Believer Ch. 04

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racism, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

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Author's special note: This story covers those every-year Holiday things, and also lays groundwork and builds up to two big future stories. Thank you for your patience.

Part 16 - 'Suicide' Like Epstein

"Oh, wow." I said at the news. "How?"

"We're told it's a suicide, but suspicious." said Karina White. "Can you go down there with us?"

"Uh, sure." I said. "Let me get some civilian clothes." I opened my little wardrobe closet and grabbed a small bag that had civilian clothes in it (all black, dontcha know), and rushed to go with Jack and Karina.

Cindy Ross suddenly popped out of the doorway of her office. "Can I go with y'all?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure." I said, without hesitation. "Grab some civilian clothes. Helena, would you call the Chief and Sheriff, and let them know we're going to Sunnydale with Jack and Karina of the FBI? We probably won't be back by COB, so go home when you're ready." Helena reached for the phone as Cindy came out, and we ran down the hall to catch up with Jack and Karina.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Go to County Airport." Jack directed as we piled into my Police SUV.

"Uh," I said, "you know none of the TCPD choppers have the range to get to Sunnydale and back, unless you have a major refueling stop ready for us."

"Don't stress on it." said Jack. "Airport."

We went to County Airport, where I saw a small, sleek jet plane waiting near the terminal, with a Federal Government number on the tail.

"Whoa, what's that?" I said as we parked.

"That's an airplane." said Muscone, deadpan flat.

"Ohh! Four hundred years a-go!" I said with a big grin. "That one sure got past me!"

"Get on the plane, Dog." said Jack, his beady black eyes twinkling a bit. "It's our ride down there."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On the plane, Cindy changed to her civilian clothes, and I changed into my black pants and pullover shirt, which went well with my trenchcoat. The chairs on the small jet faced each other with a table between, so we gathered around to talk once we were airborne.

"I don't have a lot." said Jack. "The call came in at 10:00am. She'd been found about fifteen minutes before that. Get this: they started taking pictures even before they checked to see if she was still alive or not. She wasn't; she'd been dead a while. In and out of rigor, per the M.E.'s initial evaluation."

"What was the cause?" I asked.

"They're saying she tied a sheet around her neck and hanged herself." said Muscone. He showed us some photos on his iPhone. "But as you can see, she tied herself to the upper part of the bed and leaned forward. She wasn't really hanging."

"Oh." I said. "Just like the Clintons's buddy, Jeffrey Epstein. They said he committed suicide by tying a sheet around his neck and 'leaning forward'. Then the autopsy said his death was more consistent with strangulation by another person, not by hanging. Still, it was ruled a 'suicide'. Whatever the Big Boyz wanted to hear, I guess."

"Is Betty Morelli really one of them?" Karina White asked, perhaps not getting the true meaning of my comments about Jeffrey Epstein.

"No." said Cindy. "And her husband is a relatively small-time gangster."

"Who is in Federal prison, a long, long way away from here." said Jack Muscone.

"Well, let's wait until we get down there." I said. "Oderwise, we'll start theorizing without data. So... how'd you get this plane so fast?" I asked.

"Coincidences do happen." Muscone said with a gleam in his beady black eyes. "Owen Lange, who has been returned to his EAD position, was flying to the City when the call came in. He directed the plane to land at County Airport. Karina had come over for a routine meeting with Melina Allgood, and I had stayed home and didn't go to the City because of that. So we're on our way to Sunnydale, while Lange talks to your Sheriff and Mayor about the pure shit the DOJ is doing to you."

No, I thought to myself, coincidences don't happen; at least not two or more at the same time. But I kept my mouth shut and pretended to be an Agency of the Weak Minded...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Sunnydale Prison is near the town of Sunnydale, in the agricultural southeastern part of the State. We landed at Rocktown's airport and were transported by a Federal SUV to the Prison, which was a 45 minute drive. It was now 1:30pm.

We were escorted into the guard's entrance of Sunnydale Prison and given badges that had to be showing at all times. The prison was on lockdown, so we were allowed to keep our weapons for our own security. We were led to Betty Morelli's cell by the Warden himself and a couple of his staff people.

I was surprised to see SBI-OER Inspector Britt Maxwell here, along with SBI Agent Terence Johnson from the 'Casting Aspersions' case. "Hello, Inspector." I said. "Agent Johnson, good to see you again, too."

"You too, sir." said Johnson as we shook hands.

"So why are you down here?" I asked.

Britt Maxwell said "The Governor asked me to fly down and personally take a look at this. Lieutenant Governor Marshall was in Westphalia, and flew us down here." Coincidences abound, I thought to myself, but kept my mouth shut and just nodded.

To our surprise, FBI Special Agent Martin Nash was there, as was Supervisory Agent Nate Grimes, now Nash's immediate supervisor, who had come to 'interview' us in the 'Iscariot' case. "Good to see you again, Commander Troy." he said extending his hand.

I was a bit slow to respond, but I shook the proffered hand, then said "You remember Commander Ross?"

"Sure do. Good to see you, Commander." said Grimes, trying to be affable. Cindy politely shook hands with him.

"What brings you guys here?" asked Jack Muscone after introducing Karina White to everyone.

"We were in the City, and got a call from Washington to go check this out." said Grimes. Coincidences abound, I thought to myself, as Grimes continued "I'll let the Warden explain what happened."

He then pulled me back as the others went down the hall. "Commander," he said, "I want to sincerely apologize for what Dominic Ellis did, shooting you like that. I had nothing to do with it, and I'm glad you weren't hurt." (Author's Note: 'Only Time'.)

I nodded. "Good thing he didn't kill me." I said. "Or I'd be busting some heads right now..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So that's how we found her." explained the Warden. "It's a real black eye for us. We haven't had a death here in years."

"Was the cell open or closed?" asked Karina White as she and I looked around inside the cell. Everyone else was in the doorway or the hall.

"Open." said the Warden's lieutenant, who was a Prison System Lieutenant.

The Warden added "This wing houses the least violent and least problematic prisoners. The cell doors are pretty much left open all the time, unless they're on lockdown, like right now. Morelli was a model prisoner, and we were ready to put her up for parole, or transfer her to an even easier prison."

"Where were you thinking of transferring her to?" I asked as I looked around, my eyes darting everywhere. I was noticing the top bunk was messed up; that was where the sheet had come from that had been used in the 'hanging'. The lower bunk was made and was neat, with a towel spread to dry over the end. The rest of the cell was very neat and tidy, which surprised me: what, did they not go through her stuff after finding the body?

The Warden nodded to the Lieutenant, who said "Midvale. Minimum Security Prison closer to Midtown."

I nodded. "Interesting. Did Morelli ask for the transfer?"

"No sir." said the Lieutenant. "In fact, she never asked for anything. Betty was quiet, kept to herself, got along with the other inmates."

"Okay." I said quietly. "Inspector Maxwell, you're the tallest woman here, and near Betty's height. Come in here a second, please."

Britt came in, and I said "Stand with your back to the bed, like she was. Now let's play the 'Trust' game. I'm going to hold onto your shoulders, and you hold my wrists and just lean forward. Yes, that's right."

Britt leaned forward, as the photos of Betty had shown. I said "Okay, that's far enough, stand back up." I brought Britt back to a standing position, then I said "Well, folks, as you can see, there is no eff'ing way Betty Morelli was hanged like that. Her feet never left the ground, and that angle just isn't good for hanging."

"And you have experience with that?" Martin Nash asked, causing Cindy to gasp out loud at his rudeness towards me."

"As a matter of fact, I do." I said acerbically as my eyes bored into Nash. "Read up on my recent case regarding Charles Westbrook, and his attempt to hang me." (Author's note: 'Return to Point Hollow', Ch. 03-04.) "He made the mistake of tying the knot at the back of my neck instead of the side, and I was able to escape. And it's similar here: knot tied at the back of the neck. I just don't see her being able to lean forward and be choking herself, and able to maintain it."

"The M.E.'s initial findings support what you're saying." said the Lieutenant. "The findings were that she was strangled, but in a more consistent manner of being choked than of hanging herself."

"Just like Jeffrey Epstein." I said, which seemed to go over everyone else's heads.

"Do we have a time of death?" asked Martin Nash.

"Not yet." said the Warden. "Our M.E., who is the M.E. for this region of the State, is pretty good. But it's hard to get him to be fast about anything, or solidly commit to something like a time of death without extensive testing. He told us the body was in and out of rigor mortis, suggesting she died at least two hours before we found her."

I walked the length of the hallway, looking into all the cells, which were currently empty. Karina White saw what I was doing and imitated my actions.

When we got back to Betty Morelli's cell, I said: "Okay, let's go find a breakroom or somewhere we can talk, unless someone has something they want to see."

"Did she leave a note, anything like that?" asked Martin Nash. "Any writings anywhere at all?"

"No sir." said the Warden. Nash continued to look around, and did not appear to be satisfied with what he was seeing.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We gathered in a conference room in the Warden's office areas. His Lieutenant gave his report.

"None of the other prisoners saw or heard anything." said the Lieutenant. "The time of Betty being found coincides with their exercise period, so they were all outside on the basketball court. We thought she was out there, as well, but all the other prisoners said they don't remember seeing her or talking to her."

"Shouldn't someone have seen something?" asked Martin Nash. "I mean, does she not have any friends, anyone she talks to or hangs out with?"

"She's talked to just about every other woman on the cellblock." said the Lieutenant. "But she doesn't hang out with any particular person or persons. A while back, we thought she might be the focal point of drugs being smuggled in because so many different prisoners talked to her. But she was never found with drugs or cash or anything like that."

The Lieutenant continued: "As to anyone remembering her, it ain't gonna happen. Even if someone saw something or heard something, or remembered anything... they're not going to tell us. For their own sakes, if not just not violating the snitch rule."

"What about camera footage?" asked Martin Nash.

"Not a thing." said the Warden. "That's why I asked for FBI help. The cameras recorded an empty hallway the entire time. But this camera system only records the camera signal to the digital servers; there is no way a blank tape can be substituted, nor another file substituted. So if someone went in there, it would've had to be recorded."

"We can confirm that." said FBI SSA Grimes. "Well, I shouldn't say it's physically impossible, but it's not easy at all; it's intricate and would take specialized knowledge just to do it. And if a past recording is being substituted, they'd have to have taken that recording at or near the same time of day and edited in the altered timestamp. Again, not impossible to do, but a lot of work was involved." I nodded thoughtfully at that.

"And we went back several hours beforehand." said the Lieutenant. "No one but Betty went into her cell, and she did not come out."

"Does the tape show the other women leaving that cellblock for the outside?" asked Nash.

"Yes." said the Warden. "But Morelli cannot be seen walking out with them. So it looks like she stayed in her cell. And then there's nothing but empty hallway for that entire time, until the guards that found her came in."

Nash said "My point is that Morelli's cell was close to the exit door, so the other women would be walking by it. If she was in there tied to a sheet, they'd have seen it and someone would've reacted. Or the guards would have."

"Good point." said Britt Maxwell.

"And what are those guards, the ones that found her body, there for? Why were they there in the first place?" asked Nash.

"While the women of a cellblock are outside," said the Lieutenant, "guards go through their cells and their belongings, and search for contraband, drugs, shivs, other weapons, money; anything that the prisoners are not supposed to have."

The Warden added: "Those guys that went into Morelli's cell instantly called out for help. Others rushed up, as the tape shows. They began taking cellphone photos immediately, then someone untied her body and laid it on the floor."

I said "Can we see the footage?" The Lieutenant handed me his tablet, and people crowded around as I played it back. I narrated: "Two guards went to Betty's cell, went inside, then one can be seen coming to the door immediately and shouting for help. Others came up, a couple went inside, a couple came out and went out the door, and then the lockdown is called." I handed the tablet back to the Lieutenant with my thanks.

"The other women of that cellblock were taken to a different block while we investigated." said the Warden. "They were interviewed there, as well. So they have not been back to their cells yet."

"What about guards and employees coming in and out of the facility?" asked Martin Nash.

The Warden handed Nash a file folder. "Here's a copy of everyone in and out over the last 24 hours. No one out of the ordinary, and by that I mean for the last several months. All the guards and civilian employees, including me, have a badge that they insert into the slot, then get their retina scanned by the reader. No anomalies, no alarms."

Cindy said "Pretty expensive system, isn't it? Especially for a Medium Security prison?"

Britt Maxwell said "I understand that the State Prison System has a contract with the company that provides these security systems. So every prison in the State has this system. It's supposed to be very good. If your retina scan is not in the database, you don't get in."

"Or out, ma'am." said the Warden. "We have to scan both ways."

"True." Britt said. "But another point for me is that if your retina is in the system, you should be able to go to other prisons and your retina can be scanned, there. That would allow guards from Sunnydale here to go to Women's Prison in Madison County, the prison at Westphalia, or Midvale Minimum Security and work there if needed."

"Or their guards to be able to come here and get in." I added.

"True." said the Warden. "But everyone that scanned in over the last 24 hours was a regular here for at least three months."

"Jack, is this the same system used by the Feds?" I asked.

"I can check, but I don't think so." said Muscone. "Warden, do you know if the retina scan database is connected to the Feds's databases?"

"No I don't." said the Warden. "We'll have to check on that."

"Us, too." said Britt Maxwell, to Terence Johnson.

"Us three." said Muscone, to Karina White.

"Warden, was that wing fully occupied?" I asked. The Warden looked at the Lieutenant.

"No sir, there were three cells not occupied, out of sixteen in the wing." said the Lieutenant. "And all cells were single occupancy. We're not overcrowded here, not like Madison County."

"Are the guards rotated between blocks? Or do they stay assigned to one place or area?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual. I saw and felt Cindy peering at me, and I knew that the Green Crowbar was not fooled.

"They're rotated once a month." said the Lieutenant. "We want them to be familiar with who is who, but not so familiar that they begin fraternizing with the prisoners. Of course, prisoners come and go from a facility like this..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

4:30pm, Friday, December 13th. I was getting bleary-eyed from rapidly going through the previous 24 hours of video footage of that hallway, which I had been doing with the Warden's Lieutenant and SSA Grimes.

"Damn, Commander." said the Lieutenant. "You've been flying through this stuff faster than I can even watch."

"I know," I said, "but you can review it again and again, while I'm expecting to be called soon and told we have to go home."

"Out of curiosity," said Grimes, "why did you come down? What's your interest in all this?"

"Well, Mr. Grimes," I said, "I am on your books as an FBI Consultant, and I was asked to consult on this case by your fellow Agents, particularly SAC Muscone and ASAC White. So here I am."

"I understand." said Grimes. "Seeing anything?

"Good question." said Jack Muscone as he came up to us, followed by Karina White and Cindy Ross. "Don, we've got to get home, and get you guys home. So solve this for us and let's get going."

"Harrumph." I grunted. "I can't solve a thing without data. And until we get the autopsy report, and especially a time of death, I have no data."

"Why is the time of death so crucial?" asked Cindy.

I said: "If... and I admit it's a big 'if'... the theory is correct that a blank file or something was substituted to mask any activity while the women were outside getting exercise, then I'm beginning to think that they could've done that for an earlier timeframe, as well. And the timeframe to be looking at is... wait for it... around the time of death. We also need to know if there were any drugs in Betty Morelli's system at the time of her death."

"What kind of drugs?" asked Martin Nash.

"Any." I said. "But I'm most interested in knowing if there are any barbiturates, knockout drugs, downers, that sort of stuff."

"So she was knocked out, and then killed?" Nash asked.

"So I read the riddle." I said.

"So why didn't anyone see her body?" asked Nash.

"You tell me." I said. "I'm not going to theorize further without more data. And until you have the autopsy, Warden, we simply don't have enough data to form a cogent theory. One thing I'd love to hear figured out is exactly why someone wanted to kill Betty Morelli, of all people. As you guys said earlier, she seemed to have no enemies. So why her? And why now?"

"We've really got to get going." Cindy said.

"We appreciate you coming down and helping us out." the Warden said politely, and perhaps with a touch of political savvy. "I'll let you know if anything big pops from this." Everyone shook hands all the way around, and we 'outprocessed'.