CHAPTER FIVE
ATLANTA
“Hello, Marcia?” said Donna Garrison as she was driving south on Interstate 95.
“Hi, Donna. What’s up?”
“I decided to leave a few hours earlier than planned. I should be there before your shift ends. How are things going?”
“So far so good. She has a vacationing neighbor named Brian Caufield. His character is questionable and he’s becoming a pest. I briefed the local deputy on the case and he conducted an informal interview at the man’s residence. Brian’s nervous about something, but it could be something as minor as an unpaid ticket somewhere. Brian is scheduled to commence part-time employment at a local food establishment tomorrow morning. The deputy has spoken with the owner of that establishment and requested a surreptitiously obtained sample of the Brian’s fingerprints.”
“I’ll be going into the establishment immediately after my shift to effect pick up and transfer. The deputy will run the prints upon receipt. He will contact me as expediently as possible with the results,” stated Marcia.
“Anything else?” asked Donna.
“We experienced one disconnect power down when the plugs were pulled. Other than that, it’s been very smooth.”
“I’ll install the locking plugs and outlets as soon as I arrive. How’s our client holding up?”
“She’s still seeing things and talking to herself. She said goodnight to the house. I assume she saw something or someone. If there was something there, she’s the only one who can see or hear it. I’ve got infrared running and I still show her as the only occupant.”
“Keep me posted,” said Donna. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Later,” replied Marcia as she made some camera angle modifications.
The following day, Robert drove to Mac’s apartment complex and sat with Carrie Wiggins, the apartment manager and Karl Stenson, the assistant manager. He brought his own video equipment to review the surveillance tape of Karl’s encounter with the policeman.
“Good morning. My name is Robert Munford. I’m with the Breson Detective Agency,” he said as he produced his credentials.
“Good morning,” replied Carrie with a big smile. “How would you like to start?”
“Let’s start with the video of the police questioning and we’ll go from there.”
Carrie smiled and said, “Why don’t we go back to the employee break area? It’ll be more private.”
Robert nodded and followed Carrie around a corner and down a hallway to the break room.
When he entered, he lifted his small suitcase and carefully set it on a brown, six foot folding table. He opened it and looked around the room.
“What are you looking for?” asked Carrie.
“I need a plug,” he replied.
Carrie moved a trashcan to one side, took the power cord from Robert and plugged it in.
He fiddled with the device inside the suitcase, produced a yellow notepad and said,
“What can you tell me about your visitor?”
“I can only relay what Karl told me and what’s on the video. I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. Would you like me to get Karl?”
“I’d appreciate it, thanks.”
“Will you need me anymore?” asked Carrie.
Robert shook his head and pushed a button in his suitcase that caused a small monitor to rise. He inserted the video and pushed the play button. He adjusted the tracking until the tape ran smoothly and then waited for Karl to arrive.
He removed his windbreaker and draped it over the back of a folding chair. He tucked his white polo shirt in and waited for Karl.
When Karl arrived, Robert was facing the entry and leaning against the table with his arms folded.
Karl extended his hand meekly to meet Robert’s and said, “Good morning, sir.”
“Good morning. My name is Robert Munford. I’m an investigator with the Breson Detective Agency,” he said as he once again produced his credentials. “Why don’t you have a seat over here?” Robert pulled a chair back and Karl sat down.
Robert removed a portable tape recorder from his suitcase and said, “It’s important that we operate using accurate information. I’ll be taking notes but I’d also like to record our interview today if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s fine,” Karl replied.
“Could I please have your full name for the record?” asked Robert as he picked up a pen and began to write..
“It’s Karl, um, Karl with a K, Anthony Stenson.”
Robert proceeded to get Karl’s address, phone number, etc., and then said, “Are you ready to view the tape with me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I will run the tape in sections and then pause it. I will ask you to describe different
things in each section,” stated Robert as he pushed the play button.
Robert pushed fast forward until the policeman entered. When the cop stopped at Karl’s desk, Robert paused the tape and picked up his pen. “What did the officer say to you when he first approached you?”
“He looked at my desk easel and said, ‘So, you’re the assistant manager. Where’s the manager?’”
“I told him she had stepped out for a little while and offered my help. He said he had an arrest warrant for Mackenzie Mason and needed her apartment number. I told him she was out of town. Then he asked me where she went. I said somewhere in Florida. Then he got quiet for a couple of minutes.”
Robert pushed play again. The tape ran for awhile and once again he paused it. “What about here?”
“That’s when he started talking again. I think he was waiting for someone behind him to walk by.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me he was going to give me three minutes to produce her address or he was going to arrest me for aiding and abetting a fugitive. He said Mackenzie had left town because she didn’t want to appear in court on a shoplifting charge. I asked to see the warrant and he said I had two minutes left. He promised to throw me in a cell with a couple of guys that would use me like a woman all night long.”
Robert pushed play again and ran the tape until the cop got a mere inch or two from Karl’s face. Robert paused the tape and said, “And here?”
“He got real close and told me I’d have a hard time defending myself in the cell with two broken hands. The only reason I hesitated initially was because I was too scared to move. I forced myself to get up and get the address from Carrie’s desk. He took the address and told me his unit would be watching for me on the highway. If I was so much as one mile over the limit, the officer that stopped me would have orders to bring me in to the station so I could spend the night in my special cell.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“No,” replied Karl.
“Did you notice any distinguishing marks or mannerisms that might help us identify him later?”
“I was so scared, I just kept staring at his face. When he got close, I did notice he had bad breath.”
“I appreciate you sitting down with me. I have no further questions,” said Robert as he turned the tape recorder off.
Karl left the room and Robert scrutinized the tape again. He paused it at one particular section just as the officer entered. He used a zoom function and was able to clearly see the badge number on the uniform. He scrolled down and was also able to identify a scar on the back of the cop’s right hand.
Robert completed his investigation at the apartment complex and returned the tape to Carrie. He instructed her to hold on to it until an official from the Atlanta Police Department could analyze it.
She smiled, gave him a business card and suggested he return if he was ever in the market for an apartment.
Robert returned to his car and headed to the mall for his interview with Chad Nuxhall. Once he was on the highway, he reached into his windbreaker, removed a cell phone and entered a phone number.
The phone rang twice and a male voice on the other end said, “Hello.”
/> “Hi, Jack. It’s Bob Munford. How’ve you been?”
“I’ve been great. Whatcha’ got for me?”
“I’ve got a situation that’s going to involve your department. There’s a guy after one of my clients that’s posing as one of yours. He’s wearing your uniform and badge 4512. My guess is that it’s an authentic number. It’s probably a little payback for the real cop who busted him. He’s got a three inch scar on the back of his right hand. It runs from the knuckle of his ring finger, to his wrist. I’ll be sending you an e-mail with his image.”
“I have to respond to a call. I’ll get with the guys and get back to ya’. Thanks for the info, Bob.”
“Be safe, Jack.”
Robert worked with Jack Maxwell for nearly ten years. The two had a great professional rapport and shared information on numerous cases. Occasionally they would get together and have a drink after hours but that was the extent of their socializing.
When Robert got to the mall, he opened his trunk and traded his windbreaker for a brown leather jacket. It was a specially equipped coat, complete with built in digital collar camera and cordless transmitter that could simultaneously record and send data back to his car. He also carried a shoulder bag with a regular tape recorder.
He tested his gear and entered the mall. As he was walking to Chad’s store, a man came running directly at him, with two mall security guards in hot pursuit. Robert took a step to one side and strategically placed his right leg in front of the man’s legs. The man tripped and went crashing head first into a mall directory sign.
Robert kept walking until he got to Chad’s store. When he entered, he was greeted by a female salesperson. He produced his credentials and asked to speak to Chad.
“He’s in the stockroom. Go on back,” said the salesperson.
“Would you ask him to come out here please?” asked Robert. Entering the stockroom without permission could be viewed as trespassing, even though the salesperson told him it was all right.
The girl went behind the counter, said something into an intercom and returned.
“He’s on his way out,” she said as she left to greet a customer
Chad strolled out like he was young rooster in a full hen house.
“Did you need some help?” asked Chad.
“My name is Robert Munford. I’m a private investigator with the Breson Detective Agency. I wonder if I might have a few minutes in private with you.”
Robert produced his credentials but Chad looked past Robert at an approaching man and shook his head slightly. Robert turned around in time to see a man wearing black pants and a black shirt carrying a briefcase. The man did an about-face back into the general traffic area before Robert could see his face.
“Yeah, come on back,” Chad replied as he led Robert to the stockroom.
Once in the stockroom, Robert said, “My agency has been retained to investigate some issues pertaining to your district manager, Mackenzie Mason. I’ll be taking notes and I’d like to record our conversation as well. Do you have any objections?”
“Knock yourself out,” said Chad.
Robert turned on the tape recorder and asked Chad to provide his full name, etc. He had a gut feeling that urged him to take a calculated risk and try a bluff to test Chad’s reaction. If he missed, it was just strike one. If he connected, it would be a home run.
“Miss Mason has been the victim of various assaults against her body as well as her character. We have been able to determine through investigative means, that some of the documents generated can be traced directly back to you.”
Chad stared into Robert’s eyes without blinking.
“Would you like to respond, Mr. Nuxhall?”
“Respond to what? Slander?”
“Are you suggesting that I’m slandering you?” asked Robert.
“Mr. Munford, you have a job to do. I understand. You can stand there all day and play some chicken-shit mind game if you want to, but you’ll be playing by yourself. You see, I have a job to do as well, and I need to get back to it. Goodbye, Mr. Munford.”
Chad left the stockroom and started working on a store clearance sale.
Home run, thought Robert. He turned off his tape recorder and left the stockroom. On his way out, he handed Chad a business card and said, “Anytime you want to talk, I’ll listen.”
Robert left Chad’s store quickly with a smile on his face. He knew some of the cards Chad was holding and he knew how to make him show his whole hand.
When he was walking back to his car, he saw paramedics tending to the man who crashed into the mall directory. Robert barely noticed because he was focusing on another matter. He was focusing on the man in front of Chad’s store. That man was carrying a briefcase in his right hand. When the man turned around, he turned to his left, exposing his right hand to Robert’s camera. It’s a long shot, but I’m feeling lucky today. What if the guy coming to see Chad is the same guy that was dressed as a cop? It would make sense if Chad was behind all of this. Maybe even the same man in Mac’s parking lot.
Something in the man’s gait when he walked away looked familiar to Robert. Was it a coincidence or a damn lucky break?
When Robert returned to his office, he compared images from his digital camera to the video images of the policeman at the apartment. They were approximately the same, but nothing conclusive. Then he zoomed in on the man’s right hand. There was a distinct outline that was approximately the same length of the video man’s scar but it was too fuzzy to be certain. Robert enhanced the video scar to the same dimensions of his digital picture. Then took it out of focus to a point of distortion nearly identical to that of the digital camera. He was certain the men were the same. And if he was right, he had a definite link to Chad. However, there wasn’t enough evidence to go any further yet. He had to catch the two together or force Chad to make a mistake.
Chad was clever but so was the fox that ended up in the witch’s cauldron.
Robert picked up his phone, called Donna and shared his findings with her.
“You have a copy of Chad’s schedule don’t you?” asked Donna.
“Yes and I plan to be on that guy like snot on a rag!”
“I wish you’d say something else. That sounds so gross to me!”
“I’ll work on it,” he replied insincerely. “How’s the trip so far?”
“If I live to be a hundred and fifty, I’ll never understand some things about people,” said Donna in an agitated voice.
“Meaning?”
“People put themselves through strenuous workouts, don’t smoke, try to eat right, try to live within the law and plan for retirement. They’d never consider homicide or suicide, yet when they get behind the wheel, they try their hardest to commit one or both. I’m doing seventy and cars are passing me like I’m parked on the side of the road. They cut in and out with mere inches of room to spare. I just don’t get it.”
“I know what you mean. Have a safe trip. I’ll check in with you again tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Robert. Be careful.”
He finished up some paperwork, ran some errands and drove to Chad’s mall. He waited in the parking lot with binoculars until Chad’s shift was over. When Chad finally left the mall, Robert watched him to his car, then drove closer and waited for Chad to leave.
Chad started his car and sped out of the parking lot. Robert tailed him everywhere he went. He followed closely because he wanted Chad to know he was behind him. He wanted to push Chad into an angry mistake.
Chad pulled into a gas station and drove up to a pump. He got out of his car, walked back to Robert and said, “What is your problem, man?”
“I don’t have a problem. I’m in my own car, driving around on public streets. I just happen to be going your way.”
“And I guess your tailgating is just an accident?”
“Precisely,” replied Robert.
Chad turned to the gas pump, ran his credit card and lifted the gas nozzle out. He started
pumping gas into his car, then yanked the nozzle out and sprayed gasoline on Robert’s car hood.
He looked at Robert with an evil grin and said, “Oh, sorry, man. It was just an accident.”
Robert didn’t budge. He waited calmly for Chad’s next move.
Chad filled his tank and put the nozzle back in its boot. He reached inside his car and grabbed a book of matches from the dashboard. Then he stuck an unfiltered cigarette in his mouth and lit a match.
“If I can throw it, you can catch it,” said Chad as he threw the burning match toward Robert’s car.
The fire died before it reached Robert’s hood. He was relatively sure that it would but there’s always that chance!
Chad laughed as he struck another match, lit his cigarette and jumped back in his car. He adjusted his rearview mirror, waved to Robert and drove home.
Robert followed him to an extremely expensive neighborhood. The houses on Chad’s block started at $300,000. Robert knew his salary as a store manager couldn’t support that kind of mortgage payment. He also had a good idea where the supplemental income was coming from.
He parked in front of Chad’s house and watched for awhile. As he drove away, he saw Chad standing in a window. “Get used to it, Chad. I’ll be back with the birds in a few hours.”