Chapter 26

The only threat to Gray and I rested with Yonnie and a couple of former Russian soldier, or so I had been told. My plan was to simply outlast them all. To begin with we needed to lure them out to play. To begin the process, we kept the FBI clear of the picture. When more exposure was necessary like the arrest of Sasha, we tried to hide them behind the Virginia State Police.

The Virginia State Police was so happy and quick to help us, they obviously knew something was rotten Henrico County. They liked having someone else targeted, so that they could just sit back and watch the game unfold. During the night the professional soldier types in the FBI fortified the office building used for interrogation. I thought of it as Dr. De sade’s office.

It was 6:30AM when I heard Gray moving about. He left to go find coffee, while I worked my way out of bed. I dressed for my morning hike, then I checked my tool bag, aka my fishing vest.

“Are you going to hike with me,” I said into the phone.

“I’m five minutes out. Please don’t make it sound like a date. These guys would love a chance to bring us down,” Gray said seriously.

“Then hurry home, kiss kiss,” I said into the phone and gave him an evil laugh before I cut the connection. I found my coffee thermos then went outside with the empty but clean metal cup.

Gray was as good as his word. When he pulled in the parking lot, I climbed inside, just before he turned the car around and went in another direction.

“Just making sure they weren’t setting up on us,” he said to explain his erratic movements.

“I thought that was what we wanted,” I suggested.

“After we have tried everything else, let’s go hike,” he suggested.

The hike went off exactly as it had the day before, except there was no middle aged blond assassin, just a boring hour’s walk. Gray used Tonya’s room to shower while I used my own room. We were both ready by eight thirty. I even had time for headline news, from the local channel, before Dr. De sade was ready for us.

That morning they didn’t even bother to pretend that De sade was in charge. The two guards had to almost drag the filthy and stinking female prisoner who I had labeled Sasha into the room.

“Well Sasha you are quite the mess,” I commented after her bag was removed. She really did look bad.

“Lawyer,” she said.

“Take her back,” I said to the guards. The guards lifted her from the chair.

“One more day,” Gray said.

“Hell, we may trip over Yonnie before she breaks. When she does, the information will be too old to of any use,” I said.

“More nails in her coffin and Yonnie’s,” the voice of De sade came over the intercom. “Good work,” he added.

“We are going to pick up everyone on your list this morning,” Gray said.

“Yes they will be in the wind, if we wait any longer,” I agreed. “The public defender and the ADA aka Assistant district attorney for Henrico county, should be the most interesting.” I admitted.

“Wait till after lunch then clean up Sasha and bring her back. You can try someone less involved with her,” I suggested.

“Please don’t tell me my job,” Dr D insisted.

“I wouldn’t think of it,” I replied. He was probably very good at his job, but I didn’t like him. Every time the Doc spoke Gray looked green around the gills.

Just before lunch the FBI picked up Ginger Bear. A couple of threats. then some sentence reduction promises and Ginger became a cooperative witness. She instantly gave up the ADA and the Public defender lawyers involved in the procurement of both prostitutes and the sex slaves. That was all by dinner.

Things that had moves at a snails pace began to fly. By dinner time I heard that five jailers and two supervisors were in custody and several more were on the run. The FBI released the name and descriptions of the others in Yonnie’s gang.

I hated endings like that research project was going to have. It was going to be a long drawn out arrests and investigation process. It reminded me of my days as a small town police chief. Actually it didn’t remind me at all. Back in those days I just did what I had to do. Maybe that is why I was expendable after the merger of the three small towns.

We stayed in town interviewing people for the screen play for two more days. I was actually hoping to get a quick glimpse of Yonnie or the Captain during their perp walk. No such luck, I’m sorry to report.

Oh the Captain did get busted. He had a very good lawyer and got out on bail. Tonya was in heaven. She was interviewed a half dozen time about our involvement as consultants with the FBI. I avoided all the interviews.

“On the second day I got a phone call. “There is no one left to pay me, so the war is over. I beat you, you have my brother in jail. He will go to prison. I think we are even. So as far as I’m concerned the war is over. It will only start again only, if you start it. Or if someone comes along with a bucket of money for me.”

“No one else had a reason to spend good money for my death,” I said.

“I agree,” Yonnie said. “Nothing personal, it was always just business.”

“Then it’s not good for business to hunt each other for peanuts,” I said in agreement.

“I agree,” Yonni said.

In my heart I expected to meet Yonni again. I even wrote his name on the two remaining pipe bombs sealed in plastic bags. I used a permanent felt tipped marker. I hoped there wasn’t an expiration date, since it might be a while.

A few days after that call the sheriff’s Captain locked himself in his study at home. The official story was that he shot himself in the head. The press carried the story about the captain’s death, but they failed to mention the shattered window in the study. They also didn’t account for the fact that no gun was ever found. Of course none of the men assigned to watch the captain heard the second shot or the breaking glass.

The suicide story was bullshit in other words. In a year or so, I knew it would be business as usual again.