Det Annie Macpherson 02 - Programmed To Kill

by Speake, Barbara Fagan

  ‘And?’ Ellison prompted.

  ‘The rumour is that there had been an incident involving a young altar boy.’

  ‘I see,’ Ellison replied. ‘Any detail of the name of the person they overheard?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s in the report. The sisters asked if their names could be withheld; didn’t want to be seen to be spreading gossip.’

  ‘Thanks. We’ll be discrete. What time did Heaviley finish?’

  ‘A few minutes before I left to come here. We haven’t released the church vestry room for use yet.’

  ‘Good. I’ll give him a call.’

  Ellison continued processing information until Annie returned, nearly two hours later. ‘How’d it go? he asked when she came in.

  ‘I’m glad Brother Jonathan was with us. Marion Bannister was on a train all morning, returning from seeing her sister in New York. No one had been able to get in touch with her, including the hospital, so she wasn’t even aware he’d been attacked. She took it pretty badly. He was an only child. Her husband died over ten years ago. Family liaison is taking her to the hospital. We’ll have to interview her tomorrow.’ Then she added, ‘I need to let the captain know we’ve told her.’

  ‘OK, you can do that in a minute. I’ve seen the press release. The details are scant.’ Ellison quickly filled her in on his conversation with the ambulance crew, the report from Cunningham and his own search of the databases. He’d also spoken to Glen Heaviley who confirmed the list of evidence they were examining.

  As they were finishing catching up, Franconi popped his head out of his office. ‘Detectives, I need to see you.’

  Chapter 9

  ‘How did you get along with Mrs Bannister?’ Franconi asked as soon as the two detectives were seated.

  ‘She was shocked. He’s an only child, husband dead over ten years. We’ll need to interview her tomorrow. Right now she’s at the hospital with Jane Petty from Family Liaison.’

  Franconi was dialling as Annie finished her sentence. ‘Yeah, release the statement. Next-of-kin’s been informed … No, you handle any calls … Yeah, OK.’ He turned his attention back to them.

  Ellison picked up the cue to finish reporting. ‘No similar cases on the databases for the last five years, although there was an almost identical one ten years ago. The guy’s still serving time in Pennsylvania. I’ve emailed the prison for an update to see if he’s in touch with anyone on a regular basis. I should hear back soon. Cunningham and Jacobs re-interviewed the churchgoers. One thing for us to follow up on: some gossip about why he was transferred from his previous parish. Maybe something or nothing.’

  ‘To do with what?’ Franconi asked.

  ‘Maybe child sex abuse, certainly a complaint.’

  ‘That figures,’ replied Franconi. ‘A few minutes ago I got a call from a detective I’ve met over the years, Peter Baxter from the New Haven Police. He’d heard the news item and recognised the name of the parish. I confirmed the name of the victim.’

  Ellison and Annie looked at one another.

  Franconi continued. ‘He’s part of a specialist state team set up by the governor looking into sexual abuse allegations against the clergy. Mostly priests, of course. Some nuns too, would you believe?’

  ‘Yeah, I would,’ said Ellison. ‘The nuns at my school were vicious.’

  Annie glanced at Ellison. He didn’t shift his gaze from the captain.

  ‘Anyway, Father Bannister’s name has cropped up in their inquiries and they were expecting to interview him sometime next week. Bannister knew about the interview,’ Franconi continued.

  ‘Any jurisdictional issues we need to worry about?’ Annie asked.

  ‘No, I cleared that. This is a murder inquiry, on our watch, so the case is ours. You’ll keep him informed of anything relevant and he’ll do the same. He has a number of names to go on. If anything comes up, he’ll let us know. He also suggested we get a search warrant for Father Bannister’s room, especially any computer. Some of the crimes involve online sharing of images, and distribution of printed photographs. He’s emailing me over a statement about his investigation which might convince a judge to let us search Father Bannister’s things.’

  ‘I’ll get on to that right away,’ Ellison answered.

  ‘I’ll drop the email to you as soon as it comes in. So, that might give us something. What else?’ Franconi asked.

  ‘Cunningham interviewed two elderly sisters who mentioned overhearing the gossip. I also have the name of the person they overheard, so I think we need to see him. It doesn’t sound as if the two sisters have any more to offer, so we might as well go straight to the source.’

  As the two detectives got up to leave, one of the clerks knocked on the door and passed a printed email to Franconi. After a quick scan, he proffered it to Ellison. ‘This is what you need Detective. You might catch the judge if you’re quick.’

  An hour later, Ellison had the search warrant they needed. The computer technician from Heaviley’s team was also available to accompany them.

  ‘Want me to ring Brother Jonathan to say we’re on our way?’ Annie asked as they were leaving the station.

  ‘No. Who knows what’s going on? Anyone in that seminary could be involved. So, we better get there before they think to destroy any evidence.’

  ‘Good point,’ Annie said.

  ‘What time are you meeting Captain Hegarty?’ Ellison glanced over at her while the technician, Dan Parker, got in the back seat.

  ‘Don’t want me late for my date, huh?’ Annie teased. ‘Didn’t know you cared.’

  ‘If it’s too late I might have to take you out myself,’ Ellison replied, as he got into the driving seat.

  *****

  For the second time that day, Brother Jonathan answered the bell. This time he appeared more surprised to see them. ‘Detectives, more questions?’

  ‘We’ve got a search warrant for Father Bannister’s room.’ Ellison held out the document before he introduced Dan Parker.

  ‘I don’t understand. He was a victim. Why are you searching his things?’

  ‘Part of our investigation. Which room is his?’

  Brother Jonathan stood for a moment reading the document, making them wait. Annie noticed Ellison tapping his foot. He gave her a look to indicate he was about to get firm with the clergyman, when the older man handed the document back. Then he turned, leading them to the priest’s room. He took a set of keys out of his pocket and selected the correct one, before placing it in the lock. ‘The light switch is on the right,’ he instructed, as Ellison and Parker entered the room.

  ‘Who else has keys to this room?’ Annie asked, still standing in the doorway.

  Brother Jonathan leaned against the wall outside the room. ‘Each priest and seminarian has his own key and I have a complete set, in case any go missing. I’m responsible for the building. I let the cleaners in every day, although we left this room today for obvious reasons.’

  ‘So, as far as you know then, no one else has been in this room after Father Bannister left it this morning.’

  ‘I don’t see how they could. While I was with you and Marion Bannister, I had the keys with me. I hope someone searched Father Bannister’s clothes for his key.’

  ‘One of the crime scene technicians is picking them up from the hospital for us,’ Annie answered. Then she glanced inside the room. ‘Thanks, Brother Jonathan, I’ll come and find you when we’re finished in here.’

  The white haired man turned and headed back down the corridor.

  Annie joined her colleagues. Ellison was taking shots of the room with his digital camera and Parker was sitting at the small desk, situated in the alcove, trying to access the computer files on the laptop. Annie got her notebook out and started to sketch the room to back up Ellison’s photos
. The walls in the room were painted pale green and the only real decoration was a crucifix situated over the single bed. Stark was the word that came to her, stark and cheerless. Surely, it wouldn’t be too much to have some mementos in the room? There was nothing to indicate who the occupant was. In the opposite corner to the desk, there was a small table with a statue of the Sacred Heart and a votive candle in front of it. A New Testament lay next to the candle.

  Annie finished her sketch and then put her gloves on. She started by searching the bedside cabinet. There was nothing of note. Then she turned her attention to the bed, feeling underneath the pillow. To her surprise, there was something there. Gingerly she lifted the single pillow and found an index size card with two photos taped on to it, yellowed with age. One was of a young man, the other a young woman.

  ‘Detective, come and have a look at this.’

  Ellison left the drawer he was searching and came over to Annie. He took the card in his gloved hand and turned it over. There was nothing written on either side. ‘They’re certainly not children. What do you think, late teens, early twenties?’ Ellison asked.

  ‘Looks like. So what – relatives, friends? Why under the pillow? Strange place to keep a photograph, wouldn’t you say?’

  ‘Put it in an evidence bag. We’ll show it to Marion Bannister when we interview her. See if she recognises them.’

  In all, they were there about an hour. Although Parker managed to access some files, he needed more time to search them. The laptop went into an evidence bag as well. Ellison found a few more photographs. At first glance, none looked to be pornographic. Annie finished the search of the bed. Nothing else was hidden, nor was there anything relevant in his clothing.

  ‘Let’s check if any of the children in these photos also appear in any of Detective Baxter’s files. Could be that these kids were being groomed,’ Ellison remarked to Annie as he sealed and labelled the final evidence bag.

  When the search was finished, Ellison drove back to the station. They all went up to ensure that the evidence had the proper chain of custody recorded. Parker was staying on. The squad room was empty. Franconi had left for the day.

  ‘Come on, I’ll drop you home, so you can meet my rival for your affections,’ Ellison said, as he and Annie got back in the car.

  Chapter 10

  When Annie entered her apartment, she noticed the light on the answering machine was flashing. She pressed the button.

  ‘Hello, sweetheart. I was hoping to catch you. It’s eleven o’clock here. I’m going to bed in a few minutes, after I check Andrew again. He’s fine, been home three days now and the new medication seems to be working so far. Still, I look in on him every few hours to be sure. Anyway, we’re both fine. I’ll email you tomorrow.’

  Annie wanted to return the call, but she knew her mum would be asleep. It had been over an hour since the message had been left. No point in disturbing her. The phone might also wake up Andrew, her older brother with Down’s syndrome and severe epilepsy. He’d recently returned home after a prolonged stay in hospital and numerous tests. Margaret Macpherson had found him unconscious one night, prompting the admission. The doctors were trying him on new doses of his epilepsy medication.

  Running a bath for herself, Annie glanced at her watch. She had about thirty minutes before Charlie was due. In the bedroom, she hung up her suit jacket and pulled out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Charlie was bringing over a takeout meal, and they were planning a relaxing evening in, as Charlie needed it. He was spending most of his time at Westford Hospital or at Angela’s, getting the house ready for her return. The army had granted him a six-month leave of absence, being Angela’s only living relative. Annie wouldn’t describe the two of them as dating. It had moved beyond that, but she was taking one day at a time. It was complicated with her only being in the US for a few more months and Charlie due to return to the army after Christmas. So a long-term future was problematic, even though Annie was hoping there might be one.

  The bath felt great. Annie could never resist spending money on luxury bath oils. They really helped her to relax and made her skin feel silky. She needed the soak after the day they’d had. Her thoughts turned from that to the evening ahead.

  The intercom buzzed just as Annie finished getting ready and she went to the door to let Charlie in. They hugged briefly and then walked through to the kitchen.

  ‘Most delivery men don’t get a hug,’ Charlie joked.

  ‘They would if they were as gorgeous as you,’ Annie replied and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ‘I’m starving … glass of wine?’

  ‘Sounds good.’

  Annie got the white wine from the fridge while Charlie put the food containers out on the table. Annie had the place settings ready, together with chopsticks.

  ‘So what kind of day have you had?’ Charlie asked as they sat down.

  ‘Have you heard the news today?’ Annie asked.

  ‘No, I’ve been too busy at the hospital. What’s up?’

  ‘A priest, a Father Brian Bannister, from Sacred Heart Church was murdered this morning. Actually, he was attacked and died later on the operating table. Franconi assigned Ellison the case, with me assisting him.’

  ‘So you’ve been busy,’ Charlie commented, putting some of the Chinese on to his plate.

  ‘Today was pretty full on. Bronski’s back tomorrow, so he may want me to spend less time on the case. I’ll have to wait and see what he says. Franconi has made it clear that Bronski’s still my supervisor.’

  ‘So what’s Ellison like? I think I’ve met him a couple of times.’

  ‘Nice guy. Has more personality than Bronski, and a better sense of humour. He’s really good on the IT side of things as well, which helps. He did a lot of the background work on Hardman and he was there with Bronski when we apprehended Hardman that night.’

  ‘Oh yeah, I remember now.’

  ‘Anyway, that’s enough about work and my colleagues. How’s Angela?’ Annie was genuinely concerned about Charlie’s sister. The whole case had started when Angela Goodman had come to the station to report that she thought she was being stalked. Annie hadn’t believed her at the time. The subsequent attack, which left the woman for dead, dramatically proved Annie’s error of judgement. Since then, Annie felt like she’d been making up for that mistake.

  ‘I see some improvement every day. The miracle recovery is a long way off, though. She’s still quite weak, so they’re not pushing her too much yet. It’s good, though, to see her out of that bed and disconnected from the machines, even if she isn’t up for more than a half hour at a time.’

  Annie sipped her wine. ‘Are you able to stay tonight, or do you need to get back to the hospital?’

  Charlie smiled. ‘I’m glad you asked that.’

  Chapter 11

  ‘Wasn’t that awful about Father Bannister?’ Monica Lansdowne commented to her husband, Matthew, at the supper table.

  ‘No-one’s safe any more,’ came back the half-hearted reply.

  ‘Are you going to the funeral?’ Monica looked across the carefully laid maple wood table, fork in one hand, her wrist resting against the curved edge.

  Matthew shrugged his shoulders. ‘Maybe, depends when it is.’

  ‘I think it would be expected.’ As soon as the words were out, she knew they were a mistake.

  His body stiffened. ‘Since when did you become my political advisor?’

  Monica hated it when his temper flared. So much had changed since their marriage four years ago. Sometimes she wondered why he’d ever proposed to her, when he could’ve had his pick. She looked away, thinking for the hundredth time that he may have only married her because of her father. Matthew was ambitious. Ambition took money, power and especially influence. Her father, Jordan Prentice, the famous entrepreneur and confidante of the governo
r, had all three in abundance, even though he was now retired. Monica knew her husband had to make the most of his marriage to her, if only to stop her crying to daddy. Not that she ever would.

  ‘I’ll talk to Courtney tomorrow about it. She’ll have analysed the pros and cons,’ he offered finally, breaking the silence.

  Monica passed him the potatoes and he scooped up a spoonful. Seconds later, she glanced over at the baby monitor, hoping he didn’t notice. His cold hard stare in return showed he had. ‘I noticed that he graduated from the University of Westford, same year as you.’

  ‘And?’

  Matthew was a bastard when he wanted to be. Why did everyday conversation have to be such a battlefield? She almost wished she’d never brought the subject up. Maybe life would be easier if she kept her mouth shut. They used to talk. Why had everything changed? ‘Wondered if you knew him, that’s all.’

  ‘Let’s see. There were about a thousand students in my year. Do you think I knew everyone? I was popular, I’ll give you that, but even so, I didn’t know everyone in my major, never mind my year.’

  ‘Wasn’t he a priest at St Mark’s when we lived in Wethersfield? The name sounds familiar.’

  ‘Yeah, I think he was,’ Matthew replied, without showing any interest. ‘I’m sure they’ll print the details of his parishes when they write more about the case. I think he started there, about the same time we were moving, but I can’t quite picture him.’

  They both glanced at the baby monitor when the crying started. Without a word, Monica got up and ran upstairs. Her husband took the last bite of his food. Even though she hadn’t finished, he took his wife’s plate through to the kitchen. He knew from experience she wouldn’t be coming back to it. The baby took precedence.