I'll Protect You (Clueless Resolutions Book 1) (11 page)

By Thursday State Police Homicide Inspector Don Chace had viewed the third victim’s personal effects, finally released by the widow’s attorney, and had spoken with most of the real estate brokers and salespersons who attended the open house in Sheffield.

Through his headquarters he had requested any information in state police records on the personnel list of Jenson & Associates Auction House, Stanley Realty Inc., the open house attendees and Gormley Properties, the listing brokerage from Sheffield.  He had requested that the list in the inquiry also be submitted to the district F.B.I. office.

The increasing public frustration in the southern Connecticut area regarding the unsolved homicides had resulted in daily mention in the television and newspaper media.  The frustration was not limited to the general public. The law enforcement officials involved were experiencing the same, or more vexation.

Traditionally, crimes impacting society the way these had done would not drag on, especially for this extended length of time, without at least some clue as to the cause or motive.  The general public had become accustomed, thanks to movies and television, to expert science-based detective work which exposed the guilty party within the span of the typical movie or TV program.

There had been, of course, the serial killings of “Jack the Ripper” from England  and “Son of Sam” from New York and the “Boston Strangler” which took extended time to solve, but here in sleepy south-central Connecticut, the circumstances of the recent crimes didn’t seem to fit the mold.  In those famous cases, the crimes took place in big cities where strange things occur constantly and apathy becomes a way of life.  All of the victims were young females in the infamous London and Boston serial killings. In New York City the pattern was more random.

Hanging on Inspector Chace’s office wall was a visual diagram which he was compiling to connect any similarities between the three killings.  Some things stood out plainly such as, all victims were middle aged males, all killings occurred late at night, all occurred in, or near, vacant or unoccupied buildings, all killings were committed within a ten mile radius, and all three deaths were caused by trauma and suffocation from a blow, or blows, to the throat area of the victim.

The motive was unknown.  There were a few dissimilarities, such as, two of the victims were locally known but one was from western Connecticut.  Two of the killings occurred in buildings in East Wayford, both vacant, both to be auctioned, both inspected by Ms. Marshall & Mr. Hargrove, both listed for sale with Stanley Realty, both scheduled to be auctioned by Jenson & Assoc. The third killing was at a private home in nearby Sheffield while the owners were away.

The home was recently listed for sale with Gormley Properties in Sheffield.  A brokers’ open house had been held on the afternoon of the date of the killing.  The victim had been found outside of the building near a side entry.

Stanley Realty was the only common thread in all three killings.  Two of the crime scenes were in properties listed for sale by Stanley Realty; and representatives of Stanley Realty had attended the open house where the third killing occurred.  A list of the personnel at Stanley Realty included Francine Stanley, owner operator, Ms. Marshall, financial specialist, Ms. Green, salesperson, Ms Moran, salesperson, and Ms. Slavonic, sales trainee.

On this morning, Chace was sitting at his desk deep in thought, staring at the diagram.  He had spoken with, or questioned the people listed.  He had sifted through Lt. Salvadore’s notes.

It was fairly obvious that Salvadore suspected Ms. Marshall and, due to her relationship with Mr. Hargrove he was suspect as well.  His notes on the questioning of these two had mention of hesitancy, evasion, and apparent irritation when being questioned.

In Chace’s mind, however, he had essentially ruled out both of them as suspects based on what Chief Devaro had told him and also on the fact that they had come forward, out of concern over professional ethics and their personal relationship, after the news of the killings broke.  He had heard that they were out of town at the time of the Sheffield killing anyway.  So, to date, the thread was wrapped around Francine Stanley, Ms. Green, Ms. Moran and Ms. Slavonic.

None of them seemed physically capable of the killing method in evidence, however. If they were implicated, someone much more physically capable had to be involved.

A rap on his open door shook Chace back to the present.

“Good morning Don, how goes it?” asked Chief Devaro.  Chace pointed to his diagram.

“I’ve got the maze laid out but there isn’t anything concrete to go with, I’m afraid”, he said without enthusiasm, “Someone outside this has to be involved. The other thing is motive,” he continued, “We have no idea what the motive could be. It might revolve around real estate transactions. Could it be because of auctions or foreclosures? Separate lenders were involved.  It’s possible that a disgruntled owner who lost his property could have snapped.”

While Chace was finishing his outline the chief was looking at the diagram.  After a minute he spoke, “The heat is on with this damned situation”, he said to the inspector, “I hope something turns up soon.”  Inspector Chace explained how he had sent a list of names to headquarters for an FBI check.

“It’s a shot in the dark, Lou, but maybe we’ll hit something”, he said, “In the meantime I’ll start chasing down the former property owners. Jenson’s handles a lot of the auctions, maybe they can remember a ticked-off owner.” he added.  Chace’s cell phone rang and the chief waved as he walked away.

The call was from his friend and former co-worker from Greenville.  He had been curious about the fact that Carl Jenson often frequented his area.  He asked around and one of his informants found out that Jenson was a partner in a local building-custodian business.

He and a partner had bought the business three, or four years back, from a New York City woman who was running a prostitution ring there.  She had been prosecuted, put on probation and fined in New York.  She left, moved to Grandford, Connecticut and started a house-cleaning/maid business.  Her clientele address list was mostly made up of upscale Greenville property owners, many of whom worked in and commuted to the Wall Street financial district.

“Someone, possibly a competitor, apparently had something on her and pressured her out of Grandford under the threat of exposing her New York prostitution history.  Jenson and his unknown silent partner bought out her business ‘real cheap”, according to Chace’s cohort.

“I guess that would explain his being around that area then”, Chace said, “Do you have the name of the woman they bought out?”  The answer was negative.  The informant’s contact was a former employee of the owner and wouldn’t name names.

“Thanks man”, Chace said,” I owe you another one.”

Now we’re getting somewhere,
Chace thought as he stared at his diagram on the wall. 
I’ve got another connection on killing number 3; Jenson’s Grandford-Greenville business and a victim from Greenville.  Maybe it’s time to pay another visit to Mr. Jenson
.

Chace’s analytical police inspectors mind was running overtime now.  Within minutes the inspector was in his black, unmarked police cruiser, on the way to the Jenson & Associates office.

As he pulled into the parking area he noticed that the parking space near the rear entry was empty.  He parked elsewhere, however, since a sign on the building directly above the space read: “Reserved-C. Jenson”
This is not good, he’s not here,
thought Chace.

As Don Chace was being told by the receptionist that Mr. Jenson was out of town for the day, Max was just leaving.

“Good morning.  I’m Max Hargrove. Can I help you with anything?” he said, extending his hand.

Max knew who the inspector was and had seen him but had not been formally introduced.  Chace returned the greeting and they shook hands.

At a glance the resemblance between these two unrelated men was uncanny.  They were both around six feet tall, with a medium frame and weight.  They were in the same age group and had the same graying, dark blonde, close cropped hair.  They were both clean shaven and both had a slightly ruddy complexion.

Chace mentioned that he had stopped by to speak with Carl Jenson but Carl was out of town.  “That’s not unusual”, offered Max, “Carl is always on the go. He’s a busy man.”  “If it relates to the company, I might be able to help. We work as a fairly tight team.”

From Chief Devaro’s briefing Chace knew that Hargrove was considered a key man on the Jenson company staff.  The inspector saw a chance to talk with Max and decided to take him up on his offer.

“If you have the time, I would appreciate it.” he said.  Max was agreeable and suggested that Chace join him for an early lunch.  Chace agreed and they decided that ‘Jerry’s Jug’ would be a good place for that.  Each went to his car and they soon joined up at Jerry’s.

“G-day mates” came the usual greeting from Jerry.  Max introduced Don Chace to Jerry.  Jerry recognized the inspector. He had eaten there.

“And where’s the better half of the “Terrific Twosome?” Jerry asked Max.

“She’s out doing what she does best Jerry” Max answered, “I haven’t heard from her today.  I’ve been working on a project up north until yesterday.”

Max and Chace ordered their lunch. While they waited, and later while they ate, Chace was curious as to exactly what the connection was between Stanley Realty and Jenson & Associates and he wanted to hear Max’s version of it.  Max obliged, telling the inspector that there was no direct business connection and that the main reason for the two companies being involved with the same properties was because of Maggie’s aggressive effectiveness in her liaison work between lenders, owners and sales professionals toward a resolution of financially distressed properties.  Because of the slow real estate market, many times the inevitable result was a property auction.

Maggie had been referring cases to, and working with Max on the auction properties for quite a while, Max explained.  Chace asked if Max had knowledge of any connection between the two business owners other than that which Max had just described. Max did not know if there was any other connection.

Chace had no further questions beyond that and they commented on a news blurb which popped up on the TV over the bar concerning the latest Iraq military action.  That led them to discuss each other’s service days, Max with his army days and Chace with his air force stint. 

As they finished lunch they were silently watching and listening to results of a PGA golf tournament as Maggie came into the bar behind the two seated at the bar.  Approaching silently from behind she stuck her fingers into the ribs of a familiar figure.

“Hey mister, looking for a good time?” she said in a faked sultry voice.

Chace sat up straight and turned to look at an astounded and shocked Maggie.  She had mistakenly propositioned Chace, rather than Max.

Jerry was bringing the check over and caught the speechless, stunned threesome.

“I see you all know each other, what do we have here now, a Terrific Trio?” he asked in jest. Maggie’s face was as red as it could possibly be.

“Oh!  I….I’m so sorry”, she said to the surprised inspector.  Max, holding back his amusement at Maggie’s embarrassing predicament, introduced her to the inspector.

“Maggie, I want you to meet Inspector Don Chace of the Connecticut State Police,” he said teasingly, laying it on real thick to heighten her embarrassment.

After exchanging “Pleased to meet you” the three of them had a friendly conversation, mostly about Maggie, since Max and Don Chace had swapped “war stories” earlier and were running out of idle conversation.

The inspector mentioned Chief Devaro because the chief had referred to Maggie and Max as fellow club members and friends of his and his wife’s.

It was obvious that the chief was regarded highly by both of them.  They explained that he was some twenty years their senior and they respected his judgment.  In tennis, they good naturedly referred to his “killer instinct” as a mild character flaw.  Lou Devaro and his wife had no children and it was possible that he subconsciously felt about Maggie and Max as he would have felt for his own offspring, they suggested.

Inspector Chace had to go back to work and, having accepted Max’s offer to pay his tab, expressed his pleasure in having met both Max and Maggie as he departed.

Maggie was famished and ordered a sandwich for lunch.  Max had a coffee to keep her company while she ate.

“He is a real pro and seems quite capable”, commented Max, referring to Inspector Chace, “I get the feeling that they may finally get somewhere with these homicides,” Maggie agreed.

“He seems like a good guy alright.  I’ll never live down mistaking him for you.  That had to be one of the most dumb-headed things I’ve done.” she moaned.  “You guys bear a remarkable likeness from behind, though.” she continued, reaching for some semblance of self-righteousness.

“Hmm…, I thought I was a lot better looking than him.” Max said with a grin. He was pushing her to get over her embarrassment and get back to being Maggie.

“Don’t be such a conceited jerk!” She responded on cue, laughing at his comment.  She knew Max well. He was anything but conceited but he was a very secure person, as was she. This was part of the magic between them.