Body in the Woods, page 21
After checking into the hotel and taking a quick shower I went downstairs to the front desk to ask for the closest restaurant open for dinner. It may be 9:30 pm on the east coast, but I’d become used to west coast time and so was my stomach. Three restaurants were within walking distance, but only one was still open and only until 10 pm. Romans Italian it was. And, to my surprise it did not disappoint.
My stomach was happy and so was I. I was on the hunt and so close to my prey I could feel it. Time for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow would hopefully be the beginning of a busy and productive week.
CHAPTER 46
Wednesday, August 1
In the morning I went down for breakfast and took my laptop with me. Munching on my scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuit smothered in gravy, I opened my computer and powered up. Being the first of the month, my bills were due. After that I retrieved my mail hold. I was coming up on 30 days and didn’t want a pile of mail stuck in my mailbox, especially since I had no idea when I’d be returning. A call to my local post office took longer than I’d hoped, but finally things were resolved.
Still debating on letting Vance know where I was, I decided to send him a quick text that I’d be out of town for a least the next week.
Now on to Hines. I decided to skip apartments all together. If Hines was transferring six thousand a month to live on, he definitely wasn’t living in an apartment. By now I knew enough about him to believe he would maintain his level of comfort and taste in his lifestyle. There was no reason for him to deviate from that.
I also discounted hotels. He guarded his privacy too well. It came down to him either having bought an exclusive home or he was renting one. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he had a housekeeper. My advantage in all this was that I was entirely an unknown. I knew him, but he had no clue that someone was now very close to smoking him out.
The one thing I didn’t have was a picture of Hines. No problem. I did a Google search and found several, uploading them for future reference and storing them on my iPhone. My next Google query was for a list of recently sold homes on the island. Yeah, I know. I’d already searched Zillow for sold homes under Hines’ name and had come up empty. But he could have changed his name or he could be hiding under a business name. In addition, I added a list of rental properties just in case.
All options were open at this point. My job was to narrow down the possibilities. My plan was to visit each of the recently sold homes on my list. Using the last name of the seller, I would say I was looking for a friend who used to live at that address. A boring process, but all part of a PI’s job. If this produced no results, then I’d go to my list of rental homes. But, I was optimistic on getting a hit from the list of recent sales.
After finishing breakfast, I headed out to the first home on the list. I rang the doorbell and waited. When the door opened, I was greeted by an elderly man who must have been in his mid-seventies.
“Sorry to bother you, sir, but I had a friend by the name of Bill Crenshaw who lived at this address. I was expecting to see him.”
“Oh, yes. Bill Crenshaw. He’s the gentleman who sold the house to us. Sorry, I have no idea where he moved to.”
“I see. Again I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“No problem. But you might want to check with the real estate company. Perhaps they will know more.”
That was my monologue for each house I visited. House after house. Two whole days. No Hines. I had to accept the fact that he’d not bought a house. Now it was on to rental properties. Thirty-four to be exact.
Using the same monologue I went to each and every one of those thirty-four. Another two days. There was only one house where no one answered the door. I went back twice. Still no answer. Researching further into the property, it was being rented out under the name of some obscure corporation. I got that prickly feeling on the back of my neck. Was I close?
Surveillance can be a bitch. But a necessary bitch. I’d taken the precaution of renting a car with tinted windows. Everything I could do at this point to avoid detection was crucial. I chose my spot and waited. Three more days passed. I was at the end of my week’s rental on the car and called to extend it as well as my stay at the hotel. I wasn’t about to quit now.
CHAPTER 47
Wednesday, August 8
On my fourth day of surveillance I hit pay dirt. At 6 pm, a car drove into the driveway and the automatic garage doors opened. A man got out of the car and walked back out to the mailbox. I took several pictures of him front, side, and back. Quickly comparing them to the pictures I’d downloaded on my iPhone.
Bingo! It was Hines.
Driving back to my hotel, it was hard not to be giddy. I’d found the bastard. Now I had to plan my next move. But first I needed a reprieve. An ‘atta boy’ evening of congratulations. During a long bath complete with a chilled Samuel Adams, a zillion things came into my mind. I had to admit I was both excited and a little bit wary of discovering Hines. He’d brutally killed a man. I’d had my share of experiences with that kind of mentality.
After my bath, I returned to Romans Italian for another superb Italian dinner. I ordered garlic jumbo shrimp with angel hair pasta. My wine choice was a bottle of Liebfraumilch Riesling, the perfect white wine to enjoy with delicious pasta.
I confess. I drank the whole bottle. Dessert was a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and nuts. To finish off my evening, I had a cup of coffee and an after-dinner drink of Tia Maria.
I wanted to live large. I made a toast.
To Heinrich Hines. I found you, you son-of-a-bitch.
After dinner, I returned to my hotel room, made a cup of coffee, and opened my laptop. I needed to decide what to do next. I could call the Wild Oaks Police Department and speak with Detective Campbell. He’d relish the information. But on second thought, no. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. In fact, just the opposite. I wanted to humiliate him as he’d done to me that evening at Vance’s.
I stopped myself in mid-thought.
Hold your horses, Jack. You know better than to do things based on your emotions.
My ego had to wait. Think! I’d come this far and I had no intention of blowing it. But I also had to accept the fact that I’d become obsessed with finding Hines. I also knew I worked better under pressure. All those frustrating leads that went nowhere were now paying off big bonuses.
The most logical thing to do was to contact the local police and coordinate the takedown with them. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do this on my own. Too much was at stake.
Googling led me to the Glenn County Police Department located in Brunswood. Their Facebook page had an interesting description:
“The Glenn County Police Department is a full-service progressive law enforcement agency with 122 officers. We serve over 80,000 residents and several thousand visitors of Glenn County and the Golden Isles of Georgia.”
Their chief detective for St. Simmond Island was Detective Brian Feathergatherer. Funny name. But, who knows. I’d call him first thing in the morning and see.
CHAPTER 48
Thursday, August 9
Breakfast was short and sweet. Afterwards I dialed the Glenn County Police Department.
“Good morning. Glenn County Police Department. Lynn speaking.”
“Good morning, Lynn. My name is Jack Ludefance. I’m a PI from Florida working on a case on St. Simmond Island and I’d like to speak to Detective Brian Feathergatherer.”
“He’s not here right now. Would you like to leave a message for him to call you back?”
“Yes, I would. Tell him to call me on my iPhone.”
I gave my number, hung up, and waited. And waited. Not that I was impatient. My iPhone rang at 10:15 am.
“This is Detective Feathergatherer. I’d like to speak with Jack Ludefance.”
“This is Jack Ludefance.”
“You called and left a message for me to call you?”
“Yes. Is there a way we can meet?”
“This may be the south, Mr. Ludefance. But first you need to tell me who you are and why you called me.”
“As I told Lynn, I’m a PI from Florida, Detective. By the way, I am from the south. New Orleans to be exact. But to get back to why I called you. I’m currently investigating the murder of Heinrich Hines, who was a California resident. I’d like to talk to you about it but I don’t want to discuss it on the phone.”
“What does a murder in California have to do with St. Simmond Island?”
“I can give you all the details if we can meet. But suffice it to say it concerns you because Heinrich Hines wasn’t murdered. He is currently residing here on your lovely little island. Really, Detective, I can’t tell you anything more on the phone.”
“Shouldn’t you be enquiring officially if this is police business?”
“Yes, I could. But don’t tell me you’d pass up the opportunity of good publicity for your precinct.”
Ya gotta love pregnant pauses.
“Okay, Mr. Ludefance. I’ll meet you.”
“I’m staying at the Holiday Inn Express.”
“2:30 this afternoon, Mr. Ludefance.”
“I’ll be in the lobby.”
“What is your room number so I can verify?”
“204, Detective. By the way, you can’t miss me. I have a scar on the left side of my face.”
“I’ll see you at 2:30 Mr. Ludefance.”
CHAPTER 49
At 2:15 pm I was in the lobby with my computer in hand and chose a comfortable chair close to the entrance. I sat with my scar facing the door so there’d be no way he could miss me when he walked in. 2:30 pm on the dot a very tall man entered, looked around, then nodded at me.
He had to be over six-foot-five. His face was pleasant, but harried-looking. He sported a red mustache, longish hair, and his blue eyes caught my attention, as did his trim physique. No pouchy overweight detective here. Detective Feathergatherer appeared to be in his late forties to early fifties and I wondered how close he was to retirement.
No suit. What’s with detectives nowadays not wearing suits? He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans ripped at the knees and a black short-sleeved T-shirt. If he hadn’t acknowledged me, I’d never have thought him to be a detective, but rather a factory worker of some kind. But, then again, maybe he was working undercover.
I stood up as he approached me.
“I’m Detective Feathergatherer.”
He said it so fast that I only caught the last “therer” part.
“Jack Ludefance.”
He sat down in the chair next to me.
“Need to see some ID, Mr. Ludefance.”
As I pulled out my wallet, I said, “You as well, Detective.”
He showed me his ID and I showed him both my driver’s license and PI license.
“Detective, would you rather we talk somewhere else over a cup of coffee?”
“Don’t they have coffee here?”
“Yes, they do, but we’d have to move to the breakfast area.”
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
I poured my coffee and kept it black as usual. He poured a cup of decaf adding three packets of cream and sugar.
“I guess carbs mustn’t have any effect on you.”
He ignored my insinuating comment and we sat down at a table for two.
“So. You’re the high and mighty PI, huh?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean by high and mighty?”
“Ah, let’s see. You just happen to be the PI who put that gangster behind bars. Holler or something, wasn’t it?”
“Now, Detective. Have you been Googling me?”
He shrugged.
“Yes, of course you have. You’re a detective. Being nosy is part of your job.”
“I’d say the same thing about you, pal, except you more than bend the rules and try and get away with it.”
“How do you figure?”
“Come on, Ludefance. Your Florida bust was all over the news. We stay up with whatever is going on in our business.”
“You couldn’t possibly have found out all that in four hours.”
“Like I said, you’re all over the news. Your private life is now public. That’s what happens when a PI becomes a celebrity.”
“No comment! Shall we talk about the business at hand?”
“Fine with me.”
“Are you familiar with the murder case of Heinrich Hines in California?”
“Not the details. Fill me in.”
“Two men by the names of Hines and McGruder go into business together. Hines is the engineer and McGruder is the money. They apply for and are granted a patent on Hines’ initial invention with the caveat that any improvements are included in the original patent. Hines perfects his product to the point that it has the ability to make items invisible.”
Feathergatherer raised his hand for me to stop.
“Invisible, huh? What kind of shit are you trying to feed me?”
“No shit, Detective. The product Hines developed makes aircraft invisible on radar. Every military in the world wants to get its hands on this invention. Hines turns up murdered and the prime suspect is his partner McGruder. You follow so far?”
“Of course I follow.”
“Well, here’s where it gets complicated. Hines, who was supposedly murdered, actually wasn’t murdered. He’s the murderer of whoever was murdered and later identified as Hines. I’ve located him here on your lovely little island and it’s my intention to have him arrested. That’s where your department comes in.”
“This sounds more like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. So if this Hines fellow isn’t dead, how was the murdered guy mistakenly identified as him?”
“Wild Oaks police used a hair sample from a comb found in Hines’ bathroom. The DNA sample from the comb matched the DNA of the dead body. They had no reason not to think it was Hines. They also suspect McGruder was the murderer because of a very heated argument the two had about a week before. McGruder maintains his innocence and hired me to find out who murdered Hines.”
“Sounds cut and dry to me. So what makes you think Hines isn’t dead and is here on St. Simmond?”
“At the moment, I can’t disclose how I found out he’s here, but I have picture proof that he is.”
I took out my iPhone and brought up the pictures I’d taken yesterday of Hines. Along with that I opened my computer and showed the detective several of Hines’ pictures circulating on the Internet.
“Have to say it sure does look like the same guy. That is certainly some crazy story. Do you pick and choose your cases?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem to have some rather intriguing cases. I’m just guessing you’re a picky PI.”
“That’s not exactly how it works, Detective. I have no control over what cases come to me, but yes, I do control which ones I take. Part of being in business for myself.”
“So where is he, this Hines guy?”
“I have the address. He’s living in a rental near the beach. All I need is you as my back-up to arrest him after I go in.”
“You know I have to explain all this to my captain.”
“I would rather you didn’t. At least not for the time being. First, I have to plan how I’m going to confront him. Once I’m there, he’s all yours. At that point, I’m sure your captain will be coordinating with the Wild Oaks police to extradite him back to California.”
“Look, Ludefance. You’re talking about busting a murderer and you don’t want back-up from the police?”
“Yes and no.”
He looked at me with his hands opened upward as if to say ‘explain.’
“Hear me out, will you?”
“I’m listening.”
“I know how it looks. The important thing is not only that you arrest him, but also that first I get him to talk about how he murdered the other man. So…I figured I’d wear a wire, courtesy of the Glenn County Police Department. Sound good?”
“Huh. You are one conniving bastard, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Heard that one before. That’s what I call staying alive. One step ahead of my adversary. Here’s how I think it should go down. I wear a wire and go in. You stay behind with full gear. I’m pretty sure he’s armed and I’m going in with the assumption that he is. And I carry. I can’t tell you how it’s going to turn out, but my intention is to get him under gun point and we won’t have any problems. After he’s told me what I need to know, I hand him over to you.”
“That’s assuming your plan works. You actually think you can make him spill his guts?”
“If it doesn’t work, we have to have a plan B which would be full back-up.”
“Look, Ludefance. I have to tell my captain. Without his knowledge how the hell do you suppose I can arrange full back-up?”
“The problem with informing your captain is that he’s going to get in contact with Wild Oaks Police and that is going to fuck everything up. I don’t want the police in California to know anything about this until we secure Hines. Then and only then can you guys can turn him over.”
“Why don’t you come with me and tell my captain your plans? I’m telling you again, there is no way we can handle this without him. I’ll persuade him not to contact California for the time being.”
It was nearing 4:30, but I agreed to follow Detective Feathergatherer to the Glenn County Police Station. After a long talk with the captain and with the detective’s help we convinced him to stay low key. A police wire was arranged and the arrest was scheduled for the next evening. An unmarked car would be stationed close to Hines’ rental to track his whereabouts.
For me, it was sure to be a sleepless night.
CHAPTER 50
Friday, August 10
To say I was apprehensive would be an understatement. Too much was riding on my plan working. Both for me and for McGruder. But as the scheduled time approached a calmness overcame me. I was as ready as I could be.
My stomach was happy and so was I. I was on the hunt and so close to my prey I could feel it. Time for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow would hopefully be the beginning of a busy and productive week.
CHAPTER 46
Wednesday, August 1
In the morning I went down for breakfast and took my laptop with me. Munching on my scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuit smothered in gravy, I opened my computer and powered up. Being the first of the month, my bills were due. After that I retrieved my mail hold. I was coming up on 30 days and didn’t want a pile of mail stuck in my mailbox, especially since I had no idea when I’d be returning. A call to my local post office took longer than I’d hoped, but finally things were resolved.
Still debating on letting Vance know where I was, I decided to send him a quick text that I’d be out of town for a least the next week.
Now on to Hines. I decided to skip apartments all together. If Hines was transferring six thousand a month to live on, he definitely wasn’t living in an apartment. By now I knew enough about him to believe he would maintain his level of comfort and taste in his lifestyle. There was no reason for him to deviate from that.
I also discounted hotels. He guarded his privacy too well. It came down to him either having bought an exclusive home or he was renting one. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he had a housekeeper. My advantage in all this was that I was entirely an unknown. I knew him, but he had no clue that someone was now very close to smoking him out.
The one thing I didn’t have was a picture of Hines. No problem. I did a Google search and found several, uploading them for future reference and storing them on my iPhone. My next Google query was for a list of recently sold homes on the island. Yeah, I know. I’d already searched Zillow for sold homes under Hines’ name and had come up empty. But he could have changed his name or he could be hiding under a business name. In addition, I added a list of rental properties just in case.
All options were open at this point. My job was to narrow down the possibilities. My plan was to visit each of the recently sold homes on my list. Using the last name of the seller, I would say I was looking for a friend who used to live at that address. A boring process, but all part of a PI’s job. If this produced no results, then I’d go to my list of rental homes. But, I was optimistic on getting a hit from the list of recent sales.
After finishing breakfast, I headed out to the first home on the list. I rang the doorbell and waited. When the door opened, I was greeted by an elderly man who must have been in his mid-seventies.
“Sorry to bother you, sir, but I had a friend by the name of Bill Crenshaw who lived at this address. I was expecting to see him.”
“Oh, yes. Bill Crenshaw. He’s the gentleman who sold the house to us. Sorry, I have no idea where he moved to.”
“I see. Again I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“No problem. But you might want to check with the real estate company. Perhaps they will know more.”
That was my monologue for each house I visited. House after house. Two whole days. No Hines. I had to accept the fact that he’d not bought a house. Now it was on to rental properties. Thirty-four to be exact.
Using the same monologue I went to each and every one of those thirty-four. Another two days. There was only one house where no one answered the door. I went back twice. Still no answer. Researching further into the property, it was being rented out under the name of some obscure corporation. I got that prickly feeling on the back of my neck. Was I close?
Surveillance can be a bitch. But a necessary bitch. I’d taken the precaution of renting a car with tinted windows. Everything I could do at this point to avoid detection was crucial. I chose my spot and waited. Three more days passed. I was at the end of my week’s rental on the car and called to extend it as well as my stay at the hotel. I wasn’t about to quit now.
CHAPTER 47
Wednesday, August 8
On my fourth day of surveillance I hit pay dirt. At 6 pm, a car drove into the driveway and the automatic garage doors opened. A man got out of the car and walked back out to the mailbox. I took several pictures of him front, side, and back. Quickly comparing them to the pictures I’d downloaded on my iPhone.
Bingo! It was Hines.
Driving back to my hotel, it was hard not to be giddy. I’d found the bastard. Now I had to plan my next move. But first I needed a reprieve. An ‘atta boy’ evening of congratulations. During a long bath complete with a chilled Samuel Adams, a zillion things came into my mind. I had to admit I was both excited and a little bit wary of discovering Hines. He’d brutally killed a man. I’d had my share of experiences with that kind of mentality.
After my bath, I returned to Romans Italian for another superb Italian dinner. I ordered garlic jumbo shrimp with angel hair pasta. My wine choice was a bottle of Liebfraumilch Riesling, the perfect white wine to enjoy with delicious pasta.
I confess. I drank the whole bottle. Dessert was a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and nuts. To finish off my evening, I had a cup of coffee and an after-dinner drink of Tia Maria.
I wanted to live large. I made a toast.
To Heinrich Hines. I found you, you son-of-a-bitch.
After dinner, I returned to my hotel room, made a cup of coffee, and opened my laptop. I needed to decide what to do next. I could call the Wild Oaks Police Department and speak with Detective Campbell. He’d relish the information. But on second thought, no. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. In fact, just the opposite. I wanted to humiliate him as he’d done to me that evening at Vance’s.
I stopped myself in mid-thought.
Hold your horses, Jack. You know better than to do things based on your emotions.
My ego had to wait. Think! I’d come this far and I had no intention of blowing it. But I also had to accept the fact that I’d become obsessed with finding Hines. I also knew I worked better under pressure. All those frustrating leads that went nowhere were now paying off big bonuses.
The most logical thing to do was to contact the local police and coordinate the takedown with them. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do this on my own. Too much was at stake.
Googling led me to the Glenn County Police Department located in Brunswood. Their Facebook page had an interesting description:
“The Glenn County Police Department is a full-service progressive law enforcement agency with 122 officers. We serve over 80,000 residents and several thousand visitors of Glenn County and the Golden Isles of Georgia.”
Their chief detective for St. Simmond Island was Detective Brian Feathergatherer. Funny name. But, who knows. I’d call him first thing in the morning and see.
CHAPTER 48
Thursday, August 9
Breakfast was short and sweet. Afterwards I dialed the Glenn County Police Department.
“Good morning. Glenn County Police Department. Lynn speaking.”
“Good morning, Lynn. My name is Jack Ludefance. I’m a PI from Florida working on a case on St. Simmond Island and I’d like to speak to Detective Brian Feathergatherer.”
“He’s not here right now. Would you like to leave a message for him to call you back?”
“Yes, I would. Tell him to call me on my iPhone.”
I gave my number, hung up, and waited. And waited. Not that I was impatient. My iPhone rang at 10:15 am.
“This is Detective Feathergatherer. I’d like to speak with Jack Ludefance.”
“This is Jack Ludefance.”
“You called and left a message for me to call you?”
“Yes. Is there a way we can meet?”
“This may be the south, Mr. Ludefance. But first you need to tell me who you are and why you called me.”
“As I told Lynn, I’m a PI from Florida, Detective. By the way, I am from the south. New Orleans to be exact. But to get back to why I called you. I’m currently investigating the murder of Heinrich Hines, who was a California resident. I’d like to talk to you about it but I don’t want to discuss it on the phone.”
“What does a murder in California have to do with St. Simmond Island?”
“I can give you all the details if we can meet. But suffice it to say it concerns you because Heinrich Hines wasn’t murdered. He is currently residing here on your lovely little island. Really, Detective, I can’t tell you anything more on the phone.”
“Shouldn’t you be enquiring officially if this is police business?”
“Yes, I could. But don’t tell me you’d pass up the opportunity of good publicity for your precinct.”
Ya gotta love pregnant pauses.
“Okay, Mr. Ludefance. I’ll meet you.”
“I’m staying at the Holiday Inn Express.”
“2:30 this afternoon, Mr. Ludefance.”
“I’ll be in the lobby.”
“What is your room number so I can verify?”
“204, Detective. By the way, you can’t miss me. I have a scar on the left side of my face.”
“I’ll see you at 2:30 Mr. Ludefance.”
CHAPTER 49
At 2:15 pm I was in the lobby with my computer in hand and chose a comfortable chair close to the entrance. I sat with my scar facing the door so there’d be no way he could miss me when he walked in. 2:30 pm on the dot a very tall man entered, looked around, then nodded at me.
He had to be over six-foot-five. His face was pleasant, but harried-looking. He sported a red mustache, longish hair, and his blue eyes caught my attention, as did his trim physique. No pouchy overweight detective here. Detective Feathergatherer appeared to be in his late forties to early fifties and I wondered how close he was to retirement.
No suit. What’s with detectives nowadays not wearing suits? He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans ripped at the knees and a black short-sleeved T-shirt. If he hadn’t acknowledged me, I’d never have thought him to be a detective, but rather a factory worker of some kind. But, then again, maybe he was working undercover.
I stood up as he approached me.
“I’m Detective Feathergatherer.”
He said it so fast that I only caught the last “therer” part.
“Jack Ludefance.”
He sat down in the chair next to me.
“Need to see some ID, Mr. Ludefance.”
As I pulled out my wallet, I said, “You as well, Detective.”
He showed me his ID and I showed him both my driver’s license and PI license.
“Detective, would you rather we talk somewhere else over a cup of coffee?”
“Don’t they have coffee here?”
“Yes, they do, but we’d have to move to the breakfast area.”
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
I poured my coffee and kept it black as usual. He poured a cup of decaf adding three packets of cream and sugar.
“I guess carbs mustn’t have any effect on you.”
He ignored my insinuating comment and we sat down at a table for two.
“So. You’re the high and mighty PI, huh?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean by high and mighty?”
“Ah, let’s see. You just happen to be the PI who put that gangster behind bars. Holler or something, wasn’t it?”
“Now, Detective. Have you been Googling me?”
He shrugged.
“Yes, of course you have. You’re a detective. Being nosy is part of your job.”
“I’d say the same thing about you, pal, except you more than bend the rules and try and get away with it.”
“How do you figure?”
“Come on, Ludefance. Your Florida bust was all over the news. We stay up with whatever is going on in our business.”
“You couldn’t possibly have found out all that in four hours.”
“Like I said, you’re all over the news. Your private life is now public. That’s what happens when a PI becomes a celebrity.”
“No comment! Shall we talk about the business at hand?”
“Fine with me.”
“Are you familiar with the murder case of Heinrich Hines in California?”
“Not the details. Fill me in.”
“Two men by the names of Hines and McGruder go into business together. Hines is the engineer and McGruder is the money. They apply for and are granted a patent on Hines’ initial invention with the caveat that any improvements are included in the original patent. Hines perfects his product to the point that it has the ability to make items invisible.”
Feathergatherer raised his hand for me to stop.
“Invisible, huh? What kind of shit are you trying to feed me?”
“No shit, Detective. The product Hines developed makes aircraft invisible on radar. Every military in the world wants to get its hands on this invention. Hines turns up murdered and the prime suspect is his partner McGruder. You follow so far?”
“Of course I follow.”
“Well, here’s where it gets complicated. Hines, who was supposedly murdered, actually wasn’t murdered. He’s the murderer of whoever was murdered and later identified as Hines. I’ve located him here on your lovely little island and it’s my intention to have him arrested. That’s where your department comes in.”
“This sounds more like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. So if this Hines fellow isn’t dead, how was the murdered guy mistakenly identified as him?”
“Wild Oaks police used a hair sample from a comb found in Hines’ bathroom. The DNA sample from the comb matched the DNA of the dead body. They had no reason not to think it was Hines. They also suspect McGruder was the murderer because of a very heated argument the two had about a week before. McGruder maintains his innocence and hired me to find out who murdered Hines.”
“Sounds cut and dry to me. So what makes you think Hines isn’t dead and is here on St. Simmond?”
“At the moment, I can’t disclose how I found out he’s here, but I have picture proof that he is.”
I took out my iPhone and brought up the pictures I’d taken yesterday of Hines. Along with that I opened my computer and showed the detective several of Hines’ pictures circulating on the Internet.
“Have to say it sure does look like the same guy. That is certainly some crazy story. Do you pick and choose your cases?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem to have some rather intriguing cases. I’m just guessing you’re a picky PI.”
“That’s not exactly how it works, Detective. I have no control over what cases come to me, but yes, I do control which ones I take. Part of being in business for myself.”
“So where is he, this Hines guy?”
“I have the address. He’s living in a rental near the beach. All I need is you as my back-up to arrest him after I go in.”
“You know I have to explain all this to my captain.”
“I would rather you didn’t. At least not for the time being. First, I have to plan how I’m going to confront him. Once I’m there, he’s all yours. At that point, I’m sure your captain will be coordinating with the Wild Oaks police to extradite him back to California.”
“Look, Ludefance. You’re talking about busting a murderer and you don’t want back-up from the police?”
“Yes and no.”
He looked at me with his hands opened upward as if to say ‘explain.’
“Hear me out, will you?”
“I’m listening.”
“I know how it looks. The important thing is not only that you arrest him, but also that first I get him to talk about how he murdered the other man. So…I figured I’d wear a wire, courtesy of the Glenn County Police Department. Sound good?”
“Huh. You are one conniving bastard, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Heard that one before. That’s what I call staying alive. One step ahead of my adversary. Here’s how I think it should go down. I wear a wire and go in. You stay behind with full gear. I’m pretty sure he’s armed and I’m going in with the assumption that he is. And I carry. I can’t tell you how it’s going to turn out, but my intention is to get him under gun point and we won’t have any problems. After he’s told me what I need to know, I hand him over to you.”
“That’s assuming your plan works. You actually think you can make him spill his guts?”
“If it doesn’t work, we have to have a plan B which would be full back-up.”
“Look, Ludefance. I have to tell my captain. Without his knowledge how the hell do you suppose I can arrange full back-up?”
“The problem with informing your captain is that he’s going to get in contact with Wild Oaks Police and that is going to fuck everything up. I don’t want the police in California to know anything about this until we secure Hines. Then and only then can you guys can turn him over.”
“Why don’t you come with me and tell my captain your plans? I’m telling you again, there is no way we can handle this without him. I’ll persuade him not to contact California for the time being.”
It was nearing 4:30, but I agreed to follow Detective Feathergatherer to the Glenn County Police Station. After a long talk with the captain and with the detective’s help we convinced him to stay low key. A police wire was arranged and the arrest was scheduled for the next evening. An unmarked car would be stationed close to Hines’ rental to track his whereabouts.
For me, it was sure to be a sleepless night.
CHAPTER 50
Friday, August 10
To say I was apprehensive would be an understatement. Too much was riding on my plan working. Both for me and for McGruder. But as the scheduled time approached a calmness overcame me. I was as ready as I could be.
