The Ensigns of Detection Ch. 05

The lawyer almost broke the door to I-2 down as he hurtled through it. "What the fuck is this?!?!" he exclaimed.

"They tried to question me without a lawyer." Chad said. "They tried to hold me against my will before arresting me when I insisted on being released."

"The bastards!" said the lawyer. Chase, Lynch & Berry were known to be rabidly anti-Police, and this guy was getting worked up. He grabbed the phone out of its cradle on the wall, and practically tore the unit off the wall as he furiously punched buttons.

"Get Commander Troy in here!" he shouted. "Get Commander Troy in I-2 now!!" he screamed, then slammed the phone back down into the cradle.

"Well," I said, "I guess I'll be speaking to Chad anyway." I said. "Mr. Nash, you stay here, and be ready to go back into I-1. Ross, you are with me, and with your most Crowbar-like face on." With that I opened the door to I-2 and went inside.

"You bastard!" yelled the lawyer. "You tried to interrogate my client illegally! I am going to sue you to death over this! Now I'm taking him out of here with me, and if you try to keep him, I'll call the SBI."

"The phone is right there." I said quietly, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "I think the videotapes will show that we have not acted improperly. But Chad is under arrest, and will remain that way until I am satisfied he had nothing to do with the murder of Michael Fulton. So... do you want to sit down, or go call the SBI?"

The red faced lawyer sat down, as did Cindy, whose face showed a woman very ready to do some physical damage to asshole lawyers. "Okay," the legal beagle said, "what basis could you possibly have for bringing Chad into custody?"

"Like I said, he's a person of interest in the Fulton murder." I said.

"And why would he kill Fulton, a man he does not even know?" said the beagle.

"And you know they're not acquainted for sure, Counselor... how?" I asked back, trapping the lawyer. It was obvious they'd talked the night before, while Chad was sequestered in University Hotel.

"Let me talk to my new client." said the lawyer.

Part 21 - The Break

My Police cellphone rang. It was the Duty Desk. "He's here, sir. And ADA Washington is also here." came the report.

"Good." I said. "Put him in Interrogation-Alpha, and send ADA Washington back to MCD."

A moment later, ADA Franklin Washington came into MCD. He first exchanged handshakes and greetings with his brother, Detective Theo Washington, then bantered with the other Detectives. I allowed a few seconds of that, then came in the room.

"Franklin," I said, "you're with me. As are you, Detective Cummings. Parker, you can watch from the anteroom. Theo, hold down the fort here in MCD."

We went into Interrogation-A, where I sat down alongside ADA Washington. Joanne took the chair against the wall behind us, moving it up to where she was near the side of the table and at my right side. Cindy had followed us (of course), and was on Washington's left side, though away from the table, almost at the wall.

The man across the table, facing us, was Robin Grayson, Ph.D., Vice President and Research Director at BigPharmaCorp.

"I can't..." started Grayson, then he faltered before regaining his composure. "I can't let this go on. Dr. Wilkins is dead, my marriage is over. All I have left is the Truth."

"Franklin," I said, "we'll be offering Dr. Grayson full immunity from any crimes he committed or may have committed in the cases related to the death of Dr. Laramie Wilkins, the espionage of BigPharmaCorp research materials, and related crimes... in exchange for his truthful statements here and also his testimony in Court on any issues relevant to these cases." Washington began writing that as I spoke to Dr. Grayson.

"First, Dr. Grayson," I said, showing him the picture of my sister Elizabeth, "did Dr. Cubbard introduce this woman to you?"

"No, his wife did." said Grayson. "But he was right there when it happened."

"So you can testify that Dr. Tom Cubbard and this woman know each other?"

"Oh yes, they talked like good friends all the time." said Grayson. I looked over at Cindy, who gave me a 'look' back.

"Okay, Dr. Grayson, thank you for that." I said. "Now, let's take this from the top and unravel this whole twisted mess, shall we?..."

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

Martin Nash and Paulina Patterson walked into Interrogation-1. The lawyer was back with Lou Stevens, and had knocked on the glass to call them back in.

"So," said the lawyer, "you think you have anything resembling a case, here? This man lives in Nextdoor County. He runs a hardware store. He's a law-abiding citizen. And you think he committed cold-blooded murder?"

"I not only think it," said Martin Nash, "I am going to give ADA Patterson here a case that will get him convicted even with the best legal help, which he does not currently have." Oooh, that was a shot, Paulina thought with a smile. The CLB legal beagle did not appreciate it.

"It's going to be staggeringly easy to get an acquittal." said the beagle. "How are you going to prove this silly accusation?"

"First of all," said Nash, bringing up a file folder, "I have several eyewitnesses that have given affidavits, and will testify in Court, that they saw your client and the victim Fulton at the Riverside Bar on Friday night. Sat near each other, your client even bought everyone at the bar, including Fulton, a round."

"Friday night." snarled the lawyer. "I have a Coroner's report right here that says he was killed Saturday night, maybe as late as Sunday morning." Paulina looked at Nash, but Nash's face was calm. Channeling his inner Crowbar, Paulina thought proudly.

"That's right, Friday night." said Nash. "And here are several street camera photos, with the video on our computers, of your client driving and following Fulton to his apartment, then driving home."

Nash leaned forward and continued "You were smart enough to not kill him right then, Mr. Stevens. So you went home, drove back into Town on Saturday, but in a different vehicle. Nice 1969 Ford truck you have here. No GPS, no 'anti-theft' tracer devices. You watched the apartment all day long, saw Fulton get home from work, followed him to the bar again... but this time you were smart enough to not go inside."

Both Stevens and the lawyer were glaring at Nash as he continued: "Fulton came out of the bar after having several drinks, made his way home, was lucky not to be arrested for DUI, I might add... and went home. You then went to his apartment, found him asleep on the sofa, got behind him with the bat, woke him up, and just as he sat up, you swung that bat as hard as you could and crushed in his head."

"And how are you going to prove that?" sneered the lawyer.

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

A convoy of Town & County Police vehicles rumbled through the front gates of BigPharmaCorp, the blue LED lights flashing brilliantly against the gray sky that suggested incoming weather. My SUV was in the lead, and we came to the front door where the security desk was.

Among the several Police cruisers was a van belonging to KXTC. Bettina Wurtzburg and her cameraman Scott Turnbull quickly began setting up as I went inside with Cindy Ross and four Uniformed officers, which were Sergeant Rudistan, Sr. Patrolman Morton, and Patrolmen McGhillie and Johnson. Rudistan was almost beside himself with anticipation.

"I need to see Dr. Cubbard." I told the security people. "Immediately." I had the warrant in my pocket, but they did not ask for it. One Security officer led my group down the long hallway, whose windows on the right side showed the front parking lot (and faced north), then around the corner and down the side of the building, the railroad tracks and grove of trees visible past the fence and down the artificially-created hill.

At the end of the corridor was the C-suite. Cubbard's secretary tried to run interference at the door of his office, saying he was in a meeting with BigPharmaCorp Board members.

"He will now be meeting with me." I said, showing her the warrant. "Ready, everyone." That was not a question but an order, and the officers took defense postures. I opened the door and walked right on in, knowing I had my bulletproof vest on under my trenchcoat.

"What the heck is this?" Cubbard said as we came in. There were two other men inside with him. The secretary didn't lie, I could see that they were BigPharmaCorp Board members as Cubbard screamed "This is a meeting! Get out!"

"Dr. Thomas Cubbard," I said imperiously, "I have a warrant for your arrest on several charges, including conspiracy in the murder of Dr. Laramie Wilkins, a human being. Sergeant, would you please do the honors?"

"Oh, yes sir!" said Rudistan happily. He came up to Cubbard. "Sir, please put your hands behind your back." Cubbard looked stunned, but did as he was told. Rudistan put the cuffs on Cubbard's wrists as he said "Sir, you have the right to remain silent. If you waive that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law. You have the right to an attorney, sir, and to have an attorney with you at any and all questioning. If you so desire but cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you by the Court. Of course with your money and your company's, I doubt that is going to be a problem. Do you understand these rights, sir?"

"Yeah, I know the rights." said Cubbard.

"What is going on here?" growled one of the Board members.

"Why, I'm arresting your CEO, sir." I said, as if surprised they didn't understand. "Oh, where are my manners? You must be Wallace Bedford, Vice Chairman of the BigPharmaCorp Board, I perceive. My name is Commander Donald Troy. I've already met Mr. Conrad King, here. The circumstances are unfortunate, Mr. King, but I'm glad to see you're doing well."

"Thank you, Commander." said King amiably. "I can't say I'm happy to see you here, though. As you said, the circumstances are unfortunate."

"How do you know who I am?" asked Bedford, his voice wary and unfriendly.

"Why, your picture appears in BigPharmaCorp literature, will come up in any google search about the BigPharmaCorp Board. And, of course, as a police officer I am able to look up information like that... which I did before arresting the CEO of one of the Nation's most powerful companies."

"Ah. The Iron Crowbar." said Bedford. "Only you could be so bold."

"That would be him, Wallace." said Conrad King.

"I appreciate it." I said. "Have a safe trip back to your New England home, Mr. Bedford, and you back to Florida, Mr. King. And might I trouble you to get Dr. Cubbard a lawyer? He's going to need the very best you can get for him."

"I'll be sure to do that. The very best." said Wallace Bedford. I took my leave of them, following the police procession down the hall.

Outside, Bettina was getting the scoop of her career. She was walking beside Tom Cubbard, who was being held upright as KXTC cameras filmed his 'perp walk', and she was firing questions like 'Did you kill Dr. Wilkins, Dr. Cubbard? Why are they arresting you, Dr. Cubbard? Did you commit the crimes you're being accused of?'. It was going to be great television... I would even DVR it and save a copy to my computer...

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

"We have convicted for far, far less." said ADA Paulina Patterson.

"I'll ask again: what possible motive could my client have for murdering anyone?" asked the lawyer, as if he had no idea of anything.

"Oh, I think you know." said Nash, bringing out the folder with a copy of the case file of the rape of Mabel Stevens and practically hurling it at the lawyer. Nash turned to Stevens and said "You recognized him in that bar, didn't you? He was the man that raped your wife in front of you. He tied you up, then got into your bed and on top of your wife, and he raped her at least twice. Isn't that right, Mr. Stevens? It's a definite motive... a man raping your wife and inseminating her twice, right in front of your face, and you absolutely helpless and unable to do a thing about it but watch." He could see the anger welling in Stevens's eyes.

"That was over eight years ago!" said the lawyer. "You're going to try to connect that to this? Hell, the Statute of Limitations ran out on that years ago." Paulina had to laugh at that feeble try.

Nash said "That makes it all the worse for your client. The Justice system would never prosecute, nor convict, Fulton for raping Mrs. Stevens while her husband lay tied up on the floor." He stared hard at Stevens as he said levelly "So you took Justice into your own hands, didn't you?"

"ADA Patterson," said the lawyer, "you really need to teach your Police Officers about the law! This thing is as thin as a fashion model, it's positively anorexic!"

"I think we have more than enough to go to trial, and to convict." said Paulina.

"And how are you going to explain," queried the lawyer, "how this man was able to take a man as large as Mr. Fulton's body to his car, transport it out to BigPharmaCorp, and dump the body there? Explain that one, Mr. Detective!"

"Mind your manners." said Nash evenly, but his voice betraying a certain menace there. "You raise a nice point, but that is why I have Mr. Stevens's son Chad in the other interrogation room. Of course he helped his father move the body."

The lawyer looked stunned. Stevens barked a laugh and said "That little runt couldn't help me stack a pile of crowbars on the shelf at the hardware store--"

"Shut up! You've taken the Fifth!" snarled the lawyer, who then turned and said "That was not an admission of guilt of anything!"

"No," said Paulina, "but your client is speaking now. It's only a matter of time before reality sets in, before he realizes he's facing life in prison with out possibility of parole."

"Oh, please." said the lawyer. "With this evidence, you can't even convict him of an illegal lane change..."

Part 22 - The Knowing

It was a fun experience, watching Dr. Tom Cubbard be processed through booking. His mug shot was taken, DNA cheek swab administered (he actually consented to it, saying he had nothing to hide), and fingerprints taken.

We had to put him into Interrogation-B. My Interrogation Rooms were filling up fast, I noted. Cubbard's lawyer arrived a few minutes later, then Cindy came in with me and and we sat down and got to business.

"Ah," I said to the lawyer, "BigPharmaCorp's biggest legal gun... and once with the Gresham & Mason Law Firm in Pennsylvania, is that not right?"

"How did you know that?--" the legal eagle said with a visible jolt, before collecting his wits again. "Suffice it to say I am representing Dr. Cubbard here and now. What are the charges against my client?"

"First of all," I said, "I read Dr. Cubbard his rights the other day, but will do so again." I read the rights from the card. Yes, the third such Miranda warning... think we're overdoing it? (No.)

"Now, Dr. Cubbard," I said, "we've got rock-solid proof that your client lied to Police, a felony in this State."

"You... you arrested the Chief Executive Officer of BigPharmaCorp, one of the best and most powerful companies in the world, over a Class E felony?" asked the lawyer, and he almost had me believing he was genuinely shocked, "...that's going to be reduced to misdemeanor jaywalking if it's not dropped altogether?"

I smiled briefly. "But it's a felony nonetheless. However, sir, it is not Dr. Cubbard's biggest problem. He will be needing to explain how he stole research from Dr. Robin Grayson, had it used to create new processes and drugs without informing Dr. Grayson, and he ultimately is going to have to explain his role in the murder of Dr. Laramie Wilkins."

"I had nothing to do with that." snarled Cubbard.

"So the rest of it is true?" Cindy shot back. Cubbard's face turned red but he said nothing as his lawyer touched his shoulder to keep him in line.

"Tell you what," I said, "why don't I just explain what has happened, and you correct me if I go astray, okay?" Cindy's eyes gleamed; this was her favorite thing to see me do.

I began: "You have worked like a dog, like a dog, Dr. Cubbard, to get to the top. You have worked your way to the top, and you've done so by chewing up associates and subordinates and spitting them out. You've harassed the Union's membership so badly that they're all but ready to put out a contract to kill you rather than see you become the CEO of this company permanently. Still, you've made it to the top, almost. Interim CEO of BigPharmaCorp! What could be better?"

"The Board is deeply aware of both the good and bad in you, Doctor." I continued. "So they only gave you that 'interim' title, and wanted to see how you would do in the role. You've thought you've played the political game with your superiors on the way up the ladder... but in truth, you're not ready for the Big Game, at least not yet. And they know it."

"Is there a point to this?" asked the lawyer.

"Oh, you bet there is." I said, just getting started. "Your client had to show the Board that he could get things done, is that not right, Doctor? You had to show them that you could take this company forward. But how do you do that? Ah, new drugs! New processes!"

"So, you and your wife start schmoozing with Dr. Robin Grayson and his wife. Mrs. Grayson is an heiress to considerable money, and she has the right social connections. And you tried to get Robin Grayson to give you and the company the rights, or at least a license, to his research on refined drugs. But... he refused to give up that work, saying it belonged to his School professor."

"That didn't stop you, did it, Dr. Cubbard?" I said, pulling out a file folder. "These NDA documents, which have your signature on them, were derived from the Grayson research. And this is your first violation of the law: you stole a man's patented work, as Dr. Grayson's school professor owns the rights to these processes. In addition, you brought the process from Pennsylvania to here, which crosses State lines. Oops, that's Federal rap No. 1."

"We pay a fine, we pay the man royalties." said Cubbard. "Not even a bump in the road."

"Oh, but it gets worse, doesn't it?" I said. "A sample of that product was found during a Police drug raid. A sample of that refined chemical, in the hands of drug distributors being charged with crimes. Ergo, the cat is now out of the bag, and you now have another problem."

"And worse." I went on. "Dr. Laramie Wilkins, who has objected to your cutting corners and taking others' research before, is alert to this... as well as your attempts to coerce Dr. Grayson to helping you."

"My partner, Captain Ross, made an astute observation." I said. "A man does not just go and tell another man's wife of the husband's infidelities... without an ulterior motive. I could tell what Dr. Wilkins's motives were: first, he despised Mrs. Grayson for her treatment of Dr. Wilkins's wife. Second, he knew that Mrs. Grayson was working with you, Dr. Cubbard, to entice Dr. Grayson into your schemes.

"Grayson was not aware he was being manipulated." I said. "He loved doing the research, and he did do some good things. But what he didn't realize is that while he married his wife for her money, he did love her... but that love was not reciprocated. Mrs. Grayson saw that her husband was not the ambitious man with designs of rising to the top. That was bad enough, but then his infidelities hardened her heart against him."

I said "And the worst of all... a horrific misfortune befell the Graysons: intruders invaded their home and did terrible things to both of them. Now even I know that the one thing a man must do to keep his wife's love is to keep her and her children feeling warm, safe, and secure, whether that is by financial means or actual physical means. When that did not happen, when she was brutally raped, and only by the Grace of God her children weren't at home when it happened... well, that was the last straw, and enough to end that relationship, so sorry."