It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week, we all got into a stir over the fact that Jerry the server was not answering his phone. Wentworth made it clear that Jerry was supposed to answer, and the mobile phone was going to voicemail after one ring. Wentworth, Larry, and Andrew are headed to the server break room to see if they can find Jerry. We might as well join them. Although the room is small, all one hundred of us can fit in. Let’s go.

“This is the breakroom, gentlemen.”

“Thanks, Went er, Sanford. I don’t see anyone here. Hey, look. Here’s the phone. Could this be Jerry’s phone?”

“Let me look. Ah yes. It sure looks like the model we issue the servers. I’ll have to check the number, though.”

“Looks like the battery has been taken out.”

“Yeah. No wonder it went to voicemail. Jerry has disabled the phone.”

“If, in fact, this is his phone.”

“I don’t see the battery anywhere.”

“So, detective, what should we do?”

“I’m thinking of going to his house. Do you have the address?”

“I do. It is in my office.”

“We’d appreciate your help.”

“No problem, detective. Follow me.”

***

“Slow down, Andrew. I think the apartment building is next.”

“How about I park here?”

“Yeah, this looks good. The number is 304. I’m assuming it is on the third floor.”

“Of course, it is. With our luck, the elevator will be out of order.”

“Have some faith Andrew. Let’s go in this door.”

“It does look like the entrance.”

“And lookie here. An elevator. Hit the up button, will you?”

“I’ve seen slower elevators, but I can’t remember when.”

“Here it is. Watch your step, old man.”

“You said the third floor. Right?”

“Yup. Boy, you are right. This is a slow one.”

“Here we are. You want to go first?”

“Sure, Andrew. After all, I have a gun.”

“I am guessing 304 is to the right.”

“Very good. Here it is. Oh, look. It has a doorbell.”

“Much better than pounding. Nice tone too.”

“I don’t hear anyone inside. Ring it again.”

“I still don’t hear anyone. Maybe pounding is the way to go. Open up, Jerry. This is the police.”

“Nice subtle touch, Larry.”

“I would say he’s not home.”

“Any way we can go in?”

“Not without a warrant unless we have probable cause.”

“Like a guy takes his battery out of his phone and is alluding the cops by laying low.”

“Let me try the door. An unlocked door could be a sign of forced entry.”

“Locked, huh?”

“Yup. Wait, I hear something. Jerry. Open the door.”

“Hey, man. I was sound asleep. What do you want?”

“We need to come in and talk to you.”

“Sure, man. Come in. You got any coffee?”

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week, we witnessed Charles the server denies he went home with Mrs. Rafferty, which was information received from Jerry the server. Also, Charles lawyered up and decided he wouldn’t do any more talking without a lawyer. We should get back to the Hyatt since I see Larry headed for Sanford Wentworth’s office. He doesn’t look too pleased either.

“Yes, detective. Come right in.”

“I need to talk to Jerry Foster again.”

“Is there a problem Detective

“Yes, there is, but I need to take it up with Jerry.”

“Sure enough. Hold on, I’ll call him.”

“Thank you.”

“That’s strange.”

“What?”

“His cell phonies going to voicemail after one ring.”

“Yeah, well, I have had that happen to mine when the signal’s not good.”

“But throughout our property, we have repeaters. We need to be in constant touch with our employees. This should not happen.”

“You sure he isn’t hitting the ‘not accept’ button.”

“It could be, but he knows this number, and that would certainly be grounds for discipline.”

“So, where does he hang out?”

“There is a little server’s break room off the kitchen. He could be there.”

“Let’s go down there then.”

“Okay, follow me.”

“Wait. I need to get Andrew.”

“I’ll wait for you here.”

“I’ll be right back.”

*

“Hey, Andrew.”

“Yes, Larry. What’s the deal?”

“We need to talk to Jerry Foster, and now he is out of touch with his boss.”

“Yeah, so what? Maybe he is in the men’s room.”

“Wentworth seems concerned, so I’m concerned.”

“Well, if you are concerned, then I’m concerned.”

“Okay, never mind. Just come with me to Wentworth’s office and then to see if we can find Jerry.”

“This is almost like a posse.”

“You do concern me sometimes, Andrew.”

“If you are concerned—”

“Knock it off, Andrew. Let’s just go.”

“Right, you are chief. Lead the way.”

“That’s better.”

“What are we going to do with Jerry Foster when we catch up with him.”

“For one, I want to know why he lied to us.”

“Good point. What else?”

“I think he needs to explain what else he knows about Mrs. Rafferty and the accident with her husband.”

“You think he’ll talk?”

“I have to believe that he will. Hey, Wentworth.”

“Can we go down to the severs room now?”

“Lead the way, Sir.”

My apologies all. I had some technical challenges today and so this post did not publish as scheduled. Here it is now.

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we were all encouraged by the information given Charles Jenkins, one of the two servers that brought room service to Mrs. Rafferty posing as Mrs. Dixon (Whew I hope I haven’t lost anyone.) Charles gave a positive ID when Larry showed him the picture of Janice Rafferty. So the other server is entering the conference room. I think we better get there fast to catch every word.

“Yes, come in young man. This is Andrew and I’m Larry.”

“Y-you guys are cops I hear.”

“Yes, that’s correct. Can we get your name?”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Wait a minute. We haven’t asked anything yet.”

“Yeah, but for the record, I want to stay employed and healthy.”

“What makes you think talking to us could jeopardize those two states of nature.”

“States of nature?”

“Never mind. Why are you so nervous?”

“You are kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m asking a direct question.”

“The hotel manager said you had some questions about who we served.”

“Yeah so,?”

“I’ve served a lot of important people. I wouldn’t want word to get out that I’m a snitch.”

“This person we want information about is not important.”

“Well, that does make a difference. I thought you wanted info on some pretty heavy hitters.”

“No, her name is Dixon and, you served her on the 14^th of February.”

“Valentine’s day?”

“So, happens.”

“I don’t remember.”

“Here’s a picture. Does she look familiar?”

“Oh shit.”

“So you recognize her.”

“Um yeah.”

“Do you know her name?”

“Yeah Mrs. Dixon. Janice Dixon.”

“Why the reaction?”

“Um…well….you see it’s embarrassing.”

“What?”

“Charles and she were a number.”

“What?”

“Yeah, they got hot and heavy at a party that Charles and I went to and then left.”

“When was this?”

“The night before I served her room service.”

“Do you know where they went?”

“No idea. Charles never made it into work and that’s why I had to fill in. I didn’t say anything and just left the food for her. She gave me a hell of a tip.”

“Big tip?”

“I’ll say. A hundred bucks.”

“How come?”

“She just winked at me.”

“Did you talk to Charles about it?”

“Yeah, I asked him where they ended up.”

“What did he say?”

“Just that they had a drink and he dropped her off.”

“Any reason for him not showing up at work?”

“He said he caught the flu.”

“You believe him?”

“Sure, I’ve had the Pabst Blue Ribbon flu before.”

”So, you think he was hungover.”

“Not for me to say.”

“Can I get your name?”

“No more questions?”

“Maybe later.”

“Yeah, it’s Jerry Foster.”

“Okay, Jerry. That’s it for now.”

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we saw Larry and Andrew go to the Hyatt hotel and serve the warrant on the pretentious hotel manager named Wentworth. It seems Wentworth needed to talk to his lawyer before turning over the records. He invited our heroes into the executive area for some coffee. Andrew is suspicious, and Larry tries to assure him that it will be okay. We are wary too. I see the boys are gathered around the silver coffee service, so let’s join them.

“Man, this is Sumatra deep roast. Just smell that bouquet.”

“Reminds me of Chock Full of Nuts.”

“You have to be kidding, Larry.”

“Yeah, I thought I would get your goat.”

“Mmmm. This taste is out of this world.”

“Okay, Andrew. Snap out of it. We are here for business not to swoon over some coffee beans. Where the hell is that guy anyway. He said five minutes.”

“I can see by my watch that it has been five minutes and thirty seconds. How dare he keep us waiting like this.”

“Hilarious, Andrew. Oh, here he comes.”

“Well, gentlemen. Sorry to keep you waiting. I have received clearance from our legal department to give you the records covered by the warrant.”

“Thanks, Wentworth. For some reason, I hear a caveat in your emptor.”

“Emptor.”

“In your words, sir.”

“Oh, no, caveat. Just that I have to be careful to comply with the warrant and not give away the store.”

“So how you going to do that?”

“I will have our lawyer on facetime. He’ll check everything I plan to turn over before I do.”

“Yeah, whatever. Can we get started?”

“Yes, let’s go into my office, and I will bring up the registration records.”

“Great. Lead the way. Andrew, can you tear yourself away from the bean plant and join us?”

“Most certainly, Bawana. I can’t find my machete anyway.”

“You two have a strange way of communicating. Code, I presume.”

“No code. Andrew is a smart ass is all.”

“So here we are. Let me pull up the records. What night are you interested in?”

“Would be the week of February 12^th.”

“Okay, here is the week. What information do you need?”

“When did Ned Dixon check-in?”

“The record shows he checked in on the 13^th.”

“And when di Alexis Rafferty arrive?”

“Humm. He is in on the twelfth.”

“How about Mrs. Rafferty?”

“I’m looking at the whole week. Nope, there is nothing for a Mrs. Rafferty.”

“Damn. Wait. How about with Rafferty. Is there a Mr. and Mrs.?”

“No, just Mr.”

“Larry?”

‘’Yes, Andrew.”

“Try Dixon. See if there is a Mrs. Dixon.”

“Yeah, Wentworth, see if there is a Mrs. Dixon.”

“Yes, I show Mrs. Dixon. Mr. and Mrs. Dixon checked in on the thirteenth.”

“Okay, I need a copy of that registration.”

“Sure enough. Let me call the lawyer.”

“Okay, while you are doing that, Andrew and I need to confer. We’ll be right back. Come on, Andrew.”

“Okay, I think we are far enough from Wentworth’s office. What the hell are we going to do with that piece of evidence? It tells us nothing.”

“It does tell us Mrs. Rafferty was here with Dixon. Now, all we have to do is find someone in the hotel who can identify her. Let’s go back and see if she ordered room service. Maybe the server can remember her.”

“Super idea Andrew. Grab another cup of your elixir, and let’s get back to Wentworth while he has the lawyer on the line.”

Sorry, this post is a little late. I had a scheduling problem this morning.

It is Wednesday Story Day time again, and last week we witnessed the arrival of a couple of Nevada State troopers who are operating on the direction of the Reno District Attorney. Yeah, this was the same DA who seemed to believe Larry and Andrew shot some citizens for no reason. I see the troopers have delivered our heroes to the DA’s office, so I think we better get there.

“Please have a seat, gentlemen. Mr. Taggett will be with you in a moment.”

“Thank you, officers. We appreciate the ride and the security.”

“Just doing our job, detective. We’ll be right outside.”

“Wait until they are gone, Andrew.”

“Why are you always saying that?”

“I just don’t want you making a slip in front of people is all.”

“He who walks on ice is talking about a slip. Okay, they are gone. Can I speak?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“We have a warrant burning a hole in our pocket. By my watch, we have less than twelve hours to use it.”

“I know, but as you can see, we now have friends in high places.”

“You sure about that?”

“I’m as sure as I can be. Hold on here’s a call from the Chief.”

“Our chief?”

“Yes. Sush. Hi Chief. Yes, we are fine. Right now? We are sitting in the waiting room of ADA Spenser Taggert. No, we haven’t talked to him yet. A couple of State Troopers brought us here. Yes, sir, I understand you and the DA had a conversation with Taggert. Huh? The troopers told me. Okay, I understand. Yes, sir, we will. Goodbye, sir.”

“What the heck?”

“The chief says Taggert will give us full cooperation.”

“Why don’t I think that is a good thing?”

“Yeah, I have the same feeling about Taggert. I still think someone has him under their thumb. Well, worst-case scenario, I get my gun back, and we are no better or worse off than when we arrived.”

“A lot of crap has gone on for a zero-sum gain.”

“I think a lot of folks would agree with you.”

“Folks? What folks?”

“Just a manner of speaking. Once we are through here, we need to get to the Hyatt and finally determine if we can nail Mrs. Rafferty with lying.”

“Did the chief offer any other words of advice.”

“Yeah, he said to keep a low profile and to be polite to Taggert.”

“Handy advice, huh?”

“Someone is coming. Later on, my comments.”

“Hello, Gentlemen. Please come in.”

“Thank you, Mr. Taggert.”

“Oh, call me Spencer. After all, we are on the same team.”

“Okay, Spencer.”

“Can I get you a coffee?”

“No, I think we are good. I’m guessing you have talked to the Chief of police in Boston.”

“Oh, yes. Charming man. He actually called my boss, and we all had a nice conversation about a path forward through this mess. I do want to apologize for treating you like persons of interest, but I needed to be careful.”

“Oh, I understand. Believe me, having a couple of guys come into your area of jurisdiction would be a cause of concern.”

“Guys who killed a couple of men, I might add.”

“No hard feelings, Spencer.”

“Nice to hear you say that. I, of course, had a lot of explaining to do.”

“I can imagine. No hare feelings on your part then?”

“Let’s say that my office has been directed to help as much as possible. Let’s start by giving you back your weapon. “

“Thank you.”

“Now, if you will excuse me, I have a full agenda today. Please let me know how I can help.”

“We will.”

“One more thing.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Please keep me in the loop on what you find out.”

“You can count on that. We will be going now.”

“Good day, then.”

“Yes, good day. Get up Andrew, we are leaving.”

“Need to ask.”

“Wait until we are outside, Andrew.”

“Slip sliding away. The nearer your destination, the more it keeps slip-sliding away.”

“Very funny.”