Case of the Murdered Bride Ch. 04

"Did he say who gave him the master key?" I asked.

"He said he bought it from someone in the Tenderloin District, but he didn't know exactly who." replied Paulina. "That's how deals down there go, with intermediaries, so we probably won't be able to trace that."

"Unless he's lying and got the key from someone else." I said, fairly sure. "Meanwhile, Rollins must've seen Atkins, realized that something wasn't right in Atkins being there, and so he went back to the room and called off the threesome with the cabby." I said. "That was something I never quite understood."

Paulina continued, "Possibly. At any rate, Atkins said that he hurried to the cracked door of the hotel room and went inside. Diane Lang was there, in her bridal dress. She was surprised to see him, and didn't react quickly enough when he grabbed her, slit her throat and dropped her body flat on the floor, then buried his knife in her chest, which actually got her heart.

"Atkins then tiptoed into the hallway, avoiding Diane's gushing blood, but got into the hallway just as Rollins got to the door." Paulina went on. "They stared at each other for a second, then Atkins jumped Rollins, and managed to get him in a headlock and break his neck very quickly. He then hoisted Rollins' body over his shoulder and carried it down the secret stairwell into the passageway, where he dumped it. He was going to go back to get the knife, but someone came down the hallway, so he just fled down the stairs and out the side door, and back to his rental car."

"He didn't go straight back to the City, though." said Paulina. "He went to Larry Lang's house. He knew he had to get that DVD of himself, or else the cops would come straight to him. He found the video quickly, but then had the bright idea to trash the house completely. So he did, thinking it might distract the police. Then he drove back to the City, got a few hours sleep, and drove back the next morning. He still does not understand how you got onto him as quickly as you did."

"We got onto him so quickly because Blair betrayed him to us, bringing up Atkins name, thinking we'd never trace Atkins to Blair." I said. "But Atkins story leaves many questions."

"I agree with the Commander on that." Cindy said. "Swiss cheese holes in that story, from start to finish." I nodded.

"Want me to go back and rescind the plea deal?" Paulina asked, somewhat mischievously.

"No." I said. "Let's leave it lie. I think our due process was good, but it was thin at first. In fact, only when Larry Lang said that he'd gotten a DVD from Atkins did I have any realistic probable cause for a search warrant. Sure it led to strong evidence, sure we would've gotten more over time, but... well, we'll just let this sleeping dog lie for 25 to life."

"Smart man." said Paulina.

"So let me get this straight." said Martin Nash. "Your said your first clue was when Atkins talked about Rollins in the past tense. You never suspected anyone else?"

"Well, let me start from the beginning and tell the story." I said. Everyone got comfortable for a long tale as I started:

"Of course the Crime Scene gave clues that we were dealing with sexual roleplay, so I immediately went along those lines. Then there was the Lang break-in, which confused me. Cindy had the good idea when she said whoever did it was trying to deceive us. But it did occur to me that the murderer had also gone to the Lang house to murder Larry Lang. Fortunately, Lang was out of town, but it was more fortunate for Atkins... killing Lang would've pointed more sharply to Atkins."

"Question." Cindy said. "Blair didn't want Larry Lang dead. Why did Atkins go over there to kill him?"

"Maybe for his own reasons of jealousy." I said. "But I don't insist on the thesis that Atkins wanted to kill Lang, so maybe that was off the mark. Anyway, I happen to have a wife and other sources that know more about the Swinging Scene in this County than most people want to know in a lifetime. I got the Lang bride-cabbie story pretty quickly, and Martin and I went and found the guy who'd had a lucky experience a couple of months ago."

"You found him." said Nash, then grinned as he said "I was just there to watch, pun not intended." That line got everyone laughing for a minute; Nash had just shown a pawky sense of humor.

"Good one, Martin." said the Chief. "Okay, Crowbar, then what?"

"Atkins name came up rather quickly at Lightsource." I said. "I began seeing the rejection pattern even then, and when we followed up on his past, I was seeing it more and more. I also saw the paramilitary stuff, and knew that Atkins was at least physically capable of quickly killing Diane so heinously. As far as suspects went, Atkins was a 'fit'."

"I still had a missing Larry Lang, though." I said. "As I thought about it, it became clear that Blair had been protecting Lang from the get-go. Then it began coming out that Diane would do the cabbie thing while Larry was on vacations with Blair. Sure, it was a stretch, but I surmised there might be something sexual between Blair and Lang, and that Blair might have not-so-obvious but very real reasons for protecting Larry. That led to me suspecting that Larry might be hiding in the Blair home. Certainly I'd never do something like go and peek into Blair's garage, where Larry's car might have been parked; why, that would be against the law, of course."

"Good grief, no wonder you get the results you do, you scofflaw." growled the Chief. Everyone laughed again.

I said "So, to round out the likely suspects, that just left finding the cabbie that was there that night, and finding the groom. And to answer your question, Martin, it was 50-50 with me that it was Atkins or the groom Rollins. You found out about Atkins' client in the City actually being Rollins; that just cemented it for me that Atkins was at least involved; the question was if Rollins was also involved, that they did the murder together."

"So then we found the cabbie and got his story." I said. "I never disbelieved him; he was scared shitless and was telling the truth-"

"He was lucky as hell." said Paulina. "You were right that a jury would easily convict when his DNA matched the semen in her mouth and stomach."

"Yes." I said. "He thought he was lucking into this dream night scenario, and he nearly ended up being tried for murder with the death penalty awaiting him. As it was, I didn't really suspect him; I had his story, and I was looking even more askance at the groom. Why get the cabbie out so quickly? What had caused him to do that? I wondered to myself. My first thought was that he'd seen Larry Lang at the Hotel and was spooked, but why would that be the case? Didn't fit completely. Then we hear Martin's discovery of Atkins and the client, and things definitely fit in that case: the groom had possibly seen Atkins, perhaps in or near the lobby of the Hotel, and that caused him to panic."

"So then the Chief comes up in a timely manner with the information about the passageway, to which you're all sworn to secrecy now, by the way." I said. "What made you think of that, Chief?"

"I could say my brilliant intuition," joked the Chief, "but the truth is that I got a call from SBI Inspector Britt Maxwell, who also has long known about the passageway. She suggested that I have a look inside there when she heard about our investigation. She thought there might be footprints, but we actually found the body there." The Chief's words cemented some suspicions I had about that passageway.

The Chief told me to continue, which I did: "So all that was left was to go get Larry Lang, which I did despite Blair's strong efforts to keep him hidden. Then Larry mentioned the Atkins DVD, and I was home free to get a warrant for Atkins' apartment."

"And you thought the motive was jealousy? Being tired of rejection?" Cindy asked.

"No, my friend." I said. "I think that was part of it, but I also really suspected that there was a lot more to it. I don't believe in coincidences, and for Atkins to be having dinner with the man who was Diane Lang's groom that night? His knowing them, and some of them pretty well? And then there was the Cabbie with a very nicely created second identity.

"Not only all that, but the truth is that Atkins had plowed his way through a number of women, including some of the single women at Lightsource. I thought that he might have known and had a relationship with Diane Lang before she married Larry. Maybe she thought Atkins was stalking her by getting close to her through her husband. Maybe they didn't have a relationship, but she knew something from his past. I'm not satisfied with the answers here, and I certainly need to do more research in this area."

"Whatever you do, don't let it take away from your more current duties." said the Chief. "You've solved the crime, and brilliantly. Let's keep moving along. So, Miss Patterson, what is going to happen to Mr. Lang?"

Paulina replied "Probably nothing, unless the Iron Crowbar pries out a confession that he knew of the murder plot all along. He evaded police, but he'll say he was scared about the ramifications of his wife's murder as well as his home being broken into. It'll be hard to get a jury to convict on that, and for such a small charge?"

Part 20 - Epilogue

October 15th was baby Jack Burke's first birthday, and my mom, Laura and I went to Todd and Jeanine's house with our own babies in tow. To my surprise, Teresa Croyle had also been invited by Jeanine to attend, and she'd shown up. Little Jim was still a bit too young, so he was held by everyone (mostly Teresa), but little Jack, Doug and Carole seemed to have fun in each other's presences.

It was getting late that afternoon when I received a phone a phone call from Cindy, urgently asking me to come to Mr. Blair's home. Jeanine and Todd said they'd get my family safely home, so I made my goodbyes to the people at the party and headed out in my Police SUV.

There were a number of police cruisers, SUVs, and an ambulance at the Blair home as I strode up the steps. Once inside, I saw Larry Lang sitting on the sofa, a look of total shock on his face as he stared sightlessly forward, with Diana Torres sitting with him. Cindy came and got me and led me into the back room which had been a den.

"We haven't touched anything yet." Cindy said as I surveyed the scene. Martin Nash was looking around the room and taking notes. The Crime Lab team and Martha, the Assistant M.E., were standing by, having patiently waited for my arrival, so that I could see the tragedy on the floor.

Mr. Blair was lying on the floor in front of his desk, a .357 magnum revolver in his left hand, a gunshot wound to his left temple. He was no longer with us.

"There's a suicide note on the desk." Nash said. "I photographed it, but no one has touched it yet." The note read: "Larry, I am sorry for the pain I have caused you, and for the pain that I am about to cause you. Goodbye. Blair."

"Who called it in?" I asked.

"Larry Lang." replied Nash. "He was still staying here with Blair. He went to make funeral arrangements for his wife this morning, leaving about 10:00am. He got back around 4:00pm and found Blair. He called 9-1-1 immediately."

"Martha, any idea on a time of death?" I asked.

"He hasn't been dead long." Martha said. "Less than two hours, I'd say."

I put on latex gloves, whipped out my rectangular magnifying glass, and examined the handwriting of the suicide note. Then I looked at other documents on the desk, concluding that all were written by Blair's own hand.

"Blair is left-handed." I said. "Suicide note written by a left-hander, other notes on the desk written by a left-hander. I'd say it's Blair's handwriting."

I used the glass to examine Blair's left hand, still clutching the gun, a Smith & Wesson model. I also looked at gun without touching it.

After peering at Blair's clothes, then looking around the room, I said "Looks like the cartridges are .38 Special, which can be fired from a .357 magnum, of course. I own a Smith & Wesson .357 magnum similar to this one, and they are notorious for blowing back some powder onto the hands. I can see that that is what happened here. Be sure to take some swabs of his hands and test for powder, to make sure. Can someone shine a light on the mouse of the computer before I touch it?"

The man known as 'Labcoat' did so, then took a UV photo of the prints on it. Then I used the mouse to look at what Blair had been doing on his computer, which was on and operating on his desk.

"Yep, looks like he got his affairs in order after Lang left this morning," I said, "and then he shot himself this afternoon. Okay, guys, process the scene. I don't see anything that suggests anything but suicide."

I went into the main room, where Lang was still sitting, dazed. "Diana, pour the man a drink." I said, then sat down by Lang. "Mr. Lang, I'm sorry but I have to ask you a couple of questions."

"Sure... sure." Lang said, still dazed, still looking forward.

"Had Blair been agitated or upset, unusually so, in the last couple of days?"

Lang replied "He... he was worried yesterday. He was worried about our homosexual relationship coming out, about the potential criminal charges against him, and about his money problems. We talked about it last night, and I told him Chapter 7 bankruptcy would clean up a lot of the mess, and we could, you know, start over. I was really worried about him, about his state of mind."

"Was he worried this morning?" I asked.

"No... that's the funny thing." Lang said. "He was really bright and cheerful this morning, like he didn't have a care in the world. I felt really relieved to see him feeling so much better, so I told him I'd go get the arrangements for Diane done. He said to go ahead, that he had some stuff to do here."

"Did he get any phone calls, last night or this morning?" I asked.

"Uh... yeah, yes he did!" Lang said, snapping out of his daze for the first time. "Late last night, at nearly midnight. He didn't say who it was. We- he went to bed right after that."

"Thank you, Mr. Lang." I said, as Diana arrived with a bourbon for Lang. "Here, drink this." I said. I then got up and walked onto the front porch with Cindy and Nash, who had been listening to my interview with Lang.

"Here's a little psychological tidbit, guys." I said quietly. "When someone acts upset, depressed, or suicidal, then suddenly becomes calm and happy, that's a sign they've really decided to commit suicide. It's not when they're in the agitated state that friends should worry... it's when they suddenly snap out of it and act well. The friends think 'Oh, everything's better!', but in reality, it's the danger time."

"I've heard that before." Cindy said, then asked "So you definitely think this was suicide, and not suspicious? Considering the loose threads in his wife's murder, I wanted you to see the crime scene first, just in case."

"And I appreciate you doing that." I said. "But yes, I think Blair took his own life. Unless the Crime Lab or M.E. finds something extraordinary, I think this one will be closed fast. I'm going to head back home."

"Can you give me a ride to Headquarters?" Cindy asked. We said our goodbyes to Martin and went to my SUV.

As we drove, Cindy said "I doubt I'll ever be as good as you in observing and deducing crime scenes, but I think I've learned to read you better than most. And I can tell you're not totally convinced about Blair's suicide."

"Let me put it this way, my friend." I said, looking out over the road as I was driving. "I think Blair did kill himself. However, he got a phone call last night. I think something was said to him, a suggestion that he take the way out that he did. He slept on it, decided to do it, and once the decision was made, the cares of his life fell off his shoulders; ergo, his happiness this morning."

"So it'd be 'most very unwise' of me to say that not all things are as sinister as they seem?" Cindy quipped, showing her understanding.

"Well, let me lay out the puzzle pieces." I said as I turned onto the road leading to the bypass, so that we could just drive around and talk for a few minutes. "The cabbie that was picked up was an ex-con who disappeared off the grid three years ago, then re-appeared with a new life, a new and what appears to be artificial credit card history, and the FBI gave him to us after a day's delay."

"Now that may have been purely coincidental." I continued. "But then we have Atkins, who was a paramilitary ex-cop, trained well enough to cleanly and quickly break a man's neck, which he did. This man was having dinner with the man who later went to be Diane Lang's 'groom'. Oops, there's a second coincidence, and as you know, I like to quote Dame Agatha Christie's axiom that 'you can always have one coincidence, but you can never have two'. Well, we now have two."

"And now..." I went on, letting my thoughts pour out, "we have Mr. Blair, who has rather conveniently taken his own life. He's been a prominent though hidden feature of this case. He's on the verge of financial ruin. He was having a homosexual relationship with the husband of the deceased wife, and apparently wanted that relationship to not be made public. At the same time, he said he had Diane murdered so that he could be with Larry. Now that's a contradiction, and Ayn Rand wrote 'Contradictions cannot exist. When you are faced with a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.'."

"Then we can add that all of them, Lang, Blair, Atkins, worked or had worked at Lightsource Industries, and Lightsource Industries is doing a lot of cutting edge research. So, Cindy... connect those dots!"

Cindy thought about it. "Oh... of course... Blair was being blackmailed. Someone wanted him to give them information about Lightsource's research in exchange for not exposing his relationship with Lang."

"Good, very good!" I said. "And let's go a step further: the blackmailers offered a carrot, as well: if he goes along, he gets money to climb out of his debt problems; if he doesn't go along, we get the exposure."

"Should we tell Lightsource about this?" Cindy asked.

"I've already contacted Mr. Turner Rogers, the Lightsource president, and told him of possible industrial espionage, though I mentioned no names." I said. "So they will hopefully be on guard. If not, it's on them."

"Wow..." Cindy said, the wheels of her mind churning hard, "this thing is exploding... there are so many things going in so many directions... was Atkins part of this blackmailing group?... was Atkins being blackmailed himself?... was Larry Lang involved?... and in the middle of it all, there's this poor woman, playing like she was a bride, who ends up being murdered..."

"Yep." I said. "You and I still have lots of work to do to clean this mess up."

"The party never stops," Cindy said, "in the Iron Crowbar's Town and County."

======================

In room 204 of the Sunrise Hotel, Elizabeth relaxed and watched as the muscular, well hung stud slammed his huge meat into Karen Warner's sopping wet cunt again and again, piledriving his size into the beautiful young woman as hard a he could as Karen begged him to fuck her ever harder.

Elizabeth felt the wetness in her own pussy, and it felt like she was still being fucked by a big cock. She had lay on her back with her lovely legs spread, enjoying being taken as two young, very well hung men had taken turns mounting her and fucking her with raw, physical power, each man twice shooting his full load into her sodden quim. The orgasms had flowed through her, and she was now limp and exhausted.

But it seemed like nothing could satisfy Karen Warner. Elizabeth didn't know where Karen had found these satyrs, but they all had eight and nine inch cocks, they were all fit, well built, and seemingly inexhaustible themselves, but Karen was giving as much as she got and still begging for more cock and more sex.