by Sonya Lee
Chapter 17
Katrina woke up resolving to get some work done at last. She hadn't checked her e-mail or looked to see if her files were intact on her laptop. Her plan to do some work the previous day was busted up by Diane and Jason, who kept her busy playing games and watching movies. She turned the laptop on but nothing happened. She knew she had been charging the laptop on Friday night when she got home. She hoped it wasn't damaged. She flipped it over and removed the battery. It seemed lighter to her. She examined the battery more closely. She noticed what appeared to be a button on the battery. She pressed the button and a compartment slid open. She peered inside, but it was dark so she flipped the battery over. A pouch fell out of the battery case. She opened the pouch and several gems fell into her lap. It took several moments before Katrina's discovery registered in her mind. She looked at them in wonder and realized she was holding Chocolate Diamonds. She couldn't figure out why they were hidden in her laptop and who had placed them there. Katrina placed the diamonds back inside the battery compartment; she picked up her laptop and went in search of Captain Weatherspoon.
She raced down the stairs hoping the captain was still home. She heard voices coming from the kitchen and headed in that direction. When she entered the kitchen Diane was cooking breakfast and Captain Weatherspoon was sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper.
"Good morning," said Diane. "You're up early.
"Good morning," said Katrina almost forgetting her manners. "Captain there's something I need you to see."
The captain looked at Katrina standing in the doorway holding her laptop. "We already checked out your laptop, we didn't find anything. It's okay to use it," said the captain.
"Yeah, I was trying to use it a couple of minutes ago when I found these in the battery compartment," said Katrina as she poured the Chocolate Diamonds on the kitchen table.
"Well I'll be damned. You found these in your computer?" asked the captain.
"In the battery to be more exact. But I noticed my computer feels lighter, so I'm wondering if there might be more inside," said Katrina.
"Who's had access to your laptop?" asked the captain.
"I had just gotten it back on Friday, Sophie had it. She was updating my software and operating system for me," said Katrina.
"Sophie is Kim's younger sister right?" asked the captain.
"Yes," said Katrina.
"Place the laptop on the table. Try not to touch any other part of the battery. I know the forensics team checked for prints. But I'm not sure how thorough they were in their checking. They might be able to get a print or two after eliminating your prints." He went to the kitchen and got a brown paper bag. He placed the laptop and the battery in the bag.
Diane insisted he eat breakfast before he left for the precinct. During breakfast he questioned Katrina about Sophie and her relationship with Kim. When breakfast was over he admonished Katrina not to mention the diamonds or anything they had learned today. The captain headed for the door, cell in hand. He called Det. Christian.
"Christian, this is the captain. You and Johns need to meet me at the precinct asap," said the Captain.
"What's going on?" asked Det. Christian.
"I'd rather not say over the phone, just make sure you and Johns are at the precinct in twenty," said the Captain.
"Yes, sir, see you in twenty," said Det. Christian before he hung up the phone.
The captain arrived at the precinct in under ten minutes. He dropped the bag off with the forensics team with express instructions to not mention where the bag came from or the contents. He went to his office and placed a call to the brass to let them know the most recent events involving the Dubois case. He also had someone checking for a cell phone in Sophie Dubois name and any calls placed by said cell phone in the last week checked. The captain was pacing in his office by the time Johns and Christian arrived.
"We've got the diamonds," said the captain when they had been seated.
"The Chocolate Diamonds?" asked Det. Christian in bewilderment.
"Yes, but those are the only ones we have. I'm not sure yet where the other diamonds might be.
"Where'd you find them?" asked Det. Johns.
"Katrina actually found them this morning. They were hidden in the battery compartment of her laptop. She woke up this morning deciding to get some work done and her laptop wasn't charged. She started checking out the laptop and found that the battery seemed light. She found a button which opened the compartment and the diamonds fell out. She brought everything to me. I currently have forensics taking the laptop apart to see if there are more diamonds hidden inside. I've already alerted the brass to the situation. We're not announcing that we have the jewels yet. We're keeping a tight lid on the situation." said the captain.
"How did the stolen diamonds end up in Katrina's laptop?" asked Det. Johns. "Do you think our friend "The Guardian" could have placed them there?"
"No, he would most likely have told us to check out the laptop. His interest was solely in helping Katrina complete her papers. He sent her the papers when we didn't give her the laptop remember. Besides, he seems to be trying to protect Katrina. He’s the one who took out them team coming after her. No, I'm thinking a little more close to home, the little sister Sophie. Katrina gave her the laptop on Wednesday and Kim returned it to her on Friday when they met at the coffee shop," said the Captain.
The office phone rang, "excuse me," he stepped to the desk and picked up the receiver. The captain didn't say anything, he just listened to the caller. He finally said, "Okay, are you sure?" More silence followed that statement, then "okay, thanks for getting back with me so soon." The captain hung up the phone.
"That was forensics, they didn't find any more diamonds inside the laptops casing. So we still have two-thirds of the diamonds missing," said the captain.
"You believe the younger sister, Sophie, is involved in this mess?" asked Det. Christian incredulously.
"Well it fits about as well as any of the other theories we've been bouncing around. The younger sister gave the crew access to the Lawson's house. They do the job, then something goes wrong. They can't get to Sophie so they go after the sister," said Det. Johns. Just then a patrolman stuck his head in the door.
"Excuse me, sir, you said to get you that information when we traced the calls from the suspect's phones. Here's a print out of all the calls that were placed within the last week," said the patrolman. The captain waved the patrolman into the office and accepted the sheaf of papers.
The captain searched through the sheaves of paper. He stopped when he got to the third page. "The perps might not have had cell phones on their bodies but several were found at their residence. I had a team looking for a cell phone in Sophie's name. He searched the number he had been given and compared it to the calls between their suspects. I have a call made from Bastian's cell to a cell registered to Sophie Dubois. The call was made on Thursday night at 10:15. The call lasted thirty minutes. The captain checked some of the other sheets of paper. There were also several calls made from Adan to this same cell number on Thursday and Friday. These calls didn't last as long, one or two minutes at the most. There was one more call made from Sophie's cell to Bastian's at 1:15 a.m. the same night her sister was killed and around the same time.
"How do we want to handle this Captain?" asked Det. Johns.
"She'll be here tomorrow for the memorial service the university is having for her sister. She'll contact Katrina and we'll be there when she does," said the Captain. "We need to get some wire taps in place. You two contact the D.A. and let her know the situation. " The phone rang, "Hold on," said the Captain. When the call had ended he said, "Send Vasquez and Timms in here, they'll contact the D.A.'s office, you two get to the hospital, Maxi just came out of his coma. All parties scattered to complete the task assigned to them
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