Case of the Mouse Trap Legend Read online

  “I just received the e-mail, and it’s not from Cho, it’s from a guy named Viktor,” I stated with as much calm in my voice as I could muster.

  “Viktor, huh. I guess we have a new player on the scene. Sounds like a Russian to me. Laura, sorry I’m getting agitated—I don’t care much for explosions and numerous people getting killed from unknown assailants in my town.”

  “I understand, Grady. Don’t worry about it. It does sound like someone new on the scene, and I agree the name sounds Russian. Our working theory is rather elegant and simple: Cho is the bank bomber and it’s a diversion so Viktor can bomb the I-95 Bridge and railroad bridge over the water to block in the Coast Guard from any rescue attempts while their next target will be Groton,” I said.

  “I’m impressed. It’s rather viable,” Grady commented.

  “I know, Annie and I are quite brilliant, when we put our minds to it,” I said.

  “Enough with the self-congratulations, Laura, move your butts to my location, immediately. Bring the puppies, since I don’t want you making any side-trips dropping them off. And when you get here, please take care of Adelaide, she’s a nervous wreck,” Grady said.

  “Yes, Sir, we’re moving our collective butts and heading your way right now. Yes, the puppies are coming with us. And yes we’ll do something with Adelaide when we arrive.”

  I looked at Annie. “That went well.”

  Chapter 6

  Grady’s description didn’t do the scene in front of my eyes justice. He had said the bank had been leveled. Those words didn’t sink in until I pulled as close as I was permitted. He handed me a pair of binoculars. All I could see standing, at an odd angle, was the vault that had saved the manager’s life. She was the one person I was somewhat acquainted with, a sweet young woman new to the position who had trained at another branch where I normally banked.

  “The only ID we’ve come up with so far is, Yebsty Lasster. We got it from a mostly shredded driver’s license. Crosby pieced it together,” Grady said.

  “He’s good with puzzles,” I replied.

  “Reggie’s on his way with a new guy he’s breaking in. I guess he needs the help. This is turning into a huge case, Laura. We need all the extra feet we can get. You and Mike need to go find the map. Mike’s military map training from having been in Afghanistan could prove invaluable. I don’t care how you do it, just find the damned thing. The hell with the stupid trees or whatever is over there.”

  “Mike and I will get over there, straight away and locate it, Grady. We won’t leave without it,” I stated.

  “In the meantime, the State Troopers have their Emergency Services Unit’s bomb squad heading up I-95 to check out the underside of the bridge as well as underneath the railroad bridge to see if they can find the explosives. If it comes down, we’re in a world of hurt. Groton is on alert and so is the Coast Guard. Any military installations up and down the Eastern Seaboard are on alert, too. If you hear from anyone else, call me immediately. I have to wonder why they’re e-mailing you.” Grady continued to stare at the remains of the bank.

  “Grady, I wish I knew. It’s as if they picked me out of the phone book, but I know there’s no such thing as coincidence,” I said.

  He smiled. “No, there isn’t. Please do me another favor, see if you can convince Adelaide it’s safe to go home. She’s decided there’s a bomb in the woods even though I told her there was nothing worth blowing up.”

  “You didn’t really say that, did you?”

  “I’m afraid I did. I know I’ll be paying for it for the rest of my life. I told her I’d go to confession.” He grinned.

  “Grady, she knows you don’t go to church.”

  Grady sighed. “She’s taking me this Sunday.”

  I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh. It didn’t help. I laughed anyway.

  “Mike! Get your partner out of here and go over to Mousy Trail and make yourselves useful.” Grady grinned.

  Mike held his hands up and shook his head.

  I turned to leave, waved and said, “No worries, Grady, Mike and I are on it.” I smiled and walked over to talk to Adelaide. I attempted to adopt a serious tone on the way over. She was seated in the back of Mike’s car, with her arms crossed, her lips pursed and her cane on her lap. She was more than likely plotting revenge on the next individual who dared insult her precious woods.

  I had my hand on Adelaide’s car window when one of the county Hazmat crew members gave the all clear signal. He began to pull his gear off as the bomb squad team from the State Troopers moved in to establish the exact placements of the bombs, the materials used and the detonation process.

  I cleared my throat, and pulled my hair back while trying to think of something that would soothe Adelaide. Nothing came to mind.

  “Cat got your tongue, young lady.” Adelaide squinted at me, since her eyeglasses were perched on the end of her nose.

  “No,” I said, staring at my shoes.

  “Hurry up then, I’m not getting any younger. According to Grady, there’s nothing worth blowing up in my neck of the woods. Don’t forget, there’s the reservoir up there and it supplies drinking water to half the county.”

  My eyes widened. I turned to find Grady.

  I felt a gentle poke in my side. It was Adelaide’s cane. “I see I got your attention. You’re not the only smart one.” Her eyes narrowed.

  I texted Grady about the reservoir and received a response back saying he’d have one of his guys check into it. He asked me to thank Adelaide for her brilliant insight.

  “So, Grady texted me and says he’s going to give you a junior detective badge for your keen intuition,” I said jumping away from the car, the cane missing me by inches. I added, “He’s also going to have several of his guys head up there along with emergency services as soon as he knows you’re on your way home. Mike and I are going down to Mousy Trail to dig up a map. Grady’s orders.”

  Adelaide raised an eyebrow. “Keen intuition? Grady said that?”

  I showed her the text.

  “He’s right, you know. My intuition is finely tuned.” Adelaide turned away for a minute, then looked back at me. “Okay, I’ll go home, but I intend to keep an eye on Grady’s men as well as the State boys to make sure they really do go all the way up to the reservoir and survey it, thoroughly, as in every inch of it. They’re welcome to stop by for a nice meal when they’ve completed their inspection. You and Mike can stop by after you’ve dug up Mousy Trail, unless you’re in jail. If that happens, please call and I’ll bail the both of you out,” she said.

  “Mike and I are going to be fine, Adelaide. I promise. I’ll be able to concentrate better if I know you’re safe and sound at home. You’ll have more than enough cops in the woods around your home, so there’s nothing to worry about,” I said.

  “Reminds me of the last time you said something similar, Laura, and it was a close call. I nearly lost you,” Adelaide said.

  I put my hand on her arm and said, “I know, it was frightening for me too, coming face to face with a serial killer. We won in the end, the same as we will with this, Adelaide. We’re going to be okay. Take Chloe home and make some tea. Mike and I will see you later on.”

  Adelaide put her hand on mine, looked up at me and finally determined it was safe to go home.

  I turned to look for Mike, felt a tap on my shoulder and jumped.

  “Little skittish,” Mike said with a chuckle.

  I nudged him in the stomach. “Hey, you’ve lost weight.”

  “Yeah,” he said, “I lost it from all the running around in the woods we did on our last case. Seems we’re gonna do the same with this one, except now Grady’s gonna have us do some illegal digging. I really don’t want to go to jail.”

  “It’s okay, if we end up in jail, Adelaide said she’d bail us out and have a lovely meal waiting for us,” I remarked.

  “Good to know we’re covered. Who’s driving?” Mike asked.

  “I’ve got the puppies…oh no,
the puppies have to be let out!” I ran to the car to let Kai and Koa out. They jumped back and forth between the front and back seats as soon as they saw us approach the car, wagging their tails.

  “What’s Koa got in his mouth?” Mike asked.

  “Sneaky little guy just spit out a piece of towel, probably from the one I keep in the car to, well, to dry off their predecessor after he went swimming. Reminds me of you trying to hide an anchovy pizza, I’m always going to catch you.”

  “That’s not fair, comparing me to Koa,” Mike said while he clipped a leash to Koa. Mike kissed him and said, “I’ll share my anchovy pizza with you any time. You would appreciate the finer cuisine a lot more than your mom. Wait until you find out you have to gobble it up outside. She claims it’s her sensitive nose. We guys have to stick together. I bet your brother would love it too.”

  We quietly walked the two pups around. Neither of them seemed to be bothered by all the activity surrounding them, the noise of the State helicopters, circling overhead or the news vans which had overtaken the street like an invading army. It was complete pandemonium.

  I looked at Mike and pointed to the car. He nodded and we walked back. My phone chimed once again, indicating a text. It was from Grady. The bomb squad had discovered remnants of C-4 wrapping along with fragments of a timing device on all three trash bins. I showed the text to Mike. He said something to me which was completely inaudible due to the noise level. We entered my car and left with Mike at the wheel. “What I was trying to say was, they’re gonna have to do some forensics at the State Lab to confirm their findings, but it gives them an idea of what to look for on the bridges and the reservoir.”

  “I’m astounded they’re able to find anything, Mike, remnants, pieces or otherwise.”

  “It’s what these guys train for, day in and day out. They know more about every kind of explosive than anyone. A lot of these guys have served in the military, so they’ve got that going for them. They’re real spit and polished and a highly trained group of men and women, all of them. I’m not saying Grady’s men and women aren’t equally trained, but Troopers are a different breed. I think there’s a spirited and friendly competiveness between Cops and Troopers. Times like these, all the agencies have to work together in order to protect the public. It always comes first.”

  “What do you mean by spit and polish?” I asked.

  Mike smiled. “They spend a good hour, every day, before their shift polishing their shoes, badges and belt buckles. They have uniform inspection at every roll call, before each shift. Troopers also have a longer and tougher academy. Out of a full class, only a third will graduate. The training is meant to overwhelm and weed out the weak. Again, I’m not downing Grady’s crew, but like I said, Troopers are tougher.”

  “Sounds like the military. I know we couldn’t have done without them on our first case,” I said.

  “Paramilitary. And you’re right; we did need them to finish it up.” Mike parked the car in the small lot, got out, opened up the back and handed me a shovel. Both Kai and Koa jumped out and trotted off down the trail.

  Chapter 7

  Mike walked over to the trail entrance; shovel in hand, while I followed with my own shovel.

  I put my finger on the Plexiglas covered map and traced the trails until I found Mouse Trap Trail. “Mike, here it is. It’s not a long trail. We can do this.” I glanced around, noting the eerie quiet.

  “It says it’s open to the public and it’s supported by private donations and the estate, same as what you found from Googling. I don’t see anything about not digging in the rules,” Mike said.

  “Then we ought to be fine,” I said.

  “There’s no one here to bother us. If someone comes along, the boys will let us know. I guess we look for dirt which appears as if it’s been recently dug up, or inside one of those fancy trees. All I know is we have to come up with something or Grady’s not gonna be a happy guy. He definitely won’t look good in front of the State boys, so let’s go,” Mike said.

  “He seems to be quite competitive with his Lieutenant Trooper counterpart, Greg Hendricks on this case. I don’t recall that with our first case, Mike,” I said.

  “It’s because Greg was more in the background and let Grady take point except when it came to forensics. Also, Reggie was heavily involved. Besides, Laura, State has the bomb squad and it’s Greg’s area of expertise, having served a couple of tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I know Grady served too, but not in demolitions. Just so you know, those two are close buddies, so the competition you see is real friendly.”

  “Good to know,” I said.

  “All these dang trees look the same. They all have leaves, so how are we supposed to know which ones to be more careful with?” Mike asked.

  “I’m so glad Adelaide’s not here; she would have lectured you for such a silly remark. Mike, all trees have leaves,” I replied. “Yes, different sizes and shapes. If you spent more time walking and less time whizzing by trees on your motorcycle, you’d know,” I added.

  Mike turned to face me, and in so doing, whacked a tree with the shovel that had been over his shoulder. A few branches broke loose, falling within inches of Kai who had been sniffing nearby. The little guy jumped backward, landing awkwardly in what on first glance appeared to be a rotting hollow at the base of an enormous tulip tree. The more Kai wiggled to free himself, the more wedged in he became. Koa trotted over to investigate which only made matters worse—Kai began to cry.

  “This is not happening,” I said, as I dropped the shovel and ran over to the tree. “Mike, see if you can get your hand behind Kai while I hold onto him. There’s a small opening right in back of him.”

  Mike went around the tree and pushed as gently and firmly as he possibly could. Kai’s hind feet helped out by digging away at the soft dirt underneath. Mike gave one final shove and out he popped.

  “First time I’ve ever seen a tree give birth to a puppy,” Mike quipped.

  “Very funny, O’Malley. Mind helping me get up. I’m covered in excited puppy over here,” I asked, while flat on my back.

  “Laura, if you can get out from under, you won’t believe what your wonder pup uncovered. Remember what I said a long time ago about no coincidences.”

  I crawled over to where Mike was sitting and stared inside the hollow of the tulip tree in complete disbelief. I reached inside my back jean’s pocket for my camera phone and snapped several photos of the Map Legend. The laminated corner of it stuck out of a burlap wrap from beneath the soft earth. It was an exact duplicate of the one we’d discovered on the body I’d hooked, the difference being this one was titled: Map Legend. You could make out the writing underneath the burlap.

  “Mike, we’ve struck gold without having to disturb a thing! I can’t believe it. I mean, Kai did it.”

  “Hold on a minute, I’m the one who hit the tree with my shovel,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, and made the branches fall and scared the daylights out of my poor little puppy, since you’re taking credit. We did it, Mike. Grady is going to be so happy.”

  “He’s going to be even happier if we get the heck out of here without anyone noticing. That reminds me, do you have any gloves on you?” Mike asked.

  “Yup, in my pocket.” I removed a pair of Latex-free gloves and handed them to Mike while I gathered up the shovels, leashed the puppies and headed back to the car.

  Mike caught up with me and asked, “I don’t suppose you’ve got a plastic bag in the car?”

  “I think I have a canvas shopping bag. Will that do?” I asked.

  “It’s gonna have to. I just want to get out of here before anyone comes in and asks what we’re leaving with. You’re not supposed to take any vegetation out, like branches or leaves.” He smiled.

  “Or maps,” I said, as I opened up the back of the car. I put both the puppies and shovels in. Mike opened the passenger side and put the map inside, right as a young couple drove in. I wiped my brow with the back of my hand and back
ed out waving to the couple, smiling and nodding. Mike was already on the phone with Grady relaying our incredible find. I could picture Grady running his hand through his brown mop of hair, sighing and walking in a tight circle, which he would continue to do until we returned with the map in hand.

  Mike slipped the map out of the burlap, surveyed it and said, “Laura, you either need to drive like hell or pull over and let me drive, ‘cause if what I’m looking at is the real deal, we’re in deep.”

  I pulled over, stopped and put the hazard lights on. As soon as I got into the passenger seat and Mike took the wheel, I picked the map up and took note of where the red triangles were. Mike was correct in his assessment. Good thing I had complete faith in all the departments working on this, including faith in general, because all combined was our only chance.

  Chapter 8

  Mike and I arrived back at the remnants of Soundview First National Bank. The scene had a more organized feel to it as forensics crews deftly combed through roped off sectors searching both for the victim identifications of the injured, the deceased and further clues to the bomb placements and detonators.

  Grady waved us over. “I still can’t believe Kai’s the one who found the map.” He shook his head and said, “Please give him an extra biscuit for me.”

  “It was a joint effort,” I said.

  Grady perused the map for a minute and texted Reggie. “He says he’s on the way with the guy who recently transferred to the area. They’re still matching IDs with those who’ve been brought to the hospital and those who, apparently went home. It’s going to take time to account for everyone. There are a few more bodies that haven’t been identified, probably customers—at least that’s what one person says. One was a nearby flower shop owner.” Grady flipped through his notes for a few seconds. He then looked back at the map. “We’re lucky to have the best bomb squad around, so we’ll be a step ahead of them. They’re at all the sites now with the K9 units and according to what’s been discovered here, they’re one hundred percent positive it’s C 4. The dogs will find it. I know it. Or the guys will. We’ll know in a bit.”