Chapter 2
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4:54 am
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Bill and I arrived at the local hospital and saw the body of 17 year old Ahlam. Ahlam's mother said she was a good girl, a good student, never made any enemies. Ahlam had gone to the Dodger's game last night, which went into extra innings. The coroner estimated she was attacked at some point between midnight and 1am. Her body was then put in a dumpster, like she was just trash and not a human being. Physical evidence suggested it was the same man who had previously raped three other Maldivian women, but we still weren't certain it was Earl Turner. Seeing Ahlam like this, imagining the pain and fear she must have felt in her final moments, made me wonder if president Duric and Congress weren't a bit premature in abolishing the death penalty. In any event, my main concern was in finding whoever did this, and arresting them.
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5:16
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Bill and I questioned workers at some of the all night grocery stores and diners. Noone saw the murder or heard any screams. A few heard something big being thrown into the dumpster, but noone thought much of it at the time.
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6:42 am
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Bill and I were informed that there was another dead body, a more recent one.
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A young woman, Adra, claimed that a young man, Kyle, had been harassing her. She feared he was the rapist, and shot and killed him. We went over to question her, two patrol officers already had her in custody, she was visibly shaken.
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Joe: Have you been informed of your rights?
Adra: Yeah, they told me all of that.
Joe: Just to be clear, I'd like to repeat it. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, and to speak with a lawyer before any questioning. If you so desire and cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you before any questioning. Do you understand these rights?
Adra: Yes.
Joe: Do you wish to speak with us?
Adra: Yes. I didn't mean to kill him.
Bill: What did you mean to do?
Adra: He was always saying things to mean, crude sexual comments, making fun of my heritage. When all of this happened, all this news about a rapist targeting my people. I was just going to work, I work at the school library before classes start. When I saw Kyle coming, saying he was going to make me his girlfriend, I panicked. Is he dead?
Joe: I'm afraid he is. Where did you even get a gun?
Adra: Ms Karen. Rumor was she was a big time gangster back in the day, she gave me the gun.
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From Adra's description it was clear she was talking about Karen McClusky. She was a cop, once. When abortion was outlawed she resigned in protest, became one of the leading members of 'The Sisterhood" as they called themselves. They claimed their mission was to provide abortions to women who desired them, but they also financed their operations by selling illegal ciggaretts, and hosting illegal boxing matches. They also sometimes killed each other in territorial disputes. Karen McClusky was one of the few leaders of the Sisterhood who was out of prison, but allegedly she was out of the life now. She had served over five years in prison, then was released last November in a compassionate release program. Her doctors said she only had six months to live, and that was four months ago. Part of her release said she couldn't engage in illegal activities, she couldn't be in possession of any firearms.
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6:51
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We arrived at Karen McCluskey's home, the sun was starting to rise. This wasn't the nicest house in the neighborhood, not as glamorous as someone might expect from a big time gangster. Her 14 year old granddaughter Susan was also here. Karen was clearly sick, lung cancer, needed her oxygen tank bad. She made the mistake of smoking the very product she was polluting our streets with. I questioned her while Bill kept Susan in another room.
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Joe: You know why I'm here?
Karen: I think I can guess.
Joe: You sold a gun to Adra, she killed a man with it.
Karen: I gave it to her so she could protect herself from this rapist.
Joe: Actually she killed a man who, while incredibly ride, was probably not a rapist or murderer. Because you put a loaded gun in the hands of an untrained 17 year old.
Karen: That's a shame.
Joe: You know you violated the terms of your release, I'll have to arrest you.
Karen; In my condition, I'll be spending my final days in the prison infirmary.
Joe: I can call your doctor if you like, and your lawyer. Do you have any other firearms here?
Karen: No. That one gun, and this house, all that's left of my criminal empire.
Joe: Also you might want to send your granddaughter away, she doesn't need to see this.
Karen: Actually, she does. She's been hanging out with the Anne Bonny's lately, thinks her grandmother was a cool gangster. I won't apologize for my actions. I gave women what they wanted, what they needed, and I provided for my own family. But I wanted my children, my grandchildren, to have a better life than I did. I don't want Susan to follow in my footsteps. By all means, let her see what the consequences of those actions are.
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7:08 am
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When her doctor arrived we arrested Karen McClusky. Karen now had a weak hear, we had to be careful as she was booked. Her granddaughter did see us take her away. Whether this scared her away from following in her footsteps, only time would tell.
