Victoria's Secret
Chapter 2
Chief Ironside had just finished reading his report to be turned into the commissioner. It was the last one to be turned it. "Eve!" Ironside called out to his detective. "Run this over to Commissioner Randall's office, will you please?"
"Yes chief," Eve answered. "She went to the kitchen, pulled out a clean cup. After pouring a fresh cup of coffee, she walked over to her boss and set it down on the table in front of him.
"Thanks, Eve," Ironside said. He took a sip of coffee and watched as Eve walked up the ramp to head out to the Commissioner Randall's office. "Just a minute, Eve."
Officer Eve Whitfield turned around and came back down the ramp. "Yes, chief."
"I would like you to stop by my Aunt Victoria's house. If she is home, I would like you to bring her back here. I want to talk to her before we leave for up north," Ironside said.
"Sure chief. Is there anything else you would like me to do for you?" She asked.
Ironside looked at his pretty police officer. "Like what," he said gruffly.
"I don't know. I was just….."
"You were just worrying about me again," he said interrupting her. "I fine, Eve. I do not need the members of my staff hovering over me," he growled.
"I'm sorry, chief. I was not trying to pry. It's just that you seem so distance lately." She turned and walked back up the ramp to leave.
"Eve!" Ironside called out, "I'll be alright. Thanks."
Eve smiled and continued toward the door. It opened just before she reached it. Mark came in holding the newspaper.
"Later," Eve said as she walked out.
"Bye," Mark replied. He walked down the ramp. He's your paper, chief."
"Did you get the van checked out for the trip?" Ironside asked as he took the newspaper from his aide."
"Yes. It's tuned up, gassed up and ready to go," Mark said. "Do you need anything else, chief? I need to finish one assignment. I have to have it turned in before we leave on Friday."
"Go ahead Mark. I'm fine," Ironside said as he unfolded the paper. Mark left the office, entered his room and closed the door. Ironside scanned the paper. Right there on the front page was a picture of him attending the police officers' fundraiser for homeless children. Ironside had always had a soft spot for kids.
He wheeled over to his desk and picked up the file of the missing Tommy Gavin. Tommy was only two years old. He disappeared from his parent's yard. That was one week ago. Tom and Sherry Gavin came to Ironside's office and pleaded with him to help them find their son. Ironside had watched Sherry grow up. Her father, Len Gavin had served as a detective under him when he was chief of detectives. Len had been killed in the line of duty. Ever since, Ironside had looked out after Sherry. When Tom asked Sherry to marry him, Sherry insisted he ask for Robert Ironside's permission. Tom had not known the chief that well and had been very nervous about doing so. Ironside gave him a rough time and then grinned and gave his approval.
Sherry asked Ironside to take her father's place and bring her down the aisle. Ironside had accepted immediately. He was at the hospital when Tommy had been born. He promised Tom and Sherry he would find Tommy.
He and his staff had followed leads that did not seem to lead anywhere. When Randall had suggested the four-day holiday for them, Chief Ironside had said no immediately. Sherry insisted he take the four days. She knew Ironside and his staff were dead tired after then endless hours they had spent finding and bringing the Moonlight killer in. Ironside only agreed when Randall put Lt. Carl Reese on the case.
"Ed, have you got the Palmateer file?" Ironside asked.
"Yes chief." Ed walked over to his boss and sat down. "Chief, look at this." He pointed to a section of the report.
Ironside read the section Ed pointed out to him. "Two men were seen in the area just before the child disappeared." Ironside continued to read. "No description of either man is in this report. Mrs. Dana Delaney, the next-door neighbor saw them. What detective questions a witness and does not get a description of what could be the possible kidnappers?" Ironside complained. "Ed, go and talk to this woman. Find out what she saw and get a description of the those two men."
"On my way chief." Ed got up and headed out the door.
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Victoria read the file of Justin Hiriam. The boy was two years old. His mother put the boy up for adoption after discovering she could not take care of him. The father took off as soon as he found out she was pregnant. Victoria looked at the picture of the little boy. What a beautiful child, she thought. He had just been listed in the system two weeks ago. Victoria took down the address of the mother of the child. She would check this child out after she got out of work.
"Have you got that report ready for me yet Wilma?" Hank Rogers asked, standing in front of her desk.
Victoria jumped. "Oh, I am sorry Mr. Rogers. You startled me." She quickly used the control-alt to switch the computer screen to the report that she had completed. "Yes sir. I just need to run it off."
"Good. Run it off and put in on my desk before you leave today. I am going out to check on a client. I will be back in about an hour, maybe two." Rogers grabbed his suit coat and left the office.
Victoria switched the screen back to Justin Hiriam file. The more she looked at the boy the more he looked familiar. Who was this child? She had to find out. She had a nagging feeling she should know who this boy was.
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Eve approached the house of Victoria Ironside. After walking up the steps, she knocked on the door. She waited. When no one answered the door, she knocked again. Still no answer. She tried the door. It was locked. Reaching in her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the chief's office.
"Ironside," the chief barked.
"Chief, its Eve. Your aunt is not at home." Eve could sense the worry in Ironside's voice when he spoke.
"Eve, check out the place where she plays bridge. Find out if anyone there has seen her." Ironside ordered his detective.
"She probable just went shopping chief. We don't have any reason to believe anything is wrong."
Ironside knew Eve was right. There was not really anything that pointed to a problem. For all he knew the officers that lost her the morning just did a lousy job of tailing her. Ironside could just not shake the feeling something was wrong. "Eve, check out it out anyway."
"Alright. I'll call you later" Eve hung up the phone and got back in her car. She did not notice the vehicle that was parked on the other side of the street with two men sitting in the front seats.
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Commissioner Randall came into Chief Ironside's office for the second time that day. Ironside turned his head to see who had entered his office. "What brings you back here, Dennis?"
"Carl was informed the police just got a call about another child that has come up missing from the back yard. Bob, that is now four kids that have come up missing this month. One kid could be a kidnapping but four?"
"In other words you smell panic on the city council members," Ironside noted.
"I have not got any calls yet, if that is what you mean but this is starting to worry me. Bob, I would like you to devote full time to this case. Something is going on," Randall said.
"One week ago you insisted my staff and I needed a vacation. Now you want me to devote all our time to this case?" Ironside said raising his voice.
"Now be honest, Bob. You had no intentions of leaving on Friday with the Gavin child still missing," Randall said.
Ironside sighed, "I was hoping something would break before we left. Ed, Mark and Eve all need some time off. I did not want to interrupt their long weekend but Dennis; I cannot just go off and go fishing with this going on. Besides it was you that insisted on this vacation."
"I thought you were looking forward to it," Randall said.
"I was actually, that is until Tom and Sherry Gavin came into the office last week asking for my help. The more I have thought about it Dennis, I just don't think I would relax much," Ironside said.
"When are you going to break it to Eve, Ed and Mark?" Randall asked.
"Not until tomorrow. I will wait and see if they come up with anything today." Ironside answered.
"Chances of finding that boy today are pretty slim," Randall pointed out.
"I know but I cannot cancel their vacation until then. Ironside picked up the Palmateer file. "Ed is out checking on the neighbor who saw two men just before Tracy Palmateer came up missing. Can you believe the officers that did the initial investigation did not bother to put a description of those men in their report?" Ironside said incredulously.
"Maybe the neighbor did not see them well enough to give a description," Randall offered.
"Either way Ed will find out," Ironside added.
"Then I can depend on you to investigate this full time?" Randall asked his top detective.
"Yes, Dennis. We'll find out what is going on." Ironside concurred.
"Bob, there is one other thing…..your aunt. What are you doing about your aunt? We cannot allow her out there with her amateur investigations. She is going to get hurt or worse." Randall knew this was a bit of a sore subject with Bob Ironside.
"I know Dennis. I do not like it more that you do. In fact, I am a bit worried about her. I have not been able to reach her all day. She slipped the tail I had put on her," Ironside said.
"Tail, what do you mean tail? We are using police resources to keep track of your Aunt Victoria?" Randall complained.
"Well right now I at a bit of a loss as to how to keep her from playing detective. I have hauled her and her bridge club friends in here and scolded them. I have talked to her several times and none of it has had an effect." Ironside told him.
"The criminals in this city are scared to death of you but you can't intimidate one little old lady? You must be losing your touch." Randall ribbed his friend. He got up and started out the door. "Keep me informed, Bob."
"Will do, Dennis." Ironside went back to reading the files on the missing children.
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Derek Wagner watched as Eve Whitfield got in her car and drove away. "Wow, that babe's a looker."
"That babe works for Ironside," Harry said disgusted. He brother never took anything serious. Why in the world did he ever get himself mixed up in this mess? Now there was no way out.
"She works for Ironside?" Derek said surprised. "What a waste of beautiful woman.
"Will you knock it off? Why is Ironside sending her to the old woman's house? I do not like this. How do we know she has not told Ironside about the blackmail? This whole idea was stupid. I never should have agreed to it. Messing with Ironside is insane," Harry griped.
"Shut up, Harry! You worry too much. She isn't going to say a word to Ironside," Derek said with confidence.
"Just what makes you so damn sure?" Harry asked.
"She won't want Ironside to learn her dirty little secret. She will come through," Derek said.
"Even if she goes to Ironside he is not going to back off. He will not be blackmailed. You have no idea who you are dealing with. He is not your average run of the mill cop. This is IRONSIDE. I never should have allowed you to talk me into this," Harry said with remorse.
"You sound like a broken record. Let's go inside and wait for the old lady." Derek got out of the car and crossed the street. His brother followed him reluctantly.
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Mark came out of his room with a report folder in his hand. "Chief, I am going to take this over to my professor to turn it in. Do you need anything?"
Ironside looked up from his paperwork. "No, Mark. I'll see you later." Mark grabbed his jacket off the railing and left.
This entire case bothered him. Children do not just vanish into thin air. Four kids taken inside of a month. Not one of the families had received any ransom requests and at least two of them were wealthy.
No, these kids were being taken for a different reason altogether. Fresh off the memory of the Moonlight Killer, Ironside felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. He did not want to think of the possibility some maniac was out there killing children but it was something he had to consider. There had to be something in the files that gave some clue as to where these kids disappeared. He reached for the file of the first disappearance and began reading again.
xxxxx
Sgt. Brown knocked on the door of Dana Delaney. He looked next door at the Delaney home. There was a car in the driveway. Maybe he would stop and talk to the Palmateers if he got the opportunity. They might know something that was not in the report.
The door in front of him opened and a woman in her fifties looked at Ed. "I not buying whatever it is you are selling," she said and started to close the door.
Ed used his body to block the door. He reached in his suit coat pocket and brought out his badge. Holding it up so Mrs. Delaney could see it he said, "Sgt. Ed Brown, San Francisco police."
She eyed him with distrust but opened the door. "Come in. I don't have much time so make it fast," she said. Dana Delaney led Ed into the living room. She did not offer him a chair. She simply starred at him. "Well? She asked.
"I am investigating the disappearance of Tracy Palmateer. You were home the day she disappeared, is that correct?" he asked.
"Yeah, so what," she replied.
You told the police you saw two men in the area before they disappeared. Can you tell me what they looked like? Ed asked.
"I already talked to the police about this. I do not see any reason for you to be bothering me again about it," she complained.
"Mrs. Delaney, if you would just answer my questions, I will be on my way," Ed said trying to be diplomatic.
"I told you. I answered these questions once and I do not have the time to waste on you. Now I would like you to leave," she said raising her voice.
Ed decided to us his trump card. "I work for Chief Robert T. Ironside. Either you can answer my question now or you can answer Chief Ironside's questions downtown. It's up to you," he said looking her in the eye.
"Ironside?" She calmed right down. "Have a seat, Sergeant," she said.
Ed sat down on the couch. "Please describe the two men you saw," Ed demanded.
"They were young men in their twenties, I would say. Both were blond around five feet ten inches tall. They looked so much alike they could have been brothers," she said.
"Would you recognize them if you saw them again?" He asked her.
"Probably," she said.
"I would like you to come down to headquarter and look through our mug shot files and see if you can find them there," Ed said.
"But you said I could talk to you here. I am doing that. Why do I have to go to police headquarters?" She protested.
"Because that is where the mug shot files are. Would you like to get you purse and a jacket perhaps?" Ed asked.
She gave him a disgusted look and left the room. After a couple minutes, she returned. "Let's get this over with." She followed Ed out the door.
xxxxx
Victoria Ironside pulled into the drive at her home. She got out of the car. When she arrived at her front door, she unlocked it and entered her house. Sitting in her living room were two young blond men. Alarmed, she back toward the door. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Derek stood up. He pulled a gun out of his jacket and walked toward her. "You were supposed to convince your nephew to back off, Ms. Ironside. Why have you not taken care of it?" He asked as he approached her. Derek grabbed her around the neck and placed the gun barrel on her cheek.
"Robert doesn't back off from anything. Talking to him would be a waste of time," she cried.
"You are forgetting about your little secret, aren't you? What do you think your precious nephew would think of you if he found out?" Derek rubbed the gun barrel up and down her cheek. "Now, you are going to talk to Ironside. Get him to back off," Derek demanded. "If you don't, we will tell him your secret. You got that?"
Victoria nodded but did not say anything.
Derek let her go. "You have one week. And do not go telling him about us. Let's go, Harry."
After they left Victoria picked up the phone. She dialed. It seemed like forever before the line was answered. "Ironside," her nephew barked into the phone. Victoria tried to talk to Robert but she could not. She hung up the phone. How could she tell him to back off an investigation? He would want to know why she was asking. It was more than blackmail now. No, she would not call Robert, not until she had enough evidence for him to arrest these thugs. The answer was in that adoption agency. She had one week to find out what was going on, one week to find a way to keep Robert from learning her secret. She could do it. After all, she was an Ironside.
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