Why Not Murder

11. Emergency

11. Emergency

"Can you give me any information about a Kyle Rogers," Maya asked Dog, " He must be in the system somewhere as the cops were able to identify the victim of the bear mauling of the other day as Kyle Rogers from his fingerprint."

"I heard he was identified from dental records," Dog said.

"He was," Maya answered, "Apparently he is a man of various identities."

"I am able to access police records," Dog admitted.

"You are amazing," Maya exclaimed.

"Most of these skills I developed after the disaster," Dog said, "That's how I regained my sanity."

"That's why I investigate," Maya said, "Takes my mind off grieving."

Dog was banging on the keyboard and then showed Maya what came on screen. They were both reading the information. Kyle's prints had been taken during a burglary investigation nearly ten years earlier. Very expensive jewelry had been stolen from the safe of a rich couple despite the flawless operation of state of the art security. As a routine, the prints of all the servants were taken. Kyle was one of two butlers and there were twelve other household servants as well as two chauffeurs, a mechanic and five gardeners. The jewelry was never retrieved and in time handsome insurance funds recompensed. Kyle's fellow butler was eventually charged and convicted in spite of his persistent declarations of innocence. He was a man who was rapidly losing hair and a number of his hairs were found inside the safe. Previously he had been caught red-handed by the couple attempting to make off with a set of valuable candlesticks. Kyle's fellow butler had a reputation amongst the servants for being disgruntled, envious of the wealth of others and a communist. Two months later, the wealthy wife died in a car accident and a month after that, Kyle quit, never to be heard of or seen again. His letter of resignation cited the toxic working environment resulting in the household after the burglary.

Maya was curious for more detail on Kyle Rogers and also for information about Warren Lockmere and Wyler Roberts so Dog dug deeper. He brought up the three driver's licenses on screen together with the photos for each. None of the three were the same age but all within ten years of each other. Kyle's had not been renewed since his disappearance. The addresses were all within the same province. Only Kyle's photo on record corresponded to the face of the man Maya had buried. Warren's photo was of the man that Maya had met in town when she was following up on the address given on the driver's license she found on the dead man. Wyler's photo was of yet another man.

"Obviously the man had procured himself a number of licenses," Dog said, "If you know where to get the service done, one photo can replace another on the license."

"Interesting," Maya said, "I have often noticed how people barely resemble the photo on their driver's license anyway. If you compare the real person with the photo they can be remarkably unalike."

"It's an assumption that photos accurately represent reality," Dog added, "A serious realist portrait painter would never work from a photo alone and the quality of a photo would have to conform to a high standard and be almost life-size for the artist to use it in conjunction with having the subject sit for them. When cops or anyone checks a driver's license they are not aware how different reality and photos are, asides from the obvious hair colour changes and weight gain or loss, facial features change over the time period of the license validity. Even skin colour, a photo can make look too dark or too light." Maya agreed.

Maya was thinking about why he would be changing his identity and who was he born as. Who was he really?

Later that afternoon as Maya was crossing town to go home, she thought how glad she was that she had seen Dog. She would see him again. He had access to so much information. It came down to her asking relevant questions. She also felt how important it was for them to support each other after the catastrophe.