‘Sure.’ Kulcheski passed over her phone.
‘I’ll just email it to myself, if that’s alright.’
‘Yeah, that’s fine,’ Kulcheski said.
‘Done. Here you go.’ Mortise handed the phone back to Kulcheski. ‘I’ll save this as Jeremy Slice Two.’
‘So, what do you do now?’ Monk asked.
‘Well, now I open the software and upload the two photos,’ Mortise said, typing on his keyboard, moving his mouse. ‘Once the photos are in, that’s about it for us. The computer does everything by itself. It will look at a bunch of comparison points between the two photos, looking at different measurements, taking different calculations. Even if the two pictures were taken years apart, it can determine if they’re the same person. As we age, our features may change, but there are certain ratios that stay the same our entire life. The computer looks at all of these. It’s quite advanced and powerful,’ he said. ‘And we’re done.’
‘That’s it?’ Kulcheski said. ‘That was crazy fast.’
‘That was one of the hardest parts in programming this software. Getting it to the point where it was quick, but still accurate. For security applications, we need the software to be able to take a picture of someone in real time and do a comparison on the spot. If we suspect someone is a terrorist or something, we want to know who we’re looking at right away, say at an airport or something. We don’t want to find out who they are after they’ve boarded the plane.’
‘So, what’s the verdict?’
‘According to the computer, the two photos are of the same person,’ Mortise said.
‘Really? What certainty would you say?’
‘It’s saying ninety-nine percent, so I’d say it’s the same person.’
‘Well—I wasn’t expecting that,’ Kulcheski said. ‘That kind of changes things.’
‘Thanks, Mortise,’ Monk said. ‘Cool set up you guys have here,’ he added, looking around the room.
‘No problem. Glad I could help. Let me know when you’re free for a beer—it’s been a while.’
‘Will do,’ Monk said. He and Kulcheski walked out of the room and headed back to the stairs.
‘You okay to take the stairs, or do you want to take the elevator?’ Kulcheski asked.
‘I should be okay going down. It’s the going up that’s a problem.’
Back in Monk’s office, he asked ‘So, what now?’
‘To be honest, I’m not really sure. I’m meeting up with the Ottawa cops in the morning, so I’ll let them know what we found and see what they think. One of them, Sergeant Grant, is going to be looking for information on both Jeremy Slice and Gabe Tootsie, so we’ll see what he finds out.’
‘You know, I wonder if this is what Wilson is looking into. Maybe this Jeremy guy got up to some no good and decided to change his name—went into hiding, or something.’
‘Mark found out somehow and called it in,’ Kulcheski suggested. ‘Do you think we should get in touch with Wilson and let him know what we’ve found?’
‘Probably. But I’m still pissed he threw you out of the autopsy and didn’t let us know what was going on,’ said Monk. ‘Meet with your friends tomorrow and see what they’ve found. We’ll decide after that if we’re going to let Wilson know what we have.’
‘I always thought you were such a team player,’ Kulcheski said.
‘I am. But only when the other person wants to play, too.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The next morning, Penner was the first one to arrive at Joe’s and she managed to get a large table by the window. It had snowed again during the night. The roads and sidewalks were still snow covered, keeping some of the regulars away.
‘You’re looking more alive today,’ Millar said as he sat down across from Penner. ‘Get some needed rest?’
‘And lots of water and ibuprofen. That was one doozy of a hangover.’
‘Maybe next time, you’ll pace yourself a bit better.’
‘Hard to do when you don’t get out too often and then you have access to free wine,’ said Penner.
Kulcheski was the next to show up, followed shortly by Grant.
‘Did you get a chance to talk with Tina last night?’ Grant asked.
‘I did,’ Millar said. ‘She’s doing well. Made a couple of new friends in one of the courses she’s taking.’
‘That’s great,’ Penner said. ‘Is she still going to therapy?’
‘Yeah, they have group sessions every week, which she says is helping. She seems to have adjusted well.’
Kulcheski wasn’t sure who Tina was, but decided it didn’t sound like something she needed to ask about.
‘So, what did I miss yesterday?’ Penner asked. Joe came around with coffee for everyone. ‘Thanks, Joe.’
‘Well, I was able to find some articles on Jeremy Slice from a few years ago. Seems like he was a really talented artist. Won a few awards,’ Grant said.
‘An artist?’ asked Penner. ‘Like, a painter?’
‘Yeah. Couldn’t find anything about him recently, though. Seems like he just disappeared. No articles. No social media presence. I would have thought someone who was such a good artist would have pursued it after school and would have had at least one page online to promote himself.’
‘Maybe he’s in university somewhere studying, and he hasn’t branched out into the art world yet,’ Penner said. ‘Or maybe he decided art wasn’t for him and went down a different path.’
‘Could be,’ Grant said.
Kulcheski wanted to butt in but decided to wait.
‘I also looked up Gabe,’ Grant continued. ‘The only things I could find about him were the two interviews Arden did with him.’
‘So, not very helpful,’ said Penner.
‘Not really,’ Grant said. ‘But I did find something interesting. I looked up Dante Tootsie, Gabe’s grandfather. He had a son, Brad.’
‘Gabe’s father?’ Penner asked.
‘Yeah. Well, yes and no.’
‘What? I don’t follow,’ said Penner.
‘Gabe Tootsie, Dante’s grandson, died when he was three years old. He somehow managed to get out of the house while his mom was asleep. It was the middle of winter and he was only wearing the t-shirt that he slept in. They didn’t find him until the morning, and he was partially buried under some fresh snow.’
‘So, Gabe’s not Gabe?’ Penner said.
‘Nope. He’s Jeremy Slice.’ Kulcheski couldn’t wait any longer. ‘The facial recognition software said there was a ninety-nine percent certainty that the two photos were of the same person.’
‘Alright. So, we have a high school kid who decided to leave Ottawa after graduating and move to Labrador, where he changed his name to that of a child who died over a decade ago. Why?’
‘Perhaps he was running from something here,’ Grant said.
‘But if he were, you probably would have found something in your search, no?’
‘I guess it would depend on what he was running from. If he was running because he did something that got him in trouble with the police, then yes, probably. Unless he was a young offender at the time. I don’t know how old he was when he left,’ Grant said. ‘Maybe he was just running from an abusive family.’
‘Okay. So, we have a case of stolen identity. Whatever the reason he left, it’s possible Mark found out who he really was and got in touch with Wilson, who then started investigating to see if Gabe really was Gabe,’ suggested Penner. ‘Do you think Gabe could have injected Mark with the insulin? He didn’t seem like the killer type. Way too timid.’
‘You’d be surprised at what a timid person is capable of if they think they’re backed into a corner,’ Millar said. ‘There’s one way to find out. I think we need to pay Gabe a visit and see what he has to say.’
‘I think he’s staying at Beverly’s place, but I’m not too sure,’ Penner said. ‘Should we go to her place and see if he’s there?’
‘Why don’t we head to the office and ta
lk to the Captain—ask him how he wants us to proceed,’ Millar said. ‘This is kind of a delicate situation. Since the Captain’s friends with Beverly, he may prefer to talk to her himself.’
‘Sounds good. But first we should eat,’ said Penner. ‘The only solid food I had yesterday was ibuprofen. I’m starving.’
***
‘Come in,’ the Captain said, hearing Penner knock on his door.
‘Morning, sir,’ Penner said.
‘Sue, Terry, how’s it going?’ the Captain asked. ‘Feeling better this morning?’
‘I am, sir. Thanks,’ Penner said. She and Millar sat down.
‘What can I do for you?’ asked the Captain, putting aside some papers he had been working on.
‘Well, we need some advice.’ Penner wasn’t sure how to start, so she decided to just dive in. ‘It’s looking like Gabe isn’t who he says he is.’
‘Really? How so?’
‘Well, sir. It looks like he’s actually someone called Jeremy Slice. Originally from Ottawa. The real Gabe Tootsie died when he was just a kid,’ explained Penner. ‘We’re not sure why, but Jeremy took his identity at some point—probably within the last year or so.’
‘Are you sure?’ the Captain asked.
‘Pretty sure, sir. Kulcheski had one of her co-workers run a photo of Gabe and another of Jeremy through their facial recognition software. Came back as the same person,’ Millar said.
‘Okay, but why? What would this guy have to gain?’
‘Well, Dante Tootsie, the grandfather, was a pretty well-known artist, according to Beverly. Maybe Jeremy had heard about him and figured it could help his art career if he had a famous relative,’ Penner said. ‘He sold a lot of pieces the other night.’
‘So, what do you need my help with?’
‘We want to talk with Gabe. I think he was staying with Beverly, but we wanted to see how you wanted us to handle this. She’s just lost her husband—I don’t know if she needs the police at her house again.’
‘Good point. And we don’t want to spook him. I’ll give Bev a call and ask if she minds bringing him down here. I’ll think of some reason. If that doesn’t work, we can go pick him up,’ the Captain said. He picked up his phone and dialed.
‘Hello?’
‘Beverly, how are you doing this morning?’
‘Not too bad. I’m still not used to the fact that Mark’s no longer here. The house seems so quiet. Definitely a strange, new normal.’
‘I can only imagine. Don’t forget, you can always get in touch with me or Gail, if you need.’
‘I appreciate that. I find keeping busy helps.’
‘And nobody keeps as busy as you,’ the Captain said with a chuckle. ‘I was wondering if you could do me a favour at some point today?’
‘Sure. What’s that?’
‘Could you bring Gabe down to the station? I have a couple of questions for him—about the paintings Gail bought.’
‘I would, but he’s not here.’
‘It doesn’t have to be right away. It can be later this afternoon or this evening. There’s no real rush.’
‘No, what I mean is he’s not here at all. He left yesterday to go back to Labrador.’
‘Really? Why? I thought he was sticking around until his upcoming show in Toronto.’
‘That was his original plan, but he ended up selling so many paintings the other night that he needs to paint more. I said he could do them here, but he feels more comfortable creating in his own studio back home.’
‘Huh. Okay. Thanks, anyway. I’ll just have to wait until he’s in town next. Remember, if you need anything, let us know.’
‘Will do.’
‘He’s gone,’ the Captain said, hanging up the phone.
‘Where?’ Penner asked.
‘She said he went back to Labrador. Needed to create more paintings for his show in Toronto.’
‘When did he leave?’ Millar asked.
‘Yesterday at some point in time.’
‘Do you think he actually went to Labrador?’ asked Penner. ‘If he’s from Ottawa and only pretending to be from Labrador, would he actually go back there?’
‘Maybe? It would help with his ruse, wouldn’t it?’ Millar said.
‘I guess,’ Penner said. ‘Also, kind of risky. If Dante was well known in the community, people would know his grandson died. Especially under such tragic circumstances.’
‘Maybe when he’s up there he doesn’t claim to be Dante’s grandson—he’s just another Tootsie. Pretty common name there, I think,’ Millar said. ‘Once he made enough money he could leave and move somewhere else before too many people started asking questions.’
‘Alright. Let’s see if we can get in touch with the different airlines that fly to Labrador. Find out if he got on a plane yesterday,’ the Captain said. ‘I’ll get in touch with a judge about getting a warrant for their flight lists. I know there was a case a few years ago where the RCMP managed to get the name of a passenger on a flight without one, but I want to cover our butts, just in case. You find out which carriers fly to Labrador.’
‘Do you think we should also check the bus and the train? He may not have actually flown to Labrador,’ Penner said. ‘If it were me, I would say I was going east and actually head west.’
‘Not a bad idea,’ the Captain said. ‘I’ll see if the judge will include them in the warrants. Give me half an hour.’
Millar and Penner walked back to Penner’s office.
‘I can’t believe Gabe was a phony,’ Penner said. ‘Or Jeremy, I guess. So much for those paintings I bought going up in value any time soon.’
‘You can probably get your money back from the gallery. I doubt they can hold you to buying them where he misrepresented himself.’
‘Probably, but I think I’ll just keep them. I bought them because I liked them,’ said Penner. After a pause, she added, ‘Well, at least I think I did. I’ll have to look at them with sober eyes and see if they were actually any good.’
She sat in her chair and logged onto her computer. Millar slid a spare chair beside her. She opened the internet browser and typed in “flights from Ottawa to Labrador”.
She clicked on the first page that was returned which showed cheap flights. ‘So, Air Canada, WestJet and Porter all fly from here to the east coast. I assume he would have flown out from Ottawa and not Montreal.’
‘More than likely,’ Millar said. ‘We can at least check these three if the Captain gets the warrant. If Gabe wasn’t on one of these flights, maybe we can extend the search to Montreal.’
Penner picked up her phone and called the Captain, letting him know which carriers to include in the warrant.
‘Alright, now we wait.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Forty minutes later, Millar and Penner were driving to the Ottawa Airport, warrants in hand. Millar pulled his phone out of his pocket.
‘Hey, Grant, it’s Millar. Whereabouts are you?’
‘Just finished having a coffee. What’s up?’
‘By yourself?’
‘What can I do for you, Millar?’
‘Ah, not alone, eh?’
‘Seriously? What’s going on?’
‘Need you to do some investigating for me. Apparently, Gabe left town yesterday. Beverly said he went back to Labrador. Penner and I are heading to the airport to check the flight manifests—see if he did or not.’
‘Okay, what can I do?’
‘I want you to head back to the precinct and see the Captain. He’ll have a couple more warrants for you to pick up. You can go to the bus depot and the two Via Rail stations, see if he hopped on a train somewhere. Make sure you check both names. He may have I.D. under both identities.’
‘Alright, I’ll head out right away.’
‘Good. When you’re done, head right back to the precinct. The Captain wants us to fill him in by the end of the day.’
‘Will do.’
‘I think our little lover-boy was hanging ou
t with Kulcheski again,’ Millar said, putting the phone back in his pocket.
‘Seems pretty smitten with her,’ Penner said. ‘Well, good for him. It’s tough making connections with people in this line of work. Believe me, I’ve been trying unsuccessfully for ages now.’
‘After my divorce, I decided to just concentrate on raising Tina,’ Millar said. ‘At least that’s what I told myself. Obviously didn’t do a very good job at that.’
Penner turned into the parking at the airport. She rolled down her window to get a ticket from the machine. Snow blew in and covered her lap. ‘I’m really getting tired of this winter.’
She managed to find a spot on the third level of the garage, backing in between two large pickup trucks. As they walked towards the elevator, she stopped at one of the columns and pulled out her phone, taking a picture of the sign saying what floor and section they were in. ‘I have a terrible habit of parking and not paying any attention to where I am. I had to wander around for twenty minutes last time I was here.’
Inside the main terminal of the airport, they followed the signs to the domestic flight counters. ‘Try Air Canada first?’ Millar said. There was only one person in line.
‘Checking in?’ the woman behind the counter asked.
‘Hi, Melony,’ Penner said, reading the woman’s nametag. ‘My name is Detective Penner from the Ottawa Police. This is Detective Millar. We’d like you to check and see if someone took a flight yesterday with your airline,’ she said, handing her the warrant.
The woman read over the warrant and then looked up at them both. ‘Can I see some I.D., please?’
‘Oh, of course,’ Penner said. She and Millar took out their badges.
‘Okay, I’ll see if I can help you out. Do you know what time their flight was?’
‘No. We’re not even sure they took a flight. We have reason to believe they flew out of Ottawa at some point yesterday, heading to Labrador.’
‘Is this person a criminal?’
‘I can’t get into any details,’ Penner said, looking at Millar, shaking her head.
The Art of Murder Page 18