Bomb site

Glowing embers littered the ground around the remnants of the storage shed. Sheriff deputies and the Cascade Police Department's bomb squad milled around, gathering clues and talking quietly among themselves. Captain Nugyen stood next to Sheriff Micale deep in discussion. Large flood lamps had been installed in order to illuminate the scene. Firemen were rolling up their giant hoses as a few scattered firefighters were walking around making sure there was nothing else that could catch and start the blaze roaring once more.

Jim and Blair parked behind one of the deputies' cruisers. Joel and Simon greeted them as they entered the cordoned-off area.

"What happened, Captain?" Jim asked, staring around at the remains. Joel gave them a wave and rejoined the team analyzing the evidence resting on the hood of a patrol car.

"The protestors bombed the food supply that they were using for the bait," Simon answered.

"How can you know that?" Blair was quick to question. "Anyone could have--"

"They called and claimed responsibility," Simon interrupted, "even before the first emergency vehicle responded. You still having problems in separating the job from your personal beliefs?"

"No, sir," Blair refuted. "I have everything under control."

With a dubious look, Simon continued. "Forensics have found parts of a receiver and two blasting caps."

"Any prints?" Jim asked, nostrils flaring, as he catalogued the scents flying in the wind.

"They're checking." Simon paused, his eyes on Jim. "Notice anything?" he asked with his customary uneasiness when it came to Jim's senses.

"C4," Jim responded.

"Forensics already figured that out. Anything else?"

"Not yet."

"Go ahead and wander around," Simon suggested. "Maybe you can come up with something else."

Jim nodded as he sauntered off, followed closely by his guide. The sun was just peeking out over the eastern horizon, the rays filtering through the trees. Sliding on a pair of latex gloves, he began sifting though half burned kernels of corn, finding pieces of the detonator. A smile spread slowly over his face as he recognized one white particle as a popped kernel.

"Deer popcorn," Blair said with amazement. "How cool."

The structure itself was still standing. Jim walked around it, eyes dilated, looking for scraps of clothing, prints, anything that might lead to the identity of the bomber. He squatted, running his finger along the edge of an exposed wall. Joel Taggart came up behind him. Raising his eyes, Jim stated, "Work of an amateur."

"I agree," Joel said in a deep, troubled voice. "They didn't place the C4 next to any of the supports. Basically they only took out two walls."

"And the corn. Maybe they weren't trying to decimate the shed, only the deer food," Blair piped in.

Jim looked at his partner. "They were making a statement," he agreed.

"We got a partial on one of the blasting caps," Joel informed them

"Bet it doesn't match anything. This person probably has never blown up anything before." Jim stood, stretching his back. This was a dead end. "Does this fall under our jurisdiction or are the sheriffs handling it?"

"They asked for our help. They're strung pretty thin right now."

Jim could understand. Two deputies lay in intensive care, two others were at the hospital with their wives and the secretary was still recovering. Jim started walking back to the crowd of officers. Simon was still talking with Nugyen. Both captains looked up as they approached.

"No, Captain. We didn't find anything new," Jim told him with regret. "But we intend to go visit the Sheriff's Department offices later this morning."

Simon turned to Jim. "Something waving a red flag?"

"Yeah, but not directly with this case. Blair told me that Rand and Burlington were the two deputies who were poisoned. It just seems a big coincidence when you consider the total number of deputies."

"I don't see the connection."

"They're the ones who tried to apprehend the ink shipment last November and then the truck crashed. Now we find out that they were targets for the poisoning."

"I thought the kids said that it was random?" Blair asked, looking puzzled.

"That's what they said. It may even be true. But what if the man, Jake, or whatever his name is, knew that these two deputies frequent this particular Wonderburger and was just playing the odds."

"Check it out," Simon instructed.

Sheriff's department

"What can I do for you?" a pretty young receptionist asked, as Jim and Blair entered the County Building. She sat at a desk in the center of the lobby, directing newcomers to the proper floor. The government building housed a variety of departments, including the court system, the district attorney's office and the Sheriff's Department.

"We would like to see the sheriff. I'm Detective James Ellison with the Cascade Police Department and this is my partner--"

She had already picked up the phone and had apparently ceased listening to him. After announcing their presence, the person at the other end must have given her permission to allow them up.

"Sheriff Micale will see you now. Take the elevator to the third floor, go through the doors on your left, and continue down the hall to the end. That's his office."

"Thank you," Jim told her and proceeded to the elevator. He pushed the button for the third floor and then noticed that Blair was still talking to the receptionist. With a deep sigh of patient exasperation, he waited. Finally Blair strode over to him.

"Mrs. Powel is coming home today, isn't that great?" Blair mentioned as he passed through the elevator doors just as they were opening. "There's no change in either Rand, Burlington or the two wives. At least they haven't gotten worse."

"That's good," Jim replied, grateful that his partner thought to ask.

"So, have you thought about what exactly you're gonna tell Micale?"

"We need to update him on what we found at the Wonderburger. Even though the kids said that the poisonings were random, there must be a reason Jake picked that particular restaurant. I think he was targeting certain deputies."

"Like Rand and Burlington."

"Exactly," Jim agreed.

"You think it might be a case of revenge? Like some previous arrest or something?"

"No, I don't think so. But, what if they're using the fact that the Sheriff's Department is under fire because of the Bait and Shoot program and using it to hide the real reason--like maybe something the deputies are investigating now?" Jim reasoned aloud.

"So, you don't think the poisonings have anything to do with the Bait and Shoot program?"

"My gut says no."

Blair seemed to ponder this for a moment. "I didn't think so either, but I'm glad you agree." The younger detective paused and then continued. "But why Rand and Burlington? Unless there's a connection between the ink shipment they stopped, which ties into our counterfeiting case and the poisonings."

"Maybe we'll find the connection here." Jim gave his partner a quick smile and then knocked on the door. A barked, "Come in," was all he needed to open the door.

The sheriff was seated at a desk piled high with reports. His eyes were puffy and his skin was rather pale. Worry lines were pronounced on his face, making his over-all appearance haggard.

"Hello, Detective Ellison. Please come in. You too, Detective Sandburg. Have a seat." The sheriff waited until they were settled. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I need some information," Jim explained. "There's a case I worked a bit on last November. It was never really solved, but at the end, two of your deputies almost caught two of the suspects. There was a chase through the mountains and they ended up crashing--"

"Is this the U-haul truck with the bottles of ink?" Micale interrupted.

Jim nodded in assent.

"I remember it." Micale wore a patient expression, waiting for whatever Jim was going to say next.

Jim told him bluntly, "I think it's connected with another case I'm working on and the poisonings."

The sheriff's eyes widened. "You do? We assumed it had to do with the Bait and Shoot program."

"I think that's what you were supposed to think. Could you tell me what Rand and Burlington were working on before they were poisoned?"

"We were in the middle of an ongoing investigation of a man named William Kaiser."

Both Cascade PD detectives stiffened with recognition. "We've had dealings with him in the past," Jim informed the sheriff.

"You have?" His eyes sparkled with interest. "In what respects?"

"The same ink case we mentioned previously. He was employed at the warehouse from where the ink was stolen."

The sheriff nodded. "We've had him under surveillance for over a year. He's been remotely implicated in a broad range of thefts, but the merchandise has never been recovered."

"What thefts?" Blair asked, withdrawing his notebook ready to jot down anything important.

"About a year ago a printing press was stolen from Vanguard," the sheriff told them

"Isn't that the gossip magazine that covers the actors and actresses up in Vancouver?" Blair asked, pen poised above the paper.

"That's correct. They had been closed for Christmas and when they returned after the holidays the press was gone."

"Aren't those things huge?" Blair asked, continuing to write in his trusty notebook. "How did the thieves get it out without being seen?" He glanced up, waiting for the answer.

"I was told that Vanguard is located in a commercial area and it was pretty much deserted that weekend."

"How did you guys become involved?" Jim asked, knowing that the magazine was centered just south of the Canadian border, but not anywhere near their county line.

"Fingerprints belonging to William Kaiser were found on the Vanguard premises. We had a red flag on his name because of another theft concerning printer's ink recipes. A memo was sent to us from La Joya California. The Game Freak company had some top secret papers stolen in route to a plant where they produce the packaging boxes for the Nintendo games. They caught one man, but the others escaped."

"Who was he?" Jim asked.

"A native of Cascade, Patrick Eaton. His current residence is listed as Bayridge."

Jim nodded to himself. Bayridge was a small town on the coast, just south of Cascade. He had never heard of Eaton.

"Were the ink recipes recovered?" Blair inquired.

"No." The sheriff wore a disgruntled expression.

"So, what's the connection to Kaiser?" Jim was trying to figure his way through the information.

"Eaton is Kaiser's nephew. The young man refused to talk, but Kaiser was the one who hired an expensive attorney and got the charges reduced. Kaiser has an air-tight alibi, so we know he wasn't involved in the theft itself, but there are records that state that he had traveled to La Joya a month previous to the theft."

"Okay," Jim mulled that info over. "What about the printing press theft at Vanguard; what happened there?"

"Kaiser was cleared."

"I thought you said his prints were found there?"

"He had a reason for that. You see his wife's sister works there. Wait a minute. I think the sister's last name is Patterson." The sheriff rifled through some more files. "Here it is. Diane Patterson. Divorced from Edward Patterson. One son--"

"Billy," Blair interrupted.

"William," Micale said a second later, with a smile directed at Blair. "We questioned them first at their house, and then up at their hunting lodge, but didn't find anything suspicious. He covers his tracks well.

"What's the model number of the press stolen from Vanguard?" Blair asked. "Remember, Jim. The Patterson case. The blueprints that were stolen were to a printing press."

The sheriff dug though some files and brought out a spec sheet. Blair compared it to the press's model number that had been given to them by Ed Patterson. "It matches, Jim." The three men exchanged pleased looks.

"So, we suspect that Kaiser was somehow involved in three thefts; he worked at the warehouse where the ink was stolen, his prints were at Vanguard where a printing press was stolen and his nephew was one of the culprits in the recipe theft. How can we get an air-tight case against him?"

Blair continued with the other facts. "Edward Patterson works for a company that sells a printing press to his wife or rather ex-wife's place of employment--Vanguard. Diane Patterson tells her sister Donna who mentions it to her husband--Bill Kaiser."

"If they had the press, why do they need the blueprints?" Jim asked.

"Good question," the sheriff agreed. "More importantly, what are they printing on the stolen press?"

"Counterfeit Pokemon cards," Blair responded as he wrote furiously in his notebook.

"Come again?" the sheriff asked incredulously.

Jim gave an internal groan.

Blair went on to explain about Carl Meredith and his problem with counterfeit cards and then how they tied it in with the ink theft.

"This sounds like a lot of hard work for something with little monetary return," the sheriff commented.

Blair gave a deep sigh. "You two don't understand how big this is. They could be sending these fake cards all over the country. Think about how many kids under twelve there are. Say only fifty percent are into Pokemon. At fifty bucks a card that could get up into the millions very fast."

"What we have so far is guess work. We need Kaiser and--"

"We need to find the printing press," the sheriff interjected.

"What if Rand and Burlington had a lead?" Blair suggested.

The other two gave Blair an appreciative smile and they trudged over to an empty desk. Several files were scattered, which Micale went through. Jim picked up a post-it note pad. The top page was blank, but Jim carefully ran his pointer finger over it.

"Northwood," Jim muttered, concentrating on the note. "Hell, it's referring to Rick Teale's place."

"I don't know this Rick Teale, but Kaiser's place is in Northwood, too," Micale added without looking up, still perusing one of the files. "We need a map."

The three men returned to the sheriff's office where he brought out a large topographical map of Northwood. He spread it out on his desk.

"This is Kaiser's place," he said pointing to an area.

Jim ran his finger just a bit south, "And here is Teale's."

"They border each other." Blair fidgeted as he looked over Jim's shoulder. "What if there's another building deeper into the mountains that can be accessed by either place?"

"I think we need a two pronged attack. You bring the deputies in through Kaiser's cabin and Cascade PD'll go up to Teale's." Jim had the beginning of a plan.

The sheriff continued. "We'll surround them."

"And they'll lead us to the other building where the press is located," Blair added, sounding sure.

The three men huddled together, going over the details.

Northwood

Jim pulled his truck over on the country road. It was a mile hike up to Teale's cabin.

"We have to walk the whole way?" Blair didn't sound pleased at the prospect.

"It won't be so bad." Jim laughed at the face his partner was making.

"Right. Just a day in the park." He adjusted his scarf and zipped up his coat. His hat was already securely fitted to his head.

The two men left the truck and entered the brush. Their path ran parallel, approximately ten feet from the driveway, but Jim wanted them to stay hidden for as long as possible. They were the first wave to descend upon Teale's cabin. Megan and Fielding were a few miles down the road waiting for the signal and then would drive up to the cabin. Rafe and Henri were on snowmobiles, hiding in the woods a little south of Teale's, waiting. The SWAT team was on standby. Simon was hovering in a Sheriff's Department helicopter ready to land and disgorge men, when the need arose. The rest of the sheriff's men were descending upon Kaiser's hunting lodge. Between the two fronts they would capture their prey and put an end to the counterfeiting ring--if everything went according to plan.

Keeping as quiet as possible, Jim and Blair walked through the dried leaves that the few inches of snow had failed to hide. Jim's senses catalogued the surrounding area. He was grateful for Blair's silence as his hearing was turned up to its fullest. If Teale was doing the counterfeiting up here, it stood to reason that sentries would be posted. Jim wanted to find them first yet still keep their own presence secret from the rest of the suspects.

Jim pulled up his hand and stopped Blair's forward motion. Using the radio he called his two teams.

"We're about a hundred yards from the front of the cabin. I don't hear or see anything happening, so far."

"Roger," came Megan's Aussie lilt.

"Right," echoed Henri.

Going slower, the two detectives circled around the large cabin. Jim was closer to the structure while Blair wandered off more toward the perimeter of the cleared grounds. Tall trees surrounded an area of mowed grass. A small shed had been erected in a corner and a pile of firewood was stacked along one of the walls. Blair gazed into one of the windows and then meandered around the woodpile.

"Over here," Blair whispered.

"You found something?" Jim had kept half an eye on his partner's progress. He had run through the gauntlet of his hyper-senses and still couldn't detect any movements within the cabin.

"There's a path leading into the woods. It looks well kept and wide enough for an ATV or a snowmobile."

"Let me just take a check in the cabin, although I'm pretty sure it's empty."

The two men went back to the front door. Jim turned the front knob and found it unlocked. Pushing the door open, they entered. There was a fire going in the fireplace, which made the room very warm. Jim pulled out his radio and called in to the other two teams.

"Connor. Fielding. The cabin is secure." Jim wanted the two detectives to stay at the cabin and make sure that any suspects that they flushed out wouldn't get away at this end. "Rafe. Henri. Sandburg found a path that leads into the woods heading north to northwest. We're going to head in that direction. Bring the snowmobiles in and we'll meet you behind the cabin and we'll go in together."

Jim broke contact and they left the cabin. The path was well used. All the branches were cut and the grass beneath their feet was kept short.

"What did you see inside the shed?" Jim asked.

"Usual stuff. Lawnmower, clippers, chainsaw. You know, gardening stuff."

"Was there any empty space? You know, that might fit a snowmobile or ATV?"

"I didn't see an ATV, but the light wasn't that good. I couldn't tell if there was any space where something had been stored which is now missing."

Jim grunted, then caught the sound of the snowmobiles coming up on them. They had only walked a couple hundred feet. Rafe grinned at them as he pulled up alongside. Henri was right behind.

"You want to bring the machines or leave them here?" Rafe asked, keeping the motor running.

"Put them over there. The brush is pretty thick. We may need them later."

The four detectives continued on the well-worn path with Jim giving them strict instructions not to talk. He had his hearing dials turned as high as he could comfortably stand them, searching for the inevitable sentries. Professionals wouldn't take the chance of someone sneaking up on them.

They continued down the path for some time. A soft whine fought for recognition within the sentinel's mind. At last it became loud enough that Jim realized that it was important.

"I can hear a generator," he informed the rest of the party.

"Can you see some kind of building ahead?" Blair asked, squinting as he gazed ahead.

"Nope, but now I can smell the gasoline fumes."

"You think the deputies have reached Kaiser's place by now?" Blair's words came in gasps as he walked fast to keep up with Jim's long strides.

"I'm sure they have. The question is how long will it take the perps to try and escape--"

"And run into us," Rafe finished for him.

"Shhh!" Jim commanded.

With the cessation of talking, Jim opened up his hearing just in time to catch the sound of thundering in the underbrush. "Someone's coming," he whispered.

"Where?" Rafe asked, aiming his gun one way, then another, waiting for the figure to emerge.

Jim pointed ahead. "He'll be here any--"

The sound became audible to the others. Simultaneously, Blair, Rafe and Henri all had their guns pointed at the approaching sound. Jim circled into the brush, hoping to flank the newcomer and verify that only one person was traveling toward them.

"Halt! Cascade Police!" Rafe declared with authority. The words stopped the fleeing man in his tracks.

Jim grinned with pleasure. The man looking in vain for a way to escape was Jack Teale. The slime-ball had skipped out on his cohorts hoping to avoid capture.

The sentinel stayed hidden within the brush and yellowed foliage, tuning out the arrest in progress and focused instead on the sound of the generator. Slowly, other sounds, close to the gas-powered machine, became distinguishable. Loud shouts, clicking of cuffs and the occasional gunshots assured him that the deputies had arrived and had things well in hand. Disentangling himself from the bushes, he rejoined his companions. "It's all over," he told them.

Henri gave Blair a high-five. Not one of them asked how he obtained his information.

"We'll keep going and hand this joker off--" Jim stopped mid-sentence as his radio crackled to life.

Megan's voice came over punctuated by gunfire. "We're having a problem over here. Two men sneaked up on us outside and shot Fielding. We're inside the cabin, under continuous fire."

"I'll be right there," Jim told her. The words drifted on the wind as he had already turned and was sprinting down the path. Without checking behind, he knew Rafe was behind him. The man's long stride identified it as him. Blair and Henri would escort the prisoner to the sheriff and round up help for them at Teale's cabin. Their job was to keep the two men from getting past the cabin before they could be arrested.

They stopped just behind the woodpile and took stock of the situation. "What's in the cabin that those two want bad enough to stay and fight for?" Jim mused aloud.

"Money?" Rafe answered in a whisper.

In the distance, Jim could hear the sound of at least two approaching helicopters. With help on its way, it was time to get involved in things. Piggy-backing sight to sound, he focused on where the gunshots were coming from. One of the men firing at the cabin was none other than Rick Teale. The other was unknown to Jim. As soon as the helicopter landed, Teale and his crony would disappear into the woods. There was no way Jim would allow that to happen. Motioning them forward, Jim crept silently away from the woods and closer to where the men were hovering, cutting off their access to the deep forest, with Rafe close behind

A branch snapped, and the stranger turned and started firing in their direction. Jim shot back and hit the man in his right arm causing him to drop the gun. Teale started to run, but Rafe was ready. With a solid tackle he brought him down and wrestled the gun away. Pulling the cuffs from his belt-buckle, he clasped them onto Teale and stood erect. The two detectives exchanged a satisfied look as they watched helicopters land in the front yard. Several deputies poured out, and Jim made himself visible.

"They're right here," he told them. As soon as the prisoners were secured, he went into the cabin. Megan was kneeling next to Fielding, using pressure to stop the bleeding, which was now a slow trickle, but looking at the array of blood-soaked towels, it had been flowing pretty heavy.

"Need some help?" Jim asked as he bent down and took over for her.

With a moan of relief, she sat back and stretched her legs out in front of her. "Thanks. My back was about to give out." She gave several deep sighs, trying to calm herself after the ordeal.

"Simon's already called for an ambulance."

"I think he should be airlifted in that 'copter out there. He's gone into shock--"

Jim stood and strode over to the door. "Captain, Fielding needs attention now. Have the sheriff's chopper airlift him to Cascade General."

Simon mumbled a few words and soon a bunch of deputies came in to help. Finding a cot nestled in the corner, they gently raised him from the floor onto the cot and carried him out the door to the idle aircraft.

Jim watched the helicopter take off, then went over to Simon. "Where's Sandburg?"

"I made him stay at that huge storage shed. He's helping forensics categorize what they've found. He knows that you'd handle this without a problem and we'd be there--" Simon's radio crackled.

"Have you found Jim yet?" Blair's unmistakable voice sounded over the speaker.

Jim grabbed the radio out of Simon's hands. "Yeah, I'm here," Jim answered.

Simon's radio was on a different frequency than the one's the CPD officers used. They had decided that to keep the secret of the two pronged attack, both sides would be incommunicado with the other. Only Simon had a link to both sides and Jim had just appropriated one of those links.

"You gotta see this place, Jim. There are boxes everywhere of empty toner cartridges, ink bottles, fiberboard used for the cards and even completed Charizard cards."

"I'll be right there. I know that there's something in this place that Teale wanted. Both brothers were trying to retrieve it before we interrupted them. I need to find it."

"Okay, man. See ya."

Jim handed the radio back to his disgruntled captain, then returned inside the cabin. Rafe was already busy going through closets and drawers in the back rooms. Henri was in the main living room doing the same. Megan was sitting on the couch just looking around. With a shake of his head, Jim joined the search. He went into the kitchen and pulled open cupboards, rummaged through the pantry and even checked in the freezer.

Megan was still sitting on the sofa. "Are you okay?" Jim asked, beginning to be concerned.

She stood up and walked over to an entertainment center. There was a TV and a stereo and some speakers--all looking quite ordinary. "Don't you find it odd that there isn't a DVD player?" she asked.

"No," Jim replied slowly, then paused. Along one shelf was a row of movies in DVD format, but Megan was right--no player. He reached up and opened one of the boxes. Inside, on top of an unmarked CD, sat a Thurman Munson baseball card and a copy. He opened another and found a Jim Brown football card. "My God. They were just warming up." He opened several more as did Megan and found a single rare card in each box.

"You think these CD's are the programs to make the card?" Megan asked, fingering a Bobby Hull card.

Before Jim could respond, Rafe shouted from the back room. "I found it!" He came out of the back room carrying several shoeboxes. "Money. All fifty dollar bills, neatly stacked, bound, unmarked and with random serial numbers." Rafe took a stack out and flipped through it.

Jim took one and gazed at it closely. "They're real. For a minute I thought they might be going into counterfeit money, too." He showed Rafe what they had found.

Handing the responsibility over to the Sheriff's Department, Jim went back outside. "I'm heading over to that barn. You guys staying or coming over with me?" he asked Rafe and Henri. They wanted a look at the structure so the three of them went back out to the snowmobiles parked a little ways down the path and sped toward the building that housed the press.

They had to go quite a ways further than Jim had supposed. The generator noise was drowned out because of the snowmobiles, but finally they reached it. It was mammoth. It had to be three stories tall and four thousand square feet in area. There wasn't just one generator present, but only one was being used. Locating the front door, the three detectives entered. Ceiling lights hung every few feet, giving off enough light to illuminate the entire structure.

The huge press sat in the middle with several tables surrounding it. Blinking, Jim happened to notice that the printing press's front compartment was open and several parts were lying on the table. Walking closer, he saw a single blueprint on each table.

"I'll be damned. The machine is broken. That's why they stole the blueprints from Patterson," Jim spoke his thoughts aloud.

"Hey Jim," Blair called out as he rushed over. "Can you believe this place?"

"Patterson's blueprints," Jim commented as he picked up one of the sheets.

"Yeah. The amount of cards they're processing is staggering--cases and cases of each card. Come here," Blair motioned for Jim to follow him. "They're mixing their own printing oils and everything. In that corner," Jim's eyes followed where his partner was pointing, "there are cases of the powdered pigments and on this table is some of the colors they're already mixed."

Several cans of oil-based ink sat in cans: magenta, cyan, yellow and black. Jim skipped around the table that was stained with the multicolors and wandered over to another area. "Look here, Chief." Jim slit open a large oblong box and found stacked fiberboard. He pulled one sheet out. "The paper they're using to make the forgeries."

Jim replaced the sheet and continued wandering though the large Morton shed. Deputies and forensic technicians were scouring the entire area. Jim glanced at them, confident that they'd do an adequate job. He could also hear helicopters coming in and taking out the newly arrested counterfeiters. "Ready to leave? I don't think we're needed here anymore."

"I know. You're anxious to get back to that Pokemon dealer and tell him that you've solved the case."

"Ha, ha," Jim returned sardonically.

Blair stiffened. "Do we have to walk all the way back to the truck?"

Jim gave an evil laugh.