Four Square Ch. 01

As texts came in, we alternated yelling and being quiet. Once the experiment was over, we went to the neighbor Amit's apartment. Tanya talked as I looked around the place, especially around Amit's desk.

"With all the doors closed," Tanya said, "we got no response on the dB meter at all, and we've all stated that we heard nothing. Then we opened the patio door to the back deck, though the CSIs videoed themselves checking and finding that the door was closed and locked. The dB meter did not register anything, and Christina (Cho) and your mom heard nothing, though I thought I might've heard something muffled. Being paralyzed, my senses are a little better than most people's, at least so I'm told."

"Very thorough." I said. "Excellent work."

"It was all Julia on this one." Tanya said, being the good leader she was and giving credit where due.

"Good job, Rodriguez." I said, fist-bumping Julia.

"By the way, Commander," Tanya said with something of a gleam in her eye. "It seems they videotaped the sex session, as well as Amit coming in and hitting David Lang on the head. And they videotaped several other role playing sessions, as well."

"And I'm sure you're going to personally examine every bit of that evidence, aren't you, Captain?" I asked, a bit witheringly. Tanya just grinned. Julia looked nonplussed, as if she didn't know what to say. Roy McGhillie looked totally shocked...

Part 4 - Interrogations

"We've got a full house today." said Commander Cindy Ross as my mother and I came into Headquarters, followed closely by Captain Perlman.

"Where did you put them?" I asked.

"Amit is in I-1, after being put through full booking." Cindy said. "We also put Jefferson Gray through booking for disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, and threatening Auxiliary Police Officers, and he's in I-2. Rhonda Gray is in Interrogation-C, Ashwarya is in I-B, and Tanu is in I-A."

"I heard you had some excitement yourself today." I said as we all came into my office and everyone sat down.

"Yes, I did." said Cindy. She told me what had occurred, then said "Fingerprints on the victim are negative from local sources, and we've heard nothing from the FBI for fingerprints nor facial recognition."

"That in itself is instructive." I said, mostly to myself. "Okay, Captain Perlman, what is your plan of action?"

"Interrogations," said Tanya, "followed by data harvesting. Martha is going to do the autopsies today, but the bloodwork and toxicology reports may not come back until tomorrow or Tuesday. J.R. Barnes told me that the Legislature didn't include any cost of living raises in the State Crime Lab's pay budget nor any increases to hire new people, so they're short-staffed, and no one wants to work on Sunday without the weekend pay they're supposed to get, but aren't getting."

"Not to tell them how to do their jobs," Cindy said, "but what happens when someone needs a fast result on a murder over the weekend?"

"They're considering going to rotating shifts." said Tanya.

"No no no no." I said. "That will be a nightmare for the chain of custody and the continuity of the testing."

"Want a job in the Crime Lab, sir?" Tanya said, her eyes twinkling. She was trying to be funny, but I wasn't in the mood.

"No, and I don't think you want me to kick you out of here and back over there, either." I said with a scowl, and without a trace of levity in my voice. Tanya wisely shut up and got serious. My mother peered hard at me.

"All right, let's get the interrogations done and move these people out of here... or into jail." I said. "Get with me before letting this Amit guy go, and let's determine what we need to do with him. And I think this Jefferson Gray may need to stay with us overnight..."

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

Detective Julia Rodriguez went into Interrogation-B. Patrol Officer Joan Laurer was the Uniformed Presence as Ashwarya sat at the table. McGhillie and I were watching through the one way glass from the anteroom, and Tanya, Cindy, and Phyllis Troy were watching in the Monitor Room.

"The preliminary exam bears out your story that it was consentual sex." Julia said as she sat down and opened a file folder. "So let me ask you a few questions. First, was the door to your apartment locked?"

"I thought it was." Ashwarya said, her voice near-wailing and sounding upset. "But it may not have been if Amit was able to come in. So I don't know."


Julia nodded. "Have you, your husband, and David done this kind of role play before?"

"Yes." said Ashwarya. "Variations of it."

"With your husband present?" Julia asked.

"Yes, most of the time." Ashwarya said

"Ah, so there have been times you and David had sex when Tanu was not present?" Julia asked.

"A few times, but Tanu knew about them." Ashwarya said.

"How do you know David?" asked Julia. "How did you meet him?"

"We work... worked... together." said Ashwarya miserably.

"At what company?"

"Audial Security Solutions."

"What do they do?"

"What is this about?" Ashwarya suddenly cried out. "This was an accident! Why are you asking me all these questions?"

Julia stared hard at the Indian woman. "We are not convinced that it was an accident. My questions are to determine what happened, what actually happened.

"I want to speak to my husband!" Ashwarya said angrily.

"Not until we're finished talking to you, and to him." Julia said.

"Then I want a lawyer." Ashwarya angrily demanded. "I will not answer any more questions without a lawyer."

At that point, Detective Rodriguez did the right thing: she said "You can use that phone on the wall to call your lawyer.", then she got up and left the Interrogation Room.

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

Joanne Warner came into the rarely-used Interrogation-C. Patrol Officer Lisa Burrell was the Uniformed Presence. Theo Washington was watching through the one-way glass, and I moved down there to hear some of the conversation, as well.

Joanne sat down at the table opposite Rhonda Gray, whose face was a mix of boredom and anger. "Thank you for waiting, Mrs. Gray." Joanne said politely. "We just need to ask you a few questions to clear up everything."

"Am I under arrest?" asked Rhonda Gray.

"Not yet." said Joanne.

"So am I free to go?" asked Rhonda.

"Not yet." said Joanne. "The incident at the Boddiker Hospice facility is a serious one, and you are at least a material witness to it."

"What's the problem?" Rhonda asked. "My mother is a batty old idiot, paranoid and always making up conspiracy theories. My father was not being abused at the facility, and he simply died."

Joanne said "We have several witness statements that your husband forcibly took a cell phone from your mother and disconnected a 9-1-1 call. Both of those actions are illegal. Those two older women really are Auxiliary Police Officers, and once they exhibited their badges, assaulting them is the same as assaulting me or any on-duty Police Officer, and we have the depositions that your husband did advance upon them------"

"He didn't touch them!" Rhonda Gray spat angrily.

"He doesn't have to." Joanne replied. "Just the threatening gesture is legally considered assault. Now------

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

It was the wall phone ringing. Patrol Office Burrell answered it, then indicted to Joanne that it was for her. Joanne took the receiver and said "Yes?"

"Mirandize her, right now." I said.

"Yes sir." Joanne said, though clearly annoyed. Still, she did the right thing: she got out the card and read Rhonda Gray her considerable legal rights.

Rhonda Gray said she understood the rights, but immediately followed that with "I want a lawyer."

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

While waiting for Ashwarya to get a lawyer, Julia Rodriguez came into the anteroom and Roy McGhillie went into Interrogation-A. Patrolman Drew was the Uniformed Presence. I watched with Julia through the one-way glass.

"What is going on?" asked Tanu. "Why am I being held here?"

As McGhillie sat down, he said "Isn't it obvious? You were sitting there when your neighbor killed a man. You're a witness."

"We all told you: it was an accident!" Tanu said, seemingly angry and frustrated.

"And that's what we're trying to prove or disprove." said McGhillie. "And to do that, I need to ask you a few questions. First, how did you and your wife meet Mr. Lang, the victim?"

"We work with him." said Tanu. "We are part of the same software team."

"At what company?"

"Audial Security Solutions." said Tanu.

"What is the project about?"

"I cannot tell you." replied Tanu. "It is confidential."

"A man is dead in your bedroom, Tanu." said Roy. "We need your full, truthful answers to solve this case."

"I cannot tell you what it was about, or I could be sued and even charged with a crime." said Tanu. "I will not answer any questions about our project. If you have any questions about the accident, I will try to help you as much as I can."

"Okay." said Roy. "So you were watching your wife have sexual intercourse with another man. Did Mr. Lang and your wife have sex often?"

"Every once in a while." said Tanu.

"Had you done rape roleplay before?" asked Roy. "And have you done other roleplay?"

"We did the rape roleplay once or twice." said Tanu. "We did other roleplay more often."

"Did Mr. Lang have sex with your wife without you present?"

"Yes, but not often." said Tanu. "My wife always told me about their encounters."

"And you were okay with that?" Roy asked.

"I wanted always to be there." said Tanu. "But I understood when Ashwarya gave David sex in the office at work."

"Did Ashwarya have sex with any other men? Besides you and David?" Roy asked.

"Not that I know of." said Tanu.

"How well did you know Amit, your neighbor?" asked Roy.

"Very well." said Tanu. "He is our co-worker, also."

"Why did you leave the door to your apartment unlocked while your wife was having sex with Mr. Lang?" Roy asked incisively.

"I did not realize it was left unlocked." said Tanu. "I believed Ashwarya locked it after she admitted David into our apartment."

"Did you leave the patio door open? Or any windows?" Roy asked.

"I had opened them," said Tanu, "but they had been closed again. I don't know how." Was it my imagination, or did I catch just an instant of a shrewd look on his face before he answered, I asked myself.

"The bedroom door was closed?" asked Roy.

"It may have been cracked open." said Tanu. "I don't really remember."

"You did not hear it open when Amit came in?"

"No, I was... distracted." said Tanu. "I was watching David fucking my wife very hard."

"Were you tightly or loosely tied up?" asked Roy. "Could you have gotten up to help your wife if you needed to?"

"The bonds were fairly firm, but I could have slipped out if I had to." said Tanu.

"Okay, then." said Roy, not sure what else he could ask...

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

We took it to the other side of the building, where Jefferson Gray was in I-2, handcuffed to the table to make a point about who was the boss of him at the moment. Amit was in I-1, but not handcuffed to the table.

"How does he look to you guys?" I asked Julia and Roy as we looked at Amit through the one-way glass from the anteroom.

"Nervous, sir." said Roy.

"Somewhat nervous," said Julia, "but not as scared as I would be and should be if I'd just killed my neighbor with a statue."

"Exactly." I said. "Okay, both of you go in, re-read him his rights, and the first time he mentions 'lawyer', stop questioning him and let's get him legal representation. I don't want this to get fucked up on technicalities."

"Sir, you think there's more to this than meets the eye?" Julia asked.

"I want to make sure it is what they say it is." I said. "It's like a suicide... we treat it as a homicide first. An accident like this... treat the same way: first as a homicide, then as something less.

Julia and Roy went into I-1. As they sat down, Julia said "I'm going to re-read you your rights." She did so, and Amit said he understood the rights.

"So, Amit," said Julia, "what happened?"

"I... I've already told you." said Amit. "So did Ashwarya and Tanu."

"Let's go over it again, then." said Roy McGhillie. "Why did you go to Tanu and Ashwarya's apartment?"

"I heard Ashwarya crying for help." said Amit. "I went over and saw her underneath a man and Tanu tied up in a chair. So I grabbed the nearest thing I could find and hit him on the head to make him stop hurting Ashwarya."

"Do you own a gun, Amit?" Julia Rodriguez asked.

"No." said Amit.

"Do you know if Tanu or Ashwarya own a gun?" asked Julia.

"I don't know." said Amit.

McGhillie said "When you heard Ashwarya crying, where were you? In your apartment? And what were you doing at the time?"

"Yes, I was at my desk, working on my computer." said Amit.

"When you went to Tanu's apartment," Roy continued, "how did you get in? Was the door locked?"

"No, the door was unlocked." said Amit.

"And did you call out for either of them?" asked Julia.

"I was about to," said Amit, "but then I heard Ashwarya's pleas, and the man grunting that he was about to come."

"Was the bedroom door open or closed?" Roy asked.

"It was half-open. Enough to see through." said Amit.

"And then you went inside and grabbed that object, and hit the man on the head?" Julia asked.

"Yes, there was a statue on the dresser, and I grabbed it." said Amit.

"Did you recognize the man having sex with Ashwarya?" asked Julia.

"Not at the moment." said Amit. "Only after it was all over, when Ashwarya cried out his name after I hit him, did I realize it was David, our boss at work."

"And you work where?" asked Roy.

"Audial Security Solutions." said Amit.

"And what do you do there? You, Tanu, Ashwarya, and David?" asked Julia.

"We are software developers." said Amit.

"What projects are you working on?" asked Roy.

"I cannot discuss that." said Amit. "It is highly secret. And I don't understand why that is relevant to what happened today."

Julia looked hard at Amit. "Amit, you killed a man today. You could be charged with manslaughter, or even murder, should we and a Grand Jury decide it was not an accident. Now you need to be truthful with us. What were, or are, you and your colleagues working on? What was the project or projects?"

"I... I can't answer that." said Amit. "And I believe I need to talk to a lawyer about it before answering any more questions..."

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

I moved over and watched the proceedings in I-2. Joanne and Theo had just gone in. She was sitting across from Gray, and Theo was sitting to her right. As Theo read Jefferson Gray his rights from the card, I noted that Gray was looking at my Detective with open disgust on his face. Theo said "Do you understand the rights, Mr. Gray?"

"I have nothing to say to you." said Gray venomously.

"Are you invoking, Mr. Gray?" asked Joanne.

"I didn't say that." said Gray. "I said that I have nothing to say to him."

"Why not?" Joanne asked, her voice not yet harsh.

Gray said nothing for a moment, then finally asked "Am I under arrest?"

"Yes." said Theo, looking hard at Gray. "For disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, assault against your mother-in-law, for disconnecting a 9-1-1 call in progress, and worst of all, assaulting Police Officers."

"I didn't touch anyone." Gray said, not looking at Theo.

"Assault can be charged just for the verbal altercation or making threats or threatening gestures." said Joanne. "And we've got a ton of witnesses to your actions. So, Mr. Gray, why were you so belligerent? What was the anger about?"

"I'm sick and tired of my mother-in-law and her antics." said Gray, looking at Joanne. "She's the one who truly should've been in that home. She's a nutjob, a conspiracy theorist about anything and everything, and she was making a stink after my wife's father had just died. It was embarrassing. She shouldn't have called 9-1-1, there was no reason for it, so of course I took her phone away from her."

"And that's why you threw your weight around?" asked Theo. "And assaulted your mother-in-law, and two other older women?" Gray did not answer.

"Answer the question, Mr. Gray." said Joanne.

"I've already told you." Gray hissed. "I have nothing to say to him."

"Why not, Mr. Gray?" asked Theo, his eyes and voice taunting in nature.

"Because you are not even a human fucking being!" Gray yelled. "You're just a God-damned nigger! And you can go straight to hell!"

It was oppressively silent in the room for a moment. Then Joanne said "Very brave thing to say, when you're handcuffed to a table------"

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

Joanne got up and answered the phone, to hear me say "Send Theo out to the anteroom." She told Theo that I wanted to see him in the anteroom, and he came out of I-2.

"Here, hold this." I said, handing him the red crowbar. "Don't use it on anyone."

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

It was my cellphone, this time. I answered it: "Troy."

"Commander, this is Martha." said Martha the M.E. "I just finished my preliminary exam of Mr. Fitch. He wasn't abused by the nursing facility... but he was murdered!"

To be continued.