The Hot Date Mystery Ch. 03

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

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

This story contains graphic scenes, 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 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 11 - The Crime Scene

Krueger continued: "It's in small print, right near the bottom. It isn't clickable, but it's there."

I'd expected one development, not two. I told Myron to let Lt. Masters in Vice know, and also to tell our SWAT Teams to be ready for possible action. As he left, I headed out to Ronald Reagan Park...

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

The River is the western border of Ronald Reagan Park. The entrance is from the south, leading to a huge, open field with some of the Disc Golf holes around the edges of it. To the north the land rises into a hill, which is wooded. More disc golf holes go through there, as does a concrete walking path that encircles the entire park.

It was up on this hill, inside the woodline, that the mortal remains of the unfortunate Andy Martoli had been found. Police cruisers and the ambulance had used the walking path to drive up to the area. The sun had set, and the only lights were from streetlamps and the klieg lights set up to illuminate the scene. A tent had been erected over the immediate site where Martoli had been found.

"Fingerprints match those of Andy Martoli's." said Detective Teddy Parker when I came up to the scene. "He was fingerprinted for a background check for his work, and again when he applied for a concealed carry license. Also, his wallet was in his pants pocket. No cash, but the credit cards were there as well as his drivers license."

"This is a disaster." I said as I looked around. "Detective Warner!" I called out. She hurried over, all but running. I said "Did anyone look at this crime scene before all these vehicles drove up?"

"Er, I'm not sure, sir." said Joanne.

"Definitely a teachable moment, wouldn't you say... Captain Ross?" I said, knowing Cindy was sneaking up behind me.

"Unfortunately yes, sir." said Cindy. Not elaborating, I strode up to the tent and went inside, where the Christina Cho and J.R. Barnes were making notes while Martha the M.E. examined the body. Martoli had been found lying on his back.

"I smell formaldehyde." I said as I came up to Martha.

"Not much gets by you, Commander." Martha said, trying to hide a grin as she said it. Realizing I was being teased, I let it go. Martha continued: "Yes sir, the body was exsanguinated, then preserved with formaldehyde being injected into the blood vessels. Don't ask for a time of death; it's been days, but it's going to be hard to pin down because of the preservation techniques used."

I put on latex gloves and picked up Martoli's hand. "Wow, very cold. Refrigerated as well?"

"Yes sir." Martha said. "But not frozen."

"So he was brought here very recently and dumped here." I said. "Detective Warner! Have the Mouseketeers been asked to obtain any camera footage of the area?"

"Yes sir." said Teddy Parker, answering for Joanne. "I called them. They already have a documented process for getting footage in and around the Park, and they're implementing that."

"Good." I said. "Pretty obvious what happened here, isn't it, Detective Warner?" I noticed Cindy peer at me.

Joanne answered. "Yes sir. Mr. Martoli was killed some time before, then dumped here just tonight."

"How was he killed?" I asked Martha.

"No obvious stab wounds or bullet holes." said Martha. "But we haven't fully undressed the body yet. From this needle mark on the neck, I'd suggest he was injected with poison. They may have begun putting formaldehyde into him while he was alive. I'll know more after the autopsy."

"Okay. Thank, Martha." I said. "Detective Warner, who called this in?"

"Anonymous tip, sir." said Joanne. "9-1-1 got a call at 7:05pm. Phone number is a burner, and the caller refused to give a name. He said he didn't want to get involved."

"Male caller?"

"Yes sir." said Joanne. "9-1-1 played the call for me."

"Nice." I said. "Well, not much else to see here. I'm going to Headquarters and see what the Mouseketeers have for me in the way of video."

"Sir, any strangenesses?" Joanne asked.

"How can I tell?" I replied, acid in my voice. "The area around this crime scene could not have been destroyed any worse if I had asked them to do it." With that, I stalked off back to my car. The Green Crowbar followed, and Cindy got in the SUV with me.

As we drove back to Headquarters, Cindy said "You were rough on Joanne tonight."

"Tough love." I said. "Lighting a fire under her ass. She's going to be a great detective, but tonight is not going to be remembered as her best moment. And I'm disappointed that my four years or more of teaching crime scene preservation has been shown to be of absolutely zero value."

Cindy nodded, knowing that some refresher training was coming, and it would not be pleasant for her Detectives.

"And of course," I said, "you will go behind me and pick Joanne up and rebuild her. Good cop to my bad cop."

"Oh yes." Cindy said. "I just want to be sure you're okay when you bring down the hammer. By the way, you were all but predicting this. How did you know?"

"I had a small but nagging idea in the back of my head." I said. "I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, I want to see the surveillance footage."

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

We were in Classroom 'E'. Myron and Mary were showing me the footage.

"There are Park Maintenance trucks driving around, doing different things." said Myron. "They go around emptying trash cans just before sunset, and I'm told they do that so if anyone dumps drugs in the trash overnight, we can find those drugs more easily."

"That's actually a good idea." I said. "So... what is this van I see?" There was a van on the walk path, with the 'Town & County Parks & Recreation Department' logo on the doors and back.

"That's the vehicle of interest, sir." said Mary. "The license plate is fake; no vehicle registered for that tag. Also, Parks & Recreation doesn't use vans for any maintenance. As you can see, sir, it drove around the walking path up into the woods, stopped right around where the body was found, then a moment later drove off again. We don't have anything better that shows the people in it or what happened when the van stopped."

"Good enough." I said. "Good work, guys. This shows me a few things. Y'all can go home if you don't have anything else."

"Sir, they're getting a warrant to search Martoli's home." said Mary. "So we'll hang around until that's executed."

I looked over at Cindy, who was sitting next to me, to my right. "They haven't done that already?" I asked.

"Judge Folsom's warrant let us go in to check the premises for Martoli and for any obvious signs of foul play. But he specifically forbade us from taking anything out of the apartment without another warrant. If we'd found an atom bomb there, we couldn't have done anything about it. And we found no blood, no signs of struggle. The apartment was clean."

"How clean?" I asked as 'something' hit me. My question caused that 'something' to hit Cindy, too. She said nothing, but just arched her eyebrows.

"Let's get over there." I said.

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

Cindy and I beat everyone else over there. Joanne and Teddy had stopped by the Courthouse to get the freshly printed warrant, and were now executing it along with Sergeant Rudistan and Sr. Patrolman Morton.

"No sign of forced entry on the door." I said as they came up. The TCPD's photographer and videographer, a pretty Asian woman named Kim, filmed the doorway.

There was crime scene tape over the door from the Police's last visit, and I made the proper notations and cut the seal. We went inside.

"Absolutely sterile." Cindy said. Sure enough, the place looked like it had been staged to be sold. Everything was clean and in place. All the dishes were clean and in the cabinets. There was no food in the refrigerator nor freezer. All of Martoli's clothes were laundered and put away neatly; the suits that were hanging in his closet were spaced the exact same distant apart.

"That's taking it to an extreme." I said, pointing that symmetry out. "It's like a West Point plebe's closet." Cindy nodded.

"No blood anywhere." Joanne noted. "All the windows are shut and locked, and don't look like they've been opened."

"No, he wasn't killed here." I said. "Whoever killed him took his keys, came in here, may or may not have taken anything in preparation for his date with Terry Schultz, then the 'cleaners' came in and sterilized this place."

"Sir!" called out Teddy Parker. "Martoli's BMW is sitting in the parking lot, in the designated spot for the apartment!" We went out and looked. Sure enough, there sat the vehicle in question.

"Get video footage if you can." I said. "I don't think this place has good coverage, but see what you can find. And canvass the neighbors; see if anyone remembers that car driving up, and when."

The Crime Lab would come in later, but they would find no fingerprints nor anything else that gave us any help to identifying and finding Martoli's killer or killers, much less Terry Schultz's killer or killers. Video coverage was indeed poor, and we got nothing of value from that, nor from interviews with other people, most of whom didn't want to get involved.

Part 12 - Data

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded MILF as she stood at the entrance of Ronald Reagan Park at 7:00am, Tuesday, January 24th. "Channel Two News has learned that the body of Anthony Martoli was found last night, here at Ronald Reagan Park!"

"Mr. Martoli was being sought in connection with the murder of Terry Schultz, C.E.O. of Schultz Elite Staffing." Bettina continued. "He was an employee of Dakota Funding, Inc., a structured settlement loan company. Police have no comment on how Mr. Martoli died nor how his body was discovered in the Park, but Commander Donald Troy admitted that Mr. Martoli's death is very likely related to Terry Schultz's murder."

"And let's go to Nick Eastwood for breaking Sports news!" Bettina said. "Nick!"

"Thank you Bettina!" said Nick Eastwood, reporting from outside the University Athletics Department offices. "Channel Two Sports has learned that in response to being stripped of her basketball scholarship and suing the University over it, Jayne Hallerton is suing women's basketball coach Matt Snelling for sexual harassment. Three other female athletes, two basketball players and one member of the Track team, have come out and accused Coach Snelling of sexually harassing them, as well."

"Assistant Athletic Director Miles Messervy, who approved of stripping Hallerton of her scholarship over the weekend," continued Eastwood, "issued a statement saying that the allegations against Coach Snelling will be fully examined, and is placing the coach on administrative leave with pay while the investigation takes place."

"That did not sit well with Coach Snelling," said Eastwood, "who filed a countersuit to Hallerton's legal complaint, accusing her of slander and retaliation for being kicked off the team. He also has filed a lawsuit against the University for wrongfully suspending him without cause. It can only get uglier from here, Bettina."

"That's very true, Nick." Bettina said. "Patricia Iceland, president of the State Organization for Women, the SOWs, issued a statement of support for Jayne Hallerton, saying that this is yet another case of women being sexually harassed by male employers at the University, and the School doing nothing about it. Also, Citizens for Police Accountability spokesmen Jay Swenson and Ken Eidex issued statements calling upon women to march in protest of the treatment of these women by the University."

"And in State news, yesterday's report of a compromise budget and SBI bill was strongly disputed by 1st District State Senator Katherine Woodburn. Roll tape."

The tape played, showing Katherine screaming at the collection of Press microphones in front of the State Capitol, her face red with fury: "There is no compromise with the safety of our children! We continue to demand that a strong State Bureau of Investigation be fully funded, and given the authority over all counties and the City in order to protect our children from predators and drug dealers! Any reports of compromise with those principles is just more false rhetoric from the Republicans!"

"How's Teresa feeling?" I asked Cindy as we drank coffee in MCD with the Detectives.

"Much better today." Cindy said. "She's getting blood taken, so she'll be here late. And she's planning on being at the Council meeting tonight.

Cue Bettina: "And tonight's Council meeting will be in executive session as the Council takes up personnel matters. There will be no public meeting tonight."

"Ask Teresa to put the SpecOps Teams on high alert." I said to Cindy.

"You think something is about to happen?" Cindy asked in reply.

"I sure as hell do." I said.

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

Once in my office, I explained to Cindy what was going on.

"You remember we uncovered the code phrase 'Pink Knights' in connection with those Citizens for Police Accountability demonstrations earlier?" I asked. The anti-bugging device was in use.

"Yes." Cindy replied.

"It showed up on the CFPA website last night." I said. "Right at the same time Andy Martoli's body was found... and that body being found by the help of an anonymous tip, I might add."

"O-kay." Cindy said, probably hoping I'd just tell her instead of making her work at it.

"Did you also notice," I continued, "just how angry Katherine Woodburn was at those reports of a compromise SBI bill?"

"Now that you mention it," Cindy said. "Yes, she was mad. She always seems to be mad and shouting, though, so it's hard to tell."

"True enough." I said. "But take my word for it, she was truly upset in that little snippet this morning. And you'll remember how I was so avidly watching the evening news last night?"

"Yes... oh, and that's when the announcement of the compromise bill went on air." Cindy said.

"And an hour later... we find Martoli's body." I said, peering at Cindy.

"You're saying that was cause and effect?" she asked back.

"My dear Captain," I said, "what do we think about coincidences?"

"As little as possible when you're around." Cindy replied. "Oh wait... you talked to David Krueger, who was once a Jared staffer... ohhhhh..." I could see she was beginning to connect the dots.

"Yes." I said. "That compromise story was a planted leak. It caught Katherine Woodburn totally off-guard, which is why she's so upset; she'd heard nothing about a compromise and thought one had really happened behind her back. That has the additional value of showing how paranoid she is about the SBI bill."

"Oh, and didn't that report say you were on your way to Midtown to help with the bill?" Cindy said, remembering.

"Ahhhh, and you yourself noted then that I was not really on my way down there." I replied with a grin.

"Good grief." Cindy said. "So.. .why?"

"First," I said, "I wanted to find Martoli's body... and we have." I said. "Saved a lot of time having to search for it."

"Good Lord." Cindy said as the implications of that hit her.

"Yes." I said. "I put a little test out there... and someone failed it."

"Okay, you're making my head hurt." Cindy said. "So please just tell me the whole story."

"Okay." I said, knowing Cindy's patience was at an end, and then some. "I believe Terry's death was a professional hit. Someone killed Martoli and took his place on the date with Terry. After indulging himself by having sexual intercourse with Terry, the perp murdered her and took her computer. Then a third party came in and replaced the computer."

"That all happened," I said, "in a manner that was very timely for someone. It delayed me going to Midtown to work on the SBI bill for 24 hours. And when it looked like I was going back down there again... Martoli's body was found."

"Good grief, you and your theories!" Cindy said, shaking her head. "You think she was murdered just to stop you from going to Midtown?"

"No, not just for that." I said. "But someone knew that was coming, and used it to serve his or her purposes. Someone really did want Terry dead, though, and that likely would've happened no matter what is going on in Midtown."

"To play Devil's Advocate, could Terry's death actually be a coincidence?"

"Possibly." I said. "But I plant a leak and then Martoli's body shows up... and that makes two coincidences. And per Dame Agatha Christie, that means there are really no coincidences."

"It all... makes sense, somehow." replied Cindy. "So, any chance of catching the murderer?"

"Oh sure." I said. "The way Martoli was killed isn't just some street corner shooting. But we need more data from the State Crime Lab regarding DNA, and we need to hear more from the Mouseketeers about the 'Red Flag' victims."

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

At 8:45am, Teresa Croyle arrived. A short 'Angels' meeting was held.

At 9:00am, the MCD Detectives, J.R. Barnes, and the Mouseketeers convened with myself and the Chief in Classroom 'E'. The Chief brought doughnuts, which disappeared with amazing speed.

"All right," said Cindy, "let's get this party started. Anything from the State Crime Lab?"

"Not yet, ma'am." said Joanne Warner. "I called Lt. Perlman this morning. She is having the DNA run through national databases with the FBI's help."

"That means," I said, "that she's onto something, and has brought Jack Muscone and his FBI team in on it. That might be a good thing, too. Okay, sorry to interrupt. Carry on."

"Yes sir." said Joanne. "J.R.?"

"First, the crime scene." said J.R. "Commander, I take responsibility for what happened there last night, and I will do what I can to prevent it from happening again."

"Thank you for stepping up, Mr. Barnes." I said. "It's not all on you. Everyone from myself on down has responsibility for that, and we will all be receiving refresher training from someone eminently qualified to give better training. In the meantime, what's your report?"

"We didn't find much at the crime scene, sir." said J.R. "The wallet had only Andy's fingerprints on it. There were no objects left near the scene, not even any trash from anyone. In his apartment, we found no fingerprints nor hairs nor anything else that could help us. We do think Andy had a computer at home, which was not present and therefore may have been stolen. His laptop is not pinging, so the Mouseketeers tell me, nor is his cellphone, which also has not been found."

"Next, the forensics: Martha hasn't filed the official autopsy yet." said J.R. "She says this is one of the most baffling but interesting autopsies she's ever done. She gave me a quick-and-dirty preliminary report, though. She said the death was likely cardiac arrest from an injected poison. She also believes her first guess was right that they started putting formaldehyde into his body before he died. Needless to say, it's going to take a ton of tests, and Martha sent a lot of samples to Lt. Perlman for extended analysis."

Barnes continued: "Martha also said that Andy was hit on the back of the head, which fractured his skull but was not enough to kill him. And despite the preservation techniques, she's been able to determine that Andy was killed some time last week, maybe as early as Wednesday, but more likely Thursday. Up to Friday noon is within the realm of possibility, she said."