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Morristown
Chapter Five
By the time the police got to the school, the crime scene was covered by a heavy layer of icy snow. Jim and Hank stood in front of the door of the recreation room and were drawn into the organized chaos that was at the start of any murder investigation.
"Everyone; please either stay in your rooms or the rec room so we can find you when we need you," said a female uniformed officer that responded to the 911 call. "The detectives will be here as soon as they can and they'll want to talk to everyone."
Jack Hughes, the night caretaker, turned to Jim Dunbar instead of the officers trying to control the scene. "I called Mr. Coleman and Ms. Authier," he said "They said they'd be here as soon as possible. In the meantime we're supposed to do what the police want."
Jim nodded to the man and turned his attention to the local cops. "Now," he commanded the officers, "you have to separate everyone until they can be questioned. You have to make sure that all their stories are untainted."
"Sir," Officer Mildred Berger snarled at what she thought was a civilian who was attempting to wrest control from her and tried to push him back into the room. "We need you to get out of the way."
"Officer, I found the body," Dunbar replied as he batted back on the cold, wet hand, "and I know something about running an investigation."
"Oh, this isn't a TV show, Mister..."
"That's detective, Officer," Jim's voice was hard, "Detective James Dunbar of the New York City Police Department and I do know a little about crime scenes."
The woman took her hand off Dunbar's shoulder. Even in Morristown, New Jersey, the police had heard about the hero cop who lost his sight saving four other officers during a bank robbery. Still, he was a blind civilian now and the officer had to get this man out of the way.
"Detective Dunbar, I will send the lead detective to you as soon as he gets here, but there will be crime scene techs and uniforms moving pretty fast through the halls and they can't watch out for you."
"You had a hard enough time getting here, I don't expect you're gonna get any help for a long god damn time." Jim planted his feet firmly where he stood, ready to tell this stupid local yokel to learn 'watching' was part of the job when he felt someone approach him from behind.
It was Anne Peabody, "Jimmy, could you please come inside and tell everyone what is going on. There are some very scared people here and from what Jack says the day staff is having trouble getting in."
"Later, Red; I gotta teach Officer," Jim turned back to the uniform, "what is your name, anyway?"
"Officer Mildred Berger" she muttered.
"I'm going to teach Officer Millie here how to run an investigation. With luck we might find out what happened to Ashley Rush."
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"When do you expect the detectives, Berger?" Dunbar snapped as he and Hank headed towards the office wing.
"Unknown, there's a blizzard out there and so far its caused a three car pile up on Interstate 287 and two more crashes on Bank Street," Berger interjected.
"Then get the other officer in here and start questioning suspects. Ask the basic questions, get a tape recorder and remember to add time, date and who is being interviewed and who is present. That way; when the detectives get here they will have something to start with." Jim stopped and rolled his shoulders, causing Berger to wince at the sound of his neck cracking. "If you have a fingerprint kit in your trunk, get it out and fingerprint everyone here."
"Detective Dunbar," Berger shuffled her feet, "perhaps you should handle the interrogation."
His voice rose with each word, "That would not be a good idea because I am a suspect. Everybody who was in the building is a suspect." He stopped and reached down to rub the top of Hank's head, an action that calmed Jim down. Then Dunbar reached out, found a chair and settled down while the officer found a tape recorder and got it ready. "Okay, get this started ASAP."
Officer Berger groaned in exasperation, "Detective, how about you do me a favour and just tell me what questions you would ask if you were handling this?"
"Officer, I am a suspect," Jim ground out in frustration. "Think about it… use that thing on the top of your neck and ask who, what, where, when and why. Who are you and who were you with tonight? What were you doing and where were you doing it? When did you last see Ms. Rush, who was she with, what was she doing and where was she doing it?"
"What about the why question, Detective Dunbar?"
Jim just shook his head, "Why did you kill her?"
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The wind slammed the front door open. Gayle Authier and Sam Coleman came in from the storm wet and shivering from trekking through the blizzard, but they both knew this was the place they had to be.
"Sam," Authier turned to her head councilor as she shucked off her parka, "there's Hughes, go see what is happening while I head to my office and then talk to the police."
"Sure, Gayle, after I thaw out my toes."
The entryway door smashed open again. This time it was two detectives who had driven a four wheel drive SUV to get through the storm.
"Whoa, can you believe that storm?" an extremely tall man pulled back the hood of his coat, peeled off his gloves and extended his hand to the staff members. "Hello, I'm Detective Carson and this is Detective Kovacs. Officers Berger and Standish called us here."
At the sound of footsteps, the detectives turned to see a tall blonde man with a guide dog coming towards them. Coleman and Authier rushed to him, but after a few quick questions the blind man pushed past them and headed to the police.
"Jim Dunbar," he stopped and extended his hand in the general direction he believed the men to be in.
"Matt Carson and Bert Kovacs, New Jersey State Police, the locals called us in to handle the homicide. The situation seems under control. I take it you've spoken to the uniforms?"
"Yeah, they started asking the basic questions. I told them to keep the suspects away from each other." Jim leaned back on his heels and puffed out a quick breath. "They thought I'd been watching too much TV when I told them what to do."
"Local yokels," grinned Bert Kovacs, "they get minimum training because all that is expected of them is to write tickets and direct traffic. This situation probably scared the shit out of them."
Jim's face went hard. "Officers Berger and Standish did their job. How about you do yours?" He turned his head slightly, "Sam, you still there?"
"Yeah," Coleman rushed over to Dunbar.
"Hank and I are heading to our room. I'm sure the detectives will want to speak to me soon." With that, Jim signaled Hank to turn around and they headed down the hall.
"Police man wannabe," scoffed Kovacs.
"Actually, he was a homicide detective," Sam Coleman told the men before he headed to his office.
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Jim sat on his narrow bed, flexing his hands as he remembered the sticky feel of Ashley Rush's blood coating his fingers. Despite repeatedly scrubbing with soap and nearly scalding water the memory of the way Ashley's blood covered his hand almost to the wrist lingered.
There was a gentle knock on his door, "Jimmy?"
He jumped to his feet and quickly pulled open the door. "Hey, Red, come on in. What brings you here?"
"The police don't think I could commit that murder," she giggled nervously as she sat on the bed beside Jim. "They've never heard me try to play classical music. That I murder." Annie's voice went serious, "Jim, there were five women in this class. Caitlyn Vance is only nineteen years old and she is afraid to come out of her room. She's talking about giving up and going home. Ruby Monroe and Anita Gardner are ready to blame Jack Hughes because he was the only man here who could see. They obviously never met his wife."
"What about you?" Jim slipped beside the feisty woman he had come to admire. "Are you ready to quit?"
"Me! I don't quit, but I'm allowed to worry." Anne reached out, found Jim's arm and gave him a little squeeze, "I even worry about you."
"Don't worry about me, Red. This is the first time I haven't felt useless in a long, long time."
Then there was a pounding on the door and Officer Berger burst in. "Detective Dunbar, we've apprehended someone out by the kennels. Detective Carson thinks you might want to be there for the interrogation."
Jim and Anne rose and took the leashes of their dogs, causing Berger to sputter, "Just Detective Dunbar, Ma'am, and please -- maybe you should leave your dog here."
"Listen, young woman," Anne's voice sounded harsh to Jim's ear for the first time since he had met her, "I am not so damn stupid that I thought I might solve any crime, let alone this one. However, neither myself nor Mr. Dunbar are about to leave our partners behind."
"Where did they take the suspect?" Jim asked as he shook off the uniformed officer's hand. "Tell or guide me, do not push or pull me, I am a human being and not a piece of furniture."
"Sorry sir," Berger muttered as she stepped away from Dunbar, "the suspect is in Ms. Authier's office. If you turn left…"
"I know where Ms. Authier's office is." Jim slapped his leg to call Hank to him, took hold of the leash and headed out of the room.
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"James Dunbar has entered the room at 1:15 A.M." an unfamiliar voice intoned as Jim entered the office. The interview was in full swing and Jim didn't even know who was being interrogated.
"You know, I've tried to release my canine brothers tonight. I was going to bring them to my home and then distribute them to other enlightened human brethren who would care for these freed slaves and bring them back to the state that Mother Gaia had intended them to exist within."
"Mr. O'Brien," the tired voice of Detective Carson interrupted the man's animal rights diatribe. "You were found by Officer Standish inside the kennels. You had broken the locks and smashed half the cages. Surely you must realize we have you for trespassing and destruction of property."
"My canine brothers weren't there. I know that they are imprisoned here, yet they were not in that prison… that icy stalag."
"Seth," Gayle Authier's voice was razor sharp, "we've explained over and over that the dogs are with their partners day and night. There are no dogs in the kennel because this is the last class of the year and there will not be another one until February. The dogs are elsewhere because of the cold weather. We take very good care of our guide dogs."
"No, they are prisoners, they are slaves, like Moses said to Pharaoh 'Let my people go.'"
Jim cut in here. "This sounds very noble, but why save your canine brothers but not your human brothers?"
O'Brien now sounded confused. "I would not hurt any living thing. I am a vegan. I don't even wear any leather or suede. I am a conscientious objector because I refuse to bear arms against my human brothers. Every life, even your pitiful life, must be protected from conception to natural death. All life is sacred."
"Yeah, that's a pretty speech," Carson took control of the interrogation again, "but that does not explain the body outside the back door."
"A body? Outside?" Seth was aghast. "We have to bring it in. Maybe, because of the cold, that person might still be alive?" O'Brien became more and more frantic. "We have to save that person. We have to start first aid and get an ambulance. We have to try!"
Jim quietly turned around and left the office, Gayle Authier right behind him. "Jim, where are you going?"
Jim stopped and turned to the woman, "Gayle; that man might be guilty of a lot of things, but I don't believe he had anything to do with Ashley Rush's death. If he did, he would have slipped up right there, but he didn't know the sex of the victim; didn't know the manner of death and didn't know how long she had been dead for. Seth O'Brien did not kill Ashley Rush."
tbc