Benji in Control
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 19 

Who Is Mister X?

I found Cole in the bedroom. He frowned, “I guess you saw what’s been happening around here.  We’ve been watching the fireworks.  Thank goodness the basketball players had all departed before the fireworks began.”

“We first heard about the accident while we were in the Emergency Room, and then when we were in the drug store, we heard that our Mr. Alford was the person who caused the accident.   We heard that he and Senator Leggett both died.”

Cole started to laugh, “Shoot, you know more than I do.  Patty, Karen, the three boys and I were watching all of the activity.  There were more sirens and flashing lights than I’ve ever seen at one time in my life. Mikey heard the initial crash and came to get us. Mark, Matt and Mikey were wound tighter than drums when I finally got them to bed.  What did the doctor say about Benji?”

“Doctor Shepherd doesn’t think there’s any permanent damage.  Benji had two x-rays.  Doctor Shepherd said a radiologist would be calling tomorrow, to report his evaluation.”

“I gave Benji a pain pill that is supposed to ease the pain and help him sleep.  I guess we need to go to sleep, since we’re going to have long days tomorrow.  Are you sure you want to take the three young guys to Atlanta?”

“Yes, I think it would be good for us all to be away from Summerhill to avoid people looking to see what happened.  Besides, I need to get a shirt for Peter, for the parade on Saturday.”

“Oh crap, I had forgotten about the parade on Saturday.”

I was just about asleep when the phone rang.  I grabbed it, “This is Doug Christiansen.”

“Dr. C., it’s Greg.  Are you watching the news?  Summerhill is on all of the networks.  I’m surprised that you aren’t being hounded by reporters.”

“Greg, I’m aware of what happened.  I’m going to be away from the area the first part of tomorrow, as is Cole.  We’re going to try to keep the boys out of the spotlight.  I heard how you stood up to Senator Hodges, and I thank you for it.  I really detest that man, after what he did to Benji tonight.”

“Is Benji okay?”

“Greg, he’s going to be fine.  But I hope he and the guys never meet Senator Hodges again.  I’m not sure what they would do to the imbecile.”

“Dr. C., Karen and I’ll try to keep everyone out of trouble tomorrow.  I’ll see you when you get back from wherever it is your going.”

I reached for the remote and turned on the television.  Rich Caster was saying, “State Senator Leggett died tonight in the area near the home of Douglas Christiansen who is President of the Harwood Community Junior College.  There is no known reason for him to have been in that area, since Harwood is not from the area of the state that Leggett is from, unless it was an another attempt by the state to gain access to the funds controlled by the college.”

“In related news, Senator Simon Hodges was arrested tonight for striking Dr. Doug Christiansen’s seven year old son on the face so hard that police recommended that the young man be taken to the Emergency Room to be checked for injuries.  It seems that Senator Hodges spent much of the afternoon at the college, trying to gain access of the college’s financial report.  It will be interesting to see what Senator Hodges has to say for his behavior.”

“One last note on what has been happening in the Harwood area.  The other victim of the crash, whom police personnel reported was the person and who caused the five car accident, has been identified as a Vincent Manino from California.  We have learned that he visited Dr. Christiansen's residence, today, claiming to be from the Georgia Attorney General’s office.  The F.B.I. is now involved, since Mr. Manino is reportedly connected with a counterfeiting operation that has been operating in the southeastern states.”

I turned the television off and looked at Cole, “What in the world connection could Peter have with a counterfeiting operation that would cause the idiot to come here?  Cole, I’m really nervous for Peter’s and the boys’ safety, now.”

Cole propped himself up on his arms, “Douggie, people aren’t going to try to do anything else, tonight.  There are Sheriff’s cars and cleaning crews not far away.  Let’s get some sleep.  Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.”

When we were eating breakfast the next morning and I informed the other boys that I would be taking Peter and Benji to Columbus with Grandmother Cunningham, and that Cole was taking the other three to Atlanta for the day.  I thought sure we’d get some flak, but we didn’t. 

As Karen was leaving for the office, I admonished, “Miss Carpenter, please try to keep the volcano from exploding while I’m gone.”

“Dr. Christiansen, I’ll assign that task to the biggest giant.  If he has any problems, he can always call Jordan.”

Benji, Peter and I departed first.  It turned out that it was a good thing that we did, as we would find out when we returned to Harwood.”

When we arrived in Columbus, Peter directed us to where he had lived.  There was a yellow tape encircling the house with notes saying, Restricted Area; No Trespassing.

I saw a police car sitting in front of the house.  I pulled up behind the car and climbed out, then went to talk to the officer who was sitting inside, “Good morning, officer, I’m Dr. Doug Christiansen and I brought Mr. Peter Cunningham and his Grandmother, to identify the person whose body they found inside this house.  I have no idea where I should take the young man.”

The young officer climbed out of his vehicle.  “I’m Sergeant Ambrose.  Thank for coming so quickly.  There have been some strange events going on around this house.  There have been at least two break-ins.  Let me call my supervisor who was informed that you would be arriving today.”

“Detective Murky, this is Sergeant Ambrose.  There are visitors here who have Peter Cunningham with them.  Where should I have them meet you?”

“Okay, sir.  Here’s Dr. Christiansen.”

Sergeant Ambrose handed me the phone, “This is Doug Christiansen.”

“Dr. Christiansen, this is Don Murky.  Thank you for coming so quickly.  Please meet me at the city morgue and we can start from there.  Do you know where the morgue is?” 

I started to laugh, “Detective Murky, this is the first time I’ve ever been to Columbus.  I don't know where anything is.”

“Have Ambrose give you the directions.  While you’re getting here, I’ll call the F.B.I. who is now involved in the case, because of recent events.”

I looked at Sergeant Ambrose, “How soon can we be at the city morgue?”

“It should take about twenty minutes.”

“Detective Murky, we should be there within the half hour.  Hopefully Peter will be able to direct me there.”

Sergeant Ambrose and I went to talk to Peter.  I looked at Peter, “Pete, do you know where the city morgue is?”

Pete thought before he answered, “I know I’ve seen it, but I can’t remember where it is.   What’s the address?”

Sergeant Ambrose answered, “It’s at 6511 Davis Street.”

Peter giggled, “Now I remember where it is.  It’s right next to the church we went to when we first moved here, before Mom found that slob, Mr. Jackson.  I can get us there.”

The Sergeant was trying to stop from laughing as I climbed in the van.

When we arrived at the facility, there was a handicapped parking space at the side of the building.  It didn’t prove to be an easy task to get Grandmother Cunningham into the old building even though there was a ramp.  It took both boys and me pushing to get her to the entrance.”

When we walked into the area it felt like a morgue.  Benji scowled, “I don’t like the smell or the feel of this building.  It gives me the creeps.”

The young woman at the desk asked, “How may I help you?  We don’t get many visitors this young.”

I went to the desk, “I’m Dr. Doug Christiansen, and Detective Murky asked us to meet him here to identify the body of Mr. Jackson.”

The young woman stood, “Detective Murky is awaiting your arrival in the conference room.”

She went to the door at the side of the entryway and announced, “Detective Murky, Dr. Christiansen is here with Mr. Cunningham.”

A very tall and handsome black man appeared, “I’m Don Murky.”

I stuck out my hand, “Detective Murky, I’m Doug Christiansen.  Let me introduce my friends to you.  The young man  to my right is Peter Cunningham, the Fourth, and the lady next to him is his Great Grandmother, Bertie Cunningham.  The young man beside me is our oldest son, Benjamin.”

Detective Murky looked at us, “You people are not at all what I expected.  I guess there is whole lot about this case that I don’t know.  Come into the room; I have some people whom I would also like for you to meet.

After we were introduced to F.B.I. agents Aaron Lund and Nora Wills, we got down to business.  Agent Lund started to talk, “We have finally identified the remains of the person who was found dead in the house that Mrs. Cunningham owned, with the help of some foreign governments.  His fingerprints identify him as Henri Duvalier from Haiti.”

Peter started to laugh, “So that’s why he was always saying that Haitian men had bigger cocks that American men?”

I saw Benji cringe, “Rocky, you shouldn’t talk like that in front of women.  Remember, Grandmother Bertie is with us and Agent Wills is a lady.”

Peter looked at Benji, “What did you want me to say?   I just told the people what the creep said.”

Detective Murky looked at us, “How many of you have had the opportunity to meet this mysterious Mr. Jackson?  Dr. Christiansen, have you?”

“No sir, I never met Peter until last Friday morning when I found him sleeping in my office, when I went to work.”

Grandma Cunningham nodded, “I met Mr. Jackson one time when he demanded that I pay him for taking care of Petey.  I don’t remember much about the creep, other than the fact that he was a slob.”

Detective Murky asked, “Peter, would you come with us to tell us if the body that is in the morgue is that of Mr. Jackson?”

Peter looked up at me, “Do I gotta do this?  I already had to identify my Mother.  If I gotta do this, then you and Benji need to go with me and Grandma Bertie, while I look at the dead person.”

Benji came to the rescue, “Come on, let’s get this done, so we can go get something to eat.  I’m starved and I really need to go the bathroom.”

When we walked into the room where the deceased bodies were stored, I had a boy clutching each of my arms so tight that I almost couldn’t move.

When the attendant pulled out the body of Mister Duvalier, Peter turned away from the body and said, “That’s the body of the man who called himself Mr. Jackson and was living at our house.”

Agent Lund asked, “Peter, are you absolutely sure that’s Mr. Jackson.”

Peter was indignant, “Mr. Lund, I had to the look at that face and watch him play with his cock and drink beer every day when I came home from school.  If you don’t believe me, slide that sheet or whatever down to where you would see his cock.  He has a tattoo of a $ sign and a man standing with a huge cock hanging between his legs.  He used to tell me that it meant that he was the money man.”

I watched as the lab technician slid the covering down.  Detective Murky and Agents Lund and Wills were watching, and sure enough, there was a tattoo such as Peter described.

Agent Lund turned to us, “Thank you, we have work to do, but could you please arrange to meet us at the Cunningham house at one thirty, after you get Benji something to eat, and he has an opportunity to go to the bathroom?”

Benji giggled, “We’ll think about it.  It depends on how good the food is.  We may be asleep by then.”

Detective Murky took us to a side door so we wouldn’t have to go down the steep ramp.  The door opened in front of the van.  “Dr. Christiansen, you have two keepers there.  Be good to them.  I hope your wife won’t have a problem dealing with a boy of color.”

I frowned at him for saying such a thing, “Sir, my wife is deceased.  My significant other has more pigmentation than Peter has, as do you.”

After a leisurely lunch, we made our way to the Cunningham house.  When we arrived, Detective Murky and Agents Wills and Lund were waiting for us.  Detective Murky explained before we went in, “Don’t be surprised at what you see.  Not only was the house vandalized when Mr. Jackson or Duvalier was killed.  It has also been ransacked twice since then, and that’s why there is a policeperson on guard in front of the house and another at the back.”

Agent Lund nodded, “We have no idea if the looters found what they are looking for.  But there must have been or maybe still is something in the house that people are desperate to get their hands on.”

I asked, “Are you aware what happened yesterday and last evening in the Harwood area?”

Detective Murky nodded, “I’m aware of the accident that involved five vehicles in which Senator Leggett was killed.  Why?  What does that have to do with this case?”

Agent Wills added, “We’re involved in the case because the other casualty was a Mr. Vincent Manino and that he was involved in a counterfeiting operation that has been operating in the southeastern states.”

I took a deep breath, “Just so you people know, Mr. Manino came to our home claiming to be from the Georgia Attorney General’s office, claiming that Peter had killed Mr. Jackson.  When I asked to see some identification, he hightailed it away from the house, but not before I was able to read the license plates of the rental car that Mr. Manino had rented at the airport.”

Benji added, “The accident, that man caused, took place in front of our house.  It took us a long time to get home from the hospital last night, because of all the junk that was scattered around.”

Agent Lund frowned, “It almost sounds as if the Manino person was looking to kidnap Peter.  It also indicates that the people who ransacked the house probably haven’t found what they’re looking for.  Peter, do you know of anyplace in the house where Mr. Jackson or Mr. Duvalier might have hidden something?”

Peter pointed to a room, “That’s the room where the man would sit and scratch his balls all day long.  He even ate most of his meals in there, and I’d have to take his dirty dishes to the kitchen and wash them.  If for some reason he would go out, he would always lock the door.  The only time I was allowed to go in there was if he yelled at me.  Most of the time he would only want another beer.”

Detective Murky looked at the two Agents, “We’ve had our people go over this room. It’s as if no one was ever in here.  There were no fingerprints.”

Peter laughed, “Mr. Murky, you have to be teasing.  Mr. Whoever wouldn’t even let Mother clean the room.”

Peter looked around the room, “Officers, I just remembered something I saw one time when he ordered me to get him a beer.  As I was bringing the beer, Mr. Jackson was down on his hands and knees hitting the floor with some sort of tool.  When he saw me he yelled, ‘I was killing some ants that you brought in here.’”

Detective Murky asked, “Peter, could you show us about where it was that he was hitting the floor?”

Peter went behind the desk, “He was about here.  Because all I remember seeing is his fat butt and he was wearing dirty underwear.  I put the beer on the desk and he told me to get the fuck out.”

Grandma Bertie had had enough, “Petey, stop talking like that.  What are people going to think of you?”

 

Pete had tears in his eyes, “Grandma Bertie, I’m just telling these people what the man said.  Benji and his brothers would beat me up if I talked that way.”

Benji giggled, “You got that right.”

It took about an hour before the police found anything strange about the floor.  Finally one young sergeant looked at Peter, “Can you get me a knife or something sharp.  I think I might have found what we’re looking for.” 

Inspector Murky went with Peter and Benji, and they returned with a knife, a crowbar, a large screw driver and a dandelion digger.  Benji commented, “If one of these things doesn’t work, then we’ll go look for something else.”

It was about fifteen minutes later when the young policeman had a section of the floor removed and he turned on a flashlight.  He and the boys were looking in to the opening he found.  The young sergeant grinned, “By George, guys, we’ve done it.  We made the find of the century.  Not only are there counterfeiting plates and stacks of money, but I’m guessing that the other packages might be drugs of some sort.  We need to let the big guys take it from here, so they can’t yell at us for botching their case.”

We watched as five more police cruisers and an armored truck arrived.  Detective Murky approached me, “Dr. Christiansen, there will be a press conference at city hall in about an hour, and the Mayor and Chief of Police have asked that you, Mrs. Cunningham and the two boys be available to answer some questions.”

I looked at Grandmother Cunningham, “Grandma Bertie, are you up to more activity?”

She chuckled, “Heck, I ain’t had this much fun since I was a teenager.  The boys might start complaining because they haven’t had anything to eat, though.”

Detective Murky grinned “Great, I’ll inform the dignitaries that you’ll be there.  Hood, take these two young men and get them something to eat.  I want you to get a fresh uniform on, since you need to be at the press conference, too.”

“Look, Donny baby, you know I’m allergic to press conferences.  I’ll take the two guys and get them something to eat, but I ain’t going to no news conference.”

“Look, Normie, baby, either you’re at the news conference, or you’ll be sleeping in the streets tonight.”

The young sergeant pouted, “See how mean the bosses are to us little guys.  Come on, guys, let’s go get you something to eat.  Dr. Christiansen and Mrs. Cunningham, why don’t accompany us.  I have a clean uniform in the cruiser;  I’ll change while the guys are having a snack, before we go to city hall.”

The young sergeant glared, “Do I need to handcuff you or do you promise to be good?”

Benji giggled, “We’ll let you know after we decide.”

Grandma Cunningham and I followed the cruiser to the Dairy Twist store.   She asked, “Doug, did you get the impression that there might more to the relationship between Detective Murky and Sergeant Hood than being on the police force.”

I grinned, “Grandma Bertie, I think you might be onto something.  The guys will find out and let us know.”

When the guys were settled, I excused myself, “I’m going outside and make some calls.  I need to check my messages.”

I quickly scanned the messages  and there were calls from College, from Cole, Uncle Howie and some I thought I recognized as being state government numbers.  I thought to myself, ‘I guess I can't even leave home anymore.’

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  It seems as if controversy is always lingering nearby.  I think things are coming to a head, though.  Maybe we will find out more in the next chapter.  I hope so. I can hardly wait.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher   

Posted: 04/30/10