The Case of the Stolen Artifact
Chapter 17
1
Sergeant Terry Cox walked into the Internal Affairs division of the San Francisco Police Department. He had a noticeable grin on his face. Finally, he would put Ironside in his place. It was time the detective ended his reign in San Francisco. It was fitting he would be the one to end it. With Ironside out of the way, he would be able to move up in the department.
When he turned in this information, Lieutenant Simons would have no choice but to call for a hearing on Ironside. Of course, it had cost a lot of money to make sure the witness would say exactly what he wanted him to. If it got Ironside out of the department, it would be well worth every sent he had to spend.
He did not feel the least bit guilty in setting up the veteran detective. The man was a bully who only allowed people he liked to move up in the police department. Why people listened to him was beyond Terry's comprehension. As far as he was concerned, Ironside was no better than any other cop in the department. The media had sensationalized some of his cases making him some kind of superhuman cop in the eyes of people. It was ridiculous and Terry was going to prove it.
He headed directly for Lieutenant Simon's office. He could see the lieutenant through the glass. Using his knuckles, he lightly knocked on the window.
Murray looked up. Using self control, he kept himself from rolling his eyes. The last person he wanted to see today was Terry Cox. He knew the sergeant had it in for Robert Ironside. He pushed his way onto the investigation, and Murray knew that it was in order to manufacture evidence against the chief. He had no choice but to deal with the man. He waved him into his office.
Sergeant Cox open the door and entered. "I need to talk to you."
"Make it fast, I have work to do."
"Unlike you, I have been doing some investigating into Ironside. I talked to a neighbor who witnessed the exchange between him and Alexandra Hughes. As I suspected, Ironside is not telling the truth."
"Oh really?" Murray wondered exactly what Cox had been up to. No doubt, it was no good.
"That's right, Lieutenant. I have a witness, and you will not be able to sweep this whole affair under the rug now. If you try, I will go to the mayor and the commissioner with the evidence that I have."
"You don't have any evidence unless you manufactured it," Simons said. "There is no more honest cop in the department than Robert Ironside. You have had it in for him for some time now."
"Are you going to listen to me, or do I have to go to the mayor and the city council. On second thought, they would be better than going to the commissioner since he would probably do the same as you and sweep it under the rug."
"If you want to destroy your career with the police department, who am I to stop you. What so-called evidence do you have?"
"The neighbor next door to where Hughes and her co-conspirators stayed is a witness too much of what happened. His name is Will Grays. You are not going to be able to ignore what he saw."
Murray shook his head. "I remember that name. He was interviewed at the time of that incident. He had not seen or heard anything."
"Are you not considering he was just intimidated by Ironside? Most people are, you know."
The lieutenant could not help notice the smug look on Sergeant Cox's face. He wondered what he had offered Grays in order to get him to change what he told the police at the time of the incident. "All right, what did he say this time?" The sarcasm in the Lieutenant's voice was apparent.
"You just can't help yourself, can you, Lieutenant? You won't even consider the possibility that Ironside is a dirty cop, will you?"
"I have known him since he came on the force. He has always been a by-the-book cop. Furthermore, he has more arrests that have led to convictions then almost the entire department put together. I have watched him put friends behind bars when they committed crimes. It didn't matter to him that they were friends. They broke the law, and as far as he was concerned, they had to pay for that.
"You hate Ironside for all the wrong reasons. You haven't moved up in the department and you blame him, when you are to blame yourself. You went to the mayor and got yourself assign to this investigation. If you think that I don't know that whatever you have come up with was coerced or paid for, you're going to find out differently. Furthermore, I warn you, if I find out that you did pay the man to change his testimony, I will throw the book at you."
Cox looked at his superior officer with disgust. "The reason I asked to be put on this investigation is because I knew you would sweep any wrongdoing by Ironside under the rug. I had no intention of allowing you to do that. My feelings regarding Chief Ironside have nothing to do with me wanting to be on the investigation. I just don't want to see a dirty cop get away with it."
"Ironside is not a dirty cop and you know it. This is strictly revenge on your part. Now I suggest you tell me what it is you have or this conversation is finished."
"My witness will tell a review board that Ironside told Hughes to throw the Tiger out the window and he would hide it." Cox waited for Simmons reaction.
"Do you really expect me to believe that?"
"Quite frankly, Lieutenant, I don't care what you believe. Now, do you want to hear the rest, or do I go to the mayor and the city council?"
"You're going to do that anyway regardless of what happens here."
Sergeant Terry Cox was not going to be put off by the lieutenant. "He will also testify that Ironside told Hughes they would meet up later and divide the money."
"Oh this is preposterous! Do you really think anybody is going to believe this wild story of yours? There is no way that Ironside could have done that."
"Are you going to ask for a hearing or not?" Sergeant Cox demanded.
"On what you have? As far as I am concerned, you have nothing. Do you honestly think anyone is going to believe that this man all of a sudden remembers all of this when he said before that he was inside, saw and heard nothing."
"It doesn't matter what you believe. It only matters what a review board will believe. So are you going to call that review board or not?" Cox demanded
Lieutenant Simons looked the sergeant straight in the eye as he leaned forward. "There is not one chance in hell that I am calling a review board."
"I thought that was the Stance you would take. Therefore, I have already made an appointment with the mayor. I am not going to allow you to turn your back on this kind of corruption. Ironside is going to be run out of the department." Sergeant Cox turned his back on Simons and headed for the door."
Murray watched him leave and shook his head. He had to get word to Bob Ironside as to what Terry Cox was up to. He thought about it for a moment and then reached for the phone. Speaking with the secretary outside his door, he told her to get Ed Brown on the phone. If there was anyone that would not allow Sergeant Cox to get away with this, it was Ed Brown. Staying out of it was no longer an option. Murray was certain that Ironside's people could get to the bottom of what was going on.
A moment later, the intercom on his desk buzzed. "Did you reach Brown?"
"No sir, I did not. Apparently, the sergeant is out of the country at the moment. I was told that he is in France."
"France! What the hell is he doing over there at a time like this?" Murray shouted into the phone.
"All I know, Lieutenant, is that he was sent over there by Chief Ironside himself."
"Then I want to talk to Eve Whitfield" Murray told her.
"I figured you would as I tried reaching her as well. I was told she is also out of the country. "
"Alright, that will be all." Lieutenant Simmons slammed the phone into the cradle. What could possibly be going on that Chief Ironside would order the two people who would work the hardest to help him out of the country?
He didn't know the answer to that question, but he damn well planned on finding out. He removed his suit coat jacket from the back of his chair and put it on.
2
Gary Sullivan looked toward the spectators and said, "The people call Doctor Arthur Gwynn to the stand."
Doctor Gwynn walked to the front of the room, open the gate, and was sworn under oath.
"State your name and occupation," Deputy prosecutor, Gary Sullivan told the witness."
"Arthur Gwynn, Chief Medical Officer for San Francisco."
"Doctor, did you have the opportunity to examine the body of Howard Jurgens?"
"I did."
"And what were your findings?" Sullivan asked him.
"Mister Jurgens died of gunshot wounds in the back. The bullets entered his heart and stopped it immediately."
"Then the gunshot wounds were definitely the cause of his death?"
"Yes indeed, they were."
Gary Sullivan walk back to the prosecutor's table. He picked up a report. Standing there as he scanned the report, his next question was, "At what time do you place the time of death?"
"The police were informed almost immediately after the shooting took place. According to the autopsy, Mister Jurgens died between 2 and 3 a.m."
"Thank you, Doctor." Sullivan turn to Perry Mason and said, "Your witness, Counselor."
Perry knew it would be impossible to blow any holes in Gwynnn's testimony. He was well aware that the medical examiner and his brother did not get along very well. Therefore, he figured he would be rather hostile toward him. Mason stood up, but remained at the defense table.
"I have no questions of this witness." He sat back down.
Alexandra Hughes placed her hand on Mason's left wrist. "I don't understand, Mister Mason. Why did you not question the medical examiner?"
"Unfortunately, the police arrived on the scene almost immediately. I would be unable to even get Doctor Gwynn to admit the time of death was earlier or later for that matter. There is no way I can punch a hole in his testimony."
Alexandra sat back in her chair. Mason could tell she was upset. He turned his attention back to the business at hand.
Judge Herman Thatcher told Sullivan to call his next witness.
"We call Doctor Anthony Miller to the stand."
"Who is this man?" Alexander asked Della Street who was sitting beside her.
"He is the doctor that removed the bullet from Officer Duffy," Della answered.
The doctor was sworn in and took the stand. Prosecutor, Gary Sullivan came forward. He wasted no time questioning his witness. Sullivan was not much for theatrics. He did not try to embarrass his opponent, he just tried to beat him. Sullivan was a good prosecutor, dedicated to the law and punishing those who broke it.
"Doctor Miller, you treated a police officer that was brought into the hospital from the museum the night of the murder, did you not?"
"I did."
"Could you tell the court what treatment he was given?" Sullivan requested.
"Officer Duffy received a bullet wound to the chest. He lost a lot of blood and was near death when he came in. We were able to stem the flow of the bleeding, and give him a blood transfusion. He underwent surgery to remove the bullet. It had missed his heart, but was lodged very close to it."
"So then, the surgery was a success?"
"It was as far as the surgery is concerned. However, Officer Duffy is still in critical condition. He remains in intensive care under extremely close scrutiny by hospital staff."
"Thank you that will be all."
"No questions," Mason said.
The judge turned to the witness and said, "You may step down. Mr. Sullivan, call your next witness."
"The people call Chief Robert T. Ironside to the stand."
Chief Ironside, who was already in the courtroom, wheeled forward. Perry Mason reached over and opened the gate for him. Ironside wheeled forward, and as he reached the witness stand, he turned his chair around. After being sworn in, Gary Sullivan approached him.
Della glanced over at Perry. She was concerned about how much he was going to bring out about Robert's relationship with Alexander Hughes. Obviously as a prosecution witness, they would avoid the subject. However, it was Perry's obligation to protect his client, and if he thought going after his brother was the way to do it, his relationship to him would make no difference. Although Robert was a professional and had been the one who requested Perry to defend Alexandra, she worried that it might still put a wedge between the two.
3
Paul Drake parked his car in front of the hotel in which Howard Jurgens had stayed. He headed inside and walked to the desk. Even though this was not the murder scene, he had been able to get access to the room through Chief Ironside and Commissioner Randall. Ironside had immediately ordered the room closed to the public until the police were done. It was commanded as soon as they had discovered where he had stayed.
After receiving the key, he headed for the elevator. Paul pressed the button and entered. After he pushed the third floor button, the elevator started upward. The doors opened as the elevator reached its destination. Drake turn to his right and headed down the hall. Within a couple of doors, he realized he was headed in the wrong direction. Turning around he went back and passed the elevators. Glancing at the numbers on the door, he was only a few doors away from the room he wanted.
Arriving at room 303, Paul put the key in the door and opened it. All of Jurgens' belongings were still in the room. That have been ordered by Chief Ironside. Upon entering, he closed the door.
Drake looked around the room. There was a suitcase sitting on the vanity. It was opened revealing the clothes inside. Shaving cream, razor and other toiletries were sitting on the sink counter.
The bed was unmade indicating Jurgens had slept in the room at least one night. The private eye walked directly over to the suitcase and began checking through it. It looked as if the owner of Spicy Bits had every intention of remaining here for a while. There were several pairs of trousers and shirts in the main portion of the suitcase. When he looked inside the pocket, he found several pairs of underwear and socks.
After checking the suitcase thoroughly, he determined that there was nothing in it except the clothes. Drake moved on to the sink. Again, there was nothing unusual. All of the things a man would bring when planning to stay in a motel room for awhile were there.
He glanced into the bathroom where he saw a couple of towels lying on the floor. There was shampoo and soap in the corner of the bathtub. Nothing other than what he would expect to find in a bathroom was visible.
Paul return to the main room and began opening the drawers of the bed stand and the vanity. There wasn't anything in the drawers of either.
Beginning to think that this had been a total waste of time, Drake headed for the door. He glanced back and looked around the room. Why wasn't there anything in the room to indicate why the man was here in town? It just didn't make sense to him. If he was blackmailing anyone, then the blackmailing material should have been here. Yet, it wasn't.
As he opened the door and stepped outside to leave, he just could not bring himself to do so. There had to be something in this room. The problem was there just wasn't very many places anything could be hidden.
He stepped back inside and closed the door. Something had to be here. He knew from checking with friendly officers to Robert Ironside, nothing had been brought back from this room. If Jurgens brought something with him, then it was still in this room. That was, of course, if the killer hadn't already removed it.
Just where was there left to look? Ironside's police force was pretty efficient. If they weren't, they simply didn't last long as the former Chief of detectives had tremendous influence as to who stayed and who went. It had to be somewhere which his detectives had not checked. It stood to reason that it would not be somewhere that was obvious. If that had been the case, any blackmail material would have already been found.
Paul walked over to the bed, threw back the covers and checked under the sheets. Nothing there but the mattress. He threw the pillows a side to check to see if anything had been left under them, but nothing had. Silently scolding himself, Drake gave up on the bed itself. Ironside's detectives would have already checked that. Reaching down he checked under the mattress. Lifting it as high as possible, there was nothing there either. Paul walked over to the other side and did the same thing with the same results. Obviously, nothing had been placed under the mattress.
Becoming frustrated, Drake stopped and put his hands in his pants pocket. He started pacing back and forth trying to think of where else something could have been hidden. He was in a room where there was only one window and it was in the bathroom.
The bathroom window was covered by a curtain. He couldn't believe that the police would not have checked behind the curtain, but what did he have to lose. The private eye walked over and pulled the curtains back. The view from the window was the building next door. It was not something anyone would waste any time looking out the window at.
It was then that he noticed there was space between the window and the wall. It was covered with a long piece of molding that went directly to the ceiling. It did not look as though the police had disturbed it.
Drake ran his hand as high as he could on the molding. Every few inches there were small screws holding it in place. Paul looked closely at it and smiled. Those screws could easily be removed. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a nail file. Fortunately, the screws were flat screws. He placed the end of the nail file in the bottom screw. He turned it easily. It was not screwed in tightly. Paul unscrewed it and removed it from the molding. He repeated the process all the way up both sides.
Once he had removed the screws, Drake removed the long piece of molding. Sure enough, inside was a manila envelope. He pulled it out and took it into the main bedroom of the hotel room. Opening the envelope, he removed its contents. As he read the material, he realized there was a lot more to this than anyone realized. Who was behind the murder and the theft? The information he had just uncovered did not reveal the culprit, but it certainly would help send them in a new direction.
4
Having settled into her hotel room, Officer Eve Whitfield began her search for Tracy Oliver. From the information the chief had given her, Tracy had come here in an attempt to purchase a piece of property that she thought had been sold out from underneath her. The first thing Eve had to do was find out who Nino Martini was and if he was the individual who actually had called Tracy and lured her to Rome.
Officer Whitfield left her motel room, heading out to locate Nino Martini. As she exited the hotel, she attempted to flag down a taxi. A limousine pulled up in front of the hotel, and a man got out.
Speaking to her in English, he asked, "Can I help you, miss? I will be happy to take you wherever you are going."
Eve was immediately suspicious. Why would a limousine offer her a ride? "No thank you, I'll take a cab."
"Why wait for a cab when you can just hop in, and I'll take you where you want to go?" the driver pointed out.
"Because I would rather take a cab," Eve said firmly.
The driver stood there for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and said, "Suit yourself, lady."
Eve watched him get back in the limousine. She stood there as it pulled away from the curb out into traffic. As she moved closer to the curb, it dawned on her that the man had spoken to her in English. How could he possibly know she was an American. If she had spoken to him, then she could understand it. However, she had not spoken first, yet he knew to speak to her in her native tongue. Why had he not spoken to her in Italian? The answer to her question was obvious. Someone knew she was here. Not only did they know she was here, they knew exactly where she was staying.
Eve realized that she would have to be extremely careful and pay more attention to whether or not she was being followed. She had not worried about it when she left the airport as she did not think anyone would know she was coming. The only way they knew would have to be a leak in the San Francisco Police Department.
Eve flagged down a cab and got in. She instructed the cab driver to drive to Nino Martini's real estate company. As the cab pulled out into the street, Eve looked out the back window. She did not see anyone following them, but it could be only because they found someone who is really good at it. She might not spot them at all, and yet they could be following her.
She became further suspicious when she notice the cab driver was continually glancing in his rear-view mirror. She was not sure whether he was just looking at her or checking to see if their tail was behind them. Eve had no doubt that someone was back there.
When the cab driver pulled in front of the real estate company, he looked at the meter and spoke to Eve in Italian. She knew he understood English because he had driven straight to the real estate company.
Fortunately Eve knew how to convert the Italian money to the American equivalent. The driver had not tried to inflate the fee. Eve reached into her purse and pulled out enough foreign currency to pay the cab driver with a tip. Normally she would have tipped more, but she didn't trust the driver. She was certain that he knew someone was behind them. Officer Whitfield had not spotted a tail, but it did not mean that it wasn't back there.
She got out of the cab and walked up to the door of the real estate office. Opening it, she went inside. Upon her arrival, Nino Martini walked directly over to her. "It is a pleasure to have such a beautiful woman come into my company. My name is Nino Martini. You are in luck, you have entered the best real estate company in Rome. How may I help you?"
Again, Eve had been spoken to in the English language. She had no doubt she had been followed here. Whoever was holding Tracy Oliver knew she was coming. She would be certain to tell the chief when she spoke to him later today.
"I am flattered. How did you know I was an American?" Eve studied him closely for a reaction. She was not disappointed as she noticed his demeanor changed immediately.
Martini realized he had made a grave error. He should have spoken to her in Italian and waited for her to tell him she did not understand the language. This would change the entire ballgame, as the Americans would say. She knew they had been informed of her arrival. That meant they could not allow her to report back to Robert Ironside.
Trying to cover up his blunder, Nino smiled his most charming smile and remarked, "I have always been able to tell an American when I see one. You see, it is a gift that I have. I have done a lot of business with the Americans, the wealthy Americans. They seem to like to have a villa here in Rome to come to. I am assuming that is why you are here today. I can show you some beautiful property that I am certain you would be interested in."
Even though he had made a rather remarkable recovery, it did not change the fact that he knew she was an American. Nothing about her would tell him that unless she spoke. "Actually, I am not here to purchase property. Well, that is not entirely true." On a whim, she decided to pretend she was interested in the property that Tracy Oliver had tried to purchase. Since there wasn't much doubt in her mind that they knew why she was here, they were not going to let her leave this office. Eve was counting on that. It would lead her directly to Tracy Oliver. She would deal with whatever they had in store.
Nino Martini gave Eve the address of the property. "I am willing to pay a handsome price. However, I will not pay it unless I can see it first."
"That will not be a problem. The property is still for sale. I would be happy to take you to see it myself."
"Splendid! I can come back later today if that would be convenient." She wanted to try to get word to the chief before she allowed them to take her prisoner. Unfortunately, she had been right. Nino Martini had no intentions of allowing her to leave here without an escort of his choosing.
"I wouldn't hear of it!" he said with charm. "I would be happy to take you through it immediately. Come into my office. I would like to discuss it with you before you see it. There is much you should know about the property." He indicated for Eve to follow him.
The man was so obvious. He had not even asked her name or where she was from. He had no idea if she had the money to purchase a small apartment, let alone an expensive villa. She wondered how Tracy Oliver could have fallen for his deception. He certainly was not very good at it. Unfortunately, she had no choice but to follow him.
Eve walked with him through a door that led to the back of the real estate company. Nino escorted her into an extremely large, luxurious office. The desk was gigantic and carved from cherry wood. It was an absolutely gorgeous piece of furniture. The chairs in the room were also of cherry wood. Eve knew there was a shortage of this particular kind of wood. That desk was probably worth thousands.
Just as Nino was about to close the door, it was pushed open by one of his employees. He spoke to Nino in Italian. Since Eve did not understand the language she could only guess what was being said by the expressions on each of their faces. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Martini turned and looked at his guest. "If you will excuse me, I will be right back, Miss Whitfield." He turned, went out the door and shut it behind him.
He had left in such a hurry that she doubted that he realized he called her by name. She had not revealed her name, and he had not asked for it. It removed all doubt that this man knew why she was here. She had to get word to the chief. Rather than make a phone call where she might be overheard, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and began texting to Chief Ironside. She hoped he was paying more attention to his phone than he usually did. With both she and Ed overseas looking for Katherine and Tracy, she had to believe that the chief was checking his phone on a regular basis.
She quickly typed the message into the phone.
Believe I know where Tracy is being held. It is at the Villa. Have been followed since I arrived. Believe Nino Martini is behind her abduction. I will be going there shortly as I will have no choice since...
She did not get anything else typed as Nino Martini came back into the room. She quickly hit the send button and shoved the phone into the sleeve of her outfit. Luckily, it had elastic around the cuffs, holding the phone in place.
"I apologize for the interruption. It could not be helped. However, I am now ready to show you the villa."
"Thank you, but I am not prepared to go and see it today. Perhaps tomorrow if you are not busy?" Eve was sure that he wasn't going to allow her to refuse. She had confirmed that he intended to take her and hold her as she was certain that he was what doing to Tracy Oliver.
"Oh, no tomorrow would not be possible. We will have to do it right now. You will not regret it, it is a beautiful Villa," he insisted.
"I am afraid I just simply cannot do it today," Eve said.
"if you do not do it today, you may lose out on the purchase. I have someone else looking at it tomorrow."
Eve nonchalantly replied, "If that's the case, then it was just not meant to be. I thank you for your time." This was it. Would he allow her to walk out of the real estate office. If she was correct, he was about to make his move.
Martini walked over and knocked on another door that entered his office. It opened in two burly men entered the room. "I am sorry, Miss Whitfield, but I insist that you go out to the villa."
"I thought you would," Eve said, "since I did not give you my name. Obviously, someone informed you of my arrival. Why don't you stop this game, Mister Martini. I believe you know why I am here."
Nino realized he had committed another major blunder. "Well now, it really doesn't matter, does it? You are going to go with these two men whether you want to or not."
"Where is Tracy Oliver?" Eve demanded.
"She is at the villa. The same place that these gentlemen will take you. Since you are so hell-bent on finding her, I will help you out."
"Why are you holding her?"
"I would have thought Chief Ironside would have figured that out by now. Tracy Oliver has a striking resemblance to Alexander Hughes, as I am sure you know. We used her, Officer Whitfield. She made a visit to the museum. Your police officers will believe that it was Alexander Hughes that was there."
"In other words, you set Alexandra Hughes up for the murder of Howard Jurgens."
Martini smiled. "I didn't do it, the owner of the villa did it. You see, he has spent quite a bit of money with me. He plans on spending more. However, Hughes must be convicted for the murder of Jurgens. Otherwise, your chief might look in the right direction for the murderer. I cannot allow that. I must protect my own investments."
"By that, you must protect the owner of the villa," Eve surmised.
Martini said nothing, but he smiled and bowed. "You will be well taken care of, I promise you that."
"And after Hughes is convicted, then what?" Eve already knew the answer to her question. Martini simply could not let her live, and did not intend to. Otherwise, he would not have told her anything.
"It is a pity that Chief Ironside sent you to find Oliver. What could she possibly mean to him? All he has done is sign your death warrant."
Eve said nothing. Is she had learned from her boss, no situation was ever hopeless. She would find a way to get herself and Tracy Oliver out of the situation. In the meantime, she needed to learn as much as she could about who owned the villa. That individual was likely also the murderer of Howard Jurgens.
"It has been a pleasure doing business with you." Martini nodded to the two men in the room. One of them grabbed Eve Whitfield. He grabbed her hands and tied them behind her back. He then threw a black hood over her head.
"Sorry for the treatment, but I am well aware that you are a police officer. Since you work for Chief Ironside, I have no doubt that you are a good one. We will take no chances with you."
The two men led her out of the room and out of the back of the real estate agency. She was pushed into the back of a company van. Once inside, one of the men placed a gag around her mouth.
After what seemed like hours, gagged, tied and lying on the floor in the back of the van, she finally felt the van come to a stop. The door opened and she was roughly dragged out of the vehicle. Unable to keep up with the pace they were moving, her feet barely touched the ground.
Once inside the villa, they removed the hood from her head and untied her. The first person she saw was Tracy Oliver. She headed directly for Eve and the two women embraced.
"You will not leave this room. There are plenty of guards around the villa. You cannot escape, so don't even try. You have the run of the villa. Make yourself at home. Nino said that you are to be treated well." The men turned, left the villa and closed the door.
"Did Bob send you?" Tracy asked her.
"He did."
Tracy looked down and away from her. "Then he never had someone from the police department call me and ask me to meet him at the museum," Tracy gathered.
"I am afraid not. It was a ruse to get you to the museum. They knew you would be mistaken for Alexandra Hughes."
"So that's it. They were setting her up for the murder of Jurgens."
"I am afraid so."
"They do not intend to let us out of here, do they?"
Eve did not want to worry her, but on the other hand she did not want to lie to her either. "I'm afraid they can't let us live. I believe Nino Martini thinks Chief Ironside knows why you were abducted. They are keeping you here so that you cannot testify that you were lured to the museum."
"I don't understand. Why keep us alive in the first place if they are just going to kill us anyway?" Tracy asked.
"Probably to use us against the chief or Perry Mason if they get to close to the truth."
Tracy turned away from Eve so that she could not see the shame on her face. "I am afraid I was so blinded by the idea that Bob might want to see me again, that I was not thinking clearly. I guess I just have never accepted the fact that he never called me again after we had dinner that day he cleared my name and proved that I did not kill my husband."
"Tracy, I thought you knew he was seeing Katherine," Eve said.
"Yes, I knew. When I found out and saw a picture of her in the paper with Bob, I was shocked at the resemblance between us. Well, at least she is safe."
Eve walked around her and looked directly at her. "I am afraid not. She was also lured to the museum. Tracy, she has been kidnapped as well. Chief Ironside sent Ed to Paris France to locate her."
"Oh my God! They certainly went to great lengths to frame Alexandra Hughes."
"They're not going to get away with it. We are going to find out who owns this Villa, and then we are going to find a way out of here."
"You should have stayed away. There are too many men guarding this Villa. I am afraid there is no way out of here, Eve."
"There is always a way, and we will find it."
5
Lieutenant Murray Simons entered the Hall of Justice. He had no idea why he had been called here. Whatever the reason, it couldn't be good. Unless he missed his guess, he was sure that Sergeant Terry Cox had something to do with being called to the commissioner's office. Simons had no doubt that Cox had manufactured evidence and coerced the witness to lie about what he saw Chief Ironside say and do when Alexander Hughes had attempted to run him down in order to get away from him. He knew from the beginning that Cox was going to be a problem. Simons suspected for a long time that Sergeant Cox was a dirty cop, but he had yet been unable to prove it. Crooked, he may be, but he was also very clever.
As he entered the elevator, the doors began to close. He heard someone yell in a southern accent to hold the elevator. Simon's figured it was too late as the doors were almost closed. An arm reached in to keep them from completely closing. As the gentleman pushed them back open, the lieutenant realized the man was Ben Matlock. The lawyer got on the elevator and reached to push the floor on which Dennis Randall's office was located.
Simons wondered what the lawyer was doing in the building. "Hello Mister Matlock. What brings you here?"
"I was about to ask you the same question. All I know was I received a phone call from the commissioner's office asking me to meet him here."
"I got the same call," Simons said.
"I wonder why the commissioner wants to see both of us?" Matlock pondered.
The doors to the elevator opened, and the two men stepped into the hallway. "I guess we are about to find out," the lieutenant said.
They walked in silence down the hall to the commissioner's office. Ben reach for the door, opened it in gestured for Murray to step inside ahead of him.
The commissioner's secretary seemed to be rather stressed. When she saw them come in, she addressed them immediately. "If you will have a seat, the commissioner will see you as soon as the mayor and Sergeant Cox arrives."
Matlock and Simons exchanged a glance. Both of them had a pretty good idea what was going on. There was only one reason for the mayor and Cox to be here at the same time.
A moment later, the door opened and Mayor Patrick Simpson walked in with Sergeant Terry Cox.
"What is this all about?" Matlock demanded
Murray Simons stared at Cox. He knew what this was about and he had no intentions of letting Cox get away with it. He was going to nail this dirty cop.
The secretary picked up the receiver and pressed the intercom button. "Commissioner, all of the parties are here." She listened for a moment and then said, "Yes, sir." Hanging up the receiver, she turned to the group of men waiting to see the commissioner. "You all may go right in."
They filed into Commissioner Randall's office as he met them at the door.
Matlock could see that the commissioner was clearly upset. "What is going on here? Why have we all been called to a meeting?"
"Please, gentlemen, have a seat," the commissioner told them.
"Sergeant Cox has come forward with evidence that he has found during his investigation," Mayor Simpson said. "He requested a meeting with the city council. They requested that this meeting take place. Dennis, I want you to know that it pains me to have to call this meeting. I still do not believe it."
"Believe what?" Matlock asked.
"Sergeant Cox has a witness against Chief Ironside. The witness claims that he overheard the chief tell Alexander Hughes to throw the Tiger out the window and he would hide it until they could sell it and split the money."
"That is ridiculous!" Dennis Randall nearly shouted. "Bob Ironside is the most honest cop in the department."
"I don't believe that," Cox said. "That would mean our entire department is crooked."
Murray continue to stare at Terry Cox. "How much did you pay him?"
"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Terry said indignantly.
"I'm talking about paying a witness to lie," Murray growled.
"You son of a bitch! You have been trying to throw this under the rug since this investigation started. In fact, there has been no investigating on your part!" Cox shouted at Simons.
"There is nothing to investigate! Bob Ironside is an honest cop, unlike you. If it takes the rest of my career, I am going to prove that your crooked. This is nothing but revenge on your part because Bob would not allow you to advance. You're too stupid to understand that the reason he won't allow you to advances that you're a lousy cop." Simons got right in his face.
"Gentleman!" Randall shouted at the two of them. Getting in between them, he push them apart. "That is enough, both of you! You are in my office and you will conduct yourselves accordingly."
"Will somebody please tell me what in the hell is going on here?" Ben Matlock raised his voice above the ruckus.
"I will let Sergeant Cox explain," Mayor Simpson said.
Sergeant Terry Cox relayed the conversation he had with Will Grays. He, of course, left out the part about the money that he continually slipped to Grays in order to get him to say what he wanted him to.
"This is nothing but a bunch of lies. Bob Ironside is the best cop in the department. He has served the police force with honor and is a decorated police officer. I don't know how much you paid Gray, but I intend to find out!" Murray shouted. "And when I do, you will be finished in police work, Cox." Lieutenant Simons stood up and headed for the door.
"Lieutenant Simons!" the mayor called after him. "Where do you think you are going?"
Murray looked back and said angrily, "I am not about to sit by and watch Cox smear Robert Ironside. I know he bribed the witness to change his story. Nor will I sit here and listen to this. I can't believe that you would either." Murray opened the door, left the room and slammed the it shut.
Ben Matlock who had been silent through it all, addressed the commissioner. "I want the police reports that were filed regarding the incident in question. That includes Chief Ironside's report, as well as his staff."
"I thought they had already been given to you," Commissioner Randall said in surprise.
"I requested them, but I have been stonewalled. If I don't have them within the hour, I will file suit on behalf of Robert Ironside in court against the police department."
Randall picked up the phone receiver and punched the intercom. "Call police headquarters. Tell them that Ben Matlock will be by to pick up police reports on the Alexandra Hughes incident that happened a few years ago. He is also to be given the police reports on the museum robbery and the murder of Howard Jurgens. If they are not ready when he gets there, heads are going to roll." Randall slammed the receiver into the cradle.
"Thank you, Commissioner." Ben Matlock got up and left the room.
"Sergeant, I would like you to leave and wait outside." Randall ordered.
"I believe this concerns me. This is my investigation," Cox objected.
"This is Lieutenant Simon's investigation, Sergeant," Randall growled.
"Now wait outside!"
Terry Cox hesitated, but finally got up and left Randall's office.
Mayor Patrick Simpson put his head in his hands. "My God! What a mess!"
"Pat, you can't possibly believe this?" Randall questioned.
"Not one damn word!" Simpson answered. He was silent for several moments before he said anything again. "What are we going to do? How do we protect Bob? I wanted him cleared. I wasn't expecting anything like this."
"Sergeant Cox has an ax to grind with Bob Ironside. He has been holding up any promotions that Cox has applied for."
"The problem is we can't ignore a witness."
"For God's sake, Pat, don't you think I know that?"
"So what the hell are we going to do? I suggest we try to keep this quiet until we can check further into it."
"I can tell you right now there is no way we will keep this quiet. Sergeant Cox is not going to allow that. If we don't do something, he will go to the press."
Simpson frowned. "Not if you order him to say nothing."
"Do you really think that would do any good?" Randall complained. "Cox would simply call in an anonymous tip, and we would not be able to prove he did it."
"So what are you suggesting? We really aren't going to go after Bob Ironside. That would be totally ridiculous. In the end, we would end up looking like fools."
"I don't see where we have a choice. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit, but we don't have a choice," Randall agonized.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying? Are we talking about a Board Review of Inquiry here?" Mayor Simpson asked in disbelief.
"Do we have a choice?" Randall asked regretfully.
"No, I suppose not. This is going to be a PR nightmare. Furthermore, I can't believe what we will be putting Bob through."
Randall became silent. He could not believe what he was about to do to his closest friend. If there were any other choices, he certainly would choose one of them. He knew that Terry Cox would leak to the press about the witness, and he and the mayor would be held responsible if they did nothing.
"Do you want me to inform Bob's attorney or do you want to do it?" The mayor said, his voice so low Randall could barely hear him.
"I'll do it," the commissioner said.
"What about Bob?"
"He is testifying in court for the prosecution. I'll contact him when court adjourns."
Patrick Simpson stood up. He remained there for a moment in silence. Finally, he headed for the door. When he got there he placed his hand on the doorknob, and turned back to Dennis Randall. "Dennis, for Bob's sake, I sincerely hope Murray can find that money trail if it exists. I am truly sorry about this." Without looking back, Mayor Patrick Simpson left Dennis Randall's office.