Criminal Affairs

Chapter 3

"Out of curiosity, why'd you do it that way?" Masters asked.

"Our Town and County merged their police forces, and that's what came out in the wash." I said. "Two-track system, one towards Detective, one towards higher Uniformed service. We're smaller than you guys are, so it just evolved that way, but it works pretty well."

We arrived at the scene. "They've taken the body to the morgue, Sergeant." one man called out.

"That's okay, we'll see it there." Sergeant Masters said. "Lieutenant, we found a body of a naked man, young, in very good shape, brown hair. Shot once in the chest with a large-caliber round, maybe .45-Colt; then twice in the head with .22 long rifle, it looked like to me."

"Fresh, not in the water a long time?" I asked. I was looking at the river flows. A bridge spanned the river just north of where we were on the marshy, muddy bank. Molly and Cindy came up with Detective Soltis.

"Maybe overnight." said Sergeant Masters.

I said "Looks like if a body was put in the water up near the hotels there, it'd skirt along the shore, through that 'chute' where the bridge pilings are, then it'd slide on up to the bank. Who found it?"

"There's a Riverwalk along the river behind all the luxury hotels, and paths lead from it to the bridge here. Some jogger this morning happened to look down from the bridge and saw it, came down and checked to make sure he was dead, then ran to the nearest hotel and had them call us."

"Okay." I said. "Anything you've observed, Sergeant?" I'd heard that 'Coldiron' Masters was something like myself in observation and deduction.

"At the time I saw the body, I noticed the execution-style head shots then how young he was. We'll have to see what toxicology comes up with, if he was drinking or at a party. The first shot to the chest probably incapacitated him, then the two shots to the head finished him off or were just to make sure."

"I think you're right about the shots." I replied. "First one is a big, slow caliber so it didn't exit the body, then the small caliber shots to the head to make sure, as you said."

---

At the morgue, we looked upon the body of the handsome young man whose life had been prematurely snuffed out. Of course, Cindy's first observation was of his male anatomy.

"Too bad Tanya's not here." Cindy said. "Guy was well-hung."

"Yep." I said, explaining to Masters and Soltis about my Crime Lab Supervisor's various observations on p***s length at time-of-death. Sergeant Masters looked offended, as if we were sharing too much information with him as I said "You know, his face looks familiar. Any of you ever see this guy before?"

"Oh, wait!" Cindy said, peering at the man. She took out her iPhone and took a picture of his face from just above, then looked at the picture. "Yeah, I think this is the guy who was Vicki Oldeeds' assistant when Teresa and I interviewed her last year. Mike Something-Or-Other. He carried around a big Bible and was her personal assistant, and Teresa and I thought he was banging her."

"Is that the Reverend who was assassinated in your County? His wife?" Sgt. Masters asked.

"Yes, it is." I said. "Cindy, email that to Teresa and see if she recognizes him. Send me a copy of the pic, also."

When Cindy sent me the pic via email, I forwarded it to my wife Laura. A moment later a phone call arrived at my cell.

"Oh my God, what's going on down there?" Laura practically wailed into the phone. "I just saw him yesterday!"

"He washed up by the river this morning, dear." I said. "Anything you can tell me?"

"Not over the phone." Laura said. She said she'd send me a secure email, but she did give me the young man's full name, which I passed on to Sergeant Masters. Teresa had texted Cindy that she thought it was the same young man, as well.

"Wow, you guys get fast results." Masters said, a tinge of jealousy in his voice. "But you've saved us a lot of time." Masters got on the phone to get people going on checking out young Mike.

I turned to the Medical Examiner, an older man. "Anything you can tell us?"

"Not yet." the man said. "I think he was wrapped in plastic and taken to the river and dumped. See how his hair has so much blood? Looks like the blood pool was contained, absorbed by the hair, and he washed up on shore before it all washed out."

"Good observation." I said. "Definitely looks like a professional job by people who have killed before."

"We've wiped the body for fibers, but with him being in the river, I'm not hopeful." said the M.E. Tanya Perlman and 'CMB' would never have been so negative, I thought.

"Any ideas, Lieutenant?" Sergeant Masters said.

"I'm sure you've thought of this, but I'd send people out to hit the trash cans up and down the Riverwalk area, as well as the hotels. Maybe you'll find the plastic sheeting they used to transport the body. Also, any cameras you have of people on the Riverwalk last night... not necessarily who did it, but others that might have seen something strange, then go after them to get eyewitness statements. Last, I know this is a political town, as ours is a University town, but see if anybody 'special' is here this weekend, definitely including anyone associated with the late Reverend Jonas Oldeeds."

---

When we got back to the Precinct, Lt. Moynahan called me into his office while Sgt. Masters got the others going on data acquisition. Cindy helped by getting onto her computer and hooking up with our systems to get information on Vicki Oldeeds and her assistant Mike from our case the year before.

"We have a positive ID on the body, and it's lucky you guys were here to help us get onto that so quickly." Cav said. "Anything else?"

"He was up in my County yesterday." I said. "I'm waiting for a report on that from my source up there. And by the way, if it's what I think it is, don't be shocked to see elements of the Federal Government in here soon."

"You're kidding." Cav said. I assured him I wasn't. Just then Sgt. Masters knocked on the door and Cav invited him inside.

"Lieutenant, you were right." Masters said in that flat, even, clipped, fast voice. "Mrs. Jonas Oldeeds and some of her people are in town, at the Hyatt Hotel, and our deceased victim did work for her and was part of the entourage. Want to come interview them with us?"

"No, she knows me and my presence might surprise her and cause her to clam up." I said, avoiding telling the real reason. "Ditto that for Cindy. Molly and Frank can get that done."

Masters did not seem to like me using people's first names. "I'll take Detectives Evans and Soltis with me, then."

"Meanwhile, Sergeant," I said... if the man wanted formality, I could give it to him, in spades, "I have information that he was up at the University yesterday. I'll follow up and let you know what was going on up there."

---

"What?!" Vicki Oldeeds said, a look of shock on her already unhappy face. "Mike is... dead?"

"Yes, ma'am." said Sergeant Masters, leading the interrogation, with Molly Evans assisting and watching.

"Oh my... oh my God!" Mrs. Oldeeds said, looking at the floor, then looking up and asking "How? What happened? Was he killed in a car wreck?"

"No ma'am." said Masters. "He was murdered. He was shot dead and his body dumped in the river. We found it this morning." Masters had a rather brutal style, which often jolted his interviewees. Sometimes it worked.