Waiting to Heal

by Phillip N Hancock, Sr

  “FBI said it was one high tech piece of equipment not readily available to the civilian population. Here are the still pics I took of the unit,” JJ said as he handed his cell phone to Detective Mercer, “I left it in place on her vehicle so the installers wouldn’t know we had found it.

  “That was smart, it is best to let them think they have the upper hand,” Mercer said then continued, “send that picture to my cell and maybe I can find out where this little item came from.”

  Mercer took the video and left M&M’s office to get started on the detailed analyses of the video and locating the source of the tracking device.

  Christine, JJ and Megan each went back to their office or place of business. There would probably be some delay in getting any info back on Mercers investigation so they would try to find another avenue to help them get to these two suspected culprits.

  “M&M Investigation, how may I direct your call?” Christine said when she answered the call.

  “Megan, ah, is this Ms. Morgan’s office?”

  “You bet it is, who’s calling?”

  “This is Shirley Logan.”

  “Oh yes, hi Mrs. Logan, I’m Christine Panic, First Impressions here at M&M. Please hang on and I will get Megan on for you.”

  “Hey Shirley, how is your day going?”

  “Pretty good, thanks for asking Megan.”

  “What’s up? You sound like you got something on your mind?”

  “I’ve found something, something of Sam’s. It has to do with the activity on the roof. Would you please come and look at it and see if it makes any sense to you?”

  “We are on our way. Is your neighbor home? I think his name is Mr. Bailey.

  “Yes I believe he is here, he’s retired and seems to always be home as I am.”

  “Would you go over and stay with him until we get there? It will only take us a few minutes but I want you to be safe in case someone else is listening in on our phones or something.”

  “I’m headed that way right now, see you soon,” Mrs. Logan said as she hung up.

  “JJ, we got to get over to Mrs. Logan’s right now, she has something we need to see, hurry,” Megan said as she headed out the door, “Christine, you got the office, call if something comes up.”

  “Call Mercer and tell him where we are going. I want him in the area in case that white van happens to show up,” Megan told JJ as she pulled out from the front of her office and headed toward Mrs. Logan’s apartment building.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  The Bogie has a Tail

  They took Megan’s vehicle on purpose. They hoped that maybe, just maybe with the GPS bug still installed, that white van would show up and give them a chance to have Mercer follow it back to its lair. Megan got out as soon as she got the vehicle parked out front. She went in the building and pushed the elevator button before JJ even got out of the car.

  “Come on slow poke, I want to see what she’s got. My head is spinning with possibilities but I can’t nail anything down so I have to wait to find out and that is a real pain.”

  “Take it easy Megan, show some dignity, you’re acting like a high school girl who just been invited to the prom by the boy she adores. We are getting there but we need to go step by step because I believe this is very serious.”

  “Sorry, you’re right, I’ll get a hold on myself and at least pretend to be dignified.”

  “Now, that’s my boss.”

  Megan knocked on Mr. Bailey’s door which was answered by Mrs. Logan, “Hey Shirley, how are you today?” Megan asked as she side glanced and nodded at JJ.

  “Oh, I’m doing pretty good, anxious to have you relieve me of these items.” Shirley said as she handed Megan a brown paper bag.

  “What’s this?” Megan asked as she peeped in the bag.

  “Sam’s cell phone and some type drawings that he had folded up and put with the phone in his desk drawer,” Shirley said, “I didn’t know his phone took pictures but I guess, from what I saw, he was well aware of its capabilities.”

  “I’m going to take these with me and we will take a look and see what we can find out from them, is that ok with you?”

  “Sure Megan, that is exactly what I want. Maybe this will help us find out what was going on up there and why they killed my Sam.”

  Megan and JJ thanked Mr. Bailey for the interruption to his normal day. Mr. Bailey held up his hands and said, “No no, thank you. It was a real nice break from the normal and I appreciate it.”

  “Well, you are very welcome,” Megan said and gave him her best smile.

  The two PIs escorted Mrs. Logan back to her apartment then agreed and joined her when she requested they have tea before they go. After getting permission, JJ took up a watch from Shirley’s bedroom window that faced the street. He monitored the area in search of that white van.

  “Here you go JJ, did you see anything yet?” Mrs. Logan asked as she came into the bedroom and gave JJ his cup of Earl Grey tea that had just a touch of honey.

  “Nothing yet but it is still early, I’ll keep watching while you visit with Megan if that is ok?”

  Shirley nodded her head and left JJ alone. It was only a few minutes later that he saw a white van pull up and stop on the cross street just a block away at the end of the street. “Mercer, I believe that bogie has arrived and is parked on the east end of the street in front of the apartment building,” JJ said as soon as Mercer answered his cell.

  “Roger that,” Detective Mercer said then clicked off the cell and started his car. He was using his personal vehicle so no exterior marking would alert them of a police presences. He drove his car onto the street the van was on but he stayed a full block back as he pulled into an empty space. He got out of his vehicle and went into the shop on the corner, it just happened to be a donut shop not police mandatory but welcomed anyway. He took a corner table with a view of the street and the van as he sat with an apple fritter and a large coffee.

  “I’m in place with bogie in site, I’ll await action by the target.”

  “Roger that, we are having tea with our client but will depart shortly, good luck on your quest,” JJ returned to the living room after he hung up with Mercer.

  It was a short time later when JJ said, “We think our bogie has been spotted. I suggest we head back to the office and try to be patient while Detective Mercer does his thing, he has the suspected vehicle in sight.”

  They said goodbye, got in the car and pulled out from the curb. It was like the white van was keyed to their movement. As soon as they got underway JJ’s cell phone rang.

  “The white van is moving,” Mercer said.

  “As we expected, we just now left the apartment building. We are headed back to the office to take a look at the items Mrs. Logan gave us, good luck on the tail,” JJ replied.

  “10-4,” was the reply then the cell went off.

  “It’s going to be a hard wait, I hope he remains unnoticed on his task,” Megan kept a look out the rearview while she drove, just in case the white van followed them and didn’t head back to its lair as they hoped. The trip was boring and there was no indication that they were being followed. Once parked they still took a few moments to survey the area before heading into the office in case they had missed a tail. They would now attempt to do some work as they waited for news.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Something From Sam

  The wait was hard but it wasn’t long, “Megan here.”

  “I think I’ve got the location. They drove their vehicle and parked out front of this building then went inside. They didn’t knock or ring a bell, they just went inside so I think they are living or working here.” Mercer’s voice was just a whisper from the cell.

  “You are staying clear of that building, right?” Megan asked as in her mind she could see him going in like some gun slinging cowboy straight out of the old west.

  “Just doing a perimeter check, not going in, just checking for exits in case we decide to take some action.” The
whisper came through clearly then the cell clicked off.

  It was fifteen minutes later that the cell phone rang again, “On my way back to the office and we will go through what I’ve found out so far.” Then the cell went quiet.

  Megan paced from her office to the front door and back again as she waited. JJ watched her for a few moments but decided not to say anything. He remembered she was the one that had almost lost her life to these people and it had to be difficult for her to just relax and wait. JJ could see Christine at the front desk keeping her head down but her body was tensed with concern for her friend, her boss.

  The room actually seemed to brighten when Detective Mercer opened the door and entered. He pointed at the conference room and everyone popped up and headed that way following him in and grabbing their seats as he took one at the end of the table.

  “The building is on 14th Street and I’m sure it is one of the buildings you and your friend flew the drone over to check the roof. The problem with that was they had moved their operation to the basement so things wouldn’t be visible from outside. There is a vehicle ramp that goes down into the basement so whatever they are working on they have vehicle access to and from. If we can somehow get a look down there we might find evidence that they are building remote controlled vehicles and thereby prove that you were attacked by a vehicle with no driver,” Mercer told them.

  “Proving that would be a great help, I saw the way they looked at Megan when she suggested the attack van had no driver,” JJ added.

  “Mrs. Logan gave me some things in a brown paper bag, hang on I’ll get it and we can examine them,” Megan said as she rose and left the conference room on her way back to her office. She returned and dumped the contents on the conference table and retook her seat. “I’ve been showing some dignity by not looking at these things by myself, I waited so all of us could see at the same time,” she said for JJ’s benefit.

  “Wow, an antique flip phone, how quaint,” Christine said as she picked up the small cell phone and compared it to her Samsung Galaxy S8, “I love antiques but not in cell phones, they are so limited. They don’t even have bitmoji’s capabilities.”

  “True, but it does take pictures and that is evidently what Mrs. Logan looked at,” Megan turned and gave the phone to JJ, “can you get this to show on the big screen?”

  “Give it my best shot.”

  As JJ worked with the small cell Megan took out the paper that Sam Logan had folded up and put away with his cell phone. She unfolded it and spread it out on the table as all but JJ gathered around and looked at the drawing. The state capital building was in the center with two sets of arrows pointing in, from nearby streets, toward the building and other arrows pointing back out to other nearby streets. The arrows pointing in were both crossing the location where most protest marchers, outside press conferences and any group of concerned citizens might gather to present their petition or complaint to the governor. This area was not a street and vehicle access was not permitted under any circumstances.

  RCV, was noted in two different places on the drawing. CV was noted on a nearby street and would be hidden from view of the area with the arrows.

  “RCV, what does that mean?” Christine asked as she put her finger on the initials.

  “I’m guessing but I think, Remote Control Vehicle would certainly fit,” Megan said.

  “So that would make CV the Control Vehicle, right,” Christine, without even thinking about it, said right away.

  “Good guess I think,” Mercer put in.

  “Hey, you ready for this?” JJ said as he stepped back from the big screen and hit the remote.

  The pictures were of the tables and their contents before they were removed from the roof. On the tables were wirings harnesses laid out in the shape that would fit a vehicle. There were what looked like control units and small cameras at different locations throughout the wiring. It looked like there were three sets of the same thing stretched out on the several tables that ran across the roof. There was also a picture of a rope ladder that hung down from the roof to that fire escape outside the Logan’s apartment.

  “Evidently Sam Logan had made a visit to the roof when the two suspects were away. He gathered this info and took these pictures. I’m pretty sure he had no idea what these men were up too but he suspected something illegal forcing them to hide their activity there on the roof.” Megan said as she traced the wiring harness with her finger. “I’m thinking he may have been caught going there again and he paid with his life.”

  “I’m thinking it is our turn to monitor their movements now that we know where they are,” JJ said.

  “I agree, we can stake that building out and watch where they go and who visits them and maybe when they are all gone we can take a look below,” Mercer slid his hand out and down indicating going into the basement.

  All agreed that would be the optimum so they gathered up cameras, water and some snacks for JJ and Megan in one vehicle and Mercer in another. They would photograph activities that were visible and take photos of any and all visitors to that location. Megan’s vehicle would stay at the office so as not to alert them of their knowledge. Megan and JJ would find two good vantage points so the sides, front and rear of the building could be monitored. Mercer would stay mobile to follow vehicles that left the basement or the suspect drove away in. Christine was left to hold down the fort back at the office. She would be in contact with all on a four way com setup JJ had arranged.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Stakeout with no Leprechauns

  They all stopped and picked up something to eat in case the day and, possibly the night, got long. Mercer parked a block away while JJ found a parking place one street over so he and Megan could split up a go to where they could monitor all areas of the building. They would alert Mercer of any movement so he could follow said vehicle.

  It was quite and boring with no activity making it hard for the watchers. It was reminiscent of the stake out to catch that dwarf burglar that stole the heirloom back in “The Leprechaun at Rainbow’s End Case” some months ago. Megan remembered she reviewed her youth while sitting on that stakeout. She would try not to do that here, it just took too much out of her.

  “Got a visitor, got a visitor,” JJ excitedly said to all.

  “JJ, remember that dignity comment of yours, it goes for you too.”

  “Ok, ok, I got the message. I’m shooting some pictures of this guy. Grey hair very slim and probably in his fifties if I had to guess.”

  “Ok, I see him and he is headed in without knocking. Evidently he either lives here too or he knows these guys really well.” Megan zoomed in with her camera and got some good profiles of the guy before he entered. “Let’s wait and see what happens with this visitor.

  Megan kept her camera ready and right on a half hour later, to the minute, the man came back out stopping momentarily. He turned and shook hands with the two suspects as they had followed him out to the sidewalk. They were all smiles so whatever they discussed went as expected, Megan was thinking. She shot multiple photos of all three as they talked. The close ups were clear as day and would make excellent blowups for the murder board. The cars license plate was an easy shot with the camera lens on max zoom.

  They gave Mercer the make, model and license plate number of the visitor’s vehicle. Mercer promise to follow him and maybe find out who he worked for.

  “You ok where you are, can you get comfortable? I think things might be slow for the rest of the night but I don’t want to leave just in case things change,” Megan asked JJ.

  “I’m fine, just like being at home. I’ll pretend I’m watching TV instead of a boring building. I’m warm, I got food and drink, so I’m good for the night. How about you?”

  “Five-by, A ok, just wonderful. I think we’re watching the same channel, there is a boring building in front of me too.”

  Mercer, staying one street away, paralleled the travel of the vehicle that had left the building they were watching.
Two streets down he turned and raced down to the street the vehicle was on and then followed staying several cars back. The driver was in no hurry and it was easy to tail him. Several blocks later he turned off 14 street onto J street then three blocks later he parked in front of a four story building. Mercer noted the address and after the man had entered and was out of sight, in the building. Mercer noted the businesses listed on the sign that fronted the structure then drove away to return to the area where Megan and JJ were waiting in case he needed to tail someone else.

  It was as expected, early morning before there was any movement that caused the two PIs to stir. Both of the suspects came out slamming the front door then climbed into the white van that was parked there. The van out front, now with the two suspect on board, remained parked but had started the engine. A new and different engine noise came from the suspect’s building’s basement which brought both tired individuals fully awake. This confused the two PIs and set both wondering how, they had not seen anyone new enter the building, so who was in the basement starting up a vehicle. The steel garage type door that led to the basement slowly slid to the open position. A new white van with dark tinted windows emerged slowly and then turned left then right onto 14th Street. The van with the two suspects pulled out and followed.

  “Mercer, you up and ready?” Megan quickly said into the cell.

  “Yeah, I’m up, er, awake, what’s up?”

  “Two white vans just left the suspect’s building. One came from the basement and the other, with two suspects now on board, was parked out front and is now following.”

  “I can try to follow them but if they split up I will have to choose one, it’s all I can do.”

  “Not a problem, you do your best, it’s all anyone can ask,” Megan said then without taking a breath she continued. “JJ, this is our chance to get a look at this building from the inside, you ready?”