Uncommon Thief

by William Manchee

  Chapter 43

  Silver Stallion Saloon

  The next person on Maria’s interview list was Jim Wells, who Fred said would have a wealth of information about Bank USA and its employees. Fred had told her how helpful he’d been, so she called him at home on Saturday.

  “Hi. Jim Wells?”

  “That would be me, miss.”

  “This is Maria Shepard, Fred Fuller’s girlfriend.”

  “Ah, yes, the dark-haired beauty with the dazzling brown eyes. Fred has told me all about you, m ’dear. I just hung up with Fred’s friend Steve. It seems they are closing in on Sam Stewart.”

  “Wow. That’s excellent news,” Maria said appreciatively. “I’ll try not to take much of your time. I know you have a busy job. Fred really likes you. He talks all the time about you. You’re his hero, I think.”

  “That’s good to hear. What can I do you for?”

  “Fred says you’ve been very helpful to him since the bank robbery.”

  “I hope so. He’s a good lad, and I’m happy to help.”

  “Well, Fred can’t do very much from his jail cell, so he asked me to talk to you about Harvey Hamlin. It seems to Fred that Harvey Hamlin must have been in on the robbery but his heart attack messed up the robbers’ plans. The bottom line is that Fred thinks Harvey had an accomplice, and he thought you might have some ideas about who it might be.”

  “Ah, yes. I’d look into Jake Johnson and, of course, Sam Stewart you already know about.”

  “Jake Johnson, is he the driver that trained Fred that first day?”

  “Yes. I’m sure Fred told you about Jake and his demotion.”

  “Right. He mentioned it. What makes you think Jake Johnson might be involved?”

  “Jake had that route a few years back, so he got to know Hamlin pretty well. In fact, Sam took Jake and Harvey fishing a few times. I know that for sure ‘cause Jake was bragging about all the big catfish he caught. That’s why I’ve been trying to help Fred out. I think those three robbed the bank and tried to make it look like Fred did it. It wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t plant a bit of evidence inside the vault incriminating poor Fred even more.”

  “Did you tell this to the FBI?”

  “Of course, but it fell on deaf ears, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid I do. So, how do you think I should go about checking on Jake Johnson?”

  “Well, actually, I’ve already been doing a little checking on him myself. I looked in his personnel file, but there wasn’t much there. He’s from Portland, Oregon, and he grew up with his mother and three sisters. His father deserted the family when he was seven. He did list a reference though—a Lieutenant Buster James from Oxnard, California. You could start there, I suppose.”

  Maria took down the information on Lt. James. “Okay. I’ll do that. Anything else you can think of?”

  “No. That’s all I have. If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.”

  Maria took Jim’s advice later that afternoon and called Lt. James. She couldn't tell him who she was, so she made up a phony name. "This is Maria Maldano from Bank USA," she said.

  "Oh, okay."

  "We're just doing a routine employment application verification on Jake Johnson. He listed you as a reference."

  "Oh, yes, Jake and I go way back. What would you like to know?"

  "Oh, nothing really, we just wanted to be sure you were a real person and you knew Jake. You know, there are so many people out there who give fake references.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard about that,” Lt. James said.

  “So, how long have you known him?"

  "Over ten years. We actually met in high school up in Portland."

  "Portland, Oregon?"

  "Yes. We were both anxious to leave home, and the Navy was a quick ticket out of town after graduation from high school."

  "I see. You were good friends then?"

  "Oh yes. The best of friends. Neither one of us had a really happy childhood, I’m afraid. Jake's dad was a drunk and beat him all the time. My dad was a total loser—couldn’t keep a job for more than a week.”

  “Where in Portland did you live?”

  “Jake and I lived across the street from each other in Felony Flats."

  “Felony Flats?”

  “Yeah. That’s what they called our neighborhood.”

  "Well, it’s good that you had each other. Do you see much of Jake these days?"

  "No. We've lost touch these last few years. If you see him, tell him to give me a call, would ya?"

  "Sure. I’ll do that.”

  Maria had a lot more questions, but she was afraid to ask any more for fear of making Lt. James suspicious. She wondered why Jake left the Navy and what he had been doing since then other than driving for the bank. The only way Maria could think of getting that kind of information would be to follow him for a while. If she was lucky his daily routine might provide her some answers.

  That night, she parked across the street from the motor pool in a spot where she could see everyone coming and going. When Jake walked out, he went straight to his car, got in, and drove off. She quickly accelerated and cautiously took up a position several cars behind him. She had no training in surveillance but it seemed fairly straight forward—don’t get so close that they will spot you, but don’t lose them either.

  Jake drove straight to the Harbor Freeway, got on and went south. He was driving fast and Maria had to speed to keep up with him. She prayed a Highway Patrol officer wouldn’t spot her and pull her over. Just before the Harbor Freeway ended, he got off and drove several miles north. She stayed several cars behind him until he reached a bar called the Silver Stallion Saloon, where he parked and went inside. She followed him in the parking lot and parked a few rows behind him.

  Maria got out of her car and started to walk slowly toward the entrance. She watched Jake disappear into the club. Suddenly, a young lady came running out the same door in tears. Maria stopped her to see if she needed any help. "What's the matter?" she asked.

  "Oh, nothing. I just got roughed up a bit by an old boyfriend who can't get it through his thick skull that it's over."

  "Did he hurt you?"

  "No. I got away from him before he did any damage."

  "Can I take you somewhere?" Maria asked and then regretted it immediately. She knew she shouldn’t let herself be distracted right then. Finding out what Jake was up to was too important to let herself be sidetracked.

  "No, but would you go inside with me so I can get my purse? I am afraid he might hassle me again if he sees me alone."

  "Sure, if you'll do me a favor."

  "Huh?"

  "Will you sit with me a minute so I can check out the customers in the bar. I don't usually go into places like this, and I’ll be less conspicuous if I’m with someone," Maria reasoned.

  "Sure. I'll buy you a beer," the lady replied. “What’s your name?”

  “Maria.”

  “Hi, I’m Tammy. Come on."

  Maria followed closely behind Tammy as she entered the saloon. The thick smell of smoke made her cough, and her eyes began to water. As they walked through the crowd, she looked around for Jake.

  Tammy stopped in front of an empty seat at the bar. "I was sitting right here," Tammy said. "Bartender, what happened to my purse?"

  The bartender gave her a glance and then walked over, bent down behind the bar, and came up with a lime green purse.

  "Thanks for keeping it for me," she said. "Give us a couple of beers."

  “Just a Coke for me,” Maria said.

  "Coming right up," the bartender replied.

  Tammy looked at Maria and smiled. "So, who you looking for?"

  "A guy named Jake."

  "Hmm. I don't know any Jake."

  Maria began to carefully scan the room. "I know he's in here somewhere. He's short and stocky . . . wait, there he is," she said.

  Jake was sitting at a table in the corner of the bar w
ith another man. They were engaged in what appeared to be an intense discussion. Maria wished she was a fly on the table so she could listen to the conversation. She pointed across the room. "He's over there in the corner sitting with the guy in the dark blue shirt."

  "Why are you looking for him?"

  "It's a long story. Let's just say I'm investigating him as a possible robbery suspect."

  Tammy stiffened up and said, "You a cop or something?"

  "No, no, nothing like that. My boyfriend is on trial for a bank robbery he didn’t do, and we think Jake might be the real thief."

  "Oh. Is there anything I can do to help? I love cop shows."

  Maria smiled. She liked Tammy’s enthusiasm. "I wonder who the man with him is,” she asked. “I need to find out his name."

  "You want me to go find out?"

  "Would you?" Maria laughed.

  Tammy jumped out of her chair and said, "Sure, leave it to me."

  Before Maria could reply, Tammy was halfway across the room. She walked up behind Jake's table and then stumbled and fell to the floor. Jake's companion got up to see if she was hurt. Tammy got up and dusted herself off. Then she sat down with the two men at their table. The man hailed the waitress and ordered a round of drinks. Tammy drank and talked with the two men a few minutes and then returned.

  "Nice performance," Maria said appreciatively.

  "Thanks."

  "So, did you find out who the mystery man is?"

  "Yep. His name is Harold Clifford."

  "Oh my God!" Maria exclaimed.

  "What's wrong?"

  Maria smiled broadly. "Nothing. This is great news! Harold Clifford is a suspect in another robbery case. He and Jake Johnson being together could mean he had something to do with the robbery my boyfriend is charged with. Thank you so much for your help, Tammy. This could be just the breakthrough we’ve been looking for.”

  “Well, good. I’m glad somebody had a good night.”

  Maria laughed. “I’d like to stay and chat, but I've got to go and report this information to Fred’s lawyer."

  “Sure, get out of here. Nice meeting you.”

  "Likewise."

  “Oh,” Tammy said, “before you go why don’t you write down your phone number in case I learn anything else about Jake.”

  Maria nodded. “Sure, good idea,” she said and the dug into her purse for a pen and a piece of paper. When she found them she wrote down the number and handed the paper to Tammy. “Thanks again.”

  When Maria got back to her dorm, she called Joel Roberts to tell him what she’d found out. He listened to her but cautioned her on getting her hopes up. “I’ll tell Whitehead about this, but I doubt he’ll do anything. It’s going to be up to us to connect Johnson, Clifford, and Sam together and put them at the scene of the crime. I’ll get Peter on it. Maybe he can find someone who saw Clifford at or around the bank the day it was robbed. But honestly, we have so little time, I’m not optimistic he’ll be able to get that kind of evidence.”

  “Okay,” Maria said dejectedly. Is there anything else I can do?”

  “No. Just visit Fred as often as you can. He seems pretty depressed. We need to keep his spirits up. If the jury thinks he’s given up they may think he’s guilty.”

  “I’ll do that,” Maria assured him. “See you in court on Monday.”

  “Alright. Thanks for the info.”

  Maria hung up the phone feeling drained and deflated. She didn’t think Roberts had been the least bit impressed with the information she had obtained. She knew it was late in the game to be coming up with new evidence and theories about who did it, but Jake Johnson and Harold Clifford were damn good suspects who couldn’t be ignored. She took a deep breath and tried to relax but her neck and shoulders just got stiffer and tighter and she could feel a headache coming on with a vengeance.