Alvin never did get a chance to take his uniform off Sunday night. Instead he found himself in his toasty warm cruiser racing towards Vinny's place at the speed of light. The curvy roads forced him to slow down and he found himself fidgeting with the knob on the radio just to keep his sanity. If Vinny really was behind all of this it would look better if Alvin brought him in himself. He almost got lost finding the place because he had only been to Vinny's trailer once when Vinny first moved in.
As Alvin pulled into the long stony driveway he noticed Vinny's truck was missing and all the lights were off. It was 12:15am and all Alvin could infer was Vinny was probably at a local watering hole drinking off some steam.
There was an eerie light glowing from the barn and it had him very curious. Bridget had mentioned that Vinny usually spent a lot of time in the barn and that's where she found the People magazine.
A few jagged stones spat out from the tires as the squad car squelched to a stop. Alvin quietly exited the car and dug his thumbs inside his belt and pulled his pants up a few inches like cops often do. The 13 pounds of gear that they wear on their belt causes their pants to droop so cops are often seen yanking up their pants.
As Alvin moseyed towards the barn he unbuttoned the top of his gun holster then quickly snapped it back shut. Vinny wouldn't attack his own blood would he?
Alvin left his Glock40 alone and slinked towards the barn. He spotted a small window but it was 8ft from the ground. He snooped around a little and soon found a rusty barrel to prop underneath the window so he could peer inside the barn.
Not making any more noise than a mouse stealing a piece of cheese, Alvin stepped on top of the barrel and peeked through the window. The lights were on but nobody was inside.
Alvin hopped off the barrel and made his way towards a door on the side of the barn. To his dismay, the door had a combination lock hanging from it. Fortunately for him, Mark had showed him years ago how easy it was to pick those combination locks without the use of lock picking tools.
Alvin got on his knees and placed the back of the combination lock against his ear. He turned the dial clockwise very slowly until he heard the faint ting sound. Then he turned it very slowly counter clockwise until he could hear the tiny pins once again. After hearing the familiar sound he turned the dial clockwise once again and had no problem opening the lock.
Alvin left the combination lock hanging on the hinge and pushed the door open. Entering the barn felt like an equivalence of the ambiance you would feel entering a cemetery late at night. Death. The smell of death seemed to be lurking about.
The first thing Alvin noticed when he stepped inside the barn was the boat was missing. He had never saw it before, but hadn't Theresa once mentioned that Vinny had a boat?
Alvin quickly began snooping around being careful not to meddle anything that the Gadget Man might later discover. If anyone took a guess as to what the infamous Gadget Man's lair might look like, they might picture a hodge podge similar to the mess Alvin was standing in right now. Off to the side of the cluttered work bench were numerous appliances all torn apart. Microwaves, televisions, air conditioners, even a Norelco electric razor had been taken apart.
A gut feeling hunch lured Alvin to the big blue plastic trash barrel which appeared to be overflowing. Alvin was in no mood to pick through trash but noticed an empty chocolate milk carton perched prominently at the top of the pile that seemed to be screaming at him.
Without touching the 16 ounce milk carton Alvin was able to lean over the barrel and read the expiration date printed on the side. He seemed surprised to learn that the milk had expired 8 months ago especially since Vinny was so picky when it came to expired dairy food. Even if Vinny disposed of the milk carton 8 months ago what was it doing on the very top of the trash?
Alvin found a broom, flipped it upside down, and shoved the handle into the trash barrel. After pushing it less than a foot into the barrel the broomstick struck something solid. The experienced law enforcer put the pieces together in his head and realized there had to be a hidden compartment inside the barrel. He placed the broom on the floor and bear hugged the plastic barrel and pushed up on it until it popped in half. It was contraband galore. Sticks of dynamite, model rocket accessories, pager guts, and even pyro sensors.
He felt his heart beat faster as he put the trash barrel back together and continued his investigation. This was not looking good at all. Alvin walked over to the pile of appliances on the floor and spotted a chain saw that didn't appear it was ever taken apart unlike the rest of the stuff. Something told him to examine the blades on the chain and the dark red spots looked all too familiar and definitely weren't paint. There was no doubt in Alvin's mind that the red stains on the chain weren't blood. He decided he better put gloves on before he finished his snooping around.
A big black and gray Sony boom box setting on the middle of the workbench and surrounded by screwdrivers caught his attention next. The black plastic casing in the back of the stereo had been removed and rested at the corner of the workbench. It was quite evident that Vinny had been recently working on the stereo.
Alvin recalled the information that Erik had conveyed to him and closed his eyes and said a quick prayer before he spun the boom box around to examine the tinkering Vinny had done to it. When he opened his eyes he found himself retching from the shock of what he was looking at.
Clear as day were red and blue wires that had been soldered to the circuit board. Every one of them had exactly 5 twists.