CHAPTER 2
"Let it be known I'm doing this under heavy duress!" Frank complained as he and Joe jogged up the front steps of the police precinct building. "I told Stan not to involve me."
-o0o-
The night before, Frank had received a call from the Bayport Police. He tried to ignore the call, but Joe, who'd returned with the extra bed linen, insisted he answer it. "I don't want James bustin' in here again, waving his gun about." So Frank reluctantly did as instructed.
The officer on the end asked if he needed medical assistance. Frank said he didn't. They asked to come by the next morning to make a formal statement. Apparently, the police had visited his apartment to dust for fingerprints despite Frank's instruction to the contrary. Frank wasn't happy, hadn't wanted to put anyone out. He started to express his annoyance…and then Chief of Police Ezra Collig had snatched the call.
"Frank, I want you here tomorrow morning, sharp, to give a statement." He snapped.
"Chief, I don't want to lodge a formal complaint. There's no law which stipulates I have to. Subpoena me and I'll come…and what's with invading my apartment uninvited?"
Joe put his hands out in horror. It wasn't a good idea to argue with Ezra Collig.
The Chief grunted and started to berate Frank, his gruff voice getting louder and louder as he talked so as not to allow Frank get a word in edgewise. "Well, your attitude's going to cause your friend Stan a damn headache! He needs you to make a complaint or he'll get hell from the building's owners. The perps got by him, and he's got to somehow explain it to his bosses. How would it look if your neighbor, Mr Costa had a heart attack and it turned out Stan lied for you or hid what happened? I understand Mr Costa isn't a young man and neither's his wife…and then there's the building insurance, do you think invalidating—"
Frank bellowed, "OKAY…OKAY. Yikes! I'll come in…jeeze already!"
Collig's voice immediately dropped to a friendly level. "Good Lad. See you tomorrow, first thing." The line went dead.
Frank glared at his red phone. "Unbelievable!"
Joe laughed. "You got Collig-ed."
-o0o-
The brothers hit the top steps and now stood outside the Bayport Police Department's front doors. Frank plunged his hands into his pockets and glared up at the insignia above the entrance.
As the automatic doors swished open, Joe swept his right hand in front of him, with his palm out, pretending to be a Jedi Master commanding the doors to bend to his whim. "The force is strong with this one." He quoted and stepped through with a self-satisfied snigger.
Frank rolled his eyes and followed him into the air conditioned foyer area.
The desk sergeant raised his head from his paperwork and ran his eyes over them with indifference.
Frank approached and leaned his elbows on the countertop. "I'm here to give a statement about my burgled apartment. I'm Frank Hardy."
"I know who you are."
Joe dipped his head toward Frank and twisted away from the desk sergeant. "It seems he wants to be here about as much as you. Brother's in arms!" He moved over to the other end of the desk to read the various posters and public announcements on the notice board. Sometimes, he spotted useful leads for possible work the Hardy, Riley & Son's Detective Agency could chase.
The officer consulted the electronic diary on the screen in front of him, and picked up the phone. He stabbed a number into the keyboard and muttered some instructions into the receiver. "Someone'll be along in a few minutes." He failed to even glance Frank's way.
As it happens, someone arrived within seconds. Officer James Anderson appeared with a wide grin, holding a manila folder. He tripped by the reception counter to the side door and pulled it open. "Ah, the dark one and the blond one. Greetings, Hardy dudes!" He beckoned for the brothers to enter.
Joe grinned. "Not very professional."
"Think what your dad would say." Frank gave James a playful nudge as he too passed by.
The brothers froze at the sight of something on the other side of the open door.
James hadn't noticed their reactions. "Nah, I don't need to with you buddies," He let go of the door and it began to swing shut automatically.
"Oh yes you do, Boy!" boomed a voice which made James visually jump.
The grumpy desk sergeant laughed from round the corner.
Chief of Police Ezra Collig had evidently overheard the entire exchange from behind the door. "Unless, of course, Anderson, you want me to tell Con Riley?" He gave James a stony glare. Tall and broad, with steely grey eyes and an extreme buzz cut, Ezra Collig cut a scary figure.
James swallowed hard and turned crimson, but Collig's countenance changed and he roared with laughter. He slapped James squarely on the shoulder and sent him staggering into the wall. "Kidding, I wouldn't really tell your father." He gave each Hardy brother the equivalent numbing handshake of an industrial clamp. "Glad you decided to come in," he said to Frank.
"It's not like you gave me much choice."
Collig smirked and strode off toward his office. "All I ask is you follow procedures, Anderson," he said over his shoulder.
"Oh boy." James kneaded his shoulder, and glowered hazel eyes at Collig's back before leading the brothers toward an interview room. He levelled his credit card sized pass at the security entry system and shouldered his way into the small space.
The brothers followed and Joe automatically took a seat. He got phone out and his thumbs flicked speedily across the screen as he created a text message.
James pointed to a poster which bore the picture of a cell phone inside a red circle with a line crossed through it. "Phones to be switch off." James pulled papers from a dispenser next to the door.
Joe looked up. "C'mon James, you're not really gonna follow procedures?"
"It's exactly what I'm gonna do, you heard The Chief."
"But the door's shut; he doesn't even know what—"
"Joe!" Frank interrupted as he fiddled with his own phone. "Do as James asks, he's the boss and I don't want this taking any longer than necessary." He placed his dead cell down on the table and sat. "I don't want to be here at all. No offense Jimmy."
"None taken. Joe, if you're so desperate to use your phone, take it outside." James flicked through the sheets he'd pulled from the dispenser. "You shouldn't even be in here by rights."
"Sheesh, fine!" Joe pressed the button on the side of his handset and held it up for them to see a blank screen. "There, see? It's off. Happy now?" He jutted his bottom lip out, threw it down on the table, and slouched in his seat. Frank and James went into hysterics.
Still tittering, James sat down and bounced his chair closer to the desk. "I dig 'The Joe Show'!"
"James, if you're following procedures, then how come you're doing this interview? We're friends…surely it's a conflict of interest?" Frank asked.
"Erm, no, it's fine. We're short staffed. You know the score." James laid the paperwork down, and opened the folder to slide out a document. "Bear with me, I've not read through this yet."
Frank made a circular roll with his hand to encourage James to continue.
"You're giving a voluntary statement—"
Frank snorted.
"In compliance with Section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967. You're not under arrest and under no obligation to stay. You can leave at any time during this interview. Do you understand what I've just told you?" James looked up into Frank's face.
"Yes."
"I need to confirm some facts first. From this statement supplied by—" he scanned down the page, "The security guard of the apartment complex you reside at named, uh, Stan?"
"Yes, Stan. You've met him. He showed you some security footage when my car got boosted."
James nodded in agreement. "His signature's kinda hard to read." James looked down at the paperwork, paused to find his place and continued. "Stan contacted the precinct at 12:47 hours to report possible intruders in your apartment. He says Mr Bob Costa, your neighbor, called him up to your floor to report strange noises. He also reported he and Stan observed the suspects assault you—" James looked up sharply, locked eyes with Joe and found him ready with a knowing look. He slid his eyes to Frank. "Assaulted? Why didn't you phone us immediately?"
"Cause it wasn't so bad, just a knock to the head."
"Only a Hardy would describe a home invasion and possible life-threatening confrontation as 'just a knock to the head'. You all right?"
"I'm not dead. I didn't want to cause more trouble for Stan and the other tenants. It wasn't a 'home invasion' in the way you describe. I interrupted a burglary."
"Anything taken?"
"Not as I could see."
James shook his head and sighed. "To continue… Stan gave chase, but they escaped. He described two men, one tall, one short. Then you packed a bag and left. Do you agree with the facts so far?"
"Sure, though I only saw the one guy."
James slid his pen from his shirt pocket and clicked on it. He pulled out a blank Witness Statement and laid it on the desk, along with continuation sheets, and positioned his ballpoint in readiness. "So, for recording purposes, can you confirm your name's Frank Hardy residing at—"
Frank couldn't help but laugh at this point, "There's following procedures and then there's obsessively following procedures. Fill it out yourself. It's not as if you haven't come for drinks at my apartment."
"It's cause I'm one cool and popular Dude." James grinned and scribbled down the information, only asking for verification of Frank's zip code. He reached the bottom of the form and set the piece of paper to one side. "I'm at the witness statement part, so if you can give me a rundown of what happened from your perspective? Pace yourself though, cause I'm a slow writer. Leave nothing out."
Frank closed his eyes and ran through the scene in his head to make sure every detail stood out crystal clear, and then verbally recounted the events of the night before, up until he left the apartment to go to Joe's houseboat. He finished and opened his eyes to observe James drop his pen down and massage his numb hand back into life with a grimace.
"Man alive! I said to speak slowly!"
"Not my fault you've got all the writing prowess of an eight-year-old."
James snatched the pen up and wielded it at Frank like a dagger, right under his nose which made the older Hardy Brother go cross eyed. In a smooth, practiced movement, Frank had it plucked out of James' grip and turned onto him. "You'll never be quick enough, Anderson!"
Joe smirked. "Procedures, James, procedures."
James took the pen back and rested the tip on the form. He returned his attention to Frank-the-witness rather than Frank-the-friend. "You already said you didn't find anything missing, but can you give me a description of either of the perps?"
"Like I said, I only saw the one guy, but his features were concealed. Can't remember his eye color, even if I saw it, and he stayed silent. About my height, maybe taller. Wore a balaclava, dark clothes. Strong and fast. Wasn't time to take in details."
"So, about six-two or taller?"
"Probably taller to be honest."
James scribbled for a little longer, then picked up the top sheet and surveyed it from top to bottom. He turned it over to look at the other side. "I think we're done." James gathered the sheets, put them to the back of the main form, and shuffled them into a neat pile. He finished by turning the stack around to face Frank, pushed them across, and offered his pen. "Read through them and, if you agree, sign at the bottom of each page and date them. Then we're done."
Frank coolly autographed in the denoted boxes, added the dates and returned it, along with the pen.
"Aren't you gonna read it through?"
"Nah, I trust you."
"Anything else you want to tell me?" James asked.
Joe put his hand up. "I got something to say."
James and Frank turned in surprise.
"Why assume a robbery?"
"It's a safe assumption in my opinion." Frank tipped his chin at James. "I'm sure Jimmy thinks the same." Frank glanced at James, but his face remained impassive.
"Dude. Your burglar alarm being deactivated…don't you think it's strange?"
"Probably forgot to set it, easily done."
"'Easily done'?" Joe snorted and leaned forward. "I'd agree with you but for one fact - you never forget to set your alarm. I know you, you're mega vigilant, it's an impulse. I mean, for heaven's sake…you're so worried about your territory being invaded you sleep with a gun."
James interrupted, "Do you?" he asked Frank.
"I do," Frank admitted.
"Yeah, under his pillow!"
"Thanks a lot Joe. So much for a personal life…and how do you know that?"
Joe tapped the side of his nose. "Nancy told me once. Ya kinky devil.
"Whoa," James muttered.
Joe winked at James. "Whoa indeed. And did you know he's got several other guns concealed about the apartment? I've spotted one taped to the underside of his dining table, and there's one hidden under the handtowels in his kitchen drawer. Oh! And he regularly sweeps his apartment for bugs. Welcome to the level of Frank's paranoia!"
Frank threw his hands up. "Oh, come on! For solid reasons, Joe!"
James regarded Frank though new eyes. "What are you guys investigating at the moment? Dad hasn't mentioned anything exciting."
"That's because there isn't anything, and why we've got a whole weekend off and going out this afternoon. If you wanna join us, if you can get the time off?"
"As it happens, I'm off at one."
Frank leaned away and folded his arms defensively across his chest. "Keep on subject, Bro."
"Think about it, Frank. The one and only time you've forgotten to alarm your apartment happens to be the very day your place gets turned over. Nah, I don't buy it, way too convenient."
James captured Joe in an intense stare. He leaned forward and dropped his hand onto his friend's forearm. Although his face loomed closer, he didn't drop his voice. In fact, it rose in volume. "You know what? You make for a good argument, but your theory falls short when there's no physical evidence to back it up."
Joe opened his mouth to protest, but James put a finger to his own lips and stopped the younger Hardy from speaking. He made the same clandestine gesture to Frank and went to the door.
The brothers watched, mystified, as James opened up to take a peek out. He returned to the table, but this time positioned himself between Frank and Joe's chairs and hunkered down. In a low voice he said, "I'm with you one hundred percent, Joe. It's too coincidental. I know I said I'd play this straight down line, but I'm gonna share something with you in confidence." He glanced at the door and continued. "When they swept the burglar alarm keypad for fingerprints, there weren't any, and by none, I mean none at all, not even yours Frank. So unless you clean your keypad each time you use it?"
Frank shook his head.
"Then you need to watch yourself. They went to a lot of trouble to deactivate your alarm system, and I mean, a lot of trouble. They took the whole unit apart and messed with the internals. Must've been there a long time."
"What the hell, Jimmy? You holding back on us? What aren't you telling us?"
"Nothing, other than The Chief thinks it's mighty odd considering there must have been easier prey for a burglar, and considering how sophisticated your alarm pad is. He's asked me to keep my beady eyes on you."
The brothers shared a look.
"The conflict of interest you rightly pointed out, Frank? It's no error in judgement on Collig's part the case got turned over to me. The Chief's done it for convenience - because we're friends and my dad's ex-Lieutenant, Con Riley." He dropped his voice even further. "I guess what I'm saying, is…you're not so paranoid as you both might think."
