A Fitzpatrick/Rosario Police Thriller
Wind Chime Bandit — Part 3
Conclusion: Busted!
Police Captain Jake Trapper took a bite of fresh donut. Detectives Fitzpatrick and Rosario were sitting in front of his desk. While chewing, Jake asked, “So who’s the prime suspect and what’s the plan?”
Dan Fitzpatrick spoke up, “Well, I consider Helena Housemaiden to be the prime suspect. We re-watched the video of the town meeting and no one was more vociferously anti wind chime than her. She seems hellbent on ridding the whole world of all wind chimes.”
Maria Rosario rolled her eyes then quickly chimed in, “I don’t consider Helena to be a suspect at all. If she’s the perpetrator why would she draw so much attention to herself with her conspiracy theory tirade? I still think the perpetrator is someone who really, really, really hates windchimes but I’m just not sure yet who that might be. Watching the video showed that there are a lot of people in the neighborhood who are not fond of wind chimes. So I’m not sure but I do have some feelings…”
Dan rolled his eyes.
The captain took another bite of donut, “You mean like ‘woman’s intuition?’”
“Sir, intuition has no gender. It’s just that men have always been taught to ignore their intuition while women have been encouraged to listen to theirs.”
“So what’s the plan?” A piece of donut came flying out of the captain’s mouth.
Dan spoke up, “Well, we borrowed two wind chimes from Mrs. Waltersdorf and we hung them in trees; one near Helena Housemaiden’s house and one near where the crime wave began. Near each wind chime we mounted infra-red cameras. We’re pretty sure all the thefts are occurring at night under the cover of darkness. The cameras will be transmitting back here to the police department.”
“Meanwhile, Detective Rosario and I will be on plain clothes foot patrol near the two wind chimes. When the cameras transmit something we’ll be notified and we’ll both head toward that camera. Wham bam we’ll make the arrest. I’ll be around the area near Helena Housemaiden’s house and Maria will be in the area of the crime epidemic epicenter. And, of course, we’ll immediately call for back-up. We’ll be out there all night.”
Captain Jake Trapper swallowed some donut, “Well, well, well. This sounds like an excellent plan. Good work. Let’s hope that we can make a quick arrest and put an end to this damn crime wave.”
Dan and Maria were dressed all in black as they walked into the neighborhood late that evening.
“I have to say, Dan, that was a good idea about the cameras.”
“Yeah it was. I have an intuitive feeling that before the night is over I’ll be arresting Helena Housemaiden. We’ll see how far she gets with her wind chime conspiracy theory activism in the Big House.”
“Intuitive feeling?”
“That’s right. Like you said, men have intuition, too. And my intuition is gonna lead to me being the arresting officer who puts an end to Steubenville’s greatest crime wave. I’ll be sure to mention you in my acceptance speech.”
Maria laughed, “Right. Well, we’re here in the area of camera 2 so I’m going to scout for some good hiding places. Go on to your camera 1 area and get ready to arrest Mrs. Housemaiden. I’ll be listening for the sound of a popping champagne cork.”
Dan rolled his eyes and kept walking.
Maria looked at her watch. It was 3:22 a.m. She was very sleepy and hoped that she would not have to pull these all-nighters for long. Listening to the wind chimes near camera 2 only made her sleepier.
Suddenly, the sound of the wind chimes stopped. A few seconds later the red light on her walkie talkie went off indicating that camera 2 was showing some activity.
Maria got out from the bushes she was hiding behind and ran towards the location of the wind chimes and camera. As she got there a dark human figure wearing all black with a black ski mask over their head was leaving the crime scene.
Maria drew her weapon and yelled, “Stop! This is the police.”
The thief did not stop, however, and began running away.
Holstering her weapon, Maria ran after the perpetrator. Across the front lawns of three homes she ran before catching up and tackling the thief to the grass. After handcuffing the thief she stood up and pulled the thief to their feet. She then pulled off the ski mask…
It was Gabrielle Gundenstern. The librarian!
“You? You’re the Wind Chime Bandit?”
Gabrielle began crying, “Yes, it’s me. I’m the Wind Chime Bandit. I am so very sorry. I just couldn’t help myself. I just really, really, really hate wind chimes.”
“Seriously?”
“You see, I’m not just a librarian. I’m also a writer. I do most all of my writing early in the mornings before I go to work. It’s spring so I open all my windows so I can hear all the birdsong. I do my best writing listening to birdsong. But then my neighbor put up one of those wind chimes. All the birds went away and all I could hear were those damn wind chimes. I couldn’t get any writing done. It was driving me cuckoo so early one morning I went over there and tore them down and threw them away.”
“And then after doing that I got empowered somehow and a few days later stole the wind chimes from the house across the street. Before I knew it I was silencing all the wind chimes in the neighborhood. I don’t know what came over me. I just had to make all that noise stop. I just really, really, really hate wind chimes.”
Three police cruisers suddenly appeared in the street, their lights flashing. As Maria began reciting the Miranda Rights to Gabrielle she could see Dan running down the sidewalk towards them, his weapon drawn.
Maria then hauled Gabrielle to a police car and put her in the back seat.
Holstering his weapon, Dan arrived with a look of surprise on his face, “Oh my God! It was the librarian? Who would have thunk it?”
“Yeah, it was the librarian. She said that she really, really, really hated wind chimes.”
Dan snorted, “It wasn’t enough that she made everyone in the library whisper so that it would be quiet. She had to make the whole neighborhood quiet. Good luck to her in the Big House making all her cell mates quiet.”
Maria rolled her eyes.
The end.
Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction.
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