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Lili and Gil quickly got into some proper clothes while the police combed the area for the shooter. The EMTs attempted to stabilize the injured man. Gil put on a pot of coffee for the responders. There was a knock on the back door and Lili let in two police officers in plain clothes. “I’m Detective John Varner, and this is Detective Greg Hurlburt. We’re State Police.”
“I’m Agent Lili D’Amico from the Massachusetts Crime Lab, and this is my friend Gil Novak. Let’s go into the living room.”
“You guys want coffee?” asked Gil. Both men were both eager for coffee and they negotiated cream and sugar.
The detectives sat down in the living room and Gil brought the coffee. “So, please describe what happened,” said Varner. Lili and Gil described everything that happened up to the arrival of the police and EMTs. “Why bring weapons to respond to a noise on the porch?” asked Varner. Detective Hurlburt’s phone rang, so he left the room.
“We’ve been involved in an unusual case that has us being extra careful. It started while we were in Florida for the winter. Our neighbor down there, Martha Eames, was attacked in her condo. I responded and ended up shooting the guy. He was strangling her and wouldn’t stop, even when he knew I was going to shoot him. He died and was later identified as being from an El Salvador gang. I accompanied Martha back to her home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire because she needed assistance. Her neck was injured so severely that she needed emergency surgery, and couldn’t speak. When we got to her house, she realized that someone had been in there, carefully searching for something. The FBI came and interviewed us. Police guarded her house until an alarm system was installed. At that point, I went home to Northampton, Mass.”
“Just before I left, Martha’s neighbor came over for a few minutes to drop off some food. When she left to go home, a sniper shot her dead on Martha’s front porch. The neighbor looked a lot like Martha, so we think the shooter meant to kill Martha. The FBI put Martha into WITSEC. But whoever was after her found her and shot the US Marshal who was guarding her. Amazingly, Martha escaped on her own and went into hiding. Not bad for an eighty-one year old lady. The Marshal’s okay. Since then, the FBI discovered that my house in Northampton was bugged, along with my car. They worked up a scheme to pretend I was bringing some medication to Martha. Three people were caught in the sting. One was shot and killed, one killed himself with a cyanide pill, and one is in custody, not talking. One from El Salvador, one Russian, and one from the US or Canada. The FBI has no idea what’s going on. So, I decided to come here for a while until things cooled off.”
Varner was silent for a moment, trying to make sense of the whole story. “I guess I understand why you were cautious when investigating the noise,” said Varner. “Who’s your FBI agent?”
“She’s Special Agent Mayet Elsayed, out of Boston.”
Hurlburt came back into the living room. “The guy with the arrow is Kevin Clarion, age twenty-one, from Queensbury, according to his ID. You know him?”
“It’s a bolt,” said Lili.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s not an arrow. It’s a bolt from a crossbow. Shorter and heavier than an arrow. But, no I don’t know a Kevin Clarion.”
“Oh right, you’re Crime Lab,” said Varner.
“I’ve never heard of him, either,” said Gil.
“Mr. Novak, what do you do for work?”
“I’m retired. I was a robotics engineer.”
“Is there anything else you guys can tell me about what happened here?” asked Varner. Lili and Gil shook their heads. “Well, this is definitely bizarre in so many ways. I’m sure we’ll be in touch.”
“I spoke to Ruth Clarion, the victim’s mother,” said Hurlburt. “She lives in Albany. She’s on her way to Saratoga Hospital. Kevin’s a student at UAlbany. She has no idea why he’d be in Saratoga or why he was shot.”
Gil suddenly stood up. “Wait a minute! I’m working on a case that involves college students.”
“What do you mean you’re working on a case?” asked Varner.
Gil explained the case of the mole people, and why he was involved. “The Greenfield Police Department is working that case, but the FBI out of Albany is working the case of the missing student, Katrina Ryu. Special Agent Jameson Davis.”
“I know Davis,” said Varner. “I’ll talk to him. The mole people case didn’t seem to involve any violence. Do you know why Kevin Clarion would have been shot with a crossbow in your yard?”
“That sounds like a game of Clue,” said Gil. “I have no idea. I’d like to find out what Kevin was working on.”
“Could you give me the info for your contact at the Greenfield Police Department?” asked Varner.
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LILI WENT BACK TO SLEEP, but Gil couldn’t. He made sure all the people working the scene had fresh coffee available. They left at about nine a.m., and Gil finally dozed off in his recliner. He woke half an hour later to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking. He was thrilled that Lili was cooking breakfast in his kitchen, but he was still very weary from lack of sleep.
Gil fell asleep again after breakfast. His phone rang and Lili quickly answered it before it woke him. “Ms. D’Amico, this is Detective Hurlburt. Is Mr. Novak there?”
“Please call me Lili. Gil’s sleeping. Can I help you?”
“Oh well, okay. Mr. Novak wanted to know Kevin Clarion’s major. His mother said he’s a history major. The project he’s working on is about Queen Anne’s War. The doctors say he’s going to pull through.”