“Your father is upstairs cleaning off half the garden. He’s been tilling since we got home from church because he wanted to get his vegetables planted.”
“What else did he plant this year besides tomatoes?”
“Let’s see… green beans and corn.”
“The last time he tried corn we had a wind storm that knocked all the stalks over before the ears were ripe.”
“Yes, but that was several years ago. He’s convinced he’ll be able to have a barbecue in August with fresh corn from the garden.”
As he entered the kitchen, Ben caught the last comment from Camille. “When we have the ‘going back to school’ barbecue, it will be Campbell corn on the table. Hi Buzz. Steaks AND wine. You must really have a problem.”
After hugging his father, Mike continued the small talk, ignoring his father’s comment. “How are Carol and Susan doing?”
As usual, Camille fielded all questions about her children. “Carol will be teaching full time in September because there’s a teacher going out on maternity leave. She and Chris are taking the boys on a Disney cruise in late June. They haven’t told the boys yet because they want them to finish the school year first without all the extra hype of an impending vacation.
“Susan just picked up a new client. She’s going to be designing their web site and preparing some advertising material. Harry is debating about going out on his own, but he wants to make sure they can handle it financially. They’re going down to the Outer Banks in July with Harry’s brother and his family. They’ve rented a house and hope to be able to have at least one night out on their own.
“Do you have any plans for this summer, Buzz?”
“Well, since I started packing up my kitchen yesterday and plan to start tearing it apart this week, I will be spending every spare moment hammering, sawing and begging Joe to help me. Carl and Rose decided to redo their house and Joe is the contractor. It’ll be convenient having him next door – if I get home in time to see him.
“So what are you and dad doing this summer, before the big barbecue?”
“I’ve taken off the last week of July and the first week of August. I think what we’re going to do is tour Pennsylvania for a week or so. I’ve always wanted to see the Frank Lloyd Wright house Falling Waters, also Lake Erie, Pittsburgh and the Penn State campus.”
“Making reservations, Dad?”
“You know I don’t like pressure on vacation. I don’t want to have to be at a specific place at a specific time. When we travel by car, there are no reservations.”
Mike knew this was one way in which his parents were polar opposites. His mom liked to know where her head would rest at night, while his father took the position if they didn’t find a room they could sleep in the car.
“You’ve been lucky so far, Ben. Just remember, the first time I have to sleep in the car will be the last time we go anywhere without reservations.”
Mike’s dad smiled as he picked up the steaks, gave his wife a peck on the cheek and went to the backyard to fire up the grill. Mike followed to spend a little time with his dad.
A half hour later, they came back into the kitchen with the grilled steaks having solved many of the world’s problems. The steaks were placed on the table. The wine was poured and they all prepared their plates.
“Okay, Buzz” his father said, “what’s the big problem?”
“It’s this case, Dad. I feel like something is staring me in the face and I just can’t see it.”
“Why don’t you start at the beginning and fill us in on what you have so far.”
So as he ate, Mike took his parents chronologically through the events of Sandy’s attack and the murders of Dave Flanders and Craig McGinley. They listened attentively and did not interrupt. By the time he completed his monologue, they were finished eating.
His father was the first to speak. “Camille, I’m going to need a huge glass of water. That story was so dry I don’t have any saliva left.”
“What are you talking about, Dad?”
“What your father is trying to say in his warped way is you sound like Jack Webb on the old Dragnet series.” His mother lowered her voice and tried to imitate the no-nonsense style of Detective Friday. “Just the facts please, sir.”
“I did give you the facts.”
His father smiled as he looked at Mike. “Yes you did, Buzz. And you did a fine job. I now know dates, times and who the people were at each of these events. What I don’t know is how the people reacted to those events. Your memory allows you to be precise about when things happened and in what order. For instance, you told us you went to the hospital and Sandy’s parents and Dave were there. Was there tension between them or were they upset because of a mutual concern for Sandy’s condition?”
“Mr. Powers looked like he was ready to take Dave apart piece by piece. Dave sat in a chair, with his head down not meeting anyone’s eyes. He looked scared to death. Mrs. Powers hovered near her husband prepared to step in if he lost his temper.”
“That’s the kind of information your narrative lacked. You are looking for a person who committed two heinous crimes. The facts will be needed to prosecute the case, but your observations of people will help you identify which direction to pursue.”
“I see where you’re going with this, Dad. We’ve eliminated Mr. Powers because his DNA didn’t match our sample from Dave’s shirt, plus he was in the Poconos when the second victim was killed. We don’t really have any other suspects right now.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about. I’ve been looking at this all wrong. I’ll have to go over the timeline again and concentrate more on how people were reacting. I’ll run this past Max tomorrow and see if he noticed anything.”
“Hang in there, Buzz. Don’t let this case take over your life. Between you and Max, I’m sure you’ll find out who this monster is.” Camille rose to clean off the table as she tried to lift her son’s spirits.
After helping to clean up the kitchen, Mike told his father he couldn’t stay to watch the game with him. He headed home to finish packing up the base cabinets feeling a whole lot better about his ability to find the elusive clue that had been bothering him for so long.
CHAPTER 38
Tom Wyatt called Chuck Boyd on Saturday after his meeting with Jason Flanders. They agreed to meet in Tom’s office on Monday at 9:00 a.m. Chuck arrived right on time as he always did. He was an ex-cop and had started his own private investigation business when he retired and realized retirement wasn’t for him. He smirked every time he thought of how grateful his wife was when he ‘unretired’ himself. That had been two years ago and thanks to several lawyers he knew when he was on the force, he had a steady business.
Tom greeted Chuck and they both sat down in Tom’s office. He admired Chuck for his no-nonsense approach to investigations. He still had friends on the force and was adept at interviewing people. Being of average height and build, he came off as non-threatening. He was a good judge of people and rarely had the wool pulled over his eyes.
“What have you got for me this time, Tom? You were evasive when you asked me to come over.”
“I met with Jason Flanders on Saturday about the death of his son.”
“Why did he want to see you? Aren’t the cops investigating?”
“Jason wants to file a wrongful death suit against his daughter-in-law.”
Chuck was rarely surprised by anything in his line of work, but Tom’s revelation was a stunner. “Didn’t Dave attack Sandy with a knife about a week before he died?”
“Yes. He admitted to it but claimed it was self-defense.”
“I don’t get it, Tom. Why does he think Sandy was responsible for Dave’s death?”
“He claims Sandy was having an affair and the night Dave stabbed her, she had asked him for a divorce.”
“Was she having an affair?”
“That’s one of the things you need to find out.”
Chuck was making notes in his notebook, a habit h
e had developed while on the force. “Any idea who the lover is?”
“Mike Campbell.”
“Mike Campbell, as in Detective Mike Campbell, the one who is investigating the murders?”
“One and the same.”
“I understand the man is grieving, but where did he come up with this? Has someone told him they saw Sandy and Mike together?”
“As far as I know, he’s just guessing. It’s up to you to find the evidence, if any exists. I told him we couldn’t file suit unless we had some solid proof.”
“Okay, so even if she was having an affair, how does that lead to a wrongful death suit against her.”
“Here’s where things get a little dicey. Jason claims because Mike was her lover and Dave accidentally almost killed her, it enraged Mike and he took revenge for his lover by killing her husband. It also allows Mike to deflect suspicion away from himself by being part of the investigation.”
“That’s quite a stretch. How does the killing of the last victim work into that scenario?”
“Red herring.”
“To cover up the fact the real target was Dave? This guy should write crime shows.”
“I managed to hold him off from going to the paper and filing the suit until you have completed your investigation.
“What about Facebook or Twitter? Has he posted anything on social media?”
“Even though he is an astute businessman, he doesn’t bother much with social media sites He does have someone taking care of his e-business. Otherwise he considers them a waste of time because of the trivia people seem so bent on sharing with their ‘friends’. Right now I don’t think we have to worry about his posting anything damaging. I didn’t want to give him any ideas, so I didn’t even mention it. If I had opened that Pandora’s box, I’m sure he would have gotten in touch with his tech guy to start the rumors as soon as I left.
“He wants you to bill him directly. There will be a bonus in it for you if you get the evidence he needs.”
“You did tell him I find what’s there and don’t fabricate evidence?”
“I told him you would look into the matter completely and forward the information to him on a daily basis. I also need to have copies of your reports, but don’t let Jason know you’re supplying them to me.”
“Why?”
“If you find what I think you will, I don’t want him to doctor the reports to fit his version of the facts.”
“Do you think he’d really do that? After all, I’ll have the originals and be able to refute any changes he makes.”
“I’m just trying to cover all bases. Jason is a very angry man right now. He’s also used to getting his own way. I need you to get on this right away. Do it as unobtrusively as possible and send the reports to both Jason and me daily.”
Chuck got a little more information including Jason’s e-mail address and cell phone number. “I’ll have my first report to you tonight. Oh, do I have a time limit?”
“It’s open-ended, but don’t take too long. Jason is not a patient man.”
CHAPTER 39
While Tom Wyatt was meeting with Chuck Boyd, Mike was sitting at his desk going over the case once again with Max.
“Have we gotten any new information on either case, Max?”
“Nothing so far. Hank is supposed to come in this afternoon with the coroner’s report on Craig McGinley. I’m hoping Dr. Dougherty was able to determine the same weapons caused both homicides. Aside from the dismembered hands and note, there’s nothing tying the two cases together.”
“Well, both husbands were abusing their wives.”
“Could be a coincidence.”
“Really, Max? I think it’s a key factor.”
“Every once in a while coincidences happen, Mike. We can’t discount anything at this point. How would our killer even know both Dave and Craig had heavy hands when it came to their spouses? We haven’t found any indication Flanders and McGinley had even one person in common who knew they abused their wives.”
“Sandy’s case was reported in the paper.”
“There was nothing in the paper about Craig and Carol.”
“Yeah, so until we find out how the suspect is selecting his victims, it will be hard to determine a pattern.”
“Change of topic. How was Sandy when you saw her last week?”
“She’s anxious to get back to school. She told me she still gets tired in the afternoon. Her parents want her to take the rest of the school year off and fully recover. She’s going to talk to the principal of her school and see if there’s anything she can do on a part time basis. She did ask why you haven’t called her.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Just that you were busy working with the officer from East Hempfield on the new murder case. She also wondered if you had any news about when Joe would have his boat ready. She said she would call you about several possible dates.”
“I talked to Joe the other day and he’s still shooting for the week after Memorial Day. I’ve been afraid to call Sandy after what Lt. Harper told us Jason was doing.”
“Her mother told me Sandy plans to look for an apartment in June and sell the house on First Street after it’s cleaned up.”
“Did Sandy say whether or not she’s talked to Jason since the memorial service?”
“Just once, about the boat ride. He was so upset by her decision she had to hang the phone up on him. She’s talked to Sarah several times. The two women have a lot in common and they’ve been supportive of each other through this. Sandy said Sarah warned her not to underestimate what Jason is capable of doing. She is concerned Jason will retaliate in some way.”
“So Sandy doesn’t know about the innuendoes Jason is making?”
“She didn’t mention it.”
“Don’t you think we should warn her about him?”
“And get her father all stirred up again? Let’s just let things simmer for a while because we don’t need a northern version of the Hatfields and McCoys. The first thing we need to do is tie these two murders together. Once that’s done, Jason will have to back off from the whole ‘murder by jealous lover’ story. Until then, I think you should follow Lt. Harper’s suggestion and stay away from Sandy.”
“I guess you’re right, but I really want to be there for her. I thought she was special in high school and since I’ve run into her again, regardless of the circumstances, I would really like to get to know her better.”
“She needs time to mourn, Mike. Give her some space, but be there if she needs you.”
“Yeah, I know you’re right, Max.” Mike opened the file again and said, “Let’s go through the interviews again and see if there’s something we missed.”
CHAPTER 40
After leaving Tom Wyatt’s office, Chuck Boyd stopped by his office to gather the things he would need for his investigation. It would have been easy if he could look at the phone records of Sandy Flanders and Mike Campbell, but he was no longer a cop and didn’t have access to that information. Since he was told to conduct his investigation quietly, he couldn’t approach anyone he knew on the police force to get it for him.
He opened his safe and pulled out his writer’s kit. It contained business cards and a mini recorder. He had used this identity before and had been quite successful in garnering the information he needed. If all went well this time, he could have this case all wrapped up by tomorrow.
He didn’t know Jason Flanders personally, but over the years he had heard stories of how ruthless the man was in business. He knew Tom had done work for Jason for many years and figured Tom had a reason for being paranoid about what Jason would do with the reports if they didn’t suit his needs.
I’ll just do my job, Chuck thought as he climbed into his car and headed to First Street to interview some neighbors.
His first stop was Mrs. Parker, Dave and Sandy’s next door neighbor. From what he had seen on TV and read in the papers, she was a good friend of Sandy’s. If she was unable, or unwi
lling, to give him any information, she might know someone who would.
Since it was not yet noon on a Monday, there was plenty of parking on the street because most people were at work. He parked and walked up to the door and rang the bell of Mary Parker’s house.
He saw her peek through the curtain of the small window on the door and gave her a friendly smile. She opened the door to the length of the chain and asked who he was.
“Good morning, Mrs. Parker. My name is Chuck Boyd and I’m a freelance writer. I was wondering if I might talk to you about your neighbors, the Flanders?” He handed her one of his business cards as he introduced himself.
She accepted his card warily and asked, “Why?”
“I do a lot of writing for true crime magazines and the Flanders and McGinley murders are big news right now. Even though they haven’t found the killer yet, I’d like to get as much background information on the victims as possible so I can start to rough out the story. Can I have a couple minutes of your time?”
Mary Parker was torn. She wasn’t particularly interested in talking to this man, but if he was going to write something about Sandy, Mary wanted to make sure the information was correct. “I guess so.” She closed the door, undid the chain and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. It was a beautiful spring day, so she didn’t have a problem with him conducting this interview on the front steps. “I don’t know you sir, and I’d rather talk to you here on the front step.
“Would you mind telling me some of the things you’ve written, Mr. Boyd?”
“So far I’ve only been published in obscure magazines with a circulation of several thousand copies each. I’ve done stories on several of the big cases here in Lancaster such as the Kreider killings. If you remember, it was a pretty cut and dried case. These murders have the potential to be my big break and I want to get all the facts right.”
Splintered (Mike Campbell Series Book 1) Page 16
