Chapter 62

“Amid the action and reaction of so dense a swarm of humanity, every possible combination of events may be expected to take place...”

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

The crowd dispersed, and Precinct 20 fell back into its normal everyday rhythms. Auntie and the twins were still trying to interrupt Karl Patrick.

“But Mr. Patrick,...”

Karl raised his hand and again cautioned them to say nothing. “We’re doing fine,” he explained. “We’re on the path to get you out of here as soon as possible, so trust me. Say nothing more. Let me handle things.”

George reinforced Karl’s position, and thankfully Auntie and the twins obeyed and fell silent. They followed Karl, meek as sheep, into an adjoining office to review and sign the release paperwork.

Mother took my arm and frowned. “What’s happened to you, DD? Do you need to see a doctor?”

“I’m fine, honestly. Tom and I were in a fire, but we got out. Morgan didn’t.”

“Oh no.” Mother looked pale. I knew I’d hear about my choice of profession for years to come.

“Don’t worry. It’s over.” As I said that I crossed my fingers, hoping it was true but worrying it wasn’t. I’d given happy talk to Tom, but I understood fully now what it costs to be a witness to a crime, never having a moment’s peace. Where was James Dodd right now? The thought of staying with Mother for a few days crossed my mind, but I dismissed it immediately. I wasn’t about to put her in danger, too.

“Mother, thanks for coming.” As I said it, I spotted a tear in the corner of her eye. She quickly turned away. We Scots never cry in public.

Mother turned back to me. “Auntie says she saw your stalker at the stake-out.”

“So I heard. But according to the cops, he was some innocent by-stander who may sue them for roughing him up. Karl told me they were holding him off with a can of wasp spray. How’d they ever get the idea to use that?”

“Glendy and Lucille recommend it to all their friends. They keep it on their nightstand tables in case an intruder breaks in. I hear it will definitely stop someone in his tracks. They say it’ll even stop a snake.”

“I think we’re lucky Karl got here when he did.”

“DD, of course you know best, but have you considered that your Auntie is never wrong? Forget the citizen’s arrest for a minute. Clear your mind. Auntie is the only one who saw the creep at your door. She says she saw him again. Think about it. He might well have been at the stake out because he thought you’d be there. Auntie is good about certain things, you know. And all I’m trying to say is that if Elizabeth says she recognized him, I tend to believe that she did.”

I thought about what she said. “You’re right,” I conceded. “She certainly thought she recognized him. We’ll get to the bottom of it after Karl gets them sprung.”

As if on cue, the door opened and George escorted Auntie out followed by Karl with one of the twins on each arm. Karl motioned toward the door, and Mother and I followed them to the parking lot.

Everyone thanked Karl profusely then clustered around asking if I were okay. I knew I still looked and smelled horrid, and I told them all briefly what I’d told Mother. Consensus was to take me home immediately and get me bathed, fed and put to bed in that order. I was too tired and too depressed to argue.

Karl grabbed my arm. “I know you’re a mess, but we need to talk,” he said firmly. With your court date coming up in a few days, we’ve got to prepare for it.”

I dreaded having to tell him everything, but he was defending me at my upcoming trial so he had to know the worst. I nodded. “It’s a long story. And Karl, we need to hear to what Auntie has to say about seeing my stalker. Maybe she really did.”

“Honestly DD, we got them out today on a stroke of luck and brilliant lawyering. Don’t try to push it.”

Auntie Dragon approached Karl. “But ‘tis true,” she said vehemently. “‘Twas the verra same man I spied at Daphne’s door. Of that I do assure you.”

Now I knew Auntie was certain of what she’d seen - she’d called me Daphne again.

Karl shook his head. “You may think so, but that’s not what the cops say. They looked him up. He’s clean. He’s no criminal. They let him go. You can’t be going after this guy, ma’am,” Karl said forcefully. “He’s already threatened to sue you. If you try something else with him, I won’t be able to help.”

George handed me his smart phone. “Here, Lass. Take a look,” he insisted. “See what you’ll see. You must trust your Auntie. She has the gift of knowing.”

“You got him on your video phone cam? Great!” Karl and I stood shoulder to shoulder as I pressed play. “At least we’ll get a look at who you’re talking about.”

“As you will see lass, this morning when we didn’t hear from you, Auntie came along with me to do the surveillance. Glendy and Lucille stopped by to see if all was okay. I was showing them how I use the phone’s video,” George explained as we watched the screen.

There was a clear shot of the Romani house. It was in excellent color and was dated and time-stamped today at 8:40 am.

“What was the name of the guy again?” I asked Karl.

Karl, who has the world’s greatest memory, said “Pinner. Harry Pinner.”

“Okay, when he shows up on the screen Auntie, point him out.”

Claudine Romani came out of her front door wearing an open single-breasted short coat over a pair of leopard print capris and high heels. The insurance circuits in my brain immediately processed the fact that those 4-inch spike heels did not bolster her claim of severe back injury. I stifled myself and made no comment on her outfit’s fashion statement. Instead I pointed her out and said, “That’s my subject, Claudine Romani.”

“She doesn’t look sick, but then I’m not a doctor,” Karl said.

Woodley came out of Claudine Romani’s house and locked the door.

“What’s he doing coming out of her house?” I exclaimed?

“There. That’s the man,” Auntie Elizabeth pointed to Woodley on the screen. The two of them walked down the stairs to Woodley’s car. He had his arm around her. Then the video stopped.

“That’s Woodley!” I shouted. He’s supposed to be watching her, not dating her! Where’s this Pinner guy, Auntie?”

La Dragon pointed again to Woodley.

“This is the guy you tried to detain?” Karl asked George.

“That’s him,” George agreed. “Of course I didn’t know who he was at the time because Elizabeth wasn’t with me the other day on the stake out,” he explained.

“Aye,” Auntie added. “This morning ‘twas the first I went along. Ere I first saw him, I knew he was the verra same culprit as was fiddle-dee-deeing at your door.”

“As soon as we saw him this morning coming out of the house, Elizabeth said he was the one. So we tackled him and showed him the wasp spray,” Glendy said.

“Aye, they piled on him,” George nodded proudly. “I had t’ hold them back lest they inflicted mortal damage to the man.”

“That rat Woodley must have spent the night with her. He probably figured since he’d gotten me fired, he could come and go as he pleased. That’s why he was sending me the threats. He wanted me off this case ‘cause he had another oar in the water.”

Karl nodded. “He’s definitely got something going with her. Do you think he knew this Romani creature before her trip and fall?”

“I honestly don’t know. He’s been in the business a lot of years, and I thought he was a real pro. Look, I want to be clear about something. This guy definitely told the police his name was Harry Pinner. Right?”

“Aye, that he did,” Auntie said.

“But we didn’t know his real name,” Lucille interjected. “So how could we know it was an alias?”

“An alias. Isn’t this exciting?” Glendy asked. “Do you think we’ll get that $1,000 cash reward after all?”

“Auntie, we all owe you an apology,” I told her. “You nailed this creep. And gals and George, you deserve a big thanks for catching him in the act. You did my job for me. Woodley certainly had a reason to harass me. He wanted me distracted so I wouldn’t notice what was happening under my own nose.”

We huddled around the camera and watched the video stream again. Woodley locked her door, so he had a key. And he had his arm around her, too. I began to feel a lot better. If it weren’t for Morgan’s death and Dodd being after me, I’d say I felt pretty good. Everything was in perspective for the first time in over a month.

“Karl, I’ll meet with you later. First there’s someone I have to see.”

“Not Woodley,” Karl objected.

“No. I’m going over to see Marcus Goodson at United Insurance.” I held up the camera. “Can I take this with me, George?” He nodded.

“Good. I’ll buy you a new one, ‘cause they’ll use this for evidence. I dropped it into my purse.

“You’ll undoubtedly get your job back,” Karl pointed out. “Look, I’ll go with you, but shouldn’t you first go home and wash up and change clothes?”

I knew I still looked awful, but I needed to do this right away. Being Scots, I wanted my own revenge, and I wanted to clasp it to my bosom right now. “Thanks Karl, but I’ll be fine. They must take me as they find me including the smoke, grime and blood.” Goodson’s crack about giving my last week’s pay to Woodley still rankled.

“You sound exactly like the Scottish Dragon, your Auntie Elizabeth,” Karl smirked softly.