Hot Wives Investment Club Ch. 02

"Do you know why? And do you know why she didn't want to go along with the compromise to buy some of both?" I asked. If Cat was surprised that I knew that much already, she didn't show it.

"No sir." she said, her eyes giving pointed looks at my crotch then back to my eyes. "She never said to me."

"Did she and Carol Carlington argue about it?"

"No," said Cat, "in fact, Carol seemed to have been persuaded by Trish."

"Thank you." I said. "So you were saying, about finding Mrs. Donolan's body?"

"Oh!- yes..." said Cat. "When the meeting was called back into session, Trish didn't come back into the room. I went to see if she was in the restroom and if she was all right..." Cat burst into tears despite efforts to hold them back.

"I understand." I said. "How close to the body did you get?"

"Not close." Cat said. "I opened the bathroom door, she fell out and I jumped back in shock."

"I see." I said. "So you didn't go into the bathroom, or step in any blood, did you?"

"Not... not that I know of." said Cat. "And I didn't go into the bathroom; Trish was blocking it when she fell out."

"Just one more question: how was Trish feeling during this evening? Did she seem to be all right? Did she seem worried or distracted by anything?"

"Oh, no." said Cat. "She seemed fine. Certainly nothing different than I've ever seen."

"Thank you, Mrs. Clausen." I said. As I got up, I accidentally kicked Cat's handbag, a very large black leather bag, on the floor. "Oh I'm sorry, is that your handbag I just kicked, Mrs. Clausen?"

"Oh yes, that's mine." Cat said. "That's all right, it's almost empty. Your officers searched it already."

"Thank you for your cooperation with that." I said. Just then, Cindy came up.

"Commander, a lot of the women's husbands are trying to come in. Rudistan has them outside the gate, and they're getting angry."

"Thanks, Lieutenant." I said. "Go back outside and tell them their wives will be out shortly. Make sure they know you're a Police Lieutenant. Use your blue crowbar if needed. Don't let them give you any shit, no matter who they are."

"One other thing." Cindy said. "J.R. asked earlier if we need to search the women's cars before they leave. I asked Jenna to get a warrant to cover that when I called her."

"Yep, do that before letting the cars leave the premises." I replied. "By the way, get a patrol officer to find Carol Carlington and bring her to me. Thanks, Cindy."

"She's up there talking to Detective Torres." Cindy replied, pointing to the blonde woman standing with Torres near the dessert table. I nodded and Cindy stalked off.

I went up to Carol Carlington. "Mrs. Carlington, I'm Commander Troy." I said. "May I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Certainly Commander." said Carol, looking me up and down, her eyes going to my crotch a couple of times.

"I understand that you were talking with Trish Donolan and Cat Clausen during the break?"

"Yes, we were." said Carol. "Trish was explaining why she didn't want to invest in Apple stock. She had a couple of good points, so I let her think she'd won the debate."

"How long did you talk with her?"

"Maybe five minutes." Carol said. "I came back inside here and got some dessert."

"Did you see anyone else talking to Trish?" I asked."

"No, not after I left her and Cat talking together."

"And it was Cat who went to look for Trish after the break?"

"Yes." said Carol. "Cat was still standing, putting her handbag aside when Mrs. James asked where Trish was. Cat said she'd go look for her and went back into the break room. Then we all heard her scream."

"I see." I said. "Thank you, Mrs. Carlington. Here's my card if you think of something else that might be helpful."

"Mmm, can I call you even if I don't think of anything helpful?" Carol said, openly seductive in her speech and look at me.

"I wouldn't want either of our spouses coming after us with shotguns." I said, grinning. "Okay, I need to let you all know you can leave."

I stood up on a chair and spoke loudly. "Ladies, I appreciate your patience." I called out. "Unless you're being interviewed, you can go ahead and leave, but you cannot leave in your cars until they are searched. We are getting a search warrant to do that. In the meantime, please leave a number where we can reach you with one of our officers. Thank you, ladies." The women made their way out, and within moments only police remained in the room.

Just then, J.R. Barnes came rushing up to me. "Commander, we have something you should see."

We went to the bathroom area. Trish Donolan's body had been moved and was being prepared for its journey to the morgue. J.R. had me stand at the bathroom door while he tip-toed inside.

"Look here, sir," J.R. said, pointing to the toilet's water tank. He shined a blacklight onto the top. All I saw were faint horizontal streaks glowing purple.

"Sir, someone wiped down this toilet top." J.R. said. "This is a fresh wipedown, some of the chemicals have not yet evaporated. It's the only place in the bathroom that was so recently cleaned. What it means is that someone stood up here, then wiped it off to destroy any evidence."

"You absolutely must search above that hanging ceiling, J.R." I said. "And the sooner the better."

"Yes sir." said Barnes.

----

Almost two hours later, all of the women's cars had been searched, as had the space above the hanging ceiling above the bathroom and kitchenette. No murder weapon had been found.

"Okay, guys." I said. "Wrap it up. I'd appreciate it if you get your reports into the computers before you go home, so that I can spend the night reading them."

Just then Diana Torres came into the room. "Commander, a man is outside wanting to come in. He says he's Mr. Donolan, Mrs. Donolan's husband."

"Thank you, Detective." I said. I accompanied her outside, seeing Sr. Patrolman Morton accompanying a handsome man in his early 50s up the driveway of the Country Club. The man had black hair just showing gray, and a body that was fit but beginning to show the advance of age, and perhaps a bit of good living.

"Mr. Donolan," I said, "I'm Commander Donald Troy of the TCPD."

"I..." said Donolan, "I heard... I got a phone call that my wife had been killed."

"Yes sir, Mr. Donolan." I said, knowing the only way to do this was be direct. "I'm sorry for your loss, sir."

"Oh my God!" Donolan said, his eyes looking towards the building. "Trish!" He was about to run to the building, but I got in his way.

"I'm sorry, sir, there's nothing you can do for her." I said.

"Can I see her?" Donolan asked, his voice beginning to show the edges of raggedness.

"No sir, not at this moment." I said. "And I wouldn't want you to have what's in there as a last memory of her. What I would like is for you to go with Patrolman Morton here to the Police Station, and I'll be there to talk with you as soon as I can. If you'd like us to call one of our Chaplains or your own minister, we'll be glad to."

"Thank you." said Donolan, his voice drifting. "Oh my God..." He allowed Morton to accompany him to a police cruiser, which would transport him to Headquarters.

"Ross, Torres," I said, "I'm heading back to the Station. "Let me know if you find anything of interest, such as the murder weapon." I knew that they wouldn't find the weapon in the meeting room or breakroom area; it had evaded my own quick but thorough search. Perhaps it'd be found elsewhere in the Clubhouse or on the grounds.

As I left, I noticed the Press vans being kept outside. Both KXTC and KSTD had representation at the scene. I thought about giving just one of them an interview to piss off the other, but decided I needed to get serious about the case and leave the games to later. I drove on.

Part 5 - The Long Night

On the way back to Headquarters, I called Chief Griswold and informed him of what had happened. This was mainly in case the Press tried to call him at home for a statement, and he wouldn't be ambushed. I take care of my people, and I make damn sure not to let my boss get bushwhacked by the Media.

However, it was me who was surprised when I got to Headquarters... and found that the Chief was already in Interrogation-A with Mr. Donolan and his lawyer.

"Come on in here, Crowbar." said Chief Griswold when I peeked my head in the door. "I haven't asked Mr. Donolan any questions of consequence yet."

"Yes sir, Chief." I said, coming in and sitting down at the table next to the Chief. When he made no move to get up, I began to understand why he was sitting in on this one: we were dealing with possibly the most powerful man in the County except for Henry R. Wargrave, and the Chief wanted to make sure he would be the one to take any 'bullets' in the event of any fallout, instead of subjecting me to a 'trial by fire'. I realized that I had a long way to go to equal the leadership of this man as I prepared to take over for him upon his retirement.

"Okay," I started, "first, Mr. Donolan, I'm going to have to absolutely keep this one colored between the lines. I am going to read you your rights." I did so from the card I kept in my wallet. Donolan's lawyer whispered something to him after I asked Donolan if he understood the rights he was being read.

"Why are you reading me my rights?" Donolan asked. "Am I a suspect here?"

"Mr. Donolan," I said, "I'm sorry for your loss this evening, but as you are the husband of the deceased, you automatically become a person of interest to us."

"It's entirely routine, Mr. Donolan," said Chief Griswold, "as bad as it sounds. We're trying to get at the truth, but we have an obligation to protect your rights... as well as those of Mrs. Donolan to receive Justice for the crime committed against her."

"I'd like to talk to my lawyer for a minute." Donolan said. At that, the Chief and I got up and went into the anteroom.

"So, Chief," I added in a teasing way, "getting in some last minute interrogations before you interrogate the fish in Reservoir Lake during your retirement?"

"Might as well." said the Chief affably, then turning somber: "Seriously, Crowbar, this is a big one, politically. Those women in that Club are the wives of the Power Players in this Town, or else they're power players themselves, like Myrtle L. James. No offense to you, but I'm not retired yet so it's my place to make sure nobody tries to dump shit on you or your Detectives as you solve this thing."

"I appreciate it, Chief." I said. Just then, Donolan's lawyer knocked on the one-way glass. We re-entered the Interrogation Room.

"I am advising my client," said the lawyer, "to cooperate with your investigation and your questions. However, he reserves his right to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to silence at any time he chooses."

"Fair enough." I said. "Mr. Donolan, I must first ask where you were from 8:30 to 8:45 tonight."

Donolan replied "I was being driven home right about then. I'd just left the Board meeting at BigPharmaCorp."

"You have a company car?" I asked.

"Yes, the Company officers have Cadillac Escalades that have some enhanced security protections." said Donolan. "We took that precaution after the Crown Chemical riots some years ago... we never knew if what happened to them might happen to us one day, and we'd be attacked by Environmentalist Terrorists. Say, you don't think..."

"What?" I asked.

"That environmentalists murdered my wife?" Donolan asked.

"Sir," I said, "I have absolutely no data or leads yet on who might have killed your wife. I'll keep your idea in mind. Meanwhile, is your vehicle the one that is in the Police Headquarters parking lot right now?"

"Yes."

"Would you object to me having a couple of my technicians download your GPS information from that car?" The lawyer quickly leaned over and whispered to Donolan, but he shook his head.

"No, it's okay, they can do that." Donolan said. "I have nothing to hide." I immediately called the Duty Desk and told them to have two techs execute that operation.

"Thank you, Mr. Donolan." I said. "Now I have to ask some rather personal and painful questions, but there's no getting around it. How were your relations with your wife?"

"Good." Donolan said. "We have- I mean had a very strong marriage. I know that you, Commander, are aware of the open nature of our relationship. I hope we won't have to go into any details on that for the public record.."

"I can't promise anything, but I'll be as discreet as I can." I said. "So you and your wife were not having problems, nor fighting?" I looked into Donolan's eyes as I asked. Was that the merest hint of fear I saw in them?

"No, nothing serious." Donolan said. "I mean... we'd have arguments from time to time, usually over small stuff, like every couple has, I'm sure. But as I was saying, and as you know, Commander: marriages such as ours have to be strong and trusting. We get past any problems, and quickly."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the Chief's look: he and his wife had probably never had a fight in at least 40 years of marriage; he never liked it when someone said that marital arguments were the 'norm'.

"Anything recent?" I asked. Donolan definitely looked a bit uncomfortable.

"I... we had some argument recently... I don't even remember what it was about... something about which party to attend on some night..." Donolan said, speaking as if he were trying to think. "Oh yes, now I remember... Trish did not attend the social function this evening before our Board meeting, as most wives do. She was going to that Investment Club meeting instead, and I thought her choice was the wrong one."

"Does she usually attend company events with you when she's expected to?"

"Oh yes," said Donolan. "She was very good about that. Not like Sean Bailey's drug addict wife, before she-" Donolan went silent.

"Does Sean Bailey still work for BigPharmaCorp?" I asked.

"No." said Donolan. "He left shortly after his wife died."

"On good terms?" I asked.

"Business-wise, yes." said Donolan. "He simply resigned. But there were some personal animosities when he left. Before you ask, I don't remember exactly what those problems were about, it was some time ago."

"All right, but if you remember, please contact me immediately." I said. "Mr. Donolan, do you know of anyone else who might wish to harm your wife, and why? Anyone in your company have a problem with her, or you? A past anger or anything like that?"

"Not that I know of." said Donolan. "We kept a fairly decent level of security, considering my position with my company, and we never got wind of any problems at all."

"No break-ins into your house, or surveillance of it?" I asked. "Any house staff get fired or leave suddenly?"

"No sir." Donolan said.

"Okay, Mr. Donolan," I said. "I don't have any more questions at this time. I know you have your company to run, but this is not a request: do not leave the County. In addition, it's standard procedure that Mrs. Donolan's residence will be searched. We're getting the warrant now, you do not have a choice in the matter, and you may not return to your home until that warrant is executed. If you'd like to stay at the University Hotel or the Hyatt, the County will pay for your hotel room for tonight."

Donolan was gaping at me, then turned to his lawyer, who immediately whispered something into his ear. The lawyer then spoke up. "We object to the search being made without both of us being present."

"Certainly you can be there if you wish." I said. At that moment, Sergeant Thompson came into the room from the lobby side.

"Sir, we have the warrant for the Donolan residence." the large, athletic Sergeant said.

"Assemble a team and report to Lieutenant Ross at the location." I said. "Wake up Sergeants that are good at these searches and have them report. And as you go, carry Mr. Donolan and his lawyer in the back of your squad car, so that they can be present during the search. But don't let them go inside until the warrant arrives." Sergeant Thompson escorted the two men out of the room.

Once we were alone in the room, the Chief said "You really do a good job of questioning people. I'm sure you're reading clues in their faces, too. Even my old eyes could tell that Donolan was hiding something."

"Yes sir," I said. "He got uncomfortable when I asked about recent problems with his wife. He was trying hard to think of a reason for an argument, a recent one, and he came up with that attendance story on the spot. Ergo, there was a recent argument that we're going to find out about, and needs explaining away. I also noticed that he made sure to bring up Environmentalists, and he made a totally gratuitous point to mention Sean Bailey. He's really trying to plant seeds of distraction, n'est pas?"

"Think there's anything in that?" the Chief asked.

"Oh, no doubt about it, sir." I said. "There is definitely some bad blood between Sean Bailey and Donovan Donolan, and I think I know why. We definitely need to add Bailey to our list of people to be questioned."

"Who else is on that list?" asked the Chief.

"The entire Board of BigPharmaCorp, all of Trish Donolan's friends and associates, their neighbors, all of the Investment Club women again... a lot of ground to cover. And if you'll excuse me, Chief, I need to observe my Detectives searching the Donolan home."

"You're not excused." said the Chief. I gaped at him. He grinned and said "I'm going with you to the scene, Crowbar. You drive."

----

Sergeant Thompson did not know that in just a few days he was going to receive a massive promotion in preparation for an even more massive promotion. As I watched him help in the search of the Donolan residence, I knew I'd made the correct choice in nominating him for Precinct Captain. Not only was he expertly searching, he was skillfully teaching everything to Detective Diana Torres that he could pour into her head in the time they had.

Detective Nash, Lt. Ross, two other Sergeants, six Crime Lab persons and, to my surprise, Lt. Teresa Croyle, were all searching for anything and everything. We found virtually nothing, until we got to the bedroom. There were a number of DVDs in the room, and it was obvious that the Donolan's would watch these DVDs while in bed. When we bagged them as evidence, Donolan's lawyer practically ran over people to get to me and ask me to personally take charge of those videos and exercise discretion. I realized what was on them... swing club film footage.

"Technician Cho," I said to Christina Cho, "put those DVDs under a seal in my name. My eyes only for first examination." I turned to the lawyer and said that I could not promise anything more than that I'd be the first person to look at them, and the only person if there was nothing of evidentiary value to them. The Chief nodded and the lawyer's face showed visible relief.

We then ran into some trouble when Sergeant Thompson discovered the wall safe in Mr. Donolan's study behind his desk.

"Mr. Donolan," I asked, "would you please open that safe?"

"No, I will not." said Donolan. "And I'm invoking fully at this time."

Everyone looked at me to see if I'd use my crowbar on Donolan or have a verbal explosion. I did realize that the crowbar would not physically open that safe... but I did not need it, nor to get upset. I just smiled a strange smile.

"Okay, Mr. Donolan, as you wish. You've invoked, and you can't take it back" I said. "Everyone stay here." I went out to my Police SUV and got a bag out of the back. It was a kit of items that I had not used in years. Taking the bag inside, I went back into the study, feeling the many pairs of eyes watching me.

Out of the bag I took safecracking devices from my days selling security equipment. Sometimes I'd sell something, including safes, only to have the client forget how to operate it, and I'd have to go help them out. I took out a device that even Federal Government agents would want to have: a device that read electronic safe combinations. It took all of 30 seconds to get into Donolan's safe. I told everyone to stand to the sides and not in front of the safe, just in case it was booby-trapped.