Resolved Memories (Sycamore P.D. Series Book 3)

by T. E. Killian

  He looked at her and said, “No, they didn’t look for anything else. He said the guys who were cleaning the glass out didn’t go under the passenger seat because the glass was all on the driver’s side, but the recorder was sticking out from under the passenger seat. That’s how they found it.”

  Sonia knew now that she had to search that truck and soon. She turned back to Wayne and he laughed. She gave him a perplexed look.

  “You should have seen the expressions going across your face just now Sonia. But before you ask, Bill said he’d have one of his men bring the truck over in a little while. He’ll call me back as soon as he makes the arrangements.”

  * * *

  Wayne was getting tired. He’d been sitting up for a couple of hours but he wasn’t about to lie down now. One of Bill Hogan’s men was on his way with Bill’s truck right now and Wayne wanted to watch as Sonia searched it.

  Sonia had gone upstairs to her room for some evidence bags. He sure hoped she would be using them.

  As he turned his head toward the staircase, he was just in time to see her begin to descend. She was wearing black slacks and a white shirt and she was never more beautiful even if she had piled her hair back on top of her head in what he had begun to think of as its cop position. She came over to where he was sitting in the great room and stood over him.

  “Wayne, would it be okay if I had Bill’s employee drive the truck into your garage so I can go over it in private? My car is sitting in the circular drive by the front door so it won’t be in the way.”

  Wayne liked the way Sonia thought. That made lots of sense. “Sure, it’s not like I have a car sitting in it or if I even have a car anymore for that matter. If you’ll push me out there, we’ll go ahead and open the door so he can just drive straight in.

  Sonia stopped pushing Wayne’s wheelchair just inside the utility room and opened the door leading to the garage.

  “The switch is just to the right above the light switch.”

  She punched the button Wayne indicated and waited while the garage door opened. The door had barely made it all the way up when the truck pulled into the driveway. Sonia stepped out onto the garage floor and motioned for the driver to pull it all the way in.

  Once inside, the driver turned the motor off and hopped out. Sonia thanked him as he walked out of the garage and got into another truck that was sitting there waiting for him.

  Sonia quickly closed the garage door and turned to Wayne. “Do you want me to push you out here so you can watch?”

  “Sure.”

  She pushed his chair to where he could see in the open driver’s side door as she searched.

  It didn’t take her long to find a computer thumb drive in a small plastic bag under the passenger seat. She held it up and Wayne shouted out, “Great Sonia. Now maybe we’ll find something that will nail those characters.”

  “I hope you’re right. Can I use your computer?”

  “Sure, it’s in my office. The first door on the left going down the hallway.”

  She pushed Wayne’s wheelchair back into the house and down to the office.

  Wayne pointed to the desk and the credenza behind it where his computer was set up. “I don’t think I can get back there. Can you manage without me?”

  “Yes, if you don’t mind.”

  He waved his hand at the computer so Sonia seated herself in front of it and turned it on. Once it had booted up, she stuck the thumb drive in and opened it on the screen.

  She turned to Wayne who was attempting to lean far enough out of his wheelchair to look over her shoulder. “It looks like there’s only one file on this thing and it’s a video file.”

  Wayne’s voice showed his impatience. “Well, let’s look at it.”

  Sonia clicked on the video file and it began playing. Wayne sat back and was excited when he saw three men and a woman sitting in what looked like a study or den. He only recognized one man and that was Bill’s dad, W. C. Holden.

  Sonia sucked in her breath and said, “Oh my God!”

  Wayne was worried now. “What? What’s wrong Sonia?”

  She paused the recording, turned back to Wayne, and pointed at the woman on the screen. “That woman is Nancy Pennington.”

  When Wayne’s expression showed his lack of recognition, she said, “Commander Nancy Pennington of Sycamore P.D.”

  That certainly got his attention. “Do you think she’s mixed up in all this?”

  “It sure looks that way.” She pointed back at the computer monitor. “The man next to her is Hamilton Baar and the other one is Randy Travers, the city manager.”

  She clicked on play. “Let’s finish this and see.”

  As Wayne watched, he didn’t really understand all that was said but he was fairly certain that they were talking about several illegal operations that they had finished and two more that they had planned.

  When it finished playing, Sonia turned to him and said, “Wayne, this is all we needed to build a case against those three at least.”

  Wayne was confused. “But isn’t this basically the same as the recording you already have?”

  When she nodded, and said, “Other than the fact that Nancy’s in this one.”

  Wayne was still confused. “Then what’s the difference. You won’t be able to use this in court either, will you?”

  She smiled at him and said, “With audio recordings like the digital one, we have to have permission from one of the participants before we can use it in court.” She held up her clenched fist. “But with a video recording, we don’t have to get anyone’s permission to use it as long as it wasn’t taken in any kind of restricted or private area.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She came over to where Wayne’s wheelchair was sitting and pulled a small chair up next to him. “You see, if you go into someone’s private residence and video record something, it might not be admissible in court. But if you do it in your own home, then you’re good.”

  He pointed back at the computer monitor. “Do you know where that was taken?”

  Her smile grew into a grin. “I certainly do. It was taken in W. C. Holden’s study.” When he gave her a puzzled look, she said, “Don’t you remember that I was there one night to catch the burglar who had already broken into two offices? Well, I had to check out every room in the house before I set up my trap for the guy.”

  She pointed back at the monitor. “That was filmed in Holden’s study.”

  “So can we use it?”

  “Yes we can since no one will dispute it being taken there.”

  “Hey, that’s great. Then you can nail all of them.”

  She held up her hands, palms toward him. “Not so fast, Wayne. We need to do some more investigating here.” She pointed at the computer monitor. “I don’t think those are the only ones involved in this. I also think there are some politicians involved. If we’re careful, we can throw a net out and catch all of them in it.”

  “Okay, then what’s next?”

  Well, the first thing we need to do is get someone over here to take this video to the station to be locked up in the evidence room.”

  * * *

  Sonia was in the great room about to retrieve her cell phone from her purse to call Grant when she heard loud male voices coming from the kitchen. She pulled her handgun and started in that direction.

  She had only taken two steps when Joyce appeared in the archway between the dining room and the great room. A big man with a ski mask on his head had one arm around her shoulders from behind and a handgun stuck to her head.

  “Put the gun down lady or I’ll blow her brains all over you.”

  Sonia watched as another much smaller man, also wearing a ski mask, stepped up beside them and pointed a gun at her too. She could tell from his bare arms, which were very dark, that he must be Indian or Hispanic. Knowing she had no choice, she laid her gun down on the sofa arm next to her.

  Sonia’s next thought was about Wayne . . . and the nurse too. Where w
ere they? Wayne had gone to his bedroom to take a nap but she had heard him just a few minutes ago.

  The big guy said, “Okay, cop, get over here.”

  She was sure she’d heard that voice before, but where, or who?

  Without speaking, the smaller man pulled a dining room chair out into the great room and motioned for her to sit in it. When she did, he pulled out a set of handcuffs and cuffed her wrists together through an opening between two slats of the chair back. Thus, she was effectively secured to the chair.

  The big guy let Joyce go and the little guy cuffed her to another chair.

  “Okay, cop, where’s Newcomb . . . and the nurse.”

  She hoped the nurse had been able to sneak out, but was disappointed when the dark guy called out from upstairs that he had her.

  The big guy stuck his gun to Sonia’s temple and said, “Where’s your boyfriend, cop?”

  There was that hint of familiarity in his voice again.

  She swallowed and tried to remain calm. “I don’t know for sure. He was in his bedroom taking a nap a little while ago.”

  Once the little guy finished cuffing the nurse to another chair, he headed back down the hallway toward Wayne’s bedroom. Sonia had a strange thought, wondering where they got so many handcuffs.

  Sonia’s stomach sank when she saw Wayne being pushed down the hallway and into the great room with all the rest. Then she remembered his .357. What had Wayne done with it?

  The Hispanic guy stood next to Wayne’s wheelchair. “I do not have more cuffs.”

  When the big guy reached back to pull a set of cuffs out of a back pocket, his gun shifted off to the side. That was when Wayne pulled his .357 out from under his right leg and pointed it them. The big guy dropped the cuffs and swung his gun back toward Wayne and Wayne pulled the trigger twice. The big guy went down hard.

  The little guy started to make a motion for his gun, but when Wayne pointed his weapon at the guy, he raised his empty hands.

  Wayne kept his eyes and gun on the Hispanic guy as he said. “Are you okay Sonia?”

  She tried to smile at him and said, “Yes, I’m okay. I have a handcuff key in a small pouch next to my holster.”

  Wayne had to work hard to maneuver his wheelchair close enough to Sonia’s chair and still hold the gun on the little guy. Just as he reached out to open the pouch on Sonia’s belt, the Hispanic guy took off running through the dining room and the back door slammed shut behind him before Wayne could react.

  Sonia tried to give Wayne an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry about him. Right now you need to get me free in case he comes back. Then we’ve got to call this in.”

  Once Wayne had retrieved the key and unlocked Sonia’s handcuffs, she ran over to the sofa and grabbed her gun sliding it into her holster. Then she opened her purse and pulled out her phone. Once she had called dispatch and then the chief, she turned back to Wayne. She could see that he had been able to release Joyce, but she didn’t see the nurse anywhere.

  She noticed that Joyce was leaning down over something on the floor. When Sonia stepped around Wayne’s wheelchair, she saw the nurse laid out on the floor with Joyce holding her head and slapping her cheeks. She’d passed out.

  Sonia went to the front door to begin letting everyone in. The first to arrive was Grant. He took one look at her and said, “Are you okay?” When she nodded, he said, “Wayne?”

  “Well, he’s not hurt, but he’s the one who shot the guy.”

  With that, Grant went over to Wayne’s wheelchair. Digging a pair of latex gloves out of a pocket, he pulled them on. Then he fished a plastic bag out of another pocket, picked up Wayne’s gun, and slipped it into the bag.

  That was when the paramedics arrived and Sonia directed them over to the guy Wayne had shot. They only worked on him a short time before they both stood up, pulled off their gloves, and began picking up their equipment.

  When Sonia made it over to them, they both shook their heads and one said, “One got him right in the heart.”

  Grant kneeled down, rolled the big guy over, and pulled the ski mask off the his head.

  Sonia was bending over Grant now and in unison they said, “Baar!”

  Grant stood up. “Yeah, well, we don’t have to worry about his lawyer speaking for him anymore.”

  They both stood and Sonia was about to say more when they had to make way for the lab techs to take over the scene.

  Sonia looked around for Wayne and found him sitting in a corner of the great room with Chief Winters hovering over him. Sonia was torn. She needed to brief the chief on what had happened here, but she was also worried about Wayne. As she approached from across the room, she could see that his eyes were glassy.

  When she stood next to them, the chief took the decision out of her hands. “Sonia, I think you need to take Mr. Newcomb down to the ER and have him checked out.”

  Sonia stepped in front of Wayne and kneeled down to his level. “Are you okay, Wayne?”

  Wayne continued to stare straight ahead, but didn’t say anything.

  Sonia caught the look the chief was giving her and said, “Wayne, it’s standard procedure for you to get checked out. If I had pulled the trigger, I’d have to be getting checked out too.”

  Wayne continued to stare through her. He looked almost catatonic. He needed help and soon. Her next thought was how to get both him and his wheelchair in her car. Then she remembered Bill’s truck was still in the garage. She hoped he wouldn’t mind them using it.

  She turned to the chief. I’m going to need to use a pickup that’s parked in the garage. Can you get the driveway cleared for us?”

  She was pushing Wayne’s chair away when she remembered the thumb drive. She stopped and took the two steps to bring her back to the chief’s side.

  She pulled the bag holding the thumb drive out of her pocket and handed it to him. “There’s a video on this Chief. I think you need to look at it right away.”

  When he gave her a puzzled look, she leaned over and whispered in his ear. “It’s a video in Hogan’s study with Baar, Travers, and Pennington in it.”

  As she leaned back, she watched his face turn pale. “You don’t mean?”

  She nodded. “I’m afraid so. She’s making plans with the rest of them.”

  She heard the chief cursing under his breath as she walked back to where she had left Wayne. She needed to hurry and get Wayne to the hospital. He didn’t look good at all.

  * * *

  Wayne was fighting his way through a dense fog to get to Sonia. It was extremely important that he make it through the fog to reach her. He even felt as if it were a life or death matter. He couldn’t let her die. He couldn’t die!

  Die! That was when he was finally able to get his eyes to focus. He was looking into brown eyes that were partly hidden behind thick glasses. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Where was he? Who was that looking into his eyes from behind those glasses?

  “Sir, could you tell me your name please?”

  It was the guy behind the glasses talking to him, but the guy wasn’t making any sense.

  “What is your name?”

  Wayne didn’t know what was going on, but he figured he needed to humor the guy. “Wayne Newcomb.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Thirty-two.”

  “What is your address.”

  Wayne told him and tried to lean up on his elbows and look past the guy who was hovering over him.

  Sonia was there, on his right with her hand on his biceps. “It’s okay, Wayne, I’m right here.”

  Seeing Sonia’s badge and gun at eye level brought it all back to him. “I killed a man!”

  Sonia looked at the guy who nodded. “Yes, Wayne, you did, but you saved our lives by doing so. You saved my life Wayne.”

  That triggered other thoughts and pictures in Wayne’s mind. “They were going to kill all of us.”

  “Yes, Wayne, I think they were.”

  He smiled at her and said, “I lo
ve you Sonia.”

  She smiled back at him and turned to the guy who had now leaned back away from Wayne. “I think he’s going to be all right now, Doctor.”

  When the doctor left, Wayne realized he was on an examining table in the emergency room. How did he get there?

  Sonia turned back to Wayne and he said, “How did . . . ?”

  She smiled down at him and said, “I brought you here. After the shooting, you went into a kind of shock for a little while. That’s why I brought you here. But you’re okay now . . . aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, I just want to get out of here and go home.” He hesitated for a moment and said, “With you.”

  She blushed and he loved the way her red face contrasted with her silver blond hair.

  Before he could say anything else, Grant stepped into the room and motioned for Sonia to come to him. She stepped over to him and they whispered for a moment then they both stepped up to Wayne’s side.

  Sonia leaned over and said, “Wayne, Grant has some follow up information for us. Are you ready to hear it?”

  “Sure, I’m okay now.” He looked at each in turn. “It really messed up my mind at first when I realized I’d actually killed another human being. But now I know it was either him or us and I’m all right with it.”

  Sonia leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m glad Wayne.”

  Grant stepped closer and said, “Well, it looks like, with the help of that video, we’re going nail the whole group. We caught Pennington at her house packing her bags for a long trip and she wasn’t cooperative until we played that video for her. Now, she’s singing like a bird.”

  Sonia turned to Grant. “Are we going to get any of those politicians?”

  Grant grinned back at her. “We sure are. Got two of them already, a county supervisor, and a state representative.”

  “That’s great.”

  She turned back to Wayne and he was sure she was taken aback by the look that he knew was in his eyes right then.

  “Wayne?”

  He looked at Grant and said, “Is that all, Grant?”

  Grant understood the motion Wayne made with his head as he spoke. “Sure, that’s all for now. I’d better get back out there and help Stan and the others round up all the rest of our suspects.”