“Each person will be informed that he or she is to be ready to come to headquarters at 8:00 tomorrow morning. We will provide food and beverages for all who need them. Each team will drive one or more people. None of these people are to be allowed to come on their own, no matter what reason they might give for doing so. After we have finished all we plan to do here tomorrow, some or all of these people will be allowed to leave without an officer going with them. We will let you know who the people are when the time comes.
“Some of you will be going with Lou and me to the home of your assignment, where you will remain until midnight, and then return to shortly before 8:00 tomorrow morning. Others of you are free to leave after learning your assignment. You know to report to your designated residence at midnight. Now, are there any questions?”
The silence and lack of hands allowed me to conclude.
“Let us hope and pray that there’s no major disaster of any type prior to gathering these people here tomorrow morning. Good luck. Sergeant Murdock and I will take each of you to your location, and then check back with each of you from time to time until 1:00, after we’re sure that all replacements are in place.”
+++
We gave each officer the name and address of whomever he or she was to watch that evening. In no case was there only one officer per suspect or witness. In most cases there were three; one to watch the front, one to watch the back, and one to relieve whoever needed to take a break. I informed everyone to detain anyone who tried to the leave the premises and that Lou and I would arrive at each location as soon as possible to explain to each resident what was happening.
By the time all of us left headquarters, it was almost 5:00, on a Friday evening. I remembered when I was young, so Lou and I made tracks to the apartment of Mark Blakeman, college student, pizza delivery man, and witness. Luckily, we found him at home.
I knocked on his door and realized I’d made an impression.
“You’re that cop that was here before.”
“And now I’m that cop who’s back again. I’m here to inform you that we request your assistance tomorrow morning. We have captured someone who may or may not have been the man with the long hair and beard that you saw leaving the house on Cherry Hill Lane. We’ll have you look at several people in a lineup to see if you can make an identification.”
“Hey, man, I told you, I didn’t get a good look at him.”
“That’s okay. After you look over all the people in the lineup, if you feel that you cannot make a positive identification, then tell us. In the meantime, I’m leaving a couple of officers for your protection. You’re to remain home this evening.”
“You can’t do that. I’ve got a date tonight.”
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to cancel it. Call her and change it to tomorrow night.”
“I can’t do that. Come on, man.”
“Sorry, but you’ll have to stay home.”
“Come on. This girl’s a babe. Weren’t you ever young?”
“I’m sorry to inconvenience you, but you’ll have to stay home. And don’t try to sneak out. My men will be watching, and if they catch you trying to leave, they’ll cart you downtown and you’ll end up spending the night in a cell.
“Someone will bring you downtown tomorrow morning. I don’t know how long the identification will take, but I want you to know that someone will knock on your door at 8:00. Be ready to go. And don’t worry about breakfast. Breakfast is on the department.”
“Eight o’clock? On a Saturday? What’s wrong with you guys?”
“We’re just trying to bring a murderer to justice.”
“But I already told you I can’t identify the guy.”
“That’s okay. We have another witness.”
“Why didn’t you say so? Fine. Call me if he cannot identify the guy.”
“Eight o’clock. Be ready. And remember, don’t try to leave. Otherwise you’ll be the first one there.”
We left to a groan and a slammed door. We didn’t want to take any chances. We posted one officer outside the only door to the apartment, and a second officer by the only window the apartment had, in the back. A third officer patrolled the area and was available to relieve or assist either of the other officers.
+++
Our next stop was at the Hardesty house. Luckily, everyone was home for the night, and no one had plans for the evening. I gathered everyone and informed them of our plans. I told everyone that we had three witnesses who’d seen someone leave the house, and that each person who knew the Colonel would take part in the lineup. There were no groans, except when I announced the time everyone would be required to leave, but the groans were quickly replaced with cheers when I announced that breakfast was on the department, and that there was nothing continental about it. Martha smiled. She remembered how much Lou and I liked to eat.
+++
Lou and I had only a short walk to Bob Downey’s house. I didn’t care who knew we were there. I raised the knocker and lowered it with enough resolve to raise anyone inside. Thirty seconds or so later, Downey answered the door.
“Well, Lieutenant. It seems as if we are quickly becoming friends. What can I do for you this time?”
“Mr. Downey, I’ve good news. We have apprehended someone who matches the description you gave us of the man you saw entering the Hardesty house on the day of the murder. We want you to come downtown tomorrow morning and look at several people in a lineup, to see if you can identify anyone as the man you saw on that afternoon.”
“I’d rather not do that, Lieutenant. As I told you before, I don’t think I got a good enough look at the individual to pick him out of a lineup.”
“Experience has taught us that sometimes people think they cannot identify someone, but when they get a second look, they realize that one of the people is the one they saw before. You don’t have to worry, Mr. Downey. You will be on one side of a glass partition, and none of the people in the lineup will be able to see you. Also, we have a second witness. I want to see if the two of you agree on who you saw.”
“A second witness?”
“Yeah, there was a college student delivering pizza on the street that day, and he saw someone, and his description of the individual was similar to yours, so I think the two of you saw the same person. This will give us a good opportunity to see if the two of you agree on who you saw.”
“But what if I get down there and can’t identify your suspect?”
“That’s okay. That happens sometimes. Also, sometimes we have someone who says it might be number three or number five, but there’s no way that it’s one, two, or four. That helps us, too. While we cannot make a positive identification, we can at least eliminate some of our suspects and devote more time to the ones who might be the one we are looking for.”
“So, what time do you want me?”
“We’re making it easy for both of you. I doubt if our suspect gets wind of this, but just in case, we have some officers watching your house, protecting you this evening. One of those officers will knock on your door at 8:00 in the morning and give you a ride to headquarters. Also, don’t worry about breakfast. The department is providing a full scale breakfast for you.”
“So you think tomorrow will put an end to this? I’m beginning to wonder if I should’ve spoken up, or not.”
“We think we have the right guy. We’re hoping that we can get a positive ID tomorrow, and put this guy behind bars where he belongs, but I can’t promise you anything. And don’t worry about your identification. Just let us know if you see anyone who you positively think is the guy who entered the house next door on the day in question.”
“Okay, Lieutenant. You guys better come up with a good breakfast. And remember, I know a good breakfast. Over the years I found some of the best truck stops in the business.”
I thanked Downey for his time, then placed the men and told them Lou and I would return later with food. That got us plenty of smiles. Everyone knew that if anyone would let them
down on food, it wouldn’t be Lou or me.
“Say, Cy, how come you didn’t let either of these witnesses know that there’s a third witness?”
“Well, Lou, I didn’t want anyone to think there are so many witnesses that their appearance isn’t important.”
“Well, even one other witness seemed enough that Blakeman wanted to back out.”
“Both of these guys would want to back out whether we had no other witnesses or one hundred other witnesses. We need everyone, because no one knows who might really be the person who can help us.”
+++
Since Dick Morrissey was nearby, we chose his house to visit next. The old man who saw a long-haired man with a beard run down his driveway a few days before the murder was at home and answered the door quickly. Unlike the other two witnesses he was eager to assist us and told me that he might be able to identify the perpetrator if he could see his eyes. Unlike each of the other two witnesses, he saw the suspect up close. On that day, the man in question didn’t stop running until he braced himself against Morrissey’s car, and, stunned by the situation, he didn’t move for a few seconds afterward. In my mind, Morrissey had the best chance of giving us a positive ID, but I wasn’t going to discount what the others had to say.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Say, Cy, you got your Taser ready for this next guy?”
“Oh, I’d love to use it, Lou. After I disable him, you shoot him with some pepper spray, and then throw some poison ivy on him for good measure.”
We had no idea if Michael Belding was our murderer or not, but we knew that he’d showed no remorse when he learned the Colonel had been murdered.
I pulled up in front of the house, and the two of us got out of the car. We walked up to the door and knocked. A woman answered. I felt sorry for her already.
“Is Mr. Belding here please?”
“Whom shall I say is calling?”
“Tell him it’s Lt. Dekker with the Hilldale Police Department, about that matter we discussed the other day.”
“You’ve already talked to him? Michael didn’t say anything to me about it.”
“I guess it slipped his mind. With some people I make an impression. Others I don’t. I guess he’s one of the others. Just tell him that I’d like a minute of his time.”
“Just a minute, we were just sitting down to eat.”
I wondered who ate that early, then realized it was getting close to 6:00. I was glad that we caught him just before he ate. If I could do anything to make his meal a little more unpalatable, I’d be happy to oblige. A few seconds later, my new best friend came to the door.
“What do you want? I told you to quit bothering me. You want me to sue?”
“No, I want you to come to breakfast. Tomorrow morning we wish for you to be a guest of the city for our annual suspects day breakfast.”
“Is this some kind of joke I’m supposed to understand?”
“Well, we do plan to feed you breakfast, and we’d like for you to stand up with some other people to see if anyone recognizes you. Never know where you might run into friends.”
“Not interested.”
Belding started to shut the door, but I stopped him.
“Mr. Belding, attendance isn’t optional. You’re one of our most prized guests. Not only are we inviting you to our breakfast and costume party, but we’ll be providing a ride for you. Just think, your own chauffeur.”
“Still not interested. You’re not making any sense.”
“Let me make it simple. We have three witnesses who saw a man enter or leave the victim’s residence on the day of the murder. You will be one of many who will participate in a lineup so that our witnesses can tell us if you are or aren’t the man we’re looking for.”
“I already told you, I was home in bed that day.”
“So, you say. If, at some point, we find any witnesses who say you were home in bed that day, we will allow them to identify you in a lineup, but since we have not yet been able to find any, and we want your participation in our current event, we’ll see you in the morning.”
“Listen, lay off me and find somebody else.”
Again, Belding tried to shut the door.
“Mr. Belding, I don’t think I’m getting across to you how much your attendance means to us. Let me put it another way, tomorrow morning we’ll have an officer here at 8:00 to drive you to headquarters where we’ll feed you, then require your assistance in our lineup. If you would rather go tonight, that is fine, too. We have a nice small, one room suite that you can share with some of our fair city’s other misguided inhabitants.
“Now I’m sorry we cannot afford something better for you, but you must understand that is all that we can provide on such short notice. Humble us this one time, Mr. Belding. If for some reason you choose not to open your front door at 8:00 in the morning, the officer standing over there has been trained in opening even hard to open doors. Just in case you’re one of those people who have a habit of walking or driving in your sleep, we are leaving three officers outside your home tonight to wake you should that happen. See how much we care, Mr. Belding?”
“You’ll see how much I care, when I get through slapping you with a lawsuit, cop.”
+++
“Mr. Terloff.”
“Lt. Dekker, isn’t it?”
“Oh, it’s so good of you to remember my name.”
“I do my best. Of course it helps when you’re one of the few people I’ve met since I’ve been here.”
“That’s one of the reasons why I came back today. I want to give you more opportunities to meet people. Tomorrow, we’re having a breakfast in your honor, and we’re going to give you a chance to stand up and see if anyone recognizes you.”
“Huh?”
We have three witnesses who saw someone enter or leave the victim’s house on the day he was murdered. We want them to see everyone who might have had even the slightest reason for murdering Professor Hardesty, so we can eliminate those who had nothing to do with his murder.”
“Sounds cool. I’ll be there.”
“We’re even going to provide a ride for you. Eight o’clock tomorrow morning that officer over there will knock on your door and expect you to be ready to go downtown with him.
“Remember, we’re providing breakfast. Also, protection. We’ll have some officers guard your house overnight.”
“Cool. That’ll give me something to tell the grandkids, provided I ever have any.”
+++
Lou and I merely shook our heads as we pulled away. What kind of night were we having?
“What do you think about all of this, Lou?”
“I don’t know what to think, Cy. We’ve got a suspect who’s excited about taking part in tomorrow’s festivities, and two witnesses who are reluctant. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
“Yeah, and who are we supposed to believe is our murderer, the guy who’s going in kicking and dragging, or the one who might step outside in the morning and ask the officers if they’d like to leave early, so he can be the first one there.”
“I know I don’t know what to make of it, Cy.”
+++
We had three more houses to visit before we dropped by Antonio’s to pick up the food. We expected Earl Hoskins to be our biggest problem, and we were right. Well, right except for Belding.
“Lieutenant, I don’t understand why you’re bothering Myra and me. We liked the old guy. We didn’t have anything to do with his murder. You should know that.”
“Mr. Hoskins, we are hoping that the lineup tomorrow will help us solve Col. Hardesty’s murder and bring the murderer to justice, but even if it only helps us eliminate some people from suspicion, that will be a big help and will allow us to zero in on fewer suspects. We’re having everyone downtown, even Mrs. Hardesty.”
“I know she didn’t do it. And why do you have to have us go downtown on our day off? I had things to do tomorrow.”
“So did I, Mr. Hoskins, but be
cause someone murdered Col. Hardesty, I have to work. I’m sure the inconvenience will not be that great, if we can bring the murderer to justice.”
“Do you really think you’ll get the murderer tomorrow, Lieutenant?” Mrs. Hoskins asked.
“I don’t know. I just know we have three witnesses who saw someone. Whether or not any of those witnesses will make a positive identification, I don’t know. We can only hope.”
+++
We left the Hoskins house with only two more houses on our schedule. So far things were going well. Everyone had been at home. A few minutes later, we had one hundred percent attendance. Joe Guilfoyle said he was willing to do anything to bring his friend’s murderer to justice, and Robert Collins, the plumber, couldn’t understand why we wanted him, but was willing to comply.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I was tired after visiting eleven suspects and three witnesses, and speaking with all the officers after each visit to let them know how great I felt the danger was that someone inside might flee. I didn’t want to lose anyone, even those who seemed unconcerned, so each time I made out like there was some chance the suspect or witness might try to leave, because there was. We knew only how each person reacted to us, not what was in his or her mind. If we knew that, we wouldn’t be doing what we had planned. We’d have already read our murderer’s mind and arrested him or her.
Tired, hungry, ready to collapse, that pretty much described Lou and me. But our work wasn’t over. We arrived at Antonio’s to pick up the food. I’d never seen so many sandwiches before; Strombolis, hoagies, ham and cheese, turkey and bacon. It was almost enough to cause Lou and me to flee. Well, not really, but if some of the officers declined our offer of food, I wouldn’t press them.
3 Murder In The Library Page 20