Day 2: After Breakfast
> "Zenya and Jim said that the victims may probably have been willing ones, and > that Ted is probably one who needs to be in control." Leo mused, half to > himself, half to Jordan.
> Jordan nodded, "That's right. The BBS message seems to back that up."
> "Mary Ritchie was a friend of Rebecca Cross', which provided him with a first > victim. How would he go about getting another?" Leo asked, his mind racing > a mile a minute. "Hold on a minute, I'll be right back."
> Leo then raced back into the hotel, returning a few minutes later with a phone > book in his hand. "I hope you don't mind taking a stroll on the wild side, > Jordan. I have a feeling that we might need to visit a few unsavory places." > Leo smiled as he got into the passenger seat and started flipping through the > yellow pages for tattoo shops and B&D nightclubs.
Jordan looked over at the entries Leo was scanning and then glanced at his watch, "Are places like that open yet?"
"A couple of the tattoo parlors have ads that say they open at 10 am. By the time we finish checking on that red Vette, they should be open for business."
"Sounds like a plan," Jordan said starting the Taurus, "Dealing with the DMV always takes longer that you think anyway."
The agents pulled up to the DMV office in Santa Fe at 8:55. The sign on the door indicated that the office would open at 9, and there were about a dozen people already in line waiting to get in.
"Those people are going to be really annoyed when we push to the front of the line," Leo pointed out.
"I could always tell them the biggest lie of all," Jordan replied.
"And that is?"
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
Leo laughed and got out of the car. Jordan followed and the two walked across the parking lot to the front door. A particularly efficient looking DMV employee had just opened the door and was directing the people in line outside to form a line inside.
Stern and Jones waited for the tail end of the line to enter the building and then they followed. Once through both sets of doors they stepped away from the line and headed for the counter. The DMV employee said, "Hey, you've got to wait in line until we're ready to help you."
Leo was faster on the draw, "I'm Agent Jones, FBI," he flashed his ID, "and this is Agent Stern. We need to speak to the office manager."
The employee stood perfectly still for a moment, and then said, "Go through that door over there, Mr, Davis' office is there," he pointed to the only enclosed space behind the counter.
Leo thanked him and led the way to the door.
"I thought we had lost him into a catatonic state for a moment," Jordan said quietly.
Leo struggled to avoid laughing.
Mr. Davis turned out to be exactly what Jordan had expected. He was plump and balding. He looked like he'd been working at the DMV for 20 years and had earned his position through patience rather than any particular skill.
Davis invited them in and offered them seats. Jordan explained that they needed a list of registration data for all red, late-model Corvettes registered in the Santa Fe area.
Davis mumbled his willingness to comply and set off to get someone to generate the list.
"Do you think you'll recognize the plate number?" Jordan asked.
"I think so. If not, we'll just have to check every address."
Davis returned almost 20 minutes later with a list 3 pages long. "I had the girls print out every record for Vettes since 1990 in this county and the surrounding counties."
Jordan took the list from him and glanced over it, "Thanks, Mr. Davis. We'll be in touch if we need any further information."
Davis seemed less than thrilled by the prospect.
As they walked across the parking lot, Jordan handed the list to Leo, "I hope you recognize one of those plate numbers, Agent Jones, because that's more addresses than I want to visit."
Leo quickly scanned the list before getting in the car. He took a closer look at the information and closed his eyes for a moment. "I think it could be this one," he said pointing to an entry halfway down the first page.
"1522 Canyon Rd," Jordan read, "That's east of here." He consulted the map that had come with the car for a moment, and then started it and dacked out of the parking space.
The drive from the DMV to Canyon Rd. took about 15 minutes. The two agents drove slowly, scanning addresses.
"We're at 1044, but the numbers are increasing," Leo pointed out.
"At least we're going in the right direction."
"I think we have a problem," Leo said a few minutes later.
"Why?"
"We're up to 1500, and look at the block ahead."
The residential neighborhood they had been driving through had given way to a couple of gas stations, and a shopping plaza.
Jordan pulled into the plaza and a few minutes later they found 1522 Canyon Rd. It turned out to be a Pete's Pizza Palace.
"What now?" Leo asked.
"We go in," Jordan replied.
NRPG: I didn't have Jeff's last post at my juno address, which caused a delay in getting this out.
I'm looking forward to the autopsy results. Have fun with the grizzly stuff.
Respectfully submitted,
Alton Reich
SA-4 Jordan Stern, Team Leader ZULU