Pink Panther Ch. 03

"Fox Two News has learned that the new GOJ documents show collusion between Coach Gonzales and former SBI Agents under then-director Jack Lewis to frame Coach Erskine Marshall, now with the Wildcats Football program." said Bettina. "The attempt to frame Coach Marshall was thwarted by Commander Donald Troy of the TCPD, and the information released by the GOJ is already known. But this breach of data raises questions as to the ability of the GOJ to obtain information like this from Government sources, and also gives law enforcement new things to think about in the murder of Coach Gonzales!"

Bettina went on: "Local authorities investigating Coach Gonzales's murder, as well as the FBI, have said that Coach Marshall is not a suspect, as he was in the presence of other coaches and players during the entire possible timeframe of Coach Gonzales's death. Former SBI Agent Richard Ferrell is now paralyzed from the waist down after his back was broken by criminals during a drug raid, but authorities are not focusing on whether anyone involved in the old PED scandal killed Coach Gonzales in retaliation for his role in that scandal."

"Meanwhile," said Bettina, "U.S. Senator Samuel Russell issued a strong condemnation of Governor Val Jared, saying that Jared's lack of action is the reason the Guardians of Justice have not yet been captured. He continues to demand that Commander Donald Troy be personally assigned the case in his capacity as SBI Inspector."

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

"If they do assign you the case, sir," said Teresa as we drank coffee in MCD, "I have a clue to the perpetrator."

"I can't wait to hear it." I said.

"He's eight feet tall, wears a black suit and tie, and has no facial features on his head." said Teresa. "And Slender Man is going to be haunting you in your dreams while you work on the case, sir. He's coming for you, sir. It's inevitable."

"That's scary." said Sgt. Micah Rudistan, losing some of his joviality.

"The only scary thing is that Captain Croyle actually believes that." I replied. "Of course, that's because she doesn't know the Powwwwer of the Crowbar, since she refuses to carry one herself."

"Don't need it." said Teresa flatly. "Except to spank rowdy Police Officers during the Police Boxing Matches." As the winner and defending Champion of said Boxing Matches, she was entitled to say that.

"Commander," said Joanne Warner, "will a crowbar be enough for the Wildcats when the Bulldogs mop the floor with them?"

"GEEZ, Rudistan!" I exclaimed. "What did you put in this coffee to make this young Detective lose control of her mental faculties like that?"

"Not a damn thing." said Cindy Ross, grinning. "You should just worry about Slender Man, Commander. There's no point in worrying about the inevitable... you know, the Bulldogs mopping the floor with the Wildcats?"

I shook my head sadly. "My entire Detective Force has gone mad. The Slender Man has affected your minds..."

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

At 9:05am, I got a phone call. It was from Jack Muscone. I put it on speaker so Cindy could hear it.

"We've got a couple of things." said Muscone. "First, that money in Dawson's mattress came from an armored car robbery in San Jose, California. They got over $50,000 total. There were some marked bills in the batch, that showed up in the Dawson stash. Our guys out there believed it was one of the white supremacy groups that robbed the armored truck. I'm emailing you the case files."

"Thanks." I said. "What else?"

"Selena Martinez." said Jack Muscone. "She was an American Citizen, born in Austin, Texas. But her parents were in the U.S. illegally, so she was an 'anchor baby'. We think they fled when Selena was killed, either to California or to Mexico, since they knew authorities would be looking for them, if only to tell them Selena was dead."

"Starts to make some sense why they've disappeared." I replied. "Wanna go three for three? Anything on Speedy Gonzales?"

"Not really." said Muscone. "We're getting good cooperation from the Wildcats people, from Eastern State, and from their respective State LEO organizations. He'd kept himself pretty clean after you busted his chops in the PED scandal. Now we've got the Guardians of Justice stirring the pot, so I expect the EAD will call me with assignments soon."

"No doubt." I said. "Thanks for the info. I'll buy you double cheeseburgers the next time we have lunch." Jack eagerly accepted that, and we made our goodbyes.

"Okay, so we're clearing up a couple of things, at least." I said.

"Clearing up?" Cindy said incredulously. "Seems like we've just added to the mess. Now we have California and maybe Texas connections to all this."

"Yes." I said. "But we now know why someone felt they could part with that much money... it was stolen, and it was hot, and by that I mean it was marked. And the reason for Selena's family disappearing is answered."

"You don't think she was killed because her parents were illegals, do you?" Cindy asked.

"No." I said. "No, I'd be shocked if that had anything to do with her murder." I was halfway in a reverie...

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

At 10:30am or so, City Police Detective Robin Ventura called.

"I've got some new stuff on Selena Martinez." said Robin. "Our people talked to the hotel staff. The ones that knew Selena said she was friendly, but very guarded. She carried a gun on her person while working at the hotel, and was always very alert and aware whenever she was in a room with someone else, especially a man."

"Okay." I said. "Anything else?"

"Just that no one had any idea of her past." said Robin. "That's not unusual, as some of her co-workers are probably undocumented and have forged green cards. So people don't talk of their pasts very much. Selena was no exception."

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

Norm Chow of the SBI-SIS called about half an hour later. "Sir," he said, "I've got some stuff on Butch Fulmer and Selena Martinez. She was an anchor-baby; she was born in Texas, but her parents were likely illegally here."

"Okay." I said. "What about Butch Fulmer?"

"He was pretty much a loner." said Chow. "He often took night-time duty assignments where he was alone, like in a parking lot guardhouse, or a building front desk, or maybe at the museum. But he did have an assignment where he was working with another guy, named Phil Layne, and I managed to get in touch with Layne."

"Great!" I said. "What did he have to say?"

"He said that for a long time, Fulmer didn't talk very much about his past. Layne thought maybe Fulmer's wife had died and he just didn't want to bring up the memories. But one night, and not all that long ago, he told the guy he'd been a coach at the University under Coach Harlan. Fulmer told Layne that Harlan was a really, really bad man, and that Coach Speedy Gonzales was bad, too."

Chow went on: "This was after the PED scandal came out, so Layne asked if that was why they were bad. Fulmer said that was part of it, but that it was worse. Fulmer said he thought Harlan didn't die of cancer, but was poisoned or something, and that he, Fulmer, might share the same fate if he wasn't careful. Fulmer also told Layne that if anything did happen to him, to Fulmer, then Layne should contact a 'Rusty Dawson' in your Town, that some information was in a safe deposit box at City & Counties Bank in the City, and Dawson knew what box it was."

"Wow, that's huge!" I said. "You got this on tape? Affidavit?"

"Affidavit and audio recording, sir." said Chow.

"That's terrific, Norm!" I said. "You've done a hell of a job, here."

"Thank you, sir." said Chow, his voice not breaking past its normal flatness. "Oh, one more thing, as Steve Jobs would say: rumors are circulating around the SBI. Director Conlan has talked to me and others about them. Everyone seriously believes that Graham Collins is going to make his move to get Jared impeached, and he wants to make it happen by New Years. Collins is already talking to Jack Lewis about returning here and to the SBI Directorship once Collins is Governor. Collins is going to pardon Lewis for past crimes, then re-install him as SBI Director, then shut down the Reserve Program and the SIS."

Pardon him...

I was deep in a reverie, and finally came out of it as Chow was repeatedly saying my name. "I'm here." I finally said. "Sorry, you said something that triggered a thought within me..."

"Give me credit for solving the case if that leads to the solution, sir." said Chow, in what was for him great humor.

"I'll be sure to." I replied. I thanked Chow again, then disconnected.

Pardon him... pardon... that was the clue I needed. I'd wanted Quint Danielson pardoned; the Governor had refused to do it...

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

The meeting in Classroom 'E' convened at 1:00pm, after I warned my Detectives to get lunch early and be on time for this meeting. They were not only punctual, but a few minutes early. Smart Detectives, they were.

Attending were Joanne Warner, Theo Washington, Jerome Davis, Teddy Parker, Myron Milton, and their Captain, Cindy Ross. Also in attendance was Assistant District Attorney Paulina Patterson, and Chief Moynahan.

"Okay, anything new come out in the wash?---- oh, sorry, Mr. Parker." I said. Everyone else laughed at my zinger at Teddy Parker. He just shook his head.

"God only knows what they're going to do to you if the Wildcats lose to the Bullllll-dogs." warned the Chief.

"We'll just have to win, and preclude anything these bright young Police Officers might be thinking of doing." I said, my eyes firmly on the Green Crowbar. Her ice blue eyes were twinkling, though she said not a word.

"Okay, does anyone have any new information?" I asked.

"Sir," said Jerome Davis, " in cooperation with the Campus Police, we visited the offices of The Silver Sentinel, the University student newspaper. They might have the only newspaper in the State that actually gets read, but I digress. We got the names of a couple of the editors of that time, and we also got copies of all of Rusty Dawson's columns they had on microfiche. They're being uploaded to the servers now. I looked at a few of them. They were very hostile to the Athletics Department, and Dawson was constantly asking why they got to register for classes first, get all the good classes, stuff like that."

"I also got Rusty Dawson's school records." said Jermaine. "There's nothing out of the ordinary, just the classes he took, mostly 'B's and 'C's in Journalism. No disciplines, no incidents."

"What about people that knew him?" I asked.

"I've been trying to contact them, sir." said Teddy Parker. "I also contacted people at KCTY where he worked, and also people from the law firm he supposedly was a part of. So far, I've gotten no returned calls, at all. We may have to make personal visits."

"And the law firm will tell you everything's privileged," I said, "and you won't get to talk to anyone worth talking to among the journalists. Keep making phone calls, including to personal residences and to personal phones, and we'll talk about visits at a later time. Okay, Warner, Washington?"

"I'm sorry, sir." said Joanne. "We have nothing. We got the names of the coaches on the Bulldogs's staff at the time Coach Butch Fulmer was there. We also called the Tigers's Athletic Department, and got a confirmation that he never worked there. The coaches that we got are either dead, in the cases of Coach Brian Harlan and Coach Speedy Gonzales, or else we got a runaround like Teddy and Jermaine did. These coaches are all over the country, from Florida to Washington State. We might need the FBI to help us with these if we want personal visits."

"I'm not surprised they're not rushing to talk to us." I said.

"Maybe we should invite them all to a Disc Golf tournament." said Cindy. I smiled a wan smile.

"Not a bad idea, there." I said. "Which reminds me... I understand that no one at the Disc Golf Course at Ronald Reagan Park over several days remembered or recognized Rusty Dawson?"

"That is correct, sir." said Cindy. "And since his murder was not mentioned on the news, that actually helped us. No one remembered him at all, even those that play Disc Golf every day."

"Doesn't really eliminate him." said the Chief. "There's a Disc Golf Course at MLK Park, also. And on the University Campus."

"We canvassed that, also, Chief." said Cindy. "It's not used very much at all, and people walk or run along the trail, there. Nobody remembers seeing Dawson. And the one on Campus runs through the Athletic Complex, which is mostly fenced in. You have to sign in at the front gate to play it, and Dawson never did."

"I think we can safely say that Dawson did not enjoy the fun of playing Disc Golf," I said, "though I recommend it to all of you. Okay, anything else before I tell you what we're going to do?" No one replied.

"Paulina," I said, "Data Guru Milton here has found that a burner phone that communicated with Rusty Dawson's phone also communicated with Dr. Jan Camp's phone. I'd like for you to get a warrant to bring Dr. Camp in as a material witness."

"Captain Ross," I said, "when the warrant is secured, I want you personally to lead the team to bring Dr. Camp in for questioning. Detective Warner an an all-female team of Uniformed Officers will go with you; yes, I do have a reason for this blatant discrimination against men."

"Don't mention the warrant unless you have to." I continued. "Just ask her to come to the Station. If she wants a lawyer, tell her she can call one at the Station. If she refused to come, then produce the warrant and arrest her and bring her down here in handcuffs. If you don't have to arrest her, put her in I-A. If you do have to arrest her, put her through full booking, then in I-1. Any questions?"

"No sir." said Cindy.

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

"Myron," I said, once we were back in my office, "can you access Campus Police records going back some years?"

"Yes sir." said Myron.

"I want you to look something up." I said. "You may not find it, but I'm hoping that there's a backup you can access that our enemies didn't think about..."

Part 18 - Camptown Ladies Sing This Song

"This is an outrage!" said Dr. Camp's attorney, Gwen Munson. "This is just the University trying to harass my client because of the lawsuit we're going to win against them!"

Cindy and Joanne were in Interrogation-Alpha with Dr. Jan Camp and her attorney, whom she had called immediately upon arriving at the station. Patrol Officer Lydia Green was the Uniformed presence. The lawyer was now trying to bluff her way through this.

Dr. Jan Camp was a brunette, tall and slender, but not quite as elegant as Laura Fredricson in any way. The attorney Gwen Munson was shorter, stockier (but not fat), had blonde hair, and a voice that could, should, and did sound sweet and feminine, and did not fit the persona of a fiery trial attorney.

"Ms. Munson," said Cindy, "your client has been asked to assist us in an investigation, and I do not see the reason for your blatant hostility towards us nor towards our purpose."

"Come on, Captain Ross," said Munson, "your Commander's wife is a University professor, friend of the University President, and you know damn well we're suing him and the University for my client's wrongful firing and for being a whistleblower. We're going to barbecue him in Court, and so he uses the Police as his attack dogs---"

"Ms. Munson," said Cindy, "I don't give a rip about your lawsuit. I am trying to investigate---"

"Is my client under arrest?" snarled Munson. "If not, we're leaving now."

I was watching behind the one-way glass, and just as I was about to send Paulina in, Dr. Camp said "Hold on, Gwen." She turned to Cindy and said "At least tell us what this is about if you want me to cooperate with you."

"I'll shut this down and take you out of here if I don't like the questions they're asking." said Gwen Munson. "We're not litigating our lawsuit here."

"Thank God for that." said Cindy, with no small amount of sarcasm. "Dr. Camp, do you know a man named James Russell Dawson, a.k.a. Rusty Dawson?"

"Should I?" asked Dr. Camp.

"Just answer, yes or no." said Cindy. "Do you know Rusty Dawson?"

After a moment of hesitation, Jan Camp said "I think I need to talk with my attorney before proceeding further."

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

As we waited in the anteroom, Paulina said "What do you think, Don?"

"She knows him." I said. "Right now I suspect they're getting their ducks in a row on what they're going to say. It will go one of two ways: the lawyer is going to start huffing and puffing, or Dr. Camp is going to recite a statement then decline to answer further questions. If the lawyer starts playing 'three little pigs', then Paulina will come in with the warrant, and we'll just book Dr. Camp without further ado. If not, then you guys can start pushing Camp."

"And Captain, Detective," I said, with some formality, "I would prefer that I don't have to go in there. So drive a good, hard interrogation. Put the fear of God into Camp. I want her scared shitless and telling us exactly what we want to hear. Am I clear on that?"

"Yes sir." said Cindy.

"Sir," said Joanne. "What is it that you want to hear?"

"The truth." I replied. "And I will know if she's not telling it. I hope you two can discern that, as well."

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

"My client is going to make a statement." said Gwen Munson. "After that, follow-up questions will be limited to her statement. Anything outside of that, and we're finished with this."

"Start talking." said Cindy. She could project toughness. Joanne looked too pretty, too sweet, and too good-natured and happy to really project that. Joanne was a good Detective, I thought to myself, but she is not God's gift to interrogations.

Dr. Camp started: "I do know Rusty Dawson. Several years ago, he was a student and worked for the student newspaper. At that time, he approached me for an interview about preferential treatment given to student-athletes, particularly those on the football team. At the time, I was trying to get tenure, and told him that I could be much more forthcoming once I got tenure. He gave me his number to call, and left. I never saw him in person again.

"Recently I informed the Press and my colleagues at the University that football players were indeed getting preferential treatment, and that professors like myself were being pressured to give the athletes good grades, even if they were failing." said Camp. "I had failed two players, and the Trustees' Board upgraded their grades after they appealed the grades, even though I clearly showed they had failed to do the required work to pass."

"After I went public with the accusations, I was wrongfully terminated by the University." said Camp. "I am suing them, as well as pursuing the case through the State whistleblower system, though I do not expect a fair or impartial hearing from them. As part of my attempt to obtain Justice, I attempted to contact Mr. Dawson, who still lived in Town, as I hoped that he would have information that would help me in my lawsuit against the University."

"Did you talk to Dawson?" asked Cindy.

"Not directly." said Camp. "I spoke through intermediaries, who I will not name, and whose names might be privileged, as well. However, I never obtained anything, and my intermediaries reported that they'd lost contact with Mr. Dawson, that they'd not heard from him and he'd not returned their calls."

"Who are the intermediaries?" Joanne asked.

"That's privileged." said Munson.

"That's a load." said Cindy. "Why didn't you talk to Dawson directly?"

"That was my advice to my client." said Munson...

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