No Kill Station: Murder at Rehoboth Beach

by Diane Meier

  NO KILL STATION

  Murder at Rehoboth Beach

  Diane Meier

  Copyright © 2017 by Diane Meier

  ISBN-13: 9781546604228 ISBN-10: 1546604227 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places and incidents is entirely coincidental.

  CHAPTER ONE

  A

  s he reached up to close the window, she put her arms around him and sighed with pleasure. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked furiously. He shook her off and turned around with a look of disgust on his face.

  Bewildered, she whispered, “ I thought you ….”

  “Well, you thought wrong,” he snapped.

  “But all this time, it seemed like ….”

  “No, of course not. How in hell could you think that?” he asked. Shame engulfed her like a cloud of toxic gas. How could he

  talk to her like this? They were a team. She defended him against his enemies. “It’s late. I need to lock up.” He grabbed his briefcase and started for the door.

  He had led her on. She had been so stupid. He didn’t give a damn about her. He had just used her to fight his battles.

  She grabbed the brick etched with In loving memory of Freddy and heaved it. As the brick smashed into his head, she felt nothing

  1 except the satisfaction of hitting a target. He collapsed on the floor and lay moaning. She stood silently by for a few moments. Then she walked slowly over and picked up the brick. She crouched down and peered at his face, which was contorted with agony.

  “No, please,” he screamed, as she lifted the brick. She slammed the brick down on his head. Again and again. His brains slid out of his crushed skull.

  Now what?

  She had to get out of there. But what if they figured out that she had done this? They all knew that she often stayed late with him.

  She hurried over to her thermal bag used to bring fried chicken for their dinner. She shoved the brick into the bag. She scanned the room and noticed the plastic plates and chicken bones in the trash. She pulled the trash bag out of the can and shoved it into her bag, too.

  What else, she thought? The whiteboard caught her eye. She carefully considered what to write. She picked up the marker and scrawled Dog KiIler across the board. As she started to drop the marker she noticed blood from her hand on it so she shoved it into her bag. Taking one last look around the room, she noticed the blood on her shoes. She kicked them off and jammed them into the bag, too.

  She couldn’t help but stop and gaze at her mural. She had carefully painted the Lab, Sheltie, Cocker Spaniel, Chihuahua, and Poodle with details from official photos of the breeds. She hadn’t planned on any cats because she didn’t care much for them. Some cat lover whined about that, so she added five cats. The animals rode in an old-time train like in her beloved childhood book The Little Engine that Could. The station that she painted had a Victorian gingerbread design. The sign said Rehoboth SPCA Station. Folks on the platform waved goodbye to the cats and dogs as they traveled away. Up ahead was a directional sign saying Happily Ever After.

  People coming into the SPCA often said the mural was adorable. The Beach Herald even did a little story about it with a photo. He had never praised her mural or even said thank you. As she left the building, she cried about how he had never appreciated her.

  CHAPTER TWO

  R

  ehoboth Beach, Delaware was dead in November. The hordes of tourists are gone. It was a good place for a cop who had lost his nerve. After Matt got custody of his son, he worried too much about being killed on the job. His wife was an addict who was in prison for selling drugs. He was ashamed of quitting the Baltimore force, but he felt that Henry had to be his first priority. Baltimore was a tough town where too many cops were killed in the line of duty.

  The summer tourists in Rehoboth were relatively easy to handle. He had no trouble handling noise complaints, domestic disputes, fights and unruly drunks. On occasion he had found weapons and drugs during a couple of traffic stops but nobody had been stupid enough to pull a gun on him.

  In the winter months, the town’s year-round population dropped to 1,300. It wasn’t as if all the residents were law abiding citizens. Things were pretty calm when all the hotels had vacancy signs. Many of the bars and restaurants had closed for the season.

  No Kill Station As Matt walked into the station, the phone rang. “Rehoboth Police Department. This is Officer Thomas speaking.”

  “Help, need help, SPCA” cried a woman with a heavy Spanish accent. She hung up.

  Matt grabbed his car keys. “Jay, I just got a call for help. I’m going to go over to the SPCA and check things out.”

  Jay looked up from his spreadsheet. He was struggling with the budget figures, which was a task he dreaded and had put off for far too long. “I’ll come along. Anything to get away from this stuff.”

  It was just a five minute drive to the SPCA. When they arrived, a woman who was running out of the building hesitated for a second. An old Honda pulled into the parking lot. She cried “help” and pointed to the building. Then she jumped into the car and it chugged away.

  Matt took down the license plate number. “We need to get in there and see what’s wrong.”

  When they got to the door, they saw bloody footprints on the floor of the lobby.

  “We should wait for backup,” said Jay. He dialed 911 and told the dispatcher to send an ambulance and state troopers.

  “Backup’s going to take at least 10 minutes, Jay. Somebody may be hurt in there. We need to search the building now.”

  A truck arrived in the parking lot, and a short man who must have weighed 250 pounds climbed out. “What’s wrong? I’m Doug Sasso, SPCA Deputy Director,” he said officiously hiking up his pants.

  “We need you to stay outside of the building,” Jay said. “We got a call for help from a Spanish speaking woman…”

  “That’s Anna, our cleaning person,” he interrupted.

  “Mr. Sasso, there are bloody footprints in the lobby. Stay out here until we know it’s safe and keep your staff out, too.”

  Sasso seemed about to argue with them, but he thought twice when he saw Matt and Jay unholster their guns.

  Crossing the lobby, they stepped around the bloody footprints. Matt pushed the door behind the counter open, and they entered a hall of offices. Inside the first office was a man laying on the floor. Matt dashed in and checked the man’s pulse even though the brains and blood all over the floor made it clear that he was dead. Matt looked up at Jay and shook his head.

  Jay stumbled out of the office and vomited in the hall. After seeing many corpses at Baltimore crime scenes and the morgue, Matt was numb to the horror of murder scenes. His adrenaline surged as he transitioned into door-busting mode. “Are you okay now? We need to go through the building and find out whether the killer is still here.”

  Jay nodded and wiped his mouth with his sleeve and rose from his knees. They found that each of the other offices was clear. At the end of the hall was a door with a window. The room was lined with dog kennels. As they walked through the kennel area, many of the dogs barked wildly and lunged at the gates. Other dogs, who were terrified by the barking and strange people, tried to hide at the back of the kennels.

  Matt looked at Jay to be sure he was ready for the next door. They shoved it open. The break room had a few tables, a counter with a coffee pot and microwave, and a refrigerator. A large plate glass window showed that the next room had three levels of cat cages As they walked by the cages, they
were greeted with sad meows from the cats. Matt pushed open the next door. They proceeded into a hall leading to a medical room with vet tables and a kitchen for food preparation. The next door opened into the SPCA lobby. The building was clear. Matt and Jay put away their guns.

  “The killer’s gone,” said Matt. “Do you know the victim?”

  Jay nodded, clearly relieved that the building search was over. “That’s Gary Randolph, the SPCA Director.” He noticed the vomit on his sleeve and pants. “I need to clean up. Can you call the Mayor? Tell him that we need him here, but don’t mention the murder. He and Gary Randolph are old friends. I want to tell him in person.”

  Matt nodded. He didn’t think it made any sense to get the Mayor out there, but he knew Rehoboth had its own ways. He hit the Mayor’s contact number on his phone. After six rings, Mrs. Riley answered. “Good morning Mrs Riley, This is Matt Thomas. May I speak to the Mayor?”

  “Oh dear, he’s just sitting down for his eggs….” Mrs. Riley replied.

  “I think he’ll want to talk to me, Mrs Riley. ”

  “The man can’t even eat breakfast in peace,” she grumbled. “It’s one of your police officers, dear,” she said, handing the phone to her husband.

  The Mayor came on the line. “Good morning. I hope this is important enough to interrupt breakfast with my beautiful wife,” said Mayor Riley in a jolly tone meant to soothe his wife.

  Matt explained quickly that there was trouble at the SPCA. The Mayor said he’d be there in a few minutes. He knew that nobody called him at home unless it was serious.

  Jay had cleaned the vomit off his sleeve. “Let’s go tell Doug Sasso what’s going on,” said Jay.

  Sasso was just outside the front door. “We need to get in there and take care of the animals.”

  “I’m sorry to tell you this. Gary Randolph is dead,” said Jay.

  “Good God,” said Sasso, with obvious surprise. “Randolph dead. I can’t believe it.” He shook his head.

  “The state troopers and the Mayor are on the way,” Jay said. “We need you to keep everyone out of the building.”

  Sasso nodded and returned to his staff. The ambulance arrived. Matt went over to tell the EMTs that the victim was dead and nobody else needed medical care.

  The Mayor pulled into the parking lot and climbed out of his Lexus. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m so sorry, Mayor Riley. Gary Randolph has been killed,” Jay said. “I know he was your friend.”

  “What the hell?” the Mayor cried as he stormed into the building.

  “Shit,” Matt said. “He’s running right through the footprints.”

  The Mayor rushed into Gary Randolph’s office and saw the body on the floor. “Oh my God,” he whispered in horror.

  “We’ll find whoever did this, Mr. Mayor. We’ll get him,” said Jay.

  They could hear sirens as the state troopers arrived. Matt hurried back to the front door.

  “Don’t you town cops know how to preserve a crime scene?” bellowed the older detective when he saw the blood with footprints of different sizes.

  “Hey, now just a minute,” Matt fired back. “The young woman who found the victim walked through the victim’s blood and tracked it into the lobby before we got here.”

  “There are two sets of footprints,” said the younger detective.

  “That’s true,” admitted Matt. “The Mayor ran in there before we could stop him.”

  “Why the hell would he walk right through bloody footprints?” the older detective said with a sneer.

  Matt ignored that. “We have already cleared the building.”

  The troopers pulled out their weapons anyway. When they reached Randolph’s office and saw the body, the older detective hissed at Jay and the Mayor, ”Don’t move. We’re going to clear the rest of the building.”

  “We already did that,” said Jay, but the troopers ignored him. The dogs started barking wildly again as the troopers entered the dog kennel area.

  The Mayor started gasping for breath and pulled out his asthma inhaler.

  When the troopers returned, the younger cop said calmly, “I’m Detective Aidan Putnam, and this is Detective Andrew Watkins”

  “I’m Jay Dalton, Chief of the Rehoboth Beach police force. This is Rehoboth Mayor Riley and Officer Matt Thomas. The victim is Gary Randolph. He’s the SPCA Director. Please let us know how you want to proceed.”

  “Was this barf on the floor when you got here?” asked Watkins, “If that’s from the killer, we’ve got some DNA.”

  “No,” Jay admitted. “It was me. I threw up.”

  “Town cops don’t know shit about crime scenes,” Watkins muttered in disgust.

  Putnam gave his fellow officer a warning look and turned to Matt. “You said a woman made those footprints in the lobby. Where is she?”

  Matt knew they were going to be pissed about this, too. “After she left the building, a car pulled up and she jumped into it. They drove away immediately, but I got the plate number.”

  “You let her leave? What the hell is wrong with you?” Watkins exploded.

  “Now hold on just a minute…, “ said the Mayor, upset by the yelling.

  “What would you do? Shoot her?” Matt cried. “There could have been someone dying in the building who needed an ambulance. When we saw the blood in the lobby, we searched for anyone who might need help. We found Randolph here on the floor and then we cleared the rest of the building. We did everything by the book.”

  “You should have stayed out of the building,” said Watkins angrily.

  Matt struggled to control his irritation. “Are you deaf? We had to know whether anybody was in immediate danger.”

  Putnam stepped in. “You did the right thing. Could you folks go outside now and put up the crime scene tape?”

  Jay took the Mayor’s arm gently. “Let’s go outside, Mr. Mayor. The state troopers will handle things here. You can help calm down the folks outside.”

  “And don’t walk through the footprints as you leave,” Watkins called after them.

  Matt walked slowly back to Watkins and stood about two inches from his face. “That’s enough out of you. From now on you will speak to everyone in Rehoboth with respect.”

  “Our apologies,” said Putnam quickly. “We are here to find the murderer, and we really appreciate your cooperation.”

  Matt wanted to stay but decided to leave before he took a swing at the older cop.

  Outside the building, the Mayor had recovered a bit from the shock and walked up to Sasso. “What I am about to tell you will be upsetting, but I’m counting on you to stay calm. Gary was murdered.”

  “Murdered?” said Sasso. “They told me that he was dead but that it was murder. What happened?”

  Matt noted that Sasso’s face showed actual surprise. Either this was actually news to him, or he was a hell of an actor.

  “We don’t know yet, Doug,” replied the Mayor.

  “Mr. Sasso, we need to keep the staff out of the crime scene,” added Jay.

  Sasso nodded slowly as he processed what had happened. “What part of the building is closed to us?”

  “Randolph was killed in his office,” said Matt. “There are bloody footprints in the lobby. We’re going to put up yellow tape at the front door and in the office hallway. Nobody can pass that tape.”

  “I’ll have the staff go through the back door,” Sasso said. “We can feed all the animals without going into the office wing and lobby. I guess the public can come in the back. I’ll post one of the animal control officers at the door for now. Will more state troopers come? I need to get my guy back out there catching dogs.”

  “I’m sure more state troopers are on the way,” said Jay.

  “Now let’s go talk to your staff,” said the Mayor.

  Matt watched as the Mayor and Sasso explained everything to the staff. Everybody seemed very shocked by the news, which didn’t necessarily mean anything. A killer could have a good poker face.
/>   “It’s the first time I saw a murder victim,” Jay said quietly. He was embarrassed about throwing up.

  “I felt sick to my stomach, too, Jay. The day that murder doesn’t make us sick is the day we should quit being cops.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Back at Town Hall, Matt and Jay sat in the Mayor’s office. “Who would want to kill Gary?” asked the Mayor, shaking his head. “He’s one of the most decent men I know. It just makes no sense.”

  “I’m sure that the state troopers will find the killer, sir,” Jay said solemnly.

  “Oh no, those guys don’t give a damn,” the Mayor spat out. “They won’t bother with a real investigation.”

  That clearly surprised Jay. “Mayor Riley, I’m sure they’ll take this seriously.”

  Matt wasn’t at all sure of that. He had seen too many murder cases botched in Baltimore with shoddy police work.

  “I’m got some calls to make, so please go ahead with your day,” the Mayor said, making it clear that they should leave. As they walked into the police section of Town Hall, Jay said, “We’re going to have to keep the Mayor out of this. The state troopers have responsibility for investigating murders. We can’t do anything about that.”

  “Jay, I don’t know much about the state troopers, but I do remember that case last year when they bungled the chain of custody, and the perp got off scot free at trial.”

  “Yes, I know, but we have to be careful not to express doubts about their competence. That’s an order.”

  “Absolutely, Chief. I just want the killer to be brought to justice.” Matt respected the chain of command.

  Calls poured in about the murder for the rest of the day. Word had gotten out and the news had spread fast. People who loved Gary Randolph called to express their outrage. Matt and Jay explained that the state troopers would solve the case. That seemed to upset a lot of the callers.

  “Those guys don’t know anything except how to give tickets,” one caller raged.

  Another man complained about his own experience. “The state troopers didn’t find the guy who stole my lawn mower.” “Why would we let the state handle this? Aren’t you the guys who protect us in this town?” asked an irate woman.