"So if this is Arugula," Britt Maxwell said, "then where is Joe Arruzio?" That question brought a look of shock to my face.
"Robin, will you take a team to Arruzio's home here in the City 'burbs? I doubt he's there, but he might be. If he is, consider him armed and extremely dangerous." I said. "Okay, my team and any State people here, come with me!"
"Where to?" someone asked.
"Nextdoor County." I said. "Back towards where we came from.
We piled into our SUV and, followed by Dixon and the burly City Detective in Dixon's car, drove west, back along the highway towards Town. In the county between us, Nextdoor County as we called it, I turned hard right onto a road next to a big bright Chevron service station.
Going north, I took a fork in a road, and then finally along a poorly paved road, coming to a stop as we approached a house near the lake, which was on the other side of the hill.
Joe Arruzio's car was parked in front of the house.
"Anyone not have vests on?" I asked. Only the City Detective didn't, and Dixon quickly supplied him with one from his car. I noted the words "FBI" in large letters on that vest.
"Carefully now. This guy may be nuts and I don't know what he'll do." I said. "Hugh, lead the way." Boy! do I wish we had a full SWAT team, I thought to myself. That was coming, though, it was coming.
As we neared the house, Hugh crept up to the side and peered inside a window.
"He's in the front room." he reported when he got back.
"Any guns?" I asked. Hugh said he didn't see any, that Arruzio was just staring forward as if watching TV. He was facing the front door.
Cindy, Hugh, Teresa and I crept onto the old wooden porch, incredibly making virtually no noise. Or maybe I just didn't hear anything. With a nod, Hugh kicked in the door and rushed in, followed by us all.
"Stop!" Joe Arruzio ordered. We stopped dead in our tracks, our guns pointed at him. A revolver was in his right hand, the muzzle pressed to his own head just in front of his ear.
"Drop it, Joe." I ordered. "It's over."
"Yes, it is." Arruzio replied. "So... who figured it out?" Everyone else's glance at me gave him his answer.
"I congratulate you." Arruzio said, looking at me. "What gave me away?"
"You took the shotgun shells with you." I replied. Arruzio nodded slightly.
"I see. Well played, Detective, well played. You are everything Wellman said you were, and a hell of a lot more. A lot of people are going to be scared of you when they hear how you solved this case." Arruzio said with a slight nod to me.
"Come on Joe, put the gun down. It's time to go." I said wearily, knowing what Arruzio was going to do but trying to stop him anyway. Arruzio nodded to me with a brief smile.
"Again, I salute you." he said. Suddenly, my ears were ringing and the room seemed hazy. Joe Arruzio had pulled the trigger, committing suicide. He was dead.
Part 24 - The Explanation
The pool party at Melina's house was well attended. It was Friday afternoon and absolutely perfect weather. The Chief had given the entire Force the afternoon off, with the exception of essential duty personnel manning the desks and such, and those were rotating in short half-shifts to maximize their time off. He'd also called up the Police Auxiliary for a "training day" to patrol the streets. After the internecine battles between myself and Malone and Ikea, R&R seemed like a good morale booster, so thought the chief.
We were all out on the patio, some in the swimming pool, everyone wearing bikinis or swim gear. Cindy Ross looked HOT in a tiny peach bikini and clear plastic "hooker heel" slides, which she said she'd worn in her Miss Physical America competitions. Melina was wearing a true royal blue two-piece bikini and high heel Candies slides with a blue strap to match. Laura Fredricson was wearing a white one-piece bikini that did not leave much to the imagination and her 5-inch high heel white slides. Tanya Perlman was wearing a red flower-print two-piece bikini and heavy block-heel sandals. Britt Maxwell wore a black one-piece and high heel black pumps. Sally Wellman was wearing a white one-piece with some light green leaf pattern, and she was looking just as fine as any of the other lovely women there.
And then there was Teresa Croyle. O. M. G. She was wearing a beige one-piece and leather-strap Candies slides. Her body was absolutely magnificent, perfect hourglass figure with large natural breasts and a mouthwatering ass. It was all I could do not to get iron hard every time I saw her walk by.
Hugh Hewitt was wearing a near-thong, showing off his muscular body. I was not quite as revealing in my red swim trunks, and I wore my Tilley hat to keep the sun off my red head, but no shirt... and I caught people looking at the scarring on my left side where I had been shot weeks before. The Chief wore old-school swim trunks and a fishing hat with a bunch of hooks and flies in it, and an old fishing shirt. His wife had not come, as she was out of town visiting a relative. President Wellman had a remarkably fit body for his age, which he showed off with skimpy swim trunks. Fred Dixon didn't get the word: he was wearing short pants.
Paulina Patterson, Myron Milton, Lainie Evans, Captain Malone, Timothy Geiger and Gayle Tunnin had been invited but had not come. Paulina and her husband had another function to attend, and Myron and Lainie were flying to an I.T. conference in Orlando, Florida. I was supposed to go, but gave my slot to Lainie. Gayle Tunnin had volunteered to be on duty.
Officer Pete Feeley came in later in the afternoon, still wearing his duty uniform after we'd given him a shift in MCD for the day as a reward for his assistance in our "unofficial" activities.
The burgers and hot dogs that the Chief and I cooked on the grill were consumed, but it was the Chief's trout and catfish that had people declaring him the Town Champion of the grill. Drinks flowed freely all day, from hard lemonades to beer to, you got it, bourbon and Scotch. I noticed that Britt and Cindy talked a lot, but also noticed that Teresa and Melina talked for a long time together, their faces alternating between intensity and deep sadness. Something told me they were talking about the one thing they had in common: Jack Burke.
As darkness began to settle and the air got cooler, we all went inside, sitting in the basement room that led to the patio. Drinks were still being served and only Officer Feeley and Teresa Cunt did not partake of alcohol. Even the Chief was getting a buzz.
Finally, Cindy Ross could not take any more. "Okay, guys, it's long past time. I want to hear the story of how Don solved this case." Everyone else enthusiastically agreed and as the room grew quiet, I had the floor.
"First, let me tell what happened in chronological order, then how I resolved it." I began. I was sitting on the sofa, Laura on my right side and Lt. Maxwell on my left. Everyone else was on the other sofa, chairs, or standing.
"Joe Arruzio called his wife around 8:00pm and said he would be staying in the City. Marie immediately called Jack Burke and invited him to her condo, and he arrived shortly afterwards. At that same time, Arruzio's identical twin brother Johnny Arugula comes up to Arruzio's office. They both change clothes, Arugula into Joe's business suit and Joe into black clothing.
"Joe leaves right after that, no later than 8:05-8:10. At 8:30 Johnny Arugula makes a call on Joe's cellphone to Marie, which is not answered. Johnny then goes down to the bar at 8:30, spends nearly an hour buying a round for everyone and making sure he's seen and on camera at that time and for that duration. Johnny then gets a call around 9:30, from Joe on a burner phone. Joe has just killed Marie and Jack. So, guys... what happened next?"
Tanya Perlman replied, "They had to meet again, but I don't see how Joe went all the way back to the city and then back to Town."
"Yes, so how did that happen?" I asked. No one answered, and I sensed it was as much from wanting to hear my narrative as not figuring it out.
"Here's how." I continued. "Johnny leaves the bar and drives Joe's car west as Joe drives Johnny's car east. They meet halfway, likely at that Chevron gas station where the north turnoff is, change clothes again, then Joe drives his own car west to Town while Johnny drives his old car back to the City... with a lot of money in his pockets, I might add. Anyone at the Chevron station who saw a man in a suit and a man in dark clothes... didn't realize they'd changed clothes.
"Joe drives back to Town, 'finds' the bodies, calls the cops and starts drinking. Johnny, meanwhile, drives back to the City, goes to a bar and starts celebrating his good fortune. I'll get to that part later. Does everyone understand to this point?"
