Lightning at 200 Durham Street

by Ron Finch

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll do some preliminary work right now,” said the coroner. “I’ll take a brief break for supper and complete the autopsy this evening, if possible. I’m concerned about how much information we’ll still be able to obtain from the body. It’s been a few days and the body, though still usable, is not in the greatest of conditions.”

  “Well, let me know as soon as possible how you get on this evening,” said the chief. “Call me at home.”

  Dr. Whittles promised he would and left Chief Petrovic to continue with his own work.

  LATE THAT NIGHT, DR. Whittles phoned the chief of police at his home.

  “I’ve examined the body and the internal organs,” the coroner said, “and with the limited resources available to me, I can rule out the head trauma as the cause of death. I’m also fairly certain that Louise Carter didn’t die from natural causes. I don’t know what she did die from yet. With your permission, Bob, I’d like to see if I can get some help with the autopsy. I’ve heard that there are a couple of doctors practising forensic medicine in Toronto. Forensics is not widely used, yet, but they’re occasionally called upon by the Toronto police for difficult investigations. Maybe one of them could help us. Would you be able to phone the Toronto police tomorrow morning to get the name of one of these forensic specialists? Then I can give him a call and talk to him about the autopsy.”

  “I think that’s a good plan, Frank. I’ll phone Toronto tomorrow morning and get back to you with a name and number.”

  “Thanks, Bob.”

  Dr. Whittles hung up and Chief Petrovic returned to the still incomplete puzzle. It appeared to be missing a piece.

  Tuesday, May 29 to Thursday, May 31

  BY 9 O’CLOCK TUESDAY morning, the chief of police had already talked to Toronto, gotten the name and number of a doctor of forensic medicine, and passed it on to Dr. Whittles. Frank was delighted. The doctor’s name was Omar Whitehead.

  Dr. Whittles contacted Dr. Whitehead immediately. The forensic specialist asked for details regarding the case and then told Dr. Whittles he would be pleased to come to Chaseford to examine the autopsy results. He also mentioned that he may need to take some of the victim’s blood, and perhaps part of the body, back to his own laboratory in Toronto for further analysis.

  During their conversation, Dr. Whitehead asked the coroner if he had checked for poisoning. Dr. Whittles admitted that he had not and confessed that he didn’t have any expertise in that area. He apologized once more for intruding on Dr. Whitehead’s schedule.

  “Don’t apologize,” said Dr. Whitehead. “I’m very pleased you were professional enough to understand the limitations of your knowledge. Not everyone is. I’m very happy you called me in for a consult. I’ll help you as much as I can. I’ll leave Toronto today after lunch and meet you at your local hospital at 3 o’clock. If things go well, we’ll have a much better idea of the cause of death by the end of the day Thursday.”

  Dr. Whittles was pleased that help was on the way.

  SHORTLY AFTER 11:00 AM, the chief, the detective, and the two constables sat down at the table in the chief’s office. Interviewing was to begin that afternoon. There were to be two teams: Chief Petrovic, assisted by Cst. Smith; and Det. O’Neill, assisted by Cst. Herman.

  The chief and Cst. Smith were going to interview the boys, Joel Franklin and Jay Jarvis, as soon as they arrived at the police station after school. They had arranged to meet with Joel’s parents later at their home on Durham Street at 7 o’clock.

  While they were conducting their interviews, Det. O’Neill and Cst. Herman would be conducting their own interviews. It was a rainy day and, as a result, since it was too wet to work the land, Det. O’Neill and Cst. Herman had been able to set up interviews with Herbert and Emeline Derrigan at their farm starting at 2:00 PM. Det. O’Neill and Cst. Herman would interview Jay Smith’s parents later at their home that evening.

  Though they all needed to keep an open mind before the beginning of each interview, the four policemen wanted to review all the relevant facts of the case together. It was important that they all start with the same basic understanding of the situation. It was also important that they have no preconceived theories. They didn’t yet have enough evidence or information to form a testable theory.

  By the time the meeting ended, just before noon, they were ready to proceed with the interviews.

  “Before you go,” the chief reminded them, “don’t forget that all the local interviews are to be completed by Wednesday evening.”

  WEDNESDAY MORNING, the four investigators met again for a roundtable session to go over the results of their interviews. Had anything new turned up? Had any of the information coming out of the interviews created a need for an adjustment to their questions? If they were going to have a common base from which to consider answers from interview questions, this roundtable session after each day of interviews was crucial.

  The interviews of the boys and their parents did not produce anything new, but the interview with Emeline Derrigan did provide a new piece of information that might be relevant.

  “It turns out,” said Det. O’Neill, “that Emeline Derrigan is Louise Carter’s cousin, so she may be able to provide us with information about the Carter family dynamics. Cst. Herman and I did not pursue that connection in our interview, though, because I think we need to conduct our interviews with the Carter family first.”

  “That sounds very wise,” said Chief Petrovic.

  “It could be valuable information,” said Det. O’Neill. “We don’t really know. An older detective that I learned a great deal from used to say: ‘sometimes a ripple here causes a wave somewhere else’.”

  The chief cleared his throat. “I have some new information for you to consider,” he said, turning to the constables. “Det. O’Neill brought a fingerprint report with him from London today. It concerns the two tin cups and whisky bottle that he and Cst. Smith found on the trail near the cabin. We sent them to London to be dusted because they have better facilities there. They found two different sets of fingerprints. One set has already been identified and belongs to Louise Carter. This is a valuable piece of information we don’t want anyone else to know about.”

  The chief paused to let this information sink in.

  “Okay,” he concluded. “I think we’re finished with this meeting. It’s been productive. Let’s hope today’s interviews also produce something significant. Remember, if you don’t ask you won’t find out. Further, stay alert: keep in mind that what people don’t say may be as important as what they do say.

  “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to have our roundtable session tomorrow morning. Det. O’Neill and I are taking the train to Ottawa and it’s going to take us all day to get there. It’s going to cost us some time, but it’s very important we interview Louise Carter’s relatives ourselves; that way, we’ll get to meet them and get a first-hand impression of them. And the information will come directly to us instead of being delivered to us by a third party.

  “That’s it. Meeting adjourned.”

  With the meeting complete, they were ready to proceed with the day’s interviews. They would be on the same teams today. Each team would be interviewing three families. The families lived on farms in close proximity to the bush. The first interviews were slated for two in the afternoon.

  THE CORONER, DR. WHITTLES, and the forensic specialist, Dr. Whitehead from Toronto, had been working since late Tuesday afternoon.

  They had re-examined the organs that Dr. Whittles had removed from the body and had also done extensive tests on the blood. It was now Thursday afternoon and Dr. Whitehead told Dr. Whittles that they had completed as many tests as they could with the local resources.

  At this time, they had ruled out death by natural causes but they had been unable to pin down just why Louise Carter had died. Dr. Whitehead said, based on certain things he’d noticed about some of the brain tissue and blood, that he thought poisoning was involved. They had
tested locally for common poisons but hadn’t gotten anywhere. Dr. Whitehead said that, with Dr. Whittles’s permission, he would take some blood and part of the brain back to Toronto with him for further tests. He had more resources there and would be able to broaden the range of toxins he could test for. Dr. Whittles agreed and thanked Dr. Whitehead very much for his time. He said he looked forward to hearing about any progress he made about determining what type of poison caused the death of the victim.

  Friday, June 1 - Ottawa

  IT WAS JUST AFTER 8 o’clock on Friday morning. Chief Petrovic and Det. O’Neill were sitting down to breakfast at a diner just around the corner from the less than fancy hotel they had stayed at. They were on a limited budget and couldn’t afford the best of anything; they were having a tough time affording the second best. But they were pleased with their breakfast all the same. It wasn’t quite up to Mabel’s standards, but it was good.

  “I didn’t enjoy that train ride,” said the chief over his breakfast. “I’ve never been on a train ride that long before. I’ve ridden horses – it’s not my favourite pastime, but I can do it – but I’ve never been on a horse that was as uncomfortable as that train.”

  Det. O’Neill grinned. “I have to agree with you, Chief. Between the bumping and the rattling, and all the local stops and starts, and more bumping and rattling, it was not a pleasant journey. And just think: tomorrow we get to do it all over again.”

  “Well, we did get here in one piece, I suppose,” said the chief, “and despite the late supper we did get a couple of hours to prepare for today’s interviews. I think we have some good questions, but I have a feeling we’ll have a lot more questions by the time we finish the interviews. Based on my conversation with Assistant Chief Rutherford last night, our interviews may not be easy.

  “You may recall that I phoned Assistant Chief Rutherford on Tuesday, just before we started our local interviews. I’d asked him if he could make arrangements for all the Carters to meet with us at Ruth Carter’s home, at about 10 o’clock in the morning. I thought it might be more pleasant and spacious than an interrogation room, and I wanted everyone to feel comfortable while they waited for us to conduct our interviews with each family member. I told him that, at this point in the investigation, we only have four people to interview in Ottawa: Ruth Carter; Amos and Proctor Carter, her sons; and Ruth’s nurse, Bella.”

  “The nurse?” said Det. O’Neill, raising an eyebrow.

  “I’m hoping she’s nosy,” said Chief Petrovic. “Many nurses who serve as companions are. It’s important for them to be that way if they’re going to be effective at helping their employer. According to Rutherford, Nurse Bella seemed to be a very competent and trusted employee of Ruth’s. Her nosiness, or – putting it another way – her interest in serving Mrs. Carter, may mean she’s privy to a lot of inside family information. Don’t forget, she helped Louise Carter run the house.”

  “Nosy is probably a better description,” said Det. O’Neill.

  They both chuckled.

  “When we arrived last night,” Chief Petrovic continued, “I contacted Assistant Chief Rutherford to let him know we were in town and where we were staying. Rutherford informed me that our original interview plan wasn’t going to work out. It turns out that Mrs. Carter’s sons won’t set foot in her house.”

  Det. O’Neill raised both his eyebrows.

  “He spoke to Mrs. Carter first,” said the chief, “and she told him both of her sons were welcome to attend her home for the interviews but that she doubted they would agree to come. When Rutherford asked her why, she explained that they’d had a falling out over money after the death of her husband. It seems that Amos and Proctor wanted more than their share of the estate money because they both ran businesses. They didn’t think their mother and their sister Louise needed as much money because they had the house and other country property.”

  “I see,” said Det. O’Neill.

  “That money rightfully belonged to Mrs. Carter and Louise, of course,” the chief continued. “She knew her sons were doing well enough without it. Rutherford tells me she told him that she was polite with her sons, but firm. She also told him that her decision was not well received by her sons. They both told her they would never set foot in her house again and stormed out.

  “Mrs. Carter still doesn’t understand why they wanted the money so badly, apparently. It was quite a mystery to her. She told Rutherford that since that time, now several years ago, they have had absolutely nothing to do with her or their sister. She hasn’t received so much as a birthday card, let alone a Mother’s Day gift or a Christmas present. According to Rutherford, she really seemed to be confounded about the whole thing. But since her sons refused to talk with her or Louise, they couldn’t solve the problem.

  “And it turns out she was right. Rutherford contacted Amos and Proctor and they both refused to attend an interview in their mother’s home. They didn’t want to be anywhere near her. When he asked them why, they told him it was a private family matter and – rather less than more politely – that it was none of his business. Although, to tell the truth, Rutherford told me, he doesn’t think they knew how to be polite. They certainly don’t have the interpersonal skills that their father had. So he had to arrange separate interviews with them.

  “The way it’s set up now,” the chief concluded, “we will be interviewing Ruth and Bella in the morning at Mrs. Carter’s home, starting at 9:30. Later in the day, at 2 o’clock, we will conduct interviews with Amos and Proctor at Amos’s place of business. He has an office in downtown Ottawa that he runs a geological survey company out of. The information I have about Amos Carter from Assistant Chief Rutherford indicates that he’s quite well-to-do. His company surveyors have been instrumental in locating some valuable natural resources, it seems. He and his brother Proctor appear to be on good terms with one another and Proctor assured Rutherford that he would attend his brother’s office for the interview.”

  Chief Petrovic and Detective O’Neill finished their coffee.

  “It seems,” said Det. O’Neill with a grunt, “these interviews may be a little more difficult to conduct than we’d thought. But also more interesting, and perhaps more informative, than the interviews we conducted earlier in the week. Who knows what we’ll uncover? I’m glad we have this information from Assistant Chief Rutherford, though. It gives us a bit of insight into the Carter family dynamics.”

  “Yes, and I think we may dig up a bit of additional information if we interview Bella carefully,” said the chief. “By the way, Assistant Chief Rutherford has graciously offered us a car and a driver while we’re here in Ottawa. I told him where we were having our breakfast and he said: ‘no comment’.” The chief relayed this anecdote with a chuckle. “But he did assure me he would have a local constable by the name of George Brown pick us up here at nine. He said it would take us about 15 minutes to drive to Ruth Carter’s from here.”

  “It’s nice to have a chauffeur,” said Det. O’Neill, stretching. “We deserve special treatment after that train ride.”

  They paid for their coffee and breakfast and then the two men headed for the door.

  IT WAS A LOVELY JUNE morning with a beautiful blue sky and not a single cloud and Chief Petrovic and Det. O’Neill were enjoying their ride. They were in a particularly nice section of Ottawa, with homes that had large yards that ran all the way to the river. There were no small houses on this street.

  It had only taken them 15 minutes to arrive in the neighbourhood from downtown and during that peaceful interlude they had had a pleasant chat with their chauffeur, Cst. George Brown. They found out that the constable had been with the police force for a little over 15 years and that he was delighted with this recent appointment as an aide to Assistant Chief Rutherford. He found the change from routine police work refreshing; now, he could never be sure what his duties would be until he arrived at Assistant Chief Rutherford’s office. He might be part of an investigative team, or he could be tak
ing part in a raid. Today was the first time he’d ever been a chauffeur, though. It was the easiest morning he’d had in a long time. Rutherford had chosen Cst. Brown because of his wide range of experience; if the visiting chief and detective needed anything, Cst. Brown would know who to contact or where to get it.

  At length, they pulled into a driveway lined on both sides by a low, well-trimmed cedar hedge and parked in front of a large two and a half story home. They got out of the car and went to the door. Mrs. Carter’s house looked to Chief Petrovic to have been built in the 1880s.

  A woman of about 50, wearing a nurse’s uniform, came to the door. She smiled pleasantly and introduced herself as Nurse Bella.

  “I’ll take you to the living room,” she said, leading them from the foyer. “Mrs. Carter is waiting for you there. She would have met you at the door, but she’s in a wheelchair.”

  “If you don’t think Mrs. Carter will mind, I’ll wait in the kitchen,” said Cst. Brown. “That way, if you need me, I’ll be handy.”

  The chief wondered briefly why the constable had selected the kitchen; then he detected the wonderful aroma of fresh baking.

  Nurse Bella gave Cst. Brown a warning glance. “You’re welcome to coffee and conversation, constable, but keep your hands off the baking.”

  Nurse Bella showed Cst. Brown to the kitchen and then returned and continued to lead the chief and the detective down the hall to the living room. Ruth Carter was waiting for them there.

  Chief Petrovic and Det. O’Neill passed their condolences on to Mrs. Carter and apologized that circumstances required them to meet with her. Mrs. Carter assured them that she understood.

  Before proceeding to the interview, Mrs. Carter asked the chief about Chaseford. She was quite interested to know what was going on there. She’d grown up in the region but of course hadn’t been there for many years. She mentioned that she’d always received good reports from Louise when she returned from the area. With the mention of Louise’s name, Mrs. Carter teared up a bit but quickly recovered herself. Chief Petrovic told her that her husband Hugh was still remembered very fondly in the area.