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Dale Furutani

Death in Little Tokyo

1

The murder was calculated, cruel, and callous. Horace Peavy was brutally slain and two million dollars in negotiable bonds was stolen. Peavy was first hit on the head with the type of sledgehammer used to stun cows, then his body was taken and fed through a sausage grinder, turning him into breakfast sausage that was sold to a big restaurant chain. It was an effective way to get rid of the corpse, but I may never eat a Grand Slam breakfast again!”

The laughter echoed in the old “Farmer Bob’s” meat packing plant. The gaunt rafters of the plant formed a Gothic backdrop to the grisly tale I had to tell. The twelve people sitting before me on folding chairs looked more like an audience than a jury. I looked at their faces and scowled.

“Yes, I know it has its macabre and amusing aspects, especially since Mr. Peavy was, by all accounts, known as a pig. ” More snickers. “But, ladies and gentlemen, this is hardly an amusing matter, even though one of you has suggested that Mr. Peavy should have been marketed as turkey sausage instead of pork sausage. ” More laughter.

“In my experience a murder as brutal as this one can only have two causes. The first is the killer is mentally deranged; a psychopath or sociopath with little or no regard for human suffering or human life. Unfortunately, the front pages of our newspapers present us with increasing evidence that this type of killer is active in our society.

“The other type of killer is someone who has nursed a grudge for years or even decades. To motivate an otherwise normal person to kill in a frenzied and brutal manner requires an overwhelmingly powerful motivation. A motivation built up over time and tied to deep feelings of self-worth and being wronged. A motivation that requires more than the simple act of murder when the deed is finally done.

“In this group there is no evidence that anyone fits the profile of a casual killer, so I knew I was searching for someone who had quelled his or her rage for years, until that rage could only be quenched by feeding Peavy, piece by piece, into the sausage grinder. The bizarre demise of Mr. Peavy and the disposal of his body provided the first clue that allowed me to unravel this case. It started me on the trail of evidence that allows me to prove conclusively which of you killed him. ” I swept my finger in a grand arc, pointing at all the people gathered before me. Some of the faces showed anticipation. A few, including Mary Maloney, who knew the murderer, showed a knowing smirk.

“I think it’s appropriate that we’re meeting in this old meat packing plant for the conclusion of this mystery. You see, not only was the murder perpetrated in this plant, but it was in this plant that the motivation for murder was born. ” I gave each of the people on the panel a hard stare. Mary Maloney was now grinning openly at my theatrics.

“Mr. Peavy was not the best example of enlightened manhood, and several of you suffered from his cruel taunts and crude sexual advances. His long-suffering wife, Agnes, could have killed him for his many infidelities. But she had no opportunity to know about the two million dollars in negotiable bonds that were stolen when Peavy was killed because Mr. Peavy kept her isolated from his business affairs. ” I looked at a woman wearing a dowdy dress and a mousy brown wig.