The Price of Candy (5 page)

“And I’m sticking my neck out
because...?”

“You’re right, Mel, it doesn’t sound like
much evidence and admittedly I don’t know much more. Something sure
as hell is going on over there. The mother’s the reckless type. For
chrissake, she sells panties on the Internet.”

“That’s not porn and it’s not illegal.”

“I think it’s just a cover for the porn. The
daughter is certain this Toby is coming over tonight. The girl is
very bright. She’s certain something big is going to happen
tonight. She saw her mother get out her gun this morning. And the
mother told her to stay over at her friend’s house and not dare
come home.”

“She one of the victims?”

She held up her crossed fingers. “Don’t think
so. I asked her about that and she said no, but children don’t
admit such things easily.”

“Look, now! There’s a man walking up the
front. Geez Mel, I was right.”

“How can I look...give me the scope back.
Yeah, someone on the front porch, he must have parked on the other
side. He’s trying to look in the window. Now he’s going around to
the back.”

“Good, now’s the time. Go arrest him.”

“What! I can’t just go arrest him.”

“Hey, it’s dark, you were passing by and saw
a prowler at the side of the house. Stop talking and at least go
check him out. Hurry!”

Mel watched the man moving through the bushes
to the back of the house. “Can you prove any of this?”

“Not yet. Okay, forget I ever mentioned child
porn. He’s just your everyday church-going prowler. Now accost him
and hold him as long as you can. You saw a prowler and you checked
him out. You’re going to be a hero.”

“What are you going to be doing while I’m
over there stuffing my career down the toilet?”

“If you’ll detain the man, I’ll go knock on
her back door and try not to get shot.”

They both got out. The detective remained by
his vehicle. She walked slowly to the back of the house straining
to look into the darkness for the man. All at once, the kitchen
lights went out and the back door flew open. The flash and crack of
gunshot filled the doorway.

“Toby!” Abby yelled out from the darkened
house.

Sandy heard a man cry out and then moan. She
ran onto the back porch. “Don’t shoot again. It’s me...Sandy!”

The door slammed shut, but she caught it
before Abby could lock it. She forced it open. She could see Abby
standing there holding a revolver straight out with both hands.

“I don’t know what you were doing out there,
Sandy, but you are definitely becoming a problem.”

“Put the gun down, Abby.”

“You shouldn’t have butted into this. From
the very start you didn’t want to be friends.” She raised the gun
until it pointed directly at Sandy’s head. “Sorry, old friend.”

“Abby, put the gun down. You may have a story
ready about shooting Toby out there, but you can’t explain shooting
me in your kitchen.”

“You shouldn’t have forced your way in here.
Being sort of dark and all, I assumed it was the prowler, your
Honor.”

“I can see you fine. Better not shoot. A
sheriff’s detective is standing right behind me.”

Abby could then hear the crackling of a
police radio outside. She lowered the gun and turned on the lights.
“I wasn’t certain it was really you, Sandy. I would never have shot
you. I thought I heard someone outside.”

“You did. Your partner, Toby, is out there
trying to stay alive and is explaining to a cop why he shouldn’t go
to prison. And then it’s your turn. It’s over Abby. The police know
the entire story.” Sandy knew they didn’t know anything yet.

“No, I thought it was our abuser Bruce Banks
out there. He’s been threatening me.” She placed the gun on the
kitchen table.

“Bruce Banks? How did he get into this?
Sounds like a phony story you made up so you could shoot Toby. Your
Internet panty business was just a front for child porn sales
wasn’t it?”

Abby slumped into a chair. Then her head
snapped up as she realized what Sandy had said. “What’d you say?
I’m doing what?”

“You came up with this scheme to get rid of
Toby.”

“After that, you said something about
porno?”

“Don’t even try denying it, Abby. The entire
setup is obvious and the hard evidence shouldn’t be difficult to
find. Your slimy operation will be shut down and you’ll go to
jail.”

Abby shook her head. “You are out of your
fucking mind!”

Sandy pushed the gun on the table farther
away. “Tonight’s shooting should be enough probable cause for a
judge to issue a warrant to search your house and computer, and
Toby’s house and his computer. After that, we trace the money and
call in the Feds. It’s all over.”

“I’m not in business with Toby. I’ve never
been involved in porn, don’t want to be, and never will be. I don’t
know how you came up with such craziness.”

Sandy could hear the slamming of car doors
and the yelling of police outside. The high-low wail of an
ambulance siren got louder.

“You better hope Toby doesn’t die or you can
add a murder charge to your problems. I don’t know how you even
came close to hitting him in the dark.”

“I’m telling you, you’ve got this wrong.”

“Tell it to the judge. For your daughter’s
sake here’s what you should do. Shut up now until you get a lawyer
and then agree to testify against Toby and everyone else involved.
Unless you’ve been into some other heavy junk the last few years,
you’ll get probation for cooperating and bringing down the
operation. Let me know how I can help with Jamie.”

“Sandy, I swear to you on Jamie’s life. I’ve
never been involved in porn.”

Detective Pomar came in with his gun drawn.
When he saw Abby sitting talking to Sandy, he put the gun away and
took out the handcuffs. “Maybe the medics can revive him, but I
think that man out there is dead.”

Within minutes, house lights and porch lights
in the neighborhood popped on, one by one, alerted by the gunshot.
The intensity of excited voices increased as gapers and gawkers
were now gathering in the street, in the gravel driveway, and some
even closer, standing on the lawn of Abby Olin’s house. More
sheriffs’ vehicles with flashing lights and crackling radios
descended and parked at odd angles around the corner lot.

As secondary officers arrived, they were able
to secure the immediate area near the house with yellow barrier
tape. Everyone present, whether standing in the street, in the
driveway, or on the lawn, was surprised when asked to remain inside
the tape. The officers then questioned each to determine if they
were a suspect, a witness or merely a bystander. All were found to
be bystanders and were excused. The officers then checked all
vehicles parked within 500 feet of the house for ownership. The
area rapidly became a full-blown crime scene.

A bulky man wearing a black suede jacket
stood by his unmarked Crown Vic and motioned Sandy over. He
introduced himself as Detective Triney from the sheriff’s office.
He needed her statement. He was broad and built close to the ground
like an army tank. His crew-cut salt-and-pepper hair matched the
gunmetal frames on his police-style sunglasses. He also had
gorgeous white teeth, Sandy noted.

His appearance didn’t intimidate her. She had
stood toe to toe arguing with menacing Philadelphia cops hiding
their eyes behind dark sunglasses. If you can do that without
losing your nerve, you can doubtless conquer the world. At least
you can face a sheriff’s detective in Florida with no fear.

He slid into his vehicle and motioned her to
the front seat beside him. He appeared remarkably comfortable
behind the steering wheel. Nature had sculptured him for such a
place in law enforcement. He’d been positioned there, off and on,
for twenty years.

“Is it Sergeant or Lieutenant?”

“Lieutenant,” he said without looking up from
his notes.

“Right, nice to meet you Detective Lieutenant
Triney. A lieutenant no doubt supervises other detectives. I’m
impressed,” she said honestly. “Now first, I wonder if I can make a
phone call.”

“You’re not under arrest, Miss.”

“I know.” She checked her watch. “But I need
to make a call before it gets too late, I need to get word to a
little girl down the street who’s no doubt wondering what all the
sirens are about.”

“No phone calls just yet.”

“Where’s Detective Pomar?”

“Let’s talk about you just now, Miss.”

Her phone rang. She glanced over at the
detective who nodded okay. “Oh, hi, Chip. No, I’m all right.” She
noticed the detective had removed his sunglasses and his eyes had
widened slightly when he heard the name. “I’ll explain it to you
later. I might need a ride back to where I parked my car. Ok, I’ll
call you.” She snapped her phone shut.

The detective said, “That was Chip Goddard,
wasn’t it? So you’re
that
Sandy Reid. You made quite a name
for yourself in Park Beach a couple of months ago. Seems you’ve
quite a talent for running around and in general pissing everyone
off. But you got your brother out.”

“I had help.”

“From what I hear, you helped Detective
Goddard more than he helped you. He put his job on the line for
you. You know, State Attorney Moran’s never forgiven either of you
for getting the best of him. You know what the people in law
enforcement say about you? ‘Don’t make eye contact with her and if
she attacks play dead.’”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I heard that one.”

“Did you really work for Philly PD.?”

“No, I did grunt work in the field for a
defense law firm up there. My job was to find dirty little secrets
hidden in records and reports, locate witnesses, and talk with cops
when possible. Usually we were on different sides because our firm
was defending someone the police were accusing. But sometimes it
was to our mutual advantage to help each other. Like you and me,
Lieutenant. We’re going to be buddy-buddy aren’t we?”

He ignored the offer. “You ever think of
going into law enforcement? We could use you here in the county at
the sheriff’s office. I suppose since Goddard is a city detective
you might want to work in there.”

“Either way I’d be working in State Attorney
Moran’s judicial district and we don’t get along.”

“Think about it. With your law degree you
wouldn’t start at the bottom.”

“Don’t have my degree yet. I prefer to defend
people instead of prosecute them. You and I are on different
sides.”

The detective smiled. “I’m on the side of
justice. Which side are you on?”

“Touché. Lieutenant, we’re going to get along
just fine.”

“Goddard is quite a detective, I hear. Don’t
get to interact much with him since we’re on different forces. What
I’ve seen I like. He’s an ex-marine officer...of course, you know
that.” He placed his clipboard on the seat between them. “Look Miss
Reid, you must be tired. If you’d rather do this statement later,
you could come over to the sheriff’s office first thing in the
morning.”

“Call me Sandy. No, it’s okay. Go ahead and
do your job.”

“You wanted to make a phone call...go
ahead.

“It’s private. May I get out of the car for a
minute?”

“Sure.”

She phoned Jamie at her friend’s and
explained Jamie’s mother was involved in a shooting, but was okay.
They’d keep her in jail at least overnight. “I’ll try to get her
out tomorrow. You stay there and keep your mouth shut, okay? I’ll
pick you up in the morning. You were very brave to trust me on
this.”

“We heard all the sirens down the block.
Someone said some man was shot. Was it that Toby?”

“I’ll explain everything tomorrow. Don’t
worry.”

“Do I have to go to a foster home?”

“If all goes well, your mom will receive
probation and you’ll be back in your old room. I hope she’s learned
her lesson. You’re the one who saved her, she’s very lucky to have
you. In any case, I’m your advocate, right?” Sandy started to add
she’d love to have such a smart cookie as her own foster child, but
such a statement was not to be made lightly.

“Now this will be in the papers Jamie, so if
any of your friends ask or make fun about any of this, just play
dumb. You don’t know anything. People go absolutely nuts when they
hear about this kind of stuff, so not one peep out of you or it
could ruin your mother’s chances for probation. Okay?”

“Geez Sandy, I got it. And Sandy, when this
is over will you take me for a ride in your little red car so my
hair can blow around like yours?”

“Sure, Sweetie, I’ll pick you up in the
morning. Bye now.”

Sandy gave the detective whatever information
he needed for his report. Almost an hour later, he closed his
notebook, “That’s it for now. Here’s my card. Call if think of
anything or need anything. Want me to take you back to you car or
wherever?”

“That would be nice. Thanks.”

“You asked me about Detective Pomar...he’s
being interrogated as well. We’re still totaling the procedural
violations against him.”

“Give him a break if you can. He didn’t
cooperate with me.”

“So you forced yourself into his
vehicle?”

“No, but he challenged me at every turn and
was still at his vehicle when the shot rang out. He had no choice
about getting involved at that point. I’m to blame for all his
problems.”

Triney drove her to her parked car. When he
left, she phoned Chip immediately. They had become acquainted while
opposing each other after he arrested her brother for the murder of
a Florida State Senator. She’d established an uneasy rapport and
won him over eventually. He jeopardized his job to help her as he
gradually became convinced State Attorney Moran was on the wrong
track. Even saved her from drowning when a suspect unexpectedly
turned on her. She and her precious MX-5 ended up overturned in a
roadside drainage canal. After she cleared her brother of all
charges, their friendship had progressed to steady dating and
occasional sleepovers. “May I stay at your place tonight? I’m still
hearing gunshots and sirens in my head. I don’t want to be
alone.”