Prime Impact

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3Artists Square Apartments was one of those new “green” buildings that use recycled products for everything. Carpeting, furniture, and even paint were made from reusable plastics, wood, and trash. Kendall Briggs supported the Sierra Club. His living in an environmentally friendly habitat made sense. His condo was one of six lofts located on the second floor. The lower level was occupied by five art and design studios, anchored on the corner by a wine bar restaurant. A large blue awning marked the front entrance to a small lobby for use by tenants and guests.

Two GBI agents were standing outside Briggs’s unit. Yates relieved them from guard duty and had them join the FBI agents outside checking the neighborhood for leads. The FBI’s evidence recovery team was inside the living space taking photographs and processing for latent prints and trace evidence.

The ERT supervisor, Carrie Howell, met the investigators at the door and had them sign in before turning the evidence log over to Mercedes.

“What’d you find so far?” Bannister asked Howell.

“Nothing. No signs that his place had been searched. No indication of a struggle or even the presence of another person. We used the ultraviolet light and blood scanner and didn’t detect anything. There was nothing unusual in the drains. The trash cans were empty. We printed all logical surfaces and came up with a dozen latents we’ll check from the lab.”

“Any other observations?”

“Outside and inside. Inside there was an empty gun box in his closet. Outside we found a small blood smear, which appeared to be recent, near the victim’s assigned parking space directly in back of these units. A few feet from the smear were some blood droplets and black scuff marks. Inspector Yates said the deceased was wearing the same clothes he wore to the office and the dinner speech, so the marks might be from the heels of Briggs’s shoes if he was abducted from here. We took samples and will compare them with his shoes.”

“Good work.”

“Thanks. Also, inside, you’ll notice he has a collection of five bronze sculptures, each on its own thick glass shelf. There’s one shelf with nothing on it. Maybe a piece is missing. You know, for a guy’s apartment, this place is super organized and extremely clean. His walk-in closet could be used in an advertisement.”

“How so?” Bannister asked.

“Your victim folded his underwear and arranged his rolled socks and handkerchiefs by color,” Howell said. “All his shirts are arranged from light colored to darks. The bathroom has all the toiletries displayed in small wooden containers. There was one bottle of lithium pills, brand name Eskalith, prescribed by Dr. Jeffrey Fisk. No other meds. By the way, we photographed and printed but didn’t look into the brown leather briefcase that was on the entryway chair when we arrived. Thought we’d leave that to you.”

“Thanks. We know Briggs had his briefcase when he left the US Attorney’s office for his speaking engagement. Since his briefcase is here, we have to assume he came home and shortly thereafter either voluntarily left his condo or was abducted from it.”

“You’re the investigators,” Howell said. She handed Bannister the key to the condo and requested he lock up and have Mercedes bring the evidence log back to the office.

As Howell and her team left, Bannister walked into the center of the living room and stopped. An old Cleveland homicide detective once told him, “Don’t be in a rush. Let the crime scene talk to you. You’d be surprised at what you hear.”

Bannister was more surprised at what he saw. He had not been in Briggs’s place before and wanted to get a better feel for how his friend lived. Howell had left all the lights on. Except for one lamp by a reading chair, every light was recessed, even in the kitchen. The place was painted in complementary earth tones. The only light-colored items were a white Flokati area rug on the living room floor and two large paintings identified with brass plaques as being by Itzchak Tarkay. One was of a reclining nude female; the other was of a seated woman in brightly colored clothes and hat. Briggs probably enjoyed looking at women. Both paintings were illuminated by small spotlights. The atmosphere was relaxing and in stark contrast to the violence that shattered Briggs’s calm world.

Yates took a phone call and relayed information. “That was my guy in charge of the crime scene at Dahlonega. Not much to report. Plaster casts and photos were taken of some boot prints near a trailhead. The only tire tracks were from Briggs’s Jaguar. Signage at the quarry indicates a North Carolina stone company owns the land where his body was found. The adjacent land is leased to a hunting club in Atlanta. We’ll do follow-up tomorrow. His wallet had a concealed weapon permit as well as membership cards for the Ravinia Health Club and the High Museum of Art.”

“Did you find a gun in the car?” Bannister asked.

“No, and Briggs didn’t have a gun on his body. We didn’t find one at his office and it isn’t here.”

Bannister’s phone buzzed and he took the call from Sherrill Newsome, who told him the beneficiary on Briggs’s two insurance policies was Theresa Andrews. Bannister reported this to Yates and Barnes.

“Who’s Andrews?” Yates asked.

“Don’t know. Maybe she’s the blonde in the glamour shot from his office.”

An hour later, the search was finished. Bannister and Barnes had gone through Briggs’s unlocked briefcase: three index cards with talking points for his speech, two newspapers, one file folder, a compact umbrella, and some miscellaneous stuff. No gun. They would inventory the contents back at the office.

Mercedes came out of the den with Briggs’s laptop computer and a plastic envelope. The Bureau’s computer team would examine the laptop in the morning. As Mercedes walked toward them, she held up a clear envelope containing a four by six photograph.

“Found this in a book on his shelf. Thought you’d be interested in it.”

They all stared at the photo. Five people stood near some trees on a bluff with a river in the background. Briggs was in the center flanked by two women and two men. All were smiling at the camera. One man on the end was wearing an oversized pair of sunglasses. The five people had their arms around each other. They were all completely nude.