Chief Temme was relaxing in her office, her eyes transfixed on a beam of sunlight that was slowly advancing across her desktop. She watched, mesmerized at the tiny dust particles dancing in the light. The sudden knock at the door momentarily startled her as she sprang forward in her chair. Smoothing her hair back and adjusting her lavender blouse, she spoke calmly, “Come in.”
Detective Jones pushed in ahead of Detective Smith.
“So, did Father Crawford confess to the murders?” Rachel asked.
“Hell no, the old bastard confessed to rapin’ that Butler guy when he was an altar boy…” Angle started in.
“Detective Jones!” Chief Temme boldly cut her off.
“What?” Angel asked, taking note of the look on the chief’s face.
“Don’t use profanity in this office and in my presence again, is that perfectly clear?” Her commanding voice was strong and full of authority.
Angel’s facial expression was one of complete surprise. “I’m very sorry, ma’am, it won’t happen again.”
Donny grinned, he’d been waiting for Angel to be put in her place, and Rachel was just the right person to do it.
“Detective Smith, anything further to report?” Rachel asked, her tone pleasant, clearly showing her fondness for him.
“Yes ma’am, the good Father was being blackmailed by James Butler, and he was embezzling funds from the hospital to pay him off. Yet he adamantly states he did not murder James, or anyone else for that matter.”
“You believe him?” Rachel asked.
“At this point, yes, I do,” he replied glancing over at Angel.
“Anything to add, Detective Jones?” she asked.
“No ma’am,” Angel responded in a hushed voice.
“We just stopped to see if you had an idea on how we should proceed concerning the Father. I had him placed in a holding cell, and the lab is going to test him for gunpowder residue,” Donny continued.
“Depending on what the test shows, talk to the assistant D.A. and see what they want to charge him with,” she stated.
“Okay, we also have Nora Teel in an interrogation room; we’re going to talk to her in a minute about all that’s happened,” Donny added.
“Fine,” she said picking up some papers on her desk.
The detectives looked at each other.
“Was there something else?” Chief Temme questioned.
“Ah, no ma’am,” Donny said turning to exit. Angel closed the door behind her as she followed him out.
“What’s her problem?” Angel asked as they walked down the hall.
“The Chief thinks people who use profanity are weak, pathetic losers of low class,” he put forth, lying with a straight face.
“Aw, you’re making that up, right?”
“Believe what you want, it’s a free country.”
Angel pondered what he said as Donny phoned the lab and made arrangements for Father Andy’s test.
Entering the interrogation room, the detectives found Nora right where they had left her. She was sitting quietly, reading a murder mystery novel.
“Shall I interrogate her first, or do you wish to use your out-of-control crazed-dyke routine on her?” Donny asked grinning.
“Crazed-dyke routine?” Angel repeated with a look of contempt on her face. “How about we both interrogate her, partner?”
“Fine, after you, partner.” Donny stepped aside so she could charge forth in her usual manner.
“Whatever,” Angel replied, noting the snide implication in his voice.
Entering the room, Angel sat down as Donny strolled in, “Sorry you had to wait so long, Mrs. Teel. Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.
“Oh no, I’m fine, but thank you for asking.” She placed her novel back into her purse as Donny finally sat down. “And please, call me Nora.”
“All right then, Nora, so why have you come to see us?” Donny began.
“I was just concerned, what will happen to my son, Simon, since the tragic circumstances that took place after his escape?”
“Nora, I’m going to be honest with you. We don’t believe the story you gave the officers about how Simon was shot. And we know you phoned Andrew Crawford forty minutes before you called 911. The forensic evidence shows there was no break-in, and the claw hammer didn’t contain Simon’s fingerprints. So why don’t you tell us what really happened?” Donny said.
Nora broke into tears. She drew several tissues from her purse. Lowering her soft, pudgy face into the tissues, she now wept without restraint.
Angel turned to her partner. Once she had his attention, she rolled her eyes, signaling her belief Nora was putting on an act. Donny shrugged his shoulders, not sure what to believe at this juncture.
Angel decided to bluff her into talking. “Hey! You’ve not fooling anybody. We know you called Father Andy, and he came over and shot Simon, then tried to make it look like he attacked you. And if you don’t confess, you’ll go to jail right next to him, you hear me!” She bellowed.
Nora’s eyes grew wide; her crying dwindled to barely a snivel as she took in what Angel just said.
“Nora, Father Andy is just down the hall undergoing a lab test to see if he fired a gun recently. If he—“
Nora interrupted Donny. “He’s here, at the police station?”
“That’s right, and we’re going to charge him with the murders of James Butler and Linda Lerner, and the attempted murder of Simon,” Angel blurted out.
“Oh my poor Andy, he’s done nothing wrong. He’s the most loving and gentle soul I know. He’s innocent, you must let him go. I’ll tell you everything if he goes free,” she pleaded with the detectives.
“Nora, we can’t make that kind of promise, but I swear, we will do what we can if you cooperate fully,” Donny stated.
“Very well then, I’ll tell you everything, just please, don’t hurt Andy.”
“We need to move to another room which is set up for videotaping your statement, so please come with us,” Donny said, escorting her down the hall.
Once inside they started the camera as the three of them settled in to begin the question and answer sequence. Nora waived her right to have an attorney present.
“Please, start at the beginning, and take your time,” Donny said.
“I was awakened by Simon; he was knocking on the kitchen door. When I saw who it was, I let him in. He was so hungry; I warmed him up a bowl of my vegetable soup, and made him a ham sandwich. Poor boy, he drank two glasses of milk. He was so tired, he went to his room. Said he would be leaving after he rested. Well, I didn’t know what to do, so I called Andy, but he didn’t pick up. After a minute or so, I called his name again, but still no answer, so I finally just hung up. Simon was ruining all of our plans,” she said calmly.
“What plans would that be,” Angel asked.
“Andy and I have been seeing each other for some time now.” She blushed.
“You’re lovers?” Angel asked
“Yes,” she answered with a shy smile on her rosy-cheeked face.
“So what was this plan you referred to?” Donny redirected her.
“I knew James Butler was blackmailing Andy, and he was at his wit’s end. He didn’t know what to do; the hospital had scheduled an audit, which gave us only six months before he’d be exposed. So I told him about the insurance money from my late husband’s death,” she said.
“Just how much did your late husband leave you?” Donny inquired.
“Oh, that bastard didn’t leave me a dime; he left it all to our children, Debra Sue and Simon.” Her tone was most distasteful.
“So how did you plan to get the insurance money for Father Andy?” he asked.
“My plan actually started a year ago. My late husband set up his life insurance policy so that six months after his death, our children were to split the money equally.”
“How much cash are we talking about?” Angel asked.
“The policy was for $300,000.”
“Isn’t that a lot of cash for a poor Baptist minister?” Donny interjected.
“Oh, we never paid the premiums that was part of his benefits. The church took care of the payments to the insurance company.”
“Please continue,” Donny said.
“Well, to be honest, it wasn’t my plan, it was my daughter’s plan,” Nora stated.
“What was your daughter’s plan?” Donny asked.
“To murder her father, Eugene, my husband. We were so tired of living under such a tyrant. So Debra Sue met this man at the strip club she worked at who was a pharmacist, or something, and for sexual favors he gave her a drug that would kill and make it seem as if the person had a heart attack. So she slipped it to her father in a glass of milk just before he went to bed. We found him dead the next morning. The autopsy report said it was a heart attack, so the insurance company notified us that in three months, they would bring out the two checks, one for Simon and one for Debra Sue. Each would get $150,000.”
“Was Father Andy involved at that time?” Donny questioned.
“Oh no, not back then,” Nora replied.
“You and your daughter were going to split her half of the money, was that the plan?” Angel chimed in.
“No, we decided since all went so well with Eugene, that we’d kill Simon and Debra Sue would collect all the insurance money. Then we’d split it between us.”
“So how were you going to murder Simon?” Donny asked.
“We hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, but we had decided it should be me who kills him, since she killed her father.”
Nora spoke frankly as if simply discussing the weather, or some other trivial thing.
“But I didn’t trust Debra Sue, so I killed her.” Nora said with no emotion in her voice or expression.
The detectives were stunned at how she showed no sign of remorse. They glanced at each other in amazement at how candidly she was confessing.
“How did you murder your daughter?” Donny asked as he resumed the questioning.
“She would come home drunk most weekend nights after working at the strip club, so I took a half bottle of sleeping pills and mixed them into a bottle of beer. She drank it without hesitation and staggered off to bed. When I checked on her she was barely breathing, so I put a pillow over her face and held it there. She was so far gone, she hardly struggled. The poor dear was gone in a few minutes. I called 911 and they ended up ruling it to be a suicide. So that now meant all the money would go to Simon. He was my favorite.”
“So what went wrong?” Angel asked.
“Well, that lazy little bastard said he wouldn’t share any of the money with me, after all I had done for that ungrateful little snot.”
“Was he aware his father was murdered?” he asked.
“Oh no, he didn’t have a clue we killed his father or that I killed his sister. Simon would have had a fit. He loved his sister more than anyone else,” Nora said.
“If Simon died, were you the next in line for the money?” Donny asked.
“Yes, as the sole survivor in the family, it would go to me.”
“So you were planning Simon’s demise?” Donny continued.
“Oh, heavens no, that would have caused the insurance company to investigate. Too many deaths that close together, and they wouldn’t pay off,” she said.
“Go on, please,” Donny said.
“It was at that time I spoke to Andy about a plan I came up with. Andy and I are madly in love with each other, and I knew the predicament he was in with James Butler. So he finally gave in to the plan I worked out to get Simon into the mental hospital, where Andy could use shock treatment and drugs to drive him insane. Then I could file for power-of-attorney over him and gain control of the money when it came. That way, we could use part of the money to cover the funds Andy had stolen, so no one would be the wiser.”
“But Simon’s escape threw a monkey-wrench into your plans?” Angel asked.
“Yes, I don’t know how he got out, but I was so shocked when he showed up at the house. I phoned Andy, but couldn’t reach him. I panicked, so I played the loving mother, and then it came to me. I decided to kill him and make it look like he went crazy and attacked me.”
“Where did you get the .38 Smith and Wesson revolver you shot Simon with?” Donny asked.
“I took it from Doctor Lerner’s desk drawer. I borrowed the key Andy had in his desk to get into her office. After I used his key, I put it back so he wouldn’t know,” Nora said in a harsh voice.
“Nora, did you murder James Butler?” Donny questioned.
“No, I had thought about it, but Andy agreed to help me only if we didn’t hurt James. Andy’s plan was to put the hospital funds back, and then pay James a large sum as a final payment. Then announce his official retirement, and we were going to Florida to live in peace on what was left of the insurance money and his pension. But I knew James wasn’t going to leave us alone, so I was planning his death when someone else beat me to it. I don’t know who it was, but I was thankful they saved me the trouble…”
A sharp rap on the door interrupted the proceedings. It was Sean Meyers with the lab results from the gunpowder test on Andrew Crawford. Sean stuck his head in as Angel met him at the door.
“So, what’s the word, lab rat?” Angel wisecracked, and then smiled.
“Too bad you’re hitting for the other team, I find you to be very sexy in a Viking kind of way,” Sean said smiling back.
“Well big boy, there are times when my companion and I desire a real, flesh and blood, big dick to satisfy our animal…”
Donny’s face now popped between the two. “Are you shitting me, we’re right in the middle of solving one of the biggest murder investigations in the history of Hot Springs, and you two are discussing a sexual threesome.” Donny’s agitated, strained whisper was heard by Nora, who pretended not to notice.
“Damn it Sean, keep your prick in your pants, and tell me what the test revealed,” he said staring at him.
“Sorry Donny, the test shows no traces of residue on his hands. Happy now?”
Donny closed the door in Sean’s face, and pointed toward the table for Angel to return to her seat.
“Yes master,” she whispered mockingly.
Donny adjusted his tie as he returned to the table, sitting, he faced Nora, “Sorry for the interruption; please continue.”
“Where was I?” she asked.
“You were explaining how you shot your son,” Donny said.
“Oh, yes, I called Andy to ask him what to do, but there was no answer, just his machine. I panicked and decided to shoot Simon and make it look like he broke in and attacked me with the hammer. After he went to his bedroom and fell asleep, I got the gun and slowly crept down the hall. I paused for a moment at the doorway; he was lying on his side facing the wall. I can’t say for sure, but I think he was awake. Slowly I walked up and stood behind him. Raising the gun, I pointed it at his back, but I must have leaned over to far in the dark, because the barrel touched him, and he tensed up. Then I knew for sure he was awake. His head started to turn toward me, so I squeezed the trigger. His head slumped down on the pillow.”
“Why did you not finish him off?” Angel chimed in.
“I thought he was dead.” Nora replied.
“Please go on,” Donny said.
“I went to the kitchen and removed the hammer from under the sink. I broke out the door glass and put the hammer on the hallway floor. Then I went to my bedroom and dialed 911 to report the attack,” she said non-emotionally.
“So, Nora, you freely admit to murdering your daughter, Debra Sue; and to the attempted murder of your son, Simon. What about Linda Lerner?”
“Yes, she should have left Andy alone. She had to go, and like I said, Andy had nothing to do with these murders, nothing whatsoever,” she added.
Donny turned the video-camera recorder off, as he motioned for Angel to come into the hall. “Just stay seated Nora, and there will be an officer down shortly to escort you to a holding cell, all right?” He asked.
“Thank you Detective Smith, I’ll wait right here. But, before you go, would it be possible to see Andy?”
“Let me speak to the Chief, and I’ll get back with you, okay?” he stated.
“Yes, thank you.”
Detective Smith and Detective Jones returned to the homicide department after sending an officer to retrieve Nora.
Walking up to their desks, Donny’s chair had disappeared again. “I can’t believe those juvenile delinquents took my damn chair again. I’m getting so tired of this bullshit!” he fumed.
Angel pushed her chair over to Donny, and then sat on top of her desk. “See, problem solved partner.”
Sitting, he responded to her gesture. “Thanks, partner.”
Angel began. “Let me see if I’m following this all correctly. The good Father rapes little James Butler the altar boy. Growing up, he blackmails the good Father, who in turn embezzles from the rich hospital, right so far?”
“So far, so good,” Donny agreed.
“Then sweet little Nora stands by while her darling daughter kills dear old Daddy. Mommy then decides she can’t trust her, so she kills her and makes it look like suicide. Nora then plots with her lover, the good Father Andy, on how to drive her son insane to get control of the insurance cash. But in the meantime, Doc Lerner pokes her nose too fare up the Father’s ass, so Nora whacks the bitch. Still on the right track?” Angel asks.
“Sounds like a winner so far.”
“So, who shot that Butler dude? Both Nora and the priest say they didn’t do it,” she questions.
“Either one or both of them are lying, which wouldn’t seem plausible since they confessed to everything else. Or, someone else at the hospital had access to the gun, or when it was in Nora’s possession, someone got it from her, used it, then returned it to her,” Donny hypothesized.
“Maybe they took it from Nora without her knowledge, and replaced it without her knowing it was gone?” Angel added.
“We need to find out who else knew of the revolver’s existence,” he said.
“Where do we start oh great one?” Angel asked sarcastically.
“Why, it’s elementary, my dear Watson, follow me,” Donny said mimicking Sherlock Holmes.