"Mom, Mr. Ozaki called and he has a couple of designs for me to look at, Would you like to meet him tomorrow, I asked if he would like to see some of the furniture here like the Greene and Greene parlor table and chairs. Is it okay to invite him for tomorrow?"
"Sure sweetheart, just let me know when he'll be here."
I called Hiro back and made the invitation and we agreed on Ten the next morning.
A black Mercedes GLC pulled into the drive, Art and Madeline emerged from the back seat and retrieved their bags from the back. Art placed the bags at the foot of the stairs and walked to the kitchen door. Mom was up in a shot and Art found himself in a tight embrace.
I welcomed Madeline in and offered her something to drink.
"How was the trip, did you have fun?" Mom asked.
"It was great Mom, we saw all sorts of wonderful things," Art assured her.
"Madeline were you impressed with the trip?" Mom inquired.
"Oh absolutely, the LoC and the Harvard libraries were quite impressive and we were able to see quite a bit of Boston including a private tour of the Revere house," Madeline chirped.
"It's nice to know you had a good trip, do you enjoy traveling in general?"
"Recreational travel yes, work related, not so much. When I fly for my own amusement I get to choose which airline and where I stay. With the system, they cram us into the cheapest seat they can find and the accommodations are often subpar," Madeline returned.
"Mike used to run into the same thing when traveling but it was usually because the accommodations near air bases were often scarce. He stayed in a lot of on base lodging and that's pretty austere," Mom sympathized.
"So how is Dad settling in at Boeing?" Art inquired.
"Oh, that's right you don't know. Mike didn't take the Boeing job, he's running the homicide bureau for King County Sheriffs. Quite a bit has happened in your absence Dear, John came to us early and several other things have happened that you should be aware of," Mom told him.
Fifteen minutes later Art was reeling with the news and Madeline sat smiling serenely and listening carefully.
"Where is the little boy you mentioned Minnie?" Madeline asked sweetly.
"He's upstairs with the neighbor boy building with Legos, they have really hit it off. Would you like to meet him?"
Madeline and Art both were anxious to meet John and Carter.
I went upstairs to bring them down and we introduced them to Art and Madeline.
Madeline made over both boys and they ate it up. Art held John on his lap and introduced himself. Art and Dad share the same stature and John was in awe of him.
"Nice to meet you John, I'm your brother Art, has Jem told you about me?"
"Yes, you look like Daddy, I never had a daddy or brothers before, Jem is very nice to me and so are Mommy and Daddy, do you like me?" John asked.
"If they love you, then so do I. I trust their judgment and you seem like a very nice little boy. I hope you'll grow to love me too."
John hugged as much of Art as he could manage and cuddled into him. It was obvious he had made a conquest in that moment.
I heard Dad's Durango roll into the driveway and back into the garage. I met him at the back door for a hug and kiss then led him to the living room to see Mom, Art and Madeline.
Once they had greeted each other and sat again Madeline asked us all to call her Leena, explaining that it was a diminutive of Madeline that she was comfortable with. John migrated from Art's lap to Dad's and seemed content just to be held.
After a bit of chat he went back up to play with Carter who had been in Mom's lap during the exchange.
"So Dad, Mom tells me you had a change of plans. You had mentioned Brad, is this his handiwork?" Art inquired.
"Yes and no, he did tell the Under Sheriff about me but with an eye to the reserve program but apparently Scott did a little digging and decided I could help him resurrect the detective bureau. It beats the hell out of visiting East Goatfart Mississippi to assess mods that will probably not be adopted. But I walked right into a major case. I'm not prepared to discuss the particulars but it's going to hit the news before long. Did Jem tell you about the incident at his new school?
"No, what happened!? Art inquired urgently.
"Chase was physically abused by the assistant choirmaster. I happened to look over at the right moment and caught him in the act. You will probably see the bruises when he and Jeff come to collect carter. The man gripped the back of Chase's bicep and pinched quite hard. The detective that was with me said that he had suffered similar punishment at the hands of the Jesuits at his school. I just cannot tolerate that kind of behavior, it has absolutely no place in education or any other dealings with children," Dad ranted a bit.
"I understand Dad, I'm not a fan of bullies, never have been. I won't tolerate them when I encounter them," Art agreed.
"Dad, I was thinking about that man, I wondered what made him like that. I told you about the boy called Benny , he goes by Nate now but he was a bully but it was because he was being severely abused at home. He finally told on them and saved himself. It was hard for him to do but he's better now. He came to lunch with his new foster dad. I'm just wondering if something made that man at the school become a bully," I speculated.
"Quite possibly son, we know he went to a catholic school and that the Jesuit teachers there could be brutal. He may try to make that part of his defense. But he's an adult and he knows better. Your friend Nate suffered horribly at the hands of his tormenters. Your mom told me that he was considering suicide but decided to strike back at his abusers and call for help. He credits you with giving him the understanding he needed to make it happen. I'm incredibly proud of you Jem, you are a gentle soul and John has so many of your qualities, he's very much like you in many ways. You might not see it but it's true," Dad replied.
Leena smiled across the room at me, "Jem er, is it okay if I call you that? I was told you play piano quite well. I wondered if you would like to sit and play a duet with me?"
"Jem is fine Leena, what would you like to play. I think the music for Schubert's military march is in the bench, Mom and I play a lot of duets."
"I love playing Schubert, let's give it a try," She suggested.
"Would you prefer left or right," I asked.
"I'll take left if you don't mind," Leena decided.
"Okay then let's get comfortable and see how it goes.
I discovered she was very familiar with both a keyboard and the piece we were playing. It was pure pleasure to join someone with her talent. She was flawless as she kept up the march tempo. It was easy to lay the melody beside her.
When we had finished Art rose and applauded and Mom and Dad, joined him.
Shortly after that, Jeff called to let us know that he they were on their way home and would stop by to collect Carter. Mom invited them to dinner and Jeff accepted.
*****
Herb drove his personal car to the observation post on N.E. 34th St. and found Antonia and Vince talking with a neighbor. They improvised a friendly greeting with hugs and handshakes.
They chatted with the neighbor about the neighborhood and things like trash pickup and street sweeping days. The neighbor mentioned that there was a path that ran the length of the block and crossed over to the next street. He had lived there since childhood and mentioned that all the streets had paths along the easements for the power poles. He told them that the path made it practical to walk to the small market nearby.
Antonia asked the man, Ted by name, about the neighbors and if any of them were hard to get along with.
He mentioned a couple of people that weren't terribly sociable but no extremely unpleasant people. Then he mentioned their subject.
"Marina has been pretty closed off, they used to socialize but her husband just up and left. I saw him throw a suitcase in the truck, load some stuff from the garage and hit the road. He hasn't been back since," Ted shared.
"Well, everybody has setbacks in life," Herb observed.
"Well if you talk to Palmer don't mention Louis, he apparently took some of Palmer's tools with him. He can go on for hours about it," Ted smirked.
Ted's wife called him in for dinner and waved from the doorstep.
The three detectives walked inside and discussed local activity and their subject's actions.
"You'll see a City Light truck here tomorrow, it will be one of the techs from the SAR unit with a drone. He's going to make a show of checking the power lines on the easement. Once we know how the path is laid out we can set up a few video cams to catch our subject if she tries to avoid being seen. We're already trying to trace Louis Hobart and his truck. A bit of data mining and we should be able to find a footprint if he's leaving any. Personally, I don't think he's around to be found,"
"Well so far we're not seeing much activity, we haven't had a glimpse of her since she arrived home. She backed her little car in, grabbed a shopping bag and entered the house through the side door. I thought it was a man at first. Blue jeans, T-shirt and a red plaid shirt over that. She lumbers along like a guy, bad posture too," Toni related. Oh hey, did we talk to anyone at the repair yard um, Vigor shipyard on Harbor Island?" Toni asked.
"Yes, we obtained samples of the paint from them but it's a different formulation for the spray guns. The brush on stuff isn't reduced with thinner. It changes the whole makeup of the paint. Plus the trace paint is contaminated with bird droppings and rust amongst other things," Herb explained.
"Ah, I understand. Oh, Jack Maloney is going to bring over some power tools to annoy the neighbors with. I already spoke with Angie um, Ted's wife and told her that we're fresh from Australia so the stage is set for that little bit of acting. I told her the Synod rented the house for us and that six of us would be living there with occasional overnighters of other missionaries in transit. I figured Lutheran was safer because they don't have any dietary rules and they're less likely to try for converts. Only two of us were actually raised Lutheran and we all survive on coffee and soda. LDS would have been a tough sell," Toni snickered.
"Good thinking, there's a lot of Lutherans here because of all the Scandinavians and Lutheran is low key. You never hear about them like you do with fundamentalists or the Roman Church and its scandals," Herb opined.
"Just curious, how were you raised, religion wise?" Toni asked.
"Anglican, Episcopalian in this country but I haven't attended since my college days. I didn't see the point." Herb went on to explain his childhood and the surprise revelation that he was in fact American.
"Damn, that's a hell of a thing to spring on a kid all at once. You must have felt like a fish out of water," Toni said, placing a hand on Herb's shoulder.
"Yeah I did, something funny though, guess who tumbled to my past life?" Herb asked.
"No idea? Who?"
"Mike, he's a lot sharper than he lets on. He's going to be really good for our bureau and the department in general. It's been ages since I worked with a commander of his abilities. Sorry about all the rah rah, but he really impresses me. I can see why Scott pulled him in."
"I know it got tougher when Major Williams retired. Reyes was completely useless according to everyone I talked to. And his two cronies are just like him. I don't know about the third guy but you said Mike brought him in so I'll cut him some slack," Toni put in.
"I think Enright is okay, he did at least check on his people regularly he and Lt. Foyle have both. Frank really bucked the system and spent a lot of his time at the bureau. Alvarez and Miller were both ghosts. They only showed up to talk to one or two guys and usually they did it away from the bureau, Herb explained.
"My boss is about to retire, if they appoint Barnstable to succeed him I'll stay but if not he and I will go elsewhere. Maybe I can get a lateral over here. Bob would be an asset but he's getting burned out in Port Orchard. He'd be a great here though," Toni spitballed.
"I'll mention it to Mike , but I would bet he would be receptive to bringing you both over."
"Matt Lindhurst is a good guy, but he's old fashioned and he really didn't like Reyes. He's a little too close to old man Harris. His retirement will leave a gap but I'm afraid Eric Dawson will get it because he's less detective and more social butterfly. Put that with his climber of a wife and they're quite a combination. Not bad people just focused on something other than solving cases," Toni griped.
"I've seen plenty of that, Snohomish just got themselves squared away. They had a big shake up over there. We're looking at the same here. I don't envy Mike his job, Herb commented.
Within fifteen minutes the other four residents arrived. Herb chatted with them and made for home.
Mike was in the office early Friday, he found an email from Dr. Singh from forensics.
The good doctor skipped the pleasantries and got right to the point. There was aerosol evidence of two different fragrances of perfume. Lancome La vie est Belle which was also found on the victim, and Revlon's Charlie fragrance. Dr. Singh elaborated on that fact writing that the trace was not the current formulation but the first Formulation of Charlie perfume. Whoever contributed the sample has been hoarding the perfume for decades.
Mike shot an email of thanks back to Dr. Singh and reviewed the rest of his inbox.
He reviewed an update from Herb about drones and video equipment. There was a remark about something he would bring up when they were face to face.
Mike's phone rang and it was Ike Danziger.
"Good morning Mike, how soon can you be at the Castle. We'd like for you to be present for the arrests of Lieutenants Alvarez and Miller, things broke loose last night and we have enough to act."
"I'll leave as soon as Frank and Paul get in, I want Frank with me and I need Paul to mind the store, It shouldn't be long. I'll give you a call when we're enroute."
"That sounds good, we've got time, neither one of our targets is prone to showing up before seven," Ike chuckled.
Frank walked in ten minutes later and Mike sent a text to Paul to get his ETA, Paul indicated he was another ten minutes out. When he arrived he was informed of the pending arrests. His response was a grin.
"I wish I could be there to see it but it's probably not a good idea. I'd have trouble keeping a straight face," He indicated.
Mike and Frank decided on taking one car and hot footed it to the Castle in Mike's new Durango.
"Good morning Scott, and you Ike, will Jean be joining us?"
"Yes he's here, but he's staying out of sight downstairs until our guests arrive."
"I'm hoping they arrive separately but they often stop for breakfast together. I doubt they'll put up any resistance but better safe than sorry. I have two men in a side room and they will affect the actual arrest, the rest of us will be here as cover and witnesses," Ike laid out the plan.
A little after seven fifteen Ike's radio beeped and Jean informed him that the two were in the lift.
The door alert pinged as they arrived and Ike said simply "showtime" into his radio before the doors opened.
"Good morning gentlemen, Mike began. I'm afraid this is a surprise inspection. It's come to my attention that nearly half the bureau are carrying sidearms that are not on the approved list. Since they learn by example I want to make sure my command staff are complying with departmental rules. To that end, please present your duty weapons for inspection," Mike instructed.
Alvarez looked insulted but removed his Sig Sauer from its holster and ejected both the magazine and the chambered round as Miller did the same. Alvarez was carrying the right model and caliber but Miller was not. With their duty weapons safely in Mike and Franks hands Scott nodded and two IA officers emerged from their hiding place just as Ike stepped out to greet the pair. The elevator pinged again and Jean stepped out.
"Gentlemen," Ike nodded. "Anthony Miller and David Alvarez you are under arrest for maintaining an ongoing criminal enterprise. More charges will be amended but for the moment these two officers will Mirandize you separately."
The IA men searched both former lieutenants and removed their badges and ID as well as their billfolds and keys. They were handcuffed and taken to the holding cells in the garage level.
"Quick thinking Mike, I saw the relief on Alvarez face when you said it was an inspection. He was pissed but he didn't look like he was cornered," Scott applauded.
"What about the other two, I mean Hill should be easy but Harris is in Tacoma isn't he?"
"Harris will be taken into custody when he reports for assignment this morning. We organized a replacement to fill in for a day until you can get another body down there. And you're right, we'll roach motel detective Hill, he'll go in but he won't come out. We don't need anything from the conspirators to convict them. We have witnesses and electronic evidence. We'll be taking in a few civilians also," Ike explained.
"Well that leaves me short two lieutenants and two detectives. But I have some ideas on that score. Ike it's been a pleasure, give my regards to Jean. Thanks for including us, it was satisfying seeing the looks on their faces. I presume you're executing search warrants for their homes and vehicles. Once you're done with the vehicles we'd like them back, as well as Miller's issue sidearm and their radios, my bureau is responsible for them." Mike stated.
No problem Mike, we'll keep you up to date. There's no need to check them into evidence. Once we clear them a tech will call you to say they're available. The firearms will be returned to the armory for reissue, per department regs. I'll send you copies of the paperwork." Ike supplied.
"That works for me. As long as their accounted for I'm happy. LAPD lost track of more than three hundred weapons through mismanagement. Only a small number were actually missing but the media made quite a circus of it and a lot of people lost rank," Mike agreed.
"I heard about that, they use that as an example in training IAD people," Ike said. "Oh Scott, here's their badges and ID's they won't be needing them any longer."
Scott took possession of the ID cases and motioned Mike and Frank to his office as Ike walked to the elevator.