drinking on the job and this past January had been ‘fired for cause’ from operative position at Jenkins Investigations.
Witness stated he and O'Neill trailed victim numerous times to Elms Club where she went two or three times a week to meet Jack Cody. Witness stated he and O'Neill interviewed several Elms Club employees, all of whom reported victim and Cody ‘always eat a quick lunch together then go upstairs and fuck.’ Witness stated he had compiled file on Cody so his client, Mr. Fulraine, would know the sort of man his ex was involved with.
Witness stated that client's other activities included afternoons spent at Delamere Country Club lunching with girlfriends and playing tennis, and twice a week visits to Maple Hill Hunt Club where she rode her horse. Witness reported that victim was regarded as excellent tennis player and equestrienne, and over the years had won numerous club trophies in both sports.
Witness stated on several occasions he and operative O'Neill observed victim Jessup arriving and departing target residence. Witness stated it was his understanding, based on interviews with target's servants, that Jessup went there to tutor and coach target's sons. Witness stated he was greatly surprised to learn victims were having affair and that they'd rendezvoused numerous times at Flamingo Court. In response to query as to how it was possible, since he was surveilling victim, he hadn't observed these meetings, witness admitted he'd slacked off on the job.
Witness stated: ‘It never occurred to me she was involved with two different men. Once I got a fix on her routine, I assumed she spent afternoons at one of her clubs, doing errands, or seeing her shrink.’ Witness stated he spent most afternoons drinking and watching baseball games on TV in one of several Irontown bars.
Confronted by the fact that if he'd been doing his job properly he would have been surveilling Flamingo Court day of killings and would most likely have observed killer's arrival and departure, witness stated he wished to terminate interview in order to consult attorney.
Four hours later, Mace resumed his interview with Maritz, this time in an interrogation room at the Calista County Sheriff's Department:
Witness's attorney, Justin Slotnik, stated that his client, Walter M. Maritz, was now prepared to make a statement in regard to his surveillance of Mrs. Barbara Fulraine, who had treated him in a friendly, respectful manner when he had investigated the Fulraine infant abduction. Mr. Fulraine, on the other hand, had been high- handed and arrogant. Witness stated: ‘Far as I was concerned, she was a lady and he was a prick.’ Witness stated he only agreed to accept surveillance assignment from Mr. Fulraine because he needed the money, and that shortly after he commenced surveillance, he phoned Mrs. Fulraine and set up meeting with her at Rusty's Pub in Joslin/Pitt shopping center. At this meeting, he informed victim he'd been hired by her ex to conduct surveillance in order to collect evidence that would prove her an unfit mother.
Witness stated he told her that as much as he needed money he didn't wish to do anything that would harm her. Witness further informed victim he'd invited her to the meeting to warn her of what was going on and to advise her not to do anything contrary to her interests because if she did and he observed said behavior, he would be obligated to report it to her ex.
Witness stated that victim thanked him for warning and offered to compensate him for his trouble. Witness stated he was reluctant to accept money from victim since this would create conflict of interest. Witness stated that as he and victim continued discussion it was clear to both that if witness withdrew from assignment, victim's ex would simply hire someone else to carry it out because he was intent on collecting negative information on victim's lifestyle.
Witness stated that at end of discussion, he and victim reached an understanding: Witness would only report personal information that was already common knowledge, namely that victim and Jack Cody were having an affair. According to witness, victim told him: I'm not married and neither is he, and I'm not a nun and he's not a priest. I'm entitled to have a love affair same as anybody else. So don’t worry about reporting it, It won't harm me a bit.
Witness stated that victim went on to say there were matters in her life that were none of anybody's business and she'd prefer to keep them that way. Witness stated victim offered to pay him an amount equal to fee he was receiving from her ex, in return for which he could be a little careless in his investigation. Witness recalled victim's exact words: 'She said I should, you know, ‘fudge it a bit, since, after all, if you don't see me doing something you can't very well report it then, can you?’'
Witness stated out of respect and admiration for victim, he agreed to consider her proposition. Witness stated that he met victim at same location two days later at which time he proposed that victim hire him to look further into abduction case. Victim agreed and paid him $12.500 in cash.
Witness stated: ‘To cover my ass, I brought in Jerry O'Neill who's an even bigger drunk that I am.’ Witness cleared hiring of O'Neill with client who agreed to pay an additional $5,000 to cover O'Neill's wages. Witness stated: ‘I knew O'Neill would fuck up good, and that's just what I wanted. Meantime, I was going to clear twenty-five grand on the deal.’
Witness stated there were several important things he wished to add. First he wanted it understood he felt terrible about what happened to Mrs. Fulraine, ‘as I liked her and respected her very much.’ Witness stated that even if he'd been surveilling her day of killings, he doubted he could have prevented murders. Witness stated: ‘At best I might have seen something and been able to give you some leads on who did it, license plate numbers, stuff like that. But who knows? I could just as easily have been asleep. Nothing more boring that sitting in your car in a motel parking lot with nothing but a goddamn bag of stale chips while folks are making whoopee upstairs.’
Witness stated he wanted it on the record that he did not meet with victim in order to extort money, that payment was entirely her idea. Witness stated: ‘I never solicited a bribe.’ Witness stated that of course he was happy to accept money since ‘I live pretty close to the edge these days,’ but that money was not his primary motivation. Witness stated: ‘All I wanted to do was help the lady who'd been through a hell of a lot and didn't deserve to lose her kids.’ Witness stated that when he accepted cash at second meeting, he told victim: ‘I owe you plenty for this, and I intend to work my ass off going back over ground we covered when we tried to find out what happened to your little girl. Who knows? Maybe something will turn up after all these years.’ Witness stated that when he said this, tears formed in victim's eyes. Witness stated: ‘She took my hand and squeezed it and said, “I thank you with all my heart.”’
Witness stated it was always his intention to honor pledge to victim and he still intends to do so. Witness stated: ‘Soon as the custody case was finished I was going back to work on the Fulraine infant abduction. That's what she paid me for. That was our deal. So, see, I didn't take her money to screw Mr. Fulraine. I took it to do an additional job for her. Meantime, I gave her a warning and offered to do my best to see she wasn't screwed by her ex along the way.’ Witness stated he still intends to carry out assignment on his own time, ‘because she paid me to do it and when something terrible happens like this, no one should be allowed to get away with it.’
Amazing! I put the papers down. The webs of interlocking agendas is growing dense and I've only just started reading through the documents.
Time to take a break. I step out into the corridor, refresh myself at the water cooler. The Sheriff's Department is quiet this time of night. Down the hall the pebbled glass in Mace's office door is still lit up.
Returning to the conference room, I decide to examine some of the physical evidence. I pull on a pair of latex gloves, open the first big carton… and am horrified! It contains the bedding from room 201 – blanket, sheets, pillow slips – discolored, bullet-rent, encrusted with rust-colored stains, which I take for residue of the victims' spilled blood and guts, even possibly of their sex.
I reel back from the table. One thing to imagine the scene, quite another to be confronted by its effluvia.
I close the first carton, open the second. This one contains the victims' clothing and personal possessions recovered from the crime scene: a woman's white tennis shirt, long khaki shorts, underwear, and sandals; a pair of men's jeans and blue denim work shirt, underwear, socks and sneakers; assorted men's and women's rings, watches, wallets, and keys. Just seeing this stuff makes me feel strange. Suddenly the victims are all too close. In my imagination, I realize, I've endowed them with mythic stature. Now, looking at these humble garments, they seem smaller and ever so vulnerable.
I open a third box, find it filled with numerous glassine envelopes identified by neat handwritten labels. Some contain fingerprints lifted from room 201: exterior and interior doorknobs, phone receiver and dial, water glasses, faucets, bureau drawer handles, even the handle of the toilet. Others contain samples of hairs, fibers, various sweepings, scrapings and swabs, four red, ejected empty shotgun shells, and, most distressing, numerous shotgun pellets recovered from the room. There is a treasure trove of forensic evidence here – DNA samples, possible identifiers such as shoe and weapon material – all carefully preserved for presentation in a court of law, still
