When her guests arrive Thursday evening for dinner Pam can tell Mary’s excited. Everyone is ready to eat so Pam decides to wait until after dinner to ask Mary what’s excited her. After dinner and the table is cleared Eliza says, “Sarah, let’s you and I go look at Pam’s vegetable garden while the others talk about crime.”
Sarah agrees and they go out to Pam’s garden. The others sit around Pam’s big dining room table. Pam says, “Mary, I can see you’re excited. What do the location runs say?”
“It’s really interesting. Remember the location runs that connected the robber Martha saw to the known check-cashing store robber? Those runs showed the robber spread his robberies all over metropolitan Detroit. That’s why he wasn’t identified. The robberies were each in different police jurisdictions. And the robber got enough money in each robbery to last him for three or four months. None of the police departments made the connection between the robbery in their area with the others across town. The last robbery yielded $25,000, enough to last him eight months or more if his spending habits continued as they apparently had between the earlier robberies. There were no robberies with his MO in over a year and a half after the one when he killed two people. That makes it look like he was lying low or he left the area,” Mary reports.
Pam interrupts, “MO, lying low. Mary, you’re using cop jargon. You’re really getting into this police work.”
Everyone laughs, and then Pam continues, “Did you learn whether it’s likely he was lying low or left the area?”
“Yes, that’s what’s exciting. Comparing the timeline data to the location data shows he left the Detroit area, apparently right after the murders. And the location data shows a couple of hits along I-75 north and then lots in our area. The software indicates a 90% probability he’s in our area now and has been since he left the Detroit area.”
Sam and Peter yell with excitement. Sam says, “He’s our guy for sure.”
Peter says, “I agree, Sam. Do you agree, Pam?”
Always logical Pam replies, “Yes, I agree. This marvelous new AI tool points to Martha’s killer. But it doesn’t tell us his name, or address or what he is doing here. And more important, it gives us only circumstantial evidence. We need more to nail this killer.”
“Oh, I think we have more, Pam. That’s why I’m so excited. I’m pretty sure I know who he is,” says Mary.
“Tell us,” says Joe.
“Okay, I read his police record for his first robbery. The one he went to prison for. He worked as a tree trimmer before he went to prison. After prison, his parole officer reported he got his tree trimming job back. The parole officer also reported he was injured at work. He got a cut on his forehead requiring a lot of stitches. That may have left the scar Martha described to the police. The parole officer noted he climbed trees so well he had the nickname Squirrel. Having a job is probably why he seems to have lived so frugally. He used the money from his robberies to augment his pay as a tree trimmer. Now, here’s where it gets exciting. The sheriff’s Crawford case file includes a report from Deputy Towner’s visit to Tommy’s Tree Trimming Tribe, the local tree trimming business with four T’s on their trucks. Two of Tommy’s employees were at the gift shop site trimming a tree the Saturday afternoon Martha was killed. One is Billy Red Deer and the other is called Squirrel. You can imagine how my heart raced when I read that.”
“Wow, we know who he is and where he works. Now we got him,” exclaims Peter.
“Yes and no,” says Pam. “We have a motive, maybe opportunity, and means, assuming if he’s strong enough to climb trees he’s strong enough to strangle Martha. We still need something to directly tie him to Martha to be certain he’ll be convicted. I don’t want to take another chance Judge Hopper dismisses this case. Squirrel would run for sure. Mary, what did the deputy’s report say about times? Could Squirrel have been there without any witnesses? ”
Mary replies, “The report quotes Billy Red Deer saying he left with their truck a little after 4:00. He saw Squirrel walking to his motorcycle and assumed Squirrel left. Oh, another piece of evidence, the killer Martha saw in Detroit left on a motorcycle, and Squirrel rides a motorcycle. And one more tidbit; Billy Red Deer said the gift shop was still open when they left because Squirrel went there to get a drink. I’m betting he recognized Martha, or Martha recognized him because of the scar on his forehead. I forgot to say earlier the police report on the killer Martha saw says Martha described a vivid scar on the killer’s forehead. While the last location run was in progress I called Deputy Towner and asked if Squirrel has a scar on his forehead. Unfortunately, he didn’t see Squirrel’s face.”
Peter interrupts, “I hear Sarah and Eliza coming. Don’t say anything about the rapist still being here. It’ll frighten Sarah. Let’s try to keep it quiet until Squirrel is locked up.”
Pam says, “We should keep it quiet, Peter. If Squirrel hears anything he’ll run again.”
The group stops talking while Sarah and Eliza come into the kitchen, get some ice tea, and go to the front porch. When they are out of hearing Sam says, “You did a great job, Mary. Now we need a plan for what we do next.”
Pam says, “I’ve been thinking about that all day. I’ve concluded we shouldn’t tell the sheriff just yet. He’s so impatient he might blow this opportunity. Let’s go to Alan Quick, the prosecutor, he’s more level headed. Alan and I are dating. I can see him without the sheriff knowing I’m involved in the Crawford case. I’ll arrange for Mary to present him with all the evidence we have. Maybe, with Alan’s help, we can figure out a plan to trap Squirrel or to find physical evidence tying him to Martha.”
“That sounds good to me, Pam. I say do it. Thank you for the wonderful dinner. I think we’ve accomplished what we wanted. I’m ready to get Sarah and go home,” says Peter.
“Me too,” says Sam.
Pam says, “Thank you all for coming tonight. I agree, we accomplished what we intended. I am hopeful Alan will help us finish the Crawford case.”
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