[MacsChick]

Here's part three--the suspense heightens!

No Trespassing Part Three
Rated: PG

“I’m telling you, Chuck, it doesn’t look good so far,” MacGyver said, visiting his friend in the county jail again. “The sheriff says you bought the gasoline and matches that were used in the fire. He has a credit card receipt with your name and your account number to prove it.”

“I know, he showed it to me,” Chuck said. “MacGyver, my card had to have been stolen and used by the Howard brothers. Don’t you see? They’re doing every thing they can to make it look like I did this.”

MacGyver sighed and leaned forward. “There’s just one problem, Chuck,” he said. “The sheriff told me that you could account for all your credit cards when he showed you your wallet.”

“Well…yeah, that’s true. I wasn’t going to lie to him. They were all there. But MacGyver, that doesn’t mean that they still couldn’t have stolen it at some point and used it.”

“How, Chuck? When?”

Chuck could see the doubt in MacGyver’s piercing dark eyes as he sat there, staring at him. “Yeah okay,” he said. “I know it doesn’t sound plausible, but I just can’t think of any other explanations. Somehow, they managed to access my account. They had to. MacGyver, I didn’t do this. You have to believe me.”

“I want to, Chuck,” MacGyver said. “I’m trying to, but everything I’ve found so far points directly to you. It’s not just the credit card, either. I was at the fire site yesterday, and the lead investigator has no doubt in his mind that the construction project fire was a case of arson, with gasoline being the accelerant used. You purchased the gasoline, and an empty can with some matches were found in the trunk of your car. I talked to the man at the convenience store where you bought the gas. Don’t you see how everything connects, Chuck?”

“Who says I bought gas? What convenience store was this?”

“It’s owned by a man named Jesse. He claims that he saw you buy the can of gasoline and the matches around 8:30 pm, exactly a half hour before the fire started, giving you plenty of time.”

“Well, he’s lying,” Chuck said. “He has to be. I never set foot in a convenience store that night!”

“Where were you, then?”

Chuck raised his eyebrows. “You mean an alibi? Jeez MacGyver, what is this? Another interrogation?” He asked.

“Chuck, I’m trying to help you,” MacGyver said. “Now just answer my question so that maybe I can keep trying to piece this thing together.”

“All right,” Chuck said, sighing. “As I told the police, I was at home.”

“Did anybody else see you?”

Chuck smiled slightly. “Mac, I live in the woods in a small cabin,” he said. “How many people do you think are going to see me on a regular basis out there?”

“I understand,” MacGyver said. “It’s just that if no one saw you at home, and Jesse is claiming to have seen you in his store at 8:30, then it becomes a problem. Now, if Jesse had a security camera in his store, and it didn’t show you in there at that time, you might be a free man right now.”

“I know,” Chuck said. “Jesse is an old man suspicious of new technology. He’s never had a security camera in his store.”

“So you understand what’s going on here,” MacGyver said, holding up his hand and counting on his long, slender fingers. “You have motive, opportunity, evidence, and eyewitness testimony.” He dropped his hand when he was finished. “Chuck, it doesn’t look good.”

“Keep looking, MacGyver,” Chuck said. “Something is going on here. The Howard brothers must be working hard to frame me. I don’t know what they did to Jesse, but he didn’t tell you the truth. I was nowhere near his store that night, and I didn’t buy the gasoline and matches.”

“Well, is there anything else you remember about that night that you can tell me? Or what about the Howard brothers? Anything else about them?”

Chuck shook his head. “No, not really,” he said.

“Come on, Chuck, think!”

“I am, Mac! I don’t have anything else, other than I went to meet them and the fire broke out, that’s all. Trust me, if I had more details about that night, I wouldn’t withhold them. Do you think I’m crazy? I’m an innocent man, Mac. I would do anything to get out of here, but that’s all I have. You’re just going to have to keep digging for me. I’m sorry.”

MacGyver reached over and patted his friend’s shoulder. “It’s all right, Chuck,” he said. “I’ll keep working on it. Something will turn up, I’m sure.”

“Thanks, Mac.”

***

MacGyver ate his lunch salad at the café where he and Chuck first began discussing Rock Point Ridge and where he first encountered the Howard brothers. He thought back to how they talked to Chuck. It was clear that both parties saw each other as an annoyance, obstacles in each other’s way, but he didn’t know how far the Howard brothers would actually go in trying to eliminate Chuck from disrupting the progress of their project. His second meeting with them the day before showed him two men who were clearly upset about the damage to their property, and they seemed absolutely certain that Chuck was the cause of it all. They had been polite enough to him, and their taunts in the café the other day seemed like little more than attempts to rile Chuck up and take delight in his anger. It seemed juvenile and cruelly playful on their part, but little more. After all, Chuck had told him that they often came in to local establishments to harass the townspeople. It was a common occurrence and irritating perhaps, but was it enough to finally push Chuck over the edge?

“It’s good to see you back in here,” the waitress said, standing over him and interrupting his thoughts. “You’re Chuck’s friend, aren’t you?”

MacGyver looked up at her. It was the same waitress that had flirted with him before. He could almost feel himself begin to blush. Female attention excited him naturally, but he wasn’t always sure how he was supposed to react to it, feeling shy and awkward in their presence. She was attractive, although her auburn hair was a little messy, held in a wild ponytail that couldn’t seem to decide what direction to take. She stared at him with her green eyes.

“Well, yes, I am,” he said, smiling at her. “My name’s MacGyver.”

The waitress smiled back at him. “I’m Trudy,” she said. Her expression turned serious. “It’s a shame what happened to Chuck,” she said. “Just a shame. You know, half of the town thinks he’s innocent.”

“Well, so do I,” MacGyver said. “I’m trying to prove it.”

Trudy looked around the café. The noisy din of the other customers during the busy lunch time made her feel more secure about what she needed to say. “I think I can help you,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“About a few weeks ago, before you showed up, Chuck was in a fight, right here in this café.”

“A fight? With whom?”

“The Howard brothers. It got pretty ugly. They had all been drinking pretty heavily. They got into a heated argument.”

“What was it about? The subdivision?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen anything escalate so fast. It’s no secret that the whole town hates the Howards, Chuck most of all, but usually, they just exchanged a few nasty words like you saw the other day and then moved on. Not this time, though.”

“What happened?”

Trudy’s eyes widened as she remembered the events of that night, almost as if she were reliving them. “It was a mess,” she said. “Chairs were flying everywhere. They were punching each other and rolling around on the floor. Some people were cheering them on, expecting Chuck to give them a good beating, but I was scared. They were a bloody mess, all three of them. That’s when I saw…” her voice trailed away.

“Saw what, Trudy?” MacGyver asked.

“Well, Chuck dropped his wallet during the fight,” she said. “I saw one of the Howard brothers pick it up and put it in his pocket.”

“The police are saying that Chuck paid for the gasoline that started the fire with his credit card,” MacGyver said.

“I know.”

“Did you tell them about this?”

“I did, but they told me the wallet wasn’t in their possession long enough for them to steal any credit cards. In fact, at the police station, they handed it back to Chuck, who was passed out by that time. Aren’t they sweet?” She asked with bitter sarcasm.

“Chuck told me he still had all his credit cards in his wallet, so they’re right. The Howard brothers didn’t steal any of them.” Suddenly, MacGyver snapped his fingers, and pounded his hands on the table. “Wait a minute!” He said.

“You’re on to something?” Trudy asked.

“Well, maybe they didn’t steal any of Chuck’s credit cards, but they sure had enough time to jot down an account number, now didn’t they?”

Trudy grinned. “I like the way you think, MacGyver,” she said.

MacGyver pulled out a wad of wrinkled cash and plopped it down on the table. “That should take care of my check,” he said. “Keep the change.”

“Where are you going?” Trudy asked.

MacGyver pushed back his chair and stood. “I have to tell Chuck about this new theory,” he said.

***

“You were in a fight with the Howard brothers a few weeks ago and you didn’t tell me,” MacGyver said. “Why?”

Chuck shrugged, throwing up his hands. “Mac, I hardly remember that night,” he said, looking around the jail with disgust. “I remember being thrown in here though, for being drunk and disorderly. The Howard brothers just got a slap on the wrist. How’s that for justice? They were just as guilty as I was for fighting. Don’t tell me that having money doesn’t help get you out of a jam.” He looked at MacGyver. “Who told you about this, anyway?”

“Trudy, the waitress at the café,” MacGyver said.

Chuck smiled. “Good old Trudy,” he said, shaking his head. “What else did she say?”

“That you lost your wallet during the fight, and that one of the Howard brothers picked it up and pocketed it.”

Chuck’s eyes widened. “I certainly don’t remember that,” he said. “I was pretty out of it. When I sobered up, I had it, though. Nothing was missing. Are you sure she’s right?”

“She knows what she saw, Chuck.”

Chuck looked down at the dirty concrete floor. “That would mean…they had time to grab my account number before giving my wallet back to me,” he said.

“And your signature on the back,” MacGyver said. “They could have forged it on the receipt for the gasoline and matches.”

Chuck looked back up at MacGyver. “This is good, Mac,” he said, “but if they did that, why didn’t they burn down the project immediately after the fight? It makes more sense, doesn’t it? I was angry, people saw us fighting…it just makes perfect sense that if I was going to do something like that, I’d do it after such an emotionally charged incident.”

“Ideally,” MacGyver said, “but maybe they hesitated. They weren’t sure whether it was the right course to take or not. Remember, if they did this, it poses an enormous financial risk to their father’s company. Rebuilding after that kind of destruction takes time and costs a lot of money. Maybe they just wanted to make sure they felt it was the right thing to do and that they had their plan straight before they acted on it.”

“Which would explain how they managed to make the evidence look convincing enough to prove that I did it,” Chuck said. “They waited and took their time.”

“Exactly.”

“MacGyver, this is amazing,” Chuck said. “If you’re right, you could be able to get me out of this mess sooner than I hoped.”

“I’ll certainly try to,” MacGyver said, smiling. “There’s just one more thing I need to hear from you before I go do some more searching.”

“What’s that?”

“Can you describe to me anything more about the night of the fire when you met the Howard brothers at the construction site? When did you see them?”

“Shortly after the blaze started,” Chuck said. “They drove up and parked near my car, making it look like I was the first one at the scene and they had just showed up, but I’m telling you, Mac, they had to be hiding and waiting for me.”

“And did they both approach you?”

“No, just Mark at first,” Chuck said. “He was yelling at me, accusing me right away of starting the fire.”

“Where was Tom?”

“I don’t know. He showed up just a little bit later.”

MacGyver grinned. “That gave him the perfect opportunity to plant the empty gas can and matches in your trunk,” he said.

“Yes,” Chuck said. “Yes, it makes so much sense now! MacGyver, good work!” He laughed and patted MacGyver on the back.

“Now wait a minute,” MacGyver said. “We’re not finished yet. I still have to tie up some loose ends and make sure I have enough proof of your innocence to present to the sheriff.”

“Well, what are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to go back and talk to Jesse at the convenience store,” MacGyver said. “If he’s lying as you said, then maybe I can convince him to tell the truth.”

***

Jesse seemed reluctant to answer any of MacGyver’s questions when he first talked to him, but he was calm and finally cooperated. This time, when he saw MacGyver enter the store, he looked slightly scared and nervous, backing away behind the counter.

“You again,” he said. “You’re not a cop. I don’t have to answer any more of your questions.”

“Jesse, I’m Chuck’s friend,” MacGyver said. “All I’m trying to do is exonerate him of this crime.”

“Then why don’t you let the police do that?”

MacGyver noticed the panic in Jesse’s eyes and could tell that he was worried about something. It was the classic reaction of someone who knows they’ve been deceitful and they’ve been caught.

“I’m sure the police won’t be too thrilled when they question you and learn that you’ve been lying,” he said.

“Lying? What are you talking about? What do you mean?”

“You didn’t tell me the truth the last time I was in here,” MacGyver said. “You told me Chuck was in here the night of the fire and bought the gas and matches from you.”

“Well, he did,” Jesse said, nodding. “Do you take me for a fool? The police have the receipt as evidence.”

“Someone else bought the gasoline that night, didn’t they? One of the Howard brothers, perhaps?”

“Rubbish,” Jesse said, avoiding MacGyver’s eyes.

MacGyver moved closer to the counter. “They had Chuck’s account number and perfected his signature,” he said. “They told you to use it to make the sale and then later say that Chuck was the one who made the purchase to anyone who asked, didn’t they?”

Jesse continued looking at the floor, saying nothing.

“They either paid you to say Chuck was the one, or they threatened you, but you did exactly what they wanted you to,” MacGyver said.

Jesse looked away, shrinking farther behind his counter, almost knocking over a mop.

“It’s okay, Jesse,” MacGyver said quietly. “You made a mistake. I’m giving you a chance to correct it and free an innocent man. I know you don’t honestly want to see some serious charges brought against Chuck that could unjustly imprison him for years. You’re not that kind of man. Just tell me the truth. It was the Howard brothers who made the purchase, wasn’t it?”

Jesse looked up at MacGyver, trembling slightly. Before he could say anything, Mark and Tom Howard entered the store.

“Yeah, it was us all right,” Mark said, lifting his unzipped jacket to pull out a gun, pointing it at MacGyver. “But you’re not going to get the chance to let anyone know that.”

“Aw, come on, Mark, put the gun away,” MacGyver said. “It’s over.”

Mark grinned. “You’re right, MacGyver, it is over,” he said.

He nodded at Tom, who pulled out what looked like a tranquilizer gun. Before MacGyver could react, he fired a dart into his neck. The sedative worked through MacGyver’s bloodstream quickly, and he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

To be continued…

[trtlsoup]

Whoops... Mac's in trouble!