Detective Horn thanked Ralph, excused himself, and headed back to the Sheriff’s Office. On his way to his car he thought to himself, old Ralph must be lonesome in that store all day; he sure likes to talk and he has a good memory for small details.
The next day Detective Horn called the Ball Tennis Shoe Company in Los Angeles. He learned the company did not retain any shoe sole design patterns until about six years ago. New equipment was purchased to turn out the newer style running, walking, hiking, cross-training, and track style shoes which made the old standard basketball shoes somewhat obsolete. Now everyone wanted the newer trendy style shoes, like those the big-name basketball stars all wear. No one bought the old styles or patterns any longer.
Detective Horn learned the shoe sole pattern investigation had now become a dead end.
CHAPTER VII
DETECTIVE HORN INVESTIGATES
Detective Horn made notes in the old unsolved murder case file and returned to work on his other open cases as they needed his attention. He had already spent a good bit of time reviewing the cold case facts but right now his efforts were needed on other current cases.
A few weeks later, Detective Horn went into the Sheriff’s office and sat down with Sheriff Ed Baker to have a meeting about the old Morris murder case.
Old Sheriff Baker had been around a while, some say since God first made dirt. He was of average height, a bit over weight or portly, and a bit crusty. He was also a compassionate and understanding lawman who loved Inyo County and its people. Because he was surprisingly sharp witted, few people could pull anything over on him.
If one tried, Sheriff Baker would sternly tell them, “You know what I think; you’re just like grandma’s apple butter, you’re full of shit!”
Sheriff Baker still retained the old country-boy mannerisms that put most everyone at ease when first meeting him. He had run un-opposed in the last four elections. He was now pushing close to seventy years of age and had held the Sheriff’s position for nearly twenty-five years. He had no plans to retire anytime soon.
Baker often told his deputies, “My wife couldn’t stand for me to be home all the time, I’d drive her crazy. My only hobby is fishing; and the damn freezer’s so full of fish now I couldn’t stuff a skinny little sardine in there. Guess you boys and girls will just have to put up with me a while longer.”
Everyone around the office remembered a heated discussion the Sheriff had with the Mayor of the town of Bishop one day. The Mayor was telling the Sheriff how to do his job. The discussion was about deputies enforcing traffic laws in the county area outside the city limits of Bishop, which has its own Police Department. Some of the Mayor’s golfing buddies had received speeding tickets just outside Bishop’s city limits.
A short time later, when all their yelling and somewhat heated discussion stopped, the Mayor opened the office door to leave.
Sheriff Baker told the Mayor, “Maybe I can get the Inyo County Supervisors to move the county line a bit farther south. That would put your town of Bishop a bit north and just over the county line, into Mono County, which is outside my deputies’ jurisdiction.”
The Mayor replied, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea; might be the first one you have had in years.” Sheriff Baker was then heard saying, “Mr. Mayor, if two hog’s teats weigh a pound a piece, how much does an ass-hole weigh?
The Mayor, still flustered and visibly upset, was somewhat surprised by the Sheriff’s odd question.
He replied, “Well, …. just how in the hell would I know?” Sheriff Baker extended his right hand toward the Mayor; he was holding a visible coin between his thumb and index finger. Baker then said, “Here’s a quarter. You can just stop in at the feed store across the street and weigh yourself, …. then you’ll know!”
The Mayor quickly left, his face now red as a beet. Apparently, no one had ever talked to him that way before. He had no ready response to indirectly being referred to as an asshole by Sheriff Baker. The Mayor was mad as he left Independence, heading north toward Bishop, in his shiny new truck.
That was just a glimpse of the many colorful stories around town about old Sheriff Ed Baker. Back to the current issue at hand. Since Detective Horn was comfortable around the Sheriff, he was ready to lay out his theory about the old Randy Morris murder case.
Horn told the Sheriff. “I think this case may not be a murder after all; it may have been staged to look like one.” Detective Horn then began to summarize his actions, thoughts, and theory to Sheriff Baker. Horn said, “After the recently-found revolver was turned in by the Adams couple, I went to the Sequoia tree site. I stood there looking around a minute. I then decided to crawl through the thick tree branches where I got next to the tree’s trunk. Now standing at the base of the tree, I looked up. There, high up on some branches, I saw the remains of what looked like two bungee cords hooked together. One end was hooked to a tree branch. On the other loose end was a small piece of frayed rope.”
“I climbed up the limbs to retrieve the bungee cords and rope piece. I suspected this may be where the revolver had been located for ten years. No deputy ever thought to look up in the tree when Mr. Morris’ body was found. The revolver, still somewhat green in color, must have been painted with spray paint to blend in with the green tree branches. It would be very hard to see a green color gun hanging at the end of a bungee cord high up in the tree.”
“The revolver had possibly been hanging in the tree for all these years until a combination of bad weather and time had finally frayed the small rope enough that it broke. Then the revolver fell down, where it might have hit another limb, bounced and then fell into the chili pot on the Adams couple’s stove setting on the picnic table below.”
Horn took a short break in his story to gather his thoughts before continuing. He glanced at his notepad on his lap to keep his story on track so he didn’t forget anything in his summary.
Sheriff Baker said,” Do you think the found gun was the one used in the Morris murder?” Detective Horn replied, “Yes sir, I do. Mr. Morris probably knew he had a serious health issue, one reported by Doc Mitcham, and his failing lungs would soon give out. He may have kept this information from his wife since she originally said he had no health issues, …. that she knew about.”
Detective Horn continued, “Mr. Morris collected things he would need to stage his own murder. He only ordered one new twin mattress for his wife. He knew he wouldn’t be around to sleep on a second one, so why pay for it. His wife said he was frugal. He set up the new mattress for his wife and kept half the plastic cover bag to use later.”
“Mr. Morris bought the fruit picker pole because he needed the long aluminum poles, not the fruit gathering basket which had been left on his truck cab’s floorboard. The pole sections, three bungee cords and the green spray paint were to help with his plan to hide his real intention. He stashed his three credit cards and the four hundred dollars in the shoe box before leaving home so his wife would find it later. Being an old Navy Storekeeper, he stashed the purchase receipt for the cords, paint and aluminum poles in the shoe box too.”
“He probably left home with a full tank of gas in the truck, a Visa card and a small amount of cash. That would include the twenty dollars found with his Visa card in the truck’s glove box. More gas and food could have been purchased using cash along his way north.”
“Only the motel room stay was charged on his Visa card. Mr. Morris had registered for three nights at the motel and used the Visa card for payment, but he only stayed two nights in the room. He figured if he checked out before noon on Sunday his Visa card wouldn’t be charged for the third day. He bought the large size tennis shoes in Independence with cash, so as not to leave a credit card trail and he went on to set his plan in motion.”
Sheriff Baker asked, “When do you think all this busy work took place?” Horn replied, “Probably before daylight on Sunday morning. My hunch is that Mr. Morris drove to the Sequoia tree to set the stage. He pulled the picnic table over to the tree
to stand on its top. With a weak leg, he couldn’t climb the tree so he used the aluminum poles to attach the bungee cords high on an upper branch.”
“The third extra bungee cord was pitched into the truck bed with the poles when he was done. He then tied a short length of one-quarter inch round sisal rope to the end of one bungee. He tied the rope’s other end to a lower branch, where he could reach it from the ground. Next, he pulled the table back away from the tree’s edge, leaving the table leg’s drag marks going in both directions.”
“Mr. Morris sprayed the revolver with green paint, so it was nearly invisible next to the emerald green color of the tree branches. The paint spray can was probably thrown into the bathroom trash can where it was soon collected and hauled away by Alvin and Bill, the county workers. This was a lucky break that Mr. Morris hadn’t counted on in his plan.”
“Sheriff Baker asked, “How did he do all this with no one seeing him that morning?” Horn stated, “No one was out driving on the highway early that morning. Next Mr. Morris put on the house shoes with masking tape covering the bottoms of both shoes. Then he put on the large Ball tennis shoes over the house shoes. He now walked deliberately from the table area near the tree, heading westbound to the roadside. Afterward he walked back to the tree area, where he removed the large tennis shoes and pitched them in the truck cab. He now had the set of large tennis shoe prints heading east, and then west at the scene. Now, wearing only the old house shoes, he left no real identifiable foot prints, just un-identifiable smudges on the ground.”
“Mr. Morris then drove his truck east on Highway 168 for a couple of miles to the picnic table by the road. There he stopped, walked over and placed the large tennis shoes on the table top. He had no way of knowing the old road crew boys, Alvin and Bill, would later recover the shoes and keep them; another lucky break in his big plan. Mr. Morris then drove back to Highway 395. He headed south where he dropped his wallet, absent credit cards and money, near the west road side edge.”
“He now drove back to the Sequoia tree and set the stage for the rest of the show. He put on his regular shoes and placed the old house shoes in a plastic bag on the truck’s floorboard. The masking tape was probably removed from the shoe bottoms and taped on to the plastic mattress cover bag. Tape residue found on the house shoe’s bottoms by CSI was an unsolved mystery during the initial investigation. Then Morris took the big plastic bag cover piece, probably laying it on the picnic table to use a bit later. The wind was blowing just about right for his needs.”
Sheriff Baker stated, “You sure seem to have a lot of assumptions in this theory of yours, …. but you just go ahead with your story. I’ll listen to just about anything after ten long years on this matter.”
The Detective stated, “Mr. Morris dropped his glasses, cane and baseball cap on the ground nearby since he no longer needed them. He got the small rope on the end of the bungee cords, tied it to the revolver and he pulled the gun out toward him as far as he could. Then Mr. Morris wrapped the plastic bag piece loosely over the revolver to keep any gunshot residue from getting on his left hand.”
“While holding the revolver covered in plastic; he cocked and then fired the bullet into the left side of his head, which instantly killed him. Using his left hand to fire the revolver was Mr. Morris’s attempt to throw investigators off because he was known to be right-handed.”
“The bungee cords strong tension quickly pulled the revolver from his dead grasp and slammed it into the upper branches of the Sequoia tree. The revolver was now up high in the tree branches and completely out of sight. It hung there on the end of the bungee cords by a short piece of rope.”
“The big plastic bag piece was most likely blown away by the wind, where it soon became caught on the nearby barbed wire fence. Bill Johnson said he found a big plastic bag piece on the fence wire and he put it in the truck bed with the other trash.”
Sheriff Baker interrupted again saying, “You really think the bungee cords you found in the tree were used in this murder?” Horn replied, “Yes sir, I do. Mr. Morris thought the high velocity bullet would continue away and never be found; looks like he was right. Now Mr. Morris’ body was on the ground where it was later found by Alvin and Bill near the picnic table with his truck.”
The Sheriff asked, “Now you think Bill Johnson retrieved the old plastic bag piece and placed it in the truck bed with the trash bags, before the body was discovered?”
Horn replied, “Yes, this was just another lucky break for Mr. Morris. Potential evidence items were disappearing or being collected before the crime scene had been discovered.”
Horn continued, “The wallet’s location, with the lack of money and credit cards, and the large tennis shoe prints were all staged to imply a robbery. The revolver was most-likely Mr. Morris’ handgun with the serial numbers ground off. His wife didn’t know what caliber or type of gun he may have owned.”
“Mr. Morris was not working on a story as no writer’s notes were found. Also, no photographs of local scenes were discovered on the camera. The memory card was blank per the lab report in the file.”
Detective Horn continued,” Mr. Morris staged the robbery to allow his wife to get his life insurance money. He knew his life was about over, and suicide would have prevented her from collecting on his life insurance. He did the best he could to provide for her, the only way he knew how.”
“Old Alvin and Bill helped Mr. Morris by stumbling into the area. They both had unknowingly disposed of items of evidence by collecting them for trash, or by taking the item, the tennis shoes, home for their personal use.”
Sheriff Baker jokingly said, “In your theory, do you think Alvin and Bill Johnson had anything to do with this murder?” Detective Horn replied, “No, they wouldn’t do anything like that. They just found the body.” “Based on my investigation experience and all of these inter-related incidents, I have developed a theory that the victim wasn’t really murdered; I personally think Randy Morris committed suicide.”
CHAPTER VIII
SHERIFF MAKES A DECISION
Sheriff Ed Baker had paid close attention to Horn’s case review and extensive comments. He then said, “Detective, you did a damn thorough followup investigation on this old case; and your Sergeant should be writing a letter of commendation for your personnel file.”
Baker then went on to say, “In past years I have reviewed all the information in this murder case file and I think I know it all pretty darn well. After hearing your long and detailed theory, I have compared it to all of the facts, as I see them. Now, this is my summary of the facts in this case:
Fact - No question from the Life Insurance Company, this was a murder
Fact - No proof the found revolver was used here or this victim owned it
Fact - No proof of the size of the bullet that killed this victim Fact - No proof the large size tennis shoes were purchased or worn by this victim
Fact - No proof a fruit picking pole, bungees cords or a plastic cover was used by this victim
Fact - No gunshot residue was located anywhere on the victim
Fact - No proof the picnic table leg drag marks are related to this crime
Fact - No comparison tennis shoe prints or tire tread prints were located
Fact - Yes …… Some Life Insurance Company paid out a lot of money
Fact - Yes ……The State Victims of Crime Fund paid out a lot of money
Fact- Yes……. Now a lonely, older lady cannot re-pay all the money she received, and still keep her home.” Sheriff Baker told Detective Horn, “Now,.… I have been at this job for a while; maybe twice as long as you have. Based on my experience, I sometimes tend to see things just a bit differently.”
“Your compiling a theory on a case and proving that theory, even in a courtroom is one thing.” He then stated,” Using a theory to try to disprove a crime ever happened, and maybe it’s possibly something else altogether; well now, …. that’s a whole different matter. “
Sheriff Bake
r continued,” I often remember the smart old Detective named Jack Webb on the old TV show called Dragnet. I seem to remember Detective Webb was always saying, ‘Just the facts, ma’am,’ …. I believe, that’s right.”
Baker occasionally glanced out his window toward the snow-capped Sierra Mountains off to the west. He appeared to be giving deep thought on what he would be saying next.
He continued, “Well, …. now, …. I have considered all the information in your theory you stated here today. As much as I personally dislike having an unsolved murder case on my watch just laying around, I believe you probably just need to put this old matter aside for now.”
Sheriff Baker then said, “Perhaps sometime later on down the road some other new information, or even something we haven’t seen or heard about before, may just come along. Maybe then we could all take another whole new look at this old case.”
He further stated, “I believe you have more recent cases involving crimes committed here in our fine little county. They might be a bit easier for you to solve than this old case.”
Sheriff Baker, now with a slight smile, and a twinkle in his eyes, looked directly at Detective Horn. He then softly said, “Detective, I have to say you did one hell of a fine job working with the information available on this old unsolved case. But, …. I think, in reality, this is something my old college psychology professor would characterize this way.”
Sheriff Baker then professed;
” What you really have here is a beautiful theory, …. that’s just been murdered …. by a gang of brutal facts.” Detective Horn just stared at Sheriff Baker. He was a bit confused and remained silent to see what the Sheriff would say next.
Mammoth Highway's Big Pine Murder Page 5
