Behind The Lies Read online

  After the drugs arrive in Chicago, other intermediaries distribute the drugs to local dealers, many of whom are gang members selling on the streets of Chicago. Some sell from street corners, some from businesses, and others from their homes. There are many street gangs in Chicago. Some of the better-known ones are Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Gaylords, Vice Lords, and Latin Kings. Some estimate there may be over 100,000 active gang members in the Chicago metropolitan area. This provides a lot of opportunity for drug distribution.

  As a result of competition, sometimes turf wars break out among the gangs which can result in violence, including killings. Given that the Candy Man Killer targets drug dealers, Jackson believes it is a real possibility there is a turf war going on. However, he does not yet have evidence of that. Jackson has worked his sources and thus far, everyone has denied knowing about any turf wars.

  “What would explain the two-year absence of any similar killings?” asks Garcia.

  “Well,” says Jackson, “It’s quite possible that whatever was driving the killings two years ago stopped. Maybe the dispute was settled. Maybe the killer has been in jail. Maybe this recent murder has nothing to do with those from two years ago. It could be a copycat type of thing. Really hard to say right now. The strange quirk is the leaving of the knife at the scene.”

  “Yeah, that’s interesting,” agrees Garcia. “And it’s a very specific knife. In this case and all six cases two years ago, the knife used was…. let me check my notes. Here it is, a Cardet kitchen knife with a seven-inch blade and black handle. Uses the same knife each time.”

  “Yep,” replies Jackson, “strangest thing I’ve ever heard of. And then leaving the knife lying on the victim’s chest. It’s almost like someone is teasing us by giving us the weapon.”

  “I wonder if we could track down who is making multiple purchases of this knife,” questions Garcia. “I’ll get Ricci’s thoughts on this next week. I have no idea how common this knife is or how many places sell it. Hey, thanks for the help Trevon.”

  “No problem. I’ll keep checking my sources and keep my ear to the ground. I’ll be sure to pass along anything I find.”

  “Great, thanks again.”

  From the autopsy reports on each victim, Garcia finds in each of the now seven cases, the victim was stabbed from directly in front. The knife was thrust into the center chest cavity just below the breastbone. The knife was then pushed up into the area behind the breastbone toward the heart and probably twisted as well. This action caused severe damage to one or more of the thoracic aorta or vena cava veins. The thoracic aorta carries blood from the heart while the vena cava vein carries blood to the heart. In a few cases, the blade of the knife was shoved far enough into the chest cavity that the heart itself was cut. Victims with such damage bleed out and die quickly. Based on this, Garcia does not believe a female would have the strength to overcome each victim and cause such damage. The attacker is a male, thinks Garcia.

  Garcia discovers all the cases occurred in the early morning hours, sometime between 2:00 and 4:00 am, a time when not many people would be out and about. Every victim has been a young black male involved in drug dealing. Each victim either lived alone or had been alone at the time of the attack. Two years ago, three of the victims had been killed just inside their residence, while three others were killed in the back alley in the rear of their home or apartment building.

  In the most recent case from two weeks ago, the attack took place in the West Garfield neighborhood. The victim lived in the bottom flat of a two-story, brownstone multi-unit house. The victim, a 19-year-old black male was found lying approximately 10 feet inside the front door. There was no sign of forced entry, so it appeared as though the assailant was allowed entry into the residence. This was similar to the other three previous cases in which the victim was found inside his home.

  On Monday, Garcia is at work early, as he has been going over the facts in his head all weekend and wants to discuss the cases with Ricci. Ricci walks into the office at 8:05 am with his usual large cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee.

  “How are you feeling today?” asks Garcia.

  “Oh, I’m fine, just a touch of nausea last Friday,” replies Ricci. “How is the review going?”

  “I think I’m up to speed on everything. Would like to discuss your thoughts on a couple things.”

  “Sure, what’s on your mind?”

  “Are you aware of any other serial killers who used different weapons each time and then left the weapon at the scene?”

  “Not that I can ever recall.”

  “Why do you think someone, assuming it is the same person, uses a different knife each time and then leaves it behind?” asks Garcia.

  “Because he’s smart,” answers Ricci. “What’s the one thing you don’t want to have in your possession after killing someone?”

  “Bloody knife” nods Garcia.

  “Damn right. We’ve got our work cut out for us with this guy. He is incredibly careful about leaving any trace behind.”

  “I’ve checked on places that sell this Cardet kitchen utility knife and wouldn’t you know it, you can buy it most places, including Amazon,” sighs Garcia.

  “Yeah, this guy knows what he’s doing.”

  “Have we captured anything on security cameras?” inquires Garcia.

  “No. Remember where these attacks occur. Not many people in the Garfield Park neighborhoods or Lawndale have security cameras.”

  Garcia then suggests they re-interview the person who reported the suspicious male in dark clothing who walked with a limp.

  “We can, but do you really think there’s some handicapped dude carrying out these attacks?”

  “Probably not, but it can’t hurt. I like to be thorough,” reasons Garcia.

  “You’re right. Go ahead and set it up.”

  By Wednesday afternoon, Garcia has set up an appointment to visit 64-year-old Mrs. Elaine Henderson, the woman who reported seeing a suspicious person in the neighborhood the night of the third attack by the Candy Man Killer. Garcia and Ricci knock on her door at 2:00 in the afternoon. Mrs. Henderson invites both detectives in and offers them some sweet iced tea. Both politely decline.

  “Mrs. Henderson, I would like to review your statement from two years ago about the suspicious person you observed in the neighborhood,” advises Garcia. “Can you please tell us what you thought was suspicious about him?”

  “Well, it’s been some time ago now, but I remember I couldn’t sleep due to the heat that night. I got up and went to sit a bit on my front porch to get some, you know, fresh air and cool off.”

  “Sure, go ahead,” encourages Garcia.

  “As I was sitting there, I see this man come walking from around the corner, right down that way,” as she points east. “He then crosses the street and walks west to the corner of Edison, then heads north and out of sight.”

  “What was suspicious about that?”

  “It was just a feeling really. It was early morning and not many people are out at that time of day. He was dressed in dark clothing and just seemed a bit out of place.”

  “Two years ago you said he walked with a limp.”

  “Yes, yes he did. If I remember correctly, it appeared as though he was favoring his right leg.”

  “And you said he had a beard?”

  “Yes, it was a full beard, and he had a dark beret-type hat on.”

  “Could you tell what race he was?”

  “No. It was dark and with his beard and hat, I couldn’t tell. He never looked my way.”

  “Okay, thank you Mrs. Henderson,” replies Garcia. “Do you also remember him wearing glasses?”

  “Oh yes, it looked to me like dark-rimmed glasses, but I could not be sure. Again, it was very dark.”

  “Anything else you can remember about him?”

  “Only that he was a tall man, probably over six feet tall.”

  “Do you remember what time it was?”

  “I knew two years ago.
I think it was sometime between two and three in the morning. Like I said, he just didn’t seem to belong in the neighborhood.”

  “Mrs. Henderson, we appreciate your time,” thanks Garcia. “Here is my card. Please don’t hesitate to call if you remember anything else.”

  As they are heading back to the station, Ricci asks Garcia if he learned anything from the interview.

  “Sure, after two years of thinking about this, she still finds his presence suspicious. I’m not saying he is a suspect, but he was only three blocks from the scene at about the time we believe the attack occurred. You can’t just dismiss it.”

  “Nope, you can’t dismiss it,” agrees Ricci.

  For the next several days Ricci and Garcia continue to review the case files while also assisting with other homicide investigations. Being assigned a case did not relieve detectives from simultaneously working on other cases or in helping other detectives with interviews and follow-ups. It has been a busy week, with the Area 4 Division experiencing two more homicides. One, a domestic argument over an alleged affair by the husband led to the wife shooting him dead with a 9mm Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun. The second one being a shooting between two gang members, resulting in the death of a 17-year-old African American male over a theft of “happy dust,” a slang term for cocaine.

  On the following Friday, Detective Jackson advises Ricci he has some information from the street. According to Jackson, there is new fear among street dealers that the Candy Man Killer may be back. Dealers are being more cautious over who they sell to. Some members of the Black Disciples are concerned someone is trying to start a new drug war, and if the police can’t handle the issue, they will take matters into their own hands. After Garcia returns from assisting on some interviews in the investigation of the gang shooting, Ricci fills him in on the new information.

  “This can’t be good,” says Garcia.

  “Oh, I don’t know Juan, there could be some value there,” muses Ricci.

  “Like what?”

  “Drug wars, so long as they are only killing each other helps us clean up the neighborhood a bit, don’t you think?”

  Garcia pauses, “I suppose you could see it that way, but we really don’t want people shooting each other on our streets. Innocents will get killed as well.”

  “I said only if they are killing each other. I don’t want anyone innocent getting hurt. But think about it, fewer drug dealers would mean fewer crackheads, fewer addictions, fewer drug overdoses. You do know these assholes prey on innocent people, right?”

  “Sure I do, I grew up in this town. Drug dealers need to be taken off our streets, but not murdered,” challenges Garcia.

  “Their drug pushing harms a lot of young people. A few less wouldn’t be a bad thing, that’s all I’m saying. I see too many young kids' lives ruined by hard drugs.”

  Garcia lets it go, realizing Ricci has been dealing with the fall out of the drug trade much longer than he has. He knows Ricci has worked hundreds of drug overdoses, violent assaults, and homicides over the course of his long career. He surmises that Ricci probably has good reason to be a bit jaded.

  Eighth Attack

  The following Saturday it happens again; another apparent victim of the Candy Man Killer is found in a West Garfield Park neighborhood alley by a 13-year-old boy. Both Garcia and Ricci are called at 11:45 am to respond to the scene. Garcia arrives on the scene first and meets with Detective Sergeant Gloria Pennington. Patrol officers have already secured the scene and crime scene technicians are on their way to collect any evidence.

  “Thanks for coming out Juan,” greets Sgt. Pennington. “It looks like the same M.O. as the last one.”

  She leads Garcia past the crime scene tape to where the body is found lying behind some trash containers. Garcia has read the reports describing the previous crime scenes, but the sight of a young man gutted in an alley is still a bit shocking. The victim appears to be a young black male, probably early to mid-twenties, wearing black pants and white short-sleeve button-down shirt that is now saturated with blood. The victim is on his left side in a fetal position with a clear gash in the midsection of his chest. A large pool of blood has formed under and around his body. Lying next to the victim’s body is a bloody kitchen knife.

  “What do we know about him?” inquires Garcia.

  “His name is Jimmy Johnson, but goes by JJ,” replies Pennington. “He lived in the house right here and worked at the fast-food chicken joint three blocks from here. According to the manager there, our victim worked last night until closing. They stay open late on Fridays and Saturdays, closing at two am. He apparently walks to work, so our guess is he was attacked as he was returning home, sometime after two am.”

  About that time, Ricci arrives on the scene. “Hi Juan, hi Gloria.”

  “Hi Mike, thanks for coming,” says Sgt. Pennington.

  “Of course, what do we have?”

  Pennington and Garcia fill Ricci in with what they know so far. Sgt. Pennington turns the scene over to Ricci and Garcia, then turns her attention to coordinating officers to conduct a neighborhood canvass looking for any possible witnesses.

  Ricci crouches down close to the body and studies it for several minutes. He is careful not to step on any blood. He then stands up. “Do we know whether he was a drug dealer?”

  “Not sure yet,” answers Garcia. “I’ve got a call into Trevon to see if he knows this guy.”

  Ricci nods, “I’m going to start taking some photos of the scene and surrounding area while you try to find out if he was a dealer. We also need to look for anything that might be evidence within fifty feet.”

  Crime scene technicians arrive on the scene and begin their process of documenting and collecting any potential evidence, including the murder weapon.

  Approximately 30 minutes later, Garcia receives the phone call he has been waiting for from Detective Trevon Jackson. As suspected, Jimmy Johnson, 24 years old, is known as a dealer who primarily sells heroin, referred to as brown sugar on the street, as well as Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic drug often called china girl. In the past, Johnson has been linked to an intermediary associated with the Beltran-Leyva Cartel out of Mexico. Johnson has a record of several drug arrests. Garcia then relays this information to Ricci.

  “I would say we officially have a serial killer on our hands,” says Ricci. “And it’s probably the same perp from two years ago.”

  “I agree,” concurs Garcia.

  The following Monday, Ricci, Garcia, Jackson, Sgt. Pennington, and Commander Marshall meet to review the case.

  “Alright, tell me what we know,” directs Commander Marshall.

  Ricci leads the discussion, explaining that Johnson, known by the street name JJ, had been a drug dealer. The M.O. in this case is virtually the same as in the previous seven homicides. The weapon of choice is a kitchen knife. In each case, the knife is specifically a Cardet kitchen utility knife with a seven-inch blade. All victims have been stabbed just below the breastplate. In each case, the murder weapon is left at the scene, usually resting on the chest of the victim. In this latest case, the knife was found lying on the ground next to the victim. Thus far, no forensic evidence of value has been found at any of the scenes.

  In the recent attack, detectives believe the victim was either stalked as he walked home from work and attacked in the alley just as he was arriving home, or the killer was waiting for him in the alley. Either way, this suggests the killer had some knowledge of the victim and his habits.

  “What about witnesses?” asks Commander Marshall.

  “None,” replies Sgt. Pennington. “We conducted a thorough canvass of the neighborhood and most likely route home and could not locate anyone who heard or saw anything. If they did, they are not willing to share.”

  “People are pretty frightened right now,” interjects Jackson. “These killings are putting some real fear into the neighborhood, especially for those in the drug business. The only thing I have of value is that JJ m
ay have been involved in some sort of dispute with another dealer a couple weeks ago by the name of Nathan Smith, nicknamed Snowman.”

  “At least that gives us a starting point,” states Commander Marshall. “Mike, Juan, I’d like you to run this down as soon as possible. Get Snowman in here. We can’t have another string of six homicides in this community. What about forensics?”

  “Nothing yet,” responds Ricci, “and I don’t believe there will be. The lab will find nothing on that knife other than the victim’s blood and DNA.”

  “We collected the usual trash, cigarette butts, and such from the alley,” adds Sgt. Pennington. “But I doubt any of it will be of any use. Whoever the killer is, he is incredibly careful.”

  Commander Marshall then concludes the meeting. “Alright then, we’ve got work to do, let’s get on it. I’m tired of this crap happening in our Area.”

  Back at their desks, Garcia asks Ricci why there hasn’t been more media attention brought to the case.

  “Because no one outside this slum gives a rat’s ass about low-level asshole drug dealers,” insists Ricci. “And how can you blame them?”

  “You don’t mean that Mike. All murders are bad.”

  “Well, some not as bad as others. If this were a string of Northwestern coeds in Evanston it would draw national media attention. All of Evanston and Chicago would be in fear. But drug dealers in bad neighborhoods, no big deal. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the way it is.”

  Garcia knows he has a point. “Maybe, but the people of these neighborhoods are concerned and frightened. We owe it to them to stop this.”

  “Yes, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” insists Ricci. “But whoever this perp is, he is very selective and careful. It’s not like someone is randomly shooting up the neighborhood. I just like to keep things in perspective.”