Chapter Ten

JAMES GLEASON
Detective Rizzo got the call from the police commissioner, Ken Parr. It was noteworthy that the call came from the police commissioner and not the police chief. It seems that one of the Utah’s big wigs wanted to talk to him.

“Go see James Gleason as quick as you can get to his home. He’s expecting you.”

James R. Gleason was a pillar of the community and respected by just about everyone except the unions and those who hate all rich people. He was the president and CEO of the biggest coal mining company in Utah. His net worth was reported to be close to a Billion dollars. He had a large family and was scrupulously honest. His operations were all non-union and he treated his employees fairly and made sure that their employment packages were always better than their union counterparts. The unions constantly demanded to represent his workers and filed lawsuit after lawsuit in an effort to force Gleason to bring in the union to avoid the harassment.
“Detective, I wanted to talk to you before the reporters turn this into a media circus. My youngest son was kidnapped earlier today.”

Rizzo interrupted, “Why are you talking to me then? We have a team trained to handle kidnappings?”

“My son was returned to us about an hour ago by Robin Hood. I called Ken Parr and explained what had happened and what I wanted to do. I asked for the best detective he had because I want to make sure that justice is served here. He told me he would have you come see me.”

“I’m not sure that I understand what you’re saying.”

“I apologize for beating around the bush, but I want to make sure that you’re the man that I want to talk to. My wife was frantic and I was about to call the police when my son ran up to the door, but before he opened it, he turned around and waved to a truck in the driveway. When he opened the door, the truck left. I have the license number of that truck, but I’m not going to give it to you.”

“Like most 12 year old boys, my son has an active imagination. He told us that he had been kidnapped by men who threw blankets over him and then placed him in a box. The box was picked up and taken somewhere. Then he heard what he thought was shooting. He wasn’t sure it was shooting; he said it sounded more like a loud clapping sound. He thought maybe it was guns with silencers. When the clapping stopped he was freed from the box and brought home by 2 men who claimed to be Robin Hood.

Frankly we didn’t believe him. Then he gave us a piece of paper with an address printed on it. I was going to ignore it, but instead, I called my good friend Ken Parr, the police commissioner and told him the story. He asked for the address and reported back to me that they found 3 dead men at that address along with a wooden box and blankets that matched what my son had described. I want to know who these men who saved my son are and I don’t want them prosecuted for killing those animals. I told Ken that I wanted to talk to his best detective. He said that unofficially, he agreed with me and told me that he would have you come see me. Can you help me?”
‘That explains why I wasn’t called on the murder case.’ “Yes, I think that I can help you. This is a very delicate matter. If you didn’t have the reputation that you do, we would not have this conversation, no matter how much money you have.”

“This isn’t about money,” said Gleason.

“No, it’s not, and I wanted to be sure that you understood that. You’re a rich man; but as you’re aware, there are some things that aren’t for sale. I know who saved your son, and like you said, it’s not about money. I can’t tell you their names for obvious reasons. These men are called Robin Hood because a family, rejoicing over their saved daughter, came up with the nick name. They never sought any recognition. They only want to help people. At this point in time, they don’t even know that I know who they are. Letting you see their license plate was a mistake. They’re willing to take the chance to make sure that Jimmy got into the house safely. Please forget that you saw it.”

“My number recognition skill is fading fast.”

“Thank you.”

“Detective Rizzo, please come into the study. I need to sit down and I want to make sure that you and I understand each other.”

“Would you care for something to drink?”

“A cold water would be great.”

Gleason pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator built into the wall and handed it to Rizzo. “This is my private study. It’s electronically swept daily. About once a week, we find a bug. It was swept this morning. Please correct me if I have any of the details wrong. Robin Hood is actually 2 men who go around killing criminals where ever they find one. The police are unofficially looking the other way. Robin Hood isn’t aware that the police are helping him. These two guys, Robin Hood, saved my son today without knowing who he was and returned him to me with no thought to ask for a reward. Do I have it right so far?”

“You have it mostly correct. Some of the police look the other way. There are others in law enforcement that are very uncomfortable with the idea of Robin Hood and want him killed. For example, you talked to the police commissioner who referred you directly to me instead of going through Bruce Mortenson, the police chief.”

“I wondered about that, but decided not to ask why. It seemed to me that maybe Ken doesn’t trust Bruce.”

“I don’t trust him either. The chief is a politician and like a lot of politicians, he has trouble with moral decisions. If you have money and influence, you’ve got his support. The people with power want Robin Hood found and killed, that’s good enough for Bruce. Anyway, since Robin Hood doesn’t know that I’m aware of them and their activities, I’m not sure how this rescue came about. It looks to me that they went to kill the murderer that Judge Cramer released, because he couldn’t speak English, and in the process stumbled on a kidnapping in progress. They then probably shot all of the available bad guys, opened the box and freed your son and returned him home. They had to find out who he was and where he lived to bring him home. If they were looking for a reward, you would have been the first to know.”
“Is there any way that I can help Robin Hood?”

“What I am about to say to you must remain confidential and only between you and me.”
“You have my word. There’s no recording of what’s said in this room and I won’t tell anyone what you tell me tonight.”

“Again, I must emphasize that it’s only because of your impeccable reputation that I can tell you about my unofficial activities. First off, the commissioner, Ken Parr, doesn’t know what I’m doing. He suspects a little, but because of his public responsibilities, he wanted to stay out of our organization until he is released from his elected office.

Between you and me, I can only say that there is a nationwide organization dedicated to strengthening America. Our goal is to remove those members of society who threaten America. Murderers, rapists, terrorists, pedophiles, traitors and corrupt elected officials all tear down the fabric of a strong America. We will use any method available to remove those people. Robin Hood has not been invited to become a part of our organization, yet. If you want to learn more and how you can help, I will have a person contact you. He will use my name to make the appointment and will want to meet in a place such as this. We have individuals, such as you, who have established trust funds to help those people and projects who are short of money. We don’t need money at present, but that situation could change.”

“I’ve wanted to do something more for my country but didn’t know what to do. You can count on me. If there’s something that I can do for you on a personal basis, don’t hesitate to call me. I feel that I need to do something to repay you and Robin Hood for saving my sons’ life. I want to learn more, please contact me. Here is my card with my private number.”

Rizzo thanked him for his time, and gave him his card, “as far as the kidnapping, if it’s ok with you, I won’t even report it, I’ll see what’s happening to those dead kidnappers, but there will be no connection to your son. When I talk to Robin Hood, I’ll tell them that you want to thank them for saving their son. Will you talk to your son and ask him to not tell anyone about the kidnapping. It would probably be a good idea if you informed the school administration that you want them to increase the security measures of the school. You could tell them you tested the existing security now in place and were able to avoid security and kidnap your son without a trace yesterday as he left the school.”

Back on the highway, Rizzo said to his steering wheel, ‘I hope Gleason is the person his reputation says he is. The wrong move could cost me my life, but if I’m right, he’ll be a valuable ally.’

Rizzo went to the shack to see what was going on. Detective Davis was talking to a patrol officer. He saw Rizzo, “Where’ve you been, this should’ve been your case?”
“I had a case that I couldn’t break away from until now. Here I am, what’s going on?”
Davis had learned the ropes from Rizzo and respected him above everyone else in the department. “There are 3 bodies perforated by what looks like 9 MM hollow point cartridges. You don’t get that much damage with a 38. One of the bodies is the man that was released by the Judge Cramer because he doesn’t speak English. The other 2 are low life muscle types that have records longer than my arm. It looks to me like a kidnapping was in progress. There’s a wooden box with blankets right in the middle of the bodies. It’s covered with blood and guts. It looks like the box was forced open and a small person had been wrapped in the blankets inside. These guys ended up dead and the kidnapping victim is gone. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a kidnapping and a demand for money materializing in the next day or two.”

“Could be; let me know if anything develops.”

The news media reported, “THREE MEN KILLED GANGLAND STYLE. Three men were found in a shack on the west side of Salt Lake City. The bodies were found through “excellent dedicated police work.” One of the victims had just been released from a murder charge because he was from a remote country in Africa, could not speak English, and a translator could not be found. The other two are long time local trouble makers with criminal records. Names are withheld until notification of next of kin. Police are suggesting that the murders may have been gang and drug related or, could it be Robin Hood at work?”

Judge Cramer read about the death of the guy who couldn’t speak English, without a second of remorse. The police had told him that the man both spoke and understood English, but the police officer was a jerk and he wanted to show him who was boss. The guy never spoke to him and acted like he didn’t understand what was being said to him. It worked out for the best, no prison time and he’s dead. The judge didn’t even consider the innocent woman who had been picked out at a park and then raped and killed when she refused to go with the tall black man. He wondered about this Robin Hood thing. ‘I hope they find him and he comes to my court. I would put him away for the rest of his life!’


MURDERER IN CANAL

Cole said, “Pass the soy sauce. Hey, the next guy on the Skull and Crossbones list just walked in front of us. That’s him walking down the street.”

“What’s the story?”

“I recognize him from the newspaper stories about the murder of a bank teller a few months ago. There is also a picture in the Skull & Crossbones file. He went into a bank to steal some money. He handed the teller a handwritten note that was pretty much unintelligible. The teller hesitated, probably because she couldn’t read it. He shot her. He then tried to take hostages before the guard shot him in the leg. The teller died before she reached the hospital.”

“The judge, Cramer, dismissed the case because the guard didn’t tell the robber to drop his gun before he shot him. The guy has a history of armed robbery and attempted murder. Cramer has been the judge in many of his cases and has either dismissed the case or given him a reduced sentence every time.”

Aaron put his truck in gear and pulled down the street following the target. “My 9 MM is under the seat and the silencer is already attached.” They passed the target and went around the block to come back up behind him again.

“There is a bridge over a little canal in the next block. If you’re really good, you can shoot him and make him fall into the canal,” laughed Aaron.

“How do you expect me to even hit him when it’s your gun,” said Cole with tongue firmly planted in his cheek as he put a bullet in the chamber and checked the silencer?

Aaron waited until the man crossed the street and approached the bridge. He pulled up slightly ahead of the guy who was having an animated conversation with someone on his cell phone. “It’s clear, No cars coming toward us from front or back.”

Cole opened the door and shot him twice in the chest at a range of about 10 feet. Before he could fall to the concrete, Cole gave him a push to make sure that he fell over the bridge railing and down into the canal.

Under the bridge a witness watched the shooting. His name was Samuel Westcott III. Samuel, as his name suggests, was born into a wealthy family in Boston. Samuel rebelled at the age of 15 against his family, its privilege, and society in general. He decided to act crazy. When it was accepted that he was crazy, he ran away. That was 10 years ago. He was a homeless man living under a bridge who had just witnessed Robin Hood kill a man.

‘No one would believe me even if I told them,’ he thought.

Three days later and 5 miles downstream from the bridge, some teenagers were swimming in the canal. One of the guys bumped into something in the water. He wanted to impress the girls so he reached down and grabbed it and yelled to his companions,
“Hey, I just found a dead body!” He grabbed what he thought was a round pole. It turned out to be an ankle. A shoe broke the water first and the guy forgot that he was trying to impress the girls, he screamed like a girl, pushed the leg down and came out of the water as fast as he could, all the time yelling and screaming. “It’s a body, it’s a body, it’s a body!”

One of his companions, who had opted out of swimming, had a cell phone and called 911.

The detective assigned to the case put the facts together. The guy was the murderer who got out of jail because of a lenient judge. He was shot twice in the chest with a high powered pistol. The coroner put the death at 3 to 4 days ago. The place of death was unknown. The body could have been thrown into the canal anywhere upstream. The guy had not been reported missing and his home address that was listed on his driver’s license was an office building in South Salt Lake City. The guy had lots of enemies including the family of the bank teller he killed about a year ago. “He’s not worth the trouble of doing a lot of investigation, so I’m going to trash can it. Death caused by unknown shooter with unknown motive.

The news report was buried in the paper and simply gave the facts in a short paragraph. “Killer who walked because of a technicality found dead in Canal. The police do not have a suspect or a motive. They listed his name and gave the details of the attempted bank robbery. Could this be the work of Robin Hood?”
Rizzo smiled and thought, ‘they’re ready, now to find a place.’

CLINT STOVER

“It doesn’t appear that many people miss that guy. Who’s next on the list,” asked Aaron?

“Going to work is getting to be a real pain. I look forward to going after these “rabid dogs” while work takes up most of my time. This next guy is a real piece of work. His name is Clint Stover. He killed his wife, 5 kids and his mother in law. The neighbors called police when they heard the gunshots. The guy was sitting there with a smile on his face and an empty shotgun on his lap when the police arrived. The arresting officer was so enraged at the carnage, that he pistol whipped Stover and didn’t read him his rights. Judge Cramer released him on bail of $1,000 and will undoubtedly throw out the case because of “police brutality” and failure to read him his rights. Stover works as a cab driver days and pizza delivery man in the evenings.”

“We can’t call for a cab or a pizza because those calls are recorded. We could get his cab number and wait for him at the cab company; then follow him until we find a good place to put him out of his misery.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Cole.

Aaron continued, “I’ll take some time off and sit where I can see the drivers coming and going. I have a picture of Stover and a description of his car.”
“Call me if I can help, meanwhile I’ll go to work.”

Aaron parked across the street from the entrance to the cab company’s office and watched for Stover to arrive. Stover drove in 10 minutes later and a few minutes later pulled out in cab #31702. Aaron followed him out to the airport where Stover got in line with a bunch of other cabs. Aaron picked up his cell phone, “Hey Cole, I have a plan. Stover is parked in line at the airport. I’ll park my truck in short term parking and wait until Stover is next up, then hail a cab and go for a ride. I’ll have him take me to his old address. That’s an appropriate place for him to die, don’t you think. Can you pick me up there in about 30 minutes?”

Aaron watched the cabs until #31702 was the next in line. He called for a cab and from out of nowhere a cab swooped in to give him a ride. Aaron told him to “get lost” and beckoned Stover to come on up.

Stover pulled up, “Thanks, I appreciate that. Those independent cabs drive us crazy. We sit in line for hours and then an independent cab swings in and steals our fares. Where do you want to go?”

Aaron gave him an address down the street from Stover’s home address. Stover looked at him in the mirror. “That’s just down the street from where I live, do I know you?”
“No, probably not, I’m just visiting your neighbor.”

Stover was satisfied with that answer for awhile, and then asked, “Which neighbor are you visiting?”

“You have the address, don’t you know your neighbors, I’m going to visit Cole Taylor?”

“Cole Taylor, oh yeah, I know who that is, he’s a heck of a guy.”

Aaron laughed to himself at Stover pretended to know his neighbor. He pulled up to the house. “Go ahead and pull in front of that one”, as he pointed to Stover’s house.
“What’s going on?”

Aaron showed the 9 MM to Stover, “Just do it!”

Stover pulled up in front of his house and reached for his microphone. Aaron squeezed the trigger and Stover and all of his legal problems went away.

Cole pulled up and Aaron quickly got out of the cab for the ride back to the airport. “I love a good plan,” said Aaron. Cole dropped Aaron off at the departures gate into the airport terminal.

“Have a good weekend, see you for lunch Monday.”

Cole responded, “Tell Rachel and Jamie hi for us.”

Aaron walked to the baggage area and then back out to the parking area just like any other airline passenger coming home to Salt Lake City.

The cab company dispatcher called and called for Stover. The identification marker indicated that he was at his home but wouldn’t respond to the radio or the telephone. Stover’s boss blew up! “First this clown kills his family and swears that he’s innocent, so I give him another chance. Now he flakes out in the middle of the day. He’s fired as of now! Nancy, call the cops and tell them we have a problem. Give them Stover’s address!”

The police patrol officer was the same man who had pistol whipped Stover. He pulled up behind Stover’s cab and walked up beside the cab. Parts of Stover’s head were smeared all over the inside of the windshield. The officer grabbed his shoulder microphone and called dispatch with music in his voice, “honey, it’s a wonderful day, I just discovered a homicide from the cab company’s complaint, that snake who killed his family is now in hell, please send a meat wagon and a crime scene team to his home address.”

The officer canvassed the neighborhood. Most of the homes were empty and the few people who were home were watching “soap operas” or other mind wiping TV programs. None of them had seen any activity outside.

The detective went over the details with the responding officer. “The cab had picked up a fare at the airport and drove straight to the cabbie’s home address. There the fare had blown Stover’s head away and disappeared. The cab was covered with fingerprints, but none of them came up in the data bank. No witnesses were found. ‘A very bad guy is dead. No further work is necessary,’ thought the detective. He filed his report and stated that no clues to the identification of the shooter were found.
The news story was short. “Accused multiple murderer Clint Stover, accused murderer of his family and mother in law, was found shot to death in his cab in front of his home. No motive or clues to the shooter have been found. Could the shooter be Robin Hood? Any witnesses are asked to contact the police.

Judge Cramer read the news story and suddenly got a cold chill when he thought about the other death of a person who he had released from jail. ‘I wonder if Robin Hood will be coming after me?’ He answered his own question, ‘Nah, why would Robin Hood come after me?’

Rizzo read the report and smiled at the increasing sophistication of Cole and Aaron’s efforts. “Yep it’s time.”