by Owen Parr
“Have you picked a date yet?” Patrick asked.
“I’ll let Marcy plan that part of it. Any day is good for me.”
Agnes wanted details of what had happened in Miami Beach, and I gave her a short version of the events leading to Belford’s death.
“How is Marcy doing?” Agnes asked.
In my opinion, Marcy needed counseling. Although no symptoms head been obvious. However, these things have a delayed reaction. And, she may have been masking how she felt. Without giving too much information, I replied, “She seems fine. We spent a nice evening together. She’s coming back in a few days.”
Father O’Brian, followed by Lucy, walked into the office. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, as we sat around the conference table.
I explained to everyone what I had done with the dead Belford’s shoe in the lobby of the hotel.
Agnes spoke first, “Oh, my God. Do you think we still have a serial killer out there?”
I sat back, crossed my legs, and frowned as I replied to Agnes, “Belford admitted to killing twenty women. We didn’t have a chance to ask where. It is obvious that he was involved here, because of the way he reacted and abducted Marcy. Marcy told me, he said; ‘we forced him to act.’ He thought we might be on to him, and he counter-surveilled us during our surveillance of Ernie’s bar. That’s when he texted and canceled his blind date with Angela.
Lucy asked, “But the next day he went ahead and took Marcy to the range. Would he not think we would make our move and arrest him?”
“Since nothing happened that night, and we did not act against him, he was playing it by ear. However, he felt he was being watched. He told Marcy,” I replied.
Patrick asked, “Why then abduct Marcy?”
“In his mind, we had him cornered and under twenty-four-hour surveillance. He felt trapped. Belford himself told us when he was describing the characteristics of a narcissist, he said; a narcissist can become unpredictable when he’s challenged. And, that’s exactly what happened. He became more and more unpredictable. As to Marcy, he was obsessed with her. He planned on living with her, as a couple. In his demented mind, he thought she would come around and fall in love with him.”
Agnes observed, “Oh, my God. I don’t want to even think of what Marcy went through.”
Father Dom asked, “Do you think the serial killer is still out there. Or, was Belford, the serial killer?”
I turned to look at Father Dom, “Good question, brother. I’m not sure. I think Belford was the serial killer, but there’s more, and I don’t know what it is.”
Dom asked, “What about professor Gruntel?”
I moved up on my seat, grabbed the edge of the table and pulled myself in. “Something is bothering about Belford," I said. "When I asked him if Gruntel was his partner, his first response was; ‘Why, did he tell you?’ Then, he went to say that he had no partners.”
Dom asked, “Lucy, did they check if Gruntel had lived at any of the cities where we had unsolved serial killings?”
“Yes. Detectives Farnsworth and Charles checked that out. And, no Gruntel’s homes did not correlate with those cities.” I looked around the table, “Gents, I’m a little disappointed.”
Patrick queried, “How so, Joey?”
I went on, “What was the question Belford asked, that I just told you? Come on Pat. You were there.”
Patrick replied, “When you asked him if Gruntel was a partner, he replied ‘why, did he tell you that?’ Is that the question you are referring to?”
I grinned, “Exactly. What does that tell you?”
Lucy responded, “It tells me they knew each other and must have collaborated. Why else would he make that statement?”
I pointed at Lucy and nodded, “Precisely,” I replied, rotating my chair to face Agnes, I contemplated, “Besides the fact they may have known each other, One other angle we have not investigated is, if there’s a relationship between the victims and Professor Gruntel. After all, these ladies were in some form of the law profession, and Gruntel is a law professor. Get my angle?”
Agnes fired up her computer as we spoke.
“You know, Gruntel’s body language was all wrong when I questioned him in his home,” I said to Lucy.
Lucy nodded, and said, “I did notice that yes. He was biting his lower lip when you asked if he knew Belford.”
Patrick asked, “I bite my lower lip occasionally. What does it mean?”
Lucy turned to face Mr. Pat, “When you that, you are showing signs of stress, anxiety or worry.”
“Now I understand. I do it when paying my bills,” Patrick replied, with a chuckle.
I said, “Gruntel did it when I questioned him. I bet his shoe size is thirteen.”
“Guys, listen up,” Agnes said. “Guess who was a guest speaker last month at Gruntel’s class?”
I shook my head, as Father Dom replied, “Special Agent, Tony Belford?”
“Exactly,” Agnes rejoined.
“Why didn’t we see that before?” I probed.
Lucy replied, “There was no reason to connect these two. None at all.”
Turning to Agnes, I said, “Agnes, see if you can tie these two before New York.”
“Joey,” announced Agnes, “I found a connection between Belford and Gruntel, going back to Chicago. It seems Agent Tony had Belford speak at an FBI meeting in Chicago. Plus, one time, Belford took Gruntel to the Academy at Quantico to address the newbies.”
Lucy questioned, “Hon were you getting this information?”
Agnes lowered her reading glasses and looked at Lucy smiling, “This information is from NYU’s blogs. It’s a couple of press releases. Nothing nefarious here Detective Roberts.”
“Check the dates of the killings with his visits in those two cities. Let’s see if they correlate.”
Mr. Pat asked Lucy, “Can Gruntel be arrested?”
Lucy replied, “We have nothing to hold him on. We can arrest him, but, we’re not going to be able to hold him.”
Pat added, “He lied about knowing Belford.”
Lucy uttered, “He can always say he forgot about that.”
I sat there looking at Lucy and Patrick, “Dam it. Lucy, let’s arrest this guy. Will worry about holding him later. I have an idea.”
36
A familiar face was sitting in with our new suspect in one of the precinct’s interrogation room. All two-hundred and, say about sixty pounds of him. Stevan Kapzoff, Attorney at Law.
“Well, Mr. Mancuso, we meet again,” Kapzoff said with a smirk, as I entered the room with Captain Johnson.
I replied, before sitting down, “Good to see you again, Mr. K. Sorry about the last time we met, I think all your clients are serving time, right?”
Peter Gruntel, sitting to the left of Kapzoff immediately turned to look at him. His facial expression became one of disquietude. Something like; being in line to buy the last remaining Super Bowl tickets, and getting the feeling you have to take a shit, now!
Kapzoff ignored Gruntel’s stare. I turned to Gruntel, and pointing my finger at him, said, “But, I think he did get them good accommodations. So, you’re in good hands.” I expressed, cupping my hands like the insurance commercial, Is it Allstate, or Statefarm?
Kapzoff barked, “Mr. Gruntel has been inconvenienced a lot so far. What is it that you all want from him?”
“Mr. Gruntel lied to us when we questioned him with regards to Special Agent Tony Belford,” explained Captain Johnson.
“How did he do that?” inquired Mr. Kapzoff.
Johnson glanced at me then back at Mr. K. and replied, “He was asked if he knew Mr. Belford, and he replied, ‘No, I do not.’ He lied, to Mr. Mancuso and my detective, Mrs. Roberts.”
“Perhaps,” Mr. K began, “You should have Detective Roberts and Mr. Mancuso check their notes. You see Captain, at no point, did anyone asked Mr. Gruntel if he knew Mr. Belford.”
Johnson was surprised as he heard that and turned quickly to me wit
h an inquisitive look. I shrugged.
“I believe the question was; if he had heard the name of Anthony, or Tony Belford. Mr. Gruntel admitted to me that he was nervous at the time, thinking someone was in his home and misunderstood the question. Obviously, it was not his intent to lie, since he knew of Agent Belford. Mr. K went on, “The question was asked of Mrs. Gruntel. And, she replied truthfully. She does not know Belford.”
Johnson smirked and inquired, “Shouldn’t your client have informed us he knew Mr. Belford?”
Mr. K. smiled, turned to look at Mr. Gruntel who returned the smile, then Mr. K. replied, “Captain, Mr. Gruntel is a law professor. He’s happy to answer questions directed at him to his best knowledge. But, he’s not going to volunteer answers when nothing has been asked of him.”
“Very well Mr. Kapzoff. We have direct questions for him now. So, can we get started?” asked Johnson.
“Ask away gentlemen,” responded Kapzoff.
Johnson glanced at me to see if I wanted to start. I motioned with my hand for him to begin. After all, he had the prelim q’s that needed to be asked.
“I have many nights, and times, to which I will need to find out where Mr. Gruntel was. May I begin with, —”
Kapzoff interrupted, “Captain, if is more than one night, I’m going to ask you write these down and then we can get back to you on them. You can’t expect my client to have an immediate recollection of various nights right now, do you?”
The Captain shook his head, “Very well, I’ll write them down.”
“Thank you, sir. We’ll get them right back to you,” announced Mr. K. glancing at Gruntel who nodded in agreement.
I inquired, “How long have you known Agent Belford?”
“At the moment,” advanced Mr. K. “my client is willing to admit that he met with Agent Belford three times. One recently, when the Agent addressed his class at NYU, and two before, when Belford invited Professor Gruntel to speak in Chicago, at the FBI’s office and Quantico, addressing the new group of agents.”
“They didn’t meet any other times?” I pressed.
“My client will have to think back and see if he recollects having been with Belford other times. Right now, he has no recollection. May I ask you, fellows, a few questions?”
The Captain replied, “Please do.”
“What is the crime here? So far, I have not heard any accusations or a crime. The fact your detective and consultant didn’t ask the right questions a few days ago of my client, is their mistake. But, surely not a crime on my client’s part. Further, these dates you want and other information as to when they met, that is Belford and my client, unquestionably you have that from Mr. Belford. So, I’m truly baffled by these questions. Sounds like a test of some kind. Is Mr. Belford using my client to alibi out of something?”
Either Kapzoff was bluffing, or indeed they were not aware Agent Tony was deceased, and that we knew of the killings, and his involvement in them.
The Captain looked at me.
I took the cue and proceeded. “No, Agent Belford is not using your client as an alibi. It turns out Belford is the subject of a criminal investigation, and what he has done,” I paused to glance at Mr. Gruntel, who had begun to blink rapidly, indicating to me a little distress, or discomfort on his part.
“Mr. Mancuso, go on,” requested Mr. K.
“Yes, Agent Belford has implicated your client,” I revealed, while I continued to look at Gruntel, whose eyes began to dilate. He looked as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
Kapzoff sat back in his chair. “Oh, I see. You are playing twenty questions. You’re like mice chasing cheese, except you don’t have any cheese. Evidently, the implications are not severe enough. Otherwise, you would have arrested my client on some charges. Is Mr. Belford under arrest?
“Agent Belford has admitted to a series of crimes already. We still have more questions.” I replied. I didn’t lie.
Mr. K. stood up, padded lanky and skinny Gruntel on the shoulder to follow suit, and expressed, “If you have any charges against my client, we’ll be happy to return voluntarily. Just notify me. In the meantime, we have nothing else to discuss. Have a good afternoon, gentlemen.”
I stood opposite these two, Gruntel was one third the width of Kapzoff, both were over six feet tall. I was pissed, frustrated looking at a probable serial killer. The other was a professor of law at NYU. No, just kidding. Gruntel was implicated for sure.
The Captain advised, “Make sure your client stays in town until we’re done with this investigation.”
Both men walked out of the interrogation room.
“Fuck. Captain, I have work to do. Gruntel was involved in these murders, sure as death and taxes. How to prove it, is becoming a challenge.”
“Joey, I feel like a ship lost at sea. We have nothing to throw at this guy. And by tomorrow, the story about Belford’s death will be out. Gruntel will know he’s in the clear after that.”
“I’m going back to the pub. Agnes is working hard to find some angle we can use. I’ll keep you posted.”
“At least the murders have stopped.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way.”
37
“We batted zero yesterday in our quest to solve this crime,” I stated, to our gathered team in our private squad-room.
Father Dom, Patrick, and Agnes sat around the conference table, as we observed Agnes’ artwork on our whiteboard. Agnes had posted everything we had on Gruntel.
Agnes added, “I think I have new information that may help us.”
I turned to face her, she was smiling and had this facial expression as if she had found Al Capone’s secret vault. “What is it, Agnes?”
“All five of our victims, have either taken a direct course from Professor Gruntel or have attended one of his lectures at NYU.”
Patrick observed, “So, he knew the victims, Gruntel that is.”
I replied, “Not necessarily. But, that’s too much coincidence, right?”
Father Dom queried, “Are you saying that the Facebook idea we came up with, where we thought Belford was using it as a menu, to select victims, is wrong?”
Agnes responded, “No, I don’t think so. I think that was part of the mix. I suspect that Gruntel was the one researching Belford.”
Patrick quizzed, “What about our theory of Marcy look-a-likes?”
I replied, “Easy, Belford gives Gruntel a picture of Marcy. Gruntel then seeks out look-a-likes. Both these guys have sick minds. Gruntel was acting like a sommelier, but instead of selecting a fine wine, he was selecting victims.”
Agnes added, “There are more guys. I found the porn pictures that Gruntel has collected. Remember Belford told you guys about Gruntel’s porn?”
Patrick beamed and replied, “Yes, he did.”
I shut my eyes and inquired, “Do I want to know how you got those?”
“Suffice it to say,” Agnes began, “that what I found will not be admissible in a court of law.”
I affirmed, “Will deal with that later. Show us what you found? Wait!” I exclaimed, turning to Dom, “Brother, I think what Agnes will be showing on the screen, are pornographic photos. You want to stay?”
Dom thought for a second, “May I remind you all, that I was twenty-one when I entered the seminary. We priests don’t live in a bubble. Now, the manner in which you phrased the question’; ‘do I want to stay?’ the answer is no. However, I’m involved in a murder investigation, so, I should stay. Proceed please.”
Agnes went on to flash, on our large television monitor, a series of pornographic pictures that made Dom, Patrick and I blushed. She was stoic throughout the presentation. “Now, for the pièce de résistance, ready?”
I replied, “Yes, ready.”
Agnes had grouped four different pictures of a man and woman having sex. But, not just sex, no, the sex in the style of the murders in New York City.
We sat there staring at the photos. Four different couples, a
ll in the same positions.
I inquired, “By any chance Agnes, are there any photos of our victims?”
“No, not in the cache of pictures in his computer.”
Dom asked, “Is that where these came from?”
Agnes turned to look at me before answering, I nodded. “Yes, Father. I hacked into Gruntel’s computer.”
Patrick queried, “Isn’t there some cloud, or something, where he can file other pictures?”
“Yes, the iCloud account he has. But, no, there are no photos of our victims there,” Agnes replied.
“We need the Captain to get a warrant for this guy’s home. I’m certain, just like we’ll have fireworks on the fourth of July, that Gruntel has pictures of the murder scenes, and maybe even in the act, in his home somewhere.”
Dom asked, “Do we have enough for a warrant?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “No we have nothing to warrant a warrant, pun intended. However, Agnes, find out if Professor Gruntel is at NYU. If so, then call Mrs. Gruntel and see if she’s at home, but don’t talk to her, just hang up.”
Patrick said, “Here, I’ll call Mrs. Gruntel at her home.”
Both Agnes and Patrick made their calls. The professor was at NYU teaching a class, and Mrs. Gruntel was at her home.
“Father Dom, you and I are going to visit Mrs. Gruntel. I have an idea.”
“When now?” Dom asked.
Replying, I said, “Yes, now. Why? You have something else to do?”
“No, let me change,” Dom said.
“No Father. You are visiting Mrs. Gruntel in full uniform.”
“Joey, you know I don’t like to mix things. I don’t wear my collar when I work the pub or interview people on our cases.”
“Today you will. I’ll tell why on our way.”
“Agnes, print a few of those pictures, maybe two, or three.”
“You mean the porn scenes?” she queried.
