Log:Stakeout Prep

2020/12/07 	 Carpenter Grimm August

1

Carpenter drives the trio over to the pawn shop in question. "I suggest we investigate the area looking for any immediate clues first. Anyone else have a suggestion?"

"I'm good with that," Gabrielle defers to Carpenter. She called shotgun and is...still sitting in the back on the passenger side because she was thwarted.

"Seems like a reasonable next step to me. But I'm here to learn- not drive." August says, playing up the not-so-mild mannered Intern angle. He suddenly remembers that he doesn't even have a driver's license in this identity. Not that he'd need one. But shotgun it is- because he's on the clock. Muhahaha.

This neighborhood is obviously zoned for mixed use. The strip mall that Cheadle Pawn shop was probably built sometime back in 1970's originally. It even has basements under the shops it looks like. The three other shops are a bodega, a laundromat, and a hair stylist's shop.

Next to the strip mall end where the pawn shop is a fairly large church surrounded by a fairly high wall on the three sides not facing Brady Street. Lots of off street parking behind it.

Across the street from the strip mall is a three story tall apartment complex.

Grimm leans forward to stick her head between the two front seats. "So just out of curiosity, what's the legal...hmm...stance of staking out a place and having a view of the interior? Do you need a warrant for magical bugs and such?"

Carpenter pulls the car up and parks in the strip mall parking lot. "Not sure, honestly. It's a bit of a grey area. But do me a favor, and look around anyway. A quick glance just to see who's inside, and if you can tell where the security system is on the pawn shop."

Grimm nods and gives Carpenter a smile. "Sure thing." She leans back into her seat and starts to use her special senses to sweep over the shop interior and exterior.

Carpenter says, "I think...what you see isn't likely admissible as evidence. But we can still work with it."

Grimm nods as her senses stretch. "Got it. I suppose if it's not recorded or witnessed by others other than myself, it doesn't count."

August likes grey areas. It gives him wiggle room, but he doens't say anything aloud on the subject.

Grimm closes her eyes to make sense of things and starts to talk. "A bit poorly organize, but plenty of cameras. Seems like there's some buttons in the owner's cage. The security system feels old school." She smirks a bit. "There's a shotgun under the counter. A door in the owner's cage goes down to the basement. Three people inside. I'd say...two employees, one customer. And--oh damn. The ...I guess he's a clerk? He's got an underarm holster."

Grimm opens her eyes and looks to Carpenter through the rear view mirror. "The customer seems like he's my age or so. The person helping him is an older guy. 40ish, kind of a bruiser. But the guy in the cage...he's about your age. He's reading his PDA."

Carpenter nods. "Any magic at all that you can sense?"

August hears all this and seems to take it in stride. He doesn't even bat an eye at the news, but he pays extra close attention to Grimm's notes on magic in use.

Grimm shakes her head. "Nothing at all so far."

Carpenter nods. "Any external security access like there was at the jewelry shop? I think it was in the alley out back?"

"Well, some of the controls are in the security cage inside. But...I can't tell where the external access is yet," Gabrielle admits.

"Maybe there isn't a specific access point? Maybe there's a master control interface- like an app or something?" August suggests.

Carpenter nods to August, "It's possible. Let's...take a walk around back, to see what's there."

Grimm sighs a bit. "Sorry, guys, I guess I'm just not sure what I'm looking for. I'm not exactly a tech whiz."

"If only we had one on speed dial." August says as he gets out and opens the back door for Grimm.

As you all get out of the car, a CBPD patrol car rolls into the strip mall parking lot and pulls up in front of the bodega. Two cops get out. The older one heads into the bodega while the younger one heads next door to Cheadle's. Neither seems to hve noticed you all.

The controls are hooked into a phone cable like your parent's used to have for the house phone before everyone went wireless a few years back.

Grimm smirks and steps out of the car. "Thanks. Let me know if you know of one," she taunts. "Maybe I could show you guys anything odd...?"

Carpenter furrows his brow as he sees the police car pull up. "Grimm...keep an eye out on what happens while he's inside."

August slows his roll as the cruiser pulls up and non-chalantly looks like he's activating is smart glasses and looking around to disuade interest in him.

Grimm nods and looks towards the cop he's referring to. "You got it. And I think the controls...might be attached to...what is that? An old school phone cable?"

The younger cop stops outside the pawn shop and rubs his hands on his pants legs for a moment before he heads inside, a resolute look on his face.

The back alley behind the strip mall is everything one would expect save for there being no really strong bad odors nor any signs of the homeless. The first likely because there's no restaurant in the strip mall, the second, well, who knows why?

Grimm keeps an eye on the cop as he enters. She decides to get a more personal look so she can hear.

Inside the pawn shop, the younger cop walks straight up to the security cage, "Cheadle, I've got your payment. And I want to see it. To know it's safe."

After a moment, the guy deigns to look up at the cop and gives him a friendly smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes. "Of course, Officer Morrison. Let me go get it out of the safe." He slowly stands. "Have you thought about my offer?" Cheadle asks as he heads towards a large standup safe in the back of the security cage.

Grimm follows along slowly with Carpenter. She keeps her voice quiet as she says to Jack, "The cop's name is Officer Morrison. He just told Cheadle he has his payment and wants to see something to make sure it's safe. Cheadle also just mentioned something about an offer to Morrison."

Well, it appears that age and experience is on Detective Carpetner's side as his eyes track up to an old style phone box high on the corner of the building in back of the pawn shop.

Upon being silently pointed out to August, the CSI intern can determine it's very old school, probably put in back in '10's.

Carpenter points at the phone box. "That's it." He then looks to Grimm, "So, the cop is trying to buy something back from the broker?"

"Wow. That is some old peice of kit. Its a wonder it still working after all this time... a bigger wonder is why anyone would think this would still do the job 60 years later. I guess because anyone who woul dknow how ot hack it is too old to care?" August shrugs. "Well almost anyone." He grins and begins searching his pack for a tool to get inside the box since ripping it open would like be very suspicious.

"I guess. I don't know what Cheadle asked him if he thought about his offer, though," Grimm says.

Cheadle opens the safe. Inside are a number of smaller drawers as well as a case for a blaster rifle to one side. Cheadle opens a drawer and takes out an old looking ring bxo and walks back to the counter where the cop waits.

"I'm not interested, Cheadle. I jsut want to get my ring back," states Officer Morrison.

"I'm willing to give it back, officer, Heck, I'll even stake you in the next game. Officer Morelli said you'd think about it after all..." Cheadle says as he snaps open the case to reveal an ornate ring inside. https://www.rubylane.com/item/953559-NALNWC2H/Retro-Menx27s-Ruby-Red-Glass-Masonic?search=1

Grimm frowns. "Sounds like he's buying back a ring. Cheadle just said he'd stake Morrison in the next game, whatever that is, and that it was Officer Morelli that told him Morison would think about it."

The young officer snaps, "Well, Morelli was wrong. I never shoild have..." He waves a hand as if cutting himself off and puts an envelop on the coutner. "This week's payment. How many more?"

Grimm blinks and halts, her eyes unfocused in the here and now as she's focused with what's going on inside. "That rings...it's some sort of sanctified ritual item aligned to Christian theurgy. It sees like it's been long used and cared for." She squints and gets a closer look at the insignia. "Where have I seen that before...?"

August isn't the tallest guy in any room- unless that room is for a 'Short Actors Guild' roll-call or perhaps a 'Little Peoples Convention'- in those rare instances he is a giant among... well short statured people. Otherwise, he's a just below average 5'6.

So he has to get a trashcan and put it into place beneath the telephone box.

Once that's there, he climbs up andattempts to open the box.

Cheadle picks up the envelop and glances inside. "At this rate, you should have it back by Christmas...of next year, Officer Morrison. You lost a great deal of money you know. Honestly, I /should/ let Internal Affairs...or your father...know about your little problem." He looks up at the officer. "But, not today, since you paid. Have a good day, officer."

Officer Morrision looks like he's eaten a lemon and turns and heads out of the shop.

The phone case pops open easily. Almost like it's been jimmied before. Inside is the normal old mass of wires attached to a more modern wireless transmitter.

(And based on the past case, PER roll if you poke around in it, August.)

August sucks his teeth looking inside the box. "What a mess. No wonder everything was so slow back then." He mutters to himself.

August notes a small black 'bubble' on one of the wires leading directly to the transmitterfrom the wrie up from the shop. Looks like a bit of flaking from another wire...save for that it's nice and shiny.

Carpenter waits patiently while the two experts do their thing.

"Oh look a leech." August says with joy. "Looks like someone else is spying in here too- what do you think the odds ar eof that?" He asks turning around to glance at Grimm & Carpenter.

He turns his attention back to the device to see whatelse he might make of it without interrupting the data feed until he can come up with a suitable plan of action- or gets the go ahead from Carpenter. Its his case afterall.

Grimm blinks as she gets a better look at the ring. "Holy shit. Why does -he- have something like that? Oh, um, Morrison is leaving. Do you want me to keep watching Cheadle?"

Grimm adds, "I seems Cheadle knows Morrison's father. And threatened to tell Internal Affairs or his dad about his problem, but won't, since he paid up."

Carpenter nods. "I guess keep watching Cheadle."

Grimm nods and keeps an eye on Cheadle. She adds quietly, "That ring is a Scottish Rite 32 degree Mason ring. Looks pretty old."

Cheadle shakes his head but breaks into a grin as Morrsion leaves the pawn shop. "And you go back into the safe, my little crowbar. I'm certain you'll help me break him in the end." As he slips it back into the drawer he taook it from. "I think, hmm, yes, an offer from a collector? One I just 'can't' pass up, hmm...."

Grimm frowns. "Cheadle plans on using that bring to break Morrison in the end. Going to tell him he got an offer from a collector that he can't pass up."

Carpenter says, "Break him? In what way? Getting him to do something shady?""

Cheadle closes the safe and goes back to his seat and his PDA. He goes back to reading something written in, is that Latin?, on it.

"I don't know. It seems that way. Maybe it's blackmail because of a gambling problem? It sounds like Morelli might know something," Gabrielle says, then looks to Jack. "Do you know those officers?"

Grimm frowns. "Damn...what is that he's reading? Latin?" She groans. Now she really WILL have to take Connor up on those language lessons. Though with her thing for languages and accents, that has her concerned.

Carpenter nods. "I do. Morelli is a friend of Silvestri. There's no evidence he was on the take with Silvestri, though. And Silvestri had lots of friends. Morrison is a third generation cop. His grandfather retired a Captain, and his Dad is a Captain now down at headquarters attached to the Major Crimes divsion."

"Ok Detective- we've got somehting here. This leech is - well I'm betting it is, a care package waiting for a trigger signal." August says to Carpenter. "I can't be sure without better gear, but I'm pretty damned sure about it. Looks good though- a cursor glance by someone else might have jsut thought this as a heat bubble from tangle, but its brand new- the rest of this stuff in here is older than your granny. So what do we do now?"

Grimm looks to Carpenter at the mention of Silvestri having a lot of friends. She tries to hide her concern over that news. She looks to August as he says he's got something.

Carpenter nods to August. "Okay, so we know they're planning on hitting this location. Now...do we leave it in place and wait? Or endanger the stakeout by removing the work they did?"

"That's a good question. I'd say if we were leaving, we should pull it. But since we're staying..." August reasons.