Max Johansson.
Below Board.
Episode 1 — “The Big Heist.”
by TheAresProject, Nov 19, 2013, 8:32:33 AM
ANNOUNCER
There now follows the first in a new series of police dramas, produced by Red Rudder Productions. For the next thirty minutes, you will be taken step-by-step, on the side of the law, through an actual crime. From beginning to end, from crime to punishment, Below Board is the story of America’s policemen in action.
theme music
CHET (narrating)
‘Join the force,’ the posters say. ‘Help keep the streets safe for our citizens’. A proud line of work indeed. They never tell you about the other parts, and they’re probably in the right on that. If they told you about the other parts, the bad parts, no one would take this job. There’s the drudgery of filing daily reports on breaking up bar fights and helping old ladies across the road, the monotony of walking the beat on the docks at night, the lethal dangers that might be waiting for you behind every street corner, in every warehouse, and on every boat from every single port this side of Suez. Then there’s the other parts, the parts you never, ever talk about, even in private, even among trusted colleagues. The friendly chuck on your shoulder, the brown paper envelope suddenly arriving in the mail, the case that you have to abandon in the middle of everything because of the implications.
My days as an NOPD patrolman acquainted me more than well with the former troubles, but did nothing to prepare me for the perils of the latter, more deadly kind. What little non-patrol work we did was mostly menial, taking statements from witnesses, making reports to LAC on discovering crimes past before clearing out to let the suits get to work. The reports we filed and the statements we took were passed up the chain of command without anyone so much as batting an eyelash, and we never gave much thought to what became of them. Which cases would get solved, and which would remain open for all eternity. Which criminals would get the gallows as thanks for a life of service to the nation, and which would be quietly let go for lack of evidence. When you’re walking the beat it’s easy to forget, but the force is politics as much as it is justice. The story you are about to hear bears testimony to that fact. It begun one Monday morning at Burgundy St Station, which happened to be my first morning as a detective.
INT. Burgundy Street Police Station — Squad Room
COMMANDER
. . . and this will be your desk. The map shows all the recent thefts in the area.
CHET
What do the different pinhead colors stand for?
CMDR
Green ones are completely closed, blue ones have been abandoned with stolen items still missing, and red ones are still open.
CHET
*sighs* That’s an awful lot of red pins. Guess it’s time we got to work on those, huh? Where do we keep the hot list?
CMDR
On the shelves right next to the map.
door opens, enter MARTIN
MARTIN
Mornin’, fellas. Dis de new kid?
CMDR
Ah, there he is. Holloway, I’d like you to meet your new partner, Jules Martin. Martin, this is Chet Holloway.
MARTIN
Where y’at, kid?
CHET
Come again?
MARTIN
Not from here, are ya? Means “how’ya doin’?”
CHET
Oh. Well, no, actually. I’m from Madison, Wisconsin originally. I moved down here two years ago to work as a night watchman, but changed to police work when an opening came along. Passed the academy, and now I’m here.
MARTIN
’S great, kid. You tink you’re up fo’a real case? It’s a lot harder’n de pulps and de radio make it out to be, and a hell of a lot less excitin’. Dere’s a reason Billy Krieger never filed paperwork on de air.
CHET
I’m aware of that.
door opens, enter CAPTAIN ALDRIDGE
ALDRIDGE
Alright gentlemen, we’ve got a new addition. Give a warm welcome to Detective Chester Holloway, just promoted from Patrol.
two people clap hands
CHET
Thanks. I’ll do my best.
ALDRIDGE
You’d better. The people of this city demand swift and merciless justice, and the Department’s job is to deliver. Be alert and catch the sinner, and we’ll get along just fine, but fuck up and you’re back on the foot beat. Understand?
CHET
Yessir.
ALDRIDGE
Good. Now that that’s settled, you’ve got your first case. Freighter robbery at the Galvez Street Wharf. Ship was carrying weapons meant for the National Guard, and Jackson is making noise about “lack of security”. Get down there and see what you can find out.
CHET
On our way. Detective Martin?
MARTIN
Lead de way, bleu.
INT. Lesseps Street — Police Automobile
car engine in the background
CHET
Who’s “Jackson”?
MARTIN
He was talkin’ about Jackson Barracks, in de Lower Nint. It’s where de Louisiana National Guard’s holed up. Closest thing dis state’s got to an army of her own.
CHET
I know what it is. We read news about the big flood back in ’27, and how their troops were called out to maintain order.
MARTIN
Messy affair dat. New Orleans itself weren’t very hard hit, but de Atchafalaya, she flooded pretty bad. Me mama, she was killed before relief arrived, and papa survived by taking cover in de church basement.
CHET
I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up.
MARTIN
It’s alright. Here, dis is Galvez Street. Turn right at next crossin’.
car brakes
EXT. Canalside Crime Scene
CHET (narrating)
We arrived on the scene shortly afterwards. The ship was the SS Jacqueline LaRocque, a small freighter that, to my untrained eye, looked no different from the hundreds of similar vessels that lay in the port of New Orleans at any given time. That is, until we came close by.
car doors close
LESSING
Detectives.
CHET
Officer. You were first on scene?
LESSING
That’s right. It happened at about 5 o’clock this morning. I was out on night patrol when I heard a noise coming from the docks. When I came round to investigate, the deed had already been done.
CHET
Any other witnesses?
LESSING
The port authority watchman, Mr Dubois, was at the scene when I arrived. He’s with a pair of officers at the stern of the ship.
CHET
Thanks. We’ll take a look.
MARTIN
I’ll go look for clues in de ship. You go shake down de watchman.
CHET
Alright. I’ll meet you in the hold when I’m done.
footsteps
CHET
Detective Holloway, Burglary. I’ve got some questions I’d like to ask you, if that’s alright.
DUBOIS
Shoot.
CHET
You arrived at the scene just after Officer Lessing?
DUBOIS
’S right. I heard a noise coming from here, and ran over. By the time I arrived, the dust had settled and the only guy around was your ami Lessing. He told me to go call the Department, and when the other officers arrived they wouldn’t let me anywhere near the crime scene.
CHET
What time was this?
DUBOIS
About three-thirty, I’d say. Maybe a little later. My internal clock doesn’t quite work the same at night.
CHET
(aside) Hmmm. . . (aloud) Did you see anything suspicious earlier? People walking about the docks, suspicious noises, things moving from one place to another between rounds?
DUBOIS
Hadn’t seen a soul till the shooting began. Although, come to think of it, I did see an auto, one of those big loaders, parked at the gate. When I went past there at 2 AM the parking lot was empty — an hour later, that thing was there. I couldn’t make out anyone inside, but I got the reg number. Two-J-five-J-aught-H.
CHET
I think that could be very helpful. Thank you, sir.
CHET (narrating)
I went around the small warehouse that stood between me and the ship, and what I saw when I came around gave me a start. There was a large, square hole in the middle of the hull, right about where you’d expect the main cargo hold to be. Indeed, the room on the other side was clearly a cargo hold, and I could see Detective Martin inside.
MARTIN
Come over here toot suite! I tink I found sumtin’.
CHET
No kidding. I can see the damn hole from here, Martin.
MARTIN
(slightly annoyed) Dat’s not what I meant ’n you know it. Come on inside and see fo’ y’self.
footsteps
CHET
A gun on the floor? Really?
MARTIN
Look closer. Dis is a Mauser 96, an old German make of rifle. Foreign-made weapons generally ain’t used by de military, and even if dere were foreign guns on de ship, dis one’s only made for German Army reserves dese days.
CHET
So that means that...
MARTIN
We can trace de serial, yes. De gun must’ve been left by de robbers by mistake, and if dat were de case, den whoever owns de gun is our suspect.
CHET
Goddamn. At this rate we may just catch the culprits and have this thing wrapped up by lunchtime.
MARTIN
Easy dere, bleu. First rule of police work is never assume anytin’ll work de way you tink it will. Nothin’s as simple as it appears, and rememberin’ dat’s your key to success in dis line of work. Still, dis is a good lead. Could you go find a box while I go look at de edges of de big’ole?
CHET
Alright.
CHET (narrating)
I found a police box round the corner, and called in both the plate number given by Dubois and the serial number on the rifle. The loader apparently belonged to the Seafruit Fishing Company, on Patterson Road in Algiers. The rifle’s serial had to be checked against the state firearms registry in Baton Rouge, which would take several hours. It looked as though I’d been a tad optimistic when I said we’d have the case wrapped up by lunchtime.
CHET
Alright, I’m done. You find out anything useful?
MARTIN
Nope. I bet Crime Lab will come out here as soon as dey hear of it, dough. Better keep de radio on. You find anytin’ of use about dat gun?
CHET
Maybe. We won’t know until the boys in Baton Rouge get back to us. We’ve got a lead on the loader though. Fishery at 2440 Patterson Road.
MARTIN
Let’s go over dere.
CHET
My idea exactly.
INT. Fishery
CHET (narrating)
We arrived at the fishery about a half an hour later, having taken the auto ferry from the Marigny. The place was small and run-down, with a short dock holding two fishing boats, one of which was out, and a warehouse. It all was covered with an odor which felt very foreign to me but which Martin seemed to have an intimate knowledge of. The smell of raw fish.
After entering the warehouse, we found a front desk with a receptionist sitting behind it. The people who owned the fishery clearly wanted it to look more sophisticated than its size and smell suggested it was.
RECEPTIONIST
Good day, sir. Would you like to speak with-
CHET
NOPD, ma’am. We’re investigating a burglary, and a loader belonging to this company was sighted at the scene shortly after. Do you have a registry of the vehicles you own?
RECEPTIONIST
Yes, we do. Please wait while I go get it.
footsteps
CHET (narrating)
The receptionist left the room through a side door, and came back with a large file a few minutes later.
RECEPTIONIST
Ah, here it is. 2J5J0H. Schubert caravan loader, right?
CHET
Probably. We didn’t see it very closely.
RECEPTIONIST
It was checked out once, at nine-thirty last night, by Walter Garret. Check-in time was... it’s still out.
dramatic music
CHET (narrating)
We called R&I to find Garret’s address immediately after leaving the fishery. Turns out we were in luck; he lived in Algiers Point, just a few blocks from his workplace. In addition, Crime Lab had a message for us: the hole had almost certainly been made using industrial metal sawing equipment, which requires a lot of electricity to work and generally isn’t available to private citizens. It seemed like the robbers had been part of an operation more elaborate than we’d imagined...
INT. Opelousas Ave, Algiers - Police Automobile
CHET
You think Garret’s our guy?
MARTIN
Nah. He gotta be small fry. A poor fisherman couldn’a got rifles, industrial saws, de generator to power ’em, and paid people skilled enough to pull off a midnight robbery without anyone hearing it. He’s probably part of whatever operation this is, dou, and could have some good information for us if we get’m..
CHET
You’re right about that. Let’s hope he’s home. It’s just round the corner. Turn right over there, onto Atlantic.
car slows down
perp car’s engine starts
car speeds up
CHET
Goddamn it, he’s making a run for it. Step on it, Martin!
sirens blare
CHET
Keep us going straight behind him. I’ll try and shoot out a tire.
three gunshots
cars turn
four gunshots
CHET
Alright, he’s out! Pull over! PULL OVER, DAMMIT, BEFORE WE CRA-
car skids
crash
MARTIN
Ugh... feels like I was stomped by an elephant...
CHET
That’s what happens when you don’t STOP THE DAMN CAR!
MARTIN
Alright, don’t you go puttin’ no gris-gris on me because of dat. I didn’t crash de car on purpose.
INT. Algiers Police Station
CHET (narrating)
All three of us were taken to the recieving hospital at Algiers Station, where Martin and I were both found to be more or less unharmed. Garret wasn’t so lucky, though, and would remain hospitalized for several days after.
After lunch, the phone call came through from Baton Rouge about the registration of the rifle we found. No entry existed for that serial number in the state registry. They had sent the serial number to corresponding authorities in neighboring states, and were expecting results in no more than three days. This news set us back significantly, and we decided to head back to Algiers to question Garret about his involvement in the robbery.
GARRET
Who’s there? The doctors said I wasn’t gonna be gettin’ no visitors.
CHET
We’re Burglary detectives. I’m Detective Holloway, this is Detective Martin. We’d like to ask you some questions, if that’s alright.
GARRET
Ain’t no way of sayin’ no to that, is there? Alright, ask away.
CHET
Where were you at 5AM this morning?
GARRET
At home, in bed. I work twelve hours a day at the fishery, so I like to think I’m entitled to a night’s sleep every now and then.
CHET
So the loader you checked out of your workplace late last night was to... get home?
GARRET
You know about that? A cousin of mine is movin’ to a new apartment, and I borrowed the auto to help him move his stuff. I left it at his place and took the streetcar back home.
CHET
I see. Does your cousin, by any chance, live at the docks on the Industrial Canal?
GARRET
No, he lives in Gretna. Why?
CHET
Because a night watchman said to us that the same loader you checked out appeared on the scene of a burglary there at some point between 2 and 3 last night. How do you explain that?
GARRET
Someone must have stolen it from outside Mike’s house after I left. I went back from his place at 1030 pm, and then went to bed.
CHET
Or maybe you took it and used it as an escape vehicle for the burglary.
GARRET
No, I ain’t no goddamn criminal! I’m tellin’ you, someone stole the auto!
MARTIN
Come clean wit’us, Garret. You tell us de trut, and dis’ll go much easier on you.
GARRET
Try and fail, copper. You can’t keep me in here forever.
CHET
Now that’s where you’re wrong. We can keep you in here for exactly as long as it takes for you to give a confession. Now are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way?
GARRET
I don’t know why the loader was taken up back, or by whom.
CHET
At this point your admission of complicity is pretty much inevitable. If you’d just speak up right now it’d be much easier for all of us.
GARRET
I told you, I don’t know anything.
CHET
You want us to roughen you up, or do you want to tell us everything you know about last night?
GARRET
I told you, I don’t know anything. Now can I go?
CHET
Sit down, Garret, or you’ll never walk again. Now tell me, who do you take orders from?
GARRET
(sighs) Alright, I’ll tell you everything I know. On one condition.
CHET
And what’s that?
GARRET
I wanna turn state’s evidence. When they find out someone ratted, they’re gonna chase me down for sure. If you can give me a well-guarded cell and guarantee that you won’t press no charges against me personally, I’ll tell you.
CHET
I suppose those are agreeable terms. Very well, I’ll speak to the super once we’re done here. Now tell us, what’s your role in the operation?
GARRET
I’m an escape driver. I check out an auto from the fishery’s pool, usually a specific one they’ve prepped in advance, and drive out to an address. When they get in loaded with contraband I drive to wherever they’ve told me without asking questions. When I’m done they give me fifty bucks.
CHET
And what about the fishery personnel? Don’t they think it’s strange when you borrow a loader for an entire night like this?
GARRET
They’ve all been paid to look the other way. In fact, I think the entire fishery is owned by the organization.
CHET
Who gives the orders?
GARRET
That’s just it; I have no idea myself. All I know about the guy is he’s white, he has brown eyes and his voice is kinda gravelly. He wears a white sheet over the rest of his head, which is probably to keep people like me from ever finding out who he is. I mean, for all I know it could be the Mayor.
CHET
Sounds like a Klansman. Where does he usually contact you?
GARRET
Outside my house, when I’m getting home from work. He walks up to me from the shadows, tells me what to do, and then gets into a black auto and drives off. The first time he came round was also the only time he actually let me answer questions, since then he seems to just assume that I’ll do whatever he tells me to. I’ve never dared not to.
CHET
Is there any patterns to his visits?
GARRET
Not as far as I’ve noticed, though it tends not to be more often than every two or three weeks. Bet it takes that long to plan these things.
CHET
I think we should stake out your “friend” and then follow him, to find out where he and his associates meet. Would you be alright with returning to your home for a couple of weeks more, under police protection? They won’t know you’ve ratted them out until after we’ve done this.
GARRET
Alright, I suppose. But watch the door at all times.
INT. Atlantic Ave, Algiers — Police Automobile
CHET (narrating)
So began the long search for Garret’s unidentified superior, which involved four patrolmen staying in the apartment next to his and an auto with two detectives in it parked outside the house every evening from 6 pm to midnight. We arranged with Garret’s neighbor to borrow his auto, which was almost always parked outside his building, so as not to arouse suspicion. Usually it was me and Martin who were in the auto, whose windows we’d tinted black to keep us from being seen, but sometimes we were replaced by Detectives Kelby and Osborne. The night he finally appeared, it was me and Martin.
CHET
Look! There he comes!
HENDERSON
(muffled) Mr Garret?
GARRET
(muffled) Yes?
HENDERSON
(muffled) Your services are needed. 720 Camp St, the jewelry store, tomorrow night at 2 am. Bring a loader and don’t be late.
footsteps
car starts
MARTIN
Alright, he’s leavin’ de scene. Wait a little bit, den follow’m.
CHET
Alright. Let’s go after him.
car starts
incidental music type “Caravan”
CHET (narrating)
We followed the car from Garret’s apartment in Algiers Point, through Gretna and across the river on the Jackson Avenue auto ferry, to a small but upscale residential house in the First Ward. Upon arrival, we called Laurence Station to ask for backup, and Algiers Station to take Garret into protective custody. We’d reached the point of no return, and from the moment we entered the mansion there would be only two possible outcomes: either we’d go out in the coroner’s van, or the largest burglary ring in Louisiana would be broken. Or so we thought.
INT. 1300 Baronne St, 1st Ward
SQUAD LEADER
Alright, we’ve got all of the doors surrounded, and I’m almost certain we outnumber whatever guards might be inside. We’re ready to storm the building on your mark.
CHET
Alright, let’s go for it.
SQUAD LEADER
Alright people, storm and engage! Get them before they get you!
rapid footsteps
gunfire
CHET
(through megaphone) This is Detective Holloway, NOPD! We have the building surrounded! Cease and desist! I repeat, this is the police! We have the building surrounded! Cease and desist!
KLANSMAN #1
My foot, copper! Come one step closer and I’ll blow your head off!
gunfire
MARTIN
You alright, Chet?
CHET
I’m fine.
SQUAD LEADER
Alright, I think we’ve got everyone on the entry floor. Let’s go down into the basement.
CHET (narrating)
The building turned out to be a lot bigger than we’d expected, as a cellar door in the kitchen led down to what I assume was a meeting room used by the local KKK chapter. The place was heavily guarded, but we managed to get them all out of the way, some going out in a prison van, others in an ambulance or even a hearse. At the back end of the basement room was a thick steel door with a formidable-looking lock on it. We called in some safecrackers from Special Operations, who arrived on the scene shortly afterward. Using heavy-duty industrial saws they managed to bypass the lock and get the door open fairly quickly.
MARTIN
Alright, let’s do di. . . what de. . . ?
WALMSLEY
Good evening, gentlemen. I see you finally managed to reach me.
MARTIN
Pierce Walmsley?
WALMSLEY
That’s right. Bet you weren’t expecting to see me here, right?
MARTIN
You bet I weren’t.
CHET
You know this guy?
MARTIN
Not personally, no. But I recognise him well, and I’m honn�tement surprised you don’t. Dis is de guy who owns half de textile mills in Louisiana.
WALMSLEY
That’s right. And I think you’ll find your way to letting me go now.
CHET
Are you insane? There’s a trail of evidence tying you to the theft of arms from the LaRocque. You’re going to jail, Walmsley.
WALMSLEY
And why would I want to steal a shipment of guns? I could easily have acquired them from legal sources.
CHET
There’s rising tensions between labor unions and employers right now. You wanted to put armed guards in your mills to keep the workers from striking. As I’m sure you know, the Langhorne Act won’t permit you to get firearms for those guards through legal means, so you turned to illegal means. You rounded up your fellow Klansmen, most of whom we’ve already seen, and set in motion a plan to burglarize the ships carrying weapons for the National Guard. The only thing you didn’t account for was our friend Walter Garret ratting you out.
WALMSLEY
Garret? Damn it, I knew the idea of using outsiders for support wasn’t going to work, but still they made us do it. Where is Garret now?
CHET
He’s in protective custody at the police station in Algiers. You think I’d tell you about him if he were at large?
WALMSLEY
Alright, I’ll go with you in peace.
MARTIN
You heard de man! Get’im shackled up.
CHET
See you in court, Walmsley.
INT. Laurence Square Police Station - Interview Room
CHET (narrating)
After the raid on Walmsley’s mansion we thought we’d cracked the case. Indeed, we had almost everything we needed at the time. Motive - Walmsley needed to guard his factories, and the law didn’t allow him to; opportunity - Garret could confess to the Klansmen having committed the burglary, and Walmsley headed the local chapter of the KKK; and hard evidence - we found the truck Garret had driven shortly after, and it had in the back a large generator and several industrial power saws that Crime Lab said matched the cuts in the ship’s hull exactly. All we needed was to question one of Walmsley’s subordinates and obtain a confession, a process we started the day after. William Marsden, for that was his name, was a hard nut to crack, much harder than Garret had been, and after six hours we still hadn’t gotten anything out of him.
CHET
I’m going to ask you again, and this time I want an answer. Where were you on the early morning of September 3rd?
MARSDEN
I’m telling you, I was at home in bed.
CHET
You are William Marsden?
MARSDEN
Yes.
CHET
Of 4461 South Claiborne Avenue?
MARSDEN
Yes.
CHET
Do you have any immediate family?
MARSDEN
I have a wife. What exactly are you gonna do with that information?
CHET
I’m asking the questions here, Marsden. Are you and your wife currently cohabitating?
MARSDEN
Of course we are, we’re married. What are you trying to say?
CHET
Just routine inquiries, sir. What is your occupation?
MARSDEN
I’m a... special agent... of Mr Walmsley’s. I guard a factory of his in the 13th Ward, but he isn’t allowed to arm guards with firearms, so I can’t call myself that.
CHET
Do you have any dealings on the side of your job?
MARSDEN
I part-own an auto pool with some people in my neighborhood, and I occasionally bet on the horses. Other than that, no.
CHET
Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Ku Klux Klan?
MARSDEN
I am not, and I resent the implication you’re making.
CHET
When we arrested you you were in the basement of a house belonging to Mr Walmsley. You were armed with a semi-automatic rifle and you were guarding what appeared to be a Klan meeting, with Mr Walmsley and several other Klansmen in attendance. I’m going to ask you once again, and this time I want THE GODDAMN TRUTH, MARSDEN! Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Ku Klux Klan?
MARSDEN
I’m not. The organization mostly employs outsiders to do its dirty work.
CHET
So you admit to associating with members of the Klan, and to accepting money from them in exchange for your services?
MARSDEN
I do.
CHET
Where were you at around 5 am, on the morning of December 3rd?
MARSDEN
I was at home, in bed. No earthly being is up at that hour.
CHET
Did you attend an institution of higher learning such as a college or university, and if so, which one and when?
MARSDEN
I went to Texas AMC, in College Station, Texas, between 1919 and 1923.
CHET
Did you graduate from said institution?
MARSDEN
I did, in the class of 1923.
CHET
In what field or fields do you have a degree?
MARSDEN
Metalwork.
CHET
Do you know how to operate a handheld industrial power saw?
MARSDEN
I do.
CHET
Were you among the perpetrators of the burglary of the SS Jacqueline LaRocque?
MARSDEN
I was not.
CHET
The truth, Marsden. The ship had a giant hole in the side of it, that had been cut from the inside by an industrial power saw. The same make of power saw, you will be interested to know, as was found in a loader belonging to Seafruit Fishing Company, the owner of which is Mr Pierce Walmsley. Do you have anything you’d like to add to that, Marsden?
MARSDEN
I wasn’t involved in that particular heist. You’ve got no proof of my involvement.
MARTIN
Dat’s where you’re wrong, Marsden.
CHET
What?
MARTIN
I got a phone call a couple hours ago, while de two of you was in here. It was from de Texas State Bureau of Firearms and Explosives, in Austin. Dey told me dat a certain Mauser rifle found in de cargo hold of de LaRocque was last reported as belonging to one William Howard Marsden, of 621 18th Street, Galveston, one mont ago.
CHET
Are you a recent arrival, Marsden? Or is it another Texan by the name William Howard Marsden who owns that gun and took part in the burglary?
MARSDEN
Alright, I don’t suppose there’s any point in denying it. Yes, I took part in the heist on the LaRocque.
CHET
Did Mr Walmsley order the burglary?
MARSDEN
He did. Well, he didn’t tell us to do it personally. He delivers all of his orders through his second, Mr Henderson.
CHET
Do you happen to know where we can find this Mr Henderson?
MARSDEN
You shot him dead yesterday night. I saw it, and the coroner can confirm it if you ask him.
CHET
Alright, I believe you. Are you willing to testify in court that Mr Walmsley ordered the heist?
MARSDEN
I am.
CHET
Alright, I think we’re done here. Thank you for your cooperation, Marsden.
MARSDEN
So that’s it? Can I go?
CHET
Not quite yet. We still need you to testify against your superiors. And given your past allegiances we can’t be absolutely sure you’re going to appear in court. There’s also the fact that the Klan is going to be out for you if they find out you turned state’s evidence, and it’s in our common interest that you survive until the day of Mr Walmsley’s trial. For these reasons I’m placing you in protective custody, effective immediately.
MARSDEN
Alright. Long as I get food and the cell’s got a decent bed.
CHET (narrating)
In every criminal there’s one factor that breaks them, against which they cannot remain defiant. For some people, like Garret for example, the threat of violence is enough to get them to confess. Some people lead double lives, and have never told their family about their criminality. For them it’s usually enough to get the phone number to their wife or their mother, and threaten to call them and tell them everything. In the case of William Marsden, the triggering factor was quite simply the array of evidence against him. The factor is different for every person, and it’s the reason why you can never say in advance how long an interrogation is going to take. You can only keep asking questions, and hope to get lucky, to find the factor as early as possible.
When we were done interrogating Marsden, we were called up to Captain Aldridge’s office at Burgundy Station. Neither I nor Martin had been expecting this, so the auto ride across town was rather tense. We tried to think of reasons he might be wanting to talk to us, and agreed that it had to be about the case. We thought he was going to congratulate us, maybe even give a citation, but what we were faced with was almost the exact opposite of that...
INT. Burgundy Street Police Station — Captain’s Office
ALDRIDGE
Evening, gentlemen. That’s about all I can call it, for a good evening it is not.
CHET
What’s happened?
ALDRIDGE
You tell me. One minute I hear you’re chasing after some two-bit black market arms dealers, the next you’re about to press charges against Pierce Walmsley. Did you go insane over lunch?
CHET
Captain, we have solid evidence tying Mr Walmsley to the crime.
ALDRIDGE
I don’t care if he caused the Great Fucking Flood of 1927, you do NOT hang a rap on that man! He is the second wealthiest man in Louisiana, and a personal friend of the Governor!
MARTIN
But Captain, dere ain’t no hidin’ that he caused dat burglary. Don’t you believe he should be charged if he did it? Isn’t equality before de law guaranteed by de Constitution?
ALDRIDGE
I’m sure you can find many funny things to support your views in the Constitution, especially these days, but some of them just ain’t practical. If Pierce Walmsley is put in jail, the entire city will be turned upside down, and we’ll probably all be sacked for bringing him down.
CHET
Are you serious about this?
ALDRIDGE
Yes, goddamn it, of course I’m serious! Mr Walmsley is one of society’s untouchables. We absolutely cannot charge him with these crimes.
CHET
But. . . he’s guilty! Shouldn’t the guilty be punished according to the law?
ALDRIDGE
As I said, that just isn’t practical sometimes. Mr Walmsley’s empire will collapse overnight if he goes to the big house. Can you imagine how many unemployed people that is? And how many of them will turn to a life of crime when society proves unable to put food on their tables?
MARTIN
At de same time, if we let him go we’ll have to let all of our suspects go. Dat would also be a scandal de Department couldn’t possibly wedder.
ALDRIDGE
You’re right about that. Quite a pickle, it is. But never mind, I’m sure we can avoid both of them in due time. Meanwhile, there are other crimes for you boys to solve. Get on it!
CHET
Yes, sir.
CHET (narrating)
On the 4th of October, 1933, trial was held at the Criminal District Court, City of New Orleans, State of Louisiana. Pierce Walmsley was acquitted for lack of evidence when material witness William Marsden failed to appear before the court at the prescribed time. It was eventually found that James Henderson, a prominent, now-deceased, member of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter, had been responsible for the burglary. The contraband weapons had not been recovered when the case was closed.
Text prepared by:
- Bruce R. Magee
Source
Johansson, Max. “Episode 1 — The Big Heist.” Below Board. 19 November 2013. Podcast. Script. Deviant Art. Web. 2 August 2014. <http:// thearesproject. deviantart. com/ art/ Below-Board-ep-1-The-Big-Heist-414588388>. Used by permission.