by Mason Black
“I’m not sure; that’s strange that he would post grades if he was not done grading all of them. The only thing I can think of is maybe five students were absent on the day of the test. So, maybe they have to do a make-up exam.”
“Is there any way we can find out for sure if there were any students missing on the day of the exam? Also, I want to know whose grades are missing,” Shazhad requested.
“I’ll have my administrative assistant get you that information first thing tomorrow,” the dean responded.
Pitman and Shazhad walked out of the school next to each other. “Five missing grades, five intruders reportedly breaking into Kirshner’s home – this still keeps leading us back to our five favorite law students,” Pitman pointed out.
“I know, but I still have a feeling Agent Petty is going to want us to look into the Miami Mangler angle,” Shazhad argued.
“No chance of avoiding that now with the press on it.”
Chapter 65
Pitman jogged into Los Ranchos, an Argentina restaurant; he was late for his dinner date with Jill. She smiled as she saw him maneuvering his way through the crowd of people that were waiting at the entrance. Los Ranchos was always busy, especially at night. Pitman pushed and shoved his way to the front; Miami was not a friendly city and Pitman knew that if he wanted to get somewhere he had to push and shove. He was used to this after living in Miami for many years.
“Sorry I’m late. I-95 was a sea of cars, and we got held up at the university,” Pitman apologized as he sat down.
He quickly drank the water that Jill had ordered for him; he was thirsty from his jog from the parking lot. Soon after, a waiter came to the table to take their order. Pitman always got the same thing – Churracso steak, well done – and Jill ordered the chicken special.
“So, what happened at the university?”
“Well, the dean had nothing more for us about Kirshner. This guy was a mystery to most, it seems. Although, he did say that a woman professor at the school was semi-friendly with him. We waited around for her after her class, but she apparently had left early because she was sick. So, I brought Shazhad back to the station and here I am,” Pitman smiled.
“Speaking of Shazhad, how’s that new partnership going?” Jill asked curiously.
“I like him; he’s a good cop and a decent guy. I was thinking maybe we could take him and his wife out sometime,” Pitman suggested.
“That is a great idea. I’m so proud of you for being open-minded. I know you were worried about the whole Muslim thing.”
“Yeah, that was silly of me. I’m glad I took your advice.”
The waiter brought their food, and another server followed the waiter closely behind serving rice and beans, and plantains. Pitman cut his steak like a surgeon, gulping up pieces of his delicious meat. Jill picked at her chicken slowly, as she examined each and every piece to make sure there was no grizzle.
“You don’t think Kirshner is another victim of the Mangler, do you?” she asked.
“I don’t, but you never know. It’s possible, I guess.”
“The preliminary report of Kirshner’s house struck me as really odd since the place was spotless. What bothered me the most was something I forgot to mention earlier.”
“What’s that?” Pitman questioned.
“There were no fingerprints. Dave said he tried in several rooms – door knobs, kitchen cabinets, television remote – nothing. Someone did an amazing cleanup job in that place. Whatever happened to Kirshner happened in that house – I am sure of it,” Jill said.
“I agree, but if they did that great of a cleanup, it is going to be very difficult to get any evidence. I need Kirshner – his body.”
“So, you think he’s dead?”
“Absolutely, a famous law professor with tons of money does not just disappear.”
Chapter 66
Agent Petty paced the floor, waiting for Pitman and Shazhad to arrive at the station. Shazhad arrived first, and Agent Petty immediately motioned for him to come into his office.
Shazhad was thrilled that Agent Petty was meeting with him because he knew exactly what Agent Petty was going to ask him – could Kirshner be another Mangler victim? Agent Petty wanted a full detailed briefing on what Shazhad and Pitman had discovered so far. He read through the file, pacing back and forth in the little office, as Shazhad studied his movements.
“So, how strong is the case against these five kids?” Agent Petty asked.
“As you can see, we don’t have any hard evidence – just circumstantial. Kirshner’s house was completely clean. They couldn’t even find any fingerprints.”
“Wait, this sounds like the Mangler’s m.o. No physical evidence, no fingerprints, no sign of a break-in – what’s your gut telling you?”
Shazhad could not believe Agent Petty was asking his opinion of the case, and Shazhad knew there was only one way to answer the question. “My gut tells me that this is the Mangler’s work. I think he’s been working his way to someone like Kirshner, a high-profile victim. It makes sense to me.”
“Okay, what about these students? Do you think any of them have a connection with the Mangler?” Petty asked.
“I have been toying with that idea,” Shazhad responded. In actuality, Shazhad did not believe there was any connection between the five law students and the Mangler, but he wanted to be in the loop so bad.
“That would go against the profile we’ve been working with. All these students are under thirty?”
“All except one of them, Abrams Freeman. He is in his mid-thirties, ex-military, and married,” Shazhad said.
“Interesting, a little younger than what we were working with, but explore that a little, and find out how long he’s been in Miami, previous addresses, any criminal records. The whole works – I want it by noon,” Petty instructed.
As Petty was talking, Pitman came strolling in and saw Agent Petty talking with Shazhad, so he decided to interrupt the meeting.
“Morning,” he announced as he stood in the doorway of the tiny office. “Detective Pitman, glad you’re here. We were just discussing your missing law professor. I want you to look into this Abrams Freeman a little further,” Petty requested.
“Why just Abrams?” Pitman questioned.
“We’re thinking a possible Mangler connection,” Petty answered.
Pitman sighed.
“What? You don’t agree? Your partner thinks there may be a connection.”
“I don’t think the Mangler has anything to do with Kirshner’s disappearance, and I don’t think that Abrams Freeman is your Mangler. I think what we have here is five students who got together and killed their professor that they hated very much.”
“Do me a favor, Pitman, take the day to look into Freeman; let’s, at least, rule him out. If there is no connection to any of the other Mangler victims, then you pursue the case the way you want. Oh, and that AB negative blood type on the cloth that you found at Kirshner’s house – let’s get Freeman’s blood type. That would help the case either way it goes.”
Pitman agreed, despite the fact he knew this would be a waste of time. Just as they were leaving Petty’s office, Pitman’s phone rang. Pitman mumbled into the phone, then hung up with Dean Hirsch.
“The missing grades belonged to Amanda Martin, Will James, Jack Biel, Sean Jackson, and Abrams Freeman – our five law students. And, none of them were absent on the day the exam was given.
Chapter 67
Abrams Freeman collected the trash from his kitchen and threw it into the garbage. He placed some tools on the rack that he had left on his work bench. He had been spending more and more time in his garage since he and his wife had been fighting. The amount of time Abrams had been spending at law school had really affected his marriage, not to mention his love of other women.
While he had not “officially” cheated on his current wife, he had been heavily pursuing Amanda until he realized that she was not interested in him. It bothered Abrams that Amanda l
iked Will instead of him. So, instead of pursuing Amanda further, he decided to give up and concentrate on his current wife, wife number three, as much as he could. Law school was much more demanding than he ever imagined, and he had no time to chase other woman.
After five years in the military, Abrams decided he would continue his education focusing on law. Originally thinking about law enforcement, he thought, “Why not be a lawyer, and make the big bucks?” So, off to law school he went, but he knew it would not satisfy his craving. Law enforcement was a much better outlet for his anger problem. Luckily, a few years ago, Abrams found an outlet for this problem, an outlet he kept hidden from his wife, his family, and his friends. No one knew of his secret; no one could know.
Abrams’ wife came through the garage and told him she was going food shopping. It was moments like these that Abrams had cherished – his special alone time, when he could get out all his anger and do his best to be a normal person.
His wife pulled out of the driveway and drove down the street. Abrams quickly closed the garage and began moving some large boxes around in his garage. An evil smile came over his face as he pulled out his props from a secret hole in the wall for tonight’s main event. He would not be home when his wife returned. It was time for Abrams to meet his next victim. It was time for Abrams to play.
Chapter 68
Pitman and Shazhad had spent most of the morning concentrating on investigating Abrams per Agent Petty’s orders. Pitman was annoyed most of the morning, completely disagreeing with the new focus of his investigation. He knew Shazhad was hell bent on getting on the Mangler task force, even if it meant implicating an innocent man – at least innocent of not being the Mangler.
Unfortunately for Pitman, after their brief investigation, Abrams was looking like a very promising Mangler suspect. Shazhad and Pitman reported to Petty a few minutes before noon. They were able to pinpoint the exact amount of time Abrams had been living in Miami. He had moved to Miami two years ago, two months prior to the time the Mangler’s first known victim was killed. His military record was rather impressive, and he was well trained in combat and weapons. But, what stuck out the most about Abrams was his blood type – AB negative. The same blood type that was found on the piece of cloth Pitman had discovered at Kirshner’s house and on the last Mangler victim.
Ordinarily, a blood type match was not an impressive piece of evidence, but AB negative was the rarest blood type in the world. There was finally a definitive link to Kirshner, and Pitman was thrilled to finally have something to hang his hat on. But Petty was still thinking this was bigger than their missing law professor, especially with the blood type match. The pieces seemed to be finally coming together for Agent Petty. If Kirshner was another victim of the Mangler, and they could tie Abrams to Kirshner – then he finally had his serial killer.
“I want Freeman brought in and I want warrants for his house, automobiles, gym locker, school locker, everything. Contact Judge Larry Shephard, he’s been really cooperative in getting warrants in the past. I’ve got a real good feeling about this one, and you brought it to me. I want the both of you fronting this with me. You deserve it,” Petty said.
Shazhad’s face lit up as he listened intently to the great FBI legend, while Pitman looked to the side not believing that Abrams Freeman was the Mangler, but it was obviously out of his control. He would have to follow this through to the end.
Chapter 69
Amanda, Will, Jack, Sean and Abrams sat in the library study room – the very same room where they originally joked about how they would kill Professor Kirshner. They reviewed their Property Law outlines, and did their best to concentrate on their classes.
Amanda was extremely distracted as Sean discussed the horrible Rule of Perpetuities. Jack sipped on a diet coke and ate his Cheetos, as Abrams rubbed his bruised fist. Will sat in the corner quietly with his chair leaned against the wall. He suddenly pushed his chair forward and it crashed into the table, and they all looked at him, annoyed. Will stood up and looked out the small window that was in the door. He could see a crowd of people standing near their study room.
At first, he could not make out what was going on, then he saw black uniforms with “Police” and “FBI” prominently displayed. The librarian pointed to their study room. “Holy shit! The police,” Will yelled.
The police and FBI surrounded the study room. They all stood up in the room, as Will opened the door. “Out of the room and down on the ground,” Agent Petty yelled from the back. All five of them slowly walked out of the small room and lay on the ground, and the agents and police quickly moved around them. One of the agents pulled out handcuffs and told Abrams to put his hands behind his back. Abrams threw his arms behind his back and the agent slapped the handcuffs on tightly.
Sean’s eyes bugged out of his head as he watched Abrams being marched away, Jack kept his head to the side, and Will just looked at Amanda, who was completely breaking down.
Most of the police and FBI agents walked with Abrams out of the library, but Agent Petty stayed behind. “We’re going to need all four of you to come down to the station now,” Petty said.
“What the hell is going on?” Jack yelled.
Petty stood extremely close to Jack’s face. “Isn’t it obvious? We just arrested the Miami Mangler. Now, let’s go.”
Abrams was shoved in the back of a tan FBI van that was parked on the sidewalk, while four police cars pulled up onto the sidewalk. Amanda, Will, Sean, and Jack were each placed in one of the police cars.
Pitman and Shazhad stood to the side like two benched athletes as they watched their five law students being taken away. Shazhad realized that he may not be in the forefront of the Mangler investigation since they were assigned to take Will to the station. In fact, his part might already be over.
Chapter 70
“We have a Local 10 News exclusive. We’ve discovered that five law students have been arrested in the disappearance of Isaiah Kirshner, a Miami University law professor. Kirshner has been missing for several days, and it was believed that he might have been another victim of the Miami Mangler. It is unclear if the police are still following this theory in light of the arrest of the five law students. These students all attend Miami University Law. Let’s go live to Anjanette Flowers at Miami University.”
“Thanks, Dwight, I’m here in front of Miami University where five University law students have been taken into custody for the disappearance of Professor Isaiah Kirshner. However, only one of the students, Abrams Freeman, was taken away in handcuffs. A combined effort of the FBI and Miami/Dade Police stormed the law library just 20 minutes ago. The fact that the FBI was involved in the arrests of the students suggests some connection to the Mangler case. But, it is unclear at this point what the connection is. This is Anjanette Flowers live …”
Todd Garner stood up in his room and stretched out his arm and cracked his fingers. It could not have gone more perfectly for him; everything was going his way. He smiled, knowing that it was his suggestion to Detectives Pitman and Ahmed that Amanda, Will, Sean, Jack and Abrams were to blame for Professor Kirshner’s disappearance. His biggest competition in class was now in police custody.
Chapter 71
Will sat uncomfortably in the back of the police car; a place he never thought he would find himself. Detective Pitman drove quickly on I-95 behind several police cars with flashing sirens. Will could see that Amanda was in the police car in front of him. He imagined by now that she was hyperventilating and completely freaking out. There was no telling what she was saying to the two police officers that were driving her.
Shazhad turned his neck to face Will in the back seat, and Will turned his head to look out the window. “Your friend, Abrams, is in a lot of trouble, Will. I just only hope that you and your friends had no knowledge of what he is.”
Will remained silent. “It’s pretty amazing when you think about. He was right under our noses this whole time. Hell, we had him at the police station a few days ag
o. Now, we got him,” Shazhad declared.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Will finally asked.
“You really have no idea what this is all about, do you? Abrams Freeman is the Miami Mangler,” Pitman answered.
“Boy, are you guys off on this one,” Will shouted.
“My best advice to you is to just keep quiet and pray that there is no proof that you knew who he was or that you helped him with Kirshner’s murder.”
“Kirshner’s murder? Did you find a body?” Will questioned loudly.
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time, now that we have the Mangler,” Shazhad answered.
Will gazed at the back of Shazhad’s head as they pulled into the police station; little did Shazhad know that Will was about to include him in his plan.
Chapter 72
Abrams arrived at the Miami/Dade police station, as a huge crowd of reporters and onlookers gathered in front of the station. Cameras flashed as Abrams was led past the crowd of spectators; microphones were shoved in his face as two FBI agents escorted him into the station.
Abrams was immediately taken into an interrogation room and shackled to a bolt in the table. Two more police officers entered the interrogation room with a young woman holding fingerprint cards and an ink pad. “I was told to do the booking in here,” she said.
She laid out the fingerprint cards and her ink pad. Abrams inhaled her sweet perfume as she bent over close to his face. The two police officers stood on either side of Abrams as she gently grabbed his hand to take his fingerprints. Her heart pounded as she touched his hand; she saw cuts and bruises all over it. She wondered if he got those bruises and cuts killing one of his many victims. Abrams did not resist her; he relaxed his hands to make it easier for her to get his fingerprints. She rolled each finger over the card.
“There will be a nurse coming to take blood and a saliva sample; Agent Petty’s got a warrant for all that.” She could barely get out the words. As she left the room, Agent Petty entered. “Abrams Freeman, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
