Chapter 9

Officer Mike Tougas sat in the restaurant of the hotel sipping a cup of coffee waiting for Ed to arrive from his suite upstairs. After the discussion on the phone, he had investigated the family of Beth Hayes. When he discovered the number of times that the family had been attacked in the past, many of his suspicions about them had been dispelled although he didn’t know the reasons behind the attacks.

It was only after digging a little deeper that he learned that this family was the John Carter Rescue Squad that had been here during the last big earthquake. On the advice of his fellow officers he had returned to the scene of the accident and satisfied himself that it was an accident. The taste of hot coffee couldn’t hide the bitter taste in his mouth that he had gotten on learning that he was to baby sit this guy.

Taking a sip of his hot coffee, he was startled when a cowboy sat down at the table with him. He asked, “May I help you?”

Ed replied, “Yes, you can Officer Tougas. I want to know every detail about my wife’s death. I want to see the scene of the accident, the car, any and all information about the person behind the wheel of the car, and the autopsy report on the driver.”

“Excuse me?”

Without batting an eye, Ed said, “I have just gotten off the phone with the chief of police. You have been assigned to me until I say otherwise.”

Officer Tougas sat back in his chair with both eyebrows raised as he examined Ed. He was about to say something when a man, built like a football lineman wearing a dark suit, approached the table. He was carrying a thin briefcase that looked extremely small in his huge hands. “Excuse me, Dr. Biggers. I’m Norman Asmaro from the LA office of the FBI. I’ve been instructed to give you as much support as you may require in your investigation.”

Grateful for the additional support, Ed said, “Thanks, please have a seat.”

A small woman with bird like features moved into the restaurant. She was carrying a briefcase in her right hand and held it like it was almost too heavy for her. Her head darted to and fro seeking out her prey. Spotting Ed, she moved directly to the table and stopped. “Dr. Biggers?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Vanessa Schally from the LA office of the IRS. I’ve been asked to give you any assistance that you may require.”

Pointing to the empty chair at the table, Ed said, “Please have a seat.”

Once she had seated herself at the table, Ed performed the introductions, “Officer Mike Tougas of the LAPD. Norman Asmaro of the FBI. Vanessa Schally of the IRS. I’m Ed Biggers, but I would prefer it if everyone were to call me Ed. I’m an informal person. Has everyone had breakfast?”

At the nods around the table, Ed called the waitress over and took care of the bill. Once that was done, he stood up and said, “Let’s go to the site of the incident, first.”

A very numb Mike Tougas stood up looking around at the others. Suddenly this didn’t seem to be a babysitting job anymore. He asked, “Whose car will we be taking?”

“Mine,” answered Ed as he headed for the limousine. The rest of the family had already headed over to the hospital to take care Dr. Hayes. He had promised to take care of the investigation by two so that they could return to the hotel for a late lunch.

In the car, Ed asked Vanessa, “Did you bring the tax records of the driver?”

As she handed him a folder, she answered, “Yes, I did.”

Ed glanced through it very quickly. There wasn’t a sign of any kind of lie anywhere on the form. Satisfied, he handed it back to her. Turning to Norman, he asked, “Did you bring any background information on the driver?”

The agent opened his briefcase and handed a folder to Ed. As he read the report, he talked out loud. “A corporal in the army during the Korean Conflict. Received a Purple Heart for a wound suffered in action. The past twenty years have been spent as Manager of an Auto Parts chain. Just retired a year ago. There’s nothing suspicious in here.”

The agent accepted the folder back and said, “We also did a background check on his children. They’re all model citizens without any hints of financial problems.”

Nodding in satisfaction that nothing untoward had arisen yet, Ed said, “With luck, we’ll be done in a couple of hours.”

The limousine reached the site of the incident. Ed stepped out and looked around for a second before spotting the yellow police tape around the splintered remains of a table. Reaching the area, Ed knelt down and examined the area looking for anything that might suggest a lie. Officer Tougas approached and said, “This is where it happened. The driver lost control over there, drove up onto the sidewalk, and then into the table. The car was stopped by that huge planter over there.”

After walking around and examining the path taken by the car, Ed asked, “Why aren’t there any skid marks?”

“He never applied the brakes.”

Returning to the limousine, Ed said, “Let’s see the car.”

At the impound lot, Ed examined the car with considerable attention to detail. He could find nothing wrong with the car that hadn’t been caused by the accident. His truth sense told him that the car had not been employed intentionally to kill Beth. That didn’t mean that the driver didn’t intentionally run into her, just that the car had not been modified to cause the accident.

Standing behind Ed, the other three people were watching him work with interest. Officer Tougas asked Norman, “What’s he doing?”

Norman answered, “I don’t know. They told me to expect anything from this guy. His husband and him are famous within the FBI for the cases they’ve cracked.”

Vanessa whispered, “They are famous for breaking big cases in the IRS, too. I’ve heard they are very difficult to work with because they do things in a strange way.”

Overhearing the conversation, Ed grinned to himself. John and he weren’t difficult to work with, they just concentrated on their work. Sometimes, that concentration and attention to detail wasn’t understood by those around them. Turning to the entourage, he said, “Let’s get over to the coroner’s office.”

At the coroner’s office, Ed talked with the man that had performed the autopsy. The man was convinced that the driver had suffered a brain aneurysm and lost consciousness. He had died on the way to the hospital. Once again, Ed’s truth sense verified that the man believed what he was saying. Following up, he asked, “Was it a sudden development or had it been developing for some time?”

The coroner replied, “It had been developing for some time. There was extensive bulging indicating that it had been weak for quite a while.”

“Did you perform a blood analysis?”

“Sent a sample to the lab yesterday. We won’t get the results back for several days.”

“Thank you for your time.”

The coroner cleared his throat and asked, “Can I release the body now? The widow wants to make final arrangements.”

“Yes, you can. Is she here?”

Officer Tougas answered, “Yes. They had said that they would be releasing the body today and she’s here.”

“I would like to speak to her,” said Ed. For now, he just wanted to give his condolences to the widow. He had come to the conclusion that Beth’s death was an accident. The man had been driving and he had a stroke thereby losing consciousness. The car swerved and killed Beth. It was just a stupid senseless death.

Officer Tougas looked to Norman and Vanessa for guidance. When they shrugged their shoulders, he said, “I suppose it won’t hurt.”

Ed followed Officer Tougas to a waiting room where a woman in her mid-sixties was seated. Mike said, “Ed, this is Mrs. Ray Nicklaus. Mrs. Nicklaus, this is Dr. Ed Biggers.”

The woman turned pale and stood. Noticing her discomfort, Ed stepped forward and took her hand in both of his. “I’m so sorry that we have to meet under these circumstances. I would like to offer the condolences of myself and my family on your loss.”

With confusion apparent on her face, the woman asked, “Are you the coroner?”

Shaking his head, Ed said, “No, I’m not. In cases where an FBI agent or their spouse is killed after death threats have been made against them, it’s necessary to investigate the circumstances very carefully. I have given instructions that your husband’s body is to be released. I’m sorry for the delay.”

Mrs. Nicklaus frowned and said, “I didn’t know that she was married to an FBI agent. Her family must really be upset.”

After removing a card from his wallet, he handed it to her and said, “If I or any of my family can be of service to you, please call us.”

Hands trembling, she accepted the card. Glancing down at it, she saw that it was the family card of the Carter Clan. The name of every member of the family was on it with his name in bold. She saw the name of the woman her husband had killed under his. Her hand flew to her mouth as she said, “Oh my goodness. It was your wife that was killed.”

“Yes. I’m satisfied that her death was an accident and a very tragic one at that. Yesterday, you and I have lost loved ones.” Ed had taken her hand in both of his and patted it gently letting her know that there was no anger on his part. Nodding to her, he said, “If we can be of service to you, please call us.”

“Yes, Dr. Biggers.”

After saying goodbye to the woman, Ed led his entourage out of the coroner’s office. Once in the hall, he turned to the threesome and asked, “Is there a quiet place where we can talk?”

Officer Tougas led them to a small interrogation room. Once inside, they seated themselves around the table. Ed looked at the smallish room with the mirror across the back wall. He had been on the other side of the mirror on an occasion or two. Ed broke the silence when he said, “I’m satisfied that Beth’s death was an accident.”

Norman Asmaro asked, “How can you be so sure of that after such a cursory investigation?”

Ed turned to stare directly at Norman, his gray eyes conveying an intensity that made the man catch his breath. Ed said, “I found no lies hiding a different kind of truth. All is as it appears to be.”

“Okay.” The man’s voice shook when he answered.

Vanessa had watched the exchange and would have sworn that she saw a bolt of light flash from Ed to Norman. She shivered and asked, “Does that mean we are done?”

“No.”

Shocked, Mike Tougas asked, “Why not?”

Licking his lips as he remembered the sight that he had seen from his window last night. Just remembering it was enough to sicken him. He answered, “There is another case that has to be solved first. After we leave here, I’m going to take all three of you to a building that just reeks of evil. I don’t know what is going on in there, but I want to find out everything that I can about everyone in that building.”

Special Agent Norman Asmaro, looking around the table, said, “You don’t know what is going on inside and yet you say it reeks of evil.”

“Exactly.”

Special Agent Vanessa Schally sat back with a concerned look on her face. After a minute of silence, she said, “We can’t go investigate a business because someone says that the building is evil.”

In a very soft voice, Ed answered, “You can when an individual who has helped capture four serial killers, brought down a white slavery ring, and took out organized crime says that there is a problem inside the building.”

The reminder of his credentials silenced all discussion around the table. The news struck Officer Tougas like a slap across the face. His quick check on the guy hadn’t hinted anything about that.

Sitting in the back of the limousine, Ed watched the surroundings as the driver traced a spiral path starting from the hotel at which he was staying. The problem was that Ed didn’t know exactly where the building that he had seen was located. Seeing it from his hotel room didn’t give him an address. Ed saw the driver glance at him in the mirror with a questioning look in his eye. It was clear to Ed that the driver thought he was crazy.

When the limousine turned a corner, Ed saw the building. Waves of blackness rolled off the exterior striking him full force with the maliciousness of pure evil. His stomach heaved and his eyes blurred. Reaching for the door handle, he shouted, “Stop the car!”

The driver put on the brakes as Ed opened the door and tumbled out of the still moving car onto the street. Crawling to the side of the road, he started vomiting in response to the evil that he had just seen. As the others gathered around him, he pointed in the direction of the building and shouted, “There! That building!”

Looking in the direction that Ed was pointing, Vanessa asked, “What? The old folks home?”

He reached into his shirt and brought out his medallion. Forcing himself to look at the sign in front of the building, Ed struggled to answer, “Yes. Now get me out of here before I pass out.”

In disbelief, the driver and the law enforcement agents stood staring at Ed. It wasn’t until Ed passed out holding onto his medallion that they realized he was serious. Believing this was a medical problem, they decided to take him to the hospital. The three almost tripped over themselves trying to get Ed into the car. Vanessa knelt on the floor of the limousine where Ed lay unconscious trying to determine what was wrong with him.

When the limousine pulled into the emergency entrance of the hospital, they were met by John Carter. He had been waiting for them in the drive to the emergency ward and stepped in front of the car as it pulled up forcing the driver to stop the car. Taking his time, John opened the door and climbed in the limousine. Without introduction other than holding up his badge, he said, “Take us to the nearest park.”