by Thomas Bloom
Dusty reviewed the note with Amanda. “Jeez, this could be it and we would have never found him because he lives in the county next door.”
They immediately started to do some background. Within the hour they had verified that the property in question was owned by a Willard Housmann and that an Amelia Housmann and Gladys Housmann, both now deceased, were previous residents. Amelia had died four years ago at age 83 and Gladys 2 years ago at age 63. Dusty had the tax assessor of Washington County send him a plat of the land. It consisted of a house and barn sitting on 40 acres, part of which backed up to the Kenesaw River. Mr. Housman was 41 years old and had no criminal record and no traffic citations. He had no Facebook or social media accounts and several online searches disclosed no employment information and no affiliations. There was no record of any marriage in Michigan and no evidence of a Mrs. Housmann.
“Wow,” Amanda said. “It’s perfect--isolated location, a place to work, the right vehicle, a boat and private access to the river. He has female relatives with whom he previously lived and no apparent marriage. But how does he live? No record of employment. The taxes on the property are paid. Maybe he inherited money from the other two ladies—they must have been his mother and grandmother.
Dusty looked at Amanda, “Let’s drive over to Washington County and see if we can get a warrant.”
Three hours later they were at the property with a warrant. Dusty called the Washington county Sheriff and explained the situation. He was named Tom Larson, an old friend of Dusty’s, and he pleaded previous obligations but told them to go ahead and call him with an update later. There was no vehicle in the driveway and no one visible on the premises. There was an old boat on a trailer with what looked like a 25 horsepower motor by the side of the barn. They knocked on the door of the house repeatedly with no answer.
“Let’s check the barn,” Amanda said. “I don’t want to break in if we don’t have to. Maybe he’ll show up soon.”
There was a door on the side of the barn which was not locked. They opened it and stepped inside. It was dark and musty. As their eyes got used to the gloom Amanda said, “Oh my god Dusty look at that.” She pointed at something in the rear of the barn. At first Dusty was not sure of what he was looking at. It was a wooden frame of some kind made of two by fours. At one end several two by fours extended vertically above the frame with a heavy crossbar at the top. “It’s a guillotine,” Amanda said. “My God we’ve got him. Let me find a light switch.”
She walked over to the nearest wall. Dusty looked over his shoulder at the door they had just come through looking for a switch. It was only then that he saw the cord running from the top of the door and over a pulley and then disappearing into the back of the barn. At the same time he became aware of a low hissing sound.
“Amanda,” he yelled. “Don’t touch anything. Get out of here now.” He grabbed her arm and headed for the door.
“What’s the matter,” she cried.
“It’s a setup. There’s a bomb in there.”
A call back to Sheriff Larson revealed that Washington County did not have a bomb squad. Neither did Amanda’s or Dusty’s departments. Dusty put in a call to Sergeant Johnson at the State Police office in Lansing. The man promised to have a squad to them in less than two hours. Dusty asked Sheriff Larson for a squad car, a CSI team and an EMT crew but told him to wait two hours. No one was going into the barn until the bomb squad cleared it.
“Why the EMT? Who’s hurt?”
“I have a bad feeling about what we’re going to find when we get into the house or the barn,” Dusty said.
The bomb squad arrived in two hours and forty-five minutes. After Dusty explained the situation one officer in a full body suit crawled to the rear of the barn and drilled a small hole through the clapboard. He inserted a flexible tube with a light and a camera on the end. After about five minutes he crawled back to where the rest of them were standing.
“There’s a large tank in there with a flip handle on the top. The rope from the door was set up to pull the handle open when you opened the door. No idea what’s in the tank. It could be methane—it’s odorless and highly explosive. There’s also a spotlight in there with one of those clamps on the end which is attached to a stud. The cord from the lamp runs back to the front of the barn. My guess is it’s wired into a switch in front. The light bulb is probably screwed in just a little short of fully closed. If you had flicked the switch it would have sent current to the light, created a spark and boom, the whole place goes up with you in it.”
“Jesus,” Dusty said. His knees got a little weak thinking about how close they had come. “What do we do next? We have to get in there.”
“We’ve got a fan in the truck. I’ll set it just outside the door. It will probably take an hour or so to clear out the fumes. Then we can go in.”
“Okay,” Dusty said. “We need to check out the house. But that may be booby-trapped too.”
“Give us some time” the man said. They entered through a window and spent a half hour clearing the house. When he came out he said “Good news and bad news. The house is clear but there’s a male body in the kitchen with a knife in his chest. He’s very dead.”
“Shit, I was afraid of that,” Dusty said. “There’s no way he could have set all this up without taking out the owner first. Thank you for your help gentlemen. Tell Sergeant Johnson I owe him another one. We’ve got a CSI unit arriving shortly and we need to go through the house and barn with a fine tooth comb. This guy did a lot of work in a short period of time. Let’s hope he made a mistake.”
Dusty turned to Amanda. “As soon as the CSI unit gets here let’s go someplace we can think and talk. I want to call Agent Tamourini and get her input. We thought we had a major problem. Now we have a major problem inside another major problem. This guy will try again. I’ll call Sheriff Larson and tell him we’ll be over first thing in the morning to review the CSI results and agree on jurisdiction. Also, he needs to get his coroner out her to take care of the body. Now we’ve got another agency involved in the same investigation. Pretty soon we’ll need a playbill to keep track of the cast.”
“Okay,” Amanda said. “Mrs. Johnson is picking the boys up after school and taking them to their grandparents. They’re going to spend the night. I can whip up some dinner and we can open a bottle of wine or maybe something stronger. I can’t remember the last time I said this but I need a drink.”
“Here, you drive,” Dusty said while tossing her the keys. “I need to make a couple of calls.”
He started with Sheriff Larson. “Thanks for all your help Tom. I’d like to have a joint meeting first thing in the morning to go over this whole thing. Your CSI team should have at least a preliminary report by then. By the way, does your IT system have Skype loaded?”
“Hell yes. Plus we’ve got running water and indoor johns. I’ll be here at eight. We can start any time after that.”
“Thanks, we’ll see you then.”
Dusty then called both Agent Tamourini and Ed Zitweiller to be sure they could be linked into the meeting.
Agent Tamourini simply said “I’ll make myself available.”
Zitweiller said “I’ve got an eleven AM tee time. Can we finish by then?”
“No problem,” Dusty said.
Chapter Thirty Five
When they reached Amada’s home she headed for the kitchen. “There’s some scotch and bourbon in the cabinet there. There’s beer in the fridge. Fix me a scotch and water, no ice, and open a bottle of wine for dinner. This is going to be quick and simple. Whatever I can find in the freezer.”
“Whatever’s fine,” Dusty replied. He fixed a scotch for Amanda and bourbon on the rocks for himself. He found a bottle of Merlot that looked promising, opened it and set it on the table along with two glasses.
“Have you got any idea how our guy could have found this Housmann?” Dusty asked.
“We know he’s smart and resourceful. Plus we have another complication here. Our guy
might live in Washington County too. That may be how he knew of Housmann. That would double the suspect pool.”
“Jeez, I didn’t think of that. It just gets more complicated. He’s obviously worried that we might zero in on him and he’s willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. Poor Mr. Housmann did not have a chance. This is not just about some hate for previous women in his life. He’s willing to do whatever he has to do in order to protect himself. He must have figured that if he took you and me out then he would slow the whole investigation down indefinitely.”
Amanda was throwing things into the microwave and mixing up a salad while sipping her scotch. “Here are some dishes. Set the table. We’ll be ready in a minute.”
After a tossed salad, meatloaf, baked potatoes and half a bottle of wine Amanda and Dusty sat back and stared at each other. “That was great,” he said, “particularly on a moment’s notice.”
“It’s Mrs. Johnson’s meatloaf. I just warmed it up. Look, I’m on psychic overload at the moment. When you dragged me out of that barn all I could think of was what would happen to my boys if I’m not around. Now I’m thinking that maybe I’m in the wrong line of work for a single mother.”
“Give it a little time. You need to put it in perspective. Today was extraordinary and now we’re on notice. We won’t walk into another trap like that.”
“But Dusty, this guy’s smart, he’s determined and he’s desperate. Next time he may try something totally different.”
“I can’t argue with that. All the more reason we need to catch him now.”
“Mix me another drink and let’s relax. I can’t be police chief any more today. Forget the dishes. They’ll wait until morning.” She moved from the kitchen to the sofa in the living room. Dusty mixed them both another drink and joined her.
“Just put your arms around me and let me be comforted for a while.” Dusty put his arm around her shoulder and she laid her head on his chest. “I have something to tell you. I had a talk with the boys about you and their father. I told them that he was drunk and had run a red light, hit a car and killed the other driver. You were the first officer on the scene and gave him a Breathalyzer test. When he failed the test you arrested him. The prosecutor was the one who decided to try him. A jury found him guilty and a judge sentenced him. It was just plain bad luck that he was knifed in prison. What you did was no different than I would have done or any police officer would have done. I asked them if this would make any difference in how they felt about you or if they would care if you and I dated. They were so young when this happened that they barely remember their father.
“Anyway, we talked a while and the result was that they’re okay with you and okay with us seeing each other. They like you and they want to continue the golf thing. Also, I think they want a father.”
“That’s great news. You haven’t said anything so I was afraid it might be a no go.”
“Look” Amanda said. “We’re big guys and we’re far enough along with this that it’s time to move on to the next step. Follow me.” She put her drink down, sat up and took him by the hand.
“Where’re we going?”
“Bedroom” she said.
“I thought we were going to date first.”
“Dating’s for kids. This is for grownups.”
Chapter Thirty Six
Dusty was awakened at 6:30 by knocking on the door. He realized he was naked, alone in the bed and a little hung over.
She spoke through the door. “Good morning sunshine. You need to get home and shower, shave and change. We’ve got a busy morning. I made a sausage and egg sandwich for you and a carry cup of coffee. You can eat in the car.”
A few minutes later he walked into the kitchen. She was in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt with her hair in a ponytail. She handed him a paper bag with a sandwich in it and the coffee. “Look,” Dusty said, “about last night. It was ….”
“It was great. Play your cards right and we might do it again. I’ll see you in Tom’s office at eight.”
A few minutes after 8:00 Dusty, Amanda, Chief Larson and Larson’s senior crime scene investigator, a Sergeant Bolivar, set around a conference table in Larson’s office. They had Skyped Agent Tamourini and Ed Zitweiller into the meeting.
“Let’s start with your report Sergeant,” Larson said.
“Okay, first the house. It appears that the perp got through the door with some subterfuge then pulled a knife out of a rack on the counter and stabbed Mr. Housmann on the spot. It was through the heart and he died almost instantly. There were no prints on the knife. Both the outside door knob and the knife had been wiped clean. We checked the house for anything out of place. There was nothing unusual. We checked the door and the counter for prints and found a few that were not Housmann’s but we haven’t had time to check them out. My guess is they will turn out to be friends or family.
“The barn took a while. We found many of Housmann’s prints and a few miscellaneous ones but, again, I’m sure they’ll turn out to be legitimate. The trap he set up was simple but effective. He ran a line from the top of the door through a pulley on the bottom of one of the rafters and on to the handle on the tank. It was rigged so that when you opened the door it pulled the handle on the tank open. The bomb squad thought it was probably methane and I agree. I’ll have to send a sample to the state lab to be sure. In pure form it’s odorless, colorless and highly flammable. It’s the same as the natural gas you use to heat your house but without the addition of an odorant which makes it smell like rotten eggs.
“The spotlight he had set up next to the tank was wired into the switch box by the door. Thank God you never hit that switch. It would have created a spark and set off the gas. We’d still be bagging your remains. The thing he rigged up to look like a guillotine was just a fake to get your attention. It didn’t do anything. Oh, and we checked the woods in back of the barn. There’s a 2004 white Silverado back there. He hid it so you would assume Housmann was not home.
“Other than that we found nothing in the way of evidence. No debris, no footprints, no tire prints, no hairs. Either this guy is very good or he’s very lucky.”
“So where do you buy tanks of methane?” Amanda asked.
“It’s a common industrial chemical. You can buy it from many industrial suppliers.”
“Okay,” Dusty said. “This was a specific trap for me and Amanda. He knew we would follow up on the letter he sent posing Housmann as a suspect. He intended to take us out.”
“Excuse me,” Zitweiller said over the Skype feed. “I can see how he expected you to show up. How did he know that you would bring Amanda?”
“It’s common knowledge that we’re working this case together,” Dusty said.
“Common knowledge in law enforcement circles but not necessarily with the public,” Zitweiller replied.
“Look,” Amanda said. “Maybe he was after Dusty with this one and I would just have been a bonus. He may have had something different planned for me. Besides, Dusty has been out in front on this. He would have been the logical first target. Plus, anyone who watched the last news conference would know we were working this case together.”
“Agent Tamourini, any thoughts,” Dusty asked.
“This is only going to get worse until we find this guy. I’m going to ask my boss for permission to come down with a small team for a few days to help you with your suspect screen. We need to consider if we’re looking in the wrong county. Obviously our perp had to know of Housmann somehow. He may live nearby. And both of you, you need to lay low for a few days. Check into a hotel and don’t go anyplace you’re not absolutely sure of. Amanda, you have two kids, right?”
“Yes, two boys, eight and ten.”
“Either keep them out of sight with you or farm them out somewhere.”
“You really think he would go after my kids?”
“Absolutely. This guy is swinging out of control. He could do anything next. If he were to grab one of your kids you’d go crazy to get hi
m back which means you would probably make a mistake. The one good thing is that he would not have done this if he didn’t think we’re getting close. That means we’re going in the right direction.
“Oh, one more thing. Don’t tell a soul where you’re staying. If you mention it to anyone it could be the wrong person. Got it?”
“Yeah, we’ve got it,” Dusty said. “This is getting dirtier by the minute.”
“How about you Ed? Any thoughts?” Amanda asked.
“You know I work on vibes and suppositions. Here’s what I’m getting at this point. It’s almost like he’s watching the whole process from the inside. How else would he know you were getting close? My guess is he’s in a position to watch you. He could be one of the reporters. He could be the janitor. He could be an officer. He could be your secretary or the 911 operator. But somehow he’s close to this. “But we could turn this to our advantage. Suppose we feed him a false lead. If he is watching from the inside and he follows up on it then we’ve got him.”
“Great idea,” Amanda said. “Any suggestions?”
“Not off the top of my head. We need something that will flush him out. Something that will make him do something he would not otherwise do.”
“How about you Chief?” Dusty turned to Chief Larson.
“No idea but I’ll think on it.”
“Let’s all do that,” Dusty said. “We’ve all got each other’s email addresses. If anyone thinks of anything then share it.”
“Oh, one more thing,” Dusty said, turning to the CSI investigator. “We could find no means of support for Housmann. Did you see anything that might explain that?”
“Actually, yes. His desk was full of statements from investment houses. I didn’t try to analyze it but it looked like he was well off.”
“Well, that explains it. He must have inherited it from his mother or grandmother.”
Chapter Thirty Seven
Well mama we got a problem. They think they’re pretty smart but I almost had them. Dumb luck they didn’t hit that switch. Now it will get tougher. But I’ll think of a different way. Don’t start laughing at me. I’m going to win this. I have a big advantage. I can play the game any way I want and they can’t. Plus, they don’t know I’m watching them. Mr. Dusty and Mrs. Amanda got it off the other night. I was watching the house. Good for them. But I’ll use that against them now that I know. Just wait mama, you’ll see.
