Nothing Better To Do - a novel in stories - Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

House looked at his watch. It was 7:00 a.m. Orel Paige had worked a four to twelve the night before. The super cruiser was parked in his driveway. House had borrowed a Nikkon with a zoom lens from the newsroom and stationed himself across the street from Paige's old Victorian house. It was trash day. He had found a refrigerator box on his walk from his house to the Paige residence and brought it along with him. He cut a hole in the side, big enough to poke the lens through, and, now, he was stationed inside, keeping a watch in the house across the street.

The door opened and Sarah Johns came out, carrying her school books. She turned left at the end of the front walk and started down the sidewalk to the school bus stop three blocks away. House could see Paige in one of the large upstairs windows. He appeared to be watching the girl as she walked down the street. House barely fit inside the box. He had to be careful not to move it by squirming.

He had been there since before six. He'd needed the cover of darkness to set up his look-out post. After the girl left for school, traffic picked up on the street between his position and Paige's house. He worried that someone might notice the box and decide that they needed it for something, or maybe some kids would come along on their way to school and decide to play with it. Instead, a dog wandered down the street, sniffed at the box, then lifted his leg on it. Fortunately for House, it was a sturdy box and it didn't leak through, but it did begin to smell.

He dared another look at his watch. It was almost nine. His back ached and he was cold. He wished he could stomp his feet or rub his hands to get the blood circulating, but he couldn't risk it. He wondered how long it would be before the police arrived. Gar would wait until the morning edition was loaded on the trucks, before calling the Chief of Police. That would have been around seven. The Chief, no doubt, would have to review the evidence and make some arrangements before sending officers over to make the arrest. He might even go to court to get a search warrant. Court would open in a few minutes. The District Attorney would have to draw up some papers to convince the Judge to issue a warrant. He started to think he'd over done it, getting there so early. He figured it would be at least another hour. Now, his head started to ache.

A car came down the street and slowed in front of the Paige house. The driver threw something out the passenger-side window onto Paige's lawn and drove off. House used the camera lens to zoom in on it. It was the current edition of The Serena Daily Banner! This was something he and Gar hadn't considered. Even with the camera, House couldn't read the headline, but he knew what it said, "INTERNET STING COP STUNG." Afterall, he had written the lead article, detailing the exploits of Orel Paige right down to the time his game warden brother caught him jacking a deer. He prayed that Paige wouldn't retrieve the paper before the cops came.

A large black dog sauntered down the street. I hope that's not Godzilla, he thought. Much to his relief, as the dog got closer, he could tell it wasn't. The dog sniffed at the box. It must have smelled him inside, because it growled, then barked twice. It sniffed around again, until it got the the spot where the other dog had pissed on the box. It, too, lifted it's leg and let go. Satisfied, it wandered off.

House peeked out the hole to see if Paige had been alerted by the barking. Sure enough, he was at the same upstairs window, looking out. Then he disappeared and, a minute later, the front door opened and he came out in his bath robe and picked up the newspaper. He took it back into the house, without looking at it.

House hoped that he wouldn't read the paper right away, but ten minutes later, the door opened again and Paige emerged fully dressed, carrying an overnight bag. All House could do was take his picture. He got a shot of him leaving the house and another of him getting into the super cruiser. He heard the engine crank and roar to life and he took another shot as Paige started to back down the driveway.

Before he could back all the way out, there was a loud WHOOP as a police car hit its siren briefly and turned onto Paige's street, blocking it. Another patrol car pulled onto the street from the other end and blocked it. House clicked away as the officers got out, weapons drawn, and ordered Paige out of his car. They made him get down on the ground - click! They had him put his hands behind his head - click! Then they cuffed him behind the back - click! They walked him back to his front door - click!

House began to tear at the hole in the box. It was time for him to reveal himself. The tearing sound attracted the attention of the Police Officers who had arrested Orel Paige. As they turned to see what was going on, one of the officers pointed his gun in House's direction. Once he was out of the box, they ordered hin to put his hands behind his head. His camera dangled from the strap around his neck. "I have press credentials," he announced.

The officer who had aimed his gun in House's direction crossed the street to where he was.

"Keep your hands on your head. Where are they?"

"In my back pocket."

The officer patted the pocket then reached in for House's Serena Daily Banner employee I.D. card. "Phew..! What's that smell?"

House explained and asked if he could let his hands down. After the officer looked at his I.D., he told him he could. "Did you get some good shots of us?" He was smiling.

"I got the whole thing."

"Are you the guy who wrote the article in today's paper?"

"The same."

"Congratulations. I never liked that son-of-a-bitch. He climbed over my back on his way up. I'm glad someone finally brought him down."

"You guys got a search warrant?"

"The Chief will be over from Court with it in a few minutes."

"You think he'll let me come inside with you - take a few photos of any evidence you might find?"

"Offer to publish his picture, leading Paige out in cuffs, and he'll let you do anything you want."

***

Later in the day, the Chief went to back court with the District Attorney to publicly consent to the release of the Adderhodlts, without bond. The trial was adjourned for two weeks, a mere formality to allow the District Attorney enough time to further investigate the matter and draw up dismissal papers. The District Attorney also announced that a number of other matters, where Officer Paige was involved, were under review.

When the case of The State of Ohio vs. Harry Kresge came on the calendar, one week later, for a refusal hearing, the courtroom was jam-packed with members of the media and curious towns people. House was seated next to Harry in the first row which was reserved for police officers, attorneys and the press. Seated right behind him were Phil Rowley and Hank Pitts. House scanned the rest of the courtroom, spotting, among others, Morley Stevens, Cal Gardner, Freddie Edwards, Miss Hyacinth and George Sturges. He had noticed Miss Hyacinth's bicycle chained to the courthouse bike rack on his way in.

When the case was called, Harry stepped into the well of the courtroom and announced his appearance, "Harry Kresge, the defendant, pro se."

"Are you ready for a hearing, Mr. Kresge?" the judge asked.

"Ready, Your Honor." Harry looked at his watch. It was nine o'clock, the earliest he'd been in court in his life.

"Mr. District Attorney...?" The judge already knew the answer.

"The State of Ohio is not ready to proceed at this time, Your Honor. We are asking for an adjournment of two weeks.

"May I ask why you are not ready?"

"Your honor, our only witness, Police Officer Orel Paige, is incarcerated at this time and unavailable to testify."

"And why didn't you make arrangements to have the County Jail produce him in court today?"

"Well Your Honor, we expect that he will be invoking the Fifth Amendment. We need time to discuss that matter with his attorney. If he were to appear in court today, he would have the right to have his attorney present. From what we understand, his attorney would not be available today, in any event."

"Approach the bench with Mr. Kresge!" The judge, who had a reputation for sternness, leered down at Harry.

"Your Honor?"

"Here's your license back."

"We would object to that, Your Honor," the D.A. protested.

The judge turned his sights from Harry to the D.A. He ground his teeth as he spoke. "I'm not going to waste one more minute on a case which you have no way of proving. Even if you did manage to get that scum-bucket Paige to testify, I would rule that his testimony was incredible as a matter of law."

The judge handed the license to Harry, then grimaced. "Where the hell'd you get that suit? Is that how they dress for court in New York?"

"A few of the fellas and I are headed down to the track right after this, Your Honor." He turned and looked to where Phil, Hank and House were seated.

The judge nodded at them. "Enjoy your afternoon, gentlemen. And I hope I never see any of you in my courtroom again. Case dismissed!"