by J. C. Fields
Chapter 3
Wildwood, MO
Kruger sat in the conference room of the St. Louis County Police Department’s sixth precinct in Wildwood two days later. Detectives Winslow and Cordero, Captain George Kenneth, Charlie Craft, and Teri Monroe sat at the table waiting for Charlie’s report.
Charlie place four files and a sheet of paper summarizing each one in front of him. He read from the first summary: “Nina Watkins, twenty four, disappeared on June first 2003. Her body was found in a lime quarry off Bussen Road in St. Louis. She was last seen leaving a friend’s house on the way to an interview at a local CPA firm. She never arrived for the interview.
“Debra Riley was vice president of sales at Nixdorf Computers. She was thirty and disappeared on September 29, 2006. Her body was found in the same location as the Watkins woman. Her husband knew she was interviewing with another company, but she kept the company’s name confidential and never told him.
“Julie Martin was thirty-five, married, with two kids. She was a senior vice president with Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow in their computer services department.”
Kruger stopped doodling on his notepad. He frowned and flipped through several pages of one of his notebooks and interrupted, “Randolph Bishop is the CEO of Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow.”
Charlie nodded.
“Go on Charlie, tell us more about Julie Martin.”
Looking back at his notes, Charlie continued. “She was in line to become an executive vice president of the company when she disappeared one night after working late...”
Winslow looked at Charlie and asked, “When did Bishop get promoted?”
Charlie opened another file. “The company profile says Bishop was promoted to executive vice president on…” He stared at the page for several moments, then looked at Kruger. “November 2009. Two months after Julie Martin was killed.”
Cordero whistled, and Captain Kenneth said, “That’s thin. Real thin.”
Kruger nodded. “It’s beyond thin; it’s anemic. But it’s the first link we’ve found. Charlie, keep going.”
Charlie continued, “Martin’s car was found in the parking lot of a high-end restaurant. Her husband called the police after she failed to come home. Something she’d never done before. Her body was found in the same location as Watkins and Riley. This was the event that brought Agent Kruger into the case in the fall of 2009. It was established all three women were killed by the same assailant. Trace DNA was found on the Martin woman, but the FBI could not match it to any sample in their database.
“In April 2011, the body of Karla Gray was found at the same location two days after she was supposed to have left on a business trip to New York City. Her itinerary indicated she was meeting with two of the managing partners of KKR, a private equity company.”
Still looking at the notes in front of him, Kruger announced, “At the time of Gray’s death, KKR was in negotiations to buy Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow.”
Charlie frantically started pulling papers out of the earlier files. After skimming each of them, he looked up. “Nina Watkins interviewed at Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow two days before she disappeared. That’s three of the women with a link to Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow.”
Kruger stared at Charlie. “I hate coincidences.” He paused and looked at Kenneth. “Guess it’s time I had a little face-to-face visit with Randolph Bishop.”
Efforts to interview Bishop were met with resistance by his gatekeepers. After several days of stalling, Kruger contacted the Missouri Department of Revenue and was told the make, model, and license plate number of Bishop’s car. That evening, he sat in his Ford Mustang in the parking lot of Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow. A jet-black Cadillac CTS-V coupe was the object of his surveillance. At ten minutes after seven, a tall man wearing a dark-blue suit and a tieless shirt approached the parked Cadillac. Kruger started the Mustang. He waited until Bishop was in the car before driving and parking directly behind the Cadillac. Bishop was pinned in his parking slot. Kruger got out and walked to the driver’s side window with his credentials in hand.
The window silently slid down and Randolph Bishop screamed, “What’s the meaning of this? Who are you?”
Kruger held his credentials so that Bishop could clearly see. When Bishop reached for them, he pulled them back. “FBI Agent Sean Kruger. Mr. Bishop, I’ve been trying to arrange an interview with you for the last two days, but you’re a hard man to reach.”
“I’ve been out of town.”
Bishop was clearly lying. Kruger’s eyes narrowed. “Your staff wouldn’t even let me schedule an appointment. Why is that, Mr. Bishop?”
“I make my own appointments. They don’t know my itinerary.”
“Ahhhh, no one knew your itinerary.” Kruger’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Okay, I’m making an appointment with you right now. I’ll be in your office at precisely eight o’clock in the morning. If you’re not, I’ll hold you in contempt. Then I’ll issue a warrant for your arrest. Does that spell out the seriousness of this, Mr. Bishop?” He turned to walk back to his car.
“I’ll have my lawyer present.”
“Good.” Kruger looked back without breaking stride. “A wise decision on your part.”
***
At 8:00 a.m. the next morning, Kruger and Teri Monroe were escorted to Randolph Bishop’s office. Three men were in the room besides Bishop. An older man with silver hair sat in a guest chair in front of Bishop’s desk. The other two men stood off to the side. They were younger, and Kruger assumed corporate security. The older man in the chair stood and offered his hand, saying, “I’m Tyson Ernst, Mr. Bishop’s lawyer. May I examine you credentials?”
Kruger shook the man’s hand. “You may look at them, but you will not examine them. If you need proof of my credentials, here’s the number of Assistant Deputy Director Alan Seltzer. I report directly to him.” Kruger handed the lawyer a business card, which the lawyer took and examined.
He nodded. “Very well.”
Kruger continued, “This is Senior Forensic Technician Doctor Teri Monroe. She is the head of our forensics team looking into the death of Paul Bishop.”
Teri nodded, but no one responded.
Ernst spoke first. “What can we do for you, Agent Kruger?”
“You can’t do anything for me.” Kruger turned and looked directly at Bishop. “I need to ask Mr. Bishop about his brother.”
Ernst shook his head. “I speak for Mr. Bishop. I have advised him not to become involved with this matter.”
Kruger looked back at the lawyer. “Really, that’s not very good advice, counselor. In my world, silence is an indication of guilt.” Kruger looked back at Bishop. “Is Mr. Bishop guilty of something?”
“Of course not,” Ernst snorted with indignation.
“Then he won’t mind answering a few questions about his brother.”
Randolph Bishop removed his stare from Kruger and looked at the lawyer. Ernst nodded and sat down. “What do you want to know?”
“When was the last time you saw your brother, Mr. Bishop?”
Bishop glared at Kruger. “I haven’t seen my brother for over six years.”
“Have you spoken to him recently?”
Bishop shook his head. “The last time I spoke to him was on the phone over a year ago. He invited me to his home for Christmas. I declined due to a prior commitment.”
“Did you have a strained relationship with your brother?”
“I’m a busy individual, agent. Time gets away from me. Our relationship was fine.”
“But you haven’t seen him in six years.”
Bishop shrugged.
“A letter was found next to his body.”
Bishop was silent. He continued to stare at Kruger.
“In the letter, he confessed to all four of the so-called Quarry Murders which occurred over the past ten years. The letter was addressed to you. Do you have any idea of why he would do that, Mr. Bishop?”
“Not a clue.”
Kruger nodded. “I heard from the coroner that no one has inquired about the body. Aren’t you his next of kin?”
Again, Bishop did not answer right away. He just glared at Kruger. “I will have someone in our legal department take care of those details. Does that satisfy you, agent?”
Kruger shrugged. “It makes no difference to me. I just found it odd that his only brother did not inquire about the body.”
Bishop looked at the lawyer. Ernst immediately stood. “I believe those are all the questions we will be answering today. Mr. Bishop has a busy schedule.”
Kruger stared at Bishop, who in turn stared back. Neither man averted his gaze. After several long moments, Kruger gave the man a lopped sided smile, but did not divert his eyes. “Yes, I’m sure he does. Very well. I’ll get back to you if I need more information.”
Ernst escorted Kruger and Monroe to the office door. “Please direct all inquiries to my office, Agent.”
***
Kruger was silent until he and Teri Monroe were back in his Mustang. She still looked at the building containing Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow. “That was odd.”
Kruger nodded. “Yes it was. He knows something or he wouldn’t have lawyered up. I’m driving back to Kansas City today to do some research on our Mr. Randolph Bishop. What about you?”
She glanced at him as he drove. “I’m flying out on a 6 p.m. flight. Charlie will stay here and finish up. What do you think of him, Sean?”
Kruger smiled. “I’ll be keeping my eye on him. He’s going to be good.”
She smiled and nodded. “I thought you might like him.”
***
Kruger sat on a sofa in his condo on the second floor of a newly remodeled building west of the Kansas City Plaza. He was reviewing several reports sent to him by Charlie Craft concerning Randolph Bishop. He heard a key in the lock and looked up. When the front door opened, Stephanie Harris, his next-door neighbor and girlfriend, walked in. “Hi.”
Kruger smiled and stood. “Hi, back. You hungry?”
“Starved.” She walked over to him and they embraced. “Where do you want to go?”
After a nice dinner and a lot of conversation centered on catching up with each other’s lives, they were back on the sofa in Kruger’s condo. When a case puzzled Kruger, he would sometimes bounce ideas off Stephanie. “Maybe you can make sense of this. We found connections with Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow to all four of the murdered women. Nina Watkins interviewed with the company two days before she disappeared. Debra Riley confided in a close friend that she was in line to be offered a position at Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow—a position Bishop accepted a year later.”
He paused and put his arm around Stephanie and she snugged against him. He smiled and continued, “Bishop was promoted to the position Julie Martin was given two months after her death. Karla Gray was going to KKR to discuss the CEO position at Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow. She would be named to the position once they executed the buyout. The death of Gray caused KKR to withdraw their offer.”
Stephanie looked up at him. “Do you think Paul Bishop killed them to help his brother?”
Kruger shook his head. “I think he might have done it after his brother told him to, but not on his own.”
“What if Paul is completely innocent? What if Randolph killed those women?”
Kruger frowned. He stared ahead and was silent for several moments. “I’ve thought of that, but I can’t get past why Paul Bishop would kill himself and confess with the note?”
She shrugged. “Maybe his brother told him to.”
Kruger tilted his head to the side. He grinned and kissed the top of her head. “I knew there was a reason I liked you so well. You might have something there.”
***
The next evening, Kruger’s Mustang was parked next to Bishop’s black Cadillac CTS in the parking lot of Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow. Kruger was leaning against the trunk when Randolph Bishop walked to his car. At first, the man hesitated. Then he moved quickly to get around Kruger to enter his car. As he walked past, Kruger spoke. “Tell me something, Bishop. Was it your idea, or was it Paul’s? My guess is it was yours.”
Bishop stopped and glared at Kruger. “I’ve no idea of what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Was it Paul’s idea to kill those women after you whined to him about them, or did you tell him to do it?”
Bishop glared at Kruger and, for a fraction of a second, Bishop’s face showed the pure raw rage Kruger knew was inside him. Then just as fast, a mask of complete indifference was displayed. He turned to the door of the Cadillac and opened it. Just before he sat down, he turned to Kruger and in a very controlled voice said, “I’m going to call my lawyer and have a restraining order filed against you for harassment.”
Kruger smiled. “Go ahead. You see, I’m not here. You’re making this up.” Bishop frowned and Kruger continued, “There are ten FBI agents in downtown St. Louis who will swear in a court of law I’m with them in a meeting.”
Bishop glared at Kruger as he sat down in the car. His face crimson and his jaw locked tight. Kruger grabbed the door just before Bishop tried to shut it. “Here’s the deal, I know who and what you are. I’ve dealt with scumbags like you for over twenty years. I’ll find the truth, Bishop, and when I do, your world will become the worst nightmare you could ever image.”
Kruger let go of the door and Bishop slammed it shut. He continued to stare at Kruger as he started the engine and backed out of the parking space. Kruger smiled as he watched him drive off. “I just saw behind your mask, Bishop.”
***
At 8:30 the next morning, two St. Louis County Police Department patrol cars, one detective’s car with Winslow and Cordero, and Kruger’s Mustang were parked in front of Harmon, Harmon, and Kinslow. At 6:30 that morning, Charlie Craft received an email with the results of Paul Bishop’s DNA analysis. Paul Bishop’s DNA did not match the DNA found on Julie Martin. It was genetically similar, just not a match.
However, the analysis showed the DNA found on Julie Martin was close enough to be Paul Bishop’s brother.
With that evidence, Kruger prepared a federal arrest warrant for Randolph Bishop properly signed by 7:45.
When the group entered the front lobby, Kruger could tell something was wrong. The reception desk was empty. Men with their sleeves rolled up scurried from office to office. Finally, a tall elderly man looking slightly disheveled approached the group. “Are you Agent Kruger?”
Kruger nodded.
“I’m Frank Netters, chairman of the board. If you’re looking for Bishop, you’re too late.”
Kruger frowned, “How so?”
“He’s gone. I just heard from one of our board members who went to find him. He told me the house is empty. Plus, there’s more than five million dollars missing from the firm’s four bank accounts. We think more is missing, but in the short time we’ve had to look, that’s all we can find.”
Kruger stared at the man. “I’ll call our financial sector and have a team of FBI accountants here by afternoon.”
Netters gave Kruger a grim smile. “Thanks. I’ll tell everyone. Do you want us to stop looking?”
Kruger nodded as he pulled his cell phone out. He walked out the front door and made a call to the St. Louis field office. He ended the call and immediately dialed another number. His boss, Alan Seltzer at the FBI headquarters in Washington, answered on the second ring.
“Alan, it’s Sean.”
“How did the arrest go?”
“It didn’t. He’s in the wind.”
Seltzer was quiet for a long time. “When did he leave?”
“Not sure. Sometime after 7 p.m. yesterday. I’ve got the St. Louis team checking the airports. We might know something later. I blew it, Alan.”
“I doubt it. What did you do?”
“I was here last night when he left the office. I wanted to see his reaction when I asked him about his brother.”
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br /> “And…”
“The tell, it was there, as plain as it could be. The uncontrollable rage before he could get it under control.”
“What can we do at this end?”
“I want a national BOLO issued.”
“Send me the details.”
After the call, Kruger leaned against the trunk of his car. He pressed his palms against his eyes. “Shit.”
***
Kruger met Brenda Parker at the St. Louis County Coroner’s office. She arrived thirty minutes prior and was signing papers when he walked into the office. He waited silently while she completed the paperwork and thanked the clerk. She turned to him and offered her hand. As he shook it, she tucked her purse under her arm. “Thank you, Agent Kruger, for calling me.”
“I thought you would want to know the truth.”
She smiled. “I always knew the truth. Paul didn’t kill those women.”
Kruger nodded. “At first I believed he did, until I spoke with you in Rockford. Plus, we found Paul’s computer and cell phone at Randolph’s house.”
“Oh, what did I say that changed your mind?”
“When you told me about Paul’s reaction to his brother’s visit to your home, I realized the control Randolph had over him.”
A small tear formed in the corner of her eye. “Was there something on Paul’s computer?”
“Yes.”
She waited, but Kruger did not explain further. “Why did his brother treat Paul so badly? I don’t understand.”
Kruger half smiled. “The same reason he killed those women and looted his company. I can stand here and lecture about the psychiatric diagnosis for hours. But simply put, he doesn’t have the ability to feel any guilt or empathy. All he cares about are his own needs. Randolph will do anything to satisfy those desires.”
“Sad. So sad for Paul.”
“Yes ma’am.” He was quiet while he watched her wipe tears from her eyes. “What are your plans?”