Caught in the Act Ch. 02

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Trilogy Series, Dark Side Of The Force series.

Caught In The Act, Ch. 1-2.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, extreme language, and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial or racist language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

Part 8 - From Death Unto Life

It was still October 1st. I rushed up to University Hospital, to the Delivery areas. A slim, older woman was waiting, her face attractive but etched by the pain of loss. She was Pamela Feeley, mother of the slain Officer Pete Feeley.

"They just took her in." she said. I sat down by her to wait, calling Laura and then the Chief... Tanya Perlman was delivering her baby!

Two hours later, the lovely Nurse Jones came out to the waiting room, where Laura, Chief Griswold and his wife, and, somewhat to my surprise, Barry Oliver were now waiting. Barry and Tanya had become friends while they'd worked together in the Crime Lab, and I was realizing that perhaps I'd not observed a few things I should have...

"Mrs. Feeley, I am so happy to tell you that you are the grandmother of a very healthy baby boy!" Nurse Jones said. Everyone cheered as Nurse Jones said "Tanya has asked you Mrs. Feeley, and you Commander Troy, to come to her room for a moment before everyone else does."

We went to the room, to which Tanya had been brought just moments before. Her hair was matted with sweat, her face red with exhaustion but also with a radiant smile as she held the little bundle wrapped in a soft blanket and wearing a blue toboggan cap.

Tears were running down Mrs. Feeley's face as she admired her grandson. He was a scrunched up little prune, as all newborns are, but he was healthy and that was the most important thing. Pete Feeley was gone, but he'd left behind a son to follow him.

After some congratulatory talk and a short discussion of the delivery, I asked Tanya, "So, are you going to name him Peter M. Feeley, Junior?"

"No." said Tanya, her smile acquiring a playful edge as she delivered the next words. "His name is Peter Donald Feeley."

I was speechless.

"Yep." Tanya said, enjoying the look on my face. "Peter, after his dad; and Donald after the greatest Police Officer I've ever had the privilege to know. I hope he grows up just like his dad, but just like you too, Don."

"I... I don't know what to say." I said. "That's... I'm... well, I'm really honored." I felt the emotions rising. After Mrs. Feeley held little Pete for a few moments, he was handed to me. It was almost as emotional as the time I held my own newborn son just months before.

"Okay, you have tests to run and things to do." I said as Nurse Jones and two other nurses came in. I handed the baby back to Tanya, kissed her on the forehead, told her I'd come back the next day to visit, then went back to the waiting area, still in a total daze. Laura was smiling a very knowing smile as she saw my face.

"She told me not to tell you." said Laura, who then told everyone what Tanya had named the baby. "Are you surprised?"

"That doesn't begin to describe it." I said, fighting hard to hold back my emotions.

Some moments later, the Chief and his wife and Barry Oliver were invited in to see Tanya. Mrs. Feeley came out and sat down beside me.

"I... I'm just so..." she said, the words hard in coming. "Pete's loss was devastating, it just about killed me... but I'm so happy he was able to leave behind a son... I just wish he could have seen him..." Mrs. Feeley could stand no more, and broke down crying as I took her in my arms for a hug, her arms circling me for support, her body racked by sobs. She was not the only one crying. We both had a few minutes releasing our emotions...

Part 9 - Confirmation

I returned to Headquarters, trying to get back to work and overcome my emotions, both happy and sad. I saw Corporal Pete Feeley's badge in its frame on my wall, and I renewed my pledge to continue to fight for Justice on behalf of Pete and his newborn son.

Later that afternoon, I got the news from Dr. Woodrow, who had joined the Chief, Cindy, Claire, Lorena, and myself in Classroom 'E'. For some reason, the Chief took the far end chair, leaving me the one nearest the door. I didn't argue, but sat down to lead the meeting.

"I can say with certainty that the fibers collected at the practice field are exactly the same as those collected at the crime scene." said Dr. Woodrow. "It's not just the same material, but the same batch."

"And you can show this to a jury?" asked the Chief.

"Yes sir." said Dr. Woodrow. He then went into a few moments of discussion on how he could prove the comparison.

"Okay, I'm convinced." said the Chief. "Crowbar, tell an old police chief what this means."

"Sir, I'd like to hear from my Detectives what these facts mean to their opinions." I said. "Rose?"

"It means the killer walked on that practice field not long before going to Derrick Belle's house and killing him." Lorena said.

"Absolutely. Michaels? Fill in the gaps." I said.

After a moment, Claire said "It was after the rain that day, since the murderer tracked mud into the house. He hid in the closet and probably was there while Shayla and Seth were having sex. He, and I say 'he' because I think it took a man to deliver that fatal blow, since Lt. Ross is the only woman I know who could do that, and she has that perfect alibi..."

Cindy smiled, knowing she was being teased, but also at the thought of Jenna Stiles as Claire continued, "he probably was in the closet and heard the altercation between Derrick and Shayla and Seth. After Shayla and Seth left, he came out, grabbed the poker if he didn't have it in his hands already--"

"Which he did." I said. "Go on."

"So he came up behind Derrick Belle and whacked him over the head." finished Claire. "The only thing I don't understand at all is 'Why?'."

"One more thing..." Cindy Ross said. "After killing Belle, the murderer went back to the University Campus, where he ditched the weapon. In fact, he cleaned it off, or thought he had, then sank it into that trash can, where by sheer luck Old Mrs. Boddiker and her friend Mrs. Athena Jones apparently found it. Damn, that was good luck!"

"True. Excellent work by all of you." I said. "And that suggests the killer is associated with the University in some way. But why?..." After a pause, I said "Chief, I don't have a grasp of the 'Why?', either. We've got means and opportunity, but no motive, as of yet."

"Could Shayla have hired someone to kill her husband?" Cindy asked.

"I think we come back to the same arguments as before." I said, becoming slightly introspective as I talked. "Shayla had more reason to want her estranged husband alive than dead. She needs to keep her money, as she is about to be cut off by the divorce, so spending a hundred grand to have her husband killed would be blow to her pocketbook.

"It also stretches my limits of reason to think a contract killer would act right after the person paying him was in the home and argued with the victim. By rights, he'd call it off for that night and take another opportunity later."

"Not that you have any experience as a contract killer, of course." joked the Chief.

"No sir, at least not yet." I said. "By the way, Dr. Woodrow, feel free to jump right in at any time and solve this case for us."

"Heh!" said Dr. Woodrow. "I'm sitting here in utter fascination of all of you."

"What about Seth?" asked Lorena Rose. "Maybe he and Shayla aren't together... maybe she leaves, he circles back inside, gets in the closet while Mr. Belle is in the bathroom or something, then comes out and whacks him."

"It's an idea..." I said, "except that we've generally ascertained that Seth was where he said he was. His cellphone was pinging the right towers at all the right times, as was Shayla's. We're obviously missing something, so far, but I don't think that's it."

"So she was holding his cell phone for him?" Lorena said, not willing to give up the point. And I had to admit she had a point.

"That's a good point." I said. "And now you're making me work to defend Seth. So here's another try: Derrick caught Seth and Shayla together and he had eyes on them until they left. I suspect it'd be hard for Seth to come back inside and surprise Derrick. Ergo, my belief is that Derrick is looking out for Seth, but doesn't realize that someone else is already in the closet. I think that's actually yet another point for Seth's innocence, at least in my own mind.

"I was thinking about Derrick Belle's family." said Claire Michaels. "His sister and cousin stand to inherit. Furthermore, I did think of one thing last night: I was thinking of how the sister Cheryl Dunston made a point to bring up some of the vulgar things about what Derrick said about Shayla, like coming home with semen running down her legs... Cheryl actually made a point to say that in front of her parents. And then everything else she said seem to oh-so-subtly imply Shayla was responsible." But I don't see further motive there, either. Unless they know something we haven't found out, yet."

"Those are good points, and those family members do have better motive than Shayla." I said. "As you said, the sister and the cousin inherit his personal holdings, and as Lorena noted: despite what his sister said, if Derrick sells the company, she loses influence there even if she stays. But she also made a point to say she liked Shayla..."

I was looking up at the ceiling, trying to think, about to dismiss the group, when Lorena said it: "Maybe Shayla's not the target. Maybe Seth was."

I sat bolt upright in my chair, staring at Lorena. "Detective Rose, keep thinking outside the box like that, and you will have an outstanding career with this Police Force!" I said. "Yes... what if this is about Seth?!?!" I went into a reverie.

"All right, folks." said Cindy. "Look closely at it. This is what happens when the Commander is about to not tell us something." She was teasing, but the Chief's look at her was one of 'non approval'.

"No." I said, coming out of my thought trance. "I'll tell you everything I know and what I'm allowed to under the law of what I'm thinking." I knew I couldn't give every detail of some things I knew through the FBI.

"Seth..." I said, "... has been involved in a legal battle with his family over his late father's company. It is possible that someone came to either kill him or frame him for murder. Now don't ask me the 'how' of this just yet, but... oh yes, that fits..."

"All right, Crowbar," said the Chief, "give these people some directions and let's break it off for the day. I know Cindy and Dr. Woodrow want to visit Tanya."

"Oh! Yes... by all means." I said. "I'll go ask Myron Milton to get phone records and cell phone pings for Seth's sister, Karen Warner. I want to know where she was on the day of the crime, what she was doing, who she was with, who she talked to."

"You think she did it?" Cindy asked. "She's not that strong... her mother is, but her mother is in State Women's Prison."

"Confirm that, too." I told Lorena and Claire. "If Karla Warner is not in State Women's Prison, put out an APB for her, ASAP. But I think she's there. As to Karen, she is a dynamo in bed and could entice strong, fit young men to do her bidding. Let's find out what she's been up to the last few days. Okay, Chief, if you have nothing else, that's it. I have two things to confirm tonight, then we'll start moving to finish this off tomorrow. Lorena, you might want to come with me on this next visit."

"You heard the man, people. You are all dismissed Detective Rose, go with the Commander... and keep him out of trouble, if you will, please." said the Chief.

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"I'm sorry to have to disturb you." I said to Derrick Belle's sister, Cheryl Belle Dunston. "I need to confirm a few things from the interview you gave my Detectives yesterday."

"Uh, certainly, Detective." said Cheryl.

"It's 'Commander'." said Detective Lorena Rose. I was happy that Lorena had done that, as Cheryl's face showed surprise... and a little bit of worry.

"Mrs. Dunston," I said, "I've gone over the emails of recent weeks between your late brother and his staff, which includes you. Let me ask this: how did you feel about your brother selling his company?"

"As... as I told your Detectives the other day, Commander," said Cheryl, "I had no feelings about it at all. If my brother wanted to sell the company, it was his business and his right to do so."

"Yes, but even though you told my Detectives that you might stay with the company, your emails show that you had concerns about that. Are you sure that you want to maintain that you had no problems at all with your brother's decision?"

"I stand by my statement, Commander." Cheryl said, her voice becoming more abrupt and stern. "Now if there is nothing else--"

"Just a few more questions, Mrs. Dunston." I said, not letting her attempt to end the interview succeed at all. "While you are an heir of your brother's personal property, the codicil to the will does give you some authority in negotiating company business. It also gives your cousin and two others some authority as trustees to negotiate with Mr. Belle's creditors, is that not right?"

"Uh... I'll have to confer with the company lawyers on such details." said Cheryl, clearly ill at ease.

"Mrs. Dunston," I said, my voice getting a bit harsher. "Your brother's will will be probated either in this County, where Mr. Belle lived; or in the City, where his formal business address is. Either way, it will be probated according to the laws of this State, and the State laws say that any named heir can actually contest the will. Shayla Belle apparently cannot, but you have such an inroad to do so if you want to contest the sale of the company and continue to run it... is that not right?"

"Again... I am not aware of the legal complexities--"

"But Mrs. Dunston," I said, "your brother's business involved legal complexities, from the Court Orders involving the payments against which the company makes loans to the workings with your creditor companies. Your emails show you to be very much involved in those complexities, Mrs. Dunston. So I wondering how you really feel about your brother selling the company, very likely losing your job and livelihood, whereas now with your brother dead, you have inroads to keep the company if you can contest the will or perhaps work something out with your creditors."

"Is there a point to this, Detective?" Cheryl asked, her voice showing her irritation.

"Only that I'll be talking with the creditors, your cousin, and the other company officers about the true nature of the discussions concerning the sale of the company. Are you sure there is not something you wish to tell me before I do so? Lying to Police is a serious criminal offense, Mrs. Dunston."

"You need to leave." Cheryl said. "I want a lawyer and will say nothing further to you nor any of your officers without legal counsel present. If you want to talk to me further, get a warrant. Now go."

We left. As we drove back to Headquarters, I could see that Lorena was working on it in her mind. "What do you think, Detective?" I asked.

"I get the feeling you called out her intentions very nicely, sir." said Lorena. "And it gives her motive to murder her brother... or for her husband or cousin to do it. I just wonder why you chose to agitate her like you did."

"Yes, the motive begins to show." I said. "But now we have to establish means and opportunity on that. As to why I chose to agitate her... I want to see what pops out. We'll be seeing what phone calls she makes in the next few hours..."

Part 10 - The Spy Who Loved Me

I called my wife Laura and told her that I would be late getting home, that I had an errand to run. She said that was good, because she was going to call me and tell me she was going to be late herself. She had a date in her office this night -- with the University varsity football team quarterback, the young stud Nick Eastwood.

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"Honey, you know I can't have intercourse for several more weeks." Laura said to Nick Eastwood, who was leaning against her desk.

"That's okay, Laura." Nick said. "Just seeing your magnificent body is enough. Of course, with this tough season I've had a lot of stresses... anything you can do to help... relieve that stress?"

Laura smiled, a beautiful smile full of promise and lust. "There sure is, baby. Come over here and sit down by me." Nick went over to the sofa that Laura was sitting on and sat down beside her, very close, her body pressed against his right side. Laura eased her arm around the young stud's broad shoulders and muscular neck. He turned as she leaned forward and their lips met in a sensuous kiss, which turned deeper as their tongues twined and locked into a hot dance.

The beautiful professor's right hand eased down to Nick's rock-hard right thigh, gently caressing it, moving up towards the tremendous, tight bulge in the crotch of his pants. Together their hands worked to free the young varsity quarterback's huge cockmeat. It seemed to burst out of his pants, standing tall and proud, engorged and thick.

"Mmmm, what a lovely cock." Laura said. She wasted no time leaning over and kissing the cockhead, then swirling her tongue around the swollen, spongy helmet, making the young man groan with pleasure and desire. Then she sank her mouth down onto him, engulfing his meaty inches in the warm, wet cavern of her hot, sucking mouth.

"Oh, Jesus, baby, that's so fucking good!" Nick gasped as Laura began expertly fellating him in earnest, her mouth a voracious vacuum as she absorbed the length of his shaft into her throat, sucking fiercely as she slowly pulled her head upwards. Nick's cock was taut with intense, tingling ecstasy as Laura showcased her oral talents.

For herself, Laura was in her own world of lust. She deeply enjoyed sucking a young man's huge cock, and Nick had over nine long, super-thick inches for her to feast upon. She moaned in pleasure as she pleasured him, her lips sliding wetly up and down the long length of his shaft, letting the vibrations add to the pleasure of her lips and tongue expertly working his young but huge manhood.

"Oh God!" Nick gasped, barely able to hold on. "Why don't we go into the bedroom and get more comfortable."

"That's a great idea, Nick." Laura said enthusiastically. She got up and as Nick stood and temporarily re-fastened his pants, she took his hand and led him into her little bedroom area. A flick of a switch seemed to turn on the lights, but it also activated a video camera. Laura wanted her husband to be able to review what was about to happen between her and this well-hung young stud.

"Come here, baby." Nick said huskily, pulling Laura into him. He smashed his mouth onto hers in a hot, wet kiss, which she returned with equally hot passion. As they hungrily made out, Nick slid the zipper down Laura's dress, letting the obstructing garment slide down over her shoulders, falling in a puddle around her feet.