“Thank you for seeing me Captain Damson. I found news reports on five of your previous cases in our archive. That’s astonishing coverage for an investigator from a small rural county. You’ve handled some important cases that made national news in the Times.”
“Coconino County doesn’t have many homicides, but we’ve mostly been successful in apprehending the perps. I would very much like to see our sniper on the front page of your newspaper. What can I do to help get it more attention?”
“Let’s start with the suspect.” She showed the photo of the sniper that had been passed out at the press conference. “He does look exactly like Sebastian Gorka. Could he be a relative?”
“No, Mr. Gorka and his family have no connection to this case except that the sniper chose to imitate his appearance. That had been thoroughly checked.”
“You mentioned that the killing in Santa Fe might not have been his first. Why do you think that?”
“Every serial killer starts with a first victim, but the killing at the ski resort left no clues, no witnesses because the shot came from an empty parking lot. People thought it was a skiing accident until they examined the body; that gave the sniper plenty of time to drive away. Like anything, serial killers develop and often improve their skills as they get more experience. The Santa Fe murder seems to have been done by someone who was already experienced.”
“So you don’t have definite knowledge of other homicides by the same shooter?”
“Our investigation has centered on Arizona and adjoining states. It started when a prominent local resident was murdered near Sedona. I can’t speak for all the other jurisdictions.
“Have you ever heard the term ‘Park Sniper’?”
Mike smiled and sat back in his chair. Ms. Garcia already knew a lot more than he’d realized. “That is not a term we use here in the Sheriff’s Department. We think of him as the Midgley Bridge sniper, but I have heard that term used.”
“By the FBI Park Sniper Task Force headed by Special Agent Adam Goldman? I understand ten members of his team spent a few days in your conference room before moving on to their Las Vegas office?”
“Yes.”
“My sources say there may have been as many as forty murders, which the FBI is refusing to discuss. Is that accurate?”
“Damned if I know. That’s a question for the FBI. You many want to alert your Las Vegas reporters that there might be an FBI press conference there this afternoon. As to other cases, I have no first hand knowledge. Anything I say would be pure speculation.”
“This is a very dangerous man. Are we going to catch him soon?”
“Our best lead is the photo. We think he’ll try and change his appearance, but some of the features will be difficult to hide without surgery. We’re sending that photo to every physician in the West who does that type of work. We need the public’s help to find him. That’s why it’s so important that the photo is widely distributed.”
She smiled. “Thirteen murders in a month will make the New York Times even when it occurs in the far western part of the country. Forty murders that occurred over many months all across the whole country is Pulitzer material, especially if the FBI has been keeping them secret. Thank you for your time. Captain, do you mind if I call you if I have additional questions.”
“You’re welcome to. My cell is on this card. It’s been interesting to meet you Ms. Garcia.”
As soon as she left, Mike called Special Agent Adam Goldman.
“Adam, I just got out of a meeting with the New York Times reporter for Arizona. Her name is Maria Garcia. She asked me about the Park Sniper Task Force. She mentioned you by name and knew you’d been here in Flagstaff for a couple of days before moving to Las Vegas. She asked if there had been forty murders that the FBI has been covering up. I think you need a press conference this afternoon. The story will probably break in tomorrow morning’s paper.”
Agent Goldman uttered a few obscenities before explaining, “I need to hang up and call the Director. Thanks for the heads up.” He hung up without another word.
The rest of the afternoon Mike made arrangements for the photo to be distributed to all dermatologists and plastic surgeons in the western US through their medical societies. He did everything he could think of so everyone in Arizona would see that photo including personally calling the Phoenix and Tucson TV stations and newspapers. At three, June Rosetta came to his office and said, “There will be a press conference in a few minutes about a nationwide manhunt for a serial killer. It will be on CNN and I assume other stations in a few minuets.”
She’d been in the break room when the announcement was made. Mike got up and walked to the break room with June.
Anderson Cooper was on the screen. “In two minutes the head of the FBI will hold a press conference about some breaking news regarding a serial killer. Leaked reports indicate that there may have been as many as forty deaths, one of the largest string of serial killings in American history. The investigation has been shrouded in mystery until a series of thirteen homicides brought it to national attention in an Arizona press conference this morning.”
He showed a short clip of Sheriff Rodney describing the deaths of the Gregory family in Greenlee County.
“This killer is now a suspect in thirteen deaths in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, but our sources within the FBI claim there have been dozens more over the past year.”
The screen changed to show a podium with an FBI logo in a crowded briefing room. The Director walked into view and spoke. “We have recently gotten a break in one of our most important criminal investigations. We now have a photo of a man we believe to be the serial killer for whom we have been searching for several months. The task force of ten agents and associates searching for this man is called the Park Sniper Task Force. It is headed by one of our most experienced people, Special Agent Adam Goldman.”
The photo for the sniper taken from the Barnes & Nobel checkout appeared behind the director.
“We believe this man is responsible for eight deaths in Arizona, three in Utah, and three in New Mexico. Before the homicide near Santa Fe, New Mexico, we suspect that he killed several people in Texas and in other southern and eastern states. While we don’t have an exact count of homicides that might be ultimately connected to this man, we think the number is over twenty. He is wearing a disguise in this photo, but we have created drawings of what he might look like if he discarded the toupee and shaved his beard.”
The screen changed to a series of six drawings, similar but not identical to the ones shown at the Flagstaff briefing.
“If you see this man, do not show that you recognize him. Call for local law enforcement or the FBI. He is extremely dangerous and will now take steps to change his appearance. We believe he stole a car from the long-term parking lot at the Salt Lake City International Airport yesterday, but we don’t yet have a description of the vehicle. Again, I repeat, if you see this man, do not confront him. Call the police or the FBI. I will refer all questions to Special Agent Adam Goldman who is currently in Las Vegas. He will hold a press conference tomorrow morning and can answer detailed questions about the case.”
A hundred questions were shouted by the press, but the Director merely turned and walked off the stage.
“Talk about pass-the-buck,” June said.
“He’s also minimizing the death toll. I think forty is closer to correct than twenty, but at least this will get massive distribution of the photo. We need the public’s help to find this sniper.”
Chapter 19
Mike spent the next week making certain that the case received attention from the Arizona press. He gave a series of interviews with everyone who asked, and he saw to the distribution of the photos and drawings of the Park Sniper to every place in Arizona that had a bulletin board. He was confident that the best way to keep the people of Arizona safe was to make it impossible for the Park Sniper to return to the state without being recognized.
Mike and Margaret talked ab
out their upcoming trip to Paris every evening, making plans and reading guidebooks on Kindle. Mike was relieved that the Park Sniper case was not active because he wouldn’t have been willing to be gone for three weeks if he thought the sniper was back in Arizona.
Margaret had started to cook two separate meals each evening so she would have experience with a greater range of French cuisine. Mike used all of his limited willpower not to gain weight, and he spent an hour each evening on the treadmill in the basement. The treadmill workouts gave him time alone to think, but he came up with no new insights, no easy answers, and no idea of where the sniper might kill next. Law enforcement had no fingerprints, DNA evidence, or a positive ID for the Park Sniper. It was possible that the killer would never be caught if he changed his looks, the location of his attacks, and his MO.
During the week before his vacation, Mike had several conversations with Agent Goldman, but none of the news was good. The Park Sniper had escaped without a trace. They had identified the stolen vehicle from Salt Lake International, but even with a national APB, it had not been found. Both Mike and Agent Goldman assumed the Park Sniper had gone into hiding until he could change his looks enough not to be recognized. They assumed that he had money in unknown accounts to purchase another vehicle, pay for plastic surgery, or even flee the country.
The Sunday before their Paris trip, Sixty Minutes did a special report on the Park Sniper. It was extremely critical of the FBI’s handling of the investigation, and reported on an independent review of homicides nationwide during the past year. Their finding indicated that there might be as many as forty-four victims of the Park Sniper. Most of those victims had been killed with a single shot to the head using a large caliber rifle. The report decried the secrecy that had kept information about the serial killer from the American public. The report ended with a call for the resignation of the head of the FBI. Mike had no way of knowing if their count of deaths was accurate, but he knew that the Director of the FBI had not been the actual source of the decision to keep things secret. Mike was not a big consumer of cable news, but even the local Phoenix stations were questioning the decision to keep Arizonans in the dark about the deaths as they occurred in the state.
Every dealer of camper vans, RVs, and autos in the western United States and Canada was on the lookout in case the sniper tried to buy a new camper van or other vehicle. Efforts were still being made to trace the Park Sniper’s finances, but they had led nowhere. He had not used the Bank of America account that the FBI had been monitoring, and they now assumed he was using other unknown accounts for his funds.
The day before his three-week Paris vacation was to begin, Mike went to see Sheriff Taylor to update him on the latest developments. He also wanted to make certain that the sheriff was still comfortable with his taking a vacation of that length. It was normal to never take more than two weeks at one time. Sheriff Taylor had approved it a year earlier, long before the Park Sniper came to Arizona.
“Mike, I insist you take your vacation. I know you and Margaret have been planning it for years. You have other competent people to carry on while you’re gone, and the Park Sniper case has gone cold. He’s probably nowhere near Arizona. I will personally be in charge of the Coconino County part of the case while you’re in Paris. Forget all about it while you’re gone.”
“Sheriff, I will fly home immediately if you need me, but I’ve been watching homicides all over the country, and there has been no indication of the sniper’s MO in any recent deaths. I don’t think a serial killer is likely to just quit on his own, but he’s been laying low ever since the car was stolen at the Salt Lake airport.” Mike spent a few minutes updating Sheriff Taylor on his other cases.
Late that afternoon, Mike called Adam Goldman to let him know about his vacation.
“Mike, good to hear from you. Your photo from the Flagstaff Barnes & Noble is still our most important lead. We checked out one hundred twenty-seven reports of sightings, but all of them have been reports of someone who looks similar, but not our man. We still have nothing substantial.”
“Adam, I’ll be on vacation for the next three weeks. We’ll be in Paris. You have my cell phone number if you need me, but Sheriff Taylor will be happy to respond to anything that relates to our local case. He’s handling the case personally while I’m gone. We’ve plastered the whole state of Arizona with the Park Sniper photos. Any leads we get will be referred directly to Sheriff Taylor, and he’ll pass them on to you.”
“Good Mike, I’m glad you’re getting away. I need to warn you about something our profiler suggested. She thinks that the Park Sniper will be furious at the outing he got from your press conference in Flagstaff. Sections were widely rebroadcast all over the country. She’s afraid that the sniper might come after everyone who participated. Maybe you could pass that warning on to all three sheriffs who took part. Both Sheriff Duncan and Sheriff Rodney have a low opinion of the FBI. I think they blame me personally for keeping the serial killer’s rampage a secret.”
“Of course, Adam, I’ll certainly let them know, but it was a senior person at the Attorney General’s office that called Sheriff Taylor and tried to prevent our going public. All three sheriffs know it was decided at a very senior level and not by you.”
“Also Mike, I may not be the right contact for you or Sheriff Taylor. It’s likely that I’ll be reassigned from the task force to a desk job in Oklahoma City, probably within days. Maybe some new blood will bring some new insight. At least the transfer will let me spend evenings at home with my wife and kids once they relocate from Virginia. The Director resisted pressure to dump me completely, but this really is a demotion because of my failure to stop the sniper. I think a congressional investigation will begin within a few weeks. When I know who will be leading the task force, I’ll let you know by a text.”
“Sorry Adam. I was told by reliable sources that the decision to keep quiet about the sniper actually came from someone very senior at the White House, but I guess they need a scapegoat. Good luck to you.”
Mike walked back to Sheriff Taylor’s office and mentioned the warning by the FBI’s profiler about the possibility of a revenge attack on the participants in the press conference. They had spread the Park Sniper’s photo all over the country and forced him to hide and relinquish his Gorka disguise. The profiler felt that the sniper loved the feeling of being in complete control of when and where he would strike. Taking that from him was a major insult to his self-identity. She had reminded Mike that the sniper had killed the whole Gregory family for breaking his cover.
Back in his office, Mike called Sheriff Duncan of Mohave County and Sheriff Rodney of Greenlee County.
Sheriff Duncan asked, “Do you believe that prediction Mike? I can’t imagine the sniper returning to Arizona anytime soon. That wanted poster is everywhere, and his photo has been on every TV news show in the state. Profilers are mostly a plot devise for TV crime shows. I don’t believe in them, but I’ll keep on the lookout as will every law enforcement officer in the county. The FBI has screwed up this investigation from the start, and the Director should lose his job over it. I’ve already contacted my congressman and both of our senators.”
When he contacted Sheriff Rodney, the sheriff explained, “Mike, I’m a Desert Storm veteran and have been shot at before. Greenlee is a small rural county, but we look out for each other. He won’t show his face around here; someone would put a bullet in his head. Those four young boys with their throats slit represent the worst crime in our county’s modern history. If he comes to Greenlee County, he won’t be taken alive.”
Mike didn’t think he could stress the fact that almost none of the Park Sniper’s victims had been aware that they were his targets before a large caliber round entered their head. Mike was such a straight arrow that his nickname at the LAPD had been Chaplin Mike. He would never consider attempting to take a suspect alive, but he understood the anger that Sheriff Rodney expressed. It wasn’t unique.
Mike merely repli
ed, “Be sure and warn your deputy who encountered the sniper at the campground. He is the only witness who can tie the Park Sniper to the Gregory family. He might be a prime target too.”
Mike’s impression was that Sheriff Taylor had taken the profiler’s warning seriously, but that Jimmy Duncan and Oscar Rodney had not. Mike wanted to put this case behind him tomorrow when they boarded their Air France flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Charles de Gaulle Airport, but it was likely that even in Paris he would follow the American newspapers looking for any reports of a sniper type attacks. Mike thought Arizona was one of the least likely places for the sniper to return to because of the extreme publicity from the Gregory murders. However, he suspected that the sniper was unlikely to go three more weeks without a kill.
Near the end of his final workday before the trip, June Rosetta called Mike to the conference room. It was set up with a Bon Voyage banner, a white cake with a chocolate Eiffel Tower, and Madeleine cookies. They severed Café Au Lait and Perrier with the sweets. Mike and Margaret had been talking about the trip for more than a year, and everyone in the office knew how important it was to them.
Margaret was waiting with a kiss when Mike got home. They had decided to go out to eat the final evening in Sedona. They had discarded all of the perishable food in the house. At the Corner Table Restaurant and Bar, Mike ordered a Classic Burger with sweet potatoes fries and Margaret ordered the Lump Crab Melt with the house salad. They both wanted American food for their last meal before the trip.
As they sipped their Sonoma County cabernet, Margaret said, “I’ve been praying every evening that you wouldn’t cancel our trip. I know how you are when you’re on a murder case. I’m so happy that your sniper is laying low and that there is really nothing else you can do.”
The Body at Midgley Bridge Page 13