Buried Treasure by Vincent Madison

Chapter 5

Trust No One.

  "What do you mean? How can it just disappear?" Tom was livid, as he and Kate stood at the evidence room and the clerk behind the counter tried to explain. They had come down to the basement where all the evidence was kept to take another look at the newspaper and also to get the film.

  "I don't know how." he pleaded. The room is locked. Nobody can get in or out without authorization.

  "Without that newspaper, there is no way we will ever know if it was real or not. Damn!" Tom pounded his fist on the counter.

  "What about the film?" Kate asked.

  "It's all gone." the clerk dejectedly spoke, barely raising his head. "The box, the contents, everything."

  "Maybe the Gunmen managed to get it." Tom said hopefully.

  "I don't think so." the clerk said pointing up at a surveillance camera in the hall. "Video. Nobody on it except Lieutenant Becker." Kate shot a look at Tom. Tom immediately understood what she was thinking.

  "OK thanks." Kate told the clerk.  She turned to Tom. "Let's go." They left the evidence counter and headed upstairs.

  "Why would Becker send us on this case, then steal the evidence?" Tom asked. Kate stopped and grabbed Tom by the arm.

  "Look Tom, I told you there is something fishy about the cases Becker sends us on. He is looking for something. He is using us to get it. Maybe we just found what he was looking for."

  "You think so?" Tom was slowly catching up.

  "Yes. I  do."

  "So what now?" Tom asked. "Without the film, we don't have a deal with the Gunmen."

  "I'll just have to appeal to their inquisitive nature then." Kate smiled. "Let's go back and see your nutty friends."

  "What about Becker?" Tom inquired. "What are you planning to do about him and the missing evidence?"

  "Nothing right now." Kate explained. "The evidence is not criminal evidence, so if Becker took it, he's not interfering with a criminal investigation, so for now, let's lay low and see what we can find out."

  "Makes sense." Tom agreed.

It was starting to rain as Tom and Kate pulled up at the Barber Shop.

  "Can we trust these guys?" Kate asked.

  "Well they say 'Trust No One', but I think these three could be our best bet. They have been exposing conspiracies for years."

They pressed the door buzzer. An unfamiliar voice answered. It was professional and to the point.

  "Can I help you?" Robert Francis Bond was the de facto leader of the LOST Gunmen. He presented a stark contrast to the hippy-like appearance of Steve Dorland. Robert wore a neat suit and tie, and had a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, and short well kept hair. He opened the door after Tom explained who they were, and although he still was careful in looking around when he let Kate and Tom in, he was not as obvious as Steve. Bond led the two detectives downstairs to the now familiar room where they had met Steve. In the room, Steve was working on an oscilloscope and standing beside him was a short round fellow with balding hair and glasses.

  "You have already met Steve." Robert gestured toward the two men. "This is Malcolm Frommer - the last of the LOST Gunmen."

  "Hey, what do you mean LAST?" Frommer exhaled indignantly.

  "Chill Man.." Steve said, still tinkering with the equipment.

  "The last one these two detectives have met is all I meant." Bond explained.

  "Oh. OK." Frommer looked a little flushed.  Kate noticed that he was staring at her. Malcolm fancied himself as a ladies man, and had a reputation for chasing them. She broke the silence.

  "So, you guys are the LOST Gunmen. You like pretending to be TV characters?"

  Bond spoke. "It's actually the other way around young lady."