by Denise Irwin
“May I ask whose calling?”
“Yes, of course. My name is Bonnie Macgill. I have not heard from my son. He gave me your number and said that you would not mind if I called.”
Bob’s stomach dropped to the floor. If Ian’s mother hadn’t heard from his something was absolutely screwed up. “I don’t mind at all. I’m going to guess that you’re calling about Ian.”
“Yes. I have not heard from him in several days and that is just not like him. Did he report for work last night?”
“No he did not Mrs. Macgill. I’ve tried to call him and my calls go to voice mail.”
“That is what happens when I call.”
“Mrs. Macgill we’re currently experiencing some severe weather here in Baltimore. When I can get out, I’ll try to talk to the young lady that he had coffee with. The only information that I know is that her name is Ellie and she volunteers at the University of Maryland Medical Center.”
“Yes that is what my son told me.”
“If I learn anything from her, I will immediately call you. It might take several days because of the weather.”
“I understand and would like to thank you for at least trying.”
Chapter Five
On Monday morning, Sam put the coffee on, and then fed and walked the dog. He stayed close to the house knowing that it was likely that Harford Road was flooded out. When he returned to the house, he found his wife in the living room, watching the morning news. The broadcaster reported, “Schools in most of the Maryland Counties are closed due to the flooding from three days of torrential rain. The Governor is asking citizens to stay home until officials can assess the damage.” The screen then went to the Meadow Mill Parking lot. “As you can see from this photo taken from our helicopter, cars were washed away when the Jones Falls River rose over its banks.”
“Sam, I didn’t hear you come in. Is Harford Road flooded?”
“Yes Ma’am, it sure is. I only took a peek as I walked the dog because I kept us in the yard which is high on the hill.”
Molly and Jack were dressed for school when they came into the kitchen for breakfast. Molly’s eyes opened wide as she asked her brother, “Jack, where’s Mom?”
“I don’t know.”
Her voice was frantic when she asked, “Whose gonna fix us breakfast?”
“Don’t panic, I’m gonna fix your breakfast. I was just in the living room with you father watching the news. Schools are closed today because most of the roads are flooded.”
Jack asked, “Is Harford Road flooded?”
“That’s what Dad said.”
“Can I go look?”
“Yes, but I want you to stay on the front porch.”
Sam came into the kitchen. “I’ll walk the two of you down the driveway so that you can see, but I want you each to hold onto one of my hands.”
Molly looked up at her father and then asked, “Is that because you don’t want us to get washed away in the flood?”
It was his intention to make sure that neither of his Curious Georges decided to go off on their own to look at the flooding water. That would not due for his daughter, so he said, “That’s right. Mom would really be upset if you were washed away.”
“Wow, she sure would.”
When they returned from the walk, Molly said, “Mom, Dad saved Jack and me from being washed away in the flood.”
“Well, I’m certainly happy that he did.”
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Saturday night, Bob put the ‘closed’ sign up in the door because there was no way, he was going to open the restaurant today. He grabbed a book and prepared himself to read all day. His phone rang and when he grabbed it, the call was from Mrs. Macgill. “Good morning Bob, have you heard anything yet?”
“No ma’am, nothing yet, but everything is closed because of flooding in the area, so I’m kinda stuck until I can get out.”
“I am so sorry to bother you; I am just worried.”
“I’m just as worried and will call you as soon as I know something.”
“I know that you will.”
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Schools remained closed on Tuesday. According to a spokesperson for the Governor, “Everyone is urged to stay at home while the cleanup effort begins. We are clearing areas that lead to hospitals and fire houses first.” He then gave a number to call to call in the event of an emergency.
Leona made breakfast for her family and the kids asked if they could play board games in the dining room. Leona told them, “That’s a great idea.”
Sam stayed in the kitchen with his wife where they quietly enjoyed another cup of coffee.
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During the flood cleanup, an insurance adjuster called 911. “My name is Tom Watson. I’m an insurance adjuster for Safest Insurance. I’m assessing the damage on the Meadow Mills parking lot and found what appears to be a person who doesn’t look so good.”
The 911 Operator asked, “Mr. Watson, does the individual you’re talking about look injured or dead?”
“Dead.”
“Thank you, I’ll dispatch police officers to the scene and I’m going ask that you stay away from the body so that they can ascertain the situation.”
“You don’t have to ask me that twice.”
Watson walked to stand at the foot of the building. He watched as the police officers arrived. One walked to him and asked, “Did you call this in?”
“Yes sir I did. My name is Tom Watson, I’m an insurant adjuster for Safest Insurance and I was assessing the parking lot damage and when I found the body, I immediately called 911.”
“Mr. Watson, do you have a business card on you?”
He pulled one out of his pocket and handed it to the police officer. “Thank you Mr. Watson, if any one needs to interview you about what you found they’ll call you.”
Another police officer called Homicide Detective Taggart to the scene. When he arrived and saw the body, his first call was to Baltimore City’s Forensic Analyst Amanda Buttons. “Mandy, we have a dead body at the foot of the Meadow Mills parking lot and it looks to me that it wasn’t the flood that killed him.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.”
His second call was to Sam Marksman, “Sam, we have a DOA on the Meadow Mills parking lot and it looks suspicious. Amanda’s on her way, can you meet us here?”
“I sure can.”
Leona asked, “What was that all about?”
“A body was found at the bottom of the Meadow Mills parking lot and Taggart said that Amanda believes that there is foul play involved. Buttons is on her way to the scene, so I’m gonna go meet them.”
“Call me if you’re gonna be late.”
Sam met them at the site and Amanda tells both Sam and Taggart. “I believe that this is a murder victim and the murder took place further north from here. The flood washed his body down the Jones Falls River. There wasn’t a wallet or a phone on him, so I’ll see if I can find more in the lab. I’m gonna go north to the head of the Jones Falls River and see if I can find anything and I could use a little help from my friends.”
Sam and Stefan were assessing the situation and hadn’t heard what Amanda said. Taggart said, “Oh, of course Sam and I will come and help. Why don’t we go in your car?”
Amanda quipped, “That’s a great idea since all the equipment is in my car.”
Like two little bad boys, they climbed into her car.
During the drive, she told them, “I’m going to drive to the Roland Park Lake which is the head of the Jones Falls River.
<>
Bob walks to the Medical Center’s Volunteer Center and when he enters it, he asked the receptionist, “Is Ellie around, I need to talk with her?”
Stella, the Volunteer Coordinator was covering the desk since her receptionist hadn’t made it in because of the flooding. “Ellie’s working with patients in the Medical Center. Is there something that I can help you with?
“My name is Bob Keane. If I give you my business card, can you please give it to Ell
ie?”
“Yes, I can. Is there a problem that I might be able to help with?”
“Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think so.”
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Buttons parked the car and opened the trunk to pull out her forensic box. She said, “I really don’t think that we’re gonna find much, but you never know.”
As he pulled on his latex gloves, Sam asked, “Amanda, I’m not questioning your judgement, but why did your pick Roland Lake?”
“Sam, it might be a wild ass guess on my part, but if someone dumped him at the head of Jones Falls River; after the rain we had, the flood waters pushed him down the river and his body washed up on to the Meadow Mills parking lot. He became visible when the flooding subsided.”
Sam asked, “What are we looking for?”
“I don’t know and I could be wrong about the victim being murdered here. Additionally the flood could have washed away all of the substantial evidence, but I’m basing my hypothesis on the amount of bruising that I saw. He definitely died from a knife wound in the neck. I’m hoping that our victim was a fighter and we can uncover something from under his fingernails.”
Sam nodded his head, “In that case let’s get started. Amanda, I’m gonna go onto the parking lot to see if I can find tire prints.”
Sam found several different sets of tire marks. He put himself into the killer’s mind. If in fact the victim was murdered here, the killer would want to get away from the area as quickly as possible. The ground was still muddy so he walked slowly through the lot following tire tracks. He photographed all of them, but one set showed that the vehicle either slid or the rear tires swerved because the driver was driving too fast.
Amanda looked up and asked him, “Find anything?”
“I shot photos of all the tire tracks. One set caught my attention, the rear of the vehicle swerved and even after the rain stopped, there was still the clear indent. How’s everything up here?”
“Not much, so maybe I was wrong about my theory that the murder took place here.”
They both heard Taggart yell, “Amanda, come here and take a look at something.”
“What did you find?”
“A knife, that’s now buried in the mud, but I really think that it’s worth taking back to the lab.”
“Bag it and I’ll get it to Phil to see what he thinks. Sam, it’s likely that we won’t know much until tomorrow, so I’ll drive you to your car. I’ll give you a call as soon as Phil and I come up with something.”
“Amanda, that’s fine with me.”
She dropped them off on the Meadow Mills parking lot and said, “Sam, I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”
Sam parked his car in the driveway and saw that he was home in time for lunch. He walked into the kitchen, kissed his wife hello and sat at the table with his children. “Dad, where did you go this morning?”
“Detective Taggart called this morning and asked me to help him with something. It didn’t take us very long, so I made it home in time for lunch.”
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Ellie called Bob as soon as she left the volunteer center. He answered the phone and asked who was calling, “My name is Ellie Williams. Stella, the Volunteer Coordinator gave me your card. I noticed that the card said that you were the owner of Pickles Pub. That’s where Ian Macgill works isn’t it?”
“Yes it is. Rather than do this over the phone, can I meet you somewhere for a cup of coffee?”
“Sure, how about if we meet at the Peace and a Cup of Joe. I’ll leave now and meet you there.”
When he entered the shop, he saw a young girl sitting alone at a table for two. He walked to the table and said, “I’m Bob.”
“I’m Ellie, please sit and tell me what’s going on.”
“Let me grab a cup of coffee. Have you eaten yet?”
“No, but I’m not hungry.”
Bob ordered his coffee along with some pastries. He took everything back to the table. “Ellie, have you heard from Ian since you had coffee with him.”
“No and I was a bit surprised that he didn’t call since I thought that we both had a good time.”
Bob felt like shit as he said, “Ellie, Ian has not reported to work since you had coffee with him. Do you know of anyone who would do him harm?”
“No I don’t. Have you called the police yet?”
“No, I wanted to talk with you first.”
“Let me give you my number. Please call me if you hear anything.”
He said, “Ellie, I’m gonna walk you home and I promise you that I’ll call as soon as I hear anything. If it helps any, Ian thought the world of you.”
It was a very quiet stroll to Ellie’s apartment. Before she went inside, she said, “Thank you so much. Ian really enjoyed working with you.”
Bob walked back to his apartment and knew that he had to call Mrs. Macgill. He dialed her number and when she answered the call Bob said, “Mrs. Macgill, I met with the young lady who had coffee with Ian. She’s not heard from him. I’ll keep looking into this because I want to know what happened.”
“Thank you Bob, but it just might be time to call the police.”
“I was thinking that as well. Please stay in touch with me. It’s likely that he’ll call you before he calls me.”
“I will do that. Good-night.”
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After Molly and Jack went to bed, Leona and Sam met into the kitchen for a nightcap. He poured a glass of wine for his wife and grabbed a beer for him. She spoke first, “Sam, what did Taggart find?”
“Actually it was an insurance adjuster who found a dead body at the foot of the Meadow Mills Parking lot and immediately called the police. We drove with Amanda to the Roland Park Lake to search for evidence. She believes that the victim was murdered there and then thrown in to the head of the Jones Falls River. She’ll call tomorrow after Phil completes the autopsy and she takes some samples.”
“Was it a man or a woman?”
“It was a man. We didn’t find any ID on him and as far as I know, no one has reported him as missing.”
“That just sounds horrible. Do you think that it might have been a mugging?”
“Since his wallet was missing that’s a possibility.”
<>
Wednesday morning, Bob called the Baltimore City Police Department, he told the officer, and “I’d like to report a missing person.”
“I need your name first.”
“My name is Robert Keane.”
“Mr. Keane what is the name of this missing person.”
“His name is Ian Macgill and he was one of my employees. No one has seen him since Thursday, October 31. I don’t have a picture of him, but I can tell you that he was a big Scottish fellow. He had thick blonde hair and was planning to attend the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Before you tell me that he may have just left the area, I’m gonna tell you that it’s not the way he works.”
“Mr. Keane, is your missing person over the age of twenty-one?”
“I don’t really know; he may have been over twenty-one.”
“Then, there’s not much we can do about it. We don’t have the manpower to look for missing children and they are a priority which means that we don’t have anything left for missing adults.”
Bob disconnected the call and couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He then dialed Mrs. Macgill’s number. When she answered Bob told her about his call to the police and the response he got. “If you call them right now, that’s two calls about the same person within five minutes.”
Mrs. Macgill asked, “What is the number?”
Bob gave it to her and she said, “I will call you back and let you know what I am told.”
Bob sat anxiously waiting for Mrs. Macgill’s call. His phone finally rang and when he answered it, Mrs. Macgill said, “I called them and pretty much got the story that they gave you, so I lathered on a much guilt as I could. I guess we have to wait and hear if we did any good.”
“I’ll call yo
u if I hear from anyone.”
“Thank you. I am sure that my son appreciated your kindness.”
Bob wasn’t sure what to say, “Your son is a remarkable young man. He has impressed me on more than one occasion. Foremost to me was his goal to become a doctor to work in your town before Old Doc Balderston passed away. I’ll call you as soon as I hear anything.”
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Amanda called Sam’s cell phone, “Sam, we’re ready to hear what you think.”
“Okay, let me tell Leona that I’m going to meet you at the morgue I’ll see you in about half an hour.”
He went up to Leona’s office to tell her, “Buttons just called, they’re ready for me.”
“Did they find something?”
“She didn’t say. I’ll call you if I’m gonna be late.” He gave her a kiss goodbye and left for the morgue.
When he arrived, Phil, Amanda and Stefan were in the examining room. Phil looked up and said, “Ah, Investigator Marksman has arrived. Sam, let me first update you with what we know and then I’ll move on to what we don’t know. This was no accident. This young man’s head was nearly severed off with a knife. The knife that was recovered at the head of Jones Falls River is believed to be the murder weapon. Amanda tried to capture prints, but the knife appears to have been wiped clean. However; I don’t believe that the knife killed him. He was probably still alive when he hit the water and bled to death in the river. Amanda will now tell you what she’s learned.”
“Phil’s right that the knife that we recovered was wiped clean of fingerprints. So I was able to look into the blood and check the DNA; however, it didn’t give me much to work with. There was no ID found on the victim and that means that he will remain a John Doe and stays in a cold box until someone can identify him. While doing the autopsy Phil found a piece of beige cloth on the victim’s arm. It didn’t match the DNA sample we got from his white shirt. Our victim fought for as long as he could because I found skin scrapings under his finger nails. ”
Phil’s office phone rang. It was the Baltimore City Police Department’s Desk Sergeant. “Phil, this just might be bullshit but I received two missing person calls about the same individual within in the past hour.”