Sqeeze Head

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  “I’ll interview your maid after we finish here with you. Now, you were out of country when the crime occurred. Do you often work out of country?”

  “Yes, in the last few years, I’ve spent most of my time in the Middle East designing high rise buildings. Sometimes, but not often, Gail would come visit me, but for the most part, she stayed here at home.”

  “Were you aware your wife was seeing a psychiatrist named Dr. Kenneth Zee?”

  “Yes, I was aware she was under his care. You see, well, this is rather embarrassing, my wife was a nymphomaniac. It’s not a common disorder, but regardless of her sexual behavior, we loved each other very much.”

  Janice felt he was telling the truth and doing his best to maintain under very trying circumstances. She said, “Do you have an idea of who she might have been with lately or an old acquaintance?”

  “You’d best ask Sandy the maid that question. My wife and I agreed that discretion was tantamount to the survival of our marriage.”

  Janice thanked him for his time; asked him to call the maid, Sandy. Then after finding out Sandy had no relative information, left to return to the station.

  She asked Bloom, on the way back, “How do you like playing the role of detective Bloom?”

  “Exciting and I’m discovering it’s hard work. Contrary to drama, real life police work is demanding and rewarding in ways that are hard to explain. At first I wanted to show and tell what I surmised as to the events and results of the crime. I can see now why veterans never speculate.”

  “The old cliché, watch and learn, fits very well into police detection. As we are a bit early to meet up with Inspector Cockrun, let’s run by the neighborhood where Dr. Zee was attending the holiday part. Maybe someone saw something that day. By the way, make a call to Carl and Don to see what Dr. Zee is doing this morning.”

  Dr. Zee at ten am that morning was still in bed, eyes closed, having a dream that only another head doctor could relate to. However, his alarm went off waking him up. The night before he sat his alarm because he had a few things to attend to, like go to the escrow company to verify what Donald Duck had agreed to.

  If asked about the search of his office and home, he would tell you he could care less. His plan was to take the money and make a major move to Texas.

  An hour later, with a noticeable tail following him, he sat in the escrow office shaking his head. After giving the manager the account number, he was told that the account held twenty thousand dollars. Dr. Zee never thanked the man, but left in a hurry. He found a pay phone, completely oblivious to Carl and Don watching him, made a phone call to the newspaper placing a message to Donald Duck.

  Later at the station house, they were all saying that this was the break they were looking for. Don had run to the phone to have the phone company trace the last call. All of the Hyde Park police were high fiving the news.

  Janice was listening to some good news from the house to house for anyone seeing a Robin Hood St. Pat’s day. One of the detectives was currently interview a lawn service company employee.

  The young man said he saw a Robin Hood dude on a yellow bike that afternoon, but didn’t know what time it was. Janice took that news back to the station house. Later an update on the bike came in. Some kid found it leaning against a tree, so he just borrowed it for awhile.

  David was sitting in his swivel chair. His legs stretched out, arms folded across his belly, deep in thought, as Janice came in sporting some good news. He snapped to when she spoke to him saying, “Hey Inspector, we have some breaks in the case. If you were to buy me a cup of coffee from the machine, I’ll tell you the news.”

  Coming back from a long ways off, David heard her talking to him. Fortunately or unfortunately, she was making him weak at the knees. Then he noticed she must have put on a double dose of pine trees as an envelope of scent drifted over him.

  He said, “Let’s go. I need some good news. How’d it go with Carl Steward?”

  Janice said, over her shoulder, as they walked to the hall where machines sat waiting to be fed money to spit out everything from drinks to sandwiches, “The only thing interesting, which solves the rough sex issue, Gail Steward was a nympho. It was a, to each their own, kind of thing. He spends most of his time out of country and she spends most of her time on her back.”

  David fed the machine some money, then asked, “What’s the good news?” She told him about the lawn guy and some kid who found a yellow bike begging to be ridden leaning against tree.

  “The guys are running the make of the bike to see who sells that name brand in our area.”

  David’s cell rang. He listened then grunted and hung up. He said, “That was Carl. He hit pay dirt too. It seems our good Dr. Zee left an escrow office pissed off. Went to a nearby phone booth and made a call. Then after he left, Don ran a check and found out it was to the newspaper leaving a message in the personal column. The message said, “To Donald Duck. Meet me usual. 4P. Squeeze Head.”

  Donald Duck was in his office staring at the bookcase wondering how he became involved in this mess of his life. Here he was in his prime with the world crashing around his space. He was too intelligent to find others to blame, but too vain to accept what he alone was responsible for. That left him with a paradox that was slowly eating away his brain.

  He’d called his girlfriend to ask her to meet him at Zale’s to appraise the jewelry he’d given her. That was before lunch. He waited and waited, pacing in front of the store mumbling incoherently. Then called her cell after twenty minutes past appointment time; there was no answer on her phone. Shoulders sagging he took a taxi back to his office, realizing she was smarter than him. The taxi driver saw in his rearview mirror a tick beneath his eye.

  She’d guessed rightly that he was experiencing money problems and wanted to sell her jewelry. Yes, she had money, but it was time to move on. By two pm she had cleaned out her personal things and left for the airport.

  *~~~~*

  Dr. Jones and Alex set to work after David left. The first thing Alex did was to unscrew the fireplace insert, but left the insert in for the time being. The fake logs he sat aside. After that easy job, he took the brace and bit to one corner of a pencil mark square on the wall next to the fireplace hearth. The square is where a two foot square wall picture would reside. After drilling the hole, he used a key hole saw to cut a two foot square out of the wall leaving a hole in the sheet rock.

  There were other jobs to do but that could wait until after lunch. They were still waiting for the Kevlar to arrive from DuPont. Overall AJ was very happy the way things were going. The plan was solid and doable. AJ, for an old man, had a spring in his step he was so happy. Alex was excited to be involved.

  *~~~~*

  Dr. Kenneth Zee was back at his apartment thinking about his next victim. It did not matter to him that his office was in a shambles or that Gwen was not available. But as he sat there with the TV on, his thoughts turned towards Donald Longstreet. Dr. Zee was sure he would show up at four pm. No way would Donald Duck want Squeeze Head to show up at his office making all of his partners and staff very curious. Dr. Zee had a little surprise waiting for Donald in the sauna.

  But then it hit Dr. Zee that the ad in the paper would not come out till tomorrow. With that being the case, someone observing him would have seen a glassy look appear in his eyes and would see his head loll over to one side. Dr. Zee too a trip to where no man wants to go.

  *~~~~*

  Officer Bloom was on his cell talking to Inspector Cockrun from a bike shop. He told the Inspector the owner of the bike shop remembered a person matching the description buying a new bike the other day. When one of the other detectives showed the owner a picture of Dr. Zee it was confirmed that indeed he was the buyer of a yellow bike. David told him that was good work and hung up.

  David told Janice the story and then he added, “Just because he bought a bike and a Robin Hood guy was riding it on St. Pats day, doesn’t mean too much at this point. We need to place
him at the park with the yellow bike and more than anything, we need to find out where the Robin costume is or where it was rented from.”

  “We need to think about after he rented a costume, where did he change clothes? Not at home because he was being watched. Carl and Don would have reported him carrying a bag. We need to first locate a costume store and after that we can maybe see what he did. Or maybe he wore his street clothes over the Robin outfit.”

  The rest of the day was spent looking for a costume rental store and re interviewing some of the more observant ones in the park who might have seen a yellow bike. David thought it prudent to ask the press for some help by broadcasting asking if anyone saw, on St. Pat’s day, around Willard Park area, a Robin Hood riding a yellow bike.

  Around eight pm, both David and Janice, along with the rest of the team, went back over the reports and what little evidence they had. All had hope that someone who had seen a Robin on a yellow bike would call. Inspector Cockrun was just about to call it a night and take Janice to dinner when a uniform burst through the door. In a loud voice he said to Inspector Cockrun that an old lady called saying she might have seen a green dressed person on a yellow bike. She was out walking her old dog when crossing a street, the bike rider almost hit her. “Here’s her address Inspector. She’s waiting for you to visit her,” he said with a big grin on his face. The grin, Janice thought, was -- be ready for a short story long.

  As it turned out Mrs. Alvin was a sweet grandmother who lived with her daughter. Her daughter had answered the door fully expecting the police to call upon them. She, Ann Blight, had encouraged her mother to call the police after they had watched the news asking the public for help. Ann told David and Janice, on the way to the family room, that her mother had a remarkable memory and didn’t suffer any signs of old age, such as, dementia or senility that most suffered from at that age.

  Janice took a liking to Mrs. Alvin from the beginning. She was sitting in a rocking chair knitting up a storm. Her cocker spaniel sat as close as it could without being hit by the rocker going up and down.

  When she looked up and saw David and Janice, she took a breath as if startled. Her memory was fine, but her hearing had suffered from the years. It wasn’t so bad you had to yell, but a soft voice would have fell on deaf ears. She took her time looking David over from head to foot. She saw a tall man, bushy eyebrows, intense eyes, strong chin, which she liked in a man. He was nicely dressed in tan slacks, dress shirt and a fawn sports coat. Mrs. Alvin thought she could like this man.

  The woman with him, she thought, looked like a typical female detective for this day and age. She was, compared to him, slightly smaller, but powerfully built. Maybe she was a little too dark skinned, but her nice gleaming white smile looked warm and sincere.

  The introductions out of the way, David asked her about seeing the Robin Hood on a yellow bike. Mrs. Alvin, said, after putting away her knitting, “Well, you see, the rider came by so quickly and I was so scared that Felix would get killed-------oh, my, I hate to think about it. What would I do without Felix? Never mind. I can tell you this, he had a long sharp nose---and wore a mask. At first I thought it was a kid because he was rather small, but to me it felt like it was an adult. That’s about the best I can detectives. I’ll say this, he was riding like a bat out of you know where.”

  Janice smiled and asked, while handing her a picture of an unmasked Dr. Zee, “Does this guy look like it might have been the bike rider. I realize it would be difficult to identify anyone with a mask on, but maybe the face might resemble this man?”

  Mrs. Alvin put on her reading, knitting glasses, stared at the picture, looked away, as if remembering the event, looked again and said, “I mentally put a mask on this guy and I do believe it very well could be the same man. However, I’ve watched enough police programs on TV to know that surmise is a long ways from an actual ID of the man on the bike.”

  “Your encounter with the Robin Hood guy on a yellow bike helps us a lot. That brings us just that much closer to pressing charges on the killer. I use the word, ‘killer’ because that is exactly what he is.”

  Mrs. Alvin was beaming from ear to ear hearing that she was important in a murder case as a witness. David stood up telling her thank you. The daughter magically appeared to show them out. David left his card in case something was forgotten by Mrs. Alvin.

  “I think we need something to eat Janice,” David said, while driving back towards the station house. “I know what’s waiting for us back at the station. The mayor and captain need something to feed the hungry press for the eleven o’clock news. I’m thinking about sticking my neck out shaking up our killer.”

  “Like what are you going to tell them, Inspector Cockrun,” she asked while poking him in the ribs. He jumped, swerved to miss a parked car, regained control, pulled over to the side of the street; put his arm around her neck pulling her towards him, careful not to use too much force. She willingly, face upturned met his lips ever so tenderly.

  He quickly pulled back and grinned at her. He said, “Next time it won’t be a teaser. Right now it’s taking all of my will power to maintain and focus on the job. I’ll tell you a secret Janice. This case will be over by Saturday at the latest. Then you’d best look out cause I’m lurking like a big shark.”

  “Boy am I scared,” she retorted, playfully squeezing his thigh much too close to home, he thought. Even though he felt something growing, both knew it wasn’t lust, or at least she hoped it wasn’t. “Al right, what kind of secret plan to you have Inspector?”

  “You’re going to have to trust me on this one Janice. I realize that statement is abused everyday. If I told you my plan, you’d just worry your cute butt off. I’ve a role for you to play, so don’t feel left out,” as he pulled into a Shari’s restaurant.

  “You’re going to do what Inspector,” asked the captain with disbelief on his face.

  “I’m going to tell the press we will wrap this case up by Saturday night,” Inspector Cockrun said once again.

  “Are you telling us Inspector, you’ll make an arrest between now and Saturday,” asked the mayor. “Are you so sure of this that you’re willing to risk your reputation on that statement?”

  “Let me say this,” David said, “The killer is a wacko. We need to put him away for good. I feel in my gut he is making a plan to kill again soon. With this broadcast tonight, maybe he will lay low for a day or so until my plan is complete. I can’t tell you anymore than that right now. I ask only one thing, show the press and all around you that you have complete confidence in removing this killer from ever taking a life again.”

  XIV

  Friday morning, Donald Longstreet sat in his office reading the paper. He saw the message and realized he must meet Squeeze Head or suffer the fallout. The best he could do was to lay it out for him that there just wasn’t any money right now. The insurance company had made it plain that payment would not be forthcoming until a suspect was apprehended and convicted. In other words, he could kiss the five million good bye.

  Around the same time Donald was reading the paper, Dr. Zee was humming a nameless tune in the shower. He felt good. He was; in fact, ready to feel the rush of taking another life today, if the opportunity presented itself. He stepped from the shower to dry off. A cold fear grabbed at him as the mirror made him look at his birth defect hanging limply between his legs. He leaned against the counter with horrible memories flooding his mind. Tears came for the first time since he couldn’t remember when. How they could have done that to him, he thought. Why would anyone be so cruel? The shame, the humiliation, it was all too demeaning to fathom. The girls were the worst. Laughing, pointing, joking, and in the end, set free to run naked. Dr. Zee looked up, whipped the tears, grabbed his member slamming it against the counter feeling the pain replace his sorrow.

  *~~~~*

  Dr. Jones and Alex were having fun. Velcro and Kevlar and an upside down recliner were entertaining both to no end. AJ had the scissors, Alex was doing the place
ment. Alex said, using the back of his hand to wipe the tears of laughter off, “Are you sure this is going to work AJ?”

  “Hell if I know, Alex. It sounded better than it looks when I dreamed this idea up. It really is of no consequence as I live a charmed life. Now if you’ll excuse me I need to make the phone call to set the wheels in motion.”

  Dr. Zee picked the phone up on the third ring. He was just leaving to case the place to hide the body. He formally said, “Dr. Zee speaking. How can I help you?”

  “Dr. Zee this is Dr. AJ Jones calling you. We met a few years ago and I was delighted to meet you. Do you perhaps remember me?”

  “Of course Dr. Jones. Your reputation precedes you. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call today?”

  “I’ve been working with the police on the two recent murder cases, whereas both victims were your patients. I’ll be blunt and to the point Dr. Zee. I think it would behoove you come visit me tomorrow at eleven am so I can help you. The police are about to charge you with two counts of murder. I can almost guarantee you a way out of your problems.”

  AJ let that sink in for awhile as, indeed, there was silence on the other end of the line. Dr. Zee was slowly slipping into darkness, when AJ asked, “Are you there Dr. Zee?”

  “Yes, I’m here,” as he came back to the present state of affairs. “It would seem I’ve little choice Dr. Jones. What’s your address please?”

  AJ gave him his address and told him the doorman would show him the way to his apartment. Dr. Zee said he would be there on time.