by Scott Bonn
Carter says, “I am on my way there now, Captain. I will call you as soon as I know something.”
Pritchard nods and says, “Thank you, Carter.”
After Ron Carter exits the war room, Cassidy addresses the group.
She says, “If Ron can connect the purchase of the cord to Lundquist, then we will have our first material evidence that he is the guardian. On its own, that evidence would not be sufficient to get an arrest warrant, but it would be a beginning, and an important building block in our case.”
Pritchard says, “Absolutely. This is a great lead and possibility a big breakthrough in our investigation. I just hope that the purchaser of the cord was Lundquist and not some building contractor who purchased a lot of cord for a construction site.”
Baldwin smiles and says, “We will know soon enough, Captain.”
Suddenly, Lieutenant Baker’s cell phone rings. He picks up the phone from the conference room table and answers it. After saying hello, Baker listens intently to the person on the other end.
When the caller is finished speaking, Baker replies, “I see. I am going to inform Captain Pritchard immediately. I will get back to you. Thank you, Sergeant. Goodbye.”
Pritchard looks at Baker and asks, “What is it, Frank?”
Baker sighs and says, “It is not good news, Captain. That was Sergeant Collins, one of my lead detectives out in the field. He told me that our scuba divers have just discovered a dead body in the Hudson River that matches the description of Molly Fisher. They discovered the body approximately thirty feet from shore near Columbia University at 133rd Street. The body is nude and bound in blue nylon cord. A metal cross is tied around the girl’s neck, and Psalm 34:7 is carved into her lower abdomen, just like the others girls. It looks to be the work of the guardian for sure.”
Pritchard winces slightly upon hearing the news and says, “Well, Frank, I guess this moment was inevitable, as terrible as it is to hear the news spoken out loud.”
The captain pauses for a moment to think and continues, “I need to tell the commissioner about this immediately. I also want to get him up to speed on our investigation into Charles Lundquist. Frank, please call Sergeant Collins and tell him that I want the dead girl’s body transported immediately to the office of the chief medical examiner.”
Baker says, “Will do, Captain.”
Pritchard looks at Cassidy and says, “Julia, I would like you to accompany me to Commissioner Bratton’s office and help me to brief him.”
Cassidy says, “Of course, James.”
Fifteen minutes later, Bill Bratton’s assistant, Robin Fletcher, escorts Pritchard and Cassidy into the commissioner’s office. Pritchard immediately tells Bratton about the discovery of the corpse believed to be Molly Fisher and that she is almost certainly victim number five of the guardian. Cassidy tells Bratton about the interview she conducted with Charles Lundquist and the growing suspicion they have that he is the guardian.”
After taking in all of the information, Bratton says, “Do not let Charles Lundquist out of your sight. Stay on him night and day. I want to know the minute you have something substantive on him. In the meantime, we need to have an autopsy conducted on the dead girl now.”
Bratton tells Pritchard that he is going to call Dr. Barbara Sampson, as he has done previously, and ask the chief medical examiner to perform an autopsy on the dead girl as soon as her body arrives. He instructs Pritchard to go straight to the medical examiner’s office and wait there for the body. He asks Cassidy to attend the autopsy and suggests that Dr. Janet Chin go as well, given her tremendous knowledge as a criminalist. He tells Pritchard to oversee the procedure and then report back to him with the results as soon as they are available.
Bratton looks directly at Pritchard and says, “I want you to call me as soon as you know for sure that the dead girl is Molly Fisher—that is, right after her parents identify the body. Damn it! What a horrible thing for any parent to have to do.”
He continues, “I am going to schedule a press conference for tomorrow morning. The news media are no doubt going to find out about the latest victim of the guardian in short order, and all hell will break loose, again, when they do. If I announce that we are scheduling a press conference for the morning to provide an update on the manhunt, then perhaps we can keep the pot from boiling over until then. All right, you two. On your way.”
Pritchard replies, “Sounds good, Commissioner. Goodbye, sir.”
With that, Pritchard and Cassidy head for the door.
Chapter Sixty One
Several minutes after leaving Bill Bratton’s office, Pritchard and Cassidy locate Special Agent Janet Chin in the guardian war room. She is in the middle of a technical conversation with an NYPD criminalist regarding the test results of the guardian’s DNA sample. Cassidy interrupts the conversation and explains to Chin that she and Pritchard need her to accompany them immediately to an autopsy on the guardian’s latest victim.
Ten minutes later, the trio are headed north on FDR Drive toward the medical examiner’s office in an unmarked Ford Taurus amidst surprisingly light mid-afternoon traffic. The officer driving the car weaves in and out of traffic with the siren blaring. He completes the two-mile trip to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner located on First Avenue in just over six minutes.
The car transporting the homicide captain and his two colleagues pulls up in front of the medical examiner’s office at 2:45pm. They arrive at their destination prior to the body of the deceased. This is not surprising because the vehicle transporting the corpse is coming from the upper west side of Manhattan, so it is traveling a much longer distance to get to the medical examiner’s office than they did.
Upon their arrival, a security guard helps to expedite Pritchard, Cassidy and Chin through the building’s elaborate security screening process. The same security guard escorts them to the office of Dr. Barbara Sampson who is sitting there and waiting for them. Dr. Sampson received a telephone call from Commissioner Bratton less than twenty minutes ago in which he informed her about the situation and asked for her immediate help.
Dr. Sampson rises from her chair and extends her hand in greeting to Pritchard.
She says, “Hello, Captain Pritchard. I was expecting you. The commissioner informed me that the guardian has struck again.”
Pritchard grimaces and says, “Yes, Dr. Sampson. From what my men tell me, it certainly sounds like that psycho has taken another victim. He appears to be escalating now and needs to kill more frequently. That is a terrible prospect for us, without a doubt.”
Dr. Sampson says, “Indeed, Captain.”
Cassidy says hello to Dr. Sampson and then introduces her to Janet Chin who extends her hand to the chief medical examiner.
Sampson says, “Dr. Chin, it is very nice to meet you. I am familiar with your work. I have read some of your research articles in the forensic journals.”
Chin says, “That is kind of you, Dr. Sampson. I am quite familiar with your work, too. It is an honor to meet you.”
Dr. Sampson says, “I think we should go to the autopsy room and prepare for the arrival of the deceased. I received a telephone call from one of your men who is traveling with the body, Captain. I believe he said that his name is Sergeant Collins. He told me that he will arrive with the body less than fifteen minutes from now.”
Pritchard nods to Dr. Sampson in agreement. He and the others proceed to a large autopsy room where two of Dr. Sampson’s assistants are already preparing for the procedure. Aside from the two assistants, no one else is present. The viewing gallery is empty. Not enough time has passed since the discovery of the corpse for the news to spread and generate a crowd of interested parties.
Dr. Sampson receives a call on her cell phone informing her that the body has arrived. Within a few minutes, the dead girl is lying on a table in the autopsy room.
Sergeant Collins has joined the others to observe the procedure. The room goes silent when Dr. Sampson begins her work. She unties the bl
ue nylon cord that binds the girl’s nude body and removes a metal cross that is tied around her neck. With the nylon cord removed, everyone present in the room can see that “Psalm 34:7” is carved meticulously into the flesh of the girl’s lower abdomen.
Dr. Sampson quickly determines that the girl’s neck is broken and that it was broken with human hands. She declares it a wrongful death—that is, the girl was murdered.
Pritchard says, “This corpse reflects the M.O. of the guardian, and it bears his signature. Clearly, this is his work. She is victim number five for the bastard.”
Dr. Sampson says, “Agreed, Captain.”
Aside from the broken neck and some external lacerations and bruising, the corpse is in surprisingly good shape compared to earlier victims of the guardian. The first three victims of the serial killer lay under water for many days. It is obvious from the relatively good condition of this corpse it has not been in the river for very long. Dr. Sampson estimates she has been under water for no more than forty-eight hours.
Dr. Sampson cracks open the chest of the dead girl to expose her lungs and other internal organs. She finds no water in the girl’s lungs—a finding that is once again consistent with the four previous victims of the guardian. Like the others, this girl was dead before she entered the river.
Dr. Sampson discovers nothing irregular or unusual with the dead girl’s internal organs. However, she does make an important discovery when she examines the genitalia of the girl that bear the signs of post mortem sexual assault. Deep inside the vagina of the victim, under extreme magnification, Dr. Sampson finds what she believes to be a trace sample of the perpetrator’s semen. When she announces this finding to the group, Pritchard pumps his right fist in the air and claps his hands together.
Pritchard declares, “This is twice in a row now that he has inadvertently left his DNA for us to discover. He is taking increasing risks and becoming reckless. This is exactly how we are going to catch him.”
Janet Chin, who has been listening carefully, says, “We cannot jump to conclusions, Captain. We will need to conduct forensic tests to determine whether this actually is semen and, if it is, whether the DNA matches the semen sample discovered on Eve Curry. We will not know any of this until we do the tests.”
Pritchard says, “Yes, of course, Janet.”
He asks, “Dr. Sampson, can you identify the deceased?”
The chief medical examiner says, “Captain, I have a recent photograph of the seventeen-year-old college student, Molly Fisher, who went missing two days ago. I received this photograph from Lieutenant Baker in your office. He sent it to me just before you arrived here today. If you compare this body to the photograph, it is quite obvious that the deceased is Molly Fisher.”
Pritchard says, “Yes, doctor, it clearly is her. I knew in my gut that it was Molly Fisher even before I saw the body. It was a foregone conclusion, unfortunately.”
The chief medical examiner suggests to Pritchard that he telephone the parents of Molly Fisher and ask them to come down immediately to identify the body. Even without Dr. Sampson telling him, Pritchard knows what he must do in order to make the identification of Molly’s body official. Without saying a word, he leaves the autopsy room to make the telephone call he is dreading.
Pritchard stands in the hallway alone for a minute or so before dialing the telephone number that Lieutenant Baker gave him. It is tearing him apart inside to call the parents of another one of the guardian’s victims. When he finally calls the number, and Molly’s father answers the phone, Pritchard coughs and clears his throat before speaking. With a lump in his throat, the homicide captain tells Brian Fisher the tragic news. The broken-hearted father begins to choke and sob. Pritchard expresses his sincere condolences to Fisher who is now wailing on the other end of the telephone call.
Pritchard asks Dr. Fisher to come to the medical examiner’s office in Manhattan immediately in order to provide official confirmation of his daughter’s identity and sign some papers. Pritchard tells Fisher that he will send a police helicopter the eighty-five miles to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, to pick his wife and him up and transport them to New York. Choking back tears, Fisher agrees and says good-bye.
Just after 6:00pm, a helicopter with the parents of Molly Fisher on board arrives at One Police Plaza Heliport. By 6:30pm, Brian Fisher and his wife Jill are standing in the autopsy room with Dr. Sampson, Pritchard and Cassidy. Janet Chin and the others left before the Fishers arrived.
Brian Fisher holds his wife’s hand tightly as Dr. Sampson lowers a white sheet to reveal the face of the body on the autopsy table. Jill Fisher bursts into tears and her knees buckle at the sight of her dead daughter. Brian Fisher uses both of his hands to steady his wife. He is crying, too. Unable to speak, he nods his head up and down several times when Pritchard asks him if the deceased is his daughter.
Following the identification, Pritchard leads the Fishers out of the autopsy room and into the hallway. The homicide captain reiterates his heartfelt condolences and sympathy for their loss. He promises to avenge their daughter and bring the guardian in either dead or alive. He thanks the Fishers for coming to Manhattan, and says good-bye, as one of his men takes them to the car that will return them to One Police Plaza Heliport and their flight home.
After the Fishers leave, Pritchard uses his cell phone to call Commissioner Bratton. He updates his boss on all that has transpired.
When Pritchard is finished with his update, Bratton says, “Okay, Jimmy. Thank you for the report. Let me know as soon as you get the test results on the new DNA sample. I will see you first thing in the morning. Remember, we have a press conference scheduled for 9:00am. Goodbye.”
Pritchard says goodbye to Bratton and ends the call. He is very tired and emotionally drained from the events of the day. He looks admiringly at Cassidy who has just walked alone out of the autopsy room. He smiles and gestures with his hand for her to approach him.
Pritchard says, “Come home with me, Julia. I do not want to be alone tonight.”
Cassidy walks over to him and takes his arm. They walk out together.
Chapter Sixty Two
It is 8:45am on Thursday, October 28th. It is a rainy day in Manhattan. James Pritchard is sitting in Bill Bratton’s office at police headquarters. The homicide captain and police commissioner are preparing for their press conference that will begin shortly. Pritchard is feeling reenergized and ready for action after a very satisfying evening of carnal activity with Cassidy followed by a restful night of sleep. He is in good spirits this morning, and Bratton senses it.
The commissioner says, “Jimmy, you seem to be very upbeat and optimistic today. That is good. I will need your positive energy a few minutes from now when we face the press.”
Pritchard laughs and says, “Thank you, sir. I got a good night of sleep for a change. I am ready to assist you any way that I can.”
With a touch of sarcasm in his voice, the commissioner says, “Well, Jimmy, you are a bit of a rock star now after your appearance on CNN with Anderson Cooper. The press likes you, so I am going to let you do the bulk of the talking today after I give a brief introduction. I want you to present all of the facts, and feel free to say something directly to the guardian, as you have done in the past. The press eats that stuff up. The public loves it, too.”
A little embarrassed, Pritchard says, “I am not so sure about my rock star status, Commissioner, but I fully understand what I must do today. The press and public want to hear that we are making progress in the guardian manhunt despite the terrible discovery of a fifth victim. I must assure the city of New York that we will apprehend this monster soon.”
The commissioner nods and says, “There you go. Exude confidence, Jimmy. That is exactly the right message and tone. Now, you and I must head to the briefing room.”
At exactly twelve noon, Bratton and Pritchard walk into a packed press briefing room. While walking up to the front of the room, Pritchard can see that a tremendous number of journalists h
ave assembled for the briefing. His primetime TV appearance with Anderson Cooper has made the guardian manhunt a global news event.
This is the third press conference on the guardian manhunt conducted by Bratton and Pritchard in the last three weeks. Incredibly, there are even more members of the press in attendance today than there were at the last briefing that was also packed.
Cassidy and her FBI colleagues are in the room today, too.
Commissioner Bratton steps behind the podium and the room grows silent. Pritchard is standing next to him. The commissioner speaks to the crowd in a strong, commanding voice.
He says, “Good morning. Thank you all for coming. We have an update for you on the manhunt for the serial killer that you have been calling the evil guardian. I regret to inform you that the killer has claimed another victim.”
A collective gasp and loud murmurs rise up from the crowd.
Bratton says, “Please, if I may continue.”
The room settles down, and Bratton says, “We discovered the body of a seventeen-year-old female yesterday in the Hudson River. We have been in touch with the girl’s family. Our hearts go out to them in their time of grief and mourning. Captain James Pritchard will provide you with all of the details about the victim. I want to assure you that we are making progress in our investigation. We will catch this lunatic killer soon. Captain Pritchard will update you on the status of the manhunt. Captain, if you would please come to the podium.”
Bratton moves aside and gives Pritchard access to the microphone. The homicide captain, who is dressed in his blue dress uniform, speaks calmly and firmly to the crowd.
Pritchard says, “At approximately 1:00pm yesterday, NYPD scuba divers discovered the body of seventeen-year-old Molly Fisher in the Hudson River near Columbia University. The deceased was a first year student at Columbia. She was murdered. All of us at the NYPD want to express our deepest and most heart-felt condolences to the family and friends of Molly Fisher. We share your grief and outrage over this unnecessary tragedy.”