"The White Web Murder Case"
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dochermes"The White Web Murder Case"
(A Trom Girl Mystery)
11/24/2005
I.
Megan Salenger approached the fireplace, cold now with the ashes sitting untouched. The ornate marble mantlepiece had been cleared of assorted nick-nacks such as framed photos, carved jade stallions, gorgeous seashells and a wind-up clock. These had been placed on the floor to one side. Spraypainted on the dark wall over the mantel in white paint was an elaborate emblem of a spider web.
She turned around to regard the two big men standing behind her. One was a friendly bear of a guy, a full foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than she was. This was her first and likely to be lifetime boyfriend, Archie McAllister. Standing next to him was a man in a neat dark business suit whose crisp lines were detracted from by a round belly. Lt Joseph Montez was not a bad looking guy despite his weight, with a full head of crisp black hair and perfect teeth in a flashing smile.
"I hate to admit it but we are even more short-staffed than usual," Montez said. "With two other fresh homicides running currently, I thought maybe you would like to help out on this particular one."
The Trom Girl nodded but with some detachment. Her eyes had a faraway look in them as she regarded the scene. Megan was a slim young woman with tousled black hair and an inquistive foxlike face. On this crisp November day, she was wearing a heavy denim jacket over a blue flannel shirt, with old jeans and white sneakers. The Trom Girl stood with hands on her hips, motionless for long minutes that made her companions start to feel restless.
"I know that facial expression," Archie put in. "The little wheels in her head are spinning full blast."
Snapping back to paying attention to them, Megan said, "What do you know of the White Web, lieutenant?"
"Aw, just what every cop has heard. Wild rumors. A cult of assassins thousands of years old that operates all over the world but mostly in East Asia. Personally, I figure they're just a branch of the Triads or something."
"The Triads and the Yakuza fear the White Web," she said. "Russian gangsters and Columbian drug lords keep their distance. I believe that emblem is authentic. Philip Walsh died without knowing a White Web killer was behind him."
"Walsh and his wife were both sales agents for an electronics company," Montez offered. "They both had spent years in Japan and South Korea making important trade deals. Our records show no hints of contact with criminal gangs."
"Hm. What is known of Mara Walsh's early life?"
"Not much, really. She's thought to be Eurasian, Japanese with an American GI father who was never identified. You know how badly the Japanese treat mixed-race kids. Phil Walsh met her when she was working as a hostess in a gambling joint and brought her home with him on a green card. They were married a year later and she was a major reason for his success working in Asia."
Archie spoke up for the first time. He rubbed his unshaven chin and said, "Sounds like she could have had some shady connections with a backstory like that."
"Probably," Montez agreed. "That did occur to us. She should be returning here in a few minutes. Headquarters called that a squad car was bringing her home after questioning was getting them nowhere." He looked over to where Megan was kneeling on the sofa that stood against the wall to their right. On the wall behind it were Japanese symbols in the same white paint.
She peered down behind the couch, turned and hopped lightly off. "This couch was moved five inches away from the wall today. The dust patterns are conclusive."
"What about those squiggles?" Montez asked.
The Trom Girl glanced back behind her, "That is Japanese kanji. 'Death and shame to talkers.' It's meant to imply that Philip Walsh was betraying the White Web. Let's look at the bathroom."
II.
The body had been removed and the blood taken away by the Crime Scene experts, after hundreds of photos and samples had been taken of almost everything. It was a rather small but elegant bathroom. To their left was the toilet with a shelf on the wall behind it. In front of them stood the recessed shower cabinet with the clear curtains drawn. To their right was a wicker hamper and the sink with its medicine cabinet over it.
On the tile floor was marked with grease pencil a loop showing the blood pattern. Walsh had died so immediately that his heart had only pumped out a single string of blood before ceasing its beat.
"At least he went quick," Montez grunted. "Two wounds, one at the base of the neck and one into the heart itself as he fell. I don't think he had time to really comprehend what was happening. Some long blade like an icepick."
"I agree," Megan said in a tone that sounded distant. "You notice the toilet seat has a peach-colored fabric cover and semi-circular floor mat around its base at the same type."
"Yeah. What are you getting at?"
"Lieutenant.. Archie. Please help me search the area. We are looking for a rectangular rubber-bottom floor mat with peach-colored fabric top." The two men agreeably began poking around. The room had of course been searched by the forensic squad so expertly that it seemed nothing had been touched. As they looked, Montez quietly said, "So you think Mara Walsh was a White Web member?"
"I am not certain," Megan answered as she moved out into the hall with Archie. "She may have only been an apprentice or a civilian helper. But the evidence is suggestive." As she spoke, Archie straightened up from where he had been kneeling in a hall closet.
The big mechanic held up a folded floor mat that matched the description. "There you go, honey. But what's the point?"
At that second, they heard a car door slam outside. Megan drew a rectangular device of grey metal from her jacket pocket and clicked a cartridge into a slot on the gadget. "We will be facing a dangerous adversary. Archie, please distract her as she enters."
"You got it," her partner said. He moved over to place his imposing bulk between her and Montez and the front door. A second later, that door opened and slammed forcibly as a tall woman in a white cloth entered in a vile mood. Mara Walsh was taller than they had expected, with impressive curves under that white coat. Her long hair had an unexpected brown undertone and she was wearing stylish oversize round-rimmed glasses.
"I was told you people were done here!" she snapped angrily. "Shouldn't you be going now?"
Stepping forward, Archie McAllister said, "Sorry, ma'am," then promptly tripped over his own big feet and fell heavily against a narrow end table that held a potted plant over it, knocking everything over to the floor with a resounding crash.
"My rhododendron!" screamed Mara Walsh. In the instant that her full furious attention was on the incident, the woman shuddered and dropped to her knees, then over on her side. She was unconscious instantly.
Megan Salenger returned the beam projector to her jacket pocket. "That was a low-intensity neural shock. She will recover within forty minutes, based on her size and age. Lieutenant, it would be prudent if you handcuff her and secure her as much as possible."
"She's already been searched," he said, but went over to put bracelets on the snoring woman. "How much harm can she do?"
"I project she would have killed at least one of us if Archie had not distracted her. Anything within reach is a weapon in her hands. Thank you, my love."
"Always glad to help out in a 'Trom Girl' mystery," the big man replied cheerfully. "Maybe now would be a good time for an explanation or two?"
"Certainly," Megan said as she watched Montez lift the stunned woman up into a seated position with hands cuffed behind her. "I am sure that given a little time, the lieutenant would have pieced it together as well. But he also has two other homicides dividing up his attention."
III.
Standing with arms folded, the Trom Girl could not quite keep a certain smugness out of her normal placid tones. "This is quite a nice house in an upper-class neighborhood. Mara Walsh intended to keep it after the murder. More, she wanted to avoid doing more damage to it than necessary."
She pointed at the fireplace. "These decorative items were neatly placed on the floor before the painted emblem was sprayed on the wall. Assassins would not have bothered taking that much care, if anything they would have roughly shoved all the items off the mantel. The couch was moved away from the wall to protect it."
Montez snapped his fingers, a gesture that had never seen him do before. "Sure. This way, a simple coat of paint would cover the damage and all her precious nick-nacks and couch would be untouched. Damn."
"And that explains the bathroom mat," Archie said, shaking his head in bemusement. "With it out of the way, she could clean the tile floor easy enough. And she wouldn't have to replace that mat. My God, what an attitude."
Stepping over to study the accused at closer range, Megan did not seem triumphant anymore. "Her possessions were more important to her mind than the life of her husband. I do not know what reason she had to kill him. We must rely on further investigation or a possible confession to reveal that. But I do not think she was an actual fully-trained White Web agent. They would have planned these details better."
Archie came to stand beside him and she linked arms with him for the reassurance of his solid form. "Perhaps the Trom were right," she said in an unhappy voice. "Perhaps I will never understand my fellow Humans."
3/10/2017
(A Trom Girl Mystery)
11/24/2005
I.
Megan Salenger approached the fireplace, cold now with the ashes sitting untouched. The ornate marble mantlepiece had been cleared of assorted nick-nacks such as framed photos, carved jade stallions, gorgeous seashells and a wind-up clock. These had been placed on the floor to one side. Spraypainted on the dark wall over the mantel in white paint was an elaborate emblem of a spider web.
She turned around to regard the two big men standing behind her. One was a friendly bear of a guy, a full foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than she was. This was her first and likely to be lifetime boyfriend, Archie McAllister. Standing next to him was a man in a neat dark business suit whose crisp lines were detracted from by a round belly. Lt Joseph Montez was not a bad looking guy despite his weight, with a full head of crisp black hair and perfect teeth in a flashing smile.
"I hate to admit it but we are even more short-staffed than usual," Montez said. "With two other fresh homicides running currently, I thought maybe you would like to help out on this particular one."
The Trom Girl nodded but with some detachment. Her eyes had a faraway look in them as she regarded the scene. Megan was a slim young woman with tousled black hair and an inquistive foxlike face. On this crisp November day, she was wearing a heavy denim jacket over a blue flannel shirt, with old jeans and white sneakers. The Trom Girl stood with hands on her hips, motionless for long minutes that made her companions start to feel restless.
"I know that facial expression," Archie put in. "The little wheels in her head are spinning full blast."
Snapping back to paying attention to them, Megan said, "What do you know of the White Web, lieutenant?"
"Aw, just what every cop has heard. Wild rumors. A cult of assassins thousands of years old that operates all over the world but mostly in East Asia. Personally, I figure they're just a branch of the Triads or something."
"The Triads and the Yakuza fear the White Web," she said. "Russian gangsters and Columbian drug lords keep their distance. I believe that emblem is authentic. Philip Walsh died without knowing a White Web killer was behind him."
"Walsh and his wife were both sales agents for an electronics company," Montez offered. "They both had spent years in Japan and South Korea making important trade deals. Our records show no hints of contact with criminal gangs."
"Hm. What is known of Mara Walsh's early life?"
"Not much, really. She's thought to be Eurasian, Japanese with an American GI father who was never identified. You know how badly the Japanese treat mixed-race kids. Phil Walsh met her when she was working as a hostess in a gambling joint and brought her home with him on a green card. They were married a year later and she was a major reason for his success working in Asia."
Archie spoke up for the first time. He rubbed his unshaven chin and said, "Sounds like she could have had some shady connections with a backstory like that."
"Probably," Montez agreed. "That did occur to us. She should be returning here in a few minutes. Headquarters called that a squad car was bringing her home after questioning was getting them nowhere." He looked over to where Megan was kneeling on the sofa that stood against the wall to their right. On the wall behind it were Japanese symbols in the same white paint.
She peered down behind the couch, turned and hopped lightly off. "This couch was moved five inches away from the wall today. The dust patterns are conclusive."
"What about those squiggles?" Montez asked.
The Trom Girl glanced back behind her, "That is Japanese kanji. 'Death and shame to talkers.' It's meant to imply that Philip Walsh was betraying the White Web. Let's look at the bathroom."
II.
The body had been removed and the blood taken away by the Crime Scene experts, after hundreds of photos and samples had been taken of almost everything. It was a rather small but elegant bathroom. To their left was the toilet with a shelf on the wall behind it. In front of them stood the recessed shower cabinet with the clear curtains drawn. To their right was a wicker hamper and the sink with its medicine cabinet over it.
On the tile floor was marked with grease pencil a loop showing the blood pattern. Walsh had died so immediately that his heart had only pumped out a single string of blood before ceasing its beat.
"At least he went quick," Montez grunted. "Two wounds, one at the base of the neck and one into the heart itself as he fell. I don't think he had time to really comprehend what was happening. Some long blade like an icepick."
"I agree," Megan said in a tone that sounded distant. "You notice the toilet seat has a peach-colored fabric cover and semi-circular floor mat around its base at the same type."
"Yeah. What are you getting at?"
"Lieutenant.. Archie. Please help me search the area. We are looking for a rectangular rubber-bottom floor mat with peach-colored fabric top." The two men agreeably began poking around. The room had of course been searched by the forensic squad so expertly that it seemed nothing had been touched. As they looked, Montez quietly said, "So you think Mara Walsh was a White Web member?"
"I am not certain," Megan answered as she moved out into the hall with Archie. "She may have only been an apprentice or a civilian helper. But the evidence is suggestive." As she spoke, Archie straightened up from where he had been kneeling in a hall closet.
The big mechanic held up a folded floor mat that matched the description. "There you go, honey. But what's the point?"
At that second, they heard a car door slam outside. Megan drew a rectangular device of grey metal from her jacket pocket and clicked a cartridge into a slot on the gadget. "We will be facing a dangerous adversary. Archie, please distract her as she enters."
"You got it," her partner said. He moved over to place his imposing bulk between her and Montez and the front door. A second later, that door opened and slammed forcibly as a tall woman in a white cloth entered in a vile mood. Mara Walsh was taller than they had expected, with impressive curves under that white coat. Her long hair had an unexpected brown undertone and she was wearing stylish oversize round-rimmed glasses.
"I was told you people were done here!" she snapped angrily. "Shouldn't you be going now?"
Stepping forward, Archie McAllister said, "Sorry, ma'am," then promptly tripped over his own big feet and fell heavily against a narrow end table that held a potted plant over it, knocking everything over to the floor with a resounding crash.
"My rhododendron!" screamed Mara Walsh. In the instant that her full furious attention was on the incident, the woman shuddered and dropped to her knees, then over on her side. She was unconscious instantly.
Megan Salenger returned the beam projector to her jacket pocket. "That was a low-intensity neural shock. She will recover within forty minutes, based on her size and age. Lieutenant, it would be prudent if you handcuff her and secure her as much as possible."
"She's already been searched," he said, but went over to put bracelets on the snoring woman. "How much harm can she do?"
"I project she would have killed at least one of us if Archie had not distracted her. Anything within reach is a weapon in her hands. Thank you, my love."
"Always glad to help out in a 'Trom Girl' mystery," the big man replied cheerfully. "Maybe now would be a good time for an explanation or two?"
"Certainly," Megan said as she watched Montez lift the stunned woman up into a seated position with hands cuffed behind her. "I am sure that given a little time, the lieutenant would have pieced it together as well. But he also has two other homicides dividing up his attention."
III.
Standing with arms folded, the Trom Girl could not quite keep a certain smugness out of her normal placid tones. "This is quite a nice house in an upper-class neighborhood. Mara Walsh intended to keep it after the murder. More, she wanted to avoid doing more damage to it than necessary."
She pointed at the fireplace. "These decorative items were neatly placed on the floor before the painted emblem was sprayed on the wall. Assassins would not have bothered taking that much care, if anything they would have roughly shoved all the items off the mantel. The couch was moved away from the wall to protect it."
Montez snapped his fingers, a gesture that had never seen him do before. "Sure. This way, a simple coat of paint would cover the damage and all her precious nick-nacks and couch would be untouched. Damn."
"And that explains the bathroom mat," Archie said, shaking his head in bemusement. "With it out of the way, she could clean the tile floor easy enough. And she wouldn't have to replace that mat. My God, what an attitude."
Stepping over to study the accused at closer range, Megan did not seem triumphant anymore. "Her possessions were more important to her mind than the life of her husband. I do not know what reason she had to kill him. We must rely on further investigation or a possible confession to reveal that. But I do not think she was an actual fully-trained White Web agent. They would have planned these details better."
Archie came to stand beside him and she linked arms with him for the reassurance of his solid form. "Perhaps the Trom were right," she said in an unhappy voice. "Perhaps I will never understand my fellow Humans."
3/10/2017
