Nathan March Investigations - Book 2: Murder, After the Fact - episode 5

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Book Two

Murder, After the Fact

Episode Five

“I need some guacamole before I face anything else,” said Peter as he continued driving back to the Dickenson estate after interviewing Brenda Mayhill at her home.

“Maybe something bland would nourish you and help you to focus better,” said Nathan sincerely hoping Peter would make a different choice remembering how his own stomach reacted to Mexican food.

“Okay you win, Tracy’s Seafood it is,” said Peter “besides it‘s close by and the clams are to die for,” he added. The two men had just been seated when Nathan saw Jenny Hart occupying a table in a corner with her sister Pamela and a very sinister looking gentleman. They were all so intent on their conversation that none of them were aware of Nathan’s approach with his detective friend.

Jenny’s expression when she saw him, made Nathan feel he’d made the right decision to approach them.

“Ladies, I hope you’re both feeling better after your ordeal,” said Nathan.”

“Yes,” said Jenny looking as if she’d been caught at something very dishonorable. Her wish not to introduce their male companion made Nathan push harder for that very introduction.

“Do I know your friend here,” said Nathan pointedly.

As the gentleman rose from his chair, two other younger and much larger gentlemen seated at a table to the left of them took notice, as did Detective Ryan who moved to block their line of vision.

“I have the pleasure of speaking to Nathan March, I believe. I am Vincent Bertrillo Mr. March, a family friend of these young woman,” said the well-dressed, if slightly disconcerting gentleman.

“Mr. Bertrillo, may I introduce you to Detective Peter Ryan of the Atlanta Police Department’s Homicide Division,” said Nathan.

“It’s my pleasure, Detective Ryan,” said Bertrillo with his outstretched right hand now occupied with Detective Ryan’s hand.

“It’s kind of you to comfort them at such a sad occasion,” said Detective Ryan.

“This world is not safe any longer when things like this happen right under your nose,” said Bertrillo sarcastically.

“Well we are hoping to change that trend by prosecuting those who take part in violent behavior like threatening witnesses, and taking advantage of frightened family members. Our goal is to put them in small cells under guard for the rest of their lives,” said Detective Ryan without any fear in his voice.

“I wish you well with that,” said Vincent Bertrillo barely able to maintain his cool demeanor.

“Oh believe me, it’s only a matter of time sir,” said Detective Ryan as Nathan March didn’t even try to hide his smile.

With their table a good distance away, Nathan and Peter returned to it and ordered lunch, not lifting their eyes as they conversed.

Only minutes passed before the Hart girls left unescorted, as Mr. Bertrillo paid the check and finished his glass of wine with his henchmen at the other table doing the same.

Bertrillo didn’t like his adversaries disturbing his business, so he was making a mental note to himself about both men and exactly what it was he would like done to them if they interfered any further. That thought made him smile as the wine he drank refreshed him as did the knowledge that the two young women were out of his hair.

After making a call to order twenty-four hour surveillance on the Hart sisters for their protection, Peter Ryan had followed Nathan’s advice and calmed himself down before he began making a dent in the large portion of bellied fried clams that he seldom ordered but always desired. Nathan’s fish salad was literally devoured as the crisp contents were doused in a house dressing that was just sweet enough for his palate.

When Bertrillo and his men left the restaurant, Nathan felt himself lose the last vestiges of outrage at seeing this criminal loose on the streets, after getting away with crimes too horrible to think about now.

“Nathan do you ever get tired of being right,” asked Peter in a warm tone of voice.

“Oh Peter I wish I was right as often as you think I am. I’m afraid those two are in this up to their necks, and if they aren’t careful they will pay a price they never counted on paying, for their greed,” said Nathan.

“The truth is that nothing I do will change that,” said Peter.

“Once a woman, or two very senseless women make a bad choice it takes a few lessons to teach them how wrong a choice can be. Unfortunately we’ve both just learned that Jenny and Pamela Hart are the kind of ladies who are willing to risk anything to get what they want, when what they want is enough money to enjoy for the rest of their lives,” said Nathan.

“They just don’t realize how short those lives are likely to be, when they play with people as dangerous as Vincent Bertrillo and the mob,” said Peter who’d seen it all before and knew he’d see it again.

“I can tell you that those young ladies are probably sharing a bottle of wine thinking they just traded that SD Card for a rosy future that doesn’t include working for their keep,” Peter added.

“Even your best people can’t keep them alive, if what we both suspect has happened, and you know it did,” said Nathan.

“Yeah, it’s the best I can do under these circumstances. It’s hard to pity them when their thoughts run more toward getting themselves well situated financially, instead of planning a decent funeral for someone they both said was so special in Jenny’s life, “ said Peter.

Peter made Nathan smile as he observed his friend enjoy his lunch down to the last fried clam on his plate. Nathan knew that it was an overactive energy level that kept Peter reed thin, whereas even at seventy-eight inches tall, he himself watched his calorie consumption so that being overweight didn’t become a problem.

---

At exactly two o’clock in the afternoon the men were on their way to their next appointment when Peter’s cell phone went off. It seems that the beige payroll envelope which was the entire contents of the safe-deposit box in Palm Beach, Florida owned by Collette was now on its way back to Atlanta, and it did contain several Micro SD Cards which Nathan and Peter considered good news.

---

More news was revealed to them only minutes later when the Coroner’s report including Collette’s final toxicological information was read to them as they sat in Dr. Micah Epps’ office listening to his findings.

“This autopsy, gentlemen, serves as the truest example of “overkill” I’ve ever been privy to,” said Micah Epps shaking his head as he spoke. I want to mention Peter that seldom have I been pressured by more people to complete this autopsy than I have at this time. That having been said let me give you my actual findings.

“An extremely large quantity of Secobarbital was present in the deceased’s blood and more than likely was self-administered. However, there was also a lethal quantity of insulin administered by an injection into her abdomen which I don‘t believe was self-administered. It was followed by her throat being cut nearly from jawbone to spine and quite cleanly done, which means there were no hesitation marks whatsoever.

“No doubt you both already guessed that the absence of blood at the scene meant the victim was deceased when that assailant attempted the decapitation of Mrs. Dickenson,” said Dr. Epps.

Peter and Nathan were still busy processing the information they had just received when Dr. Epps finally revealed cause of death.

“I listed her cause of death as homicide because the large amount of insulin present in her system was of the fast-acting variety. It caused her blood sugar to fall to levels that shut down her organs and killed her, prior to her succumbing to what would have been the Seconal’s lethal effects. In other words while the sleeping pills got to put her to sleep, the extremely large shot of insulin undoubtedly killed her first and I saw no evidence of injections other than one,” Micah stated with authority.

Peter spoke first asking, “You’re saying that she meant to kill herself with her sleeping pills that night?” he asked.

“Without a doubt she would have known that taking that large a dosage of sleeping medication would kill her,” said Dr. Epps feeling confident he was right.

“From photos I noticed she dug her nails into the sheets and although they did a great makeup job for her viewing, she appeared to have died with a grimace on her face. Together they indicated to me that she wasn’t totally out of pain at the time she died,” said Nathan.

“All I can say is that more than likely that reaction was caused by fear as she was not able to identify what she was seeing in her mind’s eye as her body’s organs one by one began shutting down. Fortunately it would have lasted for only seconds before she lapsed into a coma and then died,” said Dr. Epps.

“Did anything else unusual draw your attention at all, Dr. Epps,” asked Nathan.

“I did see where tissue samples were taken from her right breast and under her right arm recently, she may have had a case of breast cancer brewing, but it‘s just as likely that she had an inflammation in the area. I sent some samples of my own to the lab to tell me if her having a terminal case of breast cancer was her motive for suicide. It doesn’t matter now considering other deliberate damage is what took her life, but I’m sure you’d be accurate in calling it a case of murder after the fact,” said Dr. Epps.

“Yes, just the difference in the travel time of a fast-acting hormone and a narcotic drug through her system negates a suicide or self-murder, and officially supports homicide or a murder by an assailant,” said Nathan March.

“One more question Dr. Epps, if you could name some characteristics of the type of personality responsible for her death, what would you guess them to be?” asked Detective Ryan.

“I’m not a forensic psychologist but if you promise not to take my assessment of the assailants with more than a grain of salt, I’ll give you my best guess. I want to say that there were two of them, with both having one similar characteristic. I would describe it as disassociation with their actions, or in the vernacular, the assailant or assailants were stone cold killers.

“Murder in the manner each selected is extremely up close and personal. If there were two assailants, than the first one dealt with her mercifully even though he or she definitely wanted Mrs. Dickenson dead. The other, who cut her neck, needed great physical force so the murder probably offset enormous anger. I’d say look for very cunning individuals one male and one female, maybe even two females, with one summoning the strength of a male,” said Dr. Epps.

---

A disgruntled Mickey felt that his major contribution to this investigation thus far had been clocking more hours babysitting Reggie Dickenson than anything else. The visit to the estate by Attorney Emmett Doucette had put Reggie in the lawyer’s company for a few hours now.

By the time Nathan returned with Detective Ryan, they found Mickey entertaining two Atlanta plain clothes police officers at the airport, who had made flights from and back to Atlanta, in the same day. They were anxiously awaiting Detective Peter Ryan in order to surrender the contents of Collette Dickenson’s safe deposit box to him, which they had obtained from a bank in Palm Beach, Florida, hours earlier.

Nathan and Peter followed the two police officers back to the station with the contents of the safety deposit box, a small payroll envelope, now inside a much larger sealed manila envelope.

---

Free to meet with a very anxious Emmett Doucette, Mickey headed for the Dickenson Estate where he joined Atty. Doucette who was in the library in the company of Reggie Dickenson.

“I don’t mean to challenge your skills at providing protection Mr. Stone, but I am convinced that Reggie is not safe any longer. I am in the process of transferring enormously valuable assets to her in the form of stocks and other holdings. However, the atmosphere on this estate with all the violence of late makes me uneasy for anyone including the domestic staff. I promised her father, who I've represented for thirty years, that I would see to it that her protection was uppermost in importance at all times,” said Emmett Doucette.

“Mr. Doucette my employer has taught me first-hand that there is no human being alive today, or who was ever born, that is safe from anyone who has precise and well-planned designs on their destruction and doesn’t mind facing their own destruction to accomplish it.

“However, the strategy that has kept many alive who were marked for death came from implementing their own good common sense. I believe that if Reggie begins to follow the dictates of Nathan March, and utilizes her common sense, she has every chance of making it through this very dangerous period in her life,” said Mickey.

“I have certainly used my abundant common sense,” said Reggie.

“I suppose proof of your common sense is the long walks you take alone on property occupied by a full staff that’s aware because of you they will be unemployed in days. Or perhaps a better example are the long drives you’ve taken to clear your head, totally alone and after dark without notifying a soul of your whereabouts or destination,” said Mickey.

“Is what he says true, Reggie? Have you been that foolish?” asked Attorney Doucette.

“Maybe at first, but I have been a lot better about things, Mickey you have to agree,” said Reggie.

“Alright, I’ll agree. But Reggie there’s a body count now that means someone feels very comfortable dwelling with everyone else here and then acting out whenever he or she wishes. That means we have to play it safe with our personal behavior and we need to expect the unexpected. No one is above suspicion at the moment and until this is over, you must abide by Nathan’s rules,” said Mickey.

“I withdraw my previous statements and ask you to forgive my lack of confidence in your abilities young man,” said Attorney Doucette.

---

As Nathan March nearly predicted would be the case, the money for the return of the Micro SD Card with Vincent Bertrillo’s information on it was successfully traded by leaving it in the glove compartment of Jenny Hart’s unlocked car in a bright yellow envelope as agreed to beforehand. At dawn both women, each with a portion of the money stuffed into their purses, planned to make Vegas their new home.

The money given to them for the Micro SD Card would have been enough to guarantee them both a luxurious life style for some time, if it weren’t counterfeit and damn good counterfeit as far as Vincent Bertrillo was concerned.

It really didn’t matter anymore thanks to a well-practiced killer looming inside Jenny’s apartment listening as each young woman intermittently begged for her life while being forced to ingest enough chloroform to render them unconscious.

When a single cop in his police unit awoke after dropping off for only a few minutes of sleep around three o’clock that morning, the entire roof of the apartment building where the Hart sisters once dwelled, was engulfed in flames. The Fire Department listed two fatalities both found in the same apartment, both burnt beyond recognition.

---

Down in the bowels of one of the precincts of the Atlanta Police Department existed a sub-basement formerly used an extra interrogation area now fully repurposed as a Command Center. It began its transformation twelve years earlier by slowly being fitted with all the accouterments of a modern communications and technology outpost and now completed was staffed by the talented police personnel who made up the newly established and highly-respected Technical Support Unit.

Nathan and Detective Ryan anxiously waited to know what was on the Micro SD Cards retrieved from a Palm Beach bank to identify those who Collette had been victimizing as well as any other miscellaneous information they could glean from them.

Seeing the disgusted look on the face of the officer from the Atlanta Police’s TSU, Detective Ryan said “Cheer up you are in for some very serious overtime which you will earn in the company of the best detectives in the building,” said Peter.

“Sorry Detective Ryan but this is the seventh and last of the SD cards and sir they are blank, every one of them,” said the officer.

“Holy Hell,” said Peter Ryan “you’ve got to be kidding!”

“No sir, I’m too aware that this isn’t the time for kidding, we’re all too hyped about finding this manic,” said the TSU officer.

Nathan March sat dropping his head in apparent amusement.

“Face it Peter the fact is someone beat us to the bank and got a hold of Collette’s SD Cards first,” said Nathan.

“And they left blanks to let us know they did,” said Peter.

Pointing at the two Atlanta detectives who retrieved and later delivered what they thought was good evidence to Homicide, he asked “Did either of you read the Sign-in Log for the Safety Deposit boxes at the bank gentlemen?”

“Yes sir,” they both said in unison.

“What was the date of the most recent signature supposedly belonging to Collette Dickenson?” he asked.

“I saw her signature, but I never paid attention to the date sir,” said one detective.

“Me neither sir,” said the other detective looking totally dejected.

“Peter these fine detectives had their minds on getting those SD Cards here for us to transcribe. They blundered only in their haste and I’m not sure any of us wouldn’t have made the same mistake. Now it’s obvious that someone knew about their existence and the location of them before we did.

“Our perp signed in as Collette Dickenson with a signature close enough to Collette’s to fool a well-trained bank official who compared it to Collette’s signature card on file and verified it as authentic.

“Once she entered the safe deposit box area she replaced the SD cards with blanks. That tells us two things. First, that our perp’s access to this investigation is possibly ongoing. Second, we now know the perp is a woman. She forged her signature and physically passed for Collette to get access. Third she had a copy of the safe deposit key to gain access to Collette’s safe deposit box, not an easy task with that much testosterone inspiring the mostly male security officers to do a lengthy perusal of any attractive female passing them by,” Nathan stated.

The TSU officer broke in next. “Lieutenant, with some cooperation the bank should allow me access to the video tapes made during the sign in process at the bank’s Safety Deposit reception desk. They don’t change often and they won’t be very lengthy so they might help us spot whoever it was who passed for the deceased. Of course I’ll need to get the most recent date when the perp signed in as Mrs. Dickenson, but once we do the video might reveal all the rest sir,” said the young officer.

“I’d say that’s the next direction to go in from here,” said Nathan with a broad smile.

“Great thinking, let me get the brass to make a way for that cooperation to happen for you officer,” said Lieutenant Ryan.

“Thank you sir,” said the TSU officer.

---

When Peter Ryan left his supervisor’s office he thanked God for the positive influence Nathan March’s close association on this case had provided for him. In the past the idea of facing down mostly politically engrossed superiors made his throat dry and his knees slacken, but not today.

Today standing before them in their conference area, he stated clearly that he blundered in omitting to arm his detectives with a subpoena for a copy of the sign-in page at the Safe Deposit Area of the Palm Beach bank. Calmly he continued that as a result he now needed his superiors to request that the Palm Beach bank, in a spirit of cooperation, expand on a court order and open its video file for perusal by the TSU of the Atlanta Police Department.

They would also need to provide a copy of the last signature of Collette Dickenson from a sign-in page at the Safe Deposit Area which was verified giving the perpetrator total access to the safety deposit box. Once access was gained the real flash drives, were replaced with blanks.

The fact that they could now prove the perpetrator was a woman, possibly assisted by others with or without their knowledge made members of the top brass head for their cell phones to assist Detective Ryan to get access to the rest of the information they needed from the Palm Beach bank.

---

“Here you are Detective Ryan I’ve been looking for you all over the station. It looks like you’re needed at Rutgers Avenue on the South side. It’s the residence of a Jenny Hart, whose name was on our list of VIP‘s in your homicide case,” said Laurie Gibbs.

“What about her,” said Peter.

“Her apartment building burnt to the ground and it looks like everyone else got out but Jenny Hart and an unidentified guest also in her apartment. The medical examiner had what’s left of them transported to the Coroner’s office,” she responded.

“Do we know how the fire started yet?” asked Nathan.

“The head of the Arson squad’s on site now sir,” said Laurie trying not to blush as she smiled into Nathan’s face when she answered.

“It’s good to see you again Laurie, wish we had time to catch up,” said Nathan as he grabbed his leather pilot’s jacket.

“Always a pleasure, sir,” said Laurie wishing she had another chance at Nathan like the one they shared at Halloween two years earlier when Mickey drove to Atlanta’s airport for a flight home, while she was in the backseat showering Nathan with a very personal treat of her own.

---

As they drove to Rutgers Avenue, Peter’s sense of responsibility began to make him question whether he did enough to protect Troy’s girlfriend from the consequences of her own greed.

“Don’t let it eat you up Peter, we both sensed something like this coming and absolutely nothing would have kept those two from the consequences of their own stupidity,” said Nathan so sincerely Peter shook his head in agreement.

“Nathan it’s just this godforsaken case. It’s all about greed and secrets and filled with the knowledge of the worst behavior human beings can participate in, and it feels like so many pounds of unwanted garbage being lifted onto my department’s back, “ said Peter.

“There’s to be no self-pity Peter, not for either of us, because neither of us can use it to get to the bottom of this mess. But focused determination, is exactly what will give us the ability to see through the smoke screens and find the right party to sentence to hell,” said Nathan.

“Yeah, it’s just that Mary’s missing me while that baby inside her is growing and so are my other kids. Face it, my participation in our marriage consists of taking advantage of any chance to put her on her back and get satisfaction, before I run back to all the murders that keep me in a job,” said Peter.

Nathan knew there was nothing he needed to say. He simply needed to be a sounding board for Peter’s emotions at the time, so that‘s what he was and would be for his friend until this case came together.

---

The Fire Chief introduced the detectives to the most intelligent arson investigator either would ever meet. Matthew Brown at sixty-two years of age didn’t let his dreams of retirement weaken his powers of observation or rob him of his knowledge of his area of expertise. With enormous patience he explained how in this particular mess of rubble, he could still locate the fire’s birthplace.

“My guess is that the roofing materials here, including this highly flammable adhesive made a perfect fire possible when they were ignited by a carelessly disposed cigarette.

“This building was well equipped with working smoke alarms so the tenants got out, all except those in apartment 305. Some of the other tenants told us that Ms. Hart who lives in 305 was always on the roof sunbathing and even having dinner up there with her young man and yes she and a guest staying with her, were both smokers.

“However I don‘t think either of them accidentally or otherwise started this fire, it was too perfect. Now as a professional if I wanted this place to disappear, I’d have found all those materials myself and just like this pile of rubble tells me, I’d make a very long trail of adhesive behind me and simply light it and walk away,“ said Lieutenant Brown.

“Unfortunately her young man has been dead for a few days. It looks like her sister was probably the other body they pulled out of the fire,” said Peter.

“Lord, I‘m sorry to hear that,” said Lt. Browne.

“I‘m betting an expert hired by a certain mob boss worked his magic here and will most probably never be found,” said Detective Ryan.

“Only if you say so Detective Ryan however the rather large quantity of gravel in this evidence bag I’m holding which came from that roof, is mixed with blood that sure doesn’t seem old to me. But of course you’re right in thinking anyone working or visiting the roof today could have cut their hands.

“But I believe the workers up there would be required to wear heavy work gloves and any tenants regularly using the roof for privacy would have become aware of the sharp edge on the inside of the roof’s door where the metal’s been bent. So that means the evidence I found on the door, blood and all, probably belongs to someone else. Maybe our arsonist put it there as he or she pushed the door open to get out there and start the fire.

“That injury possibly caused him or her to deposit DNA on the door and they probably didn’t notice the blood droplets on the gravel. So Detective Ryan perhaps you should stop, drop and praise the Lord cause my years of being an expert in arson cases, tell me that you’ve just caught a break in the case,” said Matthew Browne with a huge grin on his face.

Nathan smiled and seeing the green metal door being carted away carefully to the crime lab, he just knew that Matthew Browne would be asked to solve many an arson case well into the future.

---

Peter’s sense of humor was back in full swing as he phoned Lena Phelps.

“Do I have the pleasure of speaking to Lena Phelps who broke my heart because she was seen latching her mouth to another man’s mouth?” said Peter into his cell phone.

The laughter his comments provoked could be heard by Nathan as he took the cell phone from Peter.

“Lena I will try to be less provocative than Peter here and ask you to expect Detective Ryan and myself back at the estate in the next short while hopefully to unravel a bit more of this case. We are hoping that you’ll be able to discuss Collette’s client files to redirect our attention toward achieving some clear results,” said Nathan.

“Nathan the client folders contain no names whatsoever even on any computer printouts that I filed away in the file cabinets. All folders were filed in alphabetical order according to a Roma word I assigned to each file including all those on my computer.

“The master list which was a cross-reference of the real client names against their Roma code name was kept by me in a safe place. Collette asked for my copy of it only when she wanted access to the hard copy files, which wasn’t often at all.

“That certainly was an ingenious security measure. May I ask how did the idea of using Roma words come about?” asked Nathan.

“My mother’s grandparents were gypsies from the Vilnius region of Lithuania. They never taught us their customs or language but they used phrases I still remember. Unlike Lithuanian, the Roma language is pretty obscure so I selected it when we needed to secure private information within hard copy files. Some years ago I found an online English-Roma dictionary recently published and did my thing,” said Lena.

“It’s amazing that Collette trusted you enough to allow that?” said Nathan.

“Not really. Hard copy of any client information given to me by Collette consisted of billing information, appointment schedules, correspondence such as thank you notes and holiday cards, etc. which got filed using my confidential Roma filing system. I assure you Nathan that the original notes she took from her private sessions with each of her clients, was typed only by her and then secured on separate Micro SD cards used on her lap top. No paper files regarding her sessions were made or kept,” said Lena.

“Forgive the interruption Lena, but since I don’t think putting you on speakerphone is a good idea just now, let’s continue discussing this subject matter when we meet back at the estate. Peter’s rolling his eyes to alert me that he’s running out of patience with us both because he is hearing only one side of the conversation,” said Nathan.

“Of course Nathan, we’ll look forward to seeing you both soon,” said Lena.

---

“Oh Nathan, forgive my carelessness,” said Lena as she bowed her head in frustration as the others also gathered in the living room at the estate, sat in silence.

“Lena I know you are hurting but this is very important so please, calm yourself so that you can think of any alternate place you might have moved the Master client list in all the chaos,” said Nathan.

“Getting a hold of that folder’ is what the mess in my cabin was all about wasn’t it Nathan. Whoever did all that ransacking a few days ago, took it from its hiding place taped beneath my lowest bureau drawer,” said Lena.

“Darling someone as desperate as our murderer or murderess wouldn’t find your hiding place too challenging,” said Martin shaking his head in disbelief at Lena’s idea of a secure hiding place.

“Excuse me for a moment Lena, I’ve had a thought I need to explore with a new friend of mine,” said Nathan.

“Of course,” said Lena.

The voice of Aaron Coulter the young TSU officer at Atlanta’s Police Department came on the line with the words, “Mr. March still no DNA test results sir,” he said.

“Surprisingly Officer Coulter I’m not calling about them, but I do have a question for you,” said Nathan.

“Officer Coulter was my father, call me Aaron and ask away sir,” said Aaron.

“Thanks Aaron. I’m calling because I desperately need to retrieve data deleted from a computer some time ago and I’m hoping if we get the hard drive from the computer to you, you’ll be able to retrieve some extremely important information for us,” said Nathan hopefully.

“Well sir, I’m confident I can retrieve most anything needed. Just bring me the computer where the hard drive with the data you need resides, and I’ll give it my best shot,” said Aaron.

When Martin Dickenson and Lena heard that the information on the Master list might be retrievable from the hard drive of her computer, Lena’s mood lifted immediately. With Nathan and Peter escorting Lena’s computer to TSU at police headquarters, Martin Dickenson took her back to her cottage, while the rest of the estate’s staff remained oblivious to the all the efforts underway to solve this string of murders.