It is Wednesday Story Day again. Last week Andrew made a surprise suggestion that he and Larry consult with the fortune-teller to see if they can discover additional suspects. Andrew seems to have bought into the fact that Gloria (Larry’s deceased wife) might be a good source of information. I see Larry and Andrew going into the fortune teller’s shop now. We need to go there.

“My goodness, Larry. You didn’t tell me the shop was on this side of town.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

“No, but I could have brought something to protect myself.”

“Hello? You are aware that detectives carry weapons, right?”

“Yes, of course. I am more comfortable handling my own defense methods.”

“You know, Andrew, sometimes you are a pain.”

“Been told that before, Larry.”

“Why look at the two handsome men who have ventured into my shop.”

“Hello, Ms. Lee.”

“Hi, Larry. Please call me Micki. Who is this handsome, senior statesman with you?”

“My name is Andrew, and I must say you have brightened an old man’s day.”

“You know that in China, mature men are revered for their knowledge.”

‘So, I’ve heard. Unfortunately, we are not in China.”

“In my shop, you might as well be,”

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, Larry?”

“If you two are quite finished with this whatever it is you are doing, I would like to reach Gloria.”

“Well, Andrew. Looks like the adult has arrived. I guess I had better get to work.”

“I did enjoy the interlude, Ms. Lee.”

“Maybe after I finish with old grumpy face here, you and I could step out for tea. Better yet, old grumpy face can step out, and I could show you my ancient Chinese art collection along with some tea.”

“I’m sure your collection is quite lovely.”

“I can see you know the right things to say, Andrew. Now follow me to my back room. You too, Larry.”

“Right behind you, Micki.”

“So, have a seat and let me see if Gloria is in the mood to talk. Close your eyes, Larry. Concentrate. Do you remember how we contacted Gloria last time?”

“Yes, I sang the G-L-O-R-I-A song. Should I do that again.”

“No. Just think of the song in your head. Gloria can hear it.”

“Even if it is in his head, he is still off-key.”

“Oh my God. Gloria is that you?”

“Yes, Larry. I’m here.”

“I’m going to cry again.”

“Please, Larry. You don’t need to do that. I’m fine.”

“He might be crying for himself, Gloria. He misses you so much.”

“I know that, Micki. It does make me sad though.”

“You two know I’m here, right?”

“Yes, Larry, dear. We know.”

“Say what you want. I’m waiting right here for Friday.”

It is Wednesday Story Day time again and last week Larry and Andrew made a decision to see if they can get Louis to open up and perhaps confess to offing Sandusky. They also reminded themselves (or maybe Gloria stepped in) to look for other motives and not just focus on the possibility of Louis getting greedy. So let’s get back to the police station and go with Larry into the interrogation room.

“So, Louis. How are you feeling today?”

“Other than being held here against my will, I feel great.”

“You can leave anytime, Louis. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

“No thanks. That crankcase oil you cops call coffee is not to my taste.”

“Water then.”

“No, sir. I don’t want anything from you.”

“You sound a little resentful, Louis.”

“I think the word is pissed, detective.”

“Why so, Louis?”

“You haul me down to this station and make like I have something to hide. I told you everything I know about Sandusky and it is like you don’t believe me.”

“Why is that important?”

“You have to be kidding me. You are the police. You can arrest me anytime for anything.”

“That’s not true Louis. We need to have probable cause to arrest you.”

“And?”

“We have nothing on you except you invented a procedure that killed a man. Might be a stretch but I think I could make a case for involuntary manslaughter.”

“So, charge me then.”

“I really don’t want to take taxpayer time and money chasing a charge that some fancy lawyer could convince a judge to give you community service as a sentence. I would rather get some information from you to find the real killer. You can afford a fancy lawyer, right?”

“I don’t have any money for a lawyer. What kind of information are you looking for anyway?”

“I want to know who would want Sandusky dead?”

“Oh, is that all. You have a Boston phone directory?”

“Um yeah.”

“Open any page and there are probably three or four on that page who would want Sandusky dead.”

“You know I’m not one who likes games much.”

“I’m just trying to say there are a whole lot of people who are better off as a result of Sandusky’s death.”

“You kill him?”

“Hell no.”

“Know who did?”

“I have a couple of suspicions, yes.”

“Talk to me.”

“What do I get out of fingering some possibilities?”

“I’ll forget about the manslaughter charge if I can bring a murder one against someone else.”

“In writing?”

“Hell no.”

“I guess I’ll have to trust you then.”

“I guess so.”

“I’ll have that coffee now.”

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week, Andrew and Larry met Louis the tech. He gave them an overview of how the electronic cleaner worked and now it is time to try it out. I see they have put the anchor in the vat. We should get there to see how the thing works.

“So, I have attached the negative terminal to the anchor. The water and citric acid will act as the positive. When the forces come together, the scale should drop off.”

“How long will it take to finish?”

“Oh, I would say less than an hour.”

“Can you put more than one item in at a time?”

“Sure you can, but you have to amp up the power.”

“So a huge item will take more power?”

“Yes, Andrew. The bigger or more numerous, the more power.”

“What is the biggest thing you have ever done?”

“Probably car parts.”

“Car parts?”

“Yeah, this thing does a number on rust. You put a fender in there, and it comes out like it was just stamped out at the factory.”

“I never thought of that. So why is this place bankrupt. I would think there would be a lot of business.”

“Not sure, Andrew. All I know is the owner disappeared, and there was no one to mind the store until the bank stepped in.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yeah. He was at work one day and then gone the next.”

“No family?”

“Nope, his life was this business. That’s what makes it so odd.”

“When did this happen?”

“About six months ago, Larry. I tried to do what I could but I’m not a businessman, so it was fruitless.”

“I don’t know too many who could go from operator to company savior, Louis. Are you going to start this thing?”

“Yeah. It is just one setting and a push of the button. There you go. Underway.”

“Wow, look at that bubbling. It looks like the anchor is getting a good scrubbing.”

“Louis, one question.”

“Yes, Andrew.”

“What would happen if someone fell into the vat?”

“Odd question. But let me say for the first hour, nothing. The negative pole would have to be attached to do any immediate harm. After an hour, like I said before, the citric acid would start to react with the skin.”

“So if there was any reaction by attaching the pole what would it be?”

“I don’t get where you are going with this, Andrew. You have been all over the place with the talk of human interaction with this system. Why don’t you just come out and tell me what you want to know?”

“Very well. Can a human be destroyed with this system?”

“Yes. Completely.”

“Any way internal organs can be destroyed without harming the body?”

“I would think so. Would all depend on power level and electrode placement.”

“Electrode placement?”

“Yes, the electrode would need to be on the inside of the body.”

“That would leave evidence of the intrusion.”

“Not if the probe was fine enough. It would be a tiny hole through the epidermis and into the organ.”

“Do you have experience with this procedure.”

“No. Of course not. We are talking hypothetically.”

“Yeah, of course, we are. Very interesting Louis.  How long before our anchor is done?”

“Do you really care about the anchor?”

“No. You ever heard the name, Sandusky?”

“Sandusky?”

“Yeah.”

“I met him about ten years ago.”

“Oh? Do tell?”

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week Andrew got a call from a firm that had the equipment that could be used to pulverize a heart. A meeting was set up for 3:00 but Andrew had a feeling the guy on the phone didn’t know too much about the process. Andrew felt the guy was a banker who led him to the conclusion that the company was bankrupt. Larry and Andrew went off to have some lunch and then visit the company. I see they are out front of what looks like a warehouse. Larry is hauling an anchor which is the item of subterfuge to get a demonstration of the machine capabilities. We better get over there.

“Jumping gee Josaphat this thing is heavy.”

“Yeah, I wish I could help, but my back is killing me.”

“It might also be that second bowl of chowder. Which I suspect you wouldn’t have had if you were picking up the tab.”

“I explained that I forgot my wallet. I’ll get the next one.”

“Seems I hear that a lot.”

“I mean it.”

“Yeah, okay. Look at this building. Looks like something out of the forties. Did Dixon say where to meet him?”

“No. I suppose we might as well go inside. Follow me.”

“Slow down. Hold the door will ya.”

“Wow look at this place. Hello anyone here?”

“I think there must be a coat of rust on everything. I’m going to leave this anchor by the door.”

“Gentlemen. Welcome to Gault Industries.”

“Are you Mr. Dixon?”

“I sure am. You can call me Ned.”

“Okay, Ned. My name is Andrew, and this is Larry. As we outlined in our ad, we were wondering if we could take a look at your descaling operation and see if your firm might have the capability to do some work for us.”

“We would be delighted to help you in any way we can. Your ad mentioned an anchor. Are you all in the salvage business?”

“Why yes, we are. We have a deep diving business, and we will need a safe way to clean some of the items we bring up. In fact, we brought the anchor to test the equipment.”

“I have to tell you that I’m not very familiar with the equipment. I work for the bank that holds the mortgage on this building.”

“Let me guess. The owners haven’t been keeping up with their payments.’

“Correct. But we still have some qualified people who can work with you to give you what you need.”

“Is there anyone around who can do a demo today?”

“Andrew is it? Yes, there is a technician here today. I’ll call him as soon as we are ready.”

“And if we decide to use this company, how do we know the work will get done?”

“You have the assurance of the First Source Bank and Trust.”

“Okay good enough for me. Call the technician. We should get this demo done.”

“You won’t be sorry. Hold on I need to give him a call.”

“In the meantime, Larry why don’t you fetch the anchor.”

“In the meantime, Andrew, I’m sure the tech will figure out how to do that.”

“Okay, gentlemen. The tech will be here shortly.”

“How long has this guy been working here.”

“Louis has been here twelve years, Larry.”

“Twelve years? Excellent.”