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Chapter Six
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Stan Goldberg was escorted into the interview room by Rafe and H. Jim and Simon watched from the observation room at Simon's insistence. He was afraid that Jim would lose control and jeopardize the case.
"Look Simon, just let me in there. I will keep my head, there won't be a problem but I may be able to tell something from his voice or his heartbeat," Jim pleaded as he began pacing.
" Just dial your hearing up toward him. I'll be here if I see you start to zone. But Jim for the sake of this case I can't let you in there."
About that time the door opened and Megan escorted Officer Wright into the observation booth.
"Captain, Jim, I didn't think you would mind if Officer Wright came in to hear the questioning."
"Simon, this is the campus security guard that helped me out at the U, Officer George Wright. Officer Wright, this is my Captain, Simon Banks."
"It's an honor to meet you, Captain Banks. I know I'm barging in but I feel I have a vested interest in this. I keep thinking if campus security were tighter none of this would have happened; not the deaths of those poor girls or Blair Sandburg's disappearance."
"We all want to see this resolved, Officer Wright."
~*~
Professor Goldberg and Rafe seated themselves at the table in the interrogation room. A tape recorder was already in place on top of the table, along with a file folder containing information on the Ripper's victims, a large pitcher of cold water and several glasses.
" Professor Goldberg, I know you contacted your attorney," Rafe began, "so, we will not be asking you any questions until he arrives."
"Look, I didn't kill anybody and I don't know anything about that TA that disappeared."
"Please don't say anything more, Professor."
"I didn't kill anybody," he repeated shouting. "I haven't kidnapped anybody. What do I have to do to get you people to listen to me?"
"Professor Goldberg," Rafe said calmly. "As an officer of the court I can't allow you to continue. Unless you agree to not say anything more in regards to this case, I'll have to leave the room."
"I don't understand why I can't state my innocents without having an attorney present."
"Professor Goldberg, I'll wait outside."
"No, never mind, I won't say anything more about the case, can we at least talk about the weather?"
"Sir, it would really be better if we didn't talk at all."
He sighed and reached for the pitcher of water, poured himself a glass, drank it and then sat the glass back on the tray. Rafe sat and watched silently.
In about fifteen minutes James Early, Professor Goldberg's attorney, came into the room. "Have you answered any questions, Stan?"
"They haven't even let me tell them I'm innocent."
"In that case I'd like a moment with my client, please," he said looking at Rafe and H. They left the room and Simon turned off the microphone in the observation room. But Jim dialed his hearing up to see if the Professor mentioned anything about Blair's disappearance.
"All right, Stan, suppose you tell me what's going on."
"They think I'm the one that killed those girls and there is a TA missing. They think I kidnapped him or...or worse. I didn't do it
"All right, first things first. Did you know any of those girls?"
"Yes, I had seen a couple of them on campus and Patsy Shields was in my freshman English class. She was having trouble and I was tutoring her a couple of times a week. It turns out that she was pregnant and she told someone that I was the father."
"Were you?"
"I... I don't know."
"That means you could have been."
"Yes, but I didn't even know that she was pregnant and I didn't kill anyone."
"I think your best bet is too admit that you had an affair with the Shields woman. Cooperate with them at this point."
"That could mean the end of my tenure at Rainier if that ever came out, not to mention my marriage being over."
"Quite frankly, Stan, you should have thought of that before. I'll ask the two detectives to come back in."
When Rafe and H were seated Simon turned the microphone back on. He looked over at Jim and raised his eyebrow, Jim gave a light shake of his head as answer. "Gentlemen, my client will make a brief statement."
"I admit that I knew Patsy Shields and that she and I had a very brief affair. But I didn't kill her nor any of the other girls and I don't know anything about Blair Sandburg's disappearance."
"Would you be willing to be fingerprinted and giving a blood sample to allow us to run tests? We have gotten a search warrant and two officers are at your home now, We have already confiscated some clothing there that has what appears to be bloodstains."
"Look, Detective, I have nosebleeds. I'm a borderline hemophiliac. Any blood that you saw on those clothes is mine."
"In that case you won't mind us running a comparison."
~*~
At that moment a uniformed officer knocked on the door and entered. He handed Simon an evidence bag containing a couple of hypodermics and a half-filled vial of yellowish liquid and another bag containing the blood stained clothes from Professor Goldberg's home.
"Get these down to the lab stat I want the results immediately and ask them how they are coming with the fingerprinting on those playing cards."
The conversation resumed in the interrogation room. "Look, I'll have my fingerprints taken and I'll give a blood sample. I don't have anything to hide and I want this over with."
"If you'll come with me, Professor, we'll do the fingerprinting then we'll take you down to the lab for the blood test."
"Then can I go?"
"We'll need to wait for the preliminary tests on the blood work which shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Then we'll take it from there," Rafe said as he escorted him out the door."
~*~
"Captain, Lieutenant," Officer Wright said. "Would you mind letting me know when you get the results? I have some appointments that I have to keep before I go back on duty."
"Of course," Simon replied. "We'll get in touch with you at Rainier as soon as we know anything."
~*~
Rafe and a uniformed officer escorted the Professor to the rest room to wash his hands before taking him to the lab to get the blood test. H had already taken the fingerprints to the lab before going off duty.
~*~
He waited outside the lab at the vending machines. He wasn't sure when he was going to be able to do what he came to do. Then he saw the pathologist leave the lab and come to the vending machine. She smiled in greeting then turned to one of the uniformed officers who just passed by asking about the Jags game on Saturday. No one saw him enter the lab.
~*~
An hour later the lab reported that the vial found at the Professor's home contained triazolam, the same drug that was used to sedate the victims. According to the lab reports triazolam usually came in pill form and was used to sedate mental patients until the FDA found that the drug caused long term side effects such as rage, agitation, anger aggression, and occasionally violence in the form that the test subjects exhibited murderous impulses. The lab report, also stated that the Professor's fingerprints matched those found on the playing cards. Rafe and H joined Professor Goldberg and his attorney back to the interrogation room.
"Professor Goldberg," Rafe began. "We found a vial of that contained triazolam that had been dissolved in a saline solution and a couple of hypodermics when we searched your home. The barbiturate was the same type used to sedate the victims. Also your fingerprints were found on the playing cards that at least two of the victim's received attached to bouquets of flowers that were sent to them anonymously. Would you like to tell us about that?"
"I don't know anything about that."
"Gentlemen, are you charging my client?"
"Yes, we are with first degree murder." With that Rafe began to officially read the man his rights.
~*~
When Blair regained consciousness in the cabin he was alone. Finally, after hours of struggling with the ropes that left his wrists sore and bleeding, he managed to get loose. He quickly untied his legs. He had been sitting so long it took him a moment before he was finally able to walk. He opened the door into his kidnapper.
"Going somewhere, Mr. Sandburg?"
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