Riverside's Perfect Murder

Crazy like a fox

Joe went to the bank and retraced the steps the man took after leaving the hotel. Halfway across the bridge he stopped and looked back. No cameras in view. He stood and studied the far end of the bridge. Same, Joe could see no cameras. He looked over the railing at the swollen rushing river. Joe smiled. Clever. No one will be able to find anything for quite a while if ever, he thought.

Joe followed the steps into the Carson Hotel. This door did not lead directly to the front desk. It led to the elevators, an empty ballroom, and a side door. The employee entrance no doubt. Joe walked across the hotel and realized that no one had seen him yet. Ingenious fellow. Alright, where did you go? On the elevator? No, too much chance of being seen. Ballroom? Joe peeked in and knew that wasn't correct. He turned and walked out the side entrance. The door was not locked he noticed. It led to an ally with four blue dumpsters. He lifted the lid of the first and found it was barely full. Same with the other three.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the man coming out the door said.

Joe turned towards the man. "I'm a cop. What day do these dumpsters get emptied?"

"Wednesdays. Why?"

"What time?" Joe asked.

"Just after ten. Why?"

"Regular?"

"You mean are they always on time, and the answer is yes. Ten AM every Wednesday like clockwork. Now can you tell me what all the excitement is about my dumpster pickup?"

Joe smiled.

It took Joe two hours to contact dispatch for the garbage company and find the truck in route on the other side of town. The drivers remembered being at the hotel on Wednesday but didn't remember seeing anyone, except some guy getting into an Uber. When asked for a description of the man or car, they shrugged and said some "business dude." When pressed they said he had a hat on and maybe a suit. "No, not a knit hat like the kids wear, a white hat like in the ads. I don't know what ads I've seen that type of hat before that's all."

The car was a Prius, black, maybe a dark gray. "The dude got in the back is all we know."

Joe didn't feel they were much help, but maybe there was enough of a lead.

It was late afternoon before Joe got a call from the Prius driver. He said his car was black, and he picked up a well-dressed businessman who was wearing a white hat and carrying a brown leather briefcase. When asked if the man said anything during the ride, the driver indicated that the man never said a word the whole time. The driver gave Joe the address where he had dropped the man off. No, the businessman didn't have a scar or a sizeable green overcoat. The driver didn't notice either his eyes or his hair only the hat. White like the ads.

Joe caught Rita in her office when he came back to the station. He sat slowly into a chair facing Rita and sighed. Joe filled her in on what he knew.

"You think it's the same guy? Where did he get the suit and hat? And did you say briefcase? Where the hell did he get that?" Rita was asking.

"I don't know anything yet. It doesn't seem possible it could be the same guy," Joe said sounding unconvinced.

"Was he staying at the hotel?"

"I don't know. I've got a meeting with the hotel manager in the morning to ask, but we don't have a real description of the businessman to compare. Someone might remember the white hat but who knows. I checked all the dumpsters but nothing much there. Some coincidence that the dumpsters are emptied at the same time as the man could have walked out of the hotel. But he didn't have time to change, and we don't know if he even walked out that door. That's what bugs me. I've been going round and round with this thing and come up with no answers. I did have a question, did all the slugs have mercury in them?"

"No, just the shot in the leg."

Joe leaned forward in the chair and said, "That means he walks in with the chamber loaded with six shots and knows which one to shoot Mr. Wilkes within the middle of a robbery? I mean to have that kind of premeditation. Or was it a mistake or random chance?"

"Not likely. This guy made no mistakes. At least none that we have found yet. There should be something. Don't Uber's have an app or whatever you call it? And how did he pay?"

"Cash. And the phone connected to the app has gone dark, probably a burner."

"Of course. Does the driver still have the bills?"

"No. It was a newer printed fifty. And get this, it was in a money envelope like you get from the bank when you cash a check. Guess which bank."

"You're kidding. From Riverside?" Rita was sitting up taking notice now.

"Yes."

"From the robbery?"

"I don't think so. I wanted to call Mary Jean to confirm, but none of the film on him in the bank shows him anywhere near an area where an envelope like that would be. And before you ask, the driver cashed the bill at lunch and threw the envelope away. He doesn't remember where. But I think the guy was or is a customer of that bank and maybe even that branch. Mistake?"

Rita shrugged. "Maybe. Let's get footage of other days and see if we can spot him. We could get lucky.

Joe sat across the messy desk from Rita in silence for a few minutes. Joe noticed three half-finished cups of coffee along with a half-eaten hard donut.

"Well, if there is nothing else, I've got to get home for dinner. Hopefully, Abby will be happy I got home on time."

"Yeah, see you in the morning. I am going to talk to Mrs. Wilkes at ten tomorrow before she goes to the funeral home."

"Bye," Joe said.

"Wait. What if..." Rita hesitated and then said, "The shoes?"

"What?" Joe asked.

"The young girl Beth said he had on polished black shoes. I didn't think much about it at the time, and I thought maybe she was mistaken, but what if he was dressed in a suit complete with shiny shoes when he went into the bank? You know under that large coat he wore. Crazy right?"

Joe thought about it, "Yeah, crazy like a fox. But does it matter we still can't find an image of the guy except for a hat? A white hat like in the ads but what ads?"

Rita looked up. She had been thinking but not listening. "What? Oh yeah, the hat. White in the ads. When we were married, we used to get a catalog it always showed a well-dressed man in a white hat. What the hell was the name of the company? Colombia, no Panama. A Panama Jack hat." She sounded excited. "Tomorrow put that on your list. Find out who sells them locally or if one was shipped anywhere around here if you can. Now, get out of here before I hear from your Abby."

Joe saluted, smiled, said, "Yes Miss. Rita," and left.

Rita smiled even though she didn't want to. She watched Joe leave and wished she could work with him all the time. Where the hell was Frank and did he find anything. Her scowl returned.

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