Homewrecker Ch. 01

"Most expensive office in Police history, too." I said back. As Mary Milton came up to us, I said: "I just put some information from a C.I. into the servers. Three divorce cases involving our victim."

"Yes sir." said Mary. "I just saw it. We also have the autopsy back from Martha."

She brought up the autopsy report on her iPad, and said: "Pretty straightforward. Knife wound sliced open her carotid artery and she bled out about as fast as one possibly can. Time of death is estimated at between 11:00pm to 1:00am, favoring the earlier side of that. There was some sperm in her uterus, but no seminal fluids in her vagina, and Martha does not believe the victim was sexually assaulted. Martha is doing a workup to see if there is any DNA other than her own in her mouth or vaginal areas, but she says it might be a longshot to get anything that could identify another person."

"Martha really does a great job for us." I said. "She needs a Certificate of Appreciation from us at the next Ceremonies. Okay, what else?"

"We have some more 'Homewrecker' information, sir." said Tanya.

"Don't keep me in suspense." I said.

Tanya nodded to Mary, who said: "We've got two more sets of couples that divorced with Beverly DeAngelo as the mistress involved. She really is a 'homewrecker', to the point it seems she does it deliberately."

"Who are they?" I asked.

Mary said "One of them is named Bart Bell. Yes, he's the same Bart Bell from the Terry Schultz case." (Author's note: 'The Hot Date Mystery', Ch. 03.)

"Oh yeah, I remember him." I said. "Speech therapist, seducing the mothers of the children he was working with. Dropped out of sight when he became a suspect in Schultz's murder. So how is he connected to Beverly DeAngelo?"

Mary said "The name of the hooker who red-flagged Bell was 'Beryl Corvalis', which is one of the aliases for Beverly DeAngelo. He was the only man she red-flagged for Schultz. I'm sure you remember that Bart Bell had restraining orders against him by his wife and Terry Schultz, for threatening to kill them. If Beryl red-flagged him and he found her, he might have gone after her."

I said "It's a possibility. Let's put out a warrant for him, material witness, just to make sure he can't run away again if he's still in the area. Any idea where he may be?"

"He got a job working for MegaTech Industries in the City." said Mary. "Helping them develop their 'Alicia' smart devices that talk to us, as well as the smartphone voices. With MegaTech in Town this weekend, maybe he's here in Town."

"We can only hope." I said. "Contact the Detectives at the Hotel and tell them to be on the lookout for Bell. Send his photo to them." Tanya gave Lainie the instructions, then I said "Okay, who else?"

Mary said "Earl Edwards. Worked construction for Moe Molinari in the City for years. After Molinari gave up his organization for retirement and politics, Edwards became the head of the Pipefitters Union, Local 444 in the City, and has basically been a Union boss since."

"Mob related, eh?" I asked.

"Yes sir." said Tanya. "Ted Crenshaw told me he heard Earl Edwards's name when Crenshaw was in the SBI. Earl is not considered a major player in the City Mob, but he runs his Union pretty tight for them."

Mary said "Eight months ago, his wife filed for divorce after getting pictures on him with several women, one of them being Beryl Angel. But they worked it out, she dropped the divorce lawsuit, and they're still married."

I nodded. "One thing we're going to need to do in the coming days is to find these men, find the wives, and interview them all. And the Intel unit needs to dig deep and see if there are any pending divorces that might involve Beryl, or other recent situations she may have gotten into vis-a-vis married couples."

"You want to talk to Rita?" asked Tanya with a wicked grin on her face.

"Sure, I'll handle that." I said. "Okay, one more thing: any word on George Aurus?"

"No sir." said Tanya. "He's on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list, but no word on him from anywhere in the State nor this Region of the country."

"Just keep him in the back of your minds." I said. "All right, keep me posted if anything pops on this Beverly DeAngelo case. Perlman, I'm sending Washington and Parker to the City immediately..."

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

1:30pm, Friday, November 15th. Detective Roark Coleman came up to Detective Julia Rodriguez in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel.

"I think we've finally got a bead on where the Event Coordinator, Deborah Wilkins, is." said Roark.

"Let's go." Julia said. They went down the hall to one of the conference rooms and went inside, seeing a young Executive on the stage, addressing underlings. To one side, they saw a tall, willowy blonde woman in an expensive navy blue suit, lighter blue blouse, and blue high heel pumps that shaped her slender legs and ass nicely. She was at the side of the stage, addressing her underlings.

Two men in suits that were obviously Security were looking out over the crowd. When they saw Rodriguez and Coleman approach the woman, they went nearer to her.

"Deborah Wilkins?" asked Julia as she walked up to the woman.

"And you are?" Wilkins asked, forcing her voice to be cautiously friendly.

"Detective Julia Rodriguez, Town & County Police." said Julia, exhibiting her badge and ID. "This is Detective Coleman. We need to ask you some questions."

"Look, I am very busy right now." said Wilkins. "Why don't I call you when I get a break, and----"

"I don't think you understand, Ms. Wilkins." said Coleman, and 'not quietly'. "We need to talk to you right now. We can either find a place around here to talk, or we can take you to the Police Station."

"Am I under arrest?" Deborah asked, her voice becoming unfriendly.

"Is there a problem here?" a security man said gruffly as he came between Deborah and Julia, his hand on his still-holstered weapon.

"Yes there is." said Julia, going for her service weapon, as did Coleman. "And if you draw that gun, there will be an even bigger problem."

"If you don't have a warrant, you leave Ms. Wilkins alone." started the Security man.

*CLACK CLACK!*

That was the sound of a round being chambered, and a second later the security man felt the business end of a Police service weapon in his earhole.

"Get your hand off that weapon." said Detective George Newman, who had efficiently ambushed the security man from behind. Sr. Patrol Officer Johnson had his service weapon in the other security man's ear.

"To hell with you!" muttered the security man. He tried to whirl out of the way of Newman's firearm and draw his own. But it was possible that Newman had done some training for a little thing we call the Police Boxing Matches. Not only was he 'not fooled', he responded well:

*WHAM!*

The Security Man found himself face-down on the floor and his weapon four feet away. "Put your hands behind you!" Coleman ordered as he helped Newman make the arrest. They still had to struggle to force the man to comply but got the handcuffs on him. The other security man was also stripped of his weapon and handcuffed by Coleman while Johnson covered him.

"This is Police brutality!" Deborah Wilkins screamed as her security men were summarily marched out of the room with dozens of people watching. Smartphones were being brought out to record what was happening.

"You don't know the meaning of the words." Julia said. "Put your hands behind your back. You're under arrest.".

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Wilkins snarled angrily.

"I wouldn't call the Police Station just 'anywhere'." Julia said, moving behind Deborah.

"Why are you handcuffing me? I've done nothing wrong. Let me go!" spat Wilkins as Julia handcuffed the woman's very slender arms behind her back.

"I disagree." said Detective Rodriguez. "For openers, you're being charged with obstructing justice, and interfering with a Police investigation. And oh yeah, the big one: suspicion of murder in the first degree."

"What?!" screamed Deborah Wilkins. As others were walking up, she shouted "Call the lawyers! Immediately!" Rodriguez perp-walked her out of the room. The arrest would be all over 'the Facebook' within minutes...

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

1:45pm. Once Uniformed Patrol Officers had taken the security men to County Jail and Deborah Wilkins to Headquarters for booking, Julia, Roark and George reassembled in the hotel lobby with more Uniformed Officers.

"Okay, we're looking for this man." said Julia, texting them a photo of Bart Bell. "The hotel does not have him registered here, but he may be in one of the conference rooms. His name is Bart Bell. I'd love to get him to come with us in a cooperative manner, but if he doesn't, cuff him and stuff him, and we'll talk to him at Headquarters."

They dispersed, going through the conference rooms, where speakers were speaking to audiences of various sizes. Word had gotten around, and Security was backing off when TCPD badges were flashed.

"There he is." whispered Coleman to Newman, as they saw the rather distinguished looking man at the A/V table. "Looks like he's going to be the next speaker."

"There might be a case of 'presentus interruptus' happening." Julia Rodriguez said, coming up behind them. "Let's go." They headed to the table.

"Bart Bell?" asked Julia.

"Yes." said Bart Bell. "And you are?"

"Police." said Julia, showing her badge. "We need you to come with us, please."

"Er, now?" said Bell. "I'm about to do the next presentation."

"It'll have to wait." said Julia. "You can come quietly and cooperatively, or we can arrest you." Having no choice, Bart Bell followed her, with Coleman and Newman on either side of him.

Part 6 - Interviews and Interrogations

2:30pm, Friday November 15th. Lieutenant Jerome Davis was in my office, reporting what was going on.

"The security men are at County Jail," Jerome said. "Our guys brought Deborah Wilkins and Bart Bell here, and put Wilkins through partial booking to get her data onto the forms and into the system. We were not sure if we should do the same for Bart; he's been fairly cooperative so far. Wilkins immediately demanded a lawyer."

"Has her attorney arrived?" I asked. Just then my desk telephone buzzed. It was the Duty Desk, telling us that Deborah Wilkins's attorney had arrived, and who it was.

After hanging up, I said "Get your flame-retardant suits on... Gwen Munson is here..."

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

As Munson talked with her client in Interrogation-1, I went into Interrogation-Alpha on the other side of the Station, where Bart Bell was. Patrolman Johnson was the Uniformed presence, and Lt. Jerome Davis came in with me while Coleman and Newman watched from the anteroom.

"Bart Bell." I said. "Barrrt Belllll. It's been a while since I've heard that name. The Terry Schultz case, if memory serves me correctly. You were very lucky not to have been arrested for that, Mr. Bell. Verrrrry lucky."

"C'mon, that was a long time ago." said Bell. "I'm way past that, now. And I thought you solved the case and caught her killer. Is that really why you brought me in here?"

"Not directly." I said. Then I looked up from the paperwork in my hands to him and said: "Why are you in my Town & County again, Mr. Bell?"

"I'm here for the MegaTech Industries conference." said Bell. "I was supposed to give a presentation, but your cops arrested me and dragged me here."

"You weren't arrested, not formally, anyway." I replied. "And you weren't dragged; you walked out of there voluntarily. So what is your job with MegaTech Industries?"

"I'm helping them develop the A.I. speech processes for their 'Alicia' device and other applications that talk." said Bart.

I nodded. "Sounds interesting, and I wish I had time to talk about it. Unfortunately, I don't. But that sounds pretty temporary; there's only so much you can do to make an A.I. robot talk correctly, neh?"

"Well, this is not politically correct to say," said Bell, "but MegaTech hires a lot of Chinese and Indian immigrants, and I've been working with a lot of them to help them speak English more flawlessly."

"That makes sense." I said. "Are you staying at the Hyatt Hotel, Mr. Bell?"

"Yes." said Bell. Room 404. I checked in this morning."

"You weren't here last night?" I asked.

"No." said Bart Bell. "We were driven in vans from the City to here, and our rooms were waiting for us when we arrived."

"You checked in at the front desk?" I asked.

"No, the Event Staff gave me my key when I checked in with them." said Bell.

"Deborah Wilkins gave you your room key?"

"Oh heck no." said Bell. "She's the Events Coordinator for the company, part of the hierarchy. Mr. Marcos was giving us our keys. He's one of lower-level staff people."

"I see." I said. "Do you own a car, Mr. Bell?"

"Er, yeah." said Bart Bell, getting skeptical. "Why?"

"What's the make and model? And the car tag?" I asked.

"Why do you want to know that?" said Bell. "What's going on, here?"

"We can get that information without your help, Mr. Bell, though I'm noting your lack of cooperation." I said. "So let me ask a different question: Do you know a woman named Beryl Corvalis?"

Bart Bell's face began turning red. "I think you already know that she's the bitch Terry Schultz hired to snare me in her 'red flag' trap."

"When was the last time you saw Ms. Corvalis?" I asked.

"Long damn time ago." replied Bell. "Before that cunt Schultz was murdered."

"You never looked for her?" I asked. "You never went after her?"

"No, and no." said Bell. "Like I said before, I moved on. I finally got this job with MegaTech. They even asked me to do a presentation. Now that your Officers have dragged me away from that, my future with them is over, thank you very much."

"You're quite welcome." I said. "And I mean that; you may not want to associate with them any longer. But back to the Schultz case. You had restraining orders sworn out against you, didn't you? Threatened to kill your wife and Schultz?"

"I didn't threaten to kill my wife." said Bart Bell. "Her sleazy lawyer said that I did so she could slap a restraining order on me, to make her case look better. Her lawyer also reported me to the Medical Board, and I was stripped of my license. Without any due process, either."

"And Schultz?" I asked.

"You know how it is." said Bell. "I had a few drinks one night, said something like 'I wish she was dead'... which I did... and some assholes that heard it went and said I was making threats, the jerks."

"Why would they say you were making threats?" I asked. "Why would they lie?"

"Just to kick a man while he's down." said Bell. "Just for the enjoyment of it."

I said "So you never threatened Beryl Corvalis?"

"No." said Bell. "I haven't seen her nor heard about her for years."

"Where were you last night, Mr. Bell?" I asked.

"At home." said Bell.

"Can anyone vouch for that?" I asked.

"No." said Bell. "I didn't know I needed vouching for. And what is this about? I'm not answering any more questions until you tell me what this is about."

"Mr. Bell," I said, looking hard into the man's eyes, "Beryl Corvalis was found dead last night. Murdered. At the Hyatt Hotel. In a room reserved by MegaTech Industries for the conference... a conference you are attending."

"Whaa?" gasped Bell. "I... I had no idea about that. Any of it!" As the magnitude of the situation dawned upon him, he said "I think I need a lawyer now."

"Yes, yes you do." I said. "Patrolman, take Mr. Bell through full booking, let him call a lawyer, and put him in a holding cell until that lawyer gets here. The charge is suspicion of first degree murder. Read him his rights." Johnson came up and dropped his handcuffs on the table for dramatic effect as he read Bell the rights from the card, then had Bell stand up and put his hands behind him...

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

As we walked down the hallway to the other side of Police Headquarters, Jerome Davis said "You think he did it, sir?"

"Not enough data yet, though he really checks off the boxes so far, doesn't he?" I said. "Okay, let's go watch the interrogation of Deborah Wilkins."

As we reached the intersection of hallways, Davis, Newman, and Coleman started towards the Monitor Room, but I went on forward to the anteroom of the Interrogation Rooms. Jerome wisely followed me as the other two went on into the Monitor Room.

"You're watching from in here, sir?" he asked quietly as we looked through the one-way glass, seeing Julia Rodriguez and Roark Coleman in the room, and Julia reading Wilkins her considerable legal rights.

"Yeah." I said. "Those chairs in that room make my back hurt like hell. I'd rather just stand in here. And I can see more from in here." Jerome nodded. He was learning, I thought happily. He was learning...

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

"Do you understand the rights?" asked Julia to Deborah Wilkins after she and Coleman had sat down and Julia had read Deborah Wilkins her rights. Patrol Officer Lisa Burrell was the Uniformed presence.

"What is this about?" Gwen Munson asked in her very deceptively sweet voice.

"Do you understand the rights, Ms. Wilkins?" Julia asked again. Deborah remain silent. She looked scared, like a deer in the headlights of an onrushing vehicle.

"Again, what is this about?" Munson asked. Julia just held up the card to the camera to show that Wilkins had been mirandized.

"Ms. Wilkins," said Julia, "did you obtain the keys to the 8th floor suites from the hotel desk last night?"

"Is that a crime?" Munson asked.

"Ms. Wilkins," said Detective Rodriguez, "you need to answer my questions, or invoke your Fifth Amendment rights. Again, did you obtain the keys to the 8th floor suites last night?'

"I've advised my client not to speak nor answer your questions until you tell us what this is about." Munson thundered. "Are you charging my client with a crime?"

"So your client is invoking?" Julia asked.

"Not yet, but I demand you explain why you brought her here." said Munson. "Is my client under arrest?" When Julia didn't immediately answer, Munson said "I'm taking her out of here, then. Come on, Deborah, let's go..."

"Your client is not free to go." said Julia. "She was arrested, and she is a person of interest in a crime that was committed at the Hyatt Hotel last night. One more time, Ms. Wilkins----"

"Yes, she checked out all the keys to the bloc of suites MegaTech Industries had reserved." said Munson. "And again, that's not a crime."

"So you had the keys to Suites 801, 802, and 804, which are sequentially on the same side of the hallway, is that right?" asked Julia.

"What of it?" replied Munson.

"I'd like to hear her confirm that herself." said Julia. Dammit, I thought to myself. She was doing good, but she just fucked up. Gwen was answering for her, but Gwen was answering.

"I just told you." said Munson. "She doesn't speak until you tell me what this is about. Otherwise, I'm going to Court and get her released immediately."

"Who did you give the keys to those three rooms to, Ms. Wilkins?" asked Julia.

"CEO Elliot Sanders was in the big suite, 801." said Gwen Munson. "The other rooms were not yet assigned."

"So you had the keys to 802 and 804 all night, Ms. Wilkins?" Julia asked. "Or did you give them to someone? To whom did you give the key to Room 802, Ms. Wilkins?"

"It was unassigned." snarled Gwen Munson. "What is the purpose of this browbeating and intimidation?"

"This is ridiculous." I whispered to Jerome. I handed him my red crowbar and said "Here, hold this. And stay here and watch." With that I opened the door to the Interrogation Room and walked in, pretty much slamming the door behind me.