Read Online Kiss of the She-Devil by M. William Phelps - Free Book Online
Authors: M. William Phelps
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Many would-be murder-for-hire masterminds make mistakes financially—money leaves an imprint everywhere in the banking industry. There potentially could be an odd withdrawal here, or a deposit that doesn’t make sense there.
Next, the OCSD Crime Lab came in with its report of the crime scene, which yielded no clues that jumped out at investigators. It did, however, lend a hand to moving the investigation in the right direction. A spent projectile was uncovered underneath Gail’s body; a set of “inked finger impressions” were found on Gail; the lab collected clippings from underneath Gail’s fingernails, hairs, all of Gail’s clothes, which contained blood and additional trace evidence. The lab also had collected three weapons (George’s) from the substation: a Browning 9mm handgun, a Spanish semiautomatic .380/9mm handgun, and a Ruger .22 caliber. These were rounded up, along with a six-shot .22-caliber cartridge and four .380 cartridges, along with—perhaps more important than any other find—one empty gun clip.
Then word came of an interesting discovery, especially here within the first forty-eight hours: a 1998 Honda Accord LX, silver, a vehicle located and photographed inside George’s garage.
The lab report stated: Collected from the vehicle . . . 1—suspected blood from rear driver’s side door frame ; 1—suspected blood from rear quarter near gas tank, driver’s side; [and] 1—disposable camera from front passenger floor.
Why did a car in George’s garage have blood inside it? And whose blood was it? Had George shot his wife, rushed to her side after feeling guilty, gotten blood all over himself, panicked, and then taken off? After all, he had an alibi—his mistress. But that was only a phone call. Couldn’t George and Donna have planned Gail’s murder together? They could have connected via telephone; then George could have left the phone on a desk while he speedily drove to the library, shot his wife, and rushed back home. By reporting that his dad was downstairs during the entire time period Gail had been murdered, Andrew could be either covering for his father—under the duress and threats of dear old dad—or been fooled into thinking George was home.
There was plenty for investigators to think about. And every time the OCSD turned around, another piece of the puzzle was backed up with factual evidence. For example, several interviews had yielded information that Donna Trapani was in town during July 1999. Two detectives were sent over to canvass the hotels and motels in the “M-59 and Opdyke corridors of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.” They were looking for the names George Fulton and Donna Trapani. This was an area from Lake Orion south, down toward Mosteiro and Pontiac, east and west, heading toward Otter Lake, Elizabeth Lake, Loon Lake, Shelby Township, and several other areas where a majority of the hotels were located. It took some time, but during an inquiry at the ConCorde Inn in Rochester Hills, investigators made a discovery. Someone going by the name of Donna Kaye Trapani, from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, had checked in on July 3, 1999, and checked out on July 7, 1999. Telephone records indicated that Donna had made an obsessive number of phone calls, not only to George’s house, but several additional numbers in Oakland County.
“You have any information about the type of car she was driving?” investigators asked the hotel manager.
After a complete search the manager said, “No.”
So Donna was either picked up and driven to the hotel, or she hid the type of vehicle she had rented.
14
G EORGE FULTON TOOK A ride over to the substation to pick up a few of Gail’s personal belongings, which the OCSD was ready to release. It was 3:00 P.M. , October 6, 1999, almost forty-eight hours after Gail’s murder. The embattled husband, about whom the town was now whispering and gossiping behind his back, sat in the lobby by himself. His right palm was supporting his
Next, the OCSD Crime Lab came in with its report of the crime scene, which yielded no clues that jumped out at investigators. It did, however, lend a hand to moving the investigation in the right direction. A spent projectile was uncovered underneath Gail’s body; a set of “inked finger impressions” were found on Gail; the lab collected clippings from underneath Gail’s fingernails, hairs, all of Gail’s clothes, which contained blood and additional trace evidence. The lab also had collected three weapons (George’s) from the substation: a Browning 9mm handgun, a Spanish semiautomatic .380/9mm handgun, and a Ruger .22 caliber. These were rounded up, along with a six-shot .22-caliber cartridge and four .380 cartridges, along with—perhaps more important than any other find—one empty gun clip.
Then word came of an interesting discovery, especially here within the first forty-eight hours: a 1998 Honda Accord LX, silver, a vehicle located and photographed inside George’s garage.
The lab report stated: Collected from the vehicle . . . 1—suspected blood from rear driver’s side door frame ; 1—suspected blood from rear quarter near gas tank, driver’s side; [and] 1—disposable camera from front passenger floor.
Why did a car in George’s garage have blood inside it? And whose blood was it? Had George shot his wife, rushed to her side after feeling guilty, gotten blood all over himself, panicked, and then taken off? After all, he had an alibi—his mistress. But that was only a phone call. Couldn’t George and Donna have planned Gail’s murder together? They could have connected via telephone; then George could have left the phone on a desk while he speedily drove to the library, shot his wife, and rushed back home. By reporting that his dad was downstairs during the entire time period Gail had been murdered, Andrew could be either covering for his father—under the duress and threats of dear old dad—or been fooled into thinking George was home.
There was plenty for investigators to think about. And every time the OCSD turned around, another piece of the puzzle was backed up with factual evidence. For example, several interviews had yielded information that Donna Trapani was in town during July 1999. Two detectives were sent over to canvass the hotels and motels in the “M-59 and Opdyke corridors of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.” They were looking for the names George Fulton and Donna Trapani. This was an area from Lake Orion south, down toward Mosteiro and Pontiac, east and west, heading toward Otter Lake, Elizabeth Lake, Loon Lake, Shelby Township, and several other areas where a majority of the hotels were located. It took some time, but during an inquiry at the ConCorde Inn in Rochester Hills, investigators made a discovery. Someone going by the name of Donna Kaye Trapani, from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, had checked in on July 3, 1999, and checked out on July 7, 1999. Telephone records indicated that Donna had made an obsessive number of phone calls, not only to George’s house, but several additional numbers in Oakland County.
“You have any information about the type of car she was driving?” investigators asked the hotel manager.
After a complete search the manager said, “No.”
So Donna was either picked up and driven to the hotel, or she hid the type of vehicle she had rented.
14
G EORGE FULTON TOOK A ride over to the substation to pick up a few of Gail’s personal belongings, which the OCSD was ready to release. It was 3:00 P.M. , October 6, 1999, almost forty-eight hours after Gail’s murder. The embattled husband, about whom the town was now whispering and gossiping behind his back, sat in the lobby by himself. His right palm was supporting his
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