THE CLUB - ANGIE BARTONI CASE FILE

by Marshall Huffman

  “Look, I said I was there. I was there on the 6th but I did not go upstairs. I went to the main level and left out the back door like everyone else.”

  “Did you leave with anyone?”

  “I’m not going to answer that.”

  “So you did. It would help with your alibi if you gave me the name.”

  “Nope. I’m not going to do it.”

  “Fine Captain. The Mayor has authorized me to suspend you effective immediately. You are hereby relegated to administrative duty while the IAD investigates you further.”

  I almost fell out of my chair. That was the first I had heard of that bit of information. The Captain being relieved of his position?

  “The Mayor is relieving me of my command?”

  “That is correct. If I wasn’t satisfied with your answers you were to be relieved. I sir, am not one bit satisfied.”

  He suddenly deflated like a balloon. All the bluster and bravado had been knocked out of him. Finally he looked up at Brad.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Who recommended you to join the club?”

  “Councilman Finks.”

  “Bobby Finks?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And who did you leave with that night?” Brad asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

  “Sandy Seals.”

  “The City Treasurer?”

  “The same,” Taylor answered

  “Where did the fee to join the club come from?”

  “Sandy. She paid for me to join.”

  “Twenty thousand dollars,” Brad said.

  “Something like that. I didn’t ask. She just asked me if I was interested in joining. I said sure but I couldn’t afford it. She told me it was no problem.”

  “Meaning?” Brad asked.

  “I don’t really know and didn’t ask.”

  “Did you pay her back?”

  “She never asked me to,” he said looking down at the table avoiding Brad’s eyes.

  “What time did you leave that night?”

  “Around midnight. Maybe a few minutes before.”

  “Did you go separately?” Dan asked.

  “No.”

  “So if I ask her the same questions I should get the same answers.”

  “Yes,” was all Taylor replied.

  “One last thing Captain Tyson. Did you kill Mimi Rotelli?”

  “Hell no. I had no motive or opportunity.”

  “We’ll see,” Brad said.

  **

  While Dan and Pendergrass were working on Captain Tyson a car had been sent for City Treasurer, Sandy Seals. She was certainly something to look at. Tall and well put together with stunning good looks. In fact, a lot of people had made innuendoes that she had obtained her position on those attributes alone.

  I decided that this is one interrogation, I mean interview, that I should handle. I slowly made my way into the room and sat down across from her. My leg was killing me by the time I finally got settled in.

  “For the record, this interview is being taped and recorded. I am with Sandra Seals, also known as Sandy Seals. Ms. Seals works for the City as Treasurer. Are you aware that this interview is being recorded?”

  She nodded her head.

  “Please answer aloud. Nods don’t pick up. You need to state whether or not you are aware of that.”

  “I know,” she said leaning back casually in the chair.

  I will have to give her credit; she seemed the least worried of anyone we had brought in so far.

  “Ms. Seals, you were a member of Mimi Rotelli’s sex club. Is that correct?”

  “I was.”

  “Tell me about that.”

  “What’s to tell? I had known Mimi socially for several years. We were talking and she mentioned the club she had started. I listened to her talk about her plans and what she envisioned in the long haul. I decided to join. She gave me a break on the membership fee. I paid fifteen thousand since I was one of the first to join.”

  “And what about Captain Tyson?”

  “What about him?”

  “He is married and yet he frequents the club with you.”

  “Is that against the law?” she asked.

  “It is against police conduct codes.”

  “I wouldn’t know about that. I enjoy the same things Jimmy does. We have a good time. I know he is married but so what? That is between him and his wife. He is old enough to make his own bed. Like I said, nothing illegal has gone on that I am aware of. All of us at the club are there because we want to be. No one forces us to do anything. Probably ninety percent of the performances are put on by the members. So what is the harm?”

  “You don’t think as a City employee you should be held accountable for your actions?” I asked, starting to get a little hot under the collar.

  This was all so casual to her like nothing mattered. To me, government employees should be held to a higher standard but obviously that wasn’t what Seals thought.

  “What time did you leave on the 6th of February?”

  “I think it was around midnight. Eleven fifty or so. I looked at my watch to see if Jimmy had time to stop by for a drink before heading home.”

  “So you rode together?”

  “Yes. We had dinner beforehand then went to Mimi’s. Later we went back to my place for an hour or so.”

  “That is some nightcap.”

  “Well it turned into something just a bit more.”

  “What time did he leave your place?” I asked.

  “Around 1:00 a.m. He said he needed to get home because his wife would be getting home soon.”

  “She was out?”

  “That is what he said.”

  “Doing what?”

  “I have no idea but they have a pretty open marriage. They each go their own way. It is one of convenience more than anything else,” Sandy told me.

  I just shook my head. What kind of life did they live? I had seen them at functions and they looked like the perfect couple. Both were attractive and had great social skills.

  “So you can, under oath, account for Captain Tyson’s whereabouts at around 1:00 a.m.?” I asked.

  “Absolutely. Detective Bartoni, what people do on their personal time is their own business, not the government’s or anyone else’s. We all make our own decisions and that is the way it should be. What you call pornography, I call erotica. It is all a matter of perspective,” she said.

  “I think it’s more than that. I judge people more on what they do than what they say. If they do wrong, to me that is wrong. I’ve heard people talk about a marriage of convenience before but that is just so much crap. To me, either you are married or you get a divorce and move on.”

  “How positively old fashioned. Now am I free to go?”

  “Yes, but with the usual restrictions. Stay in the city and where we can locate you. Oh and one more thing. The Mayor has suspended you until all of this is checked out.”

  “Of course he would. He has to make it look like he really cares about the image of the city. What a joke. He cares about the way he looks, not the city.”

  “You can go Ms. Seals,” I told her.

  I just wanted to get her out of here and go wash my hands. I felt slimy from just sitting across from her. The Mayor really did need to do a better job of hiring.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  We were all sitting around in the conference room gobbling down pizza and brainstorming. We were recapping the day and trying to make some sense of what we had. Unfortunately the more we talked the more muddled the waters became.

  Eric had dug up a little more on Mimi but it didn’t do us one bit of good. All it did was fill in a few blanks but it did little to enhance the overall picture of the woman. We had so many questions. Why would she have such a business when she was a multi-millionaire? Why take that kind of risk? What had she done to get herself killed? Who wanted her dead? Damn woman, what the hell was wrong with you?

  She had everything, looks, money,
and a high profile in the social element. Why risk it all for some freak sex show?

  “Maybe she was abused as a child and this is her way of dealing with it,” Dan said.

  “You know what I don’t get,” Pendergrass said, “We found what, seven or eight movie cameras in various locations but not one DVD or thumb drive. So what happened to the recordings? Where are her accounting records? For that matter where is her money? When you throw all that into the equation it makes it harder to decipher.”

  “Harder? It’s almost impossible as it is,” McGregor chipped in.

  “I’m just saying, we are still missing something important.”

  “No kidding? Very insightful Special Agent Pendergrass.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I didn’t mean it.”

  “I know,” Brad said, taking another big bite of pepperoni pizza.

  “What did you think of Seals?” I asked.

  “Free spirit?” Dan said.

  “Pervert?” McGregor replied.

  “Definitely different,” Eric added.

  “Marsha?” I asked.

  “She is a strange bird. Lots of layers to her. She is like an onion. I would need to peel the layers back one at a time. She acts flippant but you know she is in turmoil on the inside. She has worked hard to get her current position and I would venture to say that she has higher aspirations. Now this comes along so her defense mechanism is ‘so what, it’s my personal life’,” Marsha replied.

  “Could she have killed Mimi?”

  “I don’t see what the motive would be. If fact, I think she envied her to some extent. Mimi was everything she wanted to be. Rich, powerful and beautiful.”

  “She’s not exactly a dog,” Dan piped up.

  “No but she isn’t on the same level that Mimi was,” Marsha pointed out.

  “So we can rule her out?” I asked.

  “I wouldn’t do that just yet but I would certainly put her pretty low on the totem pole. Same goes for Captain Tyson. He is hooked up with Seals and they have a thing going. I doubt he was all that interested in Mimi.”

  “Damn it! Who are we looking for?” McGregor asked.

  “The real murderer?” Dan asked.

  “That’s it. No more pizza for you smartass,” he said pulling the box away from my human garbage disposal.

  **

  “I guess we talk to Finks next,” Dan suggested.

  “Poor schmuck. How would you like to go through school with a name like Finks. Hey Finks, you’re a real fink. I feel sorry for the bastard in a way.”

  “Why Angie, you are getting soft.”

  “Don’t start on me Dan. Let’s just bring him in and get it over with.”

  Finks did not look like your typical player. He was frail, almost bald, and walked slightly stooped over. I sure didn’t picture him as the type who went for kinky sex but then just what does the typical pervert look like?

  “You know why you’re here don’t you?” I asked after reading the usual ‘you are being videotaped’ blurb.

  “Obviously it has to do with Mimi Rotelli.”

  “Very good. And I take it you were a member of her sex club.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re a city councilman for heaven’s sake. Didn’t you realize this could all blow up in your face at some point,” I asked.

  “I guess I didn’t give it much thought.”

  “Didn’t give it much thought?” I asked exasperated.

  “Well there were so many powerful people there, I figured it must be safe.”

  “Sort of monkey see, monkey do.”

  “I wouldn’t put it exactly like that but I can understand the analogy.”

  “You were there on the 6th. What time did you leave?”

  “Close to midnight. Mimi wants us all gone by twelve o’clock.”

  “Did you leave with anyone else?”

  “Leave with someone?”

  “Yeah, did you leave with another person? Anyone who can say for certain that you left when you say you did?”

  “Not really. We all left about the same time. I did bump into Wesley and we exchanged a few words.”

  “Wesley Asher?”

  “Yes. He was standing near the door saying goodnight to different people. We spoke briefly and I went on my way,” Finks told me.

  “And he was still there?”

  “Yes, but he could have left at any time. I really wouldn’t know for sure.”

  “Did you see Police Captain Tyson and Ms. Seals leave?”

  “Oh sure. They were arm in arm right in front of me. It was obvious that they intended to carry on,” he said.

  “Carry on?”

  “You know.”

  “Ah. Did anyone else except Asher seem to be hanging around?”

  “Not that I noticed. Once I got to my car I went straight home.”

  “Can anyone vouch for what time you got home?”

  “My dog, but I haven’t trained her to talk yet,” he said smiling like it was a big joke.

  Maybe it all was a big joke to him. I wondered how someone like that could get elected to be a councilman. He was obviously not the brightest crayon in the box.

  I decided he was going to offer us nothing positive so we cut him loose as well. As much as I hate to admit it, we still had zilch. Maybe less than zilch. This was very discouraging because of my last case. Someone had gotten away with six murders. I knew who it was but just didn’t have anything I could use to get a conviction.

  He had even whispered in my ear that he had done it but it was inadmissible since it wasn’t picked up on the tape. It still tugged at me from time to time.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Bartoni, Roberts, you might want to come here,” the captain said.

  I might. But then again his voice was strained and that was never a good sign. I decided to keep my smartass thoughts to myself.

  “What’s up captain?”

  “I just got a phone call from Rotelli of all people.”

  “What? Is he starting to complain already?” I said.

  “In a way. He just found Asher hanging in his basement.”

  I know my jaw must have hit the floor. I looked over at Dan and he had the same deer in the headlights look.

  “This is for real?” Dan finally muttered.

  “No I just made it up to make the case even more bizarre. Call CSI, the ME, and get your butts over there. I’ll send uniforms to control the crowd that will undoubtedly descend like vultures,” McGregor replied.

  We made it to our desks in record time. Dan called CSI and I called the ME. We were both out the door in less than three minutes.

  “What the hell is going on?” Dan said, swerving around a car.

  “It just gets better and better. What the hell was he doing in the basement anyway? I thought that was out of bounds for him. At least that’s what he said.”

  “Geez Dan, slow down. You almost clipped that car. Asher will still be there when we arrive. I can’t afford to get in another wreck,” I admonished him.

  “Sorry. I just can’t fathom why Rotelli does what he does. Again calling the police instead of calling 911. Being in the basement in the first place is pretty strange. And then you add in Asher who just confessed to us he had the hots for Mimi and wanted her to leave the doctor and it gets pretty damn strange.”

  “Crap,” I said suddenly.

  “What?’

  “I didn’t tell Brad about this and where we are headed.”

  “You’re not driving, call him.”

  What was with me? I was acting like a junior detective instead of a hot shot senior one. I called Brad and filled him in. I gave him the address so they could put it into their GPS.

  When we got to the house it was already crazy. Police cars were parked every which way along with television vans. The crowd had already grown to the point that we were going to have to call in more uniforms to hand it.

  Yellow tape was strung haphazardly everywhere I look
ed. We were ushered inside the gates closing the fencing that surrounded the house.

  “Damn, that’s just nuts,” Dan said.

  “I think it is going to get worse. Two murders in the same house in less than two weeks, that’s like blood in the water to a tank full of sharks. They are in a feeding frenzy. I hope the captain calls the Mayor and gives him a heads-up,” I said as we walked up the steps.

  I was happy to see no one inside the house except for the members of the crime scene unit. They were waiting for us to check out the body before they began.

  Downstairs we found Wesley Asher hanging from one of the rafters. His tongue was purple and hanging out longer than I thought possible. The smell was pretty rank. A ladder lay on its side a few feet from where it had fallen. The obvious cause of death was asphyxiation by strangulation. He climbed up on the ladder, tossed the rope around a beam, tied it off, then kicked the ladder away so it hung him. Simple case of suicide. Nothing to it.

  Except that I wasn’t buying what someone was selling. It was way too perfect to be convincing. Where did the rope come from? How did he get a ladder down the stairs? I mean, come on, really?

  “Staged,” Dan said.

  “What?”

  “It looks staged,” he said.

  “No kidding. Was I talking out loud?”

  “No. But it is one of the most perfect crime scenes that I have ever seen,” Dan replied.

  “Very good Dan. That is exactly what I am thinking. I’m not sure how we are going to prove it just yet but I would bet money that it was done to him and not of his own free will,” I told him.

  “You want me to take him down?’

  “No. Wait for the ME. I want to see what he thinks as well.”

  “What who thinks?” came the gravelly voice of Doctor Sorenson.

  “You, your eminence,” I said bowing.

  “Damn right. So what do we have?’

  “I was hoping you could tell me,” I said.

  “A dead guy. Damned long tongue. Stinks pretty bad too.”

  “Brilliant. I think we are supposed to believe this was a suicide.”

  In a rat’s ass.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Who the hell folds up a ladder while they are hanging by the neck?”

  “Maybe it just happened to fall that way,” I replied.