Chapter 14 Who Is Dusty?
Who is Dusty?
Christmas was long over. The weddings were getting closer. In late January the three brides, Alex, Kathryn and Gladys made plans to brainstorm and find a common theme for a spring wedding. How could a 30 something, a 60 something and a near 80 yr. old, find common ground for a wedding? They sat over lunch at a favorite spot of Alex’s.
“What is one thing we all have in common?” asked Kathryn after they had thrown out 20 some ideas.
“Well, dears, we have Jesus in common, so He should be center. Added Gladys.
The three ladies brainstormed ideas, and Alex planned to research the celebration. They put away the thoughts and focused on their friendship, and the dinner in front of them.
“Hey, Bobby asked a question at the end of our Christmas gift time, that never got answered. Who won the snowman contest?” asked Gladys.
“Oh my, I had not even thought to ask Peter.” Alex picked up her phone to text Peter, just as it rang. It was Bobby.
“Hey, Alex, its Sherriff Glace,” Alex knew then that it was a case. He never refers to himself as Sherriff to her anymore, except on police business.
“We have something that needs your expertise. Can you come to the office as soon as possible?”
“Yes, we are just finishing lunch, will be there within the hour.”
Alex finished her meal with the ladies, and said her goodbyes. Kathryn offered to drive Gladys home. Alex headed to the Sherriff’s office.
Once seated in the office, Glace laid the file out for Alex to preview.
Six robberies.
High end items.
Private homes.
All in the past two weeks.
Nothing in common except one thing, the word “Dusty” written in permanent marker near the place of entry.
Who or what was “DUSTY”? It was capitalized, and in cursive script, so they were going on the assumption that it was a signature. Nothing had yet been released to the public. The last thing they wanted was a scare tactic, but Glace felt like it was time to warn the public. Alex agreed.
A press release was planned. One thing that was not going to be mentioned was Alex’s involvement. She was going to be under cover for this one. Her favorite type of investigation. She loved the secrecy of it, the wow factor when things came together. It made the title, Private Investigator, really mean something to her. Besides, Glace wanted her to be safe. He did not want her to be a target of some lunatic. They had a wedding to plan. They had also agreed to not release the signature. They did not want the possibility of a copy-cat on their hands. With times getting so tough, people were getting more brazen and desperate. Small hold-ups were almost common, and the Sherriff’s office was busier than ever. Glace had hired three new deputies, one being Norman Kingston. He and Sasha were in the process of changing their names to Peterson. With the revelation of family, it just seemed right. Greggory laughed at the situation. Who would of thought this two bit con would have a cop step- son, he said to Alex when he called to tell her the news.
Gregory was becoming very helpful to Alex. He was a wealth of information, and knew the workings of the criminal community. They were all so glad that he had been an invisible nobody. It made things so much easier. No one from his past really knew him. He was going to be a help to Norman after Bobby and Alex moved to Trail-Hill.
Alex and Glace agreed to meet at her fake office, instead of her real one. Keeping a low profile made investigating a lot easier. They sat at the desk later that evening formulating a plan.
“With Christmas just over, people are chatting about their gifts. Every theft has been someone with a social profile, and some nice gift to brag about. It puts targets on themselves. Just wish people would stop. They don’t know the damage that social media causes.”
Glace was forceful in his stand on social media. It was one area that he and Alex agreed strongly.
“Well, we could use that. I can have Peter help me set up a fake account. He could write a convincing back story. He has the expertise to set it up, and we could place bait. Maybe a nice new trinket, a ring or a necklace perhaps?”
“Great idea. By the way, he never did say who won that snowman contest, we will have to ask him about that.” Agreed Glace, adding his query.
“Yes, I was about to call him, when you called at lunch-time. I completely forgot. Will have to ask later. Too late now. Did you notice the time? It is after 10pm. We really got lost in this one.” Alex pointed out.
The pair said goodnight and each headed home. Glace thought he would be so glad when he could be home with Alex, always, not just when he needed to protect her or help her on a case.
The morning paper had a large print headline.
SIX ROBBERIES ROCK CITY
THEFTS LINKED TO SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS.
The story was vague, but just enough to embolden a crook. Alex had gotten a hold of Peter and the fake social page was made. A stunning necklace gleamed, with a caption.
HE REALLY KNOWS HOW TO SPOIL ME. All fake, all expertly done by Peter.
Now they just had to wait.
In all of the excitement Alex forgot to ask who won the contest. It really did not matter, they had so much fun. 16 snowmen still stood in Alex’s yard. Alex was not sure who made what. She knew hers and Bobby’s. They stood side by side, holding hands. She knew Gladys’ as well. It wore a chefs hat. So far the weather had not gotten warm enough to melt them.
Alex started her end of the investigations. She acted the part of a reporter, following the story. She hoped to get to 3 victims today.
The six victims and their stolen property were:
Grant and Shelly Stephens.
A $13,500 Tennis bracelet: Specifically a 4.20 carat diamond set in 14 k white gold.
Harold Winters.
A $20,000 Scotty Cameron putter: Specifically a Newport 2.0 Tiger Woods model.
Terrance and Patricia Nelson:
A $6,500 set of silver candlesticks: Specifically Rio Lines Casted Silver.
Brenda Halverson:
A $1,700 violin: Specifically a Fiddleman soloist outfit.
The least valuable of all the items.
Russell Stratemeyer :
A $45,000 1st edition copy of A Christmas Carol.
Alex wondered why this was not better protected.
Most recently, David Hunter:
A $2,100 set of Jade cufflinks, wrapped in gold rope.
Alex figured she would start with the three least valuable items stolen. That way she could perfect her reporter pitch before she got to the ones that would likely involve other investigators, specifically insurance people, and other police.
First stop, Brenda Halverson. At first impressions Alex could not imagine this elderly lady having an online social presence. She was in her late 70s and quite frail. Brenda had not gotten around to insuring the violin, and she was quite distraught. It was a gift from a student, and she was very pleased to give the student praise for her wonderful gift. She had a social page to keep in touch with students. There had been 120 over a 40 year time span. She was a good teacher. Alex came at the reporting from a human interest angle. This way she could ask some searching questions. Brenda was happy to share information, and hoped to get her gift returned.
Next stop was David Hunter. He was an arrogant ‘kid’, 15 years old, with a braggart ego that needed stroking constantly. No guessing why he was on social pages. It fed his ego. The links were a gift from his dad, who was in Europe for the holidays. Parents were divorced, and they were in constant competition as to who would buy the most expensive gift for their only son. He lived with his mom, who seemed quite level, except for her compulsiveness over her son.
Final stop of the day, Terrance and Patricia Nelson. They were a sweet couple in their 50’s. Terrance bought the candlesticks for Patty, because she had always wanted them. Christmas was their 30th wedding anniversary. He decided to forgo pearls, since they were not flashy people. The candlesticks were a better choice he thought, and Patty agreed. She was heart wrenched to have them gone.
Alex asked each about the circumstances of the thefts. Most of that she already knew from police reports, but she wanted to see if there were any discrepancies in their stories. So far everything matched up with the police reports. No alarms. They were out for the evening, and yes, their absence was on social pages. She reassured each that the sheriff’s office was doing their best.
While Alex visited the victims, Glace canvassed the neighborhood with Norman. The young man was quickly proving to have keen instincts, and would be a valuable asset to the station when Glace left. They started with the high end thefts, since they were the ones with insurance companies breathing down their necks. All homes were equipped with alarms. Norman noticed that they were all equipped with the same alarm system. It was one of the few companies in town, and he made note of it, and was going to ask Alex to do a reporters snoop into the company.
“Hello Alex, have time to compare notes over supper?” asked Glace as Alex answered her phone.
“Sure thing, not sure if I have much, but we will have supper at home. Gladys is already cooking.”
The evening was not terribly productive, as far as the case went. Glace did mention that Norman questioned the alarms systems all being the same company. Alex agreed that it may be important, and was up to checking the company out, under the guise of a reporter on the story.
Gladys answered a phone call while the couple talked shop.
“I won, or I should say, we won. James and I won the snowman making contest. That was Peter on the phone, he said sorry for forgetting about the contest, but his mind was preoccupied, the dear boy. Anyway, James and I each got 390 votes, with Justin’s being the next closest with 210. Peter has some social presence. There were 2421 votes, but he said he is sure some people voted twice.” Gladys was all bubbles.
“Imagine, us two oldies beating out all you kids in the snow!!”
Alex and Bobby chuckled over the dear ol’ gals’ excitement.
“Well, that mystery is solved.” Said Bobby, now we have a big one to deal with.
Hogan Bonzi Alarms, the name of the company that all of the homes with alarms were listed with.
“That name sounds so fake,” noted Alex as she went over Bobby’s notes.
“Sounds like something out of an oriental mystery.”
“Well you are half right. The company name is fake, made up from the owners obsession for old American TV shows. Can you guess?” asked Bobby with a chuckle.
“Not a clue, I was never much into old tv shows, but is the owner oriental?”
“Yes, the owner is Jian Jong, a third generation American, and he loves Hogan’s Heroes, and Bonanza….and Bonzi trees. He did not think his name would work well for a security company. Not sure the name he chose is any better, but setting up in our small city has been a help. There is only one other security company in town, and they do not have a good reputation. Jian is doing well. Not sure if this is the angle to come from, but Norman thought it was worth checking out. Tomorrow you could run a reporter check on them, and then we will go together to the three victims that were the hardest hit, and who had the alarm systems.”
The couple went over more notes, and called it a night. Morning would come too fast.
Alex prepared to go see the three hardest hit.
She decided to see the security company first, and come at her investigation as a story about insurance companies.
Hogan Bonzi Alarms, was officed in a quiet section of town, in a very modest building, with several other business tenants.
Jian Jong, oriental in name only, after two generations of American heritage, looked more Texan than Korean. He stood 6’3”, and sported a full chest length beard. Alex could not stop staring when she entered his office and met the man.
“It is okay Miss Alex, I am as surprised at Alex being a woman, as you are at my appearance. My Grandma was Korean, after that the Korean genetics pretty much vanished. Call me Jian, Mr. Jong was my Great Grandfather.
After initial meeting chuckles, Alex was able to do her reporter story. Nothing in this man’s background, or current life hinted at anything nefarious.
After her interview Alex met up with Glace and they started on their visits to the last 3 victims.
First stop, Grant and Shelly Stephens. Shelly lost a $13,500 Tennis bracelet that was a gift from her very generous husband. The acquisition was new, and no insurance was taken out. Their only hope was recovery. Shelly was beside herself, laying all the blame on her social media post, showing off the gift. All information, was the same as initial police report. Alex was determined to help her recover he lost trinket.
They left the Stephens and met Harold Winters at the dining room at the West End Golf Club. Glace was never fond of the food at this place. He would much rather have met at Police Headquarters and had a sack lunch from Gladys. Harold said his alarm system had been broken for a week, and he had called numerous times. This story was consistent, and Jian had told Alex about the problems they were experiencing. Again, the hope was recovery. The last stop was Russell Stratemeyer, a 74 year old widower. His loss, a $45,000 1st edition copy of A Christmas Carol. By far the largest loss. Mr. Stratemeyer was the only one who had insurance on his stolen item. He had already contacted his insurance company, who was placing blame on the alarm company, as they system did not alert Russell of the intruder.
Russell has little to nothing good to say about Mr. Jong’s security business. He was very quickly to blame the business for the loss. Again, all information was the same as earlier reports to the police. Russell had a particularly deep dislike for Jian. Alex needed to find out why. After she and Glace left she told Glace.
“I have a feeling about Russell. He was so quick to put the whole blame on Jian, and not a mention of the thief.” Alex had determined to do some digging into Russell. Glace headed to the Office, and Alex headed to the archives at the Library. Alex red some stats.
The Korean War (1950–1953) resulted in approximately 3 million deaths. Some more research yielded more data. Alex was especially intrigued by some more detailed facts. Facts she was going to share with Glace over breakfast in the morning.
“So, check out this little tidbit I found yesterday.” Alex told Bobby over breakfast the next morning. She read the information.
“A Lieutenant General Russel David Stratemeyer went to Tokyo in April 1949. His units responded rapidly to attacks in May 1951 and he was confined to the Air Force hospital at nearby Tachikawa Air Base. He died in hospital, leaving his Korean wife and young son….Russel Jr.”
“Russell, Rusty, Dusty,” murmured Glace.
“My thoughts exactly,” agreed Alex. We need to go see “Dusty”.
The pair headed to the home of Russell Stratemeyer. The man seemingly expecting them.
“Don’t even ask,” the man started as he led Glace and Alex to his office. “I can’t bear the guilt any longer. I staged the whole thing. My book is safe in my locked desk. It was never stolen. I harbored such revenge ……just because…..” The man’s voice trailed off.
“All off the missing items are in a storage unit. I’ll take you there, and then you can arrest me. I have enough excuse. It was abominable. I blamed Jion for my father’s death….and he was snot even born!”
The trio went to the storage unit, and Glace had on of his deputies meet them there. Everything was accounted for.
Over the course of the next two weeks, all charges were dropped. Russell only faced attempted insurance fraud from his insurance company, who had little heart in the matter. Even though Russell tried to explain that it was snot about the money. He just wanted to make someone pay for his father’s death…anyone.
“Well, that wrapped up better and quicker than I thought it would. Norman’s hunch was right. That boy has a good mind.” Alex noted as she and Bobby sat to dinner.
“Yes, now we have one big mystery to solve.” Added Bobby.
“What is that?”
“What to have for our wedding dinner.”
The pair laughed, and Alex squeezed Bobby’s hand.