The Final Shortcut

by G. Bernard Ray

  On his way by he decided to stop in at the restaurant and let everyone know that the boss was ok. She was hardly ever sick so he knew her employees would be worried. The second he walked in the door he was set upon by the two most senior waitresses. Both intent on finding out every detail of what happened. And after a few intense moments of reassurance from him they seemed satisfied. The elder of the two fetched a fresh cup of coffee and ushered him toward a booth.

  “Clyde, this feller came in looking for you, and I told him if he stuck around a while he would likely find you.” She smiled wide and pushed him toward the chair. “This is Sheriff Stokes young man. I told him you didn’t stray far from here.”

  “Hi, Clyde Stokes.”

  “Ramone Hitchcock, I was hoping to catch up with you.” Ray smiled and extended his hand.

  “Well here I am, have we met before?” Clyde was well aware that his memory for faces was weak.

  “No, I’m working on a case and I need to check out a vehicle that you have impounded.”

  “You must the man I had a call about. Your boss seems like a very thorough man. Have you been waiting long?” He shook his hand and took a seat.

  “Only about fifteen minutes but it was worth it, this is good coffee.” Ramone held up his cup and smiled. “I stopped in at your office and they told me I could find you here, it seems your schedule is well known.” he chuckled and sipped the coffee.

  “You could say that. In a small town it’s easy to keep up with people. And my girlfriend owns the place so that kinda tells on me too.” Clyde looked at his watch and reached for his radio. After checking in with Rosa he returned to his conversation. “So, you’re with the F.B.I.?”

  “Yes, actually I’m part of an inter-agency investigation. I really shouldn’t say anything but we are calling it quits today anyway. So there shouldn’t be any problem speaking freely now.” Ramone saw the waitress coming his way so he emptied his cup and held it out for more.

  “Thanks.”

  “Would you like something to eat, it’s a little early for lunch but I’m sure we could fix you up.” She smiled and pushed the hair out of her eyes trying to look her best.”

  “No ma’am, but I will come back later after I’ve taken care of some business.” When she left the table Ramone turned back to Clyde and asked, “I don’t imagine this place is always this slow.”

  “You just happened to stop in between mealtime, in another hour there won’t be an empty table to be had. What kind of investigation would require several agencies? I mean this has always been a small community and I couldn’t imagine what….wait a minute. I got a notice some time back about this I think. Is this about missing trucks?” Clyde saw the reaction in Ramone's eyes and all he did was nod slightly in response. “Have you found out anything?”

  “We know less now than when we started. But there’s going to be some broken hearts in ‘Kitty City’ later.” He glanced around the room from force of habit. “I wouldn’t tell just anybody but my boss has checked you out and said I could trust you.”

  “Well you’re right about that, I’ve been praying somebody would crack down on that place. But tell me about the trucks, I hadn’t any idea there was such a problem.” Clyde held both hands around his cup and waited for a response.

  “I would rather talk about the details in your office if you don’t mind.” Ramone took a long slow drink and looked around again.

  “Of course, of course. Are you on a tight schedule?” He polished off his cup and pushed back from the table.

  “Not really, I’ve got a plane to catch later this evening, plenty of time.”

  Clyde looked toward the back as he continued.” It looks like he’s closed at the moment, but when you come back for lunch you should check out Junior's leather shop. He’s very well known for his work. We think he’s the best there is.” Clyde stood up from the table and reached in his pocket for his wallet. “I don’t mean to hurry you but I’ve got rounds to make before lunch.”

  “Not a problem, I’m a little anxious to see that car.” They walked toward the door and as they passed each of the ladies smiled and said goodbye. “People are certainly friendly around here.” Ramone smiled and held the door open for Clyde.

  “They’re especially friendly for tall blue eyed strangers that aren’t married.” Ramone laughed and looked at his left hand, “I guess you got me figured out.” Clyde’s radio squawked and he stepped aside to answer it, meanwhile Ramone stretched and looked around the front porch. “Ok, nothing important. If you don’t mind taking your car, I’ll probably have to leave before you.”

  “Sure… let me ask you something. Doesn’t that seem like a huge motor for a fan?” Ramone was looking at a window fan that blew exhaust from the kitchen. It was an old belt driven one with the motor setting on a support next to it.

  “Well yeh, I think Junior told me he got that at the flea market for next to nothing. It’s big but it won’t ever wear out. He’s always getting great deals on stuff.” Clyde turned toward his car and kept talking. “He’s real clever that way, he wired this whole building for security by his self.”

  “Yeh I noticed the control panel by the door, it’s a little overkill too, don’t you think?” Ramone cast a suspicious look at him and waited.

  “Well Junior has always said, if it’s worth doing it’s worth over doing.” And with that he climbed into the patrol car and waited for Ramone to get in his. After a short ride across town the two men arrived at the Police station and pulled around back.

  “We don’t have an impound yard like in the big city, we just park them in the parking lot here. The car was clean as a whistle and whatever contents there were, are secured.” Clyde stood by as Ramone took a short glance at the car.

  “No signs of foul play?”

  “It looks like they just walked away empty handed. It wasn’t even locked. Would you like the keys?”

  “That’s alright, I would like to see what was in it.” Ramone turned toward the building and followed Clyde inside.

  “Say, are you any relation to the famous Alfred….”

  “No, no relation” Ramone gave him a quick glare and quickly turned his head back straight.

  “Never mind.” Clyde grinned to himself and kept walking.

  Chapter 23

  Linny wiped down her last table and stopped to check her watch, it was eleven o’clock on the dot. The lunch crowd was about fifteen minutes away so she had time for a smoke break. Tossing the washcloth on the counter she turned and headed for the back room. When she rounded the corner by the bathroom Junior was standing in her way and it startled her. She nearly jumped out of her shoes and she swatted at him in the same motion.

  “Ooh! You scared me Junior! What are you doing hiding in the shadows like that?”

  “Wasn’t hiding….” He spoke but the words were barely audible. His eyes were glassy and he was staring past her as if she wasn’t there. “Who was that with Clyde?”

  “Oh he was some Federal Officer, they didn’t tell me that but I figured it out. I ain’t such a bad detective myself.” She seemed proud of her deductive ability and she smiled widely as she reached for a cigarette. “Say, how long you been standing here?” Junior never looked directly at her, he was transfixed on a point somewhere in the parking lot. “What did he want?”

  “They was talking about some car that was abandoned near here and about some missing trucks. They tried not to talk to loud but you know I hear everything.” She stood silently by for a few seconds, wondering why Junior seemed so distant. Without a word he turned and disappeared into his shop. “Oh well, see ya.” she shook her head and went on her way muttering under her breath. “He sure is a strange one sometimes.”

  Junior walked behind the counter to his work area, a spot where he couldn’t be seen easily and sat down. A spot where he felt safe. His place to think. Everything in his head began to whirl faster and faster, a thousand thoughts popping in and out. His confusion grew and the desperation began
to show itself. All at once he stood up and started to pace back and forth, talking to himself. “ He’s looking for missing trucks, he can’t mean my trucks, nobody knows they’re here. It’d got to be some other ones. No way it could be my …” His anxiety grew more intense and the sweat rolled down his brow. “ I got all mine locked away…under control…it couldn’t be mine. Everything’s under control here…nobody could ever find my trucks.” He was getting more frantic by the minute, wrestling with the idea that he might have been found out. “Nobody could ever find out where….”

  All at once he stopped pacing and reached for a towel to wipe his face. His sweating had stopped, his face showed a sign of instant relief. “All I got to do is play it cool, he’s obviously here after somebody else and I couldn’t care less.” A crooked smile crossed his lips and he sat down. Put his feet up and clasped his hands behind his head. “Yep, Clyde had asked me about some trucks years ago and that didn’t come to nothing. Neither will this.” His sudden confidence was over whelming, his gaze turned glassy and his smile more demented. The longer he sat there the happier he became. As he looked around his shop he started to whistle, low at first then louder and faster. He turned to his machine and started in on an unfinished project, stitching it in a wild, hurried manner. A distorted face looked out over the sewing machine, unaware of what his hands were doing. Every stitch took his mind further and further away from any negative thoughts. Eventually his trance was broken and he looked down at his work again. Still whistling an unrecognizable tune he poured into his work even faster. Just outside his door the lunch crowd was beginning to trickle in and he heard the bell on his door ring. A customer in the shop, time to sell some leather. “Be right there!” Calling from the back room as usual, he put a few more stitches in his project before rising. When he stepped up to the counter he saw one of his custom jackets on the back of a portly, gray haired man. “That’s a nice jacket you got there.”

  “I’ve always liked it, and now I want to get my grandson one.” He smiled and stuck out his hand. They immediately started talking and looking at jackets. Junior showed his charming salesman side with complete ease. A few feet away the restaurant was getting noisy and the crew was working the room like they had hundreds of times before. Everything was shaping up to be another average day at Ellen’s.

  Chapter 24

  “This used to be the jail before the renovations.” Clyde ushered Ramone down a short flight of stairs to the evidence locker in the oldest part of the building. Most of the old Police station was so dilapidated that it had to be torn down. The three cells that remained had been so heavily constructed that an earthquake couldn’t have harmed them. So the council decided to seal them in the interior of the new complex. “It’s like stepping back in time, these cells date back almost eighty years. But it worked out to be a perfect place to store records and the computer gear.” He opened the last cell and stepped up to a table next to the bars. “This is what we found in the car, I can only hope no one had tampered with before we got it. The rental company had towed it to their lot at first, it was only because of your boss that we knew about it at all.” He stood back and let Ramone examine the items more closely. A couple suitcases filled with jeans and casual shirts, a small bag with toiletries, a tin box with two ounces of marijuana and a pipe, and a red laptop computer made by InTroniKa.

  “Nothing with any identification, no receipts or bank books. I’m sure they were on their way out of town. I wonder what they stopped for?” Ramone leafed through the clothes again before turning to Clyde. “Do you think anything might have been removed at the rental place?”

  “It’s not very likely, the man there told me it had just arrived when he got the call. It’s possible someone could have looked it over before it was towed.” Clyde scratched his chin feeling the rough gray scrub of his beard. It had been a long morning and he had a five o’clock shadow before noon.

  “I would think if anyone had pilfered the car they would have taken the computer. And this one is very expensive, I’ll have to check the serial to be certain but I’d bet this was the one I saw these guys buy at the flea market.” Ramone put his hands on his hips and nodded his head at Clyde.

  “You know who was driving?”

  “I had been undercover following some of their friends. These two men came into town a couple weeks ago and I’ve been tracking them since. That is until they disappeared three days ago.” He turned the computer up and wrote down the serial number. “This, I believe was part of a shipment that was hijacked a few weeks back, and I just happened to see some of it at the market.”

  “Are you sure? I mean most computers look about the same to me.” Clyde grimaced a bit and put a hand to his face, wiping his brow.

  “Yes I am. This was on its way to a trade show in Lexington, along with some very expensive prototypes. The company has offered a fat reward for some of the items. I’ll have to fetch my briefcase to verify it but the red color kinda sets it apart from the norm.” He turned to Clyde and motioned toward the door. “I don’t think any of this other stuff will help any. All I can do is tie my two suspects to this piece.” They locked up and climbed the stairs back to Clyde’s office.

  “Is all the InTroniKa stuff that unique?” Clyde asked pensively.

  “Actually it is. They only recently started making consumer goods. Everything else had been private contract gear like servers and high end contract items.” Ramone picked up something in Clyde’s voice that alerted his investigative instincts. “Why do you ask?”

  “It’s just that…well …a friend gave me a gadget from the same company, something he got at the market a little while ago.”

  “Really? Can I see it? It could be from the same shipment.” Ramone instantly got excited at the prospect of finding a real clue. When they reached the main hallway Ramone split off and trotted to the parking lot to get his briefcase. Clyde walked over to Rosa’s desk and retrieved his messages before going to his office. He had just sat down when Ramone re-entered and joined him at the desk. Sitting next to the computer was a large flat rubber pad on an electronic base, bright red in color and conspicuously marked with the InTroniKa logo.

  “I’ve got the hot sheet right here, if you can give me the serial number…there’s an item here...here it is. Looks like an artist drawing pad is what you got there.” Clyde lifted up the pad and turned it toward Ramone who quickly found it on his list. “Yes! This was one of the items on that truck! Where did you get it?” His elation was apparent as he pulled out a pad and started to write.

  “A very close friend got it at the market for a song, about fifty dollars. He’s always finding great deals ‘cause he goes almost every time they have a sale.” He twitched in his chair feeling uneasy, with the thought that he had stolen goods.

  “Look, I know you don’t want to think your friend had anything to do with this, everybody gets some tainted items once in a while. But I need to find out where your friend got it. If he or she can give me a description of the seller, it might help.” Ramone could sense the Sheriff’s reluctance to tell on a friend, but inside he could feel that he was on the trail again.

  “I thought you said that you saw someone selling that other computer yourself?”

  “I did. And we checked them out through the system. As a matter of fact we tracked that guy down and he admitted buying a pick-up load, near here, the night before. He was at least the second or third hand buyer.” He put the notepad back in his briefcase and leaned toward Clyde. “Your friend might have other information that could help. This hijacking ring has been operating in this area for nearly twenty years and we’ve yet to find any hard evidence. If there’s even a ghost of a chance ….”

  “Ok. It’s just that I’ve known the Baumann’s since before Junior was born. He’s almost like a son to me. He has never given me any reason to think he’s anything but a good ole’ country boy.” Clyde put his head down and stared at the floor, something was gnawing at his stomach, something he had never
felt before.

  “Junior? The guy with the leather shop you told me about?” Ramone retrieved his pad and started writing again. “

  “Yeh.” He answered without looking up, his voice wavered and he cleared his throat to cover any obvious emotion. Suddenly he couldn’t stop thinking about what Ellen had said earlier. Even though he didn’t believe in premonitions, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

  “You told me he had a knack for finding the good deals, most likely he was there at the right time. I would like to talk with him as soon as possible.” He sat up and put his hands on the arms of the chair.

  “Ok, but if you don’t mind I would like to go with you. I just have to arrange for another officer to cover a couple things for me and I’ll be ready to go.” Clyde pushed back from the desk and walked out to Rosa’s desk where the dispatch radio was. After a few words with her and a couple short calls, he turned back to his office and found Ramone standing in the doorway. “Ready?”

  “Sure.” Ramone could tell that the Sheriff had mixed emotions about his job right now. He was fortunately far removed from his friends and family while he was working. So he never had to contend with the possibility that someone he knew and loved could be involved in crime. And if Clyde Stokes was any kind of policeman then that’s precisely what he was thinking.

  They drove back together in the patrol car. Ramone couldn’t help but notice that Clyde was driving much slower than he had earlier, but he didn’t mention it. The restaurant was busy when they pulled in and they had to park across the lot from the door. Linny met them at the door, handed them a menu and pointed them to a table near the wall. Clyde led the way but stopped as soon as they had gotten away from prying ears. “We might as well sit down for a minute, it looks like his shop is busy right now.”