What Happened To Flynn

by Pat Muir

  I noticed he had denied she could have done it rather than denying she had confessed it to him, an important distinction. We let him think about this for a minute before we resumed questioning. “So, you suggested taking Bob’s place while he was still in the bed?” I asked.

  “Yes. Only when I realized he was dead did the notion of taking his place strike me. I decided taking his identity would give more assurance the drug money crowd would never find me.”

  “Did Mary ever suggest she simply join you after the drug money hullabaloo had gone away,” asked Dane.

  “No. I told her the hullabaloo, as you put it, might never go away. I said the choice was me being Flynn pretending to be somebody else or being somebody with a bona fide identity”

  “Did she argue with you?” I asked.

  “No. She thought about it for a few minutes and said my idea might work. She was concerned that with Bob dead, there would be no income coming into the house. I wouldn’t be around to help. She would be destitute and have to return to work when she was expecting a baby. Stress like that might cause another bout of multiple sclerosis.”

  “So, she didn’t need too much persuasion, then?” asked Dane.

  “Mary loves me. She was going to be the mother of my child, and I wanted to be a father to it. I wanted to look after her and the baby. Taking Bob’s identity seemed to offer a safe and secure way of doing so. It was Mary who suggested thoroughly cleaning my apartment and putting Bob’s stuff in there in case DNA tests were made.”

  I looked at Dane, and he nodded back, indicating he thought there was little to be gained by further questioning. I switched off the voice recorder and called an officer to take Flynn back to his jail cell. I asked Carolyn if she was also representing Mary Smith.

  “I am at the moment,” she replied, “but I have seen your line of questioning, and I reserve the right to decline representing them both after you question Mary, which I understand you’re going to do next.”

  I told Caroline that Dane and I would discuss Flynn’s responses to our questions before we interviewed Mary Smith. Caroline left the room.

  “It’s clear that if Mary suffocated Bob, then Flynn doesn’t have a clue about it,” I offered.

  “I agree,” said Dane. “I don’t think they’ve rehearsed. Flynn was genuinely shocked at our suggestion that Mary bumped off her husband.”

  “I think you’re right about their not rehearsing for that question,” I said. “I don’t think Mary would have brought it up, because it would have raised in Flynn’s mind the possibility that she had done so.”

  “Yes, and I think the key question is how she responds to the question on whose idea it was for the identity switch.”

  We got ourselves coffee and fortified ourselves before questioning Mary half an hour later. Caroline was drinking a cup of coffee next to Mary, whose reddened face showed she had been crying again.

  Mary looked up at me and said, “I remember you investigating Art’s disappearance. I thought you were very concerned. I hope you will be the same here.”

  We sat down, and I turned on the voice recorder and went through the usual drill. I gave her a Miranda warning, necessary now that she had retained an attorney.

  “Mary Smith is very concerned about her children, who have never been away from her,” said Caroline. “That is why she is in such distress.”

  I responded to this opening. “Mary, CPS will take very good care of your sons, who are both together. If you have a responsible relative or neighbor you would prefer to look after them, then that can be arranged. You should be careful who you choose, since you could be away for a long time.”

  Tears began to roll down Mary’s cheeks, and Caroline interjected. “That’s unreasonable pressure to put on my client. You are assuming her guilt.”

  “We are assuming nothing,” I replied. “We do know Mary aided and abetted in the crimes Mr. Flynn is charged with. We therefore expect truthful answers to the questions we are about to ask.” Mary’s sobbing diminished, and we began to ask the same questions that we had posed to Flynn. Finally, I posed the key question. “Mary, was it your idea or Flynn’s to switch identities.”

  “It was my idea, “she replied. “I had just found out I was pregnant. I loved Art and didn’t want him to disappear on me. I was worried the DEA might not jail the drug people and they would go after Art. If he took on Bob’s identity, he would be much safer.”

  Dane and I looked at each other. “That Art felt it necessary to disappear made it difficult for you now that you were pregnant, did it not?” asked Dane assertively.

  “Of course,” replied Mary. “He was the father of my baby.”

  “So, it would help you if your husband died, then,” asked Dane in a loud, bullying voice. “He wouldn’t be around to find his wife had been having sex with another man. You wouldn’t have to suffer his verbal abuse anymore. Art could take on his identity and disappear safely forever. Isn’t that right?”

  Mary looked both startled and shocked. “Don’t answer that question,” said Caroline.

  “Bob’s death did offer you an opportunity?” I asked Mary softly.

  “I suppose so,” she replied after a few seconds.

  “Did you climb on Bob’s bed and put a pillow over his head to create that opportunity?” demanded Dane loudly.

  “I did not,” replied Mary, almost shouting.

  “We asked Art if he saw spit or saliva on the pillows on Bob’s bed, and he said he did,” said Dane in a lie to draw out Mary.

  The answer should have been: “There couldn’t have been saliva on the pillow, since Bob died naturally.” Instead, the answer came back: “We didn’t look at the pillow, since we were too busy getting Bob out of the bed to take a video of him.”

  I put on some pressure. “We believe Mr. Smith’s face in the video showed scratching that could have arisen from trying to move his head back and forth under a pressure-imposed pillow.” Mary opened her mouth but said nothing, her face expressing shock.

  Is it shock that we are considering the death due to suffocation or shock that her crime left evidence?

  Caroline interceded. “Detective, a qualified medical examiner will need to make that assessment.”

  Dane pushed on. “We asked Art if he thought it possible you might have suffocated Bob. Do you know what he said…? I guess she might have.”

  “I don’t believe that,” said Mary, beginning to cry again. I let her cry for a full minute before asking, “Did Bob know you were sleeping with Art?”

  “I don’t think so. We were discreet. Most of the time for the prior three months, Bob hardly ever got out of bed. He just watched TV and slept.”

  We tried a few more trick questions but were unable to get any more information on whether Bob Smith’s death was enhanced. We called for an officer to escort Mary away.

  Caroline looked at us and said, “I suspected this line of questioning might occur. It would be better for me to represent Mr. Flynn solely.” She then left the room while Dale and I reviewed our questioning of Mary Smith.

  “Caroline recognizes there is a conflict between representing Flynn and Mary if the latter is charged with murder,” I said to begin our discussion.

  “Yeah. And I believe she thinks it possible for Mary to have done the deed. That’s why she wants to withdraw,” said Dane. “What do you think, Shane?”

  “It’s possible Mary might have suffocated Bob Smith,” I replied. “There is an inconsistency between her and Flynn on whose idea it was to switch identities. Maybe she’s thinking that saying it was her idea might diminish his responsibility in the disposal of her husband’s body and failure to report it. Also, the answer to our question about saliva on the pillow was odd. It suggests that if she had indeed suffocated her husband, she had never thought about saliva on the pillow as possible evidence of the crime.”

  “There could have been saliva on the pillow from natural drooling by a sick man. Shane, the bottom line is we’re not sure one w
ay or the other if Mary suffocated her husband. I’m leaning toward Flynn having nothing to do with it and, if it did occur, that he doesn’t know anything about it.”

  “Dane, I fully agree with that assessment. When I investigated Flynn many years back, his peers vouched for his integrity. Participating or knowing about any suffocation would be totally out of character for him.”

  CHAPTER 35

  I called Steve and let him know we had questioned the pair. “E-mail the recordings of the questioning to me and the DA’s office. That office is responsible for extraditions, so they should decide on whether to proceed with one. They will need those recordings and the medical examiner’s analysis of the video to make the decision. Also, send Robert Smith’s medical records file.”

  “Should we return or stay here until the DA makes the decision?” I asked.

  “I’m hoping the video will be analyzed by tomorrow or the next day,” Steve replied. “So, why don’t you stay over until then. I hear Titusville is a tourist town.”

  I told Dale we had a day at least to kill so we might just as well play as tourists. Dane said he wanted to visit the nearby Kennedy Space Center the next day. I didn’t fancy the crowds I anticipated would be there. I told him to take our rental car, while I would look at local tourist attractions. After a leisurely breakfast the next morning, I walked to the American Police Hall of Fame and admired the early motorcycles used for patrolling. I also visited the Space Museum in town and the North Brevard Historic Museum. In between these tourist spots, I browsed antique stores and indulged myself by buying some older Wedgewood pottery for my collection.

  Late that evening, Steve told me to be ready for a video conference at ten o’clock next morning with the medical examiner, who had analyzed the video. “That’ll be one o’clock here,” I pointed out to him.

  “If you’re lucky, a decision will be made that will let you act and get a late flight back here together with one or two perps,” he replied.

  I thought that very optimistic. Furthermore, there might not be any seats on the return flight if booked so late.

  We had a morning to kill the next day, so we drove up the coast to St Augustine, a town of historical interest, and looked around. At one o’clock, Dale and I sat in a room at the Titusville police station that was set up for video conferencing and waited for our call, which did not come until half an hour after the scheduled time, irritating us by the wait. We will not be flying out today, I thought.

  Steve’s face came onto the screen, and he said, “I’m sitting here with Brenda Williams from the DA’s office and with pathologist Dr. Rajani and Daniel Chu, whom you both know.” Steve motioned Rajani to proceed, and the pathologist proceeded to run the entire video through without making a single comment.

  “Well, what did you think?” I asked. Rajani did not reply. Instead, he reran the video, commenting on it and stopping at points to illustrate his comments. “The man is clearly dead. He could have been dead before that dated newspaper. The people did not move the body’s arms, where the stiffness might have given us a clue as to when rigor mortis set in.”

  “We are more interested in how he died rather than when he died.” I said.

  “That’s the problem,” said Rajani. “There is no evidence of bruising or scratches on the open limbs that we can see. The body has already started to turn blue, so if he was suffocated by putting a pillow on his face, discoloration on his face or signs of scratching are not to be seen.” The video continued as he spoke. “I looked at the autopsy report on the body and noted there was no evidence of broken or fractured bones. The absence of soft tissue on the corpse made it impossible for us to determine if he had been poisoned.” He looked at us as though he expected us to answer more questions. We did not, so he continued. “I appreciated your sending me the dead man’s medical records. They were very helpful in my analysis.”

  He pulled the notes from his briefcase. “Mr. Smith was a very sick man. This latest record is dated August 28, 2008, just two weeks earlier than the date of this video. He suffered from emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The video showed large swelling of his ankles, a typical symptom, which testifies to his condition. His oxygen saturation level was measured at seventy-four.” He looked at us. “Normal is close to one hundred. His respiratory rate was thirty-two, when normal is between fifteen and twenty. His resting pulse rate was eighty-six, when a rate of sixty-five to seventy would have been normal for a man of his age, fifty-seven.” Rajani looked at us as though expecting questions. We all preferred to let him show off his professionalism. “Mr. Smith was very close to death given these metrics. I cannot say he died naturally or unnaturally.” He put down his notes and added, “Mr. Smith was a very weak man. He would have been unable to resist being suffocated.”

  Danny and Rajani departed, leaving just Brenda and Steve still on the video conference. I spoke up first. “We have to figure out if a murder took place and whether it can be proven. What’s your take on this, Brenda?”

  “If that video were the only evidence, I would not be able to convince a jury there was murder beyond a reasonable doubt. I would need a confession. I didn’t see a confession in the recording of your questioning of the pair. Do you think they are being truthful? Do you think that putting more pressure on them might get one of them to turn on the other if indeed a murder took place?”

  “They love each other and their children deeply,” said Dale. “If there was a murder, then Flynn would never give up Mary. Mary, on the other hand, would consider giving up Flynn in order to be with her children. But she can’t give up Flynn without implicating herself. My read is that even with pressure, we will never get a confession.”

  “What’s your take on this, Shane?” asked Brenda.

  “My sense of Mary’s character is that she’s docile and stayed with a cantankerous husband because she’s a kind person. She would need to be goaded badly to suffocate her husband.”

  “Isn’t the panic she felt with Flynn about to disappear, leaving her pregnant with a child not fathered by her husband, sufficient goading?” asked Brenda.

  “Perhaps,” I replied, “but I’m convinced Flynn had nothing to do with the murder if there was one. Mary would be taking a tremendous risk by suffocating her husband. If Flynn saw evidence of it or if she confessed it to him, I don’t believe he would go along with it. He’s far too upright a character to be an accomplice to a murder. So, I conclude there was no murder.”

  “That’s how I see it,” said Steve. “Mary suggesting to Flynn that he take her husband’s identity gets him firmly committed to her. She could point out that by substituting biomaterials, if the corpse were discovered, it would most likely be identified as Flynn’s. Then nobody would be looking for Flynn with that death publicized. And nobody would be looking for Robert Smith. They would be free and clear.” He paused and smiled. “Their scheme would have worked if there hadn’t been such a smart detective figuring it out.”

  I felt my face flush at the compliment. Brenda then said, “I would like to avoid the time and expense of an extradition hearing where we have to fly witnesses to Florida and board them while we make our case. If we can get at least Flynn to San Diego without having to extradite him, we can successfully prosecute him on the charges of forgery, identity theft, mutilation of a corpse, and its improper disposal… I’m going to discuss this with my boss and let you know what we decide.”

  Brenda called me at the hotel around five p.m., too late to return to San Diego that day. “I discussed the matter with the head of my department,” she said. “Our feeling is that Mary Smith might have facilitated her husband’s death, but there is no positive evidence that she did. There’s far too much doubt and no evidence here, so we are not recommending murder charges be filed against her.”

  “Do you want to charge her with anything, like aiding and abetting Flynn’s role in the matter?” I asked.

  “Not worth the trouble.” Brenda paused before asking “Are you s
till holding her?”

  I gave her an affirmative.

  “Then release her and tell Flynn that there will be no charges against her.”

  “Her attorney will want that in writing,” I said.

  “I understand. I will send her an e-mail to that effect and ask her to e-mail me the extradition waiver for Flynn.”

  I relayed Brenda’s conclusion to Dale Hanson. I arranged for Mary Smith’s release from jail and went to see Flynn to inform him of the DA’s decision. “You’ve got a good chance of being released on bail when you get to San Diego,” I told him, “though you’ll have to stay in San Diego County. Call Mary and have her prepare a suitcase of clothes to take with you.”

  Flynn was delighted that he would be able to see his wife and children before being taken to San Diego. I booked a next-day flight back to San Diego for the three of us.

  Flynn had been processed out of jail when we picked him up the next morning. He was wearing his Maine University class ring and his Hopi belt buckle. Hard to give up things of sentiment even if you have to disappear, I thought. Dale handcuffed him and put him in our rental car while I gathered the computer, medical records, and other documents that I had left in an evidence bag at the Titusville police station. “Why did you call your son Bobby when the real Robert Smith was unkind to his mother?” I asked Flynn as we drove.

  “I needed a fake Social Security number to get work. I simply registered Bobby and used his number.”

  When we got to Flynn’s home, we uncuffed him and escorted him inside. His two children rushed to him, golden-haired John and a redheaded Bobby. Flynn knelt and hugged and kissed them, a touching family scene. Then he hugged and kissed the smiling Mary Smith. “I thought we were safe,” he said to her. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you.” Flynn asked us how much time we had, and I told him an hour. He asked if he could have a conjugal visit, and I told him it was out of the question. I pointed out to Flynn his suitcase of clothes would be taken from him when he went into jail in San Diego. I said it might be better for him to get a San Diego attorney now who could take custody of the suitcase when he arrived there. He asked if I could recommend one, but I told him it was against policy for law enforcement to do so. We had no need for the computer or the medical records, so I gave them to him.