TELLING SOMEONE THEIR PET is a victim of a hit and run is a distasteful chore. Telling them their friend or loved one is dead is far worse, but that’s what police officers have to do. Ashley faced this situation twice in her law enforcement career and knew it could be handled only one way. Just say it straight out, and wait for the reaction. That's what she did.
"Barry, based on your identification of the rose tattoo we must inform you your brother is dead. We found him buried in the desert. We are investigating his homicide."
Shock, followed by denial leading to overwhelming sorrow registered on Barry Malinowski's face. The sound of anguished sobbing filled the shabby living room of the remote Mayhill house. Moved by his friend's emotion, Butch Cassidy got up, stood next to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Agents Kohen and Ramirez stepped into the shadows of the room, and waited.
After a proper length of time, Ashley approached Barry and set about convincing him, and Cassidy, that they needed to go with them to Roswell. Her gut instinct told her she would get better results if she asked questions on neutral ground away from Barry's psychological haven in the mountains. She also suspected that Barry's primary support came from Cassidy, who should stay nearby.
In a calm reassuring voice, Ashley addressed Butch. "This is a difficult situation. It's better for Barry if we go to our office in Roswell where I have access to agency support. We need to make it as easy as possible for him. Agent Ramirez will arrange for you and Barry to stay at the Holiday Inn." Cassidy nodded as if he realized the gravity of the unfolding events. "Please take your friend and follow us in your pickup truck."
He agreed without hesitation. "Yes, ma'am. I'll take care of him."
Ramirez drove a moderate speed back to Roswell. He appeared agitated. "Finally we have a chance to make some headway in the Mummy Case. When we interrogate this little guy its good cop, bad cop." He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll be the bad cop, of course."
Ashley tightened her expression, but didn’t respond.
"That Holiday Inn offer was a smart move," he grinned broadly, "and we'll only have to pay for one room."
Ashley held back as long as she possible, but that last remark pushed her over the edge. "A few days ago you agreed this is my case. That you would not pull rank, even though you are way up the food chain from me. You gave me your word."
Ramirez frowned, "That's right."
"I know when a Special Agent gives his word, especially a veteran agent, it's as if Moses delivered the ten-commandments. You can take it as truth. It's as good as an oath in a court of law."
"What are you getting at?"
"What I'm getting at is that Barry Malinowski is not a perpetrator, not a suspect, not a person of interest, not a witness to a crime, and not under arrest. At best he may be a victim of a sad and useless killing." She took a breath. "My second point is that he will not be interrogated. He will be interviewed. Point three, we will not play good cop bad cop or any other stupid game."
Ramirez gripped the steering wheel.
"Barry will be treated with respect. That’s the only approach that will give us accurate and reliable information. I will work with him while you watch over Cassidy. Barry must not be intimidated. He needs support." Easing off a bit, she concluded, "Finally, unless they request something different, we will reserve two rooms at the Holiday Inn."
Ramirez stared at the road ahead and said nothing.
They cleared security at the front door of the Federal Building in Roswell, and climbed the stairs to the second floor. The FBI's satellite office had three rooms all painted a pale green: a reception area, an office for the rotating Special Agent assigned, and a small interrogation room with a one way glass window. Barry sat in this room with bent shoulders and head down. Ashley, her back to the one-way window, placed a small audio recorder on the table between them. "I want to thank you for this chance to ask you questions, Barry. I know this is not easy for you. Our conversation will be recorded."
Barry looked up with red rimmed eyes and didn't speak.
"Would you like a cup of coffee or a cold drink?"
"No, ma’am."
She remained silent for a moment. "Today we need to do two things. We need to identify your brother and confirm that he is the victim in the case we are investigating. Only then can we begin to catch the person who did this terrible thing."
"Okay, whatever you say."
"Describe your brother, please. What did he look like?"
"He's bigger than me. About five foot three inches tall. Brown hair. Kind a skinny. About hundred pounds."
"Any special markings or scars?"
"Yes. That tattoo you showed me and a small birthmark."
Ashley wrote on a notepad. "Describe the birthmark and its location."
"Little purple mole high on his right shoulder. He keeps it covered cause it’s ugly." Barry choked as he added, "He always wears a nice smile, too."
Ashley noted Barry referred to his brother in the present tense. "I'm sure he did. Do you know his birth date?"
"He's a year older than me. Born on December 3rd." Barry stiffened. "Where is he?"
"Where is he?"
"Yes, my brother. Where do you have him?
"By State Law unclaimed victims are retained by the Medical Investigator for six months. He's in Albuquerque."
"Can I see him?"
"Yes, but first we have to establish identity." She didn’t say that John Doe 136 would be unrecognizable. "Tell me your brother's name."
"Can Butch come in here?'
"Butch is right outside with Agent Ramirez. It's better if you and I speak alone. I want you to feel free to talk to me. Anything you say is confidential. Your brother's name, please?"
"Bitty."
"Bitty Malinowski?"
"No, his real name is Russell Smith, he got the name Bitty because he is kind a small, like me."
"Why did he have a different last name?"
Barry bowed down and started to cry, again. He held onto the table for support.
"Take your time, Barry."
Head still down, and in that effeminate voice, he started. "It was me, Bitty and Faye. Bitty is the oldest. My sister Faye is a year younger than me. We were in Child Protective Services back then. I don't know anything that happened before that. I don't remember a Mom or anything. I only know what they told me. We was real young."
"How young, Barry?"
"Like three years old. The Malinowski family adopted me. They was wonderful. Bitty wasn't so lucky. He just moved around from one foster home to another. Faye, too." Barry's expression hardened. "I lost track of him for a long time. Then he showed up a couple of years ago. We got to be good friends.
"Was he married?"
"No. Only Faye got married. She's a nurse down in Carlsbad, where the big cave is."
"Do you have an address for Faye?"
"Yes, I got it in my wallet."
"Barry, I will be contacting your sister in the next couple of days. You have to decide how best to handle this. I mean about telling her."
Barry straightened himself in the chair. "I'm the older brother now. She needs to hear it from me. I'll call her."
Ashley sensed a strength in Barry that surprised her. He would need that strength in the days ahead. "I think that's best. Do you have an address for Bitty?"
"I don't know for sure, but Faye knows. She stays in touch better than me."
"Why don't you know where Bitty lived, if you were good friends with your brother?"
Barry glanced off in the distance. "Bitty was different from me. He had boyfriends." He turned back to Ashley. "Just boyfriends. After he grew up he moved around a lot. But he was my brother and I loved him." He choked and his eyes reddened again. He asked, "Why would anybody want to kill Bitty? He never hurt nobody."
Ashley watched Barry struggle with that question. She pushed her emotions aside so she could stay focused. "That's what I'm here for, Barry. To answer that question and more, much more."
MARK RAMIREZ listened to the interview on the office intercom while he watched though the interrogation room window. Ashley was handling this with skill. His more direct approach would probably not have achieved the same results. He made a mental list of things to do: (1) ask Cassidy and Malinowski to not leave the area without notifying them first, (2) caution them to talk to no one about this case, (3) have them contact Agent Kohen if they remembered anything that might be important for the agency to know, and (4) have a transcript of the audio recording typed and forwarded to the field office. Walter Kent would assign it to a staff analyst right away.
He opened the telephone book and found the number of the Holiday Inn. "I'd like to make a reservation for tonight. I want two of your best rooms, each with a King sized bed."
Ramirez knew tomorrow they would begin to put together the pieces of the Bitty Smith puzzle. A puzzle that would need many answers. He could not know that the answers would lead to a conspiracy that could potentially change the lives of untold thousands of people.