by Dan Kelly
“I can’t imagine Chet Dawson ever being that shy.”
“I had my moments and you didn’t answer my implied question.”
“Now how can I answer that question truthfully without appearing stuck up? Besides, I wasn’t that interested in boys when I was in high school. Flying was my passion. My dad owns a small aircraft charter and repair facility outside of Phoenix. AZ and when school let out I made a beeline for that to get some flying time in, then worked in the office until six and then I headed for home and supper, homework and then to bed.
“My dad still owns the company, Vanderhill Charters, but my older brother, Jack, runs it now. Dad just comes around when he’s in the mood to fly up into the wild blue yonder. I still have my pilot’s license which I got when I was seventeen and am certified to fly Pipers and some Cessnas. On the weekends, I usually go up for a couple of hours to forget the stress of daily life for a while.”
“You own your own plane?’
“I have a Cessna 182 at home, but I rent what’s ever available at Dulles International because I’m flying only about 100 hours a year now and it’s a lot cheaper to rent than to pay for parking and all of the other costs like insurance. I let my brother use my plane at home and he’s been covering all of the attendant costs of flying it there. When I go back home for a visit or on vacation, I take it up for a few hours. I’ve suspended my weekend flights until this Crusader guy is put out of commission. I don’t want to take any chances on him finding out what plane I’m renting on a given weekend and messing with it. When this Aldrich situation is dealt with, I’ll take you up with me some weekend if you’d like.”
“I’d like that. I’ve only flown in commercial airliners and other than during takeoffs and landings that’s like riding on a Greyhound bus, not enough leg room and the seats are too small and too close together.”
The waiter came over with our bill and as I handed him my plastic Janet took it from him and replaced it with hers. Handing mine back to me she says, “I invited you remember. This is on me.”
“I thank you and the FBI thanks you because I would have put the tab on my expense report.”
“Well, since you’re being so up front with me I’ll fess up and admit that I’ll probably put this on my expense report.”
We laugh and I’m thinking about how much I’m beginning to like this lady when I’m snapped out of my reverie by my cell sounding off. My Caller ID is showing ‘Unknown Caller’ so I answer with, “Dawson.”
“Chet, where are you right now?”
Looking over at Janet I mouth, “It’s Ericson.”
“Janet and I are at an Indian restaurant called Anand’s. We’ve just finished eating and are getting ready to leave. What’s up?”
“I’ve just received a picture of a woman taken by the stakeout on the house on 35th Street NW as she was entering the house. Chet, it’s a picture of Katherine Aldrich.”
“So why are you on the phone with me instead of heading over to that house with a bunch of your guys to surround the place and break the door down if they don’t surrender?”
“Because she has a little girl with her and I don’t want her to wind up as collateral damage.”
“Oh boy. Any sign of the Crusader?”
“Not so far.”
“So, what do you want from me?”
“I don’t want to do anything to panic Aldrich if he’s in the house with his wife and the little girl. If that happens, all hell could break loose. I’m thinking she’ll probably be coming out of the house again for some reason, either tonight or tomorrow. When she does, my people will wait until she’s out of sight of the house and then approach and detain her until you and I can get to where they’re holding her and can ask the obvious questions about her husband’s whereabouts, her involvement in her husband’s vendetta, the little girl, etc.
“Since you’re much better with words than I am, you might be able to get her to open up to us a lot sooner than if I were to go it alone. You might even be able to convince her to help us bring a halt to all of this senseless killing. If she hasn’t come out of the house by tomorrow evening, we’ll have to resort to the option you referred to and take our chances on collateral damage. I don’t want to be sitting on my hands waiting for her to come out while her husband's off somewhere killing someone else when something she could tell us would prevent that from happening.”
“Well, at least we now know that Mrs. Aldrich is alive and not being held against her will. I’ll stay local and keep myself available to you for the next 24 hours.”
“Thanks, Chet. It might help to have Janet present too when we question Katherine Aldrich. She might feel more at ease and inclined to talk if another woman is around.”
“I’m sure she’ll want to be there. Bye.”
I clue Janet in and five minutes later Janet has signed the credit card slip and we’re heading out the door into a heavy rain and a gusty wind. As we’re hurrying to the parking garage trying to stay close to the buildings and under awnings whenever possible, I notice a black Audi car across the street and up a ways with its driver’s window three quarters of the way down. It strikes me as odd that someone would have his car window open on such a night and then an instant later I’m on full alert and shoving Janet into a dark alley as bullets start to fly over our heads. I feel something hit my neck and it hurts like hell, but ignore it as I’m thinking of other things like staying alive and draw my gun to return fire. When I cautiously stick my head out of the alley, the car is gone. As I’m putting my Glock back in its holster, Janet checks out my neck.
“It’s a pretty deep gash, Chet. Judging from the pock marks on the brick wall, one of the chips found its way to your neck. You now have a matched set.”
“Boy, I’m glad I saw that car window when I did. A second later and it would have been all over for us. I’m going to call Ericson to let him know what happened and give him the description of the car and the partial plate number I remember before I forget it.”
“I’m surprised there aren’t Looky Lous all around us. The sound of those shots had to be heard from blocks around.”
“It happened pretty fast, Janet. The shooting took less than thirty seconds and a few seconds after that no one was around. The car had split and we’re still standing in this alley. This weather has driven everyone indoors who isn’t in their car driving somewhere. Anyone who got curious enough to take a look outside would see nothing to explain the noise he or she heard.”
“Well I’m all for getting out of this weather too. I’m soaked to the skin. Let’s get to our cars. You can call him on your way home.”
Chapter 23
Around eleven the next morning, I’m sitting at my desk looking over some research work that Felicity has put her finishing touches on for a new client when my cell rings. It’s Ericson.
“We’re on. Meet me at Bud’s Luncheonette over on Fullerton Boulevard next to Hanson’s Cleaners. Don’t forget to bring Janet with you.”
“I won’t.”
“Mrs. Aldrich says her husband isn’t staying at the house. Apparently, he’s become some kind of nomad. My guys didn’t ask her to elaborate as they were told to keep the questions to a minimum as I had other plans for her questioning. I didn’t want to throw up any barriers to hinder you in doing your thing.
“Oh, so far we’ve had no luck with the Audi and the partial plate you gave me. It could be Aldrich’s, a rental or even a stolen car that hasn’t been reported yet. It would be nice if the registration on file with the DMV is his current address, but I’m not holding my breath. With his computer knowledge, he could alter any info on file with the DMV if he had to, even the info on the car rental’s computers if it’s a rental. We’re not going to catch this guy this way, but we’ve got to go through the motions because miracles occasionally do happen. How’s your neck?”
“I’ll live. Bye.”
I call Janet and she answers on the first ring. “They’ve got her?”
“The
y have. Meet me in front of your building. I’m leaving now.”
I break the connection and as I hurry out the door I pause briefly to tell Felicity where I’m headed and she informs me that Hank Aldrich was spotted not far from there earlier this morning.
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve opened a channel of communication with the folks answering the phones in the FBI conference room. I told them I was acting as liaison between them and you. I figured you’d like that kind of arrangement.”
Smiling and giving her the universal sign of approval with my forefinger and thumb, I make for my car and a challenge to my gift for gab.
Janet is waiting for me when I pull up to the front of her office building and as she jumps into the car she says, “Where are we going?”
I tell her and include what Felicity just told me.
“I sure hope he’s nowhere around Bud’s now. I’m getting tired of being shot at and you know that old saying, ‘The third time is the lucky charm’.”
“Luck works both ways, Janet. The third time he could miss again and wind up being shot himself or being shackled in a set of handcuffs.”
“You do have a way with words, Dawson. Let’s hope you’re in good form when you’re face-to-face with Katherine Aldrich.”
When we get to Bud’s Luncheonette it’s approaching eleven o’clock and there are only a few customers sitting at the counter and all of the booths are empty except for the booth in the back where Ericson and two women are sitting. Ericson introduces the younger of the two women as Doris Douglas, an agent in his department, and then introduces Katherine Aldrich. The lady looks like she hasn’t been getting much sleep. From the look of her eyes she’s been crying and from the way she’s strangling the handkerchief in her hands she’s taking anxiety to new levels for her and is about to completely fall apart. Being questioned by a group of strangers, two of which are FBI agents, certainly isn’t going to help the situation any, so after the introductions I suggest to Don that they retreat to the counter for another cup of coffee while Janet and I talk with Katherine.
Don agrees and the relief that Katherine feels is quite apparent in the features of her face and is reinforced by the big sigh that erupts from her mouth. “Mrs. Aldrich, may I call you Katherine?”
She nods and I continue. “Katherine, I know you’re going through hell right now and having to deal with answering a bunch of nosy questions isn’t helping you any, but I’m sure you understand why this must be done. Have you been questioned by any of the agents you’ve met so far?
“No, I’ve just been told me that I am being detained for questioning about my husband’s whereabouts and behavior. Agents Ericson and Douglas just said that two people involved in the Crusader investigation would be arriving shortly to talk with me and then coffee was ordered and we’ve been waiting for you folks to get here.”
“I’m going to be honest with you about everything Janet and I are up to this morning. My first goal is to earn your trust so you will feel comfortable in talking with us and answering our questions as truthfully as possible. One way to do that is for us to answer your questions first and you can judge for yourself whether or not we’re being straight with you. We’ll answer them as honestly and with as much alacrity as we can. We won’t beat around the bush. How do you feel about that?”
“I like it. My first question is who are you two to be involved in this investigation and why are you questioning me instead of the FBI?”
We give her a truthful, straightforward, answer which she thinks about for a minute and then we’re off and running. It’s turning out not to be a typical question and answer session and I’m not having to do much prodding. We just started talking about everything that has happened since the Crusader first put in an appearance and now all of a sudden the floodgates are opening and she’s telling us everything she can think of regarding the devastation she and her husband felt over the death of their son, the frustration they went through trying to get someone to listen to their pleas for justice and the changes this frustration brought about in her husband. She had no idea that the Crusader and her husband were one and the same person until the media blitz.
Janet asks, “Katherine, what thoughts went through your mind when your husband told you he wanted to quit his job and move away?”
“At first, I was shocked. He had a very good job and was moving up in the company. We had a nice home, lots of nice neighbors and loads of friends in the area. However, when he told me that there were too many memories there for him and he wanted to start over somewhere else it made a kind of sense and I didn’t give him any more static. I love my husband very much and even though I didn’t want to start over someplace else he was so depressed that I felt that if I didn’t go along with him he might become suicidal. He refused to get medical help, so I agreed to what he wanted to do. I never dreamed he would resort to what is being said about him.”
I ask, “What made him decide to move in the house you own here?”
“That was something I insisted on. At least I’d be moving into something I was familiar with. The tenants who had been living there for years had to leave the area because the husband got a better job in Palo Alto, CA. Hank didn’t see it my way, but when he saw that I wasn’t going to back down he relented.”
I follow up with, “Do you have any idea where your husband is staying now? You told the agents that approached you when you left your house this morning that he’s not living with you currently.”
“A little over a month after we moved in he told me that he was going to go into business for himself and was going to be doing quite a bit of traveling trying to drum up business. He was going to rent or maybe even buy a motor home so he wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money on lodgings and would call me every night to touch base. He packed up a couple of suitcases and drove off. He kept in touch fairly regularly until his name and face started to appear everywhere. I haven’t heard from him since.”
I ask, “How are you financially?”
“I have no worries there. The property management operation brings in decent money and we have reserves I can draw on if I have a need.”
I say, “Katherine, although you obviously understand why your husband went off the deep end and you can empathize, sympathize, with him you don’t condone what he’s been doing do you?”
“To be honest with you, at first I did and then very quickly I had second thoughts and realized that he was just as guilty of murder as the people responsible for my son’s death. That was a hard pill to swallow, but I got it down and all I do now is pray that he will be apprehended and receive treatment for his mental illness. He is a sick man, Mr. Dawson. That doesn’t excuse him from what he’s done, but I don’t think he can stop himself now even if he has some remorse for what he’s done. Our son’s death also brought about the death of the man I knew and love. I wish there was something I could do to help bring an end to all of his killing, but I don’t have any idea about what I could do.”
I answer with, “Right now the first thing that comes to my mind is if your husband contacts you don’t mention that you have been talking with Janet, me or the FBI. If you do, he’ll probably hang up right away and never call you again. He’ll immediately suspect that a tap might be on the phone. Your husband is a very mixed up guy right now, but he’s also very smart and intuitive or he’d been in custody by now. Try to find out where he’s staying, but don’t be too pushy about it as he might get suspicious of that as well. Try to talk him in to giving himself up. I know that’s a real long shot, but in his present mental state he’s liable to do anything, even surprise us by doing the unanticipated. Katherine, I’d also like to have your permission for the FBI to put a tap on your phone, so if he does call we’ll then know where he’s calling from. Despite what you see in the movies and on TV, with today’s technology a phone call can be traced almost immediately no matter if it’s a cell phone or a landline phone. However, the longer you can keep him on the phone the
more time the authorities will have to get to his location before he leaves. We can get a court order for the phone tap, but that would take time and he might call while we’re waiting for a judge to sign it. Also, I’d like the record to show you did everything possible to help us bring an end to your husband’s vendetta.