The Phyllis Files Ch. 01

"Well, I didn't see anything in the financial records," Cindy said, "but now I'll have to look again, this time a bit harder and more focused on that."

"They could've been taken out of Crown Chemicals." Phyllis said. "And that means we're looking for someone paid off to deliver those chemicals, or someone who was a mole inside the plant."

"Okay, it's starting to get a bit crazy in my head." Cindy said. "Let's go back to letting data form our theories instead of theorizing too much without facts."

Part 4 - The Crown Chemicals Connection

"Okay ladies, whaddya got?" I asked. My mother and Cindy Ross were in my office, telling me their plan to interview people in the cold case of the dead environmentalist activist.

"Nothing really new, so far." Cindy replied. "Sandra Speer of the FBI has sent us everything the FBI had on the Crown/PCGW case, but aside from ballistics and labwork, they didn't do much. Inspector Maxwell got us copies of the SBI's files on the case, at least the ones they still have. They were mostly trying to ascertain what happened during the attack on the facility and the shootings of the PCGW invaders. They did virtually nothing with the Linda Ferris shooting."

"We've made some interesting findings." my mother Phyllis said, "The chemicals that Linda Ferris brought in with her were not chemicals made by Crown, especially the radioactive ones. No one at the time tried to figure out where those chemicals came from, but the radioactive ones were mostly isotopes of cobalt and silver."

"Whoa!" I said. "Especially on the silver... that stuff is highly radioactive, highly dangerous to even be exposed to... and I can't think of any place outside the Oak Ridge, Tennessee government facility and a few medical facilities where silver isotopes are created or allowed. Hmmm, very interesting where that might have come from."

Both women made notes in their notebooks about that. With my degree in chemistry and some knowledge of radiochemistry, I'd given them some information that they otherwise wouldn't have known and would not have easily been able to find out.

Cindy Ross said "Thanks for that tip. After looking at all the data, we're working off the idea that Linda Ferris's actions were not a larger PCGW plan, but limited in scope to a few individuals. The reason why is that most of the PCGW troublemakers had left town and gone home or were in jail, and there was no follow-up nor obvious expenditure of money in the timeframe relevant to her actions."

My mother chimed in: "At this point, Son, we're going to have to talk to people and hope something shakes out that didn't come out at the time. That does happen during cold cases, of course."

"That's true." I said. "So who is on your plate to be interviewed?"

Cindy said "We're lucky in that several key people to the crime are available. The Chief Operating Officer of Crown Chemicals has agreed to see us today; he was an executive with the company then. Their chief of security also was on site as a security officer then.

"On the PCGW side, some of the leaders are actually still around: one man, Gordon Snow, is actually a teacher at the University here, trying to get professorial status and tenure. His assistant, a girl we only know as Lilac, was also one of the PCGW leaders at that time, and they were both college students from other schools that came in. The dead woman's husband, Robert Ferris, works in an environmental lab in the suburbs west of the City, we're going to interview him.

"Then Phyllis is going to try to have a chat with Bettina Wurtzburg, to see if we can get any clues or angles from the Press side. They had some fatalities also, though those were national TV media people. Last, but certainly not least, I'll talk to some of the Sergeants in our Police Force here who were either Town or County officers at the time."

"Good." I said. After a pause, I sat back in my chair and said what needed to be said. "Ladies, I'm really liking what you're putting together here, but I have to say a couple of things. First of all, do all of your interviews together so that you both can observe people. Mom, you know that already. Also, be careful in all of your interviews. You may be riling up some people, and they may do something rash like try to destroy evidence that otherwise was sitting here all this time. And to this end, have a story ready for why you're re-opening this case. One idea that might work is to tell anyone who asks that you periodically review cases."

"We have that worked out already, Son." my mother said. "I'm going to tell people that I, the little old lady, have been assigned to periodically review old cases, and Detective Ross is assisting the little old lady with the interviews."

"Little old lady, my fourth point of contact." I said, grinning as I used a little Airborne Paratrooper lingo to keep things a bit cleaner in front of my mom. "But it sounds good. Meanwhile, my second point is to be careful because as I understand it, this case really brought out the political tensions of the town and the county. With the Elections coming up in November, we do not need any more gasoline thrown onto those fires. So discretion is the better part of valor in every aspect of this."

"Third, and last, be especially careful with Bettina and the Media. Make sure Bettina knows that everything you say to her is 'deep background' or 'off the record'. I absolutely do not want to see her reporting on the re-opening of this case... unless and until you solve it, of course."

"Gotcha." Cindy said.

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"Thank you for making time to see us, Mr. Roth." Phyllis said as the chief operating officer of Crown Chemicals Corp. bade them to be seated in plush chairs in his office.

"My pleasure, ladies." Mr. Roth said. He was a well-built man in his sixties, his hair graying but still full on his head, and he projected an aura of skill and leadership, a very model of a C-level executive of a strong business company. "This is Mr. Hyburn, the company's chief legal counsel, and I hope you'll understand that he'll be sitting in with us today."

"That's quite fine, sir." Phyllis said. "Mr. Hyburn, may I ask if you were with the company during the time of the PCGW crisis?"

"Yes, I was." the legal beagle said, his voice something between a professor teaching in a classroom and a Southern drawl. "I was a junior member of the legal team then, of course."

"May I ask why the police are reviewing this case?" Mr. Roth asked.

"I am assigned to periodically review cold cases in the police files." Phyllis said. "Detective Ross has been kind enough to assist me. We just want to get a few loose threads tied up, if possible."

"Aren't you the police officer that was shot and wounded a few weeks ago?" asked Mr. Roth to Cindy Ross.

"Er, yes sir." Cindy replied.

"Well, I can't tell you how glad I am to see you sitting here in front of me in such good shape, Detective Ross... but I thought you were promoted to Lieutenant." Mr. Roth said.

"Thank you, sir, and I'm still a Detective despite the attempt to make a paper pusher out of me." Cindy said, causing everyone to laugh. She also realized that Roth was doing a bit of social conversation to hopefully ingratiate her. "If I may ask, sir, what do you remember about the night Linda Ferris broke into your property and was killed?"

"Ah yes, I do remember that." Roth said. "I was a lower level executive then, but it had been nearly a month of intense crisis for us. Those eco-terrorists did all they could to shut us down, even charged the fences. As to the night of that woman trespassing, I mostly remember getting a call in the early morning hours that someone had broken into the grounds and had been shot. Our security at the time locked down the plant and we called in the FBI."

"You called them in?" Cindy asked.

"Well, I told someone, probably the plant manager, to call them." Roth said. "When I heard that this woman had some chemicals on her, it was immediately apparent that she intended to commit some sort of sabotage or frame-up job. I wanted the FBI to come in and ascertain exactly what happened. Fortunate that we took that step, also, as the world would only believe that none of our people had shot the woman when it was the FBI telling them."

"So none of your security people shot her, we understand, but did anyone else on the property have weapons?" Phyllis asked.

"Oh yes." Mr. Roth replied. "We had told our senior people and managers that they could bring in and wear arms while the eco-terrorists were howling at the gates. Many of them did, bringing in their personal weapons from home. That was one reason we were able to repel their initial attack on us; the eco-terrorists didn't expect to be met with a well-armed crew of employees, and they backed off like the cowards they were when we confronted them with lethal force."

The lawyer leaned over and whispered something to Mr. Roth, and the COO nodded in understanding.

"Anyway, the FBI checked all weapons of employees, especially those of the same caliber that had shot the woman that trespassed, and none had been fired." Mr. Roth said.

Cindy took up the questioning: "So Mr. Roth, it was company policy to simply stand up to the protesters and not negotiate with them in any way?"

"Yes, that was our general policy then. The CEO at the time, Mr. Bonniker, he was a tough old war veteran, and he felt nothing but contempt for the eco-terr-- er, the protesters."

The lawyer again whispered something to Roth, who then said "Ladies, let me hasten to say that Mr. Bonniker has passed on, and it wouldn't be right to put words in his mouth or thoughts in his head. What I just said is sheer surmise on my part, and can't be construed to reflect the official position of the Company at that time."

"Understood, sir. Just a couple more questions, if I may." Cindy said. "The security people did not detect Linda Ferris until she was near the building?"

"That's right; in fact, she was not detected until she had been shot and killed." Mr. Roth said. "The security then wasn't what it is today, even in those times of heightened alert. Our chief of security definitely took a chewing out for that one, and about a month later, after things had calmed down somewhat, we began phasing that company out and bringing in a new group. They're still with us today. Is there anything else?"

"Yes sir." Cindy said. "Is there anything else about the Linda Ferris shooting or the events of that night, anything not brought up before now that you can tell us, anything that comes to mind at all?"

"No, not that I can think of. It was quite a while back, of course."

Phyllis asked "Can we see where the woman breached the fence and where she was found?"

"Certainly. I'll have a plant manager show you. Hyburn, call up Spinks and go with him to show the officers the grounds."

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"The actual place of the fence breach isn't marked." said Plant Manager Spinks as the group stood near the back fence, the lawyer Hyburn looking incongruous in his expensive suit. "They didn't want it becoming some sort of shrine to the eco-terrorist that was killed."

Phyllis and Cindy surveyed the area. The grounds of the company were on a raised plateau, built to be above the 500-year flood plain. The land was flat and grassy, with no trees at all to block their view. Outside the fence was more cleared grassy plain. The back fence faced South, the side fence to the East faced the southerly-flowing river which was about 100 yards away. Barbed wire topped the fence, which had sensor and possibly electric wires interwoven into it. Ten yards inside the fence were a series of cameras on poles about 15 feet high, the camera's lidded with metal conical sheets to protect from above and special plastics boxing them in to protect from gunfire from below. Another line of cameras ringed the building.

Phyllis said "So let's say Linda Ferris breached the fence about 15-20 yards from the corner, which was in the police notes at the time." She walked to a spot. "Somewhere around here. Now Mr. Spinks, which way would she have gone to get to the water treatment plant?"

"This way." Mr. Spinks said, heading north, parallel to the riverside fence.

"Are these grounds lighted at night?" Phyllis asked.

"Yes ma'am, to some extent." said Spinks. "But when all this happened, there was not nearly as much light. There were floodlights on the plant building, but the light out here was no better than strong moonlight."

"Detective Ross, do you hear that sound?" Phyllis asked Cindy as they walked the 50 or more yards.

"Yes, that's the water treatment plant." Mr. Spinks said, overhearing them. "It's louder than the factory, even when the factory is in full operation."

"Was it this noisy at the time of the incursion?" Phyllis asked.

"Probably even worse." Spinks replied. "Why, do you think there's something in that?"

Phyllis replied "It helps me to understand how Linda Ferris could navigate the dark grounds at night; she followed the sound. So where did she fall?"

Mr. Spinks walked forward a bit longer, then stopped and looked around. "It was around here." he said. "Again, the exact spot isn't marked, but she didn't make it all the way to the building."

"If she had gotten there and been able to distribute the chemicals, what would the damage have been?" Cindy asked.

"I can't be sure." Spinks said. "It would depend on exactly where they were introduced. My understanding is that she didn't have a lot on her, but enough to contaminate the pipes, maybe to be detected discharging into the river."

"Mr. Spinks, please don't speculate too much." the lawyer Hyburn cautioned the plant manager. "Detectives, all of that was surmise and hearsay."

"Okay, can we now speak to the chief of security?" Cindy asked. The plant manager got onto his radio and asked the chief of security to meet them at the water treatment plant entrance. He drove up in a golf cart moments later. Mr. Spinks then walked back to the plant, while the lawyer Hyburn stayed.

"I'm Chet Burleson." the security chief said, introducing himself.

"Are you related to the 'Burleson' that worked for Ward Harvester?" Cindy asked.

"Sure am. He was my younger brother." Burleson said. "At first I wondered if his murder was related to the PCGW incidents, but it seems to have been unrelated. I appreciate you Police officers finding out who killed him and solving that case."

"I'm glad we were able to." Cindy said, then asked "So you worked here during the time of the problems with the PCGW?"

"Yeah." Burleson. "I was on duty at the front office of the building, so I was one of the very few security people that did not lose their jobs after the Ferris woman was found dead. I formed a new security company and we replaced the old guys."

"So how did she manage to breach the fence and get in?" Phyllis asked.

"I personally don't know, but the scheme was obviously flawed in the first place. At the time, though, the lighting wasn't as good as it is now, and we were still reeling from the frontal attack the week before. It was a nightmare for three weeks."

"Who was in charge of security then?" Cindy asked.

"His name was Jones. Bert Jones, something like that. So simple I can't really remember." Burleson said. "He was fired almost immediately after the murder. I don't know where he went, but I'm pretty sure it was out of the State."

"So what happened the night of the Ferris shooting?" Cindy said.

"All I know is that someone radioed in saying gunshots had been fired." Burleson replied. "Security people rushed out to the grounds and found the body of the woman about 25-30 yards from the water treatment facility. None of the guys stationed around there had drawn their guns, they vouched for each other, and then the FBI came in and took our weapons and analyzed them. Nobody had fired a shot."

"So where were your security people stationed?" Phyllis asked.

"Most were watching the front gate and fence areas, which were still undergoing repair from the first attack." Burleson said. "We had men stationed around the factories and around the locker rooms and showers and breakrooms, places like that. We had a contingent around the front desk, where I was stationed; these were the guys that would respond to any emergency call."

"Any men stationed around the water treatment plant?" Phyllis asked.

"Yeah, they were actually around Factory 1, but were keeping the water treatment plant and the fences in that area under observation."

"So anyone approaching the water treatment plant would be seen?"

"Probably. The lighting was not good in those days; it's much better now. But anyone coming within ten yards of the water treatment shed's doors would have to come into light and would be seen."

After looking over the area outside the water treatment facility, the detectives thanked the two men and made their way back to their cars.

"So Miss Ross, did you observe anything of interest?" Phyllis asked Cindy as they drove back to town.

"Like you said, Linda could've navigated by the sound of the water treatment plant, so that solves part of that issue. What about you?"

"Yes, I observed quite a few things." Phyllis said. "The COO was very helpful to us, even with the lawyer present, leading me to believe that the company's leadership truly believes in their innocence in the matter. There was also absolutely no quarter asked nor given in the hatred between the PCGW and the Company leadership. And then there is one other thing, which follows a theory I've been thinking about... but I have to check something first."

"Like mother, like son." Cindy complained. "Don gives those little teasers without giving us the full details, also."

"Oh, I'm not trying to tease you, dear." Phyllis replied. "I just need to look and see if anyone made notes of the trajectory of the bullets that struck Linda Ferris."

"Yes, I remember seeing that in the FBI's ballistics reports." Cindy said. "They worked that out pretty meticulously. Ferris was shot from approximately seven o'clock, slightly left of straight behind. And from a distance of at least four to 10 yards away."

"Oh now that is interesting. Is it not suggestive to you?" Phyllis asked, peering at Cindy, who could not peer back because she was driving.

Part 5 - The PCGW Connection

"Hi ladies!" Lieutenant Bill Hanson of the Campus Police said happily as he got into the backseat of the car. "What are we going to be doing today?"

Cindy filled Hanson in as they approached one of the buildings on campus, the Biology building that housed the Environmental Sciences as well. It was the least kept-up building on the campus.

"Biology is badly overlooked when it comes to University grant money." Hanson said. "You'd think that with the liberal leanings of most of the University's academia, they'd pour money into the environmental sciences to study climate change, but apparently the big-money donors don't go that way."

"If I recall," Cindy said, "while there were big rifts in the Town and County, the leanings were towards the company and against the protesters, except on the University campus, of course."

"Yes, the students were pretty riled up about it, and were on PCGW's side." Hanson said. "Mr. Snow was one of the leaders of the PCGW protesters at the time, and I looked up his record while I was waiting for you to pick me up. You'd think he'd be a hero, but his PCGW connections have held him back. He was fired from his previous school, and has only been hired here as a teacher and not given a professorship yet."

Inside the building, the three officers found Gordon Snow's small office pretty quickly. They were ushered in by a petite redhead woman, very plain-faced, hair unkempt, wearing no makeup and clothes that could use a washing. Gordon Snow himself had his long stringy hair in a ponytail, or really more of a bob. He wore thick glasses in black frames, needed a shave, and his clothing was clean but crumpled. He was not overweight and appeared to be in decent shape for a man his age, despite the lack of hygiene.