PART II Chapter Four
Kate and Cindy sat quietly and looked through the items they found at William’s apartment. Kate dropped the laundry at the lab for examination and the photo to make copies for circulation. The lab cropped William’s late wife out of the photo and made several eight by tens to pass around the neighborhood.
Kate found some names on William’s contact list and she was trying to figure out who they all were. She looked through William’s text to see the content and figured out William had several girlfriends and there was a granddaughter he seemed to be close to. Her name was Elizabeth and Kate decided to start there.
Kate set up a meeting with Elizabeth and found out she was forty two, so of course she wasn’t a child. Elizabeth chose to come by the station and talk in a more secure environment. Kate led her to the interview room and sat across the table from her. Kate pushed a photo in front of her for verification.
Kate asked, “Just to make sure, this photo is of your grandfather, William Duncan?”
Elizabeth replied, “Yes, that is him.”
Kate pushed the autopsy photo to Elizabeth and asked, “That means this is also him, is that correct?”
Elizabeth replied, “Yes, that is also him, which I assume is the reason we are all here.”
Kate asked, “What can you tell me about your grandfather’s life since his wife passed.?”
Elizabeth replied, “He moved to the apartment after my grandmother Pearl passed. They had a big house that didn’t suit him anymore so he came here to live.”
Kate responded, “Your grandfather seemed to be popular with the ladies. It looked like he had a regular harem.”
Elizabeth replied, “I knew he had lady friends but I didn’t know any of them, I stayed away from that part of his life. When grandma died, women flocked over here bringing casseroles and cooking for him. I thought they were trying to console him, It took me a while to figure they were trying to seduce him.”
Kate asked, “Have you ever met any of them?”
Elizabeth replied, “Sometimes one might be there when I came to visit, but they would leave while I was there.”
Kate asked, “Did it bother you that your granddad was seeing so many women?”
Elizabeth replied, “No, my grandma had passed and I figured he was single and an adult. Whatever made him happy in the days he had left was fine with me. In the beginning I thought he was taking advantage of these women, but I eventually learned the opposite was true.”
Kate said, “Your grandfather had a good meal shortly before he died, steak, potato, asparagus and wine, but there were no indicators that he ate anything at his apartment, no dirty dishes or pans were found. Did he have any favorite restaurants that he went to often.”
Elizabeth replied, “When I came to visit, I cooked for him. He didn’t require any help, he was a pretty good cook in his own right. I knew he went out to a few places, I assumed to take his “dates” out but I never knew of any specific names.”
Kate asked, “If I read you a list of names from your granddad, would you know who any of them were?”
Elizabeth replied, “Only if it were family members. I didn’t know any of his female friends by name.”
Kate thanked Elizabeth for coming in, gave her a card and the usual speech, “If you think of anything else that might be relevant, give me a call.” Kate was experienced enough to know it was unlikely anyone would call.
Kate told Cindy, “We can start interviewing the other women tomorrow. I’m tired and want to go check on Megan. I have some questions for her friends too. Like what kind of friend lets their buddy drink a drink laced with roofies without disclosing that?”
Kate was tracking Megan’s new phone just as she had been the old one. Even though Megan was now in college, Kate didn’t think there should be an age limit on safety.There had already been a battle over Megan staying at home and going to school. Megan wanted to go farther away and live on campus but Kate convinced her that some of the best colleges in the country were right here close to them.
Kate could tell that Megan had made it home and she told Cindy she was going home to check on her. She told Cindy she would see her tomorrow.
Megan was working on homework when Kate got home. Kate said, “I am going to talk to some of your friends about the party. Do you want to be there when I do?”
Megan said, “I guess I should be. Are you going to their houses?”
Kate said, “I think the seriousness will hit them harder if they have to come to the station. Maybe they would prefer not to answer the questions in front of their parents.”
The first name on Kate’s list was Carol Freeman. Kate called and she agreed to come to the station. Kate and Megan waited in the interview room for Carol to arrive. Kate saw her on the security monitors and went to escort her to their room. They went through the basic question of name and how she knew Megan and then Kate began.
Kate asked, “The party that Megan attended was at your house and you were the host, is that correct?”
Carol replied, “Yes, I was the host of the party.”
Kate asked, “Where did the drinks and other refreshments come from?”
Carol replied, “Well we are all college students and no one could throw a party and furnish everything. I had some food but any drinks were a BYOB situation and people brought what they wanted, but freely shared with others.”
Kate asked, “Did anyone serve drinks or did everyone get their own.”
Carol replied, “After everyone got there, they sort of put all the drinks together and made community property out of them. Someone would take over bartender duties for a while and when they got tired, someone else would take over.”
Kate asked, “How many different people served drinks?”
Carol replied, “There were at least half a dozen, probably more. I mingled with the crowd and didn’t see everyone that served.”
Kate asked, “Did you see who gave drinks to Megan? Was anyone else drugged?”
Carol replied, “There were four people that I saw who served drinks to Megan. I only know one of them. I can ask around and see if anyone else knows any of the people serving drinks and if anyone was drugged besides Megan.”
Megan had been sitting watching the questioning and said, “I don’t think I knew any of the people who gave me drinks. I should have been more alert. I was talking to some guy and sipping a soft drink. I started feeling kind of faint and that surprised me since I wasn’t drinking alcohol. I remember him asking if I was okay and saying maybe I needed to get some fresh air. He walked with me outside and I didn't remember anything else till I woke up in the trunk.”
Kate asked, “Did you talk to other guys also?”
Megan said, “I talked to three of four. My memories are still a little scrambled right now.”
Kate said, “We need to talk to the people who attended the party and find out if anyone knows who you went outside with.”
Carol said, “We didn’t exactly send out engraved invitations. Some people just showed up. I can ask around and put together a list of the people there and you can talk to them.”
Kate said, “Thanks, we can’t rely on Megan’s memory, she doesn’t have much of one about that night.”
Megan asked, “Are you going to interview anyone else?
Kate said, “I have a couple of names, but maybe we should wait for the complete list from Carol and I want to see if any of her names are people you know.”
Megan said, “I didn’t know anyone except Carol.”
Kate said, “At any rate, I’m tired. Let’s go home. Maybe we can grab something to eat on the way home.”
Kate stopped in to get burgers for her and Megan. Kate had a good idea of what took place at the party. She decided she would call the doctor in the morning to see if they checked for sexual assault when the did their testing.”
The doctor told Kate they had done an assault exam. No signs of sexual activities were found, consensual or otherwise.”
Kate made sure Megan knew there had been no assault or any sexual contact for that matter. She knew Megan would be relieved since she had no memory of the incident.