Chapter 30

“Did this Lamar have an alibi?” I asked.

“According to him, he was sleeping off a hangover at his girlfriend’s house. She had gone to work as a stock clerk at Walmart,” Addie informed me.

“I’m sorry son. Who are you?” I asked the boy in his mid twenties.

“My name is John,” he said.

“Oh, are you an immigrant?” I asked because of his accent.

“Not exactly, I’m here on a special visa. I’m an unpaid intern from Australia. I’m here to learn about your legal system,” He informed me.

“You would learn more working with a judge,” I stated flatly.

“I know, but those slots all go to US citizens, or outsiders who can buy their way in. This was the best I could do with my background.”

“So what is your background?” I asked.

“I finished Uni and was waiting to get into law school. I decided to do a gap year, so here I am,” he admitted.

“Okay John John, here is a little useless information for you. If the cops like a guy for a crime, and he presents them with a weak alibi, they don’t do a lot of checking. Right Bitsey?” I demanded.

“True,” she agreed.

“And, if Lamar had a court appointed lawyer, he didn’t get it checked out by him or her either. The unwritten rule in the PD office is plead and move on,” Addie agreed.

“Okay, write in all caps in your lap top, WEAK Alibi, but not impossible. Did the cops find the weapon used in the robbery?” I asked before moving on.

“Never found,” Bitsy suggested.

“What kind for gun was it?” I asked. “Did the prosecution enter into evidence the type of gun the robber threatened the employees with?”

“They did not,” Addie replied.

“Did Lamar have access to a gun, and if so what kind was it?” I asked.

“Are these things important?” John John asked.

“Probably not, but you never know what will sway a jury,” Addie said. “In a jury trial, as a defense counsel, it only takes one juror to agree with your theory of the crime.”

“How did the bank robber get to the bank. Did he walk up or did he park in the parking lot next door. The bank’s ATM camera should have been checked, as well as the inside security cameras, but we need that footage.

“Did the cops find any money when they zeroed in on Lamar?” I asked simply. “Also about the money, was there a list of the serial numbers? If so, has any of the money turned up since Lamar went inside. There are lots of questions that need to be answered, not just these. You all need to think of your specialty, and write down more questions. Bitsy knows cops and their procedures. Addie know the courts and the PD office procedures. So let’s coordinate this, so we can get to the right people and ask them the right questions. Remember we don’t have to prove who did it, just prove our man didn’t do it.”

Addie and John John went to the courthouse and the prosecutor’s office. Bitsy and I went to see the cops who worked the case. I hadn’t read the police files, so I was counting on Bitsy.

“Working with you again could be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be,” Bitsy suggested.

“I can’t imagine it being uncomfortable for you. Let’s just be professional when we are on the job. When we aren’t on the job, we can be assholes.” I suggested with a laugh.

“Be sure you tell Addie that,” Bitsy said.

“It was her idea,” I admitted.

I left at a little before five and arrived home just after 6 PM. No one from SJL came with me for which I was thankful. I didn’t go to Tonya’s because she wasn’t at the restaurant, and I didn’t currently have any plans to date her again.

I guessed that Leigh was home with her husband, since she was working day watch that Monday. I was juggling four women and not a one of them was free. I felt more than a little happy that no one with with an ax to grind was involved with me on that first day. I didn’t need a blowout during the most insecure day I was likely to have during the next twenty nine days.

It was a quiet Monday night for me. I watched a couple of Canadian TV shows on line, then turned in. I expected 5 AM to come early on that Tuesday morning. It did since time has a way of passing at it’s own speed, like it or not.

I rode my bike until 7AM, then came home to shower and dress. It was almost nine when I arrived at the office. I made a pot of coffee using two coffee packets. The extra strong coffee was just for me. I poured the whole quart of black coffee into a 32oz thermos. I carried a large cup toward the front door. I had to juggle the black plastic cup and the tiny laptop along with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. I had the half dozen sized box. Even though I didn’t know whether anyone else liked them, I bought the box full. I went out to the tiny courtyard, then opened the box of donuts. The other three musketeers showed up moments later.

“So.” I asked. “What did we learn yesterday?”

“Since you were there, You know that we didn’t get much done with the police,” Bitsy remarked. “The detective in charge didn’t have time to talk to us.”

“So what is next?” I asked.

“I’m going to find out what the girlfriend has to say,” she replied.

“That is a very good plan.” I said. “John John, I want you to get hold of the Surveillance tapes. We need to view them ourselves. They should be in the evidence files. The Court should be willing to make copies of them available to us. Addie will explain what we have to do to get what we want.” Addie nodded her willingness to comply.

“I’m going to ride with Bitsy again today. We are going to try the cops again, after we interview the girlfriend.”

At the end of the day the courts got us a copy of the files we wanted. The police were still stonewalling us. The girlfriend had moved according to her landlord from back in the day. Bitsy and I were having more bad luck it seemed.

“Hey,” I called out as we walked away. “Do you have any idea where Melody moved?”

“Like I told your partner, she moved out in the middle of the night,” he called back.

“Then she left owing you rent. Too bad, I’d be willing to pay for her present address,” I offered. “If you can come up with something to help me settle this case, it would really help me out.”

“I have her application, from when she moved in. It gave her emergency contact number. I could check that and get back to you,” the landlord suggested.

We were almost back at the office when my phone started playing ‘My Eyes adored you’ A song from 1975. The ever changing ring tones could be interesting I decided.

“Hello,” I said to the landlord. “So how did you do?”

“I wrote down a name address and phone number for Melody’s mother,” his voice came through the air.

“Tell you what I’ll verify this, and if it leads me anywhere I’ll submit a voucher for you,” I explained. Then I hung up on him.

“You are not going to pay him are you?” Bitsy said.

“Like everybody says, if it sounds too good ect,” I said with a smile. “If he had volunteered to help us, I might be convinced to pay him a finders fee. In the end it comes down to he just pissed me off.”

“Yeah me too,” Bitsy agreed.

“It’s almost quitting time for me. Drop me in the parking lot. When you get inside find out if the number is still good. Try to do it without letting her know that we want to talk to her. If you can manage that, I would really like for John John to go with you for the interview. But before he does, be sure to explain that we are not cops, nor are we operating as agents for the cops. I don’t want him to think that cops can get away with the kind of shit we are likely to pull. Since he is here to learn, let him learn the difference between cops and ex cops.

“Got ya boss. So what are we going to teach him about our personal lives?” Bitsy asked.

“Teach him anything you think he can handle. You are a grown up, and what you do with your friends is none of our business,” I admitted. “But don’t be surprised, if he knows more than any of us.”

“Why do you say that?” she asked.

“Australia isn’t a puritan type country. We are more like that than anyone else in the world. Australia’s first settlers were, for the most part, criminals and whores,” I suggested. “But they were white English speaking Europeans.”

“Why do you think I need to know this,” she asked.

“No reason, I was just saying,” I laughed.

“Most of the shit you spread around I already knew, or I don’t give a rat’s ass,” Bitsy suggested pulling up beside my company car.

“Hey, I’m old. Us old farts either sit around mumbling to ourselves, or we talk too much,” I explained as I got out of her car.

“You sometimes talk too much,” Bitsy said as she drove away.

I wonder what that was really about, I thought to myself. Nobody ever accused me of being ‘with it’, whatever it was.

I arrived home slightly over an hour later. I stopped by little Caesar’s rather then go directly home. Since it was the only thing they had ready, I bought a pepperoni pizza.

For a change I drove to the caboose park to eat it. Yes, I knew it had a name. I had even seen the sign a hundred times, but I still called it the caboose park. I’m sure any resident of Siler City would know which one I meant. Since it was only park with a 1940s railroad caboose on display, they would also know it’s location.

After eating half of the pizza myself, I noticed a puppy came up to me. He looked like he was hungry, so I gave him a couple of small slices. Then I packed up what was left and drove away. The park was on the other side of the small town, so I never expected to see the brindle pup again.

The next morning I slipped a can of boneless chicken in the pocket of my fatigue pants. Since I was riding the ‘folder’, the outfit didn’t make any difference, I told myself. I pulled into the Caboose park at the end of my ride. I did a circle of the park. Like I said, I never expected to see the tiger striped pup again.

He must have built a nest in the brush because he came running after me. I stopped, sat on a concrete bench opened the chicken and put it down for him. The pup sniffed it a couple of times, then emptied the can in under a minute. I emptied my water bottle into the can for him. He emptied that twice as well.

I absolutely refused to pet him. Not only was he a flea bag, he was also dirty. All those years in the military, without a pet, had not prepared me for a dirty little animal sitting on my lap. Okay, I weakened and scratch his head.

“Well buddy you need a name, if you are coming home with me,” I said to him. Where the fuck did that idea come from, I asked myself. I rode off home with the pup running along beside me. He made it about as far as the entrance, before he lost interest in me.

I decided that to salve my conscience, I would go home and take a shower, and dress. Then I would drive the car back to the park. If Tiger came up to me, I’d take him to the vet. I would even break down and pay for the vet to check him over.

I called SJL as soon a Tiger was in the car. He was a perfectly well behaved dog during our first drive together.

At the Vet’s office I told the receptionist the story. I told her to search for a Chip first.

“If Tiger has no chip, do all the things that need doing to be sure he is healthy. If he is healthy give him a flea bath and all the parasite prevention medications. In other words make this a one stop shopping trip. I’ll pick him up at five thirty,” I declared. It was a clumsy hug that I gave him. Then I left him at the Vet’s mercy.

I drove to the SJL office like a bat out of hell. I arrived there before twelve, but not a lot before. I had spent at least an hour in the vets waiting room. Then I stopped at the Piggly Wiggly to pick up some canned dog food, and some Kibble, just in case he was okay.

“So,” I said when I entered the office. “Where is everyone.”

“Addie is in her office reading files and transcripts. She said you could help, if you came in before lunch.”

“Right,” I said looking away from her to the other office. “How about Bitsy?”

“She and John are out trying to locate the girlfriend, “ The receptionist said.

“If she calls in, tell her I need an update,” I said. I knew that it was a waste of words. Bitsy would have briefed me without the reminder. I was absolutely sure of that.

I went to Addie’s office. “So I hear you are in need of a high school graduate’s eyes. What happened to all the law school help?” I asked.

“Bitsy said you wanted him with her today. She also said you would help me,” Addie informed me.

“Damn, I totally forgot that. I must be getting old,” I informed her.

“You can play the age card with the rest of the age-a-phobes around here, but not with me,” she snapped at me. “You know I’m older than you.”

“Okay, truth is I carried a new friend to the doctor,” I said.

“Another new friend?” she asked sadly.

I showed her a photo from my phone. She looked a long time then said. “Where did you get him?”

“He found me at the caboose park last night. I had to spend the night alone, before I knew I wanted to save him.” I admitted.

“Well let’s hope that was his last night alone,” Addie said. “So, while you are waiting read these.”

She did a few things with the computer then handed me a flash drive. “This is about a third of the files from the plea hearing,” she explained while handing it to me. I took my computer and walked to the outdoor space. I read there until my battery died. I found nothing of any significance in his plea hearing. Lamar plead not guilty against his public defender’s advice.

I was able to find his rap sheet in the court records. He had some juvenile offenses, but nothing since he turned eighteen. That only meant he had not been caught in the two years since he became an adult. He had also held a job in a generic ‘home and garden’ center for the previous three years.