Work Text:
“Open Channel D”
“Illya here and where the hell are you?”
“Sitting in a jail cell accused of a murder I could not have committed.”
“What?!?!”
“Alright I will give you the short version. I was chasing one of our bird friends when I got into a little accident with a Cadillac. I was at fault and more than willing to trade insurance with the gentleman whose breath smelt of Gin and limes and turned out to be the Mayor of the town I was in. I was arrested and taken to the county clink without a telephone call. They fingerprinted me and match my finger prints to an unsolved crime in the area. The gruesome murder of a Miss Sally May. She was in college at the time and had come home for the holidays.”
“And they think you are this murder? Because of a fingerprint match?”
“Yes, however I could not have done it because I was stationed in Korea at that time.”
“You think our bird friends had a hand in this?”
“I can’t think of anyone else. If nothing else get my military paperwork and Mr. Waverly on this pronto.”
“Pronto? You want me to play for them?”
“What?”
“Pronto is an Italian musical term to play very quickly.”
“No, pronto means promptly or quickly.”
“It does?”
“Yes, so get yourself over to Waverly and solve this. I would hate to be taken out by a sheriff in a town that has no stop lights.”
Napoleon cut off communication and Illya did as he requested.
“Open Channel D.”
“Illya! Do you have any good news for me?”
“I do not think this news is good or bad just news. I am driving with Mr. Waverly to get you out of jail and expunge this crime from your record. We found proof of tampering with the files at the jail. A few cases were ‘solved’ because the fingerprints matched a crime in this area. Rather rural if you ask me but a lot of people have died from homicide in that town.”
“How soon?”
“Why?”
“Because I have been sitting in a jail cell for a month now and this is the first time you contacted me. I thought I had been forgotten.”
“It took a little while for us to get the paperwork together and find the evidence to exonerate you.”
“A month?”
“Huh, has it been that long?”
“I’m going stir-crazy in here Illya. It better be soon.”
“We are pulling up to the police station as we speak.”
After another half an hour the sheriff came into the cell area and released Napoleon with much apologizing from him for the way he was treated.
Napoleon wondered what Mr. Waverly said that had gotten the man so frightened.