Obstruction of Justice

Justin’s phone rang, and he noticed Alvin’s name with a photo of Fluffy lighting up his truck’s Bluetooth-enabled screen. Justin had been enjoying his time with his new friend, and since the criminals hadn’t struck for weeks, the Suburban Watchdogs were at a loss about how to track them down. They’d all been keeping an eye out but had seen no action since the encounter with Scarlett. As a result, Justin had more free time on his hands, so he’d spent the last couple of Thursday nights with Alvin at the clinic.

It was an average Thursday, and Karma was eager to see her friend.

“Hey, Alvin.”

“Hi, buddy.” His voice was groggy and gruff, with none of the usual enthusiasm Justin had grown accustomed to.

“What’s wrong? You sound glum, chum.”

“My clinic was robbed last night. Bastards stole half of my inventory, some of my prescription pads, and all of our cash.”

Justin nearly veered his truck off the road but righted it before disaster struck. “Seriously? Did you call the police?”

“No, the police called me. I was there half the night. I was just calling to let you know I’d be closed today because I’ll have to go in and get everything put back together, and I need some sleep. I’ve been up since two.”

Disappointment flooded Justin’s stomach, but he pushed it aside because there were bigger problems to address. “How ’bout you take a nap, and when I’m done for the day, Karma and I will stop by to help you get the place fixed up?”

“Nah, I couldn’t ask you to do that. Not after you’ve been working all day.”

“It’s no trouble. I can even bring Ollie so he can watch the dogs.”

Alvin was silent for a beat before he replied, “All right, then. But no hard feelings if you’re too tired or something comes up and you can’t make it. I’ll manage just fine, but it would be nice to have some company. Those losers didn’t just take dangerous drugs; they’ve made me not feel safe in my place of business now.”

Fury overtook the disappointment Justin had been feeling. Alvin was a good man, trying to do good work, helping animals. He didn’t deserve this. Neither did any of the other small business owners who had been victims of the tall man and his friends. Justin was determined; once he helped Alvin get his clinic put back together, he was calling a meeting of the Suburban Watchdogs so they could stop these guys once and for all.

After a full day at work, Justin returned home to change out of his work clothes, feed Karma, and pick up Ollie. Being home wasn’t always peaceful if Scarlett was on the loose, but lately she’d seemed more docile. Justin was grateful for the unspoken truce they’d reached—though it was more of Scarlett committing to the silent treatment than a truce.

The two Peterson boys and their dog climbed into Justin’s truck and headed for downtown, where Justin parked behind the vet clinic, unbeknownst to him, in the exact spot the criminals had the night before. He knocked at the back door, since it was locked, and waited for Alvin to let them in.

“Justin. Thanks for coming.” The doctor reached his hand out to shake his friend’s. “And you must be Ollie. I’m Alvin.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sir.” A young woman stepped out from a room into the hallway, and Ollie gasped. “Chloe?”

She turned toward the new arrivals and a smile appeared on her sweet face. The young girl had light blonde hair, much like Ollie’s, and exposed her braces when she smiled. “Ollie? What are you doing here?”

“My dad asked me to come along to help clean up.”

Alvin gestured for Ollie, Karma, and Justin to come inside, locking the door behind them.

“Fancy that. You kids know each other?” Justin asked.

Ollie replied, “We were in Mrs. Hanover’s split class last year, so we have different teachers this year. She’s Daisy’s friend.”

Karma and Fluffy were bouncing around each other, doing their traditional greeting, and seeing both his son and his dog so happy warmed Justin’s heart, even under the circumstances. “Why don’t you two take the dogs into the lobby and keep ’em busy while Alvin and I get some stuff done?”

“Okay, Dad.” Ollie eagerly skipped forward, introducing himself to Fluffy and allowing her to sniff him. She was a much more gentle greeter than Karma, who looked proud to show off her small human to Fluffy.

The kids and dogs disappeared, leaving Alvin and Justin alone near the office door. “I tell you, Justin. These guys have aged me ten years. I couldn’t sleep a wink today, as tired as I was, because I was terrified of what they’re going to do with those drugs and prescription pads. That’s like a free ticket to get whatever a pharmacy offers. I can’t get it out of my head that I could be responsible for someone overdosing.”

Justin placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Al, listen. None of this is your fault and you’re not responsible for any of it. Those guys broke in and stole your drugs. They’re the only ones to blame.”

Alvin blinked away the water pooling in his eyes and gave Justin a nod. “I guess all I can do now is make sure it doesn’t happen again. I need a new system to keep medications stored that won’t allow for this sort of thing to happen.”

Each moment since Alvin’s phone call that morning seemed to have grown Justin’s anger toward the elusive robbers. It was bad enough when they came into his town and started terrorizing a place that was generally peaceful. It was definitely bad enough when they showed up at his house and threatened him and his wife. But seeing firsthand how their actions had impacted his good friend, that was the icing on the cake. The cherry on top. The straw that broke the camel’s back. Every tipping point cliché in existence.

“Don’t worry. Their time as free men is short. I’m sure of it.”

The two men worked in relative silence for the next hour, when Chloe yelled from the lobby, “Daddy! There’s a police officer at the door.”

“I’m coming. Don’t answer it.” Alvin asked the kids to take the dogs to his office so he could speak with the unexpected guest. The dogs dutifully followed their kids into Alvin’s office, so once he heard the door click, he turned the locking mechanism on the front door and opened it wide. “Good evening, Constable Picault.”

As Picault was about to explain to Dr. Harper the reason for his visit, he heard a familiar, yet unwelcome, voice. His entire body tensed, awaiting that devilish dog to pounce on him.

Justin rounded the corner, and Picault noticed he was alone. “Pee-cult. Long time, no see. How are you?”

Not long enough. “Mr. Peterson, what are you doing here, at another crime scene?”

Alvin glanced back and forth between the two men. “What’s he talking about? Another crime scene? How do you know each other?”

“Uh… it just so happens that I saw the robbers fleeing the pharmacy a couple of months ago… Then I was out and about when they robbed the jewellery store, too.”

“I was willing to accept that twice was coincidence, but finding an innocent man at three crime scenes seems to be unlikely, wouldn’t you think?”

“Unlikely it might be, but that’s the truth. Alvin and I are good friends, and he called this morning to tell me what happened. Ain’t no mystery there.”

Picault turned to Dr. Harper. “How long have you and this man been friends?” Even saying those words felt strange because Picault would be more inclined to schedule a colonoscopy for fun than spend time with Justin Peterson.

Alvin stammered, “A… a few weeks, I guess. We met last month at canine night.”

“Canine night?”

“Yes. At a craft brewery in Newmarket. They host it once a month.”

“I see. And did Mr. Peterson approach you? How did this friendship come about?” Picault was eyeing Justin, analyzing each adjustment in body language, but the man didn’t seem uncomfortable.

“I… I guess I approached him. I was admiring his dog and saw that he was alone, so I sat down to talk to him. He… he has a friendly face.”

Picault was satisfied the doctor was telling the truth, and it seemed unlikely that if Justin were casing the man, he wouldn’t have made first contact. Still, it couldn’t be overlooked. Not when they had so little to go on. As much as the short man didn’t appear to be a criminal mastermind, he could be a skilled actor.

“So you struck up a conversation, and then what?”

“Uhh… we talked about dog breeds, and I told him I was a vet. Then he asked me about his dog’s flatulence problem.”

“Flatulence?”

Alvin nodded, and Justin’s body language remained unchanged.

Picault pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep inhale. “What next?” I’m almost afraid to ask.

“I told him to stop by my clinic one day the following week so I could give Karma some probiotics. He came that Thursday and it has been a weekly thing ever since.”

“And has Mr. Peterson ever asked to see your stock room or about any of the drugs you have on hand?” Picault asked, confident he knew the answer. If he really wanted to interrogate Dr. Harper, he wouldn’t do it in front of the person he was asking about. In this case, the real answers he needed were Mr. Peterson’s reactions. It was fun to make him sweat a little. The shame was, he wasn’t sweating at all. He stood off to the side, watching the interaction like any casual encounter.

“No… no sir. He’s never asked or seen inside that room. Usually, he and Karma come through the back door, right into my office. We’ll sometimes have a drink of scotch, shoot the breeze, then he goes home.”

“Fair enough. It appears you just have a knack for showing up in the wake of our town’s most notorious criminals, Mr. Peterson. Maybe you should consider forming your own faction of Neighbourhood Watch, then we could catch these guys.” Picault chuckled, but for the first time, Justin’s body tensed. Interesting. “Anyway, Dr. Harper, the reason I stopped by is to confirm that your security cameras were wiped, and we picked up nothing. There were a few prints collected, but we assume those were your employees or customers. My superiors asked me to stop in to see if you recall anything new since this morning. Any vehicles hanging around, or people walking by multiple times?”

The doctor shook his head. “I’m usually in the back, so I wouldn’t have noticed. I mean, you’re welcome to take the security tapes from the last month to see if anything catches a more discerning eye, but I’m afraid nothing caught my attention.”

“Okay. If you don’t mind, I’ll take you up on that and gather the old footage while I’m here. Chances are the perpetrators covered their tracks, but we might get lucky.”

Alvin turned to retrieve said security camera video from the hard drive in the utility room, leaving Picault and Justin alone in the lobby.

“I’ve never known someone to have such dumb luck in all my life, Mr. Peterson. All the police departments who have been searching for these guys haven’t seen a trace of them, yet you keep showing up nearby.” Picault wanted to press Justin while he was alone to see if he faltered at all.

Justin shrugged one shoulder and forced a laugh. “I’m not sure you know what luck is, Pee-cult, because it seems to me that would mean never having those bad guys in our town at all.”

“You’re right on that. I’m just confused about how you keep showing up at their targets.”

His shifty eyes darted around the room and finally settled on a potted plant in the corner. “There’s no easy answer to that. Beats me. If Karma hadn’t farted in her yoga class, I never would have seen them the first time. Then I wouldn’t have spotted them at the bookstore, and I wouldn’t have thought they were trying to rob the bank.”

“Exactly. Dumb luck.” Picault rocked on his feet and hesitated to say his next words. “I heard about the men showing up at your house, Mr. Peterson. I’m relieved no harm came to you or your family.” As much as he may not like the irritating man, Picault wouldn’t wish any harm on him either.

“Karma handled them. They should know, Karma is a—”

“Here’s the footage, Constable Picault. Is there anything else I can get for you?” Alvin returned to the lobby, glancing back and forth between the two men whose conversation he interrupted.

“That’ll be all, gentlemen. I’ll be back if there’s anything else, but in the meantime, be diligent and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. Take care.”

Picault exited the office, breathing out a tension-filled breath, happy to put some distance between himself and Justin Peterson. The man was a gnat. Regardless, he and his renegade dog were the only reason any progress had been made in catching The Magic Men, so as much as he’d like to get out a flyswatter, he was willing to tolerate the annoyance a little longer. There was only one more chance to catch these guys. Failure was not an option.