Asphyxia I

    Charlie Grayson had been staring at the ceiling for at least an hour.  In his mind he was reviewing the quandary in which Jonathon Logan, his current client, had found himself.  Jonathon’s best friend, Donald Mather, had been hanged and he was now on trial for murder.  Charlie had been working on this case only two weeks.  His previous assignment had taken all his time until then.  He had spoken to Jonathan only twice but was convinced the young man was entirely innocent of any culpability in what happened to Donald.  Jonathan was a typical teenager, not a leader among his peers and a little bit shy when dealing with adults.  Although still in high school, he, unfortunately, was old enough to be tried as an adult.  Henry mentioned having changed Jonathan’s habit of looking down when he was speaking and he now looked Charlie right in the eyes.  There was no guilt there. 



    He was disappointed that the D.A. didn’t see that and at least delay the trial until all investigations were complete.  But the press had over-publicized the death of Donald Mather because it coincided with their current campaign against sadistic and masochistic erotic breath control games.  This death, they proclaimed, was an inevitable result of when people took unnecessary risks for mere entertainment.  Someone should be punished for it.  Under this pressure, the D. A. was forced to pursue the case with all his resources as quickly as possible.  Because Jonathan was the only plausible suspect, he was taking all the heat and being crucified in the newspapers.  His life would be left in tatters even if he was found innocent by a jury unless the truth of what happened was revealed.  Charlie felt the responsibility of being the one who must solve this case and prove, if it was a deliberate murder, who was guilty, or if it was an accident.  There was missing vital information needed to accomplish that end.  The pressure to produce the solution quickly was immense.  Regrettably, he had no good clues to follow.  Employing his time as he was, talking to all the people associated with Donald or Jonathan, was necessary but as yet unproductive.  As thoroughly as he probed into all aspects of this case, an alternative approach to the situation was not yet forthcoming.



    Charlie should be up and working already but he was anxious to discuss his future with Laura who was still sleeping soundly beside him.  He was quietly waiting for her to wake up but his patience was wearing thin.  He studied the lady lying peacefully beside him.  He admired the crop of curly blond hair atop her slim flawless figure.  Why he had been so lucky as to find her was beyond his comprehension.  She dropped into his life just over three months ago and now filled it entirely.  They met after she cut short her vacation in order to investigate the events behind the murder of her niece one hundred miles away in Conway where Charlie was a police detective.  Her goal had been to discover the particulars of the death to satisfy the concerns of her sister.  He was the detective officially assigned to investigate same case.  They were soon working together, were immediately attracted to one another and he fell in love for the first time at the advanced age of forty-five.  They had been sharing Laura’s home in Fairmont for the past three months.  He was on an unpaid leave from his position in Conway while ostensibly deciding whether he wished to remain in Fairmont.  His decision was already made.  If Laura married him he would stay but she hadn’t completely committed herself yet. 



    Charlie had accepted a temporary position as a Private Investigator reporting to Henry Vance, one of the most successful criminal lawyers in Fairmont.  If he intended to remain in Fairmont permanently, he had a choice between continuing to work for Henry, transferring into the Fairmont Police Department or working independently as a PI.  He felt that Laura must make her decision first because he didn’t wish to remain in Fairmont if they were not married.



    His patience finally gave out.  He climbed out of bed as quietly as possible and began to prepare for the day ahead.  His movement must have caused her to stir at last.  She rubbed her eyes and looked around wondering what had wakened her.  He was sure this wasn’t the best time to deliver an ultimatum but since there were time restraints as he would be leaving for work in less than fifteen minutes, Charlie challenged her defiantly, “Our three-month deadline has only one week to go.  We have to discuss our future.  You have to make a decision so I that can formalize my future plans.  Can we arrange to spend this evening together to resolve is issue?” 



    An evening with nothing but talk was difficult to accomplish.  Usually they were either too tired to do anything but fall asleep or too attracted to each other to waste the time talking.  As a result, discussion of personal problems got a short shrift.



    Laura wasn’t surprised by Charlie’s demand but neither was she ready for this particular conversation.  She knew Charlie had only a week left in which to decide whether or not to return to Conway.  Although he had declared his intentions many times and affirmed that his mind was made up when he moved in, she wanted more assurance that he would be content here before he made such a major change in his life.  The temporary position he had taken with Attorney Henry Vance had not provided the steady work she hoped for to test their situation.  His free time, which came in lumps, interfered with Laura’s working agenda and when he was on a case, his long hours kept him too busy.  She wanted to please him and be with him but she also wanted to keep up with her own life.  Laura knew she loved Charlie more than she had ever thought possible but she herself was hesitant to make a permanent commitment.  If things didn’t work out for them, she didn’t want to face the failure.  If he became dissatisfied with his life in Fairmont, she would refuse to move and give up the position she had worked so hard for as head librarian of the South Fairmont Branch of the library.  If things did work out, she didn’t want to give up any of her present additional activities.  She enjoyed her ventures as a Private Investigator searching for missing children and her weekly various club meetings. 



    Laura hedged.  “I know your three month leave is almost up and your decision must be made soon.  I thought you had already declared your mind made up.  It’s not so easy to make such a major change in your life, is it?”

Seeing the pained expression in Charlie’s face at her lack of a direct answer, Laura took a deep breath and replied with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, “We’ll talk tonight.  This must be discussed.  I do realize we have to have definite plans.  You make a dinner reservation at some place quiet and we’ll talk.  I promise.”



    Charlie responded with one long sensuous kiss.  Then, having received Laura’s promise, his attention returned to the project he was currently working on for Henry Vance.  Even though Charlie hadn’t finished his part of the investigation, the case had already entered the court system.  The jury had been selected and the trial of one of Vance’s most worthy clients, Jonathan Logan, was underway.  Henry wanted Charlie in court during the trial and Charlie knew he should be there.  If some fact was brought out in the hearing that had to be traced or verified immediately, Charlie would have all the necessary background and would understand any ramifications brought to light in the questioning without taking up Henry’s valuable time for explanations.

The courtroom was just beginning to fill up as Charlie arrived.  He took an inconspicuous seat in the rear.  Studying the jury members as they filed in, gave him no clear picture as to who might be antagonistic to a young man accused of killing his best friend by helping him hang himself as part of a game.  Henry thought they had the best jury possible as there were mostly parents of young adults.  He thought they would be sympathetic to a clean cut young man like Jonathan.  On the other side, the D.A. could feel this type of jury would be more anxious to punish the killer of a young teenager.  Time would tell which of the attorneys had predicted correctly.



    The opening statements offered no surprises.  The prosecutor, David Kelly, maintained that Jonathan Logan had murdered his good friend, Donald Mather, by inducing him to play breath control games.  He presented the ugly picture of Donald being persuaded to hang from the chandelier while Jonathan indifferently monitored his breathing and attempted to pull him down at the last minute.  The game was supposed to be an exciting challenge for Donald to trust his friend.  According to Donald’s parents, this was his first time he had taken part in such idiotic games or betrayed any interest in such things.  The prosecutor maintained that Jonathan knew how dangerous the game could be but hadn’t completely shared his knowledge with his younger friend.  Donald was just an innocent child seduced by a more worldly adult, whom he admired, to experiment with this erotic behavior.  The prosecution intended to prove that Jonathan was an experienced player who got his excitement by watching others.  He intended to present witnesses who would testify how dangerous these actions were.  He would also have witnesses who knew that Jonathan had attended such parties before.  Kelly concluded by affirming forcibly, “When the facts are all before you, you‘ll have no option but to find this man guilty of murder.”



    Henry countered the allegations in his opening statement.  “The prosecution is correct in the fact that one of the participants was knowledgeable and experienced in breath control games, but it wasn’t Jonathan.  As I shall prove, the truth is Jonathan had never even heard of this kind of activity and wasn’t present when this particular fatality occurred.  Let me repeat myself.  Jonathan was unaware of these games and was never a participant.  On the evening in question, Jonathan was called anonymously by the person who was present, to rush to Donald’s aid after Donald was dead.  When Jonathan arrived, he found Donald hanging from the light fixture.  He immediately cut the body down and called 911 but it was too late.  Upon their arrival, the police apprehended Jonathan, the only person at the scene, who, behaving as any good citizen would, remained with the body until the police appeared.”



    Henry concluded his opening statement emphasizing this fact.  “He waited until the police arrived.  He could have left Donald hanging there and never been associated with his death.  His being there doesn’t make him guilty of contributing to Donald’s death.  Indeed, the fact that he didn’t run should convince us all to believe in his innocence.”



    Charlie had been making notes of all details mentioned by the prosecutor that he hadn’t already investigated.  The only possible loose end was the reference to Donald’s parents.  Henry hadn’t wanted him to intrude on their grief and therefore he had not yet interviewed them.  What they had to say was probably not relevant because questionable behavior that was life threatening was not generally shared with one’s parents.  But it was possible they knew with whom Donald spent most of his recreational time and more aptly with whom he might have spent that evening.  Hopefully that would produce the name of the person actually present at the hanging.  Charlie would check with Henry if it were all right to talk to them now. 



He looked to the pew behind the prosecutor to see the small, dejected woman who was Donald’s mother.  Between her and a tall, angry man were three young boys from the ages of seven to fifteen who were Donald’s brothers.  If they were going to be in court during the whole procedure, he would have to talk to them in the evening.  Donald’s father looked exactly as one would expect: a tall, energetic, athletic sort who was usually in command of every situation.  What Charlie had discovered about Donald from the people he had already interviewed was his leadership qualities and his mature attitude.  He was generally the one to give orders among his peers.  Such behavior was natural since he was the oldest of the three brothers.  Their mother was not at all like Donald, who had inherited his father’s good looks and strong personality.  Perhaps Donald’s inquisitive nature which led him to experimenting with dangerous breathing games was inherited from his mother.



    Charlie turned his attention to Dr. Janice Orman, the coroner, who was the first witness called by the D. A.  She testified concerning the manner and time of death.  She stated positively that the death was the lack of oxygen resulting from the hanging. Her testimony dragged on for most of the morning because she went into unnecessary detail concerning the method used in the hanging and because she insisted in interjecting her opinion of people engineering breathing games, to which Henry, Jonathan’s lawyer, continuously objected..  She also testified that the time of death was between 7:00 P.M. and 9:00 PM on the evening he was found.  Kelly, the prosecutor emphasized the fact that there was not much time between when the death had occurred and when Jonathan called 911.  He was trying to eliminate the possibility that someone else had monitored Donald’s hanging, called Jonathan, and then disappeared. 

There were no dramatic new facts brought out that hadn’t been presented in the opening statements so Henry didn’t bother with an in-depth cross examination. He did manage to induce her to admit that, because of the condition of the body, the death was more likely to have occurred closer to 7 PM than to 9 PM and in that case there was a significant amount of time after the death till when the body was cut down.  To familiarize the jury with the aggressive tactics he intended to employ, and to introduce them to the situation they would be dealing with, he asked a few rudimentary questions about the nature of the death and the frequency of deaths occurring by hanging during erotic games.  Dr. Orman had no specific information but affirmed that, in her experience, there were very few deaths although many close calls.  The morning session came to an early end at the conclusion of Dr. Orman’s testimony. 



    Charlie conceded he had wasted a whole morning during which he might have been searching for more witnesses to Donald’s activities that fatal day.  As soon as he could escape, he returned home in hopes that Laura might show up for lunch.  Since court would not resume until 2:00 PM, he had plenty of time on his hands.  Only one more vital interview remained before he expanded the scope of his investigation beyond the closest friends of Donald and Jonathan.  Carol Trent, a special friend of both Jonathan and Donald, wasn’t available until 8:00 PM that evening.  She had been whisked out of town by her parents, right after Donald’s death and was returning this afternoon.  According to Jonathan, he had been with Carol when he received the crucial phone call that urged him to hurry to Donald’s apartment.  Charlie anticipated wrapping up this part of the case by substantiating Jonathan’s alibi with a corroborating statement from Carol. Charlie hoped Laura could join him for that interview on their way to dinner.  He felt Carol might need some persuasion to take the stand and admit to being with Jonathan.  Laura was usually much more successful in such endeavors than he was and since she enjoyed taking part in his sleuthing being included would put her in a good frame of mind for the important personal discussion they planned during the evening ahead.