Whipped: An Arthur Beauchamp Novel(93)
He poured Lou a tot of an excellent Scotch before checking his wrist. “Likely a simple sprain. A sling will do for now. You’ll need to get it X-rayed though.”
There was a knock at the door, and a woman in uniform came in, followed by a man in plain clothes. Geraldson, or something like that. “Major Crimes,” he said. “And this is Constable Mickelwump,” though Lou wasn’t sure if he got that right either. She began taking photos of him once his arm was in a sling.
Geraldson: “Can I shake your hand, sir?”
“My pleasure, Officer.”
“I don’t think we got your name.”
“Uh, Rob, my name is Rob. Rob O’Brien.”
“Well, Rob, you are now a national hero.”
THE CLIPPINGS FILE
CBC News, Saturday, December 28, 6:00 p.m.
CALGARY — The mystery man known as Rob O’Brien, hailed as a hero for thwarting a child kidnapping by an alleged pedophile, has disappeared.
Shortly after 3:00 p.m. today, O’Brien was driving through a pleasant, upscale Calgary neighbourhood, when he spotted Betsy Loewen, eight, being pulled into a van.
In what seemed an outtake from a Hollywood thriller, O’Brien did a wheelie on the mushy street, forcing the van into a snowdrift, then pursued the suspect on foot into a park and brought him down. Neighbours rushed from their homes to help O’Brien subdue the suspect, who was then turned over to police.
But O’Brien vanished after he was taken to Calgary General Hospital to be treated for a wrist injury. At last report, his 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier with Saskatchewan plates was still in the hospital’s parking area, being watched by two uniformed officers in a cruiser.
Meanwhile, Larry Orvil Jutt, 41, who gave an address in Butte, Montana, remains in custody and will appear in Calgary Provincial Court on Monday, facing charges of assault, kidnapping, and attempted sexual assault. Police sources say he is known to authorities in the U.S. They are seeking to confirm he is the Playground Prowler, as the man was dubbed, whose haunting of Calgary’s streets last summer had parents gripped with fear.
After his heroics, O’Brien was invited to the nearby home of Dr. Abram Jerrison, an orthopaedic surgeon, who examined his wrist. Police interviewed him there briefly but were persuaded to delay further questioning until X-rays were taken and any injuries dealt with. Before leaving, O’Brien changed from his wet clothes into dry attire from his host’s closet.
The press, along with a growing crowd of onlookers, was held back by police as Dr. Jerrison led O’Brien from the house. Although his left arm was in a sling, O’Brien was permitted to drive his own car. Dr. Jerrison backed his BMW from his garage and signalled O’Brien to follow him to the hospital.
There, X-rays were taken and proved negative for fracture. It is not known how O’Brien disappeared. When last seen, he was wearing a grey pullover and a tan winter jacket.
Police have remained tight-lipped about the missing mystery man, but according to Dr. Jerrison detectives had intended to interview him at the hospital. “I assigned him to a private ward to await them,” he said, “but somehow they never connected. I feel dreadful about that.”
A search of the Chevrolet revealed it to be empty except for a Saskatchewan Roughriders jacket on the front passenger seat and a toy train engine lodged beneath it. The plates have been traced to an auto mechanic business in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.
Meanwhile, several residents of the small community of Porcupine Plain, south of Maple Creek, have contacted media to advise that O’Brien, whom they identified from TV news footage, is a local computer technician, well known and liked in the community.
Details of his background remain sketchy at this time.
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CTV Breaking News, Saturday, December 28, 9:20 p.m.
CALGARY — News of his gutsy rescue of an eight-year-old girl from an alleged sexual predator riveted the nation. Then his sudden disappearance shocked the nation.
Now it has been learned that this hero has been living a double life. Rob O’Brien’s real name is Lou Sabatino, a former journalist with a 20-year career at the Canadian Press.
Switchboards were lit up and social media inundated today with messages from Sabatino’s colleagues in the media confirming his identity.
“There could be no mistaking him,” said Hugh Dexter, CP’s Montreal bureau chief, who watched video taken by CTV’s mobile unit, showing him about to drive to hospital for an X-ray of his left arm, injured during his sensational rescue of the girl.
Calgary police have continued to stonewall inquiries about his disappearance from the hospital, but it is known that he had been threatened by Mafia mobsters after writing a four-part exposé about their role in the Waterfrontgate bribery scandal.
That was published nationwide in early February. A week later, as he stepped from his C?te-des-Neiges home, gunmen opened fire from a passing sedan, barely missing him as he dove for cover.
He and his family — wife and two children — were then put under witness protection in Quebec. It is not known how or why he moved to Porcupine Plain, SK, where he has been living since June under the pseudonym Robert O’Brien.
Investigators appear to be working under a gag order from the Calgary Police Chief’s office, and have adamantly refused to join in speculation that the Mafia have finally caught up to Sabatino. Nor have they offered information about the whereabouts of his family, who are presumed to be still under witness protection.