Mystery At Mystery Lake Ch. 02

Paulina said "You're already reneging on the agreement, Mr. Garrett." She held up the papers and acted as if she was going to tear the pieces of paper in two.

"Who was it, Garrett?" I said, my eyes boring right through him. "Who was it on the phone? Who was behind the rape and murder of your daughter?"

"He'll kill me if I tell you!" Garrett wailed. "He'll get to me, no matter where you hide me, no matter what you do!"

"If you tell us, it'll be on record, and he'll have no reason to waste time and money trying to kill you." I said. "Furthermore, I can find a way to get him, to put him in a place where he cannot hurt you. And he has no more Rogue SEALs to send against you. The men who took your daughter were the last two, and they're dead. Who was it?"

Wade Garrett looked miserable, but he finally said "It was Matthew Willis, the CEO of BigCommunicationsCorp."

I nodded, and Garrett continued: "I have no idea how he knew, but he said that Sage had gone into my home while I was with Jayne and Bruce, and that Sage had videoed our threesome. He said he was going to send a couple of (air quotes) 'my guys' to clean it up and get the phone from Sage. I told him I didn't want Sage to be hurt in any way, that her being hurt was not acceptable even if she did give Silvia the tape. He said not to worry, that they were just going to get the phone, and Sage wouldn't be harmed."

Garrett: "He also said... that I would be responsible for their fee of $200,000. I said I only had $100K available to me, and that I would pay the second half only after they returned the phone to me, and after I confirmed Sage was unharmed. Willis agreed."

I had him tell the exact time and date of that phone conversation, so that the Mighty Miltons could find the metadata and get the information of the phone Matt Willis had been using. "Did you ever see the two men that Willis hired?"

"Yes." said Garrett. "They came to my home Friday afternoon. They were wearing business suits and ties. They watched me wire the money to an account in the Caymans, confirmed it went through, then moved the money to another account."

I took out of my folder of papers two pieces of photo paper. Each had six faces on it. I said "Do you see the two men in this lineup of photos?"

"Uhh... yeah." said Wade. "No. 4, bottom left hand corner, there. And No. 5, bottom center on that one." He touched the two photos with his fingers.

I held up the photos so the cameras could see them, and said "Wade Garrett has identified Gil Cox on Lineup 2-Alpha, and Gary Fenton on Lineup 2-Bravo, as witnessed by these Officers of the Court." I said that to include Paulina. Then I said "How did you get Sage's phone back?"

Garrett said. "I got a phone call on Monday, just before you guys arrived. The voice was not familiar to me, and it said to look in the potted plant on my front porch. I went out, and the phone was lying there in the pot. I put it in my pocket as I went back inside, and then you were right there..."

Part 12 - Cleanup on Aisle 5

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, May 11th, from the rooftop of the building at Riverside and College, with Police Headquarters in her distant background. "Local Police make an arrest in the Mystery Lake case!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Police arrested Wade Garrett, CEO of 'CNC Wafers, Inc.' yesterday. Let's go to trusted reporter Amber Harris for more. Amber!"

"That's right, Bettina!" shouted the athletic blonde reporterette from the steps of the Courthouse on the east side of Courthouse Square. "Channel Two News has learned that Wade Garrett was arrested and charged with several crimes related to the death of his daughter Sage Garrett."

Amber: "Sage's body was one of the six found Saturday morning at Mystery Lake State Park early Saturday morning. Two men, identified as Gil Cox and Gary Fenton, were paid $100,000 by Mr. Garrett to recover his daughter's cellphone, which may have had evidence that was harmful to Mr. Garrett in his upcoming divorce case."

Amber: "Sources tell Channel Two News that Mr. Garrett has confessed to his crimes, and has reached a plea deal with Assistant D.A. Paulina Patterson. Mr. Garrett will be appearing before Superior Court Judge Franklin Washington at 9:00am this morning to enter his guilty plea and finalize the plea deal."

Amber: "And Channel Two News has learned that Mr. Cox and Mr. Fenton were the two men that died at Tower Condos early Tuesday morning under suspicious circumstances. Commander Donald Troy has repeatedly failed to respond to KXTC's multiple requests for comments on that incident nor about the arrest of Mr. Garrett. Back to you, Bettina!"

"Thank you, Amber!" shouted Bettina as the feed returned to her. "Commander Troy and the TCPD have so far failed to solve the cases of Katherine McAfee and Tamara Lidell, whose remains were found near Sage Garrett's body. The Town & County Medical Examiner's Office also has failed to identify three other bodies that were found at Mystery Lake at the same time Ms. Garrett, Ms. McAfee, and Ms. Lidell were discovered. And now let's go to highly respected political reporter Carl Lemay for a report on the State and local political races. Carl!..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Channel Two News has learned that Commander Donald Troy has failed to solve world hunger, race relations, and climate change, all in one day!" said Deputy Chief Tanya P. Muscone with a wicked grin and a gleam in her eye as she, Sheriff Griswold, Myself, Chief Moynahan, Command Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross, and Lieutenant Commander Teresa Croyle drank coffee and watched the propaganda-cast in the Chief's Conference Room.

Everyone laughed, even Teresa. But then it got serious when the Sheriff asked "That was a strange report. What did you make of it, Crowbar?"

I said "First of all, I noticed that Bettina said that (air quotes) 'local' Police made the arrest. Some would see that as praise for the Police, but we in here know Bettina much better than that. So I'd say she was either dropping a hint -to- the Feds, notably Clark Webster, -or- someone in our great Federal bureaucracy dropped information -to- her."

Me: "Second, the report was stated in a way that all but accused Wade Garrett of being the one that murdered his own daughter, in order to cast him in as bad a light as possible. Not that he didn't deserve it, but I always ask what KXTC's real motives are in literally every sentence they state. I think they're prepping something for the future. They mentioned Garrett's company, so that may be what it's about. But we don't yet have enough data to see what it is, so we'll have to wait."

Me: "The next thing that surprised me is that Amber put out the names of Cox and Fenton, and spelled out their involvement. I wonder why? I suspect she's putting out information to someone in particular."

Tanya said "Speaking of 'locals', Jack asked me to ask you, Don, if he, Lindy, and Julius can meet with us locals this morning, at nine o'clock. He said they want to apologize to us for what happened in yesterday's meeting."

"Does that include Clark Webster?" Teresa asked venomously.

"No." Tanya said. "Guys, please keep this in total confidence, since Jack told me in confidence: it's not Don that Webster was upset with. It was Teresa." She paused and then said "Webster could've taken the verbal shots from you, Don, but he got pissed off when Teresa went off on him... because she's a woman. Jack said Webster was going around whispering to himself, and I quote, 'who does that little woman think she is?'. And there's more, but I'll let Jack tell you himself if and when he chooses to."

I said "I may meet with them, but it can't be this morning. I'm going to be at the Courthouse to attend the plea deal hearing at 8:30am."

Cindy said "You mean 9:00am, don't you?"

"Oh, did I get my times mixed up?" I said, looking at my wristwatch, then looking up at them with an evil grin. Everyone quickly caught on...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

8:30am, Wednesday, May 11th. It was rare, exceptionally rare, for Courts to begin their sessions before 9:00am, but one of those exceptions was today. Superior Court Judge Franklin Washington was announced and came to the Bench in the nearly empty Courtroom.

"Be seated, please." he said. "Let's get going." The court reporter announced the first case, The State v. Wade Garrett. ADA Paulina Patterson was the Prosecutor. Wade Garrett's representation was one of his corporate attorneys, Martin G. Hayes. Garrett was dressed in the stylish orange jumpsuit that was the required fashion of the guests of County Jail.

Judge Washington said "I have examined this plea deal, and it appears reasonable. Mr. Garrett, you understand that you are required to truthfully testify in any future trials associated with your own actions?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Garrett said.

"What are your plans for your business?" the Judge asked.

The lawyer Hayes answered: "Your Honor, we are setting up a trust for my client's personal properties and assets. The business will be run by the Board and an Executive Committee that we are setting up."

Judge Washington: "Very well. You're requesting incarceration at the medium-security Twin Cities Correctional Facility, due to its proximity to your company. Are you good with that, Prosecutor?"

"Yes, Your Honor." said Paulina. "In fact, we had recommended an even lighter medium security prison, so Twin Cities is fine with us."

Judge Washington: "I've also noted the request for three months leave with ankle monitoring to report to the prison and begin sentence. Prosecutor, are you in agreement?"

"No, Your Honor." said Paulina. "We believe that is too much time. The Defendant has ample financial resources that make him a flight risk. We also believe that he himself could be in danger from others, and being in prison is actually safer for him."

"Your Honor," said Martin G. Hayes, "my client needs adequate time to complete the legal issues pertaining to his business. And he either has or can arrange for adequate security to protect himself."

Judge Washington said "I'll split the difference. Mr. Garrett, you have until the end of the month. You are to report to Twin Cities Correctional on or by 10:00am, June 1st. Until you do, you will remain fully ankle monitored, you may not leave the confines of this County at any time for any reason, and you may not possess a firearm. You will be required to spend every night from 6:00pm until 7:00am at County Jail, but, provided you are ankle monitored and meet the other requirements, you can be out between 7:00am to 6:00pm to get your affairs in order..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I had arranged with Judge Washington, who was the brother of my Detective, Lieutenant Theo Washington, to have the plea deal hearing earrrrly. I had been thinking in terms of Garrett and the rest of us being ambushed by the hostile, rabid Press. But there was another concern, and it manifested itself.

At 8:58am, FBI Special Agent In Charge Clark Webster came to the Courthouse, along with Special Agent Cabe Andrews and BAFTE Agent Nancy Harding. Andrews was in my opinion a 'Swamp Frog', and Nancy Harding was straddling the line. (Author's note: 'Deliver Us From Evil', Ch. 02, for more on them.) Also with them were U.S. Marshals Tommy Dugan and Kurt Powell.

At first, Deputies blocked the doors and refused to allow the Federal Agents inside the Courtroom, despite SAC Webster having a Federal warrant for Wade Garrett's arrest. It took Sheriff Griswold himself coming up and saying "Let 'em in. They have a warrant." for the Federal Agents to be allowed in.

Inside the Courtroom, Judge Washington had announced acceptance of the plea deal, banged his gavel, and was getting up to leave. Wade Garrett was shaking hands with his attorney as two Deputies had come up and were going to escort him out of the room and on to County Jail for processing. Teresa and I had stood up for the Judge's exit, and would leave after he did.

We all heard the commotion outside the closed doors, then saw the door fly open and Federal Agents rush inside. "What the hell is going on here?" Judge Washington yelled harshly.

"Your Honor," said Clark Webster, holding up a piece of paper, "this is a Federal warrant issued by Federal Judge K.M. Landis to take Wade Garrett into Federal custody immediately. We are taking him with us now. You will have to postpone your trial of him until we're done with him."

Judge Washington said "He's already convicted; he pled guilty to the charges, and he's been sentenced. Does your warrant take that into account?"

Clark Webster seemed rocked, then recovered. "It doesn't matter. We're taking Garrett into custody. And how is he convicted yet? Your proceeding doesn't start until nine."

"Who told you that lie?" I thundered, unable to resist. "The Press? You should never trust what Bettina Wurtzburg and Amber Harris tell you. And they were as wrong this morning as they always are."

Webster's shock was rapidly turning to anger, and Judge Washington twisted the proverbial knife some more by saying "You had your shot to ambush us when you took Maribel Isadora out of my Courtroom. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." (Author's note: 'Witness For The Prosecution', Ch. 01.)

Webster's face was red with anger, but he merely said "Take him into custody. Let's get out of here." The vociferous objections of the lawyer Hayes were ignored as the Federal Marshals took custody of Garrett, handcuffed his hands behind his back, and marched him through the hallway (instead of the restricted-access back hallways) to the parking lot behind the Courthouse Complex.

Garrett was forced to endure a chaotic perp walk through a gaggle of reporters. Bettina was yelling questions like "Why did you have your daughter murdered?". The Marshals were trying to slow-walk him through, but the Sheriff's Deputies and Defense attorney began pushing the reporters back with increasing physical force, and yelling at the Marshals to move faster. And when Your Iron Crowbar and the Iron Wolf came out the door, the Press got out of the way and everyone got moving much faster before I did something 'active'...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

11:30am, Wednesday, May 11th. Jack Muscone had Tanya 'persuade' us to have lunch with them at the Cop Bar. I hadn't wanted to meet with them at all, much less break bread with them, but Tanya was persuasive. Sheriff Griswold was even more persuasive: he simply told me to be there, and I told my boss's boss "Yes sir, three bags full."

We were in the back room of the Cop Bar. Present were Sheriff Griswold, Chief Moynahan, Me, Cindy, Tanya, Teresa, Jack Muscone, Lindy Linares, and Julius Jefferson. After ordering, Jack Muscone began the 'conversation': "I appreciate you all coming today. I know some of you are still upset about what happened yesterday, and I originally asked y'all here to apologize for that. But then we had this morning's incident at the Courthouse, and I want to discuss that, too."

The wall of oppressive silence with which he was met was his first cluuuuue that he was about to tread on quicksands. Jack went on: "I had no idea that Clark Webster was going to get that warrant and take Wade Garrett into Federal custody like that. And with the previous Maribel Isadora incident fresh in our memories, I would have thought he'd have acted more respectfully and cooperatively."

"I would've thought he would've acted more responsibly yesterday, too." I replied. "And why isn't he here? He should be the one here, apologizing for all of this... not that I'd accept those apologies."

Lindy Linares picked it up: "That's why we're here. To apologize for us, not for him. We've worked with you, all of you, for a long time, and we've done very well together. I also would like to think you're my friends as well as colleagues."

Heck, Lindy and I had been more than friends; we'd hooked up on numerous occasions. But that was by the wayside right now.

Lindy: "So this is hurting me. A lot. And I'd like to get back to those times where we did work together, and worked well together. Is that even possible?"

The silence in the room was broken by the arrival of our food. Jack Muscone had the 'Jack's Double Cheeseburger Plate', named for him because he loved those double cheeseburgers so much. I had the Double Breakfast Cheeseburger Plate. Everyone else had gotten either Chicken or Steak Caesar Salads, which were huge. And only Jack's appetite and my appetite were unaffected; everyone else did not appear to be very hungry. It was mostly silent in the room as we ate.

After everyone was done, it did not surprise me when the Green Crowbar, Cindy Ross, brought it up: "I want to know one thing. Was Clark Webster's disrespect towards Teresa because she's a woman?"

"No." said Julius Jefferson. "He was just upset that he didn't get a chance to interrogate Gil Cox and Gary Fenton."

Lindy said "Julius, stop. We have to stop covering for Webster. And we have to stop lying to people, no matter what the Brass in Washington say."

She turned and looked at Teresa and said "I'm sorry, but yes, it's because you're a woman. Webster actually said within my hearing that he was pissed off that (air quotes) 'that woman' disrespected him. His words, not mine. I'll add that if that had been Commander Troy on blast at him like you were, Webster would've taken it. But he didn't take it from you, and I agree, Cindy, it was sexism."

"I have one question." Julius Jefferson said. "Commander Troy, like Lindy said, we've worked well together in the past. But we also have an obligation to protect our fellow FBI Agents. Were you really about to shoot us yesterday?"

I looked the man dead in the eye and said "You had your hands on your guns, too. And if you had brought them above the level of table, we would not be having this conversation right now. Both of you would be dead. Yes, I would've shot you dead before I allowed Teresa to come to harm, and I'll do the same to anyone who tries to harm her in any way. And that goes for my other two Angels, as well."

Cindy's eyes looked too wide for her face. Tanya's eyes were sparkling, with tears. Teresa just patted my shoulder and pressed her head to my arm.

It was Jack Muscone that broke the spell. "That brings up another issue that I need to talk to you about, and was hoping to talk to you alone about. Ever since you gave up your FBI Consultant badge, there has been increasing resentment among a lot of FBI and other Federal Agents about y'all's attitudes towards them."

Muscone: "Yeah, I know, a lot of dirtbags like Lindsey Black think they're gods because they have a Federal badge, and what Webster said yesterday was beyond the pale. But I'm increasingly being asked, if not told, by a lot of people, good people, that they are becoming increasingly upset by the lack of respect you are showing them."

Muscone: "Dwight Stevens of the DEA is a very good example of that, and now Clark Webster, who really is a good guy and has resisted and fought the Swamp Frogs alongside me for a long time, is done with y'all. I don't know what the answer is, but we've got to get the situation resolved."

"I have two answers, and they're both very easy." I said. "First, any Federal Agents that have a problem with me or my people, get out of my County and stay out of my County. And second... I'll just say it again, Jack: the FBI has become corrupt from the top down, and none of you have such an obligation to them that you should support their corruption."