The Jester's Court

Chapter 19: Crack of Dawn

I woke up on the couch. I sighed. Now what? I didn't see the Jester outfit out in the workroom, so I hadn't been out. What I did see, though, was a big map on the wall that hadn't been there before. I wondered what he needed it for; there was nothin' marked on it, it was just tacked in place in the corners.

I also saw some electronics that I didn't recognize, but I didn't have time to look through everythin' before work. I'd have to look at it all when I got home.

I clicked through the channels quickly, just to be on the safe side, but didn't find anythin' on the Jester. I did, however see Ms. Rodriguez on TV standin' in front of one of the tolls for the toll bridge that linked our city and the neighborin' city together across the harbor. It seemed that they were goin' to raise the tolls again. Given the outrage that caused last time, it was not goin' to be a good day for the uniformed cops. Probably not a good couple of days.

In fact, things were already gettin' into swing by the time I got to the precinct. City Hall was once more the focus of attention, but not in the fun kind of way that a fountain full of suds and duckies could produce. No, people were hoppin' mad about the toll bridge and they were lettin' their feelin's be known.

The City Officials apparently raised the tolls overnight without really lettin' the word out that it was bein' done. How they could get away with that, I don't know. Sure, they'd been sayin' it was comin' for months, but typically, you let people know exactly when. This was not bodin' well for the politicians.

As for Danny and I, we had exhausted our leads on the Jester, again, and were still waitin' on warrants for photos and video from the press. Apparently, the Judge was indeed a fan and had decided to sit on them for a bit. Suited me just fine, of course, but Danny was just plain antsy. He was becomin' convinced that someone in the precinct was in on it.

We'd also come to a lull in our other cases, so we pretty much sat around with our thumbs up our asses all mornin', keepin' tabs on the happenin's at City Hall. Finally, it was time for lunch.

"You know, it still bothers me about how the Jester knew about the sting," Danny said. I watched him eat one of the sloppiest sandwiches out there without drippin' a drop on his clothes. I, as always, was keepin' the dry cleaner in business.

"Yeah, I have to say, that's been on my mind, too. But, I haven't come up with anythin' other than him somehow havin' an inside contact. And, that just doesn't feel right, ya know?"

"I know what you mean. Why tell a prankster about a major bust going down? Which leads me to wonder..."

"Wonder what?" I asked, already knowin' where his mind was goin'. This isn't good.

"Well, what if the Jester is one of us?"

I looked at him, butterflies in my stomach. Hopefully, he took my pause as a sense of incredulous silence. "Seriously? Do you really think so? I mean, this is the kind of thing that ruins a career. Do you think any of our guys would actually do it?"

"I don't know. I mean, I just... well, it would make sense, right?"

"I guess it would," I had to admit. I couldn't try to throw him off the trail too hard or that'd be suspicious. "So, let's say that you're right. How do we go about findin' him?"

"About the only thing we have to go on is his appearance, what little we know of it. But, also, it needs to be someone who had the kind of life that would allow for it."

"So, what? We're lookin' for a fat guy who lives alone?"

"It'd be a start."

I blinked. Damn. How do I get out of this? "You know that you just IDed me as the perp, right?"

"Pfft. As if. I know that you're sick. You're tired all the time and you have headaches. I don't think you're the Jester, partner. I don't think you physically have it in you, honestly."

"Well, that's a relief, 'cause I was feelin' kind of judged there for a minute."

He laughed... I laughed... We ate more food.

I got a call from the oncologist's office that afternoon and made an appointment for the mornin' the day after next. It was time to get the news on whether or not the tumor could be removed.

That evenin', when I got home, I took a look at what the Jester was doin'. I had to study the electronics that I didn't recognize before it clicked; I was lookin' at my prepaid toll transponder from my car.

"Son of a bitch. I bet he's goin' to mess with the tolls."

I looked at the map again. Nothin' was written on it except a lot of red dots at certain intersections. I'd bet my entire shoe collection that he was usin' it to map out a route to the toll bridge that avoided as many traffic cams as possible.

I checked my bank account. The balance surprised me; I'd forgotten about alimony. Still, it wasn't so much the balance that interested me, but the charges. I saw a number of charges to various electronics places, includin' a new robot kit. Aww. He was butterin' me up.

I realized that I hadn't actually worked on my robot kit in a while. In fact, I'd been so worried about the brain thing, and the Jester thing, and the divorce thing, that I hadn't taken the time. I sat down and decided to work for an hour or so, carefully puttin' aside the guts of the transponder that the Jester was workin' on.

Almost as an afterthought, I decided to write a note about it, though, requestin' that he put in back in workin' order when he was done, if he could. The City tracked that kind of thing. I mean, I guess I could say that it was broken, 'cause it was, and get a new one, if I had to.

When I realized that I'd been so absorbed in what I was doin' that two and a half hours had done by, I put everythin' away and went to bed. At least I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn.