Orchard Grove (41 page)
Having stumbled upon the North Albany Mauler quite by chance, I firmly believe Ethan Forrester had nothing at all to do with killing his wife, Susan, despite the fact that the weapon utilized in the killing, a common kitchen “French” knife, was later located inside the Forrester household and contained only Forrester’s bloody prints.
My opinion is that prior to Susan’s murder, Lana Cattivo broke into Forrester’s home, stole the knife, committed the murder, then returned the knife to its original location on the floor of Forrester’s dining room. It’s possible she avoided leaving her own prints on the weapon by covering her hands and fingers in latex gloves, although this fact has yet to be confirmed by forensics experts.
A note on motive: Police records show that back in 1979 and some years prior, Lana Cattivo, then Lana Strega, was the victim of repeated sexual assaults from her then stepfather, Alex Burns, who at the time, owned and operated the Burns Apple Orchard which is now the sight of the Orchard Grove residential complex. On October 1, 1979, a missing person’s report was filed by the Albany Police Department after Lana’s mother, Tina Strega, now deceased, reported that her husband had not been seen at home or anywhere else in the community for more than 48 hours. Something that was very odd for a man who ran an apple orchard and farm 24/7.
After a lengthy investigation for the whereabouts of Mr. Burns, nothing substantial turned up. It was during this time, however, that Lana revealed the truth about her relationship to the stepfather. Something that must have been very upsetting for Lana’s mother who was no doubt grieving the abandonment and/or loss of her husband.
In the course of my limited research for this incident report, I was surprised to find that the grounds in and around Orchard Grove had not been thoroughly searched by the APD or anyone else at the time of Burns’ disappearance back in 1979. But when my forensics team scoured Forrester’s backyard marijuana garden for the remains of Susan Forrester’s head, a convincing trail eventually led to the adjoining Cattivo property, ending at a single apple tree that apparently had survived from the old farm.
We were able to perform an excavation under this tree in a spot that had supported newly disturbed soil. What was revealed were not only the remains of Susan Forrester’s torso, but also the skeletal remains of Burns’ beheaded body, plus the partial remains of several as of yet unidentified victims.
These two bodies of evidence, and the manner in which they had been killed, taken together prove to this detective that, without a doubt, Lana Cattivo acted alone when she slaughtered Susan Forrester, just as she had acted alone, and no doubt out of a “justified” vengeance, when she killed her stepfather and eleven other Albany residents between 1979 and 1984.
It is my further opinion that in killing Susan Forrester with a knife belonging to Ethan Forrester, Lana Strega Cattivo was attempting to further implicate the writer in the murder of her husband John, while at the same time, making it appear that he acted alone.
But did he truly act alone?
It should be noted that John Cattivo’s two front teeth were broken off just prior to his receiving the fatal gunshot wound to the roof of the mouth. If he were demonstrating a suicide for Forrester, why would he shove the gun into his mouth so hard the barrel would break his teeth?
My view is that Forrester, acting out of panic, forced the pistol into Cattivo’s mouth, and assisted him in pulling the trigger.
May God save and rest all their souls.
This concludes my report on the matter of “Orchard Grove,” File No.1324-08232015.
Please note that no formal bench warrants or indictments are to be issued. The $5,000 cash collected at the crime scene will be issued to charity once released as evidence.
Chief Homicide Detective, Nick Miller, APD
August 23, 2015
Action Taken: Not Applicable. All suspects deceased (see above).
Winner of the International Thriller Writer’s Paperback Original for 2015, Vincent Zandri is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of more than sixteen novels, including
Everything Burns
,
The Innocent
,
The Remains
,
Orchard Grove,
and
The Shroud Key
. He is also the author of the Shamus Award nominated Dick Moonlight PI series. A freelance photojournalist and solo traveler, he is the founder of the blog
The Vincent Zandri Vox
. He lives in Albany, New York. Visit him online at
www.VincentZandri.com
or on Twitter at
@VincentZandri
.
The following is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in an entirely fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Vincent Zandri
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ISBN 978-1-940610-86-3
First hardcover edition: January 2016
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