The Curious Kidnapping Case of Who What—A Short Story Part Four
“How about the guy you saw leaving?” Dick asked.
“I didn’t get a good look. The sun wasn’t quite up yet.”
“Did you clean up already?” Shirley asked.
“’Fraid so. Sorry. I didn’t know he was a kidnapper.”
“Okay,” Shirley said. “You can go. She turned toward Dick. “I’ll call the forensic guys and have them tear this place apart. Maybe they can find something. Let’s head back to the office and see what Ralph turned up.”
As they climbed up the steps to their precinct, a man ran between them wearing a patrol cap, ski mask, a pair of running shoes and nothing else.
Dick was startled as the naked man ran past. “Who was that streaker?”
Shirley smiled a sly grin. “I don’t know, but he isn’t from our precinct.”
Dick stopped walking and scowled as Shirley’s remark sunk in. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders. “Must be paying off a bet.”
Dick and Shirley walked into the cyber-lab where Ralph worked. “Ralph James, any luck with that remote garage door opener?” Shirley asked.
“The name’s Jones, not James.”
Dick was wide-eyed. “What? You told the Captain your name was James.”
Jones laughed. “Yeah, I know. I was just messing with him. He can’t remember names.”
Shirley laughed too. “That’s mean. I like it.”
“So anyhow,” Ralph continued. “it appears to be a standard garage door opener. This is great, because I can find him with this.”
Dick’s jaw went slack. “What? How?”
“Well, all remote garage door openers operate on a radio frequency. All I need to do is reprogram the opener, so I can hack his computer using his Wi-Fi freq.”
“But don’t you need to know the frequency of the remote?” Shirley asked.
Jones laughed. “No problem. Remotes have a limited number of frequencies; ten or twelve. I’ll just try them all until I find the right one.”
Dick was doubtful. “But if the remote is so common, there must be millions of them,” Dick said.
“About 25 million of this brand and model, to be exact. But we know he was here in Miami, so he must live in a 200-mile radius.
Shirley shook her head. “Even so, you’re going to hack into thousands of home computers. That will take time.”
“Not so. I just screen for key words on all computers. Words like crime, kidnap, Smyth, 711, etc.
“But won’t that take hours?” Dick asked.
Ralph smiled. “No. There, I’m done. There’s your guy.” He handed Dick a print out. “His name is Hugh Watt.”
Shirley raised her eyebrows. “Who?”.
Jones answered, “The perp.”
Dick shook his head. “The perp what?”
“Not what, Watt,” Jones answered.
Dick shook his head again. “Watt what?”.
“Hugh.”
“Who what?” Shirley asked.
“Affirmative.”
“Affirmative?” Dick asked still confused.
Jones answered, “The perp’s name is Watt, Hugh Watt.”
“How should we know?” Dick asked, somewhat annoyed. “We asked you to find out.”
Ralph held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll write it down.” He wrote the name on a piece of paper and gave it to Dick.
Dick and Shirley both read it aloud, “Hugh Watt.”
It was Dick’s turn to raise eyebrows. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
“Anyway,” Ralph continued. “he used MapQuest this morning to get directions. I just reversed the directions. Here you go. Go get him, Tigers. Oh, you may want to call the news. I may have opened all the overhead doors in a 250-mile radius.”
Shirley asked, “Anything else?”
“Yeah. Dick was right about that pollen… well half right. It was pollen, and it does come from an island, but it’s inhabited-- Haiti. I think the perp smuggles drugs from Columbia to Haiti and then in country.”
Shirley frowned. “He’s probably on the run by now. I’ll put out a BOLO to arrest him.”
“Let stake out his address in case he returns,” Dick suggested. “We might get lucky. What about that number on the remote?”
The End of Part Four
“How about the guy you saw leaving?” Dick asked.
“I didn’t get a good look. The sun wasn’t quite up yet.”
“Did you clean up already?” Shirley asked.
“’Fraid so. Sorry. I didn’t know he was a kidnapper.”
“Okay,” Shirley said. “You can go. She turned toward Dick. “I’ll call the forensic guys and have them tear this place apart. Maybe they can find something. Let’s head back to the office and see what Ralph turned up.”
As they climbed up the steps to their precinct, a man ran between them wearing a patrol cap, ski mask, a pair of running shoes and nothing else.
Dick was startled as the naked man ran past. “Who was that streaker?”
Shirley smiled a sly grin. “I don’t know, but he isn’t from our precinct.”
Dick stopped walking and scowled as Shirley’s remark sunk in. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders. “Must be paying off a bet.”
Dick and Shirley walked into the cyber-lab where Ralph worked. “Ralph James, any luck with that remote garage door opener?” Shirley asked.
“The name’s Jones, not James.”
Dick was wide-eyed. “What? You told the Captain your name was James.”
Jones laughed. “Yeah, I know. I was just messing with him. He can’t remember names.”
Shirley laughed too. “That’s mean. I like it.”
“So anyhow,” Ralph continued. “it appears to be a standard garage door opener. This is great, because I can find him with this.”
Dick’s jaw went slack. “What? How?”
“Well, all remote garage door openers operate on a radio frequency. All I need to do is reprogram the opener, so I can hack his computer using his Wi-Fi freq.”
“But don’t you need to know the frequency of the remote?” Shirley asked.
Jones laughed. “No problem. Remotes have a limited number of frequencies; ten or twelve. I’ll just try them all until I find the right one.”
Dick was doubtful. “But if the remote is so common, there must be millions of them,” Dick said.
“About 25 million of this brand and model, to be exact. But we know he was here in Miami, so he must live in a 200-mile radius.
Shirley shook her head. “Even so, you’re going to hack into thousands of home computers. That will take time.”
“Not so. I just screen for key words on all computers. Words like crime, kidnap, Smyth, 711, etc.
“But won’t that take hours?” Dick asked.
Ralph smiled. “No. There, I’m done. There’s your guy.” He handed Dick a print out. “His name is Hugh Watt.”
Shirley raised her eyebrows. “Who?”.
Jones answered, “The perp.”
Dick shook his head. “The perp what?”
“Not what, Watt,” Jones answered.
Dick shook his head again. “Watt what?”.
“Hugh.”
“Who what?” Shirley asked.
“Affirmative.”
“Affirmative?” Dick asked still confused.
Jones answered, “The perp’s name is Watt, Hugh Watt.”
“How should we know?” Dick asked, somewhat annoyed. “We asked you to find out.”
Ralph held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll write it down.” He wrote the name on a piece of paper and gave it to Dick.
Dick and Shirley both read it aloud, “Hugh Watt.”
It was Dick’s turn to raise eyebrows. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
“Anyway,” Ralph continued. “he used MapQuest this morning to get directions. I just reversed the directions. Here you go. Go get him, Tigers. Oh, you may want to call the news. I may have opened all the overhead doors in a 250-mile radius.”
Shirley asked, “Anything else?”
“Yeah. Dick was right about that pollen… well half right. It was pollen, and it does come from an island, but it’s inhabited-- Haiti. I think the perp smuggles drugs from Columbia to Haiti and then in country.”
Shirley frowned. “He’s probably on the run by now. I’ll put out a BOLO to arrest him.”
“Let stake out his address in case he returns,” Dick suggested. “We might get lucky. What about that number on the remote?”
The End of Part Four
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