Chapter 6
Superintendent Joe Donovan heard his phone vibrate in his pocket but he let it go. He was busy speaking with Danny Bauman's parents, Robert and Cathy, and Danny's wife, Chloe. Chloe was there when Joe arrived at the Bauman's house.
"I don't understand. Doctor Watkins said that Danny was making progress," the wife shook her head. The five sat in the living room of the cozy bungalow.
"Did Danny have access to other guns - besides the handgun we caught him with? Also, I know that I'm asking a lot but we need access to Danny's medical records. I'm trying to get the sealed court records as well but it would help if the family told the court that they were allowing SJPD access," Joe said from his easy chair.
"He only had the handgun. I tried to get him to give it to me but he wouldn't. You're trying to string him up for shooting one of your own – with his own records," Robert said.
"Doctor Truong is fighting for her life, that is true, but there is a dead therapist to be concerned about. Danny shot three people in view of witnesses, so you have to know that the public and the prosecutors are going to want to connect him to Tim Watkins," Joe pointed out. Cathy looked like she was close to tears. Her son was going to be locked up, no matter what, it was just a question as to whether it would be prison or a mental health facility.
"Why would he kill Doctor Watkins?" His mother wanted to know. Joe swallowed. He knew this was coming but he also knew that it was never going to be avoided.
"Danny was shouting about photographs when SJPD tried to talk to him," Detective Mika Parsons spoke up. She'd been in the SJPD Special Victims Unit for over a decade and Joe was glad that Charlie had mentioned bringing her.
"Photographs? Of what?" Chloe asked. Joe expected that the wife would not be aware of what they would contain.
"There is no easy way to say it. The photographs we found in your apartment… they were of Danny when he was younger and regrettably, he was not alone in them. In fact, in most of them he was being abused," Mika said. Chloe broke down crying; she clearly had no idea.
"These probably explain why we found illegal substances in the apartment. Chloe, have you not been at home?" Joe asked, the abrupt change of topic caused Chloe to wipe her eyes with tissues from the nearby box.
"I found the pills from Doctor Watkins and I realized that he hadn't been taking his meds. Then I found the drugs… I yelled at him. I told him, he'd promised me that he was done with that stuff. I have no idea why he wouldn't have been taking the medication that the doctor prescribed. I told him that I was giving him a couple of days to get rid of all the drugs in the apartment and when I came home from my business trip, we'd be having a conversation. We never got there. I came home to this. I shouldn't have been so harsh with him but he knows that the drugs don't help him. He knows that Doctor Watkins was trying to help him," she heaved a sigh.
"The drugs let him float away from what happened to him. My guess is that Doctor Watkins did not know what had happened to Danny when he was younger. If he had, he would have perhaps taken a different tack with his treatment. Cathy, you knew about these photos, didn't you?" Mika wanted to know.
"I'm guessing you do as well, Robert," Joe pressed. He was hoping that someone would cave.
"You can't do this," Cathy finally spoke up.
"They're in evidence now. Our team found them buried in a spot where your daughter-in-law wouldn't have seen them. The fact of the matter is, Danny made this about the photos himself. So, our question is, why would someone send them to him now?" Mika asked.
"What do you mean?" Chloe wanted to know.
"The postmark on the envelope was a few days before Doctor Watkins approximated time of death. Someone has been holding onto the photos for quite some time," Joe said.
"You think his abuser did it?" Chloe asked.
"We're trying to get an ID on the man in the photos. We can't understand the motive to send them now – other than to cause trouble and pain for Danny," Mika admitted.
"What did you do to him?" Chloe turned on her in-laws.
"We thought the service would straighten him out. He kept getting into trouble. The family court judge didn't want to send him to juvie but he chastised us for not keeping a better eye on our son. So, he made Danny pick – military school or juvie – and Danny picked military school. He told us that he wanted to get away from our home," Robert said. Joe gave Mika a look. The parents were still holding out on them.
"The pictures, you knew they existed, or you knew that something was going on," Joe pressed. Cathy started crying again – she definitely knew something.
"He'd come home and be all sullen. He'd begun to pull away from us. I thought it was drugs but… then I figured out it wasn't. When I confronted Danny about staying away from whoever was hurting him, he told me that no one was hurting him. When he was caught that last time for shoplifting, which was his seventh time getting caught, I was relieved that he was being sent away. He refused to stop doing what he was doing and I couldn't get him to admit what was going on," his mother said.
"Why didn't you bring your suspicions to the police?" Mika asked.
"He was getting away from it. I wanted him to be able to put whatever it was behind him," Cathy admitted. And let the predator continue hurting others, was what Mika was thinking. She didn't vocalize it. It wasn't going to help. The fact of the matter was it was hard to get abuse victims to come forward and often parents did not want to put their kids through the process of admitting what had happened to them. However, because of this, Danny was now paying for it.
"Give us a statement that we can take to the court so we can attempt to unseal the court records," Joe told them. Robert heaved a sigh and nodded. Chloe looked like she was going to throw up but she quickly signed the piece of paper that would release Danny's medical records. As his spouse, she was not interested in holding anything back from the police.
"Chloe, walk with me to the door, while Joe gets permission," Mika said. The younger woman grabbed her purse and did as requested and the two went outside.
"This is a lot to absorb. I don't want you alone tonight. Do you have a friend to stay with or your folks?" The detective wanted to know.
"I'm staying with my parents," Chloe said.
"You need a ride?" Mika asked.
"No, I'm going to go now. I can't…" Chloe started to choke up.
"Look, I want you to call me, if you need something. I can get you in touch with someone who can help you process all of it; if you want. Don't go through this alone. I don't want anything to happen to you. Danny is going to need you when this is all over," Mika said.
"How can I be there for him now?" She asked.
"You just need to show up. Be interested in his care. Listen to the doctors. PTSD is nasty enough but to be dealing with all of this on top of it… he needs a rock, but you will too. I'm serious. If you need me, call. My cell number is on there. Day or night," Mika handed Chloe her card. Suddenly, the detective found the younger woman's arms around her. Mika took the hug and reciprocated.
"You and Danny will get through this. I can't promise he won't go to jail or be committed for some time but it'll be good for it to all be out in the open," the detective said.
"Thank you," Chloe gave a slight smile and then headed to her car.
"You're welcome," Mika smiled back. She watched the younger woman drive away and saw Joe headed her way while he was on his phone. They headed to the car they came in and climbed in. Mika fired the vehicle up and started to drive them out of the neighborhood.
"The medical records will be on their way to the precinct. I have to swing by the prosecutor's office with this statement," Joe announced.
"Redirecting then," Mika said. Joe heaved a sigh and looked at the text messages that he'd been left.
"Damn," he swore under his breath.
"What's up?" Mika asked, not taking her eyes off the road.
"Sarah has an infection and they're going to open her back up. The doctors are afraid that there was a small bleeder that they missed," Joe said.
"Shit," Mika shook her head.
"Can you wait for me at the prosecutor's office and then get me to the hospital? I need to check in with Charlie," Joe told her.
"Why don't you take the car and I call for a ride at the prosecutor's office? Charlie doesn't need a circus show to add to what is going on. What he needs is a friend, one that can talk," Mika winked at him, referring to Rex.
"I don't want to leave you stranded," Joe said.
"Hardly, there has to be another SJPD officer nearby. It is the prosecutor's office, after all. I have a sneaking suspicion that Chloe will be calling me and I don't want to strand you at the hospital," Mika admitted.
"We have a lot of problems to solve. Let me know if Chloe reaches out. We have a bigger problem that she might be more willing to help us with," Joe said as the detective pulled into the prosecutor's office parking lot.
"The missing shotgun?" Mika wondered. Neither police officer was sure they fully believed the parents.
"Exactly. If Danny used it once…," Joe trailed off.
"Why didn't he use it again?" Mika nodded.
To Be Continued…