by Ivan Bering
Charlie certainly presented as a hard-nosed cop. He hadn’t projected an ounce of sympathy. His position: Monk recommended he serve as Watcher, and he would do it, nothing else, not a word about a drunken teenager stumbling down a country road. Surely Charlie knew it was this first meeting which had to be controlled.
Ron wondered: could he keep the teenage scenario from surfacing? Doubtful. The S3 interrogation started with a couple of random probes, no one in control of the locations, certainly not his neurology. An irritated brain leaked out streams of memory. Since the teenage killing frequently haunted him, one might guess it would surface quickly.
The questions were: will Charlie recognize the scene? Will he allow it to play out? Will he get the scanner to move on? And, even if he does ask the scanner to move on, will this happen soon enough to stop details of the night from flashing on the Historian’s monitor?
He knew much of what the Warden said was right. The rampant rumors confirmed everything the Warden said. These Forensic teams were not sympathetic to convicts.
His interrogation position, as the last man, didn’t appear to be an advantage. It would be late in the day on a Friday afternoon, and staff would be anxious to get out, to head for home or to the bar. A violent teenage scenario dragged from his memory would be sufficient justification. Had he been too naïve in requesting Charlie? He trusted his life to a hard-nosed cop.
Maybe he should call Father Ed.
CHAPTER 29: Charlie’s Log: Sam and Ron
We’re in one of the three off-lease areas the city provides for dog lovers.
I occasionally come to the park with my brother, Sam, and his dog. Sometimes I just run the park with Herbie. The heavily treed area hugs the river for a few miles. Since it is mid-week, there are not many people at the park, but there is still a multitude of different dogs, all running loose in doggie heaven. Herbie, a big dog, a lab-shepherd mix, continues to dance around us. Sam is always pushing.
“Catch a good woman on the weekend? Emma? Or for that matter any woman?”
He knows damn well that I haven’t bothered, but he feels obligated to keep pressuring me. I ignore him and throw another stick for Herbie.
“Charlie I don’t know how you survive without any female companions. Not true. I do. You work from early am until as late as possible; then you play basketball twice a week. And to top it off get absolutely hammered two or three times a week. Did I leave anything out?”
“Give it a rest for Christ’s sake. I have taken Red off my radar screen, but I think I’m turning a corner……… I have booze under control.”
“Some corner. I hear you and Monk are up to something.”
“That bloody Monk he is supposed to keep this confidential and already he’s out spreading the word……son of a bitch.” I’m really upset and my voice and body language reflect my attitude. Herbie immediately moves between Sam and me; the damn dog is smarter than Monk.
“Calm down. The three of us go away back, and Monk knows I’d never betray you. After some further thought, he was getting worried and needed to talk, and I don’t blame him. I can’t believe what I heard. You’re going to beat an S3 interrogation for Ronald Bowen, a convicted murder?”
I didn’t reply; I keep throwing stones and small branches. Sam pushes. “Well let’s hear it. You’ve never participated in an S3 event, and you’re going to be a Watcher for a murder and get him off the hook. You don’t even know the guy. Have I missed something? Is this as crazy as it sounds? Tell me I am wrong!”
I’m trying to cool down. I’m not really angry at Monk. More than anything, once I make up my mind I don’t want to go over the ground again and again and try to convince someone else it is the right move.
“You want in? OK, let me set the table for you: first, I think Ronald got one of the worst deals of the decade, but under our current legislation there’ll not be a new trail, it’s straight to an S3 brain scan. And, I will not interfere with the playback which will show the robbery and killing where he was found guilty. But there is another incident where I may be able to assist. Do you remember when I was in Grade 12 and used to ride in Mark’s police cruiser on some slow weekdays?”
Sam nods. “Sure Mom was furious with Mark for setting that up and couldn’t sleep until you were safe and back in your bed.”
“You probably also remember the night the Parson’s girl was raped and murdered…..including the drunken assholes that Mark chased until they crashed.”
“I remember. They ran into the concrete abutment and ended up greasing the highway; that was the last time Mom let you ride the cruiser.”
“Before we took chase, Mark stopped a rather drunk and weepy young man staggering around on his way home. Mark got out of the cruiser and talked to him. I remained in the car and watched the action. The young man Mark sent home…. Ronald Bowen……you see I met him a long time ago.”
“I gather you’re saying Ron and the drunken duo are connected. This doesn’t mean you owe him a damn thing. The risk is enormous.”
“I’ll not try and beat S3 on the liquor store murder. I want to direct it away from that one night and get the focus on the robbery-murder. You know with Amendment 33-2 any felon on death row can be executed for a prior capital offense, even if it’s not part of his original sentence. If this teenage drunken episode surfaces from Ron’s memory, we don’t know how the event will play out. As fragments get displayed, it might be enough for the Legal team to declare an Amendment 33-2 death sentence.
I’ll try and ensure these fragments don’t get prime air time. All I have to do is recognize our old neighborhood, the park, anything which will allow me to signal that the probe should jump forward to a more recent time frame.”
“This means Ron and the Monk have convinced you he was not responsible for the teenage rape and murder?’
“I can’t be 110% sure but I’m very confident. I think in the worst case scenario he was a bored teenager who made a wrong decision and hung out with a couple of assholes. It seems too high a price to pay for one poor decision, and I think Ron has paid for it most of his life.”
Sam throws another stick for Herbie and smiles at me. “Brother I understand and agree with the two of you but how in the hell are you going to pull this off?’
“There a lot of unknowns about the procedure, but I have been spending time with the John Wojecki, the Historian, who will be part of the Watchers’ team at Fort Green. He has been telling me what to expect and the details of the process. Of course, he doesn’t know why I am asking the questions.
Monk and I have reviewed all the details of that night and the days leading up to the drunk; Monk gets the information from Ron and then he in turn briefs me. I’m trying to develop a frame by frame sequence of the night, really of the entire week. My intent is to recognize the event as soon as possible and get the Scanner to jump ahead to another point in time.
A couple of concerns: first, with no control any frame might surface, possibly the first scene we may see is Ron waking up and his two buddies are still arguing over the dead girl. If this happens with all of them in a frame, I can’t request a jump ahead. The Historian’s presence means it’s not likely I will be able to switch to a future event.
Second, Ron was passed out during the rape and killing of the girl but I had a troubling thought. He wasn’t conscious when the brothers started killing the girl.
But the other day I was channel surfing and happened to catch a specialist of some type; he was going on about how the unconscious mind absorbs and possess knowledge that escapes the conscious mind. ….events are absorbed subliminally. Just suppose, in some way, components of Ron’s senses were able to capture the rape, and he absorbed and retained full memory of the event. If that happened, will we see a girl getting raped and beaten? I know this thinking is rather far out but so is the entire S3 interrogation. I’ll try and be prepared for all combinations, but a scene with a dead body will have to play to completion.
Come on Sam help me out
with this black magic. Events absorbed subliminally….below the threshold of the conscious mind. What can you add? Is this all bullshit? What might get captured at a level we are not aware of and are normally not able to access? Should I worry?”
“I don’t know what to tell you. You’re getting into an area where people question the impact of the unconscious mind on our instincts and challenge the concept of free will and rational behavior. I don’t see it applying to your situation. But I’ll search some of the recent research papers; my guess: there isn’t anything which will provide the answers you want. I doubt any of the research has had time to relate this work to an S3 memory scan.”
“OK ...it doesn’t matter; I’m just venting. I’m committed in any case. How the hell could I back away at this time?”
We’re at the car and Sam is getting Herbie into the back seat. “Charlie, I get nervous just thinking about this project of yours. You know they record everything that surfaces and the Forensic Team also assess each frame before they move the probe. If any questions get raised in future, they can review the material at any time, as long as the technician decided to retain that memory stream.
And some news, which it appears, has not reached you: a press release early this morning named Emma Collins as the senior technician supervising at Fort Green. This means the woman of your life, Emma will be on top of you and ready to jump on anything unusual. So to quote a famous detective I know……………Jesus H. Christ.”
CHAPTER 30: Another Look at Harry
Karen’s feelings reverberated: first impatience, then frustration and finally anger.
Over a week ago they’d listened to an FBI edited statement from the latest victim. The fragmented dialogue described the victim’s wild encounter with a rapist, a self-declared lover. A great break but since then nothing. Within a few minutes, they would tackle a brainstorming session.
The senior detectives couldn’t be released from the Five Star Couple case, but Charlie was able to bring in a detective from Sector 13, Joe Kowchuck. While Charlie went over a few details with Joe, she studied the big whiteboard. The organized collection of pictures, maps, and text summaries covered the entire board. She understood Joe reviewed the material last night, but he’d never participated in one of their brainstorming sessions, not an encouraging development. Charlie started.
“Karen why don’t you begin. Joe and I’ll throw in comments or questions. If we don’t interrupt, keep going. You know the routine.”
Karen knew all the relevant details without any reference to the board. “First, the damn recording equipment turned out to be rather ordinary or at least not specialized enough to warrant any special attention from the vendors. With the right software package, you can do wonders even with poor quality video.
We’ve returned to the crime scenes, but our extra surveys haven’t uncovered a thing. To be more accurate, I should say: we returned to the location where the girls were found and not where they were assaulted.
I’m convinced the guy used to be a cab driver. He must be disguising his car, even has a cap which looks like an old fashion cabbie hat. And he knows the city, the quiet areas, the action streets, and the locations of the high-end clubs. And last, he’s not picking up ladies of the night, avoiding areas where most hookers work the street.”
“Maybe the guy is just observant. We’ve all been in a taxi. If he’s a frequent customer and observant, this would be enough to put together a disguise.”
“Yes, I’ll concede that but it’s the way he cruises and gets away without being noticed. In all the cases, we have no witnesses who saw him coming or going. He blends in and mixes with the regular traffic. He seems to know his way around this city better than some of patrol people. Moving on, two women are still alive but can’t describe his face. The old taxi cap hid his face until it was too late.
His voice? Well, one girl does remember. So, if we get a suspect, this might be useful. But shit, the bugger doesn’t care. We have his damn DNA.”
“Is the bastard lucky? Never been caught? Or has he just started this crap? And if he just started, does this mean he’s very young and his hormones began to overwhelm him? No, I don’t think he’s young. If he just started, what the hell triggered him to start this rape and beating routine? If not a new game for him, how long has he been at it?”
“Charlie I reviewed our old cases and have searches ongoing in other districts. Nothing surfaces which demonstrate a pattern close enough to warrant chasing. I mean there are numerous unsolved rape cases and battered women but nothing with this pick-up routine.”
Young Joe was not bashful. “Let me try some rambling. The guy’s start could have been on a rather slow gentle learning curve. What if we’ve someone who became an occasional date rapist; you know he might force a girl after a night of heavy drinking. Most of these are never reported, our guy gets what he wants without any repercussions.
One night the girl isn’t as drunk as he thinks or is just a fighter, and they get into it. He beats her up and after he’s finished with her, takes a few pictures, maybe she’s a prostitute and nothing gets reported. Our friend discovers a couple of things: first, he enjoyed the beating so much he knows he’ll do it again; last, he loves reviewing the pictures. He can now get recharged at his own convenience.”
What Charlie failed to reveal was Joe’s background: a Master’s degree, majoring in abnormal behavior. His plan is to work as a police officer for a couple more years and then return for his psychology Ph.D. Psychologists were not among Karen’s favorite people. A few years ago, a couple of cases derailed because of some shoddy analytical reports.
Charlie jumped in. “Once started, he can’t get the genie back into the bottle. He tasted blood and doesn’t want to go back. Maybe he does a couple more, still sticking to prostitutes and not killing them. Even if a beating is reported, it may not get a serious response. He may be brash with his public confessions, but I think the guy is intelligent, and it’s easy to see how his photography could morph into elaborate recordings.”
“Let me take it. He wanted more excitement and ramped it up when he moved beyond prostitutes. I think he intended to beat the girls to death, the two survivors were lucky; he thought they were dead. He doesn’t want witnesses. I can see this development. Our guy has never clashed with the law, maybe something minor with no formal arrest, well below any radar.”
“Charlie, if you and Joe are right, I can stop searching the arrest records. He started with the cases in front of us. Next issue his frequency. I looked at the full moon schedule, and there was no tight correlation, but it does appear he strikes about every four weeks.”
“Even though he pounded them with a pipe, he also used his fists with no protection, scrapes of his skin embedded in the faces of all the victims. I think his dormant periods are possibly related to the healing time his hands require.”
“I can accept parts of the conjecture. Let me branch in a different direction. I’ve analyzed the locations of each incident and again no geographic pattern. So we have the dump spots and are guessing about the pick-up location. What we don’t know is where the crime happened.”
No response from the group. Everyone appeared to need a break. Charlie left the room and Joe refilled his coffee cup. Karen paced the hallway. In a few minutes, Charlie was back.
“Karen, try this, draw a five-mile radius circle around the last three incidents. Center point to be where we found the girls.”
Karen worked on the computer for a few minutes and then projected the incident maps onto the far wall. They all studied the maps one incident at a time. Charlie spotted a potential pattern. “If you look within each circle, you see one our parks: Bolton Park.
At night, there is some lighting in most areas of the park but this is the largest park in the city. It’s not as good as our street lighting, and the large mature trees provide more shadows and create dark regions. This is the main reason many residents avoid the place after dark.
There are nu
merous entry-exit points and some are a few minutes driving distance from our better nightclubs and expensive hotels.”
“You think he cruises in the bright lights because he wants the women to feel safe, and he wants the particular women who patronize those spots. They feel safe in the bright light. Once in the cab he subdues them, and within minutes he is into a dark region of the park which at that time of night is deserted.”
Joe wanted in. “Sure and when finished he moves fast to get out of the park but not too far because he can’t afford getting picked up with a body in the car. He drives under control and within a few minutes is out of the park, driving just far enough to find a quiet spot, a spot with no one on the street and dumps the body. There is no pattern because depending on the direction of his exit from the park and what else is going on in the streets, he will encounter different quiet areas. We have a random selection of dumping areas.”
“Gentlemen I won’t argue with any of the conclusions, but this does not put me any closer to nailing the bastard.”
Everyone was silent, took turns standing, stretching and yawning. Karen started again. “Although I agree he’s probably waiting for his hands to heal, I’m sure he’s anxious to attack again. We think we know his hunting region and now Bolton Park with the lighting and trees of the size to provide the shadow cover he needs. As well, we may know the color of the cab, a dark green. The question is: can we get some extra patrol activity in these vicinities during the evening hours?”
Charlie wasn’t sure but didn’t want to disappoint her. “Karen, you analyze the park and the various entry spots and associated night spots; give me your best guess about the most likely locations. Unfortunately, Bolton Park is vast and there are numerous exit points but remember he’ll be coming from the elite hotel-club zone.
I’ll go to the Chief and see if he’ll release manpower for extra patrols. I know you’re hoping for more, but at least we do have a better picture of the guy and his plan of attack. And thanks Joe. Sorry, I have to run.”