Double Fugue

by Aiden Vaughan

  “I think that explains why the farmhouse was not used to keep Daniel in captivity. I’m sure a struggling prisoner would leave some sort of mess or disarray in the room, even if tied up. Most likely Oliver Samuels used the house as a base of operations because it was the perfect cover, the house of a judge who was conveniently on vacation. I wouldn’t be surprised if Oliver offered to look after the place while Frederick was out of town on his vacation. That also explains why they were so careful about not permitting any association between them and the house, and why Daniel was moved to the barn. According to his office, Judge Samuels is due back sometime this weekend. I’m sure that Oliver was worried that the judge might come back early and find them there and they certainly didn’t want the judge to find a captive teenager in his house.”

  “Well that explains the inconsistency of their actions, at least regarding the farmhouse, but there is a bigger problem to deal with now. How do we confront the attorneys or whoever is handling the transfer of assets?” Daniel asked. “According to this morning’s newspaper, there is supposed to be a press conference in Monterey this afternoon. How can we unmask the imposter Ethan before the assets are transferred?”

  “The easiest way would be to demand a check of identification and finger prints, but unfortunately I could not find a set of Ethan Savage’s finger prints in our system,” Lieutenant Garcia responded. “He has never been arrested so I have nothing to compare them to. It would take some time to get them from drivers license or passport records and we don’t have that luxury. I am sure that the security around the imposter will be real tight, so we really can’t wait to make a direct confrontation at the press conference. By then we might be too late. The problem with a public confrontation is things come down to your word against his, Daniel.”

  “Yeah, but what about the eyewitness testimony of the Molinaris that they found me tied up in the barn?” Daniel replied.

  “That might get us in the door, but his attorneys could easily block any proceedings against the imposter Savage. They could even prevent us from questioning him unless we can come up with some solid direct evidence against him since he didn’t actually participate in your kidnapping. The other problem is that we don’t know who the rest of the conspirators are. Clearly someone in his security company had to be involved but that person would not necessarily be the brains behind this plot. Exposing the imposter without knowing who the real conspirators are could tip them off to escape and that could put the real Ethan Savage in grave danger.”

  “But we have to do something!” Daniel insisted. “We can’t let these criminals get away with kidnapping and embezzlement!”

  “Patience, my young friend!” Lieutenant Garcia replied. “We have to come up with a strategy that exposes the imposter along with the other conspirators and at the same time is obvious to the general public.”

  “Unfortunately we only have a few hours left to come up with a plan!” Jason exclaimed.

  “Lieutenant Garcia, were you able to pull photos of those two deputies who you think are the ones that grabbed me, the ones on special assignment?” Daniel asked.

  “Yes, I was,” Garcia replied. He pulled out a couple of printouts from his brief case. “Are these the two deputies you ran into, Daniel?”

  He passed the printouts over to Daniel. As soon as Daniel saw the photos, his body tensed up in a visceral reaction. “Yes, those are the two that grabbed me! I also thought of a way to expose the phony Ethan.” Daniel then went on to describe how during their meeting in the limousine, Ethan showed him the metal slide tube that he used to create the special sound at the end of his song “Party Girl”. “That special technique is something only Ethan and his band mates knew about. I’m sure we can use that to expose him as a fake.”

  “Good idea, Daniel,” Lieutenant Garcia answered. “But again the general public isn’t going to know that either, and as revealing as that might be in the long run, we have to hit a home run on the first try!”

  “But the general public does know the song ‘Party Girl’. If we could somehow challenge him to perform it right there on the spot, everyone would recognize that the ending doesn’t sound right,” Daniel replied. “That issue might be a good way to get one of Ethan Savage’s band mates to work with us.”

  “You know, I think we need to look at this whole situation a little differently,” Jason said joining the conversation. “If our goal is to flush the unknown conspirators out, I believe that we have to do it through the ones that we know about, namely the fake Ethan, and the two cops that Daniel has now identified. Couldn’t you also interrogate that station chief. Maybe he has some knowledge of where the real Ethan was taken.”

  “I like your thinking, Jason,” Lieutenant Garcia said. “You are starting to get on the right track.”

  “I just had a great idea!” Daniel exclaimed. “I think I know how we can get to the imposter without revealing our hand as investigators of a crime right away. I’m sure that Ethan Savage was probably pretty tight with his other band members. If we could persuade one of them to go to Monterey with us and tell the fake Ethan that he just had to be there for such an important moment in his life, that would get us access to him. The fake Ethan could hardly say no, especially since he really doesn’t know the other band members. Then he could suggest something like playing the ending of ‘Party Girl’ that would expose the imposter.”

  “I’m sure that any long time band member would have memories of things that only he and Ethan would know about,” Lieutenant Garcia said. “I believe our strategy should be to get to the fake Ethan right away and turn him even before he goes to the attorneys’ offices. I’m guessing that the imposter is probably some out of work actor. The threat of real jail time on a kidnapping charge should be enough to get him to cooperate.”

  “That sounds doable,” Jason answered. “Now what about the rogue sheriff’s deputies?”

  “I think I have a way to handle that. Over the years I have developed some good friends in the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department. I think I will get them to pick up our two wayward deputies and replace them with Monterey County deputies. I would imagine that the two rogue deputies are just there today to make sure the proceedings go smoothly and to escort the imposter Savage to and from his house in Monterey. By replacing the rogues, we will have two deputies at the proceeding that are on our side rather than that of the conspirators.”

  “And what about Oliver Samuels, the station chief whose voice Daniel recognized?” Jason continued.

  “I think that he will be the hardest person to get to,” Lieutenant Garcia replied. “He has been around for a long time and I’m sure he has his own eyes and ears in the law enforcement community. If I try to move against him with only what we have now, it could seriously backfire on me! At this point, the only way to get to him is for one of the others to turn on him, like the two rogue deputies who are doing his dirty work for him. And remember, he is the brother of a judge!”

  “So where do we go from here?” Daniel asked. “Is there anything that Jason and I can do at this point?”

  “Right now you need to give me some time to work my magic on the phones and get some things lined up,” Lieutenant Garcia explained. “At the same time, you have to be ready to act on a moment’s notice when I am able to contact one of the Ethan Savage band members. I need to go back to my office where it will be easier to do these things. I think the best thing to do would be for you to come with me, Daniel. Jason you could come along and keep Daniel company if your parents say it’s okay. I think it would be useful to have someone with Daniel at all times, since he is a person of interest by both sides.”

  Edith and Bill allowed Jason to go with the Lieutenant and Daniel. Bill told the Lieutenant that, “We trust that you will take care of the boys and keep them out of harm’s way.”

  “Yes, I will. Daniel’s participation is essential, as he is the only eyewitness we have. Jason and he work well as a team and they will also be looking out for eac
h other if I am preoccupied with other things. I will make sure that there are plenty of other police around when we act.”

  Lieutenant Garcia and the boys were soon off to police headquarters. There Lieutenant Garcia truly did work his magic. Within an hour he had talked to the head of Ethan Savage’s security company and found out that one band member, rhythm guitarist Marlon Guinetti was still in town visiting relatives. Garcia put in a call to the relative’s house, was able to talk to Guinetti, and said that he would be over there to talk with him on an urgent matter regarding Ethan Savage in thirty minutes.

  He was able to track down the motel where Deputies Richardson and Hanley were staying through the computer system. He then instructed the Monterey County sheriff’s deputies to go to their motel, and then follow them when they left, in case they would go to where the real Ethan Savage was stashed. If they were just going to pick up the imposter Savage, they were to be arrested and brought in for questioning on kidnapping charges that were to be filed in Santa Clara County. Lieutenant Garcia wanted them in custody for when he arrived so that Daniel could make a formal identification. Then two of the Monterey County deputies would replace Deputies Richardson and Hanley as security for the fake Ethan, and bring him to the sheriff’s office where he could be interrogated, and later to the attorneys’ offices where the afternoon press conference was to be held. He also assigned a team of two detectives to shadow Oliver Samuels, who had the day off from the department. He was very curious as to what Samuels would be doing today.

  It was a little before 10:00 AM when Lieutenant Garcia, Jason, and Daniel left police headquarters to visit Marlon Guinetti and see if they could enlist his help.

  THE CRUSADE

  (Saturday)

  As the boys were walking with Lieutenant Garcia to his car, Daniel remembered that he still hadn’t been in contact with his parents. When he got out his cell phone, he discovered that there was a text message for him from his mother. “Sorry we haven’t been able to talk. We have been very busy. Will talk to you later today.”

  “This is so unusual, my mom sending me a text message. Normally she would insist on talking to me. I am a little worried about my parents. Things haven’t been normal lately.”

  When Jason asked him what he meant by that, Daniel explained how they had been very secretive and uncommunicative with him lately. “It is unusual for them to go off on their own like this. Almost always they want to do things as a family. And I still don’t understand their whole attitude about not letting me go downtown with my friends to see Ethan Savage at the arena. Of course we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing now if I had gone.”

  “What’s done is done, Daniel. You can’t change what has already happened,” Jason answered. “Your parents will come around. But there must be something serious going on in their lives to explain their current behavior. Have you talked to them about your feelings and concerns?”

  “No, because it just seems to be a recent development. I’m sure we will have a discussion when this whole weekend is over because I don’t want to hide my feelings about things any more.”

  “Good for you, Daniel.” Lieutenant Garcia said. “I see so many family situations where there is no communication going on.”

  Shortly they pulled up to a house in one of the older neighborhoods in the west side of town. Marlon Guinetti had grown up in the Silicon Valley and his parents still lived in the same house where he grew up. Whenever he was in the Bay Area, he always stopped by for a visit.

  Lieutenant Garcia knocked on the door. When an elderly man answered the door he held out his identification and said, “Hello, I’m Lieutenant Antonio Garcia, and this is Jason Holmes and Daniel Hunter. We are here to see Marlon Guinetti.”

  “Come on in, Marlon is expecting you. Won’t you have seats in the living room? I’ll get him.”

  A minute later Marlon came into the room. He was about six feet tall, very thin, and had dark features and long black hair tied in a ponytail. After everyone was introduced, Marlon said, “You mentioned that you wanted to talk to me about Ethan Savage. Is he in some sort of trouble with the law?”

  “No, he isn’t accused of any wrong doing, but we believe he is in grave danger and we need to enlist your help. The reason I am here with these two young boys is that Daniel here actually met Ethan yesterday and after the meeting witnessed what appeared to be Ethan being kidnapped. I would like you to hear his story.”

  Daniel then retold the story of his Friday morning meeting with Ethan and all of the extraordinary events that happened after. When he finished telling it, Marlon shook his head and said, “Wow, that is an amazing story. And everything rings true. I know that Ethan had a love-hate relationship with his fans. You really caught him at exactly the right time for him to sit with you and actually give you a guitar lesson!”

  “Not only a lesson, but he gave me this!” Daniel took out the metal guitar slide and showed it to Marlon.

  “You must be one hell of a musician for Ethan to give you that. His fingering technique of using it on the ending choruses of ‘Party Girl’ was one of our best kept secrets!”

  “I was on such a high after Ethan met with me!” Daniel concluded. “Then witnessing what happened to him and being held prisoner as a consequence by those rogue cops has really gotten me down.”

  “You are one brave young dude to get through everything you have just described to me!” Marlon answered. “How can I help? I’m not any kind of detective.”

  Lieutenant Garcia then explained how they wanted to use Marlon to get to the fake Ethan Savage and turn him to their side so that they could flush out and expose whoever was responsible for kidnapping Ethan Savage and trying to take his money. “As his former band mate, I sure you could think of a number of experiences that you had with the real Ethan that only the two of you would know about. Once we get the fake Ethan into an interrogation room, I’m sure I can break him down with the combination of your personal experiences and the threat of a long jail sentence for kidnapping. Once he realizes we are on to him, I am hoping that we can turn him to our side, and alter the script that these crooks are preparing for him to tell the public.”

  “Please help us!” Daniel exclaimed. “It’s been a whole day now since Ethan was taken!”

  “How old are you, Daniel?”

  “I’m fifteen.”

  “I’ve been friends with Ethan for twenty years now, ever since I joined the band. I owe him a lot. And here you are, just a kid who met him for twenty minutes, and then you went through all kinds of hell trying to help him out when you saw him in trouble. That proves to me that you are a true brother and friend. The least I can do is try and help you guys. Count me in!”

  Both Jason and Daniel cheered when they heard that. Marlon’s father and mother peered into the room. “Is everything okay in there?”

  “Yeah, Mom and Dad,” Marlon said. “We have to go on a little crusade right now to help out my friend Ethan Savage. But don’t worry, I’ll be back later.”

  While Marlon was getting ready to drive to Monterey with Lieutenant Garcia and the boys, Garcia got on his cell phone to his contact in the Monterey County Sheriff’s office. “Hi, Sergio. I just wanted to check on the status of our two lost deputies, Richardson and Hanley.”

  Sergeant Sergio Ascuela responded, “Right now they are still in their motel room. But I think they will be leaving shortly as it is almost checkout time.”

  “Okay, it sounds like you guys are on top of things. When your fellow deputies are ready to take those losers into custody, I’m sure they will protest and ask for professional courtesy. Have your deputies remind them of the things they did yesterday to the reputation of the sheriff’s office. They kidnapped an innocent kid who was asking for their assistance after he witnessed a crime. They handcuffed, blindfolded and threatened him. Later they took him to a barn loft and tied him to a pole, gagged him and knocked him unconscious with a cudgel. Then they left him alone through that major storm we had with no pla
ns to return or even check to see if he was okay until probably that evening. We still have no idea what has been done to Ethan Savage! Whatever happened to the oath that those deputies took to uphold the law and help our citizens?”

  “I think you are a little worked up about this, Antonio!” Sergio replied. “We’ll definitely take good care of your buddies until you arrive here. We’re not exactly fans of those who disgrace our uniform either.”

  Lieutenant Garcia closed his cell phone. Within ten minutes Marlon Guinetti, Daniel, Jason, and he were on their way to Monterey. The ninety minute trip turned out to be very pleasant. Marlon regaled them with a number of stories about what it was like to be on tour with a major rock star. Everyone was surprised to find out how much actual work was involved. “Sorry to tell you guys this, but it is a lot of work to put on a major performance night after night in venue after venue!”

  When they finally arrived at the Monterey Sheriff’s station, Lieutenant Garcia went in to see what the current status was. He was pleased to hear that the two errant deputies were in custody, and that the imposter Ethan Savage was waiting in an interrogation room.

  “You have done an excellent job, Sergio,” he said to Sergeant Ascuela. “Now let’s see if we can rescue a rock star!”

  Lieutenant Garcia went back outside and talked to the boys and Marlon. “Marlon, they have the fake Ethan in an interrogation room. It’s time for you and I to have a little conversation with him. Daniel, you will be pleased to hear that those two deputies who treated you so poorly yesterday are now in custody, and I will have you make a formal identification a little bit later after we finish with the fake Ethan. In the meantime, I don’t know about you guys, but it is past noon and I wouldn’t mind some lunch. Jason and Daniel, I am going to put you in charge of that. See that sandwich place across the street in the strip mall over there? I want you to take care of lunch for us and yourselves.”