Chapter 4

Chuck

On the way to the Orient County Jail, I called Frank and then Jan. I told Jan about the deal with Mark. She really didn't know him, but reacted to my voice. She said she would alert her duty people. She asked if Frank was going to meet me. I told her, "Frank is meeting me out at the jail. It might take a little while, but we should be able to get him out of there in a couple of hours. Oh yeah, call our favorite prosecutor and see if he can get the judge to hold a quick arraignment. If we can get that done, we can use some budget to investigate this properly. Frank said you have jurisdiction, as the internet was used to download illegal material interstate. Sounds good to me. Call the prosecutor and see what he can do. Call me on my cell."

I met Frank at the jail and we were immediately stonewalled by the clerks, and were refused the opportunity to speak to the prisoner until he was processed. Frank became angry after about an hour and that's when I called the judge who had rescued me when I was put in jail before. The judge said, "Just tell them you are going to shut the jail down. Have a deputy come by the house and I'll give you an order to shut the place down. That should take care of the problem."

I was thanking the judge and remembered, "Judge would you mind holding an arraignment in an hour or so? As soon as I get this man out of this jail, I want to get him in some form of protective custody."

The judge said, "I owe you one, Chuck, bring your prisoner and the prosecutor to see me, and I'll take care of it in my study."

I called Jan to tell her where to bring the prosecutor. She said thanks as judges were always scary as far as she was concerned.

Frank was telling the clerk he was going to shut the jail down and the man with him, the Deputy Marshal, was the man that was going to do it. The clerk called the Sheriff and told him what was happening. You could hear the Sheriff yelling through the phone and you could see the clerk melt. About all he could say was "Yes Sir, yes Sir." He did tell the Sheriff he should call the arresting detectives as Frank was demanding all of the physical evidence be turned over to the Bureau immediately.

The clerk handed the phone to Frank with shaking hands, and pulled some forms from his counter drawer. I heard Frank say, "I'll have an agent and a deputy at the precinct within fifteen minutes. Every piece of evidence had better be there with the appropriate chain of custody. Make sure there are no holdups."

Mark was brought up to the counter in handcuffs and told to stand at a specific spot. Frank filled out a form and signed a couple of sheets of paper. We received Mark's personal property in a large envelope, but it didn't look as if it had anything in it.

Mark was handed his clothes and put into a small room to change from a jail jumpsuit. When he came out, Frank asked him, "Do we need to chain you up or will you be a model prisoner?"

Mark said, "I'm with you. I'll stick to you guys like flypaper."

As soon as we were outside, Sarah came up to us and looked at Mark, "Did they treat you all right? They didn't beat you or anything, did they?"

"No Ma'am. Everything was just happening really fast."

Sarah handed me something wrapped up in paper towels, "This is the glass that was spilled. You need to have this analyzed to find out what was in it besides wine. You can also get this Steven Bart guy's prints off it. I'd bet you have him in the system. He is just too slick and slimy to believe."

I gave Frank the glass and when we reached his car, he pulled an evidence bag out, wrote some information on the outside, then put the paper towel covered wine glass in it.

Sarah was holding up a small recorder, she said, "This has all of the conversation on it from the time we left Mark's car at Publix until I was following the detectives out here. There are a couple of things said by Mark's wife that are very interesting. The detectives kept telling her not to say anything else, as Mark had a witness, me. I know it's not admissible, but it might get some answers out of the detectives when you interview them."

I told Frank, "Let's get Mark over to the judge's house right away. Sarah, you can come along as a friend of the court if you want. Want to come?"

"Right with you, Chuck. I'll follow you two. Lead on."

It didn't take but fifteen minutes to get to the judge's home. There we met him in his office, where he did everything just as if it were in a courtroom. I even noted a recording device to record the proceedings. Mark told the judge "Not guilty" and the judge released him without bail. I requested Mark be held in protective custody and the judge went along with it. He filled out the appropriate form, signed it, and said, "Now go do what you guys are supposed to do. Find the bad guys."

The judge looked at Mark and said, "You Sir, have found some gold among your misfortune. Make sure you reward those that have helped you."

Mark's face reflected the relief he felt. He said, "I will, Your Honor, I will do my best."

Frank said he would meet us downtown and took off. Sarah said to Frank then Mark, "As soon as I know you're safe for the night, I'll go home too, but I need to make sure you're taken care of."

At the Federal building, downtown I had to check Mark in with the Bureau, then he was released to the Marshal's service as a witness. Sarah walked over to the hotel with us and then said goodbye at the elevator. I left Mark in the hands of the downstairs duty man and told Mark I would talk to him tomorrow, Saturday.

I let out a big sigh when I left there. That was too much like the night I was taken to the Orient jail. That was still a bad memory. On the way home, I called Steve to let him know Mark was in protective custody and comfortable. Steve thanked me for letting him know and said he hoped we found some answers.

At home, I realized this was Friday night, so the five were probably home or at Brandy's folks' house. Tina had some kind of "Hey, are you almost a doctor" function and Lisa was flying somewhere. I stuck a steak in the microwave to defrost and poked around the leftovers to find some broccoli that wasn't moldy. I pulled some lettuce apart for a salad and made myself a stiff one. Just a couple of swallows had me settling down. I shouldn't let a place like that jail upset me so much, but that had been a close one.

Just about the time I was going to fire up the grill, Lena came out from the hallway, rubbing her eyes. She said, "Oh goody, food. You have to teach me how to thaw stuff out in the microwave. Mom taught me to cook but we never have anything frozen except turkey on Thanksgiving. Food doesn't last that long at our house."

Startled, I asked, "I thought you were on your way to see your folks down home?"

Lena answered, "I'm going in the morning. My sister has some kind of function the family is attending tonight. I'll just go early tomorrow."

I pulled another steak from the freezer and began thawing it. There was sufficient broccoli, but we needed something to go with it, so I made some instant rice and heated up some mushroom pieces. I would sauté those and mix them and the broccoli into the rice. That would give some bulk for the giant little girl.

She wanted a salad and some wine that was chilled in the fridge. She said, "I don't handle booze very well, so I stick to wine and an occasional beer. I'm really trying to stay on the slim side, so I have to watch what I eat and drink."

We ate, devouring our meal. Lena said, "I talked to Mom earlier and she really wants me to come down tomorrow. I'll stay down there tomorrow night, so don't worry about me. I know what she's going to do, too. She'll be trying to feed me every twenty minutes the whole time. I hope she recognizes that I look good without the extra weight. I'm exercising every day and I am strong, just not bulked up like the rest of the women in my family."