Double Fugue Page 12

  The four of them figured out what they wanted to eat, put together some money, and then the boys took off to get everyone some food. Inside the interrogation room, it didn’t take long for Lieutenant Garcia and Marlon to break down the fake Ethan Savage. A few questions and some discussion of the penalty for kidnapping had the fake Ethan reeling in less than ten minutes. He revealed that his real name was Samuel Helbey, and that all he thought he was doing was impersonating Ethan for security reasons, because the real Ethan didn’t want to appear in public. He was scheduled to make $25,000 for his work, and it was money he really needed. He wasn’t sure of who really hired him because everything was handled through a booking agency.

  “When you get to the attorney’s offices,” Lieutenant Garcia told Helbey, “you will be receiving a list of charities to read, correct? Instead of their list, we will have a different one for you to read. Eventually this will spook out the real person behind this conspiracy. It is very important that we get to this person before they try to make a break for it. Understand that the real Ethan Savage’s life is at stake. The last person we know who saw him alive was kidnapped and held prisoner because of that knowledge!”

  Samuel Helbey quickly agreed to Lieutenant Garcia’s plan in return for consideration when the charges were to be filed in this case. “I don’t believe you will be charged with kidnapping or any of the serious felonies in this case, as long as you cooperate with us and do what you are asked to do at the press conference this afternoon,” Lieutenant Garcia said. “Now wait here while we put that list together.”

  Lieutenant Garcia and Marlon then left the interrogation room and went to see Sergeant Ascuela. “Sergio, I need your help in creating a new list of charities for the fake Ethan to read at the press conference. Have any good ideas?”

  “Oh yes, Antonio. I’m sure we can think of a worthy list!”

  Just then Daniel and Jason arrived with the sandwiches from the shop across the street. “Would you care to join us, Sergio?” Lieutenant Garcia asked.

  “No thanks, I had a late breakfast.”

  After they ate, Lieutenant Garcia then said to Daniel. “Now comes the most difficult part of your day, Daniel. You will need to make a formal identification of the two deputies who grabbed you. Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready, Lieutenant,” Daniel replied with determination in his voice. “I will never forget their faces after what they did to me!”

  A lineup had been arranged in the interrogation area. There were five people dressed as deputies in the lineup. It did not take Daniel more than a few seconds to pick Richard Hanley and Jeffrey Richardson out of the lineup. “Are you absolutely sure these were the two men, Daniel?”

  “I’m sure, Lieutenant Garcia.”

  “Okay, Daniel. Thank you. I’d like you to go wait with Jason and Marlon while I talk to the suspects you identified.”

  Lieutenant Garcia and Sergeant Ascuela spent a frustrating fifteen minutes interrogating the two suspects. They insisted that they had no information on the location of the real Ethan Savage. Their entire job was to escort the fake Ethan to Monterey and his meeting at the attorney’s offices, keep him isolated at the Savage estate, and make sure that he followed the “script” he was given. When Lieutenant Garcia asked them why they were so willing to be involved in this criminal conspiracy they said that they were each getting $100,000 dollars for their participation. When he harangued them about their rough treatment of Daniel, they said they were just following the orders they were given. They finally did admit that Oliver Samuels was their leader in the conspiracy. When Garcia asked them if they had been in contact with Samuels recently, they said they hadn’t heard a thing. Until they were taken into custody, they thought the plot was going according to plan.

  Outside the interrogation room, Garcia talked with Sergeant Ascuela about their next steps. “Keep those two on ice and incommunicado until after the press conference. Then they will be charged with kidnapping, assault, and false imprisonment for their treatment of Daniel. I’m sure there will be additional charges when the full extent of the plot against Ethan Savage is revealed. I will have them taken back to the Silicon Valley later this afternoon. Unfortunately we still don’t know who is in charge of this conspiracy and don’t have any idea where the real Ethan Savage is being held in captivity. All of our chances rely on a bluff and hope that when the fake Ethan begins to read off a completely different list of charities at the press conference, the real mastermind will reveal himself and then we can break him down and rescue Ethan Savage.”

  “I think that you are going to need some more assistance than just the two deputies who are replacing the two clowns in our interrogation room.” Sergeant Ascuela replied. “Let me assign a full team of four more deputies. This is going to be a huge story when the media gets a hold of it, so I have no problem justifying it to my boss. Our mastermind is probably well armed and could very well have a team of helpers with him. It seems that money is no object in this conspiracy so far!”

  “You are right, Sergio. I haven’t really had a chance to even think of the impact of what we are dealing with here. Now that there is actual proof from more sources than our young friend Daniel here, I am just beginning to see how big this is going to be! It’s almost 1:00 PM now, and I’m sure that the fake Ethan is supposed to be delivered to the law offices very soon. There is an incredible amount of work to do in very little time. We need to get our alternate list of charities typed up and we need some sort of plan to surround the event so that no one can get away when the surprise begins to reveal itself.”

  “Here is what I think we should do, Antonio. I will assign the four deputies to cover the exits of the Pomeroy Building which is where the law offices of Ethcart, Binkley, and Pierce are located. You and I and the two deputies who are with the fake Ethan will be inside the press conference room. We will have our walkie-talkies for communication if someone suddenly bolts, or if we see someone becoming very upset or trying to stop the event. There has to be someone there who knows something! Otherwise we will have to question the attorneys or anyone there that isn’t an actual bona fide reporter.”

  “Let’s go with your plan,” Lieutenant Garcia said affirmatively. “We also have Marlon and the two boys as additional eyes and ears. Marlon might recognize other people who are associated with Ethan Savage in some way that we don’t know about at the press conference.”

  Sergeant Ascuela then got to work dispatching the four additional deputies to the Pomeroy Building. Lieutenant Garcia started working on the new list of charities. When Sergeant Ascuela was finished with the dispatch, he helped with the list, including some local charities. When Daniel came to Lieutenant Garcia to see what was going on, he persuaded them to include Jason’s Whatever Foundation on the list. “I think that is what you would call poetic justice!” Daniel said with a smile.

  The two officers then met with Sam Helbey, the fake Ethan Savage. They gave him their list and told him to insert it into the other list he would be given after he read off the first five charities.

  “That way it will seems like everything is going according to plan at first,” Lieutenant Garcia said. “Then when things suddenly go wrong for the conspirators, it will catch them off guard, and hopefully cause a reaction that will allow us to identify them and take them into custody.”

  THE PRESS CONFERENCE, PART I

  (Saturday Afternoon)

  A little past 1:30, everyone left for the press conference. Sam Helbey went with the two deputies who had replaced Richardson and Hanley. Lieutenant Garcia brought Marlon, Daniel and Jason in his car, and Sergeant Ascuela followed in his car. When they arrived the four officers were already manning the doors, and checking IDs as people entered.

  The press conference was being held in a large meeting room on the first floor of the building. There were a couple of people from the Ethcart, Binkley, and Pierce law offices who were managing things inside. About thirty reporters from various news organizations, fan magazines
, and media outlets had already arrived, along with a scattering of fans and onlookers. Inside the room, only people with press credentials were allowed to sit in the front area. This actually worked to Lieutenant Garcia’s advantage, because he didn’t have to worry about looking through the ranks of reporters for possible suspects. Most likely those people were in the back area.

  “Marlon, do you see anyone here that you recognize?” Lieutenant Garcia asked.

  “I see a couple of people from his public relations agency, who I would expect to be here,” Marlon replied after scanning the room. “I haven’t seen anyone else yet.”

  Daniel and Jason were seated at the very back of the room, in the last row of chairs near the one set of doors. They were asked to sit there, since they were obviously fans and not part of the media or Ethan Savage band staff. “Have you seen anything or anyone that looks suspicious?” Jason asked Daniel.

  “No, remember the only people I actually saw were the two crooked deputies, and the two Ethans,” Daniel replied. “I am listening for voices, in case that station chief shows up!”

  About five minutes after two, the main party of presenters came into the room. After they were seated at the front of the room, a distinguished looking man came up to the podium. “Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Benjamin Binkley and I am one of the attorneys representing Ethan Savage. We are gathered here today for a most momentous occasion. Out of the generosity of his heart, and a desire to help serve the public interest, Mr. Savage has decided to donate a large portion of his financial holdings to charities and non-profit organizations with goals of bettering the world. I would now like to invite Mr. Savage to come up to the podium, say a few words, and then read his list of beneficiaries. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Ethan Savage!”

  The room erupted in applause while the imposter Ethan came up to the podium.

  “Thank you all for coming, this afternoon. As you know, I have had a very successful career in the music business, and as a result reaped great financial rewards for myself.”

  As he continued talking, Jason whispered to Daniel, “This guy is giving the performance of his career. He sure looks and sounds like the real Ethan, doesn’t he?”

  “I am sure he is fooling the public right now!” Daniel replied.

  After his opening remarks were well received by the audience, the fake Ethan began reading the list of organizations.

  “The American Cancer Society, for its work in developing cures and treatment for this deadly disease. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for its work in fostering better care for our pets and other living creatures.”

  The list continued with some standard well known recipients, then there were a lot of local charities. “The Monterey County Police Benevolent Fund for its work in providing assistance for the families of officers wounded or killed in the line of duty. The Whatever Foundation for its programs to help teenaged victims of crime.”

  Surprised, Jason looked at Daniel. “Did you do that? How did my foundation get on that list?”

  Daniel smiled back. “Couldn’t resist, my friend. Can’t you use a few hundred thousand dollars more?”

  About then a commotion developed in the back of the room. They could hear a man talking into a cell phone in a very animated voice, “That’s not right. He’s not reading the correct list! What is happening here? Something has gone very wrong!”

  Hearing the noise, Lieutenant Garcia and Marlon Guinetti looked over to where it was coming from. “Hey, that’s Ethan’s business manager, Dalton Fredericks,” Marlon said in an excited voice. “And sitting with him is someone from our public relations firm, I can’t remember the name offhand!”

  Lieutenant Garcia was quickly on his walkie-talkie. “Sergio, those two men making a ruckus are from the Ethan Savage organization. Let’s grab them!”

  The two men sensed that they were in trouble, and immediately bolted for the exits. There was no way that Lieutenant Garcia or Sergeant Ascuela could catch up before they were out of there. Just as they were pushing the doors open, Jason got up and made a diving tackle at them, causing them to lose their balance, trip and fall down to the floor.

  Because of Jason’s quick thinking and action, Lieutenant Garcia and Sergeant Ascuela were able to catch up and subdue the two men. “You are under arrest for kidnapping and embezzlement!” Garcia stated as he and Sergeant Ascuela handcuffed the two suspects.

  The press conference room went into an uproar as everyone reacted to the dramatic turn of events. The two deputies who had been escorting Sam Helbey came down to help out their fellow officers. Benjamin Binkley also came down and demanded to know what was going on.

  “I am Lieutenant Antonio Garcia from the Silicon Valley Police and this is Sergeant Sergio Ascuela from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. There has been a conspiracy to embezzle a lot of the money that was supposed to go to charity. To accomplish this, the real Ethan Savage has been kidnapped and replaced with that man at your podium, who is an actor!”

  “Do you mean that everything going on right now is fraudulent?” Binkley asked.

  “Most definitely,” Lieutenant Garcia asserted. “But our first priority right now is finding where they have taken the real Ethan Savage. I can’t tell you anything else until these suspects are questioned and hopefully we will get some answers! Is there a private room we can use here?”

  “Yes. You can use one of our office consulting rooms. My assistant, Barbara Welch, will take you there. I will make a statement to the reporters.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Binkley. In your announcement tell the media that if and when the real Ethan Savage is rescued and released, we will hold a press conference to announce the details. If our suspects are cooperative, this could be later this afternoon. We have four additional deputies manning the exits. I know that people will want to leave, but no one can leave without showing identification in case there are any other people here involved in the conspiracy. Otherwise we will need to hold everyone here until our interrogation of these suspects is completed!”

  Sergeant Ascuela got on his walkie-talkie to the other deputies outside and had them secure the exits. He instructed one of the two deputies responsible for guarding Sam, the fake Ethan, to bring him back to the sheriff’s office and keep him in a holding cell. He told the other deputy to remain downstairs and help with the orderly exit of the rest of the people. Then he went with Lieutenant Garcia to question the two suspects while Benjamin Binkley went to make his statement to the press.

  Meanwhile, Daniel was talking with Jason. “Are you okay? That was quite a dive you took!”

  “Daniel, your chucks were made for flying, mine were made for tackling! I’m fine, Daniel. That was just like a play from scrimmage in football where the defender had to take out a return man!”

  “You saved everyone a lot of time by your quick thinking. That was awesome, Jason!”

  “You kids are one hell of a team!” Marlon said while giving them high fives. “Ethan owes you both big time!”

  THE RESCUE

  (Saturday Afternoon)

  Upstairs in the law office conference room, Lieutenant Garcia and Sergeant Ascuela were questioning Dalton Fredericks. At first he denied everything, and was resistant to questioning. Gradually, as Lieutenant Garcia began revealing what he already knew and described the dire consequences for anyone involved in the plot against Ethan Savage who didn’t cooperate, his resistance began to break down.

  Garcia told Fredericks that “Kidnapping is a very serious offense, and when it is combined with a conspiracy, well all I can say is that the district attorney will throw the book at you. If anything serious has happened to Ethan Savage, I guarantee that the death penalty will be in play! We already have you on the conspiracy to kidnap and hold young Daniel Holmes prisoner when he witnessed your people taking an unconscious Ethan Savage away and replacing him with a double. Given the way that he was later assaulted, tied up, and left abandoned in a deserted barn I’m sure the d
istrict attorney will be able to attach special circumstances to the warrant. When we add in another count of kidnapping, you are looking at a life sentence or worse if there is more violence involved! If you want to help yourself at all in this matter, you had better come clean now! Start by telling us where Ethan Savage is right now.”

  Dalton thought about things for a minute, then sighed, and started to talk. “Nothing was supposed to happen like this. It was a fluke that the kid got involved. Who would have thought that Mr. Rock Star, Ethan Savage, would stop his limousine to give a teenaged fan a guitar lesson ten minutes before the switch was to be made? We had no intention of hurting anyone. Ethan was painlessly knocked out with a drug, and would have been brought back to his regular life by tonight, after the money had been transferred. He would have regained consciousness with empty bottles of liquor and the remains of a party, something that happened all the time with him on the road. He often would party and pass out. He wouldn’t have been hurt and really wouldn’t have known the difference!”

  “Where is Ethan now?” Lieutenant Garcia demanded.

  “He is actually being held on his own property. Way in the back of the estate is a little guest house that was also used for servants. He is there with a nurse who looks like one of his party girl groupies, but has been monitoring his condition since he was brought there yesterday.”

  “All right, good for you, Dalton. That is one step in the right direction. Now while Sergeant Ascuela and I go and rescue Ethan, I want you to write out a complete statement about this conspiracy that mentions everyone involved and explains why this was done. Make sure you include every detail.”

  Lieutenant Garcia and Sergeant Ascuela then left the room. Sergeant Ascuela told his deputies to take the two men to headquarters for booking. “Have them write complete statements of their involvement while we go and rescue Ethan Savage.”