“Do you know what the dispute was about?”
“What Marie told me was that during a medical review audit she discovered a financial scam between a bank and a nursing home, and that due to her audit, the managers of both facilities were arrested. While you’re in town, you should talk to Harvey Blake at Proudland Bank. He knows about this situation and could give you a lot more information.”
Morgan started asking questions about Marie’s relationship with Hoagie and Dex. Her father thought he was suggesting the possibility of a love triangle, and he interrupted him.
“Look Morgan, it’s pretty clear where you’re going with this line of questioning, so let me save you some time. Those three have been friends since they were all in elementary school. We’ve known their families for twenty years. Marie and Dex have been dating for several months, and her mother and I think that the relationship may be pretty serious. Hoagie was like a brother to both of them, but she has never dated Hoagie.”
The detective continued to take notes while Marie’s father was talking. When he finished, Morgan offered no response to anything that had been said. He merely thanked them for their time and said he would keep them posted on any developments.
Morgan’s next stop was at the hospital personnel office, but they told him that hospital rules allowed them to only confirm employment and give the dates of employment.
He went to Proudland and talked to Harvey Blake. Blake was cooperative but didn’t have any information that Morgan didn’t already know. Blake confirmed that both men involved in the scam were furious with Marie, and he had extremely high praise for the work she was doing for the bank. He also told Morgan that if he thought a reward offer might produce some leads the bank would be happy to contribute to it.
So far Morgan’s investigation was bumping up against one dead end after another. Dr. Bill Bishop might prove to be another dead end, but Morgan had no intention of letting it go. He had investigated too many crimes involving terminated romances to not at least consider Marie’s rejection of Bishop as a motive. Dex had told him that Bishop was working in a public health clinic in Birmingham, and he had already decided to make the trip to Birmingham before returning to River City.
Chapter 26
As far as Lester Morgan was concerned, Birmingham was not a destination city. It was simply a place one passed through, or more accurately, around en route from the mountains of Tennessee to the snow-white beaches along Florida’s panhandle. Although he had driven past it on many occasions—it was only two hours from River City—Morgan could never remember actually visiting Birmingham.
The city had spent a lot of money reinventing itself from the time when it was known as the “Pittsburgh of the South.” The steel mills were now shuttered, and the sky over the city no longer resembled the smog-choked Los Angeles basin. One could now actually take a deep breath in Birmingham without worrying about lung damage.
Morgan wasn’t there to appreciate or evaluate the city’s urban renewal program; he was there in search of information. However, he didn’t get what he wanted. Bishop had resigned from the clinic several months earlier and left no forwarding address. He was told Bishop said he was leaving because he had not felt challenged by the work at the clinic and needed a change. The director described Bishop as a loner who had apparently developed no close friends while at the clinic.
The only physician at the clinic who was willing to talk described him as “sort of weird.” He also said that his bedside manner sucked and he had a hard time relating to his coworkers. But he did say that Bishop was a competent doctor.
The only address they had for him was the one listed on their payroll records. Morgan checked but found that Bishop had moved from the apartment on or about the same day he resigned from the clinic. Again, he left no forwarding address and none of the people in the surrounding apartments knew anything about him. Morgan had bumped up against another dead end.
During the two-hour drive from Birmingham to River City, Morgan rehashed the investigation in his mind. He had interviewed dozens of people in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, and he still didn’t know much more than he did the day Hoagie’s body was pulled from the river.
The only people he could even remotely consider as persons of interest were Dex, Dr. Bishop, Norton, the bank trust officer, and McPherson, the nursing home manager. He hadn’t interviewed Bishop, Norton, or McPherson, and he really didn’t consider Dex a prime suspect. Dex seemed believable during the interrogation, but he needed a lot more information than he had so far before he could eliminate anyone. Morgan still didn’t even know if the primary target in the attack was Marie. It could have been Hoagie or Marie. He also wasn’t sure if he was investigating a single or double homicide. Locating Marie, or her body, was a priority.
As he drove, Morgan summed up all that he really knew about the case. The only physical evidence was the blood scrapings from the parking lot and the fibers recovered from Hoagie’s body, which were basically useless until they had something to match them against. The restaurant witnesses could testify to nothing except that they had seen Hoagie and Marie together before the abduction. He had identified four possible suspects, but he didn’t have enough evidence against any of them to even consider an arrest. That was his entire case in a nutshell, and it was basically useless from a prosecution standpoint.
Chapter 27
Bishop had disappeared. Morgan had run out of ideas, and the investigation was at a standstill. One of Morgan’s defining characteristics as a law enforcement officer was his ability to definitively profile suspected felons. Other officers, even those from surrounding states, frequently sought his advice in this area. He was somewhat amused that others believed he had some sort of special talent. He knew, even if others didn’t, that it wasn’t unusual ability that made him successful. It was simply that he was willing to spend more time developing the details that allowed him to accurately profile the bad guys. With no wife and no hobbies, he didn’t have a life outside of his work anyway. His complete devotion to the job had already destroyed two marriages, and his only real friend was a dog. But he rather liked the idea that everyone thought he had extraordinary talent, so he didn’t tell anyone his secret.
Bishop was the subject of Morgan’s latest profiling project. He had gathered a lot of background information on him online and by telephone. He was born and grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, as the only child of hourly textile workers who were both deceased. He had started to excel academically at an early age, but his social skills didn’t develop at the same rate. He was a loner and never participated in athletics or any other extracurricular activity. The photo in his high-school annual was of a normal-looking teenager, but the caption under it told the story of his young life: “Billy is a scholar with little time to enjoy life.”
Bishop was valedictorian of his high-school graduating class, received a full scholarship to the University of Virginia, attended classes twelve months a year, and graduated in three years with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He was accepted at the Medical College of Virginia when he was only twenty years old and entered medical school a month after graduating from UVA.
Morgan talked by phone with staff members at UVA and the medical school. Those who remembered Bishop confirmed that he was an excellent student but also remembered him as a loner. An anatomy professor recalled that he had a volatile temper and did not work well with other students on joint assignments. A chemistry professor related an incident where his lab partner said Bishop had blamed him for the failure of an experiment and threatened to pour a beaker of sulfuric acid on him.
The recurring theme from high school through medical school was of a brilliant student that had no interest outside of academia and few, if any, friends. Even considering the alleged lab incident, there was nothing in his background to indicate he was capable of premeditated murder. He couldn’t be prosecuted for having a volatile temper
or being antisocial, and so far that was about all Morgan knew about him. He wasn’t likely to gain a lot more insight into his psyche unless he could get him into an interrogation room.
The big break happened several days later. Morgan had left his card with the director of the Birmingham clinic and asked that he be contacted if they came across any additional information. The director called Morgan and told him they had just received an inquiry from a hospital in Dalton, Georgia, requesting previous employment information on Bishop.
Dalton, a north Georgia mill town, was only a few miles south of River City. Morgan called the hospital and confirmed that Bishop was an emergency room doctor there and was currently on duty. His shift was scheduled to end in about two hours.
Morgan made the short drive to Dalton, was at the hospital in time for the shift change, and had a nurse identify Bishop as he was leaving the hospital. Morgan followed him into the parking lot before he approached him and flashed his badge.
“Dr. Bishop, my name is Lester Morgan. I’m a detective investigating a case involving Marie Murphy, whom I understand is a friend of yours.”
Morgan always watched the initial facial reaction of a subject when first approached. He was surprised that Bishop had no visible reaction when he first heard Marie’s name.
Bishop looked at the detective’s shield, nodded, and said, “Yeah, I know Marie. We dated for a while when I was working in Atlanta. What’s she done? Is she in some kind of trouble?”
“Why don’t we go in the hospital cafeteria and talk?”
After they were seated, Morgan said, “Marie has disappeared, and she was last seen with a man who has been found murdered.”
There was still no reaction from Bishop. This made Morgan think he was either one hell of an actor or he really didn’t know anything.
“Well, I hope she’s okay. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt her.”
Was he feigning this response? Had he rehearsed the reaction in anticipation of being questioned?
“Since all the television news in Dalton comes from River City, I’m surprised you haven’t heard the news about this.”
“I rarely watch the local news since I’m new in this area. In fact, I don’t watch much television, and when I do it’s usually CNN or the History Channel.”
Morgan got the first reaction from him when he said, “I understand you and Marie had some kind of lover’s quarrel in Atlanta.”
Bishop put his hand over his mouth and coughed nervously but seemed to instantly regain his composure.
“Detective, most romances end with some kind of dispute; ours wasn’t any different. We had a disagreement and decided to stop seeing each other. I haven’t thought about Marie in a long time. We’ve both moved on. I assume she still has Dex.”
Morgan said, “Yeah, I understand you and Dex also had a confrontation.”
“Well, you know, boys will be boys. He was acting like a bullying miscreant, and I objected to it.”
“I understand your objection ended up in a fist fight. Is that scar under your chin from the fight?”
“No, Detective, I cut myself shaving,” Bishop replied sarcastically.
“Dr. Bishop, I had a hard time finding you. You seem to move around more than most physicians I’ve known.”
“I haven’t decided where I want to set up my practice, so I’ve been using the hospital jobs to try out different areas of the country.”
Morgan decided that this cat-and-mouse game wasn’t getting anywhere, so he followed his instinct to go for the jugular and see if it would jump-start the interrogation.
“I’ve been told that you threatened to kill Ms. Murphy.”
Bishop stared at Morgan, hesitated for a long time, then smiled and said, “In the passion of the moment, we all say ridiculous things. I’ll bet that on occasion even you have said something like, ‘I could kill that guy.’ It’s a damn figure of speech. I was angry at the time, but I certainly have never tried to kill anyone. For God’s sake, I save lives not take them.”
“Several people have told me you have a problem with your temper.” It was not stated as a question, but one was clearly implied.
Bishop simply shook his head and said, “I don’t know why anyone would say that. I certainly don’t think I have a problem.”
“Several people have also said you don’t get along very well with people.”
Bishop just shook his head but didn’t reply. This technique of goading a suspect to get him rattled had worked many times for Morgan, but since Bishop wasn’t rising to the bait, he intensified the questions. When he did, Bishop stopped readily responding and resorted to merely shaking his head.
“Why did you and Ms. Murphy break up? What was the disagreement about? Did you ever have a physical altercation with her?” All of these questions received only a headshake or one-word answers, but Morgan could tell he was beginning to break through Bishop’s calm demeanor.
He finally asked the question that set him off. “When you were dating Ms. Murphy was it an exclusive arrangement or were you seeing other people?”
Morgan had been told this was the reason for the breakup, but he didn’t expect the outburst with which Bishop responded. Bishop’s face suddenly flushed, and his raised voice attracted the attention of other people in the cafeteria.
“I thought it was exclusive until I caught her sleeping around on me. I thought she was different and then I found out she was just like every other damn woman I’ve ever met.” He pounded his fist on the table for emphasis.
Morgan looked up from his note pad and said, “And you don’t have a problem with your temper?”
Bishop stood up and said in a raised voice, “I’ll tell you what I do have a problem with. I have a problem with your damn accusations. I have a problem with you thinking I’m stupid enough to still be moaning over some young girl I haven’t seen in a long time. And I have a problem with a backwoods cop who thinks he’s Sherlock Holmes. This interview is over. You can arrest me, or do whatever the hell you want to do, but any additional answers to your stupid questions will come from my lawyer.”
Bishop walked out of the cafeteria with everyone there watching. When Morgan stood, he smiled, bowed to all the people staring at him, and whistled a tune as he slowly ambled out of the cafeteria. There was a thespian with a flair for drama under the hardened exterior of Detective Lester Morgan.
On his drive back to River City, Morgan thought about the conversation. He had established that Bishop definitely had a volatile temper, was not reluctant to lie, and was still furious with Marie for dumping him. It might not be enough for an arrest, but he had investigated a lot of murders committed with far less passion than what Bishop had just demonstrated.
Chapter 28
Her abductor showed up at the cabin every day with a bag containing three McDonalds’ hamburgers. They were always cold so Marie figured it took some time to drive from wherever they were purchased. This made her think the cabin must be in a fairly remote area since the golden arches were everywhere in urban areas. The coyotes howling each night reinforced that hypothesis. The water he brought each day was still cool, so she assumed it was coming from a nearby mountain spring or stream. She had a lot of time to theorize about all these things, but she didn’t know if any of her theories were correct. In fact, the only thing she knew for sure was that she was chained to the wall in a log cabin and she was going nuts.
Marie quickly learned to ration the three sandwiches she received each day. A cold Big Mac for breakfast wasn’t very appealing, but at least it kept her from starving, and she didn’t worry about the calories. She still didn’t like drinking water out of the bucket, but she didn’t have a choice.
After several days, the man slipped a sack containing two cotton dresses through the access door. They were ugly and shapeless, but they were clean an
d not soaked in blood and could easily slip over her head. Interestingly, there were also several pairs of snap-on panties in the sack. She was surprised that he had thought about the fact that she wouldn’t be able to step into regular ones with the chain on her ankle.
The dresses were made from an appalling floral pattern, which confirmed Marie’s suspicions that a man had selected them. No woman would have ever selected anything that ugly. When personal feminine supplies arrived without being requested, she realized that he wasn’t planning to release her anytime soon.
After the screaming fit she had the first day, Marie realized she was not going to get anywhere by yelling at the abductor. For days she had tried pleading with him each time the small door was opened, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The access door was opened once a day, her food and supplies were delivered, no comment was made, and the door was closed and locked once again.
Marie actually found herself looking forward to his arrival each day since it was the only thing that broke the monotony of her captivity. But she wasn’t going to become too comfortable with this character. She had read about the Stockholm syndrome and wasn’t about to pull a Patty Hearst stunt and start identifying with this nutcase.
She had dragged the chain behind her so long that her ankle had gone from just being raw and sore to the point where it was now an open wound. It was swollen, inflamed, and oozing blood. She was sure it was infected, but she had no antibiotics with which to treat it. For days her pleas to have the chain moved to her other ankle went unanswered.
Marie had explored every crack, crevice, and nail hole she could reach but had not discovered anything that might aid her escape. Her efforts did nothing but occupy her mind and further damage her ankle.
The only encouraging thing was that the wound above her ear seemed to be healing from what she could see in the small mirror. She was pretty sure she had a concussion because she had suffered loss of consciousness, severe headache, loss of memory surrounding the incident, fatigue, and other symptoms. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough light on the mirror to check for the unequal pupils that would confirm her diagnosis.
Appalachian Intrigue Page 14
