomb,” Potts yelled back.

  “Wonder what made it go off?”

  “I think the robot tripped a beam. Probably used a laser beam and when it crossed the path the bomb exploded.”

  “I told you he was tricky,” I said.

  “Look, I don’t feel very good. I think I’m going to go get checked out,” he said as he coughed up blood.

  I helped him over to one of the EMTs and within a few minutes just me and the Sherif
f of Boone County were standing there.

  “This the work of that Belk fellow?”

  “Yes it is,” I answered.

  “We need to get this guy,” he said shaking his head.

  “Tell me about it.”

  **

  When I got to the hospital Dan was lying back on the bed with his eyes closed. I noticed for the first time that he had been hit with something pretty hard. His eyes were starting to turn black and he had five stiches in his forehead.

  “How you doin' partner?”

  “Just great.”

  “Yeah, you look just great.”

  “What the hell hit me?” he asked.

  “I don’t have the foggiest. One minute we were watching the robot chug its way up to the house and boom we are all on our butts. Potts and Pendergrass are pretty banged up as well.”

  “I saw Brad get hit in the chest with a piece of what looked like wood. That’s all I saw before something knocked me on my ass as well. What about you? Are you okay?”

  “Come on. I am woman, hear me roar.”

  “Funny, all I can do is hear you yell at the moment,” he said.

  “Yeah, well I can’t hear myself right now.”

  “Wish I was suffering from that,” he said.

  I would have smacked him but he looked pretty pathetic lying there. Of course he is a guy and they have that natural ability to put on this ‘oh poor me’ look.

  “I talked to the doctor. They want to keep you for observation overnight. I’ll come by and get you tomorrow,” I told him.

  “Find anything at the house?”

  “We can’t even find the yard let alone the house. Nothing but the slab it was built on is left."

  “Darned good thing you insisted on that robot. We would be burying people instead of rebuilding a robot. People are a heck of a lot harder to put back together,” Dan said.

  Suddenly his monitor started making a loud beeping noise. What the hell? We were just talking. I hadn’t touched a thing. A doctor and nurse appeared and started working on Dan.

  “Please step outside,” the nurse said ushering me out of the room.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked but got no answer.