The Case of the Crime King

Chapter 17

Chief Brown had a serious expression on his face as we all took seats.

He opened the meeting by saying, “Gentlemen, this Operation Statewide thing is unique in my experience as a police officer.”

“How’s that, sir?” Captain Hertel asked.

“In my thirty-some years of police work, I can’t recall another case in which we’ve had so much information and so few results. We had considerable information about this gang nearly two months before it ever tried to score. We knew the general plan of operation. We knew definitely one of the members — Maury Wey. If Friday and Smith’s theory is right, we know who the leader of the gang is and we know at least one other member. Both of them are under around-the-clock surveillance. We have a good description and a composite drawing of one of the remaining two members, and a general description of the fifth man. Yet these people have managed to go into operation under the noses of police throughout the state. To date the total loot exceeds forty thousand dollars. And worse than that, a police officer has been murdered and another wounded.”

Captain Peters said, “They have made us look kind of silly up to now.”

“That’s an understatement,” the chief snapped. “They’ve made police all over the state look like Keystone Kops. What action other cities are taking is beyond our control. But in Los Angeles I want this ring smashed. And smashed fast.”

After a moment of general silence, Captain Hertel said diffidently, “We all want that, sir. Any suggestions?”

“Yes. Information bulletins describing the gang’s tactics have already gone to every supermarket manager in the Los Angeles area. Managers have been requested never to open or close their stores when alone. They’ve been asked to arrange to have several employees around at those two crucial times. I’ve requested Metro to follow up with personal visits by beat officers to make sure store managers have read the bulletin and are following its advice. Metro is also collecting data on opening and closing hours, and will have radio units make spot checks of as many stores as possible at the times hits are most likely.”

“That ought to help,” Captain Peters said. “So far they haven’t hit any time except just before opening or just after closing.”

“Yeah,” Chief Brown said. “I considered putting plainclothes stakeouts on some of the larger stores during the most probable hit periods. Until I checked the yellow section of the phone book and saw how many there were.”

He caught the beginning of a grin on my face and said, “You’ve checked, too, huh, Friday?”

“Often,” I said. “Between seven and eight hundred grocers in the Los Angeles area.”

“Uh-huh. There’s something you and Smith can do, though.”

“Yes, sir?” I said.

“Set up a pin map. See if you can develop some kind of directional trend in their MO.”

“There have been only three hits here,” I objected. “Hardly enough to show a directional trend.”

“Yeah, I know,” the chief said. “But I have a hunch.”

“What’s that, sir?”

“Before long you’ll have plenty of pins in your map.”

4:07 p.m. Frank and I mounted a large map of Los Angeles on the Robbery squad-room wall and stuck a colored pin in it at the point each of the robberies had taken place. All three were in the downtown area.

Frank regarded the map dubiously. “Not much of a directional trend, is there, Joe?”

“May be, if the Corner Pocket is right.”

“Yeah. But you know what?”

“What?”

“For once I hope he’s wrong.”

4:32 p.m. Captain Peters, who ordinarily never raises his voice, startled everyone in the squad room by suddenly booming from the doorway of his office, “Friday! Smith!”

He turned around and strode back into his office without waiting for us to rise from our chairs. When we entered the office, he was seated behind his desk, his hands spread palms down in front of him as though he were considering heaving himself erect again and performing some violent act. His usually calm face was dark red.

“Both Big Julie and Strite just shook their stakeouts,” he announced in a barely controlled voice.

This didn’t seem to call for any comment. Frank and I just waited.

The captain went on thickly, “Strite checks out of work at four p.m. Takes a bus home. Usually has a ten-minute wait at his transfer point, and spends it over a cup of coffee in a drug store. Today the stakeouts got sloppy. Couldn’t find a parking spot where they could see into the store, so they parked back a ways where all they could see was the entrance. The rider in the stakeout car should have walked up for a look, but he didn’t. Strite used a side door. The stakeouts didn’t tumble until the bus came and went, without Strite getting on.”

“Uh-huh,” I said. “What happened with Martin?”

“Same type of shake. Took a taxi from home to a dime store on First. This time the rider went after him on foot but lost him in the crowd. There were a half dozen doors he could have gone out of.”

Frank said, “No question about them being deliberate shakes, huh?”

Peters shook his head. “Not the slightest.”

“Then they must have known they were being covered. Think maybe they’re off to a meeting of the gang?”

“Who knows? Maybe they’re planning to make a hit.”

Frank said dubiously, “If they know we’re on them, it’s hardly likely they’d do anything as foolish as trying to score.”

The captain was beginning to calm down. He looked at me and said, “What do you think, Joe?”

“I think Frank’s a little optimistic.”

Peters frowned. “You think they’d be crazy enough to pull a job when they know we suspect them?”

“You’d have to know Big Julie to understand,” I told him.

“Well, explain him then.”

“He’s an egomaniac,” I said. “I think he’d prefer to make a hit under circumstances like this. With us knowing he’s the guy but unable to prove it. Just so he can laugh in our faces.”

Captain Peters’ face began to redden again. “Who’s this character think he is? Robin Hood?”

“He acts like it, skipper. But one thing he hasn’t figured.”

“What?”

“We’re a little more efficient than the Sheriff of Nottingham.”

4:48 p.m. We got out a local and an APB on both suspects, requesting their pickup for questioning. Metro was tipped off to have all radio units watch for men of the suspects’ descriptions anywhere near supermarkets.

Frank phoned home and told Fay not to hold dinner as he probably wouldn’t be home until late. We ate in the eighth-floor cafeteria, then returned to the squad room and waited for something to happen.