Scrabble Spells Murder
Chapter 5
5.1
When Ironside finished reading the message on the computer, Eve said, "He didn't waste any time."
"Chief, there is no way you are doing this alone, Ed insisted.
"That is just what he wants," Mark complained. "To get you alone. Ed is right. We are not letting you go in alone."
"We can have plain clothes cops in the area," Carl added.
Ironside looked at his staff. "Will you good people please tell me where I am not going in alone?" Everyone became quiet. "Aren't you forgetting that we have to figure out whom, where and when before I can decide what I am and am not going to do."
"They are right, Bob. Getting you alone may be exactly what this guy wants. You could be his next target."
"Dennis, if I am, the clue will tell us that," Ironside countered.
"Chief, have you considered that the reason he doesn't want you to have any help is because you are the next target. If we are with you, he has less of a chance of succeeding." Ed looked back at the screen wondering if that wasn't exactly the case.
"I hate to interrupt because I know this is important but this is a holiday," Patricia Randall pointed out.
"Tell that to the Hacker," the commissioner said to his wife. "We would be dead right now if it weren't for Bob and his people."
"I just meant that all of you work a lot an hours with very little rest. You could use this one day to forget about this case and celebrate Thanksgiving."
"We did that," Ironside replied.
"You would think that he could have waited until tomorrow to send that message," Katherine complained. "He wants to make sure that none of you get any rest or down time. By sending that message directly after the first attempt, he knows that you are going to think that you have to start it immediately because you don't know when it will happen. Rested cops think with clear minds. Can you say the same for overworked cops?"
Everyone was quiet for a moment before Ironside said, "Katherine is right. There is not much that can be accomplished tonight. Everyone go home. We will start fresh in the morning."
"Chief, we can work on it tonight. We don't know how much time we have," Ed disagreed.
"We can work late if you need us," Eve joined in.
"No, I want you all to call it a night. Go home get some sleep. That's an order."
Ed, Eve and Carl hesitated but got up and headed up the ramp. "Goodnight, Chief," they said at the same time.
"Goodnight," Ironside responded.
Commissioner Randall watched as Ironside's officers left his office. He would never question Bob Ironside's orders in front of his staff. Therefore, he said nothing until the three officers were out the door. "Are you sure that was such a good idea? We really don't know when he is going to strike."
"Oh hell, Dennis, this guy is not going to kill anyone tonight. He wants me to keep up with him. There is nothing in it for him if I have not had a chance to figure out the clue."
"Are you willing to bet someone's life on that?"
Ironside looked directly into the eyes of his boss. "No, I am not. I can't be sure what the Hacker will consider saving this one myself. He says I can use my staff to figure out the clue and that is it but what if something they do; he considers it as having interfered with me saving the victim. I have to be careful with this one."
"What does that have to do with them staying and helping with the clue?"
"You heard Katherine. They will be a lot sharper with rest. I have been working them overtime for quite some time now. They need rest, Dennis."
Randall was aware that Ironside had been working his staff a lot of overtime. He was certainly right about that. That was to be expected. After all, this was the top unit in the police department. Every time the city panicked over a problem, it was turned over to this office. He decided to allow Ironside to run his office as he saw fit... he would anyway. "Okay, Bob, please get started on that clue first thing in the morning." He stood up and indicated to his wife that it was time to go.
"Goodnight, Dennis." He took Patricia's hand, kissed the back of it and then released it. He was awarded with a kiss on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Robert." Ironside watched as the couple left his office.
Mark began the task of cleaning up. Ironside and Katherine sat at the table and talked until Mark had finished in the kitchen. He sensed that they wanted to be alone. "Unless there is something else you need me to do, I am going to my room to watch television.
"No, Mark, go ahead," Ironside told him. The young man disappeared through the door. A moment later, they could hear the sound of the television.
"You look tired, Robert," Katherine said as she ran her hand down the side of his face.
Ironside took her hand in his. "I am never too tired to enjoy an evening with you. Would you like another glass of wine?"
She smiled at him. "No thank you. I don't want to be pulled over for drinking and driving. I have already had too much to drink."
"In that case, you better stay here tonight. We have done a lot of work on this place since I moved in several years ago. My bed has been moved into a bedroom. We also have a couple of guest bedrooms. They are used mostly by Ed and Eve when they work too late to make the trip home. Everyone has an extra set of clothes here."
"You would not mind? I would rather not drive home tonight. I was going to ask you to give me a ride to a motel."
"Nonsense! You can stay right here. I won't hear of you staying in a motel room alone."
"Shall we sit by the window?" Katherine asked him.
Ironside agreed. He wheeled over to the window and removed the armrest on the right side of his chair. After switching to the couch, he invited Katherine to join him. She did without hesitation.
He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "I am very pleased you joined us for Thanksgiving dinner."
"Thank you for inviting me," she responded with a smile.
"I can no longer imagine holidays without you."
"I am happy to hear that, Robert." She looked at the man she knew she was falling in love with. She could not imagine spending a holiday without him. He had quickly become the center of her world.
Katherine watched him as he stared out the window. She knew he loved to look out over the city he called his own but tonight she could see the worry in his eyes. He had the most expressive eyes. They were a deep blue and they could change from mischief to love to concern with every expression plain as day. Yet, Robert Ironside was capable of hiding his emotions... something he did much of the time.
"You are worried aren't you?" she asked him.
"You are beginning to read me quite well," he said quietly as he looked out over San Francisco.
"Are you any closer to finding this man?"
Ironside rubbed his tired eyes. "He has successfully been able to tie my hands. I don't dare trace him. If I do, he will know it and I have no doubt that he would keep his promise of killing the next victim without giving me the clue."
"Did you learn anything from his attempt to kill Commissioner Randall?"
"I think we can safely assume he was there and slipped out as soon as he knew I had arrived. Our best chance of catching him could very well be just as soon as we arrive on the scene. He has to show up to kill the victim since he will not know whether or not I have figured out the clue until I arrive."
Katherine reached up, placed her fingers on his temples, and began rubbing them. "I must admit I am a bit concerned about you having to do this one alone."
He put his head back to enjoy the massage she was administering which was beginning to relieve the headache that had developed. "I am not sure I will have a choice, Katherine. I cannot take the chance that he will kill the next victim. If we are to defeat this man, I am going to have to find a way to take control instead of him leading us around."
"Will that be possible?"
"I don't know but I will have to try sooner or later. Eventually he will succeed in killing someone. I may not be able to solve all the clues."
"You must promise me that you will be careful."
"If you promise me that you will not worry yourself sick."
Katherine smiled. "I am not Barbara. I trust you to know what you are doing. I won't say that I will never worry about you but I can handle it, Robert."
"I know you can. I just wanted to be sure that I give you the support to do so. I don't want to lose you over my job."
Katherine took his stubble chin in her hand and turned his head to face her. "You will never lose me. I will never leave you."
Ironside smiled. Looking into her eyes, he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.
5.2
"The chief expects us to go home and sleep," Eve said.
Carl opened the door to the bar and waited for his friends to enter. "He didn't say we could not stop off for one drink."
"He said to go home," Eve insisted.
"One drink is not going to hurt," Ed said as he entered the bar.
"Come on, Eve. The chief wants us to relax." Carl waited for Eve to make up her mind.
Finally, she stepped into the bar and followed her fellow officers in. Ed selected a table at the back corner of the bar. In typical cop fashion, all three sat with their backs to the wall.
A waitress came to their table and took their orders then disappeared to get their drinks. A few minutes later, she returned and placed them in front of them.
"What are we going to do about the chief?" Carl asked his friends.
"What do you mean?" Eve inquired.
"We can't let him do this alone, orders or not," Carl said.
"Do you realize what you are saying? We can't disobey him," Eve insisted.
Ed took a drink from the beer in front of him. "Carl doesn't mean disobey the chief. He means we take precautions when he goes in to save the victim."
"Like what?" Eve questioned.
"For one, we put those plain clothes officers at the scene," Carl suggested.
"The chief will never go for that," Eve said, shaking her head.
"We do it anyway," Carl said.
Eve looked at Carl with disbelief. "You don't call that disobeying him?"
"Not if we don't mention anything about it. Besides if we have to, we get permission from Commissioner Randall," Reese said.
Ed was not convinced. "The chief would still consider it a blatant disregard for his orders."
Eve agreed. "Ed's right. I can hear him roaring now."
Carl began to show his impatience with his fellow cops. "I don't understand you two. The chief's life could be in danger and you don't want to take steps to protect him?"
"Carl, we have worked for him for many years. You can't treat him like a cripple," Eve told him.
Carl rolled his eyes. "May I remind you, he is a cripple!" The exasperated detective slammed his drink down on the table spilling some of the contents.
Quietly, Ed tried to calm the lieutenant. "We are aware of that but you must understand that he is a proud man."
So are we supposed to sit back and let his pride get him killed?"
"He has been in many dangerous situations and has come out of them alright," Eve reminded him.
"I know that but I just can't see letting him do this without backup. He would not allow any of us to go in there without backup and you know it."
Ed and Eve could not argue the point. They knew that Carl was right but also knew they would not go against Ironside's orders.
"You are not going to do anything, are you?" Carl asked.
"We can't, Carl. The chief is the boss. We may not like his decision but we have no choice but to obey his orders," Ed said.
Carl sat back in his chair. "And if this maniac kills him?"
"He won't. This is the chief we are talking about." Eve stood up. "Now if you gentlemen will excuse me. I think I will call it a night." She nodded at Ed and Carl and left the table.
"I don't believe this." Reese stared at Ed willing him to change his mind. "All I am saying is we should have plain clothes officers at the scene. I don't understand how the two of you can sit by and do nothing."
"Because Chief Ironside said so," Ed snapped. "And he is the boss."
Carl was silent for a moment. "Then I will go over his head to the commissioner."
"And if the Hacker finds out the chief did not handle it alone, are you going to tell the family of the person that is killed that their loved one is dead because you did not pay attention to the Hacker's rules. Someone will die, Carl, because there will be no clue as a punishment for not adhering to those rules."
A frustrated lieutenant slammed his fist on the table. "Okay, we do it your way. I just hope it doesn't cost Ironside his life."
"We are doing it the Hacker's way, Carl... at least until we can get a clue as to who he is."
"I am going home. I'll see you in the morning." Reese got up and headed out of the bar.
Ed sat there. He tipped his glass and took a drink. He understood Carl's frustration. He felt it too. He could not let on to Carl how worried he was about the chief doing this one alone. If Carl thought it was hard for him to sit back, he should be in his or Eve's place. The chief was much more to them than their boss. He could not think about it anymore. He had to get some sleep. Maybe after he had some rest he could find a way to convince the chief to at least take some precautions.
5.3
The Hacker stood outside the building where the medical office of Dr. Ben Stern was located. The radio was playing and the engine of the car was running. He did not know what Dr. Stern looked like but he had found out that he would be leaving the building at precisely ten o'clock.
The Hacker pushed backed the sleeve of his shirt and checked his watch. It read nine fifty-five. If his information were correct, Stern would come out of the building in the next five minutes.
He pulled his smartphone out of his pocket and checked Ironside's computer. He had most definitely gotten the clue. The Hacker touched several places on the phone and got the information he was looking for. So far, Ironside had played by the rules but he could not be sure how long he would do so. He was a clever detective. The Hacker was sure the chief would have plain-clothes police officers at the convention. What he didn't know was he would be able to identify many of the cops that he would use. He hoped that was exactly what he would do. He wanted to kill the first victim and that would be a while if Ironside were as smart as he thought he was... for he was sure the man would be able to solve the clues.
He looked up and noticed a man coming out of the building. The Hacker picked up the binoculars from the passenger seat. After adjusting the lens, he looked through them at the man as he headed for the parking lot. He followed him through the garage and watched him get into his car. The Hacker burned his image into his memory. The doctor did not have any idea that his days were numbered... at least he hoped they were. A lot would depend on Ironside. Stern's life was in his hands. He had mixed emotions. He wanted Ironside to figure out the clues so that he would keep up with him. Yet, he wanted him to fail at the same time in order to send panic through the city and the people that ran it. He wanted front-page headlines.
He watched as the doctor pulled his car out of the parking garage and drove away. This one would be sweet. Ben Stern was a good friend of Ironside's. He really wanted this one. Why couldn't Ironside have broken the rules? Then he could have killed Stern without sending a clue. Maybe he should do it anyway. However, that would not be right. Ironside had played by the rules. He had given his word and he must keep it.
It was time to go home and plan Dr. Ben Stern's death. He must be on his toes if he were to win this round.
5.4
The moon was full and shined down on the city of San Francisco. Unlike most cops who hated full moons believing it brought out every crazy in the city, Ironside looked at the moon and saw it as a light protecting the city he loved. It lit up the sky over San Francisco warning the criminal element that it was watching.
He felt a soft touch on both if his shoulders… too soft to be Mark. He smiled, took Katherine's hand and kissed the back of it. "Did I wake you?"
"I heard your wheelchair," she replied softly.
"I will have to get Mark to oil it. I am sorry."
"Don't be." She reached down and kissed his cheek. "It gives me the opportunity to spend some more time alone with you... even if it is three o'clock in the morning. Can't you sleep?"
"I was sleeping. Sometimes I wake up about this time. The solitude of the night helps me think."
"About the Hacker?"
"Yes... this time. We have not learned much about him. If only they had cameras in the Wharf, we may have been able to identify him."
"He seems too smart to pick a place with cameras," Katherine observed.
"He did not pick the place, he picked the victim. The place was chosen because he knew the commissioner was going to be there on that particular day and time."
"Is it possible that he knows the commissioner?"
"He either knows him or he did enough research to find out his habits."
"Robert, why do you think he chose the commissioner?"
"I don't have anything solid yet to come to a conclusion but I do have my suspicions," Ironside replied.
"Could he be going after people that are close to you?"
Ironside smiled. "You should have been a detective."
"Well it stands to reason. He chose to involve you in his insane game of... what did he call it?... Scrabble Spells Murder... He may have a grudge against you."
"It is, of course, a very good possibility. This next clue may confirm it."
"What about the next clue? Have you made any sense of it yet?" Katherine asked.
Ironside pulled a paper out of the pocket of his robe. He looked at it and then said aloud, "BOAT, GOLD, HEAL. One represents the victim, one the place, and one the time. But, which is which? They must be solved together to make sense of them. BOAT, GOLD, HEAL." The detective scratched his chin as he stared at the paper.
"Do you have a friend with the last name of Gold?" Katherine asked.
"No. Nor do I have one with the last name of Boat or Heal. He would not make it that easy. If he is picking people I care about, somehow one of those words has something to do with one of them. Boat... hmmm."
"A name of a boat, perhaps? Maybe you have been seen drinking on a boat with some buddies?" Katherine suggested.
"I usually drink with Mark and Ed. I don't think they will be the targets. The commissioner is safe now so it won't be him. Carl would be another but I don't believe it is he either. No, he would not try to go after them...at least not yet. He will want to build up to someone that is close to me."
"Robert, he started with Dennis Randall. He has been a friend of yours for years."
"He chose Dennis not because he is one of my closest friends but because killing him would have put his Scrabble Spells Murder on the front page of the paper. He would have had immediate attention. The more clues I can figure out and stop him, the more dangerous he will become. He will become desperate to make that first kill. He will ignore the rules he has set up for both of us."
"Are you saying that the commissioner could again become a target?"
"It is possible. The more clues I solve, the better chance of him making a mistake trying to beat me."
Katherine took the paper containing the clue from his hand. "If BOAT is not the name, than maybe it represents where... on a boat perhaps perhaps?"
Ironside considered Katherine's suggestion. "With the first clue, I found that you had to do them together for them to make sense."
Katherine shook her head. How can BOAT and HEAL be related. HEAL to me means a doctor. How would a doctor be related to BOAT? A Boat doctor or a drunken doctor as in drunken sailor?"
Ironside turned his head toward Katherine. "What did you say?"
"I said... "
"That's it! I have a friend who is a doctor. He did the second surgery on my spine when he thought there was a small chance that I might walk again. His name is Ben Stern. The Ben Stern is the name of a Coast Guard ship. Ben is always saying the Coast Guard named it after him."
"BOAT, Stern! Robert that has to be it but what does the other two clues mean?"
Ironside said quietly for a moment. He slapped the paper with the back of his hand and then said, "HEAL... there is a medical convention coming up and Ben is the featured speaker! But where... Damn it! I don't remember reading where it is being held!"
Ironside got back into his wheelchair and wheeled towards the main table in the office. When he arrived, he grabbed the phone and dialed. He waited as the phone rang, once, twice, three times. "Damn it, Ben! Answer the phone!"
"Hello," Dr. Stern's sleepy voice answered.
"Ben, Bob Ironside. I need to know where the medical convention is being held."
Ben looked at the clock beside his bed and then glanced at his sleeping wife. "You could not wait to ask me this until morning?"
"It is morning! Now, where is that convention?"
"It is three-thirty in the morning. Why aren't you sleeping like all other normal people?" Stern complained.
"Because criminals and hackers don't observe office hours. Where's the convention?" Ironside demanded impatiently.
"It is at San Francisco State University. Do you want to tell me what this is all about?"
Katherine, who had been leaning her head up against his to hear the conversation asked, "What does the University have to do with GOLD?"
He cupped his hand over the speaker of the phone. "Gold is one of the school's colors."
"Bob?"
Ironside told his friend what had been going on.
"You mean I am the next target of this maniac?"
"That's right, Ben, but this time it will be me performing the operation."
"Well Dr. Ironside, I certainly hope you are more successful than I was."