“On my way boss,” JJ was too quick in his reply and it sounded like he was already running on his way.
Megan took a quick look at the now closed garage type door, that led to the basement, but decided without the remote there was no way in at this spot. She turned and made her way to the front door where JJ had already opened it. He used his lock picks that he had acquired while attending that locksmith class two summers ago.
“Check this out, these guys are real tech savvy but then they forgot to install a simple alarm system for this place, what where they thinking?”
“Lucky for us they weren’t thinking or we would now be totally busted. Let’s do this quickly, before someone comes by or someone comes back.”
The living area held no surprises, simple setup for two occupants kitchen included. A quick check through out then they both headed to the basement. There was another white van in the basement. It also had dark tinted windows, impossible to see through from the outside. The bumpers were altered with unusual sharp protrusion in many areas that confused the PIs. JJ opened the driver side door and it was evident that there was no room for a driver. The driver’s area was filled with electronic gear leaving no room for an occupant. JJ went and looked in the back. There was nothing stored inside except where some weights had been added and welded in place. He realized that, yes the fire was hot but that wasn’t what welded those weights to the frame. This added mass would give the vehicle more weight but wouldn’t help with gas mileage or stopping ability.
“This added weight would make the vehicle slow to start but hard to stop once moving. I hope they have increased the braking capacity to counter the extra weight they’ve added,” JJ stated.
“After what I’ve seen, I don’t believe they are concerned with stopping this vehicle at all. They want it to continue through whatever is in its way without stopping. I think that is their plan,” Megan said as she took JJ’s arm and pulled him back toward the stairs that led to the first floor and the front door.
“Mercer, we are out of the building, what’s happening on your watch?”
“Got two vehicles in an empty parking lot, one is just sitting and the other is making some erratic passes around and through parking areas over and over.”
“I think you have yourself one RCV and one CV right there in front of you. We have a similar remote controllable vehicle in the basement here. It has no room for a driver due to the electronic equipment in the driver area,” Megan relayed. “I think it is time to turn this over to the boys in suits and sunglasses, it is way beyond our expertise and capabilities. We will invite them in and see what they think after they view our collection and murder board, anyone have any other ideas?”
It was a consensus so they all headed back to the office to put that plan into effect. It wasn’t long before they were invaded by the FBI in all their, better than thou, attitude. Their questions and manner suggested of wrong doing by the PIs in their limited investigation. Megan and JJ held their tongues and let them think whatever they wanted as long as they follow through with a full FBI type legal investigation.
Two days later the suspect building was surrounded by several different agencies. Deputy sheriffs were standing by and several CHP officers were on board in cars blocking street exits with engines running incase of needed pursuit. The FBI was in front with a bullhorn turned toward the building and they requested action from inside the building.
The request, “John Strong, Clyde Salworth, this is the FBI, you are surrounded, please come out with you hands raised and placed behind your head,” was loud and echoed off the surrounding buildings.
Chapter Thirty
Bang Bang Pow
JJ, Megan and Mercer were in the background, out of the way, but were glad they were at least allowed to be a witness to the proceedings. They watched with satisfaction as the two suspects exited quietly with hands behind their heads as had been requested. The whole scene lacked any fanfare until the shots rang out and, also like the megaphone, they echoed from building to building. The echo of those shots masked the actual location of the shooter or shooters and would cause some time delay on finding the shooter’s location.
Megan was stunned as she watched. Shortly before the first shot rang out a small red dot had appeared on John Strong’s forehead then his hands were blown away from the back of his head with the sound of that shot. Blood and brain matter splattered on the front door of the building behind him. Clyde Salworth turned and looked at his partner as he crumpled to the sidewalk. He turned back and put one of his hand out as if trying to protect himself. It was to no avail as the bullet from the second shot went through his hand, fragmenting somewhat then still had enough force to penetrate his skull, in and out, blowing his other hand away from the back of his head. Standing for a few seconds, he looked like a kid with large freckles. The blood and matter from his destroyed hand was speckled on his face. The moment passed and he too crumpled to the sidewalk.
Everyone had taken some cover on the first shot and were now waiting any further shooting. It was quite for a while before the PIs raised up and took a look around. The two suspects lay sprawled on the sidewalk, blood was seeping from each head where the bullets had entered and exited. There was no doubt on the status of the two men. Suddenly a third shot rang from somewhere but it was somehow strangely muffled, not loud, unlike the first two shots. It got their attention and they again looked for cover and protection.
A few minutes went by before the FBI agent in charge was signaling and pointing sending agents out to different building behind them to search for the shooter or shooter’s location. It was almost mass confusion with them all running toward different structures in the area.
It was sometime before the shooters location was found. Megan, JJ and Mercer all quietly followed the FBI agent in charge to see what they could attain from that spot. It was not what they expected. The grey haired man of about fifty, the one they had photographed earlier, was seated in a chair with his chin resting on the end of the barrel of a sniper rifle. The top of his head was almost completely gone with some blood and brain matter dripping from the ceiling just above him. The window in front of him was open just enough to allow someone to shoot through. The view was quite good and not too far from the front of the building where the suspects had exited.
Although she agreed that this was actually the location of the shooting, Megan’s thoughts were that this was too clean and too final. This did not provide any answers and now that the two suspects, and this grey headed guy, were dead, there wouldn’t be anyone left to question. She thought that someone is covering their tracks and she was pretty sure this was a staged suicide but she kept her opinion to herself and cautioned the other two to silence.
Search of the two suspect’s building and basement and these two vehicles they found and confiscated would have, without a shadow of a doubt, been used to run through pedestrians gatherings, thereby causing massive casualties and panic to the point of a major terrorist attack.
It was sometime later and after taking in all the things he had seen, the agent in charge said the words that Megan had feared he would say.
“Well that takes care of that, we got the suspects and we got their boss who was their executioner. This case is now closed, thank God.”
What he said about the actual findings was true but, she felt that this whole thing was something much larger than the three individuals that had died. She also knew she didn’t have an avenue that could take her any further with this case so, she too, to her regret, had to deem it as closed.
The conference room was brightly lit with all present. Detective Mercer had sprung for a dozen, cop favorite, donuts for the crew and Mrs. Shirley Logan, who was invited by Megan. Coffee had been poured and donuts were being consumed and the banter from each held a lot of smiles as they talked.
“Well fellow investigators and Shirley, we have solved, to the best of our ability, another case. I am really proud of all your work and I want to especi
ally thank Shirley here for bringing this to our attention in the first place, and, I want to again thank Detective Harold Mercer for his invaluable assistance with this case. Your input and the work of those boys in blue, you mention, were instrumental in our ability to force the involvement by the government,” Megan lightly clapped her hands and was joined by JJ, Christine and Shirley giving Mercer his deserved praise.
“You guys deserve the applause also, because, without your involvement, we might have had another unwarranted catastrophe on our hands,” Mercer began to clap his hands directing it at the others giving each a round of applause as they all joined in again.
Megan sat at her desk, she had been racking her brain trying to think of a good name for the now closed case. The violence and length of time it took to investigate and close this one made the name more important than ever, well in her mind anyway. She wanted to get this out of the way so she could schedule the close of the case party. She felt that she had to have a name or the party wouldn’t be the same. All the other parties celebrated were well named cases. ‘The Leprechaun at Rainbow’s End’, “Getting Hammered in a RV is Murder” were just the best and the parties they produced are still talked about with the fondness of unforgettable memories.
This next party would celebrate two closed cases, the case of ‘Security at the Shady Elms Social’, a JJ special, and this one yet to be named. Megan was going to have to call a meeting with the crew to see if they could help with a proper name. She would give herself one more day to try to at least have something of her own as an input or suggestion that might work but it didn’t look promising at the present.
Chapter Thirty One
Name Game & Party
She muddled through the next day but still solved a case that they had been investigating for some time now. The case of ‘The Tagger at the Tiger’s Cage’ where she caught the artist red handed while he was doing another tag at the city zoo will be added to the party’s list of closed cases. The name for that case just came to her out of the blue and it actually covered the crime. She sure wished she had a really good idea to name the case where she was so badly injured. She had considered the case of ‘Escaping from the Life Ending Fire Escape’ but it wasn’t enough and didn’t cover the whole case. The case of “The Intervention by the Green Monster” which covered the remote vehicle attack that almost killed her and the green waste management vehicle that protected her but, it still didn’t go far enough. How could she put all these ideas together was certainly a mind puzzling dilemma of grand proportions. Maybe the case was too big for only one case name but, she would hate to settle for a list of names that didn’t actually show the length and depth of this case, she wanted one that incased all.
She never called that shop meeting thinking that she had finely had something that might be acceptable to all and show some depth of the case. With some trepidation she scheduled the party and sent out the invitation, well most of them. She personally delivered the one to Jim Blackstone just as he was preparing to hit his seven iron at the most difficult par three on the clubs course. The invite took his mind off the shot he was taking and he missed the green and watched the ball roll into the water that paralleled the green. His thoughts had switched from golf to the dance floor where he could be holding Megan.
“That was unfair, you knew where my mind would go at the mention of your ‘close of case’ parties.” Jim smiled as he said it right after he watched Megan land her ball three feet from the hole. The game would be hers needing only the two short putts left.
“Sorry, it wasn’t my intention to put you off your game,” she laughingly said as she headed toward the final green. She was also looking forward to dancing with Jim and whatever came after the dancing.
The three banners that listed the closed cases were hung above the dance floor. ‘The Attack Robot, The Green Monster and the Deadly Fire Escape’ was the name she had finally decided on. That banner was a little larger than the others but she hoped the ambiguous name would cover that entire case and cause a lot of questions and conversations on its meaning.
The, ‘The Tagger at the Tiger’s Cage’, banner was pretty clear and self explanatory but the, ‘Security at the Shady Elms Social’, should also cause many questions as it too was unclear in its meaning.
The way they were hung, the design of the letters, and their gently being blown around by the air handlers, made them look like they were right out of Hogwarts invitational dance in the main Wizarding Hall. Harry Potter readers might just hesitate on entering while they scanned the room in search of that magical boy and his friends.
A couple days ago JJ went out and found Mimi who was back living in that alley. He promised to help her find a worthy job so she could be self sufficient and get off the street if she wanted. All she had to do in return was to come to The Close of Case Party. He told her she was a major factor in the solving of the case and deserved something for her help. She promised she would try to attend. Unknown to Mimi, JJ already had contacts who had openings so maybe Mimi could have a part in the choice of the job she would prefer.
Mimi showing up looking fresh and bright was icing on the cake so JJ took her hand and led her to the dance floor. He welcomed her and thanked her for coming as they moved to the band’s slow instrumental music. After the dance they headed to the bar for some refreshments.
The band had just finished playing ‘The Midnight Train to Georgia’ when Megan and Jim entered. There was a sudden cessation of movement and talking as all turned toward the entrance. The applause that broke out was thunderous and almost shook the room. Jim stepped back and let Megan take a bow. Megan then went and drug JJ, Christine, Detective Mercer, Mimi Stroud and Mrs. Shirley Logan out into the center of the room. She made them line up and they all took a bow together to the appreciation of all gathered.
The party went late into the morning hours and all stayed late except Mrs. Logan who had come with her neighbor, Mr. Bailey. They were tired and decided to leave a little early. There were hugs all around and thanks for restoring the good name of Mr. Sam Logan. Before leaving, Mrs. Logan shyly whispered to Megan that just a week ago the insurance company had presented her with the remaining balance on Mr. Logan’s life insurance policy. She had waited for this moment to present a check to M&M Investigation, with a sizeable bonus, for their actions in the restoration of Sam’s name.
Megan gave her another big hug and said, “Actually the government should be giving you a bonus for your actions. What you did, by not accepting the police’s decision on suicide, prevented a possible catastrophe in the making. You have my number if you ever need anything. I hope you have had a good night and I wish you a good life, Sam would be very proud of you.”
Later as Jim and Megan left for his place she said, “I actually think my wounds are now fully healed. The wait has been long as the injuries were severe. The waiting to heal was aided by the closing of this case. My life could now began to get fully back on track and with your help tonight, it will.”
“I’ll be glad to do my part,” Jim said as he kind of hurried Megan along as they entered his place.
Chapter Thirty Two
Wrapping Things Up
Even with the long weekend, that included the holiday, Tuesday morning came way too soon. As Megan entered the office Christine was already at her desk intent on her computer monitor.
Megan broke her concentration as she said, “Good Morning Christine,” then she pointed at the monitor, “what’s got your attention?”
“Sorry, didn’t hear you come in, replaying the news bit about the FBI and the murder of those two suspects.”
“Something new on that?”
“One little thing,” Christine pointed at computer monitor, “that FBI Agent in the interview,” then she pointed at Megan’s office door, “he’s waiting for you in your office. I hope that’s okay?”
“Well, that is new and it is okay that he is waiting in my office.”
Megan opened the door and went in, �
��Oh, good morning, I’m Megan Ann Morgan and you are?”
The young agent, sitting in the chair in front of Megan’s desk, jumped to his feet and said, “Oliver Simms, I was the one with the megaphone at that fiasco where the two suspects got shot. I’m sorry I didn’t take the time to introduce myself at the scene but I was a little bit overwhelmed from the start. I’m a rookie and shouldn’t have been in charge, should have only been assisting. The veteran agent, who was supposed to be there, was called to a different crime leaving me with that resulting mess.”
Megan shook the young agent’s hand and then headed around her desk and took a seat. “Well, I didn’t see you do anything wrong. You had the place covered and the suspects responded to your request. The shooting that followed was not your fault as no one expected something like that to go down,” Megan insisted.
“That’s what my boss said but, I still feel like I missed something,” Agent Simms said.
“Okay So, what brings you out to my neck of the woods, are you looking for absolution or just slumming?” Megan said but added a disarming smile with her words.
“Both, well no I’m not slumming but I did need your input to close the case.
“Before we go on,” Megan interrupted “We want to thank you for letting us at least be in the background on that operation, some agents would not have done that.”
“I felt I had to, you and your people were the reason we were there. I can only imagine the number of casualties your intervention may have prevented. I just wish we had some clue as to where to go from here.”
“What about the background on the shooter, if indeed, he was actually the shooter and not a murder victim himself?” Megan asked.
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