Chapter 43
O’Reilly sat in the passenger seat as Miller sped to catch the plane that was waiting for them at the airport. They had phoned after leaving the mayor and reserved a jet that was waiting for them on the tarmac.
When they pulled up and had gotten out the pilot greeted them at the foot of the stairs to the plane. “Good morning, inspector. Captain Smith at your service.” They shook hands.
"Good morning captain. Sorry for the short notice but we are in a hurry and are behind schedule. This is Sergeant Miller, my partner.”
"Morning sir.”
"Morning captain.” Miller replied. He sized Smith up. From the strength of his hand shake and his demeanor, Miller felt that this man would be able to take care of himself if need be.
O’Reilly gave the pilot instructions where they were headed and then climbed aboard. They were going to fly to General Wayne A. Downing Peoria airport in Illinois and head over to Pekin from there.
The inside of the plane was larger than what it appeared from the outside. Leather captains’ chairs were situated around a table with a bar off to one side. Sean thought that when he retired, this would be the way to go. Of course, he’d have to win a lottery or rob a bank or something, but it didn’t hurt to dream. He was just going to enjoy this for now.
"Sergeant, we better get an APB out on Caulder’s car, also on Caulder himself. We’ve wasted too much time already and we don’t want the trail going cold. There’s no proof that Caulder did any of these killings, but the evidence is sure pointing that way. I want to catch up with him to question him and lock him up if he is responsible. When we get him, we’ll take a DNA swab and get it compared with Higgins. I’m fairly certain that we’ll find a match there. I’d really like to put that jack ass away for good. He’s a real arrogant pain in the ass.”
"Yes sir, that he is.”
O’Reilly picked up the phone that was beside his chair and punched in the number for his home office. It rang once and then was picked up. It was Officer Cooper who answered.
"Cooper here. How may I help you?”
"Coop, it’s inspector O’Reilly.”
"Yes sir. How’s the investigation going?”
"Slower than I like. The reason I’m calling is I want an APB out on Jake Caulder and the make of his car.”
"Yes sir. I’ll do it right away.”
"Thanks Coop. I’ll call back in when I get a chance and find out if anything has turned up. Talk to you later.”
"Yes sir, bye.”
Sean hung up and sat back in his seat. The cushions were so comfortable that he could fall asleep without a problem other than the fact that when he was on a case, his mind wouldn’t rest for a moment. It would be a while before he actually got a good night’s sleep, what with the Caulder investigation and the Higgins case added to his work load.
He sighed and closed his eyes. He could at least enjoy himself for a little while until they reached their destination. His mind kept wandering back to the meeting with the mayor; he couldn’t help thinking about Miss Cindy Stevens. Yes, he thought, he was going to hook up with her when all this was over. And who knows. Maybe something more than just a cup of coffee would come of it. A smile came across his face as thoughts of Cindy and he together came to him. Perhaps something pleasant would come out of all the ugliness that seemed to be bombarding him from all sides. Time would tell.
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