Signal to Murder

by Rhone Sonnier

  Detective Hernandez said “Hello Keith, I am happy to see you awake. Do you know who I am? I reply with, “Hello, Detective Hernandez, I know you, and I know that I am Keith Edwards Sevan Sorrell, but I am very groggy and tired.”

  Detective Hernandez begins to speak once more and says, “It is still Tuesday, April 14 and you are currently in Intensive Care. Your doctor and Mr. Raj Arakkal have given me permission to ask you a few questions. Just answer yes or no. I will visit you again tomorrow morning after you are moved to your private room.”

  I was asked a few yes and no questions by Detective Hernandez after which he said, “Keith I would like to hear your take on the young Korean lady in blue who removed your therapy dog from your apartment this morning; we will cover her in more detail when I visit you tomorrow. Did you tell her not to take Dillon that he was your therapy dog? Were you emphatic that you needed your dog’s assistance?”

  “Yes, I said do not take Dillon, do not take my dog, he is my therapy dog,” Keith says to Detective Hernandez.

  Chapter 42

  Su Chi Ku, the Lady in Blue

  I, Su Chi Ku pronounced Suzy Q (cue), am a South Korean American civil servant, and my superior is a man who is extremely prejudiced and prudish about homosexuals. He has absolutely no tolerance.

  Having never felt any obvious homosexual tendencies, I wonder if I always had latent tendencies and had always ignored them. It is difficult to understand how I arrived at this choice in life. It is a mystery to me. A scandal may jeopardize my employment and my relationship with my parents. I find myself in a relationship with another woman.

  My parents have selected my future husband and are making arrangements for our marriage. My handsome future husband is from a wealthy South Korean family. His family has great financial and political influence. This ideal marriage must happen as planned in spite of my supposed gay disposition. When I marry I will no longer have to work, but I do not want my future ruined by a scandal.

  The extortionist has me in quite a bind; I should not have gone to the gay bar a few months ago, but I was curious about lesbians. I question myself constantly as to why I became so curious. Who saw me? I did nothing real bad; I only fraternized with one girl; we danced and later left the bar together. I do not even remember actually leaving the bar; I remember waking up the next morning in my apartment and a girl named Sis was making coffee. I asked her what she was doing in my apartment, and she told me that we came to my apartment together from the bar.

  The blackmailer says I must do what he requests or face ruin; he says after my job is completed he will never bother me again. I ask myself, “How can I trust a blackmailer? What choice do I have?”

  My instructions are to take a red dog named Dillon into custody during a SWAT drug bust. I question, “How difficult can the task be? I handle dogs for a living. I am a certified canine officer.”

  My new friend, Sis Taylor, has also been contacted by the blackmailer. She agrees that we must do as the blackmailer says so that we can keep our new found relationship secret and avoid scandal.

  Sis Taylor told me, “Su Chi (pronounced Suzy) I do not want unnecessary attention drawn to me. As you know, my hours have been cut to part-time on my job. I cannot afford my apartment rent, but I have managed to acquire a part-time cleaning position within my apartment building. Ms. Seemore, the building manager, agreed to hire me in the position; I work two days a week and receive a small salary plus a discount on my rent. I need the job and my apartment until I can make other arrangements. I cannot afford a scandal.”

  Sis and I value our friendship. Since the night we met in the gay bar we have become close friends and confidants.

  After we had several drinks and danced we became very familiar. This fact still surprises me. After sitting at the bar for a while, until quite late actually, I remember nothing until waking in my apartment the following morning.

  A few months passed and the extortionist made his initial contact telling me that he knew about my lesbian affair and would expose me to my parents and employer if I did not do as he said. I told Sis about the threat and Sis said that she had been contacted also; we decided we must go along with the blackmailer because neither of us could afford to be exposed.

  The extortionist sent me pictures of Sis and me in various compromising sex acts. Neither of us wanted these pictures used against us.

  Prior to visiting the bar and meeting Sis, I never had homosexual feelings though I was curious about the life style. For some reason, I strayed and visited that bar and met Sis. This relationship is difficult for me to understand. Sis has begged me to follow the demands of my blackmailer; she says she is going to do as she is told.

  Su Chi is unaware that Sis is the extortionist sister. She does not know that Sis Taylor followed her to the gay bar and intentionally pursued her. Su Chi also is unaware of the fact that Sis put a date rape drug in one of her drinks on that fateful night. She did not choose the relationship, it was introduced to her and she was seduced. Six chose Su Chi Ku as a blackmail target because of her job. On numerous occasions Sis has doctored Su Chi’s drinks and then seduced her so that pictures could be taken and given to Six. The sexual encounters and subsequent pictures were shot in Su Chi Ku’s apartment. Sis and she never met in Sis’ apartment.

  I remember Sis said she also had a call from the blackmailer and he threatened her with exposure if she did not cooperate and follow his instructions. Sis further accused me of enticing her into a sexual relationship, and therefore placing her in a position to be taken advantage of by the blackmailer.

  I told Sis that I had not instigated the encounter at the bar. I reminded Sis that she approached me on my first visit to the gay bar; I also reminded Sis that I was sitting at the bar listening to music and drinking a glass of white wine when she approached me.

  Having come to the conclusion that there was no way out of my situation, I agreed to the demands of the blackmailer. I was told that my job was to legally remove a red dog from an apartment that SWAT would enter on a drug bust. Furthermore, I was told that I would be informed as to date, time and place. The blackmailer knew that my involvement would not be questioned because I was part of a canine unit, but I did not feel good about what I was going to have to do. I was told that the dog was a therapy dog and in my care no harm would come to him.

  The day of the SWAT raid, April 14, arrived and I was notified where to go and what apartment to enter. The instructions were explicit. I was to arrive at an exact time and retrieve the dog known as Dillon from the SWAT canine officer and remove him from the premises. This procedure is routine if the residence SWAT enters has a dog.

  On the morning of the 14th the Lead SWAT team officer ordered Dillon moved to the hallway and turned over to the city canine department, me. With some coaxing the dog allowed me to lead him to my police car. I placed him in the back seat, and drove away from the apartment building, everything going as planned.

  Thinking back I remember that Dillon was frantic and tried to get out of my vehicle. When I arrived at my office and opened the back door of the car to take his leash, Dillon very forcefully pushed his way through the door knocking me to the sidewalk. I grabbed his halter, but he wrestled himself free from my hold.

  I believe that no one planning Dillon’s abduction could have predicted how resourceful he is or that he would escape from me. The blackmailer will not appreciate what happened, maybe he will not find out. I think that the blackmailer will keep his promise to leave me alone since I cannot identify him. I do not think that I will hear anything more from Sis or Six.

  Six, the extortionist must realize I cooperated completely. I entered the designated apartment right after the SWAT team and took custody of the dog. I did just as I was instructed and tremble just thinking of my participation in kidnapping that dog.

  I remember with great fear Six’s raspy voice. My blackmailer sounded satanic during our telephone conversations. The taking of Dillon complete, I am satisfied that I am rid of
Six and Sis.

  My immediate plans are to call my parents and agree on a date for my arranged, but welcome marriage to a good South Korean man.

  Chapter 43

  SWAT Officer

  Preparing his answers to possible questions from Detective Breau and or Hernandez the Lead SWAT officer relives his part in the ambush attempt. He sees himself in the entrance to the apartment building and remembers seeing clearly that the lady in blue had left with the dog. He recalls that he was the person that sent the signal to murder to the lady with the guitar and the mother pushing the baby carriage, and to whomever else he does not know.

  The officer also remembers that his signal, from the upstairs window of Edwards’ apartment, was to be clear enough so that Six’s other accomplice, who was on the bus with him, would understand the signal.

  Continuing his recollection of his participation in the assault he thinks, “After I left the second floor window I walked to the apartment building entrance on the first floor.”

  “Six instructed me to point my Glock at the old one’s back after he followed Keith Edwards onto the sidewalk, and I was told to say freeze old man. Six felt that Edwards and the old man’s actions would be predictable, Edwards would leave his apartment and chase after the dog and the old man would pursue his Grandson. I did everything just as Six instructed,” recalls the officer.

  The SWAT officer’s mind is racing with thoughts, “I need to make sure that my answers are consistent, no matter who questions me. I cannot leave any room for doubt based on other information that Breau and Hernandez might gather. I cannot be found out. I am a participant in murder or at the least a murder attempt. I must not forget that there are two women dead.”

  The SWAT officer thinks and plans, “What is my answer for why I ordered the old one to freeze and not the woman with the gun? It will be clear to Breau or Hernandez that from my vantage point in the apartment building door I could see the woman with the drawn gun. My best answer is that the lady with the baby carriage blocked any possible view I may have had of the lady behind her with the gun. The old one was the first person I saw with a gun. I called out to the old one to freeze and drop his gun. At that point, I saw Francis Sorrell stagger and fall to one side and backwards; he fell into the security guard that works for the apartment building. I did not know the old one had been shot.”

  His mind rolling on, the SWAT officer recalls that he made it clear when he was first contacted by Six that under no circumstance would he murder anyone or perform a hit on another person. Six replied to my comment with, “This is a scare, not a hit, or preplanned murder.”

  Six threated to release to the media pictures of my teenage son selling drugs at his high school. I was not convinced that my son would sell drugs. I told Six that I would not knuckle under to empty threats, and he told me to test him if I was so sure my son was innocent. He told me to go ahead and take the chance to ruin my son’s life and the lives of everyone in our family. Six also told me that he had no qualms about having my only child killed.

  I recall making my decision at that point to follow Six’s directives, and I also knew that I would never say anything about the blackmailer to the police.

  After thinking back through all this, I now believe that I am sufficiently prepared to answer questions from Breau and Hernandez, my superiors within SWAT, the District Attorney, and any Attorneys hired by the Sorrell’s or the women victims.

  I am familiar with Raj Arakkal, Keith Edwards attorney out of Chicago, and I am prepared for any questions he may throw my way as well. On second thought after considering every angle and Raj Arakkal being in the mix, I will refuse to answer anyone’s questions and will demand my union representative.

  Chapter 44

  Raj, Keith’s Attorney

  During a telephone conversation with Keith the morning of Wednesday, April 15 Raj Arakkal, Keith’s business and personal attorney, agreed to meet with Keith, Francis, and Marguerite just after lunch that day.

  Keith keeps Raj on retainer so there is no problem with him driving from his Chicago office to Rockford. He and Keith agreed to a twenty-four seven retainer contract. In addition to being lawyer and client, the two men are friends.

  Keith stayed in Intensive Care until late afternoon on Tuesday, the day of the assault, and has been steadily improving since waking around 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

  Francis has been cleared for discharge later in the afternoon of the fifteenth, but Keith’s doctor will not discuss discharge at the present time. Upon awakening from the anesthesia that was administered to him during the operation on his injured leg, Keith has begun to regain his memory. His doctor told him that the trauma on Tuesday morning caused the resurfacing of his memory. The doctor told Keith, “It will take some time for you to regain your full memory. You must continue with rehabilitative mental and physical exercise that I prescribed for you after the gassing attempt on your life.”

  Keith’s doctor has approved a short non-stressful conversation during the meeting in his room after lunch. Much planning, with Keith’s approval, must necessarily be accomplished before Keith returns to his home and Dillon. Mr. Arakkal will hire other lawyers as necessary to represent the Sorrell family in specific matters as may become necessary because of the assault and what transpired during the assault.

  Raj plans to update Keith with regards to the official opening of Sorrell’s Investigations when they visit that afternoon. Raj knows that after doctor’s approval and Francis and Marguerite’s approval, Keith must begin busying himself with productive practical and full-filling work.

  Keith’s reason for starting his investigative offices stemmed from his interest in investigative reporting. Raj feels that he, Francis, and Marguerite must all help Keith become involved in analyzing and investigating the murders and or suicides described in the three cold cases that Francis uncovered. Keith, prior to the assault, had approved and assigned the cases to d’Artagnan and the other three private investigators recently employed by Sorrell’s Investigations.

  Raj thinks, “Keith and I laid the ground work, paperwork from a legal perspective, as well as locating and setting up office space for the investigative business prior to the gassing attempt on his life. After that his coma, amnesia along with his personality disorder left him unable to proceed with opening his offices. After Francis arrived in Keith’s life, he and I talked and he said that he would engage Keith, if possible, in talking about three cold cases that he was familiar with.”

  Raj recalls that Keith agreed to change the name of his business to Sorrell’s Investigation (the original name chosen was Keith Edwards Investigations) because Francis told him that he and Marguerite would work with him. Keith has asked me to process the necessary paperwork to legally change his name to Keith Edwards Sevan Sorrell.

  Raj continued contemplatively thinking, “Now that Keith is getting his memory back and it appears that his personality has stabilized, Keith will want to begin working as soon as he is physically well enough. Keith is a very good investigative journalist and he has already told me that after cases are solved he, along with Nana Marguerite and Francis, will write articles and or books, about the cold cases.

  Raj knows that he along with Nana Marguerite, Francis, and Dillon must help in providing a healthy safe environment for Keith as he continues to heal mentally and physically. Keith will help, from a distance, in solving the three cold cases and the mysterious attempts on his life.

  With the assistance of Francis and Marguerite, Raj will arrange for d`Artagnan, The Three Musketeers, and Keith to acquire, if needed, the proper permits and licenses to carry concealed or not so concealed weapons across various state lines.

  Raj, recalls Francis saying, “I continue to have a feeling that the Sorrell family and friends are being watched closely by others plotting another attempt on our lives, some type of mayhem. You Raj, we Sorrell’s, d’Artagnan, and The Three Musketeers must remain alert, vigilant, prepared and ready to use our intelligence and we
apons.”

  Chapter 45

  Devon Needs Francis Alive

  Devon has been watching the Sorrell family and Katherine Kate Miller since witnessing CeCe’s death. He has also taken a keen interest in Dillon their small red therapy dog.

  After the assault on Tuesday morning, April 14th, I decided not to follow the ME’s van to the morgue. I had witnessed the entire assault, all the shooting, and I saw morgue attendants place CeCe’s bagged body in the ME’s van. It took all the patience and good sense I could muster to not rush out to be beside CeCe. I knew when I saw CeCe roll over and not move that something had happened to her. I presumed that she had been shot just like the woman behind her. With an overwhelming sadness and anger toward El Sicko, I watched the ME van drive away. As tears rolled down my face, I continued watching until the van turned a corner.

  I was overwhelmed with relief when no human baby was found in Prince’s baby carriage. My hopes are that El Sicko will not harm him and that he will call me and inform me of my son’s whereabouts.

  On that fateful morning of the fourteenth, I watched the apartment building entrance and the park entrance, as El Sicko had instructed me to do. I was positioned so that no one could see me (I also wore a disguise as directed by the blackmailer), therefore I managed to avoid any immediate questioning by the police.

  I thought, “Staying under the radar of the Rockford police investigators is allowing me to pursue, as well as I can, CeCe’s real killer, El Sicko.” That extortionist had both of us jumping through hoops for a while. I knew about El Sicko blackmailing CeCe, but he told me, “You are not to talk with CeCe about me or my contact with you. If I find out that you have, I will hurt Prince.”

  On Monday, April 13th at 10:00 p. m., the day before the ambush, the extortionist called me and said, “I have already told you that I have information on you that would send you to prison; now this is what I want you to do. I want you to steal a white SUV, change both license plates, and then spread some mud on both the front and back plates. After you do this take the vehicle to the address I will give you before we hang up. The address will be near a convenience store. Place the keys in a magnetic box and hide the box under the back bumper. After you drop the vehicle off, stay away from that location. Do not tell anyone about this. Remember, I will kill Prince. Do not under estimate me Devon.”