The Logan Files - Pain Center: The Logan Files

by Marshall Huffman

  It didn’t get any better when he got to the office. The desk sergeant smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Logan just waved and went on up the stairs. The entire team clapped as he came across to his desk.

  “My man,” Sorenson said.

  “The man,” Miles corrected.

  “Hey guys, it wasn’t anything like that,” he protested.

  “A real gentleman. No kiss and tell from John,” Carson said.

  “Well he is blushing,” Harold said, pointing to John’s reddening neck.

  “Knock it off. Nothing happened. We had dinner and I dropped her off at her hotel. End of story,” Logan said.

  “Yeah but what did you have for dinner?” Miles said.

  Logan didn’t bother to answer. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote in large letters: BUGGED.

  “So what do we have?” he said showing the word he had written to all of them.

  “Obviously not what you had,” Sorenson said.

  “Enough. Has CSI come up with anything yet?”

  “This just came a minute ago,” Miles replied, handing him a folder.

  Five neat pages, single spaced were inside it. Logan read through them before he spoke.

  “Did you get a chance to go through this yet?”

  “We were just starting to read it when you came in,” Sorenson replied.

  Logan wrote on the paper: Did you read the list out loud?”

  They all shook their heads negative.

  “Has the Captain seen this yet?”

  “I doubt it. He just came in a few minutes ago,” Miles replied.

  “He needs to see this,” he said heading to Dixon’s office.

  “Come in Logan,” Dixon said after he knocked.

  As before, he showed the piece of paper with the word bugged on it. The Captain looked at his quizzically. Logan wrote: found out last night.

  “I think you need to see this,” Logan said, handing him the last two pages from the report.

  “What am I looking at?”

  “A promotion list,” Logan replied pointing to the words The Cave membership.

  The Captain looked down the list and flipped to the second page. He stopped reading and looked up at Logan.

  “This is certainly some list don’t you think?”

  “Yes. There are quite a few really important detectives on the list,” Logan said.

  “Who else has seen this?”

  “Too many people,” Logan said.

  “Man, this is not good. Why don’t we go to records and check this out?” the Captain said.

  Logan acknowledged with a shake of his head.

  Dixon wrote: Team to interrogation room 2.

  “No time like the present,” Logan replied.

  The Captain followed Logan out of the room and John motioned them to follow him and held his finger to his lips. They silently followed him to the interrogation room.

  It was crowded but they all crammed in.

  “What is this all about?” Dixon asked immediately.

  “I learned last night that our station has been bugged by NPN. According to Lisa McGuire they do that on a routine basis when a big story breaks.”

  “The hell you say. How in the world could they do that?”

  “Remember the phone check that went on last week? I suspect they were bugging the phones then. I would imagine they have mine at the hotel tapped as well,” Logan informed then.

  “Their asses will be in the slammer for this,” Dixon seethed.

  “After we solve this. For now, let’s leave them in place and use it against them,” Logan said.

  “How?”

  “Bogus leads. False information or disinformation.”

  “Those low life bastards. And Lisa McGuire told you this?” Dixon asked.

  “In a roundabout way. She said they have people on the payroll at City Hall that slips them information.”

  “Son of a bitch. I intend to launch a full scale investigation,” the Captain said.

  “After this is over,” Logan said again. “Right now we need to figure out what to do with the list of members. There are some real heavy hitters listed here.”

  “That is the understatement of the year. The Petersons, Mary Zimmer, the Wilshires, those three alone mean we have to walk on eggshells,” Dixon replied.

  “Okay, how do you want us to handle this?” Miles asked.

  “Damned carefully,” Dixon said.

  “Other than that?” Miles said.

  “First and foremost, we have to protect this list. We need to get to CSI and make sure they don’t open their mouths to anyone. Captain, you will have to make sure they understand the full significance and the resulting consequences if they don’t do as they are told,” Logan said.

  “I need to do that immediately. You go on with your meeting and I’ll make sure that detail is taken care of.”

  After the captain had gone, Logan said, “If you don’t know who the Petersons or who Mary Zimmer is I’ll fill you in. The Petersons, James and Claire Peterson, own two malls outright and are investors in three others. They also donated the new cancer facility at St. Vincent Hospital. Some forty million dollars’ worth. Mr. Peterson is on half the boards of major companies located in Indianapolis. He helped put the Mayor in office. Mary Zimmer is worth about one and a half billion at last report. She controls seven of the radio stations and two of the local television stations along with several independent banks. She is tougher than nails and will squash anyone that gets in her way. You already know Wilshire. He is the Mayor’s son-in-law. His daughter is separated from him but that doesn’t make it any less explosive,” Logan told them.

  “Shit, I’m too young to retire,” Miles said.

  “I hear you. We still need to catch this guy. I know we are holding a time bomb but we still have a job to do. The first thing I intend to do is go to see Mayor Burch. I will just tell him up front what we have. I’ll either come back with his blessing or with my head on a platter,” Logan said.

  “We should go with you,” Sorenson said.

  “No. I want him to focus any anger he may have on me. No use in the rest of you taking a hit on your careers. I’ll survive better than you guys will,” he said, not really believing it himself.

  * * *

  “Mayor Burch’s Office.”

  “This is Detective John Logan. I need to speak to Mayor Burch. Please tell him it’s urgent.”

  “Please wait. I’ll see if he is available,” she said.

  She came back on momentarily.

  “Detective Logan, I’m sorry but the Mayor is extremely busy. Could you call at another time?” she asked.

  “I really need to speak with him. Could you tell him it concerns his family?”

  “His family? Is something wrong?” she asked.

  “Please tell him.”

  “John, it’s Mayor Burch. What’s this about an emergency with my family?” he said.

  “Sir, it concerns your daughter, Becky. I need to speak with you in person,” Logan said aware of how ambiguous it sounded.

  “What about Becky? Is she alright?” he asked hurriedly.

  “Please. In person. This is for your ears only. In fact, I’m calling from outside the station.”

  “For goodness sake John, what the hell is going on? I have a string of meetings but I will shove them back if you think it’s that important,” Burch said.

  “It is. When can you see me?”

  “Twenty minutes. I’ll tell Sarah I want you shown in as soon as you arrive.”

  “Will do. Thanks,” Logan said hanging up.

  This wasn’t going to be an easy task. He made sure he had everything he needed before he got in the car and drove over to City Hall. He did a double check and went over the list of items he wanted to discuss. Each one was a potential bombshell. Sarah stood up as soon as he came in the office.

  “The Mayor is waiting. You are to go right in,” she said, opening the door to the Mayor’s office.

  �
�John, you have me worried stiff. Please take a seat and tell me what this is all about,” the Mayor said.

  John sat in an overstuffed chair across from the Mayor’s desk. He took the items he had brought out of an old beat up briefcase.

  “Sir, this is extremely delicate and I know you want me to get the point but I need to lay it out in chronological order. It will be a lot easier to follow that way,” Logan said.

  “Just tell me one thing. Is Becky okay?”

  “Yes sir, she is.”

  “Thank God. Alright, give me what you have,” he said visibly relieved.

  “You know all about the three murders we are working on. Our investigation has led us to a BDSM club in town. BDSM means bondage, discipline, sadomasochism and masochism. The place is called The Cave. It is owned by a guy named Jerome Hanson. You may remember him from the incident involving Detective Kinshaw.”

  “Oh, yes. I remember the whole affair. Poor Detective Kinshaw,” he said softly.

  “Anyway, we know all three victims were connected with the club. We executed a search warrant and among other things came up with a full list of members,” Logan said pausing.

  “Are you telling me my Becky is on that list?”

  “Not exactly. We found your son-in-law’s name on the list.”

  “What? Are you sure? Logan…”

  “We’re sure. The other part is that he has a partner membership,” Logan said.

  He let it sink in before going on.

  “Apparently the partner is not your daughter.”

  “This is too weird. John, do you know what you’re telling me? That shit George is not only into some perverted sex thing but he is running around with another woman,” the Mayor said, slamming his hand down on the desk.

  “Yes sir.”

  “You have proof of this?”

  “We do,” Logan said picking up one of the DVDs he had stacked on the desk.

  “Do you have a DVD player in here?” Logan asked.

  “No. I don’t have time for that kind of stuff.”

  “That’s okay. I brought a small one with me. It has its own screen,” he said, opening the top and inserting the DVD.

  Immediately a scene from The Cave appeared on the screen. A man in tight leather pants was leading a woman on her hands and knees by a leash that was secured around her neck. He was tall and had on a black leather vest with no shirt. The woman was almost naked. All she had on was a leather thong. He led her to the stage and when they turned around it was clearly George Riley Wilshire. It was also apparent that the woman was not Becky Wilshire.

  “Good lord. What is that crazy bastard doing?” the Mayor Burch said rubbing his hands over his face.

  “This is just the start. It gets progressively worse from here,” Logan told him.

  “Oh no! This is just unbelievable. I don’t even know what to think about such a thing,” the mayor said.

  “I understand,” Logan said.

  George was tying the girl to a contraption that looked like an oversized sawhorse. It was padded on the top and her legs were straddled and tied to each side. She was bent over and her hands secured on the other side. Logan turned off the DVD.

  The Mayor looked lost in thought. Logan took the disk out and put it in the case.

  “John, I don’t even know what to say. What the hell am I going to tell Becky?”

  John didn’t answer. There was no answer that he could offer.

  “What the hell am I going to do now?”

  “There is more,” Logan said.

  “More? How the hell could it be any worse?”

  Logan handed over several DVDs. They were labeled. Four said Mary Zimmer and six others had the Petersons’ names on them.

  The Mayor dropped them on his desk like they had burned him. He looked up at Logan like he had just from another planet.

  “Oh my word, Mary Zimmer? James and Claire? They are involved with this place?” he said.

  “It seems so. Also we have a DVD of Barry Miller.”

  “The Barry Miller of the Colts?”

  Logan just shook his head.

  “What the hell is going on here? How long has this place been in business?”

  “From what we can tell, about eight months. It used to be a strip joint until this Hanson came along. Since then, it has been called The Cave and…well, you can see what goes on there,” Logan said.

  The phone on his desk buzzed and they both jumped.

  He picked it up and after a second said, “Reschedule the meeting. I know, I know. Just tell them I’m wrapped up and the will have to reschedule. In fact, clear my schedule for the entire day. What? We will put him up for the night and I’ll take him the first thing in the morning. I know Sarah, just do it,” he said and hung up the phone a bit harder than necessary.

  “Do you have enough on this Hanson to arrest him and close that perverted place down?”

  “Nothing to put him in the murder case yet but the DVDs are illegal. I could arrest him for that but he would be out by tomorrow at the latest,” Logan said.

  “It will take two days. I’ll make sure of that. Pull him in. Even two days is better than nothing. Maybe it will serve notice that the police are on to that place. I want to go to work on shutting that establishment, and I am using that term loosely, for good. Are there any other of this types of place here?”

  “Shackles,” Logan said.

  “Shackles. Son of a bitch. How sick are these people?”

  “It’s call an alternative life style,” Logan informed him.

  “Alternative my ass. That’s just a nice way of saying they are sick bastards, all of them,” the Mayor said.

  “I still have the problem of Peterson and Zimmer,” Logan said.

  “This is so screwed up. I’m sitting in this office because of Jim and Claire. I honestly don’t know what to do. Hell, I don’t even know how to approach Becky with this,” he said rubbing his temples.

  “You want me to talk to George?” Logan asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess it would be better if I did it. I am going to be damned if I do and damned if I don’t. This is a lose-lose situation for me,” he said, fingering the stack of DVDs in front of him.

  “Listen Mayor Burch, you need to be real careful with this stuff. You have someone in your office that is feeding the National People’s News with information that is handled here. The last thing you need is for this to get into the wrong hands,” Logan said.

  “How the hell...”

  “I just know. I was tipped off. You need to be extra careful with confidential information. I would have the FBI do a sweep of your office as well. I think you will be surprised at what they come up with,” Logan told him.

  Burch looked at him slack jawed.

  “I know, I’m just a bundle of good news,” Logan said.

  * * *

  Logan was still unsure of what to do next. He had warned Mayor Burch so he wouldn’t get caught off guard. He decided to just follow his instincts. The Petersons and Mary Zimmer had clout but they were not above the law.

  “Sarah, I need to get the numbers for Mary Zimmer and James and Claire Peterson.”

  “Certainly. I have those,” she said, flipping through an old style card file. She wrote them on a piece of paper and handed it to him. He thanked her and waited to call until he was in the car.

  “Zimmer Residence, who is calling, please,” a woman’s voice said.

  “This is Detective John Logan from the IPD. I would like to speak to Mary Zimmer.”

  “One moment please,” the voice said and John waited.

  A few minutes later the voice was back on the line, “Ms. Zimmer wants to know if you are the same one that was awarded the medal from the President of the United States.”

  “I didn’t get it directly from the President, but yes, I’m the same one.”

  “Please wait.”

  Again John waited but this time a different voice came on the line.

  “This is Mar
y Zimmer.”

  “Ms. Zimmer, I would like to talk to you about a confidential matter. It concerns a place called The Cave.”

  There was a long pause.

  “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “If I could have just a few minutes of your time I will clear it all up,” he said trying to remain as vague as possible.

  “Alright Detective Logan. Do you know where I live?”

  “I’m sure I can find it.”

  “Good. Buzz the gate and they will let you in. I’ll see you then,” she said and hung up.

  John got the directions and drove to a house that could have substituted for a small stadium. If anything ever happened to the Lucas Oil Stadium, they could probably play in here, he thought as he drove up the drive surrounded by a lawn that looked like it was cut with nail clippers.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Mary Zimmer was not at all what Logan expected. She said she had been to the ceremony where had been awarded the American Service Medal. He couldn’t imagine why she would attend such a function. When she came to the door, he observed that she was very trim, fit, and had a golden tan. Her hair was blonde. He had seen the DVDs with her on them and she had coal black hair in those. Obviously, one was a wig.

  “Detective John Logan, I’m sure you don’t remember me but I was at the Presidential medal ceremony,” she said.

  “You mentioned that. May I ask why you would attend something like that?” John asked.

  “To show support for our police force and to be truthful, I thought the President was actually coming,” she said and laughed.

  “Ah,” Logan replied.

  “Now, why don’t we sit on the porch and you can tell me what has your tail feathers in such a twitch?” she said, leading him to a table that was made out of stone and looked like it would weigh a thousand pounds. The chairs were impressive as well. The porch was massive like everything else around the place.

  “Would you like something to drink?” she asked.

  “Hot tea would be great,” he said, wondering why she would want to sit in the cold.

  “What about hot chocolate? Doesn’t that sound wonderful?” she asked and rang a bell. A maid appeared almost instantly.