Chapter 10

Sorry for the slight delay. I always hate it when my employer expects me to do my job. ;-)

Hopefully, I'll get more up in a much timelier manner.

To those who asked about "earwigs," believe it or not, I did my research and discovered that this is a popular name for the communication device that undercover operatives use. Among my friends I'm rather well-known distaste for creepy crawlers, so it just seemed right to use the term.

And to those who have been so kind with their comments so far, thank you. It is most appreciated. This is a great escape for a woman who normally writes local and regional history. That someone else is enjoying it is a great bonus.

As always, I await Bruno's call.

Cheers! Archijenn

Heading into the club for their second evening of shows, the excitement was still there if for another reason. The van with the cameras was in position in the parking lot; set up to film the dumpster from all angles. Before or during the second set, the first part of the drug bust would most likely occur.

Abbott, Lisbon, and Jane had all agreed to be extra careful not to let on that they knew what was happening. If everything went according to plan, no one in the club would be aware of what was happening until after the take down. Hopefully, even then, only those most closely involved would be aware that something had happened.

As they arrived backstage, they were greeted by George Calhoun carrying small slips of paper in his hand. "Hello, Terri. I've got some notes for you from some of our customers who were here last night and returned this evening."

Before Lisbon could even remove her coat, he was handing them to her. She sat down on one of the two chairs and looked at the scribbled notes on scraps of paper and cocktail napkins. Most were kind words saying they very much enjoyed her sets and a few were requests for songs. A few more were warmer praises and invitations to sit at tables with various groups. She was rather surprised and she looked a bit confused as she handed them to Abbott and turned back to Calhoun. "Wow. This is a bit of surprise."

Calhoun smiled at her and shrugged. "I have to confess. The last few singers we've had here have been at LEAST 15 years older than you and I think some people are getting a little excited about having a younger woman who looks and dresses like you do. However, the ones I hope you'll really look at are the requests. I'm not sure if you're prepared to do them, but if you could find a way to acknowledge the anniversaries and birthdays, I'm sure they'll be happy."

Abbott who had been reading them carefully to look for any signs of troubled minds responded. "We'll go through them and see what we can do. A lot of the requests look like things that we've done before." As Abbott saw it, this was also a test by Calhoun to see just how deep their playbook was and he wasn't going to let them fail and have Calhoun start questioning them at this late date.

Meanwhile, Jane was finally getting a look at the napkins. Most were innocent enough but a couple sounded like they were from some lechers who thought that a club singer would be willing to do a bit extra for a big enough tip. He was definitely going to keep a close eye on things tonight.

"Well, thanks, Calhoun, I'm sure Denny and Terri will take care of this," Jane said and

ushered the club owner out of the room.

As Jane turned around, he caught his first glimpse of Lisbon for the evening. He had been downstairs with Abbott working on the evening's operation while she was getting ready and she met them downstairs wearing a trench coat so he hadn't seen this outfit. "My God, woman! Are you trying to kill me?"

Lisbon had decided that the forest green silk slip dress would be perfect for a Saturday night crowd. "Are you saying you don't like it?" She pretended to question. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he more than liked it.

He had watched her through much of the day and knew that the hypnotic suggestions that he had implanted were still very much in place so he wasn't too worried about her confidence. However, he was worried about his sanity with her onstage looking like the embodiment of sex appeal.

Abbott, a VERY happily married man, had to admit that Lisbon looked gorgeous so he decided to step in before Jane could say something that would be taken the wrong way. "I think the problem is that he likes it way, way too much."

Jane silently thanked Abbott for helping to rescue him and said, "Sweetheart, you're beautiful. I just wish I wasn't sharing you with a room full of strangers."

Lisbon stepped close to him and said, "Just remember, that while everyone else should look but not touch, you get to do both- later."

Jane almost moaned out loud, stopping himself only because he could hear giggling in his ear and knew that Fischer had joined the group in tactical with Wylie and Cho. Instead, he gave her a quick hard kiss before releasing her and heading out front.

Abbott and Lisbon discussed the requests and decided that they could do a couple of them and the others they would mention with good wishes and play a song that would more generally cover all the requests. Calhoun came back in the middle of their conversation and waited until they were finished before telling them it was time.

Jane was in place at the bar as Lisbon came out on stage. He felt an eager level of testosterone rise in the building even among the elderly men who probably hadn't thought that they could have such a feeling at their age without the use of pharmaceuticals. He turned to the bar and noticed that Phil and Davey were watching Lisbon intently, but Tom was busy filling drink orders and shifting stuff around behind the bar.

The place was once again practically at maximum capacity with only a few empty chairs and no empty tables, creating a number of new acquaintance introductions, "Excuse me? Is this seat taken? Would you mind if we joined you?"

Jane recognized a number of the faces in the crowd from the previous evening. One face he was surprised to see was that of the janitor, Mike. However, there he was sitting at a table with a young man who Jane remembered from the second set last night. An older couple who looked to be in their late 70s approached the twosome and were obviously asking if they could sit down. At first, it appeared that Mike was saying no, but the younger man smiled and gestured to the couple to join them. Jane filed this away for further study as he continued to visually sweep the room.

Lisbon finished her opening number, "'S Wonderful," and began talking to the audience. "Thank you so much for being here tonight. It IS wonderful to see you all." She put up her hand to shield her eyes a bit from the spotlight and looked around the room as she added, "I believe I see some of you who were here last night, too. Denny is irresistible, isn't he?"

There were some chuckles from the crowd and a few wolf whistles from some of the ladies proving that her remark wasn't without merit. Abbott who was playing some quiet chords in the background, grinned and thanked everyone.

Jane continued to let his eyes move over the crowd looking for anomalies. As he watched, he saw a young woman in her twenties slip in, give a brief nod to Calhoun, and stand at the bar. She caught Tom's eye and he walked over and said something to her. She whispered back in his ear and he nodded and went back to work.

Jane assumed she was his girlfriend. She was slender with short dyed blonde hair. She dressed in black slacks and a white blouse and Jane guessed she waitressed somewhere. Through the white sleeves, dark ink of tattoos was visible. Her makeup was very harsh and while she was probably in her mid-twenties, it aged her another ten years. She seemed very nervous and her eyes darted around the room every minute or so.

Jane let himself listen to the short conversation as Lisbon thanked the audience for their kind notes and said, "You know I received a request from a couple who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this week. Martin and Eileen, are you here?"

Lisbon, again, shielded her eyes from the spotlight and looked for the couple. The couple that had begged for seats at Mike's table shyly raised their hands and the audience applauded and cheered. Teresa used the moment to step off the stage and come to the table. "Congratulations!"

"So you've been married for fifty years. How long did you know each other before you were married?" She asked and held out the microphone to the to answer.

The man and woman looked at each other and the man, Martin, replied, "Well, Miss Lipton, we had known each other for about ten years before we married but it was less than two years before our wedding that we admitted that we loved each other."

Eileen leaned over and said, "We met after Martin's first wife was killed in a robbery. I was a secretary for the sheriff and Martin came in often to follow-up on the case and make sure that they found the robbers."

"And did they?" Lisbon had to ask.

Martin's nodded, "Oh, yes. I wasn't resting until they found the guys. Lois and I had been high school sweethearts and only married a few months when the robbery occurred. You can't just let go of something like that."

Lisbon agreed. "No, I wouldn't suppose you could."

Martin continued, "Anyway, every time I came to the sheriff's office, this kind young woman always made a point to talk to me. Sometimes I just needed someone to listen to me and that's what she did. She saved me."

Few seemed unmoved by Martin's confession and Teresa found her eyes filled with unshed tears as Eileen reached over and kissed him gently on the cheek. "We fell in love gradually and when Martin's company transferred him to Austin, we decided that we couldn't be separated so I came to Austin, too, found a job, and about a year later we married."

Lisbon's smile was warm as she looked at the couple and said, "The waiting and the work were with it, yes?"

Eileen looked at Martin and said, "Oh yes. No can be happy every day of the year, but if you fall in love with the right person, you have someone to help you climb out of the deep holes."

Lisbon couldn't stop herself from looking in Jane's direction and he gave he a slow smile in response. "I don't think I could have put that better myself, Eileen."

Lisbon turned towards Abbott and said, "Denny, I believe we have a song request for these two lovers, don't we?"

Abbott smiled and said, "Yes, we do," as he went into the introduction of "I Could Write a Book." Lisbon and the audience encouraged the couple to come to the open area of the floor for a dance.

She began singing, "If they asked me, I could write a book/ About the way you walk and whisper and look. / I could write a preface on how we met, / So the world would never forget. / And the simple secret of the plot; / Is just to tell them that I love you a lot. / Then the world discovers as my book ends, / How to make two lovers of friends …"

As the song and the dance continued, Lisbon moved back to the stage. When it ended the couple turned to her and thanked her and returned to their seats as the audience gave one final cheer and many used their cocktail napkins to dab away a tear or two.

Lisbon continued through her set being more interactive with the audience than the night before. Her movements and the audience reactions were being closely scrutinized by the agents sprinkled through the crowd and the consultant at the bar. She and Abbott were three quarters of the way through the set when Jane noticed that the bar was short a bartender and he whispered quietly, "Look alive, everyone, I think we're going to see something happening at the dumpster."

Cho and his small team of two agents watched their monitors carefully. They were rewarded a few minutes later when the cameras picked up movement directly under the dumpster. They watched as they saw what looked like a trap door slide sideways and a man's head, shoulders, and arms appear. He opened a door at the bottom of the dumpster and put what appeared to be just some empty boxes inside. Then he jerked something off the inside wall of the dumpster before closing the bottom again.

Cho shook his head, "Jane, you were right. The dumpster has a false bottom. He's left the drugs and taken a payment. We'll-" Cho stopped as he caught the feed from across the street. A woman was walking into the parking lot and heading for the dumpster. As they continued to watch, the man who had been under the dumpster, disappeared only to reappear from behind the dumpster. He walked to the woman and handed her an envelope that had tape on one side."

Cho shouted the order, "GO! GO! GO!"

The team stormed out of the van, grabbed the couple, handcuffed them, put them into the van, and left the scene in less than one minute. Inside the van, Cho looked at the couple and the announced to all those listening, "We got two of them. The bartender, Phil Scott, and a woman."

He stopped and looked at the agent who was going through the woman's purse and found her wallet. The agent handed the wallet to Cho who said, "The woman's name is Melinda Sparks: 25 years old. She has the same address as Tom McNolt."

Inside the club, Jane's eyes went to Tom behind the bar. The young man was busily pouring drinks and looking a bit frazzled. He watched him gesture to Calhoun who came over and Jane heard him ask his boss, "Where did Phil go? I'm getting slammed."

Calhoun replied, "I thought he went to the back to get more whiskey. Let me see what the problem is."

Tom nodded but his eyes continued to search the bar. Jane could tell he was looking for his girlfriend. Jane leaned back towards Tom who was pulling draft beers. "Problem?" He asked.

Tom shrugged and responded quietly, "Don't know. Have you seen the girl with short blonde hair that was standing at the end of the bar?"

Jane shook his head, "No, sorry."

Calhoun arrived back at that moment and went behind the bar. "I can't find him. Look, I'll help with the basics while you take care of the cocktails." He turned to Jane and said, "Could you watch Terri's spotlight for me? You just work it with that joystick at the end of the bar."

Jane smiled, "Sure, happy to help."

As he stepped away, he heard Calhoun saying to Tom, "This is the third time I've had to hunt for Phil. I'm not doing it again."

The set ended to rousing applause and Denny and Terri once again made their slow progression to the back of the room. No one noticed that there was an extra gleam in their eyes from knowing that at least part of their mission was completed.

As they stood chatting with Davey, Calhoun walked up from behind the bar and spoke to Lisbon and Denny. "That was terrific. The folks really love it when you include them in the show."

"Thanks, boss," responded Denny, "But what are you doing back there?"

Calhoun looked disgusted as he responded, "Apparently, Phil decided to leave. Hope he doesn't think to come back. Anyway, I've called Lori, one of our waitresses who can also tend bar, to come in and work back here with Tom for the rest of the night. It's looking like it's going to be too busy to be short in the second set."

Tom called out to him and Calhoun turned around and headed back to help pour beer and shots.

After Ginger returned with an order of food for Denny, Abbott and Lisbon went back to the lounge and Jane stayed out front to watch for any more suspicious activity. From what he could see, no one else seemed upset or noticed that something out of the ordinary had happened.

Abbott's voice came over the earwigs and he gave orders to all involved. "Good work tonight, folks. Cho, take the prisoners back to our offices and start the interviewing. We'll join you later for a video conference. Jane, keep an eye out and see if anyone comes looking for Phil or Melinda. Let's keep moving forward, guys."

The rest of the evening seemed to go off with very few problems inside the club. A gentleman was celebrating his birthday and his wife and friends were there to celebrate. Lisbon made sure to make a fuss over him and sang to him and flirted with him in a gentle manner that his wife thought was so adorable that she took lots a photographs during the number.

At the end of the evening, the three undercovers left the club, stopped for a quick meal at a local diner, and headed for their apartment building. Once "home," they connected to the FBI and got Cho's report on the interrogation so far, as well as, a quick view of the video of the surveillance.

"You were right, boss," Cho said. "They're both talking and working hard to implicate the other. According to Phil, it was Melinda who was in charge and he was just trying to make some extra money so he could pay off some debts. Melinda has all but admitted that he's telling the truth. She's ready to turn over the dispatcher at the liquor distributor and the garbage man but she wants a deal for minimum time."

"Tell her that the only thing she can hope for is a moderate sentence and that's only if she tells us what she knows about the date rape drugs. We don't need her to get cases on her distributor and connections. We could just stake out the dumpster and wait."

Cho nodded. "You got it. Do you want me to ask about the assaults?"

Abbott thought for moment before decided. "Indirectly. Try to keep it vague. We don't want to leak out too much information. If they know that they are more serious crimes, they might decide to lawyer up and stop talking."

Lisbon chimed in, "Cho, I don't think we ran a background on Melinda. Do I assume that's happening now?"

Cho responded, "Even as we speak."

"Be sure to check on old boyfriends and also any step siblings. I'm guessing that the dirty cop is somehow related to or knows her."

Cho agreed and signed off.

The three talked for a little while longer but agreed that they would meet in the morning and go over to the tactical headquarters across from the club to review everything they had learned with the entire team.

Lisbon bolted the door and turned around to see Jane half asleep on the couch. He had taken off his tie and his shirt collar was opened. He was slouched and his eyes had drifted shut. She smiled and shook her head as she walked over to him. Even exhausted and rumpled, the man oozed sex appeal.

"Jane," she called quietly and leaned over him, "Let's go to bed."

He opened his eyes and said, "No matter how tired I am, I think I'll always respond to that suggestion."

The two leaned on each other as the made their way into the bedroom.

TBC

S' Wonderful - [at ] watch?v=MLI8mj0i07M

I Could Write a Book - at ] watch?v=UwoZNHhFgLQ