Flashover

by T. Alan Codder

  “Brunswick Police Department! Down on the ground! Down on the ground!” Caswell was shouting as he approached in a crouch, his weapon out in front of him. Sean and Will were approaching from the sides, their weapons also at the ready as they closed the noose.

  Sean assisted Caswell and Donner until they had control of the situation, then he hauled Chips out of the car, not wanting to burn him. They might want to do this again.

  “You’re under arrest for possession,” Sean snarled, snapping on cuffs, but leaving them loose.

  “You okay?” he asked quietly as he removed the cuffs and then opened the rear door of his car for Chips.

  Chips would sit there and look guilty until the other three were gone, and then he’d take the Tahoe back to the station.

  “Yeah, fine. Why?”

  “Why were you messing around?”

  “The guy was nervous. If I’d bit on the first deal, he’d have known something was up and would’ve backed off.”

  Sean grimaced then nodded. Chips was probably right.

  “Get any video?”

  Chips grinned. “Had him smiling for the camera.”

  Sean nodded. “Good job, Officer Langley. But damn. Cybercrime isn’t nearly as nerve wracking as this.”

  Chips’ grin widened. “Okay, next time you can do the buy.”

  Sean snickered and shook his head as he closed his door. Unlike a marked cruiser, Chips could open the rear doors of his car from the inside.

  He looked back at Donner and Caswell as they lined the three men up and bent them over the hood of Donner’s cruiser before patting them down. They were going to need Fish for transportation. It was going to be a busy night at the station. Their first customers for the new software.

  While Fish, Caswell and Donner processed their guests, Chips changed back into his uniform and Sean used the camera and light box to take pictures of the drugs and cash that they’d taken into evidence. He also downloaded the video from the camera. They had Sticks dead to rights, the video clearly showing his face and money being exchanged for drugs.

  Brunswick had no facilities for holding prisoners overnight, so after reviewing the video, Sean called the Siouan County Sheriff’s Department to come get their guests. They were going to charge the city for the transportation, but that was better than having three-quarters of his officers tied up and out of town transporting prisoners.

  By the time the men were processed and County had arrived to take them away, it was almost midnight. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. He picked up his phone and selected Maggie’s cell number from the contacts list.

  You up? he typed, and then pressed send. He didn’t want to call her in case she was already asleep.

  She didn’t answer immediately. He was walking out to his car when the Jetson’s doorbell sounded, announcing the arrival of a text.

  Sort of.

  He grinned. Even her text sounded sleepy. He’d probably woken her up anyway.

  Done. Nobody shot. Going home. Call you tomorrow? he typed after sitting down in his car.

  Okay. Wish you were here.

  Me too.

  Night, she responded, and added a canted lips emoji at the end.

  Sleep well, he replied, but didn’t bother with an emoji. They weren’t really his thing.

  He waited a moment, but when no other text arrived he started his car.

  As he drove home, he mused over the night’s work. One or two more nights like this should send the message loud and clear that Tilley was taking back their town. They still had a long way to go, but tonight was a start.

  They’d have to wait a few weeks before they tried to do another undercover buy. The dealers were going to be nervous, suspicious, and unwilling to sell to anyone new for a while. But that was okay too. Drying up their customer base worked almost as well as throwing them in jail.

  When Garland and Tyrell hit the streets, he would probably add one to the Fisher and Langley team, and add the other to the Limbrose and Tilden team, but assign them to patrol Tilley exclusively.

  As he added officers, they’d be able to patrol more of Tilley and further tighten the screws down on the criminal elements.

  In a year, hopefully, Tilley would be rid of the worst of its drug problem and the crime that went with it. Then they could focus on rebuilding their town and attracting businesses to provide the jobs the town needed.

  But it all started with them. They had to keep the pressure on and make the area safe enough for businesses to want to move there.

  He pulled to a stop at his apartment. The first few businesses to take a chance and move into Tilley were going to be risking a lot, but if it worked, they’d be there to reap all the rewards, having time to establish themselves with little to no competition as the town fought its way back.

  He opened his door and Marmalade was there. “You’ve already eaten, you greedy thing!” he fussed as he carefully nudged the cat out of the way.

  Marmalade rushed to this food cabinet, paused with his front feet on the door, then scampered to Sean’s bed. It was the same routine whenever he entered the door, no matter the time or when Marmalade had eaten last.

  As he prepared for bed, he thought about what else they could do to speed the recovery process. Once commerce returned, and people were out and about, the dealing and violence would further disappear. The underground liked to work in the shadows and out of sight of the public.

  He turned out the bathroom light and tumbled into bed with a tired groan. He pulled Maggie’s pillow close and breathed deep, enjoying her lingering scent of vanilla and apples.

  He lay in the darkness, waiting for sleep to take him. Tonight was a good night. A dealer, two thugs, and about fifteen-thousand dollars’ worth of cash and drugs had been taken off the street. That’ll put a crimp in Tilley’s drug trade.

  It was a slam dunk conviction too. The video Chips collected left no questions over who or what happened. It was too bad Clicks didn’t have a hidden camera on when Juno was paying him to burn down Barns’ buildings. That’d be another slam dunk conviction.

  It’d been two days since he’d spoken to Juno and he’d been wracking his brain over a way to bring Harvey to heel for what he’d done, but he kept coming up empty.

  He was reasonably sure Juno was his man, but he had nothing to hang a case on. All he had was the testimony of a very unreliable witness, and no motive he could determine. He sighed as he began to slip into sleep. It was annoying to know, or at the very least suspect, who the guilty party was and not be able to prove it. If he couldn’t pin the deed on Juno, then he couldn’t. Even Sherlock Holmes struck out once in a while.

  Thirty

  Maggie was wearing a pale-yellow button front shirt in place on her normal bright blue work shirt. She was standing still, watching as Sean mounted the tiny camera low, over her belly. He didn’t care about the video, he just wanted the audio.

  “Are you starting to have second thoughts?” he asked.

  “Yeah, a little.”

  “You don’t have to do this. Here, put this in your pocket somewhere,” he said, handing her the transmitter.

  “I know.”

  The idea had come to him in his sleep. The problem with the Barns arson case was motivation. If he could establish a motive, combined with Click’s testimony that Juno had paid him to burn the buildings, and the security guard getting the partial plate, it might be enough for a magistrate to issue an arrest warrant. Maybe.

  He’d like to take a closer look at the truck and see if they could find some tangible evidence to tie Juno to the fires. Before they could do that, though, they needed to have something, anything, to get the ball rolling, or establish there was no motive and he was looking at the wrong guy.

  Over dinner last night, he’d mentioned to Maggie how he wanted to get in and have an off the record conversation with Peg, Juno’s assistant. He couldn’t do it because he was burned. She knew he was a cop and she’d probably clam up tight, especially if she knew Juno w
as involved. They’d talked about the various ways he could get someone in there and have Peg open up to them a little, and finally decided on a flower delivery as the best bet.

  Once they’d settled on a plan, he’d decided he was going to ask his dispatchers to see if one of them would be willing to do it. Terri or Claire would be his first choice because being a cop was way down on the list of things they looked like they’d do for a living.

  Then Maggie had surprised him and offered to do it. Terri and Claire were no more sworn officers than Maggie, and even if they were, they would still be a private citizen in Charleston with no arrest authority, just like Maggie. It didn’t matter who delivered the flowers. Having Peg recorded would be enough to get him an arrest warrant if she spilled something juicy, as unlikely as that was.

  “Just say the word and we’ll call this off.”

  “No, I’ll do it. I’m not going to be in trouble for impersonating an officer, am I?”

  He chuckled, but he could tell she was worried. “No, of course not. Don’t identify yourself as an officer and you have nothing to worry about.”

  “And it’s legal to record someone without telling them?”

  “So long as one of you knows you’re recording, its legal in North Carolina.” He smiled and gave her face a caress. “This is all good, but if you don’t want to then—”

  “No. I’m just nervous,” she said, cutting him off.

  “Don’t be. All you’re going to do is deliver some flowers. Nothing illegal or immoral about that. If she happens to say something, that’s on her, not you.”

  “This woman, she won’t be in trouble?”

  “Not with the law, not unless she was the one that hired Clicks to set the fires. Now, as unlikely as it is, if she fingers Juno for the arson, that might come back and bite her in the ass with her boss.”

  Maggie smiled, but it was weak. “Okay.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m ready.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, if you’ll stop asking me that.”

  He grinned and held up his hand in surrender. They were standing in the armory and wouldn’t be seen, so he gave her a swift kiss.

  “Let’s roll.”

  They took her car because her blue Civic was clearly not a police car and looked like something a flower delivery might happen in.

  They stopped at KaBloom, picked up a dozen red roses, and then drove to Charleston, Maggie chattering away until they pulled to a stop in the Juno Demolition parking lot, her nervousness clearly on display.

  “Okay,” he said, handing her the flowers. “Go in, be friendly, and see if you can get her to say anything about what’s going on. Juno’s been acting strange of late, missing work, money troubles, anything like that.”

  She nodded and opened her door. “Okay. Here I go.”

  “Hey,” he said, taking her arm. “It’s going to be okay. If she won’t talk, don’t sweat it, just come on back. No harm, no foul.” He grinned and pressed the camera to start it recording. “Break a leg.”

  Maggie nodded and slid out of the car. He watched as she squared her shoulders then quick stepped it up and into the office. He turned on his radio and waited.

  I have a delivery for Peg, Maggie said.

  I’m Peg. Those are lovely. Are you sure you have the right place?

  Peg, Juno Demolition?

  That’s me, but why? Who are they from?

  There was a pause. Nothing on the card. You must have a secret admirer.

  Peg twittered out laugh. Hardly. I can’t imagine who would send them. You’re sure they’re for me?

  I just deliver them. I can’t take them back. Well, I can, but they’re already paid for, so you might as well take them. If you really don’t want them, I’ll take them, Maggie said, her tone light and playful.

  No, no, that’s okay, Peg replied, her own voice filled with delight.

  Maybe your boss? Someone you work with? Your husband?

  Peg spluttered. Not likely. My husband is my boss. Now if you’d brought me a case of beer, I might believe it was him.

  Maggie laughed and then sighed dramatically. I wish someone would send me flowers.

  Sean winced, wondering if that comment was for his benefit.

  Peg, thank you for all you’ve done… That’s so odd, Peg said, reading from the card. And there was no name?

  Like I said, I just deliver them. I bet it was your husband.

  You don’t know Harv like I do. His idea of a romantic gesture is to take me fishing with him, just the two of us. Besides, I can’t see him spending the money on flowers right now.

  He felt a rush. What he wouldn’t give to be able to follow up on that statement.

  There’s never a bad time for flowers, Maggie said.

  There is when money’s tight.

  Oh, sorry to hear that.

  You know, I wonder if these are from the YMCA? I’m on their board.

  Maybe that’s it. Too bad it’s not your husband if that’s the case.

  Yeah, Peg sighed.

  I have to be going. Enjoy your flowers!

  Thanks! Have a great day!

  A moment later Maggie trotted down the three steps and threw herself into the car.

  “Get anything useful?” she asked as she quickly buckled, started the car, and backed away.

  “That comment about money being tight was interesting,” Sean said, reaching over and tapping the camera again to turn it off.

  “Yeah. Do you think that’s all this is about? Money?”

  “What would you rather it be about?”

  She sighed. “Nothing, I guess, but you’re the one who said it would be like smashing up your boss’s car because you were mad at your wife.”

  “That was before I knew money was involved. Think about this. He needs the money, so if Barns pulled out…”

  “Then the other company might move back in and he’d get the job.”

  He formed his fingers into a gun and pointed it at her. “Bingo. By the way, you’re a natural at this undercover work. You sounded completely normal. Maybe I’ll send you out on some drug buys,” he teased.

  “No way. Nope. No siree. I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs in there, and I was just delivering flowers. I’d probably pee myself if it were actually dangerous.”

  He laughed. “I haven’t heard that one before.”

  “What?”

  “The long-tailed cat thing.”

  She grinned. “My grandma used to say that.”

  “Well, you did great.”

  She looked at him and beamed. “I did, didn’t I? Now that it’s over, it was kind of exciting. I felt a little like Agent 99.”

  His brow furrowed slightly as he thought. “Where have I heard that before?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Get Smart? Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway?”

  He snapped his fingers. “That’s right. I remember watching some of the television show in reruns. Starred…”

  “Don Adams and Barbra Feldon,” she supplied when he paused.

  “‘Missed it by that much,’” he said in a passable Maxwell Smart imitation, holding his pointer finger and thumb an inch apart.

  She snickered. “Have you seen the movie?”

  “No.”

  “It’s pretty funny. The bathroom scene with Steve Carell made me laugh until I cried. We’ll have to watch it if you like the series. So, back to this arson thing, what are you going to do now?”

  “I think I’m going to arrange a little interview with Mr. Juno and tell him what I know and what I think. See how he reacts to having a noose around his neck.”

  “Are you going to mention me?”

  He smiled. She didn’t sound thrilled about the idea.

  “No. Not Peg either. Now I have motivation, sort of, opportunity, and a witness. If my damned witness was a little more reliable, I’d have Juno’s ass in my jail right now. Since I’m not ready to make that leap, I’m going to sq
ueeze him to see if he pops.”

  “Eww!” she cried, curling her lip and scrunching her nose in disgust.

  He snickered. “Police work is an ugly job.”

  They continued to chat the rest of the way back to Brunswick. He could tell Maggie was feeling her success as she was more animated and giggly than normal.

  As soon as she was gone, he was going to run by the florist, get another dozen roses, and have them delivered, along with another of those stick-on badges they gave out to kids. He gave her one before, when she was helping him with the Locoste case, and maybe she would get a laugh out of getting another.

  She pulled to a stop in the station parking lot and followed him in. They went to his office instead of the armory because he wanted to clear the video from the camera before putting it on the charger.

  “Thanks for the help today,” he said as she carefully worked the camera out of the button hole.

  “It was fun. Maggie Neese, secret spy!” She handed him the camera and transmitter before buttoning her shirt. She looked around. “Too bad we’re not at home.”

  He liked it when she purred like that.

  “Why?”

  She smiled in a way that made him feel flushed. “I think you know why. We might have to play secret agent tonight, where I have to seduce you to get the keys to disarm the nuclear missiles or something.”

  He couldn’t help but smile. “That’s some imagination you’ve got there.”

  “You started it.”

  He chuckled. “Okay, Mrs. Bond.”

  “You’re not working tonight, are you?”

  “No, why?”

  “I have something for you to do when you get home this evening. My place?”

  “I’ll be there. Want to grab a quick lunch?”

  “I’d love to, but I need to get back to work.” She gave him a brief kiss. “For later,” she whispered then smiled at him as she turned and swaggered out of his office, her ponytail swinging.

  He watched her go then shook himself out of his daze. They’d only been gone ninety minutes, and it was just now lunch time, but he was going to have a hard time concentrating for the rest of the day.

  He went out for lunch, stopping first at KaBloom to order another dozen roses for delivery to the wastewater treatment plant.