Moratorium

by Chuck Sampson

  Chapter 21

  Cyrus stood next to Briana near the stern of the Coast Guard cutter as the chopper lifted off. They leaned in against the stiff wind that radiated from its whirling blades.

  “Do you think Dana will survive?” Briana shouted as she put her arms around him.

  Cyrus waited for the MEDEVAC to clear the deck, and the loud pop, pop, pop sound of its rotors to fade, and then he replied, “He’ll make it.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “He’s got a special lady counting on him.”

  “I should have known,” Briana said, “He is a special gentleman.”

  Cyrus nodded his head and then gazed out over the stern. He spotted the burnt wreck of the Diane Marie. The trawler dipped and swayed silently a few yards away as Guardsmen, armed with pistols, swarmed its deck, methodically searching for weapons and explosives.

  “I am sorry I doubted you about Dana,” Briana said.

  “I would have done the same. I had my own doubts about him.”

  “I did see him there at Rincon Beach.”

  “I know.”

  Briana released herself gently from his embrace. “Then why do you think he is innocent if you believe me?”

  Cyrus turned around and said, “I believe you saw him the first time, when Mike and Dana struggled and then left. It’s the second time. When you said you saw him standing over Mike holding the bat in his hand. The blonde you saw was not Dana Mathers.”

  “I saw the scar Cyrus. It was him.”

  “When you got back from your swim that morning, what did you do with your contacts?”

  “I took them off, as you full well know. The salt water stings my eyes. But I can still see pretty good without them.”

  “Right, and you were how far away from them?”

  “About from here to the end of the helipad, over there,” she pointed to thick white line at the outer ring of the helipad’s marking.

  Cyrus starting walking across the landing pad and back to the cutter’s wheelhouse as he spoke, “That’s at least thirty, maybe forty feet away. I have twenty twenty and I couldn’t ID someone positively from that distance. I think you thought you saw Dana and the scar.”

  “How can you be so sure I am wrong?” Briana said, as she followed him.

  “From you own words.”

  “What words?”

  “In your statement you said you saw Dana run quickly to the piece of driftwood and hide the bat.”

  “That is true, that is what I saw.”

  “Well it couldn’t have been Dana. He has a slight paralysis in his left leg and can barely bend his knee. The best he could have managed was a brisk hobble.”

  Briana ran until she caught up with him, “I am glad, actually. Well not glad, I made a mistake, I mean-“

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Cyrus said.

  “But what about the scar? I know I do not have perfect vision, but I am sure I saw a scar running down the person’s neck, just like the one Dana has.”

  “Then there must be two blonde haired men with long scars down there necks because you couldn’t have seen Dana that morning.”

  “Then who did I see?”

  “I have a couple of suspects. Dana isn’t the only tall blonde in California-as someone once told me.”

  “There is something I did lie about Cyrus.”

  “If you’re talking about you’re cover, I understand.”

  “Then you know I wasn’t there for a just a swim, right?”

  “You were there to meet with Moon, I assume. So let me guess the rest. You also told him that a blonde haired man with scar down his back had just killed Mike Tanner, right?”

  “Correct.”

  “How did they react when you told them? Do you remember what they said?”

  “Yes, it was Moon I spoke with on my cell. He said for me to get out of there before the police arrived and then I heard him say to Duncan ‘Dana Mathers has killed Mike’.”

  “So Moon knew Dana Mathers was going to be at Rincon Beach to meet Mike. They must have set the whole scene up.”

  “They knew and so did I. They used me as their witness. I went along with their plan to get to Moon.” Briana ran ahead again and stopped in front of him, “How can I fix this for you and Dana?”

  “Help me get face time with Jeff Moon.”

  “Why? You don’t think he killed Mike Tanner do you?”

  “He’s killed three men in the last forty eight hours, and tried to kill three thousand. Mike Tanner knew him, so I have to be sure he wasn’t on his list of victims.”

  “But he was so adamant about killing Dana for murdering Mike. I’m sure he thought Mathers killed Mike.”

  “That, or he was making a scene to cover up his guilt.”

  Briana laughed and then she said, “Jeff Moon worried about guilt? You must be kidding?”

  Cyrus let out a sigh then he said, “I know, but I might get a lead on the real killer if I can talk to him.”

  “I’ll do my best, Cyrus. But what happens to Dana now?”

  “Worst case scenario, I give his lawyer Martinez the evidence I have that clears Dana and he gets a judge to overturn his conviction.”

  “I guess my testimony will be made public. Well at least I have-”

  “It won’t go public. I have other evidence that clears Dana.”

  “So why don’t you just clear Dana now and spare yourself anymore time with Moon?”

  “I guess I just don’t like unsolved mysteries.”

  “What about Dana?”

  “His idea, he wants to find Mike’s killer too.”

  Once they had crossed the helipad, they continued walking alongside the cutter’s gunwale until they reached the pilot house doorway. Cyrus stepped inside and poured a cup of coffee for him and Briana. He stepped back outside and handed one of the coffees to her. They stood there and watched the Guardsman pick through the ruins of the Diane Marie.

  As they sipped on their coffee in silence, an FBI helo landed. A man wearing an FBI jacket emerged from its side. Once he cleared the helipad he stopped, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed a number.

  “I think someone is trying to call you,” Cyrus said.

  “He’s not going to get an answer unless King Neptune has found my cell.”

  He walked with Briana back to the helipad. Before they could reach him another FBI chopper landed. A squad of four FBI jacketed men exited and trotted toward the ships infirmary.

  Once they were close enough to be heard, Briana said to the FBI man “I am Agent Carswell,” and then she extended her hand toward Cyrus. “And this is Detective Sergeant Cyrus Fleming,” she said.

  The agent gave them a derisive sneer and said, “What’s with the uniforms?”

  “It’s the only dry clothes they had on board,” Cyrus said. He tucked in his stomach and kept himself hidden behind Briana as much as possible. The dark blue jump suit felt as tight as his own skin.

  “Special Agent Drisco is waiting for us back in Ventura,” the agent said.

  The other FBI agents returned along with a handcuffed Moon and his Asian colleagues, and loaded them onto the chopper. The EMTs aboard treated their wounds, and then they were transported back to Oxnard airport. Briana, Cyrus, and Max followed later in a second chopper.

  Once they landed, Briana separated Moon from the rest of the prisoners and then loaded him into a prisoner transport van that was parked at the edge of the runway. After talking with Agent Drisco, she got the clearance Cyrus needed. He was to ask him questions strictly on his involvement with the sabotage of his cruiser and nothing else.

  Cyrus climbed into the back of the van and sat down on the bench across from Moon. The hot air inside the van caused Cyrus to sweat and he had to force down a reflexive gag from Moon’s soured milk body odor.

  Moon sat with his head down. Both of his legs were twitching uncontrollably. Cyrus noticed that Moon had leg chains and hand cuffs.

  “You know something?” Mo
on said.

  “What’s that?”

  “After all the bad stuff that’s happened, I can’t believe how fortunate I have just become.”

  Before Cyrus could ask him what he was talking about, he felt his throat light up with pain. In less than an instant, Moon had jumped up from his seat and wrapped the chains on his handcuffs around Cyrus’s throat. He grabbed at the metal necklace and managed to push it far enough away so that he could take a quick breath. Rolling over onto the floor of the van, he took Moon down with him and caused him to smack his head hard on the solid, metal reinforced floor. Working his fingers in between his neck and the chain that squeezed his throat, he pushed out as hard as he could until he could breathe.

  He felt Moon’s grip weakening so he pushed harder with both hands until the chain was over his chin. Tucking his head close to his chest he jerked it back as hard as he could into what he assumed was Moon’s face. The tension on the chain disappeared and he could feel warm liquid dripping on the back of his head. Must have hit a home run, he said to himself as he got up.

  Moon lay on the floor, holding his bloodied nose and groaning. Cyrus stood over him.

  “Everything all right in there?” a voice said from outside the van.

  Cyrus knelt down and covered Moon’s mouth his hand. He took a few deep breaths and said, “We’re just fine in here, just fine.”

  Grabbing hold of Moon’s hair with the other hand, he pulled him up off the floor and stood him up, “Shut up groaning Moon,” he said, “or I’ll break your geek neck.”

  Moon stopped and widened his eyes. Cyrus could tell from his panicked look he didn’t want to die, a fact that gave Cyrus great relief. For as much as he wanted him to die, he needed some answers. He let go his hand from his mouth so Moon could breathe and then set him down on the bench. Pulling out a handkerchief from his back pocket, he handed it to him. Cyrus sat down across from him. Wiping Moon’s blood from his hand and the back of his head, he said, “I missed you, too Moon.”

  Moon rubbed the blood from his face with the handkerchief and said, “What do you want, porky?”

  “Dana Mathers didn’t kill Mike Tanner.”

  “That’s a lie, Briana was there. She saw him do it.”

  “Not really. She thought she did, but Dana can’t run. He’s got a lame leg. The guy she saw could run pretty fast.”

  Mike sat up and threw the bloody handkerchief on the floor of the van. “Then who killed him?”

  “That’s what I am trying to find out. That was you in the tow truck with Mr. Pony Tail at Rincon Beach the day Mike died, wasn’t it?”

  “Mr. Pony Tail? Oh, you mean Mason, yeah that was me with him,” Mike replied, and then he pointed his finger at Cyrus and continued, “If you find out who killed Mike I promise I won’t kill you after I break out of prison.”

  Cyrus felt a flush of anger course through him. He clenched both his fists and took a deep breath. He could feel the sharp bruise around his throat, which still hurt when he swallowed. Moon sat across from him, shaking both his legs.

  “You torched my squad car, didn’t you?”

  Moon’s face lit up, “Was it a nice ride?” he asked.

  Briana is right, Cyrus said to himself, if Moon had killed Mike Tanner, he wouldn’t care who knew about it. Moon really is insane. “How’d you know I was going to be driving my squad car that night and be at that particular on ramp?”

  “Who do you think sabotaged the prison transport van?”

  “You took Mike’s Cooper back to the police compound right?”

  “That’s right, we had to check it so there wasn’t anything around that mentioned our plan.”

  “You took the car to the car wash on the way, right?”

  “No, what the hell would we do that for? It was spotless already.”

  Cyrus put his hand to his neck and paused. Now he knew why he couldn’t find anyone who had seen Mr. Ponytail or Moon at the car washes. If Moon didn’t clean that car from blood stains somebody else did, and they probably murdered Mike Tanner. He still wasn’t ready to cross off Moon’s name from his suspect list, so he continued, “You act like you’re so concerned with Mike’s death, but I think you’re lying?”

  “And?”

  “You knew Mike hated Mathers and if they got together there was going to be a fight, and Mike Tanner would get his head kicked in good. If you liked him so much why did you go along with it?”

  “Duncan set it up. He told me we needed to get Mathers thrown in jail. That way that Nazi Senator Dunbar wouldn’t get his hands on Mathers’s report and end the moratorium. We didn’t plan on Mike getting killed. I told him not to push Mathers too hard.”

  “Right, blame it on Duncan. Tell the truth Moon. You were just getting tired of the rich kid pulling the strings and telling you what to do, weren’t you?”

  “You’re stupid. How could I have done it? I was with Duncan.”

  “You weren’t with him the whole time and you’re pretty good with the disguises. You knew Mathers was going to be there. You knew Briana was there ready to call the cops at the first sign of trouble. All you had to do was bop Mike on the head. Get Mr. Pony Tail to help you lug his body down to the beach where Briana could be a convenient witness for you. Only she would see you or Mr. Pony Tail disguised as Dana Mathers. Yeah, I think we can pin this on you pretty easily.”

  “Are you trying to scare me fatso? I am going get out of prison before the cell door slams shut. You hear me? I didn’t kill Mike Tanner. I needed him. The whole plan depended on him?”

  “How?”

  “He had the connections with the press that’s how. After he scooped them on the Laguna Beach fire, he owned them.”

  “Then why didn’t you call it off after Mike was killed?”

  “We got a replacement, that’s why?”

  “Who?”

  Mike bent down, picked up the bloodstained handkerchief and rubbed his nose. “We’re finished blubber boy. I am not ratting on anyone.”

  Cyrus shook his head, “Just like I thought. You being so close with Mike. Just an act.” As Cyrus got up and started for the back door of the van. Moon grabbed his arm,

  “Wait a minute,” he said, “I don’t remember her name but he really had the hots for her.”

  “Her name? It was a woman?”

  “She’s tall and blonde he told me, and she worked for him. That’s all I can remember.”

  “I know who she is. Who set this up, Duncan?”

  “Who else? I told I don’t even know her name. Duncan said she was reliable. She didn’t want to know any details about our plan beforehand or money. Getting the story was all she wanted.”

  “What was she supposed to do?”

  “You mean ‘is’ she supposed to do. She’s going to write our story. The true story of our heroic struggle against the industrial machine and how we risked everything to bring it down.”

  “Really? Is she going to include in her true story the part about how a ruthless, murderous slug, who had every advantage life could give him, betrayed his country to the Chinese and unsuccessfully tried to murder three thousand of his fellow citizens.”

  “Fellow citizens? More like little Eichmann’s. They would have got what they deserved if our plan had succeeded. Fat, lazy Americans who care more about their Hummer’s than the planet they live on. Good riddens to-”

  Moon couldn’t finish his sentence because Cyrus was pinching his adam’s apple. Moon grabbed at his hands and began kicking at him.

  “Stay still or I’ll crush it.”

  Moon stopped struggling. Cyrus pulled him up close by his throat and spoke into his ear, “Once I find Mike Tanner’s killer, I am going to retire. You may be wondering what possible reason could I have for wanting you to know this information. Well I’ll tell you. Once I retire, I will no longer be an officer of the court sworn to uphold the laws of the State of California. I will be a senior citizen, replete with a conceal and carry permit and an attitude. I promise you this,
Moon. If you manage to escape San Quentin, I will find you and I will kill you.”

  When Cyrus let go of Moon’s throat, he collapsed on the bench and started coughing uncontrollably.

  Cyrus turned to go, but before he could reach the door, it sprang open. A tall, thin man wearing a badge that said Special Agent Drisco stepped up into the back.

  “What’s wrong with him?” he said pointing to Moon. Who by now was hacking away and tossing and turning on the small bench.

  “I am sorry. I gave him some gum. He must have got it down the wrong pipe,” Cyrus said.

  “What’s wrong with your neck?”

  “Oh, that happened when I was out on the water, it’s nothing.”

  The agent stepped back down out of the van and yelled for a medic. Cyrus got out after him. His cell phone rang. Bernie called to tell him they had found Moon’s truck complete with a full array of welding tools. As Cyrus hung up the phone, Max showed up with the cruiser.

  “Let’s go,” Cyrus said as he climbed in.

  “Where to?”

  “Community Memorial,” he said as Max pulled away from the curb.

  “Hey, that’s where I am going,” a voice said from the back of the car.

  Cyrus turned around and saw Briana sitting in the back seat smiling. Her face turned serious.

  “I heard Drisco calling for a medic,” she said, “Did you kill Moon?”

  “Of course not,” Cyrus said.

  “You did something, or else why the medic?”

  “I just choked him a little.”

  Briana shook her head, “Can he still talk?”

  “He’s fine, just fine. Don’t worry.”

  Guarded from the press by a squadron of uniformed police, Cyrus, Briana, and Max sat in the emergency waiting room of Community Memorial Hospital waiting for word from the doctor about Dana’s condition.

  Cyrus sipped on a hot coffee, the taste of which could not penetrate the crud-like film in his mouth. His eyes, bloodshot like cracked plates, and his face, covered with stubble, gave him the appearance of a drunk after a week long binge. Briana, sitting next to him on a thin-cushioned, uncomfortable, couch, held his hand and rested her head on Cyrus’s shoulder.