Everyone Dies

by Michael McGarrity

  Conspicuous in his uniform with tight-fitting pants and motorcycle boots, Neal stood to one side of the open jetway door as the first-class passengers hurried past, casting curious glances in his direction. A tall man dressed in jeans and an expensive pumice-colored linen sport coat broke ranks and veered toward him.

  “Mr. Kaplan?” Neal inquired.

  Kaplan nodded. A pained, tired expression carved deep lines around his mouth. “Have you caught Jack’s killer?” he asked.

  “No, sir. I’m here to escort you to Santa Fe.”

  “Why?”

  “The detectives need to speak with you as soon as possible,” Neal replied.

  “I have my own car,” Kaplan replied.

  “Yes, sir, I know. I’ll take you to it, and follow you to Santa Fe.”

  “Why do you need to do that?” Kaplan asked, his eyes searching Neal’s face.

  “It’s just a precaution,” Neal replied. “Did you check any luggage?”

  “What kind of precaution?” Kaplan asked, his voice rising.

  Neal touched Kaplan’s arm to get him moving. “The detectives will explain it. Do you have any luggage checked?”

  Kaplan nodded and Neal prodded him down the long corridor toward the lower level. In the baggage claim area, Neal kept Kaplan away from the passengers who ringed the carousel waiting for their luggage to arrive as he searched the crowd looking for any suspicious characters.

  As luggage began tumbling down the conveyer belt, Kaplan asked questions about the investigation. Neal told him what he knew, which wasn’t much, and Kaplan groused about the scantiness of the information.

  Kaplan spied his bag, grabbed it, and Neal drove him to the off-site lot where his car was parked. He made Kaplan wait in the unit and did a visual inspection of the vehicle. He returned and ordered Kaplan to stay in the squad car.

  “Why?”

  “There’s a dead dog on the driver’s seat,” Neal said.

  “Oh my God,” Kaplan said, his voice cracking. “What kind of dog?”

  “I don’t know,” Neal said, as he reached for his cell phone to ask Santa Fe for instructions. “But we’re gonna be here for a while.”

  He didn’t tell Kaplan that the dog had been beheaded.

  Sid Larranaga paced in front of his big oak desk, built by prison inmates. On it was a plaque with Larranaga’s name carved in script, bordered on each side by the sun symbol of the state flag, which had been borrowed from a nineteenth-century Zia Pueblo pottery design.

  Originally the symbol—a circle with lines radiating out in the four major directions of the compass—represented the stages of life, the cycle of the seasons, and the sacred obligations of the Zia people: clear minds, strong bodies, pure spirits, and devotion to the welfare of the tribe.

  The design had been adopted in 1925, but to this day there were tribal members who didn’t appreciate the state ripping-off a hallowed religious symbol without the Pueblos’ permission.

  Kerney waited for Sid to stop pacing. No longer the Young Turk politician who’d been swept into office and reelected district attorney a second time, Larranaga had put on some weight. His pudgy stomach jiggled a bit over a tightly cinched belt.

  Sid sank into an overstuffed chair, took a cigar out of a humidor that sat on the corner of the desk, clamped it between his teeth, left it unlit, and stared at Kerney with a perplexed frown on his face.

  He pulled the cigar out of his mouth and pointed it at Kerney. “You can’t possibly believe that Larsen’s death was justifiable. Thirty-five rounds fired by your people and Larsen shot three times in the back. Give me a break.”

  “That’s not the issue,” Kerney replied.

  Larranaga snorted. “If that’s not a perfect example of overkill, I don’t know what is.”

  “It’s impossible to precisely forecast the level of threat to an officer. Larsen ran to elude questioning, and Detective Pino’s assumption that he was armed proved to be correct. That made it a high-risk situation. Furthermore, Larsen initiated a deadly assault, which put the officers’ lives in jeopardy.”

  “I’m not questioning that,” Sid replied, dropping the unlit cigar into an ashtray. “What I have a problem with is the fact that your people had an overwhelming advantage over Larsen. Why didn’t they retreat, take cover, and give him a verbal warning?”

  “My people were fired upon by a concealed subject in dense cover without provocation,” Kerney replied. “They had no time to retreat, but a warning was given.”

  “Yeah, while they were pumping automatic fire at him,” Larranaga replied. “Some warning.”

  “You don’t know that,” Kerney said. “Are these the kind of tactics you plan to use with the grand jury?”

  Sid’s expression turned angry and his hand gripped the arm of the chair. “Maybe,” he snapped, “and just maybe I’ll tantalize them further with the fact that Larsen wasn’t a fugitive from justice, didn’t kill Jack Potter, and had an extensive psychiatric history.”

  “Will you carefully leave out the point that he had a prior arrest for assault involving a handgun and, as a mental patient, was in illegal possession of a 9mm semi-automatic? What are you trying to do, Sid, be the crusading DA who cleans out a nest of trigger-happy cops, so you can get a leg up on an appointment to the bench?”

  Sid took a deep breath and shook his head. “Don’t bait me, Kerney. This isn’t political. Look, I told you yesterday, you needed to show me evidence that the officers were forced to stop an attack. You’ve managed to do that, just barely. But you know the disparity of force was overwhelmingly in favor of the team that went in to get Larsen.”

  “That doesn’t mean you have to ask the grand jury to return a true bill of indictment charging involuntary manslaughter against the officers,” Kerney said. “Do you really want to take this to trial? What if a jury doesn’t agree?”

  Larranaga threw a hand in the air. “What’s my alternative?”

  “Have the grand jury investigate the department’s use of force policies, SWAT procedures, and guidelines for dealing with mentally ill subjects. I’ll cooperate fully.”

  “A slap on the wrist isn’t going to cut it.”

  “I’m talking about using the incident to make constructive changes.”

  “Besides that wonderful plum, what else are you willing to give me?” Sid asked.

  As with most police departments, the SWAT team consisted of personnel who served on it in addition to their normal duties, which gave Kerney some disciplinary options. “I’ll permanently remove the SWAT commander from his position and place the other three officers on suspended SWAT status pending completion of remedial training.”

  “Not good enough. I want the officer who actually shot Larsen also kicked off SWAT.”

  “Agreed.”

  Sid rubbed his lips together. “And the grand jury can have complete access to whatever, with nothing held back, including the Patterson debacle?”

  “Bring it on,” Kerney replied.

  “This could cost you your job.”

  “I think the grand jury will find much to praise by the time their investigation gets underway.”

  “Don’t ask me to stall on this,” Sid said.

  “I wouldn’t think of it.”

  Larranaga picked up the cigar, started chewing on it, and wiped a bit of tobacco off his lower lip. Kerney wasn’t wrong about his political agenda, and a grand jury probe into department operations that weren’t perceived as anti-law enforcement could give him front-runner status for an interim appointment to the bench. Eventually, he’d have to run in an election to be retained in the position, but as the incumbent he’d have the advantage.

  “Okay, I’ll go along with you on this,” Larranaga said.

  “Thanks, Sid.”

  Larranaga smiled. “Yeah, sure. Just remember, I can’t subpoena a dead police chief, so go catch the guy who wants to kill you.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Kerney said as he left Sid’s office.

&n
bsp; After receiving Officer Neal’s report of a dead dog in Kaplan’s car, Sal Molina pulled Ramona Pino off the records search to go and investigate, called the Albuquerque Police Department to ask for assistance, and ordered Neal to take Kaplan to the nearest police substation and wait there for Pino’s arrival.

  It was a still, hot day in Albuquerque when Ramona arrived at the parking lot near the airport. A relentless sun pushed the temperature near the century mark and dust kicked up by dry, early morning canyon winds hung in the hazy air. The lane to Kaplan’s car had been blocked off with bright yellow police tape. Two local crime scene techs and a detective waited in the air-conditioned comfort of their vehicles.

  With the heat from the pavement boiling through the soles of her shoes, she walked around Kaplan’s car with the detective, who’d introduced himself as Danny Roth.

  Probably in his late forties, Roth was a transplant with a decidedly East Coast accent who’d gone Western. He wore boots, a bolo tie around the open collar of his cowboy shirt, and a pair of stretch cotton and polyester jeans. Tufts of dark chest hair curled above the open shirt collar.

  There was no sign of forced entry. In unison, they shaded their eyes and looked through the tinted side windows and windshield. The headless dog, which had the markings and coloration of a Border collie, sat upright, resting against the back of the driver’s seat. There was a white envelope on the dashboard behind the steering wheel. They could see no discernible blood in the passenger compartment.

  With a slightly leering smile, Roth held out the car key Kaplan had given him. “Want to open it up?” he asked in a cavalier, joking tone, as he sidled close to her.

  “I’ll let your people do that,” Ramona said as she backed away. She didn’t need Roth wasting her time with any cute moves. She had a boyfriend, an APD vice sergeant, who wasn’t overly hairy, and didn’t leer. Besides that, the inside of the vehicle probably smelled like dead dog.

  The car was a high-end, imported sedan that came with an antitheft system and keys with built-in electronic circuits coded to open the doors and start the engine.

  “How did the perp get into the vehicle without setting off the alarm?” she asked.

  Roth shrugged a nonchalant shoulder. “When Kaplan gave me the key, he said the system was working, and the lot manager said no car alarms have gone off since Kaplan arrived at the lot.”

  “You asked him to check the records?”

  “Yeah, for the eight days the vehicle has been here.”

  “You’d think that somebody parked nearby would have noticed the dog,” Ramona said.

  “Depends on when the perp put the pooch in the car,” Roth said.

  “Good point. Okay, let’s have the techs dust the outside for prints and then open it up,” Ramona said.

  Roth waved at the other police vehicle and two techs, both with surgical masks hanging around their necks, came over and started rummaging through their cases.

  Ramona glanced around the lot while Roth tried to chat her up. The eager look in his eye and the absence of a wedding ring made her shut down even more. Except for the entrance and exit lanes by the attendant’s booth, a high chain-link security fence enclosed the property, and the long rows of parking spaces had light poles at each end to illuminate the lot at night. She doubted the perp had scaled the fence or walked onto the lot carrying a thirty-pound, headless dog, no matter how well concealed it might have been.

  She ignored Roth and walked fifty yards to the attendant’s booth through heat waves that shimmered up from the hot pavement.

  “What’s going on down there?” the female attendant asked, as she waved off a car trying to enter and pointed to a sign that read LOT FULL. “I had to close the lot and we’ve got two people waiting in the manager’s office because you cops won’t let them leave.”

  “It shouldn’t be long now,” Ramona said. “I’ll speak to them. When did you start work?”

  “Seven this morning.”

  “Has anything out of the ordinary occurred?”

  “Like what?”

  “Somebody leaving without paying, or coming and going in a short period of time.”

  “Everybody pays,” the blonde said. “You gotta go through this gate in order to get out. It’s the only way. And this is a long-term lot. People don’t just come and go. Some of these cars are here for three or four weeks.”

  “So nobody did a fast turnaround,” Ramona said, “or failed to pay.”

  “Not since I’ve been here.”

  “How about earlier this week?”

  “Same thing, and I’ve been here for five straight days.”

  Ramona got the shift-change times from the blonde and asked for the manager. The woman pointed at a small building outside the fence next to a staging area where idling shuttle buses were parked. Inside, Ramona reassured two unhappy customers that they wouldn’t have to wait much longer, and met with the manager, a Hispanic male with nervous black eyes, a slightly crooked nose, and a mouth twisted in annoyance. His name, Leon Villa, was embroidered beneath a company patch sewn above the pocket of his short-sleeved shirt.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Villa asked, staring at Ramona’s shield. “The other policeman told me nothing. Is somebody dead?”

  “No one’s dead,” Ramona replied. “I need to talk to the booth attendants who worked the afternoon and late-night shifts during the last eight days.”

  “They’re not here.”

  “Of course not,” Ramona said, wondering whether Villa was rattled by the presence of cops or a bit dimwitted. “Do you have their names, addresses, and phone numbers?”

  Villa nodded, paged through a three-ring binder, and read off the information as Ramona wrote it down.

  Back at the crime scene, the techs, their faces partially hidden behind surgical masks, were working on the inside of the car. A rancid, maggoty odor wafted out of the vehicle. The dog had been removed from the driver’s seat, bundled in a dark green garbage bag, and left on the pavement. There was no sign of blood on the seat or the floor mat.

  Detective Roth handed her the blank envelope from the dashboard of Kaplan’s car and the note it contained. Both were protected by clear plastic sleeves. The note read:KERNEY

  THE DOG DOESN’T COUNT

  STILL TWO TO GO

  CAN YOU GUESS WHO DIES

  BEFORE YOU?

  “Who’s Kerney?” Roth asked.

  “My chief.”

  “No shit? What do you know about that? Bet he’s got to be sweating a bit.”

  Ramona nodded as she studied the note. “This type looks identical to the message that was tacked to the chief’s front door.”

  “It looks like a common font,” Roth said.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “I do the monthly newsletter for my kid’s soccer league,” Roth said, looking at it again. “In fact, I use this typeface all the time. It’s called Arial Narrow.”

  “Did the techs lift any prints?”

  “Not from the note or envelope,” Roth replied. “But there are lots of partials from the car.”

  “I need to have the carcass examined.”

  “Sure thing. We use a vet here in town who does a good job with animal forensics. I’ll have it dropped off after we finish up with the inspection at the lab. But from first look, Fido was probably left outside for a couple of days after he was killed. The techs found some dirt and pine needles matted in the dried blood on his fur.”

  “That’s good to know,” Ramona said. “A trace evidence analysis might give us a general idea where the perp stashed the dog. Can you arrange to have the vehicle towed to Santa Fe? I don’t think Kaplan will want to drive it home. Not until it’s fumigated at least.”

  “You got it,” Roth said, giving her the once-over for the second time.

  Ramona smiled tightly in response, left Roth in the hot sun, went to her unit, cranked up the air conditioning, and started calling the off-duty attendants on her cell phone.
>
  She hit pay dirt on the second call. Yesterday afternoon, a man driving a van had entered the lot only to drive out after a few minutes. As a precaution, the attendant had written down the van’s license plate number on the lot ticket.

  Ramona made an appointment to interview the attendant, hung up, and went immediately to the manager’s office to search for the ticket. Wearing gloves, she went through the date and time stamped tickets until she found it. She slipped it into an envelope, and called in the license number from her unit. The plate had been stolen three weeks ago from a car in Socorro, eighty miles south of Albuquerque.

  “We’re almost done here,” Roth said with a big smile, as he slid into the passenger seat next to her. “Want to grab some lunch?”

  “Not today.”

  “You don’t take meal breaks?”

  “I’ve got work to do,” Ramona said, hoping Roth would take the hint and go away.

  “We still don’t know how the perp got in the car.”

  “I’m working on it, Detective,” Ramona said flatly.

  Roth got the message and shrugged. “Hey, let me know how it turns out.” He handed Ramona his card. “The vet’s name is on the back. I’ll have our lab get a report up to you by tomorrow.”

  “Ask him to rush it,” Ramona said.

  “Anything for a fellow officer.”

  “Thanks, Detective.”

  Ramona left Roth and went to meet up with Officer Neal and Norm Kaplan. When she’d secured Potter’s keys into evidence, only one car key had been on the ring. She was betting Kaplan would tell her that, just like any other couple, both men carried keys to each other’s cars. The perp must have taken it after shooting Potter.

  Which meant that from the start everything the perp had done had been carefully thought out. She wondered if Kaplan was the next target. It wasn’t far-fetched to think so. But why, was the unanswered question. And what did the perp have planned for the dog’s severed head?