The Case of the 3rd Covenant - aka Bayonet Murders
It began with a call in the middle of the night. My wife, Susan, took the call and handed it to me. A Catholic priest had been slain in Manhattan's Chinatown. I actually knew the deceased and that made things a bit personal for me.
As I pulled my rusting Dodge Dart into the parking lot of the bowling alley I saw Officer Marcus Jones. He and his partner, Lou Pernelli, were securing the area. ME Bernie Loomas was also on the premise as was my new partner, a crime scene investigator from Manhattan South. The thin, short, blond CSI had the unfortunate name of May K. Wish. I had the unfortunate problem of laughing at the name as she approached.
May was a lot sturdier than you would have guessed from her appearance, and tougher than a lot of veterans on the force. I was soon to learn that she was probably the best forensic crime scene investigator I'd ever met. She was absolutely meticulous.
This is how the case of the bayonet murders began for me. After my sleep had been interrupted and I left my loving wife, after meeting a friend and college, after an embarrassing introduction to my new partner, I was faced with the brutal murder of someone who had been my friend. In the dark parking lot of the bowling alley Father Reirdon lay now sprawled out on the ground with a WWII bayonet sticking out of his chest.
The thing about this case that nearly did me in wasn't the fact that I was forced to work long hours with little sleep, nor that I had to rub shoulders with someone I found out was an agnostic. Nor was the problem due to racing all over Manhattan, across New Jersey and then into Eastern Pennsylvania. It wasn't even that I was dealing with an ex-convict whose IQ was above mine nor that he turned this little bit of personal revenge into a religion of sorts. What caused this to become one of the more difficult cases for me was that he made it personal. He did this when he kidnapped my wife.
Up until that fateful point he, or I should say, a member of his congregations, had killed not just this priest, but an assistant DA and his girlfriend, a doctor and a dress shop owner. It was learned later that the member of the Church of the 3rd Covenant who killed the doctor had also been "hung out to dry" by the "Bishop" as he was called. His were the first prints on any of the bayonets that were left in the victims that matched anyone's in the national database. We soon learned why.
The man and Devereaux were at one point cellmates. Like Devereaux his prints were on file. Jenny Morgan was able to find Devereaux's prints on every bayonet, but never on the handle. This link, however, helped to propel the investigation forward. But the last victim, as female shop keeper was found dead in her own store across from the Chrysler Building. I found myself with May responding to this and trying to maintain some sense of professionalism as I was relegated to the role of glorified security officer.
This role, however, was necessary so that she could do her job without intrusions and allow her to focus on her work. We didn't realize that another crime scene was just across the street in that famous building, nor that a security guard was fighting for his life and my wife had been taken captive by these brutal people. The security guard had been stabbed, pulled behind the desk in the lobby and left for dead while my wife had been chloriformed and placed in a Jeep. They drove her away as the first responding police arrived to the homicide across the street. In fact I saw the red Jeep and thanked God for supplying me with a parking space. When I learned what haad happened I almost lost it. Thank God for May's calming effect on me during this time. She got me to focus on the case. Also I thank God for a praying wife and some wonderful friends.
We chased these people into Eastern Pennsylvania, charged into their first head quaters only to find it empty. Thankfully May had me wait for police backup or someone may have been accidentally injured or killed. Following the evidence we went further into Pennsylvania only to just miss this homicidal group. However, Peter Chen, David Ng and Sifu Sung watched from a coffee house as they made their exodus from the "castle" as the Bishop called it.
Because of their help we were able to pick them up in New Jersey where we followed them to Newark, and an empty warehouse. They slipped in through the back as quietly and stealthily as possible, but we had already seen them. David, Peter and myself breeched the building by going through the skylights. Local and state police formed squads that rushed through the door in back and blocked their exit through the front. The most telling part of this part of the investigation was that one of the members was making a move to run the cult and openinly attacking the Bishop. When knives came out she found she didn't have what it took to stand up to him. Oh she may have been more brasen, maybe even more powerful in her own way, but she wasn't wise. She never saw the blade coming that struck her down.
While the local cops rounded this group up and we were making the necessary plans to get them into Manhattan's courts May began to go over the evidence in her head again. At her insistence we met at the judge's house on E. 82nd St. I hadn't a clue what was going on. I was ready to get down and finish the paperwork on all of this, but May had seen some things in the evidence that made her question a few things. Unfortunately we were late. By the time we arrived the judge's wife was found grieving over her husband who lay dead in their home, a bayonet sticking out of his chest. I was thinkint this case just wouldn't go away. May, on the other hand, was sad that she didn't get there in time. I'll not tell you exactly how things were wrapped up. I don't want to spoil too much for you.
If you really want to know more about the Bayonet Murders you can read about it in a book written by my friend, David Brollier. He basically chronicled the events of the case from the very start until the case was wrapped up in court. You can find his book, The 3rd Covenant, on most online bookstores, but if you want to get it directly from him, at a savings, go over to http://sonburst.webs.com
- Det. Nat Adams
That's about it in a nutshell.I hope to get up the Whte Boards and some of the key evidence that turned the case around, but here you can at least post your own musings and insights about the story, the site, myself or May. I only ask that you keep your comments clean and not attack one another. I don't want to have to play "hall monitor" after working all day long in homicide, know what I mean? I know that most of you will be more than willing to stick with this simple rule. I also know that a couple of yokels out there are going to try to ruin it for everyone. To the majority I say, "Thank you for attempting to keep things clean, whatever your opinions may be." To the jokers that are trying to ruin it for everyone else I say, "No one's listening to you. Go find some place else to play. Better yet, grow up. Your life may depend on it. I don't want to be outlining your body with chalk becuase you let your mouth take you to stupid places. I have enough work to do." To everyone else, yes I am a Christian and would love it if you would all become my brothers and sisters, but even if you don't that doesn't mean I don't love you. Think. Look both ways and be safe. May God watch over you. - Detective Nat Adams
