Death On A Green (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Book 4)

by Alec Peche

  “They didn’t have an absolute time of death,” Jill noted. “While there is a time listed on the death certificate, actual death occurred sometime within an hour on the certificate. This will be very tedious feed as first we will have to spot movement in the trees of the northwoods. Then we’ll eventually need some way to identify a snowmobile as that of Dr. Phillips. So Jack, how can we all help you view the video feed?”

  “Ladies, you all smell great but it would help if you backed off. I thought I had gained your trust for spotting things on tape after the last video feed. So why don’t you go back to your own searches and I’ll let you know when I spot something.”

  With a sigh, they all retreated to their perspective computers to continue their searches. The silence in the room was broken by the sound of the doorbell. Marie went to the door to let the detectives inside.

  “Detectives, can I get you something to drink?”

  “No thanks, we have already had too much coffee.”

  “Would you like water, soda, or wine?”

  “We’re fine, we just want to see if you find anything on the video feed. I’m glad to see Jack here operating the system. I’m thinking that this is even more tedious than the last video feed.”

  “Why don’t you have seat here with us? Jack just started reviewing the video and he asked us to back off to reduce his distraction. Jill can tell you about her adventures with Dr. Lewis today.” Marie enjoyed stirring the pot for her friend and Jill gave her a look that said she would enjoy ratting her out the next chance she got.

  The detectives looked at Jill almost as if afraid to ask, “Why did you interact with Dr. Lewis today?” came the patient question.

  “It was boredom that got me into trouble. Everyone else was engaged in their computer searches and I had nothing going on. So I looked up how to do surveillance on the internet. I then went to his street address and parked about three houses away. I was dressed in black with a large brimmed hat.”

  “That is obviously not the full story so what else happened?” asked Haro.

  “I'd been there about ten minutes when I saw his wife and a teenager come home in an SUV and pull into the garage. Then there wasn't any movement, so I started reading my emails. Suddenly, there was a loud 'bang' on my window. When I looked up, I found myself staring into the rather hostile eyes of a would-be murderer. It was quite unsettling!"

  The two detectives were giving her pained looks and Van Bruggin added, “It sounds like you were engaged in stalking.”

  “I wouldn’t call it stalking as the only place I was watching, was his home. I didn’t follow him anywhere, make contact with him, or send him emails or letters.”

  “Tell that to a judge,” Haro explained. “So what happened when he approached you?”

  “First I was startled as I had been concentrating on email, so when he tapped the glass of my car window, I nearly jumped out of my skin. He asked me what I was doing watching his house. I told him I was admiring his landscaping and taking pictures of what I liked. We traded a few more sentences and then he asked to see the camera to see what pictures were on it. I put the car in gear and left his street to return here. End of story.”

  “Hmm, somehow I bet there is more to the story than you’re telling us,” said Haro. “Just tell me there wasn’t sufficient criminal activity on your part such that he might call and complain about your behavior.”

  “No detective, nothing of the sort. He said he had my car’s license plate number but as my car is a rental that won’t get him that far.”

  After giving her another long look, the detectives looked over at Jack and asked, “Have you found the snowmobile in the woods yet?

  “No,” Jack replied without further explanation.

  Angela spoke up, “Detectives, we have been warned by Jack to stay away from him while he works his magic on the video feed. Why don’t you come and join us and tell Jill and I where you are with the investigation? Jo and Marie are still working their own magic with the internet culling out obscure facts, so we should probably move to the living room for our conversation.”

  The two detectives found themselves being swept up by Angela and moved to another room before they could object. They didn’t know why they were persuaded to follow her directions, and looked over their shoulders as if expecting to see what hidden object had moved them forward to another room. If they had thought deeply about the situation, they might have been worried over what secrets they might tell her.

  Jill and Angela each had a glass of wine and they relaxed against the cushions of their arm chairs while they stared at the two detectives. Jill opened the conversation with, “Do you have any additional suspects other than those we have already discussed?"

  The two detectives, sitting side by side on the sofa, had disconcerted looks on their faces as they reviewed in their minds how they had come to be sitting on the sofa being questioned by Jill and Angela.

  “This is an ongoing police investigation and we’re not at liberty to share information about the case with civilians.”

  “I am disappointed with you, detectives,” replied Jill. “I thought we were beyond these barriers. Surely you checked out our references with other law enforcement agencies. You know that we will keep any information you share confidential; if we don’t stay confidential, my part-time consultancy for a second opinion on the cause of death will be at an end. If you have googled me, you know that I don’t hold press conferences. We have shared our leads with you saving you time. In addition, we are probably responsible for the most promising leads you have had for this case. If we get somewhere with the current footage that Jack is reviewing you may have something very big on your hands. So again, do you have any additional suspects? What are your officers working on? Have you uncovered any other relevant information from either crime scene?”

  The two detectives looked at each other and, sighed; then Van Bruggin spoke up, “We are not concerned with your confidentiality practices rather you likely have all of the information already. Other than Dr. Lewis, we don’t have any additional suspects. There is a real lack of evidence in this case. The footprint casts won’t be back for a few days.”

  Angela probed, “So what is your gut telling you on this case? You guys are the professionals. We have been assisting Jill for five years, and have been closely involved with several cases, but mostly we help her from two-thousand miles away. We have a suspect for this murder, maybe two, but we want to know what your instinct is about this homicide.”

  Before the two detectives could address Angela’s remarks, Jack called from the other room. They were soon gathered around Jack’s screen. He turned around and addressed the group.

  “I combed through the footage trying to find a snowmobile accident. As I understand, Dr. Phillips suffered a heart attack in the woods, so I was looking for a snowmobile that came to a stop with the passenger slumping over or slipping to the ground. As you know snowmobile trails are managed by snowmobile clubs throughout the state. So I looked on-line to see if Dr. Phillips or Dr. Lewis belonged to such a club. Turns out that Dr. Lewis and his sons are part of a club that maintains the trail we are watching footage on.”

  Jo was quick to compliment him, “Jack, our investigative techniques are rubbing off on you. None of us thought to look up the snowmobile club memberships. That was brilliant!”

  Jack just smiled and continued, “I isolated the footage for an event that looks like it might be a heart attack. Until you take a second look. Watch the screen.”

  He leaned back as the four women and two detectives peered closely at his screen watching the footage. He replayed it three times. Waiting for the others to see what he saw. He heard no ‘Eureka’; indeed all he saw was puzzlement. Finally, he played it a fourth time in slow motion and the lightbulb went on for two of the group of six.

  Angela stated, “It’s the sequence of events that is off. The snowmobile appears to be having engine problems. It looks like Dr. Phillips is trying to give it mor
e gas, yet the vehicle is slowing down. The snowmobile gradually comes to a halt, like it ran out of gas, and in fact Dr. Phillips gestures to the gas tank. Dr. Lewis gets off his snowmobile and approaches. Meanwhile Dr. Phillips is not clutching his chest rather he is looking and gesturing at the snowmobiles gauges. This next part is smooth. Dr. Lewis approaches as though he is concerned, puts his bare hand on his friend’s back. We then see Dr. Phillips turn a sharp look over his shoulder and then he doesn’t move much, Dr. Lewis pulls him off the snowmobile and onto the snow. For every public service announcement I have ever on heart attacks, that does not match what the American Heart Association has been telling me. Jill, does that look like a person having a heart attack to you?”

  “Jack, you have an awesome observant eye. I can’t say I have ever seen a heart attack cause the behavior we see from Dr. Phillips on this tape. It looked more to me that he had sudden and complete paralysis shortly after Dr. Lewis placed a hand on his shoulder. Let’s see if we can get more resolution on that hand. They make auto-injector syringes that are quick enough to inject a paralytic agent.”

  Jack played with the resolution, but they couldn’t get enough to tell if anything was in his hand let alone what it was.

  “When does he phone for help?” asked Haro.

  “He doesn’t phone for help, he hops on his snowmobile and leaves after checking Dr. Phillips’s pulse. It’s quite possible that there is no cell phone reception in that area of the state. Later on in the tape - perhaps another ten minutes you see him return with rescue folks.”

  “We of course would like a copy of the tape,” Van Bruggin remarked. “Jill, that was brilliant to think of that angle. I think we have a few more directions to take. I’d like to verify the cell phone coverage issue in that area. I would also like to get my hands on the snowmobile to see if it was tampered with - I wonder who has the sled? I also want to go over the report Lewis gave to the Sheriff in Cook and see if it matches what is on screen.”

  Jill added, "I would also recommend a state medical examiner review this tape against the findings on the death certificate and I bet that he or she would request exhumation of the body. If the State doesn’t have such a position, I would be happy to consult with the Cook County coroner. I could perform the examination on my own as a forensic expert, but if you end up prosecuting someone, you’ll have cleaner lines if you can use a county coroner. Whoever has the body in their laboratory can test for trace drugs and examine the skin to see if there was an injection approximately where Dr. Lewis patted Dr. Phillips him on the back. At the very least, I would think they would have to change the cause of death."

  "Again Dr. Quint and team, thank you for your help with this homicide,” Van Bruggin expressed. “We have a lot of investigative work we need to get in motion.”

  Marie asked, "Do you have enough information to bring Dr. Lewis in for questioning?"

  "The Green Bay police do not have enough information to bring him in for questioning, but I would think that the Cook County Sheriff has enough information. I'm not sure we want to do that at this time. I would prefer to collect answers to the questions we just spelled out before we bring him in for questioning,” Haro noted.

  They were getting ready to exit the house when Angela asked about Helen.

  “She is still unconscious. They have her in a medically induced coma trying to give her brain a rest. They tell us that the earliest she might wake up is still three days away and they really don’t know the condition of her brain."

  “My thoughts and prayers are with her family. She is lucky to have the excellent and caring supervisor that she does,” said Angela.

  Haro nodded and the two detectives left.

  “Whew! Thanks, Jack, for being so darn good with that video feed. Your diligence in seeing something the rest of us did not, was amazing,” Jill said. “The police have all kinds of new clues of potential physical evidence to follow. I wish we could be involved in that. I should get back to what you guys were looking up. Is there any new news there? Anything I can help research?”

  “I haven’t come across anything yet primarily due to the lack of public information about the personal lives of Dr. Lewis and the Easleys,” Jo bemoaned. “I’ll keep looking for something, but it’s not going well.”

  “I’ve been chasing a lot of information about Dr. Lewis,” Marie explained. “As a distant observer, his posts on a variety of platforms are all over the place. Sometimes he is celebrating an accomplishment, other times he is on a complete tear about someone. Erratic behavior is always a red flag when generally looking at any candidate for employment. He belongs to several gun organizations which I guess is not surprising given his proficiency with a pistol.”

  “Have you discovered any intersection with Michelle? Do their kids hang out together, attend the same church, belong to the same charitable organization?” asked Jill.

  “Nothing so far, but I have a lot more work to do on this group of people. Hey, it’s coming up on dinner. Do you guys want to eat in or dine out?”

  “I love your cooking, Marie, but our last cleansing the brain experience worked well by going to Curley’s. I think that Jo should pick another restaurant since she has been successful with her choices so far,” Jill said.

  She looked around and got nods of agreement from Angela, Marie, and Jack. Jo hated to be put on the spot like this, but she thought about what she was in the mood for and then checked with Angelina’s to see if their party of five could be accommodated.

  They were in luck as the restaurant could accommodate their party probably because it was early in the peak dinner traffic period. They were soon driving toward downtown for a delicious Italian meal. An hour and a half later they were again headed back to Marie’s house, relaxed with full bellies and mellowed brains.

  There was nothing more for Jack to do with the video feed. He had worked the footage with all technology that he was capable of applying and had finessed the pertinent section to its best view. With nothing more to contribute he gave everyone a hug and departed.

  “I get the feeling we have done every bit of research we can on this case,” Marie noted. “I’m simply not coming up with anything new. We need some feedback from the detectives. It’s been several hours, do you think they would share anything with us?”

  “Never hurts to ask. Other than my failed attempt at surveillance, everything else we have handed them has been their only solid leads. It's not quite 7pm yet so I don't think it is too late to call.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Detective Van Bruggin this is Jill. My team is at a standstill as far as investigating leads. We wondered if we could either assist you, or if you would share any new information that you have to see if that causes us to follow a new direction? I know it's later in the evening, but we wanted to give you time to follow-up with the satellite feed of Dr. Phillips' death.”

  “We don’t generally share the results of our investigation with civilians,”

  Jill cut off his speech with “Yeah so you told us earlier tonight. If asked, I’ll tell anyone that you want, that you were uncooperative with us and didn’t share data. Now can we move on and will you share whatever you have uncovered in the last two hours?”

  With a sigh on the other end of the phone, Van Bruggin said, “I had a long conversation with the Cook County Sheriff and coroner and they have agreed to re-open the report of the accident. We discussed the next steps which were primarily focused on notifying Dr. Phillips’s family. There is interest on the Sheriff's part in meeting you and possibly having you consult during the actual autopsy which would not occur for a few days. We had a discussion about the snowmobile that Dr. Phillips used. Apparently the snowmobile belonged to Dr. Lewis and he indicated at the time of the incident that he would tow it back to his cabin, so they don’t think they can examine it without a warrant. We’re not sure if it would have told us anything given the six months that have passed.

  “The Sheriff was able to put the respondin
g officers on the phone and we listened to the 911 call Dr. Lewis made. His discussion on the phone does not match what we can see on the video feed so the Cook Sheriff is sending an officer to join us in an interview tomorrow. We called Dr. Lewis at home and asked him to come down to the station for an interview. He agreed to our request and asked what this was about. We indicated that we had some follow-up questions about Dr. Phillips’s death from six months ago. He’ll be at the station at ten in the morning.”

  “Would you like some medical questions to ask him during the interview?” Jill volunteered. “I can give you some questions to ask. If you have an observation area for the interview room, I could send in some comments based on his responses if he says anything that is not medically accurate.”

  “We would appreciate your help,” Van Bruggin said. “What time does your flight leave tomorrow?”

  “I need to be at the airport by four in the afternoon. If the Cook County Sheriff and I reach an agreement regarding the autopsy, I may delay my trip home. I would think the court order for the exhumation would come about quickly and as the ground is not frozen, they could dig up Dr. Phillips’s body as soon as the next day or day after. If that is the case, I’ll delay my trip home. If the family plans to fight the exhumation, I’ll head home as scheduled”

  “Detective Haro is on the other line with Cook County as we speak, so he should soon have a reading as to how the widow will respond to our request. Let me put you on hold a moment as I see he is ending the call.”

  Soon there was a buzzing sound in her ear and she took the hold time to update everyone on the conversation, most of which they had been able to glean from Jill’s side of the conversation.

  Van Bruggin came back on the line and said, “The family is anxious to have a full autopsy performed on Dr. Phillips. They have a lot of anger directed towards law enforcement at this time, but we’re getting what we want. If I had been the Cook County Sheriff, I would have thrown your name in as a consultant to assure the family the investigation would be done correctly this time. Can you send me your biography and contract and I’ll forward it to Cook County? Of course, I’m assuming you can stay and provide consulting services.”