The Babymaker Ch. 04

Nadine turned to me and said: "If you don't get a warrant, I'll be getting an order from Judge Nance's Court to stop you."

"Methinks thou doth protesteth too much, Counselor." I said, peering hard at her. "Why are you so riled up about that, and trying so hard to stop us?"

"It's called 'privacy', Commander." Nadine said, saying my rank witheringly, "Those people have rights! And meeting to have sex is not a crime!"

"No, but conspiracy is." said Teresa Croyle from behind them, near the door.

"And so is murder." I said. "And we'll do what we need to do, in a legally defensible way, of course. But I will get the information I need to investigate this. Anyhoo, let's move forward. Carla, David was living in your condo with you?"

"Yes." Carla said. "In the second bedroom."

"Since you worked together, did you go in to work together/" I asked.

"Oh, no, we had separate workplaces, and different schedules." Carla said. "And I know where you're going with this. Your Detectives were very nice in the way they informed me of David's passing."

"So when was the last time you saw David?" I asked.

"Last night." said Carla. "Last evening, actually. After we were interviewed by the Police yesterday, David was very worried about being found out for who he really was. I told him that if the Police had not figured it out by then, they probably wouldn't at all. But he thought it would be better if he went to his (air quotes) 'bolt hole'."

Carla: "He had a little one-room place on the top floor of one of the Downtown buildings. Super cheap rent, $200 a month. He had a sofa-bed there and could change clothes, and could stay there if my real husband came to Town or if I was having business guests. So after nightfall, he snuck out and went there for the night, and I didn't hear anymore from him until this morning, when your Officers told me he was found dead."

"What name did he rent that place under?" I asked. When Carla looked confused, I said "If he had a water bill under the name 'David Rose', we would've found it. And he wouldn't use his real name and risk being caught for skipping on the child support. So... what was the name? And for that matter, what was the address of the place?"

Carla said "I honestly don't know. That was one of his secrets, which he kept from me so that I couldn't be forced to compromise him."

"So you were worried that you and he could have been compromised." Julia said, again irritating me. Not that the question wasn't valid; it very much was. But it's a matter of timing...

Carla said "As you can tell from the black eye and the story I told you, my real husband is a very vindictive man. And if the FBI or anyone found out that David was living here, I had plausible deniability on his whereabouts. So yes, David kept the address of his place secret from me."

"But you said------" Julia started, and I again stopped her.

"Let's not get into the weeds on that." I said, more like growled, to Julia. I could tell she was now irritated at me, but that was tough shit for her; I had a job to do. I continued: "So he wasn't at home last night. Did anyone else come to your place last night?"

"I... I don't know." said Carla. "I checked into a room at the Hyatt, on the northwest side of Town, in case my husband did come after me."

"Ahhhh, so now we're getting somewhere." I said. "You didn't stay at home... even though Tower Condos has good security."

"Commander," Carla said with a slight smile, "I know about the tunnel between Tower Condos and the University Hotel. It's been my own secret escape plan for a long, long time."

"What tunnel?" Nadine Hall asked.

"It's the official entrance to Hell." I said. "Very little good comes to those who go into it. Okay, Mrs. Rose, do you know of anyone besides your real husband that might wish to kill David?"

"No." said Carla Rose...

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

The Mighty Miltons are the closest thing I've ever seen to 'the indispensable employee'. Mary and Myron were already into the Facebook page, accessing it through Carla Rose's phone after Carla signed the waiver to allow it. Nadine was on her way to Judge Nance to stop it, but would find that effort fruitless.

Meanwhile, I 'invited' Julia and Teresa into my office.

"Sir," said Teresa as we got coffee and sat down, "what about the manager and his attorney Nathan Masterson? They're still in I-2."

"And?" I said, a bit snottily, I admit. "Let 'em sit. It's billable hours for Masterson, so he shouldn't have any complaint about it." Julia laughed. Teresa cackled.

"Okay, Julia, let's talk about that interview." I said. "I stopped you twice because you were asking questions that would've stopped the flow of information Carla was very willingly giving us. And to her attorney's deep chagrin, I might add. The questions you asked before then were also ill-timed. You've got to be aware of the situation, and choose your spots. Ask questions that keep the flow going, and come back later to other points that are not as important, are tangential to the flow, or are outright adversarial and therefore might stop the flow."

I continued: "And I stopped you from asking that obvious last question, which was how Carla could've known what David's apartment was like if she'd never been there or even knew where it was. Am I right?"

"Yes sir." said Julia. "It was obvious she was lying about that."

"And relatively speaking, it was a small lie that we could always go back to later." I said. "I was much more interested in getting the information she was giving us, even though she was lying through her teeth on several occasions."

"Sir," said Julia, who I could tell was confused, and becoming a bit exasperated, "how can you tell what's what from a story like that?"

"By knowing what's going on before I even went into that interview room." I said. "And you've seen everything I've seen, as far as I know, and you were in the Army, yourself. So... what did you learn from her story?"

"Well," said Julia, "if it's true, we now know that David was not Carla's husband, that her real husband was abusive, or at least beat her up that one time... no, let me backtrack: someone hit her, we have co-worker observations on that, but we don't know if it was her husband."

"Good." I said. "Yes, it's good to be as accurate as possible. What else?"

Julia: "We now have a new story of how she met Carl, which judging from your reaction, sir, may be a very big deal in getting new suspects. One thing that does bother me, though, sir, is her story about David being a fugitive, which means we should be able to get his identity pretty quickly. So why would the killers, or someone, cut off his hands and pull his teeth?"

"Very good point." I said. "Whoever killed him left his body where we could find it, but didn't want it easily identified. But they didn't know that we know what we know and how much we know, say that three times fast. We'd seen the man, we have his face, and now we have knowledge of where to look to find out who he really is."

Teresa said: "One thing I didn't understand is that David is supposedly living in Carla's second bedroom, and goes to his 'bolt hole' to hide if others are at her place. But I'd think her husband, and maybe others, would see that the second bedroom is lived-in, even if it's kept up. And that suggests that David lived in the 'bolt hole' a lot more than Carla was suggesting."

I said "Your theory is plausible, since it conforms to those facts. But there is another theory that also conforms to those facts, and allows that David did live with Carla the vast majority of the time."

Julia said "That her husband did know David was living there?"

"Exactly. Very good!" I replied. "And apparently didn't care, or at least didn't object, which is interesting in and of itself with regard to motives, means, and opportunities."

"Sir," said Teresa, "what about that interview interested you the most?"

"Nadine Hall's reactions." I said. "She did not want Carla telling us about the Facebook page, and then she went off on me about getting a warrant to get that information. She definitely knew something, and she definitely did not want me knowing whatever that was..."

My landline phone buzzed, and it was Mary Milton. After hearing what she had to say, I said "Let's meet in Classroom 'E'..."

Part 23 - New Rabbit Holes

11:30am on a very busy Friday, October 2nd. Assembled in Classroom 'E' were Sheriff Griswold, Chief Moynahan, Your Iron Crowbar, Lt. Commander Croyle, Captain Muscone, Lieutenants Davis, Mary Milton, Rudistan, and Myron Milton, Senior Detectives Parker, Washington, Warner, and Purvis, Detective Sergeant Rodriguez, and Detectives Coleman, Newman, and Laurer.

"Start us offff, Mizzz Milllltonnnnn." drawled the Chief.

"Thank you, sir." said Mary. "After Carla Rose's interview today, we've been able to go down two new rabbit holes. Myron will talk about the Facebook stuff in a minute. In the meantime, I have been able to confirm with the State Agency in Acropolis City (capitol of the State to the east) that David Rose is really David Flanders... not all that far from Ned Flanders, Commander." I admit I broke out laughing at that.

"Wait a minute." Captain Tanya Muscone said. "Why didn't Intel find this before?"

It was a cheap shot at Mary Milton, and everyone knew it. Mary Milton's eyes flashed fire, and Tanya's eyes flashed back. I had to intervene.

"It's my fault." I said.

"With respect, sir," said Tanya, "no it's not. It's the Intel Branch's job to find things like this, and I don't understand why that didn't happen. The FBI has access to national and other States's criminal databases, and if Intel would use the resources the FBI has and shares with State and local LEOs, we would've found this."

Yep, the tension in the room could be cut with a katana.

"One more time, Captain." I said severely. "It was my fault. I didn't think of it; therefore, I'm not going to blame anyone else for not thinking about it... including you." Tanya's eyes flashed fire again at that.

I stood up, and addressed the room: "This is a teachable moment, folks. This one got through the cracks. We saw David Rose's DMV photo, we saw a backstop for a 'David Rose' and we believed our lying eyes. This was a very well-prepared backstop that has fooled Federal, State, and Local Agencies for years, and it got us, too."

I continued: "Like I said, *I* missed it, and I shouldn't have with the knowledge I had of the case. But David Rose, a.k.a. David Flanders, is dead, and our mission is to find out who killed him and who killed Carl Ryder, and deliver Justice to that perp. So let's keep moving forward, and save the recriminations for later. Okay, Lieutenant Milton, keep going."

Mary said "There's not a lot, sir. He had no record until he skipped bail on child support charges and disappeared. And to be candidly honest, it doesn't look like anyone really searched for him, not even his ex-wife"

Teddy Parker said loud enough to hear: "Deadbeat dad, eh? I knew he was a sicko, but to not even take care of his kids?"

"They weren't his biological children." Theo Washington said. "I know the law is against him and he could be legally required to support them, but I also think that law is wrong. He actually was willing to do jail time rather than pay the alimony, and I don't really blame him for skipping out."

"Are you kidding?" said Joanne Warner. "So men should be allowed to just walk away from their responsibilities to their kids?"

"When they're not his kids?" Theo fired back. "Why should he have to pay child support when his wife cheated on him and------"

I ended all that with the words: "Are you guys really going to continue wasting the Sheriff and Police Chief's valuable time with that philosophical exchange of ideas that do nothing to advance our case?"

Silence was instantaneous. "Sorry sir." Teddy Parker finally said.

The Chief said "Philosophical discussions notwith-stannn-dinnnng, what I want to know is if Mr. David Rose Flanders's murder was connected to Mr. Carl Ryder's, and should Mrs. Carla Rozzze be our primary suspect?"

"How can she not be, sir?" asked Jerome Davis. "David was there when Carla was having sex with Carl. Now whether or not the she killed them both, or someone else but the same person did, that's like the times of college football games... TBD, to be determined." Football fans chuckled at that, including our resident War Eagle, Teresa Croyle.

"That's an excellent point, Lieutenant." I said. "An excellent point. Lieutenant Mary Milton, is there a DNA profile for David on record?"

"Yes sir." said Mary. "He gave a DNA sample when they tested his paternity of the kids. It's still on that State's database as well as the national database, as are the DNA profiles of his ex-wife and the two kids."

I said "So, folks, why were David's hands cut off and his teeth extracted?"

"So we couldn't quickly identify him via fingerprints nor dental records." said Teddy Parker.

"I agree." I said. "However... We the Police knew him by sight. We had his DMV photo, which sooner or later would get a facial rec hit... yes, it was later, but the point is we had that means to identify him. And Martha the M.E. is an excellent Medical Examiner that has preserved several samples of his DNA... which we'd have submitted to those databases."

I continued: "The point is that chopping off his hands would not and did not delay our identification of him and Carla Rose would have known that. She's a very smart woman; I could see that in how she's handled herself in our interviews of her. Ergo, I'm leaning toward her not being the killer nor behind the killer in either murder."

Your Iron Crowbar: "To round out the picture, I'll add to it that I think Carla had the 'hots' for Carl, and Carl was a lot more passionate with Carla than with the other women he inseminated. Oh, he still loved his wife very much, but Carla is so beautiful and they hit it off so well, that he let the fling get a little hotter than a... 'professional' mating."

"Okayyyyy." said the Chief. "Why don't we make like cows and mooooove along. Mr. Milton, you have some information about that Facebook page?"


"Yes sir." Myron said. "Before I begin, let me give you three quick points. First, it's shut down, and they tried to delete it. It was shut down late Monday night, but as you know, nothing on the Internet ever truly goes away, so I was able to get some information on it."

Myron: "Second, Nadine Hall went to Judge Nance, but I'm better than she is; I did an end run around her by asking Chief Moynahan to go to Federal Judge K.M. Landis, and as a result, we have valid Federal warrants." There was some applause and cheering for that.

"Heh heh heh heh." chuckled Chief Moynahan happily.

Myron: "And third, almost all of the accounts that were admitted to the private site are also shut down and deleted. The few left are women, but were very likely made up just to access that site. All in all, forty accounts had access to that FB page over the last two years, when it was created. And I'll say now that Dr. Fredricson's assistant Laurie was not one of those women, so Commander Troy still doesn't have to be recused yet."

"Touch wood." I said, touching the wooden table. "Tell us about the page itself, Myron."

Myron: "The Facebook page itself was called 'The Babymakers'. It offered married women... and they had to be married; no single women were accepted as customers... it offered them the opportunity to be inseminated by one of the young men. Paying for it was not mentioned anywhere on the page nor in the messages. There are profiles of the men on the site, and women 'apply' to meet them."

Myron: "It appears there's a vetting process, but at some point a meeting is arranged at a public place, like a sidewalk cafe or restaurant. If the woman... or couple sometimes... and the Babymaker agree, then they move forward and the insemination by the natural method takes place. And that's about all the page says, and the messages are careful not to mention specific meeting locations nor any personal information."

Myron: "The Babymaker Club, for lack of a better term, started out a little over a year ago, in early September of last year, with four young men, then expanded to eight, and Carl Ryder was one of them. He's been active since this past January. He's also the most popular request, and the number of women on the site jumped a lot about a month after Carl started. FB messages show that Carl was very well liked and highly recommended by the women he met and inseminated."

Myron: "When the site was deleted, there were six guys active on it, including Carl, who has died. While the Commander was interviewing Mrs. Rose, we were identifying the other guys. Two are University students, and the other three were enrolled there in the last five years. I have their names, and we're getting warrants to probe into these guys and their operation very deeply."

"Okay, then." I said. "We're going to be very busy rounding up these suspects and talking to them as their names come out. I need not say that the women who were impregnated by the men of this 'Babymaker' ring will likely not want to talk to us, so be very discreet, and at the risk of being politically incorrect, I would suggest that female Detectives interview those female wives. And I myself am going to be working with Captain Muscone. We are going to re-interview Wanda and Ariel."

"Before you go," growled Sheriff Griswold, standing up, "I just want to say that you guys, all of you guys, have done a great job with this case. It's a hard one, it requires serious discretion, and it's about subject matter not taught at Bible Study at First Baptist Church, unless Detective Warner tells me otherwise."

"It's Presbyterians that are the Party People, Sheriff." Joanne replied brightly, giving it right back to Our Sheriff. I broke out laughing, which allowed the others to chuckle to varying degrees.

"Har!" barked the Sheriff, his mustaches twitching with merriment. "Anyway, we've got something for you guys... lunch on us." The door opened and Cindy Ross brought in a stack of eight large pizzas, followed by Callie Carrington pulling in a large ice chest on wheels, containing ice and Coca-Colas. Everyone cheered, and dug in...

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

1:30pm, Friday, October 2nd. I said "Let's start with Ariel.", so Tanya and I went into Interrogation-B. Ariel was in I-B with attorney Gibson Stelling.

"My client has immunity, Commander." said Stelling. "So why is she here?"

I replied: "That very generous immunity came with an agreement that Ariel truthfully answer our future questions. If she doesn't cooperate, that immunity agreement can be considered breached... by your client. So Ariel, I need to know the truth. And the more you tell me, the less I have to ask Wanda about."

Ariel had been looking at me defiantly, but when I mentioned Wanda's name, Ariel became less defiant and more resigned. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

I said "We now know that Carl was part of a group of young men that provided a service to women... impregnating them. Since you and Wanda were at the scene when Carl mated with my wife's assistant Laurie, we know that you are aware of what was going on. So tell me, was this Babymaker ring being run out of Town Fitness Centers?"

"No!" Ariel said. "I swear to God! We were scared shitless of Cindy, that she'd find out what was going on with Carl, and would bust all our asses down." Gibson Stelling leaned over and whispered something, and Ariel said "And I need to clarify that Wanda and I weren't part of that ring. We only knew of Carl's involvement."