Last Chance Harvey-Part 23 (Blogophilia 44.11)

The Monday morning briefing felt like sunrise in hell, everyone waiting for the blast. One of the TV stations had picked up on the fun Saturday.It must have been ratings week, because put up a lazy, half-assed segment about it, alleging excessive force by everyone involved. The piece was breathless enough to have the phones ringing in the County Commissioners’ offices all weekend. Sheriff Owens, with his Captain Picard-like bald head, sat in on the briefing because it was obvious this wasn’t going away any time soon.
Ray, Lt. Grimes and Angela shifted nervously waiting for the onslaught. In a lawyer-like tone, he began the questioning
“What do we know of this woman?”
Grimes grunted. “Nothing concrete. She was booked in under the name ‘Shelia Jenkins’, but with no ID. So far, no print matches.” He paused. “Angela, you are the one who has all the interest. Have you turned up anything?”
Her voice stammered like a star stuck groupie.
“Nothing solid, but I am working on that missing persons case from Florida and our mugshot has some similarities. And I received some infor…”
Like Picard would, Owens cut her off.
“Similarities, but not enough to pull her in for some questions?”
“No, Sir.”
Owens sighed.
“Angela, the incident report from the jail indicated you were involved. How?”
The answer was direct.
“I was working Saturday for Perkins. I heard the commotion in the lobby and saw Burks and Harris trying to cuff the suspect. I came up from behind and pinned her ankles.”
“Who shot the Taser?”
“I think Burks, but I was too busy trying not to have my face kicked off to be sure.”
Owens nodded.
“And that is when you noticed the resemblance to the Florida subject?”
“Yes.”
Owens looked over at Grimes.
“Just to let you know, ‘Ms. Jenkins’ hired Manny Alvarez as her attorney.”
A collective moan came up from the room. He was the ultimate shyster whose commercials were larger than life as he touted his latest settlements. Alvarez’ specialty was using the court of public opinion to kill investigations into shady characters. “Ms. Jenkins” certainly fit that bill. Everyone knew it was a scam.
Ray had been quiet for most of the meeting, trying to digest everything that had happened since Friday, when he left for his kid’s basketball game. Clearing his throat, he asked obvious question.
“Has she seen the judge yet?”
Owens smiled.
“Yeah, Harry got here early and did her case first. $2,650 for all six charges. Good thing, too. Another 45 minutes, we would have missed the deadline and she would have been released with no bond.”
Angela’s face dropped.
“Let me guess. Alvarez has already sprung her.”
“Yep.” Owens’ face turned as sour as a lemon. “And now we aren’t going to bother the woman, understand? Now get back to work.”
Owens really wasn’t a bad boss and given the situation, he was right. Alvarez would be looking for any thing to make the department look bad if it got to court. But that didn’t help the frustration. “Sheila” was Corrine. Angela wanted to make it so, even if the evidence wasn’t there yet. She made a run to the restroom. It wasn’t she needed to do anything, but it was a good place to let out a little scream without causing attention.
The Fed-Ex package from Orlando was on the corner of her desk when she got back. She almost didn’t pick it up after hearing the warning from Grimes, but the arrow in the logo comforted her. The case was moving forward. In a lot of ways, the whole thing reminded her of a big mesa. Long tall climbs, but when you finally got to the top everything was nice and flat.
She tore open the envelope and glanced at the contents.
“Ray. Come here a second.”
With a shrug, he grabbed his cup and walked around the desk. His frown turned upside down and without thinking, put his hand on her shoulder. She leaned into it as she sorted through the contents. It might not have been professional, but it was comforting.
Inside the package was a note from Det. Harrison listing the contents: a true copy of the signed Accessory to Murder warrant for Corrine, copies of mugshots using the aliases Sheila Moss, Barbara Kirkland and Connie Shafer, and the best thing of all, a finger print card with her real name: Corrine Sheila Morris, DOB 01/01/1976, Birthplace, Brooklyn, NY.
Angela looked on the booking sheet for Jenkins. Well, well. The same DOB. She isn’t as smart as she looks.
Ray took a sip of his coffee and smiled.
“Do we tell the Lieutenant about this?”
“Not until we have our own match on the prints.” She grabbed her ponytail, twirling it. “Janet said it might be today or tomorrow depending on how fast the system works.”
In her best accent she added. “But if she checks out, she’s got some ‘splainin’ to do”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Topic-Christine Wichman
Pic-Tyler Myrth
Pic guesses: Sunrise in hell (in blog) Big Mesa (in blog), desert spring, sunrise, big butte, Joshua Tree, Red rocks, Enjoy the silence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Honor of Al Jaffee

The image below is probably the most politically incorrect graphic the great comic artist Al Jaffee ever produced. Originally published in a special issue of MAD magazine in 1971, it brought protests for its seeming disrespectful tone. It even launched a brief FBI investigation into possible political subversion.  So, why am I bringing it up? 2 reasons. First, Mr. Jaffee just celebrated his 95th birthday. Second, In all of the turmoil of the Election, it is important that the pledge be for all people. Not just the moneyed elite. More importantly, to weed out infection the poisons of bigotry by all people need to be aired. Burying thoughts and ideas through euphemisms and language discussion allow the opinions to fester. The quote "Just because you silence a man does not mean you convert him" very much applies. Donald Trump has made efforts to silence his critics. His critics have made a double effort to silence. him. And nothing gets done.
Read more

The Date (Blogophilia 13.5)

So, here she was at Manuel’s, her usual fifteen minutes early.   A quick glance to make sure the lipstick line was still straight.   Satisfied, the compact disappeared into the leather purse.   Kari hadn’t been this nervous meeting anyone in quite a long time.   But then, it had been at least 20 years since she had been on a blind date.   What will he look like?   All Mary told her was he was a bachelor with a paying job and no kids.    Nothing about how old, or whether he was a slob or a crackhead.   Not even the guy’s name.   Only that she thought Kari would enjoy his company.     Just be at there at 5:30. Sipping on her gimlet, it seemed like she had never left.   The Musak was mostly Sinatra and the political types still hung to their tables like they were still in high school.   Tony, the manager, gave her a peck when he saw her and said she could come back to work any time.   No.   She’d had enough of slinging swill and dealing with the obnoxious, of stepping over the hoo
Read more