All In A Day's Work

by Gary Resnikoff

  “No. When I saw him all purple-looking with his hands taped to the steering wheel, I freaked out and ran back outside and called you guys.”

  “So, you never went in the house?”

  “No, Sir. I watch a lot of detective shows, and I know better than to touch anything,” said Tim proudly.

  “Good. Anything else you want to tell us?”

  “I don’t know, man. Like what?”

  “Anyone hate him enough to do this? Were there any people coming by the shop who might have concerned you?”

  “Shit, man. Everybody hated him. The guys at the shop, his customers. Everybody. But I don’t have a clue who did this.”

  “You said his customers hated him. Why is that? Anyone threaten him?”

  “He was doing shitty work. I think he was ripping off customers. Lots of them said it, anyway. He even got calls from that radio show guy, the Consumer Champion. They were trying to get him on the phone to work out some of the complaints, but I don’t think he ever called them back.”

  “Okay, that’s good for now, Tim. Can you give Detective Baird your contact information in case we have more questions for you? Here’s my card. If you think of anything else, please call me.”

  “What do I do about the garage? The guys and I need to get paid. Do we shut it down?”

  “I can’t answer that. Does he have any family in the area?”

  “I don’t think he did. He never talked about any brothers or sisters, and I think his parents died a few years ago.”

  “I wish I could advise you, but I can’t. I suggest you contact an attorney. Maybe you guys can collect from his estate when it gets settled.”

  “What estate? The guy was broke. Always gambling, trying to score the big hit, but he never did. The shop is a mess, man. I doubt it’s worth much.”

  Stein shook his head. “Sorry,” he said sincerely and turned toward the house.

  Baird took Tim’s contact info and ran to catch up to Stein. As they approached the garage, a crime scene guy handed them some blue surgical gloves and paper booties.

  “It’s still a mess in there,” he said.

  Crime scene techs were still collecting evidence, while a photographer was snapping photos of every conceivable item in the garage. Charlie was still duct-taped to the steering wheel. A huge gash with a river of dried blood flowed down his face to his chest. A trail of blood could be seen leading from Charlie to the garage door that opened into the house. Bloody footprints followed the trail, and they were numbered with evidence tags.

  Gregg Abbot, the medical examiner, approached them holding a plastic bag. Inside was a piece of paper. He handed it to Stein.

  “Look familiar? The note was taped to his forehead. It’s signed, the Revengers. Won’t know ‘til we test it, but I’m guessing it is the same paper and printer as the Stevens murder note. I’ll get back to you in a couple of days, once I confirm it.”

  “Make it one day, if you can,” suggested Stein.

  Gregg smiled.

  “What do you know so far, Gregg?” asked Stein.

  “It appears our victim was attacked in the house, on his couch. There’s a bloody hammer on the table, and you can see where he was hit in the head.” He pointed toward the body. “The trail of blood from the couch to here is pretty obvious. The blow to the head probably would have killed him eventually, but he was alive when they left him. You can see marks on his wrists as he struggled to break free from the tape. The autopsy will probably show he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.”

  “What does the note say?” Asked Baird.

  “Crooks like you should rot in hell, and a few other choice words,” answered Greg. “Oh, and the victim is missing a few teeth, and he has bruises all over his face. He was definitely in a fight recently but there is no sign of struggle in the house. We’ll test all the blood stains on him to see if all of it is his, but if he had a fight with his killers, it had to have taken place somewhere else.”

  “So, we have two serial killers on our hands,” said Baird.

  “Maybe. You get paid to figure that out, not me,” said Gregg as he walked away.

  Two murders do not make a serial killer, but the message suggested to Stein that they had not heard the last of the Revengers. At least, that’s what he feared. The two detectives spent the next hour walking through the crime scene looking for anything that might help them, and then ventured outside to talk to the neighbors. Much like Stevens, Stanton avoided his neighbors and was not liked by anyone. He avoided interaction with his neighbors, and they reciprocated by keeping their distance from him. No one would mistake him for being a good neighbor. Kids in the area learned long ago to stay away from him, or they would get yelled at. No one could recall seeing him with guests—or visitors of any kind, for that matter. They described him simply as “an unfriendly loner”.

  On the way back to the station, Stein and Baird discussed the two cases. Two dead bodies from different parts of town, and the only thing linking them so far was the fact that both of them were accused of ripping people off. Well, that and the fact that both of them had been murdered by the Revengers. The Stanton crime scene was messier than Stevens’, but Stein suspected that physical clues would be few and far between. But he did have the notes that tied them together, and, according to McGraw, both had the dubious honor of being mentioned on the Consumer Champion show.

  Stein doubted that the bloody footprints would be useful. It appeared that the killers wore booties over their shoes, and they more than likely wore gloves. He wondered if there would be blonde hairs on this body, as well. Serial killers usually had a pattern, some kind of MO that became their signature. Other than the notes and the fact that both victims were ripping people off, there didn’t seem to be a specific MO. The two murders were as different as night and day—albeit both extremely gruesome.

  That evening, just as Justin was sitting down to a joint and a shot of tequila, his phone rang. The familiar “Blocked Caller ID” appeared on the screen. He set down the joint and answered, his heart skipping a beat before it accelerated.

  “Hello,” he answered meekly.

  “Hello, Justin. How are we today?” The voice answered in the familiar metallic tone.

  “Fine,” he stammered back, his buzz dissipating. “Who is this?”

  “Like before, Justin, we won’t go into names.”

  “Okay. I assume you are calling because of the Stanton murder.”

  “You are sharp, Justin. That’s why I picked you. I assume you have your recorder going?”

  “Can you tell me if you are one of the killers? Or are you just an inside source?”

  “I think, for now, let’s just say I’m an anonymous source.”

  “Uh, yeah. Just a second, I have my recorder right here.”

  “I don’t have all night, Justin. You need to be prepared when I call.”

  Justin scrambled to put the call on speaker and started his voice recorder. “Okay.”

  “Good. I’m sure when we get off, you will write this up for the next edition, and I have no doubt you will share it with your police contacts. I have no problem with that.”

  “Right.”

  “The murder of Stanton was, once again, the work of the Revengers. You know from the notes that they are targeting specific people, and it doesn’t look like they are going to stop anytime soon. The key is that you need to warn the public. People need to stop ripping each other off.”

  “Can you tell me details about the murder, so I know that you really know what happened?”

  “Just like a good reporter, Justin. Sure. Stanton was beaten severely. He took a massive blow on the head with a hammer from his own garage. He was also duct-taped to his truck in a closed garage with the truck running. The cause of death will be confirmed soon, but it was carbon monoxide poisoning.”

  “Do you know who the killers are?”

  “Sorry, Justin. That’s all I can give you for now. Just write the story. That’s what the Revenge
rs want, and I wouldn’t want to piss them off, if I were you.”

  The call ended. Justin dialed Detective Stein’s cell phone. “Detective Stein, this is Justin McGraw.”

  “Good evening, Justin. What can I do for you?”

  “I got another call from my anonymous source. Same voice, same blocked ID.”

  “What did they say?”

  “I have a recording; I’ll play it for you.” He played the recording for the detective. “Can you trace them?”

  “Not likely, but we’ll see if the phone company can help. Was there anything else?”

  “Not really. I started the recorder pretty early on, and then you heard them end the call.”

  Justin was rattled, and it wasn’t because of the pot or tequila. He was starting to think the calls were from the killers and not an inside source at the police department. And although he didn’t think he was a target, he couldn’t be sure the killers wouldn’t change their MO. Under normal circumstances, he wasn’t the type to scare easily, but the descriptions of the two murders were unsettling, and the thought of the Revengers turning on him disturbed him. The caller hadn’t threatened him directly, but the Revengers were making it clear that if anyone angered them, they could be their next target.

  “Okay. Thanks, Justin. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

  “If I do as I was told, you mean.”

  “Run your story, Justin. You don’t have to mention you were personally threatened.”

  “You aren’t going to be mad if I print information you didn’t release?”

  “I didn’t say that. But I know you need to do your job, and I doubt that if I tell you to leave out any facts, you won’t print them, anyway.”

  Stein didn’t like Justin printing information that only the police and the killers had access to, but he also didn’t want Justin to become one of their targets.

  The following day, Justin’s article came out on the front page.

  Serial Killers Stalking Denver

  By Justin McGraw

  The Revengers struck again; this time, targeting Charlie Stanton, the owner of Daniels Automotive in Denver. He was found dead at his home yesterday morning by one of the mechanics who worked at his shop. Although the police are hesitant to give too many details, it was learned that Charlie was struck in the head with a blunt object, and, while unconscious, was secured in his vehicle in a closed garage with the engine running. Tim Smith discovered the body in the garage on Monday morning, when Charlie failed to show up for work. He had been gagged and duct-taped to the steering wheel of his truck.

  As with a previous murder by the Revengers, Charlie had a note taped to his forehead, saying that the murder was in retaliation for ripping people off. As with the murder of Lane Stevens, the Revengers are warning other business operators to take heed.

  According to the Better Business Bureau, there had been numerous complaints lodged against Daniels Automotive recently. The Consumer Champion Show, a program aimed at protecting consumers and exposing questionable businesses in the Denver area, had also received numerous calls about Daniels Automotive. Recently, Bob Jackson, the show’s host, had suggested that callers should avoid Daniels Automotive.

  The Denver PD have no solid clues at this time as to the identity of the Revengers, and they are asking for anyone with any information regarding these cases to please contact the homicide department immediately.

  Chapter Ten

  “It is a good thing to learn caution from the misfortunes of others.”

  —Publilius Syrus

  “Good morning, Denver. I’m Bob Jackson, and you’re listening to the Consumer Champion. As you know, this is the show where you get to voice your complaints, and hopefully, we’ll solve all your problems. George, who is our first caller today?”

  “Bob we have Stuart from Littleton. He was a customer of Daniels Automotive.”

  “How can we help you, Stuart?”

  “I was wondering if you read the news this morning.”

  Jackson hesitated. He had read the paper and recognized the name immediately—and even if he had not, Justin McGraw made sure the readers knew the connection.

  “I did. Front-page news. The Revengers killed Charlie Stanton.”

  “Well, I was just curious what you thought. You’ve been talking about him for days, and now, he’s dead.”

  “Were you a customer of his?”

  “Yes. He worked on my car, and I went there this morning, but the shop was closed up. What do I do now?”

  “We don’t know any more than you do, Stuart. I just learned about the murder this morning. We will look into it, though. Maybe the other mechanics will reopen in a few days. As our regular listeners know, we have been trying to work with Mr. Stanton. Unsuccessfully, I might add, but we did everything we could to convince him to make restitution to his unsatisfied customers. He was uninterested in working with us. And just last week, he flat-out refused our calls.”

  “The news thinks there’s a connection between your show and the murders of Stanton and Lane Stevens.”

  “I read that, and that is just nonsense and wild accusations by the press.” Jackson sounded annoyed.

  “You did talk to Lane Stevens, though.”

  “We only talked with him once, and he also refused to work with us.”

  “Sounds like a pattern to me.”

  “Stuart, I don’t appreciate your tone or the direction you are going with this. We talk to and about a lot of people on this show. People who are ripping people like you off. We are here to protect you. We don’t know anything more about the Revengers than you do. They are going after bad actors in our community just like we do, but I think it is just a coincidence that they chose people we have talked about.”

  “I don’t know. It just seems like these Revengers are selecting victims from your show.”

  Jackson disconnected the call. He wanted to scream at the man, but somehow, kept his composure.

  “George, who’s on next?”

  The next caller was Denise from Denver. She had a problem with a used car she had recently purchased. Rather than check out the car with a mechanic prior to purchase, she decided to trust the sales rep. When problems with the car started happening, she took it back to the dealer for help. They chose to take a hard line and referred her to the sign on the wall and the sales contract she signed, both of which said, all sales final.

  “What would you like them to do, Denise?” asked Jackson.

  “I like the car, but I would like them to fix the problems or give me another car.”

  “Sounds fair to me.”

  This type of thing was all too common. Jackson had dealt with numerous car dealers over the years who’d tried to hide behind onerous fine print. In most cases, they could be persuaded to do the right thing and offer some kind of compensation. He put Denise on hold and had George get the manager of the dealership on the line. A few minutes later, Jackson was talking to Anthony Esposito.

  “Hi, Anthony. This is Bob Jackson from the Consumer Champion show. Are you familiar with us?”

  “Yes, very much so.” Not only was Anthony familiar with the show, having heard it many times; he had also read the newspaper article by Justin McGraw before coming to work that morning. He had a sick feeling in his stomach as he waited for Jackson to continue.

  “Anthony, I have Denise on the line with us. She recently purchased a used car from your lot and is having problems. She said she tried to take it back for service or a replacement, and your staff told her she would have to pay for any service, and you did not have an exchange policy. I know you have a strict ‘all sales final’ policy, but surely, if she bought a lemon, you can’t expect her to accept that.”

  Anthony, nervous about bad publicity and the looming threat put out by the Revengers, wasted no time in acquiescing. “Jackson, I’m not sure who she spoke to, but let me assure both you and her that we aren’t looking to rip anyone off or create trouble. If she brings the car in a
nd asks for me, we will either have our mechanic fix the problem or give her another car of equal value from the lot.”

  Jackson was guardedly elated. In all his years doing the show, he’d rarely had anyone roll over so quickly.

  “Anthony? You’re not pulling my chain, are you?”

  “No, Sir. We just don’t want any bad publicity. We want her to be completely happy. That goes for any of our past customers, as well. We pride ourselves on good customer service and quality cars, but sometimes, these things slip by. I assure you, we will make good on it.”

  Bam! Problem solved in record time.

  “Anthony, I want to commend you on your attitude. If more businesses would learn about customer service from you, I’m sure their businesses would grow exponentially. Thank you.”

  The show finished a little more subdued than other shows in recent memory. No one else cornered Jackson about the article, and no one argued or gave Jackson a hard time, but it was clearly on everyone’s mind. The audience—along with everyone else in Denver—had read the article, and, right or wrong, they were making a connection between the Consumer Champion and the Revengers.

  Jackson took off his headset and turned to his team. “What do you all think?”

  No one spoke for a minute, and then Steve spoke up. “That is some scary shit,” he said with a look of grave concern. “Do you think we are in any danger?”

  “What a baby,” said Julia sarcastically. “Why would we be? These Revengers might be listening to the show, but I don’t see any reason they would go after us. If anything, they probably like us for exposing these people.”

  “So, you guys think that the Revengers are getting their victims from our show?”

  “Makes sense,” she answered. “I mean, think about it. We are doing their homework for them.”

  “That’s nuts,” said George. “Bob, I know you go after these crooks with a vengeance, but I don’t recall you ever suggesting that someone should murder them.”

  “Well…” Julia hesitated. “You have said things like, ‘they don’t deserve to live’.”