Fatal Encounters, Chapter 26
by Irv Pliskin
Frank walked out to the sidewalk to wait for Hallen. He felt he had to bring him up to date on his threat scenario. He wasn't sure if Hallen, as straight as he was, would even buy into it. If it wasn’t to Hallen’s liking, he could send him packing as soon as he heard about it. But, he had been very, very pissed with the two guys, and he had wanted to put the fear of God in them. He certainly had with Jimmy. His reaction to the threat was obvious.
Maybe he thought, maybe Hallen will not be too pissed. Maybe if we can use these guys to get a handle on Arnie, the effort will be worthwhile.
Frank had cooled down by the time Hallen arrived and was feeling very contrite about what he had done, and fearful about his future with the detective. But, thinking about it, he was convinced that he would give up his job with the cops, if his actions could help put a scumbag like Arnie in the cooler.
He walked to the car as Jerry parked it, opened the passenger door and got in. “The back up is watching the guys I apprehended while I talk to you,” he said responding to Hallen's questioning look.
“I thought I better bring you up to date before you get in there. Once you get the story, you might not want me around. Thought I'd better tell you first to spare you surprises.”
He told him want he knew, and he explained what he had done. When he had finished he added: “I know we aren't supposed to intimidate or threaten perps, as I did. But I was so pissed, and I thought if I can make them believe we're really going to do it, maybe they will talk.
If you want to send me back to my squad, or bring me up on charges right now, I probably deserve it.”
“Relax Frank. What the hell are you talking about? I don't know what you are saying. A couple of perps making wild charges? Who the hell is gonna listen to them? Not me, certainly. It may not be my style, but anything that works to get a scumbag like Hudson is worth the try. Besides, you have pretty good instincts, much better than most of the cops I meet, so what you're talking about never really happened. Regina was there; did she see any of this? Of course not. Just be circumspect and don’t do something like that in my presence or when somebody else is around. I can't allow it. But I can take advantage of it, you bet.”
“Thanks again, Jerry. Listen I know of an isolated building, storage place really, back up in the woods, not far from here. We can take them there to interrogate them and nobody would ever know.
That would put credence on the idea that we're rogue cops and wouldn't mind blowing them away. What do you think, is it worth the try?”
“I think I just told you don't do anything like that when I'm around. Now how in the world are you going to get them there without an official record? Got a plan?”
“I think the backup team would go along. They would agree that they never saw anything. What we do is get these guys into my car, and blindfold them, so they get the idea that we aren't fooling around here.
I'll disorient them with the driving, and you follow me up there. When we get there, I think you and the other guys are hooded, paper bags with eyeholes will do. We take them inside and scare the living shit out of them. I think that Jimmy, the black guy will spill his guts. And that can help us get to Arnie. How about it? Want me to do it that way.”
“Me? of course not. Like I said, you have good instincts. Why not?”
“Great. I'll set it up with the guys inside, and we'll make this thing happen. I don't think you have to come in at all.”
“Fine, I have to go get some big paper bags. Don't take off until you see me drive by, about ten minutes, okay?”
“Sure thing Jerry. And thanks.”
“For what?” Frank got out of the car, and Jerry drove off.
He walked up the stairs and looked in to the apartment. He looked in and caught the eye of one of the uniformed troopers there. He signaled to him, and the man came out and stood on the porch.
“What's up, babe?”
Frank explained his plan to the cop.
”Look, Seth, you don't have to be part of this. There's a risk that we can get our asses in a sling, so you can butt out. Just keep your mouth shut, is all.”
“Bug out? are you crazy? Hey Godowsky, I believe in varmint control, and if this helps us put Arnie Hudson away, I'm with you. I'll send Paulie out, you can talk to him. I'm pretty sure he'll go along, It's a Goddamn good idea, I think.”
Seth went into the apartment, and sent his partner out.
Frank told him the same story he had told Seth. “Well, Paulie, what do you think?”
“I'm with you Frank. What do you want me to do?”
Frank asked him to send out Regina. While he waited he called for a cab using his cell phone. .
She came out, holding an ice bag to her blackening eye.
“Listen,” he said, “here are the keys to my apartment. You have any money?”
She shook her head no
“Okay, go get your hand bag, just your hand bag. I've called you a cab; I want you to go to my place and park. Stay there 'til I get there. I don't want Arnie to send someone looking for his goons and finding you here.
Here's cab fare. Just lay low, there, will you darling? After I get this all sorted out, I'll tell you what we've done, and we'll go find your car. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes,” she said. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek as the cab came up.
She went into the apartment, got her shoulder bag and he walked her down to the cab, gave the cabbie the address and made sure that he had given her enough money. He stood and watched as the cab took off.
Frank considered the best way to handle what he had to do next. He believed that he had to scare the living daylights out of the two perps, make it seem real and as if he was out of his mind and prepared to kill them. Then, too, he had to get them out of Regina's apartment and into his car without anyone seeing them, or suspecting that something strange was going on or before Arnie Hudson sent people to investigate and find out what had happened to his two goons.
He knew that this was no way for a cop to behave. Cops were supposed to follow rules and laws. But these men had fallen into his hands, and with a little luck, he might be able to get information so he could help Hallen mount an attack against the 'mob' in the area. That would be worth the risk to his career.
He decided he wanted the two strong arm men blindfolded, but getting effective blindfolds might constitute some sort of a problem, and so he decided to look through Regina's apartment and see what he could find that would work. It wasn't necessary for them to be in total darkness. So long as they couldn't see, and had no idea where they were going, that would be sufficiently disorienting. When he found the linen closet he came up with a viable idea. He rummaged through it until he found four pillowcases. He put one case inside another, and pulled it over his head. He was aware of light, but he couldn't see where he was or where he might be going. That would be far easier than blindfolds, he thought, so he fixed a second one the same way.
He decided to use the perp's car. If he got it out of the way, just in case
Arnie sent someone to check, there would be no indication that they had been there, or been taken away.
He walked in and patted Jimmy down. He found two sets of car keys, one he recognized as belonging to Regina, and the other could be for the perps’ car. He looked Jimmy in the eye.
“Okay, Jimmy, what car did you drive here?”
Jimmy was quiet for a moment, and then decided it would be best if he told him.
“That there big black Dodge van out front. Figured we could hide the bitch better in a van
than in a car, she give us any trouble.”
Frank punched him in the nose, which began to bleed.
“Don't call that woman a bitch, stupid. Every time you call her a name, I'm gonna poke you on the nose, 'til I break it.”
“Hey man”, Jimmy said, “my nose is bleeding. Let me cover it so it stops.”
“Forget it,” Frank said. “let it bleed. You gonna need a new shirt anyhow when I'm through with you. If you end up in a coffin, you'll go in shirtless, so don't worry about it.”
He took the car keys and went out to check the van. It was full of gas, and there was plenty of room in the back for the two perps to lie down, and not be seen or able to see out.
Actually, the one way colored glass made it hard for anyone to see into the vehicle, but car glass always lets the viewer see out, so he knew that he would have to have the guys lying down, heads and eyes covered so they would be totally disoriented.
He gave the two cops one of the pillowcase covers, and instructed them to cakewalk Roger out to the van, so no one would see the handcuffs. He instructed them to make Roger crawl in the back, feet to the front. Once he was in, then they were to pull the pillowcase over his head like a slipcover. One was to watch him in the van and the other was to come back so they could do the same to Jimmy.
Frank and his partner made Jimmy crawl into the back headfirst. Seth slammed the door, climbed into the back seat of the van, and slipped the pillowcases over Jimmy's head. Now neither men could see out at all.
Light filtered in through the pillowcases, but even if they were to sit up, they would have no idea where they were going, or where they were.
“Okay, Seth,” Frank said. “If it is okay with you, you ride shotgun and keep these bastards lying down as we go to the slaughter house. And Paulie will follow us in your car. I can leave my car here. No way anyone will connect it with anything. Okay with you?”
“Suits me fine. I'll just sit in the back seat and watch that those guys don't move a muscle.”
“Great.”
“Have you ever worked with the exterminator squad at the slaughter house, Seth?”
“No, Frank. I would have liked to, but they never let me go. I was jealous as hell when I heard that you had been included in a couple of wipeouts. You get used to knocking them off, don't you?”
“Yeah,” Frank said. “That's how I know where it is. Do you remember those two bank robbers that shot up that bank in Hazelton a couple of years ago?”
”Oh yeah,” Seth said, going along with the story, “the one where two teenaged kids got killed?”
“Yeah, that's right.”
“Well nobody ever caught them, did they?”
“Not that we ever told anybody. We got them in a roadblock we ran out on Route 80, heading west. They had the money with them, so we decided to save the state a lot of money. We took them to the slaughterhouse, and worked them over real good. Kept them there for about a week, teaching them what was what, and then, remember Robby Robberts?”
“Yeah sure, the cop who had a heart attack and died about six weeks ago?”
“Yeah, that's him. Well, he decided that those guys didn't need to live no more, and that the state didn't need to pay for a trial. So he went out there one morning and really made them suffer. Shot them both in the balls, and let them sit and bleed to death. Took a full day of agony. Both of them are buried out there someplace. Nobody will ever find them. I think one of them was still breathing when they dumped him into the hole. Least that's what I heard. Served the bastard right, wouldn't you say?”
“Is that what you have in mind for these guys?” Seth asked.
“Yeah, I think that might work pretty good. What do you think? Of course, if they cooperate, I might be able to do them some good. Hallen is pretty pissed though, and might not listen. Tough part about this is that we gotta get rid of a nice set of wheels like this. It’ll go over one of those high spots on the Pike, headed west, and burn to nothing but a heap of metal. We’ll see to it. Too bad, it’s a pretty nice ride.”
Jimmy was moaning out loud by this time. The tale had really impressed him, and he was muttering under his breath, begging almost.
They ignored him.
A horn honked. It was Hallen. He indicated he was ready.
Frank put the van in gear, turned up the volume on the soft rock station, just in case Jimmy made a lot of noise and moved out to the highway. Hallen followed him.
The three-car convoy drove down the highway, and then on to bumpy side roads. They turned and turned again, making sure that there would be no way the perps in the back of the van could trace their trip.
When Frank was sure they were properly confused, he drove to the garage he had picked out for the next step in the interrogation process.
The convoy arrived at the spot Hallen and Godowsky had selected, a rather remote garage in the outskirts of Mt. Pocono,
Jimmy and Roger were taken inside, still with the pillowcases over their heads so they had no idea where they were. They were handcuffed to wall posts. Once they were securely fastened to the walls, Frank signaled to Seth to follow him outside so they could talk, unheard by the two men. They leaned against the van to talk.
Seth was grinning widely. “Godowsky you have one hell of an imagination. What a story you spun for those two. You know, it seemed to me that they bought the entire thing, hook, line and sinker.
I think they believed it, really believed it.”
Frank patted Seth on the shoulder. “Buster you aren’t too bad yourself. A guy with less imagination would have really goofed things up, and could have blown the entire thing away. I think we did a good job of impromptu, and I thank you for the help.”
“Well, what happens now?”
“I think we will let them sit there until it gets dark, and it gets dark as hell here. We’ll keep the pillowcases on their heads for a while longer. It will keep them disoriented. Then we’ll let them eat something, singly, and we may let them go to the bathroom. It depends on what Jerry says. Then we’ll strip them, and rechain them up so they can move around a little, and possibly sit down. Next, we set up a CD player and play music over and over again all night long. Nothing more will happen until the morning, and then we’ll interrogate them individually. I’ve got a place in mind, underground that will scare the piss out of them. We get them in there, pull the cover over it, and boy, you think you are in the grave, you really do. Then we’ll see what information we can get.”
“Can I be a part of this?” Seth asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll check with Hallen, see what he says. We’re going to have to set up a detail to watch this place all night, and to listen to what they say. Would you be available for that?”
“Hell yes. Any thing. This is a blast.”
When she walked into his hotel room, Carl really liked Rouget, as girls go.
She was straightforward, she was as she had said a real redhead. And she hadn’t tried to fancy herself up, the way some women did.
He liked her, and that was good for her. He would take no steps to knock her off. He hadn’t planned to, anyway, but as they made love she was genuine in her responses. She responded and made some slight suggestions of what he could do to make it better for her, and then she responded by doing her best to satisfy him. He had, of course, given her a drink, loaded with sleeping potion and was watching as she became more and more languorous.
She was impressed, when twenty minutes after their first love making session he seemed ready to try again. “Wow”, she said, “You have a lot of stamina. And that’s good. Of course, I’m ready. I’m always ready. They tell me I’m a horny bitch. I think that’s one of the reasons I like this work. I don’t often get a guy who can do me as well as you do, so it’s a good day for me. Thanks to you.”
But, because of the massive dose of sleeping pills, by the time they had finished their second romp, she was very drowsy and said, “I hope it is okay with you if I nod off a moment or two. I’m suddenly very sleepy. You really give a girl a time and it tires her out. May I sleep a little?”
“Sure,” he said, “go ahead.”
He wanted her soundly asleep. If she was, he thought he might be able to try what he always did when he had killed them: final coitus.
Maybe it would be just as satisfactory with a comatose woman. He needed to find out, for his own information.
But, since he knew he made a lot of noise in that situation, shouting at the dead body and deriding it, he picked up the TV remote and turned the set on to drown his noise out.
When the picture came on, he was startled. He was looking at his picture. His face filled the entire screen. The announcer was saying,
“South Jersey police are searching for this man for questioning in the bizarre killing of an exotic dancer in Bellwood. The dancer was found nude in the trunk of her car in an adult bookstore parking lot. If you see this man, do not approach him. He is considered armed and very dangerous. Call the police...an award has been posted.”
“Shit,” Carl said. Roguet was out cold, so she would not have seen it. “Jesus Christ.” me muttered, “How do these guys know so quick that I’m in the area. I better get the fuck out of here right now. He pulled on his clothes, packed his bag, and five minutes later he was behind the wheel of his rental moving down route 38.
The hotel clerk had the TV in the reception room, tuned to the same station. He looked up from his work, and saw the image of Carl on the screen.
He punched up the sound in time to hear that the man was armed and dangerous, He decided to act after thinking about it for a few minutes. He picked up his phone and called the Cherry Hill Police.
When they answered he told the operator who he was, and that he believed that he had registered the man that was just on the screen on channel 6, in the Days Inn hotel.
The officer was a bit skeptical at first, but when the clerk insisted he was right, he decided to send a couple of cars to the area to check it out.
Five minutes later, three minutes after Carl had turned right out of the parking lot into the East Bound Route 38 traffic, two police cars pulled into the lot and up to the Day’s Inn office.
The clerk gave them the room number and a key and they armed themselves, put on body armor, and stood either side of the room door. At a headshake, one of the cops tried the hotel room door. It was unlocked. Squatting he pushed the door open, and stepped into the room.
The other officers followed quickly, and checked out the room. The only occupant was the sleeping redheaded woman. Uncovered, stretched out, on her back, and sound asleep.
The TV was blaring, but Carl was gone.
One of he policeman pulled the blankets up over the girl, taking a good long look at her before he covered her to preserve her dignity. Another made sure she was sleeping, and then tried to awaken her by shaking her shoulder. She merely groaned and slept more deeply.
Even a wet cloth didn’t seem to help much. She moaned and stayed asleep.
“She acts like she’s drugged,” one of the cops said.
“Probably is. But we better get the EMT’s here to check her out.”
They went through the room looking for clues, but all they found was the woman’s clothing and her hand bag with the money envelope in it.
Her driver’s licensee identified her as Rouget Willson with an address in Williamstown.. And that was all.
Before they could get any information, they knew they would have to wait for her to wake up. It might be a long wait. She was that deeply asleep.
Carl decided that it would be smarter to get off the main road, although it wasn’t likely that the cops knew he was here, yet, he felt certain that they would pretty soon. If his picture had been on one TV channel, it might have been on others, and he knew that the desk clerk kept a TV running in his office.
It wasn’t likely that the cops would set up a roadblock on a major highway; that would be too disruptive. But they might increase patrols, and they might spot him by his car or license plate. He knew that he had to get another car, and change his appearance. So at the first traffic light, he turned right.
He was on a street called Chapel Avenue, and he remembered it from his youthful days in the area. It was a major street running through a variety of subdivisions and developments: somewhere along here, he remembered there was a racetrack.
He knew the area. It was the closest affluent area to Camden where he had grown up in a variety of foster homes. He remembered none of them with kindness; they all seemed to take advantage of him as he grew up. He was forced to do all sorts of chores, and was subjected to many insults, and sometimes even, abusive sexual practices.
He did get food, a place to sleep and clothing, but he never felt love or affection or even caring from any of them. After he enlisted in the Navy, and finished his boot camp, he had some time off.
He had heard that San Francisco was a great liberty town. It boasted lots of willing girls and not too many shore patrols. He was going to red-eye it there for his liberty before he reported to his first duty station in San Diego.
Four hours before his flight, in the bitter dark of Camden, he went back to the last house he had lived in, and using a delayed fuse he set it afire. He never hung around to find out the results It was gratifying enough to know that he had, in some manner, paid them back.
He knew something about Cherry Hill, when he was fourteen or so, he used to hang around the area and rip off cars and occasionally burglar some homes so he had walking around money. Oh yes, he knew it that way.
To his dismay, the racetrack he remembered was gone. It was now just a large field, being cleared for something. He had no idea what.
He continued down Chapel, past the high school he remembered and the hospital, where as he had heard sick people went in, but never came out. He had heard a rumor, no doubt false, that four different funeral parlors had sales booths there and they bid for the opportunity to get to the patients, first sometimes even before they breathed their last.
It had, of course, been more than twenty-five years since he had been in the town, and he was certain that things had changed. But it still looked pretty much the way it had all those years ago.
He came to King’s Highway, a major street, and turned again, right this time and just cruised along looking at things. When he passed a big store with a sign that said Theatrical Costumes, with a sub title ‘You bring us the script, we’ll dress you up in class.’ he experienced a flash of inspiration.
Maybe this was a way to change his look, change the way he appeared and confuse the cops.
He walked into the costume store, and a young woman, with a nametag that said Hannah on it walked up to him. She was pert, not yet twenty he guessed. He smiled and she said to him
“What kind of costume are you looking for, sir? I’ll be happy to direct you.”
Hmm, he thought. Not the usual ‘can I help you nonsense’ - this girl must be pretty smart. I don’t think they teach them anything but can I help you. And if they do, they are usually too embarrassed to try it”
“Hannah,” he asked. “Do you know what a Chassidic Jew is? What they wear?”
“Yes sir, I do. I'll be happy to show you such a costume.”
She walked to a rack and took from it a long flowing coat, a flat hat, a shirt without a collar. ”This is basically it, sir. It rents for $90 a night. Would you like to try it?”
“Well, what else goes with it?”
“To look authentic you have to have sideburns and wear a prayer shawl. They call it a tallis, under your coat. The tassels of the prayer shawl, they call them the tistkas have to hang out. I can’t rent you the wig, or the facial hair. You would have to buy them because of health reasons.”
“Okay. Can i buy the whole thing? The costume the wig, everything?
“I don’t know. I have to check. Just a moment, please.”
She came back in a few moments. “Yes sir, you may. The entire outfit would cost you $575 dollars. Shall I see if it fits and wrap it up for you?”
“You know, Hannah, you’re a pretty smart kid. How do you know to sell like that?”
”I thought about how it should be done,” she said, “and figured it out”.
“Didn’t they tell you to do it that way?”
“No sir, they didn’t. I just figured it out. Will that be cash or charge?”
”You won’t take a check?”
”Yes sir, we will, but you have to have the proper ID. The boss wants a lot of it. Cash or charge is easier.”
“Cash, then. Will Cash do?”
“Absolutely, nothing better.”
“Fine. Hannah, how come you are not in school somewhere? You seem too smart to be working here as a career. Your dad own the place?”
”No, sir. I just work here until the next semester when I go to college.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“Columbia, in New York City.”
“I’m impressed. How come you aren’t there now?”
“I wanted to go there, and I decided to wait. I could have gone elsewhere.”
“I’m sure you could.”
“Shall I wrap that up for you sir?”
“No, not yet. I want to consider a priest’s outfit too. Can you fix me up with one of them?”
”Yes, you don’t mean the church robes, do you?”
“No, the black suit, black shoes, the dickey, I guess it is, with the reverse collar, and the soft fedora.”
“Yes sir. That would be over here.” She led him in that direction.
“Can you sell me this outfit too? The play we’re working on is down on the Eastern shore, and rental would be a real pain.”
“Yes sir, I think so. I have to check of course.”
She came back and told him that he could buy that too. “Another $475.”
“Great he said. “Wrap it up.”
He paid her, and as he was getting ready to walk out he turned to her and said, “Can you tell me how to get to the airport from here? Is it very far?”
“No it isn’t sir. You can be there in less than half an hour.” She gave him the directions. He thanked her and left.
He had decided that since he had to make a car swap, the easiest way to do it was at the Philadelphia Airport. He would drop the car at Hertz, and take a car from Avis or one of the other rentals.
If he used a different credit card and ID he might throw them off his trail for a little while.
