by Bill Bernico
“Chuck,” Taggert said.
Chuck looked up from the pallet. “Yes?”
“Chuck,” Taggert said. “This is…” He looked back at Kevin again with a question on his face.
“Lieutenant Cole,” Kevin said.
“Chuck, this is Lieutenant Cole with the police. He’d like to ask you a couple of questions. Give him your complete cooperation. I have to check on another shipment.” Taggert returned to the front office while Kevin started in with his questions regarding shipment methods and safeguards.
He and Matt questioned Chuck for several minutes before they had what they needed and returned to the front office to find Taggert sitting behind the desk and talking on the phone. Taggert concluded his phone call, hung up the phone and turned his attentions to Kevin. “Did you get everything you need, Lieutenant?”
“For now,” Kevin said. “I may stop back later, but that’s all I need for the time being. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Taggert.”
“Anything I can do to help, you just let me know,” Taggert said, showing the men to the door.
As they walked back toward the car, Kevin said, “That’s one down and eight to go.”
Sliding into the car again, Matt picked up the three sheets and checked them for the addresses again. “Looks like it’s back downtown,” he told Kevin. “Unless you feel like driving out to Riverside.”
“I think we’ll try downtown first,” Kevin said, looking over his left shoulder and pulling out into traffic. The next place they tried netted them exactly nothing. Even before they got to the front door they could make out the For Sale sign tacked to the side of the building. Kevin cupped his eyes and leaned into the window in the door. The inside of the building had been stripped bare, with just a few loose wires hanging down from several of the dropped ceiling tiles.
Kevin turned around and headed back toward the car as Matt took a look for himself at the window. He followed Kevin back to the car. Once he was back in his seat, Matt picked up the sheet with this company’s name and address and drew a line threw it with his pen. “Where to next?” Kevin said.
“Of the ones left,” Matt said, “There are two in Pasadena, one each in Burbank and Glendale, one in Inglewood, two in Santa Barbara and one east, on the outskirts of Riverside.”
Kevin reached into the back seat of the car and retrieved his laptop. He flipped it open, turned it on and turned toward Matt. “Give me those addresses one at a time,” Kevin said.
Matt read off each address and waited while Kevin punched them into his map program, zooming in at street level on each of the businesses listed. He showed Matt each resultant screen before moving on to the next one. When he’d finished, Kevin looked up at Matt and said, “Did you notice anything about those locations?”
Matt’s brows furrowed. “Like what?”
“Like their proximity to other buildings,” Kevin said. “Who would want to do business next to an explosives plant?” He turned the laptop screen back toward Matt. It still held the screen shot of the last address Matt had given him in Riverside. “Look at this place. It isolated out in the middle of nowhere, away from any other buildings. That strikes me in two ways. One, it could mean that they are conscientious about keeping the neighbors safe, or two, they want their privacy.”
“Maybe we should go take a closer look,” Matt said.
“You read my mind,” Kevin remarked. He closed the laptop, set it on the back seat and pulled away from the curb, heading for Riverside.
“What made you think of Riverside?” Matt said as they drove along.
“I started wondering about someone sneaking into a plant and taking enough explosives to do the job on that Suburban,” Kevin explained. “It would have to be a large enough place that the amount of explosives taken wouldn’t be missed right away. I also got to thinking about any place that was far enough away from any residential areas. A location like that would be an ideal place for someone to not only steal the explosives, but if it was an inside job, they could also be tested without neighbors complaining.”
Matt snapped his fingers. “That could also give us other places to search,” he said.
“Yeah, like where?”
“Junk yards, salvage yards, any place where a wrecked vehicle could be disposed of quietly,” Matt said. “Think about it. If someone wanted to know exactly how a Suburban would react with an unknown quantity of explosives, they’d almost have to do a test run with a similar vehicle beforehand.”
“I think I see where you’re going with this,” Kevin said. “We look at salvage yards not as a disposal site for the burned out wreck after the test, but as a place where someone might have bought a wrecked Suburban to use in the first place.”
“Exactly,” Matt said. “Once they’re finished with it, it wouldn’t be too hard to just bury the burned out hull someplace remote.”
“You may just have something there, Matt. Let’s check out the Riverside factory before we start looking at the scrap yards.”
Kevin pulled into the front parking area at the explosives factory in Riverside. There were only four cars in a lot designed for thirty cars. This was supposed to be a work day. Where was everybody? Kevin killed the engine and grabbed for his door handle when Matt interrupted him.
“What?” Kevin said.
“How about if I ask the questions this time?” Matt said. “Only not as a cop or any other official capacity. Suppose we let them think I’m some kind of reporter.”
“And what do you suppose that’ll get you?”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Matt explained. “They might open up a little easier without the pressure of talking to a cop. It’s worth a try, isn’t it? If they still won’t cooperate after that, then you can whip out the badge and put the thumbscrews to them.”
Kevin gave Matt a puzzled look. “Is that how I’ve been coming off to these people?”
“It’s understandable,” Matt said. “Our friends haven’t been dead a week. It has to play on your mind.”
“And it shows?”
Matt nodded. “Just coast on this one and let’s see what I can do, all right?”
Kevin nodded. “All right. Go on and give it a shot. I’ll just keep my mouth shut.”
“That’s not what I meant, Kevin,” Matt said apologetically. “Why don’t you just follow my lead and maybe they’ll think we’re both reporters. You don’t have to dissuade them if that’s what they want to think, but don’t come right out and say you’re a reporter. Let them assume until you need to be a cop again.”
The two of them walked up the walk and in through the front door to a relatively small reception area. From the size of the outside of the building Matt expected this room to be huge. And it was very dirty and dusty. The furniture and shelves were covered in a thin layer of white powder, probably carried in every time someone opened those front doors. There was really no place to sit and they probably wouldn’t have if there had been. There was a large semi-circular counter with several ashtrays positioned along its edges. It looked like the kind of room where truck drivers and factory workers would spend time hanging around, talking to whoever had counter duty that day.
The man on the short swivel chair spun around to see who had opened the door and his eyes rested on Matt and Kevin. “Can I help you?” he said tonelessly.
“I’d like to talk to whoever is in charge around here,” Matt said.
“What for?”
“Are you that man?” Matt said.
The counter man eyed them up the way a hawk eyes a mouse, but didn’t answer. Instead he just picked up the phone and pressed two buttons. When someone on the other end picked up, this man said, “Yeah, it’s Vic. There’s two guys here that want to see the boss. Uh huh. I don’t know, they wouldn’t say. Hang on a sec.” He turned back to Matt and said, “What do you want?”
Matt could tell immediately that this guy had no class and even less culture. He could mentally picture this guy in a tiger skin toga, carrying a club. Matt cleared his throat. �
�We’re here to talk to the man in charge about buying some explosives.”
Vic put the phone back to his mouth and said, “They said they want to buy some explosives. Yeah, I know. Want me to tell them to get lost? Okay, see ya.” Vic turned back to Matt and hiked a thumb toward the front door. “Beat it,” he said crudely. “The boss don’t wanna see you.”
“You might want to ring him up again and tell him we’re looking for a big order; a truckload for starters anyway.” Matt waited for a reaction.
Vic grabbed the phone again and punched in those same two numbers. “It’s me again,” Vic said. “They say they’re looking to buy a truckload of the stuff for starters. Okay. Yeah, sure, okay. I’ll tell ‘em.” Vic hung up and turned back to Matt. “Norm will be right out,” and turned away from the two men again.
Now Matt knew what to get Vic for Christmas; the Emily Post book on manners. He and Kevin waited patiently until a door in the back of the room opened and a plump man emerged wearing a baker’s apron. His shirt, shoes and hair were full of the same white powder that decorated this waiting room. He walked up to Kevin, who just gestured toward Matt.
Norm stepped past Kevin and over to where Matt stood. Without offering his hand or without any preamble at all he said, “Vic tells me you’re looking for a truckload of explosives. Is that right?”
Matt nodded. “That’s right. How soon can I get it and how much?”
Norm must have thought he’d stumbled upon the two dumbest rubes ever and he meant to take advantage of that fact. He quoted Matt three times the regular going rate for explosives and waited for his reaction.
Matt exchanged glances with Kevin and nodded slightly; hoping Kevin would follow his lead and play along. “And how soon can we get it?” Matt said.
“Just like that?” Norm said.
Matt plucked his wallet out and spread it open so that Norm could see his money. Matt pulled all the bills from inside the wallet and paused for effect. He fanned the sheaf of bills in front of his face like a fan.
“It’s gonna take a lot more than that,” Norm said.
“This isn’t for the order,” Matt assured him. “This is just a little something to get my order to the top of the list. You know what I mean, Norm? I’m in kind of a hurry.”
“You trying to bribe me?” Norm said.
Matt stuffed the bills back into his wallet and slid it back into his pocket. “Look, Norm,” Matt said. “I didn’t say anything when you quoted me three times what the stuff is worth, but I ain’t gonna stand here and let you play your jive-ass game on me. Either you can deliver or you can’t. It’s just that simple. I have other places I can go.”
That threw Norm. He tried sizing up the two men again and then said, “What do you want with that much explosives?”
“What do you care?” It was Kevin’s turn to get in on the game now. “You want the sale or not?”
“Give me a number where I can reach you,” Norm said. “I’ll call you within the hour and let you know if I can deliver or not.”
Kevin was getting annoyed now. “You don’t know if you have that much product to sell? What kind of outfit are you running here? And don’t you have to ask for our permits?”
Norm looked surprised now. “I was just gonna ask you for them.” He held his hand out.
Matt stepped in again. “We don’t have any stinking permits, Norm,” he said. “That’s why I let it slide when you gouged me on the price. Now, can we do business or not?”
Norm and Vic exchanged glances and hesitated perhaps a second or two too long to suit Matt. Matt slapped Kevin’s shoulder. “Come on, Kevin, let’s get out of here.” The two of them turned toward the front door.
“Wait a minute,” Norm said. “I can have a truckload for you in three hours. Can you wait that long at least?”
Matt looked at Kevin again and nodded. He turned back to Norm. “I need to know that what you have is good stuff. I’m gonna need a little demonstration.”
“Like what?” Norm said. “What is it you want to blow up?”
Matt paused before offering, “Something small, let’s say the size of a car, for example.”
Norm wore a greasy look on his face and when he smiled, the fine white dust cracked and left a pasty residue in the crevices. He tossed his head to one side and said, “Follow me.” Norm led Matt and Kevin out a back door to a large open area with nothing but dirt all around it. It looked like a gravel pit without the gravel. In the middle of all that dirt sat and pickup truck that looked like it could have been the pride of the showroom floor—fifty years ago. Norm led the two men over to the truck, opened the front door and pulled a bag of powder off the front seat. He handed the bag to Matt. “It only takes this much to demolish a vehicle this size.”
Matt examined the powder, smelled it and passed the bag over to Kevin, who did the same. Kevin handed the bag back to Norm. “Show me.”
Norm stuffed the bag under the driver’s seat, pulled a small device out of his apron pocket and inserted it into the side of the bag. He led Matt and Kevin back to the building, some fifty yards away. The three men went back inside and watched through a large reinforced window and Norm pulled a small electronic device from his pocket. It was half the size of a pack of cigarettes. “Keep your eyes on the truck,” he said and pulled a small antenna from the electronic device. “Here goes,” he said and pressed a small red button on the front of the unit.
Matt and Kevin watched out the window as the blast completely demolished the old truck, sending bits and pieces of it flying high in the air. A second later the truck was engulfed in flames.
Norm turned to Matt. “That powerful enough for you?”
“I guess when the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to view every problem as a nail.” Matt remarked.
“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Norm said.
Matt hiked a thumb over his shoulder out the window. “That was a bit of overkill, wasn’t it? I mean from the looks of that truck you could have gotten the job done with half a bag. Wasteful, if you ask me.”
“Maybe,” Norm said. “But with a whole bag, there’s no doubt at all that the truck was gonna be toast.”
“What about the detonators?” Kevin said to Norm. “We’re gonna need some of those, too.”
“All we sell here is the explosives,” Norm said. “We don’t even stock these things.” He held up the detonator again. “You’ll have to find them someplace else. Hell, there’s at least a dozen places around town where you can buy these. And they’re pretty cheap, too.”
“Three hours you say?” Kevin said to Norm.
“And that’ll be cash,” Norm said. “I don’t deal in checks or credit cards. C.O.D.”
“We can get it here by then,” Matt said. “You just have the load ready when we come back with our truck.”
“Oh, it’ll be ready, all right,” Norm said.
“See you in three hours,” Matt said and walked away. He and Kevin left through the front door and walked back to Kevin’s car.
Once they were in the car again, Kevin turned to Matt. “What the hell was all that about? We’re not buying a truckload of explosives and even if we were, where’d you expect to get that kind of money?”
“I didn’t,” Matt said. “I was just setting him up; feeling him out. That pickup went up just like the Suburban, flames and all. There has to be a connection, even if it’s just the same materials that were used. I’m not saying these guys were responsible for the captain’s car bombing, but you can bet they know something about it.”
“And how did you plan to get that information out of them?” Kevin said impatiently.
Matt looked surprised. “I don’t know,” he said. “I was winging it. I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“Let’s get back to the precinct,” Kevin said. “If nothing else, I think I can get us a truck out of the impound yard.”
“And what do we do for payment?” Matt said.
“Didn’t you say
you were winging it?” Kevin said.
“Let’s go get the truck,” Matt said.
They were back at the precinct in just over an hour. Kevin hurried into the impound yard, signed the large straight bed truck out and grabbed the keys. The impound yard gate slid open and Kevin drove out to the street. He picked Matt up at the corner and immediately aimed the truck back toward Riverside. He checked his watch. “We should be able to make it back there with a few minutes to spare.”
Matt looked at the metal case on the floor on his side. “What’s this,” he said.
“That’s the payment,” Kevin said.
“Where’d you come up with that kind of money?”
Kevin gestured toward the case with his chin. “Take a closer look inside.”
Matt lifted the metal briefcase, laid it on his lap and opened the clasps. When he looked inside he whistled. He picked up one of the stacks of money and flipped through it. When he looked at Kevin again, Kevin had a broad smile on his face.
“That’s right,” Kevin said. “Blank paper in the middle and counterfeit on the outsides of each pack. We had this made up for a previous case I worked. It’ll do at a quick glance and I don’t intend to hand it over until they’ve got the truck loaded.”
“Clever,” Matt said. “By then they will have implicated themselves.”
“Exactly.”
They made it back to the Riverside plant with a few minutes to spare and pulled up to the gate that separated the yard from the street. Kevin blew the horn and a minute later the gate slid open. Kevin drove into the yard, parked the truck and hopped out, looking for Norm. Norm came walking out to the truck to find Kevin standing there holding the shiny case.
“You bring the money?” Norm said.
Kevin held the case up but said nothing.
“Pull around the back,” Norm said. “Back up to the dock.”
Kevin did as he was told and then got out to supervise the loading of the explosives. Norm stopped him at the dock. “Let me see the money,” he said suspiciously.
Kevin laid the case on a short stack of pallets, opened the lid and saw Norm’s reaction as he reached for the money. Kevin slammed the lid closed again. “First you load it, then you get your money. I’ve been burned before.”