Chapter 16

I got the milling troopers attention, and asked if their supervisor was there yet? I was told he was on his way and would be there in a few minutes. I watched as still another State Trooper unit pulled up and it was a Sergeant who got out of the car. I called him to the side to speak in private.

"Trooper get most of these men of yours out of here. They are tramping over my crime scene and interfering in my investigation."

"Now look sheriff, I think this should be a combined bust and investigation."

"No, it won't be combined. I called for backup and forensics. Your men arrived too late to back us up and we already had the suspects under arrest when the first of your men arrived. Do you want to call them off or do I call your Commander and feed him the facts? Your choice Sergeant."

"Ok sheriff, we'll do it your way."

He started sending his men back to their patrol duties and kept four there to help guard the prisoners. I wasn't worried about the prisoners; I wanted to have a little talk with the two who started this whole thing out of the State Police hearing. I walked over to Shorty and pulled him to the side.

"Take these two into the station in separate cars and keep them separated. Here's a key to my office, put him in the bedroom with a guard and put her in a chair in front of my desk. I will be in shortly, so don't let them call or talk to anyone. Take Kit with you, he can take Trent in Jim's car and you use yours for Doris. Make sure you leave the interior light on the whole trip and note it in your report. I will explain it later. Now get Kit and get them out of here."

He took off and I saw him grab Doris and Kit grabbed Trent and they snuck around to the cars. I called Jim over and explained why his car was being borrowed and he got a laugh at my little ploy. Things were winding down when the coroner and forensic unit showed up and took over that end of the investigation. I had already taken several rolls of film and then I put a claim on the chopper and called Nellis to send a ordinance team or a pilot to fly it to Nellis to unload the missiles and fly it back to the pad next to the station. I would almost be willing to bet the missiles were stolen from some base just like the crates of M-16's on the truck. They were all there and none had been moved to the chopper. I lowered the door on the truck and had Jerry stand guard on it until I could have it driven back to the gun store.

I had to give my rifle to the forensic team, but I made sure I got a receipt for it as I knew it wasn't stolen. I had seen and still had the receipts for all my arms I had gotten when I bought the cabin.

I had the State Police Sergeant have his men take the passengers from the chopper and told him he could have them. I made out a statement about the shooting but I knew with the holes in my unit there wouldn't be any repercussions from his death. After all, he had opened up on me with an illegal weapon. I also gave the Sergeant the automatic weapons that the men were carrying. While I was talking to the coroner, another chopper came in and three men repelled down on ropes from about a hundred feet up. The asked for me and I was pointed out to them and they came directly over to me without talking to the Sergeant who tried to question them.

"Sheriff, we're from Nellis ordinance depot and were told to report directly to you and follow your orders. This tall drink of water next to me is the pilot you asked for."

"I want you to fly this bird back to Nellis and remove the missiles and see where they were stolen from. Then I want the ship flown back to my department and set down on the pad behind the building. I plan on impounding it and using it for the department in the future. Also tell your superior I have a truck load of stolen M-16's he might want to check into."

"Damn, sheriff, you hit the jackpot tonight didn't you? I bet I already know where the rifles were stolen from. If it checks out, your department is in for a considerable award from the government. It's an open reward so it will be collectable with the right paperwork."

"Ok fellas, count the missiles and give me a receipt for them and the chopper and you can leave anytime you're ready."

They hustled over and started counting and the pilot was writing down the serial numbers on the chopper when the Sergeant came over to me.

"What are they doing sheriff?"

"They are getting ready to take the chopper to Nellis and disarm it. After that they will return it to my department since we impounded it as evidence."

"Sheriff, you can't let them take it, we are planning on flying it to our headquarters."

"You can bet your ass that's not gonna happen Sergeant. This is my county, my bust, and my investigation. I have already impounded the chopper, and the truck and contents. I gave you the men and the illegal automatic weapons they were carrying. Be glad you have that since you didn't do anything but arrive after it was all over. I have a brand new unit shot to hell that I have to get repaired. I suggest you take your prisoners and be happy or I will just send you and your men packing and let you explain how you arrived after it was all over."

"Ok sheriff, you have the upper hand on this one, but the way you are there will be other times when you'll be glad to share with my department."

"Hell, I will be giving you busts in my county when we start cracking down on the past dealings of the old sheriff. You know as well as I do it would be a conflict of interest for us to make the arrests. If you give me your card with all your numbers I will be sure to tip you off so you can handle it."

"Now that sounds like a good trade off to me, sheriff. Here's my card and I will be expecting your call when it starts going down."

He turned and called to his men to load the prisoners and weapons. He stopped for a minute and asked the forensic team how long they would be and if they needed someone to stay. He was told they were almost done and to go ahead and go. I waited till they had all pulled out and called my men over and told Jim to drive the truck back to the gun store and we would be there shortly to serve the warrants. I told Beau to get on the horn and get a wrecker out and have my unit taken to the garage for repairs. I told Jerry we would all be riding back in his unit and that he and his partner would be helping with the warrants. He shook his fist in the air with a loud yea. I had to laugh and wondered how long it would take him to get tired of the drudgery of law enforcement.

While they were all doing that, the pilot from Nellis came over with the list and a signed receipt for me on the chopper and missiles it contained. I told them it looked good and they could take off as soon as they were ready. They all thanked me and ran for the chopper. I waited until they were airborne and told my men to get ready to go. Jim left in the truck but I called him back and we all loaded the large generator and lights in the back of it for impounding. I figured to either keep it for emergencies or sell it at auction for money for the department. Hell I wasn't going to leave it to sit out here and let it be stolen.

I knew I was nitpicking but this was my nature and you could never tell when the power was out, maybe some child or family would appreciate the heat that the generator could provide them when they were cold. I watched as the forensic team packed their stuff up and climbed into their van and left. I got the chain and locks from my unit and the extra mags for my rifle and threw them into the unit we were taking back to town. We followed the wrecker all the way into town. He went directly to the garage and the night man buzzed him in the gate. I told him to leave a note for the day crew to get it fixed as soon as possible. We went back to the station and piled out of the unit and went inside.

We all walked to my office and went in. I pulled Shorty to the side and gave him his next instructions.

"Take everyone but Beau, and take your prisoner to the store and serve him with the search warrant. Take the guns from the rental and put them in the store and close it up. Put a deputy on guard until tomorrow and then take Trent to the jail and book him on these charges. 1-Dealing in stolen government property. 2-Violation of the patriot act as in selling to terrorists the stolen weapons. 3-Attempted murder of a police officer. 4-Three counts of destruction of county property. That should hold him for the weekend. I will get the ATF involved when they get here Monday. I will also call the prosecutor and see if he can block bail until we have a chance to go through the store and his house."

"Ok Harry, what about Doris?"

"I am going to question her with Beau as the witness to the interrogation. I want to make sure she is given every opportunity to help herself by turning state's evidence. You go do your thing and make sure Kit is in on the whole thing. If Trent gives you any shit, just book him and do the searches without him. With the warrants, we don't need him there anyways. Maybe he will give you his sales list for the last few years. Do not remove the cuffs for any reason. If he has to piss take him outside and let him piss against the building. He may have the store wired so don't take them off inside or take any crap from him. If he gets snotty, just take him to jail then do your search."

They all left without saying anything more and I grabbed a recorder and Beau and we sat down at the desk with Doris.