Times Change

by redandready45

Under the Coat

"I again thank you for your county's assistance in this investigation, Sheriff Cowan ," said a man sitting in a brown wooden chair. Two individuals were sitting in a white room, and a brown door. In between them a wooden brown desk. "Why was I asked to come here?" The man in front of the desk sitting in the wooden chair wore a black suit, black shoes, a black tie, and white dress shirt underneath. His face was tanned, and his hair a shaven chestnut brown. The man sitting behind the brown desk in a the black leather chair was John E. Cowan (at least that is what the golden sign on his desk said) the long-serving Sheriff of Saratoga County. He also work a black suit and a white shirt which was distinguished from the other suit by a blue striped tie. His face was pale, he had wrinkles, and frown lines, and his hair was a black but graying haircut in the regular style. His face was covered in a distinctive frown.

"I appreciate your appreciation Agent McCarty," said Sheriff Cowan his frown into a genuine smile. "But," his smile turned into a frown. "What I feel is a lack of cooperation." His fists began to tighten. "I have been impartial to the FBI's operations, having been trained at the FBI Academy when it opened." He teeth began to clench. "But I must ask. Why was I not told of the participation of other sheriff's offices in the state. I am a member of the Sheriff's Association, so I feel that would be important for my fellow sheriffs to cooperate in an investigation."

"Well," said McCarty, lifting his leg off of his lap, "I felt discretion was important because this technology is very valuable..."

"Yes," interrupted Cowan, frustrated ," yes I heard the same the selling point. 'This technology could be used to discover the origins of the universe.' But if a device is missing I need the cooperation of the FBI, as well as other sheriff's of the area." He looked down, then up. "Also, I've looked at your leads and done my investigation, and filed all the reports by the officers by the Sheriff's Office, as well as the Saratoga Springs Police Chief ." He pulled a large tan yellow folder. On the front was a sticker that read "Case File 04-05-2109-D," in small print, while in the middle of the sticker was "SCANNER." Cowan rose from his chair and put his hand down on the file hard, as if fearing McCarty would grab it from him. "You tell me that the device was stolen in all the way in North Tonawanda, and you think the thief is somewhere in my county. But you have no clue, besides," he pulled out notepad, and his glasses, " 'Dark Hair, Caucasian Male, ages 20-30,' " he read aloud, in an angry sarcastic tone. "Yet somehow you have video record of the man video or otherwise, only some mention of an anonymous source, who ALSO can't figure out why anybody would need a "Spectral Scanner," and high tail to Saratoga County. And more importantly, what somebody would use a device like this for, in a town that has not known any presence from NASA since Buzz Aldrin stop by. Ten. Years. AGO!"

"Well," said McCarty, his face as neutral as ever, except for a small grin on his face, "we that's what we are trying to figure out," he continued in a tone that sounded like a pre-programmed response from a computer. A tone Cowan heard years ago when dealing with state officials who forced him to put state prisoners in the county jail. A tone that would never to cease to be a bane to his existence. McCarty saw the file pressed under Cowan's palm and extending both his middle finger (which Cowan was beginning to feel tempted to show to McCarty in great detail) and his index finger, and than pulling them to his palms, as if to say, "give me these files."

"I want to know more, and I want to know now," said McCarty.

"And you will," said McCarty,standing up, and extending his hand, sporting an even more noticeable but still slight grin ,"we just need those files."

"And I don't want agents crawling my county, or any other county without the full cooperation of the FBI, and I thus I can't give you these forms," he said, glaring at McCarty, his hand still where it was, guarding the police file he refused to turn over.

"How about," McCarty said, with a big grin, "the sooner we get those files, the sooner I'll get out of your hair, or what's left."

Cowan slowly bit his lip, and began to ponder. He couldn't ponder because he couldn't stand the guy he was looking at. He felt maybe give him what he wants now, and than search for his own evidence later. He slowly took his hand of the file, but before McCarty grabbed it off the table, Cowan snatched it off, pulling it into his hand, and slowly extending it to McCarty. McCarty finally snatched it up, laughing. "Man, you need to slow down when you do things," uttered McCarty. "You really do things quickly." He slid the file into his jacket. "Well so long Sheriff," said McCarty, as he opened the door, and walked out clearly jovial.

Cowan walked right up to the door, yelling ,"You didn't shut the door." McCarty continued walking, the sounds of his footsteps which were covered up by the sound of a slamming door.

-

"I don't get it Helmsley," said Stirling, pacing across the room in front of Sergeant Helmsley, who was sitting in the corner on a folding chair, in the lounge, reading a newspaper. It wasn't much of a lounge, more of a corner on the green carpet where the two put a couple of chairs, a small table and a microwave. The rest of the room was green with a couple of desks. The building itself was the size of a small summer cottage, a box shape made of brown wood. She continued to pace until she saw Helmsley was barely paying her mind. "Helmsley?!"

Helmsley startled, woke up from his news induced slumber. "Stirling, stop bugging me, I'm on lunch break... 'Eclipse to occur August 11..' "

"First of all, your not eating anything, and secondly it's 10:47."

"Old age, what are you gonna do."

"I think something weird is going on, with this Scanner."

"Why?"

"I spoke to like ten people across the county about the scanner, and every cop on the case, and they learned about as much as I could," said Stirling.

"Yeah, the investigation just started a few days ago, get over it. Finding this object will take time, and they are going to have to find it soon," said Helmsley, "did you send the report to the Sheriff's office, like I told you."

"Yeah, I faxed it, but the way information is being told it seems like the FBI isn't trying to find it. The robbery took place all the way across the state in Buffalo, and the leads the FBI are giving us are awfully random. Yesterday, I went to the Library, the clothing store - where they told me to look at the college girl section."

"Wait," said Helmsley pursing his lips ," the store did of the Sheriff's Office, according to the FBI did?"

"Well the store did," said Stirling, bemoaning her youthful appearance ," the gas station, the pet shop, where I saw the cutest little turtle..." she began to smile, until she saw Helmsley give her a look. "And some other animals, and Dennis' hotel."

"What," asked Helmsley, who had not read the instructions for searching the leads, but merely handed them to Stirling, having been too sick to investigate. "They suspect Sadnik." Helmsley had always known Dennis to be a decent, if somewhat difficult human being. He had his up and downs, and in the past eleven years, those downs had hit him hard. But there was no reason to think he was stealing. "But wasn't he in Lake George on Fourth of July the night it was stolen. We both saw him."

"I said the same thing, but when I called the Sheriff's Office, this fed, McCarty-didn't like him, he sounded like some asthmatic pervert with his heavy breathing- made me go out and investigate anyways. I didn't think Dennis could commit any crime, but then I thought he would be the only guy with any connection, I mean he runs a motel in the middle of nowhere..."

"So he could be harboring some fugitive or criminal," finished Helmsley. "Well did you speak to him."

"Yes," said Stirling, "I asked him if he saw the scanner, and in a side note, he apparently dyed his pony's mane pink." Helmsley dropped his paper in shock at that statement. " Then I asked him if I could speak to Lyra and Bonnie."

"Who?

"The astrology - or astronomy students that were renting from him."

"Oh you mean that girl who you decided to have a drinking contest with," Helmsley mocked ," the girl seemed to have her head in the stars, as you told me."

"I mean, I figure two astronomy students would know about it. But for some reason, they left early, and Dennis didn't seem keen on telling me why. I was even was gonna right it in the report."

"Was? Why didn't you write it in the report? This seems pretty important, since Dennis, or those two girls could be prime suspects.in this investigation?"

"I was going to write it, until I got another call looking for another lead. They gave a vague description I can't even remember, that contradicted the last one, so I felt I couldn't trust them."

"So you feel the FBI is hiding something, and you believe those two girls might have the answer?"

"Yes?"

"And as your superior," Helmsley's voice became much sharper ," I could bring you up for withholding information in a federal investigation right, dismissed, in spite of your suspicion that the FBI is withholding info. The only person who could be in anyway involved in this is Dennis with his motel."

"Yes!." Stirling said strongly. A silence held for about two minutes.

"Fine, what do you propose?"

"We start looking for info on our own. Let's start with Dennis, and see what he's up to. He probably not in on anything," she started to walk out of the room, into the lockers to get her uniform. "Dennis never stole anything, but he might not realize something under his nose."

"I'll call all the other counties in the capital district," said Helmsley, getting up from his folding throne, and waking to his desk to make a call ," see what kind of leads we are getting. I wouldn't worry too much about Dennis, He hasn't got much to hide."

"Well," muttered Stirling in the other room, "emotionally it is different."
-

Dennis normally hated late mornings, but something told him today would be normal. He would enjoy a late breakfast, first after checking up on old Crystal.

"Crystal," he said jokingly ," It's Dennis. The security guy is coming in a few minutes. Let's see if your dye job stayed iiiiin." He walked, or skipped into the barn. When he saw Crystal, he was pleased to see the dye job stay in...But shocked at her mane's new neighbor on her head.

It looked like a railroad spike, though pure white, spiraled out of her head. It was coned shaped and looked sharp enough to puncture a steel wall.

"Oh god," he said as walked over to his pony, some white bone coming out of her head. "What is that thing on your head," he was stressed out, and began to touch the bone, when Crystal freaked and galloped to the other side.

"Crystal," he yelled ,"I'm sorry. I didn't know that was your special area." He heard a knock at the barn door. He nervously walked to the door, starting with, "could you come back later..." he paused when he saw a young, nubile authority figure, and the door.

"Dennis," said Stirling ," I need to talk to you, and what about a 'special area.'? "

Dennis paused waiting for an excuse not to show him an uncomfortable truth. His little pony grew a horn, she was a uni-horned horse.

"Well, eh..."

Author's Note:

TO BE CONTINUED

It's good to be back writing.