Motor City Trick

The homeless man told us that the red haired woman was beautiful. He could see most of her tits and that she had on a really short skirt. When we asked him about her facial features all he could say is she wore dark sunglasses and had really nice big tits.

"She tried to cut me. Did I tell you that?" He kept repeating the same thing over and over. We were pretty sure we wouldn't be getting much more information from him. We had another unit take him to the station and get his statement on paper. We promised him another coat and a meal if he would go along with the officers.

I told the officers to go by one of the homeless shelters and get him another coat. We did need his for evidence, even though we didn't expect much from it.

The CSI team gave me the shock of my life. They gave me the driver's license of the deceased victim. It was Dave Bailey. By what I knew about where he lived, I knew it was Sue's soon-to-be-divorced husband.

One of our units said they just spotted a silver Honda pulling into an apartment complex at Jefferson and Grand Boulevard. They wanted to know what we wanted them to do. There was a woman getting out of the car but she was dressed in slacks and going into the apartment.

That was where Sue and I lived. I told the officers to just get the license number of the vehicle and see who the owner was. It would tell us what apartment the person might live in. I was sure it was Sue. What was she doing out at this hour?

When I told the Captain that the deceased was my girlfriend's husband he told me I wasn't to do any of the interviews. He was sending another team of officers over to question her. He didn't want me to talk to her until they were finished.

Chapter 2:

Two Detectives were sent to talk to Sue. They knocked on her door.

"John, is that you?" Sue asked.

"No Mrs. Bailey, it's Detective Smith and Detective Cook. We're here to talk to you. May we please come in?"

Sue looked through the peephole and knew the two Detectives from the party the week before. As she opened the door she asked. "Is John ok?"

"Yes, he's fine. He'll be here in a little while. We need to talk to you first."

"About what? You're scaring me!"

"We'll explain everything to you in a few minutes. We have a couple of questions we need to ask you first. Where were you this evening?"

"I was home all night. John was coming over after work. I did leave about an hour ago and went to Tim Horton's and got a Latte and some pumpkin pie for John; he loves pumpkin pie. The receipt's right there on the counter."

"Mrs. Bailey..."

"Please call me Sue. I met you both at the party last week. It's Tom and Ben isn't it?"

"Yes it is. You wore a red wig to that party didn't you?"

"Yes, it was stolen along with some of my other clothes last Monday. John had me file a report. It should be on file. Please tell me what this is all about."

"Mrs. Bailey, I mean Sue, I'm sorry to have to inform you that your husband was found dead downtown tonight."

"What? Dave is dead? What happened to him?" Sue seemed quite surprised the detectives told me later. She looked sad but didn't cry.

"He was killed downtown, supposedly by the serial killer that has been killing a number of men while having sex with them. A witness mentioned that the women wore a red wig or had red hair. He also mentioned she drove a silver car, possibly a Honda. Your vehicle pulled into this lot while we were looking for vehicles that matched the description."

"You think I killed Dave? God knows, I could never do that. Besides our divorce would be final in a couple of weeks. I just went to get pie for John, honest! Look at the receipt."

"Sue, we needed to check on your whereabouts seeing you had the red wig, a car matching the description that we had. But, most of all you were married to the victim."

"God, it wasn't me. It's true that I no longer cared for him but I would never kill him. You have to believe me."

"Sue, we would like permission to search your apartment and your vehicle. We can get warrants but we hope we don't need to."

"No, if it will help, go ahead and search the place. My car keys are on the counter." Sue sat there while the detectives searched her apartment and two patrolmen searched her car.

When they were finished there was a knock on the door. Sue opened it and I walked in. The detectives phoned me and said they were done searching her place and found nothing that would place her at the scene, or any of the clothing she said was stolen. They did ask her to come down to the precinct the following day. They needed to ask her a few more questions.

After the detectives left, I hugged her and told her how sorry I was that she had to go through the interrogation. I wanted to be there for her but since it was her husband who was killed, I wasn't allowed to.

We sat on the couch and I told her what Jen and I had found. She was sad, but she no longer loved Dave. She got up and brought me my pumpkin pie. After eating it I sat and cuddled with her for a couple of hours before going to my apartment. The rules are the rules.

I knew that they wanted to ask her about her whereabouts the nights of the other murders. It was all standard procedure. The problem was most of the murders were in the late evenings and early morning and Sue was usually home alone. Even when I was with her, I would go to my own apartment around ten in the evening. I could vouch for her that far, but I knew better than to lie.

Being a cop I had natural instincts about killings, knowing the spouse is always one of the main suspects. I didn't want to think about Sue that way but had no choice. My mind wouldn't let me think differently.

The following day I drove Sue down to the precinct, but again wasn't allowed to be there during questioning. Sue asked if she was a suspect and was told it was standard procedure but she was a person of interest because of the witness' description of the woman he had seen. She was dressed the same as Sue was at the Halloween party.

When asked about the dates of the other murders, Sue thought back and said she couldn't remember what she did most nights other than we watched TV and I went home and she went to bed. It neither helped or hurt her. There still wasn't any physical evidence.

While I was waiting for her, I saw Lester, the homeless man. They wanted to question him again also. They had him glance into the room where Sue was sitting but said nothing about her. It wasn't a line-up, just wanted to see if he noticed anything about her.

I talked to Lester and even gave him one of my cards. I figured it was near useless but I told him if he ever saw the redhead again or her car to call me. I knew it was a long shot but we had nothing to lose.

****

After Sue and I left the precinct she told me she would be gone for a week or so. She had to go back to Dave's condo and take care of everything. She was still his wife and would be held responsible.

Her sister Carol volunteered to go with her. They had to take care of the funeral arrangement and all other payments and expenses. I knew it was going to be a rough week for her but she was still the spouse and a good person.

They contacted Dave's employer and found out she was still his beneficiary and first contact. She talked to her lawyer who was handling her divorce and had it stopped. He in turn contacted Dave's lawyer and explained the situation.

Sue thought it best if all transactions went through her lawyer. She had him named executor instead of her, so there wouldn't be a lot of problems with Dave's family. He had two brothers and a sister. His parents were also still living. She knew they were like vultures and would fight her every step of the way, getting anything and everything they could from her.

She decided to let them have everything Dave owned. She already had taken her things when they separated. She set up the funeral and had all the arrangements made. All monies still owed Dave would be sent to the executor and he would make the payments.

The funeral was to be Thursday, so on Wednesday night I bought some Chinese food and took it over to Dave's old apartment where Sue and Carol were staying. They were happy to see me. For the last few days they were working trying to get all Dave's affairs in order.

They looked exhausted, but Sue was trying to do what she believed to be right. She had already contacted the landlord and told him the apartment would be cleaned for inspection by the first of the week. Then he could do a walk-through and send their initial security deposit to the executor.

At the funeral Dave's parents would hardly talk to Sue. They said if she was a better wife Dave wouldn't have gone after prostitutes and still be alive. Sue knew it would be useless to argue with them.

I went to the funeral along with my partner Jen. We were dressed in street clothes as to not attract attention. We paid our condolences and mentioned we knew both Dave and Sue. Dave's parents weren't happy when we gave Sue a hug. I knew it made Sue feel good that we were there for her.

We went to the back of the room and stayed for the service but didn't go to the cemetery. We had to work that afternoon. Sue told me later that she told Dave's family that they could stop by his apartment and take anything they wanted. She didn't need or want any of it.

After the funeral, his family came by and took most everything. All the furniture and even all his clothes, which Sue thought about giving to the Salvation Army. In two days they had the apartment totally stripped, leaving nothing.

They even started to take the stove and refrigerator but Sue told them it belonged to the landlord and they would have to pay for it; needless to say they left it. Sue told me the sad part was that no one in Dave's family even said thank you. They blamed her in some odd twisted way for his death.

Sue called a cleaning company to come and clean the apartment. She and Carol were worn out. She had to come home Friday night, since they had nothing to sleep on. After the cleaning the landlord was to do a walk-through and their initial deposit of a thousand dollars would be sent to the lawyer.

****

During the time Sue was gone, our team got together to see if we could find any links between the sex murders that we knew about. Also some of the differences might be important.

Our first victim was Michael Berkshire. His body was found in a parking garage where he worked. His throat was cut deep, more than likely with a razor. He was fifty years old and managed a sales agency. He lived in an upper class Grosse Pointe area. His wife was the wealthy one in the family.

She owned a chain of exercise gyms and spas that she bought with help from her very rich parents. She was in her mid forties and in very good shape. They had two kids that were now away at college.

Mrs. Berkshire had called in that her husband had not come home the night before. Usually there is a twenty-four hour period before filing a missing person's report. Because of her clout, they acted on her report immediately.

Her husband's vehicle was found in the parking garage of his building. His throat had been cut. He was sitting on the passenger side of his vehicle; his pants were down and he had come in a condom. There weren't any fresh prints in the vehicle other than the victim's. They tested for vaginal fluid on the outside of the condom to hopefully match a DNA but the hooker must have used some type of KY jelly or other cream that made any sample useless.

There were a few blood drops leading to another parking spot but it was the victim's blood. When Mrs. Berkshire agreed to talk to us she had her lawyer present. After that, she said her lawyer would handle any further questioning. Her two kids were off at college at the time and her servants all said she was home the previous evening.

The next four victims were all similar. The husband/victim worked in a downtown office. They all lived in the suburbs and had teenagers at home. All four were notified the next day that their husbands were found dead. All four wives were home with their families at the time of the murders.

The husbands were all sitting on the passenger's side of the vehicle, all had their trousers down and were wearing condoms. All had ejaculated before having their throats cut. Their vehicles were found on side roads and alleys not far off the main drag. It meant the killer must have had a get-away car near the killing site.

Our sixth victim was Sue's soon to be ex-husband Dave. He fell in a similar category of the last four. The difference was we had something like a witness in Lester, and a possible getaway car being a silver Honda.

We realized that all escape routes after the murders led toward Jefferson Avenue. We did find some tire tracks leaving a couple of the scenes but they were standard tires and were on most late model Hondas, as well as many other cars.

We did notice that, with a few of the victims including Dave, the prostitute had sex with someone else before the victim. Multiple semen samples were found in four of the six cases. Our first victim, Michael Berkshire, and our third victim, Tim Evans, were the only two where no other semen was found on the outside of the condom. That meant that the hooker didn't use condoms with every trick.

We weren't having much luck. We checked and none of the wives drove a Honda. Most had vans or SUV's. Mrs. Berkshire drove a Cadillac. Everything led back to a hooker that wore wigs and was well built, according to Lester. Other hookers remember seeing her but didn't associate with her; she kept her distance. We kept up patrols, looking for any hookers that seemed like they might not belong.

We even interviewed a few of them but had no reason to hold them. We were getting very frustrated. The Captain even put on a couple of extra units to go through side streets and alleys looking for vehicles, which we normally didn't do. It was a dangerous place for cruisers to go without any reason.

****

I talked with Sue on Saturday when she got home. She asked me if they had any new news? I told her "No" but that we put more units out on patrol. She asked me if she was still considered a suspect and I told her she was listed as a person of interest. She just shook her had and I gave her a hug.

Later that evening, the shit hit the fan.

Chapter 3

I explained to Sue that I wouldn't be stopping by tonight since I wouldn't be getting off till after midnight. She mentioned that she planned on catching up on her sleep anyway.

It was a busy night. Some were still celebrating Halloween. The way some women of the night dressed, every night was Halloween. It was a busy night and we were still talking to some of the prostitutes. That along with doing our regular patrol made for a quick night.

It was almost midnight when Jen and I were headed back to the station. As we walked in the door the desk Sergeant called to me and said I had a phone call. I was rather surprised, since no one ever called me at work. I answered the phone and it was Lester, the homeless man.

"Patrolman Wayne, this is Lester. You gave me your card and said to call you if I even saw that woman or her car again."

"Yes Lester, I gave you my card. Did you see the woman and her car tonight?" I asked.

"I didn't see her but I did see her car, you know the silver Honda. It was parked on a side street off the main road."

"How long ago did you see it Lester?"

"Maybe an hour or so. I don't have a watch."

"Why did you wait so long to call me?"

"No one would let me use their phone. I finally walked down to the all night diner and I gave them your card and asked them to dial you. They hesitated but finally called."

"Stay where you are Lester. I'll have a patrol car stop by and get your statement and you can have a free meal on me."

I called Detectives Smith and Cook; they were patrolling the downtown area tonight also. I told them what Lester said and they headed to the place where Lester last saw the car. We hoped we weren't too late: we didn't want another victim.

Their vehicle was unmarked; we didn't want to scare our possible suspect away. Jen and I headed back to our cruiser. We figured we could help with backup if needed. We sent another patrol car over to get Lester's statement and I told them to see he got something to eat. I would reimburse them later.

Jen and I received a call from Detective Smith. He said as they were going down the street they were passed by the Honda. It was driven by a woman with a blonde wig. They didn't get a good look at her but they turned around and were now following her. They also said they passed a parked car with someone sitting in it. We were to go check it out.

We were afraid that our killer struck again. As we turned the corner the parked vehicle started moving. We turned on our lights and he stopped. We asked him to get out of the car.

He was a college-aged man and was scared that we stopped him. He finally told us he had sex with a prostitute and she had just left in her own car. We talked to him and found out that he had been with this same hooker a number of times. Sometimes she wore a red wig but today it was blonde.

She drove a silver Honda and she always wanted sex on the side streets.

"She wasn't like the other women," said the man. "She was older and beautiful. She always wanted me to sit on the passenger side and I didn't have to wear a condom unless I wanted to. I never did, it felt to good when I came in her."

Another patrol car pulled up and we told them to take him to the station and get his statement. If he went along and answered all their questions we wouldn't charge him with solicitation. He readily agreed to tell us anything we wanted to know.

We received a call from Smith and Cook. They said the vehicle they were following was going up Jefferson Ave. They weren't able to make out the plates because the number was blocked. They could have pulled her over for that but wanted to see where she was going.

"John, she's pulling into your apartment parking lot. We'll confront her after she parks." Jen and I were only a few minutes behind.

When we pulled up they had the woman standing outside of her car. She was definitely dressed as a prostitute. God, I prayed it wasn't Sue as we pulled up. She was built similar to Sue but the closer we got I knew it wasn't her. I looked at the woman and realized that it was Madeline Berkshire. Her husband was the first victim. I pulled Detective Smith aside and told him who she was.

They had asked her for her driver's license and proof of insurance. When she said she didn't have that with her, she was asked to get out of the car. They now had probable cause to check her vehicle. They removed a small green purse from her front seat. It contained both a handgun and a barber's straight razor.

She wasn't speaking at all. They found a key to room 321 also in her purse. We all went up to the room. Once we opened the door we could see that she didn't live there. The room was filled with clothes that a prostitute would wear. We figured this was just a place where she changed her clothes before going home.

When I told her that I knew she was Madeline Berkshire, she said she wanted her lawyer. The Detectives took her down to the station and we had our crime scene investigators check out the apartment as well as her vehicle.

Due to all the commotion, a number of people came out of their apartments. I looked down the hall and saw Sue and asked her over. We told everyone else to go back to their apartments.

Sue looked in the apartment and said she saw some of her clothes that were stolen as well as her wigs. She cried and I took her into my arms. I walked her back to her apartment and told her I would see her in the morning.