Chapter 7

Tappert didn't ask whether it would serve his own cause if he helped the police. But he knew that the only chance he had left was working along the lines of this amazing man in the wheelchair.

"I always go to a rendezvous with my dogs. I don't want to meet some crooks without any defense." He still didn't seem to see himself as a crook. "I'm not sure whether I will be able to keep them back from you, Chief Brown." He looked as if in hindsight he were highly surprised that Ed had survived the attack unscathed.

"Why did you let your dogs loose on Chief Brown in the first place?" Ironside wanted to know.

Tappert hesitated, then he decided to come out with the truth. Everything else would not lead anywhere with this sharp detective. "I didn't know who he was until he came here.
"You know – partly I get my material on the dumping grounds. I often encountered that crazy guy - I think his name is Jeremy something. He saw me do my job. Up to yesterday I thought that he was no problem for me, no matter what he saw. He freaked out whenever somebody got near him. Therefore it didn't matter if he knew anything about me or not, he could not spill the beans about me. Yesterday I went to the refuse incinerator with a rented mini truck, because I had to get rid of some rubbish. I saw Jeremy talking to this man – not knowing that he was a police Chief – and to his kid who seemed to be rather strange as well. And these two could very well spill the beans about me. I must have arrived just after that incident where both Jeremy and Mr. Brown were almost killed. The operator told me about it. I admit that I panicked. The dogs seemed to be an easy way to put them to flight. Of course I would not have tried this knowing that he was a police officer! I asked the operator if he knew any one of you, and he gave me Judge Sanger's address. Secretly I observed the property. When I noticed that they put up a tent in the garden... well, it was a mistake. Suppose I'm glad that nothing happened."

Ed didn't tell him how glad he was.


The phone call didn't come in until 10pm. Ironside and Ed had informed Mark and Ed's family that they would not be around during the day. Eve had taken advantage of the situation to visit her parents with Danny.

As a precaution for the setup Carl organized some officers who had to be available during the following night.

"After I was almost caught at the Pyramid… they have all kinds of crazy ideas now. This time they want me to come to Gray Whale Cove State Beach at 1am," reported Tappert. "From there I have to walk north along the waterline. I will find a kayak somewhere. There I have to deposit the backpack with the remote controls they have ordered, and the money will be there as well. And no witnesses, of course. Maybe they have noticed that the police suspect something and therefore they are now anxious."

It meant that Ironside would not be able to join them, since it was a sandy and rocky beach. "You won't take your Rottweilers with you." It wasn't a question.

At first Tappert tried to protest, but Ironside remained firm. The dogs would have been far too dangerous for everybody and particularly for Ed.

Carl had to make new arrangements. If the number of men involved was too large they would be spotted. He only kept the best ones in the plan: Young, intelligent, strong men. He could let two of them pursue Tappert, but not more. A group could use a modified fishing boat to get close by without attracting attention.

"If the kayak is far from Gray Whale Cove State Beach, then I won't be able to follow Tappert there," he regretted. The terrain was rough there. This was a physically challenging job, and he was one year before retirement, after all!

"I want Ed there," stated Ironside.

The latter smiled. Of course he would want that. Still Ed felt the trust behind his old mentor's words, and it meant very much to him.

"You still expect quite a lot from this guy, don't you?" grinned Carl, nudging Ed's ribs.

"At least he's a little better than the rest of that entire useless bunch," Ironside pointed out, softening his words with a grin, "always was. I trained him myself, after all." He didn't doubt for a second that his former sergeant would keep up with a bunch of rookies, no matter how athletic they were.

Ironside himself would have to wait in his van, and not too close by.

Ed went back to Mark's to change into clothes more suitable for their plans. He had taken along blue jeans and sneakers, and Mark lent him a dark sweater. Fortunately Eve wasn't back from her visit to her parents. She would be awful worried, therefore it was better to just let Mark tell her that there would be a stakeout of some kind.

Carl dropped two of his men - Frederick Mason, who had found the bomb at the TA Pyramid and his colleague Tim Saunders - and Ed early at Gray Whale Cove State Beach. Both officers were young, athletic and fit. Saunders was carrying a mobile radio, Mason a strong flashlight. They had abstained from using night-vision goggles: the weather forecast announced some fog. Therefore the SFPD's goggles would be useless. Only the boat would have a heavy night-vision device.

"No heroics, Ed, please. Even though the Commissioner officially accepts your collegial assistance – this isn't your town anymore," warned Carl. Ironside snorted through his nose.

"It's called holidays, if I remember well," smiled Ed.


Ed, Mason and Saunders hid behind some rocks halfway down the waterline and waited for Tappert to turn up. Ironside followed Tappert in the van to make sure that he would not try a getaway. He would drive on a bit and then park somewhere nearby. An unmarked police car would wait towards Half Moon Bay.

While Ed and Carl's men were waiting, the fog was coming in from the Ocean. A jacket would have been a good idea. Ed felt already chilly. The fog would make it difficult not to lose sight of Tappert.

The German arrived on time. He used a flashlight to find his way down the footpath and stairs to get to the waterfront, then he crossed the sandy beach and followed the shore line north. Where the beach ended, he had to start climbing over the rocks. Partly they were slippery, and the fog made this into a scary, arduous adventure. Ed and Carl's two young officers didn't know where they would be watched from, but they were very likely being watched from somewhere. Of course flashlights were out of question for them; that way following Tappert in the darkness was absolutely crazy. Probably that was the idea behind this assignment.

Where the heck was that kayak?!

They went around the Bunkers, which meant more dangerous climbing. Their hands were scratched and dirty. Each of the young police officers thought about capitulating and turning back. Yet as long as the older man didn't show any sign of giving up they had to hang on, thought Mason. Brown, this blasted recycled ex-sergeant, looked as if he, Mason, could easily beat up two of his kind before breakfast, but man, was that a tough guy!


Ironside drove his van slowly north on Devil's Slide trail. The fog was far too thick to get a glimpse of Tappert's flashlight. Where in blazes were Ed and his people? Where was that kayak? He was only half as confident as he had pretended to be towards Carl, who was now sitting in the passenger seat, the radio microphone in his nervous hand. Darkness, fog and dangerous rocks made this a challenge for every cop. Were Carl's people cautious enough? Would Ed have enough stamina to pull this operation through? Even the boat could get into trouble in the shallow water.


It was very dark and more than once one of the men slipped and almost fell. Ed didn't feel cold at all anymore. There was something good in everything, he thought ironically.

After what seemed an eternity they saw the shine of the pocket lamp turn towards an object in the water. This had to be the kayak. Carefully they ducked behind some boulders and tried to keep track of what was going on. The dancing light only let them guess: Now Tappert bent down to look for the money... now he pulled it out... now he put the backpack with the remote controls into the kayak... now he turned around and started to walk back...

"Stop! Put the money to the ground!" shouted a voice out of the fog, and then another, stronger light shone up. Clearly Ed saw the shadow of an object, which was kept by the same hands as the torchlight: a shotgun.