Case: The Kidnapping of the Scotts and Gloria - Ep. 3

THE GRADE 12 DETECTIVE CLUB

THE CASE: KIDNAPPING THE SCOTTS AND GLORIA - Ep. 3

Graphic Design by: Marilyn Russell / Written by: James M. Russell

Kaseka, Emma, Ramu, Keisha, Janet, Heri and Bridgit were already sitting in the JAG when Emma bolted out the front door of John Muir, wove her way through the end-of-school crowd then wedged her thin frame between Janet and Heri.

"Not my fault. Couldn't find my backpack," Emma said as if the ‘lost backpack’ excuse was any better or believable than the hundreds of other excuses she had used to explain her perpetual tardiness.

Kaseka glanced into his rear view mirror then turned the key in the ignition. The JAG's straight-line six sputtered, then roared to life, blowing a cloud of blue smoke out the exhaust. Kaseka eased the gear-shift into first and let out the clutch but rather than his usual NASCAR start, Kaseka only allowed the JAG to drive at a rapid creep.

“Can’t find second gear?” asked Emma with more than her usual degree of sarcasm.

"Chill!”

“We’re waiting for Heri. Right Dudester?" asked Ramu in a loud voice.

“Roger that,” Kaseka replied then glanced into his passenger side window and said in a calm tone, "ETA, four seconds... three... two... one."

Heri zoomed passed the JAG on his Switchback, jumped off, snagged his longboard in midair then leapt over Bridgit's head with an AKA, what he named his prize winning high jump technique, a combination of a Flosbury Flop and Scissor that he invented last summer with the help of his Dad.. Seconds later, Kaseka floored the pedal and they were on their way.

"Outstanding entrance Dudester," said Ramu after Heri made a soft landing in the backseat between Emma and Bridgit.

"In as much as moronic, suicidal, and stupid can be considered 'outstanding', then yes, " said Emma.

"Actually, moronic and stupid, though linguistically dissimilar, mean relatively the same thing."

"Janey Poo, do you ever go an entire day, make that an entire hour, without correcting somebody's English!"

"Stop calling me that and bye the by, it's someone's, not somebody's."

Emma's face contorted and she screamed, "Ahhhhhh!"

"Children, play nice," said Ramu, shouting above the engine noise. Ramu then glanced at his iPhone screen, shot his arm into the air and caught his drone.

Bridgit whipped out a black marker, rolled up her passenger window and began scrawling illegibly on the inside of the glass. She had just completed a list of three or four words when her cell beeped to signal an incoming text that read, "Hey". Bridgit glanced at her cell then continued writing on the window.

Kaseka glanced his rear view mirror and noticed the troubled expression on Bridgit's face.

"Trevor?" he asked but Bridgit took a long time to reply.

"You get a long with your brother?" Bridget asked Kaseka.

"More or less."

"Trevor and I hated each other from the day he was born. No idea why. Then, when he was about six, a neighbour's Husky snapped its leash and attacked Trevor while he was on his way to school. The dog’s left Cusped punctured Trevor’s Medial Collateral Ligament and opened up a gash that required a dozen stitches to close. Poor kid couldn't walk for nearly two weeks so he and I sort of hung out. We were much closer after that but still..."

"... My stop!" Heri announced, cutting off Bridgit.

Heri jumped out of the JAG even before Kaseka had pulled to a full stop but paused beside the car when he sensed that Bridgit was about to speak, which she did while staring at the passenger window - now completely covered with scribbled words, arrows, lines and three calculus formulas.

"So by my calculations, the statistical probability is 10.8 that the victims are being held within a 5 mile radius of the scene of the crime, 44.8 that the perps are known to the victims, and a whopping 55.4 that if we don't find them within the next 24 hours they'll be killed - whether a ransom has been paid or not."

Bridgit then fell silent.

"Which means?" Heri asked.

"Which means you need to 'tear up to that door' - in your lingo.” Emma replied.

Heri turned, sprinted up to the Scott's front door and grabbed the handle, "Downer." 

Kaseka threw open his door, nearly taking out a cyclist, then leapt from the driver's seat and, making good use of his long legs, joined Heri at the front door in mere seconds. And, in just about the same amount of time, had picked the lock.

"You got your protection Dude?"

Heri smiled, pulled a pair of latex gloves from his left pocket then said with a look of seriousness on his face, "Make sure you guys pick me up on time, my parents will make me quit the club if I miss dinner just once more."

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•   Emma and Keisha were dropped off in front of ONTex's ten-storey office building

•   Ramu was dropped off at the rear of a huge construction site.

•   and Janet was dropped off in front of the GAMZ Gaming Cafe

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The JAG pulled up in front of the Starbucks on the northwest corner of Queen and Soho.

"Sure you wanna walk from here? Neighbourhood looks kind of sketchy."

"I haven't had my morning hit of caffeine and I don't want take a chance that Gloria's parents might see me coming. I need to search her room and I need to do it in privacy."

"Parents, possibly relatives, certainly a cop or two. Good luck with the privacy thing Holmes."

"Elementary Watson. Elementary."

Kaseka smiled, dropped the JAG into gear and roared off.

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Emma and Keisha were sitting in plush leather chairs to one side of a secretary's desk. She, a fashionably dressed woman in her early 60s was typing on her PC when a notice popped up on her screen.

The secretary turned toward Emma, flashed a phoney smile, then said in an officious tone, "Ms. Sparling, Mr. Gibson will see you now."

Emma smiled politely then whispered to Keisha, "ten minutes max. I've got the evening shift at the coffee shop."

"When are you gonna get a real job Caffeine Jock!"

"Kiss my ass," Emma replied then walked gracefully through the open door behind the secretary's desk, and disappeared.

"Excuse me but is there a ladies room on this floor?" Keisha asked the secretary.

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Keisha sprinted past the ladies washroom and kept going until she found the office of John Hockley, Marketing Manager, East Coast. She knocked boldly on the door, paused then entered.

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Emma sat in a chair opposite Mr. Gibson's desk and flashed a wide smile, "Thank you so much for seeing me on such short notice Mr. Gibson."

"I should advise you Ms...?"

"Sparling. Emma Sparling."

"I should advise you Ms. Sparling that we have no budget for interns."

"Oh... I'm quite happy to work on a pro bono basis."

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The fingers of Keisha’s left hand flew across the keyboard of Hockley's PC while, at the same time, searching the drawers of his desk with her right.

"Come on. Come on!"

Just then Keisha noticed something in his drawer and pulled out a property tax receipt. She studied it for a moment then whipped out her cell and texted.

Ramu was perched atop the construction site's tallest crane and controlling Lucille with his iPhone when his cell beeped and the message read, "Hey, Ramu, can u chx out 1235 Kingston Rd? Need 2 know who lives there.”

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Lucille was high in the sky when she suddenly changed direction and zoomed off.

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Keisha was still searching Scott's office when her cell beeped, "single storey brk bungalow, looks empty," displayed on her screen. Keisha took a photo of the property tax receipt then sent a text.

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"Well looking over your resume you seem adequately qualified for a position in either HR or perhaps ...." Mr. Gibson stopped when Emma's cell beeped. She whips it out and reads Keisha's message.

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Emma had just taken a moment to mull over Mr. Gibson’s offer when her cell beeped. She read the message then smiled, "That's very kind of you Mr. Gibson but unfortunately I have just been offered a position at another company. Thank you for your time." And then Emma bolted out of Mr. Gibson's office, leaving him dumbfounded.

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Emma and Keisha reached the elevator simultaneously, "We have something?" Emma asked.

"That's a real possibility."

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Heri rifled through a bedroom box that contained the Scott's personal papers, bills, and photos but, found nothing of interest so he stopped and walked into the living room where a side table and a lamp remained on the floor where they fell during the struggle.

Heri dropped to his knees and began looking under furniture with the aid of his ProTac flashlight. He searched under both armchairs and the sofa and has just begun looking under a coffee table when his cell began vibrating. The surprise caused him to jerk up, hitting his head. He jerked the cell from his back pocket and answered in a whisper.

"Hey Mom.... no... yes... I was just on my way... no... I'll be there on time for sure.... love you."

Heri had just pocketed this cell when he spotted a shiny, silver-coloured stud, which he picked up and dropped into a ZipLock sandwich bag.

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Janet stepped out through the front door of the GAMZ Gaming Cafe into the cool dusk air and sent a text.

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Bridgit was sitting in Starbuck's making notes on a napkin when her cell beeped, so she read the message, but then it beeped again, and again. She read both messages but when she was setting her cell back down on the table she accidentally knocked the stir spoon from her saucer and it came to rest under the table to her left.

Gilles, who had been sitting beside Bridgit all along, used the pointed toe of his studded, black cowboy boots to kick the spoon from under the table, then picks up the cheap, Made in China implement and handed it to Bridgit.

"Thanks," she says as she took the spoon and set it on her table.

"My pleasure. That looks like an interesting coffee. What's it called?"

"Double Macchiato with 2% foam and Caramel topping."

"Whuss special!"

Bridgit, turned, studied Gilles then carefully folded her napkin, withdrew a prescription bottle from her backpack, washed down two white pills with the remainder of her coffee and left.

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The burly uniformed cop standing guard at the front door of the Gloria’s house took only a passing notice of the 18 year-old-girl walking down the sidewalk toward his position before he was distracted by a piece of fluff that had magically appeared on the pocket flap of his jacket. When he looked up again, the girl was no longer in sight. He glanced left then right then busied himself with an in-depth examination of the potted, dwarf evergreen to his left.

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"Nobody thinks to lock their second floor windows," Kaseka once said to Bridgit and he was right because once she climbed onto the garden shed's roof, using a ladder she conveniently found in the shed, she climbed to within reach of the master bedroom window. Inside, she found the bed unmade, the bathroom door open, and voices - one male and one female - in the hall.

Fortunately, the bathroom was joined so she was able to travel undetected into the adjoining bedroom, which judging from the Wonder Woman theme, was likely Gloria's.

Bridgit found nothing in the victim’s room, or at least nothing that would reveal the reason for her’s and her grandparent’s disappearance or provide some insight into the identity of the perp, or perps.

Once the man and woman descended the stairs, Bridgit opened Gloria's door and crept to the second floor landing. The voices she heard below were muted, the conversation unintelligible, yet she was able to discern the presence of at least four men and at least two women.

Through the muttering, she did manage to pick out a word here and there.

"Surveillance," "justified," "staffing," "transaction," "Gloria," "acquaintances," but nothing made much sense until one of the male voices uttered the word, "ransom." Bridgit knew that the ransom demand was crucial as it often provided the first solid clue to the identity of the perp. Unfortunately, judging by the random words that came next, Bridgit got the feeling that the kidnappers hadn't made a demand yet.

She was about to abandon her listening position at the top of the stairs when a cell phone, located on the first floor, rang.

Every voice on the floor below fell silent and was replaced by the rustle of clothing as bodies scrambled here and there, likely the cops activating their phone-trace equipment.

A man answered after the fourth ring.

"Robert Hockley here.... yes.... yes, I understand." And then silence.

Bridgit lowered her left foot to the top step, then the next, as she descended but stopped abruptly when the third step squeaked under her full weight.

"Yes, it's what I suspected. Twelve thirty five." Said Hockley, who then added, "So we know who they are."

A woman, likely a cop, judging by her overly officious tone, answered, "Not necessarily. They could have contracted the job out."

"Oh my god," said a woman in a hoarse voice which then morphed into sobs. 

Bridgit shifted all her weight to her right leg then began climbing the stairs as close as possible to the wall, where the wooden stairs were less likely to squeak.

She was out the bedroom window and back on the sidewalk within minutes.

Like Holmes in The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton, Bridgit considered her break-and-enter investigation a necessary investigative technique and although it wasn't a grand success, neither did she consider it a failure.

So as Bridgit walked back toward her pickup point she began interrogating herself, as she is sometime want to do..."1235... is it a password? is it 1+2+3+5=11? is it the first three digits of somebody's long distance phone number..."

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They were all waiting in the JAG - Emma, Ramu, Keisha, Janet, and Heri - and of course  Kaseka as he never allowed anyone else to drive “The Juggernaut”.

Bridgit climbed into the back seat then squeezed in between Emma and Ramu. They drove in silence, each member deep in thought except front seat passengers Keisha and Ramu who were totally absorbed by their iPhones.

Kaseka was first to break the silence, "OK team, what have we got, starting with you Hottie."

Bridgit replied with her usual level of annoyance, "Stop calling me that!"

"OK, how about "Exalted Leader of the Highest Order!"

“1235!” Bridgit blurted out then fell silent, knowing what to expect and expecting Emma to be the first.

“Unless that’s the length of your father’s feet, we have zero idea what 1235 means.”

“Or it could be the waist measurement of your mother in yards.” Bridgit shot back.

“Play nice children!” said Janet who then turned toward Bridgit and asked, “so what does 1235 mean?”

“I have no idea?” replied Bridgit.

Just then Keisha, shouted from the front seat, “No what?”

The back seat people – Emma, Janet, Heri and Bridgit all rolled their eyes but when Bridgit repeated “1235,” Ramu blurted out “Kingston Road” while still staring at the screen of his cell.

The back seat people froze.

“Property Parcel Number 1001. I found a tax receipt in Hockley’s desk drawer.” Keisha says.

“Lucille did a flyby at eighteen-hundred hours and the place looked deserted.”

Just then Bridgit’s brain kicked into overdrive, and she said, almost to herself, “Suppose the kidnapper is Mr. Hockley himself?”

“That totally makes sense. And if Mr. Hockley’s the perp then what better place to hide his wife’s parents and Gloria then no one would think to look?”

“Especially the cops who don’t think at the best of times,” said Kaseka.

“OK… but any suggestions as to motive?” asked Bridgit.

“Insurance!” replied Emma.

“Inheritance!” replied Ramu.

“Drug deal gone bad!” replied Keisha.

“We’re running out of time!” shouted Janet in an impatient tone.

The members fell silent for a moment then, almost as if choreographed, all four of the back seat people shouted, “Boot it Watson!” and Kaseka jerked the steering wheel hard to the left. The JAG drifted in an arc across the asphalt for a moment before Kaseka eased down on the brake pedal and the JAG skidded to a near stop. Shifting his right foot to the gas pedal, Kaseka stomped. The JAG issued a cloud of exhaust before the rear wheels began spinning and smoking.

End of episode 3