No Kill Station: Murder at Rehoboth Beach

by Diane Meier

  “They don’t pay me enough to hire help or order enough food,” said Buddy.

  “Then you should have called the SPCA Board and demanded more money. Now shut up and clean the damn kennels. I’m going to come back in and inspect this place when you’re done, and if it’s not done right, I’m going to push your face into whatever is left on the floor.”

  Matt could see each kennel had a hatch leading to an outside fenced area. Buddy had been too lazy to let the dogs sit outside. Buddy opened the hatch in a kennel to clean it and the dog rushed outside to sit in the sun. The dog was still filthy but at least he was out in the fresh air.

  When Schmidt and Dreyfus drove up, Matt was there waiting for them.

  “So the dogs are in the hospital?”

  “Yes, and I’m glad the doc is taking care of them,” said Dreyfus. “I hate what happens to them after we pick them up. I’d quit but then I worry that the dogs would be treated even worse. At least we don’t sell them to dog fighters the way they do up at the New Castle facility.”

  “What are you talking about?” Matt was astonished.

  “Shut up, Dreyfus,” yelled Schmidt.

  “I wouldn’t stand for it,” said Dreyfus. “I took the job a month ago and just told Randolph that the dog fighters in Kent County didn’t need bait dogs right now.”

  “Bait dogs? What’s that mean?” Matt was struggling not to choke the answer out of the guy.

  “That’s what the guy called them when he came over to try and buy some. I think they use the bait dogs as killing practice for the fighting dogs. To get them fired up.”

  “Dammit, that’s horrible,” said Matt furiously.

  “I wouldn’t let the guy have any dogs. Schmidt and I started at the same time. We agreed that it’s just better that we put the dogs down rather than sell them as bait. I had no idea I’d have to do this. But if I don’t, somebody else might take the job and start selling the dogs again as bait.”

  “Did Randolph know about those animal control officers in New Castle selling the dogs?”

  “Sure, he knew,” said Schmidt. “He took the money. He gave the officers up there a cut, of course, but it wasn’t much. Cheap bastard. Believe me, we could be making some money here. We don’t get a decent salary, and I could use the dough. It makes me sick to put down all these dogs.”

  “Are you telling me that none of the dogs in the satellite kennels get vet care? None of them are given the chance get adopted?” Matt growled.

  “Any dog that’s got a drop of Pit Bull in its blood gets sold or put down after it’s picked up. They only want purebred or really cute little mutts at Rehoboth,” said Dreyfus.

  “So why are there 20 dogs in there?”

  “Things got real busy, and we just haven’t had a chance to put them down,” said Schmidt.

  Matt had to walk away for a minute to calm down. This was worse than anything he had read in the anti-SPCA blog and Facebook posts. There were a lot of complaints about the statistics reported online and how none of the figures added up right. But even the critics hadn’t figured out that something this horrible was happening.

  “You are not going to kill any of those dogs, you hear me?” said Matt.

  Schmidt and Dreyfus looked relieved.

  “What will we tell Sasso?”

  “I’ll handle that,” said Matt.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Matt called the animal hospital to ask about the two injured dogs. They were both in surgery and the prognosis was good. Matt checked the dog kennels to be sure they were clean and started back for Rehoboth. Then he called Aidan and told him what had happened.

  “That’s awful,” said Aidan. “But it’s not exactly helping us with the murder investigation.”

  “I disagree, Aidan. Somebody else may have found out about the selling of dogs for bait and the conditions of the dogs at Holiday House. Maybe that person was angry enough to kill Randolph.”

  “You’ve got a point there.”

  “The selling of dogs up at New Castle has to be stopped,” declared Matt.

  “How are you going to make that happen?” asked Aidan.

  “Don’t the state troopers enforce the cruelty laws?” asked Matt.

  “No, that’s the responsibility of the SPCA.”

  “What happens when the SPCA is the guilty party and is responsible for animal cruelty?”

  “Matt, I can’t give you answers that are going to satisfy you. It’s above our pay grade.”

  Matt couldn’t believe how screwed up this all was. “What good is it to have laws if they aren’t enforced? The state just doesn’t enforce its own laws for the protection of animals. Nothing is done when the SPCA violates the law. And the state doesn’t bother to go after mobsters who have dog fights. I don’t understand any of this.”

  “I can’t explain why the state doesn’t enforce the animal shelter law,” said Aidan. “As for dog fighting, we have to catch the fight in progress or the Attorney General can’t do anything. The dog fight locations are constantly moved from place to place so that we can’t find them.”

  “If somebody tells you that there’s a guy who has fighting dogs, you can’t just go there and arrest him when you see fight paraphernalia?” asked Matt.

  “Nope. That doesn’t work.”

  “Aidan, dog fighting is typically connected to other crimes— drugs, prostitution and illegal gambling,” argued Matt. “Doesn’t that get anybody interested in going after the dog fighters?”

  “You and I might wish it was different but the fact is that law enforcement focuses on drugs, not animal cruelty. Sometimes when we are busting big drug operations, we find dog fights in progress. But the arrests for the dog fighting are almost always incidental to the drug busts. That’s the reality of the situation. Look, we can’t fix all that. Can we get back to the murder investigation?”

  Matt wasn’t going to leave it at that. The SPCA selling of dogs as bait was animal cruelty. Something had to be done.

  “I talked to the ME. Randolph was killed by blunt force trauma, which was pretty obvious. He didn’t have any drugs or alcohol in his system. The big news is that hairs and particles of clay were found in the brain matter.”

  “That could make a hell of a difference in this investigation. Did your tech guy track down the owner of the blog domain?” “Yes, he did, but it doesn’t make sense. The domain name belongs to guy out in Minnesota. I’ve got contact information for the guy, but I don’t know why we should bother following up on that.”

  “I’m going to call the guy,” Matt said. “I think it’s important to identify that blogger.”

  Aidan gave Matt the contact information, and they agreed to meet in the morning.

  Matt called the Mayor and described what had happened.

  “They’re selling the dogs to dog fighters? That’s horrible,” said the Mayor. “Gary Randolph couldn’t have known about this.”

  “Randolph was responsible for starting the whole operation and he kept most of the money.”

  “Oh my God. What the hell happened to get Gary started doing that?” asked the Mayor.

  Matt knew the Mayor didn’t expect him to answer that question.

  “I’ll call the Governor. All hell is going to break loose about this,” said the Mayor.

  “That’s good,” Matt said. “Sasso should be fired for this. He must know about the dog sales. If he didn’t, he’s too incompetent to continue as deputy.”

  “If Sasso lies, it’s his word against that of the animal control officers,” said the Mayor. “I’ll call the Governor.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  M

  att dialed the number of the blog’s domain owner in Minnesota and a man answered the phone. “Hello, I’m Officer Thomas with the Rehoboth Beach police. We’re investigating a murder here. I’d like to ask you about something, Mr. Travis.”

  “A murder? I can’t imagine how I could help, but I’ll be happy to do what I can. I grew up in Rehoboth.”

/>   “Thanks. We found out that you are the owner of the domain name for the No Kill Delaware blog. Can you tell me about that?”

  “That was my sister’s blog. Sharon Butler. She passed on about six months ago. She asked me to buy the domain because of her fears of retaliation. She worried that the SPCA Director would seize her dogs for some bogus reason. She said the guy wanted to kill all Pit Bulls - any dog with a drop of Pit Bull blood. So she wanted the blog to be anonymous. That guy has been Director for 15 years and he doesn’t like criticism apparently. In fact, Sharon felt that he was downright vindictive.”

  Matt was very surprised to find out that the blogger was Sharon. “Sharon was my landlord and became a friend. I am truly sorry for your loss. I had no idea that she did the blog. Your niece Clara has gotten to be a good friend. She helps me out sometimes with my son. He goes over to her house when I’m working late.”

  “Small world,” said Travis. “Or actually, small town. That’s nice that Clara can help you out. She’s such a good person. Why do you want to know about the blog? What’s that got to do with the murder you’re investigating?”

  “I’m just following every lead. Gary Randolph was murdered two days ago.”

  “Murdered? Good lord! Sharon hated him, but she obviously couldn’t have killed him.”

  “Do you know who’s writing the blog now?”

  “No, I don’t. I hadn’t known that anybody was writing it anymore. You should ask Clara.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’ll do that,” said Matt.

  “That Randolph was hated by a lot of people.”

  “I’m beginning to see that. There are some horrible problems with how the SPCA treats animals.”

  “That’s an understatement. Good luck with your investigation. Actually I’d like to shake the hand of the murderer. Forget I said that,” Travis chuckled. “Give my love to Clara.”

  After they got off the phone. Matt continued on his way to Town Hall. He needed to find out who was writing the blog. It might be a dead end, but he thought that it might lead to something. Maybe Clara knew. He’d ask her tonight when they went to dinner.

  The Mayor and Jay were talking together when Matt arrived.

  “Matt, we got a complaint from Sasso about what you did up in Kent County today,” said the Mayor. “It sounds like you threw your weight around.”

  “I did, Mr. Mayor. The dogs were totally neglected. No food and no water and living in their own filth. One had an awful wound in his leg and another had a broken leg. I had to do something. It was cruelty, pure and simple.”

  “Sasso didn’t mention any of that,” said the Mayor. “But I take your word for it. Nevertheless, we have no jurisdiction in Kent County. Sasso complained about you to the County Council. And I got calls from outraged Council members telling me that you were out of line.”

  “I couldn’t just stand there and pretend not to see it,” said Matt.

  The Mayor nodded. “I understand. I might have done the same thing. Unfortunately that doesn’t make it right. There’s a process for taking action on the dog control contracts. You should have come to me. I would have gone to the Kent County Council about it. Every county and town has its own dog control contract with the SPCA, and they have a say over what happens. I’m sorry to say that I have no choice but to suspend you without pay for a week. I have to ask for your badge and gun.”

  Matt nodded. He knew that he should have gone up the chain with the information. He just couldn’t stand to see the dogs in that condition so he had taken action. If he was suspended for that, so be it. He put his badge and gun on the desk. “Is anything going to be done about the SPCA?”

  “I hope so,” said the Mayor. “I want you to know that I’m very glad you found out about the selling of dogs at the New Castle facility. I called the Governor about that. I hope it’s just an ugly rumor, but it must be investigated immediately by the state. The whole dog control thing is a mess. It used to be a state contract and then the state dumped the responsibility on the counties. Nobody else bids on dog control. The SPCA has a monopoly, which is never good.”

  “Nobody’s watching the store, apparently,” said Jay.

  “I’m an animal lover, as you know,” said Mayor Riley. “I’m going to call every member of each county’s council, just as I called the Governor about all this,” said the Mayor. “It’s totally unacceptable. Maybe Doug Sasso is just incompetent.”

  “All due respect, Mr. Mayor,” said Matt. “I don’t think this just started with Sasso. I think that this is the way that Randolph handled things. If you read that blog, there have been a lot of serious problems with the SPCA. Dog selling and neglect at the satellite kennels aren’t mentioned, so the blogger must not have known about that. But the blog describes all kinds of other problems at the SPCA. If the blog’s allegations are true, it seems like the state is not enforcing the animal shelter law.”

  “I’m going to get to the bottom of this, believe me. I never read that blog. I just assumed that all the criticism was baloney, because Gary and I have been friends for so long. I’ll do some reading.”

  Matt was certain that the Mayor would be shocked by what he read. “I’m glad you care about this, sir.”

  “If my dog Rollo got loose and was subjected to the conditions that you describe, I’d be outraged. It was probably a mistake for the state to hand off dog control to the counties and towns. But that’s a bigger problem. Anyway, I’m sorry that I have to suspend you. You’re an outstanding officer but you should have handled this differently. I think it would be best to let the state troopers complete the murder investigation.”

  “I understand, sir. I’m sorry I let you down.”

  “We’ll expect you back in a week,” said Jay.

  “I’ll be here. I just need to brief Aidan Putnam on one thing, and then I’ll get out of here. It’s about the blog. I talked to the domain owner and found out the name of the previous blogger, who has passed away. However, there is somebody writing that blog now and that could be the person who murdered Randolph.”

  “Tell me more about that,” said Jay. “I’ll tell Putnam. I need to connect with him anyway.”

  Matt nodded. The Mayor shook his hand and went back to this office. After Matt briefed Jay, he left for home.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  A fter the calls from Matt, Sasso went storming around the SPCA and yelled at the staff. It wasn’t because he cared about operations or conditions of the animals. He just needed to work off his rage.

  That damn Rehoboth cop was trouble. Sasso didn’t think he would be able to pay the cop to look the other way. The cop seemed genuinely angry about the whole thing. Sometimes money could fix problems, but Sasso doubted this cop would take a bribe. He was clearly a bleeding heart.

  Now that Randolph was dead, Sasso took 60 percent of the money from the sale of bait animals. The rest went to pay off the animal control officers and the kennel operators. Sasso hadn’t killed Randolph, but the murder had certainly worked out for him financially.

  Over the years, Sasso had embezzled small amounts of money from the SPCA accounts. He felt that he deserved the extra money because his salary was just too low. When Sasso learned about Randolph’s side business of selling animals for bait, it was another opportunity to supplement his salary.

  Sasso had to work a little to figure out what was going on. He started to investigate when he got a call from Buddy at the Kent County satellite kennel. Buddy said the dogs were staying for too many days before being taken away, and it was too expensive to feed them. Sasso was puzzled because he knew that the adoptable dogs were taken to Rehoboth immediately, and the others were supposed to be put down at the satellite facility by the animal control officers. He had no idea why any dogs was still at Buddy’s kennel after three days. Sasso asked why the animal control officers weren’t putting them down, but Buddy wouldn’t answer. Sasso decided to look into it further because he smelled money.

  Randolph had always demanded that only h
e review the intake figures in the animal control officers’ logs. That had been fine with Sasso. He wasn’t looking for extra work. Now Sasso wondered if Randolph was hiding something. Sasso examined the past year’s intake and adoption figures more carefully. Randolph was pretty good with juggling the statistics. Sasso knew that the adoption statistics were always inflated to make the SPCA look good. The question was whether the intake numbers were inaccurate, too.

  He had started questioning the animal control officers every day about how many dogs were picked up. He knew that they must be involved in whatever was happening. They would be happy to get extra money and didn’t give a damn about what happened to the dogs.

  One night Sasso stayed late so he could get access to the animal control officers’ logs, which were in a locked file drawer. He broke into the file drawer and found the logs. Then he found a spreadsheet of the numbers of dogs put down at each satellite facility. The numbers didn’t add up. Many more dogs were being picked up by animal control than were being put down. So what happened to those dogs that were not accounted for in the statistics?

  Suddenly it struck him Randolph was using the dogs to make money. He must be selling the dogs to somebody! It must be a research lab or dog fighters for use as bait. That’s why the dogs stayed too long at Buddy’s kennel. It wasn’t the delivery date yet.

  The next morning Randolph saw that the file drawer lock was broken. Sasso enjoyed coming into Randolph’s office with the spreadsheets in his hands. Randolph was furious and started yelling at Sasso about breaking into the drawer. Of course, Sasso wasn’t putting up with that bullshit. He demanded his cut. Randolph was totally pissed but he started giving Sasso ten percent of the money coming in from the dog fighters.