Tom Dayton is Loose Again
Chapter 6
1
Robert Ironside wheeled out of his room after showering, shaving and dressing. He remembered he told Tom Dayton to report for work at 9:00. Actually, he should have told him to report before that to help him get ready in the morning, not that he really needed the help. The detective did want to work him hard. If he could take it, then there wouldn't be any problem. Tomorrow, he would have him report at 8:00 in the morning. Dayton was going to get a taste of what it was like to be his aide. It would either make or break the man.
Mark and Eve both expressed concerns over how he was treating Dayton. Ironside listened to them, but he was certain his way was the right way. He was not turning the man loose on society if he wasn't indeed cured. Dayton fooled doctors before; he could have done it again. It was Ironside's job to make sure he was not going to be a danger to the women in San Francisco.
The chief wheeled into the main room of his office/residence. Glancing over at the table, he could see that there wasn't any breakfast waiting for him. Mark was sitting at the table reading a law book. "Where's breakfast, and where is my coffee?"
Sanger looked up and grinned. "I'm not your aide, remember, Chief. That's Dayton's job."
"Well, where in the blazes is he?" Ironside growled. He was used to having breakfast ready when he finished dressing. And starting the day without coffee was unthinkable.
Mark put his nose back in his law book. "You told him 9:00, Chief."
Ironside looked at his watch. He wouldn't be in for another ten minutes. There wasn't any need to expect him sooner. The chief knew he wouldn't walk in that door one second before 9:00. He would wait that long for his breakfast; he wasn't waiting that long for coffee. "Mark, put on a pot of coffee."
Mark looked at the detective over his book. "Chief, I am not your aide anymore, remember?"
"Eve and Ed put on a pot all the time, and they are not my aides either." Ironside pointed his index finger toward the kitchen.
Mark stood up and headed to the kitchen with a smile on his face. Anticipating the chief would not wait for coffee, he already had a pot ready. He picked up the pot and the mugs and headed back to the table. Setting one of the mugs in front of Ironside, he filled it with coffee.
The detective looked up at Sanger. "If you had a pot ready, why didn't you just say so?"
"Because if you will remember, you told me I am not your aide any more." Mark then poured one for himself.
The door to the office opened. Ed and Eve entered at the same time. They came down the ramp and headed straight for the kitchen. When Ironside noticed, he called out, "The coffee is on the table, just grab the mugs."
Eve smiled at Ed, and he returned the smile. The chief was in a sour mood, and they knew exactly why. "I got them," Ed said to Eve. They headed for the table and sat down. Eve poured coffee into the two mugs.
"So, where is our new employee?" Eve asked.
"Probably still sleeping," Ironside grumbled. "Where's the paper?"
"Still downstairs," Mark said with a grin. Despite not liking Dayton taking over his job of looking after the chief, it was beneficial for his boss to see the things he did for him that he took for granted.
The door to the office opened and Tom Dayton entered. He was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. He walked up to the table. "I am reporting for work, Chief.
"Direct those comments to Officer Whitfield, Mister Dayton. She is your direct supervisor," Ironside said glancing at his watch. As he suspected, it was 9:00 on the dot.
Tom's jaw tightened. This was not the way it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be answering to Ironside and no one else according to what the doctor told him. He couldn't bare the thought of having to even talk to Eve Whitfield, let alone take orders from her. "I am here for work," he said directing his attention to Eve.
"Welcome to our staff, Tom. However, you need to come in at 8:00," she said sternly.
"But Chief Ironside told me to come in at 9:00."
"The chief has his breakfast before we arrive at nine. Mark had to make the coffee, but the chief hasn't had any breakfast, and we are now behind schedule," she said, remembering the chief wanted her to be a bit hard on Dayton.
"Oh, well," he said, turning his attention to Ironside, "what do you want for breakfast, Chief Ironside?"
Before Ironside could answer, Eve said, "He is not going to tell you what he wants for breakfast every day. It is your job to make breakfast for him. Make sure you change what you feed him in the morning. He doesn't like having the same thing every day. Now, I would suggest you start."
Dayton turned around and headed for the kitchen. He didn't want Whitfield to see his expression. He would have to learn to do a better job of hiding his feelings. Tom just didn't know how he was going to endure the bitch. She was deliberately exercising her dominance over him, and he didn't like it, not even for a second.
Entering the kitchen, he started opening cabinets. He wasn't about to ask the woman where to find things; she would only snap at him with answers as if he should know where everything was. He found a frying pan and pulled it out of the cupboard. Setting it on the stove, he then turned to the refrigerator, opened it and reached for the eggs and bacon. He figured Ironside would want eggs for breakfast. How could he possibly go wrong in fixing him eggs and bacon? Quite frankly he couldn't understand why he had to cook his breakfast in the first place. He was fully dressed. Apparently, he didn't need any help putting his clothes on. And, what about a shower? He didn't ask him to help him in and out of the shower. So, why then couldn't the man fix his own breakfast?
When Tom completed cooking the bacon and eggs, he put them on a plate and carried them to the main table where Ironside was awaiting his breakfast. Dayton set the bacon and eggs in front of the chief.
The door to the office opened and Commissioner Randall walked in and down the ramp. Wasting no time, he headed directly for the table and sat down.
"Good morning, Commissioner. Did you stop by to say hello, or do you have another case you want us to take on?" Ironside said, looking the commissioner in the eye.
"Actually, I wanted to see how Mister Dayton is doing, and I do have another case," he said.
"Well, there is Mister Dayton. You can ask him."
Commissioner Randall could sense the tension coming from Tom Dayton. He wondered if Bob was being a bit too hard on him. "Hello, Tom. How are things going?"
Tom turned his attention to the commissioner. He wanted to give him an earful, yet he didn't dare do it in front of Ironside and his people. He would arrange to see him in his office at a later date. Right now, he would tell him what he was sure Ironside would want him to hear. "Fine, sir. Everything is fine. I only started today. Just made breakfast for the Chief."
"Good. You will find he likes to change his breakfast around."
"Yes, Officer Whitfield already told me that," Dayton said.
"Where is Mark's breakfast?" Eve asked.
"What? I wasn't aware I was supposed to make breakfast for Mister Sanger."
"Mark always made breakfast for the chief and himself. You should make enough for them and yourself," Eve said.
Randall thought Eve's tone was a bit harsh. He had an idea why. Dayton said nothing, but Dennis thought he was a bit embarrassed by Eve's correction of him. When he got the chance, he would call and talk to Bob in private. There was more than a good chance his top detective told Eve to be a bit hard on Dayton to see if he could handle taking orders from a woman. On the other hand, maybe Bob was right, and he should just stay out of it and let him handle it. He was going to do it his way regardless of what the commissioner's feelings were on the subject anyway.
Turning his attention back to Ironside, he said, "There is a case I would like you to give your full attention to."
Ironside saw Ed and Eve rolled their eyes. He couldn't really blame them. They already had a full case load, and now the commissioner was about to give them another one. "What case?"
"A woman has been attacked and beaten. The officer assigned to the case is green. I want your office on it."
"Why? Even a green officer has to learn sometime," Ironside said.
"Because, she is the niece . . . "
"Of someone on the City Council," Ironside finished for him.
Randall just stared at his detective. "With all the rest of your talents, have you learned to read minds as well?" the commissioner asked sarcastically.
"Which member of the council?" Ed asked.
Randall looked over at the sergeant. "Mayor Barr."
"Ted's niece? Jennifer or Stephanie?" Ironside asked.
"Stephanie. She was pulled into an alley, beaten and left there," Randall said.
"Robbery?" Eve asked.
"No. She had over $500.00 in her purse at the time. The man didn't take the money or her purse."
"A jilted lover?" Ed suggested.
"She wasn't seeing anyone that Ted knew of. "
"That doesn't mean there isn't one," Ironside said.
"Well, if there is one, it will be up to you to identify him, Bob."
"Did Ted ask you to give this to my office?" Ironside asked.
"Actually, yes he did. He said he didn't want a green kid on it. He wanted you."
"Where is Stephanie now?" the chief inquired.
"In San Francisco General in intensive care. She's in pretty bad shape, Bob."
"All right, Dennis. Tell Ted, we'll get right on it. Can I see her?"
"Yes, Ted has arranged it," Randall told him.
"Where did this happen?" Eve asked.
"In the alley behind her apartment building on Stone St."
"Okay, we'll get right on it," Ironside assured him.
"Good. I have to be getting back to the office. Keep me informed, Bob." Randall got up and headed up the ramp. Turning back, he said, "And Bob, that means picking up the phone once in a while. Unlike you, I can't read minds." The commissioner left the office.
"Eve, you and Ed come with me. Mark, you're driving."
Dayton looked at Mark and then at Ironside. "But, I thought I was your driver now."
"You just started today. Clean up the kitchen and do these dishes. Familiarize yourself with the office, the bathroom, and my room. You will need to know where things are in order to help me. Let's go." Ironside wheeled his chair up the ramp. His staff followed him out of the office.
Dayton watched them go. That was it. Ironside had no intention of allowing him to be his aide. Tom wondered just exactly what he was supposed to be doing here. He picked up the plate that still held Ironside's half-eaten breakfast, and took it to the kitchen. Returning to the table, Tom removed the coffee cups and put them in the sink. He turned to survey the office.
Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. There wasn't anyone to stop him from looking at anything he wanted to. His file! He would find out what the doctors said about him, and see if Ironside made any notes. Tom walked over to the computer and turned it on. He waited for it to boot up. When it did, he was disappointed. It called for a password. Tom was certainly not a computer wiz. There wasn't any way he was going to hack into it.
Most people kept a log of their passwords these days. There was so much on the internet that required passwords. No one could remember them to every single site. Some used one password for everything. Sometimes all you had to do was figure out what it was. What should he try? He doubted Ironside made up the password. No, it was probably the woman that worked for him. What was it they called him? The Ironman on wheels?
Dayton typed the phrase in. It immediately came back to him - Incorrect Password. He continued to try several passwords he thought it might be; each one came back the same way.
He jumped as the ringing phone beside him startled him. Should he answer it? After all, he was only Ironside's aide. He wasn't really a member of his staff. He wasn't kidding himself. Ironside didn't want him in his office and neither did his people. He had seen Sanger answer the phone, so he picked it up. "Chief Ironside's office."
The officer didn't recognize his voice. "I am sorry, but who is this?"
"Tom Dayton. I am Chief Ironside's aide."
"Oh, sorry. I forgot about you replacing Mark. Anyway, the system down here shows several incorrect passwords being entered into the chief's computer. Is there a problem."
Tom had to think fast. He hadn't been expecting to get caught. "Well, the chief must have forgot his password. The one he gave me doesn't work. He asked me to get some information from the computer while he and his staff were gone."
"Oh, I can give you a temporary password to get in. Maybe the chief just wrote it down wrong. If he has any further problems, have him call the IT department."
"I'll do that," Tom said. Dayton memorized the password he was given typed it into the computer after he hung up the phone. He smiled as the computer came to life. Not knowing exactly where to look, he pressed the icon for cases. He then typed in his own name and began reading. Everything was there. He read through the account of Ed Brown when he accidentally killed the sergeant's girlfriend. There in front of him, it said he killed her in a rage. That was ridiculous. He was not in a rage. He simply tried to let the woman boss know he wasn't going to put up with the way she had treated him. She had no right to fire him.
Tom read on. Unbelievable! How could they say he was mentally unstable? He was just as stable as the rest of them. How dare anyone question his mental state? They were all against him, and all because of the woman bosses who were out to get him. After he completed reading his file, he got out of the application and shut off the computer. He noticed a piece of paper that stuck out from the desk. It was a board that a person pulled out of the desk to use for more space for paperwork while working at the desk. The board was common in the type of roll-top desks like Ironside's. Tom pulled it out. It was a report on some case Ironside's office had worked on. As he reached to put it back, he noticed a paper that was taped to the far inside of the board. Dayton pulled it out further to see what it said. He smiled at what he saw. It was the four digit code to the elevator. But, how old was it? He didn't know. Did he dare chance using it?
Staring at the code, he decide it could not be reliable. It could be months old, or maybe it was put there to set him up. Tom was too smart for that. Ironside wasn't going to catch him using that code. Then it occurred to him there had to be stairs going down from this floor. No fire department would allow the elevator as the only means to the lobby in case of a fire.
Dayton left the office. He began checking the halls looking for stairs. When he found a door with another one of those four-digit codes, he was sure it had to be the stairs. Tom was betting the code he located was for this door and not the elevator. He punched 2986 into it and the lock released. Grinning, he closed the door again and returned to the office.
Tom believed he found his way out off the floor when no one would know. If he used the elevator, Ironside and his people would hear him leave, but they wouldn't hear him use the stairs. The only chance he would be taking is if Ironside called on him after releasing him to his room. He would have to request time with permission also to keep the detective from becoming suspicious. If Ironside thought he was going to keep him caged up in here like an animal, he'd show him who was the more clever of the two!
2
Mark pulled the van up in front of the hospital. After parking in a handicapped spot, he turned off the engine. Everyone got out of the vehicle and waited for the chief's wheelchair to lower to the ground. They joined him as Mark stepped behind him and started pushing his chair toward the entrance.
None of them had known Stephanie Barr that long except Chief Ironside. He and her uncle, Ted Barr had known each other for years. That meant Ironside would be eager to catch the man who attacked Stephanie. Mark had seen it before. His boss was relentless going after those who harmed friends of his. Not that he wasn't when they were strangers. It was just that he seemed to be even more focused.
The mayor was new. He took over for Mayor Patrick Simpson, who was now serving a prison term for the murder of a sleazy online gossip monger. He was being blackmailed for removing city funds for expensive paintings and artifacts, and then returning the money at a later date when they were sold.
Ted Barr was honest as the day was long. Yet, Mark knew they all thought the same of Patrick Simpson. Fortunately, Barr was instrumental in implementing new rules and regulations to see to it that nothing like that ever happened again. So far, the chief had nothing but praise for the new mayor. They all realized the city council would panic and throw cases their way on anything that looked bad for them. Ted Barr, on the other hand, never seem to panic. He was even tempered and simply asked for Ironside's help.
When they arrived at the Intensive Care Unit, Ironside produced his badge, not that he needed to anymore. Everyone in the city knew who he was. The nurse on duty at the nurse's station gave him a badge to wear and informed him, he would be the only one to see Stephanie Barr. Knowing his staff might be wondering why he brought them in the first place, he said, "I'll talk to Stephanie. Then we will go to the scene of the crime to see if we can find something that will lead us to the man that did this.
After the nurse pushed the large plated release, the door to the unit opened and Ironside wheeled in. He was told Stephanie was in unit six. The chief looked up to check the numbers and wheeled down the hall to the correct unit. Putting his hands on both sides of the door frame, he pulled his wheelchair into the room. What he saw broke his heart and angered him at the same time. Stephanie's face was nearly unrecognizable. It was badly bruised and swollen. Both eyes were blacken. She was wearing oxygen tubes in her nose.
Wheeling up to her, he could see her eyes were closed. Speaking softly, Ironside said, "Stephanie, it's Bob Ironside."
Slowly, her eyes opened. She attempted to smile. When she did, Ironside could see her front teeth had been knocked out of her mouth. If he could get his hands on the man that did this, he just might forget he was a police officer.
"Hello, Chief. My uncle sent you?"
"The commissioner, but I am sure the order came from your uncle." Taking her hand in his, he continued to speak softly. Did you know the man that did this to you?"
She tried to shake her head, but the collar the emergency staff placed around her neck and the pain forced her to stop. "No, I never . . . saw him before."
"Tell me what happened."
"I was . . . " she stopped and winced.
"Take your time," Ironside said and squeezed her hand.
"I was going to go shopping with a friend. We have to park our cars in the alley. I was going to my car to meet my friend. That is when he jumped me."
"From behind?"
"Yes. I didn't see him coming. He had his arm around my throat. I tried to get away, but he was too strong. When he loosen his grip, I bit his arm, hoping he would let go so I could run. It infuriated him. He started beating me."
"Did you see his face?" Ironside asked.
"Not really. All I can tell you is he had blond shoulder length hair. He was about five feet ten, medium build. He did keep saying how much he hated women."
Hated women? Ironside didn't like it. Sounded to him like this might not be the last attack of its kind. Mental cases of that sort took it out on multiple victims. He was betting this wasn't just a random attack. There would be more. Now it became even more apparent they had to find this maniac before he attacked again.
"Is there anything else you can tell me that might help me find this man?" He asked her.
"Only that he wore jeans and a jean coat. When he did speak, he raised his voice, but it still had a soft tone to it."
"All right, Stephanie. You get some rest and leave everything to me. We'll find this man." Ironside kissed her hand and set it down beside her. As he turned his chair around, he heard her speak to him again.
"Please find him, Chief. I won't feel safe again until he is caught."
"I'll find him. You can count on it." He turned and left her room.
When he arrived back at the waiting room, Mark, Ed and Eve stood up. "Well, what do we have to go on?" Ed asked.
"Not much," Ironside responded. Five-ten, shoulder-length blonde hair. Wore jeans and a jean jacket."
"That's it?" Eve said.
"That's it. Let's go over to the crime scene and see what clues he left behind."
"Doesn't sound like he left anything." Mark stepped behind the chief. He hated to point out the obvious. His boss was having no part of it.
"There are always clues, Mark. It's our job to find them, and we won't do it hanging around here," the gruff detective said.
As they reached the van, Mayor Ted Bar was getting out of his car. When he spotted the detective, he headed straight for him. Putting out his hand, Ironside shook it. "Hello, Ted. I just went up and saw Stephanie."
"How is she?" Barr asked.
"It's not good. She was beaten up pretty bad."
"Did she see anything that will help?" the mayor asked.
"Not really," Ironside answered. He relayed to Mayor Barr what Stephanie told him.
"You're right, that is not much to go on. What are you going to do?"
"Head over to the crime scene. See if he left us anything that will lead us to him," the chief said.
"Bob . . ."
"We'll find him, Ted," Ironside assured him.
Mayor Barr nodded and left the detective, heading into the hospital.
"He's upset even if he doesn't show it outwardly," Eve said.
"He has reason to be. He didn't say it, but he knows his niece is not going to be the only woman attacked. This guy is just getting started."
Mark drove them directly to the crime scene. Ironside ordered Ed and Eve to talk to the other residents of the apartment building while he and Mark looked around the area where Stephanie was attacked. Mark picked up a watch with a broken watch band. Knowing the chief would probably want to have it tested for finger prints, he was careful to only touch the end of the band. He took it over to his boss. "This looks pretty clean, Chief."
Ironside looked it over, also careful not to handle anything but the end of the broken band. "This has not been on the ground very long. It could have been broken in the struggle. Put it in a plastic bag, Mark. We'll have it tested for prints."
There wasn't anything else to be found. No foot prints were on the ground where the struggle took place either. It hadn't rained in quite a while so the ground in the alley was dry and hard. Ironside looked up to see Ed and Eve returning from the apartment building. He waited until they reached him before asking. "Well?"
Ed spoke up first. "There are very few windows in the back of the building, Chief. Most of the residents couldn't see anything. The few that do have windows . . ."
Ironside interrupted his sergeant. "Don't tell me – no one saw or heard anything."
"That's right, Chief," Ed confirmed.
The chief sighed. Taking the plastic bag from Mark, he handed it to Ed. "What do you make of that?"
"It's clean." He looked around. "Did you find this near where Stephanie was attacked?"
"Mark did," Ironside said.
Eve took the bag that contained the watch out of Ed's hand. "It's a designer brand, Chief. Very expensive."
"How do you know?" Ed asked.
"She knows," Ironside said matter-of-fact . Eve came from a very wealthy family. Everything she had on was expensive. She would recognize an expensive watch, of that Ironside had no doubt.
"Send it to the lab. Let's find out if there are any fingerprints on it. Eve, grab a cab and go back to the hospital. Get Stephanie's fingerprints. If her prints are on the watch, we can be pretty sure, she tore it from her attacker's wrist. Hopefully, his prints will be on it as well."
Eve reached into her handbag and pulled out her cellphone. She called the closest cab company to come and pick her up.
Ironside checked his watch. It was now 1:00 in the afternoon. "Let's go back to the office and get something to eat. You don't suppose Dayton will have the foresight to prepare some food, do you?"
"Give the guy a break, Chief. He only started today," Mark said, wheeling the detective back to the van.
"And if I had my way, it would be his last," Ironside said as he backed into the lift.
3
Tom finished snooping around Ironside's office/residence. It wasn't exactly snooping, he thought. After all, Ironside did tell him to familiarize himself with the place. There really wasn't much to familiarize himself with. Ironside was predictable. Everything was where Dayton expected it to be. He supposed the grouchy detective didn't really mean for him to go through his desk, but Tom did so anyway. If there was anything in there that he could use to help him get through what he considered the worse time of his life, he certainly would use it. He didn't find anything. There was mostly personal stuff in the desk. Obviously, Ironside didn't use it much anyway.
Dayton looked at his watch. It was past lunch time. Ironside would be back shortly, or at least he thought he would be. He wasn't giving the Whitfield bitch a chance to scold him in front of everyone again. Tom went into the kitchen, open the refrigerator and pulled out some ham that was in there, cheese, and lettuce. Reaching into the bread box, he grabbed a loaf of bread and began making sandwiches. He made enough for everyone. This time he wasn't getting yelled at for not thinking of the others. When he was done, he set the table for five people. At least, he thought he was allowed to sit with the rest of them. He wasn't kidding himself. They didn't consider him part of the staff.
The door to the office opened and Ironside wheeled in, followed by the rest of his staff. He came down the ramp and immediately noticed the the table. "You made lunch," the detective said.
"Yes," Tom said with a forced smile, "I figured you would be hungry when you got back. There are sandwiches for all of you. I was not sure what you wanted to drink since I don't know your tastes very well yet, but I will learn."
Eve walked over to the fridge and pulled out the soft drinks. "I would have thought you could have figured that out with the amount of Pepsi and Coke that is in the fridge. She pulled out a large bottle of Pepsi and one of Coke. Carrying them to the table, she set them down. Eve could see Dayton's jaw tighten. She wondered if the chief was being too hard on Tom, but then she remembered how he and Ed had proven he was the one who attacked the librarian by using her. He had been giddy over the way Ed and the chief treated her. At the time, she didn't understand, although, she did later.
The doctors said he was cured. She supposed the chief had a responsibility to make sure he was, but she hated playing the bad guy in the scenario.
As they all sat down to eat, Ed asked, "Chief, where do we go from here? We have no witnesses. Stephanie can only describe the man as being five feet ten inches tall, shoulder-length blonde hair and medium build. How many men in San Francisco would fit that description?"
"More than we can investigate," Ironside said. We will have to wait and see if there are any fingerprints on the watch band. It might be a lead."
"Is the lady all right?" Tom asked.
"She'll recover," Ironside said. "In the meantime, Eve, since you are more familiar with the richer side of life than the rest of us, I want you to check out jewelry stores and see if you can find out who sells that particular brand of watch. Maybe we'll get lucky and somebody will tell us who bought it."
"Yes, sir."
Tom Dayton listened to the exchange between officers. Sounded to him like the woman got what she deserved. She probably treated the man like he was inferior to her. Why would Ironside bother to even investigate? Actually, this might be just what he needed to punish women who were tyrants. He had the man's description. He could duplicate it and punish the women that deserved it. The man would get blamed and he would not even be suspected.