The Saga Continues Ch. 06

"I'm no dirty dealer, and you damn well know it, Garner." I said, my voice hardening into iron. "Here's the bottom line up front. I've got a paper trail from North Dakota to San Francisco to here. Does the name 'Dora Ellis' ring a bell, Mr. McGill? It better... and you'd better come correct on everything you know about her and these chemicals... and the other person she was involved with."

"I need to talk to my lawyer." said McGill. "And it may take a-whillle."

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

Yes, it took a while. McGill and his lawyer talked for almost an hour, sometimes huddling, sometimes arguing. Of course we could not listen in. I actually went back to my office and made sure the paperwork was in perfect order with Paulina.

"Think this'll get anything out of him?" asked Cindy as she sat with us. "Are you trying to use the chemicals to get him to confess to murder?"

"Just the opposite." I said. "He doesn't know what we truly have, and his lawyer was trying hard to find out from the minute he walked in. They're in there stewing over what they should do. By the way, Theo, is it not obvious that J.G. McGill murdered Tammy, though we'll never get a conviction for it?"

"I think I see what you're saying, sir." said Theo. "He was really clear in his memory of the gun disappearing. He was careful to be not clear on his whereabouts the day Tammy disappeared."

"Yes, that, and a lot more, starting from when you dragged this case back up." I said. "So he's sweating about it now, and deciding----"

There was a knock on my door, and the Duty Desk Sergeant looked in. "Sir," he said, "Judge McGill is in the front lobby, and she demands to see her husband immediately."

"Why, that---" Cindy started, but I stopped her.

"Sergeant," I said, "Tell Judge McGill, and be sure to say this exactly, that Commander Troy says she can see her husband during visiting hours at County Jail, and only then and there. Watch her reaction, and let me know what it is and what she says. And then ask her to leave the premises unless she'd like to be arrested and put in County Jail."

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

"All right, what do you want?" asked the lawyer Garner. We'd been called back into Interrogation-Alpha.

"Just some answers." I said. "Mr. McGill, why did you deed that land to the County?"

"Got a good deal on it." said McGill. "Tax breaks and stuff."

"No no no." I said. "the real reason. Why did you give that land up? Especially since you could've run interference against us with regard to access, with regard to the Cochran crime scene. Hell, the crime scene might never be found if you don't give that land up. Why give it up?" I stared hard at McGill. He did not meet my stare.

"All right." said McGill. He was not stupid; he could see where this was going. "Put immunity on the table for anything and everything to do with those chemicals, and I'll tell you everything."

"And immunity for everything to do with the Cochran case." said the lawyer.

"No way on that." I said.

"Garner, are you some kind of idiot?" McGill snarled at his legal beagle. "I didn't kill Tammy Cochran, and they can't prove I did. As to the rest of it, I need immunity, and then I'll talk." I turned and waved for Paulina to come in.

Part 34 - Closing In

The sun was setting on Monday, December 4th, one of the best days of my TCPD career. We were on a piece of property, Crown Chemicals to our north, BOW Enterprises in the distance to our south. The Public Health Department's HAZMAT team was in protective gear, including masks, and they were bringing up from a pit in the ground, and cataloguing as evidence, a large number of plastic jugs that said 'Ultra Diox' on their labels, but held refined, much deadlier agents inside.

"Yep." said Jack Muscone as we made our lists and checked them twice. "Same lot numbers. And Thomas Cook's shell company of that time, which he and Dora Ellis jointly held, bought the stuff."

"And this is his property still." I said. "That should be enough."

"The U.S. Attorney is coming in from the City." said Muscone. "And Paulina is waiting, as well."

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

U.S. Attorney John Jones looked over the evidence as I laid it out, carefully going over old material from Pastor Raymond Westboro's days, weaving Dora Ellis and her father, Superior Bloodlines leader Henry Boxman, into the chain of events, then adding the paperwork from the North Dakota company and tying Thomas P. Cook into it. It was after midnight before I was done.

"It holds up." said the U.S. Attorney. "It holds up. Congratulations, Commander. You've done it. And it's well within the Statute of Limitations timeframes. I'll take this to the Federal Grand Jury first thing in the morning."

"And I'm doing the same with the Grand Jury here." said Town & County ADA Paulina Patterson.

"I'll help with that." said State Attorney Jenna Stiles. "But did you have to give McGill immunity to do it? I hate letting a racist get away with it like this."

"Me, too." said John Jones, who was black. "But McGill wasn't really part of this, was he?"

"I don't think so." I said. "McGill was working for the interests of McGill much more than he was working for the interests of Whites as a group. He was trying to keep control of a County tat was slipping out of his grasp, and ironically due to the work of one Pastor Raymond Westboro, who was much more racist in his attitudes. McGill really wanted no part of Dora Ellis's schemes, and actually worked to extract himself from involvement. That's one reason he let that pond property near his house go. So no, I don't think McGill is a Superior Bloodlines type nor associate. I'm good with giving him immunity to get what we've got."

"So we've got Thomas Cook?" asked Jack Muscone.

I thought about a day in the recent past, when old Mr. Davis sat in a wheelchair, blocking the destruction of a widow's house at the hands of Thomas P. Cook. I thought about that widow of a Korean War hero, ruthlessly cast out of her home by Cook, who had used and abused the Law for the purposes of his own enrichment. I remembered all the other times Cook had worked as hard as he could to stop me from doing my job. And I'd kept my promise to myself.

"Yes." I said, with the most satisfaction I'd felt since seeing Raymond Westboro die right next to me. "We've got him."

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the lovely redhead from in front of City Hall at 7:00am, Wednesday, December 6th. "In a series of shocking events over the last 24 hours, the Town & County Council is now one member less!"

"Yesterday," said Bettina, "both Federal and local Grand Juries brought indictments against local businessman Thomas P. Cook, for money laundering across State lines, and for being involved in a domestic terror plot to import nerve agents that were to be used against black citizens in this County!

"The entire scheme and the evidence supporting the charges were discovered and put together by Town & County Police Commander Donald Troy," continued Bettina, "who said in a statement that this was just part of the continuing investigation of the crimes of Pastor Raymond Westboro and white supremacy groups that have been destroyed in the last two years."

Bettina went on: "Governor Val Jared, using a State Law that allows him to suspend local elected officials upon being indicted, ordered Thomas P. Cook removed from the Town & County Council, effective immediately. State and Federal APBs have been issued for Thomas P. Cook's arrest based upon arrest warrants issued by the Courts. But so far they have not been fulfilled, as he has apparently fled the jurisdiction and remains at large."

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

The large contingent of Detectives and Officers in MCD stood as one and applauded me as we listened to the report. And I enjoyed it.

"Thank you, everyone." I said. "But give up some of that applause for Detective Washington, whose work on the Cochran cold case helped lead to this indictment." Everyone applauded Theo, who was much too modest.

"Sir, I didn't do any of that." Theo said. "That was all you. All you."

"Well, your puzzle pieces did fit into the much larger puzzle I've been putting together for years." I said. "But I never could fit Thomas P. Cook into the Westboro picture, until now. So you do get a lot of credit, Theo."

"You did great, Theo!" Joanne Warner said happily.

"And this just goes to show," I said out loud, "how looking into a cold case can have results we could never have gotten at the time. Twelve years ago, six years ago, we were nowhere near close to Westboro and breaking up the white supremacists that were infecting this County then. But now, old cases are fitting into the new patterns. So if and when you get bored, guys, see if there's something old we can't shed new light upon."

Part 35 - Solution

Friday, December 8th. I had told the MCD Detectives that there was little hope in pursuing the Tammy Cochran case any farther, and to wind it down. They did give it one last conversation.

"I believe it was Mr. McGill." said Theo. "His gun. He reports it stolen, files down the number, and waits. He might've done that with other guns, for all we know, though the other guns in the lake were never his. But he had money, and Tammy Cochran was looking to get to it via marrying Tommy and having McGill's grandchild. So he stopped that cold... by cold blooded murder."

"He gives up the property," said Theo, "for the reasons the Commander said... getting the contaminated pond out of his name. He wanted nothing to do with that, and I have to admit surprise that he gave away as much as he did."

"Pastor Westboro is dead and Superior Bloodlines is destroyed." said Cindy, watching from behind the others. "McGill had a lot more to fear before. Now he's gotten it out, off his chest, Thomas P. Cook is taken down, and McGill can spend the rest of his life in semi-exile again."

"I haven't given up on Judge McGill being the one." said Joanne. "The motive is to protect her husband and son from the clutches of Tammy Cochran, who I am not convinced was of pure intentions. She could've taken her husband's gun and filed down the number, and she would've been stronger in those days than she is now... or maybe she enticed some help."

"Maybe it was both of them." said Theo.

"And the son is being completely ruled out?" asked Jerome Davis.

"That's a cold blooded kid to be able to shoot his girl and their baby and bury them," said Joanne, "then go around to all his friends looking for her. You've seen the guy... you think he had that in him?"

"Pastor Westboro was a preacher." said Jerome. "And he had a lot worse in him."

"That's very true." said a voice behind them. It was me, Your Iron Crowbar. "Okay guys, let's have a party tonight at the Cop Bar. And then I'll settle the bet between Cindy and Tanya, and give you my ideas on the case."

"A party sounds good!" Joanne said happily. Everyone agreed.

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

Friday, December 8th. We were at the Cop Bar, in the back room for a supper celebration. Theo brought his wife, and Franklin Washington and his wife came. Jamaal Washington even came, as his Finals were done. Carole was more than excited, and was wearing her No. 10 Wildcats jersey, though Jamaal was dressed in a sharp looking gray suit and lighter gray pullover sweater. Joanne brought her husband Seth, and practically took charge of babysitting Carole... perhaps as a 'hint' to her husband Seth.

Myron and Mary and most of Vice were there, and everyone was congratulating Myron on his Orange Order award. "You know, sir," he said in answer to my question, "the walk wasn't too bad, I was feeling okay... and then we had those steaks and eggs and beer for breakfast. And I was done. I don't really remember leaving and getting home, only being awakened that afternoon by Mary to get ready for the Policeman's Ball."

I told Myron I understood, and that it did not get any easier over time. Tanya Perlman, who had stayed at the Depot, manned the radios as our 'Oracle', and helped prepare breakfast, said the Orange Order was rewarding, but was tough work on that one night.

After supper, we were sitting back and kicking down beers and other drinks. I was feeling as good and mellow as I'd felt in a long time. My back was not hurting, and Thomas P. Cook was gone from the Town & County Council...

Cindy stood up and spoon tapped glass. "Okay, Commander, it's time to tell us how you put it all together." There was an acclaim of encouragement.

"It was a good cold case." I said as it got quiet in the room. "So, let's look at some aspects of it. The first thing that got my attention was that Judge McGill retired almost immediately after Tammy disappeared. Now a powerful judge giving that up when one of her family, or her herself, might be a murderer, is staggering to me. Well, that is why she did it... she wasn't going to throw her family under the bus, but if it did come out, if they did find Tammy's body soon afterward, then Judge Lorraine McGill had the integrity to have cleared the Bench, literally, to keep it from being besmirched and her from having to resign in disgrace."

"So, I'm thinking that Lorraine McGill did have an idea of what had happened." I said. "I next turned to the seeming contradiction in the case: Tammy was called a golddigger... but was turning down Tommy's offers to marry her! I am a bit surprised none of you caught on to this... well, one of you did. But I'll ask it now... why did Tammy turn down Tommy?"

No one answered, then I turned to Tanya, who said "The DNA!" She grinned her cherubic grin as she continued: "Tommy was not the father of the baby! J.G. McGill was the father!"

"Yes!" I said with a smile towards Tanya, and a painful wish I could bring her back to the TCPD. "The DNA was never more than 80% for Tommy, though the markers matched... which would also be true if J.G. were the baby's father and not its grandfather. We had a case like that once, lucky for Todd." I looked over at my nephew as I said "Campus Police Lt. Maxwell thought Todd was a rapist, but the DNA matched 80% and no more... because Todd's brother Ned was the rapist."

As everyone looked at Todd, he said "Must be a different Todd Burke."

"Don't worry," said Teresa, "I have Todd under close observation." Todd flashed Teresa his brilliant smile and put his arm around her lovingly, and she settled into him.

"You're right, Tanya." I said, drawing attention back to me and her. "Even though the DNA was degraded, your excellent Crime Lab didn't mess up... the 80% suggested the father was J.G. McGill. And that means Tammy had been sleeping with J.G. as well as his son Tommy."

"What a witch!" Joanne exclaimed.

"And it gets better." I said. "At least Tammy had the goodness to refuse to marry Tommy, which would've been the quick and easy path to J.G.'s money. So my next questions were wondering if Tammy confronted J.G. about the baby, or if there was more. And I thought of Tammy's mother, Dinah."

"Now we are talking about a real witch." I said. "Dinah Cochran had a husband that loved her, a daughter that was not a bad girl, and a comfortable life. So why was she thrown into Women's Prison and the key all but thrown away. Then I looked at the cabal that did that... ADA Sanders, Judge Nance... and I saw the influence of Judge McGill."

"Now we're coming to a circle." I said. "Why would Judge McGill go after Dinah Cochran so viciously? I noted the SBI left Benny Cochran alone; Judge McGill's target was very specific, and it was Dinah. And it was only a few years ago. So what caused it? Jealousy, maybe? I let my imagination consider that not only Tammy but Dinah had been having an affair with J.G. McGill."

"And now things fall into place." I said. "When people were talking about the Cochran golddigger, they meant Dinah, not Tammy. Dinah didn't get pregnant by J.G., which would've gotten her the lodestone of his money, so she arranged for Tammy to essentially be prostituted to J.G. In her own way, Tammy struck back at her mother, who she hated, by starting up with Tommy."

"So Dinah and J.G. start up the affair again four years ago, and Lorraine comes down with a sledgehammer on Dinah." said Theo.

"Something like that, though the affair may never have totally stopped." I said. "And four years ago we are in the realm of Pastor Raymond Westboro, who was known to have made a few persons disappear into The Asylum. Anyway, as I look at this case, we have Lorraine's hatred of Dinah... but Tammy was the one that ended up dead. Maybe Dinah gets even more stupid than her norm, goes to J.G., says 'my daughter is pregnant with your child, so come correct with green dollar bills'."

I continued: "J.G.'s response: kill Tammy and her unborn baby, and bury them. Yes, the shot to make sure the baby dies is somewhat explained by that emotionally-based action. He had the motive, he had the means... he was a powerful enough man to hit Tammy on the head and knock her out, to dig the grave, to bury her... and he had the opportunity: he knows she's coming to meet his son Tommy, he tells her to come early, and he kills her."

"Wow." Cindy said. "You just went deep again." Everyone murmured agreement.

"You never suspected Tommy, sir?" asked Jerome Davis, who had listened with rapt attention to every word I'd spoken.

"Oh, I considered him, Jerome." I replied. "But his actions didn't fit the pattern of a guilty man. First, let's dispel some myths. People said he was a 'momma's boy'... well, that's not what we saw. He pushed back when his mother tried to 'protect' him. No, he was strong-willed, like his parents. I suspect he would've stood up to his father as well as his mother."

I continued: "My first thought is that he had no idea the baby might not be his. He asked Tammy to marry him. Then I asked what would happen if he found out his father was banging Tammy. Would he attack Tammy? I suggest he'd go after his father, instead, not only for having sex with Tammy, maybe for knocking her up, but also for his father humiliating his mother Lorraine McGill. All in all, I can't totally exonerate Tommy, but if he did it, it would change the entire dynamics of this case. Things that do make sense would then not make sense."

"So all this stuff with the nerve agents and Thomas P. Cook aren't related to the murder?" asked Cindy.

"Not really." I said. "It's a happy, happy coincidence that Theo taking up this cold case led to the indictments of Thomas P. Cook. Definitely some cause-and-effect, though... by looking into the murder, we investigate the grounds McGill deeded to the County... and Cook's control... ohhhhhh... wait a minute..." I was gone, into a deep reverie.

Part 36 - Aftermath

Saturday, December 9th. Teresa came up to Cindy and Callie, who were keeping warm at the outside fire pot at the Cop Bar.

"What's up, guys?" Teresa asked. "You're looking pretty glum, Cindy."

"I'm not trying to be." said Cindy. "It's just... well, all that went on in this cold case."

"What do you mean?" Teresa asked, sitting down.

"I mean..." Cindy started, then found the words, "I worked on this case six years ago, and we came up with virtually nothing. Then I was working with Theo and Joanne on it now, knowing everything we know to this point, and... nothing. And Don takes a few words here, a few words there... and he pretty much lays it all out in one package."

"We were talking about that, Todd and I." said Teresa. "We don't know for sure that Don is 100% correct on that."

"Sure he is. He nailed the DNA discrepancy, which was the crux of the case, evidence-wise." Cindy said. "And J.G. McGill did not break down like he did and give up Thomas P. Cook because Don was wrong on any of that."