Case of the Black Widow Ch. 05

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February 5th arrived and we had a full morning meeting at 8:00am in Classroom J. Jack Muscone's FBI team had arrived, and the Chief had instructed all of his Captains as well as all Detectives be present at the meeting.

The day before had been evidence-gathering and data-sifting. I had refused to go home despite the Chief's orders, but had not done anything but listen to various reports and try to put together the pieces in my mind.

Tanya Perlman had insisted on attending the meeting, though Barry Oliver gave the autopsy and toxicology report. He brought no pictures to the meeting, and I had been told that he and Myron Milton had foiled three attempts by Tanya to access the digital information stored in the computers. The Chief then intervened by assigning Tanya to the duty of officially attending Pete's mother, who was overcome with grief at the loss of her young son, and that was enough to keep Tanya busy for a few days.

"The drugs injected were the same as the previous Black Widow murders here in Town." said Barry Oliver. "CMB thinks he was ambushed and hit on the head when he entered the warehouse, and then he was fatally hit by what is likely a solid aluminum bat after being drugged and made to climax."

"The duty desk said that Feeley called in a request for backup." the Chief said. "Yet by the time officers arrived on the scene, he was dead. What happened there?"

Captain Charles, head of the Uniformed Police answered: "The gate was locked when the backup units arrived, but Feeley's patrol car was inside the gates. We think the perps locked the gate when they ambushed him. It took several minutes to cut through the chains and get in, which was apparently enough time for the perps to kill Feeley and get away."

"How did they get away?" the Chief asked. "Wasn't the place surrounded?"

"Not completely, sir." Charles said. "The property abuts another property on its backside, and there are gaps in the fences in a few places. If they left on foot and dispersed, there was just too much ground for us to cover."

"What about his partner?" asked the Chief. "Why wasn't he patrolling with a partner?"

"He wasn't assigned to any routine patrols, Chief." replied Charles, whose face showed his own pain. "And since he'd just been promoted, he hadn't been assigned a new partner yet. His old partner was Patrolman Hicks, who was promoted to Senior Patrolman himself on the first of the month. Hicks was at home, and said Feeley never contacted him about going on a mission. We're not sure why Feeley was where he was when we found him."

"Crowbar?" the Chief said to me, having seen my eyes light up with a thought.

"Very well planned, down to the last details of escaping." I said, my voice hollow, as if I were talking to myself. "Pete was ambushed. This wasn't a drug operation; it was a scheme designed to lure in and murder a police officer. My question is why was Pete Feeley targeted?"

"Maybe he wasn't, but was just unlucky enough to be the first to arrive." said the Chief. "Which brings up that question again: what was Feeley doing at that location in the first place?" The old man was trying hard to understand the failings that led to his officer being killed, I realized.

"Chief," said Captain Malone, "we've had some reports of possible drug shipments running through that warehouse in past months, though nothing recently."

"Do you think Feeley might have seen some of those reports, drove by the place and saw something?" Angela Harlan asked. Why she was speaking up, I didn't know, but it was an interesting question...

...too interesting by half, I realized to myself, feeling the blood rush to my head...

"Maybe." Captain Malone was saying in reply to Angela's comment. "Feeley had clearance to access most of our basic information, and he did call in on the radio that he thought a drug shipment was taking place."

"Whether or not he saw the reports," I said, speaking mostly to myself and rambling, "he was lured in, ambushed, and murdered... he had a reason for being at that location at that time, and he saw what appeared to be a drug operation, not realizing it was a trap... he's not the impulsive risk-taker type, he was always by-the-book, but this time he didn't wait for backup... he said on the radio that he saw two suspects, and he was thinking that he could take the two of them and hold them until backup arrived at the gates he thought were open, but had been chained shut behind him. Oh shit.... I hope he wasn't trying to impress us into thinking he should've been promoted to Detective... geez..."

Seeing that I was off to the (mental) races, the Chief said "Well, I think that's all we're going to get from this meeting. I want everyone to hear this very clearly: no Detective is to attempt to effect an arrest without uniformed police officers on the scene backing you up. If Feeley was set up, someone might try to set you up, too. From now on it is by-the-book, follow-the-numbers, color-within-the-lines. Any Detective that disobeys this order will not be a Detective any longer. Do I make myself clear, people?"

"Yes sir!" came a chorus.

"All right, no excuses." growled the Chief. "You've been told. Now get out of here, go find clues to what happened... and get yourselves ready for the funeral." The room emptied.

When I came out of my reverie, I was alone in Classroom J... except for Tanya Perlman, who was silently watching me with abnormal intensity.

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The Town & County Council met in special session to accept the expedited report of the Board of Inquiry, which found that Police Corporal Pete Feeley had died in the line of duty. His mother would receive a pension for the rest of her life, which would not ease her grief but would help her live comfortably, as Pete had always tried to do for her.

In addition, Corporal Pete Feeley was given a funeral procession through Town before being carried to his final resting place at the cemetery. Councilman Jack Colby provided two horses to pull an open carriage upon which the U.S.-flag-draped coffin rested. The Chief asked me to walk in the front line with himself, Captain Malone and Captain Charles, and of course we were wearing our formal uniforms. The chief was at the right side of the line, per protocol, while I had the far left as the junior officer. Other police officers marched behind the four of us, followed by the family, including Tanya, in cars.

Thousands of townspeople lined the streets to honor the fallen officer, which made me appreciate the Town and County that we had chosen to serve. These were good people, and they understood what Pete Feeley had done for them. It was up to us, his fellow officers, to avenge him and to bring Justice and Peace to the County. That was my mission, I thought with a righteous determination I had never before felt with such a level of intensity...

Part 29 - Realization

It was the night after the funeral, and I was sitting alone in The Cabin, looking out the large windows in the main room that overlooked the deck and the twinkling lights of the Town behind it. Laura and Carole were at the 'Mountain Nest', and I'd come up here to have some solitude, and to think. The swirling clouds were just beginning to form, to take shape-- and then it hit me.

I saw who the Black Widow was, who she must be. I didn't yet understand fully the 'why' of it, but I was seeing the 'what' and the 'how'. The betrayal was immense and brutal. And then I realized that the answers had been there all along, right in front of me, and I had failed to see them in time to save Pete Feeley's life.

I remembered the night Tim Olivet was murdered, sacrificing himself for his wife, dying because of my mistakes. And now Pete Feeley's blood was on my hands, at least in my own mind. I began to cry...

Someone was approaching me in the dark. I realized that it was my mother from her perfume. I felt as much as saw her bring a chair next to mine.

"It's my fault, Mom." I said. "Pete Feeley is dead because I just wouldn't see the truth."

"Nonsense, Son." my mother said. "Pete Feeley was murdered by an evil, vicious woman. If you could have been in time, you would have been in time. Don't berate yourself for the past. If you see the answer now, then act on it and avenge young Officer Feeley."

I said nothing, even though my mother's words made me feel better. I was not going to let my failure be washed away with excuses, but I realized that the best thing I could do now was bring this killer to Justice.

"So, Don, tell me what you're thinking." my mom said.

I told her who I thought it was and my reasoning for it.

My mother said "Now that you're telling me this, I realize that I missed something that I should have seen, as well."

"What's that?" I asked.

"How Selena Steele's hair arrived on young Bradley Hazelton's body." my mother said, telling me her observations and deductions. And I saw the ramifications of what she was saying...

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"My God, did you see the look in the Lieutenant's eyes?" said Angela Harlan in the MCD room the next morning, the day after the funeral. The Headquarters was still a somber place.

"Yeah, I sure did." Hugh said. "I've never seen him look so cold before."

"Or determined." said Cindy Ross. "I think he's going after Pete's killer, and God have mercy on that person's soul if Don finds him or her before the rest of us do." She got up and left the room; I had just come to the door and beckoned her to follow me.

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"What?" Cindy exclaimed. "Are you serious?" The Chief had no words; he just gaped at me, open-mouthed with shock. The three of us and Paulina Patterson were sitting in the Chief's conference room, which I'd swept for bugs before inviting them in.

"Dead serious." I said, knowing that my eyes betrayed that my emotions were dead to all but Justice. I explained my chain of reasoning to a totally attentive audience.

"We still have work to do in order to get proof and bring this bitch to Justice." I said.

"Yeah, we don't have enough for a warrant yet." Paulina said. "Do you think we ought to hand this one off to the FBI?"

"No, but we do need to involve Curly Goodwin." I said. James "Curly" Goodwin was second-in-command of Internal Affairs, and if I had my way he'd be taking over I.A. soon, because Daniel Allgood would be moving on to better things, much better things. "Here's my plan of action..."

Part 30 - Building The Case

An hour later I went to the Federal Office Building, which was located on the Town Square. I was admitted into the FBI's office suite, which few people realized even existed in the building. I found Lindy Linares working at a computer station.

"I was sorry to hear about your officer." she said as I came up to her.

"Thanks." I replied. "Lindy, I need your help: you remember how you compiled data that showed Selena Steele was in the vicinity of all the crime victims, save one?"

"Yes I do." Lindy replied. "I thought for sure she was 'the one'."

"Yes... can you do that for me again, but this time look for this person?" I asked, handing Lindy a slip of paper with a name on it. Agent Linares's eyes widened in shock as she read it. She looked up at me, seeing the coldness of my eyes, and understood that I was not joking. And then her eyes showed understanding as she grasped the truth.

"I'll start that up right now." she said.

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"Well, look what the cat drug in." said Janet Riordan, teasing me as I came into her office at the Nextdoor County Police Station.

"Hi, J.R." I said, using the name she was known by at the station: J.R. Dixon. "I need a favor, which I'll repay by taking you out to lunch. I'd like for you to introduce me to your Department's best sketch artist."

"You guys don't have one?" Janet asked, disbelieving.

"Sure we do, but I have real reason that I don't want to use them." I said.

"I dunno, you may owe me more than just a lunch." said Janet, smiling her beautiful smile. "Let's go see Ted."

After Janet introduced me to Ted and asked him to help me, I explained what I wanted. I showed Ted a photograph of a woman, and asked him to sketch what she'd look like with sunglasses and heavy makeup, as if trying to disguise herself. By the time I returned, having taken Janet to lunch followed by an hour of sex at her home, Ted had drawn an excellent image for me.

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Laura looked good in her Police Auxiliary uniform, which she was entitled to wear as the Police Department's volunteer psychiatrist. She had also qualified with a gun (and very well, I might add), and so was able to go with me on this official mission at the Tower Condos, the twin building of the University Hotel.

We knocked on the door, which opened to reveal... Rita, the masterful woman that ran Lashes & Lace.


"I usually don't see visitors here. Cop." Rita said warily.

"Unfortunately, Rita, this is official police business." I said. "May we come in?" Rita admitted us to her very nice apartment, with a lovely view looking north over the University. I would've taken the time to enjoy the view, but I still felt the coldness as I focused on my mission. Pete Feeley's killer was still out there.

"Okay, what is this about? Cop." asked Rita as she sat down on the sofa and indicated for me to sit next to her.

"First, I'd like for you to give Dr. Fredricson a cheek swab for DNA purposes. This is to eliminate you as a suspect, but you are not required to give it." I said.

"Oh, what the hell." Rita said. "You'd get it one way or another. Cop." To my surprise, Rita took the tube from Laura's hand and did her own cheek swab.

"Thanks, Rita." I said. "Now I just have a couple of questions for you. When you said the woman to whom your chrome handcuffs were sold was disguised, I had these pictures drawn up." I handed Rita the first drawing; it was Selena Steele, drawn up by our Department's best sketch artist to be disguised by glasses and heavy makeup.

"Looks fairly close, but her hair is too straight. The woman I told you about had some curl in her hair, it was more wavy." Rita replied.

"Okay, take a look at this one." I said, handing her the drawing of my suspect that was done by the Nextdoor County artist.

"Oh yeah, that's a lot closer." said Rita, staring at the drawing with recognition. "A... lot... closer... I'd say it was her."

I looked at Laura, then turned to Rita and said "Thank you, Rita. You've been more than helpful."

"Good, and good luck catching the bitch. Cop. I heard what happened to Tanya Perlman's boyfriend. Neither of them deserved that." said Rita, her eyes looking far off. After a moment she recovered and said "Now the next time you want to see me... Cop... both of you come to the Club and have some fucking fun with us..."

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Detective Leonard "Sergeant" Sharples was surprised to see Detective Angela Harlan typing furiously at the computer on the desk that had been Teresa Croyle's as he entered the nearly empty Vice room.

"Hello, Angela, what's up?"

"Oh, hi Sergeant, I'm just using one of your computers to check up on something."

"Anything I can help you with?" Sharples said, sitting down next to her.

Angela continued typing as she said, "Did you know that the Crime Lab came up with a DNA result which proved that hairs found on Bradley Hazelton's body were Selena Steele's?

"First I'm hearing of it." said Sharples, in his normal lazy drawl. "But I have to admit that I've had nothing to do with investigating those murders."

"I hear ya." said Angela. "Anyway, I've always wondered why she wasn't arrested. I was wondering if J.P. Goldman or her father Edward Steele had intervened on her behalf."

"Ah, nice juicy scandal." said Sharples as he leaned back in his chair, looking even more fat and out of shape than usual. Sharples liked juicy scandals.

"Well, it may not be that." Angela said. "Patterson has a sworn deposition entered, but it's password-protected. If I can just get into it..."

"Here', let me help you with that." said Sharples. Angela let him 'drive' the keyboard, and Sharples had the file opened within a minute.

"Wow, you're good!" Angela said.

"Don't tell anybody." said Sharples. "I don't want them to know."

"Your secret is safe with me-- what the..." Angela said as she read the deposition. "Fuck! That son of a bitch!"

"What is it?" Sharples asked as Angela closed the file and rebooted the computer, her face crimson.

"Tell you later, I gotta go." said Angela as she fled the room.

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At 5:30, Lindy Linares and Jack Muscone appeared at Police Headquarters. Once in the Chief's conference room, Lindy said "You were right, Don. Your suspect was within an hour's drive of every one of the Black Widow killings at the time of the crimes."

"What does this mean?" asked Jack Muscone, wanting to hear me say it.

"It means the Black Widow was stalking Selena Steele, then tried to set up and frame Steele for murder." I said. "It also means we are close to an arrest warrant."

"We can't get one now?" Lindy asked.

"Not yet." I said. "I want to do just one more thing before we ask Paulina to go to the judge for a warrant..."

Part 31 - Coach's Corner

"Once again, I'm having to talk to you." said Coach Brian Harlan, whom I'd 'encouraged' to visit the Police Station again. The appearance of Pete Feeley's friends Senior Patrolmen Morton and Rudistan at the coach's doorstep might have aided my persuasion after he saw the look on their faces. It was 6:30pm and we were in Interrogation-A. "Bad things always happen to me when I have to talk to you, Lieutenant. You are a Bad Buddha for me."

"And it's not going to get any better, Coach." I said. Cindy Ross was in the room with me, and Morton and Rudistan were guarding the doors to the room so that no one else could enter. Chief Griswold, Paulina Patterson, D.A. Krasney, Jack Muscone, and Lindy Linares were in the anteroom, watching through the one-way mirror. I also knew that James "Curly" Goodwin of I.A. was watching on video from his office in the I.A. area downstairs.

"Laaaaaaast... October, I believe it was..." I said, as if searching for a memory, "on the night of Tim Dawdle's murder, you said that you and your cousin Angela had dinner together."

"That's right." Harlan said.

"Coach... that's not true, is it?" I said, looking straight into Harlan's eyes. I saw the fear and shock well up as I said it. "You did not have dinner with your cousin that night, you were alone, weren't you?"

"What? You're kidding me, right?" Harlan gasped.

"No, I'm not kidding you, Coach." I said. "Neither you nor your cousin have an alibi for the time of Tim Dawdle's murder. You were not together. It is obvious that Dawdle's investigation was hurting you and your football program. Dawdle had to die to ease the pressure. So he was executed."

"You'll never prove a word of that. Angela and I were having dinner together. Just try and prove otherwise." Harlan said angrily.

"I will." I said. "I also have the proof that your cousin, Angela Harlan, murdered Bradley Hazelton, as well as a man in St. Louis, Missouri... their Crime Lab got enough DNA of the Black Widow that we should make an airtight match when we compare it to hers. Yes, Coach, your cousin Angela is the Black Widow, and you are aiding and abetting murder by giving a false alibi for her."

Harlan looked at me, his eyes trying to determine if I were serious or bluffing. I quickly shot down any hopes he had: "You know I'm not bluffing here, Harlan. This is your last chance."

Harlan's eyes became jet and determined as he said "Lieutenant, if you think I'm going to turn on my blood kin, then you are sadly, sadly mistaken." He sat back in his chair. "I now invoke my Fifth Amendment rights. I will answer no more questions from the Police or any law enforcement agency from this time forward. I want a lawyer, now, and I want legal representation at any time I am questioned by law enforcement authorities. Either arrest me now or escort me to the front door so that I can leave."