The Three Monkeys, a Carter A. Johnson & Kate Menke Thriller Read online

  "But eventually," Deline injected as she poured more coffee, "he implied it could be radical hate groups organizing to murder minorities in mass killings. He bounced off the walls like a demented ping pong ball with all kinds of theories, none of which made much sense."

  Carter straightened in his chair. "He did that. But as I concentrated on his volume and tone when he spoke, I felt he was most emphatic on disk number two when he spoke about adherence to the Constitution and the breakdown of morality because of progressive liberal policies." He looked to Kate and then Deline. "Could that be a reason to savagely kill three people in such a horrific way?"

  "It could," Kate injected, "if one truly believed society as a whole has deteriorated to the point where it needs to be brought into compliance with his narrow and idealistic interpretation of the Constitution."

  "But," Deline stated emphatically, "that fundamentalist interpretation leaves scant room for any type of future change. Who can imagine what will transpire twenty-five, fifty or one hundred years from now?"

  Carter drummed his fingers on the desk before he spoke. "Put yourself in the shoes of the murderer. First, Ms. Estes, Hear No Evil. She represents a major step change over the attitudes of just twenty years ago. Extreme progressive liberalism has unleashed abortion on demand and a purported goal of late-term abortions right up to the anticipated birth date. One day it's okay to kill the unborn baby; the next day, after delivery, it's a heinous crime for the mother to kill that same child. The majority of citizens don't agree with abortion being used to that extent. Since Estes was a church rector, she heard sinner's confessions and provided absolution of those failings.

  "The LGBT issue is another hot topic between conservatives and liberals. Twenty years ago, it wasn't recognized as a reality by ninety percent of the people. Today, a large number of diverse groups champion the acceptance of these once ostracized people, and several mainstream religious organizations even support their position.

  "The attitude about drugs is another monumental societal change. Twenty years ago, all illegal drug usage was looked upon as evil. Now several states have accepted recreational use of Mary Jane and several others are set to vote on it."

  He looked at the two ladies; neither commented so he continued.

  "Then there's Lloyd Barnstein, See No Evil. He was publicly recognized as one of the most corrupt politicians ever elected. But the people in his district continued to keep him in power because he consistently brought home the pork to their area. They were bought and paid for every time they went to the voting booth. A significant number of the people have turned their backs on honesty and integrity in favor of entitlements or, in this case, of direct rewards for bad behavior. Although there have always been crooks and liars in politics and business, the trend lately has evolved into a 'what's in it for me' mentality. Many people in what should be positions to be admired and looked up to turn out to be greedy crooks after wealth and the power to manipulate others.

  "Third, we have Wardell Bowers, Speak No Evil. He routinely spread lies to blackmail individuals and companies to contribute to his organization, no matter that many of the accused were innocent. His mere threats to target vulnerable groups were enough to extort money from those with much to lose. His lies and threats were well documented after the fact because a lot of people and businesses caved in to avoid the false or weak accusations from being made public. Additionally, he became a multi-millionaire by paying himself exorbitant sums from the organization as salary."

  The team sipped their coffees and stayed silent until Kate ventured forth. "On the surface, those seem like ridiculous reasons to murder three people, but it does make sense in a perverted way. It’s scary that such a person can exist and have a respected position in society."

  Deline sullenly stated, "Conceivably, those three could be only the first to be made examples of. To me, this does not have the feel of a one-time occurrence." All three nodded weakly as they thought of the abhorrent possibility of more horrible deaths to come.

  A large placard outside Heritage Hall at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kansas, listed the groups who had set up tables to distribute information or sell products. The Order of White Patriots was among those on the list.

  Inside, people milled about going to one display booth after another. Attendees were sparse at the event sponsored by a coalition of extreme radical groups. Most visitors walked along the tables with open plastic bags and selected information befitting their views and agendas. If asked, the members manning the booths would gather selected brochures and dump them in the proffered bags. A slender, gray-haired gentleman and a much younger stocky, muscular man fit right in with the other visitors. At the Order of White Patriots booth, the elderly man made a point of requesting certain brochures and having them placed in his open bag by the radical camouflage clad group member manning the booth. After visiting four more displays, the pair left the building without procuring additional advertising materials since stopping at the Order of White Patriots booth. The event had been very rewarding for the geriatric’s future agenda.

  Carter and Deline spent the next three days working on another client's problems. Management at a corporate account suspected recurring thefts from their main warehouse were being committed by their own employees, but their internal security staff had not discovered how the thefts were being carried out. Senior management put Deline on day shift and Carter on the evening shift as new employees on a Friday. Deline's role was a materials management liaison between the warehouse and the accounting department. A middle-aged office temp sat in J&M's office to answer the phone on Friday in Deline's absence. Phone inquiries had increased substantially since Kate’s appearances on the Atkin’s Report and two mentions of the firm in three local newspapers.

  Kate left Saturday morning for Jefferson City to meet with Eunice Peltier. She was now Eunice Blankenship, the widow of George Blankenship. After the interview, Kate planned to drive on to Kansas City to visit her mother over the weekend and return Sunday evening.

  Carter arrived his first night on the job and was tested for his forklift driving ability. He passed and was assigned to load and unload box trailers picking up or delivering goods.

  He watched carefully and didn't see any indication of theft by personnel on his crew. Each night after clocking out when his shift finished, Carter hid where he had an unobstructed view of the main warehouse aisles. From a vantage point above the warehouse floor, he observed the skeleton crew assigned to the midnight shift. On the third night, Sunday, an unscheduled over-the-road tractor-trailer entered through the unmanned, open back gate an hour after the midnight shift started. He yawned as he watched two security guards and the two warehousemen work together to select goods they loaded into the trailer that wasn't listed on the load sheets for the night. Carter took videos of the operation and close-up photos of the people involved.

  After gathering enough evidence inside, he moved outside and hid underneath a box trailer staged two loading doors down from the illegal trailer. He hurriedly snapped pictures of the tractor and its driver. While absorbed with focusing the cell phone's camera, he heard, "Ha, you. What the hell are you doing out there?”

  Framed in the open warehouse door stood the two guards in black uniforms followed by the short heavyset warehouseman who had been driving a forklift earlier. The diesel engine in the tractor revved and the trailer pulled away from the loading dock toward the open gate.

  The trio who had seen Cater clamored to the ground and approached him. The warehouseman gripped a hammer in his right hand; both guards appeared to be unarmed, neither even carried a nightstick. As they crossed the distance to him, Carter sent his photos to Deline’s email account at the office.

  Carter's badge was pinned conspicuously to his dark green company coveralls. The smaller guard snarled, "What the hell are you doing here? You're not assigned to this shift. Who are you?"

  Carter held the cell phone in front of him and took a picture of the trio. The sma
ller guard ordered, "Give me that damn phone. You're in a heap of trouble taking unauthorized pictures and being here off your assigned shift."

  With his left palm raised to the trio, Carter took another picture of the three men and then hit a speed dial number. The trio of thieves appeared confused and at a loss as to what they should do.

  Carter said, "Hang on a minute. There's someone you need to talk to."

  On the fifth ring a sleepy voice answered, "Coleman here."

  Carter said. "Mr. Coleman, this is Carter Johnson of J&M Investigations. I have your warehouse thieves standing in front of me. Would you like to talk to… Mr. Volmer I see on his name tag… he's one of your security personnel. Yes, I have photos of the entire theft sequence. Security was in on it." Carter extended the phone to Volmer. "Mr. Coleman wants to speak to you. He's the Vice President of Operations."

  Volmer hesitated several seconds before accepting the proffered cell phone. He studied it as if it were a coiled rattlesnake about to strike. He appeared aghast at the realization they’d been caught.

  Suddenly, the man with the hammer raised it and ran at Carter. "You bastard!" he shouted.

  Instead of cowering away as expected, Carter charged the fat man who had spent too many years riding a forklift. Before the man could swing his weapon, Carter delivered a terrific straight arm punch to the center of the man's chest. The other guard made a move to join the fat man in his attack until fat man made a choking, wheezing sound, folded, and collapsed backward to the ground holding his chest. Carter cocked his right arm back to throw another punch, but the second guard stopped dead in his tracks and raised his palms while shaking his head from side to side.

  Carter pointed to the fat man on the ground gasping for breath. "Do you know CPR?" The guard nodded. "Then get your worthless ass down there and help that man before he dies. Now, damn it! Swap spit like he's your hot pants lover."

  Carter stifled a grin as he stepped over to the first guard and took his phone back. Coleman verified he was talking to Carter again then said, "I'll call our head of security. He should be there in less than an hour…please hold those men there until he arrives. I'll be onsite shortly after that and I'll take possession of your evidence. We'll not involve the police but will handle the event in-house. See you shortly, Mr. Johnson, and thank you for a job well done. I never suspected our own security force might be among the thieves. It was foolish to trust them so blindly, and that won't happen again."

  The fat man breathed normally but cast hateful glares at Carter. All three crooks sat on the ground against the warehouse wall while Carter phoned Kate to share the good news. He welcomed her back home then asked Kate to notify Deline. There would be no need for Deline to report to her undercover job in the morning.

  Sunshine glowed above the horizon when Carter finally left the manufacturing plant. He was tired but jubilant. At home, he grabbed a bite to eat and drank a large glass of milk before hitting the shower and then crawling into bed beside Kate. Her pliant flesh welcomed his gentle caresses as his hands roamed her luscious body. She lay expectantly waiting for Carter to continue, but he stopped then snored softly before she awoke fully.

  Hearing gentle snores and noticing his sudden lack of attention, she shook her head dejectedly and headed to the bathroom to start her day. The warm and fuzzy feelings Carter awakened fast turned to emotional need and then were doused like a winter breeze blew across her nakedness. Looking in the mirror above the lavatory, she chastised herself for blaming him for ignoring her immediate sexual wants. After all, he had pulled sixteen-hour shifts several nights in a row doing his part to jumpstart their fledgling business. There would be ample occasions in the near future for their fantastic couplings to continue. Carter was proven to be an exceptional lover and all around mate. He met and exceeded her expectations in everything she could imagine wanting from a man. He was not eye candy like the entertainment stars. His stature with her ranked much higher than that. He was solid and dependable with everyone and in every way.

  When they first met, she feared he might be a womanizer, a trophy collector. It took little time to push that assumption away. Quickly, he proved his dedication to her and her alone. He was truly a man to be trusted and respected, or feared by the bad guys of the world.

  She smiled at her reflection, turned, and prepared to face whatever challenges the new day was sure to bring.

  Carter was up and sweating profusely in their in-house exercise room at two that afternoon. Sitting across from Kate in her office at three-thirty, he recounted in detail the events of the early morning apprehension of the warehouse thieves. After giving congratulations on his solving the mysterious missing goods caper, she said, "Deline made an appointment for us to meet with Paul Peltier tomorrow morning at ten at his home. Your schedule indicated you are available."

  "I am. It's time we meet him and decide if he fits our profile of a killer." Carter changed the conversation to his mother-in-law. "How's Ester, is she still doing well?"

  "Mom is great as usual. For pushing sixty-five, she is vibrant and involved with her friends and numerous civic activities. She sends her love to you and asked that I give you a kiss from her."

  Carter smirked and leaned in to collect his kiss. After three shared kisses, he asked, "Your interview with Paul Peltier's ex, how did that go?"

  "Good, it was worth my time spent there. Eunice said five years into their marriage she became disenchanted with her husband. She learned he was manipulative and could be emotionally cruel. By that time, their only son, John Paul, was born. John Paul died in a plane crash. Paul's grandson is John Peter Peltier. Paul had a difficult time accepting that one of his offspring could be less than perfect and at first rejected John Peter after he was diagnosed with autism. Gradually, she said, his attitude toward the boy changed and he became obsessed and doting with the younger child.

  "For some time, she said she suspected her husband was using their young servant for sex. By then she and Paul were sleeping in separate bedrooms. She said the maid, named Anastasia, was young, extremely beautiful and naïve. One day, before he left for work, Eunice told Paul she would be away from the house for the entire day. She left and parked her car several blocks away before entering the house through a seldom-used door to the butler's pantry. After a few hours, Paul returned. She surprised the couple in Paul's bedroom in the act of mutual oral sex. He had pestered her for some time to engage in kinky sex acts, but she refused."

  Carter excused himself to get fresh coffee. As he sat, Kate continued.

  "Now get this. Paul brought," she looked at her notes to be precise, "Nelson Watkins to the house and presented him as a good friend and client at the legal firm. Nelson began stopping by the house when Paul was at work or away on business. She claims she didn't even like Watkins but only put up with him because Paul said he was important to his business. She complained to Paul about Watkins stopping by the house during the day and hanging around for hours. Paul dismissed Watkin's behavior, saying the man was a little quirky but harmless. Later, it became evident Nelson was hired by her husband to pose as her lover. An investigator documented Mr. Watkin's visits and the duration of his time in the house.

  "When Paul became physically abusive toward her and openly started seeing other women, Eunice left him. She hired a local lawyer to represent her. He procrastinated several weeks in filing her divorce papers and Paul filed first. She suspects her lawyer knew Paul and informed him of the pending lawsuit so he could be the one petitioning for the divorce.

  "Watkins signed a statement that he and Eunice met for months and conducted a sexual affair behind Paul's back. Eunice remains vehement in her denial of an affair.

  "After she was served with the divorce papers, she approached Anastasia to be her witness and admit she and Paul had been intimate. Anastasia laughed in her face and denied there was any such relationship. At the hearing, Anastasia testified under oath she witnessed Eunice and Watkins ascend the stairway to her bedroom on several occas
ions.

  "Eunice still believes Anastasia was rewarded for her testimony and that she envisioned becoming Paul's wife after Eunice was pushed aside."

  Carter was silent for several seconds. "Wow. That paints Paul Peltier as a manipulative bastard who will go to any length to get what he wants."

  "That is not all. He threatened to reveal the trumped-up romance to her family, friends and acquaintances. He said he would ruin her reputation in the entire state if she pressed him for a large divorce settlement. In the end, she accepted twenty-five thousand dollars in cash. It was a pittance of what she deserved." She read on, “Their son, John Paul, was deeply involved in business dealings with his father and drifted away from his mother. She was seldom allowed to have contact with her grandson and hasn’t seen him for over ten years.”

  Carter said, “Keep all of that in mind when we talk to Paul Peltier tomorrow.”

  At ten minutes before ten, the detectives stood on the stoop at the entrance to the three-story, brick Peltier mansion. Massive, intricately carved nine-foot-tall mahogany doors blocked their way. Kate raised the brass devil's head knocker at the middle of the right door and banged it downward on the solid brass plate three times. The sharp metallic sounds resonated in the hot, humid air. Several minutes later, the right door opened sluggishly; a stern-featured woman in a black maid's uniform blocked entry to another set of double doors six feet across the anteroom. The pecan-skinned woman's chocolate eyes glowed through squinted eyelids framed by smooth, unblemished skin. Prominent cheek bones and pearly teeth added to her exotic appearance.

  "You are?" the woman asked in a husky, foreign-tinged voice.

  Kate was prepared. She extended their business cards to the dark fingers thrust forward in anticipation. The door creaked as it slowly closed and the lock set with a solid click.