Hattie and the Main Street Bomber - Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1C – O 3/9
This version is rated PG-13
This story is a sequel to Hattie Kaplin - Reporter – Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1C - N
By KenJ <ken.janney@kjanney.com>
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
/ denotes telepathic communications./
Previously
By the time Frank had closed the door, Hattie had taken the report from the first bombing in her free hand as she sipped the coffee. Setting down the mug, she took a sticky pointer and placed the head at the location that the bomb had exploded. She ran through all of the reports, marking the locations of all of the explosions and then she stood back and took it in while she nibbled on the donut and had another sip of the coffee.
Setting the coffee down again, she picked up the first report a second time and wrote the time of detonation on that arrow. She did the same thing with each arrow. Then she took a white board marker and made a table of the detonation times. When they were laid out in tabular format it was easy to see that all of the detonations occurred within just a very few minutes of each other and the differences could be accounted for by differences in the setting of the watches of the observers. She thought <If I assume that the witnesses could be wrong then all of the bombs went off at the same time.>
Just then JJ came into the conference room. Walking up beside Hattie, with a slight chuckle, he asked, “Do you have it figured out yet?”
Hattie didn’t take her eyes off the map as she answered, “Not yet. I need to add more data.”
Walking up to the map, JJ pointed at a couple of the pointers and said, “Except for a few, like these, all of the bombs detonated on Main Street within just a few blocks.”
Hattie said, “Let’s assume that those bombs failed in reaching their target. What’s on Main Street …” checking the street names she finished, “between tenth and fourteenth?”
“That’s easy, that’s the theater district. Movie theaters, a playhouse, some boutiques and restaurants.” JJ pointed out.
As if that had slipped her mind briefly she said, “Yeah, that’s right. Okay, let’s assume that the theater district was the target. Why?”
“Maximum damage. Lots of people in a confined area,” JJ offered.
“There has to be more to it than that. What’s playing?” Hattie asked.
“It can’t be related to that because the features change too frequently and these bombings have covered a span of several changes.”
“Okay, if it isn’t a particular movie, what about the stage?” Hattie asked.
“The playhouse is between shows. They are tearing down sets and creating new ones for the next production. Actually that might be working to our benefit, fewer people in the area. How do the explosions match up to show times?”
“If we discount variations in memory or how far off a watch is then the bombs all detonated at 7:30 p.m. That would be show time for at least half of the theaters. People would be lined up on the sidewalks.”
“That supports my theory that they’re timed for maximum damage.”
With a negative shake of her head, Hattie said, “I don’t buy it. There has to be another reason.” Hattie stated emphatically. “I keep waiting for an ultimatum of some sort, perhaps a ransom note like downtown is being held hostage. Okay, they were all timed to go off at the same time. How were they delivered?”
“How can we figure that out?”
With a sly smile Hattie replied, “I’ve got an idea.”
And now
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 03 – Hattie and JJ Investigate
Tuesday night
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 Canon universe also called – Prime
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After work Hattie and JJ went to a local burger joint and had a quick meal. It was getting dark as they left in JJ’s car. They headed to the outskirts of town. JJ pulled up outside of a fenced parking area. Hattie bounced out of the car. She was dressed in a workman’s coverall. Similarly dressed, JJ exited the car and looked at the obstacles they would need to overcome.
Shaking his head he said, “Barbed wire topped ten foot fence. The only access is through an electronically controlled gate which is a continuation of the fence itself. How do you plan to get in and what are we going to do once we *are* in?”
Hattie hissed, “Not so loud. What if there’s a guard? Wait here. I’ll pick you up shortly.”
Keeping his voice down, JJ said, “What?!?!?!? You don’t even know if there’s a guard. What if there is, you’ll get caught!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back shortly.”
In a hushed tone he asked, “Hattie, just what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get us a truck to use so that we can check out those blast sites.”
JJ took a closer look at the fenced area and saw that it was the Road Department vehicle yard. Aghast he hissed, “Wouldn’t it be easier to just ask the police to help?”
Her reply wasn’t all that encouraging, “They’re not going to be willing to disrupt traffic so that we can look at the blast sites. Trust me, this is the only way. Wait here.”
Hattie took off at a run and rounding a corner of the fenced area was lost to JJ’s sight.
Hattie’s coverall was of a dark color. Out of a pocket she pulled a ski mask and put it on, concealing her flame colored hair and fair complexion. Out of another pocket she pulled a pair of leather gloves, heavy enough to protect her hands yet soft and supple enough that they wouldn’t interfere with her grip.
Once she had the gloves on she started to climb the chain link fence. The gloves enabled her to get a good grip and the toes of her shoes fit neatly into the spaces between the wires. It was only marginally harder than climbing a ladder. When she reached the top she found that the three strands of barbed wire were suspended from brackets that tilted inward from the top.
She continued to climb until her toes were on the top bar of the fence and she stood balancing, like a tightrope walker or gymnast, there for a few seconds to make sure of her equilibrium before bending down and placing her hands on the bracket, one near the fence and the other at the outer end. Slowly she did a handstand raising her body into the vertical. Very slowly she shifted her weight until it was all on the hand which gripped the end. Releasing the other hand she moved it to join the one at the end. Reaching under the outer strand of wire she changed her grip so that her fingers were over the support. As soon as she was sure of her grip she allowed herself to drop, swinging free of the barbed wire. Her body performed an arc which brought her feet into contact with the fence with a sudden rattle. That contact made a little more noise than she had wanted and she simply hung there for a few seconds to see if she had attracted the attention of a guard. After 30 seconds of quiet she walked her hands down the bracket to the fence where she proceeded to climb back to the ground.
Once on the ground she went from vehicle to vehicle looking for one with the keys still in it. After checking ten trucks she finally found what she was looking for. She climbed into the cab and looking around saw an electronic module like a remote garage door opener clipped to the visor on the driver’s side. Before starting up the truck she slipped out of the cab and stealthily approached the guard shack. Looking in she saw that it was deserted with no evidence of occupancy. The guard shack was right on the fence with a door to the outside. Hattie decided that they must depend on the fence for preserving the assets and the workers simply entered and exited through the shack when they came for a truck.
Hastening back to the truck she started it up and pulled out to the gate. After hitting the button she waited for the gate to open enough for her to drive out. Once outside she stopped and JJ climbed in. As he was climbing in Hattie took off her ski mask, but kept the gloves on. She said, “Don’t touch anything until you have gloves on. We don’t want to leave any fingerprints.”
JJ growled, “Thanks, I wish you had said something before I grabbed the door handle.”
Airily, Hattie said, “We can wipe them off, as long as you are sure that’s all you touched.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t want my partner arrested for grand theft – auto. I’d have to work alone again.”
“Your concern is underwhelming! Instead of sitting here jawing, let’s get this done so that we can get this truck back where it belongs.”
Laughing, Hattie threw the truck into gear and headed downtown. JJ pulled out the map that he had carried since Hattie had needed to travel light and by the light from the dash directed her to the closest location indicated on the map.
Once they parked Hattie put on the flashing lights and they pulled out the road cones and put a pair behind the truck. Then they pulled out the halogen lights and plugged them into the receptacle on the truck. Placing the lights so that the area where the blast occurred was well lighted, they bent to examine the road surface. Producing a tape measure from a zippered pocket Hattie measured the damaged area dictating her findings to JJ who wrote them down. Then she asked JJ for the camera that he was carrying in a pocket. She took several shots then she moved the halogen lights so that they were at the road surface. This cast shadow into the slight depression caused by the explosion. Hattie took several more pictures.
They packed up the equipment and moved to the next scene. They repeated this process at all of the blast sites before driving back to the marshaling yard. JJ jumped out, outside of the fence. Hattie drove the truck in and parked it in a spot very close to the gate. It wasn’t the spot she had found it, but it would have to do.
Just before she dropped down to the ground she hit the switch to close the gate and then she sprinted for the closing gate, just making it before it closed. They jumped into JJ’s car and he pulled away.
Smiling to herself, Hattie was pleased that at least he hadn’t parked anywhere that he would have to cross any soft ground leaving behind a tire track. If their use of the truck were discovered there would be no clues as to just who had done the deed since they had remembered to wipe JJ’s fingerprints off of the door handle. JJ was a quick learner. All in all, it had been a good night’s work.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It was after three AM when they got back to the apartments. They removed the coveralls and once inside Hattie’s apartment they both flopped down on her sofa.
They both started to laugh, for no apparent reason. It was a nervous laughter which came with the release of the tension they had been under.
JJ said, “I think we did it. Do you think we’ll get caught?”
Hattie said, “I don’t see how. We were very careful. Do you have the notes?”
“Sure, right here.” He pulled his notebook out of his pocket and handed it to her.
She opened her bag, pulled out her laptop, dropped it into its docking station and booted it up. While it was booting she said, “Hand me the memory stick from the camera, please.”
JJ popped out the memory and handed it to Hattie. She dropped it into the proper slot and downloaded the pictures to her hard drive.
She flipped to the page with the information and pulled up the first set of pictures. She zoomed in on the spot and jumped out of her chair. Pointing at the screen she said, “I need to check the others, but I think I know where the bombs were located.”
Looking at the picture JJ had a puzzled expression. He asked, “What exactly do you see that I don’t. I just see pavement.”
Sitting back down Hattie picked up a laser pointer and pointed at the picture. As she pointed she said, “See this here and here? See the cracking?” She switched pictures. This one was taken when the light was at ground level. She asked, “Can you see where there is a slight depression? The light throws it into shadow. I think that’s called spalling. I need to check the others to be sure, but I think I know how the bombs were delivered and why it was so random.”
JJ asked, “Can we continue this tomorrow? I’m starting to see double I’m so tired.”
Hattie had been running on adrenaline and she was starting to feel the letdown. Now that JJ had said something she couldn’t stifle the yawn that suddenly came on.
When she finished, she said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m kinda tired too. I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Right, I’ll pick you up.” JJ replied.
She walked JJ to the door and after he passed through she locked her various locks. Casting a wistful glance at her laptop she let it go to screensaver and headed for the bedroom.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Wednesday morning
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The next morning Hattie received a call, “Daily Planet, Kaplin.”
“Kaplin, Cardona here.”
“Inspector, do you have something for me?”
In a very dry tone he replied, “Actually, I need you to answer a few questions. Can you and your partner in crime come in and see me.”
Hattie’s mood changed in an instant. She spluttered out, “Part … partner in … crime?”
“It’s just an expression, unless you have a guilty conscience.”
“Oh, right, uh, okay Inspector, we’ll be there in a little while.”
“Oh, take your time. I don’t want to *
interfere* in *
your* investigation.”
The emphasis he placed on certain words had Hattie worried. She said, “We’ll be there as quickly as we can, Inspector.”
“You do that little thing.” He hung up.
JJ saw Hattie’s expression as she hung the phone up. He got up and approached her desk, “What’s up?”
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s the jig.”
“Huh?”
“I think the jig is up. That was Cardona. I think he knows about last night. He wants us to come and see him.”
JJ paled as she said all of this and his knees suddenly becoming weak, he dropped into the chair next to her desk, limply. “I thought you said there was no way we could be caught.”
“I don’t see how we could be. I guess we need to go see what he wants. I’d better let Lois know where we’re going.”
Casting her eyes in that direction Hattie saw that Lois and Clark were both at their desks. Sighing to herself she headed in that direction.
When she knocked on the door Clark motioned for her to come in.
Hearing her enter, Lois looked up and asked, “What’s up?”
Hattie moved over so that she was half way between the two desks and said, “I just had a call from Inspector Cardona …”
Lois interrupted, “Was it about the Main Street Bomber?”
“Uhhhhh, in a way. I don’t know how, but I think he found out about what JJ and I did last night.”
Lois rolled her eyes and asked, “All right, what did you do now?”
“Well, I needed to check out the places that the bombs exploded and I couldn’t do that when there’s a lot of traffic and the only way to stop traffic would be to have the police do it or if perhaps a road crew was working and, well, we borrowed a road maintenance truck and used it so that we could examine the blast sites and I think I know how the bombs were delivered which is more than the police have figured out and we put the truck back, almost in the exact spot I took it from so all that was missing was a little gas and I’ll pay for that …”
Lois held up her hand to stop her flow of words. “I assume you were careful and wore a disguise.”
Back on keel now realizing that Lois was going to back up her play she nodded and said, “Of course, we dressed in coveralls like road workers. We put out the road cones and everything to make it look legit.”
Hattie saw Clark leaning back in his chair with his fingers laced together and his hands behind his head laughing softly. Finally he said to Lois, “I feel like I’ve been transported back in time without the benefit of Herb and his time machine. She’s you and you’re Perry. This is just like something you would do. It is absolutely scary … seeing history repeating itself. My consolation is that now you are seeing just what you did to Perry. I think some of your antics were what caused his high blood pressure. I don’t think I’ll need to recommend Pava leaves to you though.”
Lois threw him a look and then turned back to Hattie. “Okay, here’s the thing. Don’t let him get to you. If you have to, use what you have found out to bargain with him. Above all, don’t admit to anything. Let him tell you what he knows. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Remember, we’re all on the same side. We’d be turning over what we find to them anyhow.”
“Okay, thanks. We’d better go. I don’t want to keep him waiting.”
“Good idea. Get going.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Hattie and JJ entered Cardona’s office he said, “Have a seat.”
He watched them as they seated themselves. He was a shrewd judge of character and he looked directly at JJ and asked, “What were you doing downtown last night?”
JJ was shaken and was about to blurt out an answer when Hattie kicked his shin and he stopped, just before spilling the beans. Looking at Hattie accusingly, but catching himself he asked, “Why do you think I was downtown last night?”
Cardona looked at Hattie and said, “Okay, that’s what I thought. You’re the ring leader. What did you think you were doing, missy?”
“Inspector, I really don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Let me explain it so that you understand. At approximately 11:30 p.m. a public works road maintenance truck showed up on Main Street. There was no maintenance scheduled for that day and time.” He turned, flipped on a TV and hit the play button on a remote control.
Hattie was shaken from her normal confidence. Looking at the TV screen over Cardona’s shoulder she saw a section of a road. Occasionally a car would move through the frame. Suddenly a road maintenance truck move into the center of the frame and parked. Two people jumped out and she immediately recognized herself and JJ. Even at night the red hair stood out. She had completely forgotten about the traffic cams! He had them dead to rights. The best course was to admit what they had done and bargain with what they had learned.
While the disk played he turned back to them and said, “A traffic cam picked up the truck. The two occupants look strangely familiar, wouldn’t you say? At least you put out the traffic cones, I’ll give you that much. You stole that truck. What do you have to say for yourselves?”
She said, “Really, Inspector, I can explain …”
Cardona interrupted, “It had better be good.”
“Oh, it is inspector. I needed to be able to examine the areas of the explosions without being interrupted. I thought that the middle of the night a road crew could block a lane with minimal impact and I wouldn’t have to tie up police resources stopping traffic.”
“Okay, I’m with you so far. Go on. What did you find?”
“In all of the reports I’ve read the location of the bombs, in the cars, has been a mystery.”
“I know that.”
“Well, when I examined the spots, I noticed spalling which indicates to me that the bomb was on the underside of the car. Somehow it was attached to the undercarriage, perhaps without the knowledge of the driver and passengers.”
Cardona leaned back in his chair and said, “Okay, missy, you just got yourself and your partner out of my dog house. Did you find anything more?”
“Not yet, but we’re working on it.”
“Send me your evidence and analysis and I’ll include it in the case file. Next time, ask me for help.”
“Inspector, can I have a copy of that video and do you have video of the explosions?”
Turning he ejected the disk and handed it to her. He said, “I’ll have copies of the events sent to you by messenger.”
Standing up, she took the offered disk then grabbing JJ’s hand and pulling him up she said, “Thanks, Inspector, and next time I *
will* ask for help. Let’s go JJ,” as she dragged JJ behind her and out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As soon as they walked into the newsroom, Hattie looked into the editor’s office and spotted Lois. Lois was gesturing for them. They changed course from heading for their desks to heading for the editor’s office. When they entered they sat side by side on the couch.
Lois asked, “Okay, I didn’t have to pay your bail to get you out of jail so I guess it went well. What was the beef?”
Chagrined and ashamed to have to admit it she quietly said, “I forgot all about the traffic cams.” As she was saying this she held up the disk Cardona had given her.
Lois barked out a laugh, “You mean they got you on video in a stolen truck, obstructing traffic downtown in the middle of the night?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Lois was laughing as she said, “All I can say is learn from your mistakes. I guess the coveralls weren’t enough. The red hair is kinda distinctive, on both of you. Next time, wear a wig or a hat or something.”
Hattie and Lois both laughed in relief and Hattie said, “Yeah, we will.”
Shocked, JJ blurted out, “Next time?!?!?!”
Lois looked at JJ and said, “James Bartholomew Olsen, Junior, if I know this girl, and I think I do, there will always be a next time for her, just like there was for me.” She winked at Hattie who proceeded to break up in laughter while JJ paled.
JJ said, more to himself than to anyone else, “Oh well, no pain, no gain.”
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