Rip Tide by Robert F Clifton (small books to read .txt) 📕

as upstanding members of the community. Therefore, Judge Watkins doesn’t see them as a risk to leave town. At the same time, they have legal council who, rightfully so, probably requested, recognizance. You can't blame him for doing his job”, Wallace replied.

“You can bet the arraignment will be tomorrow”, said O'Neil.

“It should only be a formality. The reading of the charges, the plea, and referring the case to a higher court. It should take about ten minutes”, said Wallace.

“I'm starting to think like McKenna. Money talks and money walks”, said O'Neil.

“Then we better have everything together, video's, audio tapes marked money and anything else we will need, including Qwen's testimony about being solicited by Martha Hanes', Wallace replied.

“How many more tapes do we have left to look at?”, asked Stiles.

“Three”, someone answered.

“Well. Let's get it over with”, O'Neil responded.

“Before we do, how many of the women have we identified?”, asked Wallace.

“Everyone except Hilda Speck. So far she hasn't appeared”, said Myers.

“Alright, we'll see if she's in any tapes that are left. I would like to have them all involved and accounted for”, said O'Neil.

Another tape was selected. This one had the name Harry Goldberg written with a felt tip pen on a white tape. The cassette was placed in the VCR and it began to play. Just like the others it revealed a nude man and woman performing sexual acts. “Who's the woman Carol?”,

asked Wallace.

“That's the one we were looking for, that's Hilda Speck”.

“Oh, what a naughty girl”, said McKenna

“O.K. gang one more tape and we're done with them”, said O'Neil.

“I'm glad of that “said Hedly.

“I bet you are. I've seen you squirming in your seat”, said McIntyer.

“Go to hell”, Hedly replied.

“O'Neil placed the last tape in the video player and pushed the PLAY button. The film showed a nude man sitting on a bed. He beckoned to someone as he said, “Come on baby, this is costing me, but from what I see, it's going to be worth it”.

A woman's voice is heard to say, “No! I won't do it!” Then there is a scream and the sounds of a struggle. Before the tape ends that last thing to be seen is a black high heel shoe on someone's foot.

“Son of a bitch. Do you see what I see Myers?”, asked Wallace.

“Yes sir. That's one of the Vince Camuso, kitten heel pumps Pauline Harris was wearing the night she died”.

“Bill stop the tape. Carol, the tape shows the time to be nine zero five pm. June 19, 1978. Doctor Wescoat estimated that Pauline had been dead for about ten hours. Her body washed ashore and was found at eight thirty in the morning on June the twentieth. It appears as though she was murdered between nine and ten pm. on the night of the nineteenth, or right after this tape was made. From what I see, it appears someone grabbed her. That's when she screamed. She was lifted up off of her feet and the hidden camera managed to catch and photograph one of the shoes she wearing. Fortunately we have the other shoe”, said Wallace.

“Yeah but there are probably about a thousand pair just like them out there in the world. However, that's your case and your problem. As far as I'm concern I've got what I need for a prostitution bust. Anything else is your baby. IF you need us for help just yell”, said O'Neil.

“The name written on the tape is Homer Bule”, said Stiles.

Wallace turned to Qwen Phillips and said, “Qwen, if the arraignment is tomorrow I'll see you in court. After that you'll be contacted if and when a trail date is set. Thanks for everything. You can bet that Bill and I will be sending letters to your boss. Great job kid”.

“Thanks, and may I say that it was great working with all of you. And, Carol, thank you so much for giving up your home to me”, said Phillips as she hugged Myers.

Wallace then turned to his squad members. “ Carol, Tom, I want you two to check the names and dates Carol has written down. Go to every hotel on the beach. See what you can find. Frank, I want you to do the same, only at the convention center headquarters. It is possible that these men registered under different names then the one they gave to set up the trick. However, if they used their real names we should be able to trace them back to where they live. First, go to lunch, then go to work.

Meanwhile, after I eat and have a couple cups of coffee, I'll have a locksmith open the file cabinet we took”.

“Why a locksmith?”, asked McKenna.

“I could break it open or use a guy I know, but if it comes up in court how the cabinet was opened I don't want to say, By an ex-con safe cracker. It's all about being professional”, said Wallace with a smile.

Alone in his office Captain Wallace dialed the telephone number of TRUE LOCK & KEYS. “Hello', came a voice.

“Herman?”

“Yeah?”

“Bob Wallace. How busy are you?”

“What do you need and when?”

“A filing cabinet and as soon as you can get here”.

“Be about a half an hour to forty five minutes”.

“That's fine”.

After hanging up from the locksmith Wallace dialed the City Morgue.

“Doctor Wescoat”.

“Hi”.

“Well, well, I hear that you have been busy”.

“Yep, but I've got some news for you”.

“And, what's that?”

“Qwen should be at your place packing. She'll be returning home tomorrow if things go right in court.

“Then, you've solved the Harris case?”

“Unfortunately, no. But, she did help us kick in a few doors that seems to be leading us to where we want to go”.

“Good, I'll miss her. She was nice company”.

“Are you busy?”

“Yes and no. right now I'm dissecting what appears to be a cancerous tumor”.

“It's nice to be happy in your work. Talk with you later”.

“Bye”.

After the delivery man left, Wallace opened the paper bag containing a corn beef special sandwich and two Styrofoam cups of coffee.

He unwrapped the sandwich, removed the Jewish dill pickle and set it aside on one of the napkins. The other napkin he used to wipe the Russian Dressing from his mouth after he took a bite of sandwich. Between bites and sips of coffee he sat mentally going over the facts and evidence they had in the Harris case. “ Finding the shoe in the video tape is important.

More important is finding the man in the video, a guy who could be, Homer Bule. He saw and knows who grabbed and lifted a woman off of her feet making her scream. He is a key witness. Can we find him?”,he asked himself.

He rolled up the wax paper wrapper the sandwich came in, placed it in the empty coffee cup and the cup into the paper bag then tossed all of it into the wastepaper basket next to his desk. As he did there was a knock on his office door.

“Come in!”, he said loudly.

The door opened and Herman Shaw, the locksmith entered. “Hi Wally. How the hell are you?”, he said.

“Fair. I've got this filing cabinet I want opened. Before you do I want you to know that there is a very slight possibility that you might have to testify in court”.

“Do I get paid?”

“Yeah, the standard County rate”.

“No problem. This the cabinet?”, Herman asked pointing to the gray, steel cabinet on top of the desk?”

“Yep”.

Herman Shaw opened a black leather tool holder and removed a wire pick with a plastic handle. In twenty seconds he opened the locked cabinet and put back the tool.

“Excellent. How much do I owe you?”, asked Wallace.

“That depends, do I get less from you and more from the city?”

“Certainly”.

“Then I'll bill the city. Twenty for a house call, another twenty for opening it.”

“How much if I paid?”

“I don't know, ten, fifteen bucks. Sign here”.

Wallace signed his name. “Thanks Herman. See you later”.

“What? No Tip?”, said Shaw with a laugh.

When the locksmith left the office, Wallace opened the unlocked top drawer. He looked inside and saw neatly stacked manilla folders. He put on a pair of latex gloves and then reaching inside he removed one file, It was labeled, ALICE Baldwin, APRIL 15. 1977.He opened it and read. “Video tape 000137 of Alice Baldwin, customer of Martha, homosexual liaison. Should be worth between 5& 10 thousand dollars. “May 20, 1977. Made contact Walker refuses to pay. Will increase pressure on her. Might take less cash in exchange for corporate info”. J.H.

“J.H.? It has to be John Hanes that made these notes”, he said aloud. Then, he realized that those simple initials although circumstantial, could be challenged by any first year law student. Still, evidence is evidence, circumstantial or not. That would be the prosecutors problem.

He searched for and found the address of the woman. 450 37th Street

Landover, Maryland. He wrote it down. Next, he found a telephone number, but it had been scratched out with a pencil. “Probably her number at the time, but more than likely she changed it after they tried to shake her down”, he thought.

He reached in and removed another folder. It had the name Martin Donahue. Opening it he read, “Video 00049, Martin Donahue, July 5, 1977, showing sexual acts with Martha. Usual, 5 to 10 thousand dollars. Business info? Contact made. Donahue agreed to pay, but in installments”. On a small, torn piece of paper Wallace found, Martin Donahue, Ivins, Utah.

As he was opening the file with the name Harry Goldberg, Sergeant Stiles entered the office. “How did you make out?”, Wallace asked.

“Not one of those names were listed at the convention centers records. It seems that the center only keeps the official address of the organization that makes inquiries related to conventions in Nautilus Beach and occasionally the name of the person making the inquiry. Sorry”.

“Well, it was a shot we had to take. When you get time, give me a written report. Meanwhile, I've come up with a few names I found in the nice, neat, records John Hanes kept. If and when we find these people and if and when they give us the information we need they'll make excellent

witnesses. Now, all we have to do is locate them and hope they'll talk”.

“That's all well and good as far as the extortion angle goes, but what do they give us in the Harris case?”

“Hopefully information that leads us to the murderer. I want you to make contact with someone either in the Landover P.D. or the County Sheriff. Tell them about the case we're working and our need to contact Alice Baldwin. See if they can send someone to her house, meet with her and have her call me here at headquarters.

“Anything else?”, asked Stiles.

“Yeah, right now call downstairs and ask Lieutenant Campo to come to my office.”

Stiles dialed the number for C.S.I., spoke with June Campo, hung up the telephone and said, “She's on the way”.

“Thanks Frank”.

“You're welcome. Now, let me call Landover Maryland”.

“On second thought, have them give her my home telephone as well as my office number”.

“Will do”.

Stiles passed Campo in the hallway. The lieutenant entered the office where Wallace stood reading the file on Homer Bule. He looked up when he saw her enter. “Hi June. What you see here is a filing cabinet containing manilla folders. I'm almost positive that the latent prints you'll find on the cabinet and the folders are those of one, John Hanes. At the same time, you will find my prints and those of Tom McKenna, on the cabinet, put there when we moved and carried it”.

“Do we have John Hane's prints on file?”, she asked.

“He was arrested and booked, we should have them.”

“I'll check. Are you done with these?”

“Not yet. I'll call you when I'm finished”.

“Fine, anything else?”

“Nope”.

“See ya”.

Wallace returned to his examination of the file folder on Homer Bule. All he found was a slip of paper with Toronto, Canada written on it.

“Damn it! Nothing! But that figures. You wouldn't shake down a