The Ghost

by H. Berkeley Rourke

  "Wait a minute. No one told me the girl died. I had nothing to do with her death. The Campus Police came in and took my log and they were in her room for a while. I didn't ask and they didn't tell me what they were doing there."

  "That's better. Thanks for nothing lady." Jeanne walked out of the dorm office and out the door to find Officer Montague standing in front of the dorm waiting for her. He had noticed a strange car parked in front of the building and checked it out. When the ownership came back to Phoenix P.D. he started into the building to see who was there and why.

  Jason smiled at Jeanne and gave her a kind of perfunctory hug. The two of them had been personally acquainted for many years. For a very short time they had dated. As he stepped back away from her he said to her, in a friendly way, "What the hell are you doing out here?"

  She answered in a similar way, "One of your students is in the hospital in Phoenix and I asked her if I could come out and look at her room. She consented and signed a form for me so I came out and took a look."

  "Why would someone from homicide be interested in one of our students?"

  "Oh," Jeanne said, "I guess you must not have gotten the word yet, the other girl, the girl named Marilyn, died yesterday."

  "Oh shit," was the only response Jason made. But he put his head down into his hands and she could see that he was heavily affected by the news. She waited. In a short time, with tears running down his cheeks, he said, "I was the one who took both of the them to the hospital yesterday, Jeanne. I had no idea Marilyn was in such terrible condition. What happened to her, do you know?"

  "Well the hospital is keeping it pretty close to the vest at the moment and I have not seen the autopsy report but I did talk with a Manny Freeman, a supervisor of some kind. He told me she died of what is called a heart tamponade. That means she bled to death internally and it stopped her heart by the blood gathering around it and stopping it from beating, I think."

  Once again Jason put his head down and once again in a few minutes he looked back up at Jeanne and said "Can we go somewhere off campus and get a cup of coffee? I think we need to talk about this situation a lot Jeanne. And I am not comfortable talking here on campus where we can be seen together too easily." As it happened they already had been seen together and as they were turning to walk away from the dorm lieutenant Jim Whalen, pulled up in a cruiser and stopped in front of them.

  Jim dismounted his car and walked to where Jeanne and Jason were standing, waiting for him. He greeted them both warmly. Jim also was acquainted with Jeanne though on a lesser basis than Jason. After greeting the two of them Lieutenant Whalen asked Jeanne, "To what do we owe the pleasure of a visit from Phoenix P.D. Homicide's finest detective?"

  Jeanne explained the she had talked at length with Sherry and wanted to see the place where Sherry and Marilyn had lived. As she was doing so Jim interrupted her and said "You know of course that the other girl died."

  "Yes, Jim, I am aware the girl passed."

  "Are you also aware the autopsy report is complete now and calls the death occurring by indeterminate means, maybe a fall maybe an accident falling down a stairway, something along those lines, but not by virtue of criminal conduct?"

  "Yes I am also aware of those determinations being part of the autopsy report. But I was not aware a printed copy was available yet."

  "No," Jim said, "I don't think one is available yet. I just heard all this from the administrative offices. I think they got a call from the hospital. I think the President of the University knows someone who works in the emergency room or maybe someone who was involved in the autopsy process. By the way Jason are you on duty yet?"

  "No, I don't go on until two o' clock this afternoon. Jeanne and I were just about to go have a cup of coffee, maybe a bite to eat together. Would you care to join us Lieutenant?"

  Whalen looked strangely at Jason but declined the opportunity for lunch and left them there with a reminder to Jeanne, "As I recall Phoenix P.D. policy requires that you inform us of any investigative activities on our campus Jeanne. I would appreciate it if you would adhere to the policy the next time you decide to come out here and do some investigative work. Investigative activity is what you are doing here is it not?"

  Jeanne smiled at Whalen. She had been expecting a comment about the agreed upon policy between the two departments. She said, "Actually I just came out to see the girl's room. She and I talked last night for a long time and I thought some things might be available to be gathered there which might relate to Marilyn's death and to the beating the girl Sherry suffered at the hands of your sergeant."

  Whalen, who had personally overseen the removal of all the bloody clothing, the cleaning of the dorm room and the destruction of everything taken out of it blushed, turning bright red. He said, "That girl assaulted my sergeant. My sergeant responded with appropriate force in every way and there is nothing which establishes any other point of view."

  Jeanne didn't argue with him though she already knew the tapes of the conversations between the sergeant and his dispatcher which had been simultaneously heard by Nan in Phoenix dispatch were being saved and copied. Jeanne, having seen the dorm room and having smelled the disinfectant which was used to clean up the blood that had been on the floor, knew for sure some kind of cover up had been initiated at the university.

  She didn't know why. She couldn't fathom what would persuade the Campus Police to take part in the process of covering up the events that led to Marilyn's death. She felt certain, though, Whalen was involved in the cover up. She hoped a conversation with Jason would show he was not part of the cover up. To her Jason and Jim Whalen's involvement was just one of the serious things she would have to deal with.

  Other thoughts coursed through her mind. She was thinking about having another autopsy done independently on the girl. It would require adherence to the requirements for exhumation and might create quite a stir. It passed through her mind the exercise of its power over the students of the school by the campus police, and particularly over Sherry and Marilyn, was a kind of rape in and of itself. It also passed through her mind the second rape was continuing, much to her chagrin.

  Sometimes having the kind and extent of power over people police officers hold was completely foreign to her. She hated it! She equated it with bad people, with dictators, with those who murdered for no good reason anyone could be figure out. To her rape and the exercise of power over a human being were synonymous. Death arising out of rape by the involvement of the police in a cover up doubled down the power given to the rapist or rapist-murderer.

  Jeanne turned to Jason after Whalen left and said to him, "Did you take part in the cover up of what happened here Jason? I am asking nicely now because I am going to find out all about it and when I do I will be happy to arrest and charge anyone involved." It was evident to Jason she was not happy.

  Jason started to stammer, "What cover up..."

  "Don't bother with trying to bullshit me," Jeanne said. "I can smell disinfectant as well as anyone. And by the way the smell of blood is something which once learned is never forgotten. You probably have not had a lot of experience with the smell of blood, Jason. I have. The coppery smell of Marilyn’s blood was still there in the dorm room despite the disinfectant. So I know Marilyn, after whatever happened to her, came home bleeding. She probably had blood all over her clothes. Sherry helped her clean up and change clothes and then they went to the Campus Police headquarters. But sometime after you took those girls to the hospital someone came and tried to clean up. They took all of Marilyn's clothing, and they tried to clean all the blood up as well. They used disinfectant to clean up the blood. I can still smell the chemicals in the room. They should have left a window open. Kind of stupid if you ask me. They got the clothing, but they didn't avoid me knowing she had bled all over the place."

  Jason continued to try and hide his knowledge of the cover up and started to say "I really don't know what you are . . ." when Jeanne interrupted him again.

  "I am
going to give you one shot Jason. Not today. Not even maybe tomorrow. Soon. After another autopsy is done on the dead girl, and after we find out she was beaten and raped on this campus, and then mistreated perhaps even worse, then I will talk with you again. It is certainly evident to me she was neglected, maybe to the point she died, perhaps as a result of your neglect. If it is what I find, then I will come back to you. When I come back to you, my old friend, all bets are off. I will be here to arrest you when I return. Am I perfectly clear?"

  Jeanne stopped for a moment. She was almost hyperventilating she was so angry. He could see it on her face. He had never seen her become so angry before. She continued, after calming herself internally for a moment,saying, "But if you come to me before then and tell me the truth I will see to it you are offered some form of immunity in the criminal cases which are sure to follow. As far as the civil cases you are on your own. And take this to heart, Jason, from now on you and I are totally quits as friends."

  Jason was very surprised when she said they were no longer friends. He thought she was just angry and would get over her piss off. She was angry and she would get over being highly incensed, but their “relationship” no longer existed to her. He was merely a perp. She wasn't done yet. She said, "You are nothing but a goddamned perp to me from this point on and there is only one way you can change my attitude. So get it together boy. And when you do, BOY, (she almost yelled the term boy) learn to act like a fucking man and tell the truth. Oh yes, one more thing. When I come back to you and ask you to tell the truth if you decide to maintain the bullshit you are now spouting please, please give me the opportunity to kick the living shit out of you. I will take great pleasure in kicking your ass so badly you will be hospitalized, you fucking asshole." With that Jeanne walked away from Jason, got into her car and drove back to Phoenix as fast as she could get there.

  Jeanne de Leon was 28 years old. She was five feet nine inches tall and weighed about the same as when she was 18. She actually weighed around one hundred thirty-five pounds. She appeared thin but in fact was very muscular. She was not a Karate expert as some others in the Homicide Division had been before her. She did attend dojo regularly. She had achieved the status of Brown Belt in Kempo Karate.

  Jeanne also worked on learning small ways of influencing the behavior or individuals and practiced moves in regard to those devices. One she loved was to reach out as though she were going to shake hands and take the person by the arm, bending their hand downward violently to bring the person to their knees. It was such a passive and then aggressive move. It fitted her personality. It made her smile when she was able to pull it off on some asshole trying to give her a bad time.

  Jeanne could defend herself quite well against the average person, man or woman. She knew how to hurt a person very quickly. She knew how to disable a person much larger than her very quickly. She didn't like hurtful physical contact. Fighting and the aftermath of pains all over the body was not her cup of tea. She was not unable or unwilling to engage in physical conduct, though. She was also a crack shot with her nine millimeter Glock pistol and could defend herself with a variety of tools with which she had trained as a street officer if the need arose.

  Jeanne had never married. She was not a lesbian though she thought some women were gorgeous. The few men she had been active with knew she was anything but a lesbian. She had been sexually involved with Jason Montague. Her sex life did not begin with him nor end with him. But she was highly selective in the men with whom she dallied sexually. Most were not cops. She had once been involved with an attorney but he was a defense attorney and the relationship suffered as a result of arguments over law enforcement. Jeanne was a very sympathetic Latina. In Spanish she was called "simpatica" by those who knew her. She loved people and loved children and she thought it a shame she would probably never have a child.

  Jeanne's life centered on her job. She loved the work, loved the contact with people, even with those people who had committed crimes. Some of them were just average people who made a terrible mistake and she knew that. Some were evil. She thought rapists were evil in general. She would learn much of that notion in a short time. Jeanne had respect for education and those whose stewardship of the universities provided education to so many.

  She had never encountered a circumstance in which school authorities tried to protect the name of their institution at the expense of one or more of their students. It had become evident to her after seeing the girl's room there was an element of institutional protectiveness involved in the death of Marilyn. The idea turned Jeanne's stomach. Her conversation with Jason Montague also turned her stomach. She shook her head at the thought at one time she had liked him well enough to share her bed with him.

  After leaving Jason Montague, Jeanne thought hard as she drove back to the city of what she might do to kick-start the investigation. The results of her considerations were she went directly to the home of Marilyn's parents. She called them while she was on the road and asked if she could talk with them. She knew what had to be done but also knew it would be a terrible blow to Marilyn's parents.

  Marilyn's parents were still in shock, still reeling from the crushing pain of losing their only daughter, their only child. As Jeanne drove up to their home and stopped outside she dreaded meeting with them. It was absolutely necessary, though. She intended to ask them to allow the state to disinter their daughter and have another autopsy performed. The organs would be gone. Jeanne was not concerned so much with the interior organs as she was with the exterior appearance of the body and with the rib cage. Jeanne also wanted the girl’s vagina very carefully examined for tissue bruising and tearing.

  Marilyn's father, George Cummings, answered the door when Jeanne rang the doorbell. He looked at her, didn't know her personally but could see she was a cop. She held up her badge and said her name. He just opened the door and motioned her in without a word. She walked in, waited for him to close the door and lead her into the living room.

  Marilyn's mother Lindsay was seated there in a comfortable chair. Lindsay was wrapped in a shawl and had a box of tissues nearby. There were also tissues on the floor near where she was seated. Marilyn's father said, “Linds, this is Officer. . ." and turned to her.

  "I am Detective de Leon, Mrs. Cummings, Mr. Cummings, please call me Jeanne. I am a detective with Phoenix Homicide Division. I called you earlier and asked to see you."

  Lindsay Cummings merely nodded and began to cry again, using the tissues to wipe away her tears and blowing her nose. Jeanne waited, gave Lindsay a moment to recover. "I need to ask you to do something which will be extremely difficult for you but I have to ask. Before I answer the question in your minds please let me tell you a couple of things that I strongly believe relating to Marilyn's death."

  She paused, then continued, saying, "The first thing is that it was so terribly unnecessary. I know that is impossible for you to understand right now. I'm sure you are saying to yourselves what the hell is she doing here. The answer is I am convinced Marilyn was raped the night before she died. I am also convinced the rapist beat her savagely either with his hands and feet or with some instrument. Lastly I am convinced as he was beating her he broke at least one of her ribs. That broken rib impacted a small artery. The injury to the artery caused the internal bleeding ending with your daughter passing away."

  Lindsay Cummings was gasping for air and sobbing as Jeanne finished. Her husband had sat on the arm of the chair and put his arms around his wife. He too was crying but he was maintaining well enough to listen to Jeanne. He said to her, "You work for Phoenix Homicide, don't you?"

  "Yes sir I work there. It is also true that before I became a homicide detective I specialized in handling rape cases."

  "So you are telling us our daughter was murdered?"

  "Yes sir it is exactly what I am saying."

  "How can it be?", he asked. "Dr. Freeman told us the autopsy which was performed did not show she was murdered. He said the evidence on the body did not rea
lly tell them anything. How can it be she was murdered? How can you sit there and say she was murdered?" His questions were angry, pointed, directed at her and her position. He and his wife had believed what they were told at the hospital. His face was contorted as he nearly yelled out those questions.

  "Mr. Cummings, sir, please this is not easy for me either. But Marilyn's roommate was with her after she was raped. Sherry told me as I visited with her in the hospital about Marilyn coming back to the dorm after being raped. Marilyn was bleeding a lot and she had been beaten severely according to what Sherry said. Mr. Cummings, the hospital is covering those things up with the existing autopsy report. What is going on here sir is the University is, with the help of its police department and the help of the hospital administration, covering up the fact Marilyn was raped and beaten so savagely her injuries killed her eventually."

  "Why would they cover it up?" Mrs. Cummings sobbed out as her husband nodded. "They have been so nice to us, so helpful in letting us bury our daughter right away rather than waiting forever."

  Jeanne said, "I believe they are covering the entire thing up to avoid a series of potential lawsuits you would have available against the university. I also think they are trying to make sure their reputation as a fine place with good Catholic values guiding the administration is maintained."

  "But what can we do? They have already done an autopsy on my daughter, they have her organs or what remains of them they said. What could we possibly do now to prove she was murdered?" asked Mr. Cummings.

  "We can exhume her body sir and do another autopsy with an independent doctor, someone not tied to the hospital or the university." When Jeanne said exhume her Mrs. Cummings almost fainted and wailed, sobbing continually. She was having a hard time breathing she was crying so hard.

  Mr. Cummings said to Jeanne, "What in God's name kind of person are you to come here and suggest we take her out of the grave?