by Ron Finch
I HADN’T TAKEN PART in the search. My mother wasn’t feeling well, so I helped dad in the store instead. After supper at home at 200 Durham Street we sat around the table and talked. Mom was feeling somewhat better by mealtime so she was at the table too. I think today she had one of her migraines. A bad migraine can keep her in bed for two or three days. We did lots of speculating about the arm and about the missing body. From the next-door neighbour’s son, who had taken part in the search, we knew that no other body parts had been found. Granny’s reaction was a combination of disgust and curiosity. I think curiosity was winning out.
I said my goodbyes at about 7:30 and headed back to my apartment. These days, my accommodation was at my parents’ store, Franklin’s Groceries. It was only about a 15-minute walk from 200 Durham Street to the store. My apartment consisted of one makeshift room. I had my cot and lamp in a corner of the storeroom at the back of the store. My privacy wall was composed of stacks of canned goods boxes. There were variations in the height and length of my privacy wall depending on when we received our shipments. There was also a closet-sized bathroom with a toilet and a sink. The entrance to my quarters was a door at the back of the building beside the loading dock. My room wasn’t overly warm, but that was okay. Thanks to Granny, mom, and Georgie, I had knitted sweaters, jackets, and socks.
The heat to the store, and to my luxury apartment, was provided by a coal furnace, which lived in a partial basement under the store. This octopus had more room than I did, but he needed it with all those big arms going all over the place. He was always hungry. One of my jobs was to feed the octopus. I had become quite used to shoveling coal.
Jay and I had talked briefly earlier in the day. He’d said he had an idea that he wanted to run by me. I invited him to drop over about 8 o’clock. When he arrived, we chatted for a bit. Jay had taken part in the search, so he was able to fill me in on all the details.
He stopped, looked at me, and said: “Here’s my proposal. I think you and I should go and visit Chief Petrovic sometime tomorrow. I think we should offer our services as volunteer policemen.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said.
It suddenly struck me that I was quite interested in police work. I had been at a loss as to what I was going to do with myself. I had my degree in business from Western, and that was good, but I didn’t have a job or any prospects of one where the degree would be useful. I was back home again, helping out in the store. I felt like I’d gone from being 18 years old, to 21 years old, and back to 18 again. Maybe this would lead to an opportunity. I really liked the idea, in any case. We agreed to meet at the police station at 10 tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, December 13th
CHIEF PETROVIC OPENED the door to his office Tuesday morning and welcomed us in.
“What can I do for you young men today?” he asked.
“Joel and I have talked this over,” said Jay without preamble, “and we would like to volunteer our services to you on a regular basis. We understand you can’t pay us, but we’re interested in pursuing careers in policing, and serving in a voluntary capacity would enable us to gain valuable experience and help our community at the same time. You probably know I’m currently unemployed and that, since returning home from university, Joel is helping his dad at the grocery store.”
The chief looked from one of us to the other and said: “You’ve caught me off guard. What does your dad think about this Joel? Will he have enough help?”
“I talked to my dad first thing this morning,” I said. “He approved of the volunteering, provided I help him when I can.”
“I’ll have to talk to the mayor,” said Chief Petrovic.
DR. FRANK WHITTLES, the coroner, met with Chief Petrovic at the hospital at 2 o’clock.
“Chief, this is a tricky one,” said Dr. Whittles. “It appears to me that the arm was cut from the body using something heavy and blunt, probably an axe. This happened quite some time ago, but I don’t know how long ago that was. There look to be something like teeth marks on several locations on the arm, but these marks are probably quite recent. I don’t think they were caused by human teeth. They appear to be from a dog or wolf or similar animal.”
“Do we need to involve the forensic people from Toronto again?” asked the chief. “You remember how helpful they were when we investigated the murder of Louise Carter back in 1928.”
“Yes,” replied Dr. Whittles. “I write back and forth on a fairly regular basis with Dr. Whitehead, who is still thoroughly engaged with his study of forensics. Dr. Whitehead is working out of a new laboratory in Toronto, established by the Attorney General of Ontario just a few months ago. Dr. Whitehead tells me his laboratory has up-to-date equipment, and forensic personnel in the laboratory are in regular contact with other forensic laboratories across North America. He’s very excited about being there. I’ll give him a call later today and see if we can make arrangements to send him the arm.”
“Thanks, Frank,” said Chief Petrovic. “The more information we can get, the more likely we are to solve this mystery.”
After leaving Dr. Whittles at the hospital, the chief of police went to the mayor’s office. Mayor Thompson had been elected for the first time in 1927. He was good at his job. He liked people and he liked to get things done. He was an honest man and would always give his opinion in a polite way. So when Chief Petrovic approached the mayor about having Jay Jarvis and Joel Franklin as volunteer policemen he knew he would get the mayor’s answer directly. It would, of course, also require the approval of Town Council. But if the mayor approved, the council usually agreed. So the chief posed the question.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” said Mayor Thompson. “As I recall, those two young fellows have already received medallions from the town for their contributions in the Louise Carter murder investigation. I know you’re shorthanded, and I know you’ve just become involved in what is likely to be a difficult investigation with the appearance of that ‘arm’. The council and I have talked about hiring more policemen – it will be necessary if we’re going to have a sufficient police presence in town – and we’ve already decided to approve the hiring of an additional constable.
“Since these two young men have volunteered, I’m going to recommend we hire both of them. I’ll put the names of those two fellows forward at the next council meeting on Monday night. They’ll have to split the salary we were going to pay our one new constable. We can only afford to pay them $10 a week each. But from what you told me that’s more than they expect. This could work out well for everyone. Until the approval, which could happen as soon as Monday evening, I leave it up to your discretion as to whether you use them on a voluntary basis. If you decide to use them now I will support your decision.”
Chief Petrovic was thrilled. He thanked Mayor Thompson and informed him that he planned to contact both Jay and Joel that very day. The chief told him that, at this point in time, he would only tell them that they had been approved to be used on a voluntary basis.
Chief Petrovic returned to his office in a better mood than he had been in months. Being short two policemen had meant that, from time to time, he had to take shortcuts in some of the regular police duties. There were many situations that had arisen where he had only sent one constable when good practice would have been to send two. He and the town had been fortunate that nothing serious had happened to a policeman on those occasions. Chief Petrovic thought that, because it was a small town, where everyone knew their neighbour, they had been able to escape serious trouble when someone decided to act up. Now he could send two policemen and relax a bit. He phoned Jay Jarvis at the Grayson home and informed him that he was now a volunteer policeman. He could tell Jay was really pleased. The chief then dropped into Franklin’s Groceries to deliver the news to Joel in person. The chief was pleased with Arthur Franklin’s reaction. Arthur thanked the chief and congratulated his son.
Next, the chief of police got in touch with his two existing constables and told them
they needed to meet with him at 4:30 in his office. Once they arrived and had a hot drink in front of them, Chief Petrovic told them the events of the day.
“You know we’ve been shorthanded for a while,” began the chief. “You guys have worked hard and have done a good job. I now have some help for you. We’re adding two volunteers to the force. Don’t say anything to anyone yet because their appointments are not official until after the council meeting on Monday night. They don’t have any police experience, but I have confidence in them.”
“Who are they,” asked Cst. Smith.
“Joel Franklin and Jay Jarvis are going to be helping us out,” replied the chief. Both the young constables smiled.
“They’re both good guys and we need all the help we can get,” Cst. Herman said.
“It’s going to work like this,” said the chief. “I’m going to pair Joel up with you Cst. Herman, and I’m going to have Jay work with Cst. Smith.” Both constables nodded in agreement. “Remember, they’re new guys and you’re going to have to help train them. Teach them the right things. If these pairings don’t work out, let me know and we will change things.” The chief could tell the two constables were so pleased that they almost wanted to dance a jig in front of him. He ended the meeting with: “Finish your shift. See you later.”
CHIEF PETROVIC NEVER knew when he was going to get a phone call at home. What he did know was that when he did get one at home in the evening it was always significant. When his youngest daughter handed him the phone he heard a breathless voice say:
“This is Ginny Fairfield. We live on the eighth concession about a mile or so out of town.”
When she paused, Chief Petrovic thought: She’s trying not to cry.
Ginny continued in a wavering voice. “I’m alone out here with the kids right now. Colin isn’t back till tomorrow. When I opened the back door, the dog brought in what looks like a man’s leg.” She started to sob.
Chief Petrovic did his best to calm her down. When she quieted, he said: “I think you live right next to the Harbinger farm?”
“Yes,” said Ginny. “Please, I need help now.”
“I’ll have a policeman out to see you as soon as possible,” said the chief. “Make sure your outside lights are on.”
Chief Petrovic phoned Cst. Herman.
“Get in touch with your new sidekick, Joel Franklin,” he said. “The two of you need to go out to the Fairfield Place on the eighth concession. It’s next to the Harbinger farm. The family dog just brought a man’s leg home.”
There was a pause at the other end of the line. “A man’s leg? A real man’s leg?” Cst. Herman stuttered.
“According to Ginny Fairfield, yes. I suspect it’s from the same body as the arm that we found on Sunday. Get out to the Fairfield Place as soon as you can.”
CST. HERMAN AND VOLUNTEER constable Joel Franklin found the Fairfield farm without a problem. They were both still kind of stunned by this latest development. Cst. Herman knocked on the side door and a little wide-eyed boy opened it.
“Come on in,” he said. “My mom’s here in the kitchen. She doesn’t feel too good.”
The two policemen came through the side door into the kitchen and found Ginny sitting at the table, looking very pale. There were three little boys in the kitchen with her, from 5 to 8 years of age. Joel couldn’t tell whether they were terrified or supremely excited. There was a dog barking and growling in the room behind the kitchen. That door was shut tight.
“Blackie’s really mad,” said the oldest little boy. “Ma took the leg away from him. I felt it. It’s too hard for Blackie to eat anyway.”
“Where’s the leg now?” asked Cst. Herman.
“It’s in the wood box over here,” said the next oldest boy.
Cst. Herman had Joel put the leg in the sack they’d brought with them for that purpose, then the two of them stayed and talked with Ginny Fairfield for a few minutes. They thanked her for getting in touch with the chief then they left. Chief Petrovic told them to deliver the leg to the hospital. Dr. Whittles would deal with it tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 20th
ALL FIVE POLICEMEN, including the two volunteers, were in Chief Petrovic’s office at 9 o’clock Tuesday morning. They all knew that, counting Tuesday’s discovery at Colin and Ginny Fairfield’s farm, they had now forwarded two arms, two legs, and a head to Dr. Whitehead’s forensic lab in Toronto. The last three gruesome discoveries had just been sent yesterday afternoon. The policemen cautiously looked at each other around the table.
“We’re all thinking the same thing,” said Chief Petrovic. “I hope we don’t find any more body parts.”
Everyone sighed and nodded in agreement.
On this past Saturday afternoon, a group of hunters in the bush north of town found an arm. On Sunday morning, as parishioners were coming out of the United Church on the edge of Sedgwick, a small village north of Chaseford, one of the local dogs was seen dragging a leg down the street. Two teenage boys collared the dog, and, with strenuous efforts, took the leg away from it. Later that same day, a totally bald head was found in the ditch on the tenth concession about 2 miles from town.
The town hadn’t panicked yet but there was a certain undercurrent of fear. No one – man or woman – was going out at night alone; especially in the country. The newspaper was doing its best to inform people and to keep them calm, but as more body parts appeared, it became more and more difficult. Children were being escorted to and from school and older people who lived alone were being checked on every day by friends and family. Adding to the mystery was that no one was apparently missing.
The constables sat at the table and waited for Chief Petrovic to lay out his plan.
“I’m going to start with the good news,” he said.
“What’s the good news?” asked Cst. Smith.
“When I reached the office this morning, just after 8 o’clock, the mayor dropped in and handed this letter to me,” said Chief Petrovic. “It reads as follows:
Dear Chief Petrovic,
It gives me great pleasure to announce to you that at last night’s in camera council meeting the council unanimously agreed to provide you with two more police constables. Cst. Jay Jarvis and Cst. Joel Franklin are hereby appointed to your staff. Their status as constables has been dated from the start of the day this past Monday, December 19th. They will each receive a salary of $10 a week.
Enclosed please find two letters. One letter for Jay and another for Joel congratulating them on their appointments.
Sincerely,
Alvin Thompson, mayor of Chaseford.”
Constables Smith and Herman cheered while the new constables Franklin and Jarvis beamed ecstatically. After a few happy moments of congratulations, the chief said:
“Let’s do some thinking.”
Chief Petrovic went to the cupboard and pulled out a large, rolled-up map. A map holder bracket had been installed a couple of years ago on the wall behind his desk and he hung the map on the bracket. When the chief pulled the map down, everyone could see that it was a map of Chaseford and the surrounding area. It was not a full county map. The chief took some thumbtacks and placed them in the locations where the body parts had been found.
“Do any of you see any pattern in the way the body parts we’ve found are distributed?” asked the chief.
“It might be difficult to determine a pattern, since it seems that these parts have been dragged from their original positions at least once – and maybe more than once – by curious and hungry dogs or other animals,” said Cst. Herman.
“Any other comments?” asked the chief.
New constable Jarvis said: “I have a couple of ideas.”
Everyone turned and looked at him.
“Keep talking,” said the chief.
“If you figured out approximately where the centre of the circle was that encompassed these five sightings, and then drew a circle that was somewhat larger so that it included the five sightings and some of the la
nd beyond, that might give you an area where we should look for more clues,” said Jay. “If we’re lucky, maybe we can find the source of all these body parts.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” said Cst. Smith, “but it sounds pretty mathematical to me.”
“You mentioned another idea, Cst. Jarvis,” said the chief.
“Yes,” said Jay. “This may be iffy, but everything’s happened to the north of town. So instead of a circle you could use a band of land that included the sightings and then just extend that band in the same direction to the north five or six miles. At least to start with. That would give you another area to focus on.”
Chief Petrovic looked around the table and realized he wasn’t the only one that wasn’t entirely certain what Cst. Jarvis was saying.
“You’re going to have to make this easier for us to visualize,” the chief said. “Our secretary Sherry Simpson can help you get some supplies. Then you can prepare maps for us that show the sighting location and the two areas you described. Can you have those maps or diagrams ready for a meeting at 9 o’clock Friday morning?”
“Yes sir,” answered Cst. Jarvis with enthusiasm. He was clearly glad to be able to contribute.
AT 2 O’CLOCK THAT AFTERNOON, Dr.Whittles appeared at the door to the chief of police’s office. He rapped on the door and heard Chief Petrovic say: “Come on in.”
When the chief saw who it was, he said: “You must have some news to report. I take it Dr. Whitehead has been in touch with you with some forensic information.”
“He has,” answered Dr. Whittles. “What he’s told me so far won’t make your job any easier.”
“Just tell me what he found out,” said the chief.
“Understand that they haven’t completed their examination of the last three body parts we sent to them on Monday,” said Dr. Whittles. “This information only applies to the first arm and leg we forwarded. Take a look at Dr. Whitehead’s letter yourself.”