The Ensigns of Detection Ch. 04

"You'll find out, so I might as well tell you that I took her inside there, once." Grayson said. "She said she wanted to see the facility, and we jokingly devised a plan where she would pretend to be from one of our other labs on an inspection tour. I took her in, showed her around the place, and that was that."

"She never handled any equipment, drugs, or paperwork, did she?"

"Oh no, nothing like that." said Grayson. "She said she liked the 'blinkenlights', as we call the banks of instruments we have, but she never handled anything. It was pretty innocuous. She said her brother had been a Chemistry major-- oh, wait..."

"Fancy that." Teresa said, trying not to laugh. "Tell me this: how well do you know Dr. Cubbard?"

"Pretty well." said Grayson, still reeling. "He's always interested in our research, and would come down and get briefings from us on a regular basis."

"Do you know his wife?" Teresa asked.

"Oh, sure." said Grayson. "My wife and I had dinner with the Cubbards from time to time... well, not just the four of us, but usually as part of larger dinner parties. But we know them fairly well."

"Did you ever have a sexual relationship with Mrs. Cubbard?"

After a pause, Dr. Grayson said "Yes. She gave me head a couple of times, but we never had intercourse."

"Generous of her." Teresa said drily. "Do you think your wife and Dr. Cubbard were having sexual relations?"

"I'd be shocked if they were, and shocked if they weren't." said Grayson. "My wife was a prude, and had no interest in swinging or swapping. I think the Donolans and Cubbards were into that stuff, though."

"Changing the subject: were Dr. Wilkins and Dr. Cubbard friends?" Teresa asked.

"Well, this is hearsay, talking out of turn," said Grayson, "but I don't think they saw eye to eye on some things. Cubbard was pushing Wilkins hard to get projects done, and Wilkins said he would not cut corners. I also think... well, Dr. Wilkins stuck his nose in my business, told me to stop cheating on my wife... I can only imagine what he thinks of Cubbard and his wife... like I said a moment ago, they have an open marriage, swingers and all that stuff. Like your Commander and his wife, so I'm told." he added.

Teresa's face showed nothing as she declined to rise to the bait. "Okay," she said, "I do need to ask you one other thing. And let me just tell you this, in confidence, first." She acted as if she was drawing closer, and dropped her voice as she said "A few years ago, I had to work a case of a woman that died at the hospital of a drug overdose. That woman had been trying to get clean, and two very evil women took her right down to the clubs and to the men who gave her drugs. The woman was raped, she O.D.d, and she died."

"I'm sorry to hear that." said Grayson. "But what does it have to do with me?"

"That woman," Teresa said, "was named Margo Bailey. The two women that left her to die were Trish Donolan and Cat Clausen."

"Oh. Geez." said Grayson, and Teresa observed both understanding and shock on his face.

"And they, along with Donovan Donolan, were friends of the Cubbards, were they not?" Teresa asked, bearing down.

"Like I said before, yeah." said Grayson. "Of course, Dr. Cubbard knew Mr. Donolan very well anyway, they were the upper leadership of the company..."

"And now," Teresa said, "Donovan and Trish Donolan are dead, Cat Clausen is in prison, Dr. Wilkins is dead, you and your wife attacked and, quite frankly, lucky to be alive... and you're still walking along a precipice but don't fully know it..."

Robin Grayson's eyes were wide with shock and fear as he began to understand the full ramifications of what he was hearing.

"So, how did you meet the lovely Elizabeth?" Teresa asked. Grayson didn't answer, and Teresa said "Either Tom or Lucy Cubbard introduced you, is that not right?"

"Oh my God..." said Grayson.

"And did Cubbard suggest you have Elizabeth tour the labs?" asked Teresa...

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

"No baseball bat, anywhere in the apartment." said J.R. Barnes, who was leading the Crime Lab team in the investigation and evidence collection. "No fingerprints other than those of Fulton, either. This is also a pretty old crime scene, relatively speaking."

"So what have you found?" asked Lt. Perlman.

"The guy bled out completely here." said Barnes. "This apartment is on the ground floor, so the blood soaked into the rug, then through the wood on the floor to the slab below. There's also some tissue and bodily fluids where the body must've laid for some time."

"Ma'am, sir," said Technician Christian Cho, "there is something else." She shined a light that glowed eerily green on the floor around the rug and all over the room, leading to a back door to the patio, then outside. "As you can see, there are footprints all over the place. They wore some kind of protective footies, but these are not Police footprints, as our guys are along that path I laid out for them."

Christina had checked for evidence, then marked a path for others to take to the back bedrooms, kind of like walking through a minefield. This reduced contamination of the crime scene. It was also an idea given to the Crime Lab by our new Chief, Sean Moynahan.

"So someone carried the body to the back patio, and apparently to a car on the gravel path the Sanitation Department uses to collect trash." said Nash. "That's strange."

"Why is that, Martin?" asked Tanya.

"The perp kills Fulton with the blow to the head," said Nash, "waits long enough for Fulton to completely bleed out and be otherwise drained of fluids, then carries off the body. Why not bag him and carry him off immediately? Or just leave him here, for that matter? And leaving and coming back here would be a huge risk."

"And another thing..." Nash said, as the thoughts came to him in a rush, "when we examined the body at BigPharmaCorp, remember how I told the Chief there was only some blood on the upper back part of his shirt? If he'd been lying here in that shirt, the front of it should've been totally soaked in blood!"

"Yes, that's true." said Tanya. "Good observation, Martin. What does that infer to you?"

"Sounds crazy, I know," said Martin, "but the only theory that matches the facts is that someone changed the man's clothes after he was killed, or else he wasn't wearing clothes so someone put clothes on him. Hey, Johnson! Any clothes in the dirty clothes hopper or basket?"

"No sir." said Johnson. "Nothing in the washer or dryer, either. A couple of empty coat hangers in the closet in his bedroom, though."

Patrolman Morton came up. "Ma'am, sir, there is very little in this apartment about this man. Some mail, some current bills, a couple of 'Sports Illustrated' magazines. Cellphone in the bedroom next to his wallet. No computer, no router or anything to suggest he had a computer in the first place. Pretty sterile; looks like this guy led a verrry boring life."

"Well, Martin, what do you think?" asked Lt. Perlman.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, ma'am." replied Nash. "It's... weird."

"Yes, it is." said Perlman. "So based on this data, what's your plan going forward?"

"It's times like this I realize just how much of a crutch the Iron Crowbar has been for us." said Nash. "And how lucky we are to have him. And the same goes for you too, Lieutenant."

"Butter me up, butter me up." Tanya said mischievously. "But seriously, this is just about out of my league, too. But it's right up the Iron Crowbar's alley. We'll see if we can get him to come over and look around after he's finished with the other stuff at BigPharmaCorp."

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

Cindy and I were in the large conference room with the windows overlooking the River. Dr. Cubbard and his legal beagle were there, also. Cubbard had brought in two security guards, and I played the Game by bringing in two well-armed and armor-protected uniformed officers, Patrolmen Hicks and McGhillie.

"Ah, you've hurt your hand, Dr. Cubbard." I said, seeing a plastic brace on Dr. Cubbard's right wrist.

"Yeah, I fell on it, playing tennis." Cubbard said.

"Ah, tennis." I said. "Did you ever play against Anthony Warner, the former CEO of Dynacorp?"

"Only once." said Dr. Cubbard. "In a tournament with the Town Tennis League. He was really good and beat me badly. So... why are you asking about him?"

"He was a good tennis player, and I was just curious." I said, then got serious: "Okay, Dr. Cubbard... up to this point in time I have been more than patient with you. But it's time for you to start talking."

"Ask questions and I'll answer them, if I can without harming company interests." said Cubbard.

"You don't understand, Doctor." I said. "We are wayyyyy past any talk of 'company interests'. We're talking about murder, here."

"What?!" gasped Cubbard. "You mean that guy you found outside by the railroad tracks?"

"Yeah, there's that." I said. "But I was talking about the murder of Dr. Laramie Wilkins."

The room went silent. Cubbard and his lawyer sat dumbfounded for a moment.

"I thought he committed suicide." Cubbard finally said. He looked at his lawyer and said "I was told he shot himself. Is that not right?" The lawyer nodded, but also shrugged his shoulders as if not knowing what to say.

"Oh, he was shot," I said, "but there is considerable question as to who pulled the trigger of the weapon. In addition, Dr. Cubbard, I am finding strong evidence of several other crimes, crimes related to industrial espionage, theft of your company's property, and stealing of intellectual property, perhaps with fraud and RICO implications."

"Are you kidding me?" said Cubbard. His lawyer was equally agitated.

"Not at all." I said. "And, totally as a precaution, to protect you and your legal rights, I'm going to read your rights to you." I proceeded to read the BigPharmaCorp CEO his Constitutional rights, then asked if he understood them.

"Yes, I understand them." said Dr. Cubbard. His lawyer whispered into his ear, then Cubbard said "I reserve my right to invoke my Fifth Amendment rights at any time, but will answer your questions until such time I do invoke."

"Good enough." I said. I took out my Police iPhone, and brought up a photo. "Do you know these two people?" They were the photos of James and Susan Douglas.

"No, I don't know either of them." said Cubbard. "The man looks familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen him."

"And you have not seen the woman at all?" I asked.

"Not that I can remember." said Cubbard.

"What about this woman?" I said, bringing up the picture of Elizabeth. Cubbard's eyes failed to hide his recognition, but he said nothing.

"Doctor, is this woman familiar to you?" I asked again.

"She looks... like I've seen her, but..." Cubbard said, then his eyes seemed to get crafty as he said "You know, she looks like you, Commander Troy. I think that's where the recognition comes from."

"Except I'm not a woman." I said. "Now one more time, Doctor: do you know this woman?"

"No. No I don't." said Cubbard.

"Captain," I said, turning to Cindy, "Did you hear my question and Dr. Cubbard's answer?"

"Clear as a bell, Commander." Cindy replied as she took notes, which she'd been doing all along.

"Johnson, McGhillie, did you guys hear that?" I asked my uniformed officers. They confirmed that they did.

"Good." I said, turning back to Cubbard. "Dr. Cubbard, I have read your biography here, and I must admit that it is one of astonishing achievement, especially for a man of your young age."

"You've done pretty well yourself for your age, Commander." replied Cubbard.

"Not like this, though." I said. "Ph.D., leadership in quality control, plant management, C-level leadership. You've worked hard to rise to the very top, and now you're here. And now you're having to work like a dog to stay on top, am I right?"

"What is the point of this line of questioning, Commander?" asked the lawyer.

"Just expressing my appreciation and admiration of the journey that Dr. Cubbard has made, and the effort he as made to climb to the top of the mountain." I said. "And I would hate to see those achievements washed away, and worse... because of something as silly, but as bad... as a felony charge of Lying to Police."

"That only applies to the FBI." said the lawyer, beginning to take over to shield Cubbard.

"Not in this State, Counselor." I replied. "It's a State crime, and a felony, to knowingly lie to the SBI and/or any local-level law enforcement agent. But if you want to get technical about it, I am also an FBI Consultant, so if you want to play the Federal game..."

"If you think I've lied to you, Commander," Cubbard said with bravado. "Prove it."

I looked over at Cindy, who just looked up at me under her eyebrows as if to say 'Did he really just do something that stupid?'. I then took out my reading glasses and put them on my face as I leaned forward so that Cubbard could clearly see me.

"Oh, I will prove it, Dr. Cubbard." I said. "I will indeed prove it... why, what's the matter, Doctor? You look like you've seen a ghost!" He was now fully understanding.

At that point, the lawyer practically jerked Cubbard's collar and began urgently whispering to him. Cubbard nodded.

"At this time," said the lawyer, "my client and I wish to confer. This interview is concluded, and will not be resumed in the foreseeable future."

"Fine." I said. "In reply, Counselor, your client is being ordered to not leave this County's jurisdiction. Doing so will cause the FBI to become involved... as well as the rabidly anti-business, anti-pharmaceutical Media. I'm sure Dr. Cubbard understands the value in staying at home for the evening. I might suggest that of his wife, as well."

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

Leaving the Grayson residence, Detective Christopher Purvis was astounded.

"Lieutenant," he said as they pulled out in the Police cruiser, Purvis driving, "how did the Iron Crowbar know? Everything that happened, was exactly as he told us it would happen. You asked the questions just as he asked you to, told the Margo Bailey story... and..."

"Yes," said Teresa Croyle, "the Iron Crowbar is where he is because he is a step ahead of the game."

"But that's... uncanny." said Purvis.

"We Vice guys don't get to see him work as often as the MCD guys do." said Teresa. "He's just a step ahead, like Sherlock Holmes would be. He sees things, correlates things, and takes action before anyone else has time to blink."

"Yeah, maybe... but it's like The Abacus has been telling us," Purvis said, "it's almost as if Commander Troy isn't just figuring it out, but that he already has knowledge of what happened."

"You say that in a bad way, Purvis." said Croyle. "Almost like you're saying the Commander is behind the crimes himself."

"You know," Purvis replied, "some people have actually wondered if that's the case..."

"Who are those people?" asked Teresa, peering at Purvis.

"I'm not the one to be a snitch, ma'am." said Purvis. "But there's just... talk. Happens in Police Forces everywhere. And this Police Force has an Iron Crowbar, and the scuttlebutt about him is that he seems to know too much, too soon..."

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

As she and Martin Nash watched the Crime Lab people work, Tanya got a phone call.

"Hi, Jack." she said. "What's up?" It was Jack Muscone of the FBI.

"Hi there," said Jack Muscone. "We just picked up the Stevens couple. They were in the State to your east, holed up in a hotel. When we came to get them, they refused to come along, so we arrested them. Now they're asking for lawyers and refusing extradition."

"You're the FBI, can't you just bring them back to the City?" Tanya asked.

"We can," said Jack, "but if we cross that State line, it might give them a legal loophole on any State-level crimes, such as murder. Listen, Don asked me to not let Martin Nash know that he, Don, had us looking for these guys before Nash's APB went out, and we've been trailing them all along. I don't know what you want to tell Nash, but if you guys want the Stevenses back, you'll have to show some probable cause to the judge."

"I'll get right on that." said Tanya. After saying her goodbyes to Muscone, she turned to Nash. "The FBI found the Stevenses pretty fast, and arrested them... but over the State line to our east. They're fighting extradition, so we'll need to show probable cause."

"What's the best way to do that?" Nash asked.

"Normally we go through the State DOJ," said Tanya, "but do you want to go through the State any more than the Iron Crowbar would?"

"Gotcha." said Nash, understanding. "So what's the next step?"

"Call Paulina Patterson." said Tanya. "She'll run it through the Court system. By the way, after seeing this crime scene, do you still want these guys?"

After a moment of thought, Nash said "Yes. Yes I do. Nothing in this crime scene exonerates them..."

Part 17 - Cogs In The Machine

It was 4:30pm, but my Detectives were energized as we met again in Classroom 'E'. The MCD Team was joined by Lt. Teresa Croyle and Vice Detective Christopher Purvis, as well as Myron Milton and ADA Paulina Patterson.

"They're expediting an extradition hearing," said Paulina, "and the Stevenses should be in our County Jail by tomorrow. It may even be that they'll waive extradition once they understand that we're playing for keeps."

"Great!" said Chief Moynahan, "and excellent work, Detective Nash, for getting that done in such a timely manner." Nash nodded, but I could tell that inside he was pleased, and well he should be.

"By the way," said Nash, "their son Chad works in the City. We had him picked up, also, and we've sent someone to pick him up and bring him over."

"What are you going to hold him on?" asked Paulina.

"Material witness, person of interest, same as his parents." said Nash. "I've asked the Court to release him on his own recognizance, but with ankle monitoring. We're putting him up in a hotel for one night, as well."

"What if Judge Nance orders him let go, without ankle monitoring?" asked Paulina. I knew she was testing Nash, and hard, over this.

"I..." said Nash, faltering for the first time, "I'm not sure."

"Tell him his parents are being brought in." I said. "Tell him he can spend the night at the University Hotel, on our dime, and see them tomorrow, or he can go. At worst, I think he'll go to his parents house in Nextdoor County, but he won't run away and leave them hanging."

"And if he does run?" Paulina asked.

"Then he'd have run anyway, so we're no worse off." I said. "And we just call our FBI friends again. Jack Muscone loves it when I buy him double cheeseburgers at the Cop Bar."

"Good logic in that." said the Chief. "And buying off FBI agents with double cheeseburgers is brilliant in both concept and exe-CU-tion." We all laughed, then the Chief said "So we'll put Detective Nash's plan into effect, and hope that Nance is not on duty too-night."

The Chief continued: "Okay, let's carry on with these BigPharmaCorp cases. I understand that you've all done brilliant jobs today. Mr. Nash, tell us what you've found so far."

Nash began: "We went to the apartment of Michael Campbell Fulton. We found a lot of blood, which from typing matches his, and the Lab is doing a full workup for us. No fingerprints other than Fulton's, no baseball bats or other blunt objects that might be the murder weapon were present. Some strange things about the place, though." Nash went on to explain the strange things.

After that, Nash continued: "I checked back with the Riverside Tavern, taking Mr. Stevens's DMV photo with me. The bartender last night was also there Saturday night. He says he has no memory of Mr. Stevens at the bar that night. But we may have gotten a break: that barkeep did not work Friday night, but a waitress there did work Friday, and she says she thought Stevens looked familiar. Not too much there, but if she could pick him out of a lineup, we'd be halfway home.