Case of the Lost Drone Ch. 01

I began looking around the house. It had been thoroughly trashed, but the television set was still in place, as well as other objects that one would expect thieves to take in a robbery.

Joanne had gone to the room that was a den in the lower part of the split-level,. "Sir!" she said. As I came down, she said "Brace yourself, sir. It's bad."

One look showed me what she meant. The family dog was lying on the carpet of what looked like an office room. He was a spaniel of some kind, mostly mutt, and his body had been riddled with at least six bullets. Yes, Your Iron Crowbar was angry, but was mostly just sad. After all, the dog's humans were dead, too.

The office room had been trashed, as well. Usually routers are left when computers are taken, but not this time. Everything was gone except the power strip and the cable wire. The office was also severely trashed, with papers everywhere. Bills confirmed the identity of the occupants.

I went upstairs. The master bedroom had been ransacked, but not nearly as badly as the rest of the house. Then I went into the boy's room.

"Wow, someone cleaned this place out." I said. Boys's rooms should have things in them... either trophies, awards, books, something, anything, showing what that boy was interested in. This room was as clean and stale as a guest room in a gasthaus.

There was only one thing left: a poster on the wall... of me. Someone had been selling 'Iron Crowbar' posters in a kiosk near Ronald Reagan Park, and Jimmy Eldon had hung one on his wall... or was this a clue from the criminals?

"See what prints you get off that poster." I said. "And see if there's any writing on the back. Check for invisible ink, the works." I then went back downstairs to the den room.

"What do you think, Detective Warner?" I asked Joanne.

"No data yet, sir." Joanne tried. And it was not a good try.

"Oh, I dunno..." I said, "this entire family has been found dead, and every effort is being made to keep us from learning their identities and anything about them. And then there's the dog... the dog is the starting point of this investigation, do you not agree?"

"If you say so, sir." said Joanne. "But I don't know why"

"Is the dog an indoor dog or an outdoor dog?" I asked.

"Indoor, sir." said Theo, coming into the room. "They kept the house relatively clean, but there's dog hair in the boy's room. The vacuum cleaner in the closet also has a lot of dog hair in it, so the CSI techs say."

"Good observation." I said. "So the dog is an indoor dog. And I would suggest he confronted the intruders only after they came in and surprised Mrs. Eldon in the kitchen. They shot her immediately, and made damn sure they killed her; they really blew her away. Then they were ransacking the house, and the dog caught up to them in the office area. They dispatched him, then continued to ransack the house."

"I would add," I said, "that they had plenty of time to ransack the house, to really take it apart... and they knew it. How do I know that, Detective Warner?"

"Uh..." Joanne said, then got it. "Oh, the father and son were already dead, so the perps knew they would not be surprised by them."

"Very good." I said. "And that also means?"

"Same perps committed all the murders?" Joanne said, more as a question.

"Very likely." I said. "Or two groups that were part of the same team. One cleaning out the Ford Explorer found in the field with the man and boy's bodies, and one team coming here and ripping this place apart."

Part 4 - Gathering Data

Joanne Warner and Theo Washington did not let the grass grow under their feet. They went to Riverside Middle School, which was part of the County High School system, to ask about Jimmy Eldon. The Principal was aware of Jimmy's death. He said it had not been announced yet, and they were not going to announce it during the school day. But he did assemble Jimmy's teachers in the Teachers Lounge.

"Jimmy was more scientifically minded." said his math teacher. "I don't want to stereotype him, but he's the kind of kid that grows up to be one of the nerds in school, then one of the billionaires later in life."

"What were his hobbies, or what were the things he really liked?" asked Joanne.

"He liked aircraft." said his science teacher. "He was way ahead of his class in understanding aerodynamics and flight. He loved drones, and said he was getting a new drone for Christmas."

"What about his parents?" asked Theo. "Were they supportive of his drone endeavors?"

"Yes, they were very encouraging, especially his mother." said the science teacher. "Since she's a librarian with the school system, she ordered a couple of books for him... books that were more appropriate for the advanced high school classes."

"Did Jimmy have friends?" asked Joanne. "Was he liked? Or a loner, maybe?"

"He wasn't part of the so-called 'cool' kids, but he wasn't on bad terms with anyone, that I know of. He was a bit too big to be bullied, and he didn't take too much crap from the jocks. He hung out mostly with the kids in the band and the 'smart set' of kids."

After a few more questions, Joanne and Theo wrapped it up. Then they went to Mrs. Eldon's school and talked to her co-workers, who did not yet know she was deceased.

"She's a decent person, very kind." said the principal. "She volunteers to help adults learn to read. She does her job her very well, never had a problem with her."

"So she's well liked by her colleagues?" Joanne asked.

"Oh, yes." said the Principal. Her co-workers agreed.

"What has her mood been like the last few days, and weeks?" asked Theo.

"Same as always, I guess." said the principal."

"You know," said one of her co-workers, "I wouldn't say she's been depressed or despondent or anything like that. But she's been a lot quieter this school year. She hasn't said much, but I get the idea that her family finances may be strained. Her husband's consulting business has gone down, and while he got a job at K-Mart, I think it's been tough on them."

"And K-Mart is not that far from going out of business, either." said the Principal.

"We have to ask questions like this, so don't read into it." said Joanne. "But have you seen any signs of abuse on Mrs. Eldon? Physical, or heard about any verbal abuse?"

"Oh no, nothing like that." said the co-worker. "She and her husband had a good marriage, and I'm sure they were getting along just fine.."

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

"He's a good guy." said the K-Mart Regional Manager, who was at the K-Mart when the Detectives arrived. "Didn't come in today, and we can't get hold of him. I was about to call you Police... did anything happen to him?"

"We're checking up, sir." said Theo, trying to avoid giving out information until the right time. "What's he like? Good guy, well liked?"

"Uhhh, yeah, I guess so." said the Regional Manager. "As you know, he's the boss of the store during the shift, and a good manager doesn't get chummy with his employees. The people we have working here will take advantage of a 'soft' manager in a heartbeat, but he was fine... tough but fair."

Joanne and Theo couldn't find anyone that really knew Roger Eldon, so they wrapped it up at the K-Mart. As they exited, Joanne said "I think that Principal was right. That store is poorly lit, poorly organized, and the employees there look like they don't give a rip."

"Yes, that's true." said Theo. "My wife follows some stocks, and while Wal-Mart and Target are doing okay, K-Mart, which is combined with Sears Holdings, is going down the tubes." (Author's note: that is not stock advice nor a stock tip. Stock investing and trading carries risk, and you're on your own if you engage in those activities.)

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

At 3:00pm, the meeting was conducted in Classroom 'E'. They wheeled the whiteboards in, and Myron had a Powerpoint presentation, as well.

First came J.R. Barnes, who had Martha's preliminary autopsy reports. "A bullet was recovered from Roger Eldon, three from Carla Eldon, and five from their dog. Two different guns were used to kill Carla, and one of those guns killed the dog. Different guns were used to kill the father and son. But all the calibers were the same... .22 magnum."

"Martha says she firmly believes Roger Eldon was struggling with his attackers when he was shot in the back from behind." continued J.R. "He has bruising on his arms, and there are indications he was struck by closed-fist punches to the face and belly areas."

"Then there's Jimmy." continued Barnes. "He was shot in the back by a rifle at a distance, firing a high-powered bullet, very likely a 7.62 round, which is a .308 Winchester. Then a .22 magnum was fired into his head from close range to make sure he was dead."

"What does that tell us?" I asked my Detectives.

"Clearly they were not shot side-by-side." said Cindy, when Joanne and Theo said nothing."

"And not at that location, ma'am." said Joanne.

"True, but think about it." I said. "What does this data tell us about what happened to these two people?" I was feeling irritated that they weren't getting it, so I took a breath to calm myself down. I looked around, and saw that they were waiting for me to tell them. To hell with that, I thought to myself.

"All right. Myron, what do you have?" I asked, moving the meeting along.

"Lainie and I tried to get financial data, sir." said Myron. "It was... surprisingly difficult."

"Go ahead and tell all of us." I said, knowing Myron was essentially 'asking' if I wanted this to be private or not.

"Sir," said Myron, "we normally can run a name or social security number and get credit card information just like that. But nothing for either Carla or Roger Eldon. It looks like the data was being withheld. I had to do a workaround. Since it's Christmas, most banks issuing credit cards keep point-of-sale records for a few weeks, then backup and archive the data and clear out the servers. So I was able to get something, and when Detective Warner said the school teachers said Jimmy liked drones, I did a cross-check."

Myron showed the data on the screen. "Jimmy's parents bought him a drone for Christmas, from an online site. One of the newer models, but not one of the super-souped-up models." He showed the specs for the drone system.

"Pretty decent range." I said. "Has attachments for videocameras and a transmitter to send back the pictures, where an attachment on the controller records the video."

"Yes sir." Myron said. "They use these on golf courses, and disc golf courses, to map the holes to show video viewers. They can also do surveillance, but these aren't the quiet drones, which are much more expensive."

"Anything else of interest on the credit cards?" I asked.

"No sir." said Myron. "Just clothes, books, food, normal household stuff. As to their overall finances, Roger was an A/V tech at KXTC, but was laid off a few years ago along with a pretty good number of people there. He started a videography consulting business, which did fairly well. He taught Police of many jurisdictions classes on setting up surveillance cameras and cameras in their cars, but was not hired by the Police Academy when he applied to teach there on a permanent basis. He also advised video companies that shoot movies and such things, but that work was sporadic and dried up. He took a job with K-Mart to help make ends meet."

"Carla Eldon was a librarian in the County High School system, working mostly at the elementary school level." continued Myron "Did volunteer work helping to teach reading to illiterate adults. They were members of Second Baptist Church, but went irregularly."

"So," said Myron, "their finances were okay, but not great. Like the situation with the credit cards, I'm struggling to get their credit reports, but I have ways to keep trying on that, so I'll let you know when I get something."

"Anything at all from the GPS in the car?" I asked.

"The car didn't have GPS technology, sir. And no cellphone has been found." said Myron.

"All right." I said. "Tell me about these people, Detective Warner." Joanne went through what she and Theo had learned from their interviews.

"Okay, good job talking to these people as quickly as you did." I said. "And a good plan in not telling them that the family is dead, unless they already knew it. So, what's your current plan of action, Detective Warner?"

"Interview more co-workers and friends, if we can find them." said Joanne. "See if we can find a motive for wiping this entire family out." I nodded, saying nothing, and Cindy dismissed the meeting.

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

"Is it just me," Joanne said quietly as she and Theo returned to their desks, "or is the Commander acting kind of weird today?"

"I dunno." said Theo. "I think he's pushing you some, and that's because he wants you to succeed and he knows you're capable. But to your point, he does seem to have something on his mind, distracting him."

"Think it was that poor dog?" asked Joanne, who was also sad for the pet that likely had died defending his home from the intruders.

"I think he took that in stride." said Theo. "It may be all this political crap going on."

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

"Got a minute?" Cindy said as she came in.

"For you, always." I said. "Whassup?"

"You've been a bit tough on Joanne today." Cindy said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." I said, exhaling. "Yeah, I guess I have been harder on her than I should be."

"So, you never did say what it was about the kid being shot at a distance from his father was about." Cindy said. I turned and glared at her pretty hard.

"No, and I'm going to let them stew over that for a bit." I said. "It's pretty damn obvious to me what happened, and it should be for them, too. And you."

"Well, from what I'm seeing," said Cindy, not rising to the bait, "they weren't killed at that location. Their bodies were dumped there. So I'm wondering if they were kidnapped, taken somewhere, killed, then brought back... or... naah, never mind. Doesn't make sense."

"You know," I said, "I'm just not hearing the right questions being asked." Cindy peered at me. I peered back.

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

"So, let's think about what the Commander obviously is seeing that we aren't." said Joanne. "It's pretty clear the man and boy were not shot side by side. So the boy was brought back and laid beside his father."

"But there was no blood at the scene or in the area." said Theo. "So they were brought in from somewhere else."

"Hmmm." said Joanne. "Maybe I should call Captain Perlman and ask for some soil analyses on the car... ohhhhh... shit!"

Hearing the beautiful, sweet, religious Joanne Warner curse like that was stunning. Theo blinked and peered up at her as she said "The car was washed down. Totally washed down. And the tires were wiped at the scene. There's no soil to analyze!"

"That's true." said Theo, thinking about it. "Now why go through all that?"

"They really did not want us to know where they came from... which is likely where the original crime scene is." said Joanne. "So that's a question." She got up and wrote it on the whiteboard: 'Original Crime Scene?' and 'Why cover up so hard?'.

Part 5 - Making The Rounds

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded MILF from in front of City Hall at 7:00am, Tuesday, January 9th. "Fox Two News is bringing you continuing coverage of the murderous spree that wiped out an entire family!"

Bettina said "The Eldon family, Roger, Carla, and their son Jimmy, were all found dead yesterday. Roger and Jimmy were found in a farm field in the southwest part of the family, and when Police went to the Eldon home, they found Carla Eldon dead of multiple gunshot wounds."

Bettina: "Channel Two News has learned that Police do not believe that this was a murder-suicide nor a domestic family incident, but that professional criminals killed the family, possibly as a robbery gone horribly bad. Captain Cindy Ross of the TCPD issued a statement saying that the Police have no new leads and are just beginning their investigation, and ask that any Citizens with information that might help them solve the crime come forward."

Bettina put on her sad face as she said: "Roger Eldon was a former KXTC employee, and a friend of many of us here. He is remembered as a good, family man, and we will miss him, Carla, and their son Jimmy."

Bettina quickly recovered to her 'game face' as she said: "And in State news, SBI Inspector Donald Troy, who is also our Police Commander here, declined to make a statement nor answer any questions about the growing scandal that Governor Val Jared used SBI assets to harass political enemies. Commander Troy has previously stated that he alone initiated the investigation of the women that accused Jared of sexual improprieties, and that he found them to have committed crimes, for which they made plea agreements."

Bettina: "And Governor Jared is firing back at State Senator Maxine Watts, who filed Articles of Impeachment against the Governor and is demanding hearings on the SBI-SIS issue. The Governor says he will reinstate the civil rights lawsuits against BigAgraFoods and other companies for hiring undocumented workers instead of black citizens. However, 'Spike X', whose real name is Sam Smith, who was Jasmine Nix's main assistant and now is the spokesman for the group 'Black Voices Raised', says that blacks see through Jared's pandering, and know he's just substituting one form of racism for another."

Bettina finished up: "And the Legislature was thrown into turmoil when Governor Jared issued a statement saying that he wants to end 'baseline budgeting' in the State Budget. 'Baseline budgeting' is where a base amount of money is allocated for a program, and that amount plus cost increases due to things like inflation are budgeted for the next year. The Governor wants to end that practice and have a Budget that, and I quote, 'works like the budgets of the households of the State', close quote. House Ways and Means Chairman Wilson Hammonds, a Republican, said that the Governor's idea, and I quote, 'just shows Val Jared's lack of mental competence', close quote..."

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

"Wow." said Cindy as we drank coffee in MCD with the Detectives. "Bettina mentioned your previous statement. Did you call her and read her the riot act?"

"Chief Moynahan did." I said. "Well, he talked to Burt West, and my understanding is that it was a very strongly worded one-way conversation, with threats to kick KXTC out of the Police Press Room if they didn't come correct in their reporting about me. And I think we just saw the result."

"Sir," asked Jerome Davis, keeping his voice quiet as if keeping a secret, "what do you think about this civil rights lawsuit business? Does the Governor mean it, or is it a political ploy?"

"Some of both, I'd imagine." I said. "I do agree that one reason that both political parties like illegal immigration is to keep Black citizens jobless and in poverty. I also think the Governor is doing this more to put pressure on BigAgraFoods and Republican politicians that the company gives millions to in generous campaign contributions, if you get my drift."

"You know," said Cindy introspectively, "I'm getting a vibe... that we're going to be hearing about BigAgraFoods again, and soon."

"Possi-blee, possi-blee." I said. "Captain Ross, hold down the fort for the next few hours. I've got to go to Westphalia and the City, make the rounds..."

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

"Well, look what the Wild-cat drug in." said SBI Inspector Britt Maxwell as I came into her office in the SBI complex in Westphalia, south of the City. "I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays." She got up from behind her desk, came around, and planted a warm, wet kiss on my lips. I kissed back, and we enjoyed a few seconds of a deep, tongue-twining kiss.