Chapter 21
Angie sat at Tibbets desk while talked into her cell phone. Tibbets went off and worked on a search warrant for Lenny’s apartment.
“I know Lane. But I just missed them, and I know they’re heading to Phoenix,” she pleaded.
“My budget can’t stand any more of this,” he replied over her cell phone.
“One last chance. Please!” she pleaded. A few minutes of silence killed Angie.
“Okay. I’ll have to do some smooth talking to get this one passed, but if you find this guy innocent, it should make us look good,” Lane said from her cell.
“Thanks,” she replied, then disconnected the call.
Angie looked uneasy while she called Wayne’s cell phone.
“Hey honey, did you catch that criminal,” he asked from her cell phone.
“About that…” she said but was interrupted by Wayne.
“Here, we go again. Where you off to now?” he asked, disappointed.
“Phoenix,” she replied. “It wouldn’t be any use to talk you out of this. I know you better than that. So have a safe trip, and please come home after Phoenix,” Wayne pleaded.
“I will,” Angie replied, then disconnected her call. She looked and saw Detective Tibbets at his desk.
“We have a search warrant for Lenny Roth’s place,” Tibbets said while he held up the warrant. “After we search his place, I’ll drop you off at the airport,” he told her.
“Good, the next flight to Phoenix, doesn’t leave until four hours from now,” she said.
She got up and walked away with Tibbets. “Do you know anybody from the Phoenix police department,” she asked him while they walked away.
“Yeah, an old college buddy of mine is a detective. I’ll give him a call that you’re on your way down there,” he said.
“Thanks,” she said as they exited the building.
Thirty-five minutes later, Angie and Detective Tibbets arrived at Lenny’s apartment with three police officers. One of the officers had a battering ram in hand.
Detective Tibbets knocked on the door. “Open up Roth. It’s the Denver police department,” he yelled out. No response.
He knocked again. No response.
“Do it,” he told the officer with the battering ram.
The officer took a step back.
The two other officers removed their revolvers and got ready.
The officer slammed the battering ram into Lenny’s door. It crashed opened into Lenny’s apartment.
The two officers with the revolvers cautiously entered Lenny’s apartment.
Five minutes later, one officer rummaged through Lenny’s living room. Another officer rummaged through Lenny’s bedroom.
Detective Tibbets and Angie sat at Lenny’s computer desk and searched through his files.
They opened up Word and the “Open Recent” option.
He opened up the first one on the list.
They both read the file.
“Looks like the robbery note to me,” Detective Tibbets said.
Angie stared at the computer then looked pissed. She started to have her doubts. “Austin also had the robbery note on his work computer,” Angie said.
“He ran here to help his buddy rob a bank. That’s my theory,” Detective Tibbets added.
Angie thought for a few seconds. She really had her doubts.
“He did run to Little Rock. But they arrested his buddy. Maybe Joey knew they were coming and ran. Left his friend to take the rap,” she surmised.
“He ran with your kid,” Detective Tibbets said. “I’ll put out an APB as soon as I get his tag number. Then I’ll check his cell phone records,” Detective Tibbets said.
Detective Tibbets got up from the computer. “I’ll take you to the airport,” he said then walked to the door. Angie followed.
A female officer met Tibbets and Angie at the door.
“We found two Harley’s at the Target across the street. Their tags were removed,” she said. She then showed Tibbets an evidence bag with a bag of weed inside. “Found this in one of the saddle bags,” she said.
The officer from Lenny’s bedroom walked up to Tibbets and Angie. “Found this in stuffed in a pair of underwear,” he said then held up two joints.
Angie and Tippets looked at the joints.
“Maybe my guy duped me,” Angie said a little pissed.
“Can you take me to the airport?” Angie asked Tibbets.
“You still think they’re running to Phoenix?” he asked.
“Yeah, and I’m going to get him,” she replied.
“Okay. To the airport it is,” he said as they walked to Lenny’s door.
They left Lenny’s apartment and walked to his unmarked car.
“Could you have your Phoenix buddy contact me?” she asked.
“No problem. I’ll call him later tonight. I’ll send you a text message with a location to meet him,” he replied.
“Thanks,” she said them smiled at him.
They walked to his unmarked car and got in.
He started it up, and they drove off.
While Tibbets drove his car out of the parking lot and drove down the street, Angie typed a text message on her cell phone.
“Mister Austin, you lied to me! You said you would call me as soon got to Denver. You didn’t, and another bank was robbed,” Angie typed on her cell phone.
She waited.
At the same time, Jesse’s GTO is parked in some woods just inside the New Mexico border off I-25 exit 460.
Ten feet from the GTO, Lenny, and Joey sat on the ground by Lenny’s Corolla. In their laps laid the four bundles of hundreds from the Denver robbery.
Jesse removed two joints from his shirt pocket when Joey’s iPhone buzzed in his other pocket.
He looked a little apprehensive, as Rose or Frankie didn’t try to call him.
He removed it and looked at the viewfinder.
He saw Angie’s text message.
He put the joints back in his shirt pocket and walked over to Joey.
Over at the GTO, the duffel bag with their other loot was by Rose who with Frankie while they watched over Kathy.
“Send a text message and do it exactly the way I want it,” Jesse said while he removed his revolver from the back of his pants.
He handed Joey his iPhone, and Jesse sat beside and watched every move he made.
“Okay, type - Hah hah, I fooled you. You’ll never catch me. You’re too much of a stupid detective,” Jesse told him and watched over Joey’s shoulder.
Joey looked at Jesse, and his eyes showed that he didn’t want to text that message.
Jesse figured that out and pressed the barrel of his revolver against Joey’s temple. “You know the consequences if you don’t,” Jesse said and pressed the barrel harder into his temple.
Joey swallowed hard and typed the message Jesse wanted. He sent it to Angie.
Jesse removed the revolver from Joey’s temple when he typed and sent the message.
“Good boy,” he praised Joey. He removed the two joints from his shirt pocket. He leaned over and shoved one in Joey’s mouth then shoved the other on in Lenny’s mouth.
“Spit them out, and you’re dead,” he threatened with a serious tone.
They looked scared.
Jesse got up and walked over to his GTO.
Back in Denver…
Detective Tibbets drove through the Denver streets when Angie’s cell phone buzzed when Joey’s text message arrived. She looked at her cell phone and read his message.
“That arrogant little geek,” Angie called out while she read over his message.
“What did he say?” Tibbets asked curiously.
“Hah hah, I fooled you. You’ll never catch me. You’re too much a stupid detective.” She read his message to Tibbets.
“Some criminals think they’re above it all,” Tibbets added.
“Yeah,” Angie responded while she looked at his message again.
Then it hit her. “Wait, he spelled detective wrong,” she said.
“So,” Tibbets said, as he didn’t find that too valuable.
“But he’s intelligent and wouldn’t spell detective wrong. Unless he was forced to write it and intentionally misspelled it to let me know someone was watching. Someone who wasn’t a good speller and probably was that Tony Rodman,” Angie said.
“That’s an angle,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s an angle,” Angie said, as she started to believe Tony had Joey and Lenny held hostage.
“I’ll take you to your hotel then to the airport,” he said.
“Thank you for all your help,” she told him.
“No problem. Sorry, we didn’t catch your man,” he said.
“That’s the way it goes with this business,” she replied.
“Tell me about it,” he said.
Back in the New Mexico woods…
Jesse escorted Kathy over to Joey and Lenny at his Corolla. He slammed her down between Joey and Lenny.
“Put your arms around each other and smile like the buddies you are,” Jesse demanded.
Joey and Lenny hesitated, and that pissed off Jesse.
He aimed his revolver and shot a bullet into the dirt near them. They jumped scared to death.
“I won’t miss the next time,” Jesse threatened while he aimed his revolver at their heads.
Joey and Lenny quickly put their arms around each other. They smiled with the joints still in their mouths.
Jesse removed Lenny’s camera from his pocket and snapped a picture.
“There! That’s the way it should be. Three bank robbers who are taking a smoke break,” Jesse said then chuckled.
“Rose, put our money back,” he called out to her.
Rose grabbed the duffel bag and walked over to Joey, Lenny, and Kathy. She grabbed the bundles of bills and shoved them into the duffel bag.
Jesse walked overstood by Kathy, Joey, and Lenny. He motioned for them to get up. “Let’s move on down the road a bit,” Jesse said.
Jesse walked over and grabbed the duffle bag from Rose.
He grabbed Kathy by her arm and handed the duffel bag to Frankie.
While Frankie placed the duffel bag in the trunk of the GTO, Jesse got in the backseat with Kathy.
Rose, Joey, and Lenny got in his Corolla.
Frankie got in the GTO.
They fired up their engines and drove off.
Angie sat at the gate for the next flight for Phoenix. She had about forty-five minutes to wait. She talked into her cell phone.
“Why didn’t you catch this guy?” Wayne asked her from her cell phone.
“He left me a message stating he was stuck somewhere else in Colorado. I believed him then after that, another bank robbery was pulled,” she said.
“Sneaky little devil,” Wayne rubbed it in.
“But I think he was forced to say that from this guy from Chicago,” she said.
“Could be possible,” he replied.
“Is that mommy?” Lela was heard while she walked up to Wayne.
“Yes, dear,” Angie could hear as Wayne told her.
“Mommy!” Lela said after she grabbed the cell phone from Wayne.
“Hi baby,” Angie said.
“Are you coming home?” she asked excitedly as she hoped the answer would be what she wanted to hear.
“I’m sorry baby. I have to fly to Phoenix to catch some bad people,” Angie told her. She heard Lela cry from her cell phone.
“I want you home!” Lela cried from Angie’s cell phone.
That ripped Angie’s heart out. She paused for a few seconds to think about how she could make Lela feel better.
“I’m so sorry baby. But mommy needs to catch some horrible people,” Angie told her.
“I know, but I want you home!” Lela continued to cry.
“Don’t forget we’re going to Disney for a couple of days after I get home,” Angie promised.
“I know,” Lela responded and felt a little better but still sobbed.
“I’ll be home before you know it,” Angie told her.
“I love you, mommy,” Lela said.
“I love you, Lela. Now get ready for bed and put daddy back on,” she told her.
“Okay,” she said with an occasional sob.
“Have a safe trip,” Wayne told her over the phone.
“We’ll be boarding in ten minutes,” the attendant stated over the loud speaker.
“I gotta go. I’ll call tomorrow,” she told Wayne then disconnected the call.
It’s a peaceful night, and the sky was filled with stars.
Jesse’s GTO and Lenny’s Corolla were parked in a clearing in some woods just off the Interstate near Serafina, New Mexico.
Fifty feet away, Jesse and Frankie stood near some trees with their revolved tucked into the front of their pants. There were two six packs of canned Budweiser beer on the ground in some ice in a Styrofoam cooler. They smoked a joint and drank beer.
Inside Lenny’s Corolla, Rose slept in the back seat. Lenny and Joey were cramped while they slept in the front seats and their ankles were bound by duct tape.
Rose woke up and looked out the rear window. She saw Jesse and Frankie by the trees. She looked concerned and wondered what they were up to.
She quietly got out of the car and walked away.
Rose walked up to the GTO and peeked inside and saw Kathy bounded by duct tape in the back seat. She slept.
She peeked in the driver’s window, her eyes widened with concern after she saw a bottle of chloroform that was on the front seat of the GTO.
Rose walked away from the GTO and walked over to Jesse and Frankie.
In the Corolla, Lenny and Joey discreetly turned around and watched Rose while she walked to Jesse in the woods.
“We need to make a run for it. I can’t rob another bank,” Lenny said.
“I know. I’ll never see the world again if I’m nabbed for a third robbery,” Joey added. Joey looked around. “I think the Interstate is over there. If we make it, we can flag down a car,” he said.
“Would be nice to turn these scum bags in,” Lenny added.
“Those buzzards are going have their own feast with them out in the desert,” Jesse told Frankie then handed him the joint while they stood by the trees.
Frankie smoked on the joint.
“It’ll make it look like they had a fight over the loot. We’ll leave some of the cash, joints, Lenny’s camera and their cell phones on them,” Jesse stated.
Jesse and Frankie high-fived each other as they knew they had a plan to keep them out of jail.
Rose walked up to them and looked concerned as she overheard what they said. “I thought nobody would get hurt?” she said as she approached Jesse.
“Things have changed,” Jesse told her.
“Just let them go. Wanted for bank robbery and possession will be good enough,” she pleaded.
Jesse looked pissed. “I can’t take any chances as I’m not going back to prison,” he said while he glared at her and indicated he would not back down from his plan.
Rose stormed away, upset.
“She’s becoming a threat,” Frankie said while he watched Rose as she stormed off to the Corolla.
Jesse looked suspicious of Rose. “More buzzard meat,” he said while he watched while Rose walked to the Corolla.
“They do need to eat,” Frankie said then smiled. Then he looked curious. “How long should we hang in Mexico?” he asked Jesse.
“For a year, then we’ll start over again. There are tons of hookers we could partner with and million of geeks out there,” he said then puffed on his joint.
“Now, the next time, when your monkey plays in the jungle, make it wear a raincoat,” Frankie playfully scolded Jesse.
Frankie and Jesse chuckled and bumped fists.
Rose opened the Corolla back door and got inside. Joey and Lenny pretended to be asleep.
She curled up inside the back seat and closed the door. She curled up on the back seat.
She placed a hand and rubbed her tummy as she looked worried.
She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.