by Mason Black
“Don’t start, Pitman, we are short staffed and I just need you to take a day or so and look into this. Might be nothing, but he apparently did not show up for class yesterday and no one has seen him since Friday afternoon,” Alvarez said as he handed Pitman the case file.
“What’s the big deal? Maybe he decided to take a few days off and didn’t tell anyone,” Pitman suggested.
“I agree, but this Kirshner is kind of a big deal here in Miami and the dean of Miami University is good friends with the Police Commissioner. So, that means we do a quick investigation and ease everybody’s mind. Got it?” Alvarez said.
“Got it, boss, I’ll get right on it.” Pitman skimmed through the thin file, which had nothing more than Kirshner’s home address.
Pitman decided he would check Kirshner’s house first to see if there were any signs of foul play. Luckily, it was only a few minutes from the police station. He hopped down the steps and got into his Ford. He was the happiest he had ever been in his life. He had recently started dating Jill Carlin, a crime scene specialist. She had been flirting with him for months before he built up the nerve to finally ask her out. They had been dating for several weeks and Pitman was in love; she was everything he had always wanted.
Pitman always thought he would be a life-long bachelor; he was never good with women and had given up many years earlier. Before Jill, Pitman had not dated for seven years – seven long years. But now he was in love and his life was perfect. His only worry was he was about to get a new partner. Pitman’s last partner had retired two years earlier, and due to budget restraints, Miami Dade Police Department did not hire a new detective. Pitman always felt that he worked better alone, but he did not have a choice. He was scheduled to start later that day.
Pitman figured if he could not wrap up the missing law professor case, he could palm it off on to his new partner. Pitman glanced down at a small piece of paper where he had written the name of his new partner – Shazhad Ahmed. “Oh boy,” he mumbled to himself.
Even though Pitman had been in Miami for most of his life, he still remained isolated from the various cultures that have migrated to Miami from all over the world. Pitman knew enough to know that Shazhad was probably not a Hispanic name. “Probably Muslim or maybe Indian,” he thought. September 11 had damaged Pitman’s view of Muslims. While he was not a racist, Pitman did not want to work with a Muslim. He knew that he would always wonder in the back of his mind “if this guy was a terrorist.” He knew this was not right, but he could not help himself.
He promised himself that he would give his new partner a chance. He would do his best to put aside his stereotypical views and judge Shazhad on his own merits and not on the merits of a few extremists.
Pitman quickly glanced at the address for Kirshner. “Looks like this is the place,” he mumbled as he pulled up to the gatehouse. He flashed his badge to the guard and told him he was there to see Isaiah Kirshner. The guard let him through the gate.
Pitman was amazed at the size of the houses in Kirshner’s neighborhood. “I guess I should have gone to law school,” he thought. He finally got to Kirshner’s house, and it was enormous. Pitman got out of his Ford and looked around the front yard, but there was nothing unusual to him. He rang the bell, but no one answered. He decided he would walk around to the backyard and looked in the windows but could not see much. He felt he was wasting his time and needed to come back when he had a way to get into the house. He was about to leave when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
He bent over and picked up a torn piece of cloth. He pulled out a clear plastic bag and placed the cloth into it. He brought the bag close up to his eye; it appeared to be torn from a shirt. In the corner of the cloth, he saw a dark reddish substance. “Blood?” he thought.
Chapter 44
Pitman was eager to see the results of the small article of clothing. Luckily, his girlfriend, Jill, had run tests first thing knowing Pitman was not a patient man.
The door to the crime scene unit flew open as Pitman walked in with a cup of coffee from La Hacienda. “For me,” Jill said with a big smile.
“You know it,” he said as he kissed her on the cheek.
“So, was it blood?” Pitman asked anxiously.
“It’s blood alright. But it’s not Kirshner’s. According to the school records, Kirshner’s blood type was B positive, this blood is AB negative.” Jill sipped her hot cup of coffee.
“So, this really doesn’t help me.” Pitman was disappointed.
“Well, actually, AB negative is the rarest blood type in the world. So, if this case does turn into a homicide, it shouldn’t be too hard to track down the AB negative person this belongs to,” Jill noted. “How many days has he been missing now?” she asked.
“Actually, he’s only been missing a few; I have tried to contact friends or family, but he apparently had none. The thing about this guy is like he had no relationship with anybody; his neighbors didn’t know him, and he has no listed family. I’m going to head over to the school where he taught later today, and then head back over to his house so I can get inside. Maybe one of the other teachers was friendly with him.”
“Isn’t he like a famous criminal lawyer?” Jill asked.
“More like was; he stopped representing clients when he took the job with Miami University. This guy represented the lowest of the low; I mean real scumbags.”
“You know I hate that word,” Jill quickly pointed out.
“Sorry. Other than that, I don’t know squat about him.”
“Well, I am sure the other teachers at the school and the students will shed some light on who this guy is,” Jill pointed out.
“Let’s hope.”
“Any word on the Mangler?” Jill asked. Jill’s sister was the second known victim of the Mangler. She prayed that the man that confessed was the Mangler, but she was very doubtful. “Someone like that doesn’t just walk into a police station and give himself up,” she thought.
“I’ll check with Stevens. But I’m with you on this. I don’t think it is him either. I wish there’s more I could do,” Pitman said, holding Jill’s hand.
“I know, it’s not your case. You just can’t imagine what it’s like, losing my sister like that.” A tear rolled down Jill’s cheek.
“I know, they’ll get him, and he’ll pay for what he did to your sister and all those others. These guys always get caught in the long run.” Pitman wiped the tear from her cheek.
“Dinner tonight – right?” Pitman asked as he walked out the door.
“Of course,” she answered with a smile.
Chapter 45
An hour later, Pitman strolled down the hallway of the precinct. He could see Captain Alvarez had someone in his office, but could only see part of the person’s arm. He knew it was his new partner – the Pakistani from New York. Pitman tried to remember the name, but it escaped him. The only thing he could remember was that it was an unusual name.
Pitman sat down at his desk and began listening to the ten voice mails that were left for him since yesterday afternoon. He saw Captain Alavarez’s door swing open, and a tall Muslim man walked with Alavarez toward his desk. Pitman hung up the phone, stood up and wiped his hands on the back of his pants. He had always had sweaty palms – even as a child. His mother always told him that it was nerves, but they were sweaty even when he was not nervous.
“Pitman, this is your new partner,” Alavarez said, purposefully avoiding saying Shazhad’s name.
“Hi, Detective Pitman, I’m Shazhad Ahmed. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Shazhad held out his hand.
“Good to meet you.” Pitman shook with his newly dried hand.
“I’ll let you two get acquainted. And, I’ll look into what we talked about,” Alvarez said to Shazhad.
“You ever been to law school?” Pitman asked.
“Nope.”
“Well, we’re both about to. We have a missing law professor. It’s been two days now and there is no sign of the ma
n. He’s got no family and his neighbors didn’t seem to know him. The thing is – he’s kind of a local celebrity, one of those famous criminal lawyer types. It seems he used to be a big shot a few years back,” Pitman explained.
“So, are you thinking homicide or just a case of some alone time for the professor?”
“Too early to tell. I found a small piece of clothing with some blood in the yard of his home, but it did not match his type. So, I’m hoping that another teacher or student can give us a clue to where he disappeared to,” Pitman responded.
“Lead the way.” Shazhad motioned with his hand.
There was a five-minute awkward silence in the car as Pitman and Shazhad headed to Miami University. “What did Alvarez mean that ‘he’ll look into what you talked about’?” Pitman asked.
“Oh, the Miami Mangler; I asked him if I could join the Mangler team,” Shazhad quickly responded.
“That’s a tough team to get into, my friend. You’re going to have to be around for a long time before they let you into that inner circle.”
“Why’s that?” Shazhad ask.
“You know the politics of police, every detective on the team is looking to become the next big author. You catch the Mangler, write a book, and retire early – isn’t that the plan?” Pitman asked.
“Not for me, I can’t ever imagine retiring. But, to be a part of catching that monster would be unreal,” Shazhad said.
“Glad to hear it. I got to tell you, I was real nervous about meeting you. I’ve never been around Muslim people before, and I was afraid I was going to say something stupid or offensive,” Pitman confessed.
“I’m not easily offended. I was kind of nervous about meeting you, too, but Captain Alvarez had a lot of nice things to say about you.”
“Really? I always figured he thought I was an asshole,” Pitman mumbled.
Shazhad laughed. “Nope, just the opposite. He seems to really respect you.”
Pitman pulled into the visitor parking lot at Miami University Law Library. He had arranged to use a room in the library for interviewing witnesses.
“Okay, here’s the list of the witnesses for the day. It’s basically the students from the Criminal Law class he teaches. First student up is Jack Biel.” Pitman handed the list to Shazhad.
Chapter 46
Professor Kirshner’s Criminal Law class sat in the lecture hall waiting to be called for their police interview. Amanda, Will, Abrams and Sean sat next to each other, away from the other students. Jack was the first one called by the police – not because he was the main suspect, just the luck of having a last name that began with B.
Jack slowly walked up the steps to the library, taking deep breaths as he entered the lobby of the library. A tall, Muslim man stood in front of one of the library’s study rooms with a sheet of paper in his hands.
“Mr. Biel?” the man said.
“Yes, I’m Jack Biel,” he nervously mumbled.
“I’m Detective Ahmed,” he said as he waved Jack into the small room.
“This is Detective Pitman,” Shazhad pointed to the chubby man who was seated at the table.
“Hi,” Jack mumbled.
“Have a seat, Mr. Biel. As you know by now, Professor Kirshner has been missing for a few days. We wanted to talk with all his students in hope that someone saw something that would indicate where he is,” Pitman said as Shazhad sat next to Jack.
“I really can’t say much. The last time I saw him was in class, last Friday. He seemed fine to me.” Jack prayed that would end the questioning.
“What kind of professor is Kirshner?” Shazhad asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Is he the stereotypical law professor who tries to weed out the first years?” Shazhad asked.
“Absolutely, he was an extremely tough professor. He never gave anybody a break. He was a major ballbuster,” Jack said, laughing.
“So, most of the students probably didn’t care too much for Kirshner,” Pitman added.
“We hated him. We all did. He was merciless – kind of like a drill sergeant,” Jack admitted.
“Okay, Mr. Biel. Thanks for your time.” Pitman dismissed him.
Jack was relieved it was over so quickly.
“Did you notice he used the past tense? ‘We hated him. We all did,’” Shazhad asked.
“Most definitely,” Pitman noted.
Chapter 47
Abrams was the next of the five to be questioned by the police. Jack whispered to him in the hall not to worry. “Piece of cake,” he said to him. Abrams was not convinced, but he was not nearly as nervous as Jack.
Abrams walked into the study room full of confidence; he was not afraid of the police, especially the Miami/Dade Police Department.
“Morning, Mr. Freeman,” Pitman greeted.
“Morning,” Abrams answered.
“We wanted to ask you some questions regarding Professor Kirshner. When was the last time you saw him?” Pitman asked.
“In class, last Friday,” Abrams answered briefly.
“How do you feel about Kirshner?” Shazhad asked.
“You mean, do I like the guy? It’s no secret that the guy’s not well liked. He’s rude, heartless, and not a very good teacher. So, I don’t like him at all. I can’t imagine finding anyone that thinks differently at this school.” Abrams realized he said more than he wanted.
“You ever notice Kirshner talking to anyone in particular after class?” Pitman questioned.
“He has one pet in class – Todd Garner. Other than that, I never saw him chat with anybody in or after class. He was all business,” Abrams answered.
“Okay, I think that’s all.” Shazhad dismissed him.
“Maybe this Todd Garner knows the professor a little better than the rest of them. Let’s get him in next,” Pitman suggested.
The class knew that the police were no longer going by alphabet when Todd Garner was called next. The question was, why would they all of a sudden go out of order, unless Jack or Abrams had indicated Todd knew something? Todd looked back at Jack and Abrams who were now sitting next to each other.
Todd was not nervous about talking to the police. In fact, he felt that he had something to tell them – something that may help the police with their investigation.
Chapter 48
“Mr. Garner, have a seat. I’m Detective Pitman and this is Detective Ahmed.”
Todd sat next to Pitman with Shazhad across from both of them.
“I assume this is about Professor Kirshner,” Todd said.
“Yes, he’s missing and nobody seems to know where he is,” Pitman responded.
“If I tell you something, will it be kept confidential? I don’t want to be known as a snitch or a rat,” Todd asked.
“It depends on what you have to tell us. Why don’t you say what you have to say, and we will go from there?” Shazhad suggested.
Todd paused for a few moments. “Okay, I think something terrible has happened to Professor Kirshner. I used to be in a study group with five other students – Jack Biel, Abrams Freeman, Amanda Martin, Will James, and Sean Jackson. I knew they were only using me for my study materials that my brother had given me. You see, he graduated from Miami University a few years ago and gave me all his outlines. In law school, outlines are gold. I only studied with them for a few weeks, but what I noticed is how much they hated Professor Kirshner. I once even overheard them joking about how they would kill him,” Todd explained.
Shazhad and Pitman both leaned forward as Todd told his story; Pitman took meticulous notes in his pad. “I really didn’t think much of it. Just some frustrated students blowing off some steam. I am sure they are not the first to fantasize about offing Professor Kirshner. As I am sure you have learned, he was not the most loved teacher here. But, I really think he’s misunderstood. I truly believe he has our best interests at heart; he just goes about it in a different manner than most professors at this school. Anyway, when Professor Kirshner did not show up for c
lass last Monday, I knew something was wrong. A lot of the students were especially angry with him after our mid-terms. He told us that the grades were pretty low and that someone cheated on it. After he did not show up for class that Monday, I went to the dean’s office and reported that he didn’t show. I walked with the dean back to the classroom, and the dean was surprised to see the entire class had already left,” Todd explained.
“Is there anything else you can tell us about Professor Kirshner or the five students you mentioned?” Shazhad asked.
“I think I said all I needed to say.” Todd was pleased with himself.
He got up and left the tiny study room.
Pitman took a heavy sigh. “What are you thinking?” Shazhad asked.
“Looks like this may turn out to be a homicide after all,” Pitman answered.
“Let’s get Amanda Martin, Will James and Sean Jackson in here. Save Amanda for last, I want to talk with the men first,” Pitman said.
Chapter 49
As Will sat, he realized that this was the very study room where they first joked about killing Professor Kirshner.
“How do you think you are doing in Professor Kirshner’s class?” Pitman asked.
“I think I’m doing pretty well. We really studied hard,” Will answered.
“We?” Pitman asked.
“Me and my study group.”
“And who’s in your study group?” Shazhad asked.
“Me, Jack Biel, Sean Jackson, Abrams Freeman, and Amanda Martin. We have been studying together since the beginning. We busted our asses studying for that class,” Will explained.
“How did you feel about Professor Kirshner?” Pitman asked.
“I hated him like every other student he has ever taught. He was a horrible man, and made me physically ill a few times. The first few weeks of class, just the thought of going to his class made me want to throw up. But, I’m over that now,” Will stated.
“Sounds like a real intense guy. Well, I think that is all for now. Thanks for your time.” Pitman stood up and escorted him out.
