The Rented Mule (30 page)

“That’s interesting,” he said aloud but mostly to himself as he pulled a folded manila envelope out of the bucket.

“Yeah, it’s ironic, ’cause some of the folks Gates deals with seem pretty rough, but not Cooper’s acquaintances. His friends are—”

“Not that. This,” the detective said, opening the envelope.

“What is it?”

“I can’t discuss the case. Stand by.”

“Do what?” she asked, clearly confused.

“Ma’am, could you give us some privacy, please.”

“Sure, of course. Just call if I can help,” she replied perturbed and slowly backed out of the office.

Detective Obermeyer was shocked to see sheaves of printed Internet articles about various anesthetics and other pharmaceuticals, restraint techniques, and articles about kidnappings. Each page cast additional doubt on Cooper’s innocence.

“O, you’re gonna want to see all this,” the female detective said excitedly.

Shaking his head and closing the folder, he walked over.
“Whatcha got?”

“Either Cooper Dixon is the most computer-illiterate person I’ve come across or he wants us to catch him. Check this out,” she said in an energized whisper.

“Go on,” he said, bending over to better see the screen.

“Evidently he doesn’t know how to delete the Deleted folder. There are tens of thousands of e-mails in that folder. They go back years.”

“Being an idiot with respect to computers isn’t a crime.”

“No, but check out his Internet history. Totally incriminating. Look at these websites. They’re a blueprint for kidnappin’, druggin’ somebody, even murder. I mean there are
dozens
of sites,” she said as she pointed to the screen showing his recent web travels.

“Stand by.”

“And look at these e-mails… there are at least six of them to a Hotmail account. They clearly establish how he found and hired someone to kidnap his ole lady. It’s all here.”

“Please, stand by,” he said, reaching for his Pepto-Bismol to calm his rumbling stomach. The detective was trying to digest the large volume of apparently incriminating information. He walked over to shut the office door. He needed quiet to think. He finally said, “Forward those e-mails to me. We need to get this room locked down. Let’s take that computer and what I found and get out of here—exigent circumstances will cover us. Based on what I’m seein’, Cooper’s capable of anything. I sure hope Mrs. Dixon’s still alive.”

The female detective pointed the mouse, clicked, and rapidly typed. After a moment she said, “Done. The agency’s server capacity is huge, allowing all of these e-mails to be saved. Give me a little time, and there’s no telling what I’ll uncover. Our boy’s been bad.”

Detective Obermeyer said, “This is almost too easy. We gotta be careful. I’ll get a warrant to seize the company’s… whaddaya call it? Server?”

“Yep. It’s the main computer for the business. You’ll also need to include in the warrant application this desktop computer. It appears that each office’s computer is networked with the server, so we need both.” She looked up, noticing the envelope in Obermeyer’s hand and asked, “What’s that?”

“I gotta tell the commander that we need to arrest him ASAP. We’ve got enough now, and you’re right, there’s no telling what else we’ll find.”

Obermeyer stood looking around Cooper’s office. Some criminals tried to hide their guilt by complete cooperation with the authorities. He had seen it before. But he had never seen incriminating evidence so easily found.
The minnow bucket was a pretty good hiding spot, but not deleting his e-mails—that’s just stupid. Oh, well, it’s almost always the spouse anyhow.

C
NN and Fox News wanted to set up camp in front of the Dixon home, but since it was a private gated community, the guards stopped them. Network lawyers quickly determined that the city owned the streets and the guards were bluffing. It was game on at that point, to the horror of the other residents. They never dreamed the outside world could just waltz into their exclusive neighborhood. News trucks poured through what everyone had assumed was their protection from “those people.” The guards had to just watch them drive by.

So the national media, along with its satellite dishes and noisy generators, decided to set up at two locations: the Dixons’ home and the Montgomery police headquarters.

The Client had driven by the police station three times during the day and was ecstatic at all the attention he had created. He was so totally focused on destroying Cooper that he couldn’t see or think about anything else now. He was close to his goal, and he was a much better man since he quit taking all those prescription drugs. The world would soon see.
He turned up the volume to the Bon Jovi tune “Wanted…” and sang the words “dead or alive” in an ominous voice.

Detective Obermeyer drove to the rear of the police station in an effort to avoid the press, hoping not to see the
Montgomery Advertiser
newspaper reporter waiting—she had the scary ability to make him talk. More than once he had inadvertently leaked information to her under the spell of her sultry brown eyes. He had to keep a level head to concentrate on finding Kelly Dixon. He was assuming and hoping she was still alive, but each passing day worked against the statistics.

C
larence had planned the final payment drop for tonight and was busy preparing his team for any eventuality. He had Jesse Ray ready the area with a wireless security camera, and Jenny would be watching from a vantage point ready to alert them at any sign of danger. Clarence liked the rest area that was just across the Tallapoosa River, north of Montgomery. It was semiprivate and perfect for a drive-in and drive-out scenario. It also allowed them a certain element of control. The Client didn’t know where the meeting was, he just knew to expect a call tonight and to be ready to move.

Confident they had a workable plan, Clarence checked his watch: 8:30 p.m. Nodding his head at Jesse Ray, he used his cell phone to call the disposable cell that he had given to the Client. If he hadn’t been dealing with the kidney stones and a herniated disk, he would have tried to work the Client for more money. He and Jenny had decided after a long discussion to simply finish the job, take the money, and run.

“The sumbitch ain’t answerin’!” Clarence said to Jenny and Jesse Ray.

“Let it keep ringing, he could be in a crowd,” Jenny answered. “You never know… he could be trying to get somewhere private and answer it.”

“Or he could be standin’ us up!” Clarence said with distrust in his voice.

“Want me to track him?” Jesse Ray asked.

“Yeah, go ahead. If he don’t answer in ten minutes, we’ll go find him.”

“Could be a simple reason,” Jenny offered optimistically.

“It had better be; we’ve done everything he wanted. He’s gonna pay up.”

Jesse Ray launched the computer program to track the GPS coordinates of the cell phone they gave to the Client. “It’ll take a few minutes.”

“Y’all hungry?” Clarence asked. “There’s a Mexican joint back up the road.”

“I could eat something; I can always eat somethin’,” Jesse Ray added.

“Let’s go… I’m cravin’ some chicken fajitas,” Clarence explained.

D
etective Obermeyer walked with purpose up the stairs to his perfectly organized desk. When his phone rang it surprised him, but palming it out of his pocket he immediately recognized the number. He quickly set down his briefcase and watched it ring twice more. Taking a deep breath, he thought how he’d handle the call, finally deciding to just follow his instincts.

On the third ring, he answered, “Detective Obermeyer.”

“Detective, I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but I was checkin’ my BlackBerry about twenty minutes ago, and it looks like someone sent you some really crazy shit from my computer!” Cooper yelled.

The detective quickly realized that Cooper’s PDA was synchronized with his desktop and when the detective caused the e-mails to be forwarded to him, they showed as sent mail on his handheld unit.
Damn it! I shoulda been more thorough.

Cooper continued, “And they were sent to you! What the hell’s goin’ on?”

“I really need you to come downtown… or tell me where you are, and I’ll come to you. We need to talk,” the detective said. He thought,
I need to get a rope around Cooper quick.

“I don’t think so… you think I did it. Don’t you?”

“Did what?”

“You know damn well what—that I had somethin’ to do with my wife’s disappearance!”

“I just want you to explain the e—”

“I can’t explain ’em. I’ve never seen those e-mails in my life!” Cooper interrupted.

“Okay, that’s fine. I understand, but we really do need to talk in person. Where are you?”

“I should call a lawyer first.”

“Do you need one?”

“Yeah, apparently I do since you’ve decided that I’m guilty. I don’t
need
one, but I sure as hell
want
one!”

“Just let me come get you.”

“Free ride downtown right? You gonna arrest me?”

“I’ll be honest, Cooper. It’s all pointin’ at you,” Obermeyer stated and suddenly wished he hadn’t.

“This is bullshit! I haven’t slept in days, my kids are freakin’ out, my phone’s not stopped ringin’, TV crews are camped outside our house… I just want my wife and my life back,” Cooper said, sweating and panicked.

“Where’s Kelly now? I can help you.”

“I don’t know.”

“Where’s she hidden?”

“I. Don’t. Know! Aren’t you listening? How can you say it’s pointin’ at me?!”

“The e-mails for one.”

“They aren’t mine! I swear to you. I’ve never seen them before. Besides, what’s my motive?”

“I haven’t got that figured out yet. I have a lot of other unanswered questions, for example, I can’t account for where you were Saturday night.”

“I told you. I was at my huntin’ camp.”

“Can anyone confirm your alibi?”

“Not exactly, but I was there.” Cooper wished now that he had gone to the football game so that someone could vouch for him.

“Gates stated that you were at the game.”

Cooper was stunned for a moment. “Gates is lying. He thinks I’m havin’ an affair and is tryin’ to cover for me.”

“So are you?”

Cooper was silent. The detective tried to allow the silence to force a comment. After a few seconds, he decided to shock a response.

“I talked to the private investigator Kelly hired to follow you.”

“I expected you would,” Cooper replied.

“He said there was such a big crowd at the game, you gave him the slip. He said he could feel it in his bones that something was about to happen, and then it just vaporized. Like you got tipped off.”

The detective was surprised by Cooper’s silence. He then added, “Evidently, you’re pretty slick, or the PI got started late.”

“Obviously, they aren’t any good, or they’d know that I was at my camp Saturday night, alone, and not at the ball game. Look, I don’t know what’s happenin’!”

“It may come as a surprise to you, but kidnappings are rare in the United States. They occur in Central America and along the Mexican US border but not around here. So what’s going on, Cooper? Why did you kidnap your wife? Help me help you.”

“I’m trying to help. Somebody’s settin’ me up.”

“That’s why you need to come in and explain some things to us.”

“No, I need to think. I’ll get back in touch later.”

“If you don’t come in now, I’m goin’ to the media. And when I do, they will unleash a world of shit on you. Do you understand me?”

“I understand that you aren’t doin’ your freakin’ job or you’d
know
it’s
not me
.”

“Oh, I believe we’ve found who’s responsible.”

“You’re wrong. I’m not comin’ in.”

“Officers are on their way to your house right now. They’ll be there in five minutes. If you’re not there, I’ll ping your cell. I’ll find you. When the media gets ahold of this, you won’t be able to hide under a rock. Wise up; it’s over, buddy boy.”

Cooper had been driving home on the interstate when the e-mails caught his attention. As he talked to the detective, two black-and-white units raced past on the service road, lights flashing but no sirens. He knew that he couldn’t go home and that he needed to turn off his cell phone. Panic gripped him. Common sense was telling him to go “downtown,” but some deeper portion of his brain drove him to run, stay free, and do what he could on his own to find Kelly. He didn’t know where to start or how to look, but he knew that if he were locked in a cell, it wouldn’t help anyone.
I gotta find Kelly and figure out why I’m bein’ set up.

“I’ll be in touch.” Cooper broke the connection and then removed the cell phone’s battery.

“Cooper! Cooper! Damn it!”

The detective grabbed his briefcase and charged up the stairs to talk to his waiting commander and the Montgomery County district attorney.

T
he Client finally answered the disposable phone, giving a ridiculous excuse for his delay that provoked screams of anger from Clarence. The Client simply hung up in the middle of Clarence’s expletive-rich rant. He had no intention of paying the balance due and realized he may have to kill Mad Dog and his pint-sized helper.
I can do that,
he thought.

When the phone rang again, he decided to provoke Mad Dog. He was feeling indomitable. “I already told you why I couldn’t talk.”

“You better listen to me, you worthless little piece of shit. I
know
who you are. I
know
where you work, and I
know
where you live.” Clarence calmly continued, “Think carefully. I see loads of excruciatin’ pain in yo future if you make the wrong decision.”

The Client started to panic. Due to the effects on his brain from his drug abuse, he hadn’t thought things completely through.

“Listen to me, you little prick, if you don’t pay what you owe me, plus five grand for expenses, plus another five thousand for hanging up on me just now, I’m gonna hunt you down, and when I find you,
and I will
, I’m gonna tie your little pecker to a trotline weighted with a lawn mower engine and drop your sorry, pasty-white ass in the middle of the Alabama River. You feel me?”