Scrabble Spells Murder
Chapter 15
15.1
"Are we going to sit back and do nothing!" Carl shouted in frustration.
Ed was becoming irritated with his fellow police officer but he would not lose his temper with him. The chief expected him to follow orders and stay in control.
"I don't like it any better than you do," Ed said calmly, "but he is the boss... our boss and he said we were not to interfere. We have to trust the chief to take care of himself."
"Take care of himself!" Carl exclaimed. He's a man in a wheelchair for cripes sake!"
Ed remembered something Eve had said, when one of them questioned whether he should be allowed to go in alone after the individual, that was believed to be the sniper that had put Ironside in a wheelchair.
"Are we being fair? Letting him go in there, a man in a wheelchair."
"Eve had replied, "He's not a man in a wheelchair. He's Ironside in a wheelchair."
For that reason, he would not disobey the chief's order. He only hoped that his friend and boss returned to them unharmed and with the bottle containing the clue.
"We have work to do, Carl. I don't want to tell the chief we did not get the information he requested.
Carl could not believe it. "And that's that?" Reese complained.
"That's that," Ed Brown said, hoping he had not just made a decision that he would regret later.
15.2
Ironside knew any minute he would have no choice but to let go. He could not hold his breath much longer. When he did it would be all over for him. How could he have been so wrong? He must have been the Hacker's next target after all.
Suddenly someone was coming into view. He swam toward Ironside. When he reached him, he took hold of each side of the trap that surrounded the detective's hand. Pushing it open with the help of Ironside's other hand, the two men were able to free him from the jaws of death.
They began swimming toward the surface but Ironside realized the rescue effort may have been for nothing. His lungs completely empty of air, he gave way to the need to breathe as he sucked in the cold water from the bay. Everything went black and he lost consciousness.
Vincent Mortimore held onto the limp body of Robert Ironside and swam to the surface, dragging the drowned police officer with him. Upon reaching the surface, he pulled Ironside out of the water with the help of his girlfriend, who had hurried over to the two men as soon as they surfaced.
Once they got the former chief of detectives on land, Vincent rolled him over on his back and began mouth to mouth resuscitation. After a moment, Ironside began coughing up water. He turned to his side and emptied the fluid from his lungs.
"Chief, are you alright?" Louanne Nathan asked the detective in concern.
Ironside continued coughing up the water he had swallowed before answering. "I'm fine," he croaked. Turning to Vincent Mortimer, he said, "Looks like you saved my life, Mr. Mortimer."
"What were you doing out there, Chief? And without any of your people to help you?" Mortimer asked.
"Trying to retrieve a bottle but the son of a ..." Ironside stopped, realizing there was a lady present. "He set that trap under the bottle."
"Who set a trap?" Louanne asked. She showed concern since Ironside was not making any sense... at least not to her.
The detective shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I have to go back out there." He attempted to crawl back into the water.
Mortimer grabbed his arm. "Wait a minute, Chief. You just about drowned. I can't let you go back out there. Why is the bottle so important, anyway?"
Ironside was not about to explain why he had to go back for the bottle. "It doesn't matter. I just have to go back for it," he snarled and again attempted to re-enter the water.
Vincent again took his arm. "You are not going anywhere. I will go back for it. You stay here. What kind of bottle was it?" Mortimer asked.
"A bourbon bottle," the chief replied.
"Okay, Louanne, stay with him. I will go for the bottle," Vincent told them. He slipped in to the water while Ironside and Louanne watched him move further away from shore.
The chief looked at Louanne and demanded. "Just what were you two doing out here?"
Startled by the gruff and commanding voice, Louanne jumped slightly. "We... well... Vincent wanted to go for a walk by the Bay."
"Why?" Ironside asked with suspicion.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. He often likes to walk by the Bay." She did not understand why it was so important to him. What was the big deal?
"Just when did he decide to walk by the Bay?" He continued to question her.
Louanne was becoming irritated. "I don't see where that is any of your business. He is not working. He can do whatever he pleases. Obviously, he is right about you. He says..." She stopped in mid sentence.
The chief decided not to pursue the subject any further. He looked out over the Bay. With the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, he stared at the sight. San Francisco was a beautiful city. The view in front of him was partly why he loved the city as much as he did.
Looking down at his wrist, he could see that it was raw from the teeth of the trap. Stinging with pain, it continued to bleed slightly.
Louanne took his wrist in her hand. "That is going to need attention." She reached into her purse and pulled out a clean white scarf. Gently, she wrapped it around Ironside's wrist. "There, that should hold you until you can see a doctor."
He looked down at the freshly clean scarf around his wrist. "Do you always carry one of those in your purse?"
With a puzzled look, she answered, "Actually, no. I rarely carry a scarf at all. Vincent suggested I might need it since he thought it was going to be windy."
Ironside noticed that Vincent had surfaced. Saying nothing further to Louanne, he waited for the computer genius to swim to shore.
Vincent approached the detective with the bottle in his hand. "Is this what you were looking for?"
Ironside took the bottle from Vincent. "Yes, that is it." He unscrewed the cap from the bottle and removed the paper from inside.
"What does it say?" Louanne asked the detective.
Without answering her, he turned to Mortimer, "Vincent, get me into my chair."
Mortimer retrieved the wheelchair and set it close to Ironside. Putting Ironside's arm around his neck, he lifted the chief into his chair. Ironside placed both feet on the pedals and again addressed Mortimer.
"I may need help getting up that incline."
Vincent nodded and stepped in behind the chair. He began pushing the detective up the incline. Louanne followed behind them.
"My van is open. Would you mind going up ahead of us and look under the dashboard for a spare key. I am afraid I lost my keys in the Bay."
Louanne caught up with the detective and smiled. "Sure thing, Chief. I would be happy to do that." She hurried ahead of them and headed to the van.
Ironside looked over his shoulder. "Vincent, I can't thank you enough for helping me out of that situation. You saved my life."
With a smirk on his face that Ironside could not see, Vincent said, "You are welcome, Chief. Yours is a life well worth saving."
"Lucky for me you just happened by. By the way, what were you doing here?"
"Actually I didn't just happen to be here. Louanne was saying the other day that we have not taken in the beautiful view of the Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge provide, in a long time. So I thought I better indulge her. She is always complaining that I don't want to do anything she wants to do. You know women, Chief. You have to make some effort to make them happy. I am sure you have had the same problem with Katherine."
"Katherine?" Ironside asked as if he had no idea what Mortimer was talking about.
"Well, yes. I have heard rumors that she is now your main squeeze."
"Main squeeze? What the devil is that?" Ironside snarled.
"You know... your lady." Mortimer responded.
"You need to stop listening to rumors, Mr. Mortimer."
"Then she isn't?" Vincent asked, pumping Ironside for information.
"She is the head of the Saint Mary's charity event. We have to meet often for the planning of that event. I am on the board of trustees." Ironside blew out what sounded to Vincent like disgust.
"I am getting dragged into the thing more every year. As if I don't have enough to do."
Mortimer laughed. "That's the price you pay for notoriety."
"Huh... " Ironside growled back at him.
As they drew near to the van, Ironside lifted his hand and said, "Tell Louanne I will buy her another one of these. This is ruined with bloodstains. It's a good thing for me she decided to carry one today."
"Louanne always carries those things in her purse. She doesn't want the wind to make a mess of her hair."
Ironside could not feel even the slightest breeze.
When they reach the van, Louanne handed Ironside the spare key to the van. "That is not a very good place for a spare, Chief Ironside. Suppose you lock your main set in the van?"
"Tell that to Mark. I have several times," he answered.
He turned around to face Vincent Mortimer. Reaching out his hand, he said, "Vincent, thanks again. I will not forget what you did here today." He looked Mortimer straight in the eye.
Vincent smiled and shook his hand. "My pleasure Chief Ironside. I owe you for helping me get a job at police headquarters." When he let go of the chief's hand, he turned and left with Louanne who smiled back at the detective.
Ironside turned his chair so that his back was to the van. He wheeled backwards onto the lift. Pushing the button with his finger, the lift started its upward climb to the floor of the vehicle.
Robert Ironside positioned his wheelchair directly behind the steering wheel and pulled the keys out of his pocket. After starting the vehicle, he reached back into his pocket, where he had placed the spare key Louanne had given back to him. He returned the key under the dashboard.
Ironside picked up the van's mobile phone and dialed his office.
"Chief Ironside's office," answered the voice of Mark Sanger.
"Mark ..." Before he could say another word, Mark interrupted him.
"Chief! Are you alright? "
"I am fine, Mark. I want you to call Ed, Eve, and Carl. Tell them to drop what they are doing and meet me back at headquarters."
"Did you find a bottle with the clue?" Mark asked him.
"I did. Now get them back at headquarters."
"Was the clue of any help?" he asked.
"Let's just say our Hacker just made the biggest mistake of his short criminal career."
Ironside slammed the phone down and pulled the van into traffic.
Vincent dropped his girlfriend at her home under much protest. He no longer needed her anyway. She had served her purpose... giving him a reason for being in the same place and time as Ironside.
He smiled in the satisfaction of knowing that he it already beaten the famous detective. Ironside was alive only because he had allowed it. Granted, he had made sure he was there to protect the man from drowning, but he would have been dead nevertheless.
Even better was the fact that Ironside believed he had saved his miserable life. Vincent knew that he had scored points with the detective. He would trust Vincent from here on out. He would not be on Ironside's list of suspects any longer. He could operate without fear of him discovering who he was.
He laughed to himself that he had been able to lead Ironside around by the nose. If he had learned one thing since he started this unusual Scrabble game, it was that Ironside was not as brilliant as everyone thought. He had only come up against amateurs until now. Vincent had changed all that. Now Ironside was dealing with his better. He still had no idea who he was or where. He laughed long and hard thinking that he was operating right in the same building as Ironside and the cripple did not have a clue.
He should not have interfered with his career as a cop. He would have been a good cop, no, he would have been a great cop... a lot better than Ironside. He would pay for ending his police career.
15.3
Ironside wheeled into his office and down the ramp. As he approached the main table, he flipped the bourbon bottle to Ed Brown. "Check that for fingerprints," he ordered.
"You think we will actually find the Hacker's prints on it?" Eve asked. "So far the man has been too careful to leave prints."
"I don't just think we will find them, I know we will."
"How do you know?" Carl asked.
"Because I know who the Hacker is," Ironside replied. "I watched him put his prints on that bottle after he saved my life."
Everyone was completely confused. "Maybe you better tell us what happened," Mark said.
"And why you have that scarf around your wrist," Ed added.
Eve looked at their boss with concern. "Chief, you are bleeding." She reached over and remove the scarf from his wrist to reveal the wounds caused by the trap. "You are hurt!"
"I am fine, Eve. The bleeding has stopped," he assured her.
"Mark, get the first aide kit," Eve said.
Mark headed to the other room to retrieve the kit. When he returned, he attempted to roll up the sleeve of the chief's sweatshirt. Ironside waved him off with his injured hand.
"I am fine. Now can we get back to the business at hand?"
"So, Chief, what happened out there?" Ed asked.
"The Hacker left a booby-trap for me." He told them what took place under the water in the Bay.
"I knew you should not have been allowed to go alone!" Carl almost shouted.
"I had to go alone. There was no other way."
"For which you almost got killed," Eve pointed out.
"I was never in any danger," Ironside disagreed.
"Never in any danger?" Carl exclaimed in disbelief.
Ed decided he better calm down his fellow detectives before Ironside lost his temper. "Why don't we let the chief tell us what happened and not interrupt him."
Ironside nodded in a appreciation at his sergeant. "The reason I was not in any danger was because our Hacker did not intend to allow me to drown. He was there to make sure I got out of that trap."
"Wait a minute! I am confused," Carl said, scratching his head. "If he did not want you to drown, then why put the trap there in the first place?"
"To overt suspicion from himself," Mark suggested.
"That doesn't make any sense. All that did was bring suspicion upon himself," Eve said.
"Ed?" Ironside asked, preferring to bring the answers out of his detectives by making them think.
"Not if he is afraid the chief is checking out anyone in the department that would have the skills to hack into his computer."
"I still do not see how he would draw attention away from himself," Reese wondered.
"You are missing the point, Carl," Ironside told him."
"Exactly what is the point?" Eve questioned.
"I would say the point the chief is trying to make is that he knows who the Hacker is. He is the man that pulled him out of the water." Ed looked to his boss for confirmation.
"That's right, Ed," Ironside confirmed.
"How do you know?" Eve asked.
Before Ironside could answer him, Carl interrupted. "Who pulled you out of the Bay, Chief?
He looked into the eyes of each member of his staff. "Vincent Mortimer."
Ed sat back in his chair and stared at his boss. "There is no doubt about his ability to hack into your computer."
"What evidence do you have?" Eve asked.
"Nothing substantial at this time," Ironside answered.
Carl looked at him in astonishment. "You must have some reason for naming him as the Hacker."
"When Vincent went back out into the Bay to retrieve the bottle, I questioned Louanne Nathan. She stated that it was Vincent's idea to walk by the Bay. She also said that she never carries a scarf with her. That also was Vincent's suggestion, supposedly to keep her hair from being windblown."
"There isn't any wind today, " Eve pointed out.
"Exactly." Ironside turned and looked at his officer.
"Forgive me, Chief, but I am not following you," said Mark. How does that implicate Vincent as the Hacker?"
"In it's self, it doesn't. When Vincent returned with the bottle, I sent Louanne up ahead to get the key out from underneath the dashboard of the van."
"You lost your keys in the Bay," Mark observed.
"No, I didn't. But that is what I wanted Louanne to think. I had to separate the two of them so I could talk to Vincent alone."
"Divide and conquer," Carl grinned.
"And what did Vincent say?" Eve wondered.
"He said the walk on the bay was her idea and that she always carried a scarf."
"You would think that Vincent would have gotten their stories straight before they arrived there." Ed shook his head.
"Alright, so they lied to you. It does not prove that Vincent is the Hacker," Carl pointed out. "He saved your life, for cripes sake."
"You're right," said Ironside, "it does not prove that he is the Hacker. I don't believe in coincidences. He just happened by while I was there retrieving the bottle?"
"Okay, it looks we are going to need a lot more than that," Carl said.
Ironside turned his attention to Eve and Ed. "Did one of you get that duty roster that I requested?"
"I had Eve do it," Ed said. "I worked with Carl on the rented houses near the manholes."
"Well, Eve, do you have that list of employees that were not working when each incident happened?" Ironside demanded.
Eve walked over to his desk and picked up the brought it back to the table and handed it to Ironside. "If you are asking if Vincent Mortimer was off duty, the answer is yes."
"I was skeptical about this but you're beginning to make a believer out of me," said Carl.
"If we go on the assumption that he is the Hacker, what do you want us to do next, Chief?" Ed asked.
"We are not going to assume, Sergeant. We are going to find the evidence to prove that he is the Hacker. Remember, he is holding Fran Belding."
Ironside's next question had already been anticipated by Ed. The chief asked, "Now what about those houses or apartments near the manholes that Mortimer could've exited?"
"We struck out there, Carl answered. "Not one house or apartment was rented in those areas."
It was obvious the chief was not happy with that news. He had been hoping that Mortimer had taken Fran to a nearby house or apartment. "Ed, you look like you are about to add something."
"What I was about to say is although we did not find a rented house or apartment, we did find something that might help."
Carl spoke up. "We did a little further digging. Ed and I checked with the postal carriers in the areas of the manholes in question.
"Nothing may have been rented but we do have three households on vacation. It appears that all three have stopped their mail delivery and no one has seen anyone checking on any of the houses," Ed added.
Ironside slammed his fist down on the table. "That has to be it! Did you check out those three houses?"
"We were about to when we got the call from Mark to come back here," Ed said.
"Do it, quietly," Ironside ordered. "And do not let Mortimer know that you're checking. Remember, he will not hesitate to kill Fran."
He pulled the clue out of his pocket. "I retrieved this clue from the bottle. I believe I already know who his next victim is. This time Vincent Mortimer is going to play by my rules. We are going to set him up."
Ironside placed the clue in the middle of the table for everyone to look at.
TBC...