They were back at the precinct by eleven forty-five. Lutz and Frank made a quick stop in the cafeteria for much-needed coffee—no matter how watered down it tasted—and a few snacks. The two car thieves had been transported to the second district jail and were being processed downstairs. Calvin Jones would be interrogated as soon as Lutz was alerted that he had been put in the box and was ready to go.
The walk to the bullpen seemed like a half mile long even though it was just around the corner. Lutz was exhausted and had been on the go since Hanna had called him Saturday night and said Jesse had gone missing.
All eyes were on them as they entered the room. Lutz plopped down at Jesse’s desk and Frank at his own.
“Phelps, pull up these names in the criminal database.”
“Go ahead, Boss. I have the site up.”
“Calvin Jones and Tyler Brown. They’re the car thieves we picked up tonight who had Lee Bradley’s Lexus. My gut says they both have lengthy rap sheets already.”
Phelps entered the information into the criminal database and snickered. “And your gut would be right. Multiple offenses on both of them for burglary, auto theft, possession of cocaine, and writing bad checks. Two model citizens.”
“Figured as much. Print out their rap sheets so I have something to bargain with.”
Frank let out a huff. “That’s if they know anything that’s worth bargaining for.”
Lutz took a gulp of coffee and groaned. “Can somebody please brew a pot of coffee that’s worth drinking?”
Gaines rose from his desk. “I’ll get right on that.”
Minutes later, Frank’s phone rang. Lou from the jail wing was calling to tell them that Calvin was ready to go in box one, and Tyler was waiting his turn to be questioned while sitting in a holding cell.
“That’s fine,” Lutz said, “but I’m drinking a full cup of decent coffee first.” When he finished his coffee, Lutz stood. “Gaines, look online and start compiling a list of all the phone stores in the Hyde Park area, especially near Lee Bradley’s house.”
“Phones are sold at all big-box stores too.”
“Yeah, I know, so we’ll need to check them as well.” With a jerk of his chin, Lutz headed for the door with Frank at his side. “Let’s stop in the evidence garage before we begin the interrogation. I want to make sure Mike and Danny search that car with a fine-toothed comb. If Hanna just bought that phone, then a receipt from the store she purchased it at could be in the car.”
“Doubt it, Boss, since I didn’t see a purse anywhere in the vehicle. Who knows, our exemplary car thieves could have taken her money and credit cards and then ditched the purse.”
“You’re probably right, but let’s have a chat with the guys, anyway.”
They entered the evidence garage, where several vehicles sat, including the Lexus with the caved-in front end.
Lutz called out to Mike. “Hey, buddy, I just want to make sure you guys are doing a thorough search of the car, too, not just checking for prints.”
Mike climbed out of the car. “Are we looking for something in particular?”
“I was hoping to find a receipt from a phone store, but Frank made a good point.”
Mike shot a raised brow in Frank’s direction. “Yeah, what did you say?”
“Only that there wasn’t a purse in the car, and the receipt would likely be in the purse.”
Danny joined in. “Definitely a valid point, but we’ll search every nook and cranny no matter what. Don’t know how long you’re hanging around, but if you want us to search the car first, then that’ll only take about an hour.”
“Yeah, do that. We’ll be interrogating the car thieves that long, anyway. I’ll stop back in later,” the commander said.
Frank and Lutz left the garage and took the hallway to the jail wing, where they had to sign in.
“Calvin Jones is in box one, gentlemen.”
“Thanks, Lou. Those men haven’t had contact with each other, have they?” Lutz asked.
“Not at all.”
“Good. Let’s see what Mr. Jones has to say for himself.”
Frank entered the room first just to let Calvin know there wouldn’t be any screwing around. Frank’s presence was at times intimidating, and he could smell a BS story a mile away. Lutz walked in behind Frank and closed the door at his back. Both men took seats facing Calvin.
Lutz began. “We went through your wallet, Calvin. Do you always carry a hundred bucks around with you?”
“Sure do. You never know when a good opportunity might arise, and sometimes I get lucky.”
“You mean like buying and selling stolen goods kind of lucky?”
“Yep. Just hadn’t gotten to it yet, but we didn’t steal the phones. Like I told you earlier, they were sitting on the seat like a gift from above.”
Frank spoke up. “Cut the crap. Tell us what you did with the purse. That’s really where the money came from, isn’t it?”
“No way, man. There wasn’t a purse in that car.”
Lutz took over again. “Walk us through the exact moment you saw the Lexus until you tried to get away from the police.”
Calvin moaned. “C’mon. We were just doing what we do.”
With his massive arms across the table, Frank leaned in. “Which was?”
“Hanging out, trash talking, and smoking weed. We were cutting through the alley when we spotted the car. You know, a car like that stands out since it doesn’t belong in an alley full of garbage cans and litter.”
“Then what?” Lutz asked.
“Then we checked it out. When we saw the keys in the ignition, hell, it was like a sign. Somebody wanted us to take the car. I mean, it was meant to be.”
“I bet it was. What time was that?” Frank asked.
Calvin shrugged. “Who cares about time? We have all the time in the world.”
Frank slammed his fist on the table. “We do! Now answer the question.”
“I don’t know, man, six thirty or so.”
“Was that so hard?”
Calvin stared at his hands.
“What were you doing with the car for four hours?”
“Driving around showing it off and calling our boys with that sweet phone.”
“It didn’t occur to you that you were stealing a car?”
“Hell no. How do you steal a car when the keys are left in it for you?”
Lutz nodded toward the door. “Let’s go. This joker doesn’t know anything.” He and Frank headed out.
“Hey, what about me?”
“You’re a car thief, and you aren’t going anywhere.”
Lutz asked Lou to put Tyler in the second interrogation room. For the next half hour, they asked him the same questions they had asked Calvin. Tyler’s responses were the same.
“They don’t know shit,” Frank said after they ended Tyler’s interview. “They’re two punks who went out on a joyride with a car conveniently left for them—nothing more.”
Lutz blew out a discouraged breath. “Yeah, I know. Let’s see if Mike and Danny have anything for us.”
He told Lou to toss Tyler and Calvin back in their cells, then the commander and Frank continued on to the evidence garage.
“Find anything, Mike?” Lutz asked as they walked in.
“So far we’ve only found prints belonging to our guests in the jail wing. We have the typical things one would find in a car’s glove box and console, but no receipt from a phone store.”
“Damn it.” Lutz scratched his cheek. “I have to admit I wasn’t all that optimistic. Keep me posted. I’m going to try to catch a few hours of sleep in my office.”
As they walked to the bullpen, Frank shared some of his thoughts. “Calvin says they found the car at six thirty or so, but what time did Conway take Hanna to Lee’s house?”
“Around three to the best of my recollection, but we can double-check with him.” Lutz gave Frank a quick glance. “Putting together a timeline?”
“It’s got to help. We’ll find out from Lee what time Hanna dropped her off at her friend’s house. After that, Hanna bought the phone. So between the time Lee was dropped off and the time the boys snatched the car was Hanna’s window of opportunity to buy the phone. Whether she had a chance to use it or not is another question since phones usually have to be charged for hours before use.”
“Let’s get Tech on that right away. An hour or so may not be enough time to get a usable charge, but it’s definitely worth a shot. Todd and Billy have left for the night, but we’ll get Adam and Sam working on it.”
“I’ll grab the phones from the evidence room and get the guys started on it immediately.”