Chapter 14 - It's the Small Things That Can Kill You! - Onion Rings and Profiling

 Chapter 14 – Onion Rings and Profiling

It was overcast. The rain in Kildeer had finally eased into a mist as we moved towards Larue’s Diner. The neon sign buzzed pleasantly, faintly as it reflected off the puddles that still clung to the gravel parking lot. Inside the air was warm and thick with the smell of coffee and onion rings.

The whole town was in a state of small-town excitement over the defeat of the Tigers. The outcome of the baseball game had been kicked around previously and the customers now were speculating about the possible murder investigation surrounding the death of James Cody.

Clara parked her bike outside next to an alcove off the diner. She shook off her raincoat before entering and passed through the front door making the bell above dance, alerting all to our presence. She was the only one of us that had a bonified raincoat. Rico was wearing a red hoodie. Fenton was wearing his stupid beige sweater. He smelled like a wet sheep. I wore my Warriors Green windbreaker that I had received for my birthday after I pitched two consecutive no-hitter innings last summer back when I was a relief pitcher for the team.

As we sat down Clara was talking about the possibility of F.B.I involvement in the Cody investigation. She was going on about a new forensic practice called behavioral profiling.

“So, you are saying that it is possible to narrow down a suspect list based upon the ‘perps’ behavior and crime scene evidence.” I mused.

“It really isn’t a new technique. A. Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes making deduction about criminal’s personalities based upon crime scene observations.”

“Then, can you tell us something about Cody’s killer?” Fenton asked.

Clara looked up at the ceiling at one of the overhead fans. It rotated slowly. It’s large wooden paddles swam through the air as if they were in no hurry to do their job. “Well, I’m not an F.B.I. agent…yet!” She giggled. “But here goes.” Rico and Fenton leaned forward to hear Clara’s voice as it became more thoughtful and a bit softer.

“Okay! The UNSUB drove to the area west of the baseball field. That is Martin Gaynor’s property but it is the edge of the property.”

“What’s an UNSUB? It sounds scientific.” Rico asked.

“Unidentified subject. The F.B.I used to call these types of murders ‘stranger homicides’ because they violated the usual rules associated with a homicide investigation.” Clara explained.

“Like what rules?” Fenton looked perplexed.  He was a whiz at math but social science baffled him completely.

“Like, if you are murdered, the most likely culprit would be a relative or someone you knew quite well. Recently however there has been a rise in the victims being complete strangers to the killer. The killer therefore is not involved in a crime of passion. They are not killing for revenge or out of jealousy. The victims are complete strangers.”

“Wow, that’s messed up man.” Rico muttered.

“So, to continue. The killer did some research. He probably knew you could see everything happening at the ball field from the edge of Gaynor’s property with binoculars. He might have even known about the tree stand. He drove his own car down the same road Cody did or had someone drop him off and pick him up. That would have been smarter.”

“Why?’ The three of us asked simultaneously and then laughed.

“Because any passerby wouldn’t be able to identify the car that he escaped in. Also, if someone saw Cody’s car and followed the road in, they wouldn’t expect to find another person stalking James Cody. They would probably assume there was only a single trespasser.”

“What does this all say about the murderer?” Fenton was desperate for concrete facts.

“The killer was intelligent and highly organized. He probably had assistance. Maybe a driver. He had some familiarity with the area around Kildeer. Maybe even had poked around here for a couple of days.” Clara summed up.

“Additionally, it wasn’t someone Cody knew.” She announced.

“How can you conclude that?” I countered.

“Cody waited until almost every person that he knew would be in one place. At the ballgame. Therefore, they wouldn’t be able to point to him as guilty. Nobody could identify or accuse him of what he was about to do.”

“What was he about to do? Cody was a gun nut by reputation. He had a sniper rifle with him.”

“Shoot something Jax! That’s what a sniper does.” Beyond that I couldn’t say. Except that the killer surprised him. Cody didn’t just have a sniper rifle with him; he also had a pistol. He left it in the car. He wasn’t expecting anyone else to walk in on him.”

“Okay. The killer snuck up on him. What else? Rico was more animated now than I had seen him in quite a while. I was glad we brought him. He was coming out of his funk or depression over seeing Cody’s spirit…or whatever was bugging him.

“Well, the UNSUB had also done this sort of thing before. He didn’t draw the gun to get the jump on James Cody and order him to come down from the tree stand so he could kill him up close. You know. Execution style. Um, you know, so he wouldn’t miss. He knew he wasn’t going to miss. The killer is a bit arrogant but maybe he is just that good with a gun.

I talked to Phil Jennings this morning. We’ve taken some criminal justice classes together. Truth be told, I wrote one of his term papers for him last fall when his wife had a baby. He owes me.” She leaned closer to us. “Catch this! He told me there was no power burn on the body.” Clara’s eyes were wide and dilated.

“Huh?” I didn’t want to be the slow horse here but, I needed some help again.

“Jax. That means this guy, or gal…weird saying that but we don’t know. Anyway, he or she strolled in. Picked up a strange gun. Had to have said something to James to get him to turn around in the stand…and shot him in the forehead in the twilight of the setting sun. He used a noise suppressor according to Frank, otherwise others would have heard the shot. Phil said he either wiped the gun clean of prints or wore gloves. Did he have a noise suppressor for a .38 on him or not? If so, what does that say class?”

“That he knew Cody carried one in his car and he stole it?” I said but I felt like I should have raised my hand first.

“Maybe not. Maybe the Cody also had a silencer in his car...already on the gun and he stole both at the same time.” Rico said.

"So, initially he walked over to kill Cody weaponless. Seems pretty reckless." Clara said. 

“Maybe they both use the same type of gun! He didn’t want to use his own gun, so he used Cody’s. Forensics couldn't match bullet marks from his gun if he used it in another crime... if he didn’t use his own gun, that is! Besides I talked to Phil too. Phil has a big mouth. He said the gun was left by Cody's body, Phil said the pistol was fired just once. The rifle was fully loaded. It hadn't been fired at all. There was no silencer-thing on the end of the pistol at the crime scene. The killer probably used his own or stole Cody's. Phil said that they aren't hard to make. He just moved his own silencer to Cody's gun then took it with him when he left after the murder...that's my theory or whatever.

“I like it! Who said that?” Clara blurted out.

“I did.” Lisa stood over us with an order pad. “You guys want to order or do you just want to play Dragnet all day. You’ve got to admit. Nothing says ‘professional’ like shooting a gun nut with his own gun.” She winked at Clara. “So, what’ll it be? Onion rings again?”