Finding Amy

by Joseph K. Loughlin

  He told the officers that shortly after last call, between 12:45 and 1:00, he went to the men's room before his trip back to South Berwick. There was a long line. When he came out of the bathroom, St. Laurent and the two men had disappeared. He looked around for her inside, then went outside to see if she was waiting for him; he stood outside the door until 1:20 a.m. but could not find her. At that time, the staff began asking people to move away and leave, a policy Old Port drinking establishments had adopted to cut down on the rowdy crowds that led to vandalism and fights.

  Everyone had left the club, so he assumed that St. Laurent had left with the two men. He returned to the garage and got into his car. St. Laurent's cell phone, coat, purse, and backpack were still in his car where she had left them. All that she had taken with her were her driver's license and some money. He stated that he might have driven around the block once looking for St. Laurent but didn't see her. Then, figuring she'd find her own way home, he drove back to St. Laurent's house in South Berwick.

  According to Rubright he followed the compass in his car and went south, stopping in South Portland to buy gas. Somewhat incoherently, during his interview with the detectives, he produced a sheaf of receipts from his wallet, trying to re-create his spending that night. Eventually he found some receipts, which he gave the detectives, including a credit card receipt for the gas. After he bought gas, he told them, he continued south, got on the turnpike, and drove to the Wells exit. From there, he followed the route he knew to St. Laurent's house.

  Rubright also told the detectives that at the turnpike tolls he had discovered he didn't have any money. He told the toll taker that he only had fifteen cents and asked if he could please use the highway anyway because it was the only route he knew back to South Berwick, which the toll taker allowed him to do.

  When he got back to St. Laurent's house, she wasn't there. He checked her phone and cell phone for messages, but there were none. He said he was uneasy about spending the night in her house when she wasn't there, so he slept in his car.

  In the morning, he used the key she had given him to enter her house and take a shower. There was still no sign of her. He left a note on her door, asking what had happened to her and thanking her for the visit, left her purse and backpack inside, and placed her coat on the hood of her car. Remembering he still had her house key, he put it on a tire of her car. Then he left without ever hearing from St. Laurent.

  Chapter Two

  Eric Rubright looked like a good suspect. His story of St. Laurent's disappearing while he was in the bathroom seemed suspicious, as did his tale of driving back to her apartment forty miles away with her coat, her purse, her cell phone, and her backpack. His description of leaving her coat on the hood of her car, her house key on the tire, and the rest of her things inside was strangely detailed, and police officers are trained to notice and suspect an excess of details. As training manuals put it, “Liars lie with specificity.”

  Nor were police impressed by his claim that he'd run out of money and had to talk his way onto the turnpike, or by the fact that he'd felt uncomfortable in Amy's apartment and slept Saturday night in a car in her driveway. It seemed far more likely that he'd slept in the car because he couldn't face being in her apartment after he'd done her harm and that he had her belongings because she no longer needed them. Both interviewers felt that he merited further scrutiny. They decided to search Rubright's car and ask him to consent to a polygraph.

  In the middle of the Rubright interview, Detective Young received a call from Amy St. Laurent's stepfather, Don Jenkins. Jenkins had just heard from a man in the Old Port who had seen the “Missing” poster with the picture of St. Laurent and was calling because he had been with her early on Sunday morning. Jenkins said he had told the caller and the other men he was with to go to the Portland Police Station and ask for Young.

  At such an early stage of a disappearance, detectives regard time as “of the essence,” in case the missing person is still alive and can be found. Therefore, Detective Young and Sergeant Joyce were eager to speak with anyone who might have information regarding Amy St. Laurent's behavior, whereabouts, and contacts on the night she vanished.

  Portland police Sergeant Jon Goodman was in his car in the Old Port when he was flagged down by three young men who told him they were supposed to go to headquarters and talk with the police. Sergeant Goodman called the station, asked whether Detective Young wanted to see the three men, and upon receiving an affirmative answer, asked them to get into his car. The three, Jeffrey “Russ” Gorman, Kush Sharma, and Jason Cook, all residents of an apartment at 230 Brighton Avenue, got in willingly, and he drove them to 109 Middle Street, where he escorted them to the Detective Bureau.

  The men said that they had been at a bar called Diggers and the bartender had shown them the flyer with St. Laurent's photograph. One of them, Jason Cook, recognized her as the woman Russ Gorman had been with early on Sunday morning. At their urging, Gorman had called the contact number on the flyer, had spoken with St. Laurent's stepfather, and was told to contact the Portland police.

  Two essential principles of investigation came into play here. First, it is important to interview witnesses as soon after an incident as possible, in order to get the freshest possible memories of the events and to lock witnesses into their stories. Second, since guilty parties frequently coerce or persuade their friends to collaborate on a story, persons with potentially probative information are quickly split up and interviewed separately so that they can't agree on a common version of the story.

  Experienced detectives know that it is difficult to maintain a lie. If you didn't live it, it didn't happen, and therefore the details aren't hardwired into your mind. Liars have a hard time keeping a story straight, which is why subsequent versions are often verbatim recitations of the first telling, with very specific details offered to make the story seem truthful, while a truthful version may vary or be more vague. For this reason, it is important to lock in the details early and then keep pressure on suspected liars to see how they behave when telling their stories and how their stories hold up over time.

  At this very preliminary stage, however, Joyce and Young were focused primarily on collecting information. The two detectives now had four subjects to interview, so they called in patrol officer Kevin Haley and evidence technician Chris Stearns to assist. Sergeant Joyce interviewed Russ Gorman, Officer Haley took Kush Sharma, and Stearns interviewed Jason Cook, while Detective Young continued to interview Eric Rubright. It was unusual, so early in an investigation, to have so many witnesses turning up, but even at this stage it was clear to the two detectives that things were heating up fast.

  Gorman's story was essentially this: He met Amy St. Laurent at Fore Play, a raucous, rowdy bar and pool hall at 436 Fore Street, at around 10:30 p.m. He and his roommate, Kush Sharma, played pool with her and an older man for fifteen or twenty minutes. St. Laurent was with a man from Florida who watched but didn't play. Gorman and Sharma left Fore Play to go to a bar called the Iguana. Around 11:45 p.m., they went to a dance club called the Pavilion.

  About an hour later, according to Gorman, Amy St. Laurent came up to him at the Pavilion, pinched him on the side, and told him she couldn't find her friend from Florida. Gorman invited her to come back to his house, where there was going to be an after-hours birthday party for roommate Jason Cook. After St. Laurent had looked around and couldn't find her friend, who had her keys, she agreed to go to the party.

  At that point, Gorman was shown a picture of Amy St. Laurent, which he identified as the woman he was speaking about. He said he and Sharma and St. Laurent went in his car from the Old Port to an apartment at 230 Brighton Avenue, where Gorman was staying. Gorman had told St. Laurent that some friends were getting together for a birthday party, but when they arrived around 1:15 a.m., no one else was there. Gorman had some drinks and Sharma had some drinks. Gorman said he couldn't remember whether St. Laurent was drinking. (This statement, from a young hotshot who'd picked up
a pretty girl in a bar, struck Sergeant Joyce as odd. Normally, a guy who's interested in having sex with a girl will pay close attention to what, and how much, she drinks.)

  At some point, Sharma and St. Laurent went outside to walk Jason Cook's dog and so Sharma could smoke. When no party materialized, she asked to be taken back to the Pavilion, saying she would look for her friend from Florida and, if she didn't find him, would go to her mother's in South Portland. Jason Cook arrived at the house as Gorman was leaving to drive St. Laurent back downtown, around 1:45 a.m.

  Gorman stated that he dropped her off in front of the Pavilion just before 2:00 a.m. It appeared that she was walking toward the entrance. He noticed other people standing around outside but didn't see her speak with anyone before he drove off. He went directly home, a trip he estimated took him less than ten minutes, and stayed in for the rest of the night. All told, Gorman stated he had been gone from the Brighton Avenue apartment about twenty minutes.

  This early in the process, especially with no victim, no crime scene, and no witnesses to any violence, it was too early to rule anyone in or out as a suspect. Too early, even, to conclude that a crime had taken place, though their instincts told the detectives that this was so. At this point, the detectives needed to talk to as many people as possible who knew St. Laurent or might have seen her that night, trying to test the veracity of the information they'd been given and gathering clues about where to look for the missing woman.

  Normally, their experience would have focused the detectives on Russ Gorman, the last person seen with the missing woman. But Eric Rubright had been her companion that evening, and his story needed to be checked out as well. It was strange and elaborate, and his manner and presentation were definitely peculiar. If Gorman had dropped her off at the Pavilion as he said, an angry Rubright might well have come back around and picked her up. And Rubright had still had St. Laurent's personal effects.

  Gathering information would mean talking with Gorman's roommates and friends, and with the staff and any witnesses they could locate at Fore Play and the Pavilion who might have observed St. Laurent, Gorman, and Rubright. It would mean trying to locate witnesses who might have been outside in the street when Gorman dropped St. Laurent off. It would mean checking Gorman's and Rubright's criminal histories, if any, to develop profiles of the two men.

  It would also mean, since they had to consider the possibility that St. Laurent was the victim of foul play, that they needed to develop a fuller picture of Amy St. Laurent—that detailed assessment of the victim known as victimology. Was there anything in her character, for example, to suggest that the picture of a responsible young adult they had been given wasn't the whole story? Anything to suggest that she had simply taken off for a few days? People did. Was she still alive somewhere, perhaps held against her will?

  Because in the beginning of any investigation detectives have to keep their minds open to all possibilities, Joyce and Young also needed to determine whether there was anyone else in Amy St. Laurent's life who might have been motivated to harm her, such as an angry ex-boyfriend, current boyfriend, spurned suitor, jealous other woman, or aggrieved coworker. Could she have met someone else on the street after Gorman had dropped her off?

  They knew that anyone they had already spoken with or might speak with could be the person responsible for St. Laurent's disappearance. They had to pay close attention to everything they were told and be diligent about taking notes and producing detailed reports.

  Danny Young, describing their investigative approach, said, “We felt we had to follow every lead to its logical conclusion.” Sergeant Joyce explained that, from the beginning of an investigation, they would have their eyes on the whole potential trajectory of a case. Failing to follow through with a viable suspect or a promising tip would leave them vulnerable to a “reasonable doubt” attack at trial when the defense asked, “Did you even bother to look at this person?” and they would have to say no, leaving them looking careless, deceptive, or inept before the jury. Sergeant Joyce was diligent in reminding his detectives of the rules underlying all good investigations—don't let your assumptions get ahead of the facts, test all your facts several ways, and keep testing your theories of the case against the known facts. He and his detectives constantly checked and rechecked facts as an investigation proceeded, constantly revising their theories as more facts became known.

  Late as it was on the first night of the St. Laurent case, Joyce and Young sat and discussed what they'd learned from their interviews, already arguing, testing out theories, and playing the “what if” game as they began to plan for the following day. Danny Young wanted to focus their efforts on Russ Gorman, quoting the “KISS” rule. KISS is Keep It Simple, Stupid. In this case, their training and experience indicated that the last person known to be with a victim or possible victim was the most logical suspect. But at this point—who was that? Was it Gorman or Rubright? Plus, despite the family's alarm, the detectives did not know what kind of case they had yet. A crime? A runaway? A hostage?

  Sergeant Joyce wanted to focus first on Eric Rubright because Rubright was transient. Unless they had some legally sustainable reason to detain him, he would leave the area soon. If he returned to Florida before they had investigated him thoroughly, it would be very difficult to get to him for forensic evidence or further interviews. Therefore, it made sense to re-interview Rubright and follow up his story before he left town. If Rubright was willing or could be persuaded, they also hoped to do a polygraph test and obtain DNA.

  Later that morning, Sergeant Joyce would be adding a major new case to the workloads of his detectives, juggling the resources of his extremely busy bureau to free up Danny Young to be the primary investigator and get Young some supporting detectives. With so many people to be interviewed, the process would require a huge investment of personnel. And since witnesses quickly forget what they've seen, they all needed to be interviewed as soon as possible. Detectives would also need to check on any videotapes or closed-circuit TVs in the Old Port area.

  Joyce's first step would be to get his lieutenant on board. Police departments are paramilitary organizations. Even when detectives are given latitude about how they staff and manage a case, progress is constantly monitored by the CID sergeants and the process is governed by written rules called SOPs (standard operating procedures), by department policies, and by internal customs. Information about the investigation needed to be passed up the food chain. The chief needed to be informed. The command staff. The media would need to be briefed. Someone well informed, in this case Joyce's lieutenant, would need to deal with the family.

  The “Missing” posters with St. Laurent's picture were already all over town, creating great public concern. A public that is involved and interested in a case in turn cranks up the pressure on the city council and the chief's office. The public asks, in effect, “Okay, cops, let's see what you've got.”

  By morning, the department would be flooded with calls. Along with calls from the media, worried parents would be asking if their own daughters were at risk. There would be calls from individuals with tips as well as from the nutcases who call whenever there's a big case. Because the first few days of any major investigation are crucial, the Detective Bureau would be assigning as much manpower as possible to the case.

  By the time Rubright, Sharma, Cook, and Gorman had been interviewed, it was Tuesday morning. Amy St. Laurent had been missing for nearly forty-eight hours. A regular workday was about to begin, but before they left, the detectives would finalize their notes and start the endless series of “to do” lists that are a vital part of any investigation.

  They would begin a records check on all the subjects they had interviewed, with a special focus on Rubright and Gorman, starting to build a personality profile of these two men and determining whether they had any history of arrests and convictions. They would complete a missing person report on Amy St. Laurent so that the information could be entered in the National Crime Information Center
(NCIC) system as an “Attempt to Locate” (ATL). Before they left to sleep through the small part of the night that was left to them, they made a plan to meet again later in the morning. Then they left, both feeling strongly that something was wrong.

  Chapter Three

  By Tuesday morning, Sergeant Joyce had made Danny Young the primary, and the Portland Police Department's involvement in the case of Amy St. Laurent, missing person, began moving forward in a big way. Joyce's first task was to update his lieutenant and convince him that Amy St. Laurent was not just an irresponsible young adult who'd taken off for a few days and that the case merited major attention.

  Mornings at 109 are hectic in the Detective Bureau. Reports are stacked on the detective sergeants’ desks as they go through the cases and assign them to the detectives. I have an 8:30 meeting with my sergeants, then a staff meeting with the chief and crew. Sergeant Jones and Sergeant Coffin are waiting to start reviewing last night's activity, but no Sergeant Joyce.

  I can feel my head and ears get red as I get pissed and call his extension in the bay. “Tom? Don't make me come out there.”

  Tom comes into my office, full of energy, bouncing like an awkward daddy longlegs. “What's the holdup?” I ask.

  “I told ya. I told ya. The South Berwick thing. The girl is really missing. This is wrong all the way. It feels like the Tevanian case a few years ago.”

  Hand up, I hold off the other guys for a moment. “Why, Tom?”

  “She's totally departed from her normal behavior. Totally. It's very unusual. Very …” He goes on about the facts.

  My pager is blaring and the loudspeaker is calling for me at the same time my phone is ringing. It's about other crimes, and the chief wants to see me before staff. I rush the crime review and Tom gives us more.