As he watched her, Mike did not see any hint she was uncomfortable talking about the events of Wednesday night. She was definitely concerned for her husband. Mike had no doubt she would lie to protect Richard, but she believed the only thing he had done was punch Dave as Dave had punched Sandy.
“Is there anything else you can add, Mrs. Powers?”
“No. We didn’t talk about it again until Richard got the call about Dave’s death and that Mary Parker was bringing Sandy to our house. Sandy was hysterical when she arrived so I called my friend Alice Wells who is a psychologist. I asked her to come over and speak to Sandy. She was still there when you arrived, Detective.”, she stated as she looked at Mike.
Max wrapped up the interview by thanking Mrs. Powers for coming down and escorted her to the front door. When he got back he looked at Mike and asked, “What did you think?”
Mike shook his head back and forth and said, “This is turning into one big mess. I do believe her. I didn’t see any sign she was lying.”
“I didn’t either”, Max replied. “We’d better hope we get some kind of forensic evidence pointing to someone else, because right now, Richard Powers is our prime suspect.”
Mike knew he was right, but as he had told Jason Flanders, they had to go where the evidence led them. He just hoped it wouldn’t keep pointing to Sandy’s father.
CHAPTER 25
After the interview with Stephanie, the day went downhill. He and Max had gone over all the evidence, both old and new and had come up with nothing. Lieutenant Harper called them into his office at 2:00 p.m. for an update. It didn’t take long to list the few facts they had gathered.
Mike took the opportunity to tell his Lieutenant about Jason’s threats at the funeral. “I know this man Lieutenant. He will be in the mayor’s face in the next day or two. He’ll use every political weapon in his arsenal to make our life miserable.”
“Okay Campbell, I want you and Davis to do your job and keep me informed. If you get any inquiries from the press or anyone else outside of the Bureau, refer them to Public Relations. Give me a daily update on your progress. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Mike dragged himself into his house around 6:00. Lucy didn’t acknowledge his existence, so he knew she still had food and water. He decided to mow his grass before he showered. He had this love-hate thing going with spring. He loved the warmer weather and longer days, but he hated how quickly his grass grew. Plugging the ear buds in, he pulled out his mower, turned on his Ipod and blew through his lawn in record time. Before he went in for his shower he gave Joe a call. “Welcome back” he said when Joe answered the phone.
“Hi, Mike. What’s new in the world of law and order?”
“Here’s the deal”, Mike said. “Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I’ve been plowing through two week’s worth of mail to find the bills I need to pay.”
“Sucks to be you. Do you have any beer?”
“Let me check. I’ve got two lite beers.”
“Whoa, you have been away. Feel like a pizza?”
“Only if I don’t have to go out for it.”
“No problem. I’ll pick up a large with everything and a six-pack. See you in about an hour and we can catch up.”
Mike pulled into Joe’s driveway an hour later showered and bearing food and drink. He and Joe had been friends since they met in first grade. Neither had a brother, and both had at least one sister. They had been in the same class through elementary school and shared many classes in junior and senior high. As they grew, they seemed to match each other inch for inch and both topped out around 6 foot two. Joe, with dirty blonde hair, was more muscular and slightly heavier than Mike, who had dark hair and weighed about 200 pounds. Joe always teased Mike that his weight was muscle, while Mike’s was flab.
Joe’s father owned a small home remodeling business and he gave both Joe and Mike summer jobs once they hit high school. They started out as gophers, but both used each summer to learn as much as possible about construction. Joe always intended to go into his father’s business, while Mike soaked up as much as possible because he enjoyed the creativity.
When Joe bought his house, Mike was there to help with major renovations. Since Mike bought his house two years ago, Joe helped him with the master bedroom and bath project. They enjoyed the rare relationship of true friendship. Neither thought much about it, but knew they could depend on each other for anything.
Mike banged on the door with his foot since his hands were full. Joe opened it and jokingly said, “What took you so long?”
“If you look at your watch, you will see I’m actually five minutes early. Just say ‘thank you’ for dinner and let me put this box down, it’s burning my hand!”
Joe smiled and took the pizza from Mike. They settled at the kitchen table where Joe had already set out paper plates and glasses. They said little until there were only two pieces left in the box because the smell of the pizza made them both realize how hungry they were.
Leaning back in his chair, Mike asked Joe how his out-of-town job had gone.
Feeling sated by the pizza and working on his second beer, Joe’s answer was simple. “It’s done. I don’t like working that far from home, but it’s family, so we couldn’t say no. Dad would have done it, but he sprained his ankle a week before the job was to start. Luckily it was just a bathroom and Aunt Jane is not a difficult client. Both she and Uncle Dan work, so I was able to work all day with no one bugging me, but I had to keep a rein on things because they kept changing their minds as the job progressed. Luckily they had a strict budget which did more to control the changes than I did.
“So how is the newest detective in the Lancaster Police Bureau?”
“Have you heard about Dave and Sandy Flanders?”
“When I talked to Mom last week, she told me about Dave’s murder and said you made the paper as the investigating detective.”
“Yeah, lucky me.”
“Why don’t you tell me about it from the beginning.” Joe prodded Mike.
“My first week on the job was so boring, I almost wanted to go back on a beat. Max, he’s my partner, and I were on call that weekend and we got the call at about 6:00 on Friday night. Joe, I was so shocked when I got to the house and saw Sandy lying on the floor bleeding all over the place. If it hadn’t been for Frank Snellenberger and his EMS experience, she might have died.” Mike shook his head and felt as helpless in recounting the event as he had when he first saw Sandy.
“Luckily she got to the hospital and into surgery quickly and there was no brain damage from blood loss. After the ambulance left, Max and I were looking for evidence when I got my second shock of the night. Dave Flanders arrived and we found out he was married to Sandy and we were in his house.”
Joe didn’t look surprised because his mom had told him Sandy was Dave’s wife, but he could see Mike had not known it before the night she was attacked. “How did Dave react when he saw you?”
“You know there was no love lost between us in school and Dave wasn’t happy to see me. He denied knowing anything about Sandy’s attack. The next day Max and I went to the hospital to see how Sandy was doing and I got a call from Dave. We went to his father’s house where Dave met us with his lawyer. After reading him his Miranda rights, he confessed he had accidentally stabbed Sandy in self-defense.”
“Self-defense” Joe almost shouted the words.
“Yeah, can you believe the gall of the guy. We found out the night before Dave had been pounding on Sandy for quite a while. I was dumbfounded. I never pictured Sandy as the type of woman who would allow herself to be abused.”
“I don’t know what the ‘type’ is, Mike. Don’t you think there are probably as many reasons as there are women for staying in an abusive relationship?”
Frustration tinged Mike’s voice. “I’ve seen many abused women in my time on the force. You’re right. There is no ‘type’, only victims.
“Sandy realized she couldn’t save her marriage
and almost died when she tried to leave. In the hospital she made an agreement with Dave. She would not press charges if he gave her an uncontested divorce and sought anger management therapy.”
“She’s not pressing charges?” Now it was Joe’s turn to be surprised. “She’s just going to let that slime ball get away with attacking her?”
“I asked her why she would let him get away with the assault – without the slime ball comment. She said she knew Dave would not do well in prison and she didn’t want to feel responsible if something happened to him.
“When she got out of the hospital, I agreed to go with her to pick up her clothes at the house. I called Dave the day before to let him know she would be coming. He was belligerent, as usual. Said he wasn’t going to leave the house. I had to threaten him with arrest if he was there when we arrived.
“Sandy was concerned when she saw his car parked on the street. I checked the first and second floors and he wasn’t there. When I went down to the basement to get her suitcases, I found him. There was so much blood and most of it was pooled under his body. I guess you know his hands were amputated?”
“Yeah. Mom really had a tough time telling me about it. Who told Sandy and Jason?”
“Me – both times. Sandy’s neighbor took her to the Powers’ house while Max and I went to Jason’s to tell him and Sarah. He’s a cold man, Joe. You would have thought someone had just told him his gardener couldn’t make it instead of informing him his only child was dead. Sarah looked devastated. I found out from Sandy after the funeral Sarah had left Jason and filed for divorce.
“Sandy didn’t let Jason have any input into Dave’s funeral arrangements and Jason wasn’t happy about it at all. He got me after the service and told me if Max and I don’t find the murderer of his son in a week, he’s going to start making waves and have us removed from the case. That was two days ago. We still don’t have a clue.”
“Were you able to get any forensic evidence?”
“Yeah, we got DNA from Dave’s shirt, but there was no match in the national database. The fingerprints are those you would expect to be in the house. Another dead end. Right now we have a whole lot of nothing. If we don’t get a tip, this isn’t going to be solved anytime soon.”
“Think how good you’ll feel when you do solve it”, Joe said with a smile. He was definitely trying to lift his friend’s mood.
“I hope we solve it and not because of Jason’s threats. Oh, I almost forgot to ask. When are you planning to put your boat in the water?”
Joe was caught off-guard by the change in topic. “I hadn’t given it much thought. I have to clean off all the winter buildup and get the outboards checked. I probably won’t be ready until Memorial Day. Why?”
“Sandy wants to spread Dave’s ashes in the Susquehanna. I told her I would ask if you would be willing to take her to the spot Dave loved.”
“Can she wait until Memorial Day?”
“She told me the timing was up to you. If you’re willing to use your boat, I’ll tell her to think of a date after Memorial Day.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll let you know if I run into any problems getting the boat ready.”
They had finished the last two pieces of pizza during this conversation and washed them down with the last two beers. Mike helped Joe clean up the mess and then he left. He had hoped by retelling the events of the case it would help him identify what was bugging him. There was something he was missing. Something important. He hoped he figured it out before something else happened.
CHAPTER 26
When Mike got to work the next day, Max was settled behind his desk with a cup of coffee in hand. He looked up, saluted Mike with the cup and greeted him with a cheerful “Good morning.”
Mike smiled at his partner because he hadn’t seen him this happy since he’d known him. “What did you put in that coffee?”
“Sugar and milk, and I brought it from home. The stuff in here will give you an ulcer if you drink it on a regular basis.”
“Okay then, why are you so happy? Did you solve the Flanders’ case behind my back?”
“Nope. The case is still on the fast track to going nowhere. I talked to my son last night. He told me I’m going to be a grandfather. Ed and his wife Cathy have been trying for several years to have kids - enjoying the trying, but frustrated with the results. The baby is due in early November. Ed didn’t want to tell me sooner because they were disappointed before, so they wanted to make sure. He asked if I will be able to come for a visit at Thanksgiving or Christmas. I told him wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”
Mike enjoyed seeing this side of his partner and Max’s good mood was contagious. “Well congratulations! Best news I’ve heard in weeks. How about we celebrate tonight with dinner at Luigi’s? I’ll buy.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ve been thinking about giving your dad a call. This might be a good time because I’ve never been a grandfather before. He can probably give me some pointers.”
“He’d like to impart his grandfatherly knowledge to you. The Phillies are playing on Sunday afternoon. Invite yourself over for the game and you’ll be able to get a dinner out of it too. Be prepared though, Mom will give you the female side of grandparenthood whether you want it or not.”
Mike didn’t want to change the subject, but he had to bring Max up-to-date on his visit with Joe. “I went over to see Joe last night. He’s my friend with the boat”, Mike explained when he saw Max’s blank look. “He agreed to take Sandy out on the Susquehanna after Memorial Day because he would have his boat ready by then.”
“Are you planning on going?”
“I’ll wait to hear from Sandy. Joe’s boat only seats six, so it will depend on how many people go. I know Mr. and Mrs. Powers will want to be there to support her and she’s already invited Sarah and Jason. That would make six, unless Jason decides not to go. He’s not very happy right now. Besides threatening us about finding his son’s killer, he’s dealing with the fact Sarah has moved out and filed for divorce. She told Sandy at the hospital Dave was really the only thing holding the marriage together, so she moved in with her sister, Grace until she decides what she wants to do.”
Mike saw Max do a 180 in mood swings. Where he had been jubilant five minutes earlier, he now looked like he had been sucker punched. “What’s wrong, Max?”
“Since my divorce, I seem to be more sensitive to other people’s divorces. Jason is not a very lovable guy, but they’ve been married over 30 years - a big chunk of someone’s life.”
“How long were you married, Max?”
“Thirty-two years. It’s not easy being a cop’s wife, especially if you have children. After I became a detective, she didn’t have the worry about me getting gunned down at a traffic stop, but the hours gradually became more than she could handle. If a case got under my skin, I could spend days coming home only to shower and change my clothes after a couple of hours of sleep. When she did get to see me, I couldn’t share my work with her and she eventually stopped sharing the household details with me. We became two strangers living in the same house.
“About five years after I became a detective, she started taking college courses. I didn’t even know what her major was until she was two classes from graduation. She already had a bachelor’s degree when we got married, so she went to law school. It took her eight years, but she graduated with honors, passed the bar on her first try and got a job with one of the law firms in the city. Ed was in college, so there was no problem when we were both working fourteen to sixteen hour days. In the first year, she made double my cop’s salary.
“When we divorced, she didn’t want the house in the Northeast because she got herself an apartment in Center City. She signed the house over to me, we divvied up our joint bank accounts, kept our own 401Ks and went our separate ways. Thirty-two years gone with the stroke of a pen. As I told your folks, I didn’t have anything holding me in Philly anymore, so I sold the house, found this job and moved.”
Mike was speechless. Max hadn’t divulged anything about his private life in the weeks they had been working together and now he had talked for five minutes about his marriage and divorce. Max seemed to be talked out as he sipped his coffee again. Mike was not usually at a loss for words, but he didn’t know what to say. Max took him off the hook by asking, “Why haven’t you ever married, Mike?”
“The usual reasons. Never found the right girl. Working too hard on my career. Plus, I want the impossible – a marriage just like my parents have. I had a close call a couple of years ago, but in the end both of us realized it wouldn’t work. She couldn’t deal with my schedule or the worry something might happen to me while I was on duty. The final break came when she was offered a great paying job near DC. So here I am with the job of my dreams, a house of my own and still unattached.”
Max was shaking his head as Mike recited his tale of bachelorhood. “Well, before you do find the right woman, make sure you have your priorities in order. This job will eat you alive. Don’t let it take over your life the way it took over mine. Always make sure family comes first.”
Before Mike could answer, Max changed gears. “Enough reminiscing for one day. Let’s make sure the Flanders’ murder file is in order. Maybe we missed something the first ten times we went through it.”
Mike agreed. This time, Max took the front of the book and Mike took the back. If either one found something they thought they had missed, they would run it past the other. Nothing new was jumping out at them. Mike did not want to think about their only suspect, Richard Powers. The timeline he gave favored his innocence, but it was backed up by a very biased witness, his wife Stephanie. Could he have gone back to Dave’s house and lost control again? Could Stephanie be backing up his story to keep him off the radar as a suspect? Mike was getting more frustrated each day because the questions were piling up and no answers were in sight.
After their afternoon update with Lieutenant Harper, Mike and Max left the office and headed for Luigi’s, where Mike hoped they could get back to the good feelings they had shared earlier in the day.
Splintered (Mike Campbell Series Book 1) Page 11