Chapter X

espite the stiff breeze that was blowing, the team met at the appointed building.  Along with them was a couple of gophers with some power tools, a generator and ladders.

Len had some important looking papers which he taped on the inside of the building after Carl, the handyman, gopher, and his employee, Rudy Risinger had gained entry.  Right off they discovered someone had recently lived there, probably run out when the owner placed the boards and chains on the doors.

As with any building shut up for a long period of time, the dust, cobwebs and the smell filled the place.  The group quickly found the stairs leading up to the balcony/office and then spread out over the huge attic space to look around.  This store also had the huge plate window mirrors through which one could observe the shoppers below.

It was going to prove out to be one tough search, and William directed the men to the area he thought most likely to house the stolen goods.  Within five minutes of unscrewing the floor boards, they found several pistols, all brand new, all in little leather cases, all .380 stub "pocket" pistols.

These were a very nice little gun, probably the ones imported into the country illegally.  In another area they found a little case that had several thousand dollars in it, and in another area they found stacks of .380 ammunition.

Expecting any minute to locate the DV stuff, they worked on.  At two o'clock they broke off the search.  The entire upper floor had been removed and thrown down onto the concrete floor below.  William had searched the entire area below the roof, had knocked holes in the sheetrock walls throughout the office.

Fully believing the DV trove to be hidden there, he was reluctant to leave fearing some unsuspecting soul would find the goods.  But finally, he agreed, but was distracted by heavy thought.  The group had all but torn the building down.  Inside it was completely denuded of all sheetrock and covering, and yet the stuff for which they looked had not been located.

The next day Melinda and Sharon decided to go by the coroner and get the results of the pathologist report and findings of the corpse of Danny Grayson.  The tat was exactly like the lady to whom Len and Melinda spoke of the day prior.  Then, they went to the county lockup and visited with Lela, Grace and Mary.

Mary sat stoic, tight lipped and white face, never saying one word.  She knew she was in trouble deep, that all her sins had caught up to her, and that she would be in deeper trouble when her daughters learned she had been romantically involved with Danny.  Each of the girls had also been involved with him.  That she was a tramp of the lowest level was being seen by all, and being in such trouble, they'd actually placed her on suicide watch and in a padded room.

Grace and Lela both were disbelieving as to the truth about organ harvesting.  But they turned up another interesting lead to follow.  If that wasn't Danny they buried, then, who was it?  They had not seen the corpse as Mary had told them he was extremely disfigured so they were not able to have an open casket burial.

And, Mary had worked diligently with the mortuary in making sure he was put away in a very nice coffin.  Each speculated as to the lengths Mary would go to have her way, to gain another almighty dollar, to gain another lover.  Upon hearing of the truckload of cash they wondered where Danny could have possibly gotten that much money.

Another tentacle of the mystery was uncovered.  Where had that much cash come from?  And, to whom did it belong?  To whom did the building belong?  And, if it belonged to Mary, why had she lived in squalor?  To them, it just wasn't adding up.

From that day forward, both girls turned states evidence and would not allow their original lawyer with them.  They attempted to hire Lane Wardlow, but he begged off stating he would have to recuse himself later on to their detriment simply because of his involvement with the case would be seen as a conflict of interest.

Twice more they talked with Melinda and Sharon, but at the end of the second visit, both said "if we can't have Lane Wardlow as our lawyer, we're through.  Don't even come back until he agrees.  We will not see you, will not talk to you, will not depart with any more information.

From what Melinda and Sharon related to Lane, he could see these girls had been masterminded by Mary, and he worried the handling of their case over and over like a dog on a bone with Victor.  Victor suggested the girls might be playing him and doubted whether they had enough profitable information to risk the conflict of interest.  If a conflict of interest were called and proven, they could walk.

Lane studied on it for a couple of days, then decided to pay the girls a visit himself.  They met with him and stated their same proposal, that they'd continue with their evidence only if he would represent them in court.  He asked each of them a question with which to ascertain whether or not they had sufficient information to justify the risk.

He asked each of them "do you know where the discs are hidden?"  One said yes, the other said no.  At that, they both clammed up and Lane said "I'll get back to you if I decide to represent you.  But I believe I can get you both a shorter sentence if you continue to talk with the girls, even if I don't represent you."

A couple of days after the ultimatum, Lane went and talked with them again.  After explaining their situation, and how they could be thrown to the mercy of of the court and whoever the court wanted to appoint to represent them if he were to be forced to recuse himself over conflict of interest.  However, he did have an attorney in mind and would send her around.

After his brief call he informed them of a little known lawyer with whom he'd worked in the past and had always found her very capable.  Her name was Alama Zorin and her office was listed under a fictitious name "A to Z" Legal Services.

At that, he left the jail and started home, but turned around and went back, this time going in to talk to Mary.  Mary sat there for a full five minutes stoic and quiet.  When Lane got up to leave she said simply, "I know where the discs and the weapons are."  But you'll have to represent me to get that information.

"Ok, if that's the way you want it.  It's not going to be my neck that stretches" he said, and walked out.  There was no way he was going to represent that woman, nor the girls if he could sidestep the ordeal in any way possible.

The only way he would represent them is if he came up on rotation of the state providing counsel.  Even then he could recuse himself stating conflict of interest.  At that point it would be up to the judge.

And the girls, all three of them, were done.  Not a wisp more out of any of them with the exception one more attempt at retaining him.  The lawyer who had been assigned to them pro bono, sent a letter to Lane, requesting on behalf of Grace and Lela to represent them in a court of law.

Even Alma had backed away from representing them.  He had no idea that someone much higher than the judge was pulling strings.  All three were on the second day of a hunger strike and he was being pressured by more parties than one.  Even Victor.  Lane felt trapped by the whole situation.

Each had sent a handwritten request.  But Lane wasn't buying it.  He never even responded to the request by the lawyer.  Three months passed before anything of significance turned up.  The "Cold Three," had long resumed their consuming of jail food and all three were loners in their wards.  William and Sharon were happily serving in their roles as FBI Agents.  Numerous were the cases they solved, and they felt fulfilled in what they were doing with their lives.

Billy was now a little over two years old, and he was the life of any party the Team spent together.  Melinda was his second mommy, and he spent a lot of time over at their house.  She loved him as if he was her own.

Things were heating up as far as The Codes and the weapons were concerned.  The plot to have them transferred had been uncovered, and the culprits involved were caught and in jail awaiting their own turn as the wheels of justice turned seemingly ever slower.  William had not experienced a flashback but once since leaving the hospital after being shot and nearly killed by Lela, Grace and Mary.

Then one day, Len received a call from Mason Cabiness.  William was now in the car with him headed to a meet with an informant on a completely different case.  Len just pulled off the highway, put the phone on speaker and the conversation began that would put the whole Codes Case in a different direction.  He'd set the phone to record so he could play any conversation back.

Mason was still following the case and a couple of interesting advertisements came to light concerning some special discs that could hypnotize someone for you.

Len said "Mason, you can find those things everywhere on the market.  They are in the same category as the x-ray glasses and the mind reading ear phones."

"Oh you Americans" Mason laughed.  Then he said something which chilled William to the bone.  "But how many of them are named Death Vengeance?"

It got real quiet as the joking and fun poking came to an abrupt and complete stop.  "Did you check into these advertisements Mason?" Len asked.

Oh yes!  I surely did.  But I wouldn't buy either set of discs as they both were asking an astronomical amount.  When I questioned the owners, all the while having a trace back to pertinent information, both cell phones were cheap throw aways and when I asked if there were more copies, one guy said no, and the other guy said yes.

"If that's all you have why did you spend the money for an overseas call?" Len asked.

"Oh, you Americans!!" Mason said again.  "I called you to tell you both locations ascertained by way of GPS, were in Stillwell Creek."

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