Stone Walls, part 10
On their third night of
exile, Duster took the card from her pocket and dialed Doug’s number. A woman
answered, presumably his wife. Asking for Doug, she waited nervously.
“Debra?”
“Yes.”
“How are you doing? I’m not
ashamed to say I was worried sick since what happened here after you left.”
“What happened Doug?”
“We had a fire in the
warehouse storage area. In the exact area we had inventoried,” he added.
There’s no possible way to even deduct how much was stolen now. I have the
plant shut down until the repair crews replace that part of the building and
the rest is cleaned up. Someone knows we know and took steps to make sure there
wasn’t any hard evidence.”
“What do the detectives
say?”
Doug sighed. “Unless they
have a good piece of luck, the killers will no doubt get away with it. They
figure the guilty parties will eventually quit one by one since it isn’t viable
to try again since we know how it was done. They’ll leave with over a million
bucks stuffed in their pockets,” Doug said in frustration. He didn’t mention
that his insurance company was squawking about paying for the damage since it
was arson related.
“When can we come home?”
Debra asked.
Doug cleared his throat. “Um,
the Patrol suggested no sooner than a month, preferably three.”
“What? Doug! We can’t put
our lives on hold that long, much less can afford it!” she screamed into the
phone.
“I know! Believe me, I’m
trying to work out something with them. I had my own family flown out of here
just in case. Just sit tight and call me in three days like we planned. Okay?”
Debra sagged and agreed,
hanging up in defeat.
Sandra looked at her, her
eyes concerned. She explained what she had been told.
“Something isn’t right
Debra. Shit, I wish I had an access code to their computer, I’d hack into it
and look around.”
Duster had forgotten that
one of her degrees was in computer programming. “I have Bob’s, if it still
works,” she whispered.
“How….never mind, I don’t
want to know how you got your hands on it.” Sandra pulled out her laptop and
hooked up the satellite connection. She punched in a series of commands Duster
had no hopes of understanding then asked for the code.
Sandra punched it in and
stared at the screen.
“Does it still work?”
“Yeah. Could you get me some
coffee? Hacking has to be done carefully and I don’t want to make a mistake,”
she asked.
The guard kept it up all
night, avoiding triggering any rogue programs while keeping track of all the
mystery shipments. Piece by piece, she put together the puzzle and documented
every step. She sent Debra to the store to buy extra paper for her printer. She
not only wanted a computer file, but a paper copy as well.
Duster didn’t question her
at all, trusting her to tell her once she was finished.
Next, Sandra broke into the
personnel files and finally into the accounting programming. It all began
making sense. She knew who the ringleader was as well as the people helping
pull it all off.
“Pack your bags sweetie, we’re
leaving.” She ordered.
“What? Doug said to wait and
call in three days,” Duster protested.
“In three days, there won’t
be anything left to return to.” Stunned, Debra did as she was told.
“Take this exit Debra,” she
said, pointing to the off ramp to the shuttle port.
“I thought we weren’t
getting involved,” Duster said quietly. “You sent the evidence to the Patrol hours
ago.”
“I know, but think we
deserve to watch the ending. Don’t you?”
Duster nodded and followed
the road signs to the airport, then releasing the wheel when the auto pilot
took over in the shuttle port zone. The car computer bleeped, asking which
terminal they desired. Sandra punched in her answer into the menu. Within a
minute, their car stopped at the passenger entrance and didn’t pull away until
both doors shut. A ticket popped out of the post for reclaiming the car later.
Taking it, Duster shoved it into her pocket and followed her lover into the
terminal.
Immediately as they passed
the security gate, Sandra’s gun set off the alarm. Sandra produced her
identification to the nervous guards. Satisfied she was authorized to carry a
firearm, they had her sign for a neutralizer that she had to return upon
leaving. It would prevent the alarms from sounding again.
“Let’s go. Gate 16, Sandra
said, her features serious. They took the slide walk and got there quickly.
Sandra grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, looking around carefully.
“We don’t want to risk being
seen, but I want to see the action.”
“I doubt anyone could
recognize us with these stupid hats and dark glasses Sandra.”
The smaller woman shrugged
and led her towards the indoor garden.
Duster giggled. “Talk about
stereotype hon. We’re lurking in the bushes staking out the bad guy,” she
whispered.
Sandra smiled. “Nah, it’s
the house dick staking out the lobby behind the palm plant,” she corrected her.
“Close enough,” Duster
snickered.
“Shh, keep your eyes open. I’ll
watch this area, you watch over there.”
They watched in silence for
nearly 20 minutes then Duster spotted him. “There he is,” She whispered,
nudging Sandra, who spun and watched over her shoulder.
The suspect carried a single
carry on, a metal suitcase. He looked around nervously, wiping his brow with a handkerchief.
He chose a seat nearest the gate and sat down.
“Where are the Patrol
officers?” Duster wondered aloud.
“I don’t know. I don’t see
anyone who looks remotely like a poor imitation of a politician.”
“Shit! Do you think they got
caught up in red tape? Fuck!” she uttered under her breath. “He can’t be
allowed on that shuttle Sandra. Once he’s on it, he’s free.”
“I know that!” Sandra hissed
back, equally frustrated. “Let’s move in closer. If no one tried to stop him then
we’ll do it ourselves.”
“Um, hon, we don’t exactly
have jurisdiction. You’re a guard, not a Patrol officer.”
Sandra snorted. “Ever hear
of citizen’s arrest? It’s still in the law books you know.”
The PA system announced the
flight was now ready to board. Cursing, Sandra and Duster rushed to the waiting
area, only to be grabbed and pushed out of sight by two men.
“We have it covered ladies,”
one man said harshly.
“Detective Anderson?” Duster
asked, barely recognizing the man in his Hawaiian shirt and sloppy pants. Duster
didn’t wait for an answer. She spotted several men escorting the man right past
them. She stepped out from behind the dividing wall and planted herself in
their path.
“Why Doug?” she asked, her
voice hurt.
Doug Wilson slumped. “The
business was sinking fast and I couldn’t think of anything else. Selling my
product for less than cost was against the law, so I did it under the table. I
couldn’t let the fact come out that the business was in the hole since I was
trying to sell it. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”
“That’s little consolation
to Bob’s family Doug. And what about your family? You sent them ahead knowing
you couldn’t come back, didn’t you?”
Doug nodded. “They don’t
know about all of this.” Duster sighed and stepped aside, letting the men
continue on.
Sandra stepped up behind her
and took her hand.
Lt. Anderson joined them.
“We have everyone involved.
I’m taking you both into protective custody until the trials begin in case any
of them get out on bail.”
“Can we get some stuff from
our apartments first?” Anderson smiled for the first time since they met him. “Of
course.”
It was over, with everyone
involved found guilty and sentenced between seven years to life depending on
the individual judges.
“I think I’m going to quit my job,” Sandra announced just as they crawled into bed.
“Any plans?” Duster asked.
“Sure. I’m going to open my
own investigative business. By the way, I need a cute sidekick. Know anyone who
wants to volunteer for the job?”
“Oh, I might,” Duster
grinned.
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THE END -------------------------------------------