Jack walked ahead; Ross followed a half step back. The noises of the crews and people preparing for the news conference grew louder and filled the air. When they reached the van, Jack circled it and stopped by the woman they had seen from the deli. She was talking on her cell phone. Ross stayed a few steps back and looked out over the rest of the small crowd of police personnel, maintenance people, and other news crews that had arrived and were preparing for the afternoon press conference.
The woman finished her phone call with a “Ciao” and put her cell phone in her pocket. She turned and saw Jack standing next to her and grabbed his hands in hers.
“Hi, Jack!” She pulled down on Jack’s hands to force him lower, leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek. “Nice sunglasses.”
“Hey, Patty. When are you going to admit you’re in Minnesota now and adopt our native ways? Ciao to say good-bye and a kiss for hello? Come on. What’s wrong with see ya’ and hi?”
“What’s the saying, Jack? You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl. I drink your coffee and eat your food; let me hang onto a couple of things from my homeland.” She leaned closer, still holding his hands. “Plus, how else am I going to get to kiss you?”
Jack didn’t respond. For a second he didn’t know what to say. Patty saved him. “Who’s this with you?”
“Where are my manners? Junior, come here.” Jack pulled his hands from Patty’s and put a hand on Ross’ shoulder. “Let me introduce you to somebody.” Ross stepped over furtively and waited for the introductions. “Patty, this is Special Agent Ross Fruen. Owner of the sunglasses.”
Ross’ hand shot out in a preemptory move. “Nice to meet you.”
Patty shook his hand with her right, but placed her left hand against the back of his right, gently holding his hand between hers.
“Hi, I’m Patty. It’s nice to meet you too.” She hung on for a few seconds before releasing Ross’ hand. “It’s too bad we need to be out in this dreadful heat today. I assume you’re here for this?”
Jack responded. “This is Ross’ case. He’s new to our office so I’m assisting, showing him around, making introductions. I thought we’d check out the press conference. Show him how things are done around here.” Ross stood next to Jack, staring at Patty through his sunglasses without saying a word.
“So are you part of this, or not?” Patty asked.
“No, we’re not part of the press conference. We probably shouldn’t even be here. One reason I came over to say hi was to ask a favor.” Jack lowered his voice and stepped closer to Patty. The noise from the van and the crews preparing for the conference drowned out Jack’s voice so Ross couldn’t hear him. “What’ve we got, about 30 minutes until this starts? Could you have one of your camera guys swing his camera around and see who he can catch on tape before, during, and after the conference?”
“Sure, Jack.”
“Ross or I will pick up the tape from the station later this afternoon.”
“Or I could deliver it personally,” Patty said.
Jack caught the hint but decided to try and stop it now. “You could bring it to the Bureau, but I’d rather we just picked it up.”
“I didn’t mean the Bureau.”
“I know, but that’s where I’ll be.” Jack grabbed Patty’s hand, stepped back, and spoke a little louder. “Thanks, Patty, we’d appreciate it. We’ll let you get back to work.”
Jack stepped over to a clearing in the shade. Ross followed and glanced back at Patty. “She’d get a waiver from the GUD status.”
“Well, Junior, maybe next time you can speak up a little more and let her get to know you. The second meeting you may even get a kiss on the cheek.”
“What’s her story?”
“Remind me on the way back to the office and I’ll fill you in. Right now, we need to get to work.” Jack stopped in the shade of a tree. “I want to split up and sweep the area, see if we spot anybody that doesn’t belong, somebody who is too curious or maybe not curious enough. You’ll recognize if somebody doesn’t look like they belong. I’ll take a stroll through the park and check out the boat docks; you walk back down by the shops across the street, look in the windows, and then swing through the parking lot at the north end of the park.”
“I kind of stand out in these clothes. I look like a cop,” Ross said.
“That’s what we want. We want people to know we’re here and we want them to know we’re looking at them. Look for the one guy that stands out. The innocent will feel better and maybe the guilty will be nervous.” Jack looked at his watch. “Let’s meet back by the van here in about twenty-five minutes and catch the conference. See how the Wayzata police look.”
The dry grass crunched under Jack’s shoes as he walked through the park and meandered through the trees, checking out the crews that were prepping and testing their equipment. On a bench facing the lake, a couple of local older gentlemen were watching the commotion and debating what was going on, guessing who was going to talk and how long it would last.
Jack felt a little breeze off the lake as he approached the dock. He was thankful for the sunglasses, which cut the glare off the lake as the sun moved a little farther to the west. He stopped to admire a couple of the older wooden boats tied up to the dock. A lot of work had gone into their restoration and upkeep. They were beautiful. Not something he’d ever see on his government salary. At the end of the pier, Jack leaned on the railing and looked out over the lake. He looked back and forth, and with each pass his eyes moved out farther on the lake, scrutinizing the riders of passing jet skis, speedboats, and fishing boats. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He looked back towards the park and the activity on shore, then back out at the lake.
He tried to guess where their suspect may have gone if he left by boat. Across the lake he could see Excelsior, a small community of shops and restaurants. Staring at the far shore, he looked for the familiar landmarks and thought back to some of his early dates with Julie. They’d drive out to Excelsior beach on a hot summer evening and go for a swim, sit on the beach, and talk, kiss, swim some more. Holding hands, they would walk back through the small downtown and get an ice cream cone or a drink before driving back to the city. The memories were strong and good. He could visualize Julie in her bikini with her tan skin and shiny white smile. But, that was a long time ago. What had happened? He missed her laugh and the touch of her hand.
The chirp of Jack’s cell phone brought him back to the present. Pulling it from his belt, he answered, “Miller. I’m out on the dock, Junior. I’ll be right there. Sorry I’m late. No, I didn’t see anything.” Jack ended the call and headed back on the dock towards the park. “Nothing but memories,” he said to himself.
Chapter 5
There was a large white tent set up at one end of the park in the grass. The side of the tent facing the press was open. In it were two long tables, microphones standing in the center of each with cords running across the grass to a control station.
“We’re ready to start.” The spokesperson leaned forward into the closest microphone and repeated himself. At the tables were three men in a uniform of one type or another and a woman in business dress. Banners hung from the fronts of the tables announcing the offices they represented.
The press milled about on the grass, jockeying for final positions with the start of the news conference. The on-scene reporters lined the front across the grass from the tables, standing in the sun. Their camera personnel hung back and to the sides trying to get the angle and clear shot.
Jack and Ross stood a little further back next to a tree to be close enough to hear, but still be in the shade.
“Pay attention now, Junior. Here’s your chance to learn how these things are done. One day you’ll be up there for your field office,” Jack said.
“OK, ladies and gentlemen, we’re ready to start,” the man repeated a third time. He looked out at the crowd, cleared his throat, and started.
“Good afternoon, I’m Rick Peterson with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. With me today I have Chief Wolf from the Wayzata Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff Palmer, and Special Agent Anderson with the FBI. Please hold your questions until after our update is complete.” The four all sat stoically in their chairs
