Jungle Warriors, Crime Fighters Page 6

  KC continued, “The way I figure it, we could have as many as four teams on surveillance duty at any one time. For the duration of this project, the team members will work eight-hour surveillance shifts, eight hours of regular duty here and have eight hours off. I think that’s the toughest part of this operation, the scheduling. Top, you coordinate the schedules with your people. Also, see if anyone’s available from Executive Security. By definition, all agents in Executive Security who aren’t currently on a reconnaissance or executive protection mission are available. Top, you make sure everyone knows the full skinny on this. Once they know, I’m sure there won’t be any slackers. There’s one more thing. Nobody is to tell anybody, that’s wives, girlfriends, buddies, anybody, what this is about or what we’re doing. I suggest that Top runs the scheduling aspect of this and Peeps runs the field operation. You guys have any questions or comments? Wait a minute. I’ve got a better idea. When this guy is apprehended, call me. I’ll get the detectives that are assigned to this case involved. OK, now you can ask questions.”

  Ol’ Top said, “What’re we going to use for communications?”

  “That’s up to Peeps. Use cell phones or get walkie-talkies.”

  Peeps responded, “This looks like a charity gig to me, so let’s not spend money unnecessarily. We’ll use our cell phones.”

  “What else, Top?”

  “I guess I trained you pretty well. That’s it.” Top grinned.

  Just then, the phone on KC’s desk rang. He held up a finger and picked up the receiver. He answered, “KC here, may I help you?” KC listened for about twenty seconds without saying anything. He then said, “Thanks for calling, Lieutenant, I appreciate it. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

  Then he told the men seated in his office, “Well, guys, they already picked our boy up. He’s downtown being interrogated. Looks like we’re on. Ok, Peeps, you start putting together your teams so Top can adjust their schedules. Top, as soon as you get the info from KCPD, let me know and we’ll finalize everything then. I think that’s it for now. Thanks, guys.”

  After they left, KC picked up the phone and dialed. “May I speak with Principal Hopper, please? This is KC Huntington.”

  Almost immediately there was a click and Principal Hopper said, “Good to hear from you KC. The police called and told me that Maggie had a family problem and had to leave school unexpectedly. Is she OK?”

  “She’s with Social Services for now. I think she’ll be home soon and then back to school. I was wondering if you could help. I’d like to offer her an internship where she can spend a few hours a week at my company. We could start her with some easy tasks and hopefully give her some distraction from the family problems she’s been facing. If that’s something the school would support, would you be willing to approach her about it?”

  “Of, course. That sounds like a great idea. I’ll talk with her when she returns to school and get back to you. Take care, KC.”

  “Thank you, sir. Talk with you soon.”

  KC stood up from his desk and walked over to the windows and stared at the river. He knew he was on to something now, a way to make a difference and scratch the itch he was feeling to do something with meaning. What would transpire, he had no idea.

  Chapter 11

  The following day, KC was going over the invoice list for the customers of Home and Office Security when Ol’ Top knocked on his door jam and proceeded into the office.

  He said, “The son of a bitch we’re going to be looking for is Wyatt Murphy. He’s six two, two twenty, in pretty good shape. Born and raised in Georgia, used to enter tough man contests and was a suspect in the rapes of three different young girls down there. Police never could get enough evidence to arrest him but he was a prime suspect. Apparently moved here about ten or eleven years ago. Bummed around odd jobs, construction framing, electrical, roofing, always got into some kind of trouble and got fired. Police don’t think he held any one job for more than five or six months. He met Maggie’s mother in a bar about six years ago and after they dated awhile, he moved in with her and the girls. They never married, but Maggie’s mom always referred to him as the girl’s stepfather. Maggie’s sister’s name is Tara, by the way. Wyatt Murphy mostly hangs out at two or three pretty rough bars. Doesn’t work much. He’s been arrested, here, several times for drunk and disorderly, disturbing the peace, resisting arrest, destruction of public property, that sort of thing. Nothing else. Never served any serious time, nothing beyond County Jail. Apparently, no heavy drug use, although the PD isn’t sure about that. They thought he might be dealing, but never got anything solid on him. KCPD expects him to be out tomorrow around noon. The lab is still working on comparing the DNA samples they got from Maggie at the emergency room and what the police took from him. They’ll probably have an answer in about five days. They said the quality of the samples is good, so it won’t take long to know for certain. Oh, and he’s right handed.”

  “Did he say anything to the police?”

  “Just demanded a lawyer, not another word. He has lots of experience with the police.”

  “Ok, good job. Also, I understand all the teams are formed and the schedule is complete?” KC asked.

  ‘Yep, the guys are all set. We began observation of the girls this morning, just as we planned. When I ran down the story for the surveillance teams there wasn’t one grumble about the schedule, not even from the Executive Security guys. And they fully understand that mums the word on this. We’ll probably pick the scumbag up as he leaves police headquarters. I’ll bet his first stop will be at one of the bars he hangs out in.”

  “All right, you go ahead and fill Peeps in and get pictures out to everybody. Did you get copies of the restraining order for everybody, too?”

  Top nodded yes.

  “Good. Make sure each man has a picture and a copy of the restraining order. When he violates the restraining order, we’ll only have one chance to nab him, so tell them to stay alert at all times, no matter how boring it gets.”

  “Aye-aye, sir.”

  Two days later, former United States Marine Corps Sergeant Billy Hopkins and former United States Marine Corps Corporal Walter Jennings were on surveillance duty near the front of Maggie’s house. The girls had both arrived home from school around three o’clock. The team was parked within a continuous line of cars on the opposite side of the narrow two-lane street from the girl’s house. It was now just after eight o’clock but no sign of Wyatt Murphy. Billy’s cell phone rang.

  “Our mutt is headed your way. He’s wearing black jeans with a blue denim jacket and cowboy boots. No head wear. He’ll be entering your block from the south in about five minutes, on foot. We’ll let you know if anything changes. Otherwise, we’ll wait until you guys approach him, then we’ll move in with our car to back you up in case he tries to run.”

  “Got it. Thanks.” Billy filled Walter in.

  “You got the throwaway, right?”

  “Yep. Just in case he resists.”

  “What do you mean, in case. You know damn well he’s going to resist.”

  Billy chuckled, “Yep, he sure enough will.”

  “We’re about three hundred feet from the house, so he’ll definitely be in violation of his restraining order when he passes us. Let’s take him right then.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  They sat quietly for a couple of minutes before Murphy turned the corner and walked toward them. As he strutted up the street, he didn’t look behind him or across the street at any time. Billy commented, “Look at that idiot. He’s not even checking to see if anyone’s following him.”

  “Cocky SOB.”

  “Dome light off?”

  “Yep.”

  “Ok, let’s crack the doors now so they won’t make any noise later. I don’t want to give this guy any warning. No need to give him time to draw a gun if he’s armed.”
<
br />   “Would you look at that guy? Walking along like he belongs here. Ok, let’s go.” They exited the car, leaving both doors open, then quickly and quietly closed the distance between them and Murphy. When they were a few feet behind him, Walter said, “Wyatt Murphy?”

  Murphy turned part way around and snarled, “Yeah, who wants to know?”

  Then, in an absolute blur of motion, Billy chopped Murphy on the bridge of the nose breaking it with a loud pop. He then grabbed Murphy’s right arm and hyper-extended his elbow, then broke his forearm. Finally, he drove a punch deep into Murphy’s liver which caused him to puke all over the front of his jacket, down his jeans and cowboy boots.

  Billy said with a smirk, “Damn, this guy really is tough. All that pain and not a whimper.”

  Walter said, “Well, in about a minute he’s going to wake up the whole damn neighborhood if you don’t shut him up.”

  “Ok.” Billy then smashed him in the temple and Murphy dropped like a brick to the sidewalk, unconscious.

  Billy instructed Walter, “Put his prints on the throwaway, then kick it into the street where it will be in plain sight. Then put your gloves in one of your pockets and cuff him. It’s too warm tonight for gloves. Meanwhile, I’ll call KC and fill him in.”

  Billy punched a speed dial number on his phone. KC answered on the first ring. “Got him,” said Billy.

  “Great. Any problems?”

  “Nah, not really. He got a wing banged up a little when we took his gun away. He’s got a slightly bent beak. Nothing serious. He’s on the ground, cuffed and ready for the cops. He woofed a little when we first approached him, but that’s it.”

  “OK, I’ll have KCPD come over there and pick him up. Good work.”

  “Thanks, Chief.”

  KC called Lieutenant Lawrence Wilson, whom he had met when he had taken Maggie to the hospital. “Hello, Lieutenant, this is KC. A couple of my men witnessed Wyatt Murphy violating his restraining order and they have made a citizens’ arrest.”

  “They what?”

  “Sir, Murphy was approaching Maggie Warner’s house when my men spotted him. In fact, he was much closer than the thousand-foot limit that his restraining order requires. Murphy pulled a gun on my men. They disarmed him and are holding him pending your arrival. I’m sorry to bother you, but I thought it would be better and less confusing if you explained the situation to the uniformed officers that will respond than if they went in cold, so to speak.”

  “What the hell were your men doing at Maggie’s house, KC?”

  “Well, sir, in all honesty, they were there waiting for Murphy to violate his restraining order.”

  “Are these men like the ones you provide to the clubs?”

  “Yes sir, one of them is. The other one works for Executive Security.”

  “You mean he’s a body guard?”

  “Well, a little more than that, sir, but he sometimes performs those type of duties, too.”

  “Jesus. I’m glad you called me first.”

  “Yes, sir. I didn’t want my men to be mistakenly arrested.”

  “Why would they be arrested?”

  “Well, Murphy was slightly damaged in the process of being disarmed.”

  “How slightly?”

  “I think just a nose and arm. Nothing serious, but you never know how it might look to responding officers in the dark, sir.”

  “OK, I’ll go over there myself and call the uniforms once I get there. Tell your guys I’m on the way. What are their names?”

  “Billy Hopkins and Walter Jennings, sir.”

  “We’ll talk more about this later.” Before KC could respond, the phone went dead.

  Chapter 12

  KC dialed Billy’s number. “Billy, there’s a Lieutenant Lawrence Wilson of the KCPD on the way there. He’ll take Murphy off your hands. He’s a good guy. He’s the one Frank Stone sent to the emergency room to meet Maggie and me. So be nice to him even though he’s not real happy about our involvement. Don’t discuss that issue or argue with him if he acts a little pissed about it, OK?”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  KC dialed Peep’s home number. “Peeps, KC here. You can stand down. We got our guy.”

  “OK, good. That it?”

  “Yep. Good night.”

  The next morning Principal Hopper called KC. “KC, I’m afraid Maggie isn’t going to be able to take advantage of your offer of an internship. She says she needs to concentrate on her studies for now.”

  “Thanks for talking with her, Mr. Hopper. I appreciate it. Maybe down the road she will be able.”

  As soon as KC replaced the hand set, the phone rang again. Lieutenant Lawrence Wilson was on the line and said, “KC, we’ve got your statement from the other day at the hospital ready for you to check over and sign, if it’s accurate. When can you come down here?”

  “See you in an hour.”

  KC entered police headquarters, introduced himself to the desk Sergeant on duty and asked for Lieutenant Wilson. After a few minutes, the lieutenant came out and asked KC to come with him to his office. After they were seated, Lieutenant Wilson said, “Before we get to your statement, let’s talk about last night. The way this thing was explained to me, we have an armed man, Wyatt Murphy, assaulting two unarmed men. Is that about right?”

  “Sounds right”

  “So, do you guys want to press charges?”

  KC knew immediately where this was going. He said, “No, my men weren’t hurt and you’ve got Murphy in custody, so I think we can forget about any further charges.”

  Lieutenant Wilson looked sternly at KC and said, “Let’s cut the bullshit. You and I both know the gun we found in the street wasn’t Murphy’s. And the doctor said his elbow was bent at least ninety degrees in the wrong direction. They’re not sure how long it’s going to take before he can use that arm again or if it will ever work right. There’s no way to fix his nose, so it will never look like it’s supposed to. He’s got a lacerated liver. They say his spleen is bruised but not ruptured. What did those guys do, kick him?”

  KC started to speak but Lieutenant Wilson waved him off. “And to top it off, he’s got a severe concussion. Oh yeah, and both bones in his forearm are broken. If my guys ever did that, there’d be so much hell to pay, I’d never get it cleaned up. “Police brutality” in five-inch letters would be on the front pages and the newscasters would go berserk. What the hell did those guys think they were doing?”

  Before KC could say anything, Lieutenant Wilson waved again. “What pisses me off is that you can get away with this but I never could.” Then he broke into a wide grin and said, “The captain made me promise to chew your ass out. So, consider it chewed. Beyond that, I want to thank you and your men for a job well done. Of course, there’s no possible way I can officially condone what happened. I’m sure you understand. But I do have one question. Did your guys kick him or what?”

  “Sir, I talked with them and they assured me that there was only one punch delivered to his midsection. Actually, sir, my man swears he didn’t hit him hard. He said maybe he put fifty percent effort into it.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Yeah, I’m always telling these guys to make sure they don’t hurt belligerent people too badly. Just subdue them.”

  “Jesus.” Lieutenant Wilson said again and took some papers out of a folder on his desk handing them to KC. “See if that’s accurate.”

  KC read through the statement and signed it.

  About a week later, Ol’ Top came into KC’s office. “Got the scoop from my friend last night. No announcement will be coming out, no trial, nothing will be on the news. Wyatt Murphy pled guilty to one count of rape in the second degree. He got three to five in the state penitentiary. They’ll transfer him after he gets his arm out of the cast. About eight weeks, they think. His time in the hospital and in county jail
while his arm heals will count as time served. That’s it.”

  “Not much of a sentence for four years of raping a young kid.”

  “Nope. But the alternative would have been to put the girls through a trial. Everybody would have known about what happened. Maggie might not have held up under all the media attention the case would have attracted and he might have walked. At least, this way, the girls’ privacy is maintained and they can try to get on with their lives without all the gawking and innuendoes.”

  “You sound like Murphy’s defense attorney.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s a lousy deal. No doubt about it. But look at it this way. If we hadn’t gotten involved, things could have turned out a lot worse for those girls.”

  “Sure, we’ve got that, but believe me, I’m not happy about this.”

  “I’m not, either. But it’s over, for now.”

  “Yeah, for now.”

  Three months later, KC was at his desk reviewing the contracts Executive Security currently had with agents deployed on missions overseas. Peeps came into his office. Peeps began, “Boss, you’re not going to like this.”

  “What am I not going to like?”

  “A buddy of mine just called from the state pen. They intercepted a call Wyatt Murphy was attempting to make. He had dialed Maggie’s number when the prison computer recognized it and cut him off. They’re trying to contact the judge that issued his restraining order to see if it’s still in effect and/or if it applies to phone calls made from prison.”

  “Why did the computer cut him off if they don’t know if the call was a violation?”

  “My buddy told me that is standard procedure. They load phone numbers of the known victims into the phone computer. I don’t know if that’s true or not. In any event, our boy doesn’t seem to have given up regarding those girls.”