The Interstellar Police Force, Book One: The Historic Mission by Raymond Klein (ebook reader 7 inch txt) 📕

hand he reached into his belt and withdrew an IPF survival knife, bent down, and removed James Parker’s left index finger.

The brutality of the robbery was the top story on local news for several days. Jeff and Genghis pored over all the police reports that they could hack into about the crime. Local police had very little to go on. No video recordings. No fingerprints. However, there were eyewitness accounts, descriptions and artist's renderings of the robber. Genghis made hard copies of these, the only descriptions they had of Bollar in human form. The only evidence local police could gather were the odd-looking munitions taken from the ceiling and the one that embedded itself in the wall after it passed through the guard. Police investigators surmised that the robber must be making and loading his own ammunition. The metal alloy of the slugs were still, as of yet, unknown.

Bollar’s actions at Phizer’s was not surprising: It always would take the smallest provocation for Bollar to act violently. Someone not moving fast enough. A customer talking back or trying to be a hero. Bollar would never hesitate taking care of a nuisance. He was meticulous and had a timetable to keep during his robberies, and anyone adding more time to his already tight schedule would just be eliminated. No one was quite sure why he would take fingers from some of the victims who added minutes to his schedule. Most likely they were trophies. Something he could hold, something to help him relive the excitement of the robberies. Genghis reviewed Bollar’s criminal history, the few on this planet and the many on others. The finger count was now at twenty-five.

They decided to confide in Jennifer one night over hot dogs and coffee, since she had seen Bollar talking with Colus Valda. Jeff told her that they were working the robbery cases along with the arson cases and showed the artist's renderings to her. She was excited to be a part of the investigation and wanted to help. When she looked at the different renderings of the robber she confirmed that this was the tall man she saw at Ray’s talking with the little fat guy. She was sure of it.

They now had something to go on.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Colus Valda had been sitting at a small table in Ray’s now for three hours. Where the hell is Bollar? Colus thought to himself. He’s always on time, never late. Four hours earlier, he had gotten a communication from Bollar on the secure frequency on his IPF radio. It was something that Prodor Moffit insisted on. He wanted all of them to take the communication devices from the transfer vehicle so they could all keep in contact. Moffit told them it would be in their best interests, but Moffit really just wanted to keep tabs on his fellow inmates.

Bollar told Colus that he wanted to meet at Ray’s within the hour to give him back the Interrupter. The heist went almost flawlessly, but the haul would be enough for Bollar to live nicely for at least two months. Colus could never remember how many days were in an Earth month, but figured it would be a while. He had been watching the news reports of the robbery for the last few days and was expecting Bollar to contact him. And now . . .

Where is he?

Colus Valda sat for another hour until, not knowing what to do, he decided he would walk back to Chloe’s. He got up and walked to the door and stepped outside. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the setting sun. Then, he looked up and down the street. No Bollar, no IPF. Looking up, he spotted one of the town's surveillance cameras. He walked quickly with his back to the camera, hugging close to the wall of the building. He knew Bollar would still have the Interrupter on for him, but just in case something was wrong, he would take the long way back to Chloe’s. He knew which streets were not being monitored.

He started worrying about Bollar as he walked. Could he have gotten picked up by the IPF agent? The local police? And if so, he might start singing like that earth bird, what was it? Oh, yeah, a canary! Bollar could tell them everything. And he had a nagging feeling that Bollar knew where Chloe’s duplex was. He sure as hell knew that the IPF agent was probably keeping an eye on his old apartment, so he couldn’t hide out there if things got hot. Anyway, Bollar knew where that was also. And what if Bollar did get picked up by the local police, did he now have to start worrying about them as well? Along with the IPF?

At about that same time, Genghis was trying to put the artist's renderings of Bollar through the Full Body Scanning system, but to no avail. It had something to do with the fact that they were drawings and not photos or video recordings. Genghis had started to utilize different programs to help facilitate his request when his ears shot straight up. It was the garage door opening. He started to think about shutting the computer down just in case Jennifer was still with Jeff. Then he heard just one door of the cruiser slam shut and a single pair of footsteps climbing the backstairs. Jeff entered the apartment, and as he walked into the living room he asked, “Any luck?”

“No,” Genghis replied. “You drop Twinkie off okay?”

Jennifer had said earlier that day that she was planning on meeting Trisha and Pimples at the park. She hadn’t seen her friends in a while and wanted to treat them to a movie. Jennifer insisted that she was just fine walking, but Jeff refused to hear of it and was going to drive her. When Jeff pulled the cruiser to the curb bordering Grant Park, Trisha and Pimples were already sitting on a bench waiting for her.