The Babymaker Ch. 03

"Why?" Laurie asked.

"We have some questions for you, that we need to ask on camera, for your protection and ours." said Theo.

"Am I under arrest?" Laurie asked------

"What the heck is going on here?" said Laura Fredricson most very sternly after the door to her office flew open "Why are you taking my assistant to the Police Station?"

Theo did not answer, but just took his Police iPhone out of her pocket and handed it to Laura, who scowled at the Detectives as she put it to her ear, expecting it to be her husband. "Hello? Don?"

"Why noooooo, Doctor Fredricsonnnn" said the voice at the other end. "This is Chief Moynahannnn I'm sorry to say that your husband is not allowed to talk with you about this case, being your husband and all. And equally unfortunately, we're having to ask your assistant Laurie to come to the Stay-shunnnn and answer a few questions."

"All right." Laura said curtly. She handed Theo the phone back, then said "Laurie, you'll have to go with them. But ask for a lawyer, and answer no questions until you get one."

Laurie nodded and got up. Joan Laurer quickly frisked her for weapons, finding none, then said "I'll have to look in your purse, too."

"She's not taking her purse with her." Laura said. "It's in my office, and it'll stay right there, unless you have a warrant for it."

Joanne silently extended a document to Laura, who examined it. It was the warrant. "I'll bet this was my husband's suggestion?" Laura said.

"He does seem to always know in advance when we need things like this." Theo replied...

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

The door of room 604 of Tower Condos opened to reveal a very beautiful woman, fairly short even in her high heel pumps, with brown hair and a magnificent hourglass shape of body. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Julia Rodriguez and Teddy Parker held up their badges. "Town & County Police, ma'am." Julia said. "Are you Carla Rose?"

"Yes." said Carla Rose. "What is this about?"

"Is your husband at home?" Julia asked.

"Again, what is this about?" Carla asked, her wariness increasing.

"We need to ask you and him some questions, ma'am." said Teddy Parker. "Can we come in for a few minutes?"

"Let them in, dear." said a nerdy-ish man with brown hair, glasses, a big bushy mustache, wearing a green sweater vest over a button-down shirt. Carla opened the door to admit the Officers, and Julia and Teddy came in.

"I'm Detective Julia Rodriguez, and this is Detective Teddy Parker. You're David Rose?" Joanne asked the man.

"I am." said David Rose. "Please, have a seat." Julia and Teddy sat on the sofa, facing the patio windows that looked onto the balcony and then over the University to the north. David sat in a chair to their left, facing sideways to them. Carla pulled up a chair in front of them, her face somewhat in shadow.

"Lovely place you have here." Julia said, noticing the sparse furnishings. The condo felt more like a hotel suite as opposed to a lived-in home, she observed.

Carla Rose did not reply, but said directly: "So how can we help you?"

"We're investigating a case that we think you may have some knowledge of." Julia said. "So how long have you been married.?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Carla asked, her voice less friendly.

"Just a routine question." Teddy Parker tried. It was a poor try, and 'Strike One'.

"Routine for what?" David Rose said. "What is this about, Detectives?"

Teddy had a tiny button-cam on his jacket collar, which Teresa and I were watching via Wi-Fi from my Police SUV in the parking lot, thanks to Teddy's Police iPhone being a 'personal hot spot'. That also worked for the earbuds Julia, Teddy, Teresa, and I were wearing.

"Get to the Ryder case." I said into their earbuds.

"Do you know someone named Carl Ryder?" Julia asked.

"That young man who was killed on the Bypass the other day?" Carla asked. Julia nodded and Carla said "Yes, we did know him."

"How well did you know him?" Julia asked.

"Carla," said David, "they're disrespecting us. Maybe we should ask for lawyers before we answer any more questions."

"We're just having a conversation, here." said Teddy. Another poor try. 'Strike Two'.

Carla leaned back in her chair and peered at Julia with disdain. "Not any more, we're not. You haven't even read us our rights, yet you're already asking questions that are clearly designed to entrap us. So stop with the bullshit and get to your point. Or leave."

I said into the earbuds: "Read 'em their rights, and get right down to it. If they lawyer up, take 'em to Headquarters."

Julia said "Okay, then. Teddy, start taping this. Mr. and Mrs. Rose, I'm going to read you your rights." She handed Teddy her Police iPhone and he began recording as she read the Roses their rights, asked if they understood, and they said they did.

Julia said "Mr. and Mrs. Rose, we know, for a fact, that you, Mrs. Rose, had sexual intercourse with Carl Ryder on at least two occasions, and we know for certain that you, Mr. Rose, were present for at least one of those liaisons."

Neither Rose said anything, so Julia asked: "Were you attempting to be impregnated by Carl, Mrs. Rose?"

"Yes." Carla said simply.

"Did you pay Carl to inseminate you?" Julia asked.

"I won't answer that." Carla replied.

"Are you invoking?" Julia asked, to avoid future legal traps.

"Not yet, unless you push it." Carla said. "Look, we want to help you in your case, but I'm not going to admit to a crime, which paying Carl would have been... and that's not an admission to anything."

"Get past that." I said into the earbuds. "Keep moving along."

Julia said "Okay, then. Did Carl successfully impregnate you?"

"Yes." said Carla. "I found out late last week, and told David. We celebrated Friday night... and all weekend."

"Is that true, David?" Julia asked David Rose.

"Yes." said David. "We went to the Chop House on Friday night and had a dinner celebration."

Teddy Parker said "Help me understand this, Mr. Rose. You were happy that your wife was impregnated by another man? And you watched it happen?"

"Yes." said David. "That may not be your norm, but it's ours."

"Look," Carla Rose said. "David and I are swingers, and have been for several years. And no, we will not give you the names of anyone else we've... associated with. David has increasingly had problems with blood pressure and diabetes, and that has caused his sexual... performance... to diminish. So our 'play' evolved into him watching me have sex with other men."

Carla: "I was on the Pill, and then I met Carl. He was great looking, charming, smart, and we really hit it off. So David and I talked about it, as we knew David had a low sperm count, and he agreed to let me try to get pregnant by Carl."

"Where and how did you meet Carl?" Julia asked.

"At the gym where Carl worked." Carla said. "Then David and I met him for lunch, and he, Carl, agreed to try to impregnate me."

Teddy said. "Are you a member there, at the gym?"

Julia noticed Carla's eyes becoming shrewd as the beautiful wife said "No. A member let me borrow her pass, and I signed in under her name."

"And who was that?" Julia asked.

"I won't tell you." Carla said. "I'm not a narc."

"Let that go." I said into the earbuds. "We'll talk about it later."

"When was your first liaison?" Teddy Parker asked.

"Middle of August." Carla said. "That's my most fertile time. But I didn't 'take', so we did it again in mid-September. David was there both times. For my protection, of course."

"Of course." Julia said. "Did you have sex with any other men once you got off the Pill?"

"No." Carla said.

"Not even your husband?" Julia asked.

"No." said David. "Well... we had oral sex, but I told Carla I wanted to refrain from intercourse so that we would be sure Carl was the baby's daddy, and so that that one-in-a-million shot that I might knock Carla up wouldn't happen."

"You're really into that 'cuckold husband' thing, are you?" Teddy asked derisively.

"We're happy with our lifestyle, and it's not for you to judge us." Carla said angrily.

"Oh I assure you, that question was not a personal evaluation, but a professional question with regard to our investigation." Teddy replied a bit authoritatively. "So once again, Mr. Rose... you were happy that another man had sex with your wife, and impregnated her?"

"Yes." David Rose. "Again, when Carla told me she was pregnant last weekend, we went out and celebrated Friday night. And I'm as excited as she is to be having this child."

"Okay." Julia said. "Just a few more questions. First, Mrs. Rose, did you have sex with Carl at other times beyond the two you told us about?"

Carla's face fell a bit. "Yes. There was one other time." she admitted. "I... I ran into Carl around the first of September, at the Mall. He offered to buy me lunch, so we went to the Applebee's and talked. I was starting my period, and Carl told me we would try again when I was fertile again. And then he asked me if I wanted to go to the Hyatt and have sex right then, and I agreed. And I admit, I eagerly agreed."

"Sex for pleasure, for recreational purposes?" Julia asked.

Carla: "Yes. Because I was having my period, I fellated him to climax and swallowed his load, which took the edge off him. Then we had intercourse off and on for the next couple of hours. And yes, Detective, it was very, very pleasurable."

Julia said: "Mr. Rose, were you there for that? And if not, were you aware of it?"

David Rose said: "No, I wasn't there, but Carla and I have an honest, open relationship, and she told me about it afterwards."

Julia asked: "Do either of you know any other women Carl was trying to impregnate? Or that he was having sexual relations with?"

"No... except his wife, obviously." Carla said. David shook his head.

Julia asked: "Mrs. Rose, who is your gynecologist? And Mr. Rose, who is your doctor with regard to your diabetes and erectile dysfunction?"

Carla said "Dr. Laura Fredricson is my gynecologist, and has been for years."

David said, a bit quickly. "Dr. Fackler in the City is my doctor."

"The City?" asked Teddy Parker. "Long way away."

"I'm over there a lot." said David Rose. "And I've known Dr. Fackler since I was a kid."

"Will you authorize them to release your medical records to us?" Julia asked.

"No." Carla said with alacrity. "Tell them 'no', David. They're beginning to trample on our rights again."

"No doubt about that." said David. "My answer also is 'no'."

Julia said "Where were you both on Monday morning, and through noon?"

Carla said "I was at work."

David said "I was in the City. I had a number of appointments."

"Can anyone confirm those, and your whereabouts?" Julia asked.

"Yes, but I'm not going to give you any names and have you digging into their lives." said David.

Teddy said: "Mr. Rose, we are asking for the purpose of determining your involvement in the murder of Carl Ryder. If you can show you were elsewhere at the time, it would be very good for you."

David Rose said "I don't have to prove my innocence, Officer. You have prove my guilt, which you cannot do since I'm not guilty of anything."

Carla said "And after the way you cops investigated the employees of Carl's gym after forcing them to give you their names with a subpoena? No way we're going to narc on anyone else."

Julia curbed her anger and said "Last question, then: Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to harm Carl? Anyone at all?"

"No." said David. Carla had the slightest reaction to the question, and Julia observed it.

"Mrs. Rose?" Julia asked. "Anyone, anyone at all?"

"No." Carla said...

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

Detectives Joanne Warner and Theo Washington entered Interrogation-Alpha. Already in the room were Dr. Fredricson's assistant Laurie and her attorney, Dewey, Burnham & Winn's newest hire, Nadine Hall. Nadine was a lovely brunette that looked to be partially Hispanic, in her late 20s or early 30s. She had Gwen Munson's attitude, but (thankfully) much, much better manners.

Joan Laurer was acting as the Uniformed Presence. Watching through the one-way glass were Chief Moynahan and Lt. Mary Milton.

Joanne read Laurie her rights from the card, and Laurie said she understood the rights. Joanne said "Laurie, do you know a man named Carl Ryder?"

"So that's what this is about." said Nadine Hall. "Why don't you just get to the point instead of wasting our time?"

"It's billable hours for you, Ms. Hall." Joanne said, a bit snottily. "So Laurie, do you know Carl Ryder."

Nadine Hall said "I think you know the answer to that question, or we wouldn't be here right now. Get to the point."

"We're asking the questions here, Ms. Hall, and I'll ask them how I please------" started Joanne, when Theo patted her on the elbow

"All right," Theo said. "As our Police Commander likes to say, and you never want to hear, Ms. Hall, 'Let's watch some TV!'." He turned on the remote, and monitor on the side wall began showing the video of the intense sexual liaison between Laurie and Carl.

Theo said "Was this liaison for the purpose of becoming pregnant?"

Nadine nodded to Laurie, who said "Yes."

Joanne said "Did you pay Carl to have sex with you and impregnate you?"

"Don't answer that!" Nadine said rather loudly.

"You have to." said Joanne. "Or take the Fifth."

"Bullshit." Nadine said. "My client is here willingly, to answer your questions, but she is under no obligation to incriminate herself. If you insist she invoke, I'll have her do that, and there will be no more questions."

Theo said quickly: "Okay, let's move forward. Who else was in the room with you during that sexual encounter, Laurie?"

Nadine whispered something to Laurie, and the lovely but frightened blonde nodded, then said "Carl, his wife Wanda, and her gym partner Ariel."

Joanne said "Was this the only sexual encounter with Carl that you had?"

"Yes." said Laurie. "I'm pregnant, so I didn't need another session with Carl."

Joanne said "Did you have a gynecological examination by Dr. Fredricson before attempting to become pregnant?"

"Don't answer that!" Nadine said. She turned to Joanne and said "Doctor-client medical relationships are privileged, and I didn't see your warrant to abrogate that privilege. Even if you gave my client full immunity, she doesn't have to answer that question, as it violates Dr. Fredricson's rights."

Joanne looked sullen as she said "Laurie, do you know of any other women that had sex with Carl, for the purpose of getting pregnant or otherwise?"

"Besides his wife, no." Laurie said.

"Are you sure?" Joanne said. "You're Dr. Fredricson's assistant. Have other women had gynecological exams before meeting Carl."

"DON'T ANSWER THAT!" Nadine yelled.. yes, 'yelled' this time. She turned to Joanne and said "Once again, Dr. Fredricson's relationships with her clients are privileged, and I'll add that her client list is privileged, too. And I'll fight your subpoena to get that information all the way to the US Supreme Court if I have to!"

Nadine got up. "Come on, Laurie, this is over."

"She's not going anywhere." Joanne said. "We're not finished asking her questions, yet."

"Is my client under arrest?" snarled Nadine Hall.

"Why, what a great idea!" Joanne said, getting up. "Yes, she is under arrest. Detective Laurer, take Laurie through booking."

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Joan stopped at hearing the knock on the one-way mirror with the anteroom. Joanne said "Go! Take her to Booking!"

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Laurer tried to turn the handle to the door to the hallway, but it would not open. That's because the door to the anteroom had opened, and Lt. Mary Milton was hurtling through it.

"Laurer, sit her back down in her chair." Mary ordered. "Laurie, Nadine, stay here with Detective Washington. Warner, get into the anteroom. Now."

"I want to talk to my client. Alone." said Nadine Hall, skillfully taking advantage of the situation.

"Theo, go out the other side with Joan." said Mary. "Detective Warner, why aren't you already in the anteroom?"

Joanne was about to say something, but walked into the anteroom. Lt. Milton followed, slamming the door so hard that the light fixtures rattled.

"Did you not hear me banging on the window as hard as I could?" Mary growled loudly at Joanne. "Twice?"

"Yes ma'am." said Joanne, seeing the Chief also looking hard at her.

"And yet you continued to try to have Laurer take Laurie through booking?" Mary said angrily. "You just ignored me knocking on the window?"

"I wanted to have her taken through booking, and then I was going to respond to the knock." Joanne said.

"Oh really?" Mary snarled. "So you're just going to disrespect me and ignore my------ YOU COME TO THE POSITION OF ATTENTION WHEN I ADDRESS YOU, DETECTIVE!" When Joanne looked at Mary in shock, it just set Mary off even further.

"I AM A LIEUTENANT, DETECTIVE!" Mary yelled, then got right in Joanne's ear and said loudly: "If you continue disrespecting me in front of the Chief of Police with your insubordination, I will bust your ass down to Patrol Officer Trainee!" By now, Joanne had come to attention, looking forward down the anteroom hallway. But her eyes were sullen, and her face was beet red.

"HER ATTORNEY WAS CORRECT!" Mary continued. "YOU! WERE! WRONG! And trying to force her to violate Dr. Fredricson's rights and Dr. Fredricson's clients's rights was more than wrong! If Laurie IS involved, you may have just destroyed any case we have against her!"

"Lieutenant," said the Chief, "get in there and finish the interrogation. Detective, why don't you go back to your desk, and I'll talk to yooooo later." Joanne exited as fast as she could. Mary went into I-A, then opened the hall side door to admit Theo and Joan.

"My apologies for that." said Mary as she and Theo sat down. "Let's start over, and discuss things you can talk about-------"

"Let's not." said Nadine Hall. "I've advised my client to answer no more questions at this time. If you push, I'll have her fully invoke. Is my client under arrest?"

"No." said Theo Washington quickly. "Not yet. But don't leave the County, Laurie. And if you do know something that can help us find your baby's father's killer, please do give me a call." He slid two of his cards to Laurie and Nadine...

Part 19 - Regrouping

6:15pm, Thursday, October 1st. I was sitting in the Chief's office with him and Mary Milton, having been briefed on the disaster involving Joanne's interrogation of my wife's assistant Laurie, which included watching the recording of it.

"Wow." I said after watching the video. "Chief, I take full responsibility for having utterly failed to train your Detective Corps on proper interrogation techniques." Mary looked pretty shocked at that.

"Thank yooooo, Mister Crowbarrr." said the Chief. "But what about the insubordination?"

I said "I am going to ask you, Lieutenant Milton, to let that go and do nothing further, and let me handle it. Just let it go, don't hold a grudge, as long as it doesn't happen again, of course. I'm asking this as a favor, since when there was a huge issue between you and Captain Muscone I took your side, which greatly damaged my professional and personal relationship with her. So will you do that, and just let me handle it?"

"Yes sir." said Mary Milton.

"Thank you." I said. "And if the Chief does not need you for anything else, I want you to go home and get some rest. You've done a great job with all this, but you need some sleep and some 'Louise time'. So go home." Louise was Mary's daughter, for those that don't know.