“
Thank you officer. I’ll take it from here, if you don’t mind.” Alan said calmly.
“
Yes sir.” The Officer turned and moved close to Beach to whisper, “His name is Jim Benson. To be honest, he really hasn’t said anything since he went into shock. Basically just mumbling and sobbing. When we first arrived, he was hysterical; just kept repeating that he couldn’t stop the blood and asking how this could have happened.”
“
I understand officer. Has the crime scene unit and photographer finished with Mr. Benson?”
“
Yes sir, all done.”
“
Again, thank you. Can I have the room please?”
“
Of course.”
Alan closed the door quietly behind the officer then sat gently on the bed next to Jim.
He put his hand on the man’s shoulder and spoke softly, “Do you know where you are Mr. Benson?”
Jim nodded slowly in acknowledgement.
“Do you understand that your wife has passed away?”
Again, he nodded.
“Mr. Benson; may I call you Jim?”
Another nod.
“Jim, my name is Alan Beach. I’m a detective from the Columbus Division of Police, Homicide Investigation. You can call me Alan. Do you understand?”
Slowly, as if struggling with a massive weight, Jim lifted his head to look at Alan and spoke, his voice
raspy and dry, “I understand.”
“
That’s good Jim. You don’t have to speak to me or any other police officer without legal representation. Do you understand that?”
“
I understand…” Jim replied weakly and opened his mouth to speak again but it took some seconds before any sound came forth. “…but why would I need a lawyer?”
“
Don’t worry Jim, it’s just a formality but I am required by law to inform you of your rights. If you would like to have a lawyer present while we talk, I can arrange one for you unless you already have one you would like to call.”
“
We have a lawyer…” He paused. “…I have a lawyer but I don’t need him to be here.”
“
OK but before we start, we have everything we need from your hands and clothing so I think it would be helpful if you wash your face and hands and change your shirt. Would you like to do that?”
Jim looked up at Alan and a small spark of cognition seemed to run through his eyes.
“Yes.” was all he said as he stood slowly and began to unbutton his shirt.
Alan
observed as he removed his shirt and undershirt then slowly began to wash the caked blood from his hands, arms and face. After a few minutes of washing and splashing water on his face, Jim walked from the bathroom to a chest of drawers to retrieve a T-shirt and pulled it on then sat down beside Alan again. He was obviously still in shock but the water had done its job and brought him back to a slightly more rational disposition.
“
Have you ever been in love Detective Beach?”
“
Please, call me Alan and yes, I have Jim.”
Jim looked deeply into Alan’s eyes
. “Helen was the love of my life. She was my best friend, my lover and the mother of our children. I don’t understand; how could she do this?” He lamented, his voice still croaking.
“
I’m truly sorry for your loss Jim and I promise you that I will do everything I can to find out the truth.” Alan said, knowing that the truth may well implicate the husband himself.
“
The truth…the truth is that I don’t know what to do any more Detective Beach. Everything used to be so clear to me. How do I tell my girls that their mother isn’t coming home again? How do I go on without my Helen?”
“
Your daughters don’t know yet?”
“
No, it was past their bedtime when she got home so once I realized Helen was asleep, I put them to bed and they were still asleep in their rooms when the police got here. I asked an officer to carry them to our neighbors’ apartment. I couldn’t let them see her… us, like that…and the blood, so much blood…I just knew I had to get them out.”
“
I understand Jim. Maybe you should wait a few days until you’re more composed before you tell them. Do you have family nearby?”
“
Helen’s parents live just outside the city.”
“
Perhaps you should take the girls there for a few days and arrange for the scene to be cleaned before you come back.”
“
But what about Helen…her body?”
“
We are required by law to perform an autopsy Jim. Her remains will be waiting for you when you return. I’ll need your cell phone number and the number for Helen’s parents’ house. Now, do you think you can take me through what happened, step by step?”
“
I’ll try.” He looked at the ceiling for a long moment then put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes as though trying to wake himself from a nightmare. “We had been waiting for Helen to come home from her business trip. The girls were coloring at the table and I was reading the paper in the living room. When she came through the door, we were so happy to see her…” he started to well up again.
“
Please Jim, just focus and stay with the facts so we can keep on track. What time was that?”
“
I’m sorry; I’m trying. It was just after eight o’clock, I’d say eight fifteen. She said she was hungry and she needed a shower so I put a salad together for her while she came in here. When I’d finished the salad and she hadn’t returned, I came to check on her. She didn’t seem that tired when she got here but she must have been because she was asleep on the bed when I came in to our room, so I left her to rest and came out to tell the girls they could see her tomorrow. It was their bedtime anyway and I had only let them stay up to see her when she got home.”
“
How did she seem to you when she arrived home; what was her demeanor?”
“
She was…she was just Helen. She was normal; happy to be home - jovial and affectionate as usual.” he looked at Alan, uncertainty in his eyes.
“
You’re doing fine Jim, please continue.”
“
Then I sat on the sofa to watch some TV and I must have dozed off. The next thing I remember is hearing a loud thump. It startled me awake and I looked across to the dining room to see what it was. That’s when I saw Helen on the floor. I thought she must have fallen or something so I called out to ask if she was OK but she didn’t answer so I ran over to her. There was so much blood!” he began to sob but continued relating the events. “I looked for where the blood was coming from and tried to put pressure on the wound but it was so big! I ran to the kitchen, grabbed a towel and tried to stop the flow with a tourniquet but it was too late - she stopped breathing. I tried CPR but she had lost so much blood.”
“
Did she say anything or leave a note?”
“
There was no note. She whispered a name just before she stopped breathing but I’ve never heard it before.”
“
What was the name Jim?”
“
She said, ‘Bryan Adler’ but I don’t recognize that name. It was only a whisper and I was in shock but my ear was very close to her face and I’m sure that’s what she said.”
“
Is there any way that anyone else could have gotten into the apartment while you were asleep?”
“
Not unless Helen let them in but visitors have to use the intercom system to get into the building and I would have heard it. Besides, I woke up as soon as I heard the thump and there was no one here.” Jim said; his face contorted in confusion and frustration.
“
OK, we will need to go over your statement again at the station to confirm everything but I think we can leave it at that for now. The Crime Scene Unit must be nearly finished so we’ll leave shortly but I’m afraid we are going to have to take your daughters into protective custody until we can confirm it was suicide.”
Jim’s demeanor suddenly changed
from meek and mourning to strong and protective. “What? No, you can’t do that! They need their father or at least some familiar surroundings. I understand why you think you need to protect them but I can’t let you do this to them.”
“
I’m sorry but the law requires it in such circumstances. It’s really beyond my control.”
“
No, I can’t let you do this. Put me in jail if you have to but leave the girls with our neighbors instead!” he demanded.
“
Well, I suppose we could hold you at the station for questioning overnight. Are you certain the children are safe with the neighbors?”
“Yes, they love the girls
and often baby-sit for us. They’ll be fine there but not in some cold, sterile social services shelter!”
“
OK, we’ll do it your way but you will have to sign a consent form to indemnify the city.”
“
I don’t care. I’ll do whatever it takes to shield them from this.” Jim eyes were red and swollen but set in determination.
“
Alright then Jim, I’ll have an officer organize the paperwork and we will have to inspect the neighbors’ apartment but I think everything should be fine. As soon as suicide is confirmed, we can leave you to take the girls to Helen’s parents’ house. I’ll give you a business card for a specialized cleaning company that can take care of the carpet and chair.”
“
Thank you Alan.” Jim’s face showed a vague glimmer of relief for the first time.
Alan took a quick look around the master bedroom and
en suite bathroom then went out to inspect the rest of the apartment and examine the scene more closely. He knew that the body would have been jostled and moved during Jim Benson’s attempts to revive his wife and the size of the blood pool made it difficult to detect movement and origin but the blood pattern on the seat of the chair showed that it began with her seated. She had obviously fallen to the floor as her strength waned but there was really very little else Alan could glean from what he saw, other than Jim’s bloody footprints that verified his story of running to the kitchen and back for the towel and his bloody handprints on the telephone from when he’d called 911.
“
I think I’ve got everything I can from this Dr. Wescott.” Alan called over to the Medical Examiner, who was waiting in the kitchen. “If you’re satisfied, you can take the body to the morgue.”
“
Thank you Detective Beach. I was just waiting for your say-so. The Crime Scene Unit has already left so we’ll load the body and I’ll start the autopsy when I get back to the office. Call me if you need anything.”
“
Thanks doctor, I’ll do that.”
Alan spoke briefly with the uniformed officer at the door to arrange an inspection of the neighbor’s apartment and requested he take Jim
Benson to be held for questioning at the police station and sign an indemnity form for the girls. He then headed back to the lobby of The Eleanor building to speak to the security staff. As he approached the security desk, he pulled his detective’s shield from his belt to show it to the guard on duty.
“
Detective Beach, Homicide.” he announced.
“
Homicide? I thought it was a suicide.” queried the large man behind the counter. He had a stiff, humorless appearance like that of a serious former soldier.
“
All unnatural deaths are treated as suspicious until we can clear them so it falls on us to investigate. May I see the security monitoring office please?”
“
Follow me detective.”
The big man seemed even bigger when he stood and led Alan to the door of The
Eleanor’s security monitoring room. He punched a code into the digital keypad beside the door and pressed his thumb against the biometric reader. The door opened with the loud clunk of a heavy duty magnetic lock.
“
That’s some security for a residential building.” Alan remarked.
“
People pay top dollar to live here detective; they expect the best protection for their money.”
“
Understandable.”
They entered the room and Alan saw at least twelve monitors, each screen divided into four different
picture feeds, a large bank of digital recording machines, an elaborate computer hardware rack and two seated guards watching the monitors.
“
Gentlemen, this is Detective Beach from Homicide. He has a few questions for you and will want to see some footage, I assume.”
“
That’s right, thank you.” Alan confirmed, motioning to the monitoring system. “How many cameras are there?”
“
One in each of the four residential elevators, one in the service elevator, four on each parking level, eight in the lobby, one each on the exterior at the front and rear of the building, three on each residential floor and four in the fitness and swimming pool areas.” came the efficient response of the guard from the lobby, who seemed to be in charge.
“
That’s a lot of cameras. Before we look at footage, did Dr. Benson enter through the lobby or did she drive into the parking levels?”