Night Strike

by Rodney Mountain

"You're right about that," Corrie nodded, "And that condom never entered that girl either. It's too clean."

  "Posed, possibly?" Nick asked her.

  "I'd say that's a definite possibility," Corrie said, "But the question is why?"

  "And how," Nick said, "Lividity is correct and even the locations of the bullet holes are correct."

  "Or are they?" Corrie said, "Take a look at the one on his head."

  Nick looked closely at the one on the Henry Wright's head. It was a standard low caliber bullet hole, but there was entirely too little blood for it to be the death wound. Nick knew within seconds that it was post mortem.

  "What really killed him?" Nick wondered, "And where the hell are the medical examiners?"

  "Probably caught in traffic," Corrie said, "Radio said something about an accident on I-27."

  "They'd best get here soon or the bodies won't even be cold anymore," Nick grumbled.

  "Let's hope you're wrong on that, Jones," Robin Haskell said as she entered the room, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

  "We've only been here a few minutes ourselves, Robin," Corrie said, "Don't let us get in the way. We just need to find out how they died and how long they've been dead."

  "The head wound is post mortem," Nick said, "The rest of it I'll leave to you."

  "You're so kind, Nick," Robin said with a mocking tone, "Remind me to look for you when Sissy and I need someone for artificial insemination."

  Corrie snickered at that one. Nick had grown up in a world of criminals where women weren't respected and homosexuality was abhorrent. He'd gotten over the problems with women, Miller had long ago cured him of that, but homosexuality was a way to still bring a blush to Nick's cheeks. Corrie and Robin often had fun with him on this point when she was their ME.

  "Perhaps we'd best find out how this man died," Nick said, "Huh?"

  "Right," Robin nodded, "Let me get my pictures and then we'll turn the bodies."

  "Let's do it before they go into rigor," Corrie suggested, "I hate pulling people apart like that."

  "I'll be a few minutes," Robin said, "I'll come get you when I'm ready."

  Nick nodded and they left the room to find Terry.

  Chapter 4

  Terry was talking to one of the building's tenants out in the hallway when Nick interrupted him.

  "Who found the body, Terry?" Nick asked him, "I want to talk with them."

  "Security guard," Terry told him, "He's sitting in the office waiting room."

  "Thanks," Corrie said.

  Nick and Corrie went over and found the guard sitting and shifting around in his chair, much like anyone who finds a body would be. The guard looked fairly young and his uniform was actually rather ill fitting. He was also exceedingly annoyed at having to sit in waiting room under guard.

  "Why am I here being treated like a criminal?" the security guard asked Nick, pointedly ignoring Corrie.

  "You're being treated like a witness," Nick told him, "We're keeping you from being hounded by the press, who are already salivating like a wolf pack over this story."

  "Great," The kid said, slumping back in his chair.

  "What's your name," Corrie asked him.

  "Morton," the kid said, "David Morton."

  "How did you find them, David?" Nick asked him.

  "I was doing my rounds," David said, shrugging his shoulders, "I came into the room because I saw it was open way too early. I found those two like that and I freaked."

  "Did you know who it was?" Corrie asked him.

  "Not a clue," the kid said, "I work the night shift, 11pm to 7am. Don't see many of the day tenants."

  "How often do you check up here?" Corrie asked, "Do you do regular rounds?"

  "Staggered times," the guard said, "They don't want it to be predictable so they have a clock downstairs. You hit the button when you finish a round. It'll put off a time between ten minutes and an hour and a half. When the bell rings you go off and do a round."

  "And when did you find them?" Nick asked the kid.

  "My last round," Morton told them, "The doors up here were shut until then."

  "Did you hear anything on your rounds from this room?" Corrie asked him.

  "The lights were off every time I came by," The kid said, "Right up until the time I found the doorway open."

  "Did you see anyone strange in the building?" Corrie asked him.

  "Just the usual," the kid said, "Mr. Sandusky and his secretary left at around 1am, but they've been having some after hours fun for months."

  "Anyone who isn't usually here?" Nick asked him.

  "Not a soul," the kid shrugged, "Never is during my shift. People start coming in at around 6am or so."

  "Thanks," Nick said, "Stick around for a bit, kid. There will be some food brought in soon."

  "Great," the kid said, "Listen, my shift is over and I'm beat."

  "Take a nap," Corrie suggested, "You'll never be safer. There's a dozen cops in this building right now."

  "Thanks," Morton said.

  Nick and Corrie left the room and looked at each other. Neither one bought the kid's story completely. They were both confirmed cynics who had seen enough bullshit in the past to realize that something was wrong. The kid was too nervous to have told the whole truth.

  "What was he lying about?" Nick asked Corrie, "You've generally got a better sense of that than I do."

  "I don't know," Corrie shrugged, "He's lying about something though."

  "Let's go see what Robin has come up with," Nick said, "I want to know how long they've been dead."

  Chapter 5

  Robin had finished with the photography when they went back into the room. She was measuring the corpse's body temperature with a nifty little tool when she looked up at them. Nick tapped his foot a little while he waited.

  "We're ready to move them," Robin said, "They've been dead approximately eight to twelve hours. Say 11 to 3?"

  "Great," Nick said, "And the lividity proves that they weren't sitting anywhere after death except their positions."

  "One thing is for sure," Robin said, "They didn't do anything on this couch. There's no fluids, no sweat. Even the waste didn't let go."

  "We'd guessed that from the badly put on condom and vasectomy scar," Nick said, "Any guess as to how he died?"

  "Not until I move him," Robin said, "You've got gloves on. Mind doing the honors, Nick?"

  "Let's do it," Nick said, getting his lean frame into position.

  Nick pulled up on Henry Wright's body and pulled. Robin snapped a few pictures and Corrie looked at the chest area. She traced a pattern and came up with a pattern about the size of a hand.

  "I'd say that's a killing blow," Corrie said, "Right over the heart."

  "I wonder if he had heart trouble," Nick said, "If he did that type of blow could knock him out quick."

  "Check his desk," Robin said, "There's probably some pills in there if he had a heart condition. Most executives I've ever worked on kept them there."

  Corrie went over to the desk and started going through the drawers. Sure enough, there happened to be a bottle of nitro pills in the desk. She held them up to Robin who nodded, not surprised in the slightest.

  "I’ll know more after they do the autopsy," Robin said, "But my best guess now is that someone thumped his heart pretty hard."

  "The girl definitely died by gunshot wound," Corrie said, looking closer at her, "That wound definitely bled out properly."

  "So she was killed this way and he wasn’t," Nick said, "This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

  "This also took some time to stage," Robin said as she looked over the bodies, "They did a fairly good job considering."

  While Nick and Corrie looked at the bodies in the background Robin flipped on the news to check on the traffic so she could warn the body crew. Corrie looked at the television and realized what was missing.

  "The kid was lying," Corrie said, staring, "He had to have been. You
said the time of death is 11 to 3, right?"

  "Probably," Robin said, "It wasn’t a cold night and there was no air conditioning on in the building."

  "This posing took at least some time," Corrie said, "And it had to be done with lights."

  "The kid couldn’t have made his rounds and missed it," Nick said, "But how can we prove it."

  "The news crew has a camera on the skyline," Corrie said, "They were probably recording it."

  "Fifth floor will be easy to spot," Robin said, "I like it."

  "Let me call the station," Nick said, "Corrie, finish checking out the bodies."

  "Right," Corrie nodded.

  Chapter 6

  Nick spent a couple minutes counting windows and then called the news station. It took about ten minutes, but he finally found out the information he needed. He came over to the bodies and looked at Corrie.

  "Good call," Nick said, "The lights in this suite were off from dusk until 11:12. From 11:12PM to 1:13AM they were on before turning off again, staying off for the rest of the night."

  "I don’t know, but you’d think the kid would have had to make a round in that time, wouldn’t you?" Corrie asked him, "Something doesn’t gel."

  "We need to know why he was here that late," Nick said, "Any sign of the wife yet?"

  "I forgot about her," Corrie admitted, "I’ll go see if anyone has let her know yet."

  "She’s downstairs," Robin said, "I saw her when I was coming in."

  "Why didn’t you tell us?" Nick asked her.

  "I thought you knew," she shrugged, "She was bawling against a man downstairs."

  "I guess we should go talk with the widow," Nick said, "This is going to be fun."

  "Is this some new previously undiscovered meaning of the word fun?" Corrie asked him.

  "Funny," Nick said with a grimace as they headed to the elevator, "Really funny."

  "I thought so," Corrie shrugged.

  They went down and found that Robin was right, Mrs. Wright was standing there bawling along with her lawyer. Nick and Corrie went over to the woman. Corrie took the lead because she possessed much more tact than Nick could ever dream of having, something they both had used to their advantage in the past. They had perfected the "Good cop, bad cop" routine down to an art.

  "Mrs. Wright?" Corrie asked, "I’m Detective Albiston, this is Detective Jones. We’ve been assigned to investigate your husband’s murder."

  "Can I see him now?" she asked Corrie, "I have to know!"

  "I’m afraid not," Corrie said, "I can assure you it’s him. He’s been positively identified. No need to see him in that state."

  "Do you have any suspects yet?" the lawyer asked them.

  "We’re still trying to piece together what happened," Corrie told him, "I was wondering if we could ask you some questions, Mrs. Wright?"

  "Anything to help," she said, still sobbing a little, "Anything to catch this son of a bitch!"

  "What was your husband doing down here this late?" Corrie asked her.

  "Henry was a workaholic," she told them, "He had a big deal coming together that he was supposed to present on Monday. It wasn’t unusual for him to work straight through a weekend before a big deal."

  "When did you last see your husband?" Nick asked.

  "He planned on starting tonight," Mrs. Wright told him, "He spent the evening with us and decided to come to work when he couldn’t sleep."

  "This wasn’t planned?" Corrie asked her.

  "No," she said, shaking her head, "He had actually left early last night to come spend time with us. He never did sleep much, so he would often come down to work when he was having fits of insomnia."

  "Did you know Sandy Calitri?" Corrie asked her.

  "She’s been my husband’s secretary for a couple years," she said, "Very competent. I’ve only met her a few times, but Henry said she was one of the best he’d ever had."

  "I apologize for asking this now, but I have no choice," Corrie continued, "Were you and Henry having any problems at home?"

  "It’s always been up and down for us," she admitted, "But we always worked it out. I’ve never cheated on him and to my knowledge he never did on me."

  "How bad was your husband’s heart condition?" Nick asked her.

  "He has had a couple heart attacks," the woman said, "His doctor was telling him that if it got much worse he’d need another bypass."

  "What deal was he working on?" Corrie asked.

  "I don’t know, honestly," Mrs. Wright said, "I rarely paid attention to his deals. They made him happy, but my life was the family. That’s the way we both liked it too."

  "Nothing wrong with that," Corrie said with a smile, "We’ll let you know if we find anything else."

  Nick and Corrie walked back towards the elevators when the lawyer rushed over to them. Nick looked at him and wondered what the man wanted. Corrie shrugged and let Nick take the lead on this.

  "Yes?" Nick asked him.

  "Is it true that they found him…" he said, groping for words, "Entangled, shall we say… With Sandy Calitri?"

  "That’s how we found him," Nick confirmed, wondering whether this man could confirm it.

  "There’s no reason to publish that is there?" the lawyer asked hopefully, "It would be rather distressing to Mrs. Wright if that were released."

  "We don’t intend to release anything," Nick assured him, "Now can we ask you a few questions?"

  "Sure," the lawyer said, "Though I was a personal attorney and know little of his finances."

  "That’s fine," Nick said, "That’s more of what I need anyway. Would it surprise you to find out that he and Sandy were having an affair?"

  "Frankly," the lawyer said, "The mere idea shocks me. Henry was devoted to his wife, Detective Jones. As far as I know he never looked at another woman."

  "Do you know of anyone who wanted him dead?" Corrie asked him.

  "No one," the lawyer shrugged, "He had enemies, but he was honest and didn’t mix with the criminal types. That’s why he backed the reformers. He wanted to see decent people running the city for the first time in memory."

  "Right," Nick nodded, "Thanks."

  Chapter 7

  Nick and Corrie got into the elevator and pushed five. Corrie leaned against the wall and looked at Nick. Nick shrugged his shoulders and just shook his head.

  "This guy sounds too good to be true," Corrie said.

  "It gels with what we know," Nick said, "I don’t think he was having sex with her, but I think someone wants us to think he was."

  "Why though?" Corrie said as the elevator came to a stop, "Who would want to do that? His family wouldn’t do it that way. It would serve little purpose to his enemies, the elections are over and he wasn’t running for anything himself, just funding candidates."

  "Maybe we’re falling into a trap," Nick said, "Maybe it has nothing to do with him?"

  "Sandy Calitri?" Corrie said, "Why would someone want to kill a secretary?"

  "Let’s see what we can find out about her," Nick suggested, "Maybe someone hated her for some reason."

  "Why haven’t we seen any of the regular office workers yet?" Corrie wondered.

  "Good question," Nick agreed, "It’s definitely late enough. They should all be here."

  Terry Moore was standing at the door talking to a young man. The man was mousy and wore really thick glasses, if anyone fit the stereotype of a nerd he was it. Nick and Corrie went over and looked at the young man.

  "Terry," Nick said, "Who’s your friend here?"

  "Endicott Nichols the Third," the young man said, "I work here for Mr. Wright."

  "You’re the son of Senator Nichols, right?" Corrie asked him.

  "Yes," the boy said, a little snobbishly, "My father is the senator."

  "He just came in," Terry said, "I figured you were down with Mrs. Wright."

  "Why are you coming in so late, Endicott?" Nick asked him, "It’s nearly eleven."

  "I always come in
this late on Fridays," Endicott said, "This is a low paying intern position. Part of the deal I had with Mr. Wright was that I could spend Friday mornings at my Father’s prayer breakfasts. I routinely show up about now and work until seven instead of five."

  "No social life, Endicott?" Corrie asked him, knowing full well it was a useless question.

  "Not really," Endicott shrugged, "I don’t get many offers."

  "What do you do here?" Nick asked him.

  "I’m mainly a gopher," Endicott said, "Learning a bit about the real estate trade. I just finished my bachelors and Dad got me this job so I could get some practical experience. Mr. Wright is… was, I guess… a great man to work for. He was demanding, but he knew his limitations and your limitations."

  "How about Sandy Calitri?" Corrie asked him, "What was she like to work with?"

  "Sandy was competent," Endicott said, "She didn’t like me much, but most people don’t seem to."

  "I wonder why," Corrie mumbled under her breath.

  "Do you know anything about Sandy’s family?" Nick asked him.

  "I never saw her outside of here," Endicott shrugged, "I think she was single, she never said anything to me one way or the other."

  "Where were you last night, Endicott?" Corrie asked.

  "Am I a suspect?" Endicott said, worried.

  "Everyone is a suspect until we can eliminate them," Corrie said, "Where were you, Endicott?"

  "Sitting at my apartment in front of the computer," Endicott said, "Same place I usually am when I’m not here. Sorry I can’t prove much."

  "Who else usually works here?" Corrie asked him.

  "We keep the office," Endicott told her, "He has other employees, but none of them work on site. Henry preferred to go to them and let Sandy answer the phones."

  "Who covers Sandy when she’s out?" Nick asked him.

  "Usually the girl from the other office," Endicott told them, "The office down on three."

  "Did he keep anything valuable here?" Nick queried.

  "There were details on his deals in the file cabinets," Endicott shrugged, "Most of his dealings were public record. Can’t figure out why anyone would kill him. He was more valuable to everyone alive."

  "That’s what I’m hearing," Nick said, grumbling.

  "Stick around," Corrie said to Endicott Nichols, "We may have some more questions for you."

  Chapter 8

  Nick and Corrie walked back into the office where Robin and the other CSI technicians were working on the office. Nick rubbed his temples and walked around the room trying to figure out what he was missing. Corrie looked at the bodies that were being moved onto stretchers.