I got downstairs and made myself a drink, Lisa returned a few minutes later. I asked her, “Are you ready? it’s just about showtime” Lisa just nodded her head.
I activated the new phone putting all the evidence back in the bag. Then I called every news channel and newspaper in town letting them know there was a federal fugitive who was being arrested at 6724 Downey St. They were ‘holed up in a private residence at that address.
Then I called the local FBI office and police, on my phone and told them that the two fugitives they were looking for were in my house and that I came home to find them in the bedroom. I tried to do something but the man attacked me suddenly and forced me out of the door and locked it. I told them my keys were inside because when I get home I always put them in the dish by the door. A few college friends that I knew were walking down the street, I pulled a muscle or stretched a tendon in my groin, and they came over to help. They told me they found the back door open and went upstairs to confront them. They came downstairs and told me they had subdued them with some stuff that was lying around the room”
“Are they still on the premises, Sir?” the officer asked me
“I believe so, officer. I kept hearing loud sounds, but everything is quiet up there now” I replied
“We have units in the area close to that address, and we’ll be sending some support units to assist them. Where are you now Sir? You’re not being threatened or in harm’s way are you?” He asked.
“No sir, I’m laying on the couch and a friend from work is with me, I can hardly move with my bum leg” I replied
I laid down on the couch, then had Lisa grab the baseball bat in the closet, and then we sat down and waited to see who would get there first. They came in this order, the police, then the news crews, leaving the feds for last. Which we thought was funny as the federal offices were the closest of them all.
“So you are Mr. Dale Farmer, and you are ma’am?” he dropped into a chair
“My name is Lisa Boyd, I came over to see how he was doing after his trip. I arrived to see a man push him down onto the concrete porch, then pick him up and force him out into the front yard, when I got to him, he could barely walk”
“I see,” said the officer, then he looked at me, “You told the desk Sergeant some college friends came by to help you?”
“Sometimes I help students out with their class projects, like my neighbor’s child”
I told the officer.
“Ok, Can you give me their names?” The officer asked as he wrote down some notes.
“I’m afraid I can’t, you see they told me to keep their names out of this as they’re getting ready to graduate, two are going for their masters while the other four already have jobs lined up, and they don’t want anything to jeopardize their future. I told them I would respect their wishes, sorry” I adjusted myself a little on the couch and acted out a nice ‘wince and moan’ “Lisa could you go to the bathroom and in the cabinet are some Advil, would you get me a couple, please?
Lisa went upstairs and she had to have an officer accompany her. “I’ll just take the bottle downstairs so I won’t have to bother all of you again, would that be alright?” She asked the officer. He just nodded and followed her back to the stairs. She came back down walked over to the couch, put two pills in my hand, and then went into the kitchen for a glass of water.
Just as she sat down, 3 officers came in with bolt cutters and went up the stairs. It was an hour later that two Ambulances arrived to pick them up. Apparently, they had been in one position for so long that even trying to straighten any of their limbs out caused them great pain. I loved it when the EMTs had to roll them out before the large crowd that had gathered outside of my house. the lights for the camera crews and the flashes from the reporters were going non-stop as they wheeled them out, and then tried to find the best way to get them into the Ambulances.
The detective told me that I would have to sleep somewhere else that evening as the house had been declared a crime scene. Lisa spoke right up, “He can stay in the guest room at my house, so you can reach him there when you’re all done here” She gave the officer her address and home phone number in case they had to ask us anything else, or when I could come back to the house.
The officer agreed and then helped her to stand me up. I went out onto the porch where I gave a small press conference, answering all the questions they asked me. Near the end, I noticed the man in charge of the FBI had come out of the house. I called him over and made a show to express my gratitude for all officers who came to help. With their cameras running and all the recording devices nearby, I asked him one final question.
“Agent Copeland, with everything that has happened, Her being my wife and him being my boss, plus they were subdued in my home, and I was the one who called all the law enforcement officers represented here. “Do I still get the $10,000 reward offered on the TV news that said you were offering for their capture?”
Harrison waited a week before announcing my promotion to make it look good.
Both Shirley and Jerry were served divorce papers while awaiting their trials, there wasn’t any problem with them going through. I had asked to speak to her one final time, but she told the guards a firm ‘NO!’ when they told her I was there.
A year later, my wife Lisa and I welcomed our son, Dale Harrison Farmer into the world. I sent a picture of all of us to Shirley, they told me she went into fits of anger and then attacked the guard who gave it to her. While she was in solitary, she burned both my letter as well as the picture.
P.S. I did get the reward, so I took the family on a little vacation.