Fatal Encounters, Chapter 29
by Irv Pliskin
“Not a problem,” Hallen said with a smile
“Do you have someone in mind, or do you need a court appointed one?
You can make one call to whomever you choose.”
“Just give me a phone you bastard. Give me a phone I know who to call,” Frauder snarled.
Sheriff Amos walked to a side table, picked up a phone with a long cord and handed it to Frauder. Frauder picked up the hand set , dialed furiously.
The phone was answered. “Let me speak to the Mayor,” he said.
“What do you mean who is this?”
“Alma, you know God damn well who this is. Let me speak to him, right now.
I don’t give a shit that he’s in a meeting, I got to talk to him now.”
A moment passed, and then Frauder said, “Bertram, this is Garth.
Garth who? Frauder, you know that. Don‘t play games with me, I’m not in the mood for games. Listen, I’m being held by the cops in some damn little town just beyond
Allentown. Lenhardtsville. I want you to be my lawyer and get me the fuck out of here.”
As the cops watched,Frauder’s face fell.
“What do you mean you won’t be my lawyer? You practice criminal law when you’re not trying to be a half baked mayor. I need a criminal lawyer. These guys have broken all the rules. They just now Mirandized me. Damnit, get me outta here. “
There were some more words, and the police could hear the dial sound from the telephone. The mayor had hung up.
Frauder sat stunned, and then he dropped his head to the table, and they could hear him cry. He was sobbing as if he had lost someone near and very dear. Amos gave a shake of his head and gestured to the door. They all left the room, leaving Frauder alone still cuffed to the unmovable steel chair.
Amos closed the door.
“All calls on that phone are recorded. Let’s hear what the mayor had to say, okay?”
They went into Amos’ office, and he punched some buttons on a keyboard on his desk. They monitored the entire conversation. They heard Frauder say he wanted the Mayor to act as his lawyer. The answer surprised them.
“Frauder, you son of a bitch,” the mayor said. “I was hoping you wouldn’t have the balls to call me, or that if we all got lucky you were dead and couldn't call anybody anymore. But since you have called, let me tell you this.
“One, we checked the books and our records once they picked you up the other day. And you, you miserable son of a bitch have been stealing from the township big time. I’ve got the proof and I’m gonna prosecute you for that. That ‘dirt’ you claim to have in your file, I let myself be bamboozled by you. Doesn’t mean a damn now. I have you where the hair is short on all kinds of real charges. And that girl you were screwing around with, she’s my niece, my sister’s daughter. So, brother if I ever see you, I’m gonna have your balls cut off. Get it. Actually, the cops better move you soon, I’m gonna call her dad and tell him where you are, and he’s prepared to storm that jail, and lynch you. I won’t stop him. Better get yourself someone else to represent you, you prick. It won’t be me or anyone I know.”
Then he hung up the phone. The cops could hear it smash down, and the dial tone come on.
The state policemen looked at the Sheriff. He shook his head in disbelief.
“Can you get him someplace else, Jerry? I sure don’t want to deal with no riots here.”
“Sure can. Put him in irons, have his hands cuffed behind him, and we’ll take him with us. We have some guys we have to talk to in the back woods, and then we’ll get him to Scranton or Wilkes Barre, bigger jails where they will be able to handle a problem if it should come up. We’re going to have to get him some legal help, too. But that can wait. Let’s get him out of here. Frank, go get the car gassed up, and I’ll get whatever paper work they need here to have him released in our custody.”
He threw the keys to Frank, who caught them and hurried out of the room.
Hallen turned to the sheriff. “Thanks Perry. I appreciate the help. Why don’t you call over to the mayor and tell him I have the bum and we’re moving him out of your jail. That should call off any craziness by the dad and his cohorts. If he doesn’t buy what you tell him, give me a call on my cell--here’s the number,”--he wrote it down--”and I’ll call over there and see what I can do to pour oil on troubled waters. “
Hallen stood up and walked out of the office. He stopped at the door and turned. “Perry, you got a scatter gun we can borrow? It might not hurt to have some extra weapons with us.“
“Sure, Jerry.” Sheriff Amos walked to a locked closet, opened it and took out a double barrel pump gun. He handed it to Jerry with three boxes of double 0 buckshot. “This should do you. Get it back when you can.”
Frank pulled the unmarked unit into the garage, and called up to the Sheriff on the radio. “Sheriff, please tell Detective Hallen that I’m in the garage and waiting. Does he want me to come up?”
“No, you’re okay the way you are. Just wait, we’ll be down with the prisoner in a few moments.”
Sheriff Amos and Hallen came into the garage, leading Frauder whose hands were cuffed behind him, and who wore a chain around his waist, and ankle chains attached to it. He wasn’t much danger to the two policemen, but they thought it would be best to keep him secure while they drove. They left his hands behind his back. If they were cuffed in front of him, he might cause problems even though he was restrained. It was not unheard of that a cuffed man, sitting in the back seat of a car had attempted to choke the driver or crash the vehicle. They sensed that Frauder was now desperate enough to attempt something like that. So they kept him shackled. They really didn’t want to have to shoot him. Not yet, anyway.
The Sheriff and Hallen put Frauder in the back seat of the car, and then Hallen reached in, pulled the seat belt into place and snapped it shut.
“Hey, whadda ya doin?” Frauder asked. “Undo that belt. I can’t move at all. Open the belt, god damn it, I can’t move.”
“Sorry,” Hallen said. “Regulations demand that you be strapped in. We can’t move unless you are. This is for your own safety.” Frauder was about to say something more, when Hallen put his face down close to him and hissed..”If you don’t shut the hell up, I’ll tape your mouth shut. So just sit there and be quiet. Get it?”
Frank put the car in gear, and they rolled out of the garage. Hallen needed to call in their departure, but decided to use his cell phone instead of the two way radio. You never know who might be listening to police radio, he reasoned, and at this point in time this whole business needed to remain absolutely private. No need to take a chance with the story getting out early.
As they pulled into the main street of town, headed towards route 22, Hallen looked up from dialing his office on the cell to see a man who walked in a way that was somewhat familiar. He watched him get into a Lincoln Town Car, trying to decide where he knew him from. The man was dressed like an Orthodox Jew, and Hallen really didn’t know any Chassidic Jews.
He was puzzled, and noted that the color of the Lincoln was the same as the rental they were to keep their eye out for. But the license plate he was sure was different. He jotted the number down, and watched the big car back out of the diagonal parking space and turn in the opposite direction.
“Why does that guy look familiar?” he wondered. And then he remembered, the kid in Cherry Hill at the costume store said that Rogers had bought an Orthodox Jew’s costume. Could that be it?
No, no way. That would be much too much of a coincidence. He picked up the radio and called into the traffic bureau just to check the plates on the Lincoln.
“Hey,” he said. “Jerry Hallen, state police. Wants and warrants on this number please. He read off the number. In a few minutes the operator came back and said...”That’s a 2001 Chevy four door. No wants , no warrants.”
Startled, Hallen sat up straight. “Say again please”
“2001 Chevy, four door. No wants, no warrants.”
“Holy Christ,” Hallen said aloud. “Stop the car, Frank. Do a one eighty, Turn around and drive the other way.”
Frank heard the urgency in is voice, flipped on the lights and the siren, and moved quickly into the gap in the traffic.
“Turn the lights off,” Hallen said. “And go down this road. We’re looking for a dark Gray Lincoln Town car, with a guy dressed up as a Chassidic Jew driving it. He was going in this direction when I saw him.”
Frank thought about it for a minute, and he understood instantly what Hallen was saying. Driving sedately, but alertly, he asked, “What happened boss? Do you think you saw that Rogers bastard way up here?”
“I don’t know,” Jerry said. “But I saw a guy who walked familiarly get into a Lincoln, color of the guys’ rental. You know. So I checked the plates for wants and warrants, and they were issued to a 2001 Chevy, not a Town Car. It could be the guy, lets spend a few minutes looking.”
“Sure thing, Boss,” Frank said, and cruised slowly down the street, He looked carefully at all the vehicles in the long line of bird watching traffic that clogged the town’s streets.
Neither Jerry or Frank saw Rogers turn his car to the right and go around a good sized block so he could head towards route 22. They drove to the end of the business district and down the highway for a mile or so, and saw nothing. They turned around and headed back in their original direction towards the interstate.
When they passed the Northeast State bank, they couldn’t know that Rogers was inside the bank, opening a safe deposit box, withdrawing cash to add to his dwindling supply of dollars.
Jerry decided to call in an alert, however. He called his office and had them issue a bulletin to the effect that it was possible that serial killer Rogers was in the Allentown area of Pennsylvania. He decided to see if he could get some additional TV coverage in their effort to catch the man. He called the sketch artist and asked him to please alter the photo they had, but adding sideburns, a flat hat and a scraggly beard.
It might be well worth the effort, he thought.
Frauder, in the back seat of the car, spoke up.”You guys looking for Carl Rogers? It’s possible you could've seen him here in town. He’s got a business here.”
“What?” Hallen asked. “Whadda ya mean, a business here? What kind of a business?”
“One of those pack it ship it and mail room businesses. That’s what he's got..”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, they had to file papers on it. He’s a silent owner, the registration papers came through my office, and I remarked on it. I wondered why a guy with all that money needed another business...”
”Where is this place, do you know?”
“Nope, somewhere on Main street. But I know he got one.”
“You’re not crapping around, are you Frauder. This is for real?”
“Why would I crap around about that? Yeah, it’s for real. If I’m doing you a favor, is there anything in it for me.?”
“Maybe, said Hallen. Tell me more.”
“Sorry that’s all I know. Except that there’s a lawyer in Bethlehem that is supposed to own the place. I don’t know how the details work. But i know that much.”
“Do you know the lawyer?”
“No, but I think I can remember the guy’s name. Let me think about it. You don’t wanna hassle that Rogers guy. He has a lot of important friends. He’s loaded, too. Ever see that big house and estate he has up there in the Poconos? Really something, that is.”
“Important friends?” Hallen asked, “Like who?”
“Well there’s Sheriff Jefferson, he’s a good friend and guy with a lot of clout.”
“That’s good to know.” Hallen said. “Thanks.” He wondered to himself, ‘where has this guy been? Doesn’t he know that we have Jefferson in custody and we want Rogers for Murder? Probably not. Or why would he tell us all this?”
Hallen also realized that Rogers was his obsession. It meant a lot to him, but it might not mean very much to anyone else. He thought about it for a moment. Jesus, he thought,somewhat amused. I’m getting to be like Jean Valjean. I have to watch that.
“Well, if Carl Rogers was here, we must have missed him,” Hallen said.
“Let’s get up to the garage location where the boys are holding Roger and Jimmy, those two strong arm guys that work for Arnie Hudson.”
“Yes sir,” Frank said. He moved a little faster down the highway to the interstate.
Hallen kept looking as they drove through the town. He saw nothing he would consider suspicious or that led him to believe Rogers was nearby. The feeling that he had seen the warped serial killer was certainly present, but he didn’t know how to find out for real.
What Frauder had said was interesting. They would have to check it out,
They would certainly get the name of the lawyer from Frauder, even if they had to make him some promise of leniency, and then investigate the lawyer and circumstances.
Hallen sat back and thought about Jean Valjean. This is a hell of a lot worse than a stolen loaf of bread, he thought. But of course that was fiction and this is for real. And that was a different time, too. Victor Hugo was making an entirely different point with Les Miserables. But I can’t let an obsession run away with my judgment. I really do have to watch it and not get so caught up with the Rogers bastard that I lose my sense of perspective.
An hour later, Frank pulled the unmarked unit into the farm area where they had stashed the two men Arnie had sent to hassle Regina and bring her back to work at Dream Girls.
In a way, Hallen felt guilty that he had left the men up there. If he could get them to talk, he would be able to make really strong strides in improving the crime scene in the area. Their boss was involved in a lot of shady actions and getting him was really more important than getting Rogers might be. Rogers may be a one man crime spree, but these guys worked for a very elusive crime boss, whose irons were in rackets all over the area. Arnie was very careful how he operated, and Hallen would be very very happy if he and his team could get a handle on him and possibly bring him in for trial. That would be a feather in their cap, it sure would.
That was why Hallen had risked real problems by keeping the men outside of the regular system. He had the goods on the two hoods. He could get them for attempted kidnapping, assault and battery and a host of other crimes. He hoped he could break one of them down and get some incriminating information that could be used against Arnie Hudson. He was going to try hard. This was too good an opportunity to miss.
Hallen and Godowsky had brought the two miscreants to a large warehouse type building and called in a couple of other cops to watch them. The complex they had chosen also had a building that had small closed in rooms, without windows, but furnished with a bed and a chair for people to crash in. There were several of these rooms in the facility, and the officers watching the two strong arm men decided to use them for housing. They moved the men to the second building, separated them, and stood guard outside the rooms.
Although it was not actually the case, the situation was as if the men were in solitary confinement. They could leave the rooms to go to the bathroom, and when the cops brought in meals, they could all eat together in one big room. But the staties felt it was easier to control the two hoods if they were kept apart, and that is what they did.
This second building was behind a sand of trees, not visible from the first building. When Frank and
“What the hell is going on?” Hallen asked. “Where are the cops and those guys. Do you think we’ve had an escape and they took our guys and the vehicles and left?” There was a sound of true concern and panic in his voice.
“No boss, I don’t think so. I doubt it. Let me check.”
Frank took his cell from his pocket, checked his note book and dialed a number he had written there.
The phone rang twice, and was answered by Seth, the trooper whose personal phone it was. “Thomas,” he said.
“Hey, Seth, where the hell are you?” Godowsky asked. “Are you all right?”
“Sure, why wouldn't I be?”
“Well , you’re not where we left you, where the hell are you?”
“Oh, sorry. We moved down the road about l00 yards, right behind the stand of trees there’s another building on this place, and that seemed better for us than the one you left us in. We‘re there.”
“Man, you gave us a a start. We thought you had been overrun or taken
hostage or something. You guys are okay?”
“Sure are. Just follow the road alongside the building, you’ll see the units just behind the trees there.”
“Okay, thanks.” Frank said.
He went back to the car and spoke to Hallen.
“They moved themselves behind the trees up there,” he said pointing. “There’s another building they thought would be better for them, so they moved in there.”
“Christ,” Hallen said, “I was really upset. I was afraid that something had happened to them. I didn’t know this spread had another building. Did you?”
“No, I didn’t,” Frank said. “But everyone is okay. Everything seems to be under control. Relax boss it’s not a problem, they would have told me if was. Let’s go check it out.”
He got in the car, put it in gear and rolled slowly down the gravel and dirt road. When the road made a sharp left turn behind the trees, he came up on low slung cinder block building, with just a few front windows. The state police unit was parked in front, out of view of passers by or curious eyes.
Hallen surveyed the scene. “Hey,” he said, “this is a darn good hiding place, I never even knew it existed. Let’s go check things out.”
Frank pulled the car up in front of the building. Hallen opened his door and got out. He stretched, and looked into the back seat of the car, and spoke to Frauder.
“I suspect you have need of a bathroom, don’t you?”
“I sure do. My damn teeth are floating.”
“Okay, I’ll get you to one, but if you so much as twitch or try any funny stuff, I’ll kick your ass from here to Harrisburg. You got that? We’re holding a couple of guys in there, prior to arraignment. You say anything at all to them I’m apt to get pretty pissed off. And, Garth, baby, if I get pissed off today, I might just blow you away. No problem. We have lots of histories of perps trying to escape who have gotten killed by anxious Troopers. Want to be a statistic? Just screw up and then you can kiss your ass goodbye. Got it?”
Frauder looked scared. “I got it he said. No problem, I’ll do just as you say.”
“Okay,” He turned to Godowsky. “Get this low life to a john Frank, and make damn sure he doesn’t do anything funny. You know what I mean?”
“Yes Sir.” Frank said, and unsnapped the flap on his holster. He pulled Frauder from the car and marched him to the locked door of the building. He knocked and Seth came to the door. He let them in and pointed to the bathroom.
Godowsky led Frauder to the john, looked in to determine that the room was completely enclosed, no window to get out of. Instead there was a fan that went on with the light.
“Okay, Garth. Go ahead. I’ll be out here waiting for you. I’ll close the door for your privacy, but don’t lock it, get me?”
“Yeah. Aren’t you going to take the cuffs off so I can go?”
“Not a chance in hell, buddy. You go, you’ll figure out a way, and I’ll be out here. If you take too long, I’ll pull you the hell out of there, and turn you over to the boss. He meant what he said, don’t take chances.”
He pushed Frauder inside and closed the door.
Frank waited outside. He was beginning to get antsy, and was about to open the door to check on Frauder when he heard the toilet flush, and then there was a knock on the inside of the door. Godowsky figured that with his hands in cuffs, the man may not have been able to get the door open, so he went to the door, and carefully turned the knob to open it. As he did so, he stepped to one side, so he could not be seen by the room occupant. The door swung open, but he was behind the cinder block wall, only his hand and arm were visible.
Frauder rushed forward, holding a glass of hot water in both shackled hands. He threw it at the arm, but missed. A stupid attempt at disruption. Frank grabbed the man’s hands, pulled him forward and pushed him face down on the floor. The hot water hit the floor and began to sizzle and smoke. The glass had been full of Drano and it was obvious that Frauder hoped he could damage the cop and perhaps manage to get away.
Godowsky put his foot in the middle of the man’s back, and pressed down. Frauder began to scream: ”Let me up. Let me up.”
“Why? Why should I?
As a matter of fact, I think that what I’ll do is drag you over and push your fucking face down in that stuff. It could blind you idiot. I hope it does.”
He took his foot off Frauder’s back grabbed the collar of his shirt, and started to move him. Frauder yelled louder, so loudly that Hallen poked his head into the room to see what was going on.
“What’s happening Frank?”
‘This stupid son of a bitch filled a glass with water and what seems to be Drano. He threw it at me, but it missed. I was about to rub his face in it, so he could get a taste of what he was trying to do to me.”
“No, don’t do that. Let it go. We’ll get him on a bunch of other things, Besides I need to talk to him about that lawyer that worked with Rogers.”
“But you said you’d shoot him if he screwed up, didn’t you? Shouldn’t you follow through on your threats?”
“As you know, I usually do. But I’ve reconsidered. We’ll wait a while. If he doesn’t cooperate later, we can always blow the bastard away.”
“Okay, you’re the boss. Detective. But I think he’s damned lucky you want to chat with him. I’d have burned his eyes out.”
“Hey, I understand officer. I understand but you have to exercise just a little self control here even if the perp doesn’t. I don’t know what he intended to accomplish in as much as he is handcuffed and leg ironed, but we already know he’s stupid. Crafty and stupid.”
From the floor Frauder asked: “Who the fuck you calling stupid?”
“I’m afraid that your action wasn’t very bright, Frauder.” Hallen said. “What did you accomplish by throwing Drano at my man? That just got him more pissed off at you. And if you piss off a cop you don’t get any slack at all. I don’t think that officer Godowsky will even let you take the cuffs off so you can have lunch. He’d be afraid that you’d try to jab him with a McDonald’s fork. So what you did wasn’t very bright. Do you understand that?”
Frauder grunted something, neither of them could understand what it was.
When he had heard Frauder yelling, Paulie the other state cop watching Roger and Jimmy came over to help. Hallen turned to him.
“Can we stash this guy in an empty room for a while. I need to talk to him, but I have to talk to Roger and Jimmy first. Got a place?”
“Yeah. I do. There are still a couple of secure rooms here. I can put him in one of them. I’ll lock the door. Do you still want him cuffed?”
“Sure do. He’s not very trustworthy, and he’s apt to try something if his hands are free. So keep him the way he is.”
“Okay,” Paulie said.
He and Godowsky lifted the man from the floor, and frog-marched him into one of the empty rooms. Frank checked it out There was nothing there but a bed with a bare urine stained mattress and straight chair. There wasn’t even a door knob on the inside of the door.
“This will do just fine,” Frank said.“ Let’s get the bastard in there. “They pushed Frauder in, and before he closed the door, Frank said to him. “Just sit there and stay quiet. Make any noise and I’ll come back, stuff your mouth with toilet paper, maybe even used toilet paper and tape it shut with Duct Tape. You hear Hallen, pissed off cops can get out of control. And I’m plenty pissed off.”
Neither ferocity or intimidation were an essential part of Hallen's nature. He had encountered lots of cops in his time who took great pleasure in scaring the public half to death, and in intimidating people. He seriously disliked that kind of man, and what they seemed to think was the essential part of police work.
He had not planned to be a cop. As a kid he had not dreamed of a life as a policeman or a fireman or as an airline pilot. It was his intention to become a college professor, teach English at a prestigious college like Lafayette or even Swarthmore.
But, he took an elective one semester in Criminology and was hooked. Hallen was a big man, big and strong and athletic so he fit the profile and was able to pass the tests and become a State Trooper. But he was generally restrained and used intellect rather than intimidation to get his cases solved. That tendency had been recognized quite early in his career, and it was valued. So he progressed quickly through the police roles, and moved within just a few years from a patrol car to solving crimes as a detective.
But, he felt that when dealing with Frauder he would have to change his tactics. He would have to be forceful, threatening and overbearing. His first decision was to let him sit in the room for a while, alone and isolated with the threat that Frank had made about gagging him hanging in the air. He would, in the meantime, deal with Jimmy and Roger.
One of Hallen's college interests had been theater. He had loved to act, and had done very well as the lead in several of the college plays. He would also like to act in the little theater group in his township, but his schedule was so erratic that he just could not plan to take a part and then be forced to disappoint everyone because he had to work.
So, he catered to his desire by attending acting classes at the local college and when he could, play a role in the student plays. His acting experience was useful he felt. He could, if needed, act in ways that were not natural to him, and he had used this skill from time to time in interrogations and in interviews with witnesses. Acting, was, he believed, a truly great, and sometime necessary, police skill.
He began to psyche himself up for the role he had to play in dealing with Arnie's boys. He knew he would have to to handle each of them differently. He had called for copies of their records, the rap sheets, while he was en route to Sheriff Amos's office. The records where faxed there, and waiting when he arrived. He had examined them carefully on the way up into the Poconos and he had some idea of the types of thugs he was dealing with.
Roger Malissi, had had, according to his rap sheet, a lot of trouble with the law. He had spent at least ten years in the various Commonwealth prisons. And now, at 32 he had a reputation as an enforcer and a very hard nosed guy.
Hallen felt that talking to him first, would give him some clues as to how to work with Jimmy Frankstone, who had spent only a few months in the county jail. and that only for D&D. If he could push the right buttons, Hallen thought he might get some worthwhile information from Frankstone. His intuition told him that Jimmy was terrified of prison, and that would work very much in Hallen's advantage as he interrogated the man. Jimmy had been the driver, and he had not made as many overt threats to Regina as Roger had. Jimmy had been the easier one to handle, too.
He called over to Godowsky. “Hey Frank. Come look at this guy Roger Frankstone's rap sheet. We got ourselves a habitual offender here. It may not be too easy to break him down, but you and I are going to have a real private conversation with him. Okay with you?”
“Yes sir. Anything special you want me to do?”
“No, I think you familiarize yourself with his career, and then follow my lead in the interrogation. Okay?”
“Yes sir.”
At that moment Frank's cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and flipped it open.
“Yes. Oh, hi darling. Is everything okay? Hold on a moment, please.” He covered the mouthpiece with his hand, “Detective Hallen, are we going in right now, or can I take a moment to talk to Regina. She's on the phone here.
“Take your time, give her my warm regards, please.”
“Yes, thank you.”
He took his hand off the phone mouthpiece , and walked to a corner of the room, speaking in almost a whisper. “How are you? Good, good, I'm happy to hear that. By the way, Detective Hallen sends you his regards.
Yes, I miss you too. You sure everything is okay? Your mom is she okay? Great. Listen, I should be finished here this evening, and I should be back in time for supper. We can go to that steak house out on 22. Would you like that. Good, I'll call you when I can. Yes,” he said. “I do very much..”
Hallen smiled at him. You sound like a guy who has been married forever. Frank blushed. And was about to answer when Hallen said.
“No, no. That's fine. I think that that's fine. Just relax officer, I wasn't making fun of you. Not at all.”
Hallen then walked and looked at the empty rooms that lined the large hall in the center of the building. They were all fairly small, solid cinder block walls, no windows and a hanging light overhead. Each of the rooms held a bed and a chair. There was no other furniture in the rooms.
Hallen turned and looked at Godowsky. “Listen, I don't want to put these two guys into the system just yet. I think I want to interrogate them here, if I can. Let's set up one of these rooms as an interrogation room. We'll have to get the bed out, and put in a table and a couple of chairs. Let's use that room in the far corner, it should be the most sound proof of the lot, don't you think?”
“That should be fine,” Godowsky said. “I'll get it ready for you.”
