Part II - Chapter 3: FROM THE OUTSIDE GOING IN

Chapter 3

From the Outside Going In

(Ó 2009)

 

The early morning was warm and humid. The breeze that was coming from the west was so slight that if it were not for the movement of the leaves in the trees, you would not know that there was any wind at all. David and Noel arrived in their car, with David at the driver’s side, at the end of the block where the residence of Percival Wendell Higgins, also known as “Gem P” was located. They noticed that the police barricades were placed at both ends of the block, keeping the media well away from the scene. The members of the media with all of their trucks and equipment were also kept across the street from the barricades in order to, “not interfere with the free flow of traffic”, as they were told. In the quick briefing of that morning, both David and Noel had learned that this was at the request of Captain Xiang; who no doubt was a bit perturbed at the prying of the television news stations because of their reports of the previous evening. Only police and the residents of the neighborhood were permitted to pass through … and proof of residency was required.

There were two uniformed officers standing in front of the barricades. David and Noel showed their badges and credentials to them, and the officers then lifted the center barricades to let them go by. David drove slowly to the home that was on the right hand side of the street, almost in the center. All the other police vehicles, which included the Crime Scene Investigations van, along with the bright yellow police barrier tape, made the home easy to pinpoint.

David parked the car in front of the CSI van. As he and Noel exited from the car to make their way to the front entrance of the home, David could feel the zoom lenses from the cameras of the news media at the end of the street fix their sites on the both of them. The home itself was a large brownstone brick with a good-sized front yard. The house was separated from the other homes by a chain link fence that had tall bushes on both sides of it. David made a mental note of this. Along the right side of the home there was a paved driveway that led into the backyard.

They both stepped quickly to the front door of the house where they had to walk up three concrete steps to the entryway that had two outdoor chairs placed there. There another uniformed officer stood guard. The officer stepped aside to let them both enter the home.

Once they entered, they found themselves in a foyer that on their right had a short three-step stairway that led to a large open living room. What they both saw made their mouths drop slowly open. To say that the décor of the home was extravagant was an understatement. The walls were covered with animal skin tapestries of zebra, tiger and leopard skins. The furniture was upholstered to match these tapestries. However, what stood out among all the stripes and spots was what was on the centered to the large back wall.

“Is that … a throne?” asked Noel in puzzled amazement.

“I do believe so.” David answered. The throne was polished gold metal framed, with matching upholstery. Atop of the high gold post on either side of the throne were caps in the shape of crowns, and it was positioned so that whoever was sitting in it could see the view from outside the large living room window, which was almost the entire length of the opposite wall. However, the throne was also strategically placed so that any person outside of the home could see whoever was sitting on the throne through the large living room window. David and Noel took the steps up to the living room and slowly stepped in front of the throne, looking at it dumbfounded.

They stood in silence for just a brief moment when a voice came from the kitchen, which was at the end of the throne wall to the right. “He was found lying face down right in front of it.” David and Noel looked to the entryway of the kitchen where there stood a longhaired man with about five days worth of unshaven beard on his face. He was wearing a worn brown leather bomber jacket, sunglasses, blue jeans, work boots and a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt. He took off his sunglasses and had an expression of disapproval on his face as he addressed them, “I take it that you’re Jaworski and Todd?”

“That is we.” Noel answered sarcastically.

“I’m Adams, Sergeant Ernie Adams, from Narcotics.” He said introducing himself. David and Noel sensed he was angry with the both of them for some reason. “C’mon in here, we’re all waiting for you.” He turned abruptly and stepped into the kitchen.

Noel whispered to David, “What’s his problem?” David just shrugged his shoulders, and then they both followed Adams into the kitchen.

There was another man, along with a woman in the kitchen. Adams pointed to the man, who was dressed in similar fashion to himself and said, “This is Officer Sutton, one of the men in my team. This lady is Hillary, from Forensics.” Then Adams stepped up to Noel within a few inches from his face and said sternly, “And my problem Detective Jaworski is that this vigilante motherfucker, or whatever the fuck you call him, that you seem to not be able to find just blew about eight months of hard work for me and my crew. Ya hear me? Eight fucking months of infiltrating and risking our asses. Eight months away from our families, eight months of psycho bullshit, all down the fucking sewer, because the crazy bastard you two have failed to find came in here and fucked the whole thing up and over.”

Noel stood fast and stood calm, without his own expression never changing, he looked directly into the eyes of Ernie Adams and said coolly, “That’s Lieutenant Jarworski to you Sergeant … now back the fuck off.” Adams and Noel kept their stares locked onto each other in a somewhat short Mexican standoff. Silence was the only barrier between them. In a few seconds, Adams backed away from Noel slowly and stepped to the middle of the kitchen.

There was great tension in the air that mixed with the silence that made everyone in the room somewhat uncomfortable. The woman, Hillary, then broke this silence, “Christ there’s a whole lot of testosterone in the air, and it’s gagging the hell out of me.” Her comment quickly dissolved the tension in the room, from David and Noel anyway. She stepped over to David and Noel, held out her hand and said, “It’s Barston. Hillary Barston, CSI.”

David took her hand and shook it, “Detectives Todd,” he then nodded to Noel, “and Jaworski.” Hillary then shook Noel’s hand.

“I recognize you both from …”

David raised his hand, “Yeah we hear that a lot.”

She smiled, realizing that the fact that they both must have been told that they have been recognized from television thousands of times then said, “Well, from the looks of things, it looks like you both are going to be getting a lot of face time again.” She then nodded to the back door that led out to the yard, “There are some more detectives from gang crimes in the back yard.”

“Well, let us both start out back with them. Maybe they’re a bit friendlier,” David said, then glance over to Adams, “maybe even a bit more respectful of superiors also.”

“Yes, I’ll go with you,” she answered, “it’s still a little too thick in here.”

David, Noel and Hillary went through the door out to the back yard. They all stepped out onto a small cement patio that led to the large yard. The first thing David and Noel saw on the concrete was an outline of silver duct tape that resembled an old cartoon cube shaped robot. There was a small square that was supposed to represent a head, with a larger square like the rest of the body.

They both then looked to the rest of the yard. There were two large trees at the end of the yard, behind the trees the chain link fence with the tall bushes separated the yard from the alleyway. To the right there was a freestanding garage. David looked at the fence and the bushes. He followed the length of them as they surrounded the house and yard, then noted how far the homes were separated from side to side. He first looked from the center of the yard face the house. He first looked to the right side of the home, then panned back to the center, then looked to the left. There he saw three officers from the Gang Crimes Unit; they were crouching down and looking to the ground by the pavement that led to the garage at the end of the backyard.

Noel, David and Hillary approached the three officers. The group was made up of a woman and two men. The woman was of African decent; she was the first to notice David and Noel and began to stand up. The two men with her noticed and looked over to David and Noel and stood up with her. One of the men was also of African Decent, the other man was Caucasian.

The black woman approached them with her hand extended, “Detectives Todd and Jaworski I presume?” 

“Yes.” David answered.

“Pleased to meet you both,” the woman said shaking first David’s hand, then Noel’s, “I’m Celia. Celia Hanna, Gang Crimes.” She then pointed to the Caucasian man, “That’s Paul Hester,” Hester then came up and shook hands, “and this is Carl Winthrop.” she said nodding to the black man. Winthrop too then shook hands.

“Pleased to meet you all,” said Noel, “wish it was under better circumstances.”

A voice then came from behind the group, “Believe me, so do I … Lieutenant,” They all turned to see Ernie Adams with Officer Sutton, “Lieutenant …Sir.” Adams still had the scorn expression on his face.

 

David just ignored him, as well as Noel, and then he turned to Celia and asked, “What cha got here?”

She led them to the grassy side of the pavement and pointed, “This is where the found ‘Bigguns’, he was lying face down on the grass here with his head turned to one side.”

“Excuse me?” David asked, “Just what is a ‘Bigguns’?”

Celia answered, “That is the street name for one Isaiah Price, ‘Bigguns’, because of the size of his arms. He was, up until Saturday evening, ‘Gem P’s’ top bodyguard and enforcer. Now I understand that he’s in a coma. The report so far is that he has massive brain damage due to the lack of blood and oxygen to his brain.”

“What was the cause of that?” Noel asked.

“The preliminary report says that he was choked from behind with a rope or something.” Celia said.

Carl then added, “Yeah, like he was garroted.”

“Garroted?” Noel asked confused.

“Yeah,” Carl said, “it one of the oldest types of weapons on earth. Special Forces use it. It’s just a piece of rope with a small handle on each end. Sometimes there is a knot ties in the center. The attacker will sneak up behind his target and can subdue that target in less than a second. Doesn’t matter how big or strong the target is, once that thing is around your neck, all you care about is breathing. The more you struggle, the faster you use the oxygen in your blood; you’ll pass out in a few seconds.”

Noel then began to rub his own throat.

“Yeah,” Carl then continued, “and if a guy knows how to use one in the right way, he can snap his targets neck with no problem. The ones that have a knot tied in them? Well, that knot is so that the attacker can crush the larynx of his target.”

Then Paul added, “And whoever this was? Well, he knows how to use one. It looks like he kept it around ‘Bigguns’ neck long enough to just cause damage, not to kill him. Look here.” Paul then returned to the spot that they were first kneeling. There was a small yellow flag attached to a wire sticking into the ground. “This flag is where ‘Bigguns’ was lying, his face was turned to the right. You see this depressed area right here next to it?”

“Yes.” David answered.

“We believe that depression is where the attacker’s knee was.” said Paul, “We believe that he was kneeling down next to ‘Bigguns’, holding the grip on the garrote, possibly with his other knee on ‘Bigguns’ back.”

David and Noel stepped over and bent over to get a closer look at the slight depression to the grass on the ground. Noel then looked over to Ernie Adams and called to him, “Come here Sergeant Adams, I need to show you something.”

Adams came over, when he was next to him Noel pointed to the depression and said, “You see that Ernie? See that? You wonder why my partner and I are so astonished at this? It’s because for the first time since this whole thing started, this,” he pointed to the depression more aggressively, “this, is this first thing that we’ve seen of him that he’s ever left behind.”

“Yes, Sergeant,” David then said, “you see, whoever this man is, and he’s beyond a professional. He never left a trace of himself ever. And only one person in the world has ever had a glimpse of him, and you’re never going to get her to help you.” David then looked down to the faint depression, “But this, this shows us that he’s still human at least.” Adams looked down, but did not speak.

Noel then asked, “Why did he choke him off for so long do you suppose?”

Celia answered, “We think he may have been waiting for ‘D’, the other guard.”

“And this ‘D’ is?” Noel asked.

“Spence, Darnell Spence, known on the street as simply ‘D’.” Celia answered, “Preliminary on him is that he too is in a coma. Doctors found a large bruise right on his solar plexus, and his sternum is cracked. Looks a though he was kicked right dead center to his chest. He too was choked just like ‘Bigguns’, but maybe not as long because of the initial injuries inflicted on him, but long enough to also possibly create some possible brain damage.” Celia then looked to David and Noel, and then asked, “Just what is it that you two are dealing with here, may I ask? I mean ‘Bigguns’ and ‘D’, neither one of them are pushovers, I mean to put it bluntly, they both are bad ass motherfuckers, as bad ass as they come.”

“Yeah,” injected Carl, “I mean ‘Bigguns’, that’s Isaiah Price for Christ’s sake.”

David said, “Yeah, I was going to ask,” he then looked at Noel, “why is that name so familiar?”

“I’ve been searching my memory banks since I first heard her say it too.” Noel said.

“You guys follow football?” Carl asked.

“Are you kidding?” Noel asked laughing somewhat.

“On Yeah, especially me,” David said, “NFL, Canadian League, college, high school, Pop Warner. Hell, I even watch the Arena League.”

“Well, Isaiah was a local high school hero.” Paul said.

“Wait a minute!” exclaimed Noel, “I remember now! About seven or eight years ago. In the high school championships. He was a fullback; he blew his knee out in that game real bad.”

“That’s ‘Bigguns’.” said Carl, “The knee wasn’t the only thing that got blown out that night, and so did all his chances for a college scholarship. I heard Penn State, Miami, Alabama, USC and a slew of others were scouting him. But all that disappeared. His whole football career ended that night. And considering his grades, along with his over inflated ego back then, the 4-S was all he could turn to.”

“That’s a damn shame,” said Noel, “I remember that kid. Jeez those arms. He looked as if he could bench press a Mack Truck.”

“That’s why they call him ‘Bigguns’,” Celia said, “Big Guns, do ya get it.”

“Got it. Now about this ‘D’,” Noel said, “I take it that the outline back their on the patio was where he ended up?”

“That’s correct,” said Celia, “come, let’s go back there.” The entire party moved the short distance to the back of the house where the taped outline was. Celia then pointed out, “They found ‘D’ right here, right after ‘Bigguns’,” she then pointed to the back door, “and the back door was wide open.”

David knelt down to where the “head” of the outline was, the head was just some eight inches from the foundation of the house, he then looked to the back door, “Notice how close this ‘D’ was placed to the house?”

“Yeah,” Noel answered, then asked Celia, “which way was this ‘D’ guys head turned?”

“Also to the right.” she answered.

David then asked, “By any chance, were they both turned on their sides? I mean their bodies, were they turned so as to be resting on their left sides?”

Paul answered, “Come to think of it, yes, yes they were.”

David then stood and looked to the end of the back yard. “Can we get to the alleyway through that garage?”

Celia answered, “I believe so.”

“Let’s take a look back there then,” David said, “I like to trace this thing always from the outside going in.”

“Sure.” she said, and then the party shifted itself to the garage. There were crime scene warning stickers on the door that was on the left side of the larger door meant for the automobile. David ignored it, turned the doorknob and entered the garage with Noel directly behind him.

Once inside, everyone in the party stood and gazed in amazement at what was parked inside. A bright red 1997 Bentley Turbo RT automobile, adorned with gold rims, gold trimming and gold mesh grill. The garage itself was a standard freestanding wood and brick garage, with windows on the right hand side as they entered.

“Whoa,” Noel said, “I take it that business was going rather well.”

“Shit.” sighed David, “There’s gonna be a fight a city hall on just who gets to confiscate that.” He then saw the door that led to the alley, “Let’s take a look out back.” Everyone then exited the door that led out to the alley. Once there, David took Noel by the arm, turned to all the others and said, “Excuse us for a minute.” The other stood fast and watched as David and Noel began to scan the area.

David and Noel stepped to the center of the bush-covered fence, and then faced outward to the alley. David pointed to all of the tall trees that were in practically every back yard. “Plenty of places right there to watch from, not only along this side of the alley, but the homes on the side of the house as well.”

Noel pointed up to the streetlamps, “Those old street lights don’t give off that much lights, and besides, I bet at night there are plenty of shadows to blend in with.” He then scanned the distances of the alley on both sides leading to the house. “Lots of distance, lots of shadows, lots of small places to hide.”

“Along with lots of frightened neighbors who would never dare come down this alley.” Added David, he then turned to the bush-lined fence and stepped close to it. He bent over and attempted to look through. “He could watch the house very easy from this point. In fact, he can see any part of the yard and house from the entire length of this fence.” Noel himself then bent down to peer through the bushes. David then said, “C’mon, let’s take a look at that garage.” Both men then stepped back to the garage. When the came to the door David said, “Excuse us again, we’d need to look at some things here. Tell me, was there any sign of forced entry into this garage?”

Carl answered, “No, I checked it out myself along with Ms. Barston here.”

“No sign of forced entry,” she concurred, “in fact, all the windows are nailed shut and as you see there are only windows on one side. The back door here was locked, but not the front. Front door was shut when we all came on the scene.”

“Hmm.” was all David could say, he then motioned to Noel, “Let’s take a look on the outside.” He and Noel then exited out to the front of the garage and once outside he motioned to go to the right side of the garage. The small open area next to the garage was finished in concrete where a Bar-B-Que was stored. David examined the windows and discovered the not only where they secured shut by nails on the inside, but that where the seam of the window met the frame was sealed over with paint. “Look,” he said to Noel, “he never even made an attempt to pry open the windows.”

Noel then stepped back to the center of the concrete. On the back end towards the alley the short part of the fence was continued, along with the concealing bushes. Then Noel turned to look toward the house, and then quickly glanced up to the side of the garage. “There’s no light on the side here, so I bet it’s pretty dark here at night. Look, you can move around back here and see the whole house and yard practically at any angle, and still remain hidden.” David stepped to the middle of the concrete to look for himself, after a few seconds he nodded in agreement.

“C’mon,” David said, “let’s get the others and then take a look out front.”

They both motioned to the others and began to walk the short distance to the front yard. They walked on the cemented pathway where Isaiah ‘Bigguns’ Price was attacked then stepped out to the front yard. David and Noel separated themselves from the group once again and crossed the street directly in front of the home. David noticed the media crews at the end of the street all come alive with movement when they spotted them. He also felt again all the lenses of the cameras focus and zoom in on them both. He quickly though focused on what he needed to study. It was the same situation as they saw in the alley, large trees in front of the homes, and landscaping with bushes, some chest high.

Noel pointed around and said, “Tall large trees, all in full foliage, bushes, not many streetlamps, not only small dark areas, but large ones as well between the homes.”

“And again I will add,” said David, “the people living in those homes are intimidated and frightened of their neighbor across the street, as well as his houseguests.” He and Noel then stepped out onto the middle of the street and looked down both ways that led to the home. “Yes, along with a thousand ways not to been detected, either coming or going.” They both then rejoined the group that now stood on the front driveway of the home.

Noel then said to the group, “Let’s take a look at where they found this ‘Bigguns’ guy.” The all then stepped back to the side of the home. David and Noel looked down to the spot where Isaiah Price was found and looked around for a second, then Noel spoke, “Okay, somehow this ‘Bigguns’ was either snuck up on from behind, or surprised right here on the spot. Either way he was attacked from behind.”

Adams spoke up, “Why do you think that?”

“Simple,” David answered, “because if this is our guy, he’s attacked everyone from behind. So, he attacked this ‘Bigguns’ from behind, and if he was garroted as you say, then the priority of ‘Bigguns’ is to breath.”

Carl then added, “But, panic sets in when that happens.”

“Precisely,” David said, “So, it doesn’t matter how big and strong or even fearless ‘Bigguns’ may be, he probably went down quickly and passed out just as fast.”

Noel then said, “Yes, and if this is our guy, he stayed with ‘Bigguns the whole time, with whatever he had wrapped around his neck, sitting here,” Noel then pointed to the ground, “and calmly waiting for the other guard to show.”

Celia then said, “But I just don’t see how a man with the size and strength of ‘Bigguns can go down so easily without a fight.”

“Listen Miss Hanna,” Noel said to her, “if this is our guy? Let me tell you something, my partner and I personally saw the results of what this guy did to a one hundred and twenty pound rottweiller guard dog. Have you gotten the entire report from the doctors treating this ‘Bigguns’ yet?”

“No, no we haven’t.” she answered.

“Well, I bet you that they find some sort of bruise or swelling at the base of his skull, maybe even a concussion, due to an equilibrium punch to the back of his head.” Noel said nodding. “Back to this scenario, I will say that he waited for this ‘D’ to come around to this side of the house. When he heard him coming he either stepped back into a darker spot to wait, or he jumped straight up to wait, either way, once ‘D’ came around the corner, BOOM! He then got the full force of a kick dead center to his chest, ‘D’ instantly had the wind knocked out of him and the pain alone made him bend over forward. And with that, he then had the rope, or whatever it was wrapped around his neck.”

“Just long enough to take him out,” David then added, “take ‘D’ out permanently then go in the house and attack ‘Gem P’, which now we should go inside and look at that area.” David and Noel then stepped inside the house and stood again in the kitchen. David slowly looked around to figure out the pathway taken. He turned to Hillary and asked. “We’re the curtains opened or closed that night?”

“They were closed,” she answered, “which is unusual because he would regularly sit at his throne there with the curtains drawn open so that the neighbors could see him. Some time he even had light on him to illuminate him.”

“He really intimidated everyone in the neighborhood, right?” David asked.

“That’s a real understatement … sir.” Adams said.

“Meaning Sergeant?”

“Meaning he had this whole neighborhood shitting bricks. He had everyone here by the short hairs. You need that in his line of business. He was able to do his business right out in the open, and nobody here could or would stop him … sir.”

“Interesting,” David answered, “that plus the curtains puts a couple of things in perspective. Ms. Hanna, can you show me where they found ‘Gem P’?”

“This way.” she said as she motioned them to follow. She led them into the living room, stood right in front of the throne, and pointed down to the floor, “Here, right here. He was lying in a prone position, with his head towards the foyer; his head was turned to his left.”

Noel then said, “Let me guess, his arms were extended outward from his sides, like an airplane.”

“Well actually only one was, his left arm.” Hillary answered, “His right was out but his hand was upward by his head. We think he may have tried to use his right arm to get himself up. He could not move his left, so it is a strong possibility that his right arm could have been extended like his left right after his attack.”

“This would then,” David said, “make it a good possibility that it is our guy.” He then knelt down to the area where ‘Gem P’ was found. “He was here, he was right here.” David thought to himself. While looking down to the carpeted floor he asked, “Did he say anything to anyone when he was found.”

“Yes,” Hillary answered, “He was crying.”

“Crying?”

“Yes crying,” she said, “he was crying, and these are his words, ‘look what that motherfucker did to me’, blubbering the whole time.”

“All bullies do when they finally get their ass kicked.” David opined. He then stood up and then noticed Officer Sutton. “Officer Sutton, you haven’t spoken a word since we arrived. Surely you must have something to contribute.”

“I sure do Lieutenant,” he answered sarcastically, “in fact sir; I have two words that I can contribute.”

“And those two words are?”

Sutton stepped into the room and then stopped about three feet from David and Noel, he then said simply, “The money.”

There was a silent tense pause after Sutton said those words, David then answered, “Yes, the money. We know all about that and in fact I have a theory about the money that I discussed with Noel on the way here.”

“And what’s the theory?” Sutton asked.

“We will discuss that in full detail with all of you back at our office, right after we finish up here.”

“Why your office … sir?” Adams asked angrily, “Why not here and now?”

“One, because everything you need to know about our guy is there to present to you,” David said, “all our files, notes, pictures, maps the whole shebang. And two, because that’s the way I want it … Sergeant.” He then turned and said to Noel, “Now, from which way do you think he jumped those two goons? I mean from the front yard, or through the back?”

“Well, history tells us that he always comes through the back, even here, it’s the best place because of the seclusion.” Noel answered.

“I agree, but how? With that fence and those bushes? Someone would be bound to hear him.” David said, “C’mon, let’s take another look around.” David then made his way once again to the back yard with Noel and the rest of the entourage right behind him. They all stood on the patio then David and Noel separated themselves again from the rest of the group. They both stood about a yard apart, side by side, scanning the yard, the trees, the neighbor’s homes and the garage. David’s eyes were then fixated on the garage and he then said, “C’mon, let’s take another look inside there.”

Both men stepped the garage, opened the door and re-entered. They both stood looking at the Bentley then around at the wooden plank walls. David walked around the car and stood in front of the windows, looking once again for any sign of entry, failing to find any. He then began to push on the bricks of the wall itself, looking for maybe some loose part of the brick and mortar, then to the wood planks above the bricks. Noel saw this and began to push down on the bricks and planks on his side of the garage.

Then both Hillary and Celia entered the garage, Hillary said, “That Adams has got both your numbers, he’s still all pissed off. We had to come in here for the fresh air. Find anything?”

“No, nothing.” answered David, “But I feel somehow, he came through the back yard. That he may have been watching the home and the two goons from back here. It’s perfect, it’s the darkest and most secluded, and if our guy is the professional that we think he is, he has the best advantage by coming through here somehow.”

“Yes,” agreed Noel, “the fence and the bushes that surround it would make it very hard for even him to come through undetected., unless he had wings of course, and sometimes, I don’t think that it would be to far fetched if we found out that he did have them.”

David then placed his hands on his hips and had a small smile on his face from hearing his partners comment. He then looked up to Noel, and laughed a little and had the vision in his head of an angel like man flying over the fence and garage and landing softly in the yard, right behind the man called ‘Bigguns’ and then wrapping a rope around his neck, strangling him in a coma.

Then … it came to David. He gave Noel an expression of a great assumption coming to him. Noel saw the look on David face, both their eyes locked on one another, and then David slowly looked up to the ceiling, and then back to his partner. Noel knew exactly what had come to his mind. David then said, “Let’s go out back.”

Both men exited the back door hastily and were once again in the alley. They looked at the length of the fence on both sides of the garage. On either side, the chain-linked fence came right up to the side of the garage wall, along with the bushes that were planted on both sides. David stepped up to the back door side of the fence where the vertical support pole was right up against the wall of the garage. He then move the bushes slightly to inspect the top of the fence, there he found on the cap of the vertical support pole what appeared to be the smudges of some sort of black footwear, mixed in with dirt and the jagged end of the chain links at the very top of the fence were bent slightly.

David told Noel, “Get Hillary and Celia out here.” Noel stepped to the doorway of the garage and waived to them to come outside. The two women joined David and Noel, David stood there holding the bush to the side and pointing to the top of the fence. “He was here.” David exclaimed as if he had found some great archeological find, “He climbed up this fence and onto the roof of the garage, totally silent, totally undetected.” He then motioned for them to follow him, then went back into the garage and stood next to the Bentley; “He then hid up there, outside, on the roof.” he pointed to the ceiling then began to move it towards the windows, “then made his way to that side.” He then motioned for the rest to follow him. He went out the front door and to the cemented side, he pointed up to the garage roof and said, “He then simply jumped down and hid here, watching “Bigguns’ and ‘D’, watching them and timing them on how they stood guard. When the opportune moment came up, he came up behind the big guy, and it was smooth sailing from there.”

Noel stepped again to the rear of the concrete area, he then kept his back to the bush conceal fence and moved from side to side with his eyes forward to the back yard. “Yes, this is perfect for a guy who’s as professional as we think he is. He was secluded and concealed by the dark. The concrete pathway up the side here helps him to be even quieter.” Noel then moved up the concrete pathway slowly as the others followed. The other men watched in some curiosity and joined them all to see and hear what was going on. Noel continued, “This ‘Bigguns’ and ‘D’ must have separated at some point, probably each guy was on either side of the house. He then came up behind ‘Bigguns’, and took him out first.”

David asked Celia, “This ‘Bigguns’? You say he’s the stronger of the two?”

“Most definitely.” she responded.

“Then I would have taken him out first also,” David said, “and this ‘D’, he’s not as strong, but just as big a bad ass?”

“He’s a close second to ‘Bigguns’ in all aspects. ‘Bigguns’ and ‘D’ are the top two bodyguards and lieutenants of the 4-S.”

Noel then asked, “And they were the only three here that night?”

Adams then answered, this time in a more subdued tone, “Yeah, they were the only three here. Why?”

David answered, “Because that’s when this deal was supposed to go down right?”

“Yeah, that’s right” Adams answered, “Just the money deal we believe, the product was to come later, where, well that‘s what we were working for.”

David looked at Noel and they both nodded to each other. “Interesting.” was all David said.

“What are you getting at sir?” Adams asked, “You know something that we don’t?”

“It’s just a hunch,” David said, “But I’m willing to state that this is our guy that did this, and that he too knew that this deal was going down.”

“To get to the money?” Adams asked.

“Yes,” David answered, “to get the money, but not for what you may think Sergeant. To discuss this any further, we are all going to do that at our office, far from the neighbors here, and even farther from our friends at the end of the street.” David then turned to Hillary, “First we need you to show us and tell us everything you know about what happened here.” He then looked at Adams, “Sergeant, we need to know everything you have not only on your investigation on this deal that was supposed to happen, but on Gem P and the 4-S as well.”

Adams looked first to David, then to Noel, and then back to David, “Okay, I’ll do that,” he said calmly, “I’d like to see what you guys have to say about all this, I’ll go along.” 

David, Noel and Ernie Adams at that moment had a silent agreement between them. It is a natural thing among men, to call a truce and work together when the interest is one of the same.

“Let’s start inside the house then.” David said. With that, the entire entourage spent the next hour and a half going over the attack scene at the home of Percival Wendell Higgins. All there studied as Hillary showed all evidence of the attacks from the largest to the minutest. They looked over the house and yards, and then David asked for a ladder so that they could look at the top of the garage roof. Hillary climbed to the top first to perform her initial investigations. She then let David, Noel and Adams join her and she presented what she could detect there.

Once finished, David then said, “Let’s all meet at our office,” he then turned to Ernie Adams and said, “There we’ll tell you all we know about our guy, we call him the ‘Spinal Tapper’, yeah I know it’s sick, however, we have come up with a theory, and it may surprise you all.”