Chapter Five

Casey's dream world was filled with men dressed as the Green Hornet attacking. Some were stopped in their tracks by kicks to their heads by Kato. Britt was sitting on his sofa in his Green Hornet clothing, the Hornet Sting in his right hand and Casey's shoulder in his left. He picked other imitators off as they charged toward Casey with their knives in their hands.

"Miss Case?"

The knock on the door accompanying Kato's call finished off the attacking Green Hornets as Casey woke from her dream. She took a moment to orient herself. She was in the bed in Britt's guest room. She had no recollection of how she came to be in the bed, beneath the warm blankets and fresh sheets. "Come in, Kato," she called.

Casey rolled off her right side. The blankets were barely moved out of place, a sign that she had slept soundly. She sat up and pushed the covers down. She was still in the bright blue dress she had worn the night before. A glance at her left arm, wrapped in white gauze, confirmed that the attack was not part of her dream.

Kato opened the door. Unlike the last time she saw him, he was wearing his white shirt and jacket. "Good morning, Miss Case," he said with a smile. "How are you?"

Casey stretched her arms over her head, quickly dropping her left arm down when a twinge of pain shot through the knife marks beneath the gauze. "Fine," she said. "I can't believe I was able to get any sleep." She looked at Kato. "Did I actually fall asleep, or did Mr. Reid use Hornet Gas on me?"

"You fell asleep," Kato assured her. "Would you like some breakfast? We have blueberry waffles."

"I'd love some. I'll be down in a few minutes." Kato nodded and shut the door behind him.

Britt poured two glasses of fresh orange juice from a pitcher then set the glasses on the table in the den. Kato arrived from upstairs as Britt served himself a cup of coffee. "Miss Case will be down in a few minutes," Kato announced. He began dishing out fresh fruit into glass bowls, but the alarm went off. He put the spoon down and went to the bookcase to move the books. The fireplace rose and the cage with Frank inside descended. He jumped out then Kato sent the wall back to its normal position.

"We need to set an extra place for breakfast," Britt said with a smile.

"I'll take it. I figure you owe me."

Casey arrived from upstairs. She had brushed her hair and washed her face. Frank spied her first and went to meet her. "How are you?" he asked, the concern genuine in his voice.

"I'm fine, Mr. Scanlon," Casey said with a smile. She felt relieved to feel a smile come so easily. "Thanks to some good doctoring," she added with a glance in Britt and Kato's direction.

"What's up, Frank?" Britt asked.

Frank took a seat at the table after holding the chair for Casey. "I traced that license number, but it wasn't easy."

"Why?" Britt said, surprised. "The District Attorney running a license check shouldn't arouse any suspicion."

"It does when the car belongs to a city councilman."

Britt dropped his spoon. "What?!"

"City councilman Mitchell Blake is the owner of that license number."

"That's impossible."

"No," Frank sighed, "I'm afraid not. I told the policeman running the report something about not being about to read my own handwriting. After I finished I called another district to check on a stolen report. None."

An odd look crossed Casey's face, as if her orange juice was rotten. "Wait a minute. Did you say Mitch Blake?"

"Yes," Frank said. "You know him?"

"Unfortunately," Casey said with disgust. "About three months ago, right before he was elected, he asked me to go out on a date with him. I figured I would, to get some quotes for the paper. Boy, was that a mistake. He was a creep!" Casey looked at Frank and smiled apologetically. "Sorry," she said, "I guess I shouldn't refer to an elected official that way."

"That's alright, Miss Case," Frank said. "If he is involved in this, then 'creep' is the nicest term I'd use."

"This is getting interesting," Britt said. "Yesterday, while Casey was at lunch, Blake came to the Sentinel. He lambasted us for running the interview with the Green Hornet. I asked him to write a rebuttal editorial."

Frank finished the orange juice and rose from the table. "Thanks for the orange juice, but I have to go. I have a meeting in an hour with – guess who? – Councilman Blake."

Britt raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

"Yes. It seems he wants to discuss the Green Hornet situation, and what I'm doing to catch him before he attacks any more women." Frank shook his head. "I'll keep you posted what he says."

"A favor, Frank," Britt said. "Can you get him to sign something, or write something?"

"What?"

"Anything. It doesn't matter."

"I suppose I can. Why?"

"See if he's left-handed. Casey said the man who slashed her arm had the knife in his left hand. If Blake is left-handed, that puts him in a tiny minority of possible subjects." Britt held his spoon up with his right hand and dangled it between his fingers. "And it definitely eliminates the real Green Hornet."

"Will do," Frank said. He walked toward the fireplace while Kato went behind the desk to activate the elevator. Frank waved his hand toward the occupants of the house as he boarded the cage to rise to the street.

After Frank left Britt turned his attention to Casey. "Do you want to take the day off?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," she replied emphatically. "This isn't going to control my life."

"Good girl." Britt pulled his keys out of his suit pocket. "Then do you feel like driving yourself to work?"

"Sure," she replied. "Why?"

"The Green Hornet is going out for a morning drive."

A two-story home sat approximately one hundred yards off the road. The wooded acreage suggested a country setting instead of city. Hedges guarded the property boundary instead of walls; and, unlike Morrison's home, the drive was free of barricades.

Kato circled the block a couple of times, the first time to ensure they had the right address and the second to check for security cameras or devices. Confident the perimeter could be crossed without setting off any alarms, Kato turned up the drive on the third pass. He stopped the Black Beauty in front of the house. As he joined the Hornet outside of the car he commented, "Nice house. I don't think the mayor's house is this big."

"That's because the mayor isn't moonlighting as a criminal," the Hornet said. He motioned with his head to the left and Kato took off around the house in that direction. The Hornet went in the opposite direction. Each man searched for an unsecured way into the home. The windows were all down on all sides of the house.

The Hornet and his chauffeur met at the back door, a patio door that led out of the house into the yard. The Hornet tried the door but it was locked, causing him to emit a frustrated sigh. Unlike a normal raid, he did not want to announce his presence. That eliminated the use of the Hornet Sting, his usual universal key that allowed access to any door by destroying the lock with ultrasonic waves. Kato, however, had an alternate means of getting past a locked door. He concentrated, took aim on the doorknob, then applied his foot to the door with a shout. The lock offered minimal resistance, and the door flew open. Kato ran inside ahead of the Hornet, standing with his feet apart and his fists doubled in preparation for an attack by anyone in the home. After a few seconds of listening to the silence Kato gestured with a nod of his head that the coast was clear.

They entered the house in the dining room. The room was a traditional formal dining room, complete with an oak dining table and china cabinet. The kitchen was immediately to the left of the door through which they entered. Beyond the dining room a corridor led to the rest of the house. The Hornet reached inside his overcoat and removed the Hornet Gun. He held it at the ready, his finger on the trigger in case he encountered anyone. Kato followed behind, looking in all directions and ready for any sudden attack.

The first closed door they encountered after leaving the dining room concealed the study. The Hornet opened the door quickly and moved in as if he was expecting someone in the room. Kato followed, still prepared to unleash his martial arts prowess on anyone who crossed their path. Confident the room was unoccupied, the Hornet moved toward the desk while Kato inspected the items on the various tables around the room.

Kato made the first discovery. "Look," he called quietly. The Hornet, making a visual inspection of the cluttered contents of the desk top, paused to join Kato at a table to the right of the desk. A telephone book was open on the table with a notepad on the open page. A pencil lay to the left of the notepad. The Hornet read the notation on the paper, a woman's name and address that was obviously copied from the page in the phone directory.

"Look at the position of the pencil," the Hornet commented. "If I had written that, I would've put the pencil here." He tapped the phone book to the immediate right of the notepad. "I think Blake's our man, all right."

"Do you think this is who he intends to attack tonight?" Kato asked.

The Hornet read a note below the name and address. "'Night nurse'," he read aloud. "'Be there at 7:30'. It's a possibility."

Kato read the name. "Paula Davis." He remembered what Casey had said at breakfast and turned his gaze to his comrade. "Do you think he might have dated her, too?"

"That might be the connection," the Hornet said. "I'll ask Scanlon to check that out." They went to the desk to resume investigating. The Hornet spied an address book beneath some papers. He carefully lifted the book from its place and opened it. A name in the A's was circled in red, as was a name under the B's. When he turned to the C's his mouth opened. The third entry under the letter, circled in red ink, was Lenore Case. He turned to the next letter and saw Paula Davis's name, again encircled in red. "No need to ask Frank. That is the connection."

At the opposite end of the desk, Kato noticed some money sticking out of a manila envelope similar to the package Harold Morrison had presented to the Hornet earlier in the week. He inspected the money before notifying the Hornet. "Look," he said, "more counterfeit hundreds. Might Blake be involved with Morrison?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. Morrison once boasted he had half of City Hall on the take."

"Then Morrison might be behind Blake's impersonating you."

The Hornet inspected the envelope where Kato had discovered the money. A stack of $100 bills was inside, secured with a paper seal. A portion of another stack lay loose, a broken seal showing evidence that some of the money was in circulation. A note on lined paper was also inside the envelope. "Be at H.M.'s at 11 Thursday night," the Hornet read aloud. He pocketed some of the money. "Before we go to 'H.M.'s' tonight, we're going to make a stop at 7:30 at Paula Davis's home."

Mitchell Blake appeared in no mood to sit and rationally discuss matters with the District Attorney. Frank maintained his seat behind his desk, but the councilman frequently bounced out of his seat opposite of Frank. The rash of crimes against women, all of whom had identified the Green Hornet as their attacker, had Blake's fuse lit and near the point of explosion. For his part, Frank managed to endure the tirade although anger based on the knowledge of the license number and the fact that Casey knew Blake from an earlier encounter welled in him.

"I'm telling you, Scanlon," Blake said, sitting down momentarily, "my constituents are furious over this crime wave of the Green Hornet's. They are calling for your head, my head, the mayor's head, and the police chief's head if we don't put an end to this now."

Frank put his glasses on his blotter. "Councilman Blake," he said sternly, "I assure you, the mayor, the police chief, and all your constituents that nobody wants this ended and justice served more than I do."

"Hopefully, it will end tonight," Blake said. "I received an anonymous tip this morning that the Green Hornet will be at Hogan Park tonight at 11 p.m., by the old drained fountain. What I want you to do is make sure the police are there in force, and that they don't let him leave that park alive when he shows up. Authorize and encourage them to shoot to kill."

One problem Frank had pondered in his mind was how to fulfill Britt's request to see Blake write. The councilman presented him that opportunity. "Mr. Councilman, that is something I simply cannot authorize. The job of the police is to arrest criminals so they can be tried through the judicial system. It is beyond my authority to license the police to 'shoot to kill'. Now, if you want to take responsibility for that order, that's fine." Frank reached for a legal pad and pushed it in Blake's direction. "I'll need it in writing from you, however."

"Gladly!" Blake grabbed the pad and pulled a pen from his shirt pocket. "I hereby authorize the police to use deadly force against the Green Hornet," he read as he wrote. Frank watched Blake hurriedly scribble the words across the paper, the pen in his left hand. "Signed, Mitchell Blake, City Councilman," Blake finished reading and writing simultaneously. He pushed the pad back to Frank. "There's your permission, Scanlon," he said. "Make sure it's carried out." Blake clicked the ballpoint pen closed with his left thumb and shoved the pen angrily back into his pocket. "Good day, Mr. Scanlon," he spat as he stormed out of Frank's office.

Once Blake was clear of Frank's office, Frank picked up his phone and dialed. "Yes, Frank?" he heard on the other end.

"Britt, Blake just left. He is left-handed, all right. Another thing. He said he 'got a tip' that the Green Hornet will be at the drained fountain in Hogan Park tonight at 11."

The Hornet put the phone against his chest and looked over the seat at Kato. "It's Frank. Blake told him we'll be in Hogan Park tonight. He and Morrison are working together." Returning the receiver to his ear, the Hornet said, "Based on what we found at Blake's house, that doesn't surprise me."

"What did you find?"

"Counterfeit hundred dollar bills. Also, we found his 'little black book' that has his victims' names circled. I'll make sure you get that, anonymously, of course."

"What are you going to do about the rendezvous tonight, Britt? It's a trap, and Blake signed your death warrant. He's authorized the police to shoot to kill, no questions asked."

"Don't worry about that, Frank," the Hornet replied. "We have a different appointment tonight. Hopefully the police will nab a Green Hornet tonight, without killing him."