My long-range forecast -- chapter 43
Hi there everyone. Special greetings today go out to Brian, Darrell, Geoff, Jerry, Kent, Rick, Rod and Wayne. I continue to rewrite and write more chapters of this story and I'm seeking any suggestions, constructive criticms or positive feedback you have about the story. Please send information to cjwilson328@aol.com. For those if you who have already reached out to me - my thanks! I'm working your ideas into future storylines.
Another week begins for CJ, but his Monday afternoon takes a terrible turn for him at the condo complex.
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I slept well and was ready to begin another week once I shut the alarm off. I completed my morning routine and was ready to go by 2:00 am. My man was in his morning outfit ready to follow me to work and had a cup of coffee waiting for me at the breakfast bar.
I said "do you have a busy day planned Wally?" He said "it's actually not to bad CJ. Our three big projects underway are being held under control by the construction managers, and I am meeting with a possible new client today. How about you sweetheart?" I said "I hope it's quiet today, but who knows. I forgot to tell you that Bailey agreed to let Ross, Jennifer and I try a casual look this Friday for the newscasts. I'm excited about that as I can pick out a polo to wear easier than a shirt and tie on a Friday! I need to inform the whole crew about that this morning. Angela and Nick have tried so many times to get the idea through Bailey. They may be upset with me since I got it approved so quickly by him." Wally cracked up and said "use your good standing with him CJ while you can. If you have anything else you really want changed, talk to him. He seems very interested and acceptable of your thoughts and ideas."
Wally poured my travel cup with coffee and walked me out to the parking lot. He gave me a kiss and hug and said "I love you CJ. It's going to be a good week for both of us baby, I feel it." I smiled at Wally and said "thanks sweetheart, I like the thought of that. I love you very much." He replied and said "I'll probably surprise you by being home early today, so don't be shocked when you see me."
Once again, the city streets were very quiet and it felt good to have Wally following me. I waved my badge in front of the parking lot sensor and the gate opened for me. I parked the jeep, grabbed my jacket and headed for the newsroom door. I waved at Wally, and he honked his horn at me.
Angela was in the newsroom and said "hey there CJ. How are you this morning, and how was your weekend?" I replied "I'm doing very good Angela. I feel energized and this is going to be a good week for all of us. My weekend was very nice, how was yours?" Angela said "my weekend was very good as well. I did not do anything special, but it was nice to have the time off to do nothing special!"
I sat down at a desk and began my weather segment. I checked all the tropic reports first and saw no storms immediately impacting the Florida peninsula. I had the weather segment created before 3:00 and said "I'm ready for stories whenever you have them for me." She said "okay, here are five to start with and I'm going to end up sending you another five before 3:15. We've got a lot of stories for this morning to cover."
I chatted with Ross while writing stories. He said to me "it looks like it will be a full lineup on stories this morning." I said "yes, it sure does. I am at ten so far, how about you?" He smiled and said "I have 16 in total. I may need some help if you get wrapped up early." I smiled and said "no problem. Let me get these done, and I'll check back in with you. Oh, by the way I pitched the idea of casual Fridays for you and I by Bailey and he said to try it this Friday and see how it works. All he requested is that whatever shirt we wear, it contains the channel 2 logo." Ross said "great! I like the idea of a less formal Friday."
While I was thinking about it, I told Jennifer, Angela and Nick about what Bailey agreed to with me. Nick immediately smiled and said "hey CJ, I have four ideas pending with him for a decision. Can I slide them your way and you can see how far you get with Bailey on them?" I smiled and said "sure, send anything you want my way, and I'll give it a shot with him. All he can say is no to me."
About 20 minutes later, Nick came up to me and said "are we good with each other today?" I smiled and said "I'm good with everything. How about you?" He cracked up and said "thanks my friend, I'm good with everything also. Zach and I want to buy dinner supplies sometime for everyone, as well as supply a keg to the party patio." I smiled and said "everyone will sincerely appreciate that. Let's keep that on our radar, and you and I can work out the schedule. We'll probably need a keg for this weekend. Does that sound okay?" He smiled, patted me on my upper back and said "sounds great! Thanks CJ."
I finished off two stories for Ross and left Angela know to switch them to me. We finished everything up at 4:45 and had a few minutes to relax before the 5:00 start. Ross said "did you have a good weekend CJ?" I replied "yes Ross, I did. There was nothing spectacular about it to report, but it's just always nice to have a couple of days to recoup from our early morning schedule. How was your weekend?" He replied "like you, nothing special. The construction crew began work on our boy's bathroom last week. We're down to one bathroom for about a month. I forgot how sloppy my two teenagers can leave a bathroom! I'll be glad to get everything done and have separate bathrooms again. Sheila is getting the boys ready for school this week, which is always a fun time of the year."
Ross and I took our place on the set, and the floor director gave us a two-minute warning. The five second countdown was given and Ross kicked things off with his chipper attitude and gave the introduction for the St Petersburg in sixty headlines. The camera came back to me and I said "Good morning to everyone in the bay area. The weather looks quiet with hot and humid conditions still present for the week. I'll have the entire forecast for you coming up this morning. Jennifer ...".
Our Monday morning shows were off and running! The morning flew by, and soon we we're wrapping up the 6:30 show. Ross closed the show with "Thanks everyone for joining us this morning for your best bay area news coverage and tune in again at noon today for more news and weather with CJ and myself. Have a good morning." The floor director said cut and the camera went off Ross and myself.
Bailey, Angela and Nick came out applauding to all three of us. Bailey spoke up and said "you three are just becoming a flawless team together. I'm loving the mix up of stories in between the morning shows as well. I know it adds a lot of work to get the stories prepped, but trust me it's making the formats much livelier than our traditional 16 story newscast repeated four times in the morning hours. I want to start working Jennifer into the mix more. I'm not sure what that means yet, but I've asked Nick and Angela to start thinking about it. I gave them two ideas to start off with for Monday and Friday shows with area gas prices and road construction projects beginning and ending. I also want to see some human-interest stories that Jennifer will do for the morning newscasts. How does this sound to everyone?" Ross began and said "it makes a lot of sense Bailey, and I believe it will be a nice breakup of the traditional news format." Jennifer said "I'm definitely in favor of it Bailey, and ready to start this Friday with your two ideas." I smiled and said "it's great to have you back in the station Bailey. I'm definitely psyched for the idea and believe we can pull this off very well for the enjoyment of our audience."
Bailey smiled and said "it's great to be back everyone. Thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone. Breakfast is on me this morning for anyone who can join in."
All six of us went to Cecilia's for breakfast. We discussed some potential story ideas to begin working Jennifer into the mix. I said "we may want to check with Trevor on the humane society package he worked on. He mentioned to me that they were looking for a media outlet to do a pet of the week story." Nick chimed in and said "animals are always a popular story for our viewers." I said "one station in Cincinnati does a segment weekly with cats or dogs on the set. They do it during the noon show." Angela said "I like that idea CJ. We pick one day a week for Jennifer to showcase pets that are up for adoption at the Humane Society. Currently, we just have Jennifer do a noon overview of the traffic. Maybe we can have a different theme for each day at noon." Bailey said "let's keep with the animal idea. Another weekly story can be sending Jennifer to ZooTampa to cover all of the conservation efforts they do there. I know we often do a story after the fact, but let's put a different spin on it and view stories in progress and why it's so important to the species as well as the bay area or state of Florida." Ross chimed in and said "we should also check with Betty as she may have ideas come across her desk everyday that we're not aware of."
Cecilia brought our breakfast orders to us, and we continued the idea generation discussion. Jennifer said "how about a weekend activity rundown for the Friday shows? We can run it in the morning once or twice, then change it for the noon broadcast. Usually, there are too many activities to cover in a single time slot. We can mix it up though for more variety for our audience. All of the activities can be listed on our website then for the viewers to get more information on." Angela chimed in and added "or we can set up three specific topics each Friday. The 5:30 show can focus on family events for the weekend. During the 6:30 show we can target cultural arts performances going on around the bay area. Our noon show can highlight events going on catering to an adult audience."
The more Bailey heard, the more he liked it. He said "everyone, this has been wonderful but do you realize it's 8:45? I need to get back to the station for a 9:00 meeting. In the meantime, let's shoot for something this Friday. Nick, Angela and Jennifer can begin work on taking some of the ideas to fruition for all of us. If we get lucky and have a couple of items ready to go, we can also look at running something on Thursday. I really like the idea of having Jennifer doing a segment on both the morning and noon news. I believe we're on to something very promising here group! Let's keep the ideas flowing between ourselves. Thanks everyone for your participation this morning, I feel wonderful about broaching the subject with all of you!"
We went back to the station and I decided to have some quiet office time for myself. I checked my phone and noticed I had missed a call from Detective Fullinger. I listened to his message which said "Good morning, CJ. I have an update that I need to share with you on Jasper Jeffers. Please contact me as soon as you are able to. Have a good day CJ."
I called his number and he answered saying "Fullinger here." I laughed and said "Walters here, CJ Walters. Did I get you at a bad time detective?" He cracked up and said "not at all CJ, sorry about answering my phone that way. It's a bad habit I have picked up with the job. We often use last names in the police line of work. It just comes naturally to me now to answer all calls that way."
Darrell continued on and said "we had two more sightings of Jeffers over the weekend. Both events were robberies again. The potential charges are mounting against him. The one robbery is more disturbing though in the fact that he seized a significant number of drugs from a local drug dealer that we have been tailing. The drug dealer is cooperating with us, and informed us that some of the pills which Jeffers took are laced with fentanyl. Based on that robbery, we have intensified our search for Jeffers as we need to get those pills off the street. Do you have any immediate questions for me CJ?"
I asked "can I inquire as to where these robberies took place, specifically are they anywhere close to St Pete Beach?" Darrell responded and said "no CJ, both of these incidents occurred in the Gas Plant district. CJ, I know you have been on a heightened awareness for your own protection. I encourage you to continue this and please know we have a priority alert out to all of our street patrols looking for Jeffers today. If you or any of your friends see him, please contact 911 immediately and do not engage him."
I said "Darrell, thank you for passing this information along to me. It's disturbing, but I will pass the word onto all of my friends that he is still in the area and is becoming increasingly dangerous to the general public. Do you see any problem with running a follow up story at noon on this?" Darrell replied and said "not at all. The robbery is public knowledge now, so you can even add that Jeffers is alleged to have taken fentanyl laced drugs. Please just say that this was obtained from the St Petersburg Police Department."
I told Darrell that I will start on this story now and thanked him for reaching out to me. I raced to the newsroom and luckily Nick, Angela, Jennifer and Ross were there. I asked each of them to join me in the news conference room and started the conversation with "I just finished a call with Detective Fullinger who gave me an update on Jasper Jeffers. It appears that he conducted two more robberies over the weekend. The one robbery is of immediate concern though where he obtained a significant number of illegal drugs. Some of the drugs are laced with fentanyl. I asked Darrell if we can run a follow up story at noon, and he said please do so. The story is all public now, and he said to say the information was obtained from the St Petersburg Police Department." I'd like to write the story, and have Ross throw the story to me. I'm thinking we should project his image in the background behind me, and I will state the facts only that can be obtained from police reports?"
Nick chimed in and said "let's make this the number one story on St Petersburg in sixty and Ross we'll let you do the lead in saying it's a follow-up story. You can toss it to CJ who has the latest updates on this story. How does this sound to everyone?" Everyone acknowledged their affirmation on the proposed format. Angela said "CJ, you focus on getting this written up, and if you need me to, I'll just update your morning weather with the 11:30 temperatures." I said "that sounds fine Angela. I'm hoping to have this written in the next 30 minutes, and I'd appreciate all of you reviewing it prior to us airing it at noon. Will one of you inform Bailey of what we're doing as well as the update on Jeffers when he is finished with his meeting?" Angela said "I'll send him a message now to stop down to the newsroom once he is finished with his meeting. I went over to a terminal in the newsroom and began work on the story.
I wrote the story and had it ready for review 20 minutes later. By this time, Bailey had joined us in the newsroom and reviewed the story as well. Ross, Angela, Nick and Bailey all agreed that there was nothing wrong with the content as written and should get the point out to the public that this individual is becoming increasingly dangerous to the community. Bailey said "let's go with it everyone. Great job, and let's do our part to nail this SOB!" He came over to me and said "do you have a few minutes to talk before 11:00?" I looked at the time and it was nearing 10:30. I replied "let me update the noon weather segment and then I'll stop up to your office." He smiled and said "sounds good, CJ. Thanks."
I told Angela that I had the noon weather segment updated, but I had not loaded it to the switcher yet. She said "I'll take care of that for you because I'm thinking that Bailey wants to discuss something with you?" I said "yes, he does. I'm heading to his office now."
I arrived at Bailey's office and knocked on his door. He said "come on in and shut the door." He joined me, sat down and said "first, can you make it through this story as a journalist and not show your anger?" I smiled and said "yes, I can and that is why I asked to do the story. If Jeffers kills someone on the street with bad drugs, I will never forgive myself Bailey. I have to do my part objectively to alert the public and get this guy behind bars." Bailey smiled and said "that's all I needed to hear. Give it your all CJ."
He continued on and said "second, we had 238 calls last week specifically about you serving in dual roles on the morning news. Out of the 238 calls, 236 rated your performance as outstanding and to keep the format going. The other two calls said to eliminate Ross and have you do the news and weather." I cracked up and said "wow, thank you for sharing that news with me, Bailey! It probably was not even my best week due to what happened with Jeffers." Bailey cracked up and said "there was also another theme which appeared through a number of different callers. The simple message was we like the young blood infusing energy into the show and why are you keeping Jennifer in the corner?" I said "okay, that explains your desire to work her in more this morning?" He cracked up and said "once again, you're putting your future GM hat on. If I get over 200 calls in less than five days telling me the audience wants more younger faces, I'm going to go with it. I also like the idea as it will give Jennifer more confidence in her skills and abilities. Perhaps this extra work and exposure will someday get her into a co-anchor position."
I smiled and said "thanks for explaining that to me, but it was not necessary. I liked the idea when you first told it to us in the studio this morning. I thought you probably had worked this up while you were taking care of Aaron last week. If you are worried that I will take it as an invasion on my territory, please don't! I'm fine with the idea and I think Jennifer will definitely grow from this experience. My hope is that it will enrich her experience and help her to become a well-rounded broadcasting professional." Bailey cracked up and said "you're beginning to know me entirely too well. I was concerned that you may have taken the news in a negative perception." I said "thank you for the concern, Bailey. Please know I am fine with it, and I can hardly wait to see Jennifer expand her horizons this Friday. All is well my friend!"
He smiled and said "thanks CJ for everything last week, and this morning. You go kick ass with the story at noon, and let's help get Jeffers apprehended this week."
Before I knew it, we were given the five-second countdown for the noon show. Ross kicked off the introduction to the St Petersburg in Sixty and once it was finished the camera went back live to him. He said "Topping our noon news today, we have a warning for the public concerning a story we ran last week about a dangerous individual who is wanted by the St Petersburg Police Department. CJ Walters has more on this story for the bay area. CJ". Camera two went live on me and I started with "Thanks Ross and as you mentioned last week, we brought you a story about this individual Jasper Jeffers whose most recent photo is being shown on your screen. Jeffers was released earlier this year from the Lake County Correctional Institute where he served time for various charges. Jeffers has returned to the St Petersburg vicinity and has now been identified as the suspect committing five different robberies as well as threatening five associates of channel 2 on a street in downtown St Petersburg. In the most recent robbery over this past weekend, Jeffers is alleged to have stolen a large number of illegal drugs and it has been discovered that a number of those drugs are laced with fentanyl. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid which is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine. It has led to a significant number of deaths across the United States and is now of grave concern for the St Petersburg Police Department. Department officials are urging the community to be on the lookout for Jeffers who has the distinguishing characteristics of bleached white hair and hunter green eyes. They are urging everyone to either discard any drugs you have purchased from Jeffers or not to engage in any drug transactions with him as the fentanyl laced drugs may threaten your life. If you are aware of Jeffers location, you are asked to call the St Petersburg Police Department. Additionally, if you see Jeffers in the area the police urge you not to confront him, but rather contact 911 immediately. Ross, we'll continue to work on this story until Jeffers is brought to justice." The camera switched to a view of Ross and myself at the desk. Ross said "CJ based on the latest robberies, do the police have any idea of where Jeffers may be hiding out?" I replied "the latest robbery took place in the Gas Plant district. The police are continuing to work with the people involved in the robbery to gain more information on where Jeffers was heading after the robbery took place." Ross said "thanks CJ, for the update on this story and as CJ said we will continue to provide updates throughout the day as needed until Jeffers is apprehended."
Later in the broadcast, I completed the weather segment. Everything went well with the weather, and soon the show was ending with Ross and I sitting at the desk together. Ross recapped the top story at the end of the news, and the picture of Jeffers was shown again. Ross urged the public to stay vigilant and to report any sightings of Jeffers to the police department or call 911 immediately.
The show ended and Bailey joined the two of us on set. He said "nice job you two. Your interaction was very good, and you both showed concern for the community without personal emotions being displayed. Very well done by both of you!"
Ross and I left the station together. Alex was waiting for me standing by his car. I waved at him, and he waved back and proceeded to get into his car. I pulled the jeep out of the parking lot, and my faithful friend moved in right behind me and followed me all the way home.
We exited our vehicles and Alex said "I heard the news headlines before I left to follow you back here. I hope that punk is caught soon before he kills someone." I looked at Alex and said "so do I, my friend. Please be honest with me, did I show enough concern for the general public today when I did the story?" He smiled and said "CJ, you had such a stern look on your face and it was obvious to me how dangerous Jeffers is to the public right now. It was a fine job, and it showed a new dynamic for you today. I liked how you kicked off the lead story. Watch out, Bailey may be having you do this everyday at noon as a new CJ segment."
Alex said "I have more repairs to make on the second floor today. What will you be doing this afternoon?" I smiled and said "I feel like a work out, followed by some pool time. Wally said he probably will be early today. Maybe the three of us can have some drinks by the pool later this afternoon?" Alex smiled and said "I'll check in with you as soon as I'm finished CJ."
I went up to the condo, changed into my work out clothes and filled up my water bottle. For some reason, I grabbed the whistle off the kitchen counter that Alex had left for me. I wrapped it around my neck and decided to check in on Wally, Trev and Aaron before heading to the exercise room. I texted Wally and said "how are you doing? I am going to go work out now. Do you think you'll still be home early?" Wally texted me back saying "I just finished up with my client about 10 minutes ago. The meeting went very well, and I'll be home around 2:00 sweetheart."
I knocked on Trevor and Carl's door, but no one answered. I sent Trev a text and said "hey dude, hope you and Carl are having a good day. I'm going for a work out, then I will be poolside later if you two want to join me."
I went to Aaron's place and knocked on the door. Aaron opened it and said "hi there CJ. How are you today? I'm doing good today and getting everything set up for deliveries and the plumbers are due to start the patio renovations tomorrow." I said "I'm heading down to the exercise room for a work out. Do you want to join me?" Aaron replied and said "let me finish two things here, and I'll join you in about 30 minutes." I smiled at him and said "that sounds great Aaron, I'll see you later."
I made my way to the exercise room, and once again I was the only one using the facility this afternoon. I turned the stereo on, limbered up, did some sit ups, some push ups then focused on my chest and ab areas today. I decided to use the archaic chest press machine in the facility and set weight lock to begin my routine. I say archaic as the machine still has block weights that lift behind you as you put pressure on the machine bars. I got too use to the newer style of machines at Maumee College which are tension based and have no block weights with them.
I had completed one set on the machine and took a quick break before starting up again. The radio station was playing some great tunes and when the song "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba came one, I decided to begin my second set of reps to the song beat.
As I was into my zone, I noticed a reflection of something moving behind me in a mirror along the ceiling. It was a person, and I saw the bleached white hair of Jeffers appear behind my machine. I watched him in the mirror and saw him with a rope in one hand and the same knife he used before on me in his other hand. He put his hands through the machine and I figured he was preparing to strangle me. When his hands were in between the stationary and elevated weight blocks, I released my arms from the chest press machine, and the elevated weights came crashing down on his hands.
He screamed in obvious pain and said "get these weights off me you fucker! If you don't, you'll really pay for what you have done Mr. Pretty Boy Weatherman." I went over to the door, propped it open, pulled the fire alarm to create noise and began blowing the whistle as hard as I could. Jeffers was trying to wiggle his way out of the machine, but could not achieve the leverage he needed to remove the weights off his hands. I grabbed my phone and dialed 911. When the operator came on, I said as calmly as I could "this is CJ Skinner and I'm at the exercise room in the GulfView Condominium Complex. I have caught Jasper Jeffers in a weight machine while he was trying to strangle me. I need the police and an ambulance dispatched here quickly please." The operator responded and said "okay CJ, I have alerted police and medics and they are on their way to your location." I blew on the whistle several more times, and soon Alex and Aaron came running towards the exercise room. Alex was crying as he reached me and said "are you okay?"
I nodded my head yes and told both of them "I'm just scared shitless. He was going to strangle me, and I saw him in a mirror close to the ceiling. Jeffers was stupid enough to put his hands through the weight machine, and when the time was right, I dropped the weights onto his hands. Will one of you make sure he is still in there and trapped?" Aaron said "I'll go and watch him. Alex, take CJ over to the table at the pool and sit down with him. CJ, have you called 911?" I said "yes, I have. The police and medics will be here anytime now."
Wally had just pulled into the complex parking lot, and two police cars entered immediately after him. The officers jumped out of their cars and one said to Wally "sir, do you live here and do you know where the exercise room is?" Wally said "yes officers, I live in unit 402. Follow me and I'll point out where the exercise room is."
Wally and the officers went running to the pool area. When Wally saw Alex helping me to the table he yelled "CJ, Oh God no!" He and the officers came to me and the one officer said "are you CJ Skinner?" I said "yes officer, I have Jasper Jeffers trapped in a weight machine. My friend Aaron is in there watching him so he does not escape. I believe I broke both of his hands as he was attempting to strangle me." The officers went running into the exercise room and told Aaron to leave the room and go wait for the paramedics in the parking lot. Wally grabbed me in a bear hug and said "are you okay my love?" I was in tears and nodded my head yes. I said "he scared the shit out of me Wally, but I got him good. He's a dumb ass for attempting what he did by putting his hands through the machine and not around it." Alex said "don't worry about him CJ. The police are here now, and it's all over. Can I get you some water?" I nodded my head yes and Alex ran into the recreation center to fetch a bottle of water for me.
The paramedics arrived and Aaron led them to the exercise room. He then pulled out his phone and called Bailey. Bailey answered and said "hi sweetheart. How are you doing?" Aaron said "Bailey if you can, you may want to get to the condo complex soon. Jeffers has been caught. He tried to strangle CJ. CJ is very shaken up, but he appears okay. I'm not sure how Bailey, but he trapped Jeffers in a weight machine." Bailey said "I'm on my way Aaron." and rushed out of his office heading for the newsroom. Angela and Nick were still there and he yelled "get a reporter and a crew over to CJ's condo. Jeffers tried to strangle CJ. He's okay, but he hurt Jeffers in the process."
Detective Fullinger was in route to a robbery follow up when he heard the dispatch saying Jeffers has been apprehended at the GulfView condominiums. He immediately changed his plans and headed for the complex. He got on his radio and said "dispatch this is Fullinger, send two more units to the GulfView condominiums as well as a forensics unit." He made a call to his sergeant and said "This is Fullinger sir. I need a search warrant issued for that 2015 Chevy Tahoe which Jeffers allegedly stole. I'm hoping it's at the location where he has been caught, and he's stupid enough to store all of the drugs he stole inside of it."
Carl and Trevor pulled into the condo complex and Trev said "what is all of this?" Immediately after saying that Carl's phone rang and he saw it was Nick calling. He answered the phone and said "what's up?" Nick said "can you get to CJ's condo complex asap. I'm sending the remote van over and need you to calibrate it. CJ was attacked by Jeffers. CJ's okay, but he hurt Jeffers in the process." Carl said "oh my God. I'm here now Nick, and will wait for them to arrive."
Carl turned to Trev and said "let's go to the pool. CJ was attacked by Jeffers." Carl and Trev busted ass to the pool and found me, Wally, Alex and Aaron sobbing. Trev got down on his knees, put his hands on mine and said "are you okay my friend?" I said "yeah, I'm okay. Just scared shitless, and I think I shit my pants if you smell anything foul." Our sobs all turned into a chuckle on that.
A few minutes later Detective Fullinger arrived, and quickly made his way to me and my circle of friends. He said "CJ, are you okay?" I replied "yes, Darrell I'm fine. I think I messed up Jeffers hands very bad though." He said "okay, I'll go check. Everyone, I will need you all to stay here so that we can get statements from everyone. Also, can anyone tell me if there are cameras in the exercise room?" Alex spoke up and said "yes Detective, there are. I can show you the video when you need it to collaborate CJ's story." He said "very good. Can you also help us to identify vehicles in the parking lot? I have a search warrant on its way, and we need to locate a 2015 Chevy Tahoe which does not belong to any residents." Alex chimed in again and said "I have all the residents' vehicle information on file detective." Darrell said "perfect. I'll be back in a few minutes everyone" and went into the exercise room to survey the situation.
Bailey arrived and ran to the pool area with Nick and Angela trailing behind him. He came up to the group and said "Oh my God CJ, are you okay?" I smiled and said "everyone I am fine. You all did not need to come here, but I'm glad to see all of you. I saw Jeffers in a mirror near the ceiling approaching me from behind. He had a rope and knife in his hands. I think he was going to strangle me or cut my throat. He made a stupid move and stuck his hands through the weight machine versus around it. When I saw what he was doing, I released my arm grip on the weights, and they fell on his hands crushing them in the process. Bailey, do me a favor and get someone live on the air to cover them taking that SOB out of the room." Nick spoke up and said "Carl, I have the unit in the parking lot all we need is a reporter, if you will cover camera." Bailey said "I'll do it. Notify the station to get Mitch on and we'll cut in as soon as we're ready." Carl and Nick took off to the van. Angela dropped to her knees by me and was in tears. She said "all I can say my friend is that I am so glad to see you, and we're going to San Francisco together to kick That Bitch in the ass!" Everyone cracked up on the tension breaker comment.
Carl and Nick returned and Carl said "we're ready Bailey. Nick has the station on the phone, and we can go live at any second. They could not get Mitch, but Ronny will be breaking in for us." Bailey grabbed the microphone and said "let's do this everyone."
Back at the station a breaking news alert went out to the audience and Ronny appeared on camera. He started in and said "Good afternoon, everyone. We are interrupting the afternoon programming on channel 2 to bring you a breaking news event happening in St Pete Beach this afternoon. Last week and earlier today, we informed you about Jasper Jeffers who is on the run from police as he is suspected in five robberies and possession of fentanyl laced drugs in St Petersburg. We go live now to Bailey Stauffer who has the latest on the apprehension of Jasper Jeffers. Bailey, please tell us what has transpired this afternoon."
Carl gave Bailey the cue and he said "Thanks Ronny. I'm here in St Pete Beach where Jasper Jeffers has been apprehended by the police department just a few minutes ago. Jeffers was in the process of hurting one of the residents at this condo complex when the resident noticed him approaching him from behind in a mirror. The resident took action, and injured Jeffers to where he is incapacitated. Paramedics and police officials are working on Jeffers now." Once Bailey finished that sentence, the police officers and paramedics brought Jeffers out of the exercise center on a stretcher. Bailey continued and said "My engineer Carl is now showing the paramedics and police officers bringing Jeffers out of the condo exercise center on an ambulance gurney." Jeffers was screaming in pain and said "I'll kill all of you, let me go now." Bailey continued and said "the suspect Jeffers is shouting at everyone working on him telling them that he will kill them all. Ronny, the events of this story are still unfolding, but we want to inform the bay area residents that Jasper Jeffers has been apprehended. The police have more work to complete here and I'll try to get more information from them for our 5:00 news. For channel 2 news, this is Bailey Stauffer reporting. Ronny, back to you." Ronny said "thanks Bailey. Repeating our breaking news, Jasper Jeffers has been apprehended in St Pete Beach. Information is still being processed at the crime scene, and we'll have further updates on our 5:00 news. I'm Ronny Bradford reporting for channel 2 and we return you now to our regularly scheduled programming."
I smiled at Bailey and said "thanks for getting that on the air Bailey. You're one hell of a GM and a kick-ass reporter!" Angela chimed in and said "I think we need a new weekly segment on the news boss called Bailey's corner. That was a very impressive impromptu report and I was so happy that you kept CJ's identity and the condo complex out of the story until we get the all clear from the police department. Thanks for going live. Do you want me to get someone else for 5:00, or do you want to continue?" Bailey said "I'll continue and Trevor go get changed. We'll both go live at 5:00 and cover the story from different perspectives." Trevor smiled and said "Give me five minutes, and I'll be back down to assist in any way I can."
A second paramedic unit responded and checked me out to ensure that I was okay. My vitals are normal except for my blood pressure which is slightly elevated. I felt fine with some minor anxiety from the situation which had unfolded earlier.
Darrell returned to the table I was sitting at. He said to everyone "Jeffers is stable, but I don't think he will be messing with CJ anymore. Both of his hands are in bad shape and most likely will require surgery. CJ, you are so lucky that you saw him in that mirror otherwise we may have been dealing with an entirely different situation. I cannot believe how dumb Jeffers was by putting his arms into the machine versus around it. As I told you before CJ, he is not a smart individual. You were very smart to release the weights and injure his hands.
Alex, I need to see that video now to collaborate CJ's story and we will need a copy of it for our use. Detective Martinez will go with you now to view the video, and burn a copy to our video player." Alex said "sure, please come with me detective and we'll go through the video."
Darrell continued on and said "CJ and Angela, if I show you the knife we found with Jeffers do you two think you will be able to tell me if it's the same knife that Jeffers used last week?" I said, "yes, Darrell I'll be able to identify it for you as it had three engraved diamonds on the handle." Angela said "yes, there were three diamonds engraved into a red handle." Darrell pulled out a bag and said "is this the knife he pulled on you last week?" Both Angela and I said "yes, it is."
A few minutes later, Darrell's boss arrived with the search warrant for the vehicle that Jeffers had stolen. He said "Fullinger, I have two officers taping off the parking lot and the vehicle plates on a chevy tahoe match the theft from last week. We're ready to search the vehicle, but I want you present when it's done." Darrell turned to me and said "CJ you can either remain here, or go to your condo whichever you prefer." Bailey said "CJ, why don't you and Wally go upstairs and wait. The rest of us will stay here to cover the story." I looked at Bailey and said "my God, this all feels so surreal. I feel so violated and now I understand how victims of crime feel. I am going to go back upstairs Bailey. Anyone is welcome to come up there with Wally and I."
Wally helped me out of the chair as my legs felt shaky. We went up to the condo, and I saw a number of police officers in the parking lot surrounding the vehicle. I looked at Wally and said "I hope the drugs are in there, and they can account for everything he took over the weekend." Wally said "so do I my love, let's get you inside for some rest. Do you want to lie down, or go sit on the patio?" I said "let's just sit on the patio together sweetheart."
It was only 3:00 pm, but it felt like I had been living this nightmare for days. Wally got me some ice tea, and just held me which was very comforting. I looked at him and said "I feel so bad that I drew that son of a bitch to our home. He could have hurt any one or all of us." Wally said "CJ, you're fine, I'm fine and we're all fine. Put it out of you mind if you can baby. It's over, and the police have him in custody. You are so brave for doing what you did CJ. I don't think I could have remained as calm as you did." At that point Wally broke down in tears. We continued to hug each other and I said "I'm okay sweetheart. Like you just said, it's over. It will take me a while to process everything, but I'm going to try to be strong for you and everyone else."
About 30 minutes later, Alex, Angela and Nick came into the condo. They came out to the patio and sat down with us. Nick said "Angela and I are going to leave so that we're ready for tomorrow morning. We want to bring you several pieces of good news if you are up to hearing them?" I smiled and said "yeah, everyone I want to hear good news."
Angela started in and said "Detective Fullinger will be up later to recap everything with you. However, the first piece of news is that Jeffers confessed that he was going to kill you by strangling you on the machine." At that point, I broke down in tears and said "that prick, I never did a thing to him!" Angela continued and said "we all know that CJ. He is a sick and deranged individual. You are the unfortunate victim who got caught up in his illusionary world. The police realize that as well."
Nick started in and said "they are wrapping up the search of the vehicle that Jeffers stole. He reportedly stole four large boxes of drugs, and the four boxes are in the vehicle. The boxes were still taped up as the original dealer reported. So, it does not appear that any of the laced drugs have been distributed on the streets." I smiled and said "that is such a relief Nick. I feel much better knowing that now."
Alex spoke up and said "Detective Martinez got all the video he needed from the exercise room cameras. The video is clear and shows Jeffers crawling up behind you. It is clear he stuck his hands into the machine to try and reach you, and it shows you releasing the weight bars causing the weights to fall on his hands. He told me that the video will collaborate your story completely. The rope and knife are clearly visible in the video also."
I spoke up and said "thanks everyone. All of that news does help. Do any of you know how bad I hurt Jeffers?" Angela said "we have not heard about his condition CJ. Bailey is trying to track that down now for the newscast. Bailey wants to keep your name and the condo location out of the news cast for your privacy. It may be a good idea for you to contact UD though in case he or the family sees the condo building on the news." I said "Oh God, I did not even think about that." I looked at Wally and said "should I call them now, or wait to see if they watch the news and call me?" Wally smiled and said "don't overthink this one CJ! Get him on the phone now, and I'll talk with you. This all happened after they left. I know you wanted to keep them from worrying, so take the final step now and let them know it's over." I smiled and said "you're right Angela and Wally, I will call UD now. Maybe I can get him by himself and he can have the family watch the news together and follow up with any questions to me."
I texted UD and said "do you have time for a skype call before 4:30 today?" He replied within one minute saying "sure CJ. Laura is here with me and she will set it up for 4:00. It will just be us two if that is okay?" I texted back saying "that is fine UD, I will talk to you shortly."
Wally and I spent almost one hour with UD and Laura on the call. I was so glad that Wally was with me as I was still shaken up and forgot several key pieces of the story which he was able to fill in for me. UD was visably shaken by everything we shared with him, and I'm not sure if Laura fully appreciated how serious the situation was. My final comment to UD was "UD, I was not trying to hide any of this from you and the family. I was hoping it came to a peaceful conclusion and I could tell you afterward. I got my wish, but I cannot tell you how much it scared the shit out of me. I'm fine UD, and everyone is surrounding me here with plenty of care and love." UD smiled and said "I know that CJ. If you need me for anything though, you just say the word and I'll be down on the next flight son." I smiled at him and said "I will UD. When you tell Aunt Sally and if she wants to see me for herself, just have Laura set us up on another call." Laura chimed in and said "I will CJ. You get a good night sleep for us."
We went back out to the patio and watched the news. Bailey and Trevor did a spectacular job covering the story. Ronny was even included as he did the kickoff from the studio versus Mitch. After the story was wrapped up, Wally looked at me and said "wow, I see that Bailey is still a hell of a good reporter, isn't he?" I smiled and said "yes, he is. I have to get back to work soon so he does not take my job away. I think he really enjoyed covering this today, but I know he wishes it was under different circumstances."
Around 5:30, there was a knock at the door. Wally answered it to find Darrell with another police officer. They came out to the patio and sat down with Wally and myself. Darrell spoke and said "CJ, I hate to ask you but I need you to tell your story once again and Officer Harris is going to write it in shorthand for us. It will then be transcribed for your verification and will be included in the official case documentation."
Once I had finished, Officer Harris left and Darrell stayed behind. He placed his hand on my knee and said "how are you doing CJ?" I looked at Wally, then looked back at Darrell and said "I'm okay Darrell. My partner Wally is taking good care of me. I've got to admit though, this afternoon has been surreal to me." Darrell smiled and said "you have been through a very traumatic experience CJ. As time passes, the memories of this afternoon will be hidden in your subconscious. It will always be there and sometimes it will reappear to you. My hope for you though is that you can put this unfortunate incident behind you and move forward in a positive direction with your life."
I smiled and said "Darrell, my catholic guilt is overwhelming me. How bad did I hurt Jeffers today?" Darrell smiled and said "being brought up as a fellow catholic, I understand what you're going through today. Both of his hands have a number of broken bones and will require surgery. There may be nerve damage also, but remember you had no choice in the matter CJ. It was either his hands, or your life. You made the right call, and please do not look back and second guess your decision. You made the smart call CJ, and Jeffers made a stupid call today. Also, please remember you kept a significant number of drugs from hitting the streets today. I'm not sure if Jeffers intent was to sell them, but bottom line they are in our possession now and will be destroyed. You saved a number of lives today, CJ."
I continued on and said "will I need to testify against him in the future?" Darrell responded and said "perhaps. However, given his past record and all the evidence we have against him, I truly believe any defense lawyer will work with a prosecuting attorney to keep this out of the court system. When it's all done, Jeffers will be returning to a correctional facility for a long time CJ." I asked "do you think he will be evaluated for his mental stability, Darrell?" He smiled and said "yes, there is no doubt in my mind on that CJ. When I checked in at the hospital, he was still cursing you for taking his Vicki away from him."
I broke down crying once I heard that and buried my face in Wally's chest. Darrell said "I'm going to leave you two alone now. I will be back in touch when I need to. CJ, please reach out to me with any more questions you have or just to talk sometime. I live close to the Beachcomber, so were almost neighbors. I'd love to buy you both a drink and dinner sometime." Wally said "Darrell, thank you for everything today. Once this passes for CJ, I know he and I will be very happy to meet up with you sometime." Wally walked Darrell out to the door and returned to me on the patio. We turned the tv volume back up, and watched the remainder of the newscast."
After the newscast was over everyone returned to the condo and were still showing extreme concern for me. Alex came up to me and said "CJ, you need to eat something, have you had anything since breakfast?" I said "no", and Alex said "is there anything that sounds good to you?" I replied "this may sound strange, but I feel like I can pig out on a pizza right now." Alex smiled and said "pizza it is!" Aaron said "I'll order it Alex. Can everyone else eat some?" Everyone nodded their heads yes and Aaron went inside to place the order.
I sat up, faced everyone and said "thank you all for your concern. I'm fine, although I will admit I am still trying to deal with seeing Jeffers come up on me from behind today. I know it will pass eventually, but it's nothing I ever want to go through again." I turned to Alex and said "I may be overreacting, but I want to speak at the next condo board meeting. I want to get a key card entry for that workout facility." Alex smiled and said "we'll have no problem getting that done after today, CJ. I think we should also establish that in the condo recreation center. I plan to also place several more security cameras around the pool area. That video was very helpful to the police today, and for safety reasons I believe we need to more cameras located throughout this complex."
I turned to Bailey and said "I hate to ask, but do you mind if I take a day off tomorrow to recoup from today?" He smiled and said "Trevor and I already have you covered for tomorrow. If you need Wednesday also, just take it my friend." I smiled at Bailey and said "I should be fine with tomorrow only. Besides, I need to get back to work so you don't take my job! You looked wonderful today, and your reporter skills kicked back in on you. I know the circumstances had to be tough for you, but did you enjoy getting back in front of the camera?" He smiled at me and said "it felt wonderful CJ, and I realized I need to make it happen every so often for me in the future."
Ronny joined the group and immediately pulled me in for a hug and kiss. He took my chin and said "are you sure you're okay my brother?" I smiled at him and said "I'm fine, just awfully shaken up. But -- look at you taking charge at the station today with live breaking news!" He grinned and said "Mitch was not in yet, and I told them to let me do it." Bailey chimed in and said "Ronny, I rewatched the whole first segment from today as well as your 5:00 lead in. Excellent job today, and I'm going to make you a news anchor also!"
The pizza came and we all continued reflecting on the day while eating. After we finished eating, I said "thank you everyone for being there for me today. I have felt nothing but your full support and true love this afternoon. I cannot believe how quickly you all responded. The only thing I feel bad about today is not letting Alex beat the shit out of Jeffers, but I did it for him!" Everyone cracked up on my comment and Alex came over to embrace me with a hug and kiss.
Gradually, everyone returned to their residence. Alex and Ronny went over to the pub area and played a game of darts. Wally was still holding me and said "what can I do for you to make you more comfortable baby?" I looked at him and said "can we just curl up on the chase lounge and watch the sunset?" He said "sure baby", and helped me over to the chase lounge. I don't remember too much after we got settled in. The evening colors were brilliant over the gulf, and I must have dosed off in his arms. I believe he held me there all night, as we woke up there the following morning still embracing each other."