Chapter 23

The first night surveillance revealed absolutely nothing. Some people came to both building, but they could not be identified. The most likely was the vacant house, but the team couldn’t be sure. Gray brought me the news before I left for my hike.

“So how was your night?” I asked.

“I’m going to have to take a shift on the surveillance team,” he said. “Just to keep from going mad.”

“She didn’t calm down after the sex?” I asked after pulling on the long sleeved, light weight sweat shirt.

“Hell you didn’t think I was really going to screw her did you. I played bodyguard nothing else,” he said.

“You do know you are prattling?” I asked.

“God no, please tell me that shit is not contagious,” Gray begged.

“You take care of Tonya. Get her ready for breakfast while I walk. I’ll be back in an hour.” The walk got me out of the management zone and back into the real world zone for a while. The zone where my only problem was the next car I faced, or the next hill I had to walk up, or finding the next place to fill my coffee thermos.

There was no place to fill the thermos, because the motel was outside that kind of neighborhood. The neighborhood was an old time mixed industrial and residential area. With the Concrete block people warehouse thrown in.

When I arrived back at the motel, I took my shower thinking about the day ahead. I had planned to take out the brother’s headquarters, but that wasn’t going to happen. That being that case I would be winging it, again.

“If I could have anything else, what would it be?” I asked myself, as I washed my long stringy hair and beard. I would want to know the Captain’s part in all this, I decided. The man who might have ordered my beat down.

What I needed to do was to plant a bug in his office, then rattle his fucking cage and see what shook loose. Since I didn’t have my crew, I needed the FBI to handle the logistics and details.

“Over a cup of coffee in a convenience store parking lot, I explained what I had in mind for the Captain.

“Get some more coffee to carry back to the room for Tonya. She is going to have a tough day. Let’s go back deliver her coffee, then go to breakfast. I’ll baby sit her while you use my room to arrange all the logistical support we need. No more talk about the project while we take Tonya to breakfast.” I demanded. I still remember her as the leak that got my ass beat. Whether that was the case or not, I wasn’t quite sure, but it didn’t matter she didn’t need to know our plans.

She finished her first cup of coffee while I worked on my second. She also grilled me about my knowledge about Gray Stone. I told her the fiction we had invented. I wasn’t sure who all had a hand in the fiction, but it seemed to be nice and tight.

“So, he is a real live hero, what is he doing working with you?” Tonya asked.

“He is a man who came to realize that he has no skills, and he couldn’t eat his medals. So he went to work using the skills he did have.

The three of us rode in Tonya’s car to Walmart after breakfast in a fast food chain restaurant. Tonya was not impressed with breakfast, and I didn’t care.

I went inside and bought a tiny book bag type backpack made for small kids, when I walked by the pharmacy section. I went in for the vinyl gloves and just happened to see the masks. So I bought a couple of cloth surgical masks in addition.

Then I found a small electric tea pot. The plan for the teapot was to reheat convenience store coffee in it one cup at a time.

I was sure I would need something more, but I had no idea what it might be. I had decided there were some things I would use the FBI to handle, and some I would keep to myself. Gray didn’t even know about my PVC pipe bombs at that time.

At exactly 10AM Gray and I pulled into the parking lot of the motel. There I broke down our purchases. I packed one of the PVC pipe bombs and one of the green surgical masks and a pair of vinyl gloves inside the small book bag.

Gray and I pulled his car into the county sheriff’s parking lot at almost 11AM. I got out of the FBI’s idea of an undercover car and entered the building. I wore the bag past a deputy with a metal detector wand. I went up to the chief’s office. I stood in the outside receptionist office. I explained to her exactly who I was, so that Captain ass hole would know it was really me. I was sure he would want me to hear him gloat over the beat down I took. I was right.

“Mr. Rogers, I do hope you have recovered from you tragic beating,” the Captain suggested.

“I’m working on it. I just want to check in with you about my case for the TV show,” I said with a smile. “You know I’m running a couple of months behind with my research.”

“Since we don’t have a suspect, we really aren’t making much progress. You weren’t able to identify anyone, and your description was pretty vague,” The Sheriff’s Captain said.

“Well one can always hope.” I removed a stick of gum. He watched me. “Sorry, but all those pain meds give me a dry mouth,” I suggested. I looked around for a waste basket for the wrapper.

The captain extended his hand. While he took the paper, and found his waste basket, I slipped a bug shape listening device under the seat of the chair I occupied. It was a case of misdirection like every childhood magician wanna be learns early on.

“Well stay in touch, something may turn up,” he suggested.

“I will, in the mean time I’m going to interview some of your off duty jail employees. I still haven’t gotten past all those coincidences with the missing women. You know us law enforcement people don’t believe in those.”

“You know a cigar is sometimes just a cigar,” the captain suggested.

“True we might be chasing shadows, but we also might not. Anyway thanks for your cooperation.” I said standing to leave.