by Jeff Carson
The channel in the skull was deep. There was serious aggression behind the blows, pounding the same spot over and over again. Gray brain folds were visible.
Wolf moved his gaze to the scene. “How many people have been walking in here?”
“Ricardo and I have been taking care of forensics for the last hour. The anonymous caller must have been in here, and who knows how many people he was with. We’ve had no officers come in here, on my order. But there are footprints everywhere.”
Wolf agreed with that, surveying the immediate vicinity. Little yellow A-framed plastic evidence indicators were strewn about in an illogical display — a bent twig here, a foot print there, a cigarette-butt obviously too old to be relevant.
But no matter what Wolf thought, he had to admit this was a difficult, if not impossible scene to read. The rain storm that drenched the area while they ate pizza yesterday obviously hit this area as well. It was sopping wet. The deluge of rain could have washed away any number of pieces of evidence. But nonetheless there were a few things that caught Wolf’s eye.
The most definitive being two cattail reeds at Rosenwald’s hip. They were bent twice, which was completely unnatural — physically impossible without the help of human intention — bent once when the body fell on them, and another time when the killer bent them back up, undoubtedly to ensure better concealment of the body.
Which indicated he was probably dumped here after he was killed. Which indicated that he probably wasn’t killed in this very spot. Which told him a crime scene was still out there to be looked at.
“Estimated time of death?”
Rossi looked to Wolf. “Looks like at least three to four days. Nothing definite. But Ricardo says it looks like this weekend. Looks like it could be Friday night.”
“Underneath? What’s it look like?” Wolf pointed and bent down.
Rossi barked to the forensics officer to come over. They rolled the body to the side and looked underneath. Lia put her hand on Wolf’s shoulder and got down to look with them. Rossi put on gloves, and pulled the body to the side with the forensic specialist. A mat of leaves, grass and branches stuck to the back of the head. A fresh waft of death and decay filled his nostrils with the movement. Dark brown dried blood stains covered the back of the neck, shirt, and the underlying vegetation.
“Blood on the vegetation underneath. The blood coagulated around the grass, sticks, and leaves behind his head. Looks like he was dumped pretty quickly after death. The blood was still flowing down his neck, not yet coagulated.”
“Yes,” Rossi said. “That’s what I was thinking as well. So we swept the scene, couldn’t find a weapon…”
Wolf was looking in the distance through the thick brush to the left of the group officers now smoking and pantomiming soccer plays. The silver reflection off the observatory dome winked at them through the trees. No more than a few hundred yards away.
“There,” he said pointing. “Is there a path from here to the observatory?”
“Wolf,” Rossi said pulling off a glove and touching his shoulder. “Let me finish, my friend. We have been here for over three hours surveying the scene. I have found out much. We couldn’t find a murder weapon here, but, yes. We followed the trail to the observatory.” He walked back towards the narrow trail. “Come.”
They followed Rossi to a trail that joined from the right. An officer stood guard of the narrower-still pathway, shoving his cell phone in his pocket with a red face as Rossi passed with a grunted order.
Pieces of orange ribbon were tied in small bows in various spots on the limbs. Rossi stopped at one and pointed to it, moving to the next and pointing wordlessly. Blood stains, blocked from the rains by the dense foliage.
They hiked up a small rise, slapping mosquitoes and pushing aside branches, and broke through to a farm road that led towards the observatory in the distance. Tall corn stalks with fat cobs lined both sides of the road.
Another couple officers with two German Shepherds were fifty yards ahead, talking on the top of the rise.
“The dogs found a weapon here,” Rossi gestured towards the side of the dirt road. Both dogs growled, one of them barked with teeth bared, slobber flinging from its lips. The dog yelped as the officer ripped it back, following with a sharp smack on the top of its head.
Rossi yelled at the two officers, who pulled the now crouching dogs away to the observatory. He bent down and pointed closely at a tubular groove in the mud.
“The dogs found a copper pipe here on the ground. It had large amounts of blood on it still on the underside, and fingerprints. I’ve had it taken for identification. We should know shortly whose they were,” he said.
“Well, that will be good. About time we come up with a cut and dry piece of evidence. So, otherwise, the dogs didn’t pick up any other scent here?”
“No, but they picked up a scent on the grounds of the observatory. There is still evidence left, even after the rains.” Rossi raised his eyebrows and exhaled. “It looks to be where he was killed. Then it looks like he was dragged down here, the weapon ditched in the corn here, then the body dropped down where we found him.” He pointed back to the lake.
The lawn of the observatory was as unruly as ever, with foot and a half long grasses, weeds and wildflowers making it difficult to walk. It was damp, holding moisture from yesterday’s downpour, or over-zealous lawn watering, or both. Rossi led them to a familiar spot.
It was a beautifully manicured yard space, other than the lawn. Vines clung to the rear of the entire building and the exterior of the rounded dome, as if keeping it earthbound. Wolf saw two wide skid marks in the lawn.
He looked at Lia and looked to the marks in the lawn. She was following his eyes as they walked by.
“Here is the spot,” Rossi pointed, reaching another perimeter of crime scene tape. “The dogs located a lot of blood in the lawn there. It seems to be where he was killed with the pipe.” There were little yellow evidence A-frames clustered on the lawn.
Wolf grabbed the tape, “Can we go in?”
“It’s wet.” Rossi ducked under. “Good choice of shoes you brought to Italy.” He looked at Wolf’s old Danner leather work boots.
Wolf ducked under, stealing a glance towards the perimeter fence. The clothing he’d used to climb over was gone.
Rossi led the way through the soggy lawn, their feet sucking and sloshing with each step. Mud patches were visible at the roots of the lawn. Wolf bent down next to a small yellow plastic A-frame evidence indicator. It was almost impossible to discern any difference between the spot and the surrounding area, all except a tiny shard of white. Another nearby A-frame tent marked a larger piece, this time with skin and hair on it.
“The dogs were going nuts in this spot. The forensics team found a lot of skull fragments. The largest concentration is there,” Rossi said pointing at the number one plastic indicator. “That is a large concentration area of blood.”
Wolf stepped to the area and crouched down, looking intently. He imagined the A-frame indicator to be Dr. Rosenwald’s head, then imagined his body laying out. He swept his gaze in a tight spiral around the marker, working his way out.
Five feet from the evidence marker at two o’clock, a pair of indentions captured his eye. Wolf stepped over and felt the ground. There were two holes, just about the size of knees. He could see it clearly in his mind’s eye. Dr. Rosenwald had knelt down right here and received his first blow to the side of his head.
The A-frame indicator marked the pool of blood as just a few feet to the side. It looked like he’d been hit once, fell to his side, then was finished off with numerous blows to the head. There would be chunks of skull, brain matter, and blood strewn everywhere. Probably under the soles of his boots.
He stood up and shuffled to the side, feeling another slight depression under his foot. Massaging the ground with his hands, he found two more depressions a few feet from the others. Realization sent a jolt of electricity up his spine. The mud circles on his brot
her’s jeans now made perfect sense. His eyes closed slowly as he felt the knee depressions where his brother had taken his last conscious breath.
“Pronto?” Rossi barked into his phone, walking away towards the crime tape perimeter.
Lia looked to Wolf. “What are you doing?”
“Remember those circles on the knees of my brother’s jeans?”
“Yes?”
“There were similar circles on Rosenwald’s jeans, but less noticeable. Probably from being out in the rain. But there are still four deep indentations right here on the ground. Two for each man who knelt down.”
Lia let out a gasp and bent down to see for herself. “Ma-donna.”
“Have you spoken to anyone in the observatory yet?” Wolf stood up, turning to Rossi.
Rossi was twenty yards away with his phone to the ear, looking at Wolf with wide eyes and propping an index finger. He looked to the trees in the distance and asked some sharp questions, then hung up the phone, keeping his head bowed for a few seconds. Pocketing the cell phone, he looked to Wolf with a pursed mouth.
“What?”
“That was forensics at the station. They have the fingerprints match.”
“Let me guess. A Romanian national.”
“No David,” he said with a deep breath. “They are your brother’s fingerprints.”
Chapter 31
“What?” Wolf exhaled.
“They are your brother’s fingerprints.” Rossi folded his arms and looked to his feet.
Lia put her hand on his shoulder.
Wolf and Lia walked to Rossi, looked back at the evidence tents strewn about, then ducked underneath the crime tape.
Wolf walked slowly to the observatory gate, turning his head to look at the skid marks as he passed. He continued on through the gate and out onto the dirt road, turning back towards the lake.
Wolf reached the groove in the mud where the pipe was found and swiveled around. “This is too perfect.”
Rossi and Lia stopped and looked at him with neutral expressions. Silence hung for thirty seconds as Wolf studied the impression in the mud.
“He’s getting framed for the murder.”
Rossi blinked and looked to the ground at his feet. Lia shifted uncomfortably.
“Let me get this straight. He beats his friend to death, then drags him down here along the road, leaving the copper pipe right here, for anyone to find. Why not throw it out in the corn field at least? Or a better idea? Toss it in the lake. The same lake he’s about to dump the body at.”
Lia pointed towards the lake, “David…”
“Nah, I’m not buying it,” he said, shaking his head. “Why lug the body all the way down there? Why…why does he dump the body and then go kill himself at home?” Wolf looked up to the sky, “Here’s a good question…How did my brother get home? If he killed Rosenwald, then how did he get home? There’s no way he walked. His girlfriend said she heard the crash at 1:15 am. There’s no way he went home on foot. So how did he get home? His body was removed from this lawn, by someone else, and taken to his apartment to be strung up on a chandelier, that’s how.”
“He could have taken Rosenwald’s car,” Lia offered.
Rossi stared at Wolf.
“Okay, yeah. We need to account for his car.” Wolf turned his back and kicked a small rock into the corn stalks. He turned back to them. “We need to go talk to Vlad in the observatory. He said he was working that night. He said the reason he wasn’t at the bar with them that night was because he was at work. So, let’s ask him what he saw. If he was here, then he can tell us what happened. You don’t just miss a blow out argument between two guys that ends in a murder in the back yard, do you? It’s beyond suspicious.”
Rossi raised an eyebrow and nodded his head, looking to Lia.
“And you don’t know everything yet, Rossi,” he said pushing past him. “This guy, Ferka Vlad, is involved in cocaine and electronics smuggling with the owner of a Romanian pub in Lecco named Cezar.”
“What?” Rossi turned.
“I was here last night. I saw the truck they were packing with stolen computers and drugs. I actually looked in the back of the truck and saw at least a hundred stolen computers. I ripped open a white cardboard box and saw what looked to be cocaine. There were at least ten of those boxes. It was dark, there could have been many more.”
“When were you going to tell me this?” Rossi held out his hands.
Wolf blinked and shrugged. “There hasn’t exactly been a good time this morning for me to tell you.”
Rossi shot Lia a questioning look.
She shrugged her shoulders. “What?”
“I was shot at and chased by this guy, Cezar, last night. So to me this whole situation looks very different.” Wolf stopped and looked to them. “The way I see it is, my brother and Rosenwald had a few drinks at the Albastru Pub and headed to the observatory. I have no clue why they did, but we saw the tweets and the pictures online. They didn’t look under duress or in danger when they took those pictures. It looked like they were probably just coming here to look through the telescope.
“So things obviously went sour at some point in the night. Maybe my brother and Rosenwald saw Vlad and Cezar packing the stolen stuff, or the drugs. Whatever the exact situation, they somehow see something they shouldn’t have, and Vlad and Cezar know they can’t un-see it. So they are now a liability. Cezar deals with my brother and Rosenwald the best way he knows how.
“They are taken out back and forced to kneel down, probably by Cezar and his gun. But obviously gun shots could raise some alarm from the neighbors, so they get a pipe. Some words are said, and Cezar flies off the handle, beating Rosenwald’s head in.
“Maybe Vlad injects some calm, scientific reasoning in the situation. They know getting rid of the two bodies is going to be hard, so they leverage a little deception. They decide to frame my brother for the murder. My brother is hit on the head with the same pipe, and then strangled with one of their belts. It wouldn’t have been Cezar’s belt, he’s too skinny. Ferka Vlad,” he said pointing towards the dome with a steeled expression. “Ferka Vlad is a man with an ample belly.”
“Okay. Then they take your brother back to his apartment and string him up?” Rossi asked with a tilted head. “How do they bring the dead body in the apartment building?”
“On a Friday night? They carry him in,” Wolf shrugged. “Anyone who sees thinks he’s drunk and his buddies are bringing him in. They could have pulled right up to the gate in a car, brought him in, and strung him up. Then they make sure Rosenwald’s body can be found in due time, and the weapon is left here in plain sight, flush with my brother’s fingerprints. They probably figured my brother would be out of the country in a box before too long anyway, making the case even more complicated to figure out for you guys.”
“How did they get your brother back to his apartment?” asked Lia. “That would have been a tough situation. How do they know where he lives?”
Wolf continued walking in front of them. “Maybe Vlad knew my brother better than we thought. Maybe he’d been there before.” Wolf thought of Cristina, John’s girl friend. A Romanian too. Was there a connection?
“It seems to fit pretty well, but there really is no evidence at all against these guys,” Rossi said. “We have to have something solid.”
“Well, then let’s go talk to Vlad and get something.”
Chapter 32
Vlad sagged at his desk, sipping at a Coke Lite can when he saw them approach the office doorway. A puzzled, horrified expression contorted his face for a split second and he coughed out a mist of Coke into the air.
“Vlad, how are you doing today?” Wolf entered fast.
“David, please. Let me handle this.” Rossi put a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him aside, a wild look on his face. “Let’s keep this official.”
Rossi reached out, gently and took the Coke Lite can from Vlad’s shaking hand, placed it on the desk, swiveled the chair to face h
im, then placed his palm on his chest.
Vlad looked into Rossi’s eyes with horrid fascination, then shot a glance to Wolf and Lia.
Rossi twisted his shirt, pulled him up with the sound of ripping fabric, and pushed him against the window. The aluminum blinds clanged, letting in bright rays of morning sun.
“You were here on Friday night. And yet you told these two that you did not see anything at all.”
Vlad looked confused, then nodded his head quickly. “Y-y-yes sir. I didn’t see anything! I was working all night Friday in my office — ”
“I don’t believe you!” He wadded the shirt underneath Vlad’s chin, exposing his jiggling belly.
“You didn’t hear them come into the building? They didn’t simply come down the hall and see you working here with the light on? They didn’t say hi to you? What is that, twenty feet away?” He jerked his head towards the observatory room down the hall.
“No, they didn’t. I–I-I-…I heard them down the hall, and I shut my door to block out the sound. I had a lot of work to do. I was talking on the phone and had important conversations. They didn’t speak to me. Th-th-th-then they just left. I didn’t see them at all. It was only a couple minutes!”
“Why did you lie to us?” Wolf asked. “You said you didn’t see them Friday night.”
“You asked if I went out to have beers with them! I did not.”
Wolf said nothing.
“I did not ever see them. When they showed up here on Friday night, I heard them from here. I was on the phone, and I could hear…someone. But I never saw them,” Vlad’s expression steeled. “I’m sorry. I was in here working.”
Rossi let him go and stepped back, still looking at him hard. Vlad pulled his shirt down and breathed hard.
“What were you doing last night, Vlad?” Wolf asked.