The Dog Who Ate The Flintlock

by Edward Coburn

  “Enough!” Mary said sternly though Adam knew she didn’t mean it. She smiled as if to confirm his conviction. “Come on now. You need to eat. I presume the police will want to talk to you when they get here.”

  “Probably,” Adam said as he took a big bite.

  Chapter 44

  The kids and Adam had each gone back for seconds when two men in suits came in the front door of the restaurant. They paid their tab to Jenny, and then one of them pointed at Adam, and the other nodded. They both walked over to him. “Good evening, sir. Are you the one who reported the kidnapper?”

  “Yes I’m the one, but don’t you think we should keep our voices down,” Adam whispered. “We don’t want to alarm her or anyone else.”

  “Right you are sir,” the first one that spoke said quietly. “I’m Detective Carbo and this,” he pointed at the other man, “is Detective Jordan. We’d appreciate it if you could point her out to us.”

  “She’s the one who took your money,” Adam said as he put two pieces of pizza on his plate.

  “Okay, if you say so. We know you claim you knew it was her because you recognized her face from a picture you saw in the newspaper. But we happen to know there was never a complete picture in the paper. So we san to know how you know it’s her and tell us why we should believe you. Kidnapping is a serious charge, and we wouldn’t want to accuse and/or arrest the wrong person and causing it to happen is serious as well.”

  Adam didn’t know the law well enough to know whether causing someone to be falsely arrested could get him into trouble or not, but he did know Jenny was the kidnapper, so he had nothing to worry about in that regard. But how would he convince them she really was the one who had kidnapped the baby. Adam had been afraid it might come to this. He had been mulling over what to say, but he had yet to come up with anything plausible. He couldn’t tell them he saw the tattoo in the normal way because she was wearing pants behind the counter and her leg wasn’t showing. So what could he tell them? He had to think of something.

  He racked his brain and finally came up with something that might work. When Adam had left Robert and the others at the airport, Robert had given Adam a card with the Morgantown police station number, his personal line at the station, and he had written his cell number on the back of the card so Adam could get in touch when he was back home after his trip to Maine. Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out several of his own cards and found Robert’s card on the end of the group. He handed it to Carbo. “If you’ll call the number of the Morgantown police station and ask for Detective Drummond he will testify to the veracity of what I’m telling you.”

  “He’s not here so how can he know that what you say is true?” Jordan asked.

  “Please just call him.”

  Detective Carbo sighed. “Oh, all right. But I don’t know about this.” He took out a cell phone and called the Morgantown police station who verified that Detective Drummond worked there, but he wasn’t there at present. “He’s not there. Now what?”

  “His cell phone number is on the back of the card.”

  Carbo called that number. Robert answered, and Carbo explained why he was calling. He then held out the phone to Adam. “He wants to talk to you.”

  “Robert?” Adam said.

  “Adam, what’s this about you finding the woman who kidnapped that baby in California?”

  “It’s true. I ran across her when I took my sister’s kids out to eat.”

  “Are you sure it’s her. How do you know it’s her?”

  “I know it’s her virtually the same way I discovered where Mary Beth could be found.”

  Robert immediately understood. “I’m not on speaker am I?”

  “No, you’re only talking to me.”

  “I didn’t want to say anything in case anyone else was listening.”

  “I appreciate that,” Adam said.

  “So, you saw a vision of her; I take it?”

  “That’s correct. I’m positive it’s her.”

  “All right, if you’re sure. Let me talk to the detective again.”

  Adam handed the phone back to Carbo. “He wants to talk to you again.”

  Detective Carbo talked to Robert for a few minutes before he hung up the phone. “Detective Drummond said if you say she’s the kidnapper than she must be the one. But I’m still not sure we should arrest her on just your say-so.”

  “What more can I do to prove I’m telling the truth? We don’t want her getting away.”

  “Tell us how you know. That’s how you can prove it.” Jordan said.

  “I’m afraid I’m not willing to do that in such a public place.”

  Both detectives scanned the immediate area. They were alone at the buffet table. “There’s no one to overhear,” Carbo said.

  “There’s no one now,” Adam countered. “But others may walk up at any time.”

  “So what’s the big deal if someone else hears why you recognized her? I don’t understand what the big secret is,” Cabo said.

  “I can’t explain it in just a few words. And you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you. However, I would think you would accept the word of a fellow officer that I can be trusted.”

  “But our captain would have our heads if we arrested someone without proof just because you believe she’s guilty,” Jordan said.

  “It’s more than a belief. I know she’s the one who stole the baby.”

  Detective Carbo huffed in frustration. He wasn’t accustomed to someone defying his authority. He had to break through this joker’s wall of secrecy. “But how?”

  “As I said, I can’t tell you that.”

  “Can’t or won’t,” Jordan said.

  “I guess it’s won’t. At least not here. Would you believe me if I let you talk to another cop who knows me extremely well?” He was thinking of Sheriff Stibbens in Canary Corners.

  “Why should we? All we want to know is how you know it’s her,” Carbo said. He was getting tired of Adam’s defiance. All he wanted was the truth, and he was used to getting it except maybe from criminals.

  Adam could see he wasn’t getting anywhere. “All right. Let’s go outside, and I’ll tell you. But, as I said before, you probably won’t believe me.”

  “Well you can tell us, and we’ll see if we believe you,” Carbo said. “Outside,” he waved his arm at the door.

  Adam followed the two detectives outside and over to a nondescript car. “All right,” Carbo said, “now tell us why we should believe you.”

  “I will if you swear you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to divulge and after I do you’ll talk to Detective Drummond again so he can confirm what I’m about to tell you.”

  Carbo turned to his partner who nodded. “Agreed,” said Carbo.

  Adam began by telling them who he was and then about how he saw visions and about some of the things he‘d done in the past including how they recently found Robert’s daughter who had been missing for twenty years. They stopped his explanation every once in a while for a question and then let him continue.

  “Can I see that card again,” Carbo said when Adam had finished.

  Adam knew what card he was talking about and took it back out of his pocket. Carbo called Robert again and after talking to him a short time he handed Adam the phone. “He wants to talk to you again.”

  “Robert?” Adam said.

  “Are you sure it was wise to tell these guys your secret? I know you don’t want it getting out.”

  “They’ve promised me they won’t tell anyone else and how else could I convince them that Jenny is the kidnapper. They need to take her into custody if they have any hope of finding the missing baby.”

  “I guess,” Robert said. “But I sure hope you can trust them. Give the phone back to Carbo, and I’ll confirm the fact that he can believe you.”

  “In a minute,” Adam said. “But first I want to know how it’s going with Mary. Or are you calling her Mary Beth now?”

  “I took her to our house
and showed her my Mary Beth and Molly room. She couldn’t believe I saved all her stuff. She immediately recognized Beer and gave him a big hug. I also let her talk to Richard, and she can’t wait to go to Charleston to see him. She wanted to go tonight, but I managed to talk her into getting a good night’s rest first. We were just getting ready to go out for supper when you called. Now I guess we can go.”

  “A good night’s rest is probably for the best. I’m sure she’s tired after absorbing all the shocks she’s experienced.”

  “Yes, she is. She was yawning all the way from the airport.” Robert glanced at Mary Beth. “And she’s still doing it. Just a second Adam, she wants to talk to you.”

  “Adam, it’s me, Mary Beth.”

  “So you believe Robert was telling you the truth now?”

  “I guess I have to, but I’m still having trouble taking it all in. Thank you so very much for helping Dad find me. I can’t believe Dad and Grandfather never gave up after all this time.”

  “I’m glad they didn’t.”

  “Me too.”

  “Goodbye then, Mary Beth. I guess I’ll see you in a few days at your grandfather’s house.”

  “I certainly hope you will. I’m going to stay with Grandfather for a while. Dad asked me if I wanted to stay with him or with Grandfather. I talked Dad into staying with Grandfather through the weekend, so I can be with both of them. Dad’s going to come back to Morgantown on Sunday night, and I’ll stay with Grandfather assuming he and I get along…”

  “You will. Richard’s a really nice guy.”

  “That’s what Dad keeps saying. And if that’s true, I want to be with him as much as I can before he…” her voice faltered.

  “I’d say that’s a good idea. He didn’t look well when I saw him.” He didn’t add that Richard probably wouldn’t be around much longer. He thought she’d probably come to that realization already based on what Robert had told her. “Okay. I’d better let your dad talk to these detectives. They have some work to do.”

  “Okay. I guess I’ll see you when I see you. Thanks again.”

  “Glad to help,” Adam said as she handed the phone to Robert.

  Adam handed the phone back to Carbo, and he talked for several minutes to Robert before he hung up. Carbo turned to Jordan. “Detective Drummond says he’s telling the truth and that we should take his word that the girl in the restaurant is the kidnapper.”

  “Okay, then, let’s go get her,” Jordan said starting toward the restaurant.

  “Just a second,” Carbo said. “Don’t you think we should clear it with the captain first?”

  “And just how do you suppose we do that? Are you going to explain to the captain how we know it’s her? I’m certainly not. I guess we can believe Adam since you say Drummond believes in him, but I would have no idea how to explain it myself. So, no, I don’t think we should clear it first.”

  “Okay, then, let’s go,” Carbo led the way to the restaurant. When they went in Jenny turned to them but didn’t come to the counter. Carbo waved for her to come to the counter.

  “You gentlemen are okay. I know all of you have paid already.”

  “It’s not that. We need you to come with us,” Carbo took out his badge and showed it to her.

  “What for?” Jenny asked. “I haven’t done anything.” She gulped knowing she’d been found out. She didn’t know how because she had been so careful not to wear shorts or short dresses, so no one ever saw her tattoo. She had studied the pictures that had been in the papers and knew there weren’t any pictures where she was recognizable.

  “That remains to be seen, miss. But you do need to come with us.”

  “But why?” Jenny whined hoping to impress the men with her sincerity. “I just got this job, and I need it.”

  “We’ll let you give someone an excuse as to why you have to leave, but you are going to come. You can either come quietly, or we can cuff you, but either way, you will come.”

  “I’ll come quietly. Just let me tell the shift supervisor that I have to go.”

  “Okay,” Carbo said walking around the counter. “But I’ll come with you.”

  He followed Jenny to a young man by the pizza oven. She said Carbo was her brother, and he’d come to tell her their mother was taken to the hospital, and she had to go with him to find out what was wrong with their mother. Carbo said that was very creative as they walked back to the front where Adam and Jordan joined them while they walked to the detective’s car.

  After Jenny was placed in the back Carbo turned to Adam. “I don’t think you need to come unless you just want to.”

  “I would like to because I want to ask her some questions. I want to know what possesses a person to kidnap a baby.”

  “Probably the same thing that motivates most criminals,” Carbo said simply, “money.”

  “You’re probably right,” Adam acknowledged, “But I’d still like to ask her.”

  “It’s okay with me. Do you want to follow us in your car or do you want to ride with us?”

  “I would like to ride with you, but I’ll have to go back inside to give my Aunt the keys to my car. I drove here.

  “Okay, we’ll wait for you to get back. Go ahead.”

  Adam went back into the restaurant and explained the situation to Mary. She asked how he’d get back to the hospital from the police station and then said she would come to get him if he called her when they were done. He explained they might be there a while and that he’d call a cab unless one of the detectives would be willing to drive him. With that, Adam went back outside and got into the car with Jenny and the two detectives.

  Chapter 45

  When they got to the police station, the first thing the detectives did was have a policewoman take Jenny into the woman’s locker room. She made Jenny take off her slacks, and the policewoman compared the tattoo she saw on the back of Jenny’s leg to the printout of the tattoo the kidnapper had on her leg. She also emptied Jenny’s purse and confiscated Jenny’s stun gun.

  “It’s a match,” Officer Terri Lee said after she’d let Jenny get dressed and led her back to Adam and the detectives. She handed Carbo the stun gun.

  “How did you know it was me in the restaurant?” Jenny asked.

  “So you’re not denying being the kidnapper of the baby in California?” Carbo asked.

  “Before I answer that question you need to read this,” Jenny handed Carbo a folded-up note that she’d taken from a hidden pocket in her purse.

  Detective Carbo read the note and asked, “You’re Jenifer Logan, I presume.”

  “I am,” Jenny answered.

  “What does it say?” Jordan asked.

  Carbo had Adam’s attention as well.

  “It says if we have taken Jenifer Logan into custody, before we book her, we need to call the FBI at the number in the note and ask for agent Smithers.”

  “Is it actually the number of the FBI,” Jordan asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to check before I call it.”

  Just then a tall, slim, black man in a suit and tie came out of an office and stopped by the group. “Is this the kidnapper?”

  “Yes, sir. According to Terri, she has a rose tattoo on the back of her right leg, and she hasn’t denied her involvement. She just handed me this note.” Carbo handed the note to the new man.

  He read the note. “That number is not for the FBI office in Boston. I don’t recognize it.”

  “Neither do I, but I thought if we call the field office they might be able to verify it is actually an FBI number and let us know where it’s located.”

  “Good idea. But I’ll do it. Bring the suspect into my office while I do it.” He looked at Jordan and then at Adam. “Is this the man that recognized the suspect?”

  “Yes sir, he is,” Carbo said.

  “All right. Bring him into my office as well.” With that he returned to the office he’d come from.

  When they were in the office, Carbo pointed to two chairs in front
of the desk with Captain David Riddley on the name plaque sitting on the front of the tidy desk. “You two sit there.” Adam and Jenny seated themselves while Carbo set the stun gun on the Captain’s desk. Riddley gazed at it but made no comment. Carbo joined Jordan, and they sat in two of the chairs surrounding a small conference table. Riddley picked up the phone and punched one button—a direct line to the FBI office apparently.

  Riddley asked to talk to Agent Andrew Foster, and in a few seconds, they were connected. “Andrew. Hi. This is David Riddley from Bangor… Yes of course. I need a favor. Can you look up an FBI number for me? We’re just trying to verify that it’s a legitimate number.” Riddley gave Foster the number, and in a few seconds, Foster was able to confirm it was the number of the FBI office in California. Riddley thanked Foster and hung up. “It’s a legitimate number. It’s one of the numbers of the office in California.” He turned back to his phone, dialed the number on the piece of paper, and asked for Agent Smithers whose name was also on the piece of paper. He introduced himself and mentioned that they had been given the piece of paper with the California phone number and his name by Jennifer Logan. Smithers stated Jenny was temporarily working for them and they not only shouldn’t arrest her; they should let her go and return to her anything they had confiscated. Riddley hung up in a daze.

  “Smithers confirmed Jennifer Logan is working for the FBI and that we should have her explain the whole thing.” He turned to Jenny, “So…”

  “Well, it’s like this. I was a nursing student at UCLA before my parents died in a car wreck. I quickly ran out of money and ended up on the streets as a prostitute. When I was approached by Ronald Wilkerson to steal a baby from the hospital, I tried to say no, but he threatened me, so I gave in. He wanted me because of my training. Then he convinced me he would kill me if I called the cops. But I couldn’t steal a baby because it went against everything I had been taught. So I did what I was warned against, I called the cops. The cop I talked to got me in touch with the FBI who told me to go ahead with Ronald’s plan. Ronald had been under investigation for several years, and they wanted to track where the baby would be taken. The FBI claimed they would keep me safe from Ronald’s wrath. So even though I continued to fight with my instincts, I stole the baby from the hospital. Now I’m informally in witness protection. After I testify against Ronald, I will formally be put into the witness protection and will be able to go back to school. Not at UCLA, of course, but somewhere else of my choosing. They will set me up with whatever false credentials I need and help pay for my schooling.”