“Unit 265 to Dispatch -  Police officer needs assistance (10-18)  Ambulance requested, Fire Code 10300 Highway 251 - 

The Dispatcher nodded and continued to monitor the radio.

The Chief barked, “Get him on the phone. I want to know what’s going on.” He went back into his office and waited for the line to ring.

The dispatcher yelled from her desk, “Patching it through, Chief.”

He answered on the first ring. “Tommy, what’s up?”

“Chief, I’m out here on 251. Got a single vehicle upside down in the ditch. The driver is unconscious but breathing.”

“Any idea on the cause?”

“Not yet. I'm running the plates and -”

Another officer yelled, “Hey, Tommy. You better take a look at this. The Suburban’s loaded with pharmaceutical boxes. A lot of oxycontin down here.”

“Chief, this isn’t looking good. The vehicle's hauling boxes of oxycontin and the vehicle smells like a brewery."

“Check it out, Tommy, and get back to me.”  He hung up the phone and walked to the door. “Get Nathan Rotello on the phone. And find Triston.”

“Yes, sir.” Sandy, the department desk officer, snapped up her phone, flipped through her telephone log, and found the number. First, she placed a call to Triston. “Sergeant Hall, Chief wants you in his office ASAP. There’s a problem out on Highway 251.”

After confirming Triston was on her way, she searched for the number for Rotello Trucking and dialed. The telephone rang numerous times before the answering machine picked up, “You’ve reached Rotello Trucking. Our business hours are from seven to five, Monday thru Friday. Please leave your name and number, and we will return your call as soon as possible. If this is an emergency, please call Nathan Rotello at 815 324-6777. We appreciate your business. Thank you.”

Rolling over in bed, Nathan checked the alarm clock. The glaring red numbers read 3:34 A.M.

His bedside phone continued to ring. He swung his legs off the edge of the mattress and answered, “Hello, Nate Rotello speaking.”

“Mr. Rotello, my apologies for waking you, but Chief O’Shea needs to speak to you.”

“It’s the middle of the night! Can’t it wait?” Nate made little effort to hide his annoyance.

“Sorry, sir. Just following orders. He said to get you on the line.” She hesitated a brief second and added, “I’ll transfer you to his phone. One moment, please.”

“O’Shea here.”

“Pat, it’s Nate Rotello. What the hell’s going on? You do know it’s three-thirty in the morning, right? Some of us like to sleep.”

“Yeah, Nate. Sorry about the timing, but there’s been an accident out on 251. The vehicle's loaded with oxycontin. Know anything about that?”

“No way, Pat. Our shipments go out in Rotello trucks.”

“Unit 505 to Dispatch - Police Officer needs assistance (10-18) aggravated vehicular hijacking - 110 homicide - three victims down - coroner requested. Fire Code 12242 Highway 251 

Dispatcher: “All available units in the 7th District and County-wide: Officers need assistance (10-18) two separate locations. Advise your availability 10300 Highway 251, Zone 6 and 12242 Highway 251, Zone 6.

Unit 505 to Dispatch - Priority request to be patched to the Chief.

“Hang on, Nate. I’ve got a priority patch coming in. Maybe they have more information.”

The second line rang, and he picked up the receiver. “O’Shea here.”

“Sir, this is Officer Rainbolt. I’m out on 251, south of the initial scene. Looks like a hijacking gone bad. Confirming three bodies and a Rotello truck.”

“You’re sure of your information?” O’Shea expelled the air from his lungs. “Stay on top of it, Rainbolt.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

Chief O’Shea clicked over to the other line. “Nate, you better get down here. There’s been a hijacking out on 251.  I’m told it’s one of your trucks.”

“Hijacking? On 251? That would be Halsted headed for Whipton Community Hospital. Is he okay?”

“Details are just coming in. Get your butt in here. By then, I should have more information.”

“Okay.” Nate’s voice was strained, “ Poor guy's got a wife and three kids.” 

The Chief buried his face in his hands. Another family broken. The drugs were becoming an epidemic, and he didn’t know how to stop it.

“Did anyone find Triston?”  He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He left the comfort of his bed twenty-two hours ago, and by the looks of things, he wouldn’t see it any time soon.

“I’m right here, Chief. The team has filled me in with what we know so far.” 

“Good. Nate Rotello’s headed in, too. I want Santiago in my office.”  Triston turned to leave. “Oh, yeah, and I guess somebody better bring Sheriff Trainor into the mix.”

“I’m on it, boss.” Triston wanted to tell him he was burning the candle at both ends, but now just wasn’t the time. Instead, she smiled,  “I’ll bring you a fresh cup of coffee.”

**********

Detective Ric Santiago tapped on the Chief’s door. 

“Come in, Ric. Take a load off.” The Chief indicated the chair across from his desk. “You got an update for me?”

“Yes, sir. The Suburban was reported missing out of Wisconsin two weeks ago, and it has stolen Indiana tags. The driver is 21-year-old Tyson Jamison, a local resident currently enrolled at Whipton College on a basketball scholarship. No family listed. No priors, a clean sheet as far as I’ve found so far. He’s in ICU at Mercy Hospital, and his condition is listed as critical with an unstable prognosis. His blood-alcohol level was charted at .35 BAC. Our boy was hammered. The vehicle was carrying 24 boxes of oxycontin."

"Tree branches were used to blockade the road. As they were unloading, something went wrong. The driver, John Halsted, was shot twice, and the two alleged hijackers both died from gunshot wounds. Neither has been identified yet.”

"Nate is on his way in. I’d like you here when I talk to him. Isn’t this the third hijacking in the last six months?”

“Yeah. My question is, how do they know when one of these late-night shipments is going down? And what happened out there tonight?”  Ric shook his head, “If those drugs had made it to the streets -”

“Yeah, it’s escalating from hijacking to murder. We need a handle on this, and we need it fast.”

“The kid in the hospital had a card in his billfold for emergency contact. Ethan somebody. Triston is working on that now, and we’ll follow up with him to see what he knows.” Ric stood and walked to the doorway, “If this is escalating, we might need to bring in more muscle.”

“I hate outsiders but do whatever it takes. I want this stuff off my streets.” The Chief released a heavy sigh. “Nate just walked in. Let’s see what he has to say about the shipments.”