The Return of the Crown Prince
Chapter 03
3.1
Eve unlocked her apartment and entered. She shut the door and kicked off her pumps. She headed into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. She ran her conversation with Chief Ironside over again in her mind. Eve knew the lengths the chief went to protect her. She knew the chief was always easier on her then he was on Ed or even Mark. That is why this latest request really bothered her. The chief always went out of his way to make sure that Eve kept out of harms way. It had been the subject of several disagreements with him.
If he was willing to give her an assgnment that might put her life in danger then he must feel this was the best way of bringing the kidnappers out in the open. Eve did not, however, understand why the deception of an engagement. How did that play into the chief's plans? Well she supposed he would reveal his reasons soon enough.
Eve picked up the phone and dialed her mother's number. This was the part of the plan that she did not like. She hatred misleading her parents. She knew the chief well enough to know he would not approve of her telling them the truth. The chief would figure if she could convince them than they would have no trouble convincing the kidnappers as well.
She waited as the phone continued to ring. "Hello," her mother answered.
"Mom, its Eve."
"Hello dear. Aren't you working today? Are you feeling alright?"
"I am fine Mother." Eve smiled. Her mother knew that Eve rarely called during the day. Working for the chief did not allow for such luxury. "I called because I have something to tell you and Dad. Is he there with you?"
"No dear, he is not. He is at the country club. He will not be back until late this afternoon. Do you want to wait until then to tell us?"
Eve thought about what the chief had said. Call your parents and your friends. If she waited until her father arrived at home, Eve would have to call her friends first. She did not want her parents to be the last to know. No she had to do it now. "No, I don't think I can wait. It is too important and I don't want him to hear it from someone else.
"Eve, what is it? You are starting to scare me."
"It is nothing to worry about Mother. Do you remember the prince the chief was assigned to protect a while back?"
"Yes of course. I saw him on television. He was a very charming man."
She just did not know how to tell her mother. She decided the best way was just to just say it. "He has asked me to marry him."
There was total silence on the other end of the phone. "I don't understand. You mentioned you were taken with him but you said nothing about love."
"I didn't want to discuss it since I did not think I would ever see him again."
"Eve, I think we would talk about this. You would have to move out of this country, give up your citizenship and your job with Chief Ironside. Honey, I don't think you have thought this through."
Eve closed her eyes. Thus was harder than she had imagined. "I have thought it through. I have been thinking about it ever since Miguel was here. Please Mother, I cannot do this right now. I have others I have to inform."
"What does Chief Ironside think of this?" her mother asked.
It was his idea. "Mother, this is going to have to wait. I have several people to call and the chief wants me back in the office at six o'clock."
"Eve..."
"Later Mother. I have to go now. Goodbye, Mother. I love you." Eve hung up the phone not giving her mother a chance to say anything further."
Eve dialed the next number.
3.2
"Ed! Where the blazes are those files?" Ironside called out.
"Half of them have been faxed, chief. We are still waiting on the rest," Ed answered.
Ironside wheeled to the closest phone. He dialed and waited.
"The White House," an operator answered.
"This is Robert Ironside of the San Francisco Police Department. I would like to speak with Chief of Staff Artie Hinson."
"I am sorry sir, but you have to make an appointment to speak with Mr. Hinson. If you would like to leave you name and number I will see if has time to speak with you."
"I am on special assignment for the president. I do not want to disturb the him. What I need, Mr. Hinson can help me. I will however speak with the president if you refuse to put me through to Mr. Hinson," Ironside barked with authority.
"That sir is not possible..."
"I have his private number," Ironside interrupted. "I suggest you speak with Mr. Hinson. He will talk to me." The request sounded more like an order.
The operator hesitated for a moment and said, "One moment please." Sharon Winston put Ironside on hold and turned to the operator beside her. "I have some nut on the line demanding to speak with Mr. Hinson or he will call the president. He has the president's private number." she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Another one claiming to be a friend of the president?"
"No, this kook claims to be a San Francisco cop."
The woman looked at her fellow operator and said, "Robert T Ironside?"
"Yes, that is the name he gave," she said a bit shocked. "How did you know?"
"Did he have a very distinctive voice and speak in an authoritive tone?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, he has a nice voice and his request to speak with Mr. Hinson sounded more like an order than a request."
"In that case I suggest you put him through to Mr. Hinson."
"You have to be kidding?
"No, I am not. Unless I am way off, the man you are talking to is Chief Robert T. Ironside. He is a San Francisco cop and one of the president's closest friends. And Sharon, he does have the president's private number."
Sharon punched Artie Hinson's number. Hinson's secretary answered the phone. "I have Robert Ironside on the line for Mr. Hinson."
"Put him through immediately."
Sharon punched the line Ironside was holding on. "Chief Ironside, Mr. Hinson will speak with you now."
"Chief, good to hear from you. The president said to provide you with whatever you need. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Hi Artie. As a matter of fact there is. I only have half those files. I needed all of them. The prince is arriving the day after tomorrow. Those files could reveal a pattern. I needed those files."
"It was my understanding they had already been sent to you. I will find out what is holding them up and you will have them within the hour. Anything else you need, chief?"
"Yes. You have a leak somewhere. Find it and plug it."
"We are working on it. The president believes it has to be in the state department. It is being looked into now, chief."
"Artie, be sure the embassy is not overlooked."
"Will do. Chief, do you know how you are going to proceed?"
"Not yet. I will know more when I get a look at those files. I will be in touch after I have had a chance to examine them." Ironside hung up the phone. He looked around. "Where's Mark?"
"Making sure the van's windows meet you standards as you requested," Ed replied.
"Any similarities in the files we have?" Ironside asked Ed.
"I have not had a chance to read through them completely yet. One thing is for sure, the state department would have known the whereabouts of each and every one of them."
"Artie just said the president thought the leak was in the state department," Ironside said.
"Wait, chief, you should take a look at this." Brown brought two files over to his boss and set them down in front of him.
"All three of these men were released in California," Ironside observed.
"And all were abducted in California," Ed added.
"No wonder the president suggested the crown prince visit San Francisco," Ironside said.
"The president must feel that it is possible that whoever is kidnapping these people is based somewhere in California."
"He is having me use the crown prince for bait," Ironside added.
"Chief, how does Eve fit into all this."
"Ed, the crown prince will undoubtedly be their next target."
"So you want Eve close to him to keep them from kidnapping him," Ed surmised.
"No, I want Eve close to him because I am going to let them kidnap both of them." Ironside leafed through the three files they had on the kidnappings."
"What!" Ed all but shouted.
"They have been too clever to get caught picking up the ransom. Lets see how cleaver they are trying to return two kidnapped victims."
"But chief. They could just decide to kill them rather than return them," Ed protested.
"That is why I want Eve with the crown prince. We will have a trace on her. She will be there to protect him."
"An operation of this sort…they will find any trace or bug we place on her."
"Not the kind I have in mind." Ironside looked at his sergeant. "Ed, do you really believe the government has not come up with a way to trace people without using bugs?"
Brown stared back at the chief. "Even if they have, chief, what makes you think you are going you have access to it?"
Ironside lowered his eyebrows and frowned. "Since when do I not get what I want? Jim Whitmore said he would provide manpower and equipment, did he not?"
"But it may not be something he is at liberty to reveal," Brown argured.
"If such a thing even exist."
"I have reason to believe it does," Ironside said. "And he will allow its use."
"If you say so chief," Brown said skeptically.
"I say so," Ironside repeated.
3.2
He dialed the state department and waited for an answer. When he got it Jamie Morgan said, "I need to speak with the Secretary, please. This is the president's national security advisor."
Within a moment he was transferred to Devlin Trask office. "Jamie, what I do for you?"
"l am just making sure everything is ready for the crown prince's visit to California."
"You are asking the wrong guy in this case, don't you think? My understanding is Chief Robert Ironside is in charge of the crown prince's security while in the United States." The secretary of state said.
"Yes, yes, I am well aware of that Devlin, but you are to monitor the situation."
"Well, then tell that to Chief Ironside. When I called him this morning, he was not very forthcoming with any details regarding the prince's arrival. All he would say was he had everything under control," Trask reported.
"Didn't you press him on the details?"
Devlin Trask laughed. "I can see you have never delt with Ironside, have you?"
"No, but of course I know his reputation. He likes to do things his own way. But this is different. He is under our jurisdiction on this one," Morgan said.
Again Devlin Trask laughed. "I repeat, tell that to Ironside. As far as he is concerned, he answers only to the president himself. The rest of us are just an inconvenience."
"Well, he is going to get over that in a hurry," Morgan said with a shortness to his tone.
"Don't count on it, Jamie. Ironside does things his way. He is not going to answer to you or me for that matter and he has the president's complete confidence. I have to go but if I were you I would not worry. Ironside is the best there is at what he does." Trask hung up the phone.
"That remains to be seen. He is not going to mess this up by keeping it to himself." Jamie picked up the phone to dial another number.
3.3
Eve came into Ironside's office, walked down the ramp and sat down beside Chief Ironside. He looked her in the eye and waited. Eve just stared back at her boss.
"Well?" the detective asked.
"All of my friends think I have lost my mind, thanks to you, chief."
Mark and Ed joined them at the table. Ironside smiled. "I assure you, Miss Whitfield, they have thought that since the day you told them you want to work for me. I take it you have decided to help with this one?" Ironside asked
"Of course chief. Were you expecting anything else?" Eve said.
"Eve, I am not ordering you to do this."
"Exactly what is it I am going to be doing besids posing as the fiancee of the crown prince?"
Ironside explained to Eve what he wanted her and the prince to allow themselves to be kidnapped.
"Chief, how can you be sure you can track us?"
"I am working on it. Right now our more pressing problem is to figure out how to keep the crown prince from being kidnapped before we are ready for it," Ironside said.
"That should not be that difficult," Mark said. "We simply meet him at the airport."
"He could be vulnerable at the airport," Eve said.
"Why not do what we did with the jewels when Arthur Justin came to town?" Ed asked.
Ironside considered Ed's suggestion. "We could do that Ed, I suspose." He did not sound convinced.
Eve could see that the boss was still wavering. "Chief, we could just give him a police escort into town. You know...several cars."
"That would work. Everyone will at least be expecting us to provide some security. It would not be over the top," Mark agreed.
"In fact," Ed said, "it would be standard procedure for visiting royalty.
Ironside sat quietly listening to his staff. "It just might work. In fact it might send a signal that we are just considering this a routine royal visit. It could prove to be in our favor in setting up the kidnapping in our way."
Ed, Eve and Mark watched Ironside. All three knew him well enough to know he would issue the order when he was ready. He had to mull it over in his mind. After a moment, Ironside picked up the phone and dialed. "Carl, come up to my office right away." He hung up the phone not giving Lt. Carl Reese the chance to protest.
The phone rang. When Ironside allowed it to ring without answering, Mark picked it up. "Chief Ironside's office." After listening, he handed the phone to the chief. "Commissioner Randall," he announced.
Ironside punched the speaker button and returned the receiver to the base. "Yes Dennis."
"Bob, what in the blazes are you up to?" He asked, using one of Ironside's favorite expressions.
"Up to?" Ironside questioned. "What are you talking about?"
"It just came over the news that the crown prince is marrying Eve."
"I don't have time to explain it right now, commissioner. I will get back to you." Ironside said gruffly. He hit the button on the phone ending the call.
Eve smiled slightly. It amazed her how the chief was able to handle the commissioner. He sounded more like Randall's superior than his subordinate. "You are going to have to tell him sooner or later, chief."
"Later then," Ironside said impatiently.
The door opened and Lt. Carl Reese came down the ramp. "Chief what is so important that could not wait? I am in the middle of the Sorenson investigation."
"Thay can wait, Carl. We have a more pressing problem," Ironside snarled.
The fax machine came to life and began spitting out papers. Eve went over to it and removed them sheet by sheet. She began reading as she waited for more.
"Well?" She heard the chief's deep commanding voice.
"It is the rest of the files on the kidnapped diplomats," she said as she continued to read.
"Chief, I have work to do," Carl protested.
Ironside put his hand up to silence the lieutenant. "Eve!" he called out in frustration.
Officer Whitfield pulled the last of the papers off the fax machine. "Artie Hinson must has lit a fire under the state department. It is all here and marked confidential."
"Chief!" Carl complained.
Ironside gave him another silencing look. "Bring them here, Eve."
Carl sat down, completely frustrated with Ironside. He knew better than to push the chief any further. He made every attempt to control his Italian temper.
Eve set the fax down in front of her boss. "Chief, look at this," she said excitedly, pointing to sections of each of the reports.
Mark and Ed took up flanking positions on both sides of Robert Ironside, reading over his shoulder.
"Chief, every one of these people were abducted right here in San Francisco," Ed observed.
"Not only that, but all of their last known whereabouts was…" Eve began.
"….the Lighthouse," Mark finished for her.
"I don't remember the San Francisco police department being notified of any of these kidnappings," Ironside said. "Carl, the reason I called you up here is I want you to help us out with protecting the prince and help with the investigations in these kidnappings." The chief picked up several sheets of the report and waved them at Reese.
"What prince? Chief, is it too much to ask that someone start making some sense?" Reese complained.
"The Crown Prince Miguel Boodaris," Ironside said, raising his voice.
Reese's face lit up at the sound of the name. "The same prince the newspapers say Eve is going to marry?"
Eve turned red as Ironside answered loudly, "One and the same."
"Congratulations Eve," Carl said.
Ironside shook his head. "Officer Whitfield is not marrying the crown prince."
The confused look returned to Carl's face. "Then why are the newspapers having a field day? They claim that Eve, herself is the source of the story."
"That is exactly what we want them to think," Ironside said as he brought Lt. Reese up to date.
"What do you want me to do?" Reese said.
"Set up plain clothed police officers at San Francisco international. We will have the crown prince picked up in a limo. I want the route covered but I don't want the kidnappers to know it is being watched."
"Chief, I can handle that," Ed said.
"No Ed, I have another job for you. Carl, get moving. Here is the route I want taken." Ironside tore a sheet off the table in front of him that he had been writing on and handed it to Reese.
"Alright Chief. You better call my captain and let him know you have abducted me again." Reese hurried up the ramp and out the door.
Ed watched Reese leave and then turned back to Ironside waiting for him to reveal what he wanted him to do. Ironside lined up the reports. "There have been six kidnappings in all. The first three were done in Los Angeles, San Diego and Hollywood. The last three were all done here is San Francisco."
"Why were we never informed of them?" Mark asked.
"That is what Eve is going to find out," Ironside said. "Eve, check it out, will you please."
"If the police department was informed of the kidnappings, chief, we would know about it. It is simply too high profile for you not to be informed."
"Probably, but let's not make the mistake of not verifying just because we think we would have been informed it they knew."
"Yes sir." Eve got up and headed out the door.
"Ed, I want you…" Ironside began before being interrupted by his sergeant.
"…..you want me to go to the Lighthouse and talk to Simon Carmell. He saw all three of the kidnappings."
Ironside smiled inwardly. He certainly had a well-trained staff. "I don't believe in coincidences. Either that kid knows more than he told the feds or he was involved in the kidnapping. It is just too convenient that he was there each time."
"I'll try the Lighthouse first," Ed said. "What are you going to be doing?"
"Mark is going to take me to Barbara's. I need to talk to her," Ironside answered.
Ed stared at the chief for a moment and then headed out the door. Mark followed him to the door. "I have to cancel my date but the chief goes to see Barbara." He shook his head back and forth.
"Come on Ed, you know what the chief would say to that," Mark said.
"RHIP," Ed replied. "Rank has it's privileges," they both said together while supporting grins. "Later, Mark."
"Later," Mark said. He turned back to Ironside. He was on the phone. Mark grabbed his jacket and walked toward the boss.
Ironside hung up the phone. "Come on Mark, let's go. He wheeled himself toward the ramp as Mark stepped in behind his chair to help push him up the incline.
3.4
He waited for the phone to be answered. After several rings his man answered, "Yea."
"I just got word. Ironside is definitely in charge of the crown prince's security. He is having one of his men set up the route the prince is taking with plain clothed policemen. Don't attempt to take the prince. Let Ironside have his way this time. I will let you know when we can grab the prince. We have to be careful."
"Why don't we grab the broad before the prince gets here? We could trade her for the prince?"
"Oh that's brilliant. We grab Whitfield. They will just roll over and give us the prince knowing we are going to ask for ransom. You just let me do the thinking. You just do as you are told which right now is nothing. Is that clear?
"We can't sit and do nothing. Ironside is not stupid. He doesn't close cases, he solves them. The longer we have to deal with him, the greater the chance he figures it all out. We need to stay ahead of him and that is not easy."
"You just do as you are told and leave Ironside to me. You do nothing. Let them bring the crown prince in. There is something I want you to do. Ironside's number one man is on his way to question Simon Carmell. He can't be allowed to talk to him….."
"…so you want me to take out Brown," he interrupted.
"No, you moron. Ironside would be relentless in his desire to find his sergeant's killer. Just prevent him from talking to Carmell."
"How am I supposed to do that if you won't let me kill Brown."
"Silence Carmell."
He remained silent for a moment. "I will take him out but you have just upped the stakes. I want more money."
"How much more?"
"Fifty thousand," the accomplice answered.
"Twenty Five thousand and you take out whoever I instruct you to."
"Done."
"Get moving, Brown is on his way to Carmell right now.
"I'm moving." The accomplice hung up the phone and started the car.
3.5
Ed pulled his dark Ford in front of the Lighthouse. After turning the car off, he pulled the key out of the ignition and put his keys in his suit coat pocket. Brown went into the Lighthouse. The music was loud and the people were starting to to come in for the evening. He spotted the boss and headed in his direction.
"Hello, Ed! How's the chief?" Norman Durnell said with a big smile.
"You know the chief…"
"Still grumpy, huh?" Durnell laughed.
"You said that, not me." Ed returned the smile.
"Well what can I do for your grumpy boss?"
"I need to speak with an employee of yours. A Simon Carmell," Ed said.
"You should have called, Ed. I could have saved you a trip. He is not here. It's his day off," Durnell informed him.
"Do you have his address?"
"Sure. Come on into my office." Brown followed him down the hall and into a small stuffy office. It had no windows and was not much bigger than a broom closed. It stank of cigarette smoke and stale coffee. Durnell's desk was covered with paperwork. The drawers of the desk were opened. As Ed got closer, he could see coffee stains and cigarette ashes all over the desk. In the corner was a small filing cabinet.
Durnell reached into the filing cabinet and pulled out a file. "Here it is." After removing a small tablet out of the desk drawer, he leafed through the file and then wrote an address down on the tablet. Durnell tore the paper off the tablet and handed it to Ed. "He's not in trouble is he?"
"I don't know yet," Ed said. "Right now I just want to talk to him." Ed accepted the paper, looked at the address and put the paper in his pocket. "Thanks, Norm. The chief will appreciate your help."
"When is the chief going to come down again? I have not seen him in here for quite a while."
"Oh I don't know, Norm. The chief is a pretty busy man but I will tell him you asked about him."
"You tell him he is welcome here anytime."
Ed smiled, "I will. Thanks Norm." Brown turned and left the office, happy to be out of the small stuffy room. He left the Lighthouse and got back into his car. Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out the paper Durnell had given him. He made a left turned at the corner and made his way toward Carmell's apartment.
Brown pulled up in front of Carmell's apartment house. He looked at the mail boxes in the lobby and checked for Carmell's apartment number. Ed climbed the stairs to the second floor. He walked down the hall reading the numbers on the doors as he went by. When he arrived at the door, he knocked. The door opened with the force of Ed's knock. The sergeant pulled his gun out of his holster and slowly pushed it open with his left hand. As he entered the apartment, he felt a blow to the back of his head and everything went black.