In the Drink (9 page)

Once the topic of Lewis petered out, Cora said, “No disrespect meant to Lewis, but I have some news on another topic that I think you'll all find interesting. I dug up some info on the primary suspects in Lori Gruber's case.”

I could see that Cora had written up her own version of the suspect sheets that included pictures, bios, and pertinent facts about each of the suspects. I wondered how much of the info had been included in the sheets Duncan had obtained and how much of it Cora had dug up on her own using her many databases and hacking skills. She had a stack of pages stapled together and she handed them out to everyone in the room.

There were four men listed on the pages: a local homeless man named Lonnie Carlisle who had a sex offender history; Erik Hermann, the older brother of Lori's friend, Anna Hermann, who had been abducted and killed along with Lori; a man named William Schneider, who had lived in the same neighborhood as Lori and Anna, and who had a reputation for being “strange” according to his neighbors; and a plumber named Timothy Johnson, who went by the moniker TJ, and who had visited the Gruber household the day before the two girls disappeared.

The pages also revealed that while investigating TJ, the cops had found a large stash of kiddie porn in his house, for which he was arrested. He worked a deal with the DA and did two years of jail time along with four years of probation, and earned himself a spot on the sex offenders' list as a result.

A picture of each man was included, along with a summary of their statements, and their alibis if they had one. The strange neighbor, the plumber, and the homeless man had no alibis, but Erik had a friend named Dylan Cochran who swore that the two of them were out driving around in the country together at the time of the girls' disappearance.

Three of the men still lived in Milwaukee. Lonnie Carlisle was the exception and he was no longer homeless. He was currently residing at the Waupun Correctional Institute after being convicted of attempted murder, attempted child molestation, and attempted sexual assault.

“Interesting collection of suspects,” I said. “Was there any DNA evidence to connect any of them?”

Tiny, managing to look both sad and hopeful, shook his head. “Da bodies were found two mont's after dey disappeared. Dey were in da Little Menomonee River in a wooded area by da Oak Leaf Trail,” he said, referencing a bike path that circles in and around the city through its parklands. “Dey went missing at da end of Christmas break after dey went out on a bike ride. We had a weird warm spell dat year between Christmas and New Year's—kinda like what we're having now—but da wedder turned bitterly cold later dat night. Da bodies didn't surface until early March when t'ings warmed up enough to t'aw the river water. My parents were told dat da bodies were well preserved t'anks to da cold.” His face scrunched up and his jaw muscles twitched as he paused, and after a deep, bracing breath he went on. “Da cops said Lori showed evidence of sexual assault but dere was no usable DNA found because of da water.”

It was obvious from the pain on Tiny's face that the subject still left him feeling raw even after twelve years. I noticed that his emotions deepened at the end of his summary when he finally said his sister's name instead of referring to her and Anna as
the bodies
. I understood that form of detachment all too well. I had used a similar dodge whenever I talked about my father's murder, finding it much easier to discuss certain aspects of the event without breaking down if I referred to his body rather than him personally.

I ached for Tiny and leaned over to pat him on the shoulder. “I'm so sorry, Tiny,” I said, and others in the group murmured similar condolences.

Once the murmurs died down, Cora said, “Do you have a favorite suspect in this group, Tiny? Or someone else that's not on the list who you thought might be involved?”

He nodded. “I do t'ink it's one of dem guys. But I'd radder not say who just yet. I want to see what udder people t'ink first.”

“It makes sense to start with the ones the cops were most focused on,” Sam said. He looked over at Tiny. “But if they don't pan out, we should look into your sister's life a little deeper, hers and Anna's, to see if there are some other suspects out there that the cops might have overlooked.”

Everyone nodded their agreement and a murmur of assent filled the room.

“Okay, then,” I said, looking at the sheet in front of me and then at Tiny. “What's the story behind Lonnie Carlisle's conviction?”

“I heard he tried to attack two girls da summer after Lori and Anna died,” Tiny explained. “Dey rebuffed his sexual advances and he beat one of da girls so bad she ended up in a coma. She's still alive but she's got severe brain damage. Lonnie said da girls attacked him for no reason, and he swore he didn't do anyt'ing to eeder one of dem. He said she musta fallen and hit her head. He said he didn't do anyt'ing except try to get away from dem, and dat he acted in self-defense.”

A couple of people in the room rolled their eyes, and others harrumphed at Lonnie's reported explanation. Based on their reactions it wasn't hard to imagine which version of events the cops and jury had believed.

“Do you know why he was on the sex offenders' list before your sister's disappearance?” I asked.

Tiny shook his head and started to say something, but before he could, Cora piped up with an answer. “According to the court records it was a case of statutory rape. Lonnie was in love with a girl who was only sixteen when he was eighteen. Apparently the girl's parents didn't approve and they filed the charges.”

“So no history of any other sexual offenses?” Sam asked.

Cora shook her head. “Not that I could find. His main issue seemed to be with booze. The girl, by the way, committed suicide a couple of months after Lonnie's conviction. About a year after that, he started racking up DUIs. He dropped out of college, did some job hopping for several years, and eventually did jail time for a DUI accident that injured someone else. After doing two years he got out, but apparently he wasn't able to turn his life around. He spent some time in a halfway house but left after a few months and then dropped off the radar. No taxes paid, no jobs that I could find. I'm guessing that's when he became homeless. It was two years after that when Lori Gruber disappeared and he became a suspect.”

“That's a tragic tale,” I said.

Most of the group nodded, though I noticed that Tiny didn't.

“Damn alcohol,” Carter said. “It ruins a lot of lives.”

Everyone looked at their drink, then at me. Realizing what he'd just said, Carter blushed and added, “Nothing personal, Mack. I'm talking about people who abuse the stuff. Not anyone here.”

Despite his disclaimer, both of the Signoriello brothers and Tad set their drinks down.

“No offense taken,” I said in an effort to ease everyone's minds. “Moderation is the key.”

“What got Lonnie on the cops' radar in your sister's case?” Sam asked. “A statutory rape charge isn't the sort of sex offense that typically segues into regular rape and murder. And based on the history, it sounds like he and the girl were truly in love. Was he a suspect right from the beginning, or only after the other two girls were attacked? ”

Tiny fielded this one. “He was a suspect right from da start. The cops said dey found witnesses who saw Lori talking to da guy. Lonnie didn't deny it. He said he knew her because he saw her walking home from school all da time and one day she started talking to him, trying to get him to go to church wit' her. We used to attend da Lutheran Church in our neighborhood and dey funded a program for homeless people. Lonnie said Lori befriended him and gave him money a couple of times so he could get somet'ing to eat.”

“Did you believe him?” I asked Tiny.

He shrugged. “Lori woulda done somet'ing like dat. She was always bringing home stray animals, and sticking up for kids at school who were bullied, dat dere sorta stuff. She had a big heart. But the cops said Lori resembled da girl he used to date, da one whose parents filed da charges. Dey t'ought maybe he confused Lori for her, tried to do somet'ing to her, and when she resisted, he killed her.”

I made a mental note to try to arrange a visit to Waupun and Lonnie in the near future. I wanted to talk to the man, to hear his side of the story. I'm pretty good at detecting when people are lying about something. Their voices change in subtle ways, ways that I can see or taste.

“What do you know about this neighbor guy, William Schneider?” Dr. T asked. “The one who everyone said was strange.”

Once again Cora beat Tiny to the punch. “He has some mental health issues. Based on the court records I could find, he's been in and out of mental facilities and doesn't take his meds like he's supposed to. His background is another tragic story.”

This made Tiny frown and I imagined he didn't take kindly to anyone feeling sorry in any way for the suspects in his sister's murder.

“He lost his wife and daughter in a house fire twenty years ago and never remarried. He was home at the time, and the fire was found to have been caused by a pile of gasoline-soaked rags that had been left in the garage. William was a mechanic and he had an old car he was trying to restore, so you can probably guess who left the rags in there.”

Sam said, “Again I have to ask, what got him on the cops' radar with Lori and Anna's case?”

Tiny finally had a chance to speak. “He used to call out to young girls when dey walked by his house, asking dem to come inside and join him for some cookies and milk. Lori was nice to him; she often waved or said hi when she walked by his house. So I t'ink the cops t'ought she mighta gone inside.”

“Was there any other evidence connecting him to Lori and Anna?” I asked.

Tiny shrugged. Cora said, “Not that I've been able to find. Maybe one of the cops who come in here from time to time can shed some more light on it for us by sneaking a peek at the files.”

Everyone nodded and I mentally put William Schneider at the bottom of my list for now.

“How about the plumber?” Alicia asked.

“I like TJ for it,” Cora said. “The cops found that collection of kiddie porn and when they searched his computer, they found a bunch of Web sites that he visited regularly that either had illegal kiddie porn on them or were hangouts for other pedophiles. Based on the porn he had, the stuff he said, and what he watched online, he liked young girls who were around Lori's age. He did some time and went to a court-mandated treatment facility when he got out, but he was arrested again a year later when he was caught sitting in his car by the high school and flogging his dog while he was watching some girls play soccer.”

Tiny looked over at Cora with a shocked expression. “He was beating up on his dog?” he said, sounding angry.

There was a cacophony of awkward sniggers, grunts, and giggles as the others shifted nervously in their seats.

“Um, not exactly,” Cora said to Tiny. Then she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

He said, “Oh,” and turned as red as the maraschino cherry garnish in his chocolate-covered cherry martini.

“I agree that he sounds like the most likely suspect so far,” Sam said.

I agreed as well, and moved TJ to the top of my list.

“And that leaves us with Anna's brother, Erik Hermann,” Cora said.

“Would he have killed and raped his own sister?” I said, feeling a little squeamish. It was sickening to think there were all these twisted people in the world.

“Anna wasn't raped,” Tiny reminded us. “Only Lori was. And Erik had da hots for my sister.”

“Having the hots for a girl when you're in high school doesn't make you a killer,” Tad said.

“Except Lori didn't like Erik back,” Tiny said angrily. “He made advances on her da day before she disappeared, and when she told him no he got real mad and slapped her. She didn't tell me or my parents about it. Da police found out because Anna kept a diary and had written about it da night before.”

“A diary? That could be helpful,” Carter said. “I don't suppose you have a copy of it?”

“I don't,” Tiny said. “But da cops gave it back to her parents after dey copied everyt'ing in it.”

“Is there any way we can get a copy of it?” Carter asked.

Cora threw up her hands and said, “My computer skills won't help with that.”

“Would Anna's parents let you have a copy of it?” Sam asked Tiny.

“I don't t'ink so,” he said, shaking his head and frowning. “Dey got pretty mad when dere son became a suspect. And I said some bad t'ings about Erik.”

“If the police made a copy of it, maybe we can get a copy from them,” I posed. “Nick and Tyrese come in here a lot,” I said, naming two of the local cops who frequented my bar both off duty for some R&R, and while on duty for my coffee. My brew was a hit with the local police. “Why don't you guys ask one of them if they can get it?”

“You're the one with the cop connection,” Tad said. “Why don't you ask them?”

“I'm persona non grata with the PD right now. Besides,” I added, glancing at my watch, “I've got a date who will be here any minute, so I might not see them.”

“I doubt there's much help to be had with the diary anyway,” Cora said. “If there was anything useful in there, the cops would have looked into it already.”

“You never know,” Sam said. “And it doesn't hurt to ask. All they can do is say no.”

“I might have a better idea,” Carter said. “What if I approached Anna's parents and told them I'm working on a true crime book based on the case? If I make it sound like I'm trying to exonerate their son, maybe they'd let me have a look at it.”