Missing: The Body of Evidence Read online

  ‘Bottle of wine? You think that’s all it takes to get into my pants. Think again before you start jumping to conclusions like you did in the viewing room.’

  Nancy picked up some papers from her IN tray and buried her head in them. Kyle walked up beside her, took hold of the papers and turned them the right way around.

  ‘I’ll talk to you later when you’ve snapped out of your mood.’

  She ignored Kyle and he walked back to the interview room. Nancy heard a cough. She swivelled her chair and could see it was the technician.

  ‘That was quick!’

  ‘Already in the building. I’ve fixed the positor in the monitor.’

  ‘What the hell’s that?’

  ‘A device that controls the current in the de-gauzing circuit. I fixed it with my magic wand.’

  ‘Magic wand?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s a powerful magnet. Wave it at the screen, and say the magic word, hey presto. All the colour returns like magic. That’s the problem with these old analogue monitors; you need to ask your boss to upgrade it to a flat screen.’

  ‘Not much chance of that. What about the regulator in the air conditioner?’

  ‘Sorry, not my job, I’ve isolated it, so it’s safe.’

  He thrust a work sheet at her and she signed it with a flourish. The technician walked off and Claire came up beside her, with Logan’s wet pants over her arm.

  ‘I heard that exchange with Kyle. Don’t go snapping my head off, girl, but he could be right and he is kinda cute. Most men would have told you to take a hike. There ain’t many of him hanging around on a mulberry bush at your age, if you get what I’m sayin’?’

  ‘I guess, maybe I do have issues. I’m not sure working with a boyfriend is the best way forward in a relationship.’

  ‘You could be right, but you need to sort it out, girl. Maybe it’s that competitive streak I seen in you from the first day you arrived here. You ain’t got nothing to prove. Hell, there’s more to life than work, you just haven’t found that out yet. Well, all I can say is, try an’ bury your issues, hon, ’cause Logan wants to see you in his office.’

  ‘What, Logan wants to see me without his pants?’ Nancy managed a smile. ‘Listen, Claire, thanks. I’ll think about what you said. I know I’ve been a bitch to him lately.’

  Nancy made her way to Logan’s office. She knocked on the door and walked into the room.

  ‘Take a seat.’

  Nancy enjoyed the moment; Logan sat at his desk in his boxer’s, stripped of his power and wearing a T-shirt two sizes too small. Nancy couldn’t help but snicker. Nice one, Claire.

  ‘Okay, I can see the funny side, but let’s get down to business. Give me a summary how you see it.’

  A deep breath and she managed to stifle her giggles.

  ‘Kelly’s asked for a phone call, so he’s not talking. Okay, let’s look at what we have. The professor is obviously of interest to the CIA, but I don’t think they’ll give us any answers; they just want this case to die as an accident. Kelly had the keys for access to the apartment, which was locked. His witness statements change every time we talk to him. Kelly is the janitor, but he didn’t try to warn anyone by setting off the building alarm. The lasagne packaging could go some way to proving he stole it from the professors apartment.’

  She took a deep breath.

  ‘If we can get forensics to find prints that tie the lasagne packaging to the professor and to him, then that would put him with the professor after the last time the professor was spotted alive, and carrying a Wal-Mart bag. The batch numbers could go some way to prove it was from the same store as the receipt, but that would only be circumstantial. That’s as far as we can get. Everything else we could dream up would be just as circumstantial, especially without the body to prove how the professor died. It all depends on if we can find something when we search his apartment that will give him a strong motive to have wanted to kill the professor, or we can get him to confess.’

  ‘I think that’s a fair summary.’

  ‘So you don’t think my hunch was stupid?’

  ‘What I say and what I think sometimes, can be opposite sides of the moon. What I think was stupid, was you not bagging the packaging when you found it and bringing him in for questioning at the time. You should know you don’t need a warrant if you find something that could be connected to a crime. The only reason I let it pass, was because it was a tenuous connection, and if we obtain a search warrant, it enables us to do a more in-depth search. But if we don’t get the warrant, you’ve got problems.’

  Nancy mulled over what he had said. She knew he was right, but at the time it wasn’t as if she’d found a kilo of coke. She knew better than to start making excuses.

  ‘So, I take it we can make a file on this. Am I heading the investigation on this, only Kyle...’

  ‘Only Kyle what, took the interview? Just because you saved my skin, don’t think you can go questioning my authority. If you’d have taken the interview, maybe it would have jogged his memory and he would have given you the same story on the coffee from your notes.’

  If a chasm had appeared under her for her to climb down, she would have been eternally grateful.

  ‘Your hunch… your case. Now go and find out all you can about the professor while we wait for the search warrant.’

  My first case? Yes! The elation quickly subsided as the realization of what that meant took hold. Damn it, now I have to come through with the goods.

  Logan tapped his knuckles on the desk.

  ‘Well, snap to it, what are you waiting for… Detective?’

  Chapter 12

  Half an hour had passed and Nancy was getting nowhere trying to find out any background on the professor. Her extension rang and she answered. Claire in reception was on the line.

  ‘There’s a woman in reception with some information on the fire at the professor’s apartment.’

  ‘On my way.’

  Nancy ended the call and almost tripped on her chair legs, in her excitement to get to reception.

  ‘Nice one with the T-shirt,’ she said. ‘Where’s the woman?’

  Claire opened a drawer of her desk and slapped an extra-large department T-shirt on the desk. They shared a high-five.

  ‘Couldn’t resist having a dig at Logan,’ said Claire, ‘the woman’s waiting in interview-room two, Mary Goodyear.’

  Nancy entered the interview room. A woman in her late forties sat at the desk. Her auburn hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was smartly dressed, with a tweed skirt and white blouse. The half-rimmed glasses she was wearing gave her the look of a schoolteacher.

  Nancy introduced herself and sat opposite the woman.

  ‘I’m here to make a statement.’

  ‘Statement?’

  ‘Yes, I want to tell you the details of the fire I saw on the news.’

  ‘Let’s talk about what you know first and then we can write up a statement.’

  ‘No. Write out a statement as I go along and give me a copy.’

  Nancy changed her mind about the woman. Her manner was more like Nancy’s old headmistress than a teacher and probably a crank, but she thought it best to humour her.

  She took down her details on the statement sheet.

  ‘Right, in your own words.’

  ‘Just so you know; I’m a psychic medium. I listened to the news report on television and immediately had a vision of the incident.’

  Nancy baulked at the revelation. She thought her first instinct had proven correct and she was a crank. Goodyear continued with her statement.

  ‘It was thundering and lightning outside the apartment. I saw the back of a man’s head as he sat in an armchair and he was resting a glass of wine on the arm of the chair. Ball lightning flashed through the window of the apartment and struck his body. That’s all I can tell you.’

  ‘Can you describe the room?’

  The woman described the furnishings of the room in detail. Nancy placed her pen on the desk and
sat back. She was staggered; the description was the same as what she had seen in the apartment.

  ‘Have you ever helped the police before?’

  ‘Just the once, many years ago, I helped solve a murder case. You can check with Sergeant Holloway at New York Police Department. It was the Joe Bollinger case. Now can I sign, I have to be going.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ The woman read and then signed the statement. ‘Wait here, I’ll make a copy for you.’

  Nancy exited the room in a trance. If the woman was right, she knew they were wasting their time with the janitor.

  She phoned the New York Police department and spoke to Sergeant Holloway who confirmed the woman’s part in solving the Bollinger case. Nancy placed the statement in the file she had prepared for the case and walked to Logan’s office. She tapped the door and entered. Someone had found Logan some tracksuit bottoms and Claire must have taken pity on him as he was wearing a department T-shirt that fit him.

  ‘You need to see this.’

  She handed him the file. He read the statement. His eyes rolled as he snapped the file closed.

  ‘She seems credible. Some mediums have been useful to us in the past. Her statement could cause us problems. It’s too late to call off the search warrant. The search team will be at Kelly’s apartment now. Tell her we’ll get in touch if we have any further questions.’

  Nancy left the office, returned to the interview room, handed the woman her copy and shook hands.

  ‘We’ll be in touch if we need you.’

  The woman held her hand in an iron grip, before releasing it and stepping back.

  ‘Your Aura, it’s very strong. I can tell from the colours surrounding you that you have a gift, dear. You should visit a spiritualist church. They can guide you.’

  The woman turned and walked out of the interview room. Nancy didn’t know what to make of what she had said, and stood for a while in stunned silence before returning to her desk. Kyle walked over to join her. He looked sheepish and began to stutter.

  ‘I.... I…’

  ‘No, I’ll talk first. Sorry about earlier, bad day all around. I’ll have a good sleep tonight, and then maybe we can talk about that weekend you mentioned.’

  His mouth curled into a smile.

  ‘Kelly’s attorney is here, will you join me in the interview room. He’s no one I have ever seen before and he’s talking with Kelly in a private office. Logan has just taken a call from the search team. He says to stall the attorney and he’ll join us. It’s your case, you take the lead.’

  Nancy gave him a self-satisfied smile and led the way. The attorney and Kelly exited the private office. Nancy introduced herself to the attorney and pointed him in the direction of the interview room where they sat facing each other.

  ‘My client doesn’t have anything further he can help you with, he has been helpful and seeing you haven’t charged him we’re leaving now.’

  Nancy floundered. She knew they could walk. Goodyear’s statement fresh in her mind had sapped her confidence.

  ‘We appreciate your client helping us. We just have a few more questions. Surely he would want to help us with the accident investigation,’ she said.

  ‘Sorry, unless you are going to charge him with something, we’re walking. Any further questions would be just a fishing expedition.’

  Nancy scoffed and wondered if the use of the clichéd fishing expedition was an obligatory phrase that attorneys had to learn by heart, before they were allowed to sit the bar exam. The attorney and Kelly stood to leave. The door to the interview room opened and Logan breezed in, sporting a new shirt, tie and suit.

  ‘Going somewhere?’ Logan asked.

  ‘Yes, we’re just leaving.’

  ‘No one’s going anywhere, least of all Mr. Kelly here.’

  Logan thrust a copy of the search warrant at the attorney. The attorney inspected it.

  ‘We’re still leaving, seeing as there are no charges.’

  ‘How about murder one and the Federal offence of kidnapping... Oh, and let’s not forget the theft of a lasagne.’

  Logan winked at Nancy. Kidnapping. She was as intrigued as the attorney looked dumbfounded. The attorney gave a sideways glance at his client. Nancy could see panic written all over the expression on Kelly’s face.

  ‘You can’t be serious. Where’s the proof?’ The attorney asked

  ‘We’ve already carried out the warrant, and found a young man locked in the bedroom of Mr. Kelly’s apartment. Oh, and we found a lasagne package that I am sure forensics will prove was stolen from the professor’s apartment. That will put your client in the apartment of the deceased since he was last seen alive.’

  ‘I...’ Kelly started to mumble something, but the attorney stopped him short with an elbow in his ribs.

  ‘Don’t say anything, Mr. Kelly,’ the attorney said. ‘I need to talk with my client.’

  ‘Sure take all the time in the world, because he ain’t going nowhere,’ Logan said.

  Logan, Kyle and Nancy all left the interview room.

  ‘If Kelly tries to walk before the kidnap victim gets here... read him his rights and book him for all three.’ Logan said it loud enough so that the attorney could hear him before he closed the door.

  An impending sense of victory restored her faith. However, just where a possible kidnap would fit into the scheme of things eluded her deliberation and was beyond any hunch she had worked out. All she could do was wait to see what the alleged kidnap victim had to say.

  Chapter 13

  Kyle, Nancy and Logan waited for the arrival of the kidnap victim. Logan’s extension rang. He answered the telephone call and placed the handset back on the cradle.

  ‘Right, he’s here, Nancy, you interview him,’ Logan said.

  The young man walked down the corridor from reception, flanked by uniformed officers. His appearance stopped Nancy mid-step. His head bowed, wearing black jeans and a hooded top, he matched the description of the youth who was the last person to see the professor alive. Nancy thought the turn of events could not be better and that she was about to unravel the mystery surrounding the professor’s death.

  ‘He’s not talking, he seems traumatized,’ said one of the officers. ‘He was cowering in a corner when we knocked the bedroom door down.’

  ‘This way,’ said Nancy and directed the young man into an interview room.

  They both sat down and Nancy asked him if she could get him anything, but he didn’t respond. No matter how she tried to converse with him, he just sat there with his head bowed.

  ‘What’s your name?’ she asked. ‘Where are you from?’

  He looked up and gazed at her. He had the most amazing penetrating blue eyes and an angelic face. Nancy was concerned; he looked the age of a juvenile.

  ‘Please, just remove your hood for me. How old are you?’

  He raised his arms and slowly removed his hood. Nancy pushed her chair back and turned to the two-way mirror, her mouth frozen open.

  ‘Why are they watching?’ The young man asked.

  Nancy turned her head to face him and couldn’t take her eyes from his gaze. His head was shaven and elongated at the back of his skull, like an Egyptian prince. What looked like two press-studs were embedded in his forehead and there was a row of four studs down either side of his skull.

  ‘We’re worried about you. We need to find out who you are so we can tell your parents.’

  ‘Then why take me away?’ His answer confused her.

  ‘Wait here, I’ll be back soon with some answers.’

  He grabbed her arm and then let go.

  ‘I like you, you’re like me. Don’t let them take me back.’ His voice was soft and there was no alarm in his expression, just a smile.

  ‘Back where?’

  He raised his hood, bowed his head and remained silent.

  Nancy stepped out of the room, to be met by Logan and Kyle.

  ‘Did you see his head? I’m guessing he’s a juvenile, can’t be mor
e than seventeen. We can’t continue with the interview. We need a doctor, or a shrink to take a look at him,’ said Nancy.

  ‘The doctor is already on his way. I ain’t ever seen anything like that with his head,’ Logan said.

  The door to Kelly’s interview room opened and the attorney joined them in the corridor.

  ‘Has Mr. Kelly’s son arrived? You can’t interview him without me or his dad being present.’

  ‘Son?’ Nancy’s jaw dropped and her eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of their sockets.

  ‘That’s right, son. His name is David. He’s retarded. Kelly had to lock him in the bedroom for his own safety and to accompany Detective Roberts.’

  ‘He’s in this room here,’ said Nancy.

  She looked at Kyle who rolled his eyes and then at Logan. Logan’s shoulders dropped and he looked to have lost six-inches in height. The attorney opened the door and Nancy followed him into the room.

  ‘Hi, David, I’m your attorney, your father is in the next room, we’re going to take you home. Your dad sent you this, your favourite cherry flavour.’

  He handed him a gum wrapper. The boy snatched the gum from him; he removed the wrapper and popped the gum in his mouth.

  The attorney turned to Nancy, Logan and Kyle who were standing at the doorway.

  ‘Now, if you don’t mind, Mr. Kelly and his son will be leaving. You’ll be receiving a bill for any smashed doors.’

  ‘How do we know it’s his son?’ Nancy asked.

  ‘I’ll give you five minutes to check records and then we’re leaving. Even if there are prints on the lasagne packaging, there’s nothing to say he didn’t give it to Mr. Kelly. And as you can see, he’s an alcoholic, so his recollections were bound to lead to inconsistencies.’

  Nancy backed out of the room, joined Kyle and Logan and closed the door. The whole situation surrounding the boy’s appearance was surreal.

  ‘What do we do now?’ Nancy asked Logan.

  ‘Do as he says, check with records and if it is his son let them go. We’d have to show everything we have on file to his attorney if we charged him and the medium’s statement would blow any case apart. Ball lightning seems plausible, there was thundering and lightning on the night. I have no doubt the defence could come up with an expert to say ball lighting could cause temperatures high enough to fry the body to ashes. The only other thing we can do is to have social services look in on his son. Case closed and onto the next.’