Sonia Shriver was having a busy day. Like many people who work for the government, she did her job not for the money, but for the personal satisfaction of doing what was right. And like many government workers, she felt like she was doing enough work for two people.
“Working through lunch again?” asked Kristin.
“Unfortunately, I am. If I didn’t, I would be here until nine o’clock tonight.”
“We wouldn’t want that to happen.”
Sonia just smiled.
“Do you want my paper? I’m done with it.”
“Sure, thank you.”
She was turning the pages of the newspaper looking for something that interested her when she saw the headline about the murder of a girl named Melanie.
“That name sounds familiar,” she thought. The article talked about how the boyfriend had passed a polygraph test, and police wouldn’t say if there were other possible suspects. “It was a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma.” The reporter ended the article by quoting Winston Churchill.
Sonia was about to turn to the next page when it dawned on her. She had gotten a call from a girl names Melanie who had left a message, but Sonia couldn’t understand the number the girl had left. It was filled with static. Her caller id didn’t list the number either; it just read, unlisted. Could this be the same person?" She folded the newspaper and quickly threw her lunch into the wastebasket.
She walked down the hall to her boss’s office, Mike Anderson. She knocked hard and heard,
“Come in.”
“I think that I might have some information about that girl who was murdered.”
“Melanie.”
“Yes. I received a message from a girl named Melanie, but I couldn’t call her back because I couldn’t understand the number she left. I still have the message and I think I should give it to the police.”
“I agree. You can go right now. I just ask that you keep me in touch with what is going on.”
“I will.”
Sonia returned to her office and stared out the window. She hoped this Melanie was not the same one who had been killed. But her woman’s intuition told her otherwise. She didn’t know how but she knew the two Melanie’s were the same. She dealt with victims everyday, and she could tell by a person’s voice the pain they were going through. And she heard it on her phone. She just wanted to listen to it one more time before she called the police, just to make sure though. She hoped by calling them she wasn’t opening up a can of worms, however.
-------------------------------------
Detectives Chanello and Mangino entered the office of Dr. Jones. Detective Chanello had known Dr. Jones for a long time, since they were half brothers, but this was Detective Mangino’s first meeting with him since joining the force.
Dr. Jones had quite a reputation with the ladies and was trying to flirt with Mangino. She wasn’t responding. The more he tried to the more annoyed Detective Chanello was getting.
After forty-five minutes of chatting, only about two minutes were about the murder. They basically knew nothing more than they had learned at the initial crime scene. Melanie was murdered; she had been hit over the head with a wooden bat. There were several bloody footprints at the crime scene that were size 11. They left Dr. Jones office and got some coffee.
As Chanello was stirring the cream into his coffee he said, “Hey, can you call Judge Hoberman and tell him we need a warrant? The neighbors testifying earlier they heard Donny say he was going to kill her is definitely enough probable cause. With three independent witnesses hearing Donny say he would kill her, that should be sufficient to search his property. If we’re lucky, we will find the shoes and maybe even the bat.”
Detective Mangino responded, “There were only two witnesses, the neighbors. Halle’s testimony is actually hearsay since she didn’t actually hear it.”
“You are such a good detective. Not only are you beautiful, but you are highly intelligent.”
“Well, thank you.”
“Now, I’m going to have a talk with Dr. Jones in private and tell him you are taken. He’d better stop flirting with you. It is alright if I tell him you’re taken?”
Detective Mangino just looked into his eyes and felt captivated. She was feeling more than attraction now as she thought of love. “You can tell him anything you’d like.”
Chanello walked down the hall to Dr. Jones’ office. He didn’t bother knocking. While Dr. Jones’ secretary looked on, he strutted past her and opened the door. He went inside, turned around, and shut the door.
Dr. Jones was on the phone when he said, “I’ll call you back.” He didn’t wait for the person on the other link to respond, but just slammed down the phone.
Chanello walked over to Dr. Jones’ desk. “I told you never to come into my office without an appointment first,” Dr. Jones said sarcastically.
“What is your problem, brother? Is that what I should call you? We haven’t really spoken as a family in a long time now, have we?”
“We aren’t a family. There isn’t any blood between us. Don’t you ever forget that.”
“That’s right. We shared a mother and father since we were what, ten? My dad and your mom got married, but he didn’t give you any attention. In case you didn’t notice, I didn’t get any either and I’m glad. He was an ass. But you just can’t handle the fact that your mother, who had no relationship to me, liked me too!”
“Baloney,” Dr. Jones slammed his fist down on the desk.
“Yeah. I think it’s fair to say that she loved me just as much as you.”
“You don’t know what you are talking about.”
“You obviously didn’t hear me correctly. I didn’t say she loved me more. I said that she loved me the same. She was trying to be a mother to both of us. Why can’t you understand that?”
“I’ll tell you what you need to understand. He was your father, and she was my mother. Not yours. And that drunk, greedy S.O.B. who was your father, killed her.”
They were staring at each other fiercely. Dr. Jones was trying to control himself, but the rage was building up steam. He was about to lose control and Chanello could see it. He decided to try to diffuse Dr. Jones’ temper.
“My dad was an ass. I admit that. I didn’t talk to him for twelve years before he died. We still need to remember that we are stepbrothers. We are family. We both know my dad was crazy while your mother was great. She was just trying to protect us both from that monster.”
“We are not a family. There isn’t a brother alive that would do what you did to me growing up.”
Chanello was tired of trying to be patient with the Dr. He always goes down this road.
“What is it with you and the past? I took one of you girlfriends in high school and you haven’t been able to let it go. You have got to get over this crap. Every time I get a girl you try to take her away from me, and you never succeed. You never will. I just wish you would stop wasting my time and yours. Of course, it’s not just me. I’ve never met anyone who dates so many ladies. If you listen to all the gossip in this department, everyone calls you a stud. You aren’t a stud. You are insecure. Grow up”
“I loved her. You knew that. You were older than me and used it to your advantage.”
“It’s been years. Let it go. You are an emotional adolescent. I have grown up. I have changed. You still are acting like you are in high school, always wanting the next, “in thing.” You think you are some kind of player.”
“I never said I was. I don’t see why you can’t mind your own business. I am looking for love just like everyone else.”
“You’re too unrealistic. You expect too much. When something good is looking you right in the face, you can’t see it. What about Sonia? You’ve been dating her off and on for a year now, and yet you still go out with others. And you don’t even try to hide it. You flaunt it in her face, but you will lose her if you are not careful.”
“There you go again giving me your opinion like you think I give a crap.” Dr. Jones paced over to his coffeemaker and poured a cup. His hands were shaking. He turned around a faced Chanello. “First of all, Sonia is no saint. Second, mind your own business. Now, get the hell out of my office. I have work to do.”
“Alright. I came down here to speak my peace and I said it. What you need to remember from all this is to stay away from Kate. She is the perfect lady, but she belongs to me.”
“You are crazy, and she’ll see that soon.
Eva walked in.
Chanello stopped and looked at her. “Well, I guess you are Dr. Jones’ new assistant. Your reputation precedes you. I’ll bet you had several interviews with a dozen crime labs, but they didn’t hire you. I’ll bet the good old doctor hired you right on the spot.
“Screw you detective. I’ve gotten straight A’s since middle school.”
“I’m sure you have had lots of male teachers,” Chanello said. He slammed the door as he left.
“Your brother is an ass!”
“I told you what he is, an ass, and what he is not, my brother. I don’t want you to call him that anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” Eva said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Dr. Jones said as he sat down. He put both hands on his temples and started rubbing them for relief. There wasn’t any forthcoming.
Eva walked over to him. "Let me help.” Dr. Jones removed his hands to his side and let out a deep breath. Eva rubbed his temples for a second and then started rubbing his neck with her fingernails. A smile crossed his angry face, and a glimmer of peace came over him.
“You have magical nails.”
“Thank you. How does that feel?” she asked as she began massaging his neck.
He let out another deep breath and started sighing, “Very nice. Very nice. I take it you know something about massage?”
“I do.”
Just as his headache was almost completely gone, his buzzer rang with his secretary blurting out, “Sonia is on line one.
Eva left, not asking any questons
”Sonia told her off again on again boyfriend she may have information about the murder of Melanie. The Dr. told her to call the lead detectives on the case, Mangino and Chanello. She tried to bring “them” up, but Dr. Jones said not now. “We’ll talk later,” he said as he watched Eva walk out.
---------------------------------------
Kate was taking out her phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, my name is Sonia Shriver. I’m with Child Protective Services. I think I may have some information the girl who was recently murdered. Her name is Melanie.”
“Go on,” said Detective Mangino.
“A girl named Melanie left me a message a day or two ago. She said…..she said she didn’t know if she should be calling but she wanted me to call her when I could. I couldn’t call her back because the message went fuzzy when she said her number and the caller id read unlisted.”
“Are you at the office right now?”
“Yes.”
“And you have the message still?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Give me your address and my partner and I will be right there.”
After she got the address, she rushed down the hall to find her partner.
When she met him, she asked, “How’d he take it?”
“Not very well.”
“We just got a call from a Sonia Shriver at Child Protective Services. She says she has a girl named Melanie who had left her a message before she was murdered.
“What? How does that fit in with Donny?” Detective Mangino looked at her more experienced partner and hoped that he would understand. When he didn’t, she explained, “The initials for Child Protective Services are C.P.S. C.P.5 was written by Mr. Massey’s name. We thought the last letter was a 5 when it was really an S. It must have been about Michael Massey’s son.”
“Shit. This is getting confusing.”
“I’ve got her address.”
“Let’s go. Call Detective Morrison and tell him to keep watching Donny. We have to make one more stop before we arrest him.”
“Does this mean that Donny didn’t kill her?”
“Either that or he and Mr. Massey and Marco did it together.
“An Unholy Trinity if there ever was one.”
“I’ll say. All I know is we’re going to find out who the murderer is real soon.”