by Ron Finch
Where's the Rest of the Body?
A Joel Franklin Mystery, Volume 2
Ron Finch
Published by Ron Finch, 2018.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
WHERE'S THE REST OF THE BODY?
First edition. October 17, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Ron Finch.
Written by Ron Finch.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Books by Ron Finch
Important Quotes
Sunday, December 11th, 1932
Monday, December 12th
Tuesday, December 13th
Tuesday, December 20th
Friday, December 23rd
December 31st, 1932
Monday, January 9th
Wednesday, January 18th
Monday, January 23rd
Chicago, January 1933
Wednesday, January 25th to Saturday, January 28th
Monday, February 6th
Monday, February 13th
Tuesday, February 14th
Wednesday, February 22nd
Monday, February 27th
Friday, March 3rd
Monday, March 6th
Friday, March 10th
Saturday, March 11th
Monday, March 13th to Friday, March 17th
Monday, March 20th
Wednesday, March 22nd to Friday, March 24th
Monday, March 27th
Wednesday, March 29th
Tuesday, April 4th – Springfield, Illinois
Wednesday, April 12th
Thursday, April 13th
Wednesday, April 19th
Thursday, April 20th
Monday, April 24th
Wednesday, April 26th
Thursday, April 27th
Monday, May 1st
The Rest of the Story - Friday, August 18th
About the Author
Dedication
This book, the second in a series of books revolving around my main character Joel Franklin, is dedicated to the few devoted readers, friends, and relatives who have made the mistake of asking me about my writing.
I am not reluctant to reply enthusiastically to their questions. I learn so much in writing each book that I find it hard to resist sharing what I've learned with anyone who is foolish enough to ask me "how's it going?" Not only are the books an exercise in improving as an author, they're also an opportunity for me to explore many tangents (via the Internet) as ideas pop into my head.
So, friends and relatives, this book is dedicated to you. Your interest in what I'm writing just adds fuel to the fire.
Books by Ron Finch
THE JOEL FRANKLIN MYSTERY Series:
Lightning at 200 Durham Street
Where’s the Rest of the Body?
Important Quotes
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
William Shakespeare
“Listen!”
Everyone’s mother
“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”
Edgar Allen Poe
“Don’t believe everything you think.”
Allan Lokos
Sunday, December 11th, 1932
IT WAS A COLD DAY, but it wasn’t too cold to go for a skate.
I was going with my friends, Jay, Georgie, and Sylvia. We were going to Sylvia’s parents’, the Graysons, who lived on the edge of town in a good-size home on a large half-acre lot. There were empty fields behind the house that collected water when it rained. Snow had come early this year, then there had been a short warm spell just at the start of December followed by very cold weather. As a result, there was a natural skating rink in the field behind Sylvia’s parents’ house.
Sylvia Grayson and Jay Jarvis had been married a little over two years earlier, in the summer of 1930. Times were tough, but who really thought they might get worse? It was a great wedding and everyone had had a good time that day. I was the best man and the master of ceremonies. It was my opportunity to tease Jay and I did so enjoyably. Jay usually got the better of me in our verbal dustups, but that day, as the master of ceremonies, I had had my way.
Since then, Jay and Sylvia have been through some hard times. Jay and his dad had had a small construction company, Jarvis Construction, but with the depression, and the unemployment rate in Canada around 27%, no one was building homes, farm outbuildings, or doing major home repairs. Like a lot of small companies, Jarvis Construction reached a point where they could no longer purchase supplies and they had had to shut down. This happened in the fall of 1930. With no money coming in, Sylvia and Jay had had to move in with Sylvia’s parents. But their life had brightened a little with the birth of their son Brad – named after Jay’s dad – in mid-September 1931.
Despite the economic downturn, my mom and dad had so far managed to survive the depression. They were very fortunate. My mother’s mom, Granny Watson, had come to live with my parents in the fall of 1930, after my grandpa died. Though she would be 70 on her birthday, she was still very active and a big help around the house, especially when it came to keeping track of my brother Ralph and my sister Emmylou. With the sale of the farm, granny was able to help my parents pay off the mortgage on their home. There was still a mortgage on the store, but it wasn’t much, and compared to most people our family was very fortunate. There was so much hardship and so many people unemployed and so many people needing help that just getting from one day to the next was an accomplishment.
I had graduated from the University of Western Ontario in the spring of 1932. It made my mother proud. My dad was pleased too. Somehow or other, between me finding whatever work I could, and my parents scrimping, enough money was rounded up to get me to graduation. According to the 1932 Census, less than 3% of Canadians attended university, but I now had a BA in Business Administration. It sounded nice, but I was just as unemployed as everyone else.
I spent three months looking for some kind of employment relevant to the degree I had obtained. After a fruitless search, I realized that the best job I could get would be in my parents’ corner store, Franklin’s Groceries. But I wouldn’t accept any money and they couldn’t afford to pay me. I was getting free room and board at the store, though, so I guess I was the store’s security guard. I had moved out of the family home in 1929 to go to UWO, and since then I had spent most of my time in London, even during the summer. Then, of course, in the fall of 1930, Granny Watson had inherited my room at 200 Durham Street.
Georgie and I were still the best of friends. But as I was unemployed, and times were tough, we decided to wait for a year or two to marry. That didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy each other’s company, though, so today I was going to have a good time. This afternoon the four of us were going to go skating while Sylvia’s mom, Clara, babysat little Brad.
THE NATURAL RINK IN the field was good but it was far from perfect. In a couple places, there were bits of plowed earth that showed through the surface. Those patches were brown and easy to spot against the much lighter-colored snow and ice, but if you didn’t see those brown patches you came to a quick stop and took a hard, unexpected seat on the rink.
We had a good time. A lot of exercise, fresh air, and tumbles. It wasn’t bitterly cold, so we were comfortably warm in our toques, scarves, and knitted winter jackets. Just as we were getting ready to head back to the Grayson home for some hot chocolate and to admire baby Brad, Jay said:
“Joel, come over here and take a look.”
I came to a stop beside Jay and looked in the direction he was pointing.
>
“See that large brown patch of earth showing through the ice? It’s about 25 or 30 feet away.”
I nodded.
“There’s something in the middle of that brown patch,” said Jay.
“I think it’s just another chunk of earth,” I said.
“You better take another look. It’s not quite the same colour as the earth and it has a distinctive shape. It almost looks like an arm to me.” Jay hollered at Sylvia and Georgie. “Why don’t you two go back to the house and play with the baby until we get there. Clara will be glad to see you. Joel and I are going across part of the field to take a look at something. We won’t be long.”
When we got to the object that Jay had spotted, I bent over and picked it up. It was a neatly severed arm. We both almost gagged when we recognized what it was. I dropped it immediately.
“I’m afraid to look any further,” said Jay.
“I don’t think I should have picked it up,” I said. “I just didn’t realize what it was soon enough.”
“It’s time for the police,” said Jay.
We quickly headed back to the Graysons’ house.
As soon as we came through the back door we heard the happy babble of three women and one small child. The moment the women got a look at our faces, though, they knew something was seriously wrong.
“What’s going on?” said Georgie. “What did you find?”
“There’s no easy way to say this,” said Jay. “We found somebody’s arm. But we don’t know where the rest of the body is.”
“Oh my goodness!” yelped Clara.
Georgie and Sylvia turned pale. Baby Brad kept babbling. He was safe in Sylvia’s arms.
“I need to use your phone. Right now,” I said. “I have to call the police.”
“Of course,” said Clara, showing me the way.
“Police Station, Cst. Smith speaking,” said a voice from the other end when they picked up. “How can I help you?”
“We were out skating this afternoon and found an arm,” I said, my voice shaking.
“I don’t think I understand what you’re trying to tell me,” said Cst. Smith, an irritable tone in his voice. “This isn’t a prank, is it? If it is, it will get you in trouble. You can’t be wasting my time.”
“I’m sorry Cst. Smith, I didn’t explain the situation very well. It’s Joel Franklin phoning. We were skating this afternoon on the farm behind the Grayson house when we noticed something in the field. Jay Jarvis and I went over to get a closer look and saw that it was a human arm. It’s been severed from someone’s body. There is no sign of any other body parts nearby.”
“Heaven help us,” was the surprised exclamation that came from Cst. Smith. “Don’t touch anything. I’ll phone Chief Petrovic right now. Please stay at the Graysons’ until we get in touch with you.”
Cst. Smith hung up and for a moment I just stared at the phone.
FORTUNATELY, THE CHIEF was at home. Bob Petrovic was sitting in the front room, reading Saturday’s paper and listening to his daughters argue. It was getting close to suppertime and the smell of roast beef was almost overwhelming. It was a scene of domestic bliss. When the phone rang, both girls knew it was for them. His oldest daughter grabbed the phone first. With a severe look of disappointment, she handed the phone to her dad.
“Constable Smith,” she said in an accusatory tone.
Chief Petrovic reluctantly took the phone from his daughter. He knew it wouldn’t be good news. A call to his home on Sunday evening from Cst. Smith had to be bad news.
“Petrovic here,” he said with resignation. “Tell me all about it.”
Cst. Smith started relating the story he’d just heard.
The chief interrupted him. “Did you say arm?”
Cst. Smith replied in the affirmative.
When Cst. Smith was finished, Chief Petrovic said: “Stay at the police station for the rest of your shift. I’ll phone the Graysons.”
The chief found their number and made the call. He thought he recognized the voice that answered.
“Is that Joel Franklin?” he said. “I thought you were back in town. I’ve seen you at the grocery store a few times. Cst. Smith just told me an incredible story. What happened today?”
Chief Petrovic listened as Joel told him about the arm and where it was found.
“Did you see any other body parts?” asked the chief.
“No sir,” said Joel. “The area doesn’t look like the scene of a crime.”
“We can’t do much today,” said Chief Petrovic. “It’s just about dark now. Sunset today is around 4:40 PM. I’ll send Cst. Herman out as soon as I can locate him. He can mark the location and bring the severed arm to the station. We’ll conduct a more thorough search tomorrow. Joel, can you please stay there to show Cst. Herman exactly where you found the arm?”
“Not a problem,” said Joel. He sounded shaken.
Chief Petrovic ended the conversation.
CST. HERMAN KNOCKED on the Grayson’s door about half an hour later. Supper was just about ready, but they had decided they would hold off sitting down to eat until they were finished with the police.
Jay Jarvis answered the door, then Jay and Joel escorted Cst. Herman out to the field where the arm lay. Cst. Herman planted a small yellow flag to mark the location of the discovery. He put the severed arm in a carrying bag, thanked them for promptly reporting what they had found, then headed back to the police station.
Monday, December 12th
JEREMIAH GRAYSON, SYLVIA’S dad, was not pleased when he looked out his window at lunchtime on Monday. There were quite a few cars parked along the street and along the edge of his front lawn. There were Model A and Model T Fords, two Chevrolets, a Dodge, and a couple of other vehicles. Parked nearby were a couple of buggies and a wagon pulled by a good-looking pair of Clydesdales. There were also some bicycles leaning against trees. The first vehicle to arrive had been the chief and a couple of his constables in their Ford Radio Motor Patrol Car. One of the constables had been busy making sure the parking was not chaotic. The chief was mustering the searchers and assigning areas for them to search.
To be fair, the chief of police had phoned Jeremiah early that morning and told him what to expect. Jeremiah and Clara Grayson were just surprised at the scope of the spectacle. Baby Brad was pretty excited at all the commotion. He appeared to like it.
EARLIER THAT MORNING, at 8:30, just as the sun was making its appearance, Chief Petrovic had had a brief meeting with his two constables.
With the end of temperance, and the onset of the depression, things had become more difficult to manage in Chaseford. Chief Petrovic needed more than two constables to help him keep things under control. Finances were tight, though, and while the chief knew Mayor Thompson supported him, and Chief Petrovic had attended many council meetings to report on the increase in crime in town, he had not been permitted to add an additional constable.
At this morning’s meeting, Chief Petrovic had instructed his constables to visit some of the businesses and talk to anyone they saw on the street about helping in a search. The constables were not to release any information at this time about what they were searching for. They were just to tell the people that they were needed for a search and where to meet. Interested parties were to dress warmly and be at the meeting place at noon.
On his way out to the Graysons’, Chief Petrovic visited the local newspaper to explain the situation. He said the paper could put out a story about the search and make a request for anyone to come forward that had relevant information. The chief did not want to cause a panic but knew if there was no official story there definitely would be a panic as rumours spread from the people involved in the search. Sometimes you can’t win. You just do your best.
The search was to take place in the fields behind the Grayson home. The land was owned by Dougal Van Bergen, an older man that owned quite a bit of land on the edge of town. Van Bergen told Chief Petrovic he could do what he wanted on that land because not
hing else was happening on that land until spring.
Jeremiah Grayson had reluctantly agreed to allow the chief to use a small empty barn about forty feet from the north side of the Grayson home as a temporary headquarters for the search. The searchers were placed in groups of ten for instruction by the chief of police and given a specific area of land to search. If the searchers found anything suspicious they were told not to touch it. Instead, one of the constables was to be contacted so the item could be examined and the spot marked if necessary. Clara and some of the women from the Lutheran Church had agreed to provide hot drinks and sandwiches at 1:30 PM. Today’s search would end at 5 o’clock. It would be close to dark by then. So the massive search started.
Word of the search spread fast even though the local paper wasn’t out yet. Somehow, word got out that an arm had been found in the field. Now everyone was convinced that this was a search for body parts. People started contacting their relatives or friends to make sure they were not the missing body. This caused a bit of a panic among those who did think someone was missing.
At 5 o’clock the chief of police fired his shotgun into the air twice as a signal for the searchers to stop and to return to the temporary search headquarters at the barn. Once they arrived at the barn, they found the woodstove in full operation and hot coffee to drink. The searchers were glad for both. It had been cold out today. By 5:45, all the searchers had reported in, had their coffee, and left for home.
The chief of police appreciated all the help from the searchers, the Graysons, and the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the local Lutheran Church. But despite everyone’s efforts the search turned up nothing of significance. The chief of police was disappointed but not totally surprised. He still didn’t know anything about the arm, but he hoped Dr. Whittles, the coroner, would be of some help.