Within 45 minutes Garcia is on the scene. Ricci has not yet arrived.
“Good morning Juan,” greets Pennington.
“Not really, but always good to see you Sarge.”
In this case, the victim is not at the scene. He had been picked up by paramedics and rushed to the hospital while performing life-saving measures. Unfortunately, emergency efforts to revive the victim failed. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Word of his death quickly reaches Garcia.
Damn, thinks Garcia. If only he had lived we would have our first real witness. We just can’t catch a break, and neither can our victims.
The crime scene looks especially gruesome. It appears as though there had been a struggle before the victim succumbed to his injuries. Blood is splashed and spattered across a 12-foot area of the blacktop alley and concrete skirt of a garage adjacent to where the victim had been attacked. A bloody handprint is found on the light green garage door approximately 5 feet off the ground. Two trash cans have been knocked over, spewing trash and rotten food across the entrance to the garage. A dim yellow alley light off the peak of a nearby garage across the alley adds an eerie glow to the scene. The air carries the mixed scent of blood, vehicle exhaust, and rotting garbage. It will certainly take more effort to record and process this scene. Garcia is encouraged by the handprint. Hopefully, we can get prints off that.
The most significant difference from previous attacks is the location of the knife. It is not close to where the victim was discovered by the witness. It is found lying approximately 12 feet north from where the victim had fallen. It looks as though the attacker may have dropped or thrown the knife as he was leaving the scene.
Garcia observes the bloodstains and spatter emanating from the apparent point of attack. The resident garage with the bloody palm print is on the south side of the alley with the garage door facing north. Garcia notes a series of raindrop-shaped blood spatter approximately three to six feet from the victim. This indicates the blood had hit the ground at an angle, rather than falling straight from above. Examination of this blood spatter will help blood spatter analysts determine information such as the direction of attack and potentially whether the attacker was right or left-handed.
Patrol officers have quickly obtained victim identification from neighbors who have gathered after hearing the commotion and seeing all the flashing police lights through their windows. The victim is known as Miguel Gomez, a Hispanic male, age 27. Gomez lived in a multi-unit brownstone house about five houses away from the scene. Two neighbors admit to knowing Gomez was primarily a cocaine dealer who managed his drug trade over the telephone. It is said he would take orders over the phone and then deliver them to his customers. He did not want customers coming to his residence. He also preferred to make his deliveries under cover of darkness, primarily using the alleyways to make deliveries.
Detective Jackson, who arrived a short time earlier, tells Garcia that Gomez had been on the task force’s radar, but they had been unable to make a case against him.
“He was careful about who he sold to,” says Jackson. “Liked to make his deliveries on foot to scan the area for anyone who might be a cop. He figured it was easier to hide from a passing patrol car or run from an officer on foot than if he was in a car. I talked to Ricci about him last week.”
“You talked to Ricci about Gomez last week?”
“Yeah, he wanted some names of known dealers to interview about these attacks, hoping to get some information on who might be doing this.”
“Now that you mention it, I remember Ricci saying something about interviewing known dealers. We’ve just been so busy.”
Garcia is anxious to interview the witness. Just maybe he got a good look at our killer. What is taking Ricci so long to get here? I hope he is feeling okay.
About 10 minutes later, Ricci pulls into the alley and walks toward Garcia and Jackson. “What have we got this time?”
Garcia gives him the rundown on what they know right now and allows Ricci some time to inspect the crime scene.
“This is a bloody mess,” says Ricci.
“Looks like our victim had time to resist a bit,” replies Jackson.
“Any witnesses?” asks Ricci.
“Yes,” says Garcia, “a resident by the name of Jarvis Harden. He lives right here. This is his garage. He heard some banging noises and shouting at about three twenty this morning. He came running out his back door and found our victim stabbed and bleeding. Victim was still alive at the time, but the wounds were too severe. He died on the way to the hospital. Our witness is waiting to be interviewed.”
“Right,” responds Ricci. “Let’s get him to the station and interview him there.”
Jackson volunteers to take Harden to the station. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Good, thanks Trevon,” says Garcia.
Back at the station, witness Jarvis Harden is placed in a small interview room where everything can be recorded. He is provided a cup of freshly brewed coffee and offered a cinnamon roll, to which he gladly accepts. Jarvis is a 34-year-old African American living with his girlfriend and her two children. He works at a local lumber yard and to the detective’s knowledge, has no connection to the drug trade or to any gang. According to Harden, he hates the drug issues plaguing the community he lives in.
“Please tell us what happened Jarvis,” says Garcia.
“I was sleepin’when I heard some loud noises behind my house, you know, shoutin’ and stuff. Then I hear some bangin’, like trash cans being dumped on the ground. So, I get up and go out back to see what’s happening and I see this dude on the ground moanin’. He has blood all over him and trash is spilled out everywhere.”
Garcia continues with the questioning. “Did you see anyone else?”
“Yeah man, there was some guy runnin’ away down the alley”
“What direction?”
“Uhhh, it would be east direction.”
“Can you describe him for us?”
“He was a big dude. It was dark, so I couldn’t see very well, but he had dark clothing.”
“You said big. How tall do you think he was?”
“At least over six foot.”
“Any hat or anything?”
“Uh, yeah, he had some type of hat on, black I think.”
“Do you know what type of hat?”
“Looked like one of those fancy hats with the short brims.”
“Like a beret?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Do you know what race this person was?”
“It was pretty dark, but my impression was he was a white dude.”
“What do you mean by impression? Did you see he was white?”
“Not really, but from the back, I just sees him as a white guy. His mannerisms and all, if that makes sense.”
“Sure. What about facial hair or glasses?”
“I really didn’t get a look at his face.”
“When you first came out, was this man attacking the victim?”
“No, by the time I came out, I just saw this big dude runnin’ away.”
“Okay, is there anything else at all you can remember about this person? Anything can help.”
Harden thinks for a moment. “Yes! I remember he kind of ran funny like.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like he was favorin’ one leg.”
“Like limping?”
“Yeah, kind of like limpin’ while he was runnin’.”
“Where did he go?”
“Once he got to the corner he turned and was out of sight.”
“What did you do when you saw all this?”
“Well, I checked on the stabbed dude and saw he was hurt really bad, so I ran back into the house to get my cell. I then dialed 911.”
“Did you touch anything or move anything Jarvis?”
“No sir, well, maybe one of the trash cans to check on the guy, but nothin’ else.”
“Did you know the victim?”
“Thank you so much Jarvis, we appreciate your cooperation,” Garcia tells him. “If you remember anything else at all, please call me.
“Sure will. I hope you get this guy. The whole neighborhood is upset this is happenin’ on our streets.”
After the interview concludes, Jackson drives Harden back home.
Garcia confers with Ricci, who sat in on the interview. “This is the second witness now who has seen a suspicious tall person in dark clothing, beret type hat, and a limp. I’d say we now have a real lead.”
“I would agree,” replies Ricci.
The following Monday, the detectives meet for their regularly scheduled meeting.
“Good morning everyone,” starts Commander Marshall. “Not a good weekend, obviously, but at least we have a little more information than we had last week. Who wants to start?”
“I will,” says Garcia. “The best news is that we now have a description of our likely killer. He has been described as a large person, over six feet tall, wears dark clothing, dark beret-type hat, and most importantly, walks with a limp. If he is the same person seen by Mrs. Henderson over two years ago, he may have a beard and wear dark-rimmed glasses. And, our witness thinks he may have been white, but he’s not sure.”
“If he is as large as described, it may explain why he can quickly overcome his victims,” adds Jackson.
“It wasn’t quite as easy for him this time,” says Sgt. Pennington. “The blood evidence at the scene indicated a struggle. Then we have the bloody handprint on the garage, maybe to regain his balance, and of course, he was unable to leave the knife on top or near the victim. Our witness almost caught our killer in the act.”
“Is our witness solid?” asks the Commander.
“Oh yes,” responds Garcia. “He is a reliable witness. It’s my belief that our killer heard Mr. Harden coming out of his house and that’s when he took off running. Harden did not see the suspect attacking the victim, but did see him leaving the scene.”
“I think that’s a fair assumption,” agrees the Commander. “Could this witness be our suspect and he’s lying about this mystery person running away?”
“I don’t believe so,” replies Garcia. “He seemed perfectly legit and has no criminal history. He also had no blood on him, other than on the bottom of his slippers.”
“What about forensics?” inquires the Commander.
“Not much,” says Cindy Cross, one of the department’s criminalists invited to the meeting. “The handprint had no ridge detail. In a blood print, it would be quite common to have some ridge patterns from fingers or the palm of the hand. Given that there were none, we believe the suspect was wearing gloves. We have not found any blood at the scene other than the victim’s. However, in analyzing the blood spatter evidence our analyst believes the suspect is right-handed. The elliptical shape of the blood spatter provided directional information indicating the victim was facing east when stabbed, as we know the victim was stabbed multiple times from the front. The blood spatter then came from the point of attack in a northeast direction. Our analyst believes the most likely source of the spatter was from the suspect quickly pulling the knife out while stabbing the victim at least two times. This motion would have flung blood off the suspect's hand and knife. Another theory is the victim resisted by knocking the suspect's arm away as he was being stabbed. We also found a series of round blood drops six feet from the point of attack and toward the direction of the knife. This blood likely dropped from the hand or knife as the suspect moved away.”
Cross continues, “We also found some blood smears leading from the scene. We believe these were made from the suspect’s shoes as he was leaving. Having no pattern possibly indicates smooth bottomed shoes, such as a leather dress shoe. It is likely a good amount of blood was on his shoes, and possibly some on his clothing. Find the owner of those shoes and I’ll bet we can get the victim’s DNA from them.”
“Very good information Cindy, thank you,” says an appreciative Commander.
Pennington adds, “We already have the description out to all officers across Chicago. A press release was distributed to the media Saturday night, also with the suspect’s description.”
“What race are we going with?” asks the Commander.
“We put it out as unknown, but possibly white, and to be on the lookout for any male of any race otherwise matching the description.”
“Let’s add right-handed to the description,” directs the Commander.
Garcia then points out that Miguel Gomez was Hispanic and not African American like all the previous victims. “Maybe this isn’t just about black drug dealers like we thought.”
“Too soon to tell,” interjects Jackson. “It’s only one out of ten and our suspect may have thought Gomez was black.”
“Maybe,” answers Garcia.
Commander Marshall then thanks everyone for their hard work and dismisses the meeting.
Garcia noticed Ricci had not spoken up during the meeting. He hopes Ricci isn’t suffering from his ulcer. Although, after this past weekend, it wouldn’t surprise him if he was.
Back at their desks, Garcia expresses to Ricci how unfortunate it is to lose another person to this so-called Candy Man Killer. He has never been involved in a serial killer investigation, and each new victim makes him angrier. “We really need to catch this guy,” laments Garcia.
“Yes we do,” responds Ricci, “and eventually we will. Just don’t forget the victims these assholes prey on all the time. For every dealer that gets killed, there are probably a dozen or more kids whose lives are ruined by drugs. And in some cases, they die. These dealers aren’t the only victims here.”
Once again, Garcia believes Ricci is being too cavalier over the murders of these men. “Remember, those who take drugs carry some responsibility as well,” says Garcia. “There would be no dealers if there were no buyers.”
“You don’t have a clue Juan,” responds Ricci, “kids get suckered in. They don’t know what they’re doing or know the dangers of these drugs. I’ll do my job and help find this killer, but I wouldn’t piss on these guys if they were on fire.”
Garcia can feel Ricci’s anger and knows some of what he says is true, but he doesn’t believe it justifies Ricci’s contempt or attitude. There are many cultural, economic, and environmental factors involved in the world of drug usage. It isn’t all the fault of the dealers as Ricci seems to believe. Garcia decides to just drop the subject.
That afternoon, Sgt. Pennington calls Garcia into her office. “Juan, I need to ask you something.”
“Sure, what is it Sarge?”
“Have you noticed any changes in Mike recently?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he just doesn’t seem to be himself lately. His sick time usage is up, and he just hasn’t looked well to me the last couple of weeks. It could just be the stress of the case, but he’s always been a tough cookie in the past, so I’m concerned. I keep asking him how he’s doing, and he always says fine, but I’m not sure. You work with him closely, so I wanted your opinion.”
“I think the stress is getting to all of us,” says Garcia. “I have trouble sleeping at night thinking about this case, so I imagine Mike does as well. The whole drug dealer thing has him worked up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, he just has a hatred for drug dealers and no sympathy when they get murdered. He actually believes it helps clean up the neighborhood each time one gets killed. Now, he still works hard and wants to find the killer, but I’ve found he has no sympathy for the victims.”
“You can hardly blame the guy for that.”
“What do you mean?” asks Garcia with a puzzled look.
“You know what happened to his daughter right?”
“He only told me she died six years ago in Los Angeles.”
“Yes, from an overdose of Fentanyl she bought from a street dealer!”
Garcia is shocked. “Oh my god, a
re you serious?”
“Yes. She had moved out to LA a year after high school to start a career in acting, something she was good at. I don’t know all the details, but she somehow got hooked on hard drugs until one day it took her life. They traced the drugs to one of the local street dealers there. Mike and his wife were absolutely devastated. He had to take a leave of absence to recover. I just assumed he would have told you.”
Garcia feels sick to his stomach. “I wish I had known. I would have better understood his attitude.”
“Two years later, his wife dies from an aneurism,” continues Pennington, “which he blames on stress from his daughter’s death. In his eyes, a drug dealer took the lives of both his daughter and his wife. I thought maybe this case was becoming too uncomfortable for Mike and may be affecting his health. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. Mike always just says he is fine.”
“He did tell me he has an ulcer that’s been acting up. He hasn’t felt well a few times recently, but he still seems very capable to do the job.”
“Okay,” says Pennington, “but if that changes, please let me know. I don’t want this case to ruin his health.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on him. Thank you Sarge.”
The next morning Garcia asks Ricci if he can talk with him privately in the interview room. Ricci agrees.
“I just want to apologize,” says Garcia. “I just found out the whole story behind your daughter’s death. I had no idea. I’m so sorry Mike. I have a better understanding of your position on dealers now.”
Ricci says nothing for a couple of seconds. It appears to Garcia that Ricci’s eyes are watering up.
“It was a very tough time Juan, and one I will never fully understand and never fully recover from. As you know, I lost my wife two years later. I’m sure it was the stress of losing our dear Lisa that caused her death.”
“I’m very sorry Mike.”
“Thank you Juan, I appreciate that,” says Ricci softly. “I probably should have told you myself, but it’s hard for me to talk about.”
“I completely understand Mike. And I would understand if this case is too stressful and brings back painful memories for you.”
Behind The Lies Page 4
