Black Velvet Ch. 01

"Ah, you read my mind, sir." Mary said with a grin. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I'll be on my way..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Molly Ross Evans knocked on the door to her sister Cindy Ross's office, and went inside when Cindy called out "Come in!"

"Oh, hey!" Cindy said. "I wasn't expecting to see you today. Have a seat. What's up?"

"I've sort of been trying to stay out of the loop on this double murder case." said Molly as she sat down on the loveseat sofa in front of Cindy's desk. "So I thought I'd see if I could find out stuff from you in a backchannel sort of way."

"Did Lt. Price get the autopsy results?" Cindy asked.

"Yes, and he did email me a copy of that." Molly said. "Very interesting, wouldn't you say?"

"Sure." Cindy said. "By the way, what were the results of the interviews with Karl Vilseck and Steve Hanson?"

Molly looked confused. "Er, I don't know. I'm not sure he's even talked to them."

"Why not?" Cindy asked. Molly realized that the question was a directed one, a hint... and meant that this was something that absolutely should've been done.

"I don't know." Molly said. "I'll tell you this much: Steve Hanson is seventeen years old, and his father, E.L. Hanson, is a Hillside Town Councilman. Bit of money in that family, as well."

"So are you telling me, in a backchannel sort of way," Cindy asked, "that some of your fellow Police Officers are a bit intimidated by the local politicians?"

Molly smiled, though it was not a pretty nor happy smile. "I'm saying not everyone is the Iron Crowbar, if that's where this is going."

Cindy said: "Then I'll tell you, off the record, sister to sister, in a backchannel sort of way: Detective German did go looking for those boys yesterday evening. They weren't at Nextdoor County High School, they weren't at baseball practice. They were also not at their homes, and as soon as German left the Hanson home, the Chief was getting called on the phone."

"Now your Chief is a friend of Chief Griswold, and you know he's not going to play that game." Cindy continued. "He told Hanson that he'd put out an APB for Steve as well as Karl Vilseck if the parents didn't bring them in and cooperate. Hanson screamed obscenities until the Chief just hung up on him. Then your Chief called Chief Griswold, who called the Iron Crowbar."

"Ouch." Molly said. "Well, I guess I better polish up a résumé to send to Frank Soltis in Midtown."

"Ask for their Internal Affairs Department if you really want to have some excitement." Cindy replied. "But seriously, don't worry about that. Don is working on getting some results right now, even as we speak."

"And I just came to ask what he thinks of all this." said Molly.

"He's gathering data, and you know what that means." Cindy said. "No theories until he gets that data." Molly grinned as she nodded, knowing all too well the ways of the Iron Crowbar.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The large black man came up to the two youth playing one of the games in the arcade in the City's largest mall. "Karl Vilseck? Steve Hanson?"

"Who wants to know?" asked the taller boy with blonde hair.

"Thomas Warren, City Police." said the large man, exhibiting a City Police badge. "Both you boys are wanted for questioning in a murder case, and you have APBs out on you."

"You got the wrong people." said the other boy, who had darker brown hair and a sneering face. In some ways, he resembled Steven Ikea when Ikea was sneering like that.

"I guess we'll find out the hard way." said Sapper Warren. "Boys, place them under arrest." There were no less than six uniformed City Police Officers surrounding the boys. They were prepared to use violent force to subdue the boys, but fortunately for the boys, they didn't have to, and the arrests were made relatively peacefully.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Well, well, well." I said as I entered the City Police interrogation room. "You boys are trying to make yourselves hard to find." The FBI had flown me in one of their choppers from County Airport to the City Federal Building, where Sapper Warren had picked me up.

"I want a lawyer and my parents." said the brown haired boy. "I'm underage, and I demand you call my parents immediately."

"You're Steve Hanson?" I asked.

"Clean the shit out of your ears. I said I want a lawyer and my parents." said the teen.

"I heard you the first time." I said quietly. "And your age won't protect you, boy."

"Dude, just shut the fuck up, okay?" said the blonde boy. "That's the Iron Crowbar."

"So what?" snarled Hanson. "I'm a kid, you won't touch me. And my daddy is going to make you regret the day you heard my name."

"Oh really?" I said. "Okay, then. You'll be separated from Mr. Vilseck here. You'll be put in a holding cell with a bunch of other losers... hardened men who have not had any kind of sex for days or weeks. You will disappear for 72 hours. Your parents won't be able to find you. Then you'll be transferred by 'accident', and disappear for another 72 hours... then another 72 hours... and by then you'll have been cut to ribbons by the gangbangers that you're in the pokey with."

I pointed at the one-way glass. Sapper Warren came in. "Take Mr. Hanson here to the general holding cells. He claims to be underage, but I think he's lying and can be put in with the adults." Warren came and grabbed Hanson roughly by the arm, and even more roughly pulled him out of the Interrogation Room.

By now, Karl Vilseck looked scared shitless. "Okay, Karl." I said. "Let's just you and me talk. Where were you Thursday night?"

"Look... he's not a bad guy, really." said Karl. "Don't let those guys hurt him."

"Oh, forget about him." I said. "He's got his daddy's big name to protect him. Like Dean Allen had Nathan Allen protecting him. Remember them?"

"Look, man, I'll apologize on his behalf," said Karl, "but don't let him get hurt."

"He made his own bed, Karl." I said. "Now it's just you and me talking. Where were you Thursday night?"

"Steve wasn't with us. It was just me and Rob."

"Rob Dortmund?" I asked.

"Yes sir." said Karl.

"Where were you? What did you do?" I asked.

"We were on... a double date." Karl said.

"With Lenora Holmes and..." I said, leading the witness. Karl knew that I knew, and began to wilt.

"I was with Claire Meadows, the Headmaster's wife." said Karl. "I'm eighteen, so was Rob. We're not underage, we're consenting adults."

"Hmm... 'was', eh?" I said.

"Yeah, I know he's dead. Everyone in the county knows." said Karl.

"Is that why you and Steve were hiding in the City?" I asked.

Karl replied "We thought it would be a good idea to stay out of the way for a while, let things calm down. Then our parents could negotiate our coming forward. That's what Steve's dad said."

"Oh, so Councilman Hanson told you to hide." I said.

"He's a politician, he's scared of the backlash." said Karl. "You should know that, Mr. Iron Crowbar, you have to deal with them all the time."

"You're a smart kid, Karl." I said. "So why are you acting stupid? Or more accurately, why are you letting idiots tell you to act stupid, and you're doing what they say?" Karl just shrugged. I had him agitated, and at bay.

"Okay, Karl," I said, "what I want to know is what happened Thursday.

"Claire Meadows and Lenora Holmes asked me and Rob out for a 'date'." said Karl. "That meant we would go somewhere and have sex."

"How long have you been having sex with these women?"

"Since our eighteenth birthdays." said Karl. "Ask me for earlier than that, and I plead the Fifth right now."

"Good enough." I said. "So you were with Claire, and Rob with Lenora?"

"Yeah." said Karl. "I've had both of them, but Lenora kinda had a thing going with Rob; they liked each other. And Claire is the hottest fuck at the school and then some. I don't know who taught her how to suck cock, but she's the best I've ever had."

I couldn't help but smile at that as I asked "Where did you go to have sex on Thursday night?"

"The Lakeside Inn & Suites." said Karl. "There's a suite on retainer, I don't know who with and I don't remember the room numbers. I'm not shitting you, I really don't remember. Anyway, we went there. I had sex with Claire for a couple of hours in one of the bedrooms of the suite. Lenora and Rob were making out, then they went outside when we went to the bedroom."

"And then?"

"That's the last I saw of them. They weren't there when Claire and I were finished, and Rob's car was gone. She called Lenora on her cellphone but got no answer. So Claire called her husband to come get her, and I called Steve. He was on a date with his girlfriend, and they came and got me. They never saw Claire, so he really can't tell you anything."

"All right." I said. "You never heard a scream or shout, or anything that might let you know they were in trouble?"

"No sir." said Karl.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sapper Warren took me down to the holding cells. In one cell, by himself, was Steve Hanson. In an adjoining cell were eight men, all Hispanic, some sporting tattoos that read 'NS14'. They were at the bars separating the cells, really giving it to Hanson verbally.

"Hey cops! Come open the doors!" one gangbanger was yelling. "I want some of that fresh cherry ass!"

Another gangbanger was saying, more like yelling, directly to Steve "I am going to tear that sweet little ass of yours up! You gonna be my bitch, baby boy! You hear me? My bitch!"

And then there suddenly appeared a large man in a trenchcoat. Silence was instantaneous, most probably because the gangbangers had observed the red crowbar in the man's hands. As I stepped up to Steve's cell, they silently moved away to the other side of their cell.

"Bring him upstairs." I said to the officers, pointing at Hanson. As we left, I just nodded to the gangbangers. One of them nodded back. No beefs between us was that message.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just to the southeast of Hillside is a public park with a lot of baseball and softball fields. It's official name is Gary A. Condor Park, after the US Congressman, but everyone calls it 'The Baseball Fields'.

It definitely caused a stir at sunset when an FBI helicopter came in for a landing on one of the fields. Out of the front of the helicopter popped Your Iron Crowbar. With the help of Lt. Price, we got two teenagers out of the back seats and led them to NCPD squad cars.

"Damn," said Lt. Price to Detective German at the station as the boys were taken through booking. "That man don't play."

"That's what Lt. Evans said." replied German. "And by the way, sir, the Iron Crowbar's partner, Captain Ross, is Lt. Evans's sister. They look a lot alike, and Lt. Evans admitted it when I asked."

"Oh... okay." said Price. Those were not the words he was silently thinking to himself, however.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"How dare you arrest my son!" shouted Steve Hanson's father at the NCPD Police Chief. "I'm going to have your badge for this!"

"You can try." said the Police Chief. "But he's a material witness in the murder of his friend Rob Dortmund, he fled the county, and I'm told it was upon your instructions, Councilman."

"He's underage! He's a minor!" shouted Hanson.

"So what?" said the Chief. "Minors get arrested every day on various charges... including murder."

"As my son is a minor, you should be calling me first, not arresting him!" shouted Hanson. "When my lawyers are done with this, you're the one that's going to be led through booking!" He turned to leave... and almost ran into the much taller man standing behind him... a very angry looking man tapping a red crowbar in his hand.

"And when I'm done," I said menacingly, "you yourself might be up on charges, Councilman Hanson. Aiding and abetting wanted fugitives fleeing the jurisdiction. Not to mention just being an asshole in general, just like your son is."

"And who the fuck are you?" snarled Hanson. "I'm a councilman in this county, what are you compared to that?"

"I'm an SBI Inspector, for openers." I said. "And if you're not impressed with that, I'm an FBI consultant. And if that fails to move you, Councilman... I'm the guy who can and will shove this crowbar up your arrogant ass. You politicians do not bother me; if you can't physically whip my ass, then you ain't jack shit with me."

Hanson was staring up at me in sheer disbelief.

"Hanson, go get your kid and get the hell out of here." said the Chief. "He's ankle-monitored. If he tries to leave the county, Federal Marshals will be asked to find him and arrest him... and no county councilman in the nation has the power to overcome that."

"We'll see about that. I've got friends, too. Friends that can put you in your place, Mr. Iron Crowbar." said Hanson. He glared at me as he walked around me, since I didn't move, then he exited the office and slammed the door behind him.

"Oh, I hope I haven't caused you any trouble, Chief." I said in a lilting voice. "Chief Griswold would be upset with me if I did."

"Heh." said the old Chief. "Like Griswold, I've been around the block for a few decades. Hanson ain't shit. His party lost power in the council in the last election, and all he can do is lash out impotently."

"Seems to be a common trait among minority politicians these days." I said. "I've got one of those in my County, too." I was remembering Kelly Carnes, but it could apply to others, especially of a certain now-minority political party in Washington, D.C.

"So do you think those kids had anything to do with Rob and Lenora's murders?" asked the Chief.

I said "I don't think they were the killers, nor had any active role in the killings. But we can't rule out someone committing the murders to try to suppress a potential sex scandal around the Walnut Prep school."

"You don't sound like you're convinced." said the Chief, observing me.

"I'm not." I said. "I have a bad feeling about this one... a bad, bad feeling..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

My Police cellphone rang. "This is Special Agent Les Craig of the FBI." said the caller.

"Ah yes," I said, "what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to touch base with you about these killings involving the black velvet blanket." said Special Agent Craig.

"Okay." I said, not sure where he was going with this.

"Are you looking to see if there are other killings with this pattern?" asked Craig.

"Yes, I've got people working on that." I said. "Not much to tell yet."

"Okay." said Craig. "Well, if anything comes up, especially if it crosses State Lines, let me know. We might could give you a hand."

"I appreciate that." I said. "And if there's anything you know that can help me, I'd appreciate it."

With that, we hung up. Something was nagging at me. Les Craig worked out of Southport, and usually worked on Organized Crime issues. Why was he calling about that particular case?...

Part 6 - Turn For The Worse

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette from in front of City Hall at 7:00am on a very overcast, windy Monday, February 6th. "Channel Two News has learned that the two murder victims that were found last Friday in Hillside were Rob Dortmund, a Senior at Nextdoor County High School, and Lenora Holmes, a teacher at the prestigious Walnut Preparatory Academy here in our County!"

"The Coroner's report has been sealed pending verification of evidence by the State Crime Lab." continued Bettina. "However, Channel Two News has learned that this evidence points to Mr. Dortmund and Ms. Holmes having had sexual relations before they died. The Nextdoor County Police Department is not commenting on the case, but expressed their appreciation for SBI Reserve Inspector Donald Troy and SBI Reserve Captain Cindy Ross for their assistance in the case."

"Channel Two News also learned over the weekend that two young men were arrested. One is Karl Vilseck, a fellow student and friend of Rob Dortmund. The name of the other arrested individual has not been released due to being a minor."

"Wow." Cindy said as we drank coffee in MCD with our Detectives, including Roy McGhillie of Vice. "Who leaked all that info?"

"Dunno." I said. "Probably multiple leaks, and everywhere from the City to Nextdoor County to here. What got me was how carefully Bettina crafted that story to reveal information in the most gossipy, maximum-damaging way possible. The Media has truly gone straight to hell..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 10:00am I got a call from Jack Muscone.

"Don," said Jack, "I'm getting reports of increasing radio chatter up in the Lake Amengi-Nunagen area. The ham radios have lit up, the cellphone tower up there registered a huge increase in throughput."

"Anything going on at that facility up there?" I asked. "The training facility?"

"That's another thing I wanted to tell you." said Jack. "It was abandoned over the weekend. Several trucks left Saturday. It was totally empty yesterday. No heat signatures, no power being run at all. They either went underground, or they all left. We think it's abandoned."

"Okay, thanks for telling me." I said. I looked at Cindy, who was sitting on my office sofa, typing up her SBI Reserve report for her weekend work. She looked over at me.

"Trouble?" she asked. "I am feeling the vibe from you."

"Yes on the vibe. Trouble, not so sure." I said. "Listen, if you hear of anything strange, anything at all, let me know immediately."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 2:00pm, Monday February 6th, Teresa Croyle's phone rang. It was the Duty Desk.

"Ma'am," said the Sergeant, "a lady up here says she needs to see you right away. She says it's urgent."

"Okay, be right there." Teresa said. Hanging up, she went down the hall and into the front lobby area. Her visitor was Jeanine Burke, and Jeanine had her sons, little Jack Burke and little Todd Michael Burke, with her.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Teresa," Jeanine said, "but I have to leave the boys with you for a little while. I have something really urgent to do." With that, she handed little Todd to Teresa, and had Jack waddle over.

"What's going on?" Teresa asked as Jeanine put down the large bag that contained diapers and baby food, and kissed her boys goodbye.

"I'll tell you when I get back." Jeanine said. "Again, I'm sorry to spring this on you like this. I've really got to go. Please... take care of them." With that, Jeanine practically ran out of the Police Station.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Strangest thing I've ever seen." Teresa said to Cindy, who had just come into Teresa's office and was now helping with the kids.

"Did you call Todd?" Cindy asked.

"Not yet. I called you first." said Teresa. "Do you think we ought to call the Commander?"

"Of course you should." said a voice in the doorway... that of Your Iron Crowbar. "What is this, a Police Station or a nursery?"

"Not funny, sir." said Teresa, a connotation and warning that she did not see the humor in this. "Jeanine ran out of here like a bat out of hell. She wouldn't say anything, but she looked almost scared."

At that point, something hit me. "Wait a minute." I said. I grabbed my Police radio off my belt and spoke into it. "Break break break! This is Commander Troy. All units, be on the lookout for a silver Lexus belonging to Jeanine Burke. If spotted, pull her over and stay with her until I arrive!"

"What's this about, sir?" asked Teresa.

"I'm not sure." I said. "But something's not right, and the FBI has been watching the area around Michael Burke's home at Lake Amengi-Nunagen. Have you called Todd yet?"

"No sir, I was about to." said Teresa.

"Do it now. Get him over here. You and he keep these babies well protected. Captain Ross, you're with me." I said. Cindy followed me back to my office.