Hiding in Plain Sight

Chapter One: A Very Bad Day

          It had rained earlier in the day causing Roger Weslyn and his flooring crew to be sent home due to flooding in the newly constructed home. He was hungry and decided to stop at his favorite Café. It was about 4 o'clock when he finished and paid for his meal. On his way out he bumped into a man who was part of a group of 4 and noticed he was carrying a gun in a shoulder holster.  
      Just as he got in his truck he received a phone call from his brother asking if he was going to his mom and dad's this weekend for a cookout. As he was talking to his brother he could hear what sounded like fireworks from inside the restaurant, as he looked up through the window he could see the man he had bumped into firing a gun, he ducked down in his truck and told his brother to call nine-one-one for him.
       George Pace was sick of grading papers, is junior high students just didn't want to seem to learn you only had a few who were passing. His briefcase in heavier than normal and he decided to try a different place to eat. He'd noticed the cafe a number of times but he'd never been there. So he went in and took a seat and ordered his dinner. While relaxing he noticed what looked like a construction worker leaving and a group of 4 coming in. He picked up his briefcase and went to the restroom to take care of his business and wash his hands. While in there he heard a popping sound, he wasn't sure if somebody's car had backfired or if it was gunshots. He peeked out the door and saw one of the men in the group of 4 that just came in firing a gun.He quickly took his briefcase and went into the stall, standing on the toilet seat crouched down he quickly grab a empty sheet of paper, a marker, and some tape out of his briefcase and wrote out of order and taped on the door of his stall. He heard someone come in and do a quick look around and then leave. He stayed put until he heard the sirens of the police, and someone came into the bathroom looking around to see if anyone was in there but did a more thorough job than whoever it been in there before.  Looking through the crack of the door he realized it was the police he raised his hands above the stall door put his feet down on the floor and very carefully open the door and stepped out.
       It was his first day managing, and he didn't want to screw it up. He'd arrived early that morning and had seen that everything was prepared properly he was actually getting ready to go home when he heard the shots, he rushed the cooks busboys and dish washer into the cooler and locked it so they would be safe. Then he went into his office and ducked down into the Hideaway hole and moved the empty cardboard boxes in front of him and waited for the shots to stop. He heard someone come into his office and for the few moments that they were there he kept quiet and didn't even breathe. He waited until I heard the police sirens and heard movement he heard them comment on the cooler being locked and as they went into every room they yelled police. As the police came into his office you very slowly and carefully moved a small stack of empty cardboard boxes from in front of the hiding hole. Stuck his hands out and said I'm the manager I'm the manager I have the keys to the cooler. He was escorted to the cooler and allowed to release the cooks and people who were in the back.
      When questioned each of the men gave a similar statement not identical but similar they all agreed that there was for men and they all saw them shooting. They each identified the men, none of them understood why the cafe was chosen. After much investigation it was discovered that the owner of the café had told one of the men that he could go take a flying leap off a short pier when they attempted to extort him for protection for his restaurant but none of the three men knew this.
       After 3 attempts on their lives the men were put into protective custody they had no families to speak of. After a year-and-a-half the trial for the four men began. After 6 months due to a technicality on police procedure the four men were released. Once more each of the witnesses had an attempt on their lives made they were put into protective custody.
        The district attorney continued to look into attempted witness tampering, threats against judges, jury tampering, and even possible leaks in the police department and in witness protection. They never could find a connection no matter how hard they tried, the only thing they could find was one of the men threatened a court clerk to remove some parking fines from his record, and the clerk had quit the year before and moved to Florida to retire. Otherwise there was no connection.