'Look,' said Lamar. 'So far, I think Carl's on the right track, here. We have no evidence linking Fred to the scene, and no motive for him to kill them.' He looked at Art. 'I know we don't need to prove motive, but it sure as shit would help to have one.' He looked at me. 'For anybody.'
'Do we have any idea yet,' asked Art, 'where they were selling the stolen guns? That might get us somebody who knows more about the three of 'em. More background.'
Actually, no, we didn't. This was shaping up into a long investigation, any way you cut it.
Then the county's finest prosecutor came up with the most telling point against Fred, and one that I had been missing. 'I get the impression that we're all assuming that Fred planned this out in advance. Maybe not. Maybe he was there, and they just got into an argument. Maybe it was spur of the moment. Or, just maybe, Carl, it went down like the Whiting case.'
About ten years ago, a man named Whiting got into an argument with a drinking buddy at a remote river cabin. Killed him. In the presence of another drinking buddy. He'd convinced the survivor to help him dispose of the body and the evidence. The guy had done so, apparently frightened and glad to be alive. He also had no place to run. Or to call for help. Then Whiting killed the second man.
'Could be,' I said, 'but don't forget that Whiting was a really dominant sort of guy. Fred isn't. And Whiting was really a cold man. Fred isn't that, either.'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Art. 'Standing there with a gun…'
'And,' said Lamar, 'we only have Fred's word that he dropped them off. He could have gone in with them just as easily.'
'Well, anyway, you people hash this out,' said the prosecutor, standing up. 'I'm afraid I'm asking the Attorney General for an assist on this one, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to remove myself from the case, anyway.'
'You're what?' asked Lamar.
'I do Borglan's taxes, there's a possible conflict here.' He raised both hands to shoulder level, palm up. 'I'm sorry. But I do think you should interview Fred.'
'His attorney will never permit it,' I said. 'Even if he's innocent.'
'Christ. It's not Priller, is it?'
'It's Priller,' said Lamar.
Priller was a well-known obstructionist. A pompous, irritating, aggravating little twerp. But somehow he managed to be likable at the same time, because he never took it to a personal level.
Mike grinned and shook his head. 'Well, gentlemen, I wish you all the best of luck.'
This was a bit of a blow, as the county attorney would normally be available for the quick questions during an investigation, while the assigned prosecutor from the Attorney General's office would do the long-term prosecutor's stuff.
'Are you going to appoint a special prosecutor at the county level?' I asked.
He stopped for a second, on his way to the door. 'Boy, Carl,' he said. 'I don't know that the county board of supervisors is going to approve that… it could be pretty expensive, and with a state prosecutor assigned… But, I'll ask.'
Expenses. It always came down to that.
It was only a few seconds after he left that our secretary stuck her head in the door and motioned to me.
'Manchester PD called, and said to say that Dr. Peters was on the way here, and that everybody should stay put.'
'Really?' I relayed the information back to the table. It was just a bit unusual. I hadn't expected Dr. Peters to come back up today.
At 0945 we, as they say, reconvened. Being an opportunist, I grabbed another doughnut.
Dr. Peters had brought a portable light-board device, to backlight X rays. We didn't have one. Who does, except hospitals?
We watched, paying very close attention, as Dr. Peters described the film.
'Subject number one,' he said. 'This is… Royce Colson… the fellow we looked at first at the scene. The one who was on his back. Bullet wound in his right temple…'
The X ray showed the hole, cracks in the skull, a little trail of debris through the brain toward the left side, and a fragmenting of bone on the left side.
'Through and through,' said Dr. Peters. 'Entered just behind the eye, into the sphenoid, right above the zygomatic arch. Transverses the brain, and exits via the lower edge, just about precisely at the squamous suture. Caused a stellate, circumferential fracture of the skull, as it did.' He traced the points with his hand as he talked. Good thing.
The bullet had gone in right behind the eye, kept pretty level, and come out the other side a little farther aft, cracking the skull completely around its circumference. The stellate or star-shaped portion was a crack running up the side of the skull from the entrance, and stopping near the top of the head.
'This victim may have been upright, and I suspect standing erect, at the time the shot was fired.' He looked at us. 'I strongly suspect that the bullet which exited this man's head is the one discovered that made the hole in the wall of the Borglan residence.' He paused. 'The entrance wound is about two-tenths of an inch in diameter, so I think we're dealing with a.22 caliber bullet. Close examination of the wound, after washing the clotted blood away, reveals very intense tattooing around the entrance.' He stepped back from the X ray. 'Photos will be available soon, I'm sure, but it was a nearly perfect circle, and I suspect we have a contact gunshot wound, here. I would also think it was made with the muzzle in contact because the projectile actually exited the skull… Lots of energy available here,' said Dr. Peters.
The muzzle was in contact with the skull when the gun went off. This was usually an indication of a suicide, but hardly likely in this case.
'Self-inflicted?' asked Art. Thinking aloud again.
'I don't believe so,' said Dr. Peters. 'Let's have a look at the next one… this would be a Dirk Colson,' he said, checking his notes. 'Notice that both entrance wounds are from the top of the head, in the right rear portion of the skull.' He pointed. 'The second round entered just ahead of the first, also traveling downward. It caused these fractures here,' he said, 'that stop at the sagittal suture, and also stop at the hole made by the first wound.'
'This second one travels in a path to here,' he said. 'Again in the basilar part, but on the left and more forward.'
We could see that one, too. It appeared to be on its side.
'This is the one that caused the extrusion of the brain tissue out the first entrance hole.'
I remembered that. Like frosting out of a cake decorator.
'Close examination of both these wounds indicated a contact or near contact gunshot, as well.' He removed the last X ray, and put one of each victim up on the board.
'Likely a double murder, then,' said Art.
Dr. Peters said, 'Oh, yes. And a bit more flavor, I think.' He paused, pointing at the X ray of Dirk Colson. 'From the nature and path, I would strongly suspect that this second victim was in a lowered position, possibly seated or kneeling, possibly squatting, when the two wounds were inflicted.' He cleared his throat. 'With the shooter behind the victim.
'So,' said Dr. Peters, 'based on the angles of the bullet tracks, the second victim was shot by a gun almost directly above and behind him. Even with a.22 pistol, that would require that the victim be either on his knees or seated.' He paused. 'Well, absent a ladder.' He shrugged. 'However, given the fact that both victims would very likely fall just about right where they were shot, it would explain the bloodstains on the floor. With the lack of bloodstains on the chairs that were moved to cover the stained area of the carpet, I will say this: The major carpet stains likely were from each of the victims, that the stains occurred when they were lying on the floor, and that the blood came from their heads. With the stained areas nearly in the center of the room, there doesn't appear to be any item of furniture close enough to permit the second victim to have been shot while seated, or for the shooter to have stood upon while shooting.'
'An execution, sort of?' I asked.
'I can narrow your parameters, Carl. I can tell you they weren't shot at a distance. I can tell you what the evidence tells me happened. An execution… is a possibility. A strong one. But a
'Execution,' said Art, disdainfully, 'in my book requires restraints, bindings, things like that. Could this, Doctor,
