Chapter 19
Charlie sat at his desk; Rex was nearby at his post. He was surprised to see that Mika wasn't back yet. Still, he was listening to William, who was speaking to his brother on the detective's desk phone, and he took the phone from the young man when it was offered.
"Robert, I'm Detective Hudson," Charlie said.
"Be honest with me. How much trouble is William in?" The man asked.
"Right now, if he helps us, he's not. There are two things I need from you. First is all the information you can give me about Danny Bauman and your cousin Richard," Charlie told him.
"I always had a feeling that something was off with Danny, but I couldn't get him to talk to me. I mean we'd chat, you know, how's school, hockey was fun, that kind of stuff. I even asked Danny, more than once, why he hung out with Richard. I never got a good answer. As for Richard, I stayed away from him unless I really had no choice, like at hockey. I wish I had more information for you but I really don't. If, for even a second, I thought what was going on, was going on, I would have told someone," Robert said.
"I have no doubt. Now, for number two, I have a big ask of you. Can you come up here?" The detective asked.
"I have some vacation time I can take – especially if I tell my boss it's family related," Robert told him.
"I think you might be the thing we need to jar Richard loose. He may not be afraid to try and set your brother up, but you, I'm guessing there is a reason they didn't reach out to you when their father died," Charlie said.
"Oh, I can think of one. I beat the crap out of Richard one time when we were kids. My father was less than pleased, but Richard wouldn't stop picking on William. I guess he didn't learn much," Robert admitted.
"That would do it. Let me know when you have your travel arrangements in order and we'll meet up. I want William to pick you up from the airport though. I don't want anyone to see that you're helping the SJPD. At least, not yet," the detective explained.
"I'll see what I can do and let you know. Thanks Detective Hudson for helping my brother. He's a good guy but his heart is a little too big sometimes," Robert told him.
"That's not the worst quality to have," Charlie said before saying goodbye and ending the call.
"Are we good?" William asked.
"Yes. Your brother will be in touch. I'll get an officer and make sure you get home ok," Charlie told him. William nodded and Charlie quickly went out into the hallway and snagged Constable Evans, who promised to help. Opening the door to Major Crimes, he told William that he had a ride.
"So, what have we got?" Joe wanted to know as he exited his office and sat down next to Rex, who he began petting.
"William and Robert are going to help us," Charlie smiled.
"Excellent. Have you heard from Mika?" Joe asked.
"I have not. I was kind of hoping that you had," Charlie frowned.
"Lynn must be spilling more information than we could realize," his boss said.
"I'm not sure we can trust what she says," the detective shook his head.
"Why not?" That last statement had made Jesse turn his focus to the two from whatever it was he was working on.
"Lynn got William to lick the envelope and take it to the post office," Charlie told them.
"Could she be scared of her brother?" Jesse asked.
"Maybe. One thing bothers me – William mailed the envelope. Even had the receipt for the postage. So how did the envelope end up inside the footlocker in the back of Danny's closet?" The elder detective wondered.
"Oh, I think I have an answer for that," Jesse smirked.
To Be Continued…