Chapter Three
The Irish influence was obvious in most of the food served not only at the Squealing Pig but at most of the other restaurants around Boston. A stew with Guiness as its base was not something you would find in Florida or Texas, it was unmistakably Boston.
Seafood was a common fare served in the area. It wouldn’t be unusual to find a clam chowder with a Guiness base. Kate had made that meal herself, although she didn’t cook a lot these days. She had murder victims like the one they were working with now to thank for that.
Most meals were grabbed on the move with whatever time they found available. It wasn’t always that way. When Megan was younger and Kate hadn’t been promoted yet, she cooked a lot. After Kate got busier she gave Megan a debit account card for an account with limited funds and Kate was notified when the balance got under fifty dollars.. It was for her to buy meals when Kate wasn’t able to be home and Kate added money to the account once a week after reviewing the activity on it.
Sean laid a folder with photos of their victim in it right on their table.
Kate said, “Hey, we are trying to eat here. I don’t think we should flash these photos around just yet until we know more about her.”
Sean put the folder away and concentrated on finishing his lunch. Sean and Kate were good friends. She knew he was young and had a lot to learn. She also knew his marriage probably wasn’t going to make it but she would let him figure that out on his own. Friends should let friends learn the lessons they need in life.
Kate didn’t miss her days as a patrol officer. A lunch like this would always get interrupted. Things changed when she became a homicide detective. Their victims now were already dead and would be just as dead if they waited a few minutes before showing up on the scene. Waiting to show up actually had some benefits. It gave the CSI guys a chance to process the scene.
While Kate and Sean enjoyed their stew a news break flashed across the television screen they were watching. A photo of the victim was shown and a request was made for anyone who could identify the person in the photo to please call the Roxbury police department.
Kate said, “I am glad to see they at least got that information out there. I would hate to be her family though and find out about her death that way.”
Sean replied, “I know, that would be rough, but we have to have an identity if we have any hopes of figuring out who cut her life short.”
Kate said, “We need to go back to the station and see if they have any information for us yet.”
Sean replied, “It would be nice to have something to work with. Do you have any dinner plans for later?”
Kate replied, “I am going home and making something for my daughter and I to eat. You, my good man, need to go home and give your wife a chance. Think about this please. Every time you walk out the front door to go to work, she knows it may be her last time to see you. She has to be a nervous wreck the whole time. That is a heavy burden. You need to try and see things from her side.”
Sean replied, “I know you are right, I am not very good at communicating with her.”
Kate responded, “You have to learn, she is your wife and if you don’t have any communication you don’t have anything.”
Sean said, “I know you are right. You need to do the same with your daughter. I am sure she is just as worried about you, plus she is a teenager and life with them isn’t that good anyway. You should just remember if you kill her, somebody will find out and then I will be forced to arrest you and that might screw up our whole friendship.”
Kate chuckled before giving Sean a smile and saying, “We got work to do, let’s get back to the station.”
When Kate and Sean returned to the police department, their captain had left word for them to come to his office. When they entered the office the captain asked them to close the door.
Kate asked, “What’s up captain?”
The captain replied, “We have an identity on our victim by her family that has also been confirmed by fingerprints. The family is down the hall if you want to talk with them but be careful. The victim’s husband is a prominent businessman around town. Richard Miles has confirmed the identity of his wife, Linda Miles, after her sister Vicky White provided the first identification. She was the first to arrive and Mr. Miles arrived shortly thereafter.”
Sean asked, “Is there anything we need to know before we talk to the family?”
The captain answered, “The husband was conveniently out of town when the murder happened. We are checking his alibi now.”
Kate and Sean went to the interrogation room to talk to the family however they never used the word "interrogation", in fact, they did their best at this point to make it seem like just a conversation with the family. Kate had learned a long time ago that if you start with accusations, people tend to stop talking and request lawyers. No one at this stage was a suspect and yet everyone was. That was the approach they had to take until they could officially clear an individual of any possibility of involvement.
Kate sat right across from Richard Miles and Sean was across from the sister who sat next to her brother-in-law. Sean asked if anyone needed anything to drink and both of the family members responded with a "no".
Kate spoke with empathy as she said, “I am very sorry for your loss. I know we can’t bring her back but we want to try our best to find out what happened to her and bring to justice whoever is responsible for this crime. I need to know as much about the victim as possible and that means even if it doesn’t seem important to you.”
The husband and sister gave the basic information about the victim. Her name was Linda Miles, married to Richard Miles. Her maiden name was Warren and her sister’s name was Vicky White, married to Mark White. Linda was thirty eight years old. Kate asked for Richard’s identification, which she said was just to get the basic info from. She mainly wanted to know how old he was without asking the question. She had noticed that Richard was considerably older than the victim, which wasn’t unusual among men with money
Kate wrote down the information, Richard Miles was fifty two years old. Kate handed back the license to Mr. Miles after writing down the info she wanted.
Kate asked, “When was the last time you saw your wife alive?”
Richard Miles replied, “That is an easy question, I kissed her goodbye a week ago before leaving for a convention in Las Vegas. I told your captain about that trip and I have receipts if they become necessary.”
Sean never asked many questions, he figured his job was to learn all he could by watching Kate at work. She was a master at making suspects feel at home and willing to talk.
Kate asked, “Is there anyone else in your home when you are gone, or when you are there for that matter.”
Richard replied, “We have a housekeeper and a gardener who work and live on the property. They are a married couple and live in the servant’s quarters, which is a detached apartment behind our house.”
Kate asked, “So the housekeeper and gardener would always be there, whether you are home or not?”
Richard replied, “Well they come and go when they please, when not working but yes they live there full time. It is a perk of the job to have housing along with a salary.”
Kate responded, “We still have answers coming from the coroner and when we understand more I may have more questions for you.”
Richard replied, “I will be available for questions anytime. I want answers just as much as you do.”
Kate and Sean said goodbye to their guest before making the journey to the coroner’s office to find out what he may know. On their way to the car Kate asked, “Did you notice how quickly Mr. Miles offered up an alibi?”
Sean replied, “Yeah, it was almost immediate.”
Kate responded, “That usually indicates it has been manipulated to fit. We will know more when we get the autopsy results from the coroner.”
It was a short drive to the morgue. Kate and Sean were anxious to see if the coroner was finished and ready to give them some insight.
