To keep on the safe side, he set the alarm on the stolen iPod for two hours. He used his backpack as a pillow and placed the iPod inside of it. Wedged between old boxes and itchy insulation, he somehow managed to fall asleep.
Two hours later, he almost cracked his head on the ceiling when he woke up startled and confused. It took him a minute to find the iPod and shut off the alarm. He was terrified a passing patrol car was going to hear it and know where he was hiding.
After he turned off the iPod, he took a look out through the vent. It was dark. There were a few more cars in driveways, but the neighborhood still looked deserted.
Mitchell decided he should wait to see if there was a pattern to when the police car drove through the neighborhood. Knowing that could help him plan his escape out of there.
In the meantime, he needed to occupy himself. After a lot of internal debate, he decided to turn to WQXD to see what they were saying. He was also strangely obsessed with the thought that they were going to give Mike the intern his late-night spot. It was a stupid thing to think about, but the idea that Mike would rat him out for the opportunity nagged him. Everybody for himself.
Mitchell heard the opening music to Rookman’s show. It was some Neil Diamond meets the Doors send-up that Rookman had recorded in his garage with a few of his buddies. Imagining Rookman playing guitar next to an ex-cop playing a drum set in front of a half-put-together Camaro and beer bottles strewn about the place made Mitchell feel like things were back to normal.
Rookman’s gravelly voice came in over the music, “Man on a rampage! Watch out! Our own Mad Mitch a wanted fugitive folks! It doesn’t get any more exciting than that. Tonight I’m going to give you the inside scoop into this criminal mastermind. This dark loner who sat just a few feet from where I am now earlier this morning.
“I’ve got a special last-minute guest on the line whose going to tell us how the authorities are going to catch this dangerous menace before he murders us all!”
Mitchell shook his head. What the hell?
“Please welcome former police captain Dick Miller. Dick just wrote a book about the search for the DC Snipers and is an expert on how manhunts work. I brought him on the show so he could explain how the authorities are going to catch our Mad Mitch and bring him to justice. Dick, how are you?”
Mitchell’s stomach turned. Despite all his fight-the-power talk and what he thought was mutual respect if not friendship, Rookman was ready to pounce on him like everybody else. Mitchell wanted to turn off the radio, but his sense of self-loathing wouldn’t let him.
“Great, Rookman, thanks for having me on here,” Miller said.
“Thank you for agreeing on such short notice. Just for background for our syndicated listeners and those of you living under rocks and in your bunkers, an arrest warrant was issued today for Mad Mitch, aka Mitchell Roberts, the kid who plays that emo music here after I go home to get drunk. Run for your lives, folks!
“So, Dick, first I have to ask you, is it clear to you why there’s this manhunt for Mitch? I’ve looked at the bulletin they’ve sent out and I can’t find any mention of a gun, a rifle, a knife or even an angry T-shirt.”
“Well …” Miller hesitated. “I think that since he’s the one person who seems to be at the center of the tragic events at the Park Square Mall, I can understand why police want to talk to him. That plus the events earlier in the day when he assaulted, allegedly, his girlfriend, the boyfriend and threw the parking enforcer into a windshield.”
“Have you ever seen Mitch?” asked Rookman.
“I saw the photo. But, no, I’ve never met him.”
“I guess you never really know a guy until he beats up on two people at once and then picks up an overweight parking cop and throws her five feet into the windshield of his car. I’d never have believed it myself if the cops hadn’t told us that’s what happened.”
“So, Dick, you’re an expert on what happens when police decide who public enemy number one is and have to go after them. What’s going on right now?”
“I’m not part of the search, so I really couldn’t tell you,” replied Miller.
“Just give me your best guess. I know a lot of my listeners would feel safer knowing what steps are being taken.”
“Well, the first 24 hours is critical. Although there’s a coordination between the different city and county police departments, the farther away he gets from here, the harder he’s going to be to catch.”
“Why is that?” asked Rookman.
“As much as they try to cooperate with one another, you’re not going to be as concerned about something that didn’t happen in your own jurisdiction. Dade County and Palm Beach County, which surround Broward County, have their own problems and have to figure out how much of their own resources to expend in trying to apprehend Mitchell Roberts. So the farther he gets away from here, the harder he’ll be to catch.”
“I see,” said Rookman. “So he needs to get as far away from here in 24 hours if he wants to avoid getting caught.”
Mitchell’s ears perked up. He couldn’t help but notice the way Rookman said that. It wasn’t even a rhetorical question.
“Now, what are some of the ways fugitives can travel that allow them to avoid getting caught?” asked Rookman.
“The first method is a car that hasn’t been reported stolen. Or a stolen car where they’ve switched out the license plates for a car that the owner might not realize they’ve gone missing.”
“Like a long-term airport parking lot?” asked Rookman.
“Yes, that’s one place.”
“What if they don’t have access to a car or don’t know how to steal one?”
“That makes it harder. In populated areas, it’s difficult to travel by foot and not go noticed. Public transportation is heavily monitored, as well,” answered Miller.
“So if he sticks to side roads and places like railroad tracks and travels by night, it would be harder to catch him?”
“It would make things more complicated.”
“I’ve heard that one of the things that some fugitives have used is police scanners to listen for police presence,” said Rookman.
“It’s not a common thing, but a lot of departments use open frequencies. Especially when they’re doing coordinated activities with other agencies.”
“Let’s just hope that Mitch doesn’t get one of those. Mitch might be able to stay hidden for days…”
“I agree,” said Miller.
“As a public service announcement to any truckers out there listening to this show who might think about leaving your police scanner on your seat when you went into a diner to get something to eat, think twice. Our Mad Mitch might just put a brick through your window and steal it.”
25
Rookman spent the rest of the night using his guest to covertly offer Mitchell helpful advice. Mitch paid close attention. When it was time to leave, he put the radio away and gathered all of his belongings together. In total darkness, he carefully climbed down the attic ladder and raised it back into place. Being extra cautious, he fished the applesauce containers from the trashcan and placed them into his bag to throw away someplace else. He threw them back out when he realized the mysterious car in the garage was probably going to be a bigger tip-off that somebody was there than a few empty containers of Mott’s.
He’d heard the police car roll by three more times, roughly an hour apart. The last time was ten minutes before. He knew he couldn’t count on that being a reliable estimate, but it gave him an idea when he should avoid the street entirely.
After doing a last pass through the house, Mitchell carefully slid open the sliding glass door enough for him to pass through. He then pushed it back into place and gave it a tilt to lock it into position.