The Pact Ch. 04

"Okay, Theo." I said. "Make an affidavit form. Put these down as attached sheets, you and Kane initial them all, number them as 'Page X of Y pages', have Kane sign the affidavit, then we'll copy it all into digital servers."

I turned to Tom. "Because you're ankle-monitored, you know you can't leave your home. We'll be all over you if you do. But if you're alone, at home... I'm not paying attention to you. As long as you're home... alone..." Theo peered at me as I made that cryptic statement. The lawyer was busy with the paperwork, and didn't catch it.

Once that was done, we re-arrested Sven and Dave, formally charging them. Judge Nance still gave them only house confinement with ankle monitoring.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Saturday, June 9th, 2:00pm. Thanks to Tom Kane's detailed confession, we were able to talk to other people to corroborate the movements of all three of them, and to show some timelines that circumstantially showed them to not be at parties they'd said they were at, and that possibly put them at the homes at the times of the home invasions.

And yes, the legal eagles for Sven and Dave came searching for deals. "We'll give you what you need to barbecue Kane, to make sure he gets the syringe." said Gibson Stelling. "What can you give us in return? And by the way... Mrs. Clarkston and Mrs. Kane will tell you they don't want to press charges." Ted Mason offered ten years imprisonment and an additional fifteen years probation to each of them for their full confessions and testimony. They accepted.

And then the snags hit.

"I want to press full charges against them." said Richard Clarkston, despite his wife Marcia's angry shouts and then desperate please for him not to. "I was held against my will; that's kidnapping. I was physically abused; that's assault and battery."

"We have no choice." I told Marcia. "I can't stop him from pressing the charges, and the judge might not accept the plea deal.."

And then Nikki Kane came in, represented by Gwen Munson of Prodder, Ryder & Reems, P.C., the lawyer that had represented Jan Camp, and had represented Donna Rodman and Hillary Braselton. When her brother had been confined to their home, Nikki had moved out.

"I want to press full charges against Sven Radcliffe and Dave Clarkston. For kidnapping and rape." Nikki said, her voice full of venom.

"And your brother, too?" I asked as we got her statement in I-A.

"Hell, yes!" Nikki spat. "Especially that shit-eating piece of trash..."

Part 24 - The Shocking Twist

"It's confirmed." Tanya said, showing me the data. "Tad Radcliffe is not the biological father of Sven Radcliffe. Tad's attorney has gone to Court to get a copy of the results, even though is wife is dead and Sven is adult age."

"Probably in case of legal issues in the future." I said. "And speaking of that... there is one more thing I need to do."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I went to the Pastor's Room, where Kate Kane and Marcia Clarkston were. They were still trying to get their sons off the hook, begging us to not press charges. We'd told them we were way too far past that.

"May I have a moment alone with Mrs. Clarkston?" I asked Kate as I came in. She said she'd go powder her nose. Cindy escorted her to the women's room on the backside of Police Headquarters.

"Mrs. Clarkston," I said as I sat alone with Marcia, "Tom Kane was very generous... very generous. You're still alive, and he did not implicate you in the home invasions."

"Why would he?" Marcia asked, her formerly tearful voice growing cold. "I was the victim of that."

"Please, Mrs. Clarkston," I said, "I cannot allow you to think that you are talking to an Agency of the Weak Minded. It was you that gave Tom Kane the idea to invade your home and force Dave to have sex with you!"

"Have you gone mad?" asked Marcia shrilly, though her lovely face now registered pure fear.

"Not at all." I said, looking her dead in the eye. "I did not fail to notice that you made sure your daughter was not at home that night... despite your husband having demanded she be at home. You not only gave Tiffany permission to be at Jenny's... you insisted that she stay there and not come home. Dave and Sven also told her to stay away, but it was you that pushed that, and then told Tiffany to not answer her cellphone if her father called, and you'd cover for her."

"Why would I do that? The home invasion, I mean." Marcia asked. "Why would I arrange something like that with that filthy bully Tom Kane?"

"Ohhhh, maybe because you had a huge sexual crush on your son." I said. "Mrs. Clarkston, my wife is considered to be the very best sexual psychology professor in this Nation, in all of this Nation. She saw almost from the start that you looked upon your son not as a son but as a young man you wanted as a lover. And you chose a pretty despicable way of getting your son into bed with you. Oh, you didn't mind it if those young studs Tom and Sven helped themselves to you; after all, they're handsome and virile and good in bed themselves. And you also got what you wanted... Dave, in bed."

"And what's more," I said, "it was your chance to get rid of your husband, too. Yes, he was borderline abusive with you and your daughter, but you never could drive him over the edge to actually hit you or Tiffany. You tried like hell, but you couldn't do it. And ironically, the reason for that is because Dave was protective of you, and especially of Tiffany. I saw how he shielded her from Tom's gun with his own body at the pool house. And Dave beat Tom down when Tom groped Tiffany, taught the bully an unforgettable lesson. Dave would've beaten the hell out of his father, who is a real wimp, so sorry, if Richard had harmed you or Tiffany. So this incident was the chance you needed to get Richard out of your life."

"Related to that, and last but not least," I said, "it was you that insisted on calling the Police. You had to get us involved, and everything into the public record. Worse, you leaked it to the reporter Ajmani so she'd release your name to the Public... all to humiliate your husband, and give yourself yet another excuse for leaving him."

"You'll never prove a word of that!" spat Marcia bitterly. "Any of it!"

"Nor do I intend to." I said. "With luck, Dave will be out of prison in ten years or less, and you and he can do whatever you want in the privacy of your home... provided there's no violence or abuse of rights, of course. I just want to make sure you understand that I was not fooled, and that you should not stoop to these levels again. Your friend Helga is dead; I'd hate to be investigating your murder next. Do be careful, Mrs. Clarkston. Do be careful."

With that I got up, turned off the bug-killer, and left the room. I'd given Marcia the most blunt warning for her safety that I could. It would be up to her to survive...

Part 24 - Epilogue

"So you knew Marcia Clarkston had secretly asked Priya to reveal her name? To get at Richard Clarkston?"

"Well, I'm not sure what the exact arrangement was," I said, "but that was the gist of it."

"And yet you went after Priya, and you crushed that poor girl..." Cindy said, peering hard at me. "You absolutely destroyed her like I've rarely seen you go off on anyone, at least verbally."

"Yes." I said.

"Why?" asked Cindy. "What was the point?"

"That is admirably exact." I said. "I was making a point. First of all, whatever the arrangement, Priya still should not have revealed Marcia's name, and KSTD should not have let her do it, either. So that was a free chance for me to light into her, and I took it. And yes, I gave her both barrels and then some. I did not hold back."

"And the second point," I continued, "was that it was an opportunity to deliver a message of sorts to the Press overall. Word quickly spread what happened between me and Priya, and now the rest of the Press knows, and knows well, that I consider them the Enemy and will hit back at them."

"They know that already." Cindy said. "And they consider it a point of honor... whatever they consider honor... to not relent one inch to you."

"We'll see." I said.

"Is that why Walther resigned?... well, I should say 'retired', but it was essentially a resignation." Cindy said.

"No, I think that was something else, something you'll be hearing about soon." I said. "What you also don't know is that after I ripped Priya a new one, she went running to her 'mother', in a manner of speaking: Senator Katherine Woodburn."

"Now Woodburn is barred by the Federal Government from having anything to do with any Media companies, officially anyway." I continued. "But she's been working behind the scenes, creating proxies, to create a new State-wide Media outlet. KSTD is going to be a part of that, with Priya as Katherine's point man... point woman, that is."

"And Walther is being pushed out more than anything else." Cindy said, catching on. "Or he sees the writing on the wall and steps aside while the stepping is good. I nodded. "But why?" she asked, sounding not unlike my most very inquisitive daughter Carole at times.

"Part of a long-desired plan." I said. "Control of the Media. Control of the news and information that you receive every day. You better believe these people hate Social Media, they hate Drudge Report and Rush Limbaugh and our local Conservative talk show host, Reed Hudson. I'm not sure exactly what form their plan is going to take, but we'll find out soon enough..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Saturday, June 9th, 4:30pm. There was a knock on my office door, and I bade my visitors to come in. Tanya Perlman drove in, followed by Joanne Warner.

"Sir," said Joanne, "I just told Captain Perlman, and she said I should tell you: we have not found the revolver matching the one Tom Kane used at the pool house."

"Oh?" I said, keeping my face passive.

"Dave and Sven both said in their confessions that Tom had provided the guns, and they left them in a secret compartment of Tom's car after the home invasion at the Kane's home. We impounded Tom's car, and the other revolver is not anywhere in it."

"What do you wish to do?" I asked.

"Go to Tom's house." said Joanne. "Ask him where it is, and if he doesn't tell us, we'll tear the house apart until we find it."

I nodded. "Tell you what. Warner, go find Lt. Hewitt and have him get a Response Team ready, and take them with you. They, and you, should wear full armor."

Joanne left. Tanya peered at me. "Think they'll find the gun?" she asked, the merest hint of a sparkle in her eyes.

"Yes." I said. "Yes, I think they will..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

An hour later, I got the call. "Sir, it's Warner." Joanne said. "We found the gun. And Tom Kane. He committed suicide with it. I've called for the M.E. and CSI teams."

"Good work." I said. "Keep me informed."

As I disconnected, I wondered how long it would take Joanne to figure out what Tanya had figured out by watching me. Of course I had not forgotten about the second gun, though I'd somehow forgotten to mention it to my Detective Corps that had failed to remember it.

Tom Kane had wanted me to not take the death penalty for him off the table. And I had not. I figured he'd hidden the second gun in an A/C vent or something. And after his confession, I told him that while he was at home alone, I had no interest in his actions. He'd understood. In effect, I'd given him his opportunity, and he had taken it...

Finis.