by D. K. Hood
“Screaming for his lawyer when I informed him we have a search warrant and would be seizing his belongings for forensic analysis. I gave him a copy of the warrant.” Rio shrugged. “He’s acting like a lunatic but I observed duty of care and gave him a meal.” He handed over the envelope with Dr. Turner’s name on it and a code they used to identify people’s belongings. “Have you found anything to charge him?”
“Plenty.” Jenna led the way back to the hallway where Kane and Wolfe waited. “If her DNA is on his ring, there’s no doubt.” She handed the envelope to Wolfe. “Here, unopened since Turner placed his belongings inside.”
“Good.” Wolfe changed his scrubs, mask, and gloves. “You can observe through the window but I don’t want any evidence contaminated.” He scanned his card and went inside the laboratory.
Excited, Jenna slipped inside the small observation room. Each side of her, Kane and Rio towered over her both peering intently as Wolfe set to work. A tremble of anticipation slid over her as Wolfe placed a slide into the microscope. The few seconds he took to examine the slide seemed to take a year. When he looked up and gave them the thumbs up, she gripped Kane’s arm feeling the bunched muscles under her fingers and grinned at him. “He’s found something.”
They waited as Wolfe set up the DNA sequencer and then went back to the envelope and removed a watch with an expandable band. He examined the strap closely and pulled something out with tweezers. Jenna pressed the microphone. “What’s that?”
Wolfe moved to the microscope again and fiddled around. He secured the sample inside a plastic tube, sealed it, and then pulled down the microphone.
“It’s a few hairs caught in his watch strap.” Wolfe looked at them over the top of his mask. “They’re the right color, I’ll have to run a few comparison tests to see if they are a match for Jeanette Turner. The ring held skin and blood traces. The DNA results will take up to an hour. We have Mrs. Turner’s DNA on record, I’ll call you as soon as I have any information.”
Jenna looked at Kane. “I figure the next hour is going to be the longest in my life.”
Forty-Nine
Hopeful Wolfe would find DNA evidence against Dr. Turner but not taking anything for granted, Jenna and Kane headed back to the office to collect the paperwork for the search warrants. She’d taken the bunch of keys from Turner’s property envelope but would need to show the search warrant at the school to gain access to his office without causing a fuss. She snorted and smiled to herself at the thought of the woman on the counter trying to stop them executing her warrant.
“What’s so funny?” Kane glanced at her as they turned into Main.
Jenna shrugged. “Oh nothing, I was just thinking about raiding Turner’s office at the school.”
“And?” Kane gave her a puzzled look.
She giggled. “Well, if they didn’t like us invading his office, who would they call to complain? The sheriff?”
“I see your point.” Kane pulled into his space outside the sheriff’s department offices. “That’s why we do everything by the book.”
They walked inside and as Jenna made her way to her office, Rowley hurried to her side. She went straight to the coffee machine. “What do you have for me, Jake?”
“All Wyatt Cooper’s friends say he was with them on the night of Becky’s murder but every one of them was vague about time. Apparently, they went into Aunt Betty’s Café at some point but were all having a good time and didn’t check their watches. Two recalled visiting the wood carving exhibition, which I checked started at eight-thirty in the city hall. So, it seems the group, all on the football team, went just about everywhere. I spoke to them all individually and kept them separate before questioning them. The principal remained in the room throughout as well as a representative of their parents. Not that it was necessary.”
Jenna filled two to-go cups with coffee and added the fixings. “So, in fact none of them can verify Cooper’s whereabouts between eight and ten?”
“Not exactly, no.” Rowley scratched his head. “Not being able to pin any of them down on time made it difficult but they were all forthcoming.”
“Hmm.” Kane rested a hip on the edge of Jenna’s desk. “So, if he was the killer, the defense will use that as reasonable doubt. We can’t put him at the scene of the crime. He may or may not have been in the area at the time Becky was killed.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t pin them down.” Rowley pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I figure checking the CCTV footage at Aunt Betty’s might give us at least one point of reference.”
Jenna sealed the cups and turned to him. “Get at it. Rio can hold the fort, we’re going to search Dr. Turner’s office and then his home, if Shane is available.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Rowley turned and headed down the hallway.
After handing Kane the cups, Jenna collected a copy of the search warrant and feeling something was missing, looked around the office. “Where’s Duke?”
“Maggie took him out back to stretch his legs.” Kane slid off the desk. “He doesn’t know we’re back yet.”
“We don’t need him on this search.” Jenna folded the document and slid it into her pocket. “Maybe we could slip out without him?”
“Not a chance.” Kane placed the cups on the desk at the sound of claws on the tiled floor. He turned as Duke bounded into the room. “Hey there?” He rubbed the dog’s ears. “Ready to go search an office?”
Jenna rolled her eyes at Duke’s bark of consent. “Maybe I should give him a badge.” She led the way out of the office. “Now wouldn’t that stick in Carter’s craw?”
The entry into Dr. Turner’s office went as smooth as silk, although the nosy woman on the front counter insisted on standing sentry to ensure they didn’t breach patient-doctor confidentiality. To Jenna’s surprise, the woman turned out to be a font of information. The students who came to see Turner were all issued with a number. This number was used to identify the students and was for the doctor’s eyes only along with the students’ case files. The filing cabinet being out of bounds, Jenna went straight for the appointment journal on the desk. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she flipped through the pages and found Turner took students’ appointments at school and in his home. She’d assumed by the “private” sessions he’d mentioned previously as an alibi, it was part of his regular practice and was not included in the free service offered by the school. She made a mental note to ask the receptionist. Her attention moved to the night of Jeanette Turner’s murder. From the notes, he was with a patient the night his wife died. So that’s how he plans to get away with murder.
Biting her tongue to prevent speaking her thoughts to Kane, she looked at the woman watching them intently. “Is it usual for Dr. Turner to take student appointments at his home?”
“I’m not involved with any arrangement he might make outside of school hours or with the students’ parents but it would be unusual. Most patients want to be anonymous and the last people they want involved is their parents, I’m sorry to say.” She bristled. “Dr. Turner does have a private practice but I’m sure he deals with all the problems that arise here during class.” She cast her beady eyes over Jenna like a buzzard contemplating its next meal. “He is board certified. We are lucky to have him.”
“I don’t understand the number system for his patients. It’s not as if they would be required to discuss their problems outside this office before seeing Dr. Turner. Usually, people give their names to attend any doctor and they are seen in confidence. I can’t see the reason behind this idea.” Kane looked up from searching the trash basket. “Can you explain?”
“I can, yes.” The woman lifted her nose. “Dr. Turner implemented the number system because students didn’t trust him or anyone on the front counter not to make fun of them for asking him for assistance. So, the number system was introduced. I don’t know the names of the students who come by and neither does anyone apart from the doctor.”
How c
onvenient. Jenna looked up from the diary. “What about their parents? Someone must be paying for the sessions at his home.”
“I’m sure I don’t know.” The woman looked anxious. “It’s not something I can comment on, I’m afraid.”
After searching the office for any clue, note, or anything of value to the investigation, Jenna placed a notepad, the appointment book, and a few scraps of paper from the trash into an evidence bag and looked at Kane. “I’m good to go.” She looked at the woman. “Thank you for your assistance.” She led the way out the door.
Once back at his truck, she turned to Kane and wiggled the book. “According to this, at the time of Jeanette Turner’s death, he was having a session with patient 124.” She pulled out the book and flipped through the pages. “Same person when the other two murders occurred.”
“No wonder he’s so confident.” The nerve in Kane’s jaw twitched. “The law protects his patients’ names and with Sam Cross as his attorney, he’ll find reasons for every part of our evidence. If the DA will charge him, Cross will make sure he gets bail and he’ll likely walk altogether. Unless we can find evidence to prove otherwise.” He gave her a long look. “He’s outsmarted us, Jenna.” He opened the door for Duke and helped him into the truck and secured his harness.
Jenna shook her head. “No way.” She snorted. “I never thought I’d see the day when you didn’t come up with another angle to solve a problem. This mystery patient might be the key to solving this case.” She slid into the passenger seat.
“That’s what I’m worrying about. I’m convinced Turner needed help carrying Jeanette down the apartment stairs.” Kane climbed behind the wheel and backed out the truck. “It gets back to good old grunt work. We’ll be able to discover the name of patient 124 by a process of elimination.”
Staring out the window but not registering anything, Jenna hugged her stomach, it was as if it had filled with acid. “If our mystery suspect is patient 124, why would he risk going to seek help from Laurie’s father unless he knew how Turner mistreated his womenfolk and figured he didn’t care?” She thought for a beat. “How would he get Turner on his side?”
“The first contact he had with Turner was more likely after Becky’s murder.” Kane stared straight ahead hands gripped to the wheel. “Laurie’s murder was clean, as in strangulation from behind. I’m not discounting the post-mortem wounds but let’s just think about the actual murder. Patient 124 might have witnessed the murder and assisted with the disposal of the body. His accomplice lost it and took out their rage on the corpse, but then number 124 becomes involved in Becky’s murder and Sandy’s assault. We know two people were involved in Becky’s murder, someone tried to strangle her and I’d bet my last dime, number 124 killed her with a blunt object. A flashlight, from Wolfe’s findings, the same object that hit Sandy but maybe not the same flashlight.”
As the scene unfolded in Jenna’s mind, she nodded. “You don’t believe number 124 killed Laurie, do you?”
“Nope, and that’s why he felt secure going to see Turner, heck, he could likely pass a lie detector test if he only watched the murder. He’s a follower, a subordinate who takes orders from someone he admires.” Kane glanced at her. “It’s a woman for sure and she couldn’t finish Becky off and ordered him to kill her. He wouldn’t have been able to refuse her. Now he feels sick to his stomach, guilty, and needs help. He knows Turner can’t rat on him and likely played the, ‘I overheard some guys talking and I’m scared for my life’ ploy to make himself look innocent.”
Excited, Jenna turned in her seat to look at him. “But Turner would see right through him. He’d know the person responsible for killing Becky was sitting right in front of him and he was bound by patient-doctor confidentiality.”
“Then maybe it could have gone either way.” Kane’s mouth curled into a smile. “Turner might have threatened to expose him or maybe pretended to believe him and then offered him protection by giving 124 an alibi. He would have asked for some details of the murders to prove 124 wasn’t lying and then Turner murders his wife in a copycat killing and calls in a favor. He asks number 124 to help him dispose of the body of his wife. How can he refuse?” He pulled into the curb. “Go back through the appointment book and look for first contact entries, especially when he gave his patients their numbers. Did he use the same pen for every entry? I noticed a few in a glass on his desk.”
Excited, Jenna flipped through the book. “No, he used different ones.” She chewed on her bottom lip as she went back through the book to the dates of the murders. Her hands trembled as she gazed up at Kane. “It looks like he used the same black pen for the appointments made at his home at the times of the murders. The notation made on the appointment at the school after Becky’s murder, was when he assigned a number to his patient and is in blue ink. There is an appointment with patient 124 at the time of Laurie’s murder. If this is correct how come the notes and patient number are written in a different pen and on a different day? I figure the day after Becky’s murder was the first day he spoke to patient 124, and he filled in the other appointments later to cover his ass and his accomplice.”
“It makes perfect sense to me.” Kane pulled back out onto the road. “Now all we have to do is discover the name of patient 124 before another cheerleader is slaughtered.”
Fifty
After waiting for Wolfe and Webber to arrive, they searched Dr. Turner’s home and found nothing of interest. It seemed all his case files were held in the locked filing cabinet at the school and in his office in his home. The appointment book on his desk, did not make any references to any local patients for the entire year, although the number 124 was added to match the appointments at the school. Apart from the appointment book, they found zip, no trophies from the murders or pompoms. In fact, the doctor had made sure no trace of his daughter or wife remained. No photographs and Laurie’s bedroom was stripped bare, it was as if his wife and daughter had never existed.
As Jenna locked up the house, Wolfe’s phone buzzed and she stared at him. Emily would call if the DNA sequencer had pulled up a match. Heart pounding in expectation, she moved to his side as he disconnected. “Was that Emily with the results?”
“Yeah.” Wolfe turned to her with a puzzled expression. “I have good and surprising news. The DNA found on Turner’s ring is a match for Jeanette, but her cause of death was from a coronary. I’ll go over Emily’s findings but she knows her stuff and it isn’t unusual for someone fighting for their lives and suffering strangulation to have a heart attack.” He rubbed his chin. “It’s not unusual to find a different COD after we open them up and Em had concerns and ran a few tests. The blood samples indicate an increased level of troponin, which would back her diagnosis. It’s indicative of a heart attack.” He sighed. “She’s sending you the files now.”
Imagining the terror Jeanette Turner went through the moments before her death, Jenna nodded slowly. “I’ll go straight to the DA with our evidence and get an arrest warrant for Turner. We’ll officially charge him and then I guess I’d better call Sam Cross.” She looked at Kane. “I can’t see him getting Turner off with the evidence we have against him. The DNA is the clincher.”
“I’ll drop you at the office and go and speak to the DA.” Kane led the way to his truck. “Unless you want me to speak to Sam Cross?”
Jenna flung open the door to the Beast. “No, I don’t want him to think I’m afraid of him.” She patted Duke before buckling up. “He is a damn fine lawyer, which makes us more thorough, so although he’s a thorn in my side, it can’t be a bad thing.”
“Uh-huh.” Kane gave Wolfe a wave and headed back to town. “I still figure he’s an arrogant ass.”
An hour later, after Samuel J Cross had breezed into her office like a tornado, she waited with Kane and Jo outside interview room one. After discussing with Jo the possibility that Turner’s attitude toward women might lead to his downfall in an interview, Kane elected to remain outside. The discussion between client and lawy
er had concluded and Jenna led Jo into the room. Jenna turned on the recording devices and took a seat. After introducing themselves to record who was present at the interview, Jenna took the lead. “Dr. Turner, you have been read your rights. I would like to take you back to last night. Where were you between the hours of eight and ten?”
“At home, I had a session with one of my patients.” Turner leaned back in his seat with his small smug smile ever present. “It is a particularly difficult case and I needed more time, so I conducted the sessions at home.”
Jenna raised an eyebrow. “Without the consent of his parents?”
“My dear, you should really understand the way of things.” Turner rolled his eyes. “The parents of all the students sign a waiver that allows any student counseling if required. It’s something Black Rock Falls High School offers without charge.”
Although the receptionist at the school had said this was unusual, if she needed to use the evidence in court, she would follow up with the school to find out if they did actually pay for counseling outside of school hours and how frequently. Deep down, she sensed he was lying. “Okay.” Jenna pushed a photograph of Laurie’s 1950 red pickup across the table. “This is Laurie’s vehicle, or your pickup now, I believe?”
“Yes, it looks the same.” Turner frowned. “Why?”
“It’s a very distinctive vehicle and after checking the MVD files we found it is the only one of its kind in these parts. Can you account for it being parked across the road to Jeanette’s apartment on the night she died?”
“What proof do you have it was Dr. Turner’s pickup? The town is teaming with tourists from all over.” Sam Cross tipped back his Stetson. The untidy cowboy lawyer complete with ponytail was astute. “Do you have a photograph, CCTV footage, a license plate number, perhaps, or only the dubious account of someone who’d been out for a good time at the festival?”
