Chapter 16 - We Have Ways of Making You Talk

"I'm assuming you're not going to tell me he died of old age?" Tannehill leaned forward toward Murphy.

"That would be a correct assumption."

"And he probably didn't fall down the precinct stairs?"

"That would also be correct."

"So, I've exhausted all possible modes of death aware to me and am all ears."

"Remember when we were chatting at the diner a few days back and you surmised it wasn't a jilted lover because the violence was swift and impersonal?"

"Yes."

"Well, while undressing Snell once he made it to the morgue, we found he had massive bruising around his torso.  Both sides.  Somebody worked him over pretty good.  Whatever happened wasn't swift and it's entirely possible he could have died from internal bleeding."

"But other than the blood spatter that resulted from the bullet wound, his shirt and coat didn't look particularly worse for wear.  If he received that much punishment, his clothes would be at least partially tattered."

"His undershirt had quite a few snags in it.  We're thinking brass knuckles or something similar based on the bruising patterns."

"Why would someone take off his coat and shirt - or allow him to take off his coat and shirt - before beating him?"

Murphy shrugged.  "We haven't figured out that piece yet."

Tannehill stared silently at the ceiling for a brief moment.  "Are you looking at this from the jealous lover angle based on these developments?"

"It seems plausible."

"I'm not so sure."

"What makes you think different?"

"Well, like you said, the violence wasn't swift but I still think it's impersonal."

Murphy stared at his dead fern and frowned in a bid for sympathy.  He turned back to Tannehill.  "You don't think that getting beaten to death or nearly beaten to death isn't personal?"

"No, not in this case."  Tannehill folded his hands on Murphy's desk and leaned in a bit more.  "If this were an act of passion, he'd have a lot more bruising around his face.  A jealous lover is going to swing for the first thing he sees.  Or he's going to swing for the cause of his jealousy in the first place.  And one of those targets is definitely the face.  I'm assuming that when you undressed him that you found him, uh, intact?"

"What do you...oh, yeah.  His family jewels were still in place."

"There are a couple of possibilities.  The first is that this was someone who wasn't simply angry with Snell but so enraged that he decided to plan brutal revenge and took his time doing so.  If that's the case, then some of these details fit - the massive bruising around the torso, the meticulous removal of Snell's clothing - for whatever reason - beforehand and, of course, the coup de grâce.  But someone planning this type of revenge for this type of reason would've left a calling card.  Something to humiliate an illicit lover and show ultimate victory.  In this case, though, his nuts were still there and he was killed with a gunshot after being severely knocked around.  If someone were going to take the time to work out their anger on Snell like this, they wouldn't finish the job with something so cold and distant as a gunshot.

"So, if you don't think this was revenge, then what was it?"

"An interrogation."

Murphy and the fern frowned skeptically.  "An interrogation?"

"Yes, the details fit.  Or fit better than the jealous lover."

"In what way?"

"It's calculated.  You don't beat someone in such a methodical and unusual way if you're angry with them.  In an interrogation, you find ways to exact pain that will make them think it can end if they simply volunteer the appropriate information."

"You seem to know a lot about forceful interrogation methods."  The two men locked eyes briefly before Murphy remembered where, exactly, he was making this statement and to whom.   He broke Tannehill's gaze and glanced at the fern to come to his aid.  The fern, being dead, didn't respond.

Tannehill continued.  "And, after extracting the information, his assailants shot him either because he was expendable or a further liability.  The gunshot was an afterthought.  Whatever they're after, it's important enough that murder is a secondary concern."

"They?"

"Most people don't voluntarily sit in a chair and absorb blow after blow from brass knuckles.  There had to be at least two of them in order to secure him to the chair."

"And why bother replacing his clothes after they finished the job if this was a matter-of-fact beating and homicide?"

"Why bother coming up with some fantastical story about tripping down the stairs if an interview with a suspect doesn't go well?  There was some motive to do so, well thought out or not."  Tannehill chewed on his lip, "Still the order of events is a bit confusing."

"In what way?"  Murphy was growing increasingly frustrated that Tannehill and the fern were threading together a coherent timeline before he'd had time to come up with a theory.

"Like I said, the blood spatter on Snell's suit was pretty minimal.  If they dressed him after the fact, there would have been a lot more mess - y'know with a gaping fatal head wound and all."

"Maybe they cleaned it up?"  The fern wilted in further disappointment to Murphy's response.

"Why bother?  They didn't make much effort to clean his brain off my back wall.  What's the point of a bit more housekeeping in this case."

"So, let me see if I follow your theory," Murphy began counting points on his fingers.  "Snell knows his assailant - or assailants - and expects to meet them.  He sends you on an errand because he doesn't want you to know what he's up to."

"I forgot about that.  That makes the jilted lover angle less likely too because the whole thing points to premeditation on both parts."

"You leave.  His assailants come in, tie him to a chair, strip him to his undershirt and begin to beat him."

"So far, we're on the same page."

"After beating him and extracting the information they need, they dress him."

"Correct.  It sounds ridiculous, but that's the likely scenario."

"Then they shoot him in the head."

"Yup."

Murphy shrugged.  "I'm not certain it makes less sense than the lover theory, but there are certainly some oddities, as you say." 

Tannehill shrugged in return.  "Isn't every investigation filled with oddities until you have the context?"

"Well then, any idea on who the assailants are?"

"I'm betting on the Brunner broad.  She wasn't shy about tipping her hand that she knew me and her timing in all of this would be too coincidental."

"There's just one problem with that."

"Yeah?"

"You and she were in the same spot while your partner was getting his head blown off,"  The fern let a frond fall to the floor in acknowledgment of its officemate's first astute observation of the morning.

[Author's Note: Today's edition is 1157 words for a running total of 17554 words.  Ferns are among the world's oldest plants and pre-date dinosaurs by about 120 million years.]