The Case of the Stolen Artifact
Chapter 10
1
Ironside pulled up in front of the museum. Several squad cars were already there. Both Ed's and Eve's vehicles came to a screeching halt right next to his. Ironside wheeled into the lift, pressed the button and was lowered to the pavement. Perry Mason and Della Street got out of the vehicle.
The chief turned to Della. "I would appreciate it if you and Perry would wait here until I have had a chance to check things out." Mason nodded and watched his brother head for the front door of the museum. The curator was waiting for him with two police officers.
One of the officers told Ironside, "We have the place surrounded, Chief. Whoever is in there is not getting out."
"Whoever was in there is long gone," Ironside said grimly. He waited until the curator opened the door. Several more police officers joined them. As one of them grabbed the handle, Ironside stopped him. "Ed and Eve will go in first. The rest of you follow them in. Where's Carl?"
"He went around the back with several officers," Eve told him.
Ironside nodded at his detectives. Sergeant Brown and Officer Eve Whitfield entered the museum with guns drawn. Without hesitation, Ed indicated for the officers to spread out. Eve led one party, Ed the other. They move cautiously through the museum. Ed headed directed for the display where the Tiger had been. The case was empty. Hearing moaning, he walked around the empty case. Alexandra Hughes was laying on the floor, and beginning to stir.
After the police gave Ironside the all clear, he wheeled into the museum where the Tiger was supposed to be located. He spotted Ed on the other side of the display. The detective immediately noticed the empty case. Wheeling over to where Ed was standing, he saw Alexandra on the floor. She looked up at Ironside.
"I didn't have time to warn you. They did not tell me they were going to go tonight, Bob. They brought me here at gun point."
Ironside looked down at the gun in her hand. "Drop the gun, Alexandra."
Still dazed, she looked down at the gun she had not even realized was in her hand. The beautiful thief saw the look on Bob's face. She could only imagine what he was thinking. "I did not come here with a gun. It must have been planted." Alexandra could tell he did not believe her. "They took the Tiger, Bob."
"Chief!" Carl Reese came running into the room.
Ironside looked up. "What is it, Carl?"
"Officer Duffy has been shot!" Carl shouted.
"Ed, stay here," he said before wheeling away from the sergeant as fast as he could move. When he arrived at the employee entrance, he saw Duffy laying on the floor, his chest bleeding. "Call an ambulance!" Ironside roared.
"It's on the way," Carl told him.
Duffy was still alive. "Chief..."
"Don't try to talk, Duffy." He looked up at Carl. "Where the hell is that ambulance?!" No sooner had he said it, he could hear the siren wailing in the background.
Ironside looked down to see Howard Jurgens on the floor as well. When Carl noticed he was looking, he said, "He's dead, Chief."
"I can see that. Call for a forensic team, including a fingerprint expert. I want a paraffin test done on Miss Hughes."
"Already ordered, Chief."
Officer Duffy's eyes were closed. Ironside reached down and checked his pulse. It was weak, but it was there.
The ambulance arrived, and the paramedics came rushing in the door. They worked on Duffy for several minutes before they were ready to transport him. Just as they were wheeling out the door, one of them looked over at Ironside. He had known the chief for years. He shook his head back and forth, indicating he didn't think Duffy had much of a chance.
Ironside wheeled over to the body of Howard Jurgens. He was laying face down, but there wasn't any doubt it was he. "Shot in the back," the chief said.
"Yes, sir, and I am betting the gun Ed took away from Alexandra Hughes is not only the murder weapon, but the one that fired the bullet into Duffy's chest," Carl said.
Ironside continued to study the wound on Jurgens back. Power burns indicated he was shot at a very close range. Something wasn't right. Duffy had definitely been shot from a distance and in the chest. Why was Jurgens shot in the back? "Take over here, Carl"
Ironside wheeled back into the main room of the museum. He went directly over to Alexandra. "There is a dead man at the employees entrance. One of my officers has been shot as well. Did you do it, Alexandra?"
She looked at him with hurt in her eyes. "Bob, I can't believe you would think I could kill a man or shoot one of your officers."
"Did you do it?" he repeated.
"No, I did not shoot anyone. I told you, I did not come here with a gun. It is not mine. I was forced to come here. You have to believe me."
Eve Whitfield joined her boss. "The curator says nothing except the Tiger is missing, Chief."
"Where's the Tiger, Alexandra?" Ironside demanded.
"Eli and Louis must have take it with them when they left," she said. She saw the doubt in his eyes. How could she convince him? She could not kill anyone. She had never even taken a gun on any of her jobs.
Before long the museum was crawling with people from the police lab. Fingerprints were taken from the casing the Tiger had been in, and on the door of the employee entrance. Two hours later, the crew had completed their work. The coroner had picked up Howard Jurgens's body and Duffy had been transferred to the hospital.
Perry and Della joined Ironside in the museum. "Well, Bob, I don't see where you have a choice. You are going to have to arrest her on suspicion of murder," Perry said.
Ironside did not like hearing the obvious. Yet, he just could not bring himself to believe Alexandra would kill in cold blood. She had always been such a gentle human being. The entire caper didn't pass the smell test. Unfortunately, he had no choice.
Ed approached him. "Chief, I have picked up the video from the security office."
"And?"
"Miss Hughes is the only one that it shows entering the building. We found the video security man knocked out in the security room. His security card was found on her, Chief."
Ironside turned his head quickly. "How did she get it?"
He reported it missing a few days ago," Brown informed him.
"Why in the blazes wasn't it deactivated?" Ironside growled. "Who was responsible for seeing that it was done?"
"The curator," Ed said. "Eve talked to him. He said he did deactivate the card. One of the other employees was with him in his office when he did it. He then issued a new card to Kevin Powers."
"He's their security man?"
"Yes, sir."
"Was he the one with the curator when he deactivated the card?"
"That's right, Chief."
"Where is he?"
"He's with Eve. She is confirming the curator's story."
"Alright, I want to talk to the curator and Kevin Powers," Ironside told him. And Ed, put out an APB on Louis Blaine and Eli Schneider. Bottle up the exits out of San Francisco. I want to talk to the police officers that were supposed to be watching them."
Eve walked up to them with Kevin Powers. "I called them on the radio, Chief. When they didn't answer, I had headquarters send a patrol car. They were sound asleep. Someone pumped a gas into their vehicle that knocked them out."
"Mister Powers, you were with the curator when he deactivated your card?" Ironside asked.
"Yes, sir. Although, I was on the other side of the desk. I didn't actually see the computer screen when he did it," Powers said.
"You turned in the card?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you see Miss Hughes enter the building, Mister Powers?"
Powers hesitated for a minute before answering. "I left the video surveillance room to go to the bathroom."
"Then that should be on the video," Ironside said.
"There is a bathroom connected to the surveillance room, Chief Ironside. It was put there so the man in charge of the video security doesn't have to leave the screens for more than a minute."
"I checked the room, Chief. Anyone entering the bathroom would not be able to see the video monitors while in there," Eve said.
"Did you hear or see anything?" Ironside asked.
"As soon as I came out of the bathroom, I sat down to continue monitoring and someone clobbered me from behind. All I saw was stars," Powers answered.
"How did your attacker get in?"
"I don't know, the door was locked. The only way someone could get in was with a security card."
"And you have yours?" Ironside said.
Powers reached into his pocket and pulled it out, showing it to the detective.
Perry, come with me," Ironside said. Mason followed him into the room where the police were holding Alexandra. He opened the door and wheeled into the room.
Alexandra stood up as he entered. She was not kidding herself. Louis and Eli had set her up. She knew what was coming if she did not convince Bob she was not guilty of these crimes. "Bob, I need to talk to you. I have to..."
"Don't say another word, Alexandra," Ironside told her. "You are under arrest on suspicion of murder and theft of a priceless artifact. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to council and to have him present during questioning. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?"
"Bob, you can't possibly believe I killed that man! I have been set up!"
"I am sorry, Alexandra," Ironside said. "Ed, take her in." He turned and wheeled out of the room.
Perry and Della rode back to Police Headquarters with Ironside. Mason watched his brother closely. Obviously, something was bothering him deeply. He had not uttered a sound since they had left the museum.
Mason realized protecting his brother from an Internal Investigation just got a lot harder. It was doubtful that he would be able to keep things quiet now. Everything about his relationship with Alexandra Hughes was bound to come out. The theft of the Tiger would just about guaranty that. Yet, Mason sensed something was bothering him besides the theft of a valuable artifact.
When Mark pulled into the police garage, Ironside simply wheeled his chair onto the lift and exited the vehicle. He headed straight for the elevator without a word.
Della gave Perry a look. He nodded his head in recognition, but said nothing. He hoped Della had picked up on the fact he did not want her to question Bob about the museum. He had enough to deal with now.
When they arrived upstairs, Commissioner Dennis Randall and Mayor Patrick Simpson were waiting in Ironside's office-residence. Perry and Della followed Ironside in. When the detective entered, the mayor started in on him.
"You couldn't excuse yourself from one damn case, could you, Chief? Now look what has happened. Do you realize what it is going to cost the city if we don't find that Tiger?" Simpson roared.
"We'll find the Tiger," Ironside said.
"So, tell me, Chief, did you let Alexandra Hughes get away this time?" Simpson asked sarcastically.
"Mister Mayor!" Randall said in disbelief.
Mayor Simpson calmed down. "I am sorry, Robert. I didn't mean that. Please understand when I called for the Internal Investigation, I was trying to protect you. I wanted you off this case so that no one would try to smear your reputation. It was not personal. This city needs you. I just didn't want you involved in case something went wrong. And now, something has." The mayor sat down at the table with a thud. "How are we going to protect you now? Everything is going to come out. People are going to say, you were too soft on Alexandra Hughes; that you let her charm you again; that the loss of the Tiger is your fault because you were too emotionally involved."
"I am not worried about my reputation, Mister Mayor. My concern is getting that Tiger back, and putting Blaine and Schneider back behind bars."
"Bob," Randall said regretfully, "the city council was informed of the theft almost as soon as it happened. They have already met. They have ordered me to take you off the case and order an internal investigation."
"That's ridiculous!" Ed almost shouted. "The chief had nothing to do with the theft of that Tiger."
"I know that Ed. When it was only the mayor, I could fight them off, but I can't fight the entire city council," Randall said.
"I am sorry, Chief, but this has to be done to clear you," Mayor Simpson said. "The sooner we get it over with, the sooner you can return to duty. I promise you, the investigation is simply to clear you of any wrong doing. It should not be hard; we all know you are an honest cop. We will try to keep the investigation quiet."
"You know that will never happen," Eve said. "The chief is simply too high profile in San Francisco."
"Any officer caught revealing the investigation will be fired immediately," the mayor said. "Now, we will need your badge and your gun."
Ed, Eve and Mark surrounded the chief. "You can't do that!" Mark said.
"I am afraid he can," Randall said.
Della Street watched Perry. He was shaking his head. "I will have to advise my client not to turn it in."
"What? On what grounds?" The mayor asked.
"Chief Ironside has made more arrests and put more people behind bars than any police officer in history in San Francisco. Unfortunately, he can't arrest them all without evidence. We all know there is still a criminal element in this city. Taking his gun would leave him defenseless in a city where thugs would delight in assaulting or even killing him. He is already at a disadvantage because of his disability. I will not allow him to be stripped of the only defense left to him. If you try to take his gun or his badge, I will file suit against the city of San Francisco and the Police Department on his behalf," Mason said.
"I can't believe this. We are trying to protect this man. He is needed in this city and you are going to complicate manners?" the mayor said.
"He doesn't need protecting, Mister Mayor," Ed said. "He has done nothing wrong."
"I don't believe he is guilty of anything except bad judgement where Alexandra Hughes is concerned. That is the reason the city council is ordering he be cleared," Mayor Simpson said.
"Fine, then let him find the Tiger, Simpson and Blaine," Mason argued.
The mayor shook his head. "Be reasonable, Mason. This is going to be a PR nightmare as it is. Let's do this as quietly as possible and clear Chief Ironside so he can go back to work."
"He keeps his gun and his badge or I file suit," Perry insisted.
Dennis Randall decided to try and get them past the impasse. "How about if he keeps his gun and badge and turns the investigation over to another officer?"
"I could agree to that. I don't want to leave the chief defenseless. I will agree to this as long as his staff stays out of it as well."
"Wait just a minute," Ed said rather loudly. Mark and Eve were about to object as well.
Ironside put up his hand to silence his staff. "I can agree to that."
"You what?" Eve exclaimed.
"We will stay out of it officially," the chief said.
Randall almost smiled. He knew what that meant. Bob Ironside had no intention of staying out of it. Then he wondered why he was even thinking about smiling. This only meant the detective was about to cause him another headache. He couldn't help but wonder what Ironside was up to, and he was definitely up to something!
"Thank you, Chief. I will order Internal Affairs to speed this up and clear you as soon as they possibly can." Mayor Simpson left the office.
Randall could practically see the wheels churning in Ironside's mind. "Bob, what are you up to? You never give in that easily."
"You know he is right, Dennis. Besides, I could use some time off, so I am officially taking a vacation," Ironside told him.
Randall just stared at the detective. Now he was certain he was up to something. Unfortunately, he could not stop him from taking vacation. Robert Ironside had so much time built up for vacations, as he rarely took them in his entire career. The commissioner stood up. "I don't know what you are up to, Bob, but I have no doubt you are going to be a pain in the..."
"Now Dennis, I am just taking a vacation."
Commissioner Randall stood up. Taking one last look at his top detective, he headed for the door. "I'll bet," was his parting shot.
"Bob, I kept my mouth shut, but Commissioner Randall was not the only one that thinks you are up to something. So, how about you let us in on it."
Ironside looked around the room at the people he trusted completely. "I am going to ask all of you to do something for me. None of you are under any obligation to say yes. I want all of you to know, I will not be offended if you don't want to take part."
Ed looked at Mark and Eve. "Chief, you know darn well we are with you. What is it you want us to do?"
"First of all," Ironside began, "this entire case stinks to high heaven. This was a set up if I ever saw one."
"Bob, before you get yourself into any trouble I can't pull you out of, I think you need to look at the facts. You have to face the fact that Alexandra Hughes played you from the very beginning. She may very well have figured you would believe her and allow her to report Blaine and Schneider's activities to you, when what she was doing was setting up the theft of the Tiger. They could have known all along what she was doing."
"I think they did," Ironside said. "I think they found out that she was talking to me and did not let her know when they intended to do the job, just like she told me."
"Chief, I know Alexandra meant a lot to you in the past, but don't you think you are allowing her to cloud your thinking?" Eve asked.
"If you think that, Officer Whitfield, then you might as well help with the internal investigation," Ironside snarled.
"Easy, Bob. She is only trying to help. You must at least admit that it is a possibility," Perry said.
"Robert, you must have something to base your feelings on besides emotion," Della said.
"I know Alexandra. She is a lot of things, but she is no murderer. I don't believe she killed Howard Jurgens. She would not have shot Duffy either. It is just all to convenient. It smells of set up just as Alexandra said."
The door to the office opened and Carl Reese walked in. He walked down the ramp. In his right hand, he was carrying a folder. "Chief, I have the fingerprint report. The case the Tiger was in had Alexandra Hughes' fingerprints all over it."
"Any other prints?" Ironside asked.
"No, none. Only Hughes' prints were on that case," Carl reported.
"But how is that possible? Even if the people who came to view the artifact didn't touch the case, the employees had to touch it. Someone put the Tiger in the case. They must have left prints," Della said.
Carl shook his head. "There were no other prints."
"Then the case had to have been wiped clean," Ed said.
"Someone wanted to make sure Alexandra's prints were found on that case," Ironside said.
"Chief, I watched the video," Eve said. "The only one that entered the museum by the employee door was Alexandra Hughes. No one else came in."
"That presents a problem," Perry said. "If Hughes was the only one that came in, then how did Howard Jurgens get into the building?"
"A question that has been bothering me since Eve first told me Alexandra was the only one to enter the museum," Ironside said.
"Either Jurgens was in the museum when it closed or someone let him in," Perry said.
"There were only two people in the museum after it closed," Ed pointed out.
"Duffy and Kevin Powers," Mark finished for Ed.
"And we know damn well Duffy didn't let him in," Ironside said.
"Chief, there is another problem," Eve told him.
"What's that?"
"If the video didn't show Jurgens entering the museum," she announced, "then the only way he could have got in was by being there when the museum closed.
"That could mean someone was messed with the videos," Perry said.
"Believing it and proving it are two different things entirely," Ironside reminded them, "and we know perfectly well the district attorney is not about to allow us to examine those videos."
"They will have to explain it," Mason mentioned. "Any defense attorney is going to pick up on that and demand it be explained."
"But the attorney will not know it until the hearing," Della said.
"Probably not even then. If I were the district attorney, I would keep that under wraps until the actual trial. By then, they might be able to find an explanation for it," Perry argued.
"There is one attorney that knows about it right now," Ironside pointed out.
Perry looked at his brother. "You don't expect me to defend her, do you?"
"Why not?" the chief responded. "You would be in a better position than any other attorney, since you would have more information."
"Bob..."
"Do we agree this looks like a set up?" Ironside asked his brother.
"It could very well be that Alexandra chose to cut Blaine and Schneider out of their share, Robert. She could have bumped up the date to steal the Tiger, but was surprised by Jurgens. Duffy may have caught her in the act killing Jurgens, and she could have shot him to eliminate a witness." Della looked to Perry to see if he concurred.
"And that is exactly what the prosecution is going to say," Perry said.
"I don't care what they say," Ironside said. "Alexandra is a thief, not a murderer. She doesn't own a gun and never carries one. She did not kill Jurgens."
"Bob, be reasonable," Mason said. "Can't you just admit she could have used you?"
"Alexandra is a very successful thief. She didn't get that way by being careless. Do you really think she would not have known about the cameras? She would not have just waltzed in there the way she did."
"Chief, she could have thought they were..." Eve began to say before her boss interrupted her.
"Could have thought what? That the cameras were not working? It would have taken someone on the inside."
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Perry said. "You are off the case, remember? That includes your staff. It is out of your hands."
"Like hell it is. I will not stand by and watch some incompetent attorney handle her case. I am telling you this stinks to high heaven. She did not kill Jurgens and the police are not going to look beyond the obvious. Does that sound familiar, Counselor?
"Is anyone interested in my opinion?" Carl said.
Ironside saw the look on Carl's face. "Go ahead."
"I agree with the chief. The whole things smells of setup. It simply is not possible for there to be no other fingerprints on that case. There is no explanation for how Jurgens got into that building. Someone let him in. Since it doesn't show Hughes doing it, someone else did. How and when they did it, is the clue to what is going on," Reese said.
Mason stared at his brother. "So what are your proposing, Bob."
"I want you to defend her," Ironside said. "You can't deny it is a set-up, can you?"
"Oh, look, Bob..." Mason knew he was right after hearing everything. It did smell of a set-up, but he came here to protect his brother, not get involved in a murder case.
"Don't give me any excuses, Perry. You are the one that is always harping on looking beyond the obvious. If you really believe it, than prove it. Defend Alexandra and we'll look into this mess together."
"Aren't you forgetting something? You are under internal affairs investigation and you are off the case," Mason reminded him.
"I am also on vacation. I can do what I want with it. I choose not to allow an injustice simply because someone set-up Alexandra and the police have a nice neat case with a ribbon tied around it. Will you defend her, Perry?" Ironside's steely blue eyes bore into those of his younger brother.
"Bob, there are plenty of good defense attorneys out there. A couple right here in San Francisco. Besides, I can't defend her and protect you at the same time. It is a conflict of interest," Mason said.
"Then drop me and defend her," Ironside insisted.
"Bob..."
"You're fired, Perry. I don't need an attorney and you are too expensive for me anyway," Ironside declared.
Mason shook his head. "Alright, I will talk to her, but I am not promising to take the case."
Ironside grinned at his brother. "See, that was not so hard, was it?"
Della looked at Perry and smiled. It was amazing how easily Perry gave into his older brother.