PRECINCT BLUES: CHAPTER 15: THE 4 P’s OF INTENT: PHONY PUCCINI’S POSTHUMOUS PLOT 

ALEX

As we stand here waiting for the metal door to be opened, I can’t help thinking about the conversation Justin and I were having only moments before we watched that accursed video of Michael detailing his plan. It wasn’t so much the gloating that got to me, but the fact that he’s had everyone fooled to the point where, if we hadn't seen, or heard, all the evidence for ourselves, he would have gotten away with all of it. He would have hidden Brian away so well that even if whomever he really intended to set up with the murders in Pittsburgh had continued to plead their innocence, and caused doubt in a significant way, they ultimately still would have paid the ultimate price for Michael’s victory. This was about so much more than obsession; this was strictly about revenge and control. 

“What are you thinking?” Samantha asked me, while we waited. 

“That all his actions are leading me to think Michael was really the mastermind behind all this.”

“Not Lindsay?”

I shook my head. “No. Admittedly, Lindsay always wanted to prove how valuable she is, how desirable she is… She’s more of a classic narcissist than anything else. Even if she displayed other tendencies to coincide with the diagnosis, that was still the core of her issues. She’s still malignant, but she executes her tendencies a bit differently than Michael does. Everything she’s done is to be seen, appreciated, admired, and considered indispensable. Michael would have known to play into that so he could get her to do whatever he wanted, even while setting her up to take the fall. But then there is the Debbie angle.”

“That’s the one question I have, as well. What would he have had to gain by setting up his own mother?”

“The ultimate freedom to get away with it all, and away from her.” When she looked at me puzzled, I continued, “You have to understand. Debbie is codependent in such a way where she called Michael in the same way that Michael would call Brian, multiple times a day. Although with Michael, the reason for calling Brian was a bit different as we’re finding out. With Debbie, it was the compulsion to know what was going on with him every moment of every day. She always needed to know what he was doing, whom he was with, when he would be dropping by to see her. She treated him as both a son and, in a sense, a husband. Or even more accurately, the way a mistress would a lover. So in essence, he learned the art of stalking from her, even though to her mind it was just concern. When you think about it though, Debbie was just as much Michael’s victim as he was trying to turn Brian into. In fact, she was his first victim.”

Samantha nodded. “So, going by your theory, and knowing what we know about human nature in general, you’re saying that he killed her a long time ago?”

“From all accounts by her brother, Debbie lost her life and reason for living the moment she found out she was pregnant with Michael. Any dreams, hopes, and aspirations she had for herself died repeatedly the moment she gave birth to him, and with it any will to achieve anything more than just being Michael’s Ma. Anytime she would try to correct him, he would whine and wheedle to the point that she would back down from him.”

“Ah, manipulation 101.”

I nodded, as I continued detailing Vic’s account of what watching Deb raise Michael was like. ”Even with the slaps to the head she would issue when they were warranted, she would still end up apologizing and overcompensating to get back into his good graces.”

“And how would he ferment that exactly?” she asked.

“At first, crying and tantrums, then the silent treatment, sometimes lasting for weeks, unless he needed her for some reason or another.” 

“So basically, he paralyzed her with fear at every turn.”

“Yeah, and instead of standing up for herself and what she believed in, she allowed him to twist her into someone no one, including herself, recognized anymore.”

Samantha was quiet for a moment, trying to piece together the whole picture. It was always fascinating to watch her think. The furrowing of her brow, and chewing of her bottom lip unconsciously while she continued to run through what we knew about Michael thus far, and this new information. I could see the question in her eyes, even before she asked it. “But as we know, an escalation happened. What we don’t know at this moment is when it did. Something about him not physically lashing out at Debbie at any time before now is troubling. Any ideas?”

“He may have, and we all just don’t know about it yet. Or he may have done it in such a way where Debbie may not have seen or known that the act was intentional. Knowing what we know about Michael, he would have either excused his actions right away, or he would have blamed her for it entirely. Michael would have used that stalwart, willful blindness Debbie has when it comes to him to his full advantage.”

“And in doing so, she would have done anything he asked, or demanded, as a symbolic peace offering. Hmm, that would explain the comic collection and how he was able to amass most of it without using any of his own money, especially in later years. It would also explain why she approached the others for money to take care of her own needs after Michael manipulated her out of the money she earned. She would have seen any action she’d taken against Michael as abuse or neglect of her child, even if it was telling him 'no' about something he wanted. Anything she would have done for her own good, instead of his own, Michael would have made it seem like she was the worst person in the world.”

“It makes perfect sense. But in retrospect, all I can think is that Michael’s surface obsession with comics wasn’t just for the fun of reading them. I think it was for the study of the villains, their actions, and how they avoided getting caught for as long as they did,” I tell her.

“I hate to admit it, but you have a point, considering how this place is outfitted. I mean, the secret rooms and compartments alone…”

“I know,” I agreed, and then something not so obvious occurred to me while I mentally cataloged what we’ve seen so far. “Do you know what’s missing in a house this well planned and organized? I mean there are five bedrooms, even though it’s more than obvious that Michael never intended for anyone else but him and Brian to be here.”

She thought it over for a moment, before declaring, “Office space!”

“Yes. And although he wasn’t planning for Brian to work ever again, he was planning to re-release the comic under a different name. So he would have needed time and space to work on it where Brian couldn’t see him doing so.”

We were distracted from delving further in the mind of Michael Novotny by the loud snap of the lock on the metal door being broken. I’m almost afraid of what else we will find within that room. This entire case is beginning to make me question just why I said yes to this assignment. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t have wanted to be involved, but a question of what I thought I knew versus what I’m actually seeing. It’s becoming increasingly hard to keep a professional distance throughout it all. This shit is the stuff of nightmares, and I find myself wishing that I was a real-life Dexter so that I could go back to Pittsburgh and do the state a favor by killing Michael Charles Novotny my damn self!

But for Brian and Justin’s sake, I have to be fully present here at this moment. I have to remember why I do this for a living without thought or care for how it will affect my psyche long after a case is finished. It’s to stop creeps like Novotny, and to help their victims redesign their lives. That’s the reason I became Dr. Alex Wilder in the first place, and I can’t let them down.

“You really need to see this,” Brandon yells over to us.

“What is it?” I ask, already beginning to move swiftly in his direction, until his answer stops my feet abruptly.

“Confirmation.”

I closed my eyes, knowing that one simple word just told me all I needed to know about what was in that room. The missing office we just spoke about. But nothing would have prepared me for the reality. If the plastic tarp on the floor didn’t give it away, looking upon the four bodies- one who was a toddler still within his dad’s arms- just confirmed that Michael Novotny was trying to become a new and improved version of the most notorious narco-sociopath in history. But I think even Bundy would have drawn the line at this.

“Tell the Coroner, he’s going to need backup,” Daris said, even as we all looked down at the bodies strewn around the room, one of them headless. 

Officer Johns looked like he was about to be sick, so I asked him, “First time working a case this bad?”

He shook his head, almost trembling as he stared down at the headless body. I watched as he stood there in shock, and then tried his best to pull himself together, piece by piece, before answering. “Unless someone stole my dead father’s ring from him, then the man we know as Brian-lite is actually my brother, Damien, who my family has been trying to find for well over a year.”

“How can you be sure?” Samantha asked, placing her hand on the young officer’s shoulders.

He reached beneath the collar of his shirt, before pulling out a chain that must have reached to mid chest. Seeing the family crest there, I compared it to the one on the victim’s hand. The words Honor, Valor, Character, were emblazoned around the ruby of the ring. Johns cleared his throat. “Our father had these made and presented us with them the week before he died unexpectedly, extracting our promises to never take them off unless we were showering or swimming. Our mom hadn’t been around for years by then, but Damien was determined to find her and find out why she really left. None of us believed what our father told us; that she just wasn’t cut out for motherhood and needed to leave to find her happiness again. The strange thing is that even being left with the four of us, he never spoke badly about her. But Damien… well, he took Dad’s death harder than the rest of us and was determined to find our mother at any cost. If that’s him, then at least, he kept one of his promises.”

He broke down then, and not for the first time since being here, I cursed Novotny. The man was a serial killer in every sense of the word. He needed to be stopped, and I have a feeling that just simply being put in prison for the rest of his life won’t do it. Daris’ phone rang as Samantha took Johns out of the room, presumably to get some air and decide if he could continue on with this case. I can’t say what I would have done if this was my situation, even knowing that I would want to have a hand in serving justice. 

When I first got this case, Stephen and I revisited what happened with his own brother. The recurring nightmares resumed with a force that hadn’t been seen previously. Usually, they only occurred around the anniversary of his family’s deaths. It’s why he’s been so stalwart in helping Debbie so that she could recover, and possibly never have to experience what he’s been since this all started. The problem is that when this all comes out, I doubt any of us will be able to save her nor ourselves from being completely affected, not only by the deranged words of Michael Novotny, but indisputable proof of his deeds.

“That was the report from the forensics lab in Pittsburgh," Daris said. "The DNA evidence confirms the bite marks belong to Peterson. So she will be charged as an accessory to the murder of Jason Kemp, while Novotny will be charged with the actual murder, since it wasn’t being fucked to death or simply the strangulation from Reichart that killed him. It was also the lethal dose of GHB found in the syringe that did.”

“And now we know what was in the syringe that was injected into Justin-lite.”

“Yeah. I’d already put the order in to detain Spahn and Lorenzo after the viewing of Novotny’s rant yesterday. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll start singing like a couple of caged birds, because if I had my way right now, all of them would be riding the lightning on their way to meet their maker.”

And I couldn’t agree with Daris’ sentiments more!

DARIS

The more we keep digging, the deeper this shit gets. And what’s more, I’m beginning to understand why Charles Alwin said that Brian wields more power than even he knows. I feel like Alice discovering that there was never a wonderland, only a waking nightmare that keeps recurring the more we delve into the mind of the Mad Hatter known as Michael Novotny.

“Why would he kill them, especially the child?” Alex wondered aloud. I suppose it’s either the level of depravity that stunned him, or the fact that what we never would have guessed in the first place. 

“My instant guess is that Novotny didn’t want any witnesses, but as I’m learning the surface answer is usually covering something else entirely. There has to be a deeper meaning behind his actions than just removing anyone who could expose him.”

“But dead men tell no tales,” he stated caustically.

“That’s right, but…” I look around again. “Look at the way they are preserved. And also what’s missing.”

“The smell.”

“Exactly!” Mom says as she comes upon us, even as Stone is taking pictures with the aid of the Crime scene unit. “My question is how the hell did he get his hands on Neutrolen?”

“Neutrolen? And how do you even know that it was used?” I ask her, shaking my head.

She chuckled. “You forget that your father worked as a Morgue Assistant during college, Daris. I remember asking him how he was able to bear the smell from the bodies on one of the rare cases he and Stone had worked together. It was particularly gruesome, since it involved about twenty DBs from a mob hit. He told me that Neutrolen was used both at the scene and again when they were taken to the morgue to cover the smell of decomposition. Needless to say, everyone involved was grateful for the stuff.”

“So how the hell would Novotny even know about it, and furthermore, who would have access to it in the first place?”

“Reichart,” Alex said. He walked to the middle of the large room, carefully avoiding evidence still strewn about the floor. “This scene is reminding me of someplace I’ve seen before. I can’t quite put my finger on it just now, but what I do know is that it’s possible Reichart might have told Novotny if he asked. And we all know that asshole had a way of making his questions seem innocent.”

I nodded, because at base that makes sense. “Do you think he might have shared the information with Peterson?”

 Alex shook his head. “No. If anything he would have kept that to himself, especially in lieu of what he was planning to do to her regarding young Gus. Chances are, she would have just simply thought her son was missing, and filed a missing person’s report. After all, if Brian was presumed dead, and she was to be able to cash the life insurance policy he has for Gus, she would need to prove that not only is she the mother, but the child is in her care.” 

“But that wouldn’t have worked either, since the insurance policy had been switched to leave Justin and Ted in charge instead of Melanie and Lindsay.”

“True," Alex confirmed.

"But did she know that?” Mom asked, and I see exactly where she is going with this.

I called out. “Fredericks, I need you to search the drawers and file cabinets, looking for anything with the names Justin Taylor or Theodore Schmidt on them. And while you’re at it, look for anything with the names of Emmett Honeycutt and Victor Grassi on it as well.” I turn back to the questioning looks of Alex and Mom. “If nothing else, Brian is a man of plans, and contingency plans. So is Justin. They would have set this all in place between them.”

“And since we know now that Michael and Lance had been spying on the two of them almost round the clock since the night they met, it would stand to reason that Lance may have heard the plan directly, and then relayed it to Michael.”

Carl, who had joined the conversation, added, “But Novotny wouldn’t have needed Lance at that point, since to his mind he would have had the man, the money, but most of all, he would have had all the information on each of the men so he could have fake IDs made up in order to collect from here, without having to go back to Pittsburgh for any reason. Debbie, Ben, and Lindsay would have been taken care of. Melanie would probably have been called to defend one or all of them, therefore keeping her busy.”

Alex concluded, “And Vic, Emmett, and Ted would have been Michael’s hapless victims in everything else. Vic would have spent his time both mourning Brian’s loss and trying to help Debbie through her own, be it just her son, or her freedom. Ted, as Brian’s personal accountant, would have been taking care of Brian’s final affairs. To Michael’s mind, Emmett would have been useless. Except that he isn’t since we’re all here upon his recommendation for an out-of-state search warrant.”

I nodded. “But now we have another question to answer… Well, three actually.”

“What are they?”

“Why didn’t Johns identify Brian-lite as his missing brother before now, and how would he have gotten mixed up with Michael Novotny?”

“And the other? Mom asked.

“What the fuck were Cal Hobbs, his wife, and their youngest child doing here in the country in the first place?”

“Well, I think we know now just who built the additions to the house, but the question is how did they get back into the country undetected?” Brandon said, as he’d just come back in.

“Undetected, Brandon? Why would he have been flagged?” Mom asked. 

Carl answered for both of them. “He lives in Venezuela now, which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S. It’s the only way he was able to escape being charged as an accessory to the drug and human trafficking incident Justin was almost a victim of.”

“Oh.” Mom and I both said, before I added, “Then I think I’d better call Bennett and Bright. They need to make the first stop on their fact finding mission, the Federal prison. I think Samuel Hobbs, Sr. has a lot to answer for.”