Dupree's Resolve

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Dupree's Resolve Page 13

by Micheal Maxwell


  Perlang looked up and down the street, turned and casually walked back to his car. He opened the trunk and again using the handkerchief, shoved Whiting’s gun into the folds of a red plaid car blanket. He took three deep breaths through his nose.

  “That wasn’t too bad.”

  He slipped the pistol from his pocket and tucked it under his seat when he opened the door of the car. Several minutes passed as he sat motionless watching the street in front of him and the Land Rover. A raised, silver, Chevy pickup pulled up behind the dead man’s car. Two locals in Levi jackets and cowboy boots, one with a ponytail, and one wearing a knit cap approached the car.

  Ponytail looked at his partner and gave his head a hard jerk back towards their truck. He quickly rounded the Rover and ponytail got back in the waiting pickup. Perlang watched as stocking cap opened the passenger door and bent inside the car. It only took moments but the man surfaced with a fist full of plastic bags. He tucked the drugs into both front pockets, they bulged as he moved uncomfortably back to his car.

  Seconds later the pickup pulled from the curb and made its way down the street just as casually as Perlang walked back to his car. He was pleased he thought to remove the magnetic realty sign from his front doors.

  “Honor among thieves,” Perlang huffed. He cursed himself for not thinking of the drugs. He started his car and drove straight ahead. He did not turn right or left, but crossed the street and into the alley behind the Land Rover. He drove three blocks down the alley before making a left turn and heading back to work.

  CHAPTER 12

  “There are several gentlemen who would like a word.” Tomi gave Dupree a slight shrug. “A Mr. Franz, along with three teens.”

  “By all means show them in.” Dupree stood and moved toward the door. “Hi, guys!”

  Tyler Franz extended his hand. “Good to see you.”

  “Who are these handsome gentlemen?”

  The boys laughed.

  “What, no hamburger?” Dupree was delighted to see the group. They were among the first people he met in White Owl. Dupree was always fond of the boys. He was also a big fan of the pub grub at the White Owl Brewery that Tyler owned.

  “Irish Cheddar, grilled onions, no mustard, extra bacon.” Tyler grinned. “No, not today, sorry.”

  “Always with the jokes.” Zach Franz shook Dupree’s hand. Dupree pulled him in for a one-handed bear hug.

  “Hey Steven, Heath.” Dupree repeated the handshake hug. “Come in, have a seat. Tell me what’s going on. Or should we play catch up first?”

  The group moved in and Tyler took a seat. The boys looked at each other and then the single chair that was left.

  “Grab those.” Dupree pointed to two side chairs next to the sofa.

  “So, what grade are you guys in now? Ninth, Tenth?”

  “Ninth.” Heath was last to be seated.

  “Wow. So, what’s goin’ on? How can I be of assistance?”

  “First off, nobody’s in trouble.” Tyler brought a seriousness to the conversation. “We know what needs to be done, but we want to be sure… Well, if there is any chance of any kind of blowback or potential repercussions.”

  “Alright. Who wants to start?” Dupree frowned and shifted his weight in his seat.

  Steven leaned forward a bit. “We’re witnesses.”

  The room grew uncomfortably quiet. Steven’s hushed tone gave his words a sense of secrecy.

  “To what?” Dupree watched the boys closely. “Look, remember when we talked about Attorney-Client privilege? I know it was a while ago, but it means, whatever is said in here is sacred, secret, and cannot, and will not be pulled out of me by wild horses. So just spit it out.”

  This time Zach did the talking. “We saw the guy who burned that house down. The one with the lady in it.”

  “Go on.” Dupree was dumbfounded by the admission.

  “We were across the street.”

  “Why? That’s a pretty sketchy neighborhood. And what were you doing out of school at that time of day?”

  “It was Saturday.”

  “OK. Same question.” Dupree was afraid of the answer. He prayed it wasn’t drugs.

  Zach looked at his dad. “Buying an Xbox.”

  “From who?”

  “A kid from school.”

  “Alright.”

  “Go on.” Tyler was showing a bit of irritation.

  “We were waiting in the living room while Nicolas went to his room to get the Xbox. Steve saw him first.” Zach nodded at his friend.

  “That right?” Dupree was wishing they would cut to the chase.

  “Yes, sir. I was looking out the window when the guy came out. It seemed funny to me that a guy in a suit was in such a ghetto house.”

  “Then what?”

  “He got in his car and drove off.”

  “That’s when the place exploded and the fire started.”

  “By the way, do your folks know you are here?” Dupree didn’t ask earlier, never imagining the conversation would take such felonious turn.

  “I called them. They sent me.” Tyler kind of nodded.

  “Now, I want you to think long and hard. Don’t look at each other. Can you identify the person you saw?”

  Steve gave an emphatic, “Yes.”

  “No. But I saw the car.”

  “Me too.”

  Dupree looked at Heath. “Me too what?”

  “I saw the car.”

  Dupree took a deep breath. “I know you guys well enough to know you have been over this a hundred times. You remember the game Telephone? It works the same way when a group of people tells a story over and over.”

  Dupree wasn’t pleased by the group’s single witness. Steven knew what he saw. The other two may or may not have been influenced by the other’s description of the car. He knew he must proceed with deliberate hesitation, and doubt of what the boys said from this point.

  “Steven, what kind of car was it?”

  “Mazda, silver.”

  “You’re sure it was a Mazda?”

  “The logo, the kind of square thing with the seagull or bird?”

  “Heath, anything to add?”

  “I don’t know. There was one thing. There was a rectangle shape on the door where a sign was? The car was kind of dirty so it kind of stood out.”

  “Zach, you saw the car too?”

  “Yeah. I wasn’t paying that much attention to the car really, but I got a closer look at the guy.”

  “Could you describe him?”

  “Sure, he’s that real estate guy. He sponsored our soccer team. His name is on the pictures. Ray Pearls.”

  “Perlang.” Tyler corrected his son gently. “Ray Perlang, he sold us the building for the brewery.”

  “So, why not go to the police? Why come to me?”

  “It has been two weeks. The boys finally decided they need to tell somebody.”

  “Admirable, but like you said, it’s been two weeks.”

  “That’s why we’re here. Do they run the chance of getting in trouble? I mean sitting on this kind of information?”

  “They are minors and as such, there is a certain amount of leniency. I think if they waited a month or two there might be a problem.” Dupree cleared his throat and looked each boy in the eye. “Here’s the deal. There are two ways to approach this. One, you go to the Sheriff’s office and file a report. I can go with you if you want. Or, you can give a sworn statement and I can present it for you. In either case, you will have to testify. That can be done on video. You would not have to appear.”

  “What’s this gonna cost?” Steven was close to tears.

  “Nothing. I don’t charge friends.” Dupree paused for effect. “The first time.”

  “Thank you.” Tyler Franz gave a sigh of relief.

  “Whatever you decide, this has to be done immediately. Tyler, if you want you can use Tomi’s phone to call the other parents. We’ll stay in here.”

  “No need for that. Let’s go to the Sheri
ff’s office.”

  “Dad!”

  “There is a moral lesson here. You guys, as members of this community, owe it to your fellow citizens to do what is right. You should have come straight home and told what you saw. For whatever reason, you chose not to. I get that, but you need to be stand up guys. Isn’t that right Dupree?”

  “Some of the best advice I’ve heard in a long time.” Dupree stood up. “Shall we?”

  The boys stood and looked at Tyler and Dupree.

  “Let’s do this.” Steven fist-bumped his two friends.

  As the group left the office Dupree stopped for a moment at Tomi’s desk. “I’ll be back in an hour or less. Have my next appointment sit tight.”

  “Will do.”

  As the group hit the sidewalk Tyler asked, “You want to ride with us?”

  Dupree looked up at the sky. The clouds were starting to swirl and darken. That seems like a really good idea. The three boys hopped in the back of the Jeep Cherokee and Dupree took the front passenger seat.

  They drove mostly in silence on their way to the sheriff’s office. Soft rock music played on the stereo but Dupree couldn’t identify the artist or the song. Tyler pulled up in front of the building and Dupree turned to the boys in the back seat.

  “Remember what we talked about. Tell the absolute exact truth, nothing more, nothing less, and everything will be okay. Got it?”

  “Yes, sir.” One by one the boys nodded and exited the car.

  “You’re getting to be a regular around here.” The desk sergeant looked up and smiled at Dupree. “What have we got here?”

  “These three gentlemen are primary witnesses to the house that burned on… What’s the name of that street?”

  “Little Pine.” Steven stepped up to the desk.

  “Is that right?”

  The boys all nodded and joined Steven and Dupree.

  “Let me get someone for you to talk to. Have a seat. This could take a while.”

  Dupree stepped back away from the counter. The boys turned and went to sit on one of the benches.

  “I think you can handle this from here on out. I just wanted the boys to know I had their back.”

  “I appreciate your help. I think this is a lesson to last a lifetime.” Tyler shook hands with Dupree. “Do you want me to run you back to your office?”

  “No, you better stick around. I think the rain’s going to hold off long enough for me to get back to the office. If you have any problems give me a holler.” Dupree turned to leave.

  “Where are you going?” Zach jumped to his feet. “You said you were going to be with us.”

  “Actually, I said I’d go with you. Your dad’s got this. You don’t need me. You just need to tell the truth. If you feel uncomfortable, just say, ‘Dad’. If anything weird comes up your dad can call me. You guys are gonna do great. Be sure and come by and let me know what happens.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure.”

  “Positively.”

  “OK, thank you for helping.”

  Dupree left the warmth of the sheriff’s office to a blast of cold wind. Looking up at the sky he hoped he made the right decision.

  * * *

  Dupree shivered as he came into the warmth of the office. “Anything I need to deal with?”

  “Not until 2:30.”

  Before he could make it to his office door, the phone rang.

  “Law Offices. One moment, I’ll see if he’s in.” Dupree returned to the desk.

  “It’s Andrew Russell. He says he has some of the information you wanted.”

  Dupree nearly ran to his desk and picked up his phone. “Andrew, hi! What have you got for me?”

  “Nothing good, I’m afraid. There are numerous messages that match up with the phone list you sent me. There’s some pretty graphic stuff saved in a photo file. The messages sent show data attached but this particular phone doesn’t save the image in the sent file.”

  “So, what are you saying?” Dupree let out an exasperated sigh.

  “I’m afraid this doesn’t look good for your client at all. There are calls made to the boys’ numbers and there are photos stored. It would seem to me A+B=C. But, isn’t that where you try to cast a shadow of a doubt?”

  “It sounds to me that this is pretty damning evidence. If you could find it in just a couple of days, I’m sure the police already have. Let me ask you something. Is it possible that somebody planted those pictures on his phone?”

  “There is one weird thing about this phone. Is your client a tech guy?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, the SIM card has been partitioned. There are no contacts, No SMSs, and no emails on one side. The emails and photos are on the other side.”

  “Were they sent from there?”

  “This is the part where we have the most exposure. We’ll have to turn on the phone.”

  “But you don’t have the phone.” Dupree was starting to feel uncomfortable with where this was all leading.

  “I’ll have to put the SIM card in another phone. That means we’ll be traceable.”

  “Hold on, as in traced back to you? OK, that’s it, we’re done.”

  “It’s fine, I’ll do it quick. The IMEI has been changed. That’s like a gun serial number, another thing the phone’s been routed to. That means the user has no restrictions on the system.” Andrew paused. “Are you lost yet?”

  “Totally. Go on.”

  “The kernel was changed.”

  “Do these words really exist?

  Andrew chuckled. “It’s to manage communication and memory remotely. That’s what could possibly get us in.”

  “Can you do it?”

  “Anything’s possible. But it would take some pretty sophisticated equipment and hacker knowledge far beyond what I would be capable of. We may have hit a dead end. Either way, I think it would be really difficult to make the case that somebody hijacked this phone.”

  “Well, I can’t say that’s the news I wanted, but I do appreciate your help.”

  “I’m really sorry. I wish I would have had better news. I’ll take another look, but we have some real exposure here.”

  “Let’s not. Thanks, Andrew, I hope we meet someday.”

  “I do too.”

  Dupree signed off and put the phone back on the base and sat for a long moment staring at nothing in particular.”

  Dupree checked the clock. Forty-five minutes until his appointment. He took a file folder off the stack on the corner of his desk. He smiled. There was a time when he was lucky to have one or two, now the stack is a foot high.

  Deep in thought and preparing briefs for an auto damages case, Dupree looked at the clock. It was 3:00!

  “Hey, where’s my 2:30?”

  “No show. I called and there was no answer. I left a message.”

  “Add a hundred dollars to their billing for wasting a half-hour of my time. You know what? I think I’m going to take a break. I need some chocolate cake. Be back in a half-hour. Do you want anything?”

  “Nope, I’m good, thanks.”

  The clouds were now slivered and gone for the most part, but the crisp cold remained. Dupree walked briskly to the Quarter Moon. A wave of melancholy came over him as he passed Wharton’s Furniture. He missed Toby Wharton’s greeting of “Dupee!”

  The warmth of the café seemed to seep into his chilled muscles. He took a seat at the counter. He didn’t feel like being alone at a table or booth.

  “Hello, stranger.” TJ gave Dupree a big smile.

  “How’s the baby?”

  “Growing like a weed. Jarod’s trying to teach him to fish. He doesn’t realize two-year-olds have the attention span of a gnat.”

  Dara came out of the kitchen. “Well, hello.”

  “Is it safe to come in here?”

  “It better be.”

  “I needed a break. I thought a piece of chocolate cake would help pass the time.”

  “And a glass of milk?

  “I
believe that would fill the bill nicely.”

  TJ stepped toward the countertop cake case. “I’ll get it.”

  “You know the fellow I told you about the other night who was so upset? He’s disappeared.”

  “It does happen.” Dupree shrugged.

  “Not funny. There are a lot of concerned people around here.” Dara glanced towards the windows. “Come here, I want you to meet somebody, one of Mike Potter’s friends.”

  Dara led the way and headed for a couple seated next to the windows. He was Mike Potter’s best buddy, Jim Sauser.

  “Hey, Jim. How are you doing?” Dara asked. “I don’t believe I met your wife.”

  “This is Beth.”

  “Nice to meet you. I want you to meet my husband.”

  “Hi, I’m Dupree. Tell me about your friend.”

  “He’s my best friend, and hunting and drinking buddy.” Jim’s tone was combative and his body language took on an aggressive stance.

  “Potter has been missing for a week.” Beth began. “Potter’s wife has been telling people that my Jim and Potter are “Brokeback Mountain men”. She said they do more than hunt ducks in those blinds of theirs.”

  “That’s enough,” Jim said harshly.

  “Why would she say that?” Dupree moved a little closer to the table, seeing a crack in their relationship.

  “She’s a hateful bitch,” Jim snapped.

  “Mind if I have a seat?” Dupree didn’t wait for a response, he slid into the booth next to Beth.

  “Why do you care about Mike?” Jim asked.

  “My wife is upset; she says a lot of the regulars are concerned. I’ve had a little experience with this kind of thing. I can butt out. If you want some help, I’m willing.”

  “He’s going crazy. We all are. Mike’s a good guy.” Beth offered.

  “We can use all the help we can get.” Jim nodded intensely.

  “I need to ask some hard questions. You can’t take offense. Agreed?”

 

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