Mystery At Mystery Lake Ch. 01

"Then do it." I said, interrupting his diatribe. "File the complaint. Your attempt to intimidate us by invoking the name of the U.S. DOJ Civil Rights Division won't work; I am not afraid of the corrupt U.S. Attorney General, Derrick B. Harland. We are holding your client on suspicion of murder in the first degree. He'll get his hearing Monday morning, and you can whine about his treatment to the Judge at that time. But he is not free to go."

"We'll see about that." Masterson said. He got up and said "I'm going to the Courthouse to get an emergency hearing for my client. Nothing had better happen to him, and he better be kept here, and not 'disappeared' by the Feds." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. I had Patrolman Jones take Kibbing to his holding cell.

Twenty minutes later, my Police iPhone rang. It was Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Paulina Patterson. She said "Masterson is harassing Judge Doss, and he's demanding we let Kibbing go. What do you want to do?"

I said "Ask the Judge to set a very high bail for him, and if and when it's met, to have him ankle-monitored and confined to the County."

As I hung up, FBI SAC Clark Webster said "Okay, I'll bite: why did you allow him to have bail?"

I said "Two reasons. First, I want to see who pays his bail. And second, the new X-100 ankle monitors are virtually unbeatable; to my knowledge, no perp secured in one of them has gotten them off nor defeated their signal. I want to see where Sheldon Kibbing goes, who he sees, and maybe he'll lead us to our real target here, Gavin White..."

Part 5 - The Investigation In Earnest

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Monday, May 9th, from the anchor desk of the KXTC television studios. "Authorities search for a serial killer in this area!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Federal, State, and local authorities are working feverishly to find clues to the identity of a possible serial killer after six bodies were discovered in shallow graves in northeast Nextdoor County. Let's go to trusted reporter Amber Harris for more. Amber!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said the athletic, height-challenged, blonde reporterette from the field very near where the bodies had been found. "Behind me in the woods is where six bodies were found at Mystery Lake State Park in northeast Nextdoor County early Saturday morning. As of this morning, six bodies have been found. Police investigated the scene after four witnesses rushed into the Nextdoor County Police Station and said they'd seen two men burying a body in the woods."

The feed switched to four DMV photos in a square with Amber's voiceover: "Those four witnesses are: Carl Bacon, a University student on an athletic scholarship with the Swim & Dive Team; Chris Bacon, also a University student with an athletic scholarship in Golf; Sherry Estrich, wife of BigPharmaCorp attorney Martin K. Estrich; and Charlene Theranikos, wife of shipping magnate Konstantin Theranikos. Both women live in the prestigious Heritage Cloisters subdivision north of Town."

Back to Amber on the feed: "According to information provided by Nextdoor County Police Officer Howard E. Neumann, the six bodies were in a line along the path behind me in the woodline, and their bodies were in various states of decay, from just a few hours before it was buried Saturday night, to two victims that were believed to have been killed about a year and a half ago, to three bodies that have been buried for several years. All six were confirmed to be females."

Amber: "The latest victim has not been identified yet, but the next two victims were identified as Katherine McAfee, who worked in the Town & County Tax Office at the time of her disappearance; and Tamara Lidell, who was a University student at the time of her disappearance. Ms. Lidell may have been a whistleblower in the case of allegations against Dr. Laura Fredricson, wife of TCPD Commander Donald Troy, when Dr. Fredricson was accused of running a male prostitution ring out of her University Psychology Department office." (Author's Note: 'The Babymaker', 'Consent of the Governed')

Amber: "After well over a year of Commander Donald Troy's failure to solve those disappearances, a lucky break has allowed the FBI's Missing Person's Bureau to bring those searches to a conclusion, albeit with tragic results. The FBI and SBI are continuing to work together to find the serial killer that has been terrorizing women in the area without being detected by Donald Troy. Back to you, Bettina."

"Uh..." said Bettina, stammering in uncharacteristically uncertain disarray, "Uh, thank you, Amber." Then she got her wits about her and said "Commander Donald Troy and the TCPD have made no arrests and appear to have no clues to lead them to the alleged serial killer that poses a danger to our Citizens. And as usual, Commander Troy has not responded to repeated requests by KXTC Channel Two News for comment. And now let's go to reporter Pat Stellum, with news on the University's upcoming end-of-year festivities and graduation ceremonies..."

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

"Oh my God." said Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle as she, Sheriff Griswold, Your Iron Crowbar, Chief Moynahan, Deputy Chief Tanya P. Muscone, and Command Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross drank coffee and watched the utter disaster of the Media report in the Chief's Conference Room. "Don's face and neck are as red as his crowbar."

Everyone looked at me, including Sheriff Griswold half turning as he looked over his shoulder. "You okay, Crowbar?" he growled.

"Hell no." I said. Then I looked around and said "Aren't you guys as furious as I am?"

"Because Amber said the names of the witnesses?" Tanya astutely asked.

"Said the names?" I said witheringly. "For God's sake, she put up their DMV photos! She did everything she possibly could to make sure everyone knows who they are!... who they are..."

Yep, I was gone into what was well known as a 'reverie'. I was in my Mind Palace, and going so deeply into it that I was completely unaware of my surroundings.

After what seemed like a long minute, I felt a tug at my hand. I blinked and came out of it, and saw that Sheriff Griswold was trying to slide my red crowbar out of my hand, but my grip on it had been too tight.

Teresa was using her iPhone's timer. "Three full minutes." she said when I looked around. "You really must be onto something."

"Yes. Yes I am." I said. "I know why Amber was giving out all that information about the witnesses!."

"Don't keep us in sus-pennnnse." drawled the Chief, using my own phrase against me.;

I said "Obviously KXTC has a lahhht of information that they shouldn't have. But they didn't say a word about Sheldon Kibbing's arrest, nor that we're searching for Gavin White. Then Amber made damn sure to tell us about the witnesses, in great detail."

"And whyyyyy?" drawled the Chief, in an excellent imitation of my daughter Carole... when she was two years old.

I said "Gil Cox and Gary Fenton were teammates with Trent Ridge on the Rogue Navy SEAL Team. And many people don't know or don't remember that Trent Ridge is the biological father of Amber Harris's second child, her son." (Author's note: 'No Way Out', Ch. 05, among other places.)

I heard many murmurs as dots were connected. I continued anyway: "Amber has always maintained good relationships with Trent's people, and they watch over his son. So I'd say what you saw this morning was Amber notifying Cox and Fenton exactly who the witnesses are."

I continued: "And the party does not stop there. When the feed came back to Bettina, she was obviously disconcerted, and had to gather her wits. I surmise that Bettina did not know Amber was going to do that. And I'll make a bold prediction: Bettina will contact us, the TCPD, wanting to speak to me. And what she will want to say is that she had nothing to do with what Amber did."

Teresa had almost bolted out of her chair. She said "Do you think Amber is letting them stay at her house? Should I send Officers to check it out?"

"You can, but I doubt they're there." I replied. "If they were, she could just tell them the info on the witnesses instead of doing it through the airwaves."

Chief Moynahan said "For that matter, couldn't she just call them on burner phones they all likely havvvve?"

"Yes sir." I said. "But they know the Feds are watching for Cox and Fenton, and will be watching for such cellphone transmissions under the FISA warrants they obtained, since the members of the Bayport Rogue SEAL Team are considered to be domestic terrorists. They're probably avoiding contact personal contact with Amber; ergo, this method of transmitting information to them."

"Which leads me to another question." said Cindy. "Why them? Why Cox and Fenton? By that I mean: they're tools of the Big Boyz, the Swamp Frogs, the Corporate Elites. Yet they're here, personally cleaning up this mess, be it their own or someone else's. Why? Why them?"

"That is the $64,000 question." I replied. "And yes, I get what you're asking: why is a triphammer being used to crush a nut? And yes, it says that there is more to this... a lot more... than meets the eye."

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

9:00am, Monday, May 9th. We convened for a meeting in Classroom 'E'. Present were Chief Moynahan, Chief Molly Evans, Me, Teresa Croyle, Captain Claire Michaels, Lieutenants Mary Milton, Joanne Warner, and Teddy Parker, Detective Sergeant Julia Rodriguez, Detective Roark Coleman and Officer Jason Folby.

Also in the room were FBI SAC Jack Muscone and SSA Julius Jefferson. "Where's Clark Webster?" Chief Moynahan asked Muscone.

"He's at the Federal Building." Jack replied. "He and Lindy Linares are doing workups of missing women in this area, and are preparing to compare those workups to the recovered bodies. They're also helping to identify the most recently killed girl, but she's not showing up on our facial rec systems any more than she did yours. She has no DMV match in any State in the region, and they're going national with that search. She also has no college ID."

"Mary, what about high school IDs?" I asked.

Mary replied "County High and Town High issue them. Booker T. Washington High stopped issuing photo IDs several years ago, only issuing IDs without photos, claiming that Police were using the IDs to target blacks. And because of the tender ages of most of the students, Federal Agents are required to get warrants to access those databases."

Mary: "State and local LEOs are also required to get warrants, but because of my very good relations with the school officials, they'll give me permission to run our facial rec against their databases in urgent situations. I'd say this is just that, an urgent situation, so I'm going to contact Town High and County High right after this meeting."

"Why don't you go do that right now?" Claire Michaels 'suggested'.

Mary replied "Commander, should I give my report on the McAfee suspects first?"

Claire angrily replied: "That can wait, or someone else can give it. Time is of the essence here, Lieutenant."

I said "The girl is already dead, and we've already identified the perps that were burying her. And maybe in the few minutes while Mary gives her report, someone will call to report their daughter, girlfriend, or friend missing. Go ahead, Mary, then you can go after you give that report."

"Thank you, sir." Mary said, trying to keep her happiness that I took her side and beat back Captain Michaels on her behalf. "Okay, quickly: then-ADA Savannah Fineman refused to prosecute Sheldon Kibbing, Gavin White, and Kay Henn for any crimes they committed or may have committed a year ago. At that time, Gavin White was additionally charged with resisting arrest and assaulting Police Officers, and Fineman refused to prosecute that, either."

Mary: "They all returned to their jobs with the Tax Office, but Tax Commissioner Anna Pressley began getting political heat for keeping them on, especially Kibbing and White. So they left the employ of the Tax Office, allegedly voluntarily. Kay Henn, however, remained in her position. She is still there, as of close-of-business last Friday. And there's nothing unusual about her finances."

Mary: "Sheldon Kibbing was a founder of Students for Climate Justice, the SCJ, and he's been working with Professor Lionel Carmela as well as the relatively new Biology & Climate Change School at the University. It's hard to pin down exactly what he does and who is paying him." (Author's note: 'God Save The Queen', Ch. 01 for the new Biology School & Climate Change Center's creation.)

Mary: "After Gavin White left the Tax Office Permits Division, he pretty much went off the grid. We cannot find any instance of employment nor where his income is coming from. His bills on his small apartment on Jefferson Avenue are automatically paid by an account that I'm still working on tracing... I've made it to the Cayman Islands, but penetrating their veils will take some time and effort."

"Wow." I said musingly. "That bespeaks some serious, high-level sponsorship of the guy. And beyond Professor Lionel Carmela's pay grade." After a pause, I said "If that's all, you can go." Mary went.

Detective Roark Coleman spoke up: "Sir, there's an idea I'd like to put out there, that I think the data supports." I nodded and he said "I don't think we're on the right track pursuing Kibbing and White as the serial killer. I reviewed the McAfee and Lidell cases over the weekend, and I can't find any connection between Kibbing, White, and Tamara Lidell---"

"Are you kidding?" Joanne Warner exclaimed. "That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Of course they're connected, through Katherine McAfee's disappearance! And Tamara was a student of Dr. Lionel Carmela, who we all know is a radical Leftist and was behind the Biology School changes along the lines of which Kibbing, White, and Henn are strong supporters!"

Roark said "Commander, if I may finish?"

"Don't you dare interrupt me again, Detective!" Joanne practically screamed as she stood up.

"Well, how about -I- interrupt you, then, Lieutenant!" I shouted, also rising to my feet. I could feel the heat on my face and the back of my neck, and I knew they were beet red with the furious anger I was feeling. "DO NOT say another word while he is talking!"

Joanne looked furious, but Claire motioned for her to sit back down, and Joanne did. I took a breath to calm down, then turned to Roark and said "I think I know where you're going with this, Detective... and I think I'm going to agree with a lot of it. Go ahead."

Roark: "Thank you, sir. I'm not saying Kibbing and White aren't involved at all. But as I was about to say: my review of the Tamara Lidell situation showed that she was involved in making those false accusations against your wife on Dr. Carmela's behalf. And Ms. McAfee was already gone from the Tax Office before Kibbing and White got into their situation with Ebell and Plimer, and the TCPD got involved. Her name may have been conveniently taken in vain to create alibis for them, but she had already disappeared."

Roark: "And I also reviewed the various cases involving the Bayport Team, of which Cox and Fenton were members. Except for likely being the perps that buried the bodies, I'm just not seeing any connections between any of that group and Kibbing or White."

"That is excellent thinking, Mr. Roark. Here, hold this." I said as I passed my red crowbar down to him. Julia Rodriguez fist-bumped him as he took the crowbar and examined it in his hands. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Joanne Warner's normally very beautiful face was marred by one of the ugliest looks of pure hatred that I had ever observed.

I put that into a compartment of the mind and continued with the business at hand, saying: "I have been thinking along Roark's lines myself. My own thoughts are that this is bigger than Kibbing and White, and may be much bigger than Lionel Carmela, as important as he likes to think he is." There were chuckles at my evaluation of the odious Professor Carmela.

"Commander Troy," said Teddy Parker, "on behalf of my Team and Officer Folby, what is your advice on the direction we should take in continuing to investigate these crimes?"

Chief Moynahan said: "Now that is good leadership and smart thinking. Stepping up and asking for advice. And you're going to get the very best advice poss-i-blllle. Mister Crowbarrrr?"

I said "Yes, I agree, it was the right thing to do to ask. And my answer is that I think our key to solving this quickly lies in the latest victim. If we can find out who she is and go from there, we may go a long way towards getting to the real Truth of this whole matter. I am really, really hoping that someone calls in about a missing girl..."

Part 6 - Coming Together, Falling Apart

11:45am, Monday, May 9th. The Sheriff invited his 'top people' to lunch at the Irish Pub, a.k.a. The Cop Bar. We went into the back 'Command Room', which was a small third room that 'top people' of the Town & County Public Safety Department often met to discuss important issues over lunch. Present today were Sheriff Griswold, TCPD Chief Moynahan, NCPD Chief Molly Evans, Police Commander Troy (me), Command Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross, Deputy Chief Tanya Muscone, and Lieutenant Commander Teresa Croyle.

"So there were some fireworks in your meeting this morning?" Cindy asked me after we'd all ordered.

I rolled my eyes, then said "Yeah, and I'm getting sick and tired of it. We were discussing the case and the suspects, and Roark Coleman had good trains of thought boarding at the station, and I liked it that he spoke up about them. And then Joanne Warner starts tearing into him with personal attacks that were not only unmerited, but were dead wrong."

Teresa said "Warner looked bitter and utterly furious when you lit into her, and I've never seen a look on her facc like the one she had when you handed Roark your crowbar. And I'm not saying you were wrong in any way, Don; I'm just saying that even after all these months, Joanne really, really hates Roark Coleman, and it's really become a festering problem."

"We'll talk about that lay-terrrrrr." drawled Chief Moynahan.

"Good idea." growled Sheriff Griswold. ""Cindy, why don't you tell them what we found out this morning."

"Sure, Sheriff." Cindy replied. She then addressed all of us, saying "The reason we weren't in your meeting this morning is because we were addressing Amber Harris's inexcusable conduct in giving out witnesses's names and photos like she did. Because the Sheriff's Department does not have a Press Relations person, the Sheriff has delegated those responsibilities to Yours Truly. For the most part, I have relied upon TCPD Captain Damien Thompson to handle Press issues, and he does a great job."

Cindy: "Tanya is Damien's chain-of-command boss, so I involved her, also. I had him call KXTC to read them the Riot Act. He asked to speak to Bettina, and they hung up on him when he identified himself and his Office. He then bypassed the front desk by calling Bettina directly. She took the call, and he first told her that whoever answered his first call hung up on him, then he told her that the purpose of his call was to formally protest Amber putting the names and photos of the witnesses."

Cindy: "She asked if he wanted to speak to Amber, and she would have Amber call him back. He said no, that Bettina was the Managing Editor and therefore responsible for Amber's actions that could cause potential danger to the witnesses. That seemed to hit Bettina, and she stammered a lot and then said that Amber had done that without her, Bettina's, permission, but that she, Bettina, would apologize on KXTC's behalf."