Mike James arrived in Cleveland in the early afternoon and renting a car, headed for the police headquarters downtown. When he arrived and stated that he wanted to see the detective in charge of the Franklin case, he was escorted to an office where a middle-aged man sat at a computer with a straw tucked in the corner of his mouth and a large "No Smoking" sign above the monitor. After several more keystrokes, the man asked, "Can I help you with something?" Mike opened his briefcase and taking out a copy of the tape that Lynnell made, handed it to the detective and said, "Yes, and I can help you. if you have a VCR handy, I can clear up the Franklin case for you." The detective took the tape and said, "First off, I want to know who you are and what your connection to the Franklin case is." Mike smiled and replied, "Sorry, my name is Mike James, I'm an attorney for the quote, unquote missing girl. The tape you are holding was made by her yesterday morning at a location I can't disclose at this time by my client's request. Now, if you will lead the way, the tape will answer most of you other questions." The detective led the way to a small conference room and turning on a tape machine hooked to a large format TV, inserted the tape. After several seconds, Lynnell appeared on screen holding up the newspaper with the story about her mother's being held in her disappearance. After listening to the tape, the detective shrugged his shoulders and said, "So you got yourself a tape. So what." Mike had expected this type of reaction from him and said, "So what I want detective, is the Franklin woman released and the press told that it had just been a runaway." The detective shrugged his shoulders again and said, "I can't release her on my own authority." Mike stood and said, "If you want to play games, go ahead, but remember that the woman will probably sue for false imprisonment as soon as she is released. And can you just imagine what the mayor and city council will say when that tape shows up on the evening news? Good day detective, I expect I'll see you again soon. Mike turned and left the room and the detective jumped up to follow him. "I'm keeping the tape Mr. James, evidence you know." "That's fine with me, there are several more copies already being delivered to the newspaper and television stations." Mike called over his shoulder as he walked down the hall, leaving the detective wondering about his future with the department.
Mike got in the elevator and went down several floors to the courthouse offices. Approaching a receptionists' desk, he inquired if any of the judges were available to sign a writ of habias corpus. The receptionist looked at her calendar and picking up the phone, dial a two digit number. She explained to whomever answered what was needed, listened for a minute and hung up. Turning to Mike, she said, "Judge Anderson is free and will see you." After receiving directions to the judge's chambers, Mike made his way to the indicated door and knocked. A muffled "Come in," was immediately heard. Mike went in and introduced himself to the judge and explained what he needed. After telling the judge about the tape, he offered a copy to the judge. The judge took the tape and crossing his office, opened a cabinet that contained a small TV/VCR unit.
After watching the tape in silence, the judge said, "Counselor, do you mean to tell me that the detective in charge of this case refused to release the woman after he had viewed this tape?" "Yes, your honor." The judge sighed and said that it wasn't the first time that something like this had happened. Returning the tape to Mike, he went to his desk and quickly filled out a form of Habias Corpus and handed it to Mike saying, "Counselor, I'm sorry that you had to come down here for something so trivial. I'll have a talk with the chief and straighten this detective out." Mike thanked the judge and headed back to the elevators, thanking the receptionist on the way out. Mike, not needing directions, headed back to the detective's office. Opening the door without knocking, Mike handed the writ to the detective and grinning ear to ear said, "I told you I would see you soon." The detective looked the writ over and handed it back to Mike. Picking up the phone, he called the lock-up and passed on the order to release the Franklin woman. Mike, still smiling, said, "Thank you detective, you have been most cooperative." The detective started to say something back, thought better of it and just pointed to the door saying, "Get out." Mike left and headed down to his car so he could drive around back to pick up Sarah Franklin.
Mike arrived at the prisoner release door just seconds before the door opened and a haggard looking redhead emerged, squinting in the bright afternoon sun. Mike reached over and opened the passenger door and called out, "Mrs. Franklin? I'm Mike James. I'm the attorney who got you released. Can I give you a ride home." Sarah looked in the open door at Mike and said, "Who hired you?" "Your daughter did, Mrs. Franklin." Sarah, startled at his answer, sat down next to Mike and closed the door. Mike put the car in gear and told her that she would have to give him directions as he was from out of town. Sarah guided him to the freeway and once he had merged with traffic, began to question him about her release and her daughters' whereabouts. Mike told her what he had done to get her released and apologized, telling her that he could not tell her where her daughter was, at the girl's request. "I would like to come by tomorrow and discuss your daughter with you tomorrow after you've had a chance to recover from your incarceration." Sarah, in a hurry to get home and get a drink replied, "Sure, come over about ten and we can talk. Right now, the only thing I want is a good stiff drink." Mike, following further directions, pulled up in front of a tract house in an aging sub-division near downtown Cleveland. Sarah opened the door, got out and turned to look back at Mike saying, "Thanks for getting me out. I'll see you tomorrow morning at ten." Not giving Mike a chance to reply, she closed the door and headed for the door, fumbling in her purse for her keys. Mike watched her open the door and enter before starting the car and heading back downtown to check into his hotel.
Mike checked into one of the major hotels that advertised computer friendly rooms and, finding his room satisfactory, tipped the bellboy and began to unpack his bag. He got his laptop hooked up and accessing the Internet, started searching for any of his old law school classmates that might live in the area. Finding only two, he jotted down their local addresses and phone numbers. He hoped that at least one of them was tight with a judge, it would certainly speed up the paperwork if an old schoolmate could grease the way. After checking his E-mail, he sent several of his own and disconnected the laptop and reconnected the phone. Dialing Paul's home number, the phone rang several times before Lynnell picked up and answered, Brown residence." Mike identified himself and told her that her mother was out of jail and already home, probably drinking. "Is Paul there?" he asked. Lynnell said yes, and asked him to wait, that he was putting away a clay delivery in the workshop. Setting the phone down, she ran to the door and called out to Paul, "Paul, Mike's on the phone from Cleveland. He wants to talk to you." Paul, just finishing with the last box, jogged to the house and picked up the kitchen extension Lynnell had made her way back to the living room and picked up the receiver in time to hear Paul greet Mike. "How are things in the Midwest, Mike" "Great Paul, couldn't be better. I've gotten Lynnell's mother released and I've set up a meeting with her tomorrow morning. I'll have a chance to talk to her then. Is Lynnell anywhere nearby?" Mike asked. Not knowing that Lynnell was still on the extension, Paul said, "She's in the other room, why?" Mike continued, "There's something vaguely familiar about her mother that bothers me. See if you can get her to talk about her family, something is just not right, it's just a feeling I have, Paul. Maybe I'll figure it out when I meet with her tomorrow." Paul, puzzled
by his friend's concern asked, "Any idea what it could be that's bothering you, Mike?" "No," Mike replied, "like I said, it's just a feeling." "Okay Mike, I'll try to steer a conversation in that direction and see what comes up." "Great Paul, I'll call you after I talk with the woman.”
“Okay Mike, I'll talk to you then." Paul responded and hung up the phone. Lynnell, hearing both phones disconnect, hung up the extension. Worry lines carved her face as she contemplated what might be bothering Mr. James. Paul was only slightly less concerned than she. Having more to do in the workshop, he called Lynnell to come out and give him a hand. As soon as he had hung up with Paul, Mike called the first number on his list of old classmates. The phone was answered by the receptionist and Mike was informed that his friend, David Bloodworth was in court but would be given the message that he had called. Mike left the hotel number as well as his room number and asked that David call him as soon as he could and hung up the phone. It had already been a long day, and Mike had not slept on the plane. Slipping out of his suit, he laid down on the bed to take a nap until David called. It was late in the afternoon when the phone's insistent ringing dragged Mike from a deep slumber. Groggily, he answered, "Hello?" "Mr. James?" a pleasant voice asked. "Yes, I'm Mike James," he replied. "This is David Bloodworth's office, I'm sorry that Mr. Bloodworth is unable to call you but, he has instructed me to ask you to join him for dinner in your hotel. Mr. Bloodworth will meet you in the lounge at seven-thirty, will that be convenient for you?" Mike replied that he would be happy to meet in the lounge at that time and hung up the phone. Looking at the clock, he saw that he had two hours to kill until his meeting. He set the alarm and went back to sleep.
At 7:25, Mike entered the hotel lounge and ordered a drink. Looking around the room, he saw that David had not arrived. He took his drink to a table near the large-screen TV that was turned to CNN, sat down and watched the news while he waited for David to arrive. Mike chuckled when it was announced that Harry Browne, the Libertarian Parties' perennial candidate for president, had once again thrown his hat in the ring. The man will never give up, thought Mike. He was so distracted by the story he failed to notice that David had entered the room, ordered and received a drink and was making his way to his location. "I'm glad to see you're amused by Harry Browne's candidacy, but this time I think he really has a chance." David said as he sat down across from Mike. "David! It's been a long time, it's good to see you again." "And you too, old friend." David replied. They continued making small talk for several minutes, catching up on what they had done after leaving school. They were interrupted by the cocktail waitress who came to the table and announced, "Your table is ready Mr. Bloodworth." David looked up at her and said, "Thank-you Debbie. Please inform Gary that my guest and I will be along shortly and that he can open the wine to breath now and begin serving when we arrive." "Yes Mr. Bloodworth." she answered and departed. "Impressive, David. You must be a regular to be on first name basis with the staff," Mike said as he looked at the retreating waitress's back as she walked away. "Not really," David laughed, "I'm a part owner of the hotel. Now, shall we go in to dinner?" Mike rose from the table and followed David to the hotel's main dining room.
During their meal, Mike explained why he was in town and what he hoped to do, with David's help. As they discussed how to go about it, Mike became more confident that he would be able to conclude his task in just a day or two. While they had coffee, after the splendid meal, David said, "After you get the woman to sign the papers, give my office a call and I'll set up a meeting with Judge Grabner, she has the domestic docket this quarter. She's a fine officer of the court and this is right up her alley. Her record of bending over backwards to give kids a better shot at life is well known and, I know she will help out." Mike thanked David for the meal and said as he rose from the table, "David, I can't thank you enough for your help. I've met the girl's mother and I've known my client for many years and I know the girl will be better off as his ward. When this is concluded I'm sure my client will be most generous in showing his appreciation." David smiled and replied, "A couple of tickets to a Nuggets game when I come to Denver next January will be enough." They shook hands and Mike headed back to the lobby elevators to return to his room.
Mike did not sleep well that night. Strange dreams of Paul's dead wife and daughter intertwined with dreams of Lynnell and her mother until he could no longer differentiate between the two woman or the two girls. Finally, in the pre-dawn hours, the dreams faded and he fell deeply asleep. Mike awakened at eight and got up knowing that it would be useless to try to sleep any more. After a shower and shave, he dressed and went to the lobby intending to go out for breakfast.
When the elevator doors opened, he was confronted by the detective he had dealt with the day before accompanied by two large, uniformed officers. "Well, well if it isn't my attorney friend. I, excuse me, we were just on are way to see you. Since you have so kindly joined us down here, why don't we take a morning drive to the station where we can talk in private." Mike, not about to be intimidated by the detective said, "Gentlemen, I have appointments today, why don't you call my office and make and make one." and started to walk past the officers. "Not so fast Mr. lawyer, I said that we wanted to talk to you, now. We can do it the hard way if you want, but we will talk." Mike, getting angry at the intimidation tactics, said, "If you want to talk, get a warrant" and pushed his way by the officers. A large hand clamped down on his shoulder and squeezing hard, turned Mike around to face the detective, who was holding out what obviously was a warrant "Fine Mr. lawyer, you want it the hard way, you got it, cuff him and bring him along." Mike, knowing better than to resist, held out his hands for the cuffs only to be spun around and slammed against the wall. His arms were pulled back behind him and handcuffs were cinched painfully tight on his wrists. The two officers spun him around then grabbing him under the arms, dragged him backwards towards the hotel's front door and a waiting squad car. The officers shoved Mike face first into the back of the patrol car, slammed the door and got into the front and sat silently, waiting for the detective to arrive. When he did appear, he was carrying Mike's bags and briefcase. The detective put them in the trunk of the patrol car and signaled the driver to take off with a double slap of his hand on the trunk. The driver flipped on the lights and siren and with tires smoking, pulled from the entrance into traffic and headed for police headquarters.
The squad car pulled into the police garage and Mike was dragged from the back and pulled into an elevator that started upwards. When the doors opened, Mike found himself in the booking room where he was led to a small interrogation room in the back. His cuffs were removed and after being told to sit down, the door was closed and locked. Mike managed to maintain his composure and sat thinking over the sequence of events that had just occurred He had not been searched or read his rights so he knew that the warrant was being used just to get him to the station. But, he could not for the life of him figure out why he had been brought in. Several minutes later, the door opened and his favorite detective, followed by a young, long-haired bearded man with a badge pinned to his grubby flannel shirt, entered the room. "Mr. James, you have stuck your nose into something that you want no part of. I have every right to have you charged with interfering in a criminal investigation, assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, and obstruction of justice." said the detective. Mike kept silent knowing that there was more to come. "This gentleman is detective Raskin, narcotics division. He is in charge of the investigation that you so rudely interrupted with your writ." he continued. Mike nodded his head at Raskin and with a bored look on his face, ignored the detective. Raskin spoke for the first time in a voice that was both soft and icy, "Counselor, we have been trying to get inside a drug organization that has crippled this city for the last year. I had just gotten in with the Franklin woman when you spooked the drug lord by showing up and getting her released. She has been the girlfriend of one of his lieutenants for the past six months, and I just about had her ready to snitch. Now, you've set the investigation back so far that we'll have to start all over." Mike was shocked by the news. "I had nothing to do with your problems detective. I was hired by the woman's daughter to get her out of jail and get her to sign papers granting my primary client guardianship of the girl until such time as the mother successfully completed a drug and alcohol abuse and rehab clinic. Other than that, I have no knowledge of your investigation." Mike sat back in the chair and waited for the detectives to make their next move. The detectives looked at each other and nodded. "We'll be back in a few minutes, Mr. James, make yourself comfortable." They knocked on the door which was soon opened for them to depart. The door was closed behind them but this time, it was not locked. Several minutes later, the door reopened and the detectives returned, carrying his briefcase. "Mr. James," spoke detective Raskin, "we are going to release you on condition that you help us salvage this investigation." Mike nodded his understanding and said, "Any thing you say detective." "We want you to continue with your business with the Franklin woman with one exception, we want to wire your briefcase so we can monitor what is said at your meeting with the woman. We also would like you to put a bug in the house while you are there if the opportunity presents itself to do so." Mike smiled for the first time and said, "What ever you want, detective, just as long as I can get to the meeting on time." He looked at his watch and continued, "I'm due to meet with Mrs. Franklin in just over an hour." The detectives smiled and Raskin said, "We have already bugged your briefcase and phone," he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small disc, "This is the bug we want you to plant in her house. It has a peel and stick backing so you should have no problem putting it on the bottom of a table or behind a picture if you get the opportunity." Mike took the bug and put it in his coat pocket. "When you finish your business with Mrs. Franklin, we will want to know if you see any thing out of the ordinary in the house or if anyone else was there." The detective closed the briefcase and handed it to Mike saying, "An unmarked car is waiting to take you back to your hotel, Mr. James. Good luck." Mike rose from the chair and taking his briefcase, was led out of the station and into the garage below where a plain white Ford was waiting. The unmarked car dropped Mike off in the hotel garage and Mike headed straight for his car. Pulling out into traffic, he headed for the Franklin house and his meeting.