Chapter 8: A Week

Chapter eight starts a week after the murders.  Grandisha still has no leads  other than the estimated timeline of the murder and that it was likely 3 to 5 perpetrators.  John Lupico confirmed that Mrs. Donas' murder included a beating and that she was carrying an early pregnancy.

Many Cones is a podcast novel based on true crime. The murders inspiring this crime fiction took place 30 miles from Chicago in Northwest Indiana, and captivated the area from the initial brutal crime scene all the way through and beyond discovery of a shockingly bizarre motive.

A week had elapsed and the Police were no closer to knowing what had happened than they were the night of the murders. Grandisha had read, re-read, and re-re-read all of the accumulated information. Nothing jumped out. Nothing waved a flag. Nothing out of place or odd. 

Ray had met with his team of investigators daily. No progress. Witnesses’ stories had changed a bit, but that was normal. After four follow up interviews, Crownder and Grenk were finally able to wheedle a time frame for the knock from the people across the hall. Mr. Throne King remembered the show he was watching when the rap occurred and the phone rang. The timing fit with the telephone records from the restaurant call made by the Pranets. 

Mrs. Throne King was positive that only one person knocked on the Donas’ door. She claimed it was impossible for more than one person to come down the stairs without her hearing a clamor. 

Forensics had fingerprint and shoe print evidence confirming that three to five people were involved. They also believed that Jim Donas was killed, the apartment was in the process of being ransacked, and then Sue Donas was brutally murdered. The evidence and clues in the bathroom verified her presence within a short time prior to her death. Big deal, Grandisha thought. I knew that a week ago. Tell me something I don’t know. 

John Lupico had completed the autopsies. Mr. Donas had died almost immediately from the deep stomach wound. The other slashes and gashes were an afterthought. Mrs. Donas had taken longer to die. She had been pummeled in addition to being stabbed. Someone enjoyed hurting her. There was no evidence of rape or molestation though. Lupico believed the injuries to the breasts were simple slash wounds rather than erotic deviancy. She was also three weeks pregnant. 

Grandisha was meeting with the Pranets later in the day; he would have to tell them about the pregnancy. 

Margie Grenk tapped on Ray’s door, interrupting his deliberation. “You wanted to see me?” 

The Lieutenant snapped to attention and said, “Margie, yes. Please come in.” 

She was dressed in her police uniform. The dark blue cloth and black leather/silver steel combination gave her a mistress/pixie look. Ray didn’t know whether to submit or to flirt. As she sat, he asked her, “Why the outfit? I thought all the years of hard work were primarily so you didn’t have to don the garb?” 

Margie took a breath and decided to be truthful with him. “It’s a home thing.” 

Grandisha knew what she was talking about. He sensed a strong need for conversation and decided to act on it. “What are you gonna do, arrest him?” 

She laughed. “I probably should. No, I read in a women’s magazine that authoritative clothes reinforce critical problem solving. When we have our heart-to-hearts, I’ve been wearing this. Trying to convince him that he has to stop what he’s doing and get some help.” 

Ray maintained an invested look throughout her explanation. “Has it worked?” 

Transcript

Chapter 8

A week had elapsed and the Police were no closer to knowing what had happened than they were the night of the murders. Grandisha had read, re-read, and re-re-read all of the accumulated information. Nothing jumped out. Nothing waved a flag. Nothing out of place or odd. 

Ray had met with his team of investigators daily. No progress. Witnesses’ stories had changed a bit, but that was normal. After four follow up interviews, Crownder and Grenk were finally able to wheedle a time frame for the knock from the people across the hall. Mr. Throne King remembered the show he was watching when the rap occurred and the phone rang. The timing fit with the telephone records from the restaurant call made by the Pranets. 

Mrs. Throne King was positive that only one person knocked on the Donas’ door. She claimed it was impossible for more than one person to come down the stairs without her hearing a clamor. 

Forensics had fingerprint and shoe print evidence confirming that three to five people were involved. They also believed that Jim Donas was killed, the apartment was in the process of being ransacked, and then Sue Donas was brutally murdered. The evidence and clues in the bathroom verified her presence within a short time prior to her death. Big deal, Grandisha thought. I knew that a week ago. Tell me something I don’t know. 

John Lupico had completed the autopsies. Mr. Donas had died almost immediately from the deep stomach wound. The other slashes and gashes were an afterthought. Mrs. Donas had taken longer to die. She had been pummeled in addition to being stabbed. Someone enjoyed hurting her. There was no evidence of rape or molestation though. Lupico believed the injuries to the breasts were simple slash wounds rather than erotic deviancy. She was also three weeks pregnant. 

Grandisha was meeting with the Pranets later in the day; he would have to tell them about the pregnancy. 

Margie Grenk tapped on Ray’s door, interrupting his deliberation. “You wanted to see me?” 

The Lieutenant snapped to attention and said, “Margie, yes. Please come in.” 

She was dressed in her police uniform. The dark blue cloth and black leather/silver steel combination gave her a mistress/pixie look. Ray didn’t know whether to submit or to flirt. As she sat, he asked her, “Why the outfit? I thought all the years of hard work were primarily so you didn’t have to don the garb?” 

Margie took a breath and decided to be truthful with him. “It’s a home thing.” 

Grandisha knew what she was talking about. He sensed a strong need for conversation and decided to act on it. “What are you gonna do, arrest him?” 

She laughed. “I probably should. No, I read in a women’s magazine that authoritative clothes reinforce critical problem solving. When we have our heart-to-hearts, I’ve been wearing this. Trying to convince him that he has to stop what he’s doing and get some help.” 

Ray maintained an invested look throughout her explanation. “Has it worked?” 

“Not yet” 

Ray responded, “So much for psychological tampering.” 

“Yeah, maybe I should just shoot him and be done with it.” 

Grandisha leaned back in his rickety, brown desk chair and let the moment pass. He lit a cigarette and swung forward. Elbows returned to his desk. “The in-laws are coming in today. I’d like you to be with me when I talk to them. Maybe you’ll pick up things I miss.” 

Grenk shot him a surprised look. “You don’t miss things.” 

Ray responded, “Yes I do. Everybody misses things.” 

“Okay. If you say so.... Anything new since yesterday?” 

Ray put his hand on the thickening vanilla folder. “Have you read all of this?” 

Margie nodded and said, “Twice.” 

“What does the information tell us about the bad guys?” 

She thought for a few seconds and replied, “I don’t know.” 

Grandisha said, “We know that the people that did this were strangers. Didn’t know anything about the victims they killed.” 

Margie questioned, “How do we know that?”

“They didn’t know how many people lived in the apartment.” 

Margie thought about the answer for a few seconds. It was obvious. She should have thought it out. “You’re right. The physical evidence suggests they were... what... doing a job? Not realizing someone was in the bathroom. If they would have known anything about the Donas’, they would have looked for both of them. So... How does that help us?” 

“It doesn’t help us much. We have butchers that were looking for something.” 

Margie concluded, “That usually goes back to drugs.” 

Ray leaned back again, halfway grimaced and shook his head. “Doesn’t fit. No drug profile. No drug paraphernalia. No drug reputation. Forensics found traces of grass in one of the bedroom drawers, but nothing worth talking about. Casual users.” 

“Don’t casual users qualify?” 

Ray pressed, “You ever smoke a joint? I don’t care when.” 

Margie flashed a coy smile. “Well yeah, but I was young and impressionable.” 

“See what I mean.” 

Margie curled her lips inward and nodded her confirmation. She remained silent for a few more seconds, and finally said, “When are the Pranets coming in?” 

“Any time now. They’re on their way.” 

Margie wanted time to mentally prepare. “I’m gonna head back to my desk. I think I know what they look like, I’ll come back in, when they get here.” 

Grandisha nodded. As Grenk was rising to leave, he asked, “What’s Crownder been like?” 

Margie stood in front of Ray’s desk, tilted her head sideways and contorted her face in a questioning gaze. “No more blowups. But something’s wrong. He’s, I don’t know how to describe it... angry. Deep inside angry. I don’t know what he’s so angry about, though.” 

“Alright. Keep an eye on him. I don’t want any loose cannons running around.” As Grenk was walking out, Ray thought, he’s angry about life. 

The interview with the Pranets lasted two hours. Ray asked every conceivable question, went down every possible road; business, personal, love life, growing up, medical, gambling, dating, drinking, drugs. Nothing proved fruitful. Grandisha did notice that Liz Pranet answered the majority of the questions, but he marked that up to her aggressive nature, which was obvious. Ray admired her. 

Towards the end of the interview, Margie asked her first question. “I think we have this information, but I’d like to go over it again. Who picked the restaurant?” 

Liz answered. “Sue picked it. She loved that place. She loved the frog legs. It was almost a sexual thing with her. I used to kid her about climaxing in the middle of the meal. She never denied it.” 

Jules followed up. “Jim was happy because he had a pair of two- for-one dinner coupons.” 

Ray asked about the dinner coupons. 

Jules continued, “All four of us were at a church bazaar, two or three weeks before that night. Liz and Sue were off by themselves; Jim and I were walking around together. One of the booths was selling these dinner coupon books. Jim wanted to buy something to help the church, so he bought the books.” 

Ray asked, “Did you buy one?” 

“No. It wasn’t my church. I’m not big on those coupon things, anyway.” 

“How much did it cost? How did he pay for it?” 

“I think it was between forty and fifty dollars, and he paid by check.” 

Grandisha turned his attention to the file. He found a list of cancelled checks. Going down the items, he found the check to the church. Forty-seven dollars. The date on the check was three weeks before the murder. Ray highlighted the entry and put his initials next to it, with a short explanation. He found the inventory of property; under miscellaneous, he located the dinner coupon book. He highlighted that entry and made a notation to see the cancelled check. 

The highlighting and notes would advise other members of the investigating team that the entry had been pursued or explained. They wouldn’t waste time chasing it. 

The interview was just about over. Margie had no additional questions. She didn’t think she had contributed anything. Ray waited until the end to share the painfully cruel update. Liz broke down and cried when he told them about Sue being pregnant.