‘Not really, sir,’ Penner said. ‘We have the hair from one scene, but there was no DNA match in our system. We don’t even know if its really related or not, it could have been incidental transfer. We know what type of weapon was used, we have video showing the suspect, so we know what they were wearing for one of the murders, and we have a photo of a boot or shoe print that we think belongs to the suspect. Oh, and we know a stun gun was used on one of the victims. We would really need a warrant to see if we could find the weapon or the clothes and make a comparison. But,’ Penner paused, ‘the kicker is that if we were to execute a search warrant, I know we would find all of these regardless, except maybe the boots. Heck, you’d find them at any of our houses.’
The Captain sat back, rubbing his forehead, wondering how to proceed. Grant felt sick. Penner sat quietly, looking at her hands in her lap. After what felt like an eternity, the Captain finally spoke. ‘Alright. I’m going to call the Crown attorney and explain things to him and see if we can get a warrant. Based on what you’ve shown me, I don’t see why he wouldn’t tell us to proceed. Now, listen carefully. I want this kept quiet, understand? We don’t need this getting out until we’re sure about where we stand and ready to make an arrest. The two of you can execute the search. Bring two officers with you. No sirens, no handcuffs, got it? When you’re done with your search, come back for questioning. I want to be there.’ The Captain picked up his pen again. That was their cue to leave. ‘I’ll let you know within the hour if we have the warrant or not.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Penner said, standing.
‘I’d say good job, but…’ the Captain said.
‘Understood, sir,’ said Grant, following Penner out of the office and closing the door behind him. ‘Man, and I thought death notices were hard,’ he said to Penner in the hall.
Penner just leaned against the wall and stared ahead. For once, she didn’t know what to say.
* * *
Millar always felt like the smell of death clung to him after an autopsy. When he left the coroner’s office, he decided to run home and grab a quick shower and change of clothes before returning to the office. He was surprised to find the house unlocked, but then he remembered it was Saturday and Tina should be at home. He kicked off his shoes and walked into the living room. ‘You’re going to know more about that stuff than I do, soon,’ he said, seeing Tina sitting on the sofa, reading one of his books.
‘Oh, hey, Dad. I didn’t think you’d be home at all today.’ Tina looked up with surprise. ‘Short day for a change?’
‘Just need to have a shower before heading back to the office. Gotta catch up on these cases we’re working on,’ Millar said. He was happy they were actually having a civil conversation for once and just wanted it to continue. ‘Got plans for the night?’
‘Yeah, I’ve got practice in about an hour. Then I’m going to meet up with some friends for dinner and studying. Finals are coming up.’ Tina was back to staring at the book.
‘Right. Ready for them?’
‘Think so,’ said Tina. ‘Been doing pretty good in most of my classes. Well, except Social Studies. I hate that class.’
‘Well, maybe you should be concentrating on Social Studies then, instead of reading my books.’ Millar cringed as soon as he said it, expecting it to set her off. Luckily, she let it slide.
‘I’ll mention it to the group tonight,’ Tina said, still looking in the book.
‘Right, I’m going to shower.’ Millar leaned down and gave Tina a kiss on top of her head. ‘Try not to stay out too late, okay?’
‘Likewise,’ Tina said.
Millar went upstairs to shower. As soon as she heard the water running, Tina got up from the couch and went to the hall closet. She grabbed her gym bag and checked to make sure she had everything she needed. She slipped on her shoes, picked up her bag and went out to the garage for her bike. Pedalling to the end of the block, she turned and headed towards her school. If she had left five minutes later, she would have seen the black sedan pull onto her street, followed by two police cruisers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
As Millar was about to get into the shower, he heard the door bell ring. ‘Tina, can you get that?’ No answer. The bell rang again and there was pounding on the door. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went downstairs. He glanced out of the window beside the front door and was surprised to see Penner on his doorstep. ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked, as he opened the door. Now, for the first time, he could see Grant and two uniformed officers standing behind Penner. ‘What’s going on?’
‘I’m really sorry about this,’ said Penner. ‘Can we come in and get off the street so the neighbours don’t see.’
‘See what?’ Millar asked in confusion. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘We have a warrant,’ Penner was visibly upset. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and swallowed hard. ‘To search your property.’
‘What?’ Millar was stunned at first. And then he got angry. ‘Penner. Why would you have a warrant to search my home? What’s this about?!’
Penner stepped past him into the house, followed by the two officers. ‘Remember, only take the items listed. Try to be neat. I don’t want you tossing the place. Millar, here, I’ll explain what’s going on.’ She handed him the search warrant and he grabbed it out of her hand, reading it furiously.
Penner and Grant followed Millar into the living room while the two officers headed down to the basement to start their search.
‘As you can see, we have a warrant for your Taser, your tactical baton, a dark hooded sweater and a pair of boots,’ Penner said. Millar looked up from the warrant. It suddenly dawned on him what was going on.
‘Do you think I had something to do with these murders?’ he asked, incensed.
‘I really don’t know what to believe,’ Penner said. ‘But Constable Grant was doing some research and…’
‘I should have known you had something to do with this!’ Millar shouted, cutting Penner off. ‘I never did trust you!’ He lunged towards Grant, but Penner jumped in his way.
‘Terry, stop it!’ Penner yelled. ‘You don’t want to make this any worse for yourself. Just sit down and I’ll explain.’
‘Thanks, I’ll stand.’ Millar was breathing hard, still staring at Grant.
‘Look, you know that the three victims were struck on the head and killed…with a police baton, and one of them was tased,’ Penner started.
‘Right, and like you said at the time, every cop in the country has those. Even you. Even you!’ Millar said, pointing at them both in turn.
‘Well, there’s more,’ Penner said. ‘We know the perp was someone around your size and…’
‘Lots of guys my size out there, Penner,’ Millar said.
‘And,’ she continued, ‘was wearing a dark hooded sweater, which you admitted to owning something similar.’
‘You’ve got to be joking!’ Millar said. ‘How on earth did you get a warrant based on this?’
‘You knew the victims, Terry.’
‘So, what? Not well. There are hundreds of other parents or teachers that could say the same.’ Millar moved towards his phone. ‘I’m calling the Captain to get you all out of my house.’
‘Wait,’ Penner said. ‘There’s more.’
Millar turned to her. ‘What else?’ he asked. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure about what he was about to hear.
‘It’s about the dump sites,’ Penner said. ‘The first body was found by the Terry Fox statue, right?’
‘Yeah, so?’ Millar said.
‘Your first name?’ Penner said.
‘What, so I’m a cop named Terry and you jump to the conclusion that I’m a murderer!’ He turned to face Grant. ‘I’m going to get your badge when we’re done with this,’ he threatened. Grant tried to keep a stoic face. It wasn’t working.
‘It’s not just that,’ Penner said, and Millar turned back to her again. ‘The second statue, Big Ben.’
�
��Well, my middle name isn’t Ben and I don’t own a horse, so I don’t know where you’re going with this,’ Millar said.
‘Not the horse. The rider,’ said Penner.
‘What, Ian someone, no?’ Millar said, unsure. ‘Still not my middle name.’
‘No, not middle name. His name was Ian Millar,’ Penner said, seeing Millar’s expression changing slightly.
‘Coincidence.’
‘Well, that’s what I thought, too…at first,’ Penner continued. ‘But the third sculpture, the archer and the deer.’
‘I’m not following. I’m not native. I don’t hunt, so?’ Millar said.
‘Your street,’ said Penner. ‘Arrowhead Crescent.’
Millar was silent, thinking about everything he had just heard. Could it just be a coincidence? He wondered. ‘I’m being set up,’ he finally said.
‘Look, let us do our job,’ said Penner. ‘You’d do the same thing in our position, I’m sure. The Captain wants you to come down for questioning, but it’s just a formality. I’m sure you’ll be back home in no time.’ She didn’t sound too sure. Right now, she wasn’t really sure about anything. She and Millar had been through a lot over the years, and she just couldn’t imagine him killing anyone, could she? Sure, he had a temper when he was pushed, but cold-blooded murder? ‘Go get dressed, then come with us to the office.’
Millar had forgotten he was only wearing a towel. ‘And if I refuse?’ he asked, already knowing the answer.
‘Don’t make me cuff you,’ Penner said, almost tearing up. She was finding this way too hard.
‘Fine,’ Millar said, starting up the stairs.
‘Grant, go with him,’ said Penner.
‘I can dress myself,’ Millar said, partway up the stairs.
‘You know I can’t leave you alone once we execute the warrant,’ Penner said. Grant started up the stairs.
* * *
While Millar was getting dressed, Penner decided to go down to the basement to see how the search was progressing. She walked carefully down the stairs, hanging on to a railing that seemed a little loose. The basement was unfinished and had a very low ceiling. Even though Penner could stand upright, she felt like she needed to duck. Someone Millar’s height would have to stoop over to walk around, but could probably stand up between the ceiling joists—if he didn’t mind getting cobwebs in his hair. Penner looked around the small space. There were boxes stacked along most of the walls. It seemed like the basement was just a catch-all for all the things that weren’t used on a regular basis.
‘Find what we’re looking for?’ Penner asked.
‘We found three pairs of boots, but I’m not sure if any of these are the ones we’re looking for,’ one of the officers said. ‘They all have a pretty heavy tread pattern.’ He pointed to the three pairs of boots that they had put in the center of the room.
Penner picked up one of the boots and had a look at the sole. Holding the boot in one hand and her phone in the other, she pulled up the photo that the forensic investigator had taken at the crime scene. A quick visual comparison told her that these were not the same. She picked up another one of the boots and looked at it. ‘These could be a match,’ she said with disappointment. The last thing she wanted to do was actually find evidence against Millar. ‘What do you think?’ she asked the officer, showing him the picture and the boot tread.
‘Looks the same to me, ma-am. Should I bag them?’
‘Please,’ said Penner, passing him the boot. The officer put the boot and its pair in a paper bag and sealed it.
‘We also found a box with ‘patrol stuff’ written on the side. We were just about to open it,’ said the second officer. He brought the box over to Penner.
‘I’ll go through it. You keep looking to see if there’s anything we missed. Maybe one of you should go upstairs and see if you can find anything up there, like maybe the hoodie. I’d like to get the search done sooner than later,’ said Penner. The officer who had bagged the boots started upstairs to search the main floor.
Penner crouched down and brushed a cobweb off of the box. She opened the flaps. On top was a flak jacket, which looked rather small compared to Millar’s current frame. ‘He’s put on a bit of weight over the years,’ Penner thought. She took it out and put it on the ground beside her. There was also an old leather utility belt with an empty holster, a Maglite and a small pouch. Penner knew, based on her own old kit, that this is where the Taser should be. She opened it up. Empty. No baton either. The ring where it should have been hanging was empty. She put the belt down on top of the flak jacket and looked through the rest of the box. No luck. The Taser and baton weren’t in there. ‘Terry, what have you done?’ she wondered.
‘Detective, I found them,’ the officer said from the other side of the basement. He brought another box over and Penner peered inside. Laying on top of some old clothes were a Taser and baton.
‘Strange they aren’t in here with the rest of his patrol stuff,’ Penner said. She turned the box around and saw ‘Misc’ written on it. ‘Okay, bag them up. I want the clothes that are in that box, too. We’ll test them for any transfer evidence.’ Penner poked around in the box with her flashlight. ‘I don’t see the dark sweatshirt in there, so let’s keep looking. I’m going to see how things are going upstairs.’
Penner brushed some dust off her pants and climbed the stairs to the entry hallway. She saw the other officer in the hallway. ‘Anything?’ she asked.
‘Nothing, ma-am. I was just going to check upstairs.’
‘Sounds good. Let me know if you find anything,’ Penner said. The officer headed upstairs, passing Millar and Constable Grant on the way.
‘This is crap, Sue, and you know it.’ Millar confronted Penner at the base of the stairs. ‘How can you even think I had anything to do with this?’
‘Just stop it. Think for one second.’ Penner pleaded her case. ‘You know as well as I do that based on everything…the weapon, the statues pointing to your name and street, let alone the fact that all of the victims have daughters in the same sport as yours, we have to investigate you. Just keep your cool, let us do our job so we can eliminate you and things will go back to normal in no time,’ she said. Millar didn’t seem convinced.
‘Back to normal?’ he asked. ‘How can things ever be normal again when my partner is searching my house because she thinks I’m a serial killer?’
‘I never said you were a serial killer,’ before Penner could continue, the officer in the basement came through the door carrying two paper bags. ‘No sign of a sweater matching the description, ma-am.’
‘Okay. Why don’t you go upstairs and help search up there,’ said Penner. ‘Millar, guess you wouldn’t like to tell us where your dark hooded sweater is, would you?’
‘It should be in my gym bag, in my bedroom closet. I’m pissed, but I have nothing to hide,’ Millar said flatly.
‘Alright, let’s all go and have a look,’ Penner said. Millar led the way upstairs and Penner turned to Grant. ‘Stay here, just in case anyone comes home,’ she said, before following Millar.
At the top of the stairs, Millar motioned her into the spare bedroom, away from the search. He partially closed the door. ‘Seriously Sue, you don’t think I had anything to do with this, do you?’
‘I don’t, Terry. But look at the evidence. What would you think?’ Penner asked.
Millar sighed. ‘Probably the exact same thing,’ he said. ‘But it’s not true! I must have been set up.’
‘By who?’ Penner asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Millar ran his hand through his hair. ‘Maybe someone I put away in the past?’
‘Well, we’re going to need more than that to go on. So, start wracking your brain to come up with some suspects,’ Penner said. ‘Come on, show me where your gym bag is.’
Millar led Penner into his master bedroom, where one of the officers was already searching. The second officer was in Tina’s room. ‘She is not going to like that,’ Millar thought. Alt
hough that might be the least of her concerns if any of this got out. As Millar opened the closet door, Penner could see his dress uniform on one of the hangers.
‘When was the last time you wore this thing? Does it even still fit?’ Penner asked, pulling the jacket out.
‘Probably not. It’s been a while since I’ve had to wear it. I may have put on some weight since then…and I seem to remember it was already tough to button up.’
As Penner went to hang it back in the closet, she took at look at the front and noticed that it was missing a button. Her heart sank. ‘You’re missing a button.’
‘Yeah, I lost that years ago. I really should bring it to a tailor to get a new one sewn on. I’d do it myself, but I don’t know where to get one of the brass uniform buttons,’ Millar said, pulling out the gym bag and handing it to Penner. ‘I should warn you, I haven’t had time to wash anything since my last run.’
Penner unzipped the bag and was hit with a terrible stink. ‘Aww, that’s awful!’ she said, turning her head in disgust.
‘Warned you,’ Millar said with a smirk.
Penner started pulling items out of the bag. Shirt. Shorts. Socks. Underwear. Shoes. Towel. Right on the bottom was a dark, navy blue, hooded sweatshirt. ‘There it is. Constable, pass me a bag please.’ An officer handed Penner a large paper bag and she put the sweater inside, noticing several hairs stuck to it. ‘Right, get these items to FIS for analysis. I want everything examined for blood, fibers, hairs and prints. Good work.’ Dismissed, the officers gathered up the evidence bags and went back downstairs.
‘Now what?’ Millar asked Penner.
‘Captain wants to see you for questioning. He said no cuffs, so if you’re willing to come of your own free will, you can ride with me. Otherwise you can ride in the back of Constable Grant’s cruiser,’ Penner said.
‘With you is fine,’ said Millar.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The ride back to the precinct was quiet and uncomfortable. Penner tried making small talk but Millar just stared out the window. Penner really couldn’t blame him. If he had nothing to do with any of this, he must feel hurt and insulted that he was being investigated. If he did have something to do with the murders, he was looking at years in prison, and prison is no place for a cop. When they arrived, Penner decided to park in her normal parking spot instead of bringing Millar through the prisoner entrance. She really didn’t think he was going to try and run. Even with all the circumstantial evidence, she just couldn’t believe that Millar was capable of doing something like this. She parked her car and turned off the engine.
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