“She’s not coming back, is she?” asked some of the folks.
“No, she’s not,” said Mother.
Another loud ovation!
ThirtySeven — Solly and the Boss
Solly would spend part of the day in the Newark office and some time chasing down a few leads without any positive result. Until he was eating dinner at The Home of the Happy Oyster, in Point Pleasant, NJ. He was joined by Agent Weisman. Both men were physically and mentally drained. They had been seated next to two couples who were talking loudly. Possibly because they had too much to drink.
They seemed happy enough so it didn’t bother Solly or Weisman when the waiter offered to move them to a different table. They declined the offer. Staying at the table would be a lucky decision. One of the men, possibly both of the men, knew Sean Malloy was in hiding. Solly and Weisman listened as they tried their best to act normal. Weisman suggested they act as if they had been drinking. Hoping this would not give the men any reason to think they were anything but businessmen having a late dinner.
About thirty minutes into their meal the ladies excused themselves and went to the powder room. The two men talked about the ladies, making the typical remarks. The conversation switched to money and some problems they were having obtaining product for themselves. Then the magic words. Malloy should be getting back to us soon. Hopefully we can pick up the stuff, one of the men said. Solly wrote a note to Weisman and slid it across the table. Telling Weisman to excuse himself, while Solly ordered dessert and a double scotch. Weisman did so immediately in a louder then normal voice. He went directly to the men’s room, called the office asking for any agents in the area to call him. They had blindly run into two men who were apparently setting up a meeting with Sean Malloy. He came back to the table as he pretended to stumble. Solly saluted and said loudly, so he would be heard by the table next to theirs. Here’s to the new deal. Let’s go out and party! They finished part of the dessert and poured their drinks into their coffee cups. They stood up, paid the bill and left the restaurant.
Solly and Weisman are walking on the outside of the restaurant still looking like they partied too much. They wanted to get out of sight before stopping their charade. As they turn the corner Weisman’s cell vibrates. He’s told there are two agents standing across from the restaurant waiting for orders.
“Have them follow the two couples. I’ll let them know when they show their faces. Stay back when you follow. This could be our break. They are supposed to go see Sean Malloy.”
Solly and Weisman stay out of the light with a good view of the doorway, waiting for the two couples. Solly suggests he check if there is a back exit. Weisman concurs. Solly no sooner gets to the back when he sees the suspects come out of a door. He calls Weisman, who immediately calls and gives the information to the two agents.
“They are driving a black Benz with a New York license plate. It looks like they’re heading down the main drag at a normal pace.”
“We see the car they are two blocks ahead and one block west of us,” one of the agents replies. “We think we can get behind them before they vanish.”
“There are two more cars coming, each with two agents,” the caller tells Weisman, “between the three cars one should always have the Benz in sight.”
The time goes by slowly as the Benz seems to be in no hurry. As it approaches the sign for the Parkway north, they pull to the right. They stop and switch drivers, the ladies also switch seats. They continue but pass the Parkway and head west. Two of the cars have gone ahead and one is still following at a good distance.
Weisman directs one of the front running cars to pull over and let the Benz pass.
They had been driving over 15 miles when the Benz puts on its blinker. As it’s ready to turn to the left the first follow car passes. The Benz immediately makes a U-turn, Solly and Weisman are still out of range when they get a call telling them to make a U-turn and wait for the Benz.
In a few minutes the Benz appears. Weisman ducks down and lets Solly drive slowly with a little left-right movement to look like he has had too much to drink. When the Benz passes they wait until they are about a quarter mile away before they start to pick up speed. The other cars have turned and are on their way. The Benz pulls into a motel near Route 9. The girls get out as one of the men walks them to the door. He then gets back in the car. The Benz continues down the road as Solly keeps pace. Another FBI vehicle is ready to take over when suddenly the Benz makes a right into a long driveway. Solly passes the spot and continues for 3-400 feet before he pulls over. Weisman has contacted the other cars and they are standing by.
“What do you make of this?” Weisman asks Solly. “There must be a place behind the storage area which can’t be seen from the street.”
“Sounds like a possibility,” Solly says. “How about if I get out and start on foot. I’ll work my way to the back.”
“Good, be careful,” Weisman says. “I’ll have another two men start on foot from the other side.”
Weisman calls and the two men head across the road and into the woods. Solly has managed to get to the side of the large storage building. He thinks he hears voices in the building. Weisman is notified. He gives the information to the two men approaching from the other side of the building. Solly makes his way to the very back and sees the Benz along with a large dark car he can’t completely make out. He sends the information to Weisman along with the message he is going silent.
Solly looks for a side entrance but there is none. There is a fire escape ladder going up to the roof but he can’t grab the ladder without making a loud noise. He decides to make his way to the back again and go further back passing the cars. This would be a good vantage point. As he does he sees one man leaning against the large car smoking a cigarette. The two other agents were approaching through the woods. They stop, thinking they are as close as they can get without someone hearing them. Solly agrees as he manages to get past the cars and behind a shed which stands near the wooded area behind the storage building. He turns on the phone and texts Weisman, sending him all the information he had. Weisman asks how many are in the building.
“There are no windows in the rear only one metal door and a large garage door behind the loading dock.”
“We need to wait until they come out,” is Weisman’s suggestion, “let me know when all are out and the door is closed or locked. I’ll get the other cars to stand by. They will block the driveway. Now we do what we do best. Get the bad guys!”
Solly waits patiently until he sees the door open. Out come the two men; following them three more. The last man slams the door shut and keys two more bolt type locks shut. Solly calls Weisman and says, “go!”
The three cars block the driveway as the agents open the doors and get behind them, ready for whatever happens next. The baddies hear the cars and panic. Solly shoots two shots into the air followed by, “Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees.” No sooner has Solly finished, then the two agents to the west side of the building fire two shots and repeat what he said. The six men look at each other and realize they are trapped.
The driveway is unblocked. Weisman as he enters picks up two men and continues to the back. All the time he is getting instructions from Solly. As Weisman gets to the back side he hits the six men with bright lights from the car. Solly and the others close in. The two diners are like little children, as they drop the stash, crying for their mommy. They should be easy to get information from but the other four are part of Sean Malloy’s crew and won’t be as easy to break.
“Good job men,” Weisman says, “however, we didn’t get Sean. Maybe the information we get from one or two of these low lives w
ill help get us closer to Mr. Malloy.
Sean’s car is parked near the overpass, on the shoulder of the Parkway. The Parkway runs about eighteen feet above the ground where the storage building is located. He can see what’s happening from his vantage point. Sean gets in his car and tells the driver, “Philly the back way.
~
Sky has arrived in Chicago. He thinks he can finance his songwriting career if he gets the diamonds. He is walking into this with blinders on. He rents a car and finds a cheap out of the way motel not too far from where he thinks the furniture store is located.
Belle is making the rounds as she finds the spot where the used furniture store is supposed to be. The building has been burned down with most of the ruble still lying on the foundation. It is surrounded by a high chain-link fence. There is nothing to steal but because of insurance regulations the fence had to be put in place. Belle shivers as a feeling of disappointment runs through her body. She notices the sign on the fence near the locked gate. It reads: We have moved to a new location, two blocks west and four blocks north, with a printed address. Belle copies the address and follows the directions. Sky has been there less then five minutes before Belle arrives. She waits.
She looks for a sales person and finds a young man talking to an elderly woman. He is asking about the case. Belle listens. When the young man leaves she has a few more questions to ask.
Sky leaves the store. As he does he realizes the woman who was waiting was listening intently to what was being said between him and the elderly lady, whose name he forgot to get. He headed to the old site. The information he received should allow him to get to the old records located in the basement of the old burned down building. The records in the basement were still intact or so the elderly woman thought. He hoped to find a copy of the purchase and a record of the sale. He could only hope it would show when they sold the case and the name of the unsuspecting person they sold it to. His hopes were high. He was looking for a way through the chain-link fence, when a young boy comes up to him and asks for a dollar. Sky is a quick thinker, like his father and tells the boy. “If you can show me a way through the fence I’ll give you $10.”
The young boy told him where there was a small opening. He thought Sky would fit through the hole. Sky handed him the money and headed back to the used furniture store. There were a few more questions in need of answers. He walked out of the way to buy her flowers.
As he walked around the block to get the flowers, Belle was walking back to the original site with all the information she needed, including the hole in the fence and a flashlight. The elderly lady, Barb Hudson, gave her a good idea where to look and what to look for. She headed to find 1975 thru 1978 and look at all the records from those years. Barb, remembered selling the case to a talkative man in his late thirties. Barb said she was glad when the man left because he never came up for air, he just talked and talked and talked. Barb Hudson, didn’t remember his name and never saw him again. “I would have remembered,” she said.
~
There was not much happening in Mudd’s suite. He was getting himself ready for a trip to Toms River. M&M were going to meet up with Mutty, to get all the legal work done for their music. Then a quiet lunch at the Pancake House and back to work at the chateau.
Solly was still busy with the goings on at the FBI office. Much had happened since Monday. Some of Sean Malloy’s men were behind bars, but not Sean himself. Weisman was busy with the piles of paper work which would explain what happened the morning of the raid. Malloy’s storage facility had only a few men working. The positive side of the raid was the large number of illegal drugs they had confiscated. Sean Malloy himself was still at large. Weisman was frustrated.
Jonas was worried about Belle. He hoped she would come to her senses and give up trying to get the case full of diamonds. There may not be any diamonds in the case, they could have been removed. Still he hoped she would call. He’d called several times but her phone always told him the owner of the phone was not there. She had the phone turned off, was his conclusion. He didn’t leave his suite until close to lunchtime.
Chateau 54, was pretty much running itself. The staff at the front desk scheduled themselves to cover for the missing, Cassandra Greene. The usual replacement at the maitre d’ desk was on the job. Everyone but Gerald was working to keep the place running.
Gerald, unknown to anyone had packed his belongings and scooted out for good. He had made a few trips from his office to the parking lot. Carrying his personal papers in his brief case along with his 9mm pistol. Gerald left the family pictures and other things which gave his surroundings the look of a family man. He laughed to himself as he looked at them. They were all purchased at a local flea market. He knew it was time to go. He was heading to Philadelphia to meet up with Jewel, after one last meeting with his source at the FBI office in Newark. He looked forward to lunch at his favorite soul food restaurant. Whatever information he gets will have to suffice. The source seemed to be getting less facts as time elapsed. Something was amiss. Maggie had been removed from the Chateau and arrested as she screamed and kicked her way out the front door. He would be extra careful. First, rent a car with out of state plates and head north.
His first stop was at his abandoned home site near Toms River. He called a car rental office and made arrangements. He would pay the man who lived at the end of the road so he would continue to watch the house for another month maybe two. Then it would be time to leave the country. He was putting his chips in a row.
Jewel was getting antsy. She was looking for Mervin, without success. She wondered where he had gone. Maybe he was working with Gerald. Maybe he partied too much or got hold of some drugs or maybe he…whatever he did or was doing would not work for her. It was time to rid herself of another albatross. She was madder at herself for picking a looser then she was at Mervin. He would soon be in her past.
Gerald got to the soul food place just before eleven, ordered take out, made the usual arrangements as he waited in his car. He met with his source at one fifteen in the afternoon. The source had a copy of all the transcripts from meetings with Jonas Lundgren at the Newark office and also included paperwork turned in by Solly after each meeting at the chateau. As he quickly read over the information he found Jonas put the city of Chicago on top of his list. There was some information still being put together but he felt strongly in his abilities to do research. He would start as soon as he arrived in Philly. He paid off the source and slipped out of Newark without being noticed.
Gerald’s source, Elias Williamson, an analyst in the Newark office was heading back to work. He stopped at his bank to deposit the money he obtained from Gerald. As he entered his place of employment he was arrested. Williamson’s movements were being watched for over two weeks. When he gained entrance to the file room, a restricted high-level area, they knew he was their man. He had left the building to meet with Gerald minutes before the information had been compiled. Another setback for Weisman and the Newark office. Maybe not, Elias Williamson, would talk. He was ready for a deal if he could get one. He got it and spilled all he knew about Gerald.
A moment later Noodles called Solly. He had finally tracked down Gerald’s real name. His European contacts came through.
“Gerald’s real name is Mickey McGrath, according to a copy of what we believe is his birth certificate. His mom is from California, where she met his father, Michael McGrath,” Noodles quickly said. “After her first husband deserted her, leaving a young daughter, she married Michael and sailed with him to Ireland.”
Noodles paused, took a deep breath and continued. “His criminal record is long and far reaching. We don’t believe all of it is here but this is more than you need to arrest the man.”
A warrant for the arrest of Mr. Lucian Santana Gerald was quickly obtained. Solly was told by Weisman to arrest Gerald aka McGrath immediately. Along with two other agents he headed to Chateau 54, only to find they were too late. Lucian had flown the
coop
ThirtyEight — Hunt for the Case
Night came at the Chicago site. The neighborhood was quiet. Sky had been back to the used furniture store and found Barb Hudson had given directions to a woman. Sky’s not happy being second in line. He thinks about packing and heading home. He decides to try to get into the basement and see if the woman is there, maybe find out her intentions. Then he’ll decide if he should stay. Sky has never done anything like this and wonders about the ramifications he could face from the law and his father, mostly his father. He approaches the hole in the fence and finds it right where the young boy told him it was. He quietly squeezes through and looks for the entrance to the basement. It’ s exactly where Barb Hudson said. So far so good. He had purchased a flashlight on his way back to the site. A good move as it was very dark on the way down to the basement. He slowly worked his way through the boxes and sees the metal door he was told about. When he reaches for the key, following Barb’s directions, it’s not there.
“Is this what you’re looking for?” Comes a voice from behind him. It’s Belle. As he turns he sees she has a pistol pointed at him.
“Who are you?” She asks.
“My name is Sky,” stutters a frightened young man.
“What are you doing here?”
Sky relates a short version of the story which brought him to the basement of the old furniture store. Belle realizes he is scared stiff; she decides to trust him. Belle makes friends as she tells him she was protecting herself against dangerous people. Sky even blurts out he may decide to go home. Belle realizes she has a patsy to help her get things done faster. She tells him she has the key but was unable to open the door.