CHAPTER NINE
"Joan Girardi, you effing bitch! You outed me to my Dad."
Joan backs up, ready to do battle if she must. Teddy Marks is standing in the doorway with a curious Dr. Dan standing right behind him. Joan knows Teddy is a tough, dangerous street punk who is probably armed. But he is also the first person Joan has met who is fully demon possessed, and worst case scenario—it is a wrath demon.
"T-Teddy, long time…"
"Shut it. I'm glad I ran into you, Joan. In the rush of my business plans, I'd forgotten I owe you some of my…special attention."
To be honest, Joan had forgotten too. Last year she used the photo of Lars Closterman and Teddy kissing as a bargaining chip in her effort to keep her friend Artie the Dip from being whacked by Teddy's gangster father, Lou Marks. Lou was determined not to let his wise guy brethren learn he has a gay son, and a deal was worked out to save Artie.
"Yeah, well I owe you one too, Teddy."
"How do you figure?"
"Because of you, Judith Montgomery is dead."
"Who?"
"Judith was one on my best friends. She was with me the day we took that picture of you and Lars kissing. Because of that, you put her on your never-sell-to list…"
"Now I remember. She got stabbed when she tried to buy 'X' from one of the punks who worked for the Russians. I guess that evens the score between her and me, but as for you…"
"Uh, how is Lars? I lost track of him after he graduated." Joan says in a desperate attempt to distract Teddy.
"Lars? Haven't thought of him in a long time. Last I heard he went to Hollywood hoping to be an actor. Knowing that loser, he's probably turning tricks on Sunset Boulevard. I know you're trying to distract me, Joan. It won't work. Why don't we take a little walk so we can…talk over old times."
Joan gulps nervously. If she went with him, he would kill her, but staying here with witnesses was no guarantee of safety. Spurred on by his wrath demon, Teddy is capable of killing them all. To Joan's surprise, Dr. Dan intervenes…
"Teddy, my office is no place to settle your differences. Let it go."
For a few moments Teddy and Dr. Dan stare each other down. Joan sees it as a contest of wills, but not between therapist and patient. Rather, it is a battle between the interests of Dr. Dan's two demons versus Teddy's one. Slowly, Teddy grins and nods.
"Sure Doc, whatever you say. This can wait until another time."
Teddy heads for the exit, roughly brushing by Joan. At the door he pauses and looks back—his eyes glowing pools of hate…
"See you soon, Joan. Real soon."
Teddy exits and Joan has to remind herself to breathe. Her stomach churns and her knees are wobbly as she turns back to face a grinning Dr. Dan. The old fool, he has no idea of just how close he came to dying.
"How long have you been treating Teddy Marks?"
"You know I can't discuss another patient, Joan."
Joan shrugs. "No matter. I already know he has long standing anger issues. Plus I know Teddy resents his father for insisting he keep his sexuality secret, and for making him quit the drug business."
Dr. Dan smugly smiles but says nothing. He doesn't have to. Joan can read him better than any lie detector. Teddy hasn't quit selling drugs, and Dr. Dan knows it.
"Is there a reason you came by to see me, Joan?"
"There was, but it doesn't seem so important now. I'll talk to you some other time, Dr. Dan." Joan says as she heads for the exit. At the door, Dr. Dan calls out a parting shot…
"Not if Teddy 'talks' to you first, Joan."
Outside the office building, Joan cautiously checks for Teddy Marks, but he is nowhere to be seen. Joan's dutiful tail, Bob Crowley, continues following her. She is now grateful for his presence. Hurrying back to her Jeep, Joan heads for home while Crowley rushes back to his own car. Neither immediately notice a green van is now also following Joan...
X X X X X
9-6-06/early Wednesday morning.
Nate Felix, security guard, is surprised to see Dr. John Hunter knocking on the glass door of the school administration building an hour before the start of the day's business. A familiar and popular person, Nate has no problem opening up early for Dr. Hunter.
"Good morning, Nate."
"Good morning, sir. You're here bright and early, Dr. Hunter."
"Yes, I needed to research some files before my meeting with Dr. Radovitch."
"Certainly, sir. You know the way. I have to watch the desk until the morning security staff arrive."
"Thank you, Nate."
Dr. Hunter walks down the hallway feeling a bit guilty. As an ex-employee of the school system, he has no right to be going through confidential student files, but necessity sometimes trumps ethics. Dr. Hunter pauses at the door to the records department, hoping his old security card will still work. He swipes the card and is rewarded with a 'click' as the door unlocks. Really, security should be tighter than this. Thinking of lax security, John remembers the records manager use to keep a spare master key for the filing cabinets hidden under a potted plant on her desk... Bingo.
Dr. Hunter again uses his card to enter the files storage room, which is a huge chamber over flowing with filing cabinets. Virtually all school records are now kept on computer, but any information on psychological counseling is still kept only in traditional files to prevent intrusion by hackers. Dr. Hunter quickly finds and begins reading Teddy Marks' file. It is a long record of fights, vandalism, theft and other anti-social behavior up through Teddy's freshman year at Arcadia High. Periously close to being sent to a special high secuirty school for incorrigibles, Teddy spent the summer after freshman year at Gentle Acres. Upon his return for his sophmore year, Teddy seemed completely reformed--no more fights or angry outbursts appear in his record.
In the back of the file, Dr. Hunter finds Gavin Price's voluminous notes on Teddy Marks. Apparently the late vice-principal was unconvinced of Teddy's sudden change into a law abiding, underachieving student. Price kept a close watch on Teddy, and included his speculation that Teddy Marks ran all the drug activity at Arcadia, even though Price could never prove it. Added to this is a carefully cross-indexed list of Teddy's close associates during his sophmore, junior and two senior years.
Hunter begins checking the files on these new names, carefully photographing the I.D. pictures of each with his cell phone. Perhaps, he can find Grace's unknown rifleman. As Dr. Hunter goes from file to file, he quickly sees an emerging pattern. Everyone of the young men has an extensive record of violence and trouble-making during their early years, but after a summer at Gentle Acres--no more trouble. It is an impossibly high rate of reform amongst incorrigible teenage boys.
"What the dickens...?" Dr. Hunter murmurs.
Or maybe, that's the answer. A modern day Fagin? Suppose Dr. Radovitch, motivated by demons of greed and envy, saw a way to enhance his reputation to golden levels while also lining his pockets? Realizing many of these boys could never be put on the straight and narrow path, Radovitch instead began teaching them how to channel their anger and anti-social ways into being smart, professional crooks--for a cut of the profits, of course. Teddy Marks went to Gentle Acres as a bully and petty thief, but returned an untouchable drug dealer...
Quickly, Dr. Hunter returns the file room to normal while thinking about his next step. He must confirm his suspicions with Grace, check to see if Helen has had any dreams relevant to this situation and consult with Joan (after apologizing). Eventually, while protecting his secret, he will have to find a way to put this matter before Will Girardi...
X X X X X
Meanwhile, at police headquarters, Will Girardi has also arrived unusually early. Will pours himself a cup of coffee while noting that he has beaten his secretary Jean into work for the first time in months. Well, the budget proposals had to be done on time, no matter how many hours it took. As Will gets to his office door he sees Detective Third Class Rodriguez (recently promoted from patrolman) waiting for him.
"Good morning, Detective. Isn't your shift about to end?"
"In just a few minutes, Chief. I was working on my report of last night's investigation... You heard about Crowley?"
"The desk sergeant told me. Killed in a driveby shooting?"
"Yes Chief. The call came in about 11:15 last night, just as I was coming on duty--so I got the case."
"Just you? What about your partner?"
"O'Brien is out with the flu. As I was saying, I was writing up my report when I realized I needed the advice of a senior officer."
"What about your shift supervisor?"
"This is a delicate matter that probably should be your call, Chief."
"Alright Detective, fill me in on the details." Will says as he enters his office and waves Rodriguez into a chair in front of his desk.
"Last night a Mr. Wilson Yates, 56, left the Comstock Bar on 14th street and began unsteadily walking his way home. When he reached Euclid, he looked before crossing the street, and saw at the next corner, 13th and Euclid, a grey Ford waiting at the red light."
"Euclid and 13th? That's only ten blocks from my house."
"Yes Chief. Mr. Yates saw a green van pull up alongside the Ford, a double barrelled shotgun emerged and fired at the driver of the Ford, Bob Crowley. The van sped away and Yates called in the shooting on his cell. I arrived at 11:28, and identified the victim by his driver's license."
"You didn't recognize Crowley?"
"Sir, he must have looked toward the shooter just as the shotgun went off. His face was gone. Did you know Crowley was working as a private detective?"
"It was common knowledge."
"I went to Crowley's home and found his wife waiting up for her husband's return."
"How did she take it?"
"Hard. She assumed Crowley would be safer now that he was out of police work."
"Private detective work involves mostly divorce cases and catching employees who are stealing from their companies. That could earn Crowley a lot of bitter enemies."
"Which is why I asked Mrs Crowley for permission to examine Bob's computer--he has...had, his office at home. Mrs Crowley even supplied her husband's password."
"I'm guessing we are about to come to the 'delicate matter'."
"Yes Chief. Yesterday morning, a local psychiatrist named Radovitch hired Crowley to follow a college student who has been making inappropriate advances to his underaged daughter. Dr. Radovitch wanted photographic proof in case things got out of hand."
A sudden, disturbing thought crosses Will's mind... "And the name of that student?"
"Joan Girardi."
Will's mind whirls as he takes in this news. Was it possible? How could he have been so blind all of these years? No, no, it can't be true... And yet, he has been wondering why all of his daughter's romances with boyfriends seem to end so badly. Like all fathers, he carefully guarded his daughter from growing up too fast, but since she entered college and was approaching 19, Will has been wondering if Joan might have some sort of hang-up when it came to sex. Of course he could never discuss this very personal matter with his daughter--the reason why she has remained, as the nuns at his old high school use to call it, "unspoiled."
"Chief...?"
"I'm sorry Detective, you've caught me off guard."
"Then you didn't know your daughter is gay? That she has been protecting her...privacy?"
"To my knowledge, Joan is not gay. So if you're thinking she had a motive to keep that quiet..."
"Chief, you know I have to cover all the bases. Is it possible she was keeping a big secret from you? That you never suspected something was...different about her? After all, her former shrink seemed pretty sure about her sexuality."
Will pauses. Yes, for years he has suspected something odd was going on with his daughter, but this possibility never occured to him.
"Let me set your mind to rest, Detective. Joan was home all night, and when the crime occured, I was kissing her goodnight just before she went up to bed."
Rodriguez breathes a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Chief. I'm glad I can cross your daughter off of any possible suspect list. You see, the one thing the killer took was Crowley's digital camera, so naturally I assumed his murder had something to do with his current case." (Checks his watch.) "My shift is now over, so I will finish writing up my report when I return at 11:00 this evening. At that time, I'll have to add the detail of your daughter being Crowley's last case. If that gets out..."
"The media will have a field day. There's nothing they like better than tearing down a hero with some sort of scandal. Thank you Detective for the head's up, and for the time to deal with this before others find out. And thank you for realizing this has to go in the official report. An omission like that would be disastrous for every one."
Will and Rodriguez stand and shake hands.
"No problem, Chief." Rodriguez says before exiting.
Will watches Detective Rodriguez leave as he ponders his next move... Radovitch. He was definitely going to get answers from Dr. Dan.
X X X X X
In a wooded area to the north of town, Pete Zeidler and his cousin Petey Zeidler are facing an enraged Teddy Marks...
"You killed a cop. You killed a cop! Have you forgotten everything Dr. Dan taught us? The one sure way to get the cops to break the rules and go after us any way they can is to kill a cop!"
"Ex-cop." Pete softly corrects.
"You didn't know that at the time."
Petey, the smaller and whinier of the cousins, pleads... "No, but we had a good reason. We did it because of you, Teddy. Uh, Boss."
"Me? How so?"
Petey replies, "We were following the Girardi girl just like you told us. All she did was go straight home and stay there. When we realized she was in for the night, we started to leave..."
Pete adds, "That's when we spotted Crowley, and he was taking pictures of us! I recognized him as the cop who arrested me for shop lifting six years ago. My Dad had to slip him a thousand to make that go away."
Petey continues, "We knew we couldn't let Crowley get away with photos of us tailing the police chief's daughter, not if you were serious about killing her. By the way, how is that any different from killing a cop?"
"Are you challenging me? You think I'm not serious?"
Both cousins quickly shake their heads. Teddy Marks isn't a phsically imposing young man, but something about his anger made your guts turn to jelly.
Pete quickly says, "No Boss. Whatever you say goes. That's why we had to kill that ex-cop. To keep your options open."
Petey adds, "And we were careful. We followed all of Dr. Dan's advice: 'The police have a limited number of tools. Take those tools out of their hands, and the only way they can catch you is by dumb luck'."
Pete says, "The van has already been through the crusher at the auto salvage yard, the plates were phonies and the shotgun is at the bottom of the river."
"And the camera?" Teddy asks.
"Also in the river, but we printed out the photos in case you wanted to see them." Petey replies as he hands over a short stack of pictures.
Teddy quickly goes through the pictures. "Joan and Dr. Dan's daughter? What the hell is going on, and why was she at Dr. Dan's office yesterday?"
Petey says, "Easy Boss, the Girardi girl isn't a threat to us."
"Ryan Hunter probably said the same thing just before Joan showed up with the cops, and he had to blow up the Herald building with himself in it."
Pete asks, "Should we postpone the hit in case the Girardi girl is on to us?"
Teddy shakes his head. "It's too late. All of our guys are in position, waiting to strike as soon as the old man is dead. Be on the roof of Dr. Dan's office building before noon as planned. As for Joan, I plan to take care of her personally..."
X X X X X
At that same early morning hour, Joan exits the Girardi home and slowly walks toward her Jeep. Waiting at the curb is her tutor-angel, his six wings tightly folded. (This was another way he is dismissive of Joan. He knows she wants to see if he has eyes on the inside of his wings, so he always denies her a look.) Joan cranes her neck up to talk with him. Anyone watching would think she was talking to the top of a tree.
"Hey, did you forget to set your alarm? You didn't wake me for my morning training session."
The angel shrugs. "I saw no point since this will probably be your last day on earth."
"Oh, so you're here to give me an early morning pep talk. Why do you have to be so mean?"
"Why do you have to be so disrespectful and disobedient of He who is the creator of all? He who knows all from begining to end and supplies all that is lacking. He who..."
"Can we shorten this and just say 'God'?"
"You...have been given an honor and a priviledge only a handful of humans have enjoyed. How do you respond? You argue, complain and openly defy His will."
"If you mean that business about 'reading' all people at all times, that's under negotiation..."
"YOU DARE?"
Joan staggers back a few paces due to the outraged spiritual energy flowing over her. She refuses to be intimidated.
"But doesn't the word say: 'Come, let us reason together'?"
To her surprise, her tutor-angel chuckles. "Foolish girl, true reasoning leads you to agreement with God for He is never wrong."
"So...is that why you have such a problem with me? You think of me as unworthy, but since God says otherwise, you know it must be true."
"Yes, and I diligently look for that worthiness, but to no avail. You confuse me Joan, and I don't like being confused."
"Is that why youre so hard on me? You're trying to raise me up to the level of God's expectations?"
"It no longer matters. The odds of you surviving this day are so small..."
"Have faith, big guy. I'm not dead yet. But, if you have any advice...?"
"Against a wrath demon possessed leader of a gang of criminals? Don't be passive. Attack first, and you may manage to take a few of them down with you before dying."
Her tutor-angel begins walking away, pauses and briefly looks back... "Good luck, Girl-warrior."
Joan watches him continue on while thinking fast. Yes, attack first. She will need access to police files through her Dad's computer, and then she must change into battle gear...
X X X X X
Later that morning, around 11:30, Dr. Hunter rings the bell to the Girardi home. (His morning meeting with Dr. Radovitch had been tense as both men seemed very distracted. Dr. Dan was relieved when John excused himself with the claim of a migraine.) Dr. Hunter is surprised when Grace, still in her wheelchair, opens the door...
"What's up, Doc?" Grace says with a grin.
"Hello Grace, are you here alone?"
"Mama Girardi had to deliver her latest portrait--a birthday gift for some banker who is turning 60. She doesn't like leaving me alone, but it is only for a short time, and I always have my cell with me." Grace replies as she waves John in.
"Perhaps this is a blessing. I have some student I.D.'s I want you to look at, and it would be awkward if we were caught at this." Dr. Hunter says as he ponders the many secrets he has to keep for Grace, Helen, Joan and himself. It would be so much easier if he had permission to tell others what he knew, but ethics required his silence.
Grace leads John into the den, and he spreads the pictures out on the desk. Grace carefully looks at all of the photos and picks out four of them.
"All the rest of these photos are the other guys I saw Teddy meeting with. Of these others, the three on the left I've never seen in real life or during my travels. The one guy on the right is the one with the rifle, and the one I saw on the roof of the tall building downtown."
John examines the I.D. copy. "Peter Zeidler. He'd be...22 now. Gavin Price had him, and his younger cousin by the same name, listed as Teddy's lieutenants in the drug trade he could never prove."
"Price figured this out?"
"His research is how I found all of these suspects. I think it is clear what God is showing us through your astral travels, Grace."
"That Teddy marks has moved way beyond being a high school dealer, and he's planning to assasinate someone by using this Zeidler guy as the hit man." Grace says, shaking her head in disbelief at this situation.
"It's unfortunate we don't have more details to act on, but we have to warn the police of what Teddy and Dr. Radovitch are up to."
"Radovitch? You mean Joan's old shrink, Dr. Dan? What has he got to do with this?"
Oops, a crossover secret. "Uh, when I researched Teddy and his gang, I noticed they were all former patients of 'Dr. Dan'. After their treatment by him, all of those young men moved on to be professional criminals--at least according to Price. I think Dr. Dan may serve as some sort of consultant to Teddy's gang."
"Well, there's no charge for what you think. Doc, you realize if we go to the cops with this tale, they'll think I'm crazy. I'll be put in a rubber room."
"And a jail cell for me. I didn't get this information in a strictly legal way. But, we need to find a way to convincingly inform the police of this while remaining anonymous."
Grace smiles. "So that's why... Doc, I slept late this morning and had one of my 'sent' astral trips. I ended up here and watched Joan log on to her dad's home computer. I don't know why, but Joan was looking through some police files. Before I could see which ones, I was yanked back to my body. I wonder why Joan was doing that?"
"Well...Joan is taking criminology as part of her pre-law degree studies. Maybe Will is helping her by allowing her to review some old case files. But this is perfect. We can send our information to the cop's anti-gang division, and it will look like it came directly from the chief of police. That is, if you remember the password?"
"Sure. It was Joan's initials and year of birth: 'JAG 1987'. But will what we've got be enough to prevent the killing?"
Dr. Hunter sighs. "Probably not, but it will give the subsequent investigation a huge head start for Will..."
X X X X X
At 11:45 Will Girardi steps off the elevator at the top floor of the Hulman building, and heads for Dr. Dan's office. Will remembers from when he use to take Joan here, Dr. Dan always leaves for lunch at exactly noon. He figures this will be the perfect chance for a private conversation with Dr. Dan--starting with the question, why did he think Joan was gay?
At the door of the office, he finds an unexpected notice posted: 'The offices of Dr. Daniel Radovitch will be closing at the end of the month. No new patients are being accepted, and all existing patients are urged to contact this office to arrange the transfer of their records to another therapist. Dr. Dan thanks all of his patients for the opportunity to serve them, and hopes you wish him well as he assumes the post of District Psychiatrist for the county school system'.
Will shakes his head at this missed opportunity, and for his inattention to current events. He knew John Hunter was in town to help the new head shrink take over his old post, but he had never thought to ask who was that replacement. But since he no longer has any kids in the public schools, and Helen has stopped teaching, he has lost interest.
So, what to do? According to the new schedule posted on the door, Dr. Dan won't be back to this office until after four. Will thinks about going directly to the school administration building, but Dr. dan will have left for lunch before he can get there. Will's stomach rumbles, and he decides lunch sounds like a good idea. After lunch he will track down Dr. Dan for a face to face confrontation about Joan. Will returns to the elevators, and even though he is on the top floor, and number five elevator has an out of order sign on it, one of the doors dings within a minute. As Will gets on board, he looks forward to a nice lunch at one of the several restaurants across the street...
X X X X X
Meanwhile, on the roof just above, Pete Zeidler is setting up his sniper's post. His weapon of choice is a bolt action fifty caliber rifle with a telescopic sight and a laser guide. The rifle, five and a half feet long and weighing 35 pounds, is an awesome and outrageously expensive weapon. But, it is necessary for the task at hand. The fifty caliber is the most powerful and longest range rifle in the world, and the only one that can make the nearly impossible shot from the rooftop through the front window of Perrin's restaurant across the street. For ten years, Pete's target has sat down at the front table every Wednesday at noon. Bodyguards always watched the place carefully, but no one has ever considered the roof across the street a risk. The great distance and steep angle made it an impossible shot. Unless, you had the world's best rifle and one of the world's greatest marksman.
Pete Zeidler smiles as he sets up the bi-pod that steadies the weapon. Even though he was dishonorably discharged from the army (by a method suggested by Dr. Dan), Pete got what he had sought from his brief time in the service. Trained to be one of the best snipers in the world, Pete is one of only a handful of men not on the battlefield who can make this shot.
Pete zeroes in on his target's usual chair, ready to wait the last few minutes before the man showed up. Oh crap, some young woman is sitting in that chair with her back to him. What the hell is going on? No one is ever allowed to sit at that reserved table and at that particular chair. Who is that?
X X X X X
Cooper Jones, manager of Perrin's, nervously watches the front door for the expected arrival of his most loyal, and demanding customer. Perrin's is an old and very expensive eatery that caters to the city's power elite. But none of the city's wheeler-dealers commanded the respect, and fear that this regular patron did. He always has table one, and the house's Wednesday specialty, which he eats alone. Jones looks at the reserved chair by the front window and groans. A lovely young woman is sittting there, insisting she is an expected guest. Normally he never would risk such a situation, but how cvan he ask her to leave? After all, she is the town's hero, and the daughter of the chief of police...
TBC. Please review.