Trading Places

by Fern Michaels

  The color drained from Aggie’s face. “Oh, my God! I was afraid of something like this. Do you want out, Lizzie? I can come back if you want to go home. No, no, I take that back. I’m going to pack up and leave right now. I never should have involved you in this mess. My God, you could have been killed! This isn’t right.”

  “Aggie, calm down. I’m fine. I’m actually making progress. Nathan is a big help. And before you can ask, he’s fine. You were right about him. I trust him and because I trust him, I want you to stay right there with your carrots. Between the two of us, we are going to make this all come out right. Nathan is going to write a story for the front page. That’s going to help move things along at the speed of light. So you see, I’m in control. You always trusted me before. This is no different, Aggie. I can handle it. The truth is, I am handling it. Don’t make me start to worry about you. I want your promise that you will stay at the farm. If you’re bored, you can always play house with Alex,” Lizzie said, trying for a light tone.

  “I don’t know about this, Lizzie. You can be a real hothead sometimes. Are you sure, Lizzie? You aren’t just saying that to placate me, are you?”

  “I’m okay with it all, Aggie. I just don’t want to screw up, so stop worrying.”

  “By the way how did it go with the shrink?”

  It went okay. I don’t have to go back for a month. I hated him. There sure wasn’t anything warm and fuzzy about him at all.”

  “He’s a department shrink. What do you expect? I need to think about all this. I’ll call you back this evening, Lizzie. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. No, don’t call me back tonight. I might have to put in some overtime if they don’t contain the accident. I’ll call you back. You okay, Aggie? I mean, really okay? How’s it going with Alex?”

  “I’m okay. I get twinges. We’ve had a good bit of rain, so my bones are protesting. They told me that would happen. I still get startled with loud noises and it’s…it’s, ah, going just fine. More than fine really. I’m probably going to get fat the way I’ve been eating. The sun finally came out a few minutes ago. Call me tonight if you can. No one knows about these cell phones. Promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t want you getting confrontational. Just upset them a little and let them do the rest.”

  “Will do.”

  Aggie flipped the cell phone shut. She looked over at Alex. “I’ll clean up here, go take your shower. I’ll tell you everything Lizzie said on our way into town. I think our little charade is working.”

  Alex smiled. Was that a sparkle he was seeing in his friend’s eyes? If it wasn’t, it was close to it. He’d take it. Something was always better than nothing.

  Lizzie headed straight for the chief’s office the minute she entered the station. She crossed her fingers that she wouldn’t have to go on patrol or stand out in the rain.

  She rapped on the door. The chief barked something that sounded like “come in.” She opened the door and waited.

  “Jade, what the hell are you doing here? I gave you time off. We got it all covered.”

  “I heard about the explosion on the news. I thought…”

  “Let me do the thinking. Go home. We got it covered.”

  “All right, but first I need to talk to you about something. I just need a minute, Chief.”

  “All right but make it quick, Jade.”

  “Will Fargo’s brother called this morning while I was out to breakfast. It seems he can’t find any of Will’s papers or records. He wanted me to ask you if he could go through his brother’s locker or maybe the room where he worked. Will lived in an apartment complex, and the brother seemed to think he was afraid of break-ins. What should I tell him?”

  “Now that you’re here already, go check it out. The desk sergeant will give you the master key to the locker. Check out the impound room. If you find anything that has his name on it, sign it out. Call the brother in and let him go through it. The funeral is tomorrow. You know the drill.”

  “Okay, Chief.”

  “Go on, get out of here. I have work to do.”

  Lizzie looked around the squad room. Aside from a civilian secretary, the room was empty. An eerie feeling settled between her shoulder blades as she walked up to the desk sergeant’s desk to make her request. He handed over a key. “Make sure you bring it back, Jade. Don’t make me come looking for it.”

  “No problem,” Lizzie said, catching the key ring on the first toss.

  Will’s locker was one of the older ones, which still took keys. Aggie’s locker had a padlock with a code. She knew she wasn’t going to find anything even before she opened the dark green metal door. She was right. There were two well-thumbed Playboy magazines, some vitamins, a shaving kit, a grungy towel, and a pair of rolled-up black socks. A pair of Nike Air sneakers minus the shoelaces sat on the bottom of the locker in a battered gym bag. Lizzie used her hands to feel back into the corners on the floor and the top shelf. There was nothing to be found except a Dentyne chewing gum wrapper. She bundled the things together and put them all in the gym bag. She closed the locker but didn’t lock it.

  She left the locker room, gingerly holding the belongings of a man who had something to do with Tom Madsen’s death and her sister’s injuries.

  Her next stop was the evidence room, where a young rookie named Christine Delaney was working. Lizzie flashed her badge. The rookie opened the door for her, then carefully locked it.

  Would she be looking for a needle in a haystack or would Will’s box, assuming it was a box, rear up and hit her between the eyes? She signed in, added the reason for being in the room. The rookie read her explanation carefully before she nodded. “It’s all yours, Detective. If you need any help, call me.”

  Chapter Eight

  It was easy to see that Will Fargo had run a tight ship when the evidence room was under his management. Everything was boxed and neatly labeled. In addition, evidence bags, boxes, and folders were dated and in alphabetical order. Lizzie started with the A’s and worked her way down the shelves. Will’s box was neatly labeled and the first one on the shelf under the letter F.

  Lizzie called to the rookie. “I want you to observe that I’m removing this box. Make a note that it has red sealing wax on it. Will Fargo, the man who worked this room for a long time, died yesterday. We’re going to turn his belongings over to his brother. Take the box up to the desk, then call this number,” Lizzie said as she withdrew a slip of paper with a phone number written on it. “Identify yourself, tell Mr. Fargo I told you to call him. Have him meet me in thirty minutes. First, though, I need the combination to the vault, then I want you to watch me take out his things if he was keeping anything in there.”

  The vault was full of gunmetal gray shelves, all of them full. Again, the evidence was dated, labeled, and in alphabetical order. Drugs, money, and jewelry were the only things kept in the vault according to Aggie. Will Fargo’s belongings were on the shelf marked 12 in big bold numbers. Two shelves were assigned for each letter of the alphabet. Three huge cartons in total bore the name Sergeant William Fargo. They were Xerox boxes, the kind paper for the copy machines came in. Again, there was red sealing wax all around each of the lids.

  Lizzie stared at the boxes. For a single guy who didn’t even own a house, Will Fargo certainly had a lot of personal property he wanted kept safe. Lizzie was unsure what she should do at this point. She posed the question to the rookie, who looked nonplussed. “Call the chief. I don’t want to give this stuff up only to find out later I should have checked with someone before doing it. Be sure to call Mr. Fargo, too.”

  Minutes later, Lizzie winced at the chief’s growl when he answered the phone. “They’re big boxes, Chief. They have sealing wax all over them. Is it okay to release them?”

  “Today it’s okay. Yesterday and the day before yesterday it would not have been okay. We ran a check on both the evidence room and the vault the minute word came down that Will passed on. Everything checks out one hundred percent. Will
asked me personally for permission, years ago, to keep his property locked up. He didn’t live in a real safe neighborhood. He told me it was considered sport for the gangs in the area to break into a cop’s apartment. I lost count of the break-ins we’ve had at that apartment complex. Hundreds over the years would be my guess. You have my permission to release Will’s belongings to his brother, Jade.”

  “All right, Chief.”

  Lizzie turned to the rookie. “You heard all that, right?”

  “Yes, Detective, I did. You’re going to need a dolly to wheel that stuff up front. Don’t forget the first box we took off the shelf. There’s a dolly outside in the hall. I’ll get it for you. Hold the door open. Oh, and Mr. Fargo said thirty minutes was fine.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Will’s belongings, including the gym bag, were on the dolly just waiting for Daniel Fargo to arrive and take them away. Lizzie wished she could be with him when he opened the boxes.

  When Daniel Fargo arrived ten minutes later, he gaped, his jaw dropping at the sight of the boxes on the dolly. He smacked at his forehead. “It must be Will’s butterfly collection. He started it when we were kids because he was sickly and couldn’t play with the other kids. He had rheumatic fever. I think his collection was the only thing Will really cared about. I appreciate your help, Detective Jade. I’ll say good-bye now. It was nice meeting you. I’m sad that it was under such circumstances.”

  It was Lizzie’s turn to have her jaw drop. “Aren’t you staying for the funeral service tomorrow?”

  “No. Will was cremated this morning. My brother and I made the decision yesterday. Since both of us live on the other side of the country, we decided this was best. My brother and I are taking his ashes home with us. The service tomorrow is for the department. At least that’s what I was told.”

  “Oh,” was all Lizzie could think of to say.

  “Thanks again for everything. I’d like to leave my card with you in case you ever have to get in touch for something or other.” Lizzie reached for the card and stuck it in her pocket.

  “Are you leaving now?”

  “Our flight leaves at noon. This stuff is a bit of a problem, but I think we can manage to have the airline box it up since we didn’t come with luggage, only our carry-on bags.”

  Lizzie hated to see him go. She wanted to know exactly what was inside the Xerox boxes. Her voice sounded jittery to her own ears when she said, “Aren’t you going to open the boxes to check to see that…that the butterflies are intact?”

  “Good heavens no. Will was so persnickety about things like that. Some, probably most of them, are in glass cases and wrapped in bubble wrap. If I open them now, I’ll have to wrap them all back up, then reseal the boxes. I just don’t feel right opening them.”

  Lizzie’s voice went from sounding jittery to desperate. “I can give you some sturdy tape. You probably should open them, Mr. Fargo. The chief will pitch a fit if you get them home, then file a claim against us because the cases…were broken. How will we know if the airline did do the damage?”

  “My goodness, Detective Jade, my brother and I would never do something so silly. We are not the least bit litigious. You have no worry on that score. Listen, would you like me to send you one of the butterflies as a memento when I get home? I think Will would like that. Some of them are very rare.”

  “That would be very nice, but no, don’t send me one. Keep Will’s collection intact. I appreciate your asking, though.”

  “Well, I have to get going. I’ve got to return the rental car and take one more walk through Will’s apartment to make sure we didn’t miss anything. His rent is paid through the end of next month. Security deposit and all that. At that time, the Salvation Army will go there with the management company and remove all the furniture. It was nice meeting you, Detective Jade.” He held out his hand. Lizzie grasped it. It was a limp-wristed handshake at best. “Bye.”

  There was nothing Lizzie could do but wave. “Butterfly collection my ass,” she mumbled to herself.

  On her way out of the building, Lizzie bumped into Chief Shay. “Are you still here, Jade?”

  “I’m leaving, Chief. See, I’m opening the door. I am going home. Chief, did you know Will Fargo had a butterfly collection?”

  “I thought everyone knew that. It’s all he ever talked about. The only vacations the guy ever took were to places that had butterflies. I understand he had some rare ones that to other collectors would fetch a lot of money. He regarded his collection as a security net for his old age in addition to his pension. He always said when he retired, he was going to roam the world to look at nothing but butterflies. You aren’t going to tell me Will’s next of kin doesn’t want the collection, are you?”

  “Oh, no. Will’s brother Daniel just left with it. I wanted him to open it to make sure it was intact so they couldn’t blame the department later on if something went awry. He is taking it on the plane with him.”

  The chief shrugged. “Will was pretty fussy with his collection. Every time he got a new one, he showed it to me. I have to say they were beautiful. Most of the butterflies were under glass, then he wrapped them in tissue paper and bubble wrap. A hell of a procedure to go through every time he wanted to look at them if you ask me. Go home now, Jade. I’ll see you tomorrow at the service.”

  “Okay, Chief.”

  Right at that moment, Lizzie Jade would have given up her favorite diamond earrings to know what was in the Xerox boxes besides butterflies.

  Lizzie’s friends discreetly withdrew to the backyard when Nathan Hawk showed up a little before six. “I came to pay you for breakfast and to apologize. It was a faulty gas line in the kitchen at the hotel. One of the workers got a burn on his arm, but that’s it. Everything is fine. Now, down to business. I’d like a beer if you don’t mind.”

  Lizzie pocketed the breakfast money before she opened the refrigerator. “Don’t go getting the idea I’m going to wait on you. Here’s your beer. The next time, you get me one. I don’t play that Tarzan/Jane game.”

  Nathan looked uncomfortable with her declaration. “I knew that. You’re an independent woman, and I like that. I’m not a male chauvinist, regardless of what you may or may not have heard. I just don’t like opening other people’s refrigerators.

  “Listen, I think I might have stumbled on to something. Do you remember about eighteen months ago there was a big to-do over a drug bust that went sour? It was the top headline in the papers for about ten days before it got pushed to the back pages. A cop named Savitsky took a bullet to his shoulder and another cop got his kneecap shot out.”

  Oh shit. Lizzie shrugged wondering if she should run upstairs and call Aggie or try to bluff her way through it. “Hmmm,” she said. Aggie missed it and so did she. Damn.

  Nathan took her response to be a yes, and continued. “It seems the department was working on the bust for months. You know, coordinating everything the way you guys do. It was one of those, ‘this guy knew this, that guy knew that, and another guy knew something else’ situations. Pieces of a puzzle. No one had the whole plan till the night of the bust. That was so nothing could go wrong, no tip-offs, leaks. All the wheels were in motion. Don’t you remember, Aggie? The next day they said it would have been one of the biggest drug busts ever in Atlanta, that it was pure China White. Street value in the millions. They were shipping it out in boxes of peaches. When the cops got to the produce warehouse, the only thing they found were peaches.”

  “And…your point is?”

  Nathan was staring at her so intently, she felt like a bug under a microscope. “Where did it all go, Aggie?”

  Lizzie shrugged again. Her brain raced. “So it was a bad tip.”

  “That’s just it, Aggie, it wasn’t a bad tip. It was on the money. They put that guy, the snitch, in the Witness Protection Program. They only do that when it’s serious stuff. You know how I know that?”

  Lizzie drew in a deep breath, her heart fluttering in her chest. “How?”

  “Tom M
adsen’s notebook, that’s how. On that date, he wrote WPP. If you say those initials to any cop, they know exactly what it means, Witness Protection Program. Then he wrote the word, zip. Meaning no drugs on the bust. Two days prior to that, he had some more scribbles with initials. Nothing on those two days matched your notes for those days. In fact, you didn’t have any entries. You were also off duty the night of the bust, but Madsen was called in at the last minute. Guess who had one of the pieces of the puzzle?”

  Lizzie started to wring her hands in agitation. “Please tell me it wasn’t Tom?”

  “No, it wasn’t Tom. Joe Sonders. Except for a few of the other guys who are close to retirement, Joe’s the oldest with the most time in. That means he knows everyone. The guy has been around the block quite a few times. He also just got divorced for the third time. I keep track of stuff like that. I think he found out who had the other pieces of the puzzle and made his own deal a little early and they snatched the drugs and stashed them somewhere. Then if you have a really active imagination like I do, you would almost naturally come to the conclusion that it was all stashed in the evidence vault by none other than Will Fargo. It’s so damn perfect, it’s scary. I don’t know why it is that people always tend to ignore the obvious. The department, if you recall, took a lot of heat for the screwup. The police commissioner took it personally.”