Splintered (Mike Campbell Series Book 1)

by Rosemary Wilson

The Avenger waited. It was too early to visit Mr. Baker. He knew Baker would probably spend the evening at home because that was his usual routine when he didn’t have visitation with his son. The Avenger watched patiently as lights went on and off as Baker went from room to room. He knew the lights in the front indicated Baker was in the living room of the duplex. He had the first floor apartment. With the blinds open, he could see the room was sparsely furnished. Baker remained there through the evening until he went to bed around 11:00 p.m.

  Donning his gloves, the Avenger walked up to the front door. Just before Peter Baker turned off the lights, his doorbell rang. He was a cautious man and peered through the peephole in his door. He saw an older man who did not appear threatening. He made his first mistake when he opened the door without leaving the chain fastened. He started to ask the visitor what he wanted when he was shot with a taser. The Avenger entered the room and quickly closed and locked the front door and dragged Baker into the kitchen. Tying up Baker he sat him in the corner while he dipped into his bag of goodies and arranged his tools on the counter.

  As he finished his prep work, he noticed Peter Baker was starting to recover. The Avenger pulled up a chair and faced the man on the floor.

  “Hello, Mr. Baker”, the Avenger said. “I’d like to have a little conversation with you.”

  “Who are you?” Peter Baker was trying to focus on this stranger and figure out how he had gotten into this predicament.

  “I am someone who cares a great deal about justice, especially for those who are helpless. When one individual exerts undue stress and pain on another because he thinks he’s entitled, I find that to be a troublesome situation.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. “

  “Come now, Mr. Baker. You have been imposing your will upon your wife for quite a while. You don’t mind using your hands to get your way. Is your son present when you beat up on your wife?”

  “I have never laid a hand on my wife”, Peter Baker yelled.

  “If you continue to raise your voice, I am going to have to put a gag in your mouth, because I don’t want us to be interrupted by some nosy neighbors. The number of times your wife has called the police in the last year would negate your claims of innocence.”

  “Yeah, she called the police. She figured if she made enough complaints she would be able to go into court and get full custody of our son. She’s been setting me up for over a year. I love my son, and I don’t want him to be raised by a psycho.”

  “So now your wife is the one who is bringing all this abuse on herself. Like I haven’t heard that one before.”

  “I’m telling you the truth. After she called the police she would slap herself a couple of times so her cheek would be red. She also bumped into tables so she would have bruises on her side. When the police came she would be sobbing but told them she wouldn’t press charges. They would pull me outside and give me the ‘talk’ and then when they were sure everything had settled down, they would leave.”

  “Why is it every time a woman is abused by a man, the man’s defense is she brought it on herself. It was her fault. I didn’t want to do it, she made me.” With the last comment, the Avenger hauled off and punched Peter Baker in the face. His head whipped to the side and blood spouted from his nose. He looked wildly at the man who called himself the Avenger and yelled, “Why did you do that?”

  “Because I could. The same reason you used when you hit your wife.”

  Peter Baker was scared. It finally dawned on him who this lunatic was and he knew there was no way he was getting out of this situation alive, but he had to try for his son’s sake. “Listen, my wife wants a divorce. I want to give her one. We’re having a battle over custody. Every time she doesn’t get what she wants, she waits until I pick him up and then she starts a fight. It always ends up with her calling the police. She gives herself a few superficial injuries and then when the police arrive she plays the martyr saying she doesn’t want her son to have his father in jail. Check with the Manheim police. They all know her by now. I have never laid a hand on Arlene or any other woman.”

  “Ah, Mr. Baker, if I had a dime for every time I heard that, I would be a wealthy man. It’s never your fault. I understand that. You can’t help yourself. I understand that too. Since I do understand the situation, I know the only way to stop you is to put an end to you.”

  Before Peter Baker could say another word, the Avenger slit Peter’s throat and watched as the shock in his eyes was gradually replaced by the vacant stare of the dead. The Avenger quickly removed Baker’s hands and placed them on the counter. He folded the note and placed it between the thumb and forefinger. He removed his gloves and placed them and his tools in his bag. He glanced around to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. When he was satisfied, he covered his hand with his handkerchief unlocked the door and left making sure the door was locked behind him. Since Peter lived by himself, the Avenger would make a call to 911 tomorrow using one of the throwaway phones he had purchased. He wanted the corpse to be found as soon as possible, but he didn’t want to give the police even the slightest clue to his identity. He was enjoying his role as an avenger of wrongs and wanted to be able to continue his crusade for a long time.

  CHAPTER 51

  The Avenger left for work earlier than usual on Thursday. He had to report a murder. He drove toward Peter Baker’s apartment and parked several blocks away. He entered 911 on the throwaway cell he had purchased the week before and placed a handkerchief over the speaker as the call went through to distort his voice.

  “911, what is your emergency?”

  “I’d like to report a murder.”

  “Did you say murder?”

  “Yes. It’s in Manheim Township.”

  “Can you give me an address?”

  The Avenger gave her Peter Baker’s address.

  The operator asked the Avenger to identify himself and give his phone number.

  “My name is unimportant as is my phone number. This is a valid call. If you send officers to that address you will find the victim in his kitchen.”

  The 911 operator had three years’ experience and she motioned her co-worker to begin a trace on this call. She tried to keep the caller talking so she asked, “How do you know the resident at that address was murdered?”

  “Just send the cops. They won’t be disappointed.” The Avenger hung up the phone and drove to the nearest fast food restaurant where he threw the cell into a dumpster. He knew the 911 operator was trying to trace his call. He hadn’t been on the line long enough for that to happen. He had wiped the phone clean and removed the battery before throwing it away. He doubted anyone would find it because it would be buried in garbage before the police had a chance to look for it.

  He smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for work. It was going to be a good day.

  CHAPTER 52

  Chuck Boyd called Tom Wyatt as soon as he got to the office around 7:30. He knew Tom didn’t punch a time clock any more than he himself did so he wasn’t surprised when Tom answered the phone himself.

  “Good morning Tom”, Chuck greeted his client.

  “I read your report last night, Chuck. I tried to tell Jason he was spitting in the wind trying to find evidence his daughter-in-law had an affair with Mike Campbell and your reports confirmed what I told him.”

  “I talked to as many people as I could who knew them, and let me tell you, those two people have extremely loyal friends and neighbors. Both of their lives are open books. No sneaking around, no illicit affairs, no cheating, nothing but going to work and living decent lives. I don’t know where Jason got the idea Sandy was cheating on his son.”

  “He’s looking for a scapegoat. He lost his son and he wants someone to pay for it. I don’t know why he’s zeroed in on Mike Campbell, but if he pursues this, he could ruin that young man’s career.”

  Boyd agreed with Tom’s assessment. He asked Tom what Jason was planning now.

  “He wants to fi
le a wrongful death suit against Sandy using her ‘cheating’ as the reason for Mike killing Dave. After your first report I told Jason I would not go forward with a suit unless you came up with proof.”

  “Well, I found nothing. Big fat zero.”

  “Between your report and what Jason considered my defiance, I’m no longer his attorney.”

  “Sorry to hear that Tom.”

  “I’ve been Jason’s attorney for over 20 years, Chuck. At times, it’s been difficult, but we’ve never done anything illegal or unethical. We may have come close, but anything we did was always arguable in court and within the law. This is neither. When he fired me, he told me he would find someone who would do what I’m too much of a coward to do.”

  “Now I understand why you wanted to get the reports I sent to him.”

  “He won’t use them, Chuck. He’ll hire someone who will bend the facts to fit what he wants.”

  “The reason I called was to let you know Mike and his partner paid me a visit yesterday.”

  “Why?”

  “One of the people I interviewed on Monday told them about it. Mike’s partner Max had the whole thing figured out. They know what Jason is up to.”

  “Well, since I no longer represent Jason, I think it’s time I got in touch with Sarah.”

  “His wife?”

  “They’re estranged now, but I think she still has some influence with him. Maybe she can talk some sense into him.”

  “Good luck with that. I’m available if you need me.”

  After hanging up the phone, Tom made a note to call Sarah when he got out of court and wrapped up his final preparations.

  CHAPTER 53

  Hank and Mike had been comparing notes since 2:00 p.m. They were striking out on this latest lead. Sandy’s 911 call came in on a Friday evening. The first 911 call about the McGinley residence was reported by a neighbor about two weeks before the call from Carol McGinley’s father. When the officers looked at both lists of those who were on duty, they realized that the McGinley call came in after the evening shift started, while the Flanders call was handled by the day shift. They checked time card records, but didn’t find any overlap among those manning the phones.

  Hank looked at Mike dejectedly. “I was sure we were on to something with the 911 calls.”

  “You and me both, Hank. Okay, so maybe it’s not one of the operators. Who else would have access to these phone calls?”

  “Whatever police department needs the information. I imagine the DA’s office would ask for the tapes if they were moving forward with a prosecution.”

  “We can probably rule out the DA’s office because neither of these cases was going to be prosecuted. Sandy refused to press charges against Dave and Craig was given a warning before the police left because Carol didn’t want to have Craig arrested either.

  “It might not be a bad idea to check out the supervisors at the call center. They talk to one another as the shifts change. Maybe one of them is just tired of taking calls about women getting beaten up by their husbands.”

  “I have three supervisors on my list, Mike. The problem is they are all women.”

  “We should probably check them out anyway. You never know who they might be talking to. I have three on mine also. Two men and an Ashley, which could be a man or a woman.”

  “Okay, since there aren’t any duplications on our lists, I’ll look into the three on mine and you can take the three on yours.”

  As they were wrapping up the meeting, Mike’s cell rang. “Campbell” he answered a bit distracted. Within 10 seconds he was no longer distracted, but concentrating on the caller and the information he was giving Mike.

  “Can you meet with us tomorrow morning?” he asked the caller.

  Mike jotted down the last piece of information and disconnected the call. He looked over at Hank as Max entered the room and gave them both the news that their killer had just become a serial killer with his third victim being found in Manheim. He brought them both up-to-date on the details the Manheim officer had given.

  “Office Snyder said a 911 call came in about 7:30 this morning reporting a murder. When they went to the address given, they found Peter Baker in the kitchen of his apartment, exactly where the caller said he would be. He had been punched several times in the face and was sitting on the floor with his arms and legs bound. His throat had been slashed and he had bled out. His hands were sitting on the counter holding the same note as our previous victims. That’s why Officer Snyder called. His chief wants him to work with us to try and find this guy. Will you be able to be here at 10:00 tomorrow morning, Hank?”

  “I’ll be here. I’m heading back to the office now to get started on the list of supervisors. I’ll give the 911 center another call and find out what supervisor and operator were on duty when this call came in. I’ll find out if there have been any 911 calls about the Bakers in the last couple of weeks.”

  After Hank gathered up his files and left, Max looked at Mike and asked what was happening with the 911 calls.

  “Hank and I were talking yesterday and realized the only connection we have between the first two murders is the 911 calls. We decided to check out the operators and see if there was any overlap. There isn’t. The only ones left are the supervisors. He’s going to check out those on his list and I’ll check out mine. It’s a long shot, but it’s the only thing we’ve got right now.”

  “How come you didn’t say anything to me?” Max asked.

  Mike thought Max looked a little hurt at not being included and felt bad. “I was going to tell you this morning, but I didn’t see you come in because I was already trying to get the information from the 911 center. Each time I looked up you were on the phone or away from your desk. How come you missed the meeting with Hank?”

  “I was with the lieutenant filling him in on our little meeting with Chuck Boyd yesterday.”

  “I forgot all about that.”

  “I wanted to make sure the lieutenant knew about it, in case Jason started to make trouble.”

  “Thanks for following through. I guess I’m just not taking Jason too seriously because I know there’s nothing to his outrageous accusations.”

  “Mike, innuendo can be far more damaging to someone. Once something is spoken, it can never be unsaid. It’s even worse now because of social media. We’re lucky nothing has been posted so far. We’ve got to stop Jason from starting something that can only be disastrous to you and Sandy.”

  “I never thought of it that way. Since you’ve already told the lieutenant, I’ll follow through on the 911 supervisors. Hank and I thought it was a good lead, but the more we dig, the more it’s leading to another dead end.”

  “That’s the way these cases work, Mike. By eliminating everything that can’t be relevant, you’re left with what is and that’s when we’ll find our killer.”

  “Or we’ll have to wait for him to make a mistake and I’m not comfortable with that.”

  CHAPTER 54

  Officer Steven Snyder arrived the next morning laden with reports and evidence for his meeting with the detectives investigating the previous two murders. Mike was there to meet him in the lobby and take him up to the conference room where Max and Hank were waiting for them.

  Mike looked at Steven and said, “This is Officer Hank Simonson from East Hempfield and the other guy is my partner, Max Davis. This is Officer Steven Snyder from Manheim.”

  Officer Snyder acknowledged the men in the room and took his seat at the table. He opened his folder and showed them the note encased in plastic for protection.

  Mike took it and after studying it for several seconds said, “This is exactly the same as the other two”, as he passed it to the other officers.

  “We dusted for prints at the scene, but there were none that didn’t belong to the victim or his son.” “It must have been a slow day because the coroner already performed the autopsy. As you can see, the victim bled to death because his carotid was severed. The bruises on his face”
, he slid the picture across the table so the detectives could see it, “were inflicted while Mr. Baker was still alive. The removal of the hands occurred after he expired. Dr. Daugherty did a comparison of the wounds to those of the other two victims and determined they were caused by the same types of blades. The neck wound was a carving knife and the hands were removed by a handheld hatchet.”

  “It would appear the person who committed the first two murders also committed this one”, Max said.

  “Since I hadn’t seen anything about a note when the other two murders were reported, I kept this separate from the other evidence. Only one other officer saw it, and we agreed not to release this piece of evidence until we talked to you guys.”

  “Thanks. The fewer people who know about that note, the better”, Max said.

  Mike passed the autopsy report to Hank. “Officer Snyder, who made the call to 911 this morning?”

  “The 911 operator told us the caller was male, but tried to disguise his voice. She said she tried to get a trace started, but he hung up too quickly. No information came up on called id either. Probably a throwaway cell phone.”

  “Hank and I are looking into the 911 staff to see if there are any operators or supervisors who were aware of each victim”, Mike said.

  “Any luck?”

  Hank shook his head. “So far we’ve come up with a big zero.”

  Officer Snyder asked, “Were there any other 911 calls on these guys before they were killed?”

  “Why?” asked Mike.

  “Well, the Bakers were kind of a regular on the 911 line. Every couple of weeks or so Arlene would call saying she and her husband were arguing and he was getting physical. We’d go out and sure enough she would have a red mark on her cheek or fingerprints on her arm. We would take Peter aside and read him the riot act. Each time he told us she was the one who put those marks on herself. He told us their divorce was very contentious, especially regarding custody and visitation of their son. Whenever Peter brought it up, Arlene would go ballistic and the ensuing fight led to a 911 call. Peter claimed she did it so he would look like an unfit father when they went to court. When they were still living together we found it hard to believe, but the calls continued after they separated and it was always when he returned his son after a planned visit. I was called out on at least three occasions. Arlene never pressed charges and it soon was like the little boy who cried wolf. Most of us who had contact with them began to feel sorry for Peter. Poor guy was really caught between a rock and a hard place. I think he told us the last time we were called, they had a temporary custody hearing coming up in June and he was concerned all these 911 calls would ruin his chance to get shared custody.”