CHAPTER TWO

Becky did not appreciate Peter’s tone, or rolled eyes action, but she figured that she would discuss that with him another time.

“Not here,” she said as she noticed the diner was beginning to get very crowded.

“Okay, I’ll buy that. It is a nice day, what if we take a stroll in the park. That may also give us another opportunity to see if we can figure out how close we are being watched.”

As they were getting back in the car, Sparky noticed two uniformed officers that seemed to be watching them very carefully. Peter drove to Central Park without incident, other than he was already beginning to hate the traffic situation. Before they got out, Peter turned to Sparky,

“I do not want any extra surprises when we get back in the car, bring the portable alert signaler with us.”

“The what?” Becky asked.

“It is something new that Pops has been working on, I will explain it to you another time.” Peter told her.

 The three of them wandered a good ways into the park before they found a bench that was off the main pathway.

“Alright Becky, now what have you got?

“I found that one of the…”

Sparky put his hand over her mouth.

“Hey what’s the big idea?” she mumbled as she struggled to move his hand.

Sparky pointed to his ears.

“How close?” Peter whispered.

Peter listened again and wrote one hundred feet on a note pad. Peter motioned for him to go check it out.

“So, Becky my dear, tell me what you found out about renting an apartment.”

Becky was not sure what was going on, but she knew that Peter did not play games. Thus, she went along and followed his lead. Sparky casually strolled in the direction that he was detecting the high-pitched frequency of an advanced listening devise. When he rounded a large bunch of land scape, he saw the two policemen that he saw when leaving the diner. He went back and wrote down what he had discovered on his note pad and handed it to Peter.

“That is great news Becky, why don’t you tell Sparky your news. Sparky, where was the restroom?”

“Down that path and round the corner.” Sparky pointed.

“Okay, I will be back in a few,” Peter stated and headed off in the direction that Sparky had pointed out.

By the time he reached the two officers, he could tell they were getting bored listening to the made-up conversation between Becky and Sparky.

“Excuse me officers, what kind of reception are you getting out of that GG1 unit? I have heard they have a rather good range.” Peter stated.

The officers were in shock and did their best to act as if they had no idea what Peter was talking about.

“Look Mac, we are simply enjoying our break, so if you will kindly move along…”

“Oh well then if you have nothing to hide there, I will simply take a few pictures here for my article on police relations with the public.” Peter stated as he pulled out a small polaroid camera out of his inside pocket of his coat.

“Um, no, see um, we are on official duty, and pictures would be detrimental to the case.” One of the officers stated, as they both tried to discreetly gather the equipment and started to walk away.

“Tell Sargent O’Malley, that invasion of privacy, without a warrant, is illegal in all fifty states, and I am not afraid to press charges.” Peter stated in a firm voice.

Sparky and Becky walked up as the officers were hurrying on to another location in the park.

“Well, for now, it seems the safest place for us to talk is in the car. Speaking of which, Sparky when we get back to the car, see how many pieces you can make out of the tracer they planted on it earlier.”

“Do you really think that is a good idea?” Sparky asked.

“It is obvious that somebody does not want us to carry out any phase of this investigation without them knowing about it. I think it is time to let them know that they are not dealing with any petty Hustler team.” Peter said in an upset tone.

While in the car, Becky explained that she contacted one of the women that worked with the clerk of the court.

“It appears that she was quite upset that several cases were being rushed without due process. After talking to her in an emphatic manner, I found out that there were several criminals that were killed along with your brother in the raid. It was only because of this women’s sense of duty did she discover several things that were either mis-handled, done illegally, or otherwise lied about.”

Becky paused, smiled, then added,

“And before you ask, I am working on seeing how much documentation I can get from her, when I see her again tomorrow.”

Peter smiled big.

“I don’t know how you do it Miss Fletcher, but at this moment, you have made me very glad, you talked me into letting you come.”

“Well, that is a first.” Becky mumbled.

For the rest of the trip back to Mary’s house, Becky related what few other bits of information that she managed to get from the woman. From what Becky related, and Sparky was able to learn from dissecting the tracer that was planted on their car, Peter put together a plan of action for tomorrow.

After supper that night, Peter felt like Mary had recovered emotionally enough to be able to answer some questions concerning what had led up to the night that John was killed.