by Alec Peche
“Yeah, my first order of business would be to try and find how many plots of land this senator owns. Then I'd want to know how many of those plots are growing marijuana, and how many are grown on state property as it's alleged to be underwater,” Jo said. “This politician really irks me so the police need to arrest her and end her empire. She grows pot illegally on land that she doesn't own since she's arranged for the tax rolls to say it belongs to the state, and the hypocrite votes down any resolution that eases the regulations around pot.”
“Tell us what you really think!” Nathan said. He'd been sitting, people watching, and doodling while the two women talked.
“How would you go about doing that?” Jill asked, with a smile for Nathan's comment. She had some ideas but she wanted to hear what Jo had to say to see if she was on target.
“I suppose there's some satellite that the police could check with and view lands around Louisiana. It might take time to get the video footage they need. For something faster, I'd rent a small plane and a videographer, and fly the entire southern coast of Louisiana. I think there's a second set of properties that might be away from the Gulf and for those, I would do a computer search of property ownership by all those false names that she used for the first acre that we discovered. That would wrap up the properties she owns. Next I would go after her distribution network, and I'm sure the cops have a way of tracking narcotics, so I would leave it to them. I might call in the FBI to actually press charges given some of the problems with bribed judges in the state. I think one of their areas of expertise is public corruption. This is a risky case for the cops as someone in the senator's organization knows that someone is investigating a piece of her business. Unless the New Orleans police can bring some consultants into this case, our two detective friends are going to be months collecting the information. Maybe that's also the reason to call the FBI -just to get additional resources to help them on the case.”
“After I get back to California, I'll give Marie and Angela a call to see if they have any ideas on how to speed up the collection of evidence for the detectives. Between Marie's expertise at ferreting out information on individuals and Angela's knowledge about photography, maybe they'll have some suggestions on how to speed up the investigation.”
“Yeah, we need to speed it up. I'm afraid these criminals are going to follow me back to Green Bay and take some shots there. Maybe I'll give the detectives a call right now, and ask them to call the Green Bay Police and the Brown County Sheriff to see if I can get some added protection. Call me paranoid, but there's an evil enterprise behind the senator.”
“Jo, I think that's an excellent idea and I'll have them call my Sheriff as well. He won't appreciate the call given the damage my first big case caused to his headquarters, but it's not our fault we're just doing our job for the family of Mr. Cheval.”
“It's good to be reminded of his name, sometimes these cases of yours get so complex and take on a life of their own, that I forget that they always start with some poor murdered victim who is often unaware of some bigger situation that they accidentally touched and it got them killed.”
“Yeah,” Jill agreed quietly. Poor Mr. Cheval never knew what hit him, just that he had felt ill in the month before his death, but he never had the opportunity to understand why he felt so sick.
“Well ladies, you've wrapped up a conversation about the case and now you're drifting into morose thoughts. How about a happier conversation? Have you planned your next vacation yet? Is the location near any wineries, so that I can join you at the very end of your trip and learn about a new wine region in the world?”
“Actually I haven't had a chance to talk to Jill about a location, but a few weeks ago, Angela, Marie, and I were discussing where to go on our next vacation over drinks. We were thinking about Canada- maybe Toronto, Montréal, and Québec city. What do you think of the idea, Jill?”
“I haven't been to Toronto for a while. As a child, we used to vacation there because that's where my mom's relatives are from. I've never been to Montréal or Québec city, so I think that's an excellent suggestion. Were you thinking of the spring of next year?”
“We hadn't talked about specific dates, but the spring would work for me. Nathan, is there wine in that part of the world?”
“Like Wisconsin, there are some wineries in Canada, I believe in the area near Niagara Falls. However, somewhere in that area, they are producing ice wines which I would love to explore. So that location works for me!”
“Then we're set! Canada it is!” Jo said.
Jill had taken a moment to call the detectives and request that they call their respective law enforcement agencies in California and Wisconsin to notify them of potential activity related to the case once the women returned home. Then Jill and Nathan's flight was called for boarding, and they stood up and hugged and said their goodbyes. Later they all arrived back at their homes and had received messages from their local law enforcement to call them in the morning.
Chapter 24
The next morning, Jill and Trixie went for their run along the country roads surrounding Jill's vineyard. Even though it was October, in California's Central Valley the day would be in the low nineties later. On her to do list, was to call the sheriff, once she was out of the shower after her run. She and Nathan had taken one of the last flights to the West Coast, and she had a few more hours, she was sure before any of the Senator's people could arrive in her community. Sure they could've arrived late at night to Los Angeles and rented a car to drive north overnight, but she doubted they were that fast-moving. Also on her list of things, was to check the health of her grapevines, and check the sales of her most recent vintage at her local wine stores. This was her third vintage, and the first two had sold out within a month of release. This year she had doubled her production to twelve thousand bottles of Moscato and now she worried about selling them all. She debated holding back 500 bottles to sell online, but when she looked at the regulations of selling an alcohol product she decided against it. Now she was looking for an online broker to take care of it for her and so she would spend sometime later that day making calls.
She also made appointments with Marie and Angela to discuss the case by phone with them. She was hopeful that information they could source would greatly speed up the collection of evidence for the case. She hoped that the Senator's organization would focus their energy on law enforcement rather than the four of them.
An hour later, she was showered and heading into town to meet with Sheriff Arstand. Ever since his station had been shot up by a prior bad group of criminals, he always looked like he had indigestion when he met Jill face-to-face.
She walked into his office and held out her hand to shake with the sheriff and said, “Hello Sheriff, I understand that Detectives Briggs and Heyer briefed you yesterday about the case I got involved with in New Orleans.”
“Yes Dr. Quint, I spoke with them. Let me know when you plan to retire permanently as a forensic pathologist. My department will fund your retirement party. We'll be able to do that on the savings we'll get for not having to protect you anymore.”
“Com'on Sheriff! Look at my protection as training for your department. I'm sure it's one of the many reasons Deputy Davis keeps up her sharpshooter skills.”
“All kidding aside, it looks like you've landed yourself in another mess with this case. Your political corruption cases seem to turn more violent, than your garden-variety crooks that you uncover. I understand that you were shot at in a cemetery, intimidated by a monster truck, chased by an airboat in a swamp, and your friend's hotel room was searched. Does that cover your situation?”
“Yes sir. It's been quiet this morning, but then I figured it would take the bad guys a while to get to the West Coast and the Palisades Valley so I think I'm safe until this evening if they followed my trail.”
“I suspect they will. Three attempts on you and your friend means they're serious about ending your role in the investigation. Those two detect
ives had better watch their backs too.”
“We suggested that they bring the FBI into the case as there's political corruption involved and that's an area of their expertise. Also Louisiana has a long history of corrupt public officials including judges and I have to think that this Senator has her tentacles into all kinds of places to make life difficult for those detectives to go anywhere with this case.”
“That's not good to hear. I think I'll call our local FBI office to bring them up to speed on the case and have them on standby in case we should need their help protecting you in the Palisades Valley.”
“Thank you Sheriff. I worry about my friends that are also working on this case in Green Bay. Do you think you could call your colleagues there and reinforce the seriousness of the bad people that I've stirred up and what they might expect?”
“Yes I'll do that, but you might also make the call. As I recall you had a prior case in Green Bay that followed you home to the Palisades Valley that they were involved in. It wouldn't hurt to refresh their memory about that case from your perspective. Do you have the contact information of the officers involved?”
“I do. I've got computerized records backed up to the cloud of every case I've ever handled including the names, badge numbers and telephone numbers of every law enforcement person I've worked with. I'll contact them - that was good advice, thank you.”
“On our end, we'll increase patrols toward your property, looking for suspicious behavior. Given that there are wineries in the area, we have no way of watching for strangers. You've got a good security system on your house if I recall, and sadly that may be our first indication of trouble.”
“I'd have to agree with your conclusions, Sheriff. Is Deputy Davis on duty this month?”
“She is. She took a vacation last month; if trouble occurs while she is on duty, she'll be locked and loaded and ready to protect.”
They concluded their meeting and Jill left the station. She stopped at the grocery store to supply her refrigerator after the seven day absence. She spoke with Nathan on the way home to relay the conversation with the Sheriff and he couldn't think of anything to add to what they were planning to do. They made plans for dinner at his house that evening and ended the call. Jill had just enough time to unload her groceries before her call with Marie.
“How's it going? Your email sounded very eventful! I bet the airboat chase was scary in the middle of a swamp.”
“Yeah! What started as a fee-free case of death by evil spirits for an old classmate has turned into a political corruption case with a Senator who has a whole lot to lose. I just had a meeting with Sheriff Arstand and I'm going to call the detectives in your city that we worked with during the case where a physician was killed on the second hole green. I have Detectives Van Bruggin and Haro listed in my notes. Does that sound familiar?”
“I wouldn't remember their names, so I would go with your notes and I think that's a great idea to give them a call.”
“So the thing we need help with is identifying all the pieces of land belonging to the senator that are growing pot. And of those growing pot, which plots are considered underwater and therefore owned by the state of Louisiana. Can you think of a quick way to figure that out? I see not only to help the detectives in New Orleans but because I think that until the case is made public with the evidence presented perhaps in a major newspaper or TV station, then Jo and I will remain under threat from the Senator's people. If the word gets out to the public, then harming us won't derail the case.”
“I have some ideas of where I might find that information. I have an office meeting in about thirty minutes; it will take another half hour, and then I can leave the office early and work on your case the rest of today. With any luck, I'll have a way to collect the information you're looking for by this evening! By the way does underwater mean literally under the water of the Gulf of Mexico?”
“Yes, Louisiana is losing a lot of land every year to the Gulf. Thanks for having a plan. Keep me posted. Oh and by the way I heard we're going to Canada in the spring?”
“Did Jo mention that? I'm glad you like the choice. It looked like there was a lot to do and it's close by - no twelve hour flight to get there and six time zones to conquer.”
“You have my vote and Nathan's. Of course he's not coming with us, rather he'll join us at the end. He mentioned there are a lot of ice wines in that part of Canada.”
They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Jill checked her watch and it was nearly time to speak with Angela. Time to refresh her drink and then talk on the phone again.
“Hey girlfriend, how are you doing?” Jill asked.
“Better than you from the sounds of your email. I'm surprised Jo was willing to get involved with this case. She made a few comments in Scotland on the last case that made me think she was going to decide not to help anymore.”
“I thought so too and was surprised when she offered to help. At one point during our time in New Orleans she offered the explanation that we did really honorable work helping victims find justice. She didn't like that our lives were put at risk, but she saw the importance of the work, so I think she's fully committed and back on the team thankfully. I don't know what I'd do without her as a resource. In so many cases financial dealings point to the culprit. I really need her help. Indeed I really need all of my friends' help. You each have skills that make the cases go faster. I think that's often why we can solve faster than law enforcement, it's our diverse menu of skills in our small team. But enough of that self-congratulatory behavior. I was hoping to enlist your help in the case.”
“I'm here to help and despite some of the violent people that we come into contact with on these cases, I enjoy using my professional resources to help. You're asking me at a good time. I'm past school photos, and not quite ramping up for holiday pictures. What do you need?”
“We're trying to come up with a list of properties that grow pot on them and we need Geo-coordinates for those farm plots. I do say this sounds weird because I live in a state where it's not illegal to grow pot and I'm chasing down a politician that grows pot. Weird huh?”
“That's not what bothers you about this case. You're mad because someone is killing or attempting to kill people who know of those pot fields. That's where they crossed the line.”
“True.”
“So you would like me to find pictures of fields in Louisiana that are growing pot and somehow connect those pictures to Geo-coordinates. Right? I can do that.”
“How?”
“There's software that will guess at the location. I just need to find the pictures. It would go much faster and be more accurate if you sent me up in a plane to snap pictures of the coast.”
“That's what Jo suggested, but there are 380 miles of the coast. Small airplanes fly from 100 to 150 mph, and because the shape of the coastline is jagged you might have to make at least two passes. So I would guess that would be about eight hours of video footage that you would have to slow down to look at and see if there were any marijuana plants down below. If you could find information that already exists, that would be much faster.”
“I'll look around for some satellite images and check the National Hurricane Center. They take a lot of images from space that might be useful. Okay now I'm going to check a bunch of websites and see what I can find overall, then I'll drop you an email and tell you what my timeline is likely to be to get you the information you're looking for, and then you can decide if you would rather send me up in a small airplane,” Angela said humorously.
“Sounds like a plan. Let's try the low-budget method today. If it appears that there aren't good images available, we will move on to trying you out in an airplane!”
They finished their conversation including a few comments about the future vacation in Canada. Once Jill was done with her phone calls, she decided it was time to check out her house security system. It was true, that it was sophisticated and she had it installed on one of her first big cases when someone
was trying to murder her. Since that time her diligence in turning the system on left a lot to be desired. Now she'd make sure it was on. Then she had an idea.
Chapter 25
Jill pulled up her video footage from her drone. Then she pulled up seven pictures of marijuana in different stages of growth from an inch tall to its full height. She had a program from her German friend, Henrik, that had some of the best facial and object identification software in the world and he'd gifted her with a copy. She entered her drone video footage and told the software program to look for plants like the seven pictures she'd found of marijuana plants. Then she sat back and stared at the computer screen while it thought.
Within five minutes she heard a ding and she thought, good that will be the field I found. That verified for her that the software was on track and she sat back checking her email while the program finished. Then she heard a second ding and a third, and she thought darn the object identification software isn't good with plants as that was too many dings.
Sometime later the program finished and she focused on the screen to look at the object matching.
“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed to the dog who was sound asleep at her side.
There were additional fields that she hadn't originally spotted in Lucy's video footage. This was a game changer. She zoomed in on the field the software identified as pot. Sure enough, the software was better than her own eyes at spotting the herb. She identified the Geo-coordinates of the fields and looked for their ownership, then she stopped to make a quick call to Angela.
“Hey Henrik's software is once again, brilliant! I ran the footage from my own drone through the program and it identified fields I hadn't viewed as marijuana initially. All I need now is footage of the Louisiana coast. Have you found a source?”