Key West Gone into the Night

by Elizabeth Hilleren

  “I’ll have an officer meet you there. You can stay in your kayak until he gets there. Your name is?”

  “My name is Leslie Graham.”

  “Officer Rosario will meet you, Leslie.”

  Officer Cruz Rosario headed for the canal in answer to a call for any cruiser close to the canal. He was the first to respond to the call. He got out of his car and walked across the grass to the edge of the water and saw the woman in the kayak.

  He waved and she headed towards him. He extended his hand to help her up the edge of the water.

  “Hi, I’m Officer Rosario. I heard you found something interesting.”

  “He’s just up the canal a little way. There’s a branch that caught him.”

  “There is an aquatic team coming. Did you go near the body?”

  “I saw it when I was about three feet from it. I didn’t disturb it.”

  “Thanks for calling it in. If you’ll just fill out this card with your information you can be on your way. This area will be closed off for several hours.”

  “I understand. I’ll go back the way I came and see what’s up that end.”

  A police boat pulled up and the officer on the boat radioed back to Rosario.

  “The medical examiner and Detective Sharkey are on their way. We’ll wait for them to give the okay to move the body.”

  Sharkey pulled up and headed for Rosario. “What have we got here?”

  “He’s out there. A floater possibly, the depth of the water is low. He might have landed on a submerged tree branch or something.”

  “Great.” Sharkey shook his head. “I have a bad feeling coming that I can identify the guy.”

  “He’s part of the murder case of the woman?” Rosario asked.

  “Yeah, that’s my bet.”

  Frank Demonte pulled the coroner’s van up and he looked out into the water. The aquatics boat came over and picked the man up. He recorded the weather conditions and the temperature of the water.

  “Okay, let’s get the exact GPS coordinates and the depth of the water.” The men climbed down into the water and secured the body on a gurney.

  “Load him up and take him back to where you picked me up,” Frank said.

  The men took the gurney and set it on the edge of the embankment. Becky pulled up in her car and headed toward them.

  “Crap,” Sharkey murmured. “That’s Carl Abbott. They’re playing with us. They left him to be found.”

  “You sure that’s him?”

  “Yes. I know his face, and that’s his wedding ring. It’s Black Hills gold and unique. I’m surprised they left it on his hand.”

  “Maybe you’re right, they wanted you to recognize him,” Frank said. “Help me turn him over, Becky.”

  Frank examined the body. Well, he’s been in the water for at least six hours. Look at his neck,” Frank said, tilting the head away from him. “There’s a small hole, made by what, I don’t know.”

  “We have a syringe in evidence, found where he was last seen,” Sharkey said. “Do a toxicology on him. I’m betting they will match.”

  Becky and Frank turned the body over and found a wallet in his pocket.

  “We have an ID. It says Carl Abbott.” She reached into the front pocket and found change and a set of keys.

  “All right, let’s get him into the van and I’ll start the autopsy as soon as I can. I’ll be in touch, Sharkey. There are some things about this case that need answers as soon as possible.”

  Frank drove off and Becky followed in her car.

  Officer Rosario walked over to Sharkey. “We now have the coordinates where the body was found. There’s a road that follows the canal. Want to take a look at it?”

  “Sure, I’ll follow you.” Sharkey followed Rosario around to the opposite side of the canal.

  An area had been cordoned off to the entrance of a dirt road that went down to the water’s edge. They walked along the edge of the road to the water line. Sharkey took pictures. There were two sets of footprints going towards the water and back to the main road.

  Casts were taken of the shoe prints and tire tracks while Sharkey went to the water’s edge. At the water’s edge the grass that grew close to the shore was trampled. He took more pictures then walked back to his car.

  Rosario walked over to Sharkey. “I’ll get the casts to the lab.”

  “Okay, I’ll be at the morgue for awhile if you come up with anything else.”

  * * *

  Frank met Sharkey at the door to the autopsy room.

  “Well, you were right, there was no attempt to hide the identity of the body. Becky has what we found on the table over there.”

  Sharkey moved over to the table. A wallet, watch, and ring were on absorbent paper drying out. Next to them was a set of keys and loose change.

  “I’ll take these over to the lab and get them processed.”

  “I can tell you this. There was no water in his stomach. I’d say that means he was dead before he hit the water. That would support your thought that they killed him then dumped him. I examined his neck carefully. The needle penetrated the carotid vein, the drug went directly into the bloodstream and the heart stopped.

  “If you’re assuming that both fathers and the mother of the children are dead, they may think that they’re in a better position to deal with the children. Who’s left to get in their way?” Frank asked.

  “The grandparents. That’s it,” Sharkey said. “And that’s Harris and his ex-wife. I’ll check about Carl’s next of kin. I better get going. Thanks, Frank. Let me know if anything else comes up.”

  “Will do,” Frank said. “By the way, give Harris my best. He’s in our prayers.”

  “He’ll appreciate that,” Sharkey said. He took the evidence and headed straight to the processing lab.

  “Gretchen, can we get duplicates of the keys on the ring here?”

  “Sure, I’ll send them down to the automotive lab. It will only take a few minutes.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be in my office.”

  Sharkey called Stephanie to see if Carl had any next of kin without raising suspicions.

  “Mrs. Williams, I’m trying to fill out the background details for my report. The paperwork is a pain and I had one quick question about the children’s relations. What do you know about Carl’s parents?”

  “As far as I can remember his parents are older. Carl is older than Susan by about eight years. They came to my house for Christmas when Tyler was just born. They were nice enough, but I got the impression that they didn’t approve of Susan. Betty is not well, you know. I think she had him later in life and she said she had heart problems after that. That was the only time I saw them.”

  “You know where they live?”

  “Yes, Scranton, Pennsylvania. They didn’t take to Florida. It was Betty and Nelson Abbott. Don’t have the address.”

  “Do you know if Carl told them about Susan’s death and the missing children?”

  “I doubt it. That would put his mother in the grave for sure. I don’t think he dared tell them.”

  “Thanks, that helps.”

  Sharkey looked up the names and found an address for them and a phone number. Sharkey picked up the phone and dialed the number. A man answered.

  “Mr. Nelson Abbott?”

  “Yes. Who is this?”

  “I’m Detective David Sharkey from the Key West Police Department. I’m looking for the parents of Carl Abbott from Miami.”

  “That would be us. What does the Key West Police want with Carl?”

  “I’m sorry to inform you that the body of Carl Abbott was found this morning.”

  “Carl…are you sure?”

  “I talked to him as recently as yesterday. It’s him. We have his ID, and the medical examiner confirmed his fingerprints today. I know this is a great shock. Our Human Resources Department will be in touch with you shortly to go over details and follow up on any questions you may have. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  “I
can’t come there, and my wife is too ill to even know about this.”

  “I understand. Natalie Stone from our office will be in touch and she can help you.”

  “Thank you. I’ll wait for the call.”

  “I’ll be in touch with you as we get more information about the case.”

  Sharkey hung up and his heart sank. “Man, this is not good.”

  Jenny walked over to Sharkey and sat down.

  “I know those calls are the worst.”

  “Yeah. His folks are not in the best of shape to know all the details. Thank goodness we have a wonderful person in Human Resources to help.”

  * * *

  Sharkey applied for a search warrant for the hotel room of Carl Abbott after they found his dead body in the canal.

  Sharkey got the copies of keys they found on Carl’s body and went to the hotel and opened the hotel door with his key card for the room. He went to Carl’s suitcase and opened it. He took pictures of the contents. Inside was his computer on top of his folded clothes.

  Sharkey placed the computer in a box that he had brought for evidence and looked through the clothes. In the zipper compartment he found a wad of receipts for restaurants in Key West. He looked at where he had been and checked the dates and noticed that they went back to the day before the murder of Susan Abbott. That he found interesting.

  Sharkey went through the papers in the compartment. There were receipts for gas and lodging in a bed and breakfast here in Key West for the night of the murder. Then he moved to the Galleon Resort the next afternoon. He had dinner receipts for that day, too.

  There was a map of Key West and several places were marked. One was Government Road.

  There was a receipt from a gas station in Marathon on Highway One the day after the murder.

  He called and had Carl’s car impounded and asked that forensics do a complete workup on the car.

  Taking the suitcase and computer with him, he put crime scene tape over the door and took the evidence to the crime lab.

  “Here we go, Sharkey. This is the cell tower that picked him up the night he claimed he was in Miami. When you called him the next day he was actually on Marathon. The next call he made was in Miami to a number in Miami. Then he called your number, Sharkey, and it was from Miami. Then later, another call from Key West. These are all his calls from Key West.”

  “Thanks, that helps.”

  Sharkey called Frank again. “Frank, when you went over Susan Abbott’s body did you find any identifying marks on her besides the cut and bruise under her chin?”

  “Some scratches on her arms where she ran into the bushes.”

  “I believe that it’s possible that her husband Carl murdered her. But I have no proof. Now he’s dead. I’m up the creek with no paddle.”

  Frank frowned. “That said, I’m not sure anything that I found will help. Sorry.”

  “No. Don’t be. Facts are facts. Thanks.”

  Sharkey then checked the results from the lab for Carl’s car.

  The lab going over his car found hair samples, trash that included two pop bottles with Carl and Stephanie’s fingerprints, candy bar wrappers, blonde hair in the back seat, possibly from a child. Maps, registration papers, flashlight. A pair of men’s gloves. The floor mats on the driver’s side had dried sand. The shoes in his suitcase were tennis shoes with a sculptured bottom but no rock or coral rock.

  Sharkey reread that last item. He smiled.

  “Jenny, I think I have something.”

  Jenny walked around the desk and looked over his shoulder.

  “No coral rock…in his car.”

  “I want to call Miami and have them check Carl Abbott’s house looking for hard soled shoes or boots and looking for blood and coral rock remnants on them. If we find them, that could be conclusive enough to nail him for Susan Abbott’s murder.”

  Sharkey made the call to Miami and was told they would search Abbott’s home.

  * * *

  Jenny Springfield had made a fresh pot of coffee and was sitting staring at the murder boards. She had added a picture of Abbott on the top left-hand corner of the board above a picture of Abbott’s body with pertinent information regarding the area where his body was found. Sharkey joined her.

  “This is a real mess,” he said. “The kids’ only effective relatives are Harris and his ex-wife.”

  “Maybe we should talk to her.”

  “Good idea. But I think we should talk down here. She’s not telling us everything she knows about Carl Abbott. That’s interesting because he could have killed Susan.”

  She added that to the murder board.

  “I’m trying to figure out motive,” Sharkey said.

  “Maybe he never accepted the fact that she got pregnant by Javier. It was a vicious killing. She was on her hands and knees and he kicked her hard enough to break her neck. Whoever did that released some pent-up emotion.”

  “Good point,” he said. “I’m calling Stephanie and asking her to come in. Let’s turn the boards around, except for Carl’s,” Sharkey said. “Get ready to meet someone who can be a very unpleasant lady.”

  Jenny laughed. “I’ve met unpleasant people in my time, I can handle it. You might not believe what people think they can get away with when confronted with a young female officer, especially one of the softer genders.”

  “I guess I never looked at it from that viewpoint. I’ll be watching to see if that makes a difference.”

  Stephanie answered her cell on the first ring.

  “Carl?”

  “No, it’s Detective Sharkey.”

  “Oh. Is Carl all right?”

  “I’d like you to come down to the station where we can talk. I have some questions about Carl, and I would prefer not to talk on the phone.”

  “All…right. I’m leaving now. See you in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks. We’ll be here expecting you.”

  She hung up without further comment.

  “She’s on her way. Let’s try good cop, bad cop.”

  Jenny grinned. “So, are you feeling good or bad today?”

  “I’ll let you pick.”

  “I’ll be good. She already dislikes you. So that should be easy for you.”

  “Okay.” Sharkey laughed at the truth and went down to pick up Stephanie in the lobby.

  “Thanks for coming, Mrs. Williams.”

  “Where’s Carl?” she demanded.

  “Let’s go up to the office where we can talk in private.”

  “Ha,” she snorted.

  Sharkey led her to a table that was set up with soft drinks and a coffee urn.

  “Have a seat. Would you like a pop or coffee?” he asked softly.

  “I’ll have a coffee with cream and sugar.”

  Jenny walked over to the table with prepackaged cream and sugar. “Hi. I’m Officer Springfield. I’m helping Detective Sharkey on this case.”

  “Stephanie Williams. Nice to have a woman to talk to,” she said, shooting a look of disapproval at Sharkey.”

  “We need to know what you know about Carl Abbott,” Sharkey said.

  “I don’t know why you’re picking on Carl. I demand to know where Carl is. You’re hiding something.”

  “Yes, we are. Just look behind you,” Sharkey said.

  She turned and stared at the murder board. It took a second, but only a second, to realize what she was staring at. “Oh no…no…no. Damnit. This was not supposed to happen…you incompetent fools.”

  Jenney moved swiftly to her side, making her look into her eyes. “Here,” she said, pointing to her own eyes. “I know that was a terrible shock.”

  She turned her away from the murder board and handed Stephanie a Kleenex but there were no tears in Stephanie’s eyes.

  “This world has just gone crazy,” Stephanie said.

  Sharkey went back to his desk.

  “I know. We’re trying to make sense of it. But there’s a lot we don’t know. You know some of that. We need to share so
we can move forward in the right direction. Take a deep breath and try to relax.” Jenny never lost hold of Stephanie’s eyes. “I need your help,” she said in a low, even voice. “How much did Carl tell you about his plan to get the kidnappers to meet with him?”

  She tipped her head back, “Well, he thought that it was worth a try. I told him it was a crazy plan, but,” she emphasized her word ‘but’ with her index finger, “he wouldn’t listen to reason. My heavens, he could have brought them to the hotel. I might be dead. You understand?”

  “Yes. I do. Now, did he tell you that he had been contacted last night?”

  “No. But,” she said, holding up her index finger again and wagging it at Jenny, “he was quite sure they would call. He said he offered them money for information. Maybe somebody saw the kidnapper take the children.”

  “So, he didn’t know who was contacting him?” Jenny said, her eyes open a little wider than normal.

  “Yes. I think he assumed that it would be the kidnappers. He’s Tyler’s father. So, they most likely felt that Carl would pay a ransom to get him back.”

  “I see. Want something more to drink, Stephanie?”

  “No, you’re very kind.” Her eyes rolled towards Sharkey then turned to slits.

  “How did Carl feel about the new baby?” she asked in a calm, warm voice.

  “He resented the hell out of it,” she said, flatly.

  “I take it that he didn’t have much love left for Susan at this point.”

  “Even when she asked him to move out, he would have come back to her. But when she got pregnant and had Javier’s kid, the writing was boldly painted on the wall that he had been rejected. I think that’s when he fell out of love with her.”

  “Did he have a temper?”

  “Susan was a difficult child and could be a difficult adult. When Burt left, she was the center of my world. I think that might have led her to believe it was okay if she became the center of her world too. She wasn’t always fair. There was a lot of taking and not much giving. Carl never, to my knowledge, got physical with her. I’ve seen him get mad at her. All things considered, he was surprisingly controlled. But I guess everyone has a limit. At some point they just decided to separate. I know that was hard for him because he loved his boy. He paid child support for Tyler. He never missed a payment.”