2 comments/  15340 views/  5 favorites

Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 01

By: WifeWatchman



The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced, Ch. 1-5.

Case of the Paper Trail, Ch. 1.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, extreme language, and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial or racist language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 1 - Adulterous Liaisons

It was the Friday after Thanksgiving, also known as 'Black Friday'. The Town & County Police Department was busy handling traffic accidents, and there were a couple of arrests for disorderly conduct, particularly around the malls where fighting for parking spaces occurred outside, and fistfights over toys occurred inside.

I got back from my visit to the City's FBI offices around noon, and heard from Captain Charles about our preparations for the big game tomorrow against State Tech. I also was wrapping up odds and ends, including the final report of the strange break-in at Frank Freeman Funeral Home. I knew that my wife did not involve herself in the craziness of Black Friday shopping, but she did say that an appointment would keep her from joining me for lunch.

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

Laura had sent Gayle Roberts home at noon, and the rest of her clinic staff had been given this day off. She was waiting in her office, alone.

She found herself checking her appearance over and over again, looking in the mirror, slimming down her off-white dress that clung to her shapely figure. She was wearing very high stiletto-heel black sandals with a very thin y-strap over her heels and the merest thin straps over the base of her toes, showing off as much of her elegant, shapely feet as possible. Her black hair was in it's new hairdo of tight drilled curls around her lovely face and down to her shoulders; her husband had liked it, but it was not for him that she'd taken the time to style it that way.

"Come in!" she invited her guest, hearing the knock at the door. The door opened and the handsome, broad-shouldered frame of Nick Eastwood filled the doorway. His eyes lit up at the sight of the beautiful older woman.

"Lock the door." Laura ordered, and Nick complied. They began walking towards each other. Nick was wearing a black sportscoat and slacks and a royal-blue shirt; he had been at a press conference with the Sports Media.

"Mmm, you look gorgeous, baby." Nick said as Laura came into his strong, young arms. She slid her long, slender arms around his neck as their lips met in a soft kiss. Nick slid his lips and tongue along Laura's full, lipsticked lips, resisting the urge to kiss her more deeply, teasing her.

"Thank you." Laura breathed. "You look very handsome yourself in that suit. Take it off." Nick chuckled then pressed his mouth into Laura's in a deeper kiss that turned nasty and hot as their tongues twined and battled inside the beautiful woman's mouth. She let Nick slide his tongue as far down her throat as he could, using her own tongue to massage his in her mouth.

"Mmm, Professor," said Nick as he broke the kiss and began nuzzling her neck, "I've been waiting for this."

"Mmmm, me too." Laura moaned. "And call me Laura when we're alone like this... and making love like this."

"Sure thing... Laura." Nick said as his hands began working the zipper of her dress.

"Tell you what." Laura said, backing out of the young stud's grip. "Let's go into the little bedroom before we get undressed, okay?"

"Sure. Lead the way." the stud ordered. Laura complied, taking Nick's hand in hers and walking towards the door to the clinic and bedroom areas...

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

The nurse known as 'Nurse Ratchett' secured the large bottle of morphine sulfate from the University pharmacy and hid it in her personal bag. She said goodbye to the other nurses at the desk, having secured a half-day off weeks before. She went to the elevator and stepped into it alone.

Instead of the lobby floor, she took the elevator down to the basement levels, where the morgue and labs were. The exit doors to the morgue weren't guarded by University Police, and she knew her bag would not be searched. While unlikely, it was a possibility if she left through the employees' exit upstairs.

Getting into her car, 'Nurse Ratchett' drove to the northern parts of Town, to a shopping center dominated by a Kroger grocery store. She saw the old brown car waiting for her in the parking lot, some distance from the buildings. She pulled up alongside, driver-side-door to driver-side-door. After a few words of greeting, she handed the woman in the other car the bottle of morphine sulfate in its brown paper bag. After farewell wishes, she and the other car drove off in their separate directions.

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

The dress fell to the floor in a puddle as Nick Eastwood kissed Laura Fredricson deeply and his hands roamed over her naked flesh. He broke the kiss to look down and admire the older woman's figure, toned by yoga and other workouts, but retaining the graceful curves of her femininity. Laura was all woman, and Nick felt the surges of lust in his body for her.

"Mmm... God, you're beautiful." Nick whispered. "I have been waiting for this moment for so long..."

"Me, too..." Laura said, her hands unbuttoning Nick's shirt as his hands explored her magnificent body. "I can't wait to feel you inside me." As his shirt came off and was flung to the floor, Laura admired Nick's broad shoulders, his hardened muscles of his chest and the 'six pack' of his abs. Fiery flames of lust coursed through her loins as her hands slid over Nick's abdomen, heading for the zipper of his rapidly tenting pants.

Their mouths met again in a deep, hard kiss as Laura unfastened her young lover's pants, allowing Nick's huge cock to spring out. His cock was throbbing, waving between their bodies. Laura's hands grasped the huge shaft and gently jacked it. He was a full ten inches long, at least as long as Todd Burke's cock, and equally as thick. The helmeted head of his circumcised cock was flared out, the taut skin shining in the lights of the room.

Laura saw the large drop of clear pre-cum forming in the piss-slit of Nick's huge prick, and she felt a moment's twang of sadness: she was not able to provide an egg for Nick's potent, virile sperm to fertilize. Laura felt that Nick, as she felt of all handsome, powerful men like her husband and his nephew and others, were meant to fertilize the waiting eggs of beautiful woman as often and in as large numbers as possible.

At least I can provide this young man some pleasure and practice at being a really great lover, she thought to herself as she felt the young superstud Nick Eastwood cupping her large breasts. He bent down, his tongue circling the areola of her left breast, then kissing and sucking her long teat. Mother's milk shot into his mouth, surprising him.

"Damn!" he gasped. "No wonder your tits are so large!"

"Have some more." Laura offered. Nick eagerly accepted, sucking her left teat for a moment then moving to her right teat, sucking the milk out of it. As he feasted on her breast milk, she let her hands roam over his hips and thighs, then over his rock-hard asscheeks. Laura had heard many college girls gushing over how hot Nick's ass was; now she was feeling his powerful glutes in her hands. Then Nick slid his hands over her magnificent, rounded, heart-shaped ass, grabbing and squeezing the globes of her asscheeks.

"Mmmm, let's go to bed." Laura murmured. She moved over to the bed and slid into the middle of it, then watched as Nick eased onto the bed from the foot of it, coming up straight between her spread legs, unerringly seeking the sopping wet treasure between them...

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

Getting back from lunch, Lt. Tanya Perlman went to her tiny hole of an office. She was not tall and her body was slender and sexy, thanks to exercise and her normal high energy, but it was still an effort to get behind her desk.

"God damn this office." she breathed to herself. "The Commander has got to help me out on this!" She went to see if the Iron Crowbar had returned to his office, but he was not inside.

As she went down the back hallway of the building, she saw ADA Jenna Stiles's punk assistant, Gor-don, sitting in what was supposed to be the ADAs offices, not his. Once again anger welled up inside her, and the Police Commander did not yet know that he was in for another shouting rant from one of his best officers...

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

"Ohhhh!!!" Laura gasped out as shocks of electric pleasure coursed from her clit and up her spine. Nick Eastwood was face deep in her crotch, his mouth plastered to her cuntlips, his tongue delving deep inside her honey hole. His powerful hands and arms were pushing her thighs and knees back into her chest and shoulders, her feet high above them as Nick expertly munched her carpeted cunt.

"Oh Nick, that's so good!" Laura gasped out, letting the pleasure flow through her. "I need you inside me now, I need that big cock of yours inside me. Please, Nick, don't make me wait any longer!"

Nick grinned evilly as he rose up and mounted Laura, easing his fit body on top of hers. He deeply kissed the older woman again, letting her taste her own cunt juices on his tongue. He felt her hands reaching between them, grasping the aching shaft of his huge cock and fitting the helmeted head inside her swollen labes. He felt his meat sinking into her, and he pushed forward with all of his might.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Laura cried out as Nick's cock entered her and drove in, impaling her, sliding in smoothly on a slick layer of hot cunt oil, splitting apart the walls of her wet vagina until the cockhead poked the back wall of her cunt and his huge balls smacked against her 'taint' just below her cuntal opening.

"God damn, girl!" Nick gasped. "You buried it. Ten fucking inches! God, you're incredible!" He slowly slid his meat out of her until just the head was inside her lips, then drove forward again. Laura's body rose to meet Nick's thrust, and as he withdrew and plunged forward again and again, she was meeting each thrust and taking him all inside, their rhythms matching perfectly.

"Oh God, Nick, that feels so fucking good!" Laura moaned as she wrapped her long legs around her young lover's muscular back and ass, the heels of her feet and the stilettos of her shoes pressing into his ass to urge him to fuck her with relentless power. 

"Jeez, baby," Nick gasped, "I've never felt a pussy as good as this! You're are something else, Laura, something special!" He leaned down and kissed her mouth, sliding his tongue deeply into her throat in time with the thrusts of his huge, hard male meat into her glorious, clutching cunt.

The hotly rutting couple fucked each other in a smooth, steady rhythm, blissfully unaware of anything except each other and the intensely hot mating that they were performing together. Each strove to work Nick's cock more deeply into Laura's pussy, to meld their bodies even more tightly together, though they were as united as they could possibly be. 

Their coupling was deep and wet as they made love passionately. Despite his youth, Nick's experience and prowess in fucking woman gave him the stamina he needed to not be premature in his climax, but Laura's clutching, sucking cunt was the hottest challenge his throbbing hard cock had ever had.

Laura's own climax was swiftly building. Her love of sex, combined with her enjoyment of a new man, added to her pleasure, but her deep desires to mate with Nick Eastwood were fueling even deeper fires of lust inside her. She felt her orgasm rising from deep within her loins, a hard orgasm that even her husband did not always trigger inside her. She fucked her pussy hard onto Nick's thrusting cock, driving herself to achieve that climax.

"OH MY GOD!" she cried out as her clutching cunt clamped down hard on Nick's cock. The power of her orgasm overwhelmed her, and she was swamped both mentally and physically by it, losing control completely.

Nick felt the hot woman's cunt gripping him, the feeling being one of attempting to push his cock out of her. He responded by pushing even harder into her, which only added to both lovers' excruciating pleasure. Even as Laura came, Nick felt his own nut rising, and he could do nothing about it.

"Awk! UNNH!" Nick cried out. "I'M COMING!" he screamed as the first powerful jolt of molten sperm jetted into Laura's depths. "UH! UH! UH!" he gasped and grunted as more spurts of hot semen were ejaculated into the beautiful woman beneath him. For a second he felt as if he had no more consciousness, his vision fogging even as the pleasure of the spasms of his climax raced through his entire lower body. It would be long moments before the lovers caught their breaths and were able to snuggle in post-coital bliss... 

Long moments later, after sharing deep, loving kisses, Nick Eastwood raised up, his cock hard again. "Mmm, do you want me to suck that big cock of yours?" Laura offered.

"Not yet." said Nick. He sat on his knees just over Laura's sperm-filled loins, sliding his cock along her wet labes. He grasped her ankles in his hands, bringing her sexy feet to his mouth, kissing and licking the sides and tops of shapely feet and then up her ankles. He removed her high heels, and began sucking her toes, then her heels, first of her right foot then of her left.

He slid his cock into her, enjoying the sound of her loud moan. As he lightly pumped in and out of her, he rubbed the bottoms of her feet against his hard pecs. Laura slid her feet up and down his chest and along his shoulders and neck, though letting him control her feet and enjoying the sensations of his lips and tongue on her toes and heels, then along the sides of her feet as he reveled in the hot foot worship he was giving her.

His cock throbbing, Nick looked down at his beautiful lover and said "I want your ass, baby. I want to fuck you in the ass."

"Mmmm," Laura said, "if you want my ass, you have to win tomorrow. Beat the hell out of State Tech, and I'll let you fuck my ass... and you can go balls-deep and come in my ass, too, Stud."

Nick didn't last too long during their second fuck, either, the thought of coming in Laura's ass making him come deep in her pussy a second time...

Part 2 - Crushing Blows

Saturday. The big game against State Tech was at noon, which suited me just fine. Visitors would migrate out of the Town relatively early, leading to less issues for my Police Force to deal with. Restaurants preferred later games, as people would stop to eat, and maybe even stay overnight.

"Crowbar," said the Chief in his office that morning, "you've been working a lot, not to mention all the issues you've had recently with that Corrigan Cell and your house burning down. I want you to take it easy this weekend. Go to the game with your wife. Captain Charles has the Uniformed Officers deployed, Lt. Croyle has volunteered to be on call if anything comes up for the Detectives to handle."

"Okay, sir." I said. "Your orders, combined with those of my wife, give me no choice. I'll have to go to the game. Good thing I can watch the Wildcats tonight on TV. They're going to be in the Conference Championship game next weekend, and tonight should be a tune-up against their in-state rivals."

"This Town is hating your Wildcats right now." said the Chief. "Especially after the disaster of a season the University has had this year. Harlan may die any day now, and this is Nick Eastwood's last game. I--"

Just then there was a knock at the door, and the Duty Desk sergeant was admitted. "Gentlemen," he said, to include both of us, "I just got the word that Coach Brian Harlan died earlier this morning. Lt. Croyle responded to the call."

"Responded?" I asked, confused. "Why are we needed? The man was very sick with cancer."

"The Medical Examiner was called in two hours ago." said the Duty Desk sergeant. "He called in for us to investigate. He thinks the death is suspicious."

"Crowbar, get over there and handle this mess." said the Chief. I understood what he meant.

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

The beautiful Karen Warner Harlan was wearing a black dress and veil, and she was staring daggers at me as I entered the quiet home of the late Coach Brian Harlan. "My condolences, Mrs. Harlan." I said simply to her as Lt. Croyle led me upstairs.

Coach Harlan's body was still in the bed, covered by a sheet. Next to the bed was the pump and I.V. system to deliver drugs intravenously, which was now shut off. There was also a bag inside an evidence bag, and a couple of my Crime Lab technicians looking around.

"Commander, what are you doing here?" asked the Medical Examiner. It sounded like an accusation.

"Preventing you from making a big mistake." I said. "So why are any Police here at all?"

"There's morphine in the I.V. bag." said the M.E. "Looks like someone put enough into the bag to kill him in his sleep."

"For crying out loud," I said quietly, "the man is near death, someone takes away his pain in his final hours, and you're trying to bring a murder case here?"

The M.E. was visibly startled and upset at my attitude. "Commander, I'm shocked to hear that from you. This is not a death by natural causes. Coach Harlan was murdered by a lethal amount of morphine being introduced to his I.V. bag."

I pulled back the sheet covering Brian Harlan, seeing the emaciated face whose even-sharper angles reminded me strongly of his cousin Angela, and the now-tiny body of what had once been a vigorous, athletic man and leader of others.

"Looks pretty damn natural to me, if cancer is natural." I said, replacing the sheet over the dead man. "Lieutenant Croyle, walk with me." We went out of the death room into the hallway, and I made a point to shut the door in the face of the M.E., who was trying to follow us out.

"Croyle, do the right things, take the evidence, cover our asses." I said. "But there is no way in hell I'm going to waste resources on this."

"Understood, sir." Teresa said. She accompanied me downstairs, where everyone was gathered.

Sally Wellman was there, as well as was Katherine Warner Wilson, Karen's aunt. The nurse who had tended to Coach Harlan in his final days, who I could tell from one look was the one who had administered the pain-killing and life-taking morphine dose, was standing to one side, as was a house staff person. Dr. Wellman was in the home, along with the Athletic Director; however, they they were in another room at the moment, waiting for me to leave in order to give their comforts to the widow and perhaps make some preliminary funeral arrangements.

"Can't leave a dead man's family in peace, can you, Commander Troy." Karen Warner Harlan said, her voice dripping with venom.

"You underestimate me, Mrs. Harlan." I said coldly, then looked right over at the nurse as I continued speaking to Karen: "I'm here to suggest to you, Mrs. Harlan, to tell everyone involved to take the Fifth, to answer no questions from the Medical Examiner nor Coroner nor my officers, and then I can let your husband as well as all of you rest in peace. Of course, Mrs. Harlan, if you still want to pitch a fit and have me come in full-force with my investigational team, by all means, keep up the crap."


Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 01



"Have a nice day, Commander." the young widow Harlan said, her voice conveying her understanding, even though her hatred of me remained unappeasable.

"Again, my condolences." I replied, then left the house. Teresa followed me outside.

"I thought you hated that bastard." Teresa said quietly. "And she's a real bitch. Makes me look like the Good Humor Woman. So why are you letting it go?"

"He's dead, beyond my reach now." I said. "And I really don't want to waste our time. I don't know what that M.E.'s problem is."

"Trying to look good in front of the new Coroner coming in January 1st." Teresa suggested. "He's new himself, he's trying to make a name for himself, perhaps?"

"He'll find himself in a lot of hot water in the court of public opinion." I said. "A lot of people in this Town loved the Coach; they don't know what we know about his bad side. Okay, Teresa, you do what you feel is right. If the questioning is not vigorous, I'll perfectly understand."

"I've got it taken care of." Teresa said. And I knew that she would indeed handle it properly.

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

Laura and I took our seats in the University President's box at the Stadium. She was among the invited guests of Dr. Sidney P. Wellman, and of course she brought her husband (me) along. It was a somber chamber as we watched the pre-game activities.

"Has someone told the team? Or are they going to before the game?" Laura asked Dr. Wellman.

"We had a real back-and-forth about that." said the University President. "Some thought it would inspire the players to play harder, and some thought it'd distract them and that we should wait until the end of the game. But Coach Bronson ended the discussion by telling us his plans. And we're going to announce it on the P.A. system, so they'll know before they come out of the locker room.

Among Coach Bronson's plans: instead of their normal royal blue jerseys, the Bulldogs came out in simple black jerseys, adorned only with their numbers in contrasting white, and a patch with the initials 'CBH' on the shirts as well as their helmets. I could see the emotion in many of the players' faces. Just before the national anthem, the fans were asked to "please observe a moment of silence for Coach Brian Harlan, who passed away earlier this morning."

My moment of silence was thinking of Derrick Belle, whom Brian Harlan had murdered in cold blood; but more for Officer Pete Feeley, who had been murdered by Coach Harlan's cousin, aided with an alibi from him. Harlan was getting his just due now, I thought to myself. Just by a higher Judge and Jury than the ones here on Earth. And it would only be right and just if the temperature of his new location was a lot hotter than that of The Cabin when it burned...

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

The University 'Bulldogs' led the State Tech 'Engineers', whose logo was an old train locomotive, 24-14 in the 4th quarter. Nick Eastwood was leading his team down the field. As he went back to pass, a Tech defensive lineman fought off a block and came in to hit Eastwood. He intentionally aimed his helmet to hit Eastwood in the back left of the helmet, and he left his feet as he launched himself to make the hit, obviously intending to harm Nick Eastwood.

Eastwood crumpled to the ground as the Tech player's helmet hit his with a noise loud enough for me to hear. As the teams scrambled for the dropped football several yards away, a yellow flag came to the ground right were Eastwood lay motionless.

The State Tech player was ejected for targeting, but that would not help Eastwood, who lay motionless on the ground. The State Tech fans were loudly cheering and jeering at Eastwood as he lay on the ground, but the rest of the stadium was stunned and silent, watching as the trainers tended to the injured star player. Long minutes later, a cart came out to transport Nick off the field. His neck was strapped down, and it was obviously a serious head or neck injury that might have left him paralyzed.

Just as he was leaving the field, Nick raised his hand slightly and gave a thumbs-up, getting a roar from the home crowd. The enemy State Tech fans scowled with disappointment that Eastwood was not paralyzed. In the president's booth, Laura gasped with relief as Dr. Wellman began clapping, then said to me "Hell, Wildcat fans don't cheer when a man gets hurt like that. I've never seen anything more disgusting than those State Tech assholes." I totally agreed.

As Nick was loaded onto the ambulance, Laura was up and leaving, calling University Hospital and telling them to get ready for Eastwood, and that she'd be going there. I called in to Sergeant Rudistan, who assured me that they had clear path to get the injured player to the hospital.

The rest of the game was a near-fight on every play. University offensive linemen were going for the knees of Tech defensive players, trying to hurt them in retaliation for their quarterback being hurt in what they thought was a deliberate shot. Two brawls erupted with closed fist punches being thrown, and players from both sides being ejected. Frustrations for bad seasons were released, as well.

Finally, the enraged Bulldogs plowed through for another touchdown, and the final score was 31-14. Unlike other games, the players from both teams did very little shaking hands and talking to each other. University Coach Bronson screamed at the State Tech coach about the "deliberate dirty hit" on Eastwood, and State Troopers, TCPD and University Police were deployed to get coaches and players into their locker rooms and keep further damage from occurring.

Bronson's after-game press conference was one of verbal attacks on State Tech's coach, saying the shot on Eastwood was deliberate with intent to cause injury, and that the State Tech coach seemed as happy about it as the State Tech fans were. The State Tech coach didn't apologize for his player nor the hit, saying it was 'legitimate', and that Coach Bronson was a 'panty-wearing wussy' coach. The Conference was not going to be extending Christmas invitations for those coaches to spend time together, and I suspected the ramifications of this day were not yet over...

Part 3 - The Biller Crime Scene

Monday, December 1st. At 6:00am sharp, MCD Detective Joanne Cummings came in and put her things on the desk assigned to her. Vice Detective Lorena Rose did the same in the Vice Room. The Detective Swap was made, and I expected it would greatly improve my Forces.

I was asked by everyone as they came in how Nick Eastwood was doing, as my wife had been at the hospital all weekend, staying out of the way of the trauma doctors but helping the family and getting news reports, which she relayed to me. She did say she would be testing his sexual function at the appropriate time, but I did not relay that part to my officers.

At 7:00am, everyone in both units were in MCD, watching the television and waiting for news. Candor compels me to admit that I might have been her secret source for the information about to be reported. And on the television screen came the one and only Bettina!

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redhead reporterette from outside University Hospital. "Channel Two News has learned that Nick Eastwood is recovering from his neck injury that doctors feared had left him paralyzed! While Nick has two cracked vertebrae in his neck, he has regained full movement in all of his extremities! He will undergo surgery to repair and strengthen his neck when the swelling goes down."

As everyone sighed in relief, Bettina continued "Doctors believe that Nick will make a full recovery and regain full health, but they've also said that his football playing career is over, and that he will not get the chance to play in the National Football League, lest another hit paralyze him or even kill him. The University had bought an insurance policy for Nick, which is legal under NCAA rules, and it will pay him between five and ten million dollars.

"Still, everyone in the University family is saddened for this ending of his pro football career before it had even begun, and there is deep anger at State Tech and the player who caused the injury in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to injure him. The Conference as well as the SBI are looking into the matter, and the SBI has even given voice to consideration that this hit was an intentional and therefore criminal assault which could bring criminal charges against the player. State Tech hotly denies it was a criminal act, and warns that an attempt to bring charges will bring what they call 'ugly' consequences to college football. This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News..."

At 8:00am we had to stop talking about the football game and the ramifications of the hit on Nick Eastwood. A call had come in about a missing woman.

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

"Commander, how about this be the case you let us solve?" asked Lt. Tanya Perlman at the crime scene.

"Well, let me take a brief look, but I think this can be the one." I said.

Allow me to explain: I generally keep my nose out of Vice, except to give the 'Go' order on their drug raids. However, the MCD unit, and especially its leader, Lt. Tanya Perlman, had wanted to try to solve a case without my involvement or guidance. I could understand their point: I often came in with observations and deductions that quickly and efficiently solved the problems, and that if anything ever happened to me, they needed to have the experience and skills to solve crimes themselves.

I had told Tanya that if a suitable case came up, I'd let them have at it. I told her that I would look at it to make sure they didn't miss something and a perp didn't get away, but that I'd stick to the background and not guide them unless they made a mistake or were stumped and I was not. She would have full access to Myron and Goth Girl Mary, and while they would tell me whatever they told Tanya, I would not ask them to gather data on anything; instead I'd have to do that myself (which, of course, I could do).

As part of all this, I warned Tanya not to withhold anything from me while the MCD solved the case, and that if I knew who it was and needed to take steps to keep the perp(s) from getting away, destroying evidence, or otherwise causing a problem, I'd step in where and when needed. I also said that I might take either Myron or Mary away if I needed help.

With that in mind: We were at the home of a middle-aged couple in one of the better areas to the north of Town. The house was not particularly large, and the main room was the den. As I stood in the middle of the room, behind the leather love seat sofa, there was a door in front of me to the front portion of the house, the door to the kitchen to the back right of me. The television was mounted on the wall to the left of the doorway. To the right of the doorway was the husband's desk. To the front of the sofa was a table with a remote control on it, pointing to the upper left as one faced the TV. Behind the sofa, and to my back left, the wife's secretary desk was against the wall, and to her right was a bookcase that ran the length of the wall.

I had one of the officers photograph the remote control and pointed it out to Theo Washington as Tanya Perlman talked to the husband. His name was Harmon Biller, and he was a retired BigPharmaCorp engineer. 'Retired' might be too strong a term; he still frequently worked for them on a contract basis. I sat back and just listened in as he told his story, which I somewhat condense here:

Biller said: "Yesterday I had to go in to work because one of our processes failed, and we had to determine the reason as well as re-work the batch that had gone bad. When I got home, my wife Edna had left this note on my desk that she was visiting her friend Mrs. Charleen Davis, and that she might stay overnight there. I didn't think much of it, and about 9:30pm, maybe a little after, I got this text message that she was staying at her friend's house. However, when I tried to call her this morning, she did not answer the phone, and has not answered every time I tried since. I called the Davis house, and Mr. Bill Davis said that neither his wife nor mine were there, and had not been there all night. He'd called the police himself about his wife being missing last night, and has heard nothing. Then I called the police, and here you are."

Tanya said to me: "We checked with our patrols, and they were on the lookout for Mrs. Davis and her car all night, but never saw anything. The hospitals and the morgue have not gotten anyone in that resembles the two women's descriptions. Mrs. Biller's car is missing. Mr. Biller has a very old pickup truck with a camper-top on it. It's empty."

Tanya got to work, and I was happy to see her delegating. "Okay... Theo, Mr. Detective School graduate, you are the primary on this. Parker, you're working with Theo, and I'm going to be working with Joanne Cummings backing you two up, giving her some training at the same time."

Tanya broke into a happy smile as she continued: "The Commander has given us this one without his help, so bring everything you find to me instead of him, which you should do anyway, but this time especially do so. Let's get this done and make ourselves look good guys; this is our chance to show the Iron Crowbar we can get the job done!" Everyone was enthusiastic at the chance to solve the case without me, I noted. Good, I thought. I'd be disappointed if they didn't like such a challenge.

After Theo Washington and Teddy Parker looked at the note on Biller's desk, I went over and examined it. The note said simply 'Charleen and I are going for dinner and I might not be back until morning. Edna." I held the paper, which was stiff and strong and a pinkish-yellow color, to the light, observing the watermark, which said 'Konigsburg Gesellschaft'. I didn't think this stuff was in the local 'Staples', but would check to see.

I noted that the pen had pressed into the paper as if it were on top of a full stationary deck, instead of the hard desk directly under the sheet. The desk itself showed no writing indentations, and was clean. I looked around the desk, seeing only a couple of other sheets of that same paper, and those had some engineering comments and calculations on them, but no full sheaf of paper of that kind.

I then watched as Parker looked around Mrs. Biller's secretary desk. He found a sheaf of yellow stationary paper in a drawer, not quite like the pinkish edition the note was on, but close. The watermark was also different, showing an American company, and I knew this stationary was pretty common. I saw a few notes and the beginnings of a letter on the yellow stationary. The desk was clean, and there were no writing indentations in the wood of the secretary. There was an appointment calendar with Mrs. Biller's writing on it; the writing from the calendar as well as a couple of other notes matched the writing on the note, though the note's writing was a bit shakier, as if the writer had had some physical difficulties while trying to write the note.

The four Detectives and several uniformed officers also looked around the home, through the closets and drawers, all with the permission of Mr. Harmon Biller. The attic looked as if it had been recently cleaned of some things, but certainly there were no bodies hidden up there: our best cadaver dog, Sergeant Grover, did an excellent and thorough job sniffing through the whole house, and finding nothing.

I spent time petting Sergeant Grover while the Detectives worked, talking with his handler and giving him his favorite toy, a tennis ball, to play with. I love dogs, especially those of my K-9 Corps. I do not like people who hurt dogs, and while other police units around the nation were acquiring reputations of shooting family dogs, my Department knew that any cop who shot a dog that wasn't an absolute threat would be facing some potentially horrific 'feedback' from a dog-loving man that wielded a red crowbar. But I digress...

Going through the other rooms of the house, I felt like it was a bit sterile. The Billers did not have any children, but there still should be some photographs of activities of their lives, shouldn't there? I thought to myself. And this was echoed to my by Tanya as well as Joanne Cummings when they completed their walking tour.

There was nothing really strange found, except that the sharp-eyed Tanya Perlman looked at the carpet with some focus. I looked also, and saw what she was seeing: it looked as if something heavy might have been drug from the main room into the kitchen and to the garage. But the kitchen floor was clean; in fact, it had been mopped recently.

"You been moving any furniture recently?" Tanya asked Mr. Biller suddenly, hoping to get a reaction from him.

"Not really." said Biller. "I cleaned out some stuff from the attic and dragged some boxes of papers out, which I took to the County Dump." Tanya nodded, as this could explain the slight carpet indentations, as well as the recent work in the attic.

"Sir, what did you do last night, since your wife was not home?" Theo Washington asked Harmon.

"I went to the pizza place to eat, then went by the Senior Center to see if some of the boys were there and we could play cards. Didn't see any of 'em, though, so I came home. I'd forgotten my cell phone, so when I got home I saw the text." He handed Tanya his cell phone. The text had been delivered at 9:40pm and said 'I'll be staying with Charleen tonight. Edna.' Tanya made a note of the number from which the text had been sent.

Teddy Parker spoke up. "Mr. Biller, I have to ask you some questions that might seem personal or invasive. First, how were things between you and your wife? Any arguments or problems that might make her want to not be here last night?"

"No, things were fine." said Harmon.

"Did she stay at her friend's house very often?"

"Sometimes." Harmon replied. "Sometimes with other friends if she stayed out late. She and her friends liked to go out and drink, which I didn't let her do here. People shouldn't drink, it's bad for 'em."

"You didn't argue with your wife over her drinking?" Teddy asked, astutely pressing.

"Well, we didn't talk about it." Biller said. "She thought she was getting away with it and not telling me. I knew she was drinking but just didn't bring it up, since she would sober up before coming home and she didn't try to drink here."

The search of the house had revealed no alcohol, but Tanya Perlman made a brilliant move reflecting her Crime Lab experience: with Joanne Cummings in tow, she brought in a hair brush full of hair, sealed in an evidence bag. "Mr. Biller, is this your wife's hair brush?"

"Er, yeah." said Biller. "Why do you have that bagged up?"

"I believe that we can get a good DNA profile of your wife from it." said Tanya. "We've also taken her toothbrush, with your permission."

"You think she's not okay?" asked Biller, sounding, or trying to sound, concerned.

"We don't know." said Perlman. "But if we find an unknown person, alive or dead, this DNA match will help confirm or eliminate your wife as that person."

Just then Tanya's phone rang. She listened, ordered that a Crime Lab team to be brought in, then hung up.

"That was Martin Nash." Tanya said. "I sent him and Diana Torres to Charleen Davis's home. They've found some suspicious things there, and I'm headed over."

"I'll follow you." I said.

Part 4 - The Davis Crime Scene

Mr. Bill Davis was an older man, and it was obvious that he was not in full control of his faculties. He seemed confused at everything that as going on. Detective Diana Torres was sitting with him and talking to him, explaining what was going on, and asking questions as well.




Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 01



A Crime Lab team was collecting samples from two red spots that were on the carpet in the den. Each spot was about an inch and a half in diameter, but they were on opposite sides of the room. When Christina Cho had seen it, she said "Definitely looks like blood, but we'll test it out to see whose it is."

"Get Charleen's hair brush out of the bathroom." said Tanya.

"Already got it." said Christina, drawing a compliment from Tanya.

J.R. Barnes came up, holding a bagged pad of stationary paper, the same kind and color that Edna's afternoon note to her husband had been written on. "I found this on Davis's desk. We photographed it before I bagged it, and I did a UV scan for fingerprints, but none were readily apparent. We'll do a test on it to see what writing was done on the top sheet that won't destroy the evidence." I asked to examine it and did so, seeing the indentations of it from previous writing.

"Almost looks like Edna wrote her note to her husband here, then took the note to her house. That would be strange if she did that." said Tanya to me, within hearing of Martin Nash.

"Yes. A strangeness. Any other notes on this kind of paper anywhere?" I asked J.R. as Tanya watched.

"No sir, we checked for that." Barnes said. And we've also gotten samples of both the Davis's handwriting from other papers here."

"We'll compare the writing to the note at the other house when we get them all to the Crime Lab." Tanya said helpfully.

As I asked to examine what they had, Tanya said "Looks like he's a left hander, but we'll have an expert examine it." My own examination confirmed Tanya's assertion, though I was no expert. I just nodded as I handed the bagged evidence back to J.R. Barnes.

Meanwhile, Martin Nash had taken up talking with the elderly Bill Davis, who was a relatively short man that had once been very athletic, but was now just old.

"No, my wife was not here at all, from yesterday afternoon on." he said. "No, I don't remember the exact time she left. She said she was going to the grocery store, and... no, not sure when that was yesterday, but the sun was still high in the sky. She never came back at all."

"Did you call anyone?" asked Martin Nash. Detective Torres was looking through the house with Tanya Perlman, I noted out of the corner of my eye.

"I called some of our church friends." Davis said. "None of them had seen her. I called the police last night, after it got dark. They asked what kind of car she was driving, and I told them, and they said they'd look for it and for her. This morning she was still not here at home, so I called the Police again, and they said they'd keep looking, and that if they didn't find anything by noon, they'd come here and take a Missing Person report."

Nash asked for the name of the grocery store Mrs. Davis shopped at, and Davis said he didn't know. An examination of the plastic bags and canned goods in the kitchen suggested 'Kroger' was a frequently shopped place. I silently applauded my Detectives for seeing that so quickly. It seems simple, but sometimes the 'simple' falls through the cracks.

"Does your wife have a friend named Edna Biller?" Martin Nash asked.

"Edna... Edna... oh, yes, Charleen and Edna went shopping together the other day." said Davis.

"Are they good friends?" Nash asked.

"I... I don't really know Edna myself. She would come by, pick up Charleen, they'd be gone a couple of hours."

"Had they been doing this for many months?" Tanya asked as she came up. I think she saw the relief on my face that she had asked that, so that I didn't have to.

"Er, no, not that I remember..." said Bill Davis. His face looked confused as he tried to remember.

Diana Torres came up and said quietly to Tanya, but within my hearing: "Several empty liquor bottles in the trash and full ones in a kitchen cabinet. I have to hand it to our Duty Desk to go through with looking for the car last night if an obviously drunk man called in." 

"Mr. Davis," said Martin Nash, also hearing Detective Torres's report, "did you do any drinking last night, or take any medications that might incapacitate you?"

"Uh, well I did have a couple of shots of bourbon, but only a couple." insisted Mr. Davis. "I was just watching TV and waiting for my wife to get back..."

Nash said to Tanya "I'll put out an APB on the car, and have them give some emphasis to grocery store parking lots.

"Good." Tanya said. "I've got Edna's cell phone number from her husband's cell phone, and I'm going to have Myron start looking for any pings it might be giving."

"Dial it now." suggested Diana Torres. Tanya looked strangely at her Detective, but dialed the number.

A cell phone from somewhere in the Davis house started ringing.

Detectives, including myself, frantically searched for the sound. We found two cellphones hidden in a drawer by an easy chair. One of them was ringing.

"Mr. Davis, is this where you sit when you watch TV?" Nash asked, pointing at the chair to the right of the table as one faced the television set. A TV remote sat on that table, to the left of the easy chair.

"Yeah, that's my chair, and Charleen sits in the other one." he said, pointing to a chair on the other side of that same table between them, the table the cell phone had been found in.

"Looks like Edna's phone." Tanya said. "Doesn't look good for Davis that it's here." She dialed another number and the other phone rang, or more accurately, silently buzzed. "It's Charleen's." Tanya said.

Part 5 - Investigation

Early that Monday afternoon, Charleen Davis's car was found in the parking lot of the Kroger nearest her home. There was no blood or any evidence of a struggle or a crime, but her purse was in the car. The store's videotape showed nothing, but it also did not have a good sight-line to Charleen's car. What was the point of cameras, I thought to myself in military terms, if they don't cover the fields of fire?

The meeting convened in the main conference room at 2:00pm. The Chief was presiding, and I made a point to sit in the corner behind and to the left of the Chief, and not at my normal spot. This was MCD's case; I was just listening in.

Myron Milton reported on the cell phones. "First, Harmon Biller's phone has only pinged the cell phone near his home in the last 48 hours; ergo, he very likely did leave the phone at home as he said. Edna's phone, however, went from her home to several shopping centers, then to the Davis home."

At that moment, the Duty Desk sergeant knocked on the door and popped his head in. "We just got a report that Sergeant Rudistan and Sr. Patrolman Morton found Mrs. Biller's car." He named the location, which was one of the shopping centers Myron had just mentioned, and the car had been parked a distance away from any buildings and almost completely hidden from public view. "Her purse was found in the car, but there was no sign of a crime or struggle." Tanya thanked the Sergeant and asked him to call the Crime Lab to send a team to the car.

"Well, we have that now." said the Chief. "Myron, did you try to find where Mr. Davis's car went, and where Mr. Biller's car went, for that matter?"

"Neither have GPS or other tracking devices." Myron replied. "Both are older cars."

"Sir," said Tanya, "Biller's car is a pickup truck with a camper top. When our Crime Lab went to process it, we found it clean and wiped down with Clorox. When I asked Biller about it, he said he'd moved some manure in it a few days before, and had cleaned it thoroughly to 'kill all the germs', as he put it. No joy on any evidence from that. Davis's car was also examined, and there was nothing on it nor inside it. The trunk was very mildly cloroxed, and Mr. Davis said he had no idea why and that he hasn't driven the car in days. His memory is bad from the start, so it looks like two dead ends, there."

"Oh, not at all." I said, then caught myself as Tanya glared at me. "Sorry, I'm not supposed to help."

"Let me just say this now, People." the Chief said, assuming a voice of command. "I understand what you guys are doing, but you damn well better not miss solving this just because you guys want to do it without the Iron Crowbar's help, and he wants you to do it without his help. Am I clear, people?"

"Yes sir." came the chorus, then I added, "Chief, we all know the deal. We are not going to let a perp get away with any crimes by doing this."

"All right, what else?" asked the Chief, not really mollified.

"Still getting background information on both the Davises and the Billers." said Myron. "As well as credit card use in the past few weeks and months. I put an alert on the women's credit card numbers; if their cards are used, we'll know it quickly."

"Good." said the Chief. "J.R.?"

"The samples we recovered from the Davis home are blood." said J.R. Barnes. "But whose blood will require a DNA workup, and that'll be a couple of days to get back."

"If that comes back as these women's blood, that looks bad for Davis." the Chief said. "Perlman, have you arrested him yet, on suspicion?"

"No sir." said Perlman. "Paulina said we don't have enough yet, even though the cellphones and the blood were found there. We've got a patrol watching Davis. He's not in good shape mentally, so I'm not sure he can just leave, anyway."

"I don't think I really agree with that... about not having enough evidence. What about Biller?" asked the Chief.

"We told him not to leave Town, all that stuff." said Tanya. "And we did that because he travels to Germany for BigPharmaCorp at least four times a year, often for a week or two weeks at a time. They have a factory over there doing the same processes he oversees over here, so he travels there frequently."

I almost spoke up, and literally had to bite my tongue to not say anything. Tanya and Myron both noticed and peered at me, but I just shook my head as Chief Griswold spoke.

"Call the FBI, have his passport flagged." said the Chief. Tanya made a note to do that as the Chief continued "Okay people, my vast years of experience suggest that we will either find these women alive within 24 hours, or we will find them dead within 48 hours. Put your minds to work and think as if you were one of these guys... where would you go to dump bodies, how far away? Then have patrols go and look."

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

I was typing furiously on my computer, gathering information, when Cindy Ross came into my office. "Don, am I part of the MCD team that shouldn't talk to you about this? Or can we talk and I won't say anything to them?"

"You have a crowbar." I replied. "Which side do you want to be on?"

"Uhh..." Cindy said as she thought about it. "I think maybe I'd like to be on their side, try to solve it with them."

"Good." I said. "Okay, then, I'll keep you out of the loop... but don't you dare complain about it." I could not help but grin at that one.

"Stoppit." she replied, then asked "If you solve it before they do, what are you going to do?"

"Seal the answer in an envelope, which I'll give to the Chief." I said. "I'll also have Rudistan, Morton, McGhillie and Johnson assigned to me personally, and they'll watch the perp to make sure he or she doesn't get away."

"Got any ideas who it is?" Cindy asked.

"You're on their side." I replied. "Go away." Cindy looked shocked, so I said "Unless you have something else we need to talk about?"

"Uh, no." Cindy said. "I'll go get Tanya to get me up to speed."

As she got up to leave, I said "By the way, you can tell her that I'm very happy with their progress, so far."

To be continued.



Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 02



The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced, Ch. 1-5.

Case of the Paper Trail, Ch. 1-2.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, extreme language, and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial or racist language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 6 - May-December Relations

"Oh, that soooo good!" Phyllis groaned as the large cock sank deep into her aching quim.

The mature beauty and young Seth Warner were lying on their right sides like spoons on the bed, and he was pumping her from behind with his nine inch weapon of lust. She felt Seth's left hand gripping her large left breast, squeezing and mauling it as he pistoned his meat in and out of her with hard, driving thrusts. She turned her head as her left arm reached back to pull his face to hers, and they deeply kissed.

"Oh yeah, baby, fuck me!" Phyllis gasped as her eyes bore into her young lover's, her hand running through his thick mane of longish black hair. Seth shoved his long, thick prick into her sopping wet, well-lubricated mature pussy again and again, amazed at how good it felt to fuck a woman in her sixties, and wanting to make the older woman climax hard and then go limp with utter pleasure. Phyllis groaned, and even as they were fucking, she was remembering what had led to their hot mating...

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

"Are you going to your sister's husband's funeral?" Jeanine Olivet Burke had asked as the four of them were eating dinner at Todd and Jeanine's house. Todd had invited his grandmother to visit, and Seth had come to talk about his legal case with Jeanine. The babies were put to bed and were peacefully sleeping.

"No." said Seth. "My sister is as bitterly angry at me as anything I've ever seen from anyone. Hell, she tried to get him to kill either me or Shayla Belle, and she probably would create a scene and have me thrown out if I tried to go. She's got to be hating it that I'm on the verge of winning the case."

Indeed, Seth had gotten the report that the Court hearing for the next month was not going to be postponed, which Karen Warner Harlan's lawyer had asked for when it became apparent that the judge was not going to rule in her favor. 

"We're a bit shocked ourselves," Jeanine said, reporting on behalf of her partner Tina Felton, who was working this case brilliantly and expertly. "Tina went the route of breaking the will, due to the fact that heiress Karla Warner conspired to murder her husband. And it looks like it's going to work, and to Seth's advantage."

"But won't the family still inherit?" Todd asked. "And since you, Seth, and your sister are not Warner's children, that pretty much gives it all to your Aunt Katherine..." He let the question linger.

"Karen and I were formally adopted." Seth said. "So we do have those family rights. But from what Tina told me, if the judge breaks the will, he can declare that my dad, meaning Anthony Warner, died intestate. That will give the State jurisdiction over the company. And State Law will allow the Board to make the ultimate decision about the company, and I have them backing me. They'll sell the company to BOW Enterprises, take their money, and run as fast as they can to the Bank."

"And that's good for all of us." said Todd, who secretly had his own reasons for wanting to secure Dynacorp for BOW Enterprises...

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

After dinner, Phyllis was all over Seth, flirting with him, stroking his thigh as they sat together. Drinks were flowing freely, and Seth allowed himself to see the attractiveness of the older woman. Phyllis worked out, her body was toned and shapely, and her legs still looked very good for a woman of any age.

Soon, they were making out, just as Todd and Jeanine were in the preliminary stages of foreplay themselves. Seth didn't know it, but Todd and Jeanine were acting like teenage lovers in order to entice Seth to get hot and randy with Phyllis... and it was working.

Phyllis had just gone for it. She had opened Seth's pants, easing out his large half-hard cock. She jacked it to hardness as she told Seth how big his cock was and how she was going to fuck him because he was so young and handsome. Then Seth moaned as Phyllis eased down and began sucking his huge cock.

"Unnh!" he'd moaned, and then glanced over at Todd and Jeanine. The beautiful lawyer had her young husband's enormous cock out and she was sucking it like there was no tomorrow. The feeling of Phyllis's mouth on his cock coupled with the sight of the other couple made Seth all the harder.

When Phyllis stood up and let her dress fall to the floor, Seth had gaped at her, especially her large, natural breasts and her gaping, fur-lined cuntlips. She quickly got him to slide his pants down and off his legs, then she mounted him, facing him. As Seth sucked Phyllis's tits, she reached down and guided his long, thick meat into her cunt... which she had made sure was generously lubricated.

Seth looked over as Phyllis rode him hard, her moans of lust filling the room. Jeanine had mounted her husband, but reverse cowgirl, and Seth could see Todd's massive member sliding up into his wife as she rode him like a whore on payday. Jeanine was one beautiful woman, he thought as he watched her ride Todd's cock. Phyllis was hot, too, and he realized he'd never fucked a woman as old as Phyllis was, in her early 60s. Geez, Phyllis was fucking hotter than most women half her age!

That led Seth to think about his affair with his Aunt Katherine. Katherine Warner Wilson had been deliciously hot and far and away the best fuck Seth had ever experienced. He realized that his desire for Katherine was due to the fact that he'd fallen deeply in love with her, and his desires were not just physically sexual...

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

"Yeah, I was in love with her." Seth said as he and Phyllis cuddled in bed, in the guest room. "And it really hurt when she betrayed me." He was talking about Katherine and her decision to go with Karen and Karla in trying to oust him from Dynacorp.

"Mmm, a handsome young man like you needs a lot of sex." said Phyllis. "We need to find you a good woman. I can wear you out only every so often."

Seth laughed. "You're damn good in bed, Phyllis... but to be honest, I've realized that I'm not like you and Todd and Jeanine and your son, doing all the swinger and multiple partner stuff. I'd be better off with just one woman, one that I can love and trust."

"Well, we will have to work on that." said Phyllis. "This weekend is the Policeman's Ball, and you are going to it as my date. No, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, we're going to go and have fun... and who knows what might happen there, who you might meet..." 

Now as they fucked in the spoon position, Phyllis groaned in pleasure... partially from Seth's cock driving hard into her womanly depths, but also from her plans for him... oh yes, wonderful plans...

Part 7 - Continuing With The Case

The Tuesday morning meeting at 10:00am brought a lot of information. Myron was giving most of it, and he had it arranged in fairly chronological order.

"First, I'll talk about Harmon Biller." Myron said. "He's a process engineer at BigPharmaCorp, technically retired at the end of last year, but they have him on retainer as a consultant/contractor type. He also is part of a cooperative farm just across the Coltrane County line, which is north of The Vision's property. Some of the young people from The Vision work on this farm, growing organic vegetables and stuff, and Biller was very big into that 'clean living' stuff--"

"Any associations with P. Harvey Eckhart?" Tanya asked.

"Not that I know of, Lieutenant." Myron said, his face not concealing his dislike at having been interrupted. "Biller does does travel to Germany several times a year, though." Myron continued. "His credit card records show that he does not spend a lot there, but he does make an effort to buy some of that stationary like that that Edna's note was written on. They don't export it, so he picks some up while over there. Several people at BigPharmaCorp use it, so he expenses it to the company."

"His paper trail is paper, literally." Cindy quipped. I smiled at her little joke, though it seemed to sail over everyone else's heads.

"Does his wife travel with him on his trips to Germany?" Tanya asked, and I was relieved that I didn't have to butt in and ask that myself.

"No ma'am." said Myron. "As far as I can tell, she has never been over there with him. Now she has been on a couple of those river cruises over there, but she did not go at the same time he did, nor anywhere near the location he always goes to."

"Did she travel to Europe with the Davises, or with Charleen?" Tanya asked.

"No." said Myron. "They've never traveled outside the US, that I can tell. But before I talk about them, let me tell you about the Biller's finances." Myron had his storyline prepared, and did not want to deviate from it. I made a mental not to speak with Tanya about that: she needed to learn to roll with Myron's whims.

Myron said "Mr. Biller has put a good bit of money into that farm cooperative, and it's left them without any real savings. Edna does not spend a lot overall, but did spend a decent amount on clothes. As I said, she did occasionally travel with friends, and without her husband. But nothing serious, no major debts that I can find. What was interesting is what I did not find: no credit card receipts for alcohol, either in package stores or at bars. If she was drinking, she was spending cash when doing it."

"Makes sense," said Martin Nash, "if she was trying to hide her drinking from her husband."

"She didn't take out large cash advances from her credit cards, either." said Myron. "So if she was getting cash to buy liquor, I'm not finding large amounts of that, at least not yet."

"If she even was drinking." said Joanne Cummings. "We only have Mr. Biller's story for that; no confirmation." I held my tongue but smiled brightly, as I was very happy to hear Joanne make that excellent point.

"Okay, Myron, what else do you have?" asked the Chief.

"Moving to the Davises." Myron said. "Bill Davis retired from King and Ebenezer Food Industries, and had set up his own retirements so that he wasn't badly hurt when they went bankrupt. He also has the beginnings of Alzheimers, and he may be past the 'beginnings', if you know what I mean. It's likely he'll have to have permanent care or be in a home within a few years. For now, his wife is spending most of her time taking care of him. If she ever leaves him for more than a couple of hours, she has someone, usually a friend from her church, come in to sit with him."

"Did Edna ever stay with Bill Davis?" asked Joanne Cummings, most astutely.

"Mr. Davis said 'no'," replied Tanya Perlman, "but his memory is untrustworthy. We're going to have a nice, formal re-interviewing with Mr. Biller later this afternoon. I'll ask him about that."

"Any life insurance policies?" asked the Chief.

"Yep, on all four of them." said Myron. "Bill Davis's policy is a whole life. He had another whole life policy that he converted to an annuity, which was paying for the rest of his lifetime, but would not continue if he dies before his wife. The insurance policy he still has is for one million dollars plus whatever has accrued through investments minus withdrawals, and will go to his wife when he dies."

Myron went on: "The other three also have policies. Mrs. Davis's is mostly one of those that will take care of final expenses. Mrs. Biller's is a life insurance policy with a medical and disability benefit; that's all the rage these days, but I think they're a bit scammy."

"You and me both." said Cindy Ross.

"Yes, ma'am." said Myron. "But the life insurance itself is for half a million. Mr. Biller's is for one million dollars, but he's never really put more than just above the minimum, so it hasn't built up much. He does also have his pension from BigPharmaCorp, having been with them when they were still giving pensions."

"Certainly not much there. Unless you find something else, I don't see how money can be a motive, here." asked the Chief. "Myron, any tracing of their whereabouts at the relevant times?"

"That's where none of this makes sense, Chief." said Myron. "Charleen Davis's cell phone went to Kroger with her, stayed at Kroger for several hours, then came almost straight back to her home around 9:30 that night. Edna's phone also sat in her car, then found its way to the Davis home at the same time Charleen's did. The text came from the cell tower nearest the Davis home."

"I think the Iron Crowbar would say that that makes plenty of sense, if he were involving himself in this case." the Chief quipped, looking over at me. It was clear he wanted me to jump back into this thing, but I merely shrugged my shoulders and remained silent... to Tanya's great relief.

Part 8 - Bodies of Evidence

Two hours later, as we were about to go to lunch, the call came in.

Two bodies had been found, not far from the County Jail that was also going to be Precinct 3 Headquarters. When we got out there, we found the bodies about 30 yards from the County Jail on the farm land that was next door. There was an east-west dirt road there, and we got some good tire impressions. The bodies were partially enclosed in plastic wrapping.

Precinct Captain Susan Weston was there, and paying a lot of attention to me. I understand kissing up to the boss, but she was taking the cake.

"Who found this?" Lt. Perlman asked, taking the lead as I would expect her to. Captain Weston ignored Tanya, however, and instead talked only to me.

"Our guys spotted some carrion birds landing here, Commander." Weston said to me, trying to keep her voice quiet enough that Tanya couldn't hear her. "They checked it out and found these--"

"Did anyone touch the bodies or move them?" Tanya asked as she squatted down by one of the plastic-wrapped set of remains, eager to get started on the investigation before more damage was done to the evidence.

"I'm talking here, Lieutenant!" Captain Weston exploded. "And to the Commander! Wait until I'm finished!"

"As you were, Captain!" I said, instinctively using military language, a bit shocked at Weston's attitude. "Lt. Perlman is in charge of this murder investigation, and I strongly recommend you cooperate with her."

"Yes, sir." said Weston, but her actions after that were to walk away from us, telling one of her Sergeants to '"look after the Commander's needs".

"She got something against you, Tanya?" I asked quietly as I walked up to my MCD Lieutenant.

"Hell if I know." Tanya replied. "Thanks for taking up for me, though."

"My pleasure." I said. "And her asschewing from me is not finished yet. Okay, we've got two middle-aged women, and I've got one red crowbar that suspects they are Charleen Davis and Edna Biller."

"Your red crowbar is good." said Tanya. "No wonder it gets all the results, and you get all the girls!"

I laughed, more of a short bark, then left Tanya to her work. I examined the scene as the Crime Lab worked efficiently, then as the Medical Examiner came out and did his work. He avoided me as much as he could, not wanting to incur my further wrath, but I made a point to compliment his efficiency as he carefully catalogued forensic evidence and worked with the Crime Lab team to make sure everything would pass legal muster. He was learning, and I was reeling him back in.

The bodies were partially wrapped in plastic, and there was some evidence that animals had gotten to the extremities at the ends of the sheeting, the heads and feet. But the damage was not too bad, and I noticed that plenty of blood had flowed and frozen in little puddles in the plastic and on the ground at the edge of the plastic.

"Lots of blood." Tanya said. "Looks like they were killed here, or else that plastic caught the blood and leaked it all here." I just nodded in agreement.

"I've gotta go over to the County Jail and speak with the Precinct Captain." I said, knowing that that situation was much more on my mind than the crime scene. I told Tanya to keep up the good work as I walked out with a purpose.

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

"So," said the Chief, at 3:00pm that Tuesday afternoon, "what did you say to Precinct Captain Weston?"

"I told her in the privacy of her office that I didn't know what that stuff with Tanya was about," I replied, "but if she ever did that again to one of my MCD Detectives, much less the Lieutenant in charge of MCD, that she wouldn't be a Precinct Captain much longer. She said that she felt disrespected by Lt. Perlman, and after she ignored Lt. Perlman's first question, I do understand that Perlman interrupted her the second time, but it was understandable as there was a crime scene in front of us that required speed to process, and Lt. Perlman was in charge at the scene. I made it clear that I considered it to be Weston as the problem, rank notwithstanding, and that Weston had better shape up. She got apologetic, but I could tell she didn't mean it. She's done a good job to this point, but now I'll have to keep an eye on her."

"I'm glad you were there." said the Chief. "I don't understand it either, and I've 'invited' Precinct Captain Weston into my office tomorrow morning to explain herself. By doing that, it makes her spend the night thinking about it. Meanwhile, let's go to the meeting."

Once seated with the MCD team in the main conference room, the Chief said "Okay, Lt. Perlman, what have we got?"

"The DNA tests are a day out, but we're pretty sure these bodies are those of Charleen Davis and Edna Biller, from dental records and partial fingerprints, as well as their clothing and jewelry." Tanya said, her face still showing a trace of anger at what had happened at the crime scene. "The Medical Examiner is making a point to expedite the autopsies. Seems he got the word that one certain Iron Crowbar was most displeased with him at the home of Coach Harlan... whose funeral is happening now, by the way... and he wants to make amends after the Iron Crowbar complimented his work at the crime scene today."

"You're making friends and influencing people, Commander." said the Chief, a bit dryly.

"Yes sir." I said, not rising to the bait. "Tanya, how did they die?"

"Badly, sir." said Tanya. "Their throats were slit by what appears to be a hunting knife, from left to right, suggesting a right-handed person from behind. They would've bled out quite a bit, with blood spray from the carotid artery, unless the murderer paid attention and had some kind of cloth to cover the would as it was being made. That suggests to me they were killed near to where we found them, but not right at that location. Here's a couple of photos." Tanya began passing around photos of the deceased women, causing many in the room to get squeamish looks on their faces.




Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 02



"Yeah, leaving their bodies within yards of a police precinct is actually a touch of genius," I said, "but killing them there, where they could be heard is not-- oh, sorry." I realized I was giving them clues, and that I was being glared at again.

"I think that one's forgivable," said Cindy, "as we would get around to figuring that out ourselves. But any more such 'accidents', and I'll be inviting you to the gym, Commander."

"If ever there was an incentive for me to keep my mouth shut..." I said, grinning, and not finishing the sentence. Everyone laughed, knowing that Cindy's invitation meant a crowbar beatdown in the ring, and I would be on the receiving end of it.

The Chief bade Tanya to continue her narrative as I looked at the photos. Charleen Davis had a look of fear and surprise on her face, while Edna's was a mask of open horror. That was an absolute clue, I thought to myself.

"In addition," Tanya continued, "they had passed in and out of rigor, and sat out in the cold for a while, so the M.E. is going to have to do some chemistry work to try to nail down a time of death. But he thinks they died pretty much at the same time."

After a pause, Tanya added "I did ask the M.E. to concentrate on Edna Biller as a possible alcoholic. He said a preliminary exam of both women's livers show no immediate evidence of chronic alcoholism."

"Okay, what about the groundwork?" the Chief asked. "Someone talked to Biller again?"

"Yes sir." said Theo Washington. "We asked him again about his car being Cloroxed down, and he reiterated the manure story. He only told us about delivering the manure to the cooperative farm when we explicitly asked, though. We also asked about how much time his wife spent with Charleen Davis, and he said he didn't know. He also didn't know if Edna was babysitting Bill Davis for Charleen, but said she'd never mentioned that she was doing so."

"Not much there at all. Anything else?" asked the Chief.

"The bodies were found to the north of Town." said Martin Nash. "Not all that far from where Edna Biller's car was found. But the cameras in that area do not show the car being driven along the most direct routes towards that crime scene."

"So the perp drove in circles." said the Chief. "Sucks for us to find, but keep looking at the accumulated video evidence. Next?"

"Sir, we've been trying to check out Mr. Biller's story." said Teddy Parker. "He was indeed seen at the Senior Center, in their main front room, at about 9:30pm. He said he didn't see his card-playing friends there, but they actually were there, in the card-playing room. They said they didn't see him."

"We also have been gathering as much camera evidence as possible from anywhere near where the two women's cellphones pinged." Myron said. "So far we're getting very little on anything, but there's a lot of tape and not yet time to have gotten through it. We do have Mr. Biller's truck near the Senior Center, but it then went into a dead zone, and we can't find anything where it came out of that dead zone."

"Like I said before, keep looking." said the Chief. "Okay, now that we know that murders have been committed, anyone have an idea of what has happened, and more importantly, do we need to make some arrests?"

"With respect, sir," Tanya said, cutting off Parker and Washington from speaking further, "I've asked them not to theorize in this meeting, as the data is just coming in. We'll have a roundtable on this, and I'll let you and the Commander know what we come up with."

"You good with that, Commander?" the Chief asked, and I knew it was semi-humorous.

"Yes, sir." I said, giving Tanya a thumbs-up. "And let me just add that I am more than happy with how this Team is doing to this point. You're damn good."

"We damn well better be, considering the top quality of the training this man has given us." Cindy said, pointing her blue crowbar at me. That wasn't quite what I wanted to hear; I was trying to be complimentary and encouraging.

"You're all doing extremely well." I said. "Keep it up. Chief, why don't we let them go have their discussions while you give me training on being an Acting Police Chief that can sit back and twiddle his thumbs while his people get the job done."

"It's a damn good thing I'm retiring, Crowbar." the Chief replied, knowing I was teasing him, but also knowing I'd never have said that if he weren't retiring. "Okay guys, get out there and solve this double murder. Crowbar, all kidding aside, I do have a lot of stuff to show you..."

Part 9 - Casting Of Votes

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette at precisely 7:00am on Wednesday morning. I could almost set my watch by her. I definitely knew what I wanted to pump into her as I watched her luscious mouth hover over that microphone of hers...

"Channel Two News has learned that two bodies were found by Police yesterday, and they are believed to be those of the missing Edna Biller and Charleen Davis. The two women were reported missing Monday morning, and Police have declined to say if Harmon Biller or Bill Davis, the husbands of the missing women, are suspects in the case. We now go to Chuck Pringle for the Sports report. Chuck!"

"Thank you Bettina." said Chuck Pringle, who was surprisingly reporting live from outside the University athletic complex. "Yesterday was the funeral for Coach Brian Harlan, which was attended by the football team, Coach Harlan's last, as well as by other school coaches and many friends and family. Coach Harlan died of cancer just hours before the final game of the season against State Tech, and many players spoke of their love for their coach." There were taped interviews with various players, which I didn't really watch.

Pringle continued: "In other Sports news, Nick Eastwood continues to improve in the hospital, and has feeling and movement in all extremities. Doctors believe he will make a full recovery. However, the repercussions from the ugly hit endured by Eastwood, as well as the unbelievable conduct of the State Tech fans in applauding his injury and then being disappointed that he was not paralyzed, are continuing. Representatives from State Tech to Coach Harlan's funeral were denied entry to the service, and there are already rumblings in the State Legislature that deep cuts will be made in the budget allocation to State Tech in the next session. The Conference has suspended the player that made the hit on Eastwood, calling it deliberate, but that will have little effect, as the player is a graduating Senior and State Tech is not going to a bowl game this year. This is Chuck Pringle, KXTC Channel Two Sports. Back to you, Bettina!"

"Thanks, Chuck!" said Bettina. "Finally, the Police Department has given no official word on its plans for honoring Chief Griswold as he retires at the end of the year. Sources tell Channel Two News that the Chief will be recognized at the Policeman's Ball, and the Town & County Council are making plans to honor Police Chief Griswold and Fire Chief Gillem, perhaps with a New Years' Day Parade. Channel Two News will bring you all the information just as soon as we have it. This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!"

"Ready to freeze your ass off at the parade for you, Chief?" I asked as the Chief came into the room.

"Harrumph. I'll keep warm thinking of how it'll be you dealing with those Press bastards from now on, Crowbar." growled the Chief, who then moved on out of the room and to his office.

Is it possible that I am not the only one with a deep hatred of the Press?

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

"Did you get your votes in for the Orange Order?" Cindy Ross asked me as we went to my office after watching the news on the morning of Wednesday, December 3d.

"Yes." I said. "And you?"

"Sure did." she replied. "Think you'll get in?"

"Who knows?" I said. "I think you're a lock, though."

The Orange Order was an honorary society within the Police Department. The entire Police Force voted for who they thought deserved admission, but one was expected to not vote for oneself. This was something like the Boy Scouts, where the members of their honorary Order of the Arrow were voted in by Scout Troops, not from within the honor group itself. 

Members of the Orange Order wore a medal, whose cloth drape and accompanying ribbon were an orange field, green edges, and a thin white strip between the other colors. The medal was a lantern of a green color (please, no comic book jokes here), signifying the original citizen patrols that started in Holland some 400 years ago.

No one had ever been elected to the Orange Order that had been with the Police Force less than two years; ergo, I had not been elected before and this was my first time being 'eligible', so to speak. Why Cindy Ross was not already in I did not know, but I expected that to be remedied this weekend.

This year we were instructed to vote for four people. There were also some unwritten rules about the vote: it was encouraged to vote for at least one Uniformed patrol officer, and often all the inductees for the year were from the Uniform ranks.

The initiation was always the first weekend in December, and today was the deadline for getting the votes in. Right now the box was in the Chief's secretary's office, and woe betide anyone who even looked the wrong way at that box... I'd rather face Russian bullets on the battlefield than the Chief's secretary defending that box. Even with my crowbar, it would be a losing proposition for me.

"I guess we'll find out Friday." Cindy said.

"I'll tell you who is not going to make it." I said. "Precinct Captain Susan Weston. She just got here for the meeting with the Chief, and I expect to be called into his office while Tanya is holding the MCD meeting. You should be in the MCD meeting, of course, but let Tanya take the lead."

"Yes sir." Cindy said. "By the way, what Weston did is getting around the station. Mixed reviews on who's right and who's wrong."

"Only two opinions matter, there: the Chief's, and mine." I said, perhaps a bit more snottily than I intended. I then moved to change the subject. "By the way, what is your evaluation of Lt. Perlman's performance?"

"Very good." Cindy said. "I'm not worried about the observing and deducing as much as you are; I'm watching her for her leadership skills. And I'm very happy with what I'm seeing."

"I'm happy with what I'm seeing, too." I said. And I did not just mean Tanya Perlman. It was all I could do to hide how ecstatic I was that Cindy Ross was taking advantage of her opportunities, and was showing outstanding leadership herself...

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

Tanya Perlman led the meeting in Classroom 'E', with Cindy stationed at the whiteboard. The two victims and the two husbands had been added to the boards already.

"Okay," said Tanya, "is there anyone else besides these two men that we have any suspicion of?"

"No ma'am." said Theo Washington. "I even talked to the pastor of their churches. The Davises were far more involved in their church, First Methodist, than the Biller's were in theirs, First Baptist; but the Davis's pastor, the Reverend Dr. T. Alford Martin, said the Davises were loved by the congregation and their many friends; and the Biller's pastor, Pastor Raymond Westboro, said he doesn't know of any problems between the Billers and anyone else. Ditto that for Mr. Biller's co-workers at BigPharmaCorp; none of them knew of any problems that the Billers had with anyone. No one really associated with him socially, but no one had any issues with him or knew of anyone with issues with him or his wife."

"They, weren't very social at all." said Cindy Ross. "I checked with a few 'sources' in the social scenes, including Mrs. Myrtle L. James and Elsie Gringer. Neither of them had any information to give, and between those two ladies, every woman in this Town is accounted for, socially. So nothing on Mrs. Biller or Mrs. Davis, and even less on their husbands."

"I will say this." said Martin Nash. "Harmon Biller's story is looking more false with every step we take. He may have gone to the Senior Center, but he obviously did not look hard for his friends, as they actually were there. So he may just be trying to establish an alibi, as the time is close to when the text was received on his phone."

"The text was sent earlier, though, and took 50 minutes to reach his phone." said Myron Milton. "Edna's got one of the worst service plans in the history of cell phone communications."

"Think he might have known that?" Tanya asked, almost rhetorically. Myron just shrugged.

"In addition," said Nash, wanting to continue his narrative, "he cleaned out his truck with Clorox, though he gave a story for that."

Teddy Parker spoke up. "I might have some information about that. We went down to that cooperative farm, with Deputy Strait escorting us." Parker said. "The people there were very friendly, and they said Harmon Biller had indeed delivered a load of manure to be used as fertilizer on Saturday, and that he had done that on several occasions in the past. He cleaned up on the site with the water hose at the cooperative's farmhouse, and they said they weren't sure but they thought he did so on Saturday, as well."

"Another not-quite-alibi." Tanya said. "Of course, we do have the blood, the stationary, and the cell phones at Mr. Davis's house. That's pretty strong stuff. Okay, guys, we need an autopsy and more data. Keep searching what Myron brings us, and keep pounding the pavement to find out anything you can."

"Think the Commander has figured it out yet?" Theo Washington asked.

It was Cindy who answered. "No, not yet. I think he has ideas, but he's waiting for the autopsy data, too."

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

I entered the Chief's office upon being summoned. Precinct Captain Weston was seated in one of the chairs in front of his desk. She was wearing her Duty Dress uniform, and I noted the gold-colored Captain's bars; I was not used to that yet. I nodded at Cpt. Weston as the Chief pointed for me to sit in the chair next to her. I noted that she looked nervous, and not too happy with me.

"Commander," the Chief said, "I have been talking to Captain Weston and heard her side of the story of the incident yesterday. I've also made sure she understands her role and position as a Precinct Captain in the Force. I further explained that you were correctly taking up for your officer, that you take good care of your people, and that includes taking care of her... if she will let you. Captain, you're where you are now because the Commander thought highly enough of you to put you in that spot with the expectation that the Council would agree with his expert opinion."

The Chief adjusted himself in his chair, then continued: "What I want both of you to hear is that this Police Force has a lot more rank structure than many Police Departments. In some ways I find it unnecessary, but at the higher levels it can be helpful. However, this is not the military, and you should remember that it's your position more than the metal on your shoulders that counts."

The Chief looked at Captain Weston and said "You're in charge of the precinct, but the crime scene belonged to Perlman. It might have belonged to a Sergeant if we'd come across the bodies without already having a case to attach them to. In those cases, I advise you to be circumspect about your respective roles. I could come by a crime scene myself, but when I do I make damn sure to stay out of the MCD's way, and especially did so when this guy was a Lieutenant and actually hands-on with the cases."

The Chief was not finished. "In both your chairs, the game is political, and it can get very hot. The Commander needs to understand this as much as anyone else does. At this level, it can be give-and-take, it can be about egos and where one is on the flagpole. Of course, the higher up the flagpole you go, the farther your ass sticks out, and the Commander knows this all too well; that's why he works so hard to take care of his people, and I'm sure you'll do that for the people of your Precinct, Ms. Weston. But also remember that it's not a zero-sum game; there is not necessarily a loser in order to be a winner. Think win-win, and work to let your people work for you. Okay, Captain, you're dismissed. Commander, stay here a moment."

After the Precinct Captain had left, her eyes looking a lot less severely at me, the Chief said "I hope the latter part of that sank in."

"Yes sir." I said. That was not good enough for Chief Griswold, he snapped his eyes on me, boring in.

"Commander, I am not kidding." he said sharply. "You are about to be in charge here, at least for a few months. You've got to play the game. You think you're playing it now, but you're still playing it too straight, too directly."

"Yes sir." I said. "Chief, is there something wrong here?"

"No." said the Chief. "Your actions were totally correct, and Ms. Weston now understands that where she did not before. I think she learned a lot, but it's a lesson for you, too. Miss Perlman is also going to receive instruction, and I'm counting on that to trickle down through the chain of command, if you get my drift."

"Yes sir." I said. "I think Lt. Ross is already on it."

The Chief's eyebrows went up, and he nodded. "Okay, maybe you're a little farther along with this than I thought."

"Sir, may I ask another question?" I asked. The Chief nodded and I continued "Sir, you don't seem happy at the way I'm letting the team solve this case, and yes, in some ways we've made a bit of a game out of it. Do you want that to stop?"

The Chief smiled. "Naah. I began getting worried that they might fuck something up and let a perp get away, but I realized that maybe we're a bit more dependent on you than is healthy for this Force. I know you won't let the perp get off, and I realized that this will be good training for them."

The Chief then added, "Don, I know you're going in this direction, but you do need to continue to let go of the reins a bit. You've got the Uniformed guys now, and I wouldn't mind seeing you work more with Vice and getting thoroughly up to speed with them."

"Wilco, sir." I replied, fully aware of what the Chief was doing... and how little time he had left to get all of us up to speed before he retired...

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

"I'm taking Mary from you." I said to Tanya later that afternoon. "You've still got Myron, but I'm going to have her help me look up some stuff."

"Have you solved it yet?" asked Tanya, and I could not tell if she was apprehensive or just inquisitive.

"I'm close." I said. "You guys are doing well, but you need to pick up the pace."

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

"You're right, Commander." Mary said, easily finding the data. "Here is the credit card data you thought might be there."

I looked over the display. "Send this to the secure servers as evidence." I said. "Print it out and put it in a folder for me, also. If and when the others ask, give this information to them, but it's evidence now, so make sure it stays good that way."

"Yes sir." said Mary. "And I can't tell Myron, either?"

"Noooooooo." I replied. "You're with me now. Myron is still on the Dark Side with the MCD guys." Mary laughed.

Part 10 - More Evidence

On Thursday, December 4th, the autopsy and Crime Lab evidence first reports came in. I attended the meeting in the main conference room at 10:00am. The Chief was nowhere to be found; his secretary said that he was in a very important meeting, and that he should only be contacted in an extreme emergency. I had an idea what that meeting was about: the Orange Order election. I said no more about it.

Tanya took the 'Chief's chair' and led the meeting as I sat in my normal chair at the far end of the table and listened.




Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 02



"Okay, the women are definitely Charleen Davis and Edna Biller." Tanya said. "They were murdered by having their throats slit, but interestingly, they were wrapped up in the plastic, and there were blows to their heads suggesting they were knocked out before being murdered."

As much as I wanted to, I did not interject my observations on that.

"Also, neither woman showed any sign of intoxication, no alcohol in their stomachs, and no sign of chronic drinking by Edna Biller." Tanya continued. "In fact, the stomach contents were nearly empty, which suggests to the Medical Examiner that they didn't have lunch together that day, much less dinner, and that neither had eaten since that morning."

"The blood spots found on the floor are the women's blood, at least typing and preliminary tests suggest. The DNA test should be back this afternoon, but it looks like the spot between the television and the easy chairs was Edna's, and the one behind the chairs was Charleen's."

"Last but not least is time of death." said Tanya. "The cold weather has made the range wider, and the official times are approximately 2:00pm to midnight."

"You'd think they'd have gotten hungry and eaten." said Diana Torres. "So maybe they were killed that afternoon."

"Unless they were kidnapped," said Martin Nash, "tied up for hours, then killed later that night."

"True, but their stomachs weren't that empty." Tanya said, her expertise in autopsies coming to the fore. "I'm thinking somewhere in between... early evening, just after sunset, bodies dumped within a couple of hours."

"So, which one of them is it?" Cindy asked, glancing over at me as she asked it. "The husbands, that is."

"I still think Biller's story has more holes than swiss cheese." said Martin Nash.

"Guys, I need to say something here." I said, cutting Tanya off as she was about to speak. I drew some looks, but held up my hands. "No, guys, this really needs to be said: you guys need to remember that solving the case is not just knowing who did it, how, where, and why. It's solved only when you give the District Attorney's office the evidence needed to spoon-feed to a jury and get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt. From the first moment of the crime scene to the arrest, you have to keep that in mind, and that is where you need to pick up the pace and get this thing done before the Chief gets tired of letting this go on. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" came a chorus.

"All right, carry on." I said.

"I was about to say: there's still a lot of evidence at the Davis home." said Tanya, "and while not perfect, Biller's story hasn't been broken down hard yet."

"Can I say something?" asked Joanne Cummings. Feeling all the eyes shift to her, she nervously said "I'm really bothered by those two blood spots found at the Davis home. They're perfectly spherical, about the same size, and there are no other blood spots or spatter anywhere else in that house."

"Which suggests?" Cindy asked, coaxing Joanne.

"I think those spots were planted." replied Detective Cummings. "Someone with a syringe or even a plastic pipette like those used in our crime lab could've just squeezed out a big spot of blood of each woman for us to find. And if someone was there to do that, someone could've left the cell phones there at the same time."

"And Mr. Davis is just watching all of this and saying nothing?" Tanya asked, a bit sharply.

"He could've been asleep." said Joanne. "He said he'd been drinking, and I suspect he'd had more than a couple of shots."

"That's very good, Detective Cummings." Cindy complimented. I was vigorously nodding my head in agreement. Joanne was going to do well, I could just tell...

Part 11 - The Three Emails

Getting back from lunch, I had three emails in my inbox. After reading them, I then began pulling up some video evidence of certain places. I copied the videos to an evidence file, a copy of which I sent to Paulina Patterson.

I called Cindy and told her that I was taking charge of Rudistan and his Uniform team, then told Captain Charles the same. Both understood what that meant: that I had solved the case to my satisfaction, including having the evidence needed for a conviction, and I was going to make sure the perp did not try to get away or cause mischief. I gave Rudistan and his team my instructions in my office, then after they left I picked up the phone and asked Paulina to come into my office.

"You rang?" she said, coming in.

"Close the blinds and lock the door." I said. Paulina did so, then came around to my side of my desk as I admired her. She was wearing a salmon pink jacket and pants, high heel salmon pink pumps, and a white blouse with red and black decorations on it.

"Do you want me to tell you what I know about this case, or be with the MCD and not know until they solve it, so that you don't give something away?"

"I've been meaning to talk with you about that." said Paulina. "I know what you guys are trying to do, but I need to know what you know, and as soon as you know it... just in case we die of the same heart attack while making love."

"A hint if ever I heard one." I said, smiling. "First, let me show you this." I put a name on a slip of paper and sealed it in an envelope, then repeated it with a second slip of paper and envelope. "I'm also sending you video evidence, as well as my accumulated data evidence. This'll be enough to get a conviction or maybe a confession on the circumstances."

"Wow, how did you find the video feed so fast?" Paulina asked.

"Easy, if one knows exactly where to look, which I did." I replied. "The case is not air-tight yet, and I'm hoping the MCD team will shore it up with their findings as they get to the right answer. There is also further evidence sitting out there somewhere; I haven't figured out where yet, though."

"Think your MCD team will get there? To the solution?" Paulina asked.

"Oh yes, it's just a matter of time." I said. "I'm really wanting to see how long it takes them more than if they do it. This one is easy; they'll do it."

"Speaking of 'easy'," Paulina said, sitting on the edge of my desk and spreading her legs, her high heels on the desk next to her pants-covered pussy, "I'm feeling really 'easy' for you right now. Why don't you sink that big dick of yours into me, really 'easy', before I go nuts, huh?"

"Don't mind if I do." I said, standing up, positioning myself right between the lovely black woman's legs. My hand went to her chin, easing her face up as I lowered my mouth to hers in a warm kiss, gentle at first, then growing deeper and more passionate.

I felt Paulina's hands working on my pants, unfastening them, freeing my iron-hard cock. I felt her soft, warm hand grab the base of my shaft and begin jacking my meat, very gently but getting the job done of arousing me fully.

"Here, stand up." I whispered. Paulina did so, and she slipped out of her pumps as I undid her pants and eased them down her shapely legs. Her salmon-pink panties, soaking wet, slid down her legs next.

"Are you on the pill?" I asked, as I always did when I was about to penetrate Paulina, loving what was coming next.

"No, I'm not." the lovely black woman replied, then added "And I'm fertile, too."

We did not waste any more time. Paulina sat back on the edge of the desk and I moved forward as she guided my cock to her sopping wet slit. No foreplay was needed; my cock slid into Paulina on a thick layer of hot cunt oil until I was nuts-deep inside her, my balls pressing against her taint and the edge of the desk.

We did not exchange words, but copulated silently and urgently. Paulina had been looking down, at the union of our lust-filled bodies. When she looked up and into my eyes, I could see the burning lust, and requited love, in hers. I bent down and kissed her, our tongues swirling together in a kiss that seared into my very soul.

I pumped Paulina with rapid, deep strokes, knowing that our location for our clandestine coupling was one that could compromise us. I felt myself nearing the crest as I whispered "I'm getting close, Paulina... do you want me to pull out?"

"No, Don." Paulina whispered back, as she always did. "I want you to come inside me. I want you to knock me up. I want to have your baby Don, I want--"

"UHHH!!!" I gasped out as the heat of Paulina's snatch mixed with the import of her words, making me lose control. The familiar gray mist blinded me for a moment as spurt after thick spurt of my jism shot into Paulina's pussy, both of us praying that one of those sperm would find her waiting egg and conceive our love child...

As we finished and cleaned up, I realized that Paulina had drained me not only of sperm but of energy. I'd need a 'gray viagra' to keep up with Laura tonight...

To be continued.



Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 03



The chronological order of my stories is at the end of the story.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, extreme language, and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial or racist language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

*****

Part 12 - The Orange Order

On December 5th, the Town & County Police Department observed a longstanding tradition: on the first Friday of December, every officer, from the Chief to the newest Rookie, wore the Force's most basic, simple uniform: long-sleeved dark blue Officer's uniform collared shirt with dark blue tie and "T.C.P.D." pins on the collars, unadorned dark blue pants and blacks shoes, badge over the left pocket and nameplate on the top of the upper right pocket flap.

Adornments for the Purple Order and Medal of Valor were not worn, nor any special nameplate citations, nor sash belts over the uniform shirts that high-level officers could normally wear. Dark blue uniform duty coats (not dress coats) worn if it was cold outside (and it was). Just the basics. Only in the wearing of our ranks was there any differentiation of any officer from another.

There was some esprit-de-corps in doing this, but for the most part it was because today was 'Orange Order Day', and in that respect we were all equal as candidates for the honor. Around 3:45 to 4:00pm, as the shift changed and the vast majority of officers were at the Headquarters, the round-up ceremony would begin, starting a long initiation process for those chosen for induction into the honorary unit.

The entire Town & County knew about it, also, including my favorite redhead reporterette, the one and only Bettina!

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" she blared at 7:00am from the steps of City Hall. "Later today, the Police Department will begin their traditional induction into their honor fraternity, called the Orange Order. All police officers today are wearing their basic blue uniforms in honor of the occasion, and next week the Fire Department will undergo their honorary inductions. Chief Griswold, a longtime member of the honorary order, will preside over his final induction ceremony this weekend..."

"We'll see about that." said the Chief as he walked into the MCD room. "I'm not presiding over anything but this Police Department." The Chief was wearing his basic uniform, which he rarely wore otherwise. I think he secretly liked this tradition.

With him was Captain Leslie Charles. He always wore his basic blue uniform, so there was no difference in his appearance, except he wasn't wearing his Purple Order ribbon. He was here asking to take pictures of all the Detectives in basic uniforms, as this was just about the only day we all were so similarly dressed. We indulged him, then I 'invited' Captain Charles to grab a mug of coffee and chat with the Detectives about police traditions. He indulged us, and he had a rapt, attentive audience.

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

At the morning meeting in Classroom 'E', Teddy Parker and Theo Washington reported that the vehicles of Harmon Biller, Bill Davis, Charleen Davis and Edna Biller did not match those of the tire impressions found near the crime scene where the bodies were found. 

"We got warrants to make these examinations of the cars." said Theo Washington. "Only Harmon Biller's tires are the same size as the impressions, but the tires on Harmon Biller's truck are relatively new while the tire impressions on the dirt road were from tires that are very worn, almost smooth and without tread. The other cars don't match in width or type at all."

"In fairness, Bill Davis's car has new tires, but no record on his credit card of buying any tires." Teddy Parker said. "I did ask Mr. Davis when he got the tires, and he looked at me funny and said he couldn't remember buying new tires at all."

"That's not so weird, seeing as he can't remember anything for more than five minutes." said Tanya. "I wonder if his wife had his tires replaced and didn't tell him?"

"Ma'am," said Joanne Cummings, "the people that stayed with Mr. Davis while Mrs. Davis would be out said that they didn't let Mr. Davis drive, that his wife was afraid he'd get lost and not make it back home. So I'm sure she tried to keep him from driving unless she was with him, and probably didn't want him driving at all. So why buy new tires for his car?"

"Damn good point." said Cindy Ross, beginning to be even more impressed with Detective Cummings. "And they say we blondes are dumb, eh, Joanne?"

"Shhh, don't let the secret get out." Joanne said teasingly. Everyone laughed.

"Guys," Cindy said, "we've got to get on the ball about this. We have means and opportunity for Harmon Biller; we need to just connect the dots and find some motive for why he'd want to kill these women. We also have to either eliminate Bill Davis as a suspect, or find some 'show cause' for him as the perp. I want you guys to think about this over the weekend, unless you're being inducted into the Orange Order tonight. Let your minds flow. Think of something we've seen but haven't put into the right place yet-"

"Don's solved it, hasn't he?" Tanya asked, looking into Cindy's eyes.

"Yes, he has." Cindy replied. "And procured the evidence needed for a conviction."

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

Things began getting quiet in the afternoon. Officers with desks or posts went to them; other officers found places to be. For myself, at 2:00pm I went into my office and made an effort to get through as much paperwork as possible. I was not displeased with my progress as the time neared, as I fired off an email to the Chief and the Council recommending several officers for other medals.

The tradition was that Members of the honorary society would put their Orange Order medals on their uniforms over their right pockets, (the normal place for medals to go in the TCPD) and begin walking as a group through the Headquarters picking up the inductees, who would be placed in a line and walk with the Members as they completed their rounds. Anyone on third (night) shift being inducted had been called in, so that they would be there to be picked up.

I began hearing a commotion in the hallway at 3:45pm, which ebbed and rose again in intervals. At 3:55pm the commotion got louder, as if it were in the anteroom to my office. Then came the knock on the door and Corporal Ronnie Kirkpatrick came inside, wearing an Orange Order medal. In the anteroom of my office were Patrolman Hicks, Chief Griswold and Captain Charles, all wearing Orange Order medals.

"Commander, would you please come with us?" Kirkpatrick asked, standing nearly at attention.

"Certainly." I said, getting up, very aware of what was happening.

Kirkpatrick motioned for me to walk into the hallway ahead of him. Patrolman Hicks led me to the back of a line of five officers, surrounded by Members. In front of the line was Patrolman Janice Holloway from the Evidence section of Personnel & Records, who had been a good patrol officer on the streets and might one day become a Detective if she wanted to. Next was Sergeant Charles from SWAT, who had been wounded in the ambush that had also nearly cost Cindy Ross her life. Then came Senior Patrolman Chester Morton, and behind him, grinning like a Cheshire Cat when he saw me, was Sergeant Micah Rudistan. Fifth was the aforementioned Lieutenant Cindy Ross, who just gave me a 'look' as Patrolman Hicks guided me into the line behind her.

The six of us were escorted in a u-turn to the main conference room. Inside, the Chief addressed us: "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to congratulate you. I'm sure you realize by now that you have been voted into the Orange Order by your peers of the Police Department, and your initiation ceremony has just started. I will personally be calling your families and letting them know you will not be coming home tonight, and we'll be making arrangements for any family needs such as picking up children and the like. Remain silent for now. Have a seat until things get ready."

It was less than ten minutes later that someone came to get us. We were placed back in line, perhaps coincidentally in the same order as we had been before, and marched down the hall, this time to the main auditorium. It was packed with officers as we were led in the side door and onto the stage.

"Officers!" called out Chief Griswold at the podium in front of us. "I am honored to introduce to you this year's inductees into the Orange Order!" He then read our names. When he finished, the applause in the auditorium was thunderous. A sideways look of my eyes caught Cindy looking stoic, and Micah Rudistan looking as if he were about to perform a prank on someone. I worked hard not to laugh at that.

We were led out of the auditorium and back to the main conference room, where we were told to go get our warm jackets, gloves and headgear for being outside in cold weather. Then we had to wait until the sun was nearly setting.

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

We were led to a police van in the parking lot, one used to transport prisoners to County Jail. The windows were painted over, but even so, we were handed blindfolds and told to wear them. The van pulled out.

I treated this as an intellectual exercise, trying to determine where we were going. The course was not designed to confuse us, and I noted we were headed South. I did not know that a police car was clearing the way for us, and that was the reason we were making good time in otherwise rush-hour traffic. I determined that we were south of Town, possibly in or near Junction Station.

When we stopped, we were led inside a building, still blindfolded. The air was getting noticeably colder outside. As we were led forward, I heard voices in front of me, persons challenging those escorting us, and our escorts giving the passwords to admit us into the sanctum of the meeting room. After three such challenges, we were inside a building. Once inside, we stood there, still with blindfolds on for what seemed a very long time. Then I heard the voice of Corporal Kirkpatrick somewhere in front of me.

"Fellow officers, I congratulate you on this moment." he said loudly and clearly. "Your presence here shows the respect you have earned from your fellow police officers in the performance of your duties. The votes are not made by those of us within this group, but your peers of the Police Department. I am also pleased to say that one of your names was on every single ballot save one, which would be her own, of course. This is the first time that has happened in five years, and we congratulate Lieutenant Ross." There was applause, which I hastened to join in whether I was supposed to or not.

Still blindfolded, we listened to the words of Corporal Kirkpatrick: "Centuries ago, citizens of the Netherlands first formed patrols in the streets to stop criminals, the forerunners of our police today. These citizens carried lanterns with green glass, and would hang the lanterns at their gathering places while they were inside. This is why the New York City Police Department and other police forces have green lamps outside their precinct buildings. Our other color is Orange, which color we have taken in honor of the Prince of Orange of the Netherlands."

"Tonight, you will walk a Patrol of Honor, in the tradition of those of the Orange Order before you, and in the memory of those police officers and citizen patrols that have served over the centuries before you. There are lanterns in front of you. When you agree to undergo the Patrol of Honor and we remove your blindfold, each of you will take one of the lanterns before you, and you will keep your lanterns with you at all times. If you choose not to undergo the Patrol of Honor, you will be returned to Police Headquarters with no dishonor and no questions asked." After a pause, the voice said "Prepare yourselves mentally for this task."

The room was silent for several long moments, with only the scrapings of people moving quietly occasionally being heard. Then I sensed that someone was standing right in front of me. I was right.

"Donald Troy, are you willing and prepared for the Patrol of Honor?" the voice said, the person being right in front of me.

"I am willing and prepared." I replied.

I heard another voice, a woman, asking Cindy Ross the same question, and her reply was the same as mine. Four other members asked the four others. After the last one, I felt hands reach up and remove my blindfold.

We were in Junction Station, all right... in fact, we were inside the old Main Depot building, which had been refurbished as a meeting place. The only light was from two lanterns behind a table, which had orange colored glass, and six green-glassed lanterns on the table... one for each of us inductees. There were two round pieces of green-tinted glass in each black metal lantern, in front and back, like railroad lanterns. The light was from the wicks of burning oil in the lanterns; no batteries here!

The sun had set. I noticed that some of the Members had what looked like robes, commensurate with what might have been worn hundreds of years ago on those original patrols. Most of the others were still dressed in police uniforms.

In front of our lanterns were placed large mugs. Someone came along and filled these mugs with beer. Yes, beer. We were told that this was our 'nourishment' for the patrol, in the tradition of olden times. I'm not sure of the truth of that, but if it was an opportunity to drink a large mug of beer, it was a good tradition.

After consuming the beer, we were told we had five minutes to use the restroom, get dressed for outdoor weather, and be ready to go. I grabbed my lantern, and Cindy, seeing me, did also. The others did not, and were reprimanded. They were told to half-bow, and they had to keep the half-bow and stand there for three of their five minutes, which I knew would be uncomfortable for them. They were also reminded that their lanterns should not leave their lamps behind again until the initiation was over. I was happy; I got a head start on using the restroom, and endured no pain.

How did I know to grab the lantern? I'd been to U.S. Army Airborne School, and knew all those tricks about "break area procedures". Fool me once...

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

We actually did not start walking immediately, but were driven back into Town, to City Hall. We were paired off, me with Cindy, Rudistan and Morton together, Charles and Holloway together. We would walk our patrols in pairs.

We were led in front of City Hall, facing the Courthouse Square. Our lanterns were lighted, and we were given cigarette lighters to carry with the admonition that our lanterns should not be allowed to stay unlit. If we were running out of oil, our guides would give us more.

Our guides were the ones wearing robes, and there was one with each group. They had orange-colored lanterns. Mine and Cindy's guide was Captain Harlow from Personnel & Records. I would later find out that she and the other guides were being inducted into the 'Inner Circle' of the Order, and this was their initiation ritual coinciding with ours.

The weather was clear and cold as we began the Patrol of Honor. The Courthouse Square was lit up with decorations for the Holiday season, and looked very beautiful. As we walked in a deliberately slow, measured pace, we took the sidewalk on the inside of the streets forming the square. I noticed that citizens of the Town, hundreds of them, had lined the sidewalks on the other side of the road, the outside of the Square. Many of them had lighted candles, and all stayed silent as they watched our patrol. 

We walked around the Square four times, slowly and spaced apart. Then one of the patrols was led off the northwest corner of the Square, heading north. The next patrol went east from the northeast corner. Then Cindy and I were led south from the Southwest corner.

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

It was long, grueling night of walking. Cindy and I went east along Jefferson Avenue, then south to MLK Jr. Drive, and west along that road. I noticed that there were a number of police cruisers along the route, and there were cruisers in front of us and behind us, about 30 yards away each, watching over us. There were some people who watched us as we walked by, but as the night got later, the number of people out began dissipating.

Every two hours we would stop, get our lanterns refilled with oil, be given water and some hot soup, and take restroom breaks. Cindy and I had walked north from MLK Drive, and over time made our way through Town again, completing a loop along Courthouse Square again, then walking northwest. We walked by Ronald Reagan Park, then turned east on a road that paralleled the main east-west road into Town from the bypass. I was keeping watch on Cindy, wondering if she was doing okay... despite her physical conditioning, I knew she had to this day not completely recovered from her wounds. But she seemed to be doing fine, and seemed to be enjoying the long walk.

Some time later, we were walking down University Avenue. I glanced across the street at the School, which seemed peaceful in the night. At the main gate, I looked straight up the mountain, seeing one bluish streetlight far above, on the side of the mountain. That light was the sole guardian of the cleared ruins of where my home The Cabin had stood, which had been burned to the ground by filthy and now-dead arsonists.

I resolved to rebuild, root out the criminals still infesting my Town, and then went back into my mental 'zone' as we patrolled, seeing the buildings of the Town and the lights and the streets and the cars, but not really seeing them. I was using this time to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together in my mind, the pieces that would lead to the malignant spider at the center of the criminal web of this County, the one we called the 'real Moriarty'. I also thought about the Paper Trail case, and it came to me where some evidence might have been discarded. Nothing I could do about that right this minute, though...

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

It had to be getting nearly dawn, and I realized that we were now walking South along the main road towards Junction Station. I could see the green dots of one of the other groups patrolling about a hundred yards ahead of us. Just as the first threads of light began glowing over Cemetery Hill to our east, reminding me of Officer Pete Feeley, we arrived back at the Junction Station Depot. We waited for the last group to arrive, which happened just moments later, and then we were told to hang our lanterns on the spikes in the wall near the door... to show that we were inside, just as the citizen patrols did centuries before. We did so, then went inside.

The tables were arranged in a rectangle so that we would be sitting as one group at the correct time. There had been 18 Orange Order members; there were now 24. 

First, the Inner Circle initiates received their medals. They were the same Orange Order Medals, but had a green stripe down the middle of the drape, bordered in white. The lantern hanging below the drape was orange instead of the standard green. Then the six of us were awarded our medals, which were worn with our other Police Medals on our formal jackets.

We were given the admonitions and passwords, then everyone sat down to the large, home-cooked breakfast. After a long, cold night, it was delicious, especially the hot coffee! And yes, they actually served another mug of beer with our breakfast. I could get to like this Orange Order business, I thought to myself...




Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 03



"I owe you thanks, Don." said the Chief, now that we could talk. "I made a bet that you'd remember to grab your lantern last night, and you did."

"I almost missed it." Cindy said. "Then I saw Don grab his."

"I told them that you were a Paratrooper and would remember." said the Chief, with astonishing accuracy in mentioning my earlier thoughts. "Well, guys, were you surprised?"

"Not for Cindy." I said. "I didn't know if there were enough slots for me to make it, though."

"Actually," said the Chief, "there would normally have only been four, and with the two of you making it, and quite easily I might add, we decided to add two more to get some of the others in. They deserved it, too." I could not have agreed more. I glanced over at the other honorees. Janice Holloway was talking with Captain Harlow and Sr. Patrolman Hicks. Rudistan and Morton were talking with Corporal Kirkpatrick, with Rudistan and Kirkpatrick bantering and laughing. Among others, Captain Charles was talking with his son Sergeant Charles, obviously very proud that his son was following him in receiving this honor.

"So what do we do in the Orange Order?" I asked the Chief.

"Same as always, set the example for others." said the Chief. "But to your question: we have a charity drive, sometimes have service projects, and we essentially plan and run the Policeman's Ball, which is tonight, and it is not a coincidence that we have these things on the same weekend. We also get together about four times a year, usually the night before Promotions Day, and have dinner and get the early scoop on who is being promoted."

"So what does the Inner Circle do?" asked Cindy.

"They're like the Board of Directors, of sorts." said the Chief. "They, I should say 'we' since I'm one of them, tally the votes and present the findings to the full membership. Usually we, meaning the full membership, go with the vote, but on rare occasions we've declined someone. For example, if some group of pranksters decided to stuff the ballot box with Sharples' name as a joke, we'd take him right off the list and go with the next name."

"Wise thinking." I said. The Chief laughed. Then I asked "Do people stuff the ballot box?"

"Oh, sure." Griswold said. "And we don't discourage it. That's how Janice Holloway was elected; all of Personnel & Records got together to vote for her, if I don't miss my guess. And that's fine, it helps get all departments represented. And it happens very rarely that a bad candidate is elected: the Force is good about seeing who are the best. By the way, we won't show you this year's results, but you'll see all the future ones. We made an exception to announce Lt. Ross's unanimous vote, since it happens so rarely."

"That's awesome." I said. "And Lieutenant Ross absolutely deserves it."

"I'm shocked you weren't unanimously voted in." said Cindy, who was blushing at the praise being delivered her way.

"Harrumph." I said. "There are plenty of people not on my side. They covet my position, my job, my success..."

"Yes." said Chief Griswold. "And that brings up a point, which I'll bring up here, privately: I'm not worried about who they will make the next Chief. Don, you'll practically have veto power over that. It's who they're going to put into the Deputy Chief's job that worries me. The Council is very bad about not thinking things through. They'll give the Deputy Chief job as a consolation prize to whomever they don't give the Chief job to, and then that person will try to make life miserable for you, Don."

"They'd better be careful." Cindy said. "He's got a crowbar, and the willingness to use it."

"Someone else has a crowbar, too." said the Chief, surprisingly rather coldly. "And she'd better be prepared to use it to help her boss and mentor out. You're both going to become targets in the political games, Miss Ross. I have full confidence in you both, but you'd better be ready to play when the whistle blows... on January 1st."

Cindy contemplated that for some time as Corporal Kirkpatrick arrested my attention with a question about my plans as Acting Chief regarding precincts...

Part 13 - The Policeman's Ball

I got home from the Orange Order initiation about 10:00am on Saturday, December 6th. Carole was very happy to see me, so I held her and Jim both for a few minutes before having to go to bed, totally exhausted. Laura promised to wake me up in plenty of time to get ready for the Policeman's Ball that evening.

Hours later, I woke up, lying on my side. Nestled into my chest was my daughter, sleeping peacefully. If I had to choose, I'd trade in every medal and Orange Order and other honors in favor of raising my wonderful children, I thought to myself. Nothing could compare to watching my kids grow up...

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

Laura looked wonderful in her navy blue evening gown, and as I zipped up her dress I whispered that I was going to fuck her sexy brains out once we got back home. She blushed, but her eyes sparkled with desire. Despite the opportunity, she did not overdo it, knowing that many officers' wives and girlfriends at the Policeman's Ball would be wearing what they could afford, and Laura was not one for over-fashion to make a point.

For myself, it was my dress uniform with black bow tie, Medal of Valor around my neck, my other medals on my chest on the right side, including the new Orange Order medal.

Todd and Jeanine were keeping the kids, and we headed to the University Hotel after dropping them off. We arrived relatively early; as part of the Command Group now, Laura and I were expected to be part of the receiving line, along with the Mayor and his wife, and the Chief and his wife. Next year, Sheriff Allgood and his lovely wife would be expected to be part of the line.

I had made an effort the last few weeks to research every officer on the Force and his family, in order to be able to greet them and talk with them during their passage through the receiving line and also for the rest of the evening. For a lot of the officers, this was like the prom, one of the biggest events of the year for them.

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

After the initial social talk and drinks, we sat down for dinner. Laura and I were at the long head table with the Command Group. Lt. Daniel Allgood and Melina were also at the table, a concession to his election to be Sheriff. The Mayor and his wife, the Chief and his wife, Captain Charles and his wife, and Captain Harlow and her date were also at the table.

I looked over the crowd. Cindy Ross was wearing her formal uniform, with a skirt and navy blue high heel pumps, showing off her very shapely legs. She was also wearing her Medal of Valor and Orange Order medal, as well as her Purple Order. Jenna was with her, looking very hot in her black dress.

As always, I wondered who Teresa Croyle would be with; on this occasion she was with the SWAT Team member known as 'The Leader'. Teresa wore her Purple Order on its purple-and-silver ribbon around her neck, as did most others who had earned it. Only the Chief, Cindy, and myself wore our Purple Orders on a chest drape of purple with a silver-gray edge, and that of course was because we were wearing Medals of Valor around our necks. And that got a lot of interest from the members of the Police Force during the evening, who rarely saw the Purple Order so configured and worn.

I caught sight of Myron Milton and Mary Mahoney. Myron's police uniform actually fit his lanky body fairly well; I wondered if he'd had his suit tailored. I also noticed that he seemed very nervous, though I could not understand why. Mary had chosen to be Myron's date instead of a police officer, and wore a leather dress and skirt. She did not overdo the 'Goth' approach, and looked very nice. Martin Nash and Sandra Speer were together, Sandra wearing a very lovely formal gown of pale green with some hints of orange and salmon, which got Laura's attention... and Elsie Gringer's. Elsie always managed to get herself in as the date of one of our retirees or another, and Sandra's dress was going to get some newspaper ink... in an good way.

Tanya Perlman and Barry Oliver were there and as a couple, but I noticed some tension there. Then my mother walked in with Seth Warner as her date. I noticed that my mother did two things: first, she introduced Seth to Joanne Cummings, who was dressed in a police formal uniform that did not hide the gorgeousness of her body; second, my mom talked to Tanya extensively... while Joanne and Seth were talking as if they were longtime friends.

After dinner the Mayor made some remarks about appreciating the Police Force, then he asked everyone to recognize the Chief before he left for retirement. The standing ovation was thunderous and lasted for long minutes. The Chief's wife dabbed a few tears away, and I suspect many others did also.

Then the Chief took the podium, had the Orange Order recipients stand to be recognized. The applause was nice but was not (and of course should not have been) as long or loud as the Chief's ovation.

Last, I was expected to say a few words. I turned it into a toast to the Police Force, telling them how proud I was to be serving with them, and asking them to make a toast with me for a successful New Year.

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

During the dance part of the evening, I danced with my mother after several with Laura.

"Son, do keep an eye out on Miss Perlman." my mother admonished. "She and Mr. Oliver are breaking up, if I'm any judge of things."

"And you always are." I said. "I noticed you introduced Seth to Joanne Cummings, and now you're practically without a date."

"Oh, you did notice that, did you?" my mother said teasingly. We'd both noticed that Seth and Joanne were dancing with each other almost exclusively. "Yes, I think Seth and Joanne are going to become quite good friends, don't you think?"

"And much more, if I'm any judge of things." I said. "I just hope that doesn't dull her abilities as a Detective. Joanne is doing a great job in MCD."

"That's good to hear." my mom said. "Now son, you need to do your duty and go dance with the Chief's wife while he dances with yours, and talk with the Mayor and his wife. Meanwhile, I'll go steal Barry from Tanya, and free her up to socialize with all the handsome young officers that are here tonight."

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

I did as my mom suggested, chatted with Mrs. Griswold and danced with her, and found out that she was very happy to have her husband back. I told her that her gain was our loss, and thanked her for loaning him to the Town & County for his years of service. She told me to make sure to come visit him and fish with him as often as I could.

After Laura and I engaged the Mayor and his wife in conversation for a few minutes, I noted the time and mentioned it to the Mayor. He understood: nobody would leave until he and the Chief left.

Just before they were about to announce their goodbyes, Myron Milton surprised us all by taking the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention for just one moment." he said. He had Mary beside him and I noticed him reaching furtively into his pocket.

"I've been fortunate to be dating Mary for all these months now, and I wanted all of you, my police family, to be here for this." He knelt down on his knee and produced a small box from his pocket as he asked into microphone "Mary, will you marry me?"

Everyone applauded as Mary gushed, tears in her eyes, her hands over her face. The applause got louder when she said "Yes!" and Myron put the ring on her finger.

Minutes later, the Chief got on the mike, congratulated Myron and Mary, then announced that he and the Mayor were taking their leave, and for everyone to enjoy the rest of the evening.

As the crowd thinned, many people congratulated Myron and Mary, including myself and Laura. I remembered how I'd asked Laura to marry me at a surprise party, and Myron had topped that wonderfully. After hugging Mary, I gave Myron a thumb-to-thumb handshake, congratulating him for doing his best work of the week...

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

"That was so lovely, Myron asking Mary to marry him like that." said Laura as we got ready for bed after putting the babies to bed. "But it sure took some guts to take over the Policeman's Ball like that."

"Myron asked me about the feasibility of doing that." I admitted. "I told him to clear it with the Chief. The Chief is an old softie at heart, and readily allowed Myron to do it."

"Speaking of the Chief," said Laura, "you need to visit him often and keep him in the loop. He's pretending to take retirement well, but he is going to miss it. A lot."

"I know." I said, then changed the conversation by mentioning my mother's observations, especially about Seth and Joanne.

"What I observed," Laura noted, "was that your mother and Elsie Gringer had a long conversation. God only knows how many secrets exchanged hands and ears at that pow-wow." I laughed.

"Well, here's one secret I'm sure they've figured out." I said, coming around behind my wife and taking her into my arms, gently thrusting my crotch and hardening cock into her glorious asscheeks. "The Police Commander took home the most beautiful woman at the ball, and he's going to sexually ravish her all night... starting right now." I began kissing Laura's neck, knowing that we would soon be making hot, passionate, sensuous love...

Part 14 - Closing In

Monday, December 8th. Assistant District Attorney Franklin Washington entered Police Headquarters, accompanied by his brother, Detective Theo Washington. Only when they were side-by-side like this could one tell that they were not identical twins.

"I'll need to talk with Detective Purvis about these drug cases, if the Commander will make him available." said Franklin as they turned into the ADA offices. Jenna Stiles was in her office already. "Once we get through them- hey, what the hell is this?"

Gor-don was in the other office that Franklin had been heading into. Papers were all over the desk, as if it were his office. Adding insult to injury, Gor-don was dressed in 'punk' style with makeup, almost as an intentional affront to the Police whose Headquarters this was.

"Stiles, what the hell is this?" Franklin said loudly. "This office is supposed to be for ADAs to use!"

"Tell you what," Jenna offered, coming out of her office into the anteroom. "I'll find you some space. Maybe the conference room is free-"

"Miss Stiles," said Franklin, pressing it, getting louder, "this office is for our use, not this punk assistant of yours."

"That's right!" said Lieutenant Tanya Perlman, loudly, as she walked in. "That office is not meant for that piece of dog shit Gor-don to be in. Get him out of there, now, so Franklin can use the office." 

Jenna was staring daggers at Tanya, who was staring daggers back. "This is our office, Lieutenant, not yours." Jenna said to Tanya.

Just then, Franklin started speaking into his cell phone. "D.A. Krasney, I'm over here at Police HQ, and the office you told me to use is occupied by this piece of crap assistant of Jenna's..." A second later, Jenna's phone in her office rang.

"I believe that is for you, ADA Stiles." Tanya said, her voice dripping sarcasm. Jenna stared daggers again, but answered it just as Cindy Ross came in.

"All right, Theo, back to MCD. Tanya, you too. I'll handle this." Cindy said, taking charge. She listened as Jenna took the call from D.A. Krasney. "Yes sir," Jenna was saying, "I offered to find him some space... yes sir... yes, I'll get him out of there now..."

A moment later she hung up the phone. "God damn it! Why the fuck did you call the DA, Washington? I'll remember this- oh, Cindy..."

"Let's step into your office." Cindy said quietly, almost pushing Jenna back into the room. Once alone, Cindy said, almost a whisper, "Look, get Gor-don out of there before the Commander hears about this and comes over here."

"But-" Jenna started, but was cut off.

"Just... do... it." Cindy said. Jenna relented, anger still in her eyes.

"All right, Gor-don." Jenna said. "Stack up the papers and get them to your desk out front, here..."

"But ma'am-" Gor-don started, but was cut off himself. 

"Just do it, Gor-don." Jenna said. "I'll work on it, now just clear the room." Gor-don did, letting his eyes stare back into Cindy's ice-cold blue eyes as she watched. Perhaps Gor-don did not know how near a 'crowbar beatdown' he was... and how a much worse one would come if the blonde woman's redheaded boss came around the corner...

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

I made a point to stop in and say hello to ADA Franklin Washington as he sat in the office next to Jenna's, talking to Teresa Croyle and Christopher Purvis.

"Got everything you need, Mr. Washington?" I asked.

"I sure do, Commander. Thank you." said Franklin.

"Lieutenant Croyle, let me know if ADA Washington needs anything." I said, which Teresa acknowledged, trying to keep a smirk off her face as she caught sight of Gor-don's face in the anteroom.

As I left the room I glanced over at Gor-don. If looks could kill, I'd be dead three times over. I just glared back at him as I left.

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

I sat in on the 9:00am meeting of MCD. Myron Milton had called in asking for the day off, as his hot water heater had sprung a leak and needed to be fixed. I acquiesced and told him to call me if he needed help on that. Busted hot water heaters suck to get fixed.

"I'm not expecting that much has come out over the weekend." said Tanya Perlman. "But we need to start following some leads. Let's go back over this literally from the beginning." She brought out the boxes of the evidence so-far obtained. It was sad to me that my box of evidence in my office had more in it, and I hoped my Detectives would correct that.

As everyone went over the evidence, Tanya was drawing a timeline of events, to the best of her knowledge and ability. From that afternoon about 2:30pm, when Mrs. Davis went to Kroger, to about 10:00pm that night, when it was believed Mr. Biller arrived home from going to the Senior Center, the gaps were filled in as best they could be.

Joanne Cummings was holding up the note left by Edna, looking at it, holding it up to the light. "Hmmm... German. You know, guys, I just have a feeling that this note is important."

"It was found at the Biller's home," said Theo, "but the rest of the pad was found at the Davis home. This is cheating, I know, but the Commander was really looking at it at the crime scene." All eyes turned to me.

"Observe and deduce, people. Observe and deduce." was all I would say. That in itself got a reproving look from two of "Crowbar's Angels".

"We covered that, already, though there's no problem in bringing it up again if it gives us a fresh angle to look at it." said Cindy. She was sitting next to Joanne, studying some photographs.

"What are you studying so hard, Lieutenant?" Joanne asked Cindy.

"These tire tracks." said Cindy. "Ford Ranger. Just like what Harmon Biller has, but his tires were new, and were new on that Monday the crime was called in. No way he could have them changed and we not find out about it, and he was not at any tire shop on Sunday or Monday. But it's still strange, and I've got a feeling about it..."

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

Later that afternoon, I went to the local FBI office to meet Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone. To my surprise, my wife Dr. Laura Fredricson was there, also.

"Thanks for coming, both of you." said Jack Muscone. "My boss asked me to get both of you up to speed on the aftermath of our recent troubles with the Corrigan Cell remnants."

"No new problems, I hope?" asked Laura.




Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 03



"Well, let me just give you the report our people compiled." said Jack. "First, we're pretty sure it was the last team of mercenary snipers that was wiped out in that van explosion on the Bypass. The driver, that guy you call Gruff, is also a confirmed kill, and the old man found at the farmhouse over the State Line was a CIA wet boy and former U.S. Marine Sniper named Keeler.

"Ho ho ho!" I said with no small amount of sarcasm in my voice. Laura and Jack laughed.

"Here's something a little less jolly." said Muscone. "Our guys did a real workover of that farmhouse. They are sure that six or more people were there. Ergo, they think that some associates of this group may not have gone on the mission in the van, which probably was to walk into your ambush, Don, and so they may still be at large. We don't think the extra people were snipers or mercenaries, or they would've come on the attack mission."

Laura said "The Corrigan Cell had Jody Corrigan, Bartholomew Scott, Sarah Collins, two eight-man hit teams, and possibly between two and four scientists working in the project labs. Ned was one of those, and he is dead now, but there were others. Could one of those lab rats have been at that farmhouse?"

"Possibly, though no chemicals nor traces of any research were found. Don, any ideas? Don?" Muscone said, looking over at me. I was staring at the ceiling, in a reverie. After a moment, I came out of it, feeling as much as seeing the eyes staring at me.

"Yeah, now that you mention it..." I said, wondering why I had not realized this before, "...there is one guy who kept showing up on the periphery: the guy who was blowing Bounel when we raided Bounel's dorm room, and was likely a contact of Ned's, and I think he had access to the Heinz labs. We called him 'Skinny Beard'."

"Ah yes, I remember." said Laura.

"Yes." I said. "And if memory serves me correctly, he may have had ties to the Black Widow and the poisons she injected Hewitt and Feeley with."

"Well, he hasn't been seen or heard from in some time." Laura said. "I'm sure, Jack, you'll ask them to re-check?"

"Sure." said Muscone. "But he's not one of the dangerous ones like the hit teams or Scott, is he?"

"I dunno, if he's dabbling in poisons, he could kill." I said. "Remember that there were several attempts on Nathan Allen the night he died... only one of those attempts actually worked. And if he becomes employed by other criminals..."

As Laura and Jack nodded, I then said "And let me tell you this: if this 'Skinny Beard' had anything to do with the murder of Pete Feeley, then I am going to find him..." I looked at the others, my eyes full of purpose and intent...

"... and I am going to kill him."

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

Laura had left our meeting at the FBI offices and I did not expect to see her again until suppertime that evening at home. At 3:30pm those suppositions changed. She asked me to come to University Hospital.

Arriving there, I found out what the commotion was about: a bottle of morphine sulfate had gone missing, and instead of calling us locals, some idiot called the SBI in directly. The Narcotics Task Force was on the scene, and so was SBI Director Jack Lewis.

Chief Griswold was also there, and one could cut the tension in the air with a butter knife. As I arrived, both the Chief and Laura hastily told me that SBI Agent Richard "Dick" Ferrell was not present. Instead there were two SBI Agents who I did not know, and who had not been on the scene during the confrontation at Ward Harvester.

"Ah, Commander," said Lewis derisively, "why am I not surprised to see you here? Griswold's worthless; can't do a damn thing without his pitbull."

"Say one more word insulting my Chief, Lewis," I said coldly, "and I'll shoot you dead, right here and right now." Lewis and his agents peered at me, and realized I wasn't kidding. No crowbar beatdown; it was a threat to kill him, my patience with him was past exhausted, and he knew it.

"All right," said Lewis to me, trying to ignore the Chief, "the Governor wants us to work better together, so I'll try if you will, okay?" I just stared at him. "I did not let Ferrell come into your County, either. So give me credit for that, and let's try to find out what happened. This is Agent Greenwalt and Agent Grigsby. Gentlemen this is Police Commander Troy, the Iron Crowbar guy you've heard about."

Greenwalt was husky, 'oversized', and had an attitude that reminded me of Sergeant Rudistan's playfulness, except Greenwalt came off as immature. Grigsby was more professional, but was young. I asked Grigsby to fill me in.

"Bottle of morphine sulfate, liquid form, concentrated, big bottle, disappeared from the pharmacy." said Grigsby. "The pharmacist on shift got in a new supply and was putting the bottles up, and the overall count came up one short. The last shipment to come in, and therefore the last inventory, was November 15th."

"How do the shifts work for pharmacists?" I asked my wife.

"Three people on duty during the day shift, two during the evening shift and usually one during the night shift, though sometimes if we're really busy they'll have overlapping coverage." said Laura.

"Any unauthorized access?" I asked.

"We checked that already." said Agent Greenwalt, which earned him a cutting look from me. He stared right back, offended at my question.

"We did check, and only one name appears to be unusual." Grigsby said, showing me a printout. "A Nurse... Jones. Friday after Thanksgiving. Around noon."

"Let me see that." I said as I examined the seeming incomprehensible numbers by each entry. "Chief, Director Lewis, do you see this number here?" I pointed at a nine-digit string of numbers, this one ending in '55555'.

"Yeah, what about it?" Lewis asked derisively.

"I'm sure, Director Lewis," I said coldly, "that you're aware that I sold security systems before joining the Police Force here. I happen to know that when someone tries to duplicate a badge or fake one in some way, this number ending in '55555' is generated. It also fires off a warning to the system, and your Agents need to investigate why that warning either went unheeded or didn't fire."

"So what are you saying?" asked Lewis. "Why would it allow access if the badge is faked?"

"The system-makers took into account that someone might be in a hostage situation or under duress when the fake badge was used. So it allows access, and fires off a warning to the central security monitors." I said. "What I'm saying at this point is that the system failed at two points, and that Nurse Jones very likely is not the one who entered at that time. Someone else did, someone who wanted you to think it was Nurse Jones... Agent Grigsby, do you also have the entry and exit logs of the Hospital for that same Friday?"

"Hold on." said Grigsby, digging the information out of a sheaf of papers. "Yes, right here. No 'Nurse Jones' entering or leaving that day."

I looked at the entries, and noted one strangeness. "Now why is this other nurse leaving via the morgue exit?" I asked out loud. "Gentlemen, I'm not saying she did anything, certainly can't prove it, but you might ask her in a sudden way why she left that way. See what pops out." Grigsby nodded, Director Lewis was peering at me, and Greenwalt looked like he had his thumb stuck up his ass.

"Well," I said, "good luck with this one, gentlemen. I'll be on my way."

"That's all?" Director Lewis asked, seemingly stunned. "Nothing further?"

"Oh I'm sure you and Agent Greenwalt have already got this figured out, and any additional help from me would be superfluous and unneeded." I said, trying not to sound too acidic.

The Chief was also trying not to break out into a laugh; I could see his mustaches twitching with merriment as I continued: "There's so many people going in and out of this pharmacy storage area that I doubt you'll be able to prove any one person did it. They've relied on this badge-entry system, but someone tried to take advantage of that to frame another person for the crime. I'd be looking for someone who has a grudge against Nurse Jones... who is black, by the way. I'd also consider the reason for stealing just one bottle of morphine at that particular time, instead of more than one at the time, and not stealing more over time. Have a good day, gentlemen, and be sure to make your way out of my County before dark, the Governor's interest in our working together notwithstanding."

With that, I turned on my heel and strode away, and Laura and the Chief did not catch up to me until I'd made it to my vehicle in the parking lot. I explained what I thought to them, and the Chief agreed to go with me to Dr. Wellman's office, with Laura calling ahead to make our appointment with the University's esteemed President.

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

I explained to Dr. Wellman and the Chief what had happened: "Coach Harlan's I.V. bag had a lot of morphine in it. I believe this was done with good intentions, to put the dying man out of his pain and end his suffering. I'm not interested in pursuing that case, either."

I added "Of course, this bottle of morphine disappearing from the Hospital is very, very likely what was put into Harlan's I.V. bag. Unless they're sharp and they look for it, I doubt the SBI is going to find out about that, though we're not concealing it at all. As to who stole the bottle, I'm curious but not really to the point of opening any past wounds by pursuing the case."

"What did you tell the SBI?" asked Wellman. "What do they know?"

"Well, Mr. President," I said, "I've given them an excellent clue to solving the case, but if word came down for them to drop it, I think they would. I'm sure you don't want any further problems, what with Coach Harlan dead and buried, and everyone from his family to the University and its athletic program wanting to move on."

"That's true, Commander." Dr. Wellman said, "and I do appreciate your coming to me and working with us over this. Mr. Wargrave was deeply... distressed... that you chose to arrest Coach Harlan for Derrick Belle's murder. I'll be sure to tell him of your cooperation here; it might mollify him."

"I think that's the least of his problems with me." I said, rather drily. "If there is nothing else, Dr. Wellman, I hope you'll excuse me. My team is working on a murder case and I need to check on their progress..."

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

"Nurse," said SBI Agent Grigsby to Nurse 'Ratchett', "the logs indicate you left the Hospital through the morgue exit instead of the regular exit on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Would you mind explaining that?"

"Oh, that." said 'Nurse Ratchett', pretending to be embarrassed. "It's rather embarrassing, now that you mention it. I got on the elevator and was thinking about something else, and I just hit the wrong button. When the doors opened I walked out, not looking, and I was on the basement floor. Rather than wait for the elevator to come back, I just went out the morgue exit."

"I see." said Grigsby. "Thank you for your help." With that he dismissed Nurse Ratchett back to her duties. "Doesn't seem to be anything in it. What do you think, Greenwalt?"

"I think that Iron Crowbar bastard is up a fucking tree." said Greenwalt. "We ought to be looking at this Nurse Jones. You know how Blacks are about drugs."

"She has an alibi that checks out." Grigsby said, saying nothing about Greenwalt's racist comment. "At the time her card was supposedly being used to get into the pharmacy, she was in sight of fifteen people at a restaurant, eating lunch with other nurses, and all of it on videotape. Also, the Iron Crowbar was right about that one. He was also right that an alert message fired to the guard desks at all the entrances, and they began checking bags."

"So what?" Greenwalt asked.

"It means this nurse that went out by the morgue entrance, which is not manned by guards, didn't have to have her bag checked. But unless we get proof of something, she's going to get away with it."

"I don't think she did anything." said Greenwalt. "I'm thinking we should thoroughly check out all the black employees. It's one of them, I'll bet." Getting no response, Greenwalt continued: "I'm serious. Want to bet a month's paycheck?"

"No, I don't bet." said Grigsby. He was already forming the letter in his head requesting a new partner...

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

Cindy was sitting in the second bedroom of her townhouse, which she shared with her lover Jenna Stiles. She was wearing a light green teddy and her high heels, which she knew Jenna would like... and she had a suspicion that it would be a good idea for Jenna to see her like this.

She was doing classified research on a secure line, looking into the industrial espionage that had been going on. She was trying to trace a thread, a small one, that seemed to lead back to Barry Bounel and those designer drugs he had been found in possession of. There were indicators of Thaddeus Ward of Ward Harvester being involved, but Cindy could not yet make the connection between them.

She also could not understand what she was reading about Don's nephew Ned... and she was stunned at the quality and quality of what Ned had created and produced for the Agency before he went bad. In one way, it was a shame Ned had had to die; that great brain used for good might have brought the world many life-saving drugs...

The slamming of the door was her first clue that Jenna was home. The lovely redhead had stopped to have a few drinks on the way, but her mood was not improved. Cindy shut off the computer and went into the main room.

"Hi babe." she said. Jenna looked at her, anger still in her eyes. "How's it going?"

"I'll tell you how it's going." Jenna said angrily, letting off steam. "I got my ass reamed by Krasney today, and I mean totally chewed out until I have no ass left. Over Gor-don using the other office, of all the god-damn things. That bastard Washington..."

Cindy made a couple of drinks, handed one to Jenna, and sat down on the couch, showing off her legs as she invited Jenna to sit down with her.

"Well," Cindy said, "I tried to get that situation calmed down, but apparently it was past calming."

"Tell me..." Jenna said, staring accusingly at Cindy, "this was all set up by Commander Troy, wasn't it? Wasn't it? He wanted Gor-don out of that office, and he set this up with Krasney and Washington... didn't he?"

Cindy looked surprised, then her eyes hardened. "I don't know, Jenna, but I seriously doubt it. If the Iron Crowbar wanted Gor-don out of that office, he'd take his crowbar in there and pry the punk out physically. If Don has a weakness, it's that he doesn't play subtle; he's very direct and he takes action when he wants results. Don doesn't have time for shit games like that, especially not to kick Gor-don to the kerb."

Jenna stared at Cindy for what seemed like a long time, then exhaled as she relented, letting her eyes wander over the hot blonde's luscious body. "If you say so." the slender, sexy redhead said. "But why the fuck does everyone have such a problem with Gor-don? He does good work..."

"Some of it's his arrogant attitude," said Cindy, "but a lot of it is more the office itself. Lt. Perlman is about ready to smash down the walls to get more room in her shithole of an office, and I don't blame her. Tanya was yelling at the Commander about it the other day, loud enough for us to hear from outside. Seeing Gor-don get to use that office space is like waving a red cape in front of a bull for some people.

Cindy changed the subject, taking Jenna into her arms. "Now, let's talk about something else... about how good it's going to feel when I eat your pussy tonight."

"Mmmm, that's a nice subject..." Jenna said, sighing as she settled into Cindy's embrace...

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

"Why, hello Mr. Wargrave." said SBI Director Jack Lewis, sitting behind his desk at his Midtown office. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"I wasn't expecting to come," said Wargrave, "but we both got phone calls this evening, so here I am."

"Yes sir." said Lewis. "The University President asked me to stay here and receive a guest, but he did not say it was a man of your stature-"

"Yes, thank you," said Wargrave, "but let's pass on the platitudes and get down to business. I want you to drop and close this business of the morphine disappearing from University Hospital."

"Sure, consider it done." said Lewis. "But I have to admit, I'm disappointed. It was a legitimate inroad into that bastard Griswold's county. His puppy dog, the Iron Crowbar, couldn't stand it that we were there, either."

"Griswold's retiring." said Wargrave. "Whatever your beef with him is, let it go. The Iron Crowbar is your real problem up there. I might even suggest you stay out of his way until things cool down. He is still pissed off about his house being burned down. Whoever did that did me no favors, either."

"By the way, and you can tell me its none of my business," said Lewis, "but why the University's interest in shutting this case down?"

"Ah, Director," said Wargrave, semi-jokingly, "you know the Iron Crowbar's methods. Use them! As a clue, I might suggest you think about the passing of the unfortunate Coach Brian Harlan..."

"Ahh..." said Lewis, "I do remember hearing something about the Medical Examiner up there finding morphine in the Coach's I.V. bag. The Police took statements, but my understanding is that they were pretty perfunctory and disinterested about it. So the University President wants that to just quietly go away..."

"And he's not the only one." said Wargrave. "I'm also interested in my School getting past everything to do with Brian Harlan. I am extremely saddened for the man and his family, but all of that stuff concerning the PEDs and your idiot agents planting them was a P.R. disaster. And that's why I want you, Director, and your Narcotics Task Force to give that County wide leeway. After that recent botched-up drug raid, where the Commander took his opportunity to rake your agents with machine gun fire, we have to let that boiling pot simmer down..."

"I understand, Mr. Wargrave." Lewis said. "I understand. By the way, what about the legislative battle next month? Time's starting to speed up on that..."

"Leave it to me." said Wargrave. "You'll still be Director of a powerful SBI... and your aspirations to Governor will be better than ever once all is said and done."

"Thank you, Mr. Wargrave." said Jack Lewis, hearing exactly what he wanted to hear. Wargrave got up, and after farewell pleasantries the ash-blonde billionaire was gone...

*****

To be continued.

Dear Readers, you have the clues to solve the mystery. Do you know who the perp is, and will the Team solve it also? Tune in next time for the answers.

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced, Ch. 1-5.



Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 04



The chronological order of my stories is now at the end of the chapter.

This story contains graphic scenes, extreme language, and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial or racist language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

*****

Part 15 - The Team's Solution

Tuesday, December 9th. The MCD team met in Classroom 'E' at 8:00am.

"Okay, guys." said Tanya. "The Commander is not here. We really need to get off our asses and get this done. Myron, what did you get over the weekend? Besides your reward for that ring you put on Mary's finger?" Everyone laughed.

"Nothing new." said Myron. "We're still processing video footage. The Commander has put several files into the evidence servers, but left copies for us to find. I don't know which ones he did that for, so we're still searching for a needle in a haystack."

"We should be able to narrow this down." said Cindy. "If it's either of these two husbands, they would've taken certain likely routes, and along with the cellphone pings, we should be able to find something."

"I agree." said Martin Nash. "But I went over all that, and even drew up this map." He got up and pinned a map to the whiteboard. "If this guy is as slick in his movements as he was about dumping the bodies, then he might have taken any wacky route to throw us off."

"Okay, anyone else have anything?" Tanya asked.

Joanne Cummings said "The paper the note was written on is foreign-made, but nobody in the County imports it, as far as I can tell. So neither Mr. nor Mrs. Biller just went into a store around her and bought it- oh..." She'd caught herself as she remembered. "I think Myron did research that before. I guess I'm back to being a dumb blonde again."

"No you're not, but I think I did look that up." said Myron. He looked through some papers. "Here it is. It's German, and they don't export that brand of paper. I think Harmon Biller was buying it when he went over there."

"Oh yeah, I remember now." said Cindy. "Damn me for forgetting. I just gave blondes a bad name too, Joanne. And I'm sure that's going to bite us in the butt, that it'll be important, and the Iron Crowbar will point it out to us in some way."

"Let's just keep that one between us blondes, then... oh, damn, the Commander is a blonde, too." said Joanne, and though clearly both women were distressed they'd let that one get by them, they had to laugh at themselves.

"I think he's more of a redhead." said Tanya. "Don't ask me how I know that with such authority. And yes, I'm sure anything we forget will come back as important to him. Teddy, what do you have?"

"Ma'am," said Teddy Parker. "I've been interviewing friends of the Billers and the Davises. One thing that I'm getting a handle on is that these two couples don't have that much in common. They don't attend the same church, they don't go to the same social clubs, the wives know each other, but there's no link anyone knows of between the husbands. In addition, Edna Biller and Charleen Davis only very recently were seen together in public as friends."

"And that makes me ask 'Who would want to kill both Edna and Charleen if they had so little in common, or were only recent friends?'" asked Tanya.

"My data on these people, going back for years," said Myron Milton, "shows no correlations nor commonalities at all."

"Speaking of data going back for years..." Joanne Cummings said, "Myron, I know you checked for Mr. Biller's credit cards. Was he using his own card for his work with BigPharmaCorp?"

"Uh, yes, he was." said Myron Milton. "It was his card, in his name, but he used it exclusively for business. His other card was rarely used and nothing funky on it."

"What about before he retired from BigPharmaCorp?" said Joanne.

"Oh wait! that's a thought!" said Myron, grabbing his laptop. "BigPharmaCorp gives out credit cards in their names, with the person's name underneath. It comes up the company name on searches unless I do some trickeration..." Everyone watched, stunned. 

"Guys, I gotta go downstairs to do this one." Myron said. "I'll be back in a few..." He hustled out.

"Detective Cummings," said Cindy, "you keep this up and the Commander will make me give you this blue crowbar." Tanya looked less than thrilled at that comment, but also complimented Joanne.

"Okay," Cindy said, unconsciously taking command in her frustration. "Let's keep going. We need ideas here. Let's get this narrowed down. Who, when, where, how, and why."

"I think we're back to the two husbands,." said Martin Nash, obviously trying to think like the Iron Crowbar would, "and I'm still thinking it's Harmon Biller."

"State your case." said Cindy. "Just for my' edumacation'."

Martin began. "He had means, he had opportunity, even if we don't have a clear-cut motive yet. He said his wife was a drinker, we now know she wasn't. He said she went out with Charleen, but there's no credit card used by either of them that night, no restaurant in the area that remembers seeing them that night, the theater people don't remember seeing either woman, and to top that off, Teddy just said that these women don't seem to have a particular friendship."

Martin continued. "As I've said before, Biller went to the Senior Center, but made no apparent effort to go into the obvious room where his card-playing friends would be, and they were there. So why would he do that, except to establish an alibi? He cleaned out his truck with Clorox, and I know there's reasonable doubt because of the farm and the manure, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have cleaned out the truck a second time after moving the bodies in the truck."

Martin finished. "I'm thinking he could have kidnapped Charleen at the Kroger, had her in the back of his truck and then he went and got his wife. Maybe he tied her up and put her in the truck, too; or maybe he had her in the front seat. He takes them both somewhere and kills them, then transports their bodies to the site where we found them. The tire impressions don't match because he replaced all four wheels, both tires and rims. He goes to the Davis house, finds Davis asleep, and plants the blood and cell phone evidence. This has been thoroughly planned and well thought out and executed."

"He's an engineer." said Joanne Cummings. "Plotting, calculating mind."

"Oh that's right; good point, Joanne." Tanya said. "But conjecture is not worth a lot; like the Commander said, we've gotta get a prosecutable case. We still have to eliminate the doubt vis-a-vis Mr. Davis. The evidence, even if planted, was still found at his house. He has new tires on his car that have not been explained away."

"Motive." Cindy said, more to herself than anyone else. "Motive, motive, motive. Gotta have motive. Theo, get any wills?"

"Succup & Payne, P.C. were the lawyers for both couples." said Teddy Parker. "All they told me was that the wives and husbands left everything to each other, and that the wills were 30 years old, at least."

"Not much there." Tanya said.

"Who has the most to gain by these deaths?" Cindy asked, again almost ignoring everyone else, channeling her inner 'Iron Crowbar 2' as if in a reverie. "Or who has the most to lose, if... ohhhh."

Cindy practically leaped for the phone that was in the center of the Classroom 'E' conference table. "Gonna take a longshot here." Everyone watched as she said "Hi, may I speak to Mrs. Jeanine Burke, please?... Lieutenant Cindy Ross, Town & County Police... get her out of her meeting, this is urgent and she will take the call..."

Cindy looked up, covering the mouthpiece of the phone. "She's not in a meeting, the secretary is trying to prevent me from talking to her. She better not make me go over there..."

After a moment, Cindy said "Hi Jeanine. Cindy Ross here. Yes, yes, I'm just fine, but I'm afraid this is a business call: I need to ask you to give me what you can on two woman that were recently murdered, Edna Biller and Charleen Davis... yes, I'm holding... ohhhh, that's huge news... formal? no, just a preliminary visit? Thanks Jeanine!" After farewell formalities, Cindy hung up.

"Yes!" the platinum blonde gasped, making a fist pump. "Edna Biller did have an appointment and met with Tina Felton, Jeanine's fellow lawyer, and about a possible divorce. She had a second one for last Tuesday, but of course was dead by then. Okay, one more phone call..." Cindy picked up the phone and began dialing again.

"Now why the fuck didn't we think of that last week?" Tanya asked, with no small amount of asperity in her voice.

"Yes, may I speak to Mr. Ferguson Stegall the Third please?" said Cindy. "Lieutenant Cindy Ross, Town & County Police Department... yes, thank you, I appreciate it..." Cindy looked up and said "I'm on the line with Effim, Goode & Hart, the men's divorce law firm, and I wish every receptionist would stop talking about the Medal of Valor and put me on the line with... oh, hello Mr. Stegall, thank you for taking my call. You're too kind, sir, way too kind. Listen, I need to know if Harmon Biller or Bill Davis has contacted your firm anytime recently? Yes, their wives were the ones murdered... Okay, an extra free month on the gym membership... ... ...thank you, sir, thank you very much. Yes, I'll see you at the gym.."

Hanging up after the goodbyes, Cindy said "It's worth the free month for him... Harmon Biller had started divorce proceedings against his wife last month. He was hoping for a quickie surprise case, and wanted to leave her with nothing if he could help it."

"That might be enough for 'probable cause', maybe enough to arrest him and try to get something out of him." said Tanya. "Let me go talk to Paulina-"

"Eureka!" Myron said as he burst into the room. "BigPharmaCorp credit card, assigned to Harmon Biller. Should have been cancelled when he retired, but is still active. He only took cash out of it about a month ago, and they shut it down once the bill came due, but that leaves the idea that he had cash to buy things... like new tires..."

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

Things started falling into place.

"Yeah, that's him." said the owner of the Coltrane County Junkyard, where Deputy Strait had escorted Cindy Ross and Teddy Parker. "Bought rims for a Ford Ranger pickup truck. Asked if I could put tires on them, but I don't have that equipment, so I sent him to Strait's cousin Eddy in Buford."

At Eddy's Tires and Automotive in the county seat of Buford, Eddy looked at the picture and said "Yeah, Cousin, he was here about three weeks ago, no, about four weeks ago now. Had me put some old tires on some rims... yeah, he said it was just a spare set for when he was doing farm work at his cooperative..."

As they left, Deputy Strait said "It's really good seeing you again, Lt. Ross. Can I buy you lunch?"

"Thanks," said Cindy, "but we've got to get back."

As they were driving back, Teddy said, "Lieutenant, I don't need to be the Iron Crowbar to see that that Deputy has a big-time crush on you."

"Yeah, he's a sweet guy, but he's not my type." said Cindy, not saying that she didn't play on Deputy Strait's team at all...

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

"We don't have the tires, but we have affidavits that Biller bought tires and rims in Coltrane County." said Tanya Perlman to Paulina Patterson. Paulina was sitting behind her desk, and Tanya had chosen to stand on the other side as she laid out her case. "The divorce firms have confirmed that both Billers had appointments, though they claiming lawyer-client privilege on what was discussed. We also have affidavits from the Hardware Store that Biller bought plastic sheeting about six weeks ago, and some rope. Paid cash for all of it. Last but not least, the paper his wife's note was written on is foreign-made, not imported, and he's been known to have bought packets of it in the past."

"What about his whereabouts that night?" Paulina asked.

"That's finally coming through." said Tanya. "He seems to know all the dead spots, but we finally got a parking lot shot of him near where Charleen's car was found, and he was on the highway near to where the bodies were found, both between 7:00 and 8:00pm, after sunset. We think he was going back for Charleen's cell phone; hence his coming from the opposite direction expected."

"I'll call for the arrest warrant." said Paulina, already knowing that Lt. Perlman's MCD squad had given her enough. She picked up the phone. "Commander, they've done it."

A moment later I came into Paulina's office and handed her my box of evidence. "You're close enough." I said to Tanya. "Now use this to finish the bastard off."

Part 16 - A Successful Arrest

Late that afternoon, I was standing in the anteroom to Interrogation-1, leaning against the back wall. The Chief was standing next to me, smiling happily under his handlebar mustaches. The rest of MCD was packed into the room, as well, except for Tanya Perlman, Joanne Cummings and Theo Washington... they were in the interrogation room itself. Joanne was sitting behind the other Detectives; her presence there was her reward for her excellent thinking during the case... and yes, it might have been one very impressed Police Commander that suggested to Tanya to give Joanne that reward.

Harmon Biller was sitting on the perp side, next to his lawyer. He was slouching in his chair, looking defeated... but at the same time he was looking wary. I surmised that he was looking to see what we had. And we had a lot.

Tanya did a decent job of pointing out the many inconsistencies in Biller's statements, as well as telling him that we had the affidavits, and therefore would have the testimony of individuals that were aware of the purchases he'd made. Unfortunately, the lawyer was a bit too wily.

"Lieutenant," said the lawyer, speaking to Tanya as if she were an uncomprehending child, "this is barely even circumstantial evidence. There is nothing my client has done that cannot be explained logically and consistently as not being related to these murders at all. I don't believe you can put my client at the crime scene, nor even tell us where the crime took place. Last, but not least, there was serious evidence found at the home of Mr. Bill Davis, and that evidence should convict Mr. Davis, not to mention be reasonable doubt that will prevent any jury from convicting my client."

Tanya looked halfway between angry and nervous, Theo definitely looked rattled, and Joanne showed nothing on her face.

"Remind me not to play poker with Detective Cummings." I said. "By the way, it's obvious Biller told his lawyer about the evidence at the Davises, which he otherwise should not know about at all. That's proof enough to me, though it's not going to be admissible in Court."

"Okay guys, you've solved this case," said the Chief, "but you still have one thing to learn from the Master... interrogating perps, and there is nobody better than the Commander. Crowbar, get in there and wrap this shit up. It's hopefully my final big case as Chief, and I want to walk out a winner."

"Yes sir." I said quietly, feeling the disappointment of the MCD team. "Call Paulina in here." I said. I knocked hard on the one-way glass, and the Detectives inside all came out. As I waited for Paulina, I concentrated hard on getting 'into the zone' in my mind, preparing myself mentally for the verbal legal combat that was about to take place. By the time Paulina arrived, I was ready.

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

"Oh shit." said the lawyer when he saw Paulina enter Interrogation-1, followed by... me. The legal beagle recovered and tried to bluster: "What's the matter, Commander? Your minions can't handle an interrogation? They're failing, so they bring you in to browbeat my client?"

"My team can and will get the conviction of your client." I said. "And they'll watch him die by lethal injection in the State's Death Chamber, too-"

"There you go, trying to intimidate my client." said the lawyer. He stood up. "If there is nothing more, it's time for us to leave. Come on, Harmon."

"Your client is under arrest." I said. "He is going nowhere, even if you do leave. Now sit your ass down, or get out."

So far my voice had been quiet, but the menacing undertone of the last sentence had not escaped Biller's attention. I looked Biller in the eye.

"Harmon Biller," I said, "despite the theatrics of your legal beagle here, who is unable to hide his fear from the moment I entered this room, I have a case against you so solid that I do think I can get the death penalty. In fact... why don't I tell you what you did that night, and you just correct me where I go astray, okay?"

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

In the anteroom, Cindy Ross said "You're right, Chief. We cannot do what he is doing now. We're not losing face, but there's nothing like what the Iron Crowbar can do to a perp when he starts telling that perp what he or she did as if Don were there himself." Tanya grimaced at the words, which the Chief noticed. He patted Tanya on the shoulder.

"You guys did very well." said the Chief. "You solved the case and made an arrest. It's no bad mark upon any of you to let the Iron Crowbar wrap this up and extract the confession, so we can all go home in time for supper with the Baby Petes of the world." Tanya couldn't help but smile at the thought of her baby son. The Chief still had magic with his people.

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

"Oh, sometime in the late afternoon of Sunday, November 30th," I said, "you, Mr. Biller, followed Charleen Davis to the Kroger that she frequently shops. You pulled in behind her car, came up to her, and asked her to come with you, that her husband had had a fall and was being rushed to the hospital. In her shock, she was easily subdued, thrown into the back of your covered pickup truck, her hands quickly tied with rope and her mouth gagged, her body wrapped in plastic to immobilize her."

"It took a while, during which time you were parked in a 'dead zone' of another parking lot where you could not be seen by cameras, and you waited for your wife to park. Seems she was not meeting you, but a gentleman she had met some weeks before, and was now meeting on a regular basis... a gentleman introduced to her by one Charleen Davis."

The look on Biller's face was priceless: he was in total shock, and I knew that I was right to this point. His lawyer tried to save him.

"We don't have to listen to this crap." yelled the lawyer. "Either you stop this harassment, or I'll have your badge!"

"Yes, you do have to listen to it." said Paulina Patterson. "Well, Mr. Biller here has to listen to it. It's a formal interrogation. You can leave if you like, but we're going to hear what the Commander has to say. Keep interfering, and I'll have your badge as an Officer of the Court, and then your disbarment will quickly follow."

"Thank you, District Attorney Patterson." I said. "Now, where was I? Oh yes... when your wife showed up, you practically jumped her. I suspect you showed her Mrs. Davis in the back of the car, and then forced her into the front of the car, made her write that note on your high-quality German stationary- oh yes, that's where you first went wrong, Biller..."

I had seen Biller's eyes light up when I mentioned the paper; gears in his mind had crashed into place. "Yes, you threatened to kill Charleen if Edna didn't write the note. Once she did write it, you tied her up, wrapped her in plastic, then drove both of your victims out to the farms, where you forced Edna to watch as you slit Charleen's throat. You then applied the same murderous stroke to your wife's neck, her face still showing the horror of having watched you murder Charleen."




Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 04



This was too easy, I thought as I saw Harmon Biller's face show its own fear. I continued: "You then took the bodies down the road, almost to the County Jail, perhaps figuring that the last place the Police would look would be within a few yards of one of their buildings. At any rate, you went home, washed out your truck, Cloroxed it down, then changed out the tires to the new ones. You went and got Charleen's cell phone from her car at the Kroger, now that it was dark, and went to the Davis house."

"You found Davis to be asleep, so you crept in, sent the text message from your wife's phone to your own, then planted both phones in the drawer, with Charleen's phone set to vibrate only and your wife's phone with the sound still on. You had taken up some blood when you killed the women; you left a spot of each woman's blood on Davis's carpet. You then left the sheet of stationary- yes, there's that stationary again, Mr. Biller- and then you went and cloroxed down the trunk of Mr. Davis's car. That was a touch, but it wasn't enough, Mr. Biller."

"Anyway, after that, you left the Davis home. You went and disposed of the tires and whatever blood you still had, then went home, cleaned out the truck one more time, and went to bed. You never did try to call your wife, but Davis did... but he didn't hear his wife's phone vibrating inside the drawer." 

"You're an engineer, Mr. Biller. You planned this for weeks if not months, and you planned it to a fine level of detail. You drove around for several days beforehand, testing the routes, seeing what the traffic was like, checking to make sure cameras weren't recording you too much. You went through a dry run the day before, at the approximate times you expected to actually commit your crimes. And then you did it for real and it went off like near-clockwork for you."

"Now I've got proof of so much of this that, coupled with my narrative I just gave you, a jury is going to be begging to convict you and recommend the death penalty, which the judge will quickly assign to your sentence."

The lawyer was looking at me with utter shock on his face. Harmon Biller was no longer looking at me, but down at his lap. "I... I need to talk to my lawyer." he said quietly. We got up and left the room.

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

Fifteen minutes later, we were back in the room. I had Tanya come in too, having seen the expression on her face when Paulina and I had gone back into the anteroom, and as some measure of vengeance of the disrespectful way the lawyer had treated her earlier.

"My client wants to know what we can work out." the lawyer said. "I'm opposed to any deal, but he insists that I negotiate with you."

"I'm pretty much opposed to any deals as well, Counselor." said ADA Patterson. "I see no reason to negotiate anything. I've got a strong death penalty case, here."

"I'll save you the time and trouble and expense of a trial." said Harmon Biller. "And I get to live."

"In exchange for your full confession, cooperation, and guilty plea to each murder," Paulina said, "you'll get consecutive sentences, 25-to-life, meaning you won't be eligible for parole for 50 years."

"I again urge you not to take this, and plead 'not guilty'." Biller's lawyer said to him. "I think you should fight this all the way."

"No, I'll take the deal." Biller said. He turned to his lawyer and said "You can go now." The lawyer quickly gathered his things and exited the room.

"Do you wish new counsel?" I immediately asked Biller, to make sure he didn't create a legal loophole for himself.

"No." said Biller, then began his narrative, looking at Paulina. "It happened just as this man here said it did, except that I didn't know for sure if Edna was going to meet a man that night or not. I swear to God as he was talking that I think he must've been watching me the whole time. I thought I had it planned out perfectly. Where did I go wrong?"

"I'll tell you after you tell your story," I said, "which will include your reasons for the crimes, and where you dumped the tires."

"It was as you said." said Biller. "My wife was having an affair. I suspected for years that she'd been having affairs, that her stories of meeting other woman, as well as the hints that she was drinking behind my back, were all just stories to cover that she was having affairs."

"She met this Charleen Davis about three months ago." said Biller. "That woman was evil, a real witch. She was the one pouring venom into my wife's ears, suggesting that my wife leave me, even introducing Edna to other men in the hopes Edna would start dating one of them."

"I guess I was half-mad." Biller continued. "I had all these grand schemes in my mind about killing Edna, even getting a second set of wheels for my truck so that I could drive her and Charleen out to the farms and kill them. Then I thought that I'd just divorce Edna and go on with my life without her. Hell, we'd been separated in our minds if not our actual lives for years-"

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Biller." I said, interrupting him. "Let me just ask one quick question: did you consult with anyone on your plan to murder your wife before you did it?"

Biller's face registered shock... the shock of me knowing, not of his innocence. But he still lied: "Er no, of course not. Why would I just go tell someone that I wanted to kill my wife?"

"Maybe you were helped with your plan, in exchange for you being a courier of certain things to Germany when you went on your business trips there? And perhaps in exchange for information on some of BigPharmaCorp's processes?" I pressed.

"Uh... no, no," Biller said, the look on his face turning from an attempt to hide shock... to an attempt to hide fear. "Nothing like that at all."

"Okay, then." I said. "I'll tell you what: just go ahead and sign these confession papers, here, and let ADA Patterson file the paperwork for the plea deal. And I'll go ahead and tell you where you messed up."

I leaned forward just a bit and said "It was the stationary. I'm not going to say you would've gotten away with it, but if you'd grabbed her stationary instead of your own, you might well have had a shot for reasonable doubt with a jury, if you had a really hotshot lawyer working for you." Biller just nodded. I got up and left as Biller signed the paperwork Paulina was presenting to him.

"What was that consultation and courier thing about?" Chief Griswold asked as we walked down the hallway.

"Just a longshot." I said. "I think someone helped him with the concept, and probably gave him the Town's camera coverage information. Also, the financials are a bit too simple and tight, and I just have this feeling that there is something notthere that should be..."

"So why did you stop him from talking any further?" the Chief asked.

"Because he's mad." I said. "He is a sick, deranged man, and if he'd talked much further, he might have gotten away with a 'guilty but insane' verdict. I'm not sure his wife ever was having affairs with other men, for starters."

I continued: "In any case, this way he goes to prison for the rest of his natural life... which won't be that long, if I don't miss my guess." I then covered my verbal slip by saying "He's not totally well physically, either, if I don't miss my guess." 

"The medical profession lost a great doctor when you turned your energies elsewhere." said the Chief, and I simply could not tell if he meant it or if he was letting me know he was seeing through me as he said "Well, I guess I better call Jack Colby..."

Part 17 - The Iron Crowbar's Solution

Saturday night in the back room of The Steakhouse, MCD held a semi-official retirement party for the Chief, which Town & County Councilman John 'Jack; Colby had insisted on hosting and paying for. It was also a celebration for solving the Biller-Davis murders. In addition to myself and Laura, there was the Chief and his wife, Cindy Ross and Jenna Stiles, Paulina Patterson and her husband, Tanya Perlman by herself, Martin Nash and Sandra Speer, Diana Torres from MCD and Christopher Purvis from Vice (were they dating?), Myron Milton and Goth Girl Mary Mahoney (most definitely together), Theo Washington and Nurse Jones (were THEY dating?), Teddy Parker and Sonali from I.T., and beautiful young Joanne Cummings... with handsome young Seth Warner.

After eating and conversation, the subject rather quickly drifted to the case. I made a toast to the entire MCD Team, telling them that they had solved the case without me, and done so very well, and that they should celebrate the victory. Still, some just can't be happy unless they are unhappy... particularly ruggedly gorgeous platinum blondes with blue crowbars.

"You had it solved days before we did." said Cindy. "C'mon, admit it."

"I can't think of anything that I saw or found that you guys didn't." I said. "Seriously, guys, you did a great job without me."

"Yes, you did very well." agreed the Chief, who was already into the bourbons and his cheeks getting rosy.

"I still feel like we missed something." said Martin Nash. "So, for our education, what could we have done better?"

"Well, you might have saved some time-" I started.

"Whoooooooooaa!" came a sudden and huge chorus, as if on cue.

"Guys, you really did it." I said, nonplussed. I really did not want to take away from their achievements.

"Come on, Crowbar One, spill it." said Tanya. "It took you three days, and us over a week."

"Just tell us your thought process going through it... for our education and efficiency, of course." said Martin Nash. He really did want to learn, I realized.

"Okay, okay." I said. "I think you'll find as I talk that you did have all the clues, but here goes: when I got to the Biller house, the first thing that stood out, that came to my attention, was the paper that Edna's note was written on. It was different, if slightly, than Edna's stationary paper, and I could see by the watermark that it was made in Germany. There were few other pieces of paper of that kind, and Edna's stationary was indeed different, having been made here in the USA."

I continued. "Now I want you guys to use your imaginations, and to put yourselves in Edna's position of writing a note. Would she go to her husband's desk, search for paper, write a note that was clearly on the top piece of paper of a pad or sheaf, tear that paper off, leave it and then put the rest of the paper up? And put the rest of the pad where I, the Iron Crowbar, couldn't find it despite a search specifically for it?"

After looking around at everyone, I said "No, I think she'd sit at her desk, write on her paper, and leave that on his desk. But that isn't what happened, so I was already looking askance at Mr. Harmon Biller and the scene before me."

I said further: "I also thought that the paper itself was unusual. It's a particularly strong and absorbent paper, that allows writing even on smudged areas better than most papers, which is why the people at BigPharmaCorp liked it. But it was not sold in any stores here in the County, and I would discover that it was very hard to obtain, and quite expensive. That was one of the three emails I got Thursday, three days after the crime was first reported: I'd sent a correspondence in German to the company that makes the paper, and the reply was in good high German: they do not export that paper, at all. The only way to get it is from the company that makes it, and from their outlet store in that town."

"You speak German?" Martin Nash asked.

"Ja wohl, ich spreche ein bissein Deutsch. Ich studiert Deutsch am Universität. I said. "I took it in college, and Laura speaks a little bit, also." I greatly downplayed just how good Laura's German was; she was fluent. Laura did not bother to comment.

"Anyway," I said, continuing on, "the paper could only have been obtained in Germany, and guess who was going there frequently and obtaining it. Biller's greatest mistake was that he grabbed his own stationary instead of his wife's before leaving home, and that tiny slip brought down his entire elaborate scheme."

"So," I said, "when we went to the Davis house, I was not in the least bit distracted by the obviously planted evidence. Two little spots of blood? Really? He's going to fool my Crime Lab with that? I don't think so. And no indeed, he did not fool us, especially Detective Cummings."

Joanne blushed and Seth smiled as he looked at her as I went on: "I didn't have a motive yet, but I had a good idea in my mind that Biller was involved, and I already feared that the women were dead. The narrative was already forming in my mind, especially when I heard that his truck had been Cloroxed out. He was making it so obvious, almost too obvious, and maybe he thought he could hide in plain sight."

"The second email that I got," I said, "was from BigPharmaCorp, confirming his credit line with them while he was a full employee. What I realized was that his expenses were simply too few. They'd left his credit line open even after he retired, and would just pay the expenses themselves when he sent in an expense report; ergo, the practically never showed up at all. Only after he took a couple of cash advances did any reports show up; they'd take the advances out of his pay, but they still showed up. I've still got some issues with all of that, but we'll leave it for the moment."

"I now tried to figure out just what he'd done." I said. "How did he get Edna to write that note? Clearly it was her handwriting, but one can tell from the shakiness of it that she wrote it under extreme duress. Ergo, he was threatening her. Her own life? Maybe, but maybe not. Someone else's life in the balance? That made more sense. So I now have him extracting the note out of his wife to complete his illusion at his home.

"We found the bodies, and the looks on the dead women's faces told me that Charleen had likely died first and that Edna had witnessed it: her own death followed within moments. At that point, it was a matter of finding out just where he might have traveled, getting some video of him traveling where he was after saying he was at home, etc. I sat back and thought about that, thinking that as an engineer he would've planned his routes carefully, would know cameras are out there and how he could best avoid them, which is becoming a cottage industry these days. And then it hit me: if he was planning that carefully, he likely would practice driving his routes beforehand."

I saw my Detectives look around at each other. "Yes, this might be where I got one over on you. But not in the evidence; only in my imagination of what this criminal might have done. Definitely strive to use your imaginations, though don't exceed what the data tells you."

There was a murmur of agreement as I continued: "So I started looking at tape not of the day of the murder, but of the day before, and the day before that. He was much less careful those days, and I caught plenty of video of him. In the Kroger parking lot, driving all the way through and around it, not just up to a car as he would do the next day. He did a lot more zig-zagging Saturday, and went into and out of dead zones a lot more, but I had an idea of what he was planning... by thinking of how I'd do it myself based on his trailblazing the route."

"To make a long story short-" I said.

"Too late." said Cindy (of course). Laughter prevailed for a moment.

"Good grief." I said. "Anyway, by seeing where he'd gone Friday and Saturday, I looked at some places on Sunday and got a few pieces of video evidence of him being in various places, including the outskirts of Town after dark, where he was taking the women to meet their destinies. I also knew he had come back to Kroger for Charleen's phone, and I was able to get some video of him on streets near there at the time he said he was elsewhere. It was only now a matter of finding some stronger evidence to show the motive."

"And that is where my third email came in: from the Women's Law Firm of Dewey, Cheatham & Howe, particularly my niece. I know Cindy got that same info, so it's not like my family connection was special, but it was nice getting it. I didn't even try to get info from Effim, Goode & Hart, so Cindy one-upped me there, and most effectively, I admit."

Cindy just grinned at me as I went on: "Now I do have to say that there is virtually no evidence that Edna Biller was having extramarital affairs, and that those might be Harmon Biller's fantasies in his deranged mind. But he did try to file for divorce and his wife found out; ergo, her own visit to an attorney. Having been found out about the divorce plans, Harmon then executed his plan... to execute his wife."

"Anyway, I put all that I found into evidence," I said, "then assigned Rudistan and his squads to watch Biller and to place him under arrest if he left the Town City Limits line. He laid low, though, wondering if he'd beaten us, but he had not. You guys effected the arrest, and the case is solved. Now I don't think there's anything I found that you didn't, I just used more imagination and less time... and you guys did discover the information about the tires, which I did not get to at all."

"Any idea where he dumped the old tires?" asked Myron.

"Yes." said Paulina. "He admitted he dumped them into the River from the property of his farm cooperative. The Coltrane County Sheriff and Deputy Strait found them pretty quickly for us, as well as a bag containing the women's car keys, small bottles of blood and used plastic pipettes, and they've turned all that evidence over to us. So it's over for Harmon Biller.

"Any idea why he bagged them instead of throwing them out separately?" Sandra Speer asked.

"By that time, I'll bet he thought he'd gotten away with it, and didn't really think about it." said Martin Nash. "Well, I can see that we still have a lot to learn from the Iron Crowbar."

"You've learned to kiss ass much better than he has, that's for damn sure." said the Chief with rosy cheeks, a merry smile, and twitching of large mustaches. This party was about to get out of hand...

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

"I think you're right about Harmon's thoughts of his wife having extramarital affairs was largely in his own mind." said Cindy as we discussed the case over the next few days.

"Yes, though one thing occurred to me, which you need to keep just between us and the crowbars." I replied. "I think whoever helped Biller with the crime may have been the one that was porking Edna Biller. If Harmon Biller knew a name of anyone fucking his wife, he would only conceal that name if it was that same helper... if Harmon knew at all..."

"And I take it that this 'helper' is a Master and Consultant of Crime, who has stayed in the shadows as others do his work for him and confront you over the Chessboard of Crime?" Cindy asked, her language flowing and flowery.

"Nice flowing and flowery language, there, Crowbar 2." I said. "You should write crime stories for erotic web sites." Cindy's eyes lit up as if she thought that was a good idea...

Also, over the next few days, I watched one piece of tape from the Kroger parking lot several times. I had already logged it into evidence, and made an extra note that went into my locked drawer.

The video had come from the Friday before the murders, the day after Thanksgiving. Biller wasn't evident in the tape, but there were two cars very clearly in view, alongside each other with their driver-side windows in conjunction. I watched the tape, showing a woman that was clearly (to me) Coach Brian Harlan's home hospice nurse receiving a package from the woman in the other car. It did not take much detection work to determine that the driver of the other car was the nurse from University Hospital known as 'Nurse Ratchett'. And it was clear to my fertile imagination that Nurse Ratchett was where the morphine that ended Harlan's life had come from.




Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 04



Now why would Nurse Ratchett risk her career and her freedom by stealing that morphine and giving it to Coach Harlan's nurse? I wondered to myself. I knew that I was witnessing something very important, something that was a clue to me for future consideration...

Part 18 - Epilogue: The Final Gauntlet

Monday, December 15th, 4:00pm. I was sitting in front of the Chief's desk in his office as he sat behind it, signing copies of a document. His assistant, Martha, stood to the side of the desk, trying not to cry. Daniel Allgood, wearing the uniform of a Police Lieutenant, was sitting next to me.

"Okay, that's it, my last official act as Chief." Griswold said. "It makes you Acting Chief for the rest of the year, Don, and leaves you in command next year until the Sheriff or Council appoints a new Chief." He handed one copy to me and the rest to Martha. 

Tears escaped her eyes as she left the room. The Chief knew that she collected Wedgwood pottery, and earlier this morning he had given her a fairly rare and expensive piece for her collection as a token of his gratitude for her years of devoted service to him. She had begun crying, the finality of the Chief's retirement hitting her, and she had been emotional off-an-on for the rest of the day.

It was Chief Griswold's last day of active service with the Town & County Police Department. He was going to be on vacation for the rest of the year, and his retirement would take effect with the ringing in of the New Year. As I sat in the office with him, I felt some strong emotions at losing the man who was my mentor and like my second father. But I knew that must be nothing compared to what he was feeling.

He had gone around the Headquarters all day, thanking everyone, and I think he had made an effort to shake the hand of every police officer, staffer and civilian police employee that he could. Departments had cakes ready for him, and I was sure that he'd become diabetic before the day was through, what with all that sugar being consumed.

"Okay, guys, it's your Department now." said Chief Griswold. Daniel Allgood stood up, knowing that it was time for him to excuse himself.

"I'll leave you two to finish up." Allgood said. "It's been an honor working for you, Chief." The Chief shook hands with Daniel, told him to call when Daniel and Melina's baby was born. Allgood promised to do so, then left the office. It was also Allgood's last active duty day with the Police Department; he would be preparing for his role as Sheriff when he was sworn in on New Years Day.

Now it was just the two of us left in Chief Griswold's office, and I could see that the moment was finally, unavoidably hitting him. "Well, it's been a good run." he said, looking around the office. "And I know I'm leaving this Force in good hands, Don. I know you'll take care of these guys. Daniel Allgood will be a good Sheriff, too."

"Yes sir." I said. I did not know what else to say.

"This Town is lucky as hell to have you, Crowbar." the Chief said, then added, somewhat cryptically, "I know you'll come visit me any time you feel the need to talk, and when you root out the Evil that has been so deeply embedded in this County. Success is not far away for you."

"I hope so, sir." I said. I did not know what else to say.

"Okay, that's it. Let's go." he said, standing up. I was in my 'Duty Dress' uniform, and I would've worn my Medal of Valor if he'd not specifically ordered me not to. The Chief was also in his Duty Dress uniform, the rows of ribbons substituting for and denoting his many medals on the right side of his jacket above his nametag. He'd earned every last one of them, and I knew I had a long way to go to match the sterling record of this police officer.

He came around the desk and extended his hand. I was working hard not to get emotional, but our handshake turned into a hug anyway. "Come see us, Chief Emeritus, and don't have too much fun in retirement." I said.

"I'll stop in sometimes." said the Chief. "Good luck, Crowbar. You've got this now."

"Let me get the door for you, Chief." I said. I went to the door, opened it, then came to the position of attention.

"Police Force! Attention!" Lt. Cindy Ross called out from the hallway, and her place in the line. As the Chief looked out, he saw the two rows of police officers, standing shoulder to shoulder, facing inwards. They were forming a gauntlet, from the edge of the door frame and out the anteroom door into the hall.

The Chief looked up at me as I held the door, but I would not look down at him. Finally, he said "Walk with me, Commander.", then he stepped forward out of the office. I fell in behind him.

He walked down the hall between the rows of officers, smiling at them, telling them goodbye and best wishes. I walked silently behind him, feeling extremely honored that he had asked me to escort him on his last journey out the door. The looks on the faces of the officers in the rows were those understanding the solemnity of this occasion; even Sergeant Rudistan was solemn today. I saw Lt. Allgood standing amongst the officers in the rows, knowing this was why Daniel had come in today: this was his last act as a Town & County Policeman, honoring our retiring Chief.

As Griswold got to the turn to go out the side door, he saw Captain Charles and stopped, shaking Charles's hand. That turned into an emotional hug between two battle-hardened policemen that had seen years of service together, then Captain Charles walked with the Chief and myself into the little hallway leading to the outside door to the secured employees parking lot.

At the desk by the door, Precinct Captain Damien Thompson had been placed on duty by me, having asked for the honor of this task. The Chief shook Thompson's hand, then turned in his badge and gun. Thompson handed Griswold his Chief Emeritus badge and ranks in a plastic sleeve, and gave him his gun back.

Outside, rows of officers were formed in a circle around the Chief's civilian car. The Media was filming from just outside the gate. As he was about to get in, Captain Charles called out "Present... arms!" Everyone saluted. The Chief saluted back, then said loudly "I know that you'll continue to do the excellent work you've done for me all these years! Thank you, and best wishes to all of you!" As he was about to lose it, he quickly got into the car. In a moment, he was no longer there. It was not really much different, but for me everything seemed to have changed, like going through a time warp.

"Police Force!" called out Lt. Ross. "Return to duty! Dismissed!" Everyone began moving, and the crowd dissipated. I remained standing where I was, the enormity of what I was now responsible for hitting me fully.

"Come on, Commander." said Cindy, gripping my arm. "We've got work to do." I allowed my partner to guide me back into the building. Yes, we had work to do.

Finis... for now.

*****

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced, Ch. 1-5.

Case of the Paper Trail, Ch. 1-4.