Splintered (Mike Campbell Series Book 1)

by Rosemary Wilson

  Max sighed and said, “The note indicates he knew Dave had abused Sandy, so someone in their circle of family or acquaintances could the be the murderer. On the off-chance it’s not someone he knew, we could be looking at someone who feels he is an avenging angel. I’m leaning toward someone he knew, but we can’t rule out someone who has no connection to him.”

  Mike hoped it was not someone Dave knew, but the idea of a total stranger taking revenge on a wife beater was somehow more ominous. He got out his camera and took pictures of the room. He yelled down for one of the technicians to come up and go over the home office for fingerprints. They bagged and marked the computer and printer and left them to be taken to the station with the rest of the evidence. The coroner finished his on-site examination and Dave’s body and hands were bagged and put in the van.

  As Mike and Max left the house, they saw a crowd had gathered and the local TV station’s mobile unit was already on scene. Max leaned over to Mike and whispered, “Welcome to the big leagues, Mike. TV coverage will add another level of stress to the case. Don’t answer any reporters’ questions. Let’s just get to our cars and go find Jason Flanders before he hears about his son on TV.”

  CHAPTER 16

  After several phone calls, Mike tracked Jason Flanders down and was relieved to find out he was working from his house today. For the second time in less than a week, Mike pulled into the driveway of the Flanders mini-mansion. He had never notified anyone about the violent death of a loved one. This would be a unique situation, but how unique he would soon find out.

  After ringing the bell, the door was opened by the housekeeper who escorted them to Jason’s office. She closed the door as she left.

  Mike took the lead. “Thanks for seeing us Mr. Flanders. Is Mrs. Flanders here?”

  “She’s in the kitchen. Whatever you have to say, she doesn’t need to hear it.”

  Max shook his head and said in a voice ringing with authority, “She does need to be here Mr. Flanders. Please have her come in.”

  Jason activated the intercom on his phone. “Sarah, come to my office.”

  “Yes, Jason.”

  In less than a minute, Sarah Flanders entered her husband’s office. Mike had only seen Dave’s mother a couple of times while he was in high school. She was still a striking woman, even with her hair pulled back into a low pony tail. She was not a tall woman, maybe 5’ 4”. She had a slim figure which she had maintained over the years. Her hair was streaked with gray, but it did not make her look older. Her eyes were sharp and penetrating as she greeted the detectives. The bib apron she wore covered her embroidered top and jeans. Her sneakers were streaked with dark lines as if she had just come in from working in the garden. Jason curtly introduced her to the unwanted visitors.

  “What seems to be the problem, Detective?” she asked after being introduced to Max.

  “Please sit down, Mrs. Flanders. Mike and I have just come from your son’s house.”

  “Why?” Jason growled.

  “Detective Campbell escorted Sandy there today to pick up her clothes and other personal items. Dave was asked not to be there because of the PFA order against him.”

  “Get to the point, Detective. We’re aware of the restrictions.” Mike could see Jason was starting to get angry. He gave Max a look to urge him to get to the point.

  “When Detective Campbell went to the basement to get Sandy’s luggage, he found Dave.”

  Mike looked at Jason and Sarah and knew they were worried Dave had disobeyed the restraining order.

  “What was he doing down there? Why didn’t he leave the house?” Jason asked in his usual no-nonsense tone.

  Max tried to lighten the blow, but knew there was no way to do it. “I’m sorry to tell you Dave is dead.”

  Sarah looked like someone had hit her in the stomach. She didn’t make a sound, but looked at her husband as if to say, “Make this go away.”

  Jason got over his initial shock and demanded, “What do you mean he’s dead? How did it happen?”

  “Sometime last night, Dave was murdered by an unknown person. The coroner has taken his body to the morgue and will be doing an autopsy tomorrow.”

  “I don’t want an autopsy done”, growled Jason.

  “I’m sorry Mr. Flanders, you don’t have a choice in the matter. The coroner has to determine cause and time of death.”

  “When can we get his body?”

  “Dr. Dougherty will notify Sandy. You will have to speak with her.”

  For just a second, Jason’s face betrayed his feelings about having to deal with his daughter-in-law. The look of pure hatred was quickly masked as he got up from his desk. “Very well, Detectives, you have notified us. I would appreciate it if you would leave now.”

  Surprised by the abrupt dismissal, Mike and Max said their goodbyes. Mike hated leaving because Mrs. Flanders had not said a word after being told her only child was dead. His last look at her showed she was bent over with her hands covering her face. Mike hoped the Flanders would be able to support and console each other to cope with their loss.

  *****

  After the detectives left, Jason sat down behind his desk. He spoke sharply to his wife who was still sitting in the chair in front of his desk. “How long do you intend to sit there, Sarah?”

  Sarah Flanders had put up with a lot in the 32 years she had been married to Jason. She had lost all her friends over the years because of the way he treated them. Her sister was the only one who was still talking to her. Grace had been trying for years to get her sister to leave Jason, but Sarah merely told her she had her reasons for staying. Her marriage might not be what she had dreamed of when she was smitten at 18, but Jason had always been a good provider and Sarah was always able to rationalize his behavior. She even accepted the harsh way he treated Dave. He was never physical with their son, but Jason made sure his son did what he was told. There had been many nights when Sarah tucked Dave into bed and saw the hurt in his eyes over the latest fault his father had found in him. She would push the hair off his forehead and tell him how much she loved him. She always did this before Jason left his office, otherwise he would have forbidden her to coddle their son.

  Sarah dropped her hands into her lap and raised her head until she was looking directly at her husband. “Jason, our marriage has been a sham for years. When I decided not to divorce your 25 years ago, it was because I didn’t want to leave Dave totally in your care. You were a strict disciplinarian, but he needed more. He needed love. I had to stay to make sure he got that love.”

  “What are you talking about, Sarah?”

  “We have just been told our only child is dead. You show no emotion. Do you even care, Jason?”

  “That’s a stupid question. Of course I care. He’s my son.” Jason practically screamed.

  “There you are wrong Jason. He was our son. He was the only joint endeavor we had during our whole marriage since you didn’t want to have any other children. But once he was born, you started to groom him to be just like you. Do you even know what kind of person he was?” Without waiting for Jason to answer she continued. “No, I don’t think you do. You never cared what he wanted to do. Did you know he hated playing football and was really glad he was injured in his junior year in college?”

  “I don’t want to hear this now, Sarah. If you had had your way, he would have been coddled and spoiled and would not have grown up to be a man with a good profession.”

  Sarah really looked at her husband for the first time in years. Instead of the anger that had been building, she was suddenly filled with pity for this man who had spent his life badgering and controlling everyone who came in contact with him. His first and only love was making money. Sarah no longer wanted to be part of his world because Dave was gone.

  “I feel sorry for you, Jason. I just want you to know as soon as Dave is buried I will be moving to my sister’s and filing for divorce because Dave was the only reason I have stayed. I will move into the guest room tonight.”r />
  Before he could say anything to her, Sarah got up and left the room. She waited until she was in the guest room before she let the pain of Dave’s death fully take over her emotions. It was a long time before she stopped crying.

  In his office, Jason dealt with Dave’s death the way he would have handled a business deal that had gone bad. He would bide his time and make sure the investigation of Dave’s death was top priority for those two detectives because when he found out who had ruined his plans, he would decide how to take his vengeance.

  CHAPTER 17

  Mike and Max headed back to the row house where Dave had been killed. When they arrived Max entered to see how the techs were making out. Before going in Mike called Mary Parker. “Mrs. Parker, it’s Detective Campbell again. How is Sandy doing?”

  “She’s a wreck, Detective. She goes from being hysterical and crying to staring at nothing and not saying a word. Her parents have called a friend of theirs who is a psychologist. She’s on her way over now.”

  “I’m back here on First Street. Are you going to be coming home soon? I’d like to ask you some questions, but I don’t want to do it in front of Sandy.”

  “I was planning to leave when Dr. Wells got here, but I feel like an intruder, so I’ll make my excuses and leave now. I should be there in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Thanks. Detective Davis and I will meet you in front. By the way, you will have to park around the corner; the street is still blocked off.”

  “See you soon Detective.”

  Mike found Max in the kitchen at the top of the basement steps. “Have the techs found the hand ax?”

  “No. They’ve scoured every corner of the basement, the first and second floors. They’re working on the third floor now. My guess is our killer took the ax with him. Dr. Dougherty didn’t think the hand ax caused the fatal cut, so everyone looked for a knife too. I checked the kitchen and noticed there was another empty space in the knife block. Whoever did this probably used the missing knife to kill our victim. Everything points to the fact this was not a planned or thought-out act.”

  “Mary Parker is on her way back here. I want to find out if she saw or heard anything last night. How many uniforms do we have to canvass the neighbors?”

  “Officers Flynn and Snellenberger have already started. As soon as we wrap up the scene, the two officers on crowd control will be able to help.”

  “Let’s go make sure Mary can get through the barricade, Max.” Mike headed out the front door and saw the lively grandmother turning the corner. He walked up to the officer who was blocking the street and told him it was okay for her to get through. The three of them walked the short distance to Mary’s house and she unlocked the door. As the Detectives were getting settled, she asked if they would like anything to drink.

  “A cup of coffee would hit the spot”, said Max.

  “That sounds good, Mrs. Parker”, Mike added.

  “I would really appreciate it if you would start calling me Mary, Detective.”

  “Until this investigation is completed, I think we need to keep it more formal, Mrs. Parker.”

  “I understand”, Mary said as she headed to the kitchen. She got the mugs from the cupboard and asked the detectives, “What do you take in your coffee, guys?”

  Mike was not a big coffee drinker so he asked for two sugars and lots of milk. Max made a painful face at Mike and told Mary he took his black. “Why do you ruin a good cup of coffee Mike?”

  “I’m more of the latte type. You know, put all kinds of flavoring in to mask the taste of the coffee.”

  They were both smiling when Mary came in with three mugs. “One black, one white and mine.”

  Mike sipped his lukewarm coffee and told Mary it was delicious. She thanked him and asked what had happened to Dave.

  “All we can tell you is what will be on the news tonight. Dave Flanders was attacked in his home and died from loss of blood when his throat was cut.”

  Mary was shocked by the few details she was given. “What do you want to ask me, Detective?”

  “What time did you get home last night?”

  “I was out to dinner with a friend, and didn’t return until around seven o’clock.”

  “Where did you park?”

  “I lucked out and got a spot in front of the house next door, not Sandy’s the other side.”

  “Did you see anything out of the ordinary when you got out of the car?”

  “Not really. Oh, wait. After locking the car I turned to walk behind it, and I noticed someone coming down the steps of Sandy’s house.”

  “Did you recognize this person?”

  “No, it was dark and his back was to me and he was walking in the other direction.”

  “You said he. Are you sure it was a man?”

  “Yes, because of his size.”

  “So he was walking away from you. Was he walking fast?”

  “No, he didn’t appear to be in a hurry. I was a little surprised to see someone coming out of the house because Dave didn’t have any friends. I knew it wasn’t his father because the man was taller than Jason.”

  “Can you give us a description of him?” Max asked.

  “Not really. I only saw him briefly and just got an impression he was a large man.”

  “Okay. What time did you go to bed?”

  I like to watch the 11 o’clock news in bed, so I made sure everything was locked up and went upstairs shortly before 11. After the news I turned off the light and went to sleep.”

  “Did you hear anything unusual during the evening?” Mike asked.

  “Not really. I was tidying up last night and was running the vacuum a lot. I did wake up around midnight to go to the bathroom. I thought I heard a little thud, but it was so faint, I didn’t pay much attention to it. When I went back to bed I fell right to sleep and didn’t wake up until six this morning.”

  “Can you think of anything else, Mrs. Parker?”

  “Not really Detective Davis. Until Detective Campbell called earlier, everything seemed to be pretty quiet next door. Dave came and went at odd times during the day. I tried to ask him how Sandy was the other day and he told me to mind my own business. He slammed the door in my face before I could tell him what I thought of his behavior. I’m glad I didn’t have the chance to tell that young man how rude he was or I would really be feeling guilty now.”

  Max got up from the sofa, put his hand out for Mike’s mug and took them to the kitchen. Mary smiled and said, “Thanks Detective. You are a gentleman.”

  “Thanks for the coffee, Mrs. Parker. If we have any further questions, we’ll be in touch. If you remember anything else, you have our number.”

  They left the house and checked in with the officers who were removing the barricades. The techs had taken everything they considered to be evidence and closed up the house. Flynn and Snellenberger wrapped up their initial interviews and headed back to headquarters to write up their reports. Mike was exhausted and hungry. He looked at his watch and was amazed to see it was approaching 8:00 p.m. He had lost track of time with all the running around they had done today. He still needed to go back to the office and write up his report. “Did you ever run into anything like this in Philadelphia, Max?”

  “Murders, yes, but nothing quite like this one. I only hope we get this guy soon. I have a bad feeling about this, Mike.”

  “Have you ever had this kind of feeling before?”

  “Yes. I should have gone with my gut then, and I didn’t. When you’ve been in law enforcement as long as I have, you can sense when something won’t follow a pattern. This one is not going to follow any pattern I know. We could be in for a long haul.”

  “I’m going to write my report up when I get home because I still have to stop by the Powers’ house and check on Sandy. Mary said they called a psychologist friend of theirs to come and talk to Sandy. She’s had quite a shock and I just need to know she’s coping.”

  “Be careful Mike. You don’t want to let this g
et too personal or you won’t be able to deal with the investigation in an unbiased way.”

  “I hear you.” Mike said his goodbyes and once again pointed his Mustang toward the Powers’ house. He knew Max was right. Letting his personal feelings interfere with his objective analysis of the facts would only lead to him being replaced in the investigation. He wanted to follow this case through to the end and find Dave’s killer. Then he would have plenty of time to explore any feelings he might have for Sandy.

  CHAPTER 18

  Mike was starving so he stopped at a fast food place on his way to the Powers’ house and practically inhaled the boneless chicken pieces, fries and coke as he drove. When he arrived at the Powers’ he saw an extra car in the driveway. He assumed it belonged to the psychologist Mary Parker told him the Powers had called.

  Richard opened the door and brought Mike into the family room located at the back of the house. Stephanie was sitting in a chair facing the sofa where Sandy and another woman sat. Richard introduced Dr. Wells and told Mike she was called to help Sandy. Mike looked at Sandy and didn’t like what he saw. Her eyes were staring at nothing in particular and she was slumped in the corner of the sofa with her legs tucked under her and an afghan covering her lap. She looked so desolate Mike wanted to take her in his arms and just hold her.

  Dr. Wells looked up and shook Mike’s hand as they were introduced. She was a small woman, probably no taller than five feet one, and maybe 90 pounds soaking wet. She had salt and pepper hair, but her face was unlined and smooth. Mike thought she might be about 40 or 45, but he really wasn’t very good at judging people’s ages. As she withdrew her hand from his, she said “It’s nice to meet you, Detective. Can you tell us what’s going on? Sandy has been very anxious since she got here. She needs to know what’s happened.”

  Mike took the other chair in the room and faced Sandy as he began to give them an update. “Dave has been taken to the morgue where Dr. Dougherty will do an autopsy on him tomorrow. Once the cause and time of death have been determined, you will be notified” he said looking directly at Sandy. “Then you will be able to have his body taken to any funeral home you choose to handle his remains.”