The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.
Feedback and
constructive
criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.
This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.
Part 10 - The Lemonade Plot Redux, Cont'd
"So," I said to my shocked audience. "Did everyone see what happened?"
"I did." said Cindy. "But I'm used to you by now. You switched the cups when you pretended to fall over." I heard small gasps of understanding.
"Yes, very good, Crowbar 2." I said, pulling the cup with pink droplets from my pocket. "Reubens drank the poisoned pink lemonade. Then someone came up to him and switched the cups. That's why we didn't find cyanide in the cup next to him."
"Well I'll be damned." SBI Director Jack Lewis said quietly.
"So, girls," I said, addressing the watching Girl Scouts, "you can see that this was not your fault, and was the work of someone else. And I do thank you very much for helping me recreate the scene."
"Does this mean we can get selfies with you?" one Girl Scout asked.
"Uh, sure." I said, acquiescing to modern fads. It was not long before 'the Facebook', as Captain Moynahan called it, had pictures of Your Iron Crowbar with a Girl Scout troop posted upon it.
As everyone talked about the crime, Director Lewis said to me "This is very interesting, Commander, but it doesn't give us the criminal."
"That's true." I said. "But we've gotten a lot of footage from citizens, and we can go back and look at it. If we catch someone pocketing a cup or replacing it, then we've got something on someone." I was thinking of one person in particular as I spoke.
"So, what about the Wargrave case?" Lewis asked. "Anything new?"
"No, Director." I said. "I'm sifting through my findings and writing my report now. There is simply no evidence of anything but Mr. Wargrave committing suicide."
"And how did that shatterproof, bulletproof window break?" asked Lewis with a hint of a sneer in his voice.
"All I can tell you is that was totally shattered." I said. "Wargrave may have had some kind of sonic device, like a musical note shattering a wine glass. It may have fallen out the window with Wargrave. His associate Austin Murphy was on tape on the ground floor of the building. Maybe he picked up the device on the ground and left before the City Police realized what had happened. But that's sheer speculation, and I'm not even going to write that down for my report."
"Okay." said Lewis. "I'd rather see you bring Reubens's killer to justice, anyway. Good work figuring this much out. I'll make my goodbyes to the crowd and go." And he suited the deed to the word.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Just one thing I don't understand." said Cindy. She was riding in the backseat of my SUV, with me driving and Laura riding 'shotgun'. "I can't figure out why the killer would bother changing the cups like that. Seems like an unnecessary finesse."
"I agree with you." I said. "But I had been thinking about that, and a couple of possible reasons came to me. First, the killer thought that someone might see what happened at the Festival, and by taking the contaminated cup he removes the evidence completely."
"That's true, though he risked being seen switching the cups." Cindy said. "But what's the other reason?"
"Well, let me put it like this." I said. "I think our
un
-friendly neighborhood Consultant of Crime has a tendency to introduce dramatics into the crimes he is consulted upon, and sometimes unnecessarily so. The whole thing with Jimmy Tolson and the dramatic disappearance from an unescapable room, for example. The Trish Donolan murder case, and hiding the murder weapon the way it was hidden is another example. The painting delivered to me, and the matchstick Trojan Horse, and there are other examples, also."
"Leaving a map of your location at Lake Amengi-Nunagen in my office." said Cindy.
"Exactly." I said. "By having the killer switch the cups, we're left astounded by there being no cyanide in the cup by Reubens's side. It's just an extra touch to confound us. Needless, over the top, but a signature of the man who thought out the crime."
"And if that's a tendency of his, maybe we can use it to find it and take him down?" Cindy asked.
"Maybe." I said. "But he's still very good about staying hidden and keeping himself disassociated from it all."
Part 11 - Making His List, Checking It Twice
"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the beautiful older redheaded reporterette at 7:00am Wednesday, August 12th. "Channel Two News has learned that the State Supreme Court has made a stunning decision in the Jack Burke sex tapes case, formally called
KSTD v. Town & County Council
!"
"The State Supreme Court ruled that the Open Records Act does not apply to evidence acquired in connection with ongoing Court trials and appeals. However, the Supreme Court left open other aspects of the case by returning it to the Appellate Court for further review. While the Jack Burke murder case is considered still open, it is well known that Joe Arruzio admitted to the murder of his wife and her lover Burke before committing suicide. If the case is deemed closed by the Court, it is unclear whether the evidence can be requested or released under the Open Records Act."
"Also, while the Supreme Court said that the prurient interest of the Public's Right to Know was not in and of itself a legitimate consideration when considering the public release of evidentiary information, they also said that withholding information from the Public because of potential embarrassment to citizens cannot in itself be considered a legitimate reason for withholding the information from the Public."
"The case is now back in the hands of Judge Leahy of the Appellate Court. SBI Director Jack Lewis, who is widely expected to announce his candidacy for Governor over the upcoming Labor Day weekend, said that he believes the information should be released to the Public, and that State Government should be open and transparent. Governor Val Jared has said that he will press the Legislature during the next legislative session to refine the law to specifically exclude evidence in all cases, open or closed."
"Here we go again." Cindy Ross said as she sipped her coffee in the MCD room.
"Yep." ADA Paulina Patterson said. "And it gets worse: last night I got word that KSTD had filed a motion with the Appellate Judge asking for the names of the women on the tape if he won't release the tapes themselves. We filed a counter, but Krasney is worried that Leahy will be eager to give KSTD the information. He is rabidly anti-Police and hates the Rich. Leahy has politicized his Court and uses his Bench for political purposes rather than jurisprudence. He would love to do something like this."
"They don't have that information, do they?" asked Joanne Cummings, the lovely blonde Detective. "I mean... unless they already have the tapes themselves?"
"Unfortunately, Miss Cummings," I said with plenty of asperity, "it is more than possible, it is likely that they do have the list of names without having the actual tapes. Otherwise, KSTD would still be fighting to get the tapes themselves. Now all of a sudden, they just want a name list? Connect those dots, Detectives." There was a general groan in the room.
Cindy came up next to me and said very quietly "You better get ahold of Sheriff Allgood and stay with him."
"Way ahead of you, Crowbar 2." I said. "Wayyyyy ahead of you on that one."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
