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Sheldon Cohen. Revenge
CHAPTER 1. You’re number one, Dr. Mark Harrison. Soon you’ll die by my hand. I know who you are, what you do, and I know what you did. That’s the most important thing…what you did. All I know is that you have to die for that one great mistake of your life
CHAPTER 2. Doris returned home the next night at nine. She had spent the day at a church ceremony in Wisconsin in honor of her octogenarian father. He was eighty-eight years of age and frail, so she wanted to be sure to visit with him. Her mother of eighty-two was in excellent health and a fine caregiver, so Doris was confident that her father was in good hands. Doris was reluctant to leave Mark, but he insisted she visit with her father. They both knew he was living on borrowed time
CHAPTER 3. Dr. Arnold Spann was another member of the Medical Executive Committee of Covenant Hospital. He was chairman of the Department of Orthopedics for the last fifteen years, and as a result served on the committee. He was nearing retirement from a very successful practice of orthopedics where he gained fame as one of the pioneers of joint replacement surgery. At five feet ten inches tall and weighing in at one hundred and seventy pounds—the exact weight of his college days—he still had the springy step of the outstanding collegiate baseball player he once was. He passed up a tryout for the Chicago Cubs in order to attend medical school. He was married with children and grandchildren and volunteered some of his time as an orthopedic surgeon in attendance at high school football games where his sons had played
CHAPTER 4. Dr. Jason Pollard arrived in the Emergency Department at 7:00 in the morning. Last week had been very busy. He hoped for a slower pace this week, as his medical students would be starting their clerkship. He took a short cut through the Emergency Department to get to his office adjacent to the rear entrance
CHAPTER 5. Pollard would be meeting two junior medical students assigned to him for a three-month clerkship in emergency medicine. Every three months two junior students from the University of Illinois College of Medicine would rotate through the service as a self-chosen elective. More often than not, the students were contemplating an emergency medicine residency, and what better way to get oriented to the service then by working with Dr. Pollard and his staff
CHAPTER 6. It was a ten-yard walk to the Emergency Department from his office. As they walked in, they could see the paramedics wheeling a cart into the main trauma room near the ambulance entrance. The medical students had to speed walk to keep pace with Pollard’s flying coat tails. Cowan matched him stride for stride. As they entered the room, the patient was on the examining table. Betty, the paramedic, was transferring the plastic intravenous fluid bottle to the table’s IV stand
CHAPTER 7. They followed him out like the Pied Piper and he stopped at the nurse’s station where Gail told him, “Room three, doctor.”
CHAPTER 8. Amanda who had been listening said, “Dr. Pollard, what do you think happened the days that Dr. Spann was missing?”
CHAPTER 9. Amanda learned some facts about her medical student partner. Besides Barry’s basketball expertise, she couldn’t help but being impressed by his rugged good looks, his politeness, his calm demeanor, and his intelligence. She got to know him very well with the both of them having lunch together at the hospital when they could. Over time, she seemed to draw him out of his shell a bit, and she could sense him becoming more relaxed in her presence. The truth was that she was becoming interested in him, but never once did he ask her out on a date, so she decided to take the bull by the horns and ask him to dinner Friday night. “You live alone. Would you like a home cooked meal?” she asked
CHAPTER 10. Amanda drove Barry back to the hospital for his car. She said, ”I didn’t know about your parents, Barry. How did you ever get over such a blow?”
CHAPTER 11. Dr. Arnold Spann’s obituary occupied one-half page of the Chicago Progress daily newspaper. There were over a hundred and fifty people who attended the memorial service including his wife, four children, six grandchildren, and assorted relatives and friends. The service took place in the recently renovated hospital chapel. Dr. Spann’s pastor gave the eulogy. A floor to ceiling wall of stained glass filled with scenes from the Old and New Testament stood in majestic wonder behind him as he spoke. Other members of the Medical Executive Committee and chairpersons of all the departments also participated. Dr. Pollard was present by virtue of the fact that he was chairman of the Emergency Medicine Department and also a member of the Medical Executive Committee
CHAPTER 12. Dr. Linda Gottlieb was another Medical Executive Committee member attending the memorial. She was Chairman of the Pediatrics Department and had been so for many years. Another senior doctor, she always said that she would retire only when she ‘was planted in the ground because I couldn’t abide not seeing my babies.’ Although married to a multimillionaire real estate developer, she was a self-reliant woman who was the founding partner in one of the largest pediatric groups in Chicago. When her husband died she was left many millions—money she was giving away. She was impeccably dressed as always. She didn’t mind that her hair was turning gray and was willing to ‘let Mother Nature take its course.’ She was very slim. Almost emaciated her friends would tell her. One could identify her by her cough. She was a chain smoker who once told Dr. Pollard that the most difficult hardship she faced as an Executive Committee member was sitting there for two or three hours not being able to smoke in the hospital’s smoke free environment. Never mind that her husband, also a smoker, had died of lung cancer, she accepted her addiction to nicotine and let the chips fall where they may. She realized that very few physicians smoked, and she had enough control never to smoke around patients. She approached Dr. Pollard and said, “Hello Jason. I’m glad you could come.”
CHAPTER 13. The next morning Pollard was making rounds with his two students. When they had a break, he said to them, “Right now we’ve got a little chore. I spoke with Dr. Schwartz, the chief pathologist, and he told us to come to his office this morning. I’ll give him a quick call and we’ll see if he’s got the time now. We’ll learn about Spann’s autopsy. I’m anxious to see what he found out.”
CHAPTER 14. When they got back to the Emergency Department Gail motioned to him. “What is it, Gail?”
CHAPTER 15. When Pollard arrived in the cafeteria, Marci Downing and Mrs. Spann were already there. He joined them with his tuna salad sandwich, skimmed milk, and a small bowl of strawberries
CHAPTER 16. In the hustle and bustle of Emergency Department patient visits, the student’s wide variety of experience continued. They learned much about clinical diagnosis and medical diagnostic procedures. Amanda and Barry took medical histories, did physicals and then presented the case to Pollard. He continued to ask the same two questions as he had promised and this resulted in reinforcing in his student’s mind the important medical necessity of a well-taken medical history and well-done physical examination. Through this method, he taught them the principle—true in any endeavor—that the way one learns and improves is by practice. “How do you get to Carnegie Hall,” he asked them and answered “practice, practice, practice.”
CHAPTER 17. One week after discharge from the hospital, Gottlieb called Pollard and told her she would be at the hospital to see Marak in follow up. Then she added, “And let me buy you lunch in the cafeteria.”
CHAPTER 18. Dr. Charles Kellam, a gastroenterologist in solo practice, fifty-nine years old and on the staff of Covenant two years had a walking pace even faster than Dr. Pollard. No one ever saw him sitting down. He even did his progress notes on the run, or standing, never sitting. He was five feet and eleven inches tall and had a trim body kept that way by a hyperactive state of continuous activity. He had thinning, pitch-black hair rumored dyed, brown, penetrating eyes and he never smiled. A busy introvert, he rarely spoke to other physicians and hospital personnel. When he did speak, he always did in a short, abrupt manner interspersed at times with four-letter words. In spite of all these traits, his bedside manner was excellent, and he built up an enormous practice beyond the capability of one man to handle. As a result, he cut corners and made compromises that at times were to the detriment of his patients. Those who learned of the amount of procedures and nonprocedural cases that he handled by himself shook their heads in amazement. He attempted to do more than a four-man group. He had a great deal of difficulty in getting anyone to cover for him because when they did they were kept so busy they could not tend to their own patients—not to mention the lack of sleep they suffered. He was on three hospital staffs and active on each one. Some one would see him in one or more of the three hospitals almost every morning, afternoon, or evening
CHAPTER 19. A near retired eighty-seven year old physician member of the Medical Executive Committee, the chairman of the Department of General practice named Fred Albert, spoke to Pollard a few days after the meeting. He was bald, had a large nose, a turkey gobble under his chin, and a perpetual smile on his weather-beaten face. Wounded on Iwo Jim as a seventeen-year old marine, and married to the same woman for sixty-two years, he looked at Pollard with a closed mouth smile and said, “I’ve served on different medical staff committee positions for many years, but I agree with Mrs. Gottlieb. There was too much screwing around. Now a days everyone is so scared of lawyers they bend over backward to give the offender every chance. They compromise patient safety. I remember some of the old hospitals after WWII. We had a better system in those days before all these strict rules and regulations ruled the roost.”
CHAPTER 20. He was taking a leisurely drive, but with a purpose. It was time for victim number three. It was 9:00 PM. He was driving through the suburb of Evanston, site of Northwestern University, surrounded by older, stately homes and bordered on the east by Lake Michigan, on the south by the north border of Chicago, on the west by the suburb of Skokie, and on the north by the affluent suburbs of Wilmette, Winnetka, and Highland Park. The tree trunk circumferences of Evanston reflected their advanced age, and they were numerous enough so that sunlight did not reach some of the narrower streets. The houses were two and three stories, many with large front porches, all with basements. They were old and well maintained
CHAPTER 21. The next time anyone saw Fred Albert in a hospital, it was not Covenant, but at another hospital in Evanston where he lived. The paramedics brought him there. He was dead. They pulled him out of his car in his garage at home; the engine running and the garage clouded with exhaust fumes
CHAPTER 22. Pollard and his student crew were back to work in the Emergency Department when Gail motioned to Pollard. He walked over to her and she whispered in his ear. “It’s that Marci Downing again. She’s on the phone and wants to talk to you. Better watch it, doctor. You guys are going to have to stop meeting like this.” She smiled
CHAPTER 23. Amanda read the notice about Fred Albert’s death. It mentioned his World War II history, his awards, his fifty-plus years of solo practice, and his service as a member of the Medical Executive Committee. My God, she thought, the third Medical Executive Committee member and department director to die in about a month. “Is this place jinxed, Bullseye?”
CHAPTER 24. Back at police headquarters the next day, Galinski called in Paul Collins. He was a five-year detective veteran who had been a paramedic before he joined the force. Paul was a six feet four inch, muscular well-built athlete whose brain was as exceptional as was his body. His score on police intelligence tests were off the charts. He had a full head of black hair, and penetrating brown eyes. One would expect a gruff manner from this impressive looking man, but on the contrary, his gentleness disarmed anyone he interviewed. He was able to get information that no other interviewer could. He did it by his soft-spoken approach and polite manner backed up by an impressive appearance suggesting to the interviewee that they had better cooperate now. His patience was legendary. He would continue surveillance sitting in his car for three days
CHAPTER 25. Well, I’ve cased her place enough. I feel like I live here. It’s time. Okay lady you’re next. Maybe I should have made it ladies first, but you have to take the opportunities as they present themselves. Now it’s your turn and I’ve got a novel approach for you. You got a pretty nice place here; beautiful town home with steps leading up to a front porch. I like the door and I like the lock. You’d think people would have better locks installed on these fancy buildings, but you tenants don’t know one lock from the other, so why not save some money. We’ll get through that open with no trouble. In this case, I’ll just pick that lock late about three in the morning, come in and do my thing. I’ve just got to be sure you’re at home
CHAPTER 26. Linda Gottlieb lived in a new condominium and town home development just south of the Loop, a new residential area that filled up with executives and professionals who worked in Chicago’s Loop, the city’s vital center adjacent to beautiful Lake Michigan. It held shopping, entertainment, restaurants, office buildings, hotels, and the former world’s tallest building—Sears Tower, now under new management and with a new name. It made up the beautiful Chicago skyline visible from the lake, the skies and even the distant suburbs on a clear day
CHAPTER 27. Linda Gottlieb’s son agreed to have an autopsy performed by the Cook County Examiner’s office. They confirmed the diagnosis of air embolism. To Marak’s relief her heart did not show evidence of a heart attack and the stent he placed in the right coronary artery was intact and patent. There were no blood clots in the veins of the legs or pelvis. This proved that the cause of death was air in the veins, which would present the exact same clinical picture as blood clots in the veins. The only difference was the mill wheel murmur, and in the case of Linda Gottlieb, there was only one way the air could have gotten there. Someone injected it. It takes the quick introduction of large amounts of air to kill a person
CHAPTER 28. Pollard went back to the Emergency Department and there was a message waiting for him. It was from Marci Downing. The message said, ‘I’m waiting for your promised call.’ How does this lady get her information so fast? She’s calling about Gottlieb, no doubt. He called her up. He knew what she had on her mind
CHAPTER 29. Marci Downing was as good as her word. The next day the front page of the Chicago Progress asked, IS THERE A SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE AT COVENANT HOSPITAL? She discussed the four physician deaths giving accurate medical detail in each case. Pollard was not surprised over the content of the article or the depth of her medical expertise. The few times he spoke with her he recognized that she was very intelligent and ethical and would not put anything in print unless she was certain of her facts. One would have thought that she was the physician in charge of the four cases the way she discussed the clinical facts
CHAPTER 30. The next day Pollard stopped in the office of Donald Grimm, Covenant’s CEO. He asked if the secretary could arrange a time when the CEO and the medical director could both meet with him about the recent crisis the hospital was facing
CHAPTER 31. The next day Pollard showed up at Kanter’s office. He had a windowless room off the medical staff suite furnished with a large desk and circular conference table seating up to eight people. The location of the office made it convenient for members of the medical staff to see him, and he had an open door policy
CHAPTER 32. Galinski called a meeting. In attendance was Jake, Paul, and Harold Gold, another member of the team that Galinski frequently assigned to the most complicated cases. Galinski brought Harold up to date on the events at Covenant hospital. Harold was another long-term veteran of the detective department. He tied his long black hair in a ponytail. He had a scar on his left cheek, the result of a gang shoot out. His eyes were dark brown, and his nose was hawk shaped resulting in his nickname, “the hawk.”
CHAPTER 33. Galinski left his home and drove to the condominium where the widow of Mark Harrison lived. He took his usual route down Milwaukee Avenue to Fullerton Street and turned east to reach Lincoln Park. Doris Harrison met him at the door
CHAPTER 34. The next morning, Galinski and the three members of his team met at headquarters. He reported about his experience with Mrs. Harrison. “I’m sure you’ll all get good cooperation like I did. Jake, you’ll be going to see Mrs. Spann today. The only possibility we have for a crime scene would be the car they had him in that we once had in our possession, plus the clothes he was wearing. I want you to go back with Embry if that car and the clothes are still available. I decided we’ll all use Embry for the crime scenes. I freed him up so he’s available for us any time this week. If you need him, get him right away. I briefed him on all the aspects of this case, so let’s keep some consistency here. Any questions?”
CHAPTER 35. Traffic on the Eisenhower expressway was light heading west this time of day. Jake arrived a little early for his appointment, so he took the opportunity to drive through beautiful River Forest west of Oak Park adjacent to the western boundary of Chicago. This was not an area that he ever visited, so he took the opportunity to see how the other half lived—and he liked what he saw. River Forest was the home of upscale professionals and the old wealthy such as a former resident of another era and well-known boss of the Chicago mob during the Mafia heyday. As a kid, he remembered his grandfather telling how he used to take his family riding ‘out in the country’ and see where the rich lived. The Mafia boss’s house was like a tourist attraction, with a line up of cars passing by night and day
CHAPTER 36. It was Paul’s turn to interview Mrs. Alberts. Paul was a resident of southwest Chicago, so he awakened early for the 9:00 o’clock appointment. The bad news was he’d have to be heading toward the Loop so traffic would be heavy with commuters driving to work. He took the Dan Ryan Expressway to the Eisenhower and then west to Lake Shore Drive. The only good thing about the drive was that he passed east of the Loop and took in the high-rise sights of office complexes, shopping centers, museums, Grant Park, Oak Street and North Avenue Beach and Lake Michigan. This got him to Sheridan Road and then he continued north to Evanston. Having grown up on the southwest side this was a trip he never took... and just as well
CHAPTER 37. Galinski met Harold downtown in the loop for their Friday 1:00 o’clock meeting with Linda Gottlieb’s son. They had lunch at Sages and then showed up on time at the real estate offices of Steven Gottlieb. His offices occupied an entire floor in the 32 N. LaSalle building. Gottlieb was of average height with male pattern baldness, very dark complexion, brown eyes and wore a navy blue suit with fine pinstripes, the jacket lying draped over the back of his chair. A red and blue tie, tied in a perfect Windsor knot completed the high-fashion picture
CHAPTER 38. The hospital cafeteria was quiet. Not only the cafeteria, but the entire hospital, regardless of the department, had current events on their minds—and it was very uncomfortable. The patient census was down. They had to postpone elective surgery. Security officers were visible at both entrances. The atmosphere had changed. Whereas in the past, hospital employees relaxed and engaged each other in conversation they now glanced about. The overriding question and cause for the anxiety: could there be a serial killer in their midst?
CHAPTER 39. The first four were a lot easier than I thought. The fact that they were a bunch of old farts didn’t hurt. If my luck holds out, this next guy should be as easy as Harrison. I think I got a novel approach for you, Dr. Bartlett. You’re retired now, but you were the chairman of the Medical Executive Committee before they hired a medical director, and that means you were the architect of it all. That’s why I saved you for the last. I can’t forget that. One thing’s for sure, when they find you they’ll go nuts trying to figure out why you died like you did. Nothing will fit. You’ll be a diagnostic puzzle. What’ll happen to you should only happen to older and sicker patients with pre-existing illness plus plenty of other precipitating events. They’ll scratch their heads for a few days, but soon they’ll forget all about it. Medicine is like that you know. They don’t have all the answers. Never did. Never will. You’ll just be one more confusing case. You’re alone now since your wife is at the rehab center after her stroke. But you’re a good guy. I see you visiting her almost every day. You leave long after visiting hours, and go to your car and go home. I’ll be waiting for you with my chloroform and when you’re out I’ll give you the intravenous cocktail I got brewed up for you. I’d love to stick around and see how it does its job, but I’ll have to go. You never want to stay around the crime scene, so you’ll be on your own. I’ll read about you in the paper the next day or so. Man, you should create quite a stir. I wonder if they’ll be able to diagnose your case? It should be real interesting
CHAPTER 40. Pollard arrived the next morning, received the news of the death and with ultimate discouragement walked to Grimm’s office. Kanter was already there. There were also four other members of the administrative team at the vice-presidential level
CHAPTER 41. He spent part of the day reading the paper and watching TV. The fifth death made the radio, local and national TV, CNN, Fox, and MSNBC. The latest issue of Time Magazine devoted two pages to the story. A scathing write up by Marci Downing appeared on the front page of the Chicago Progress
CHAPTER 42. Galinski assigned Paul the job of investigating the physician disciplinary matters that had occurred two years ago and stretched back thirty years. He worked with Pollard and with the approval of Grimm. The older records of committee meetings, archived on microfilm, took several days of work and a team of health record analysts to search. They came up with eight physicians dismissed from the medical staff for cause within this period. Three of the physicians were dead, two were still in active practice in other locations, and three were retired
CHAPTER 43. Amanda’s mind was on fast forward. She had a hard time sleeping. Her thoughts were filled with the enormity of the crimes being committed right under her feet. She was a living witness to serial killer history; a group of elderly physicians—all murdered. Would they be talking about this in a hundred years like they do today about Jack the Ripper? That would mean the murders had remained unsolved, and that was unthinkable. Who could be doing this? In her mind, she eliminated a disgruntled patient. The chance of the murderer having been a patient of all those physicians was remote. A disgruntled employee? Likewise a low probability. It had to be a physician—and one who took pride in devising methods of murder that involved fatal medical scenarios. This sick person enjoyed what he was doing. All the victims were old. It was probable that the murderer was a contemporary of the victims. But if that were true he had to be someone in good physical condition who was strong enough to overcome his victims. Yes, an old guy could fit that bill. There were plenty of senior citizens that kept in great shape. She would see them in the health club where she worked out. Some of them had better muscular definition than the young guys strutting around trying to look like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. On the other hand, a younger doctor recently disciplined could be taking out his revenge on the whole Medical Executive Committee, and that meant he had plenty more victims on his list. The hospital was beginning to resemble a fortress. There was a siege mentality in place, and it was time for experts to develop a plan to protect the remaining potential victims. Through it all, she was amazed how Dr. Pollard and the other physicians were able to concentrate on their patients. I guess that is a lesson a prospective physician has to learn. In spite of extraneous pressures that could overwhelm most of us, that one-on-one doctor to patient concentration cannot be lost. She wanted to discuss the case in detail with her father, but she knew that he didn’t like her getting involved, now that she had ‘so much studying’ to do
CHAPTER 44. As soon as Amanda returned to her apartment, she opened her laptop computer and went to work. With her notes laid out on the table before her, she took the names one at a time and went on line to Google. Slowly her excitement grew as she began to develop a pattern. She typed in the name of Charles Kellam, but only found a listing on a malpractice case. However, there were many hits on a doctor Alex Kellam, so she decided to follow where Alex Kellam would take her. Is he a relative of Charles? As it turned out, Alex Kellam was an internist, and had been a professor of medicine at Northwestern University. He also was a founding father of the Society for Computer Medicine. Amanda learned that he was a pioneer in the applications of computers in medicine. One of his lectures given before the Society for Computer Medicine mentioned his early efforts at introducing computers to the medical profession. These first efforts, in 1970, included the development of a computerized medical history system. Those were the days before desktop and laptop computers, and the average physician was in the dark as to their potential. Dr Kellam’s system included a primitive type computer with a cassette tape containing medical history questions that would, one at a time, appear on a small computer screen. The patient would read the question, and answer by pressing one of four keys: yes, no, don’t know, don’t understand. The system had a branching logic so that a yes response would trigger another question amplifying the yes answer. A no response would cause the computer to go to the next question. The patient’s answers, transmitted to another cassette tape on the computer, was sent over telephone lines via teletype to a central computer occupying a distant room the size of a small house. From there the processed history information returned to the doctor’s office via telephone lines where the teletype machine printed out the history. This was a way for busy physicians to obtain vital information from their patients that their busy practices prevented them from capturing themselves. After doing personal research on the history system in his private practice office, and finding excellent patient acceptance, Dr. Alex Kellam started a company called Medical History Systems. Amanda’s excitement grew as she discovered who was on the Board of Directors of this company: Alex Kellam and his brother Charles Kellam, Dr. Arnold Spann, Dr. Mark Harrison, and Dr. Fred Alberts! My God—had she found a connection? What happened to the company? Were they all investors? After another hour of work, she found the answers: yes, they were all investors, but the company, incorporated in Delaware, did not succeed. The reason: physicians would not accept the system, feeling as if a machine was replacing them. Dr. Alex Kellam spoke to the Society for Computer Medicine, and he said, “In retrospect we were too soon, and had not done proper marketing research. The inroads for medical computer systems would come at a much slower pace as physicians become computer literate and see the potential.”
CHAPTER 45. When she arrived at Subway, Barry was already in line. They had their usual Veggie Delight as a compromise with the medical profession and healthy dietary habits, with all the vegetables, no cheese, and including the hot peppers. That plus a high C completed their meal
CHAPTER 46. The next morning Amanda said, “The medical staff secretary leaves for lunch about noon. That means the staff office is empty. When we leave the ED for lunch, we’ll go sit in the Doctor’s Lounge. As soon as we see her leave, you stay in the lounge and I’ll sneak in the office. You’re a lookout, Barry. Cough if something’s happening. They have a large anteroom where they keep the credentials files…”
CHAPTER 47 “I got all of you here together so we can discuss where we are in this case,” said Galinski. Paul, Jake, Harold, and Embry listened. I’ve got some information that’s important enough for us to zero in on one direction. First of all, Embry let’s hear your report.”
CHAPTER 48. Paul, armed with a court order, showed up at Medical Director Kanter’s office. He spoke with the secretary, identified himself, and asked to speak with the doctor. He introduced himself. “I’m Paul Collins, doctor. Here’s my identification. Detective Galinski asked that I get some information about Charles Kellam.”
CHAPTER 49. That evening Paul drove his own car to Lake Forest, a beautiful far-north suburb of Chicago. He drove past Kellam’s home, a tri-level on a half-acre lot with an impeccably landscaped front yard. He drove back and forth and couldn’t help notice a car parked across the street with a young lady sitting in the driver’s seat and a man on the passenger side. They remained there as he drove by several times, so he drove off and came back five minutes later. The couple was still there. He took a close look, and turned his head away. Damn. I could swear that’s Galinski’s daughter. This is crazy. He met her several times in the past, both at Galinski’s home and office. He drove back one more time and wrote down the license plate. Then he drove away and placed a cell phone call to Galinski’s home. “Boss, I got some big news for you.”
CHAPTER 50. Galinski, Jake, Harold, and Paul met in Galinski’s spartan office at police headquarters. While Galinski sat behind his desk, the other three pulled up wooden chairs and sat in front of the desk, waiting for Galinski to explain why they were meeting on an “important matter”
CHAPTER 51. Jake and Harold drove the Kennedy Expressway to Elgin and then drove to Westbrook; a new development of single-family homes on what once was a cornfield as far as the eye could see. They passed between two large stone pillars and under a colorful Westbrook sign stretching from one pillar to the next. Surrounding each pillar and bordering the road leading into the development were tall bushes and colorful flowers. The Kellam house was a large four-bedroom ranch home. A short, white haired, older woman with a pleasant smile met Jake and Harold at the front door. They introduced themselves. “Please come in, gentlemen. I’m Mrs. Kellam. We will go to the kitchen where you could sit around the table and set up your equipment. I have some coffee or tea or milk and some goodies if you like. I’ll get my husband.”
CHAPTER 52. Paul and Galinski got a full report from Jake and Harold as they listened to the tape
CHAPTER 53. They were driving north on Lake Shore Drive, continued on Sheridan Road, to Dempster and headed west
CHAPTER 54 “Paul, I want you to see Judge Levine and tell him about our buddy, Charles. We’ve got probable cause to check him out. Explain him all the details and tell him how Charley-baby treated Chicago’s finest. We need a court order to get fingerprints, fibers and hair samples.”
CHAPTER 55. My job is over. There was one other involved, but he died of natural causes, so he deprived me of the pleasure of doing away with him. Revenge done, yes…revenge done…revenge done. I told you I would avenge what they did to you. The bastards had no right. You were a good man…the best. One more chance was all it would take. That’s all…just one more chance. I couldn’t believe your note when I read it. You were too weak to fight back, but I made up my mind, I would take the revenge you couldn’t. That’s all I ever thought about. I had it all planned out. It took me years, but it all fell into place. You put me on the path of my life’s work. I lived for it. Never a day passed without me thinking about you, and what they did to you, and how to pay them back. I knew what I had to do. Inside my head, there was no room for anything but what I was born to do. I pulled it off. Maybe I should have been an actor. That’s all in the past. My life could end right now and I would die with the contentment knowing that I completed my task. Ahh…it feels so good
CHAPTER 56 “Mom, I think you outdid yourself with the fish this evening. It doesn’t seem possible, but it just keeps getting better all the time.”
CHAPTER 57 “Okay,” said Galinski, I want us to take a close look at all the members of the Medical Executive Committee. Since our first eighteen persons of interest didn’t pan out, I’m thinking we have to check the current members of the committee.”
CHAPTER 58. The members of the Medical Executive Committee, all understanding the importance, cooperated fully with the investigation and gave up their fingerprints and hair samples. Embry went to work
CHAPTER 59 “I have something for you, dad.”
CHAPTER 60. Amanda stayed with her mother the entire weekend. Rose knew that Amanda was in some kind of distress. As her husband directed, she did not discuss the issue
CHAPTER 61. The Police staked out Barry’s apartment, and when he left for the hospital in the morning, they apprehended him, read him his Miranda rights and laid on cuffs
