The House on Timber Lane by Robert F. Clifton (classic romance novels TXT) 📕

“About damn time. Put the beer in that cooler over there”, he said pointing to a red, fiberglass ice cooler that had been placed on a redwood picnic table.

“Well, you sure as hell appear to be in a lousy mood”, said Wallace as he replaced the lid on the cooler.

“So far it’s been a shitty day. First, I was late to tee off. Second, I shot an eighty five and third after all of that, I end up having to entertain your ugly ass.”

Wallace laughed. “By the time you get that grill cleaned we’ll be eating at midnight.”

“Alright, stop the bullshit. What’s on your mind?”

“Arsenic.”

“What about it?”

“I have a suspect, who might be on the verge of killing his wife. At this time I believe he might be using arsenic to poison her.”

“What makes you think that he’s using arsenic?”

“The suspect lost his wife to a mysterious ailment last year. There was no autopsy and she was cremated within twenty-four hours of her death.”

“And?”

“Now, recently married, his new wife, after returning from her honeymoon has taken to bed with flu like conditions. I have information that she was in perfect health before her marriage.”

“And, now you suspect the use of arsenic.”

“Correct.”

“Let me advise you that even if arsenic is found in your so called victims body, it doesn’t necessarily mean that her husband poisoned her. Arsenic is prevalent in the world. Most cases of arsenic poisoning is the result of drinking ground water. Arsenic affects one hundred and twenty-seven million people a year worldwide. Do you like rice?”

“Yeah, once in a while”, Wallace answered.

“Rice is one of the food sources in the world that contains large amounts of arsenic. Let me ask you this. Where did the unlucky bride have her honeymoon?”

“The Greek Islands.”

“That tells me that in all probability she ate a lot of seafood, from the Mediterranean which also contains arsenic. You might have a suspect and you might believe he is using poison, but at present you will have one hell of a time making a case, let alone getting a conviction with an arrest.”

“That may be. My problem right now is how to stop him from going any further and I don’t know how to do it.”

“I can’t help you with that. As you know as the Medical Examiner I come in at the end of the play, after I receive the body.”

“This guy cremates the body.”

“In that regard there is a solution.”

“And it is?”

“Wait a minute. I have to go inside and get a book, just to be sure that I’m correct. While I do that open two bottles of beer. I’ll be right back.”

Wallace open the two bottles and took a swig out of the one he held in his hand. Doctor Edwards returned holding a book in his hand. He sat down next to Wallace took a sip of beer, opened the book and said, “Here we are. Now, listen to this. What Warrants Mandatory Autopsy… Any death occurring suddenly and unexplained or from an unexplained cause, this includes deaths of individuals who are found dead without obvious cause and medically unexpected death which occurs during medical therapeutic or diagnostic procedure. Deaths due to obvious natural causes wherein the previous medical or biological mechanisms are unclear need to be reported. Deaths related directly to previously diagnosed infectious disease need not be reported, unless they fall under the previous listed categories.”

“Is that the law?”

“Yep.”

“I doubt if the court would allow me to warrant an autopsy. The court would find me unqualified as an expert.”

“True, but the court must listen to either the county coroner or the medical examiner.”

“Then, you can do it”, said Wallace.

“I could, but I won’t, not in this case anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Professional ethics. From what you have told me your suspect is a physician, Doctor Gray. You forget, I too read the newspaper and I remember that he and his wife went to the Greek Islands. However, what I can do is talk to Charlie Warren, the County Coroner and alert him. He then can request an autopsy in court.”

“All well and good if and when he kills her. My question is how to I prevent her murder?”

“Isn’t she originally from Philadelphia?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I’m almost certain that she had a physician there. Have her return to that doctor and have an analysis done on her blood and urine. That way they can see the amount of arsenic in her system.”

“Sounds like a good idea”, said Wallace.

“How do you like your steak?.” asked Edwards.

“Medium well.”

“Anything new of the Pierpont murder?”

“We’re making a little progress.”

“I gave one of your men the projectile I found in the chest of the victim.”

“Yeah, I got it, but you can bet the firearm is long destroyed. It was probably a stolen weapon anyway.”

“Still, we must work with what we have Robert. Now, the baked potatoes should be done. Mildred made a nice salad before she went home and there’s more beer. We’ll eat soon.”

Two days later Wallace sat in the living room of Elaine Benson. “So, how as Vegas?”, he asked.

“Fun, interesting, rewarding in some ways”, Elaine answered.

“Did you win?”

“I think I won three hundred dollars on the slots.”

“Pretty nice, and were you a good girl?”

Elaine smiled, “As a matter of fact, he said I was marvelous.”

Wallace laughed at her response.

“And, what brings you here today. You must have something on your mind. What is it”, she asked.

“You finally convinced me that your friend, Doctor Vernon Gray is slowly killing his wife.”

“And, just what convinced you. It certainly wasn’t my nagging about the fact was it?”

“Not really. It was the result of a conversation I had with your neighbor across the street. Seems that Grace Gray has had the flu ever since she returned from her honeymoon and she is being treated by her husband.”

“So?…That’s not unusual.”

“No, it’s not, except he might be giving her poison.”

“What kind of poison?”

“Arsenic.”

“How terrible…What can we do?”

“How well do you know Joan Applewhite?”

“She is just a young woman who lives across the street, a neighbor, why?”

“It might be a good idea to have her convince her boss to see her doctor in Philadelphia to have, let’s say, a second opinion. That way, she might have her blood and urine tested .It might reveal arsenic.”

“Wouldn’t that tip off Vernon, that someone is on to him?”

“Possibly, but if Grace is made aware that arsenic is prevalent in the waters of the Greek Isles then she should more or less want the testing done.”

“Don’t you think that once he hears the word arsenic, that he would want to do the testing. That way he could falsify the results.”

“I’m betting, that when he hears the word arsenic one or two things will happen. If the good doctor in innocent then he will support the idea of a second opinion. If he is attempting to kill his wife with poison and hears the word arsenic he will stop. Then I expect a gradual, healthy recovery will ensue.”

“So you want me to convince Miss Applewhite to talk to Grace Gray.”

“Exactly.”

“Then what?”

“We sit back and wait to see what happens”, said Wallace.

“I don’t know how to approach her.”

“Well, what do you know about her?”, he asked.

Elaine thought for a moment, then spoke. “Actually what I know is that she is the daughter of a Japanese American mother and a American father. Her mother is referred to as Nisei.”

“That means she was born after the second generation of her family in the United States”, Wallace explained.

“Anyway, her mother was in an interment camp in Colorado during World War Two. When the war was over the family moved to Bridgeton, New Jersey and went to work for SeaBrook Farms. While working there the mother met and married Henry Applewhite. They had two children, Joan and a boy three years younger than her. Evidently the Japanese genes of her mother were much more dominant than her father’s English genes so she was born with a pure Japanese appearance. She graduated from Bridgeton High School and entered Temple University where she majored in journalism with a minor in communications. After two years she quit college, but she stayed in Philadelphia. She was working as a sales girl at Macys when she met Grace Hodges. Overtime they struck up a friendship that resulted in Joan being hired as Grace Hodge’s social secretary.”

“Did you miss anything?”

“What do you mean?”

“You sure as hell know her pedigree.”

“Oh, I learned all of that over coffee. But I still don’t know how to approach her about mentioning arsenic poisoning to her boss.”

“Very simple. Mention the fact that the Greek Isle’s drinking water has high concentrations of arsenic and it might be what is making her boss sick.”

“That’s it?”

“That and the fact that a second opinion might be warranted.”

“Well, if you think it will work.”

Chapter Seven

On a late Friday afternoon, Robert Wallace signed a vacation card and handed it to Lieutenant William O’Neil. “There you are Bill, you’re now officially in charge. While you’re running this circus I hope to be up to my ass in a good book.”

The following morning after a quick breakfast, Wallace opened the book “ Serial killers and Their Reasons and Methods.” as a police officer Wallace had long held the position that when a convicted criminal was incarcerated, many inmates took the opportunity to learn. Some learned from their mistakes, returned to society and became useful citizens, Others unfortunately, learned how to correct the mistakes they made in order not to make that same mistake again. Some graduated from petty larceny into the big time burglary, from purse snatchers to safe crackers and they took their lessons from the cons in prison who with nothing but time on their hands gladly educated their students.

To Wallace one way to stay ahead of the professional criminal was to do what they did, study and learn. As a result he would take time each year to take what he called his “retreat.” While some went on spiritual retreats to reconnect with God through prayer Wallace went on learning retreats to reconnect with his study of criminology. In that, the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes and control of criminal behavior in both the individual operating in society helped him in his investigations. And, at this time he had two crimes on his mind. The first, the assassination of Judge Pierpont. The second, the attempted murder of Grace Hodges Gray. It was his hope that the books he had purchased would shine some light on the likes of Nuncio Vergasi and Doctor Vernon Gray.

Robert Wallace reached for the pack of cigarettes, took one out of the package, placed it in his mouth, lit it, inhaled, and began to read. He was particularly interested in the mental makeup

of professional killers hoping to understand how hit men like Vergasi operated. What caused them to be the way they were? What were their methods? He read, “Childhood abuse is often a trigger for aggressive behavior in a child and heinous crimes in adults.” Wallace placed the burning cigarette in an ashtray and wrote those words on a writing tablet. He began to read again. “ Antisocial Personality Disorder or ASPD is a total disregard for law and social norms.”

The case study of contract killer Richard Banaszek caught the attention of Wallace and he read with dedicated interest the findings of the psychiatrist that interviewed Banaszek in prison. When he was finished reading he again wrote notes. “It is apparent that a contract killer such as Nuncio Vergasi that is thought to be the murderer of Judge Pierpont at this time kills without remorse. In fact, it is probable that like Richard Banaszek, Nuncio Vergasi considers caring or remorse as a weakness.

Banaszek’s killings were often triggered by the challenge of the hunt for his victims. In the case of Vergasi it is possible that the challenge is a threat to his manly hood . We have the judge maintaining a luxury life style for June Florio. Then we have a