The Babymaker Ch. 04

"Carla Rose is in I-1." Jerome Davis said. "She called a lawyer... Nadine Hall, from the Women's Law Firm of Dewey, Burnham & Winn."

"That in itself is instructive." I said. "Dewy, Burnham & Winn is a women's divorce law firm, but they found that their clients were calling them for other legal issues. So they brought in Nadine Hall. Soooo, I surmise that Carla Rose knew of that law firm because she may have consulted with them... about a possible divorce."

"Yes sir." said Jerome Davis. "We'll check to see if any papers were ever filed. In the meantime, that manager Porter is in I-2, and has legal representation... Nathan Masterson, of Gresham & Mason, P.C."

"Ooooo." I said. "That's even more instructive. I'll bet his company brought in that particular legal beagle?"

"He did call the company when he was allowed his phone call." said Jerome. "So I won't bet against you on that one, either."

Jerome added: "The other two, the Security guys, were taken to the Hospital after going through booking. One of them has a badly damaged knee, that will require major reconstructive surgery. The other has a separated shoulder and torn rotator cuff. Lawyers were literally swarming to get to them, but we've got your Officer-cam data and the building's security cam video footage, and Paulina Patterson has already gotten to Judge Watts to deny them bail before anyone could get to Judge Nance."

"Good." I said. "They're unimportant. Detective Rodriguez! Are you ready to interview Carla Rose again?"

"Yes sir," said Julia, "but I'd like guidance from you on how you want it to go."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do..."

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

Julia went into Interrogation-1 followed by me and Teresa Croyle, who was in uniform and therefore met the requirements of the 'Uniformed Presence'. Corporal Hicks was just on the other side of the door on the 'jail side'.

Julia and I sat down across from Nadine Hall and Carla Rose. Nadine was a lovely woman, but was hopelessly outclassed by the drop-dead gorgeous Carla Rose. I put that into its compartment of the mind.

"You know Detective Rodriguez already." I said. "I'm Commander Don Troy." I read Carla her rights from the card, and she nodded the she understood.

"Why is my client here?" asked Nadine Hall. "Is she under arrest?"

"She is being detained as a material witness in a murder investigation." I said.

"Whose murder?" Nadine asked, a little too shrewdly.

"The man who identified himself to my Detectives as David Rose." I said.

"What's with the parsing your words about him?" Nadine sneered.

I peered hard at her, then said: "I think you know why. But I also want to talk with her again about Carl Ryder, with whom your client has already admitted to my Detectives that she had a sexual relationship, and by whom she was impregnated."

"You've already questioned her about that." Nadine said.

"And we're questioning her again." I said.

Nadine said "If you're going to harass my client, maybe I should just have her invoke, and take her out of here."

I turned to Julia and said "Detective, why do these lawyers repeatedly insult our intelligence by always trying this same failed trick?" Julia shrugged, and I turned to Nadine Hall and lit into her. "Let me make this very clear, Counselor: your client is not walking out of here. As I said, she is under arrest on a material witness warrant, but she is very quickly becoming a person of interest in my investigations."

Nadine leaned over and said "This cop is violating your rights again. Invoke, and I'll got to the Judge and get you out of here."

To my surprise, Carla shook her head and said "No he's not. Let's just let them ask their questions, and get this overwith."

Nadine began gathering her things. "If you're not going to take good advice, then maybe you should find other representation."

"I'm paying you to represent me." Carla replied loudly. "So sit there and do your job, and represent me." She turned to me and said "Go ahead, Commander."

"I'm not sure I should." I said. "It's obvious that your attorney is unhappy, and I fear you are not getting proper representation at this extremely critical time for you." I got up as if to leave. "Come on, Detective. Mrs. Rose and her attorney have some things to work out."

"Are you questioning my professionalism?" shouted Nadine.

"Yes." I said simply as I turned back to her. "And you more than questioned mine; you outright accused me of violating your client's rights, which I have not done and you damn well know it. So get it figured out. Let's go, ladies."

As Teresa and Julia went towards the anteroom door, I turned and said "Counselor, if you don't know who I am and my reputation as a Detective, you need to take the next few minutes calling your partners Virginia Madison or Tina Felton, and maybe other attorneys in this County, and find out. Let the Officer outside the other door know when you're ready to talk." And with that, we left the room.

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

As Teresa, Julia and I sat in my office drinking coffee, Teresa said "I know Julia told Carla that David is dead, but Carla doesn't seem very shaken up about it."

"There's a lot going on with her." I said. "She's------"

Just then, Mary Milton came to my door, and I had her come in and sit down. "Sir," she said, "I have to apologize to you. We did not do a very good job investigating David Rose."

"And finding out that he's not David Rose?" I asked. "It's something to learn from, but don't beat yourself up about it. His backstop is very good; he just grafted his history onto the real David Rose, Carla's real husband."

"Whaa?" Teresa and Julia gasped simultaneously. Julia said "So who is the real David Rose?"

"Before you answer that, Lieutenant Milton," I said, "let me say a couple of things about the man we now know is not Carla's husband. First, it was obvious from the pulling of the teeth and chopping off the hands of the body at Ronald Reagan Park that someone did not want him to be quickly nor easily identified. We knew the 'Ned Flanders' lookalike from his DMV photo, and Julia and Teddy from interviewing him, but the perps took the time to make it hard to get a real identification. And that's something I really want to learn about from Carla, if she doesn't invoke."

"Second, a backstop has been created for David." I continued. "A drivers license with his face and that name is in the State database. And in your defense, Mary, I looked at the Rose Advertising Firm website, as I'm sure you did. There are a few photos, mostly of Carla, but none that clearly identify David Rose, though he's listed as the Founder and Senior Partner of the firm."

"Ergo," I finished up, "we saw what we thought was enough to see, and came to the erroneous conclusion that the cuckold we were seeing was indeed David Rose, and he was Carla's husband. And, by the way, it explains why Carla didn't wake wondering where her husband was. All in all, it's a teachable moment for the future, and maybe it'll help us crack the Carl Ryder murder case. So, Lieutenant Milton, who is the real David Rose?"

"His real name is David Roseblatt." Mary said. "He's a graduate of Eastern State. When he started the Rose Advertising Firm fifteen years ago, he just began using the name 'Rose', as it sounded better for the firm's name. When he met and ultimately married Carla, the name 'Rose' was used on their marriage license. But the corporate papers filed with the State have him listed as 'Roseblatt', and his drivers license also has him as Roseblatt."

Mary brought up the DMV photo, showing a man with very black hair, prominent cheekbones, and looking like he never lost his baby fat. "He's not on the website, but we can download a PDF file of their printed brochure or booklet, and it has this picture." A photo of 12 people around a desk was shown. Roseblatt was sitting in the chair. Carla was standing next to him, over his right shoulder, and other nicely dressed employees were spread out from there.

"He's stocky," I said, "but I suspect he's like Rudistan, and in a lot better shape than you'd think at first blush. And yes, he looks a whole lot more like a former Tau and associate of the Big Boys than that guy Martha is slicing and dicing in our morgue right now, don't you think?" Julia nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Do we need to put out an APB on this guy?" Teresa asked.

"Not yet." I replied. "He's in the City right now, and I've asked Curly Goodwin and Britt Maxwell of the SBI to keep tabs on him for me. Jack Muscone very quietly put both his Roseblatt and Rose names on the 'do not fly' list, which will keep him from being able to fly, and also keep him from getting on an Amtrak train. They're keeping tabs on him, too... it would seeeeem that the FBI has had him on their radar for a while, too, though I don't yet know why."

My landline rang, and the Duty Desk Sergeant told me that Nadine Hall and her client were ready for us in I-1.

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

Going into I-1, I said "Mrs. Rose, are you retaining this attorney as your representation?"

"Yes." said Carla Rose. Julia and I sat down.

Nadine Hall said "My client is willing to make a hypothetical statement about the death of her husband, David Rose, and answer questions hypothetically from that. She'll say nothing outside of that------"

"Stop." I said. "Just stop. You obviously do not understand what is going on here, nor the gravity of your client's situation. There are no deals on the table, and I don't accept your crap about hypotheticals. At all. Now your client can either truthfully answer my questions, or she can take the Fifth, and I'll move on... to her real husband, David Roseblatt."

"What do you want to know?" Carla asked.

"Stop talking!" Nadine Hall ordered.

"No! YOU shut up!" yelled Carla Rose. "You tried that 'hypothetical' trick, and the Iron Crowbar called you out on it, and refused. So now you do it my way." Nadine Hall looked very sullen as Carla turned to me.

"So, Carla," I said, "we know that the man my Detectives interviewed with you is not your lawfully wedded husband. What's his real name?"

"To my knowledge, David Rose." Carla said. "His name was what inspired us to create our relationship, for lack of a better term. Maybe I should explain from the beginning."

"Sure." I said. "And I'll fill in the gaps you don't want to admit to." That got me a nasty look from Nadine Hill as she realized I knew a lot more than she realized I did. But it was too late now...

Carla: "I met my real husband, David Roseblatt, in college. I was dating a lot back then, and I had the 'boy-toy' boyfriend, who was good in bed; the 'friend' boyfriend, that gave me the answers when we studied, and was my protecter at social events; and the 'money' boyfriend, that spent a lot of money on me. Roseblatt, as I'll call him, was the money boyfriend. He was older, and he was lousy in bed... his dick is only three inches hard, I'm not kidding... but he had money."

Carla: "As I neared graduation, Roseblatt asked me to marry him, as did five other guys. I didn't tease anyone; I turned all the others down. I knew I could work in Roseblatt's advertising firm, make good money on my own, and wait until he hit the big time. I knew he was a Tau, that he was connected, and that eventually he'd hit it big."

Carla: "It wasn't too long into the marriage that I realized I'd made a huge mistake. Roseblatt's sex drive dropped off, and so did his performance. Just look at me, Commander... all this, being wasted, and I was desperate for sex. Not just good sex, but any sex."

Carla: "Fortunately, some of the high-level guys Roseblatt knew were not only chasing each other's wives, some of them were decent in bed. I got the BigPharmaCorp account by sleeping with their CEO, Donovan Donolan. I know you solved his wife's murder and his murder years ago, Commander." (Author's note: 'Hot Wives Investment Club'.) I nodded.

Carla: "We opened the Town & County Office of the company after we got the BigPharmaCorp contract, which allowed me to informally separate from my husband and live here, while he lived in the City. I had to appear with him at events, and I did, but I didn't have to live with him. He'd become verbally abusive towards me, and sometimes borderline physical, so I was glad to have that distance from him."

"Why didn't you divorce him, then." Julia asked, breaking the flow of information.

"Because I had a plan," said Carla, "which was to wait until he hit it big, and I mean really big, and then divorce him and take half. I also knew I had to be careful, or he'd divorce me if he caught me cheating on him... and by that I mean really cheating, not letting some Elite company exec fuck me to further his business interests."

Carla: "And to that end, I needed cover for the times I stepped out on Roseblatt. I also didn't want to bring our advertising firm into disrepute; that would hurt me, and my plan. I had been going to clubs, sex clubs, with different guys, but people started noticing that I had different 'husbands'."

Carla: "Some years ago, I met David in the City, at a nightclub that was like Rita's club... a regular club up front, and scorching hot sex in the back. David lived across the Line in the State east of us, he was a computer programmer, and a total nerd. We talked, and the idea that he play my husband was born."

Carla: "David was married at the time, and with two kids, but he and his wife were bitterly estranged. They'd had an open relationship where he would watch her have sex, and the two kids were not his biological children. But she tired of it, and filed for divorce... and child support. He quit his job as a computer programmer so he wouldn't have to pay the alimony and child support."

Carla: "The judge threatened to throw him in jail, and he stood there and told the judge to go ahead and do it, because at least in jail he'd have 'three hots and a cot' (air quotes), and he wouldn't be paying any money to his ex-wife and not-his-kids. The judge ordered a trial for David, but I secretly had a P.I. pay his bail, get him out of the ankle monitor he was wearing, and bring him to our Town & County."

Carla: "He needed a new identity, and so I contacted some former friends with 'connections', and 'David Rose' was created. I hired him as a computer consultant, and he was able to keep our computers going and improve the software. He didn't work in our local office here; I set him up in a small office a few blocks down from us."

Carla: "He lived in my apartment at Tower Condos, sleeping in the second bedroom. We would go clubbing, sometimes at Rita's, but a lot more often in places a distance from here. He'd jack off while watching me have sex, and things were good."

Julia said "Did David have sex with you?" I again was irked that she'd stopped the flow of information.

Carla replied: "There were occasions at certain Swinger Clubs where the husbands and wives would have to have sex, mostly to prove they weren't undercover cops or the Reverend Steven Ikea's SBI stormtroopers, and also not some guy hiring a prostitute to come in and play. So David fucked me on those occasions, or I sucked his dick as his erectile disfunction got worse. And many times after I fucked another man, David would eat my pussy... even if my lover had come inside me."

Carla: "This past year, my real husband's company began hitting the big-time and taking off. He was getting more work from other big companies, and it looked like he might get the big prize... an advertising contract for MegaTech Industries and their many products and services. So I started looking around for a suitable man to be the baby-daddy of my future child. And that's when I met Carl."

Carla: "We met for lunch at a Downtown bistro, and we really hit it off. Carl was handsome, well-mannered, intelligent, charming, fit... and virile. He agreed to put a bun in my oven, and so David and I met him at a hotel, and Carl and I made love------ er, had sex, while David watched and masturbated. We, Carl and I, ran into each other again and had sex, and then tried to make a baby in mid-September. By then we were starting to be hot for each other, and it was one scorching hot day of sex. And I got pregnant."

Julia said "How were you introduced to Carl? How was that arranged?"

I'd had enough. I put my hand on Julia's forearm to stop her from talking further, then said "Let me lead this." To Carla I said "Let's not worry about that now. What I want to know is if you told your real husband that you were pregnant, and if he gave you that black eye as a result."

"What black eye?" Nadine Hall asked.

I said: "The one she's hiding with makeup now, if you'll actually use your eyes to look at, rather than stare angrily at me. And the one her co-workers saw last Monday."

Carla nodded. "Yeah. I'd been giving my husband infrequent sex this year, to keep him wrapped around my finger. I made sure to sleep with him a few days after my times with Carl. So last Saturday I told him I was pregnant. He asked 'By who? I had a vasectomy a few years ago.'."

Carla: "I was busted, but that wasn't the worst of it. My husband began trying to force me to tell him who had impregnated me. He twisted my arm, almost strangled me, then finally hauled off and punched me right in the face. When I went down, almost blacking out, he realized he'd crossed the line, and he started asking if I was okay, and saying he was sorry. I just got up and ran, and he didn't chase after me. I drove back home here, and barricaded myself in, thinking he'd come after me. But he never did."

"But Carl was murdered two days later." I said. "Okay, now for Detective Rodriguez's question: how were you introduced to Carl?"

Carla hesitated, obviously not wanting to say anything, so I said "Look, Carla, we know Carl was impregnating other women, maybe for pay. I really need to get an idea of what was going on with that, because other people's lives may be in danger, and the killer may be among them. So... how did you really meet Carl?"

Nadine Hall tried to intervene. "You don't have to answer that. You can invoke and stop this travesty at any time. At the least, demand Immunity in exchange for any more information."

Carla rolled her eyes, then said "No, I'm in for a penny, in for a pound." She then said "There was a woman at one of the clubs David and I went to. We swapped husbands, and after they'd fucked us, she and I started talking. I told her I was thinking of getting pregnant, but my husband's sperm wasn't virile enough. She told me about a private Facebook page that listed several young men who were guaranteed to be intelligent, fit, and virile."

Carla: "The application to it was on a website that one could only access by having two passphrases, each seven words long, and they were frequently changed. The woman, whose real name I don't know and never did, gave me the passphrases and the URL, and said to put in 'Candy Samples' as the woman who'd given her the information."

Carla: "I got on and applied, and was admitted to the Facebook page. There were six young men listed on it, with faces, bios, and first names. I thought all the guys's names were fakes, but Carl's turned out not to be. Carl caught my eye right away, so I sent a message to him. The Facebook account I used had a photo of me. I got a message back to meet Carl in front of one of the Downtown bistros, and we met, and went from there."

I said "We're going to need the information on that Facebook account. We'll need your cellphone to get that information, and------"

"NO!" Nadine Hall yelled. "Not without a warrant!" She turned to Carla and said "I insist on that. And even if you give these cops your cellphone, they're going to have to get a warrant."