Copyright © 2014 by Kate Clark Flora
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, including electronic, mechanical or any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher.
Requests for permission should be addressed to:
New Horizon Press
P. O. Box 669
Far Hills, NJ 07931
Kate Clark Flora
Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice
Cover design: Wendy Bass
Interior design: Scribe Inc.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014930465
ISBN-13 (eBook): 978-0-88282-477-2
New Horizon Press
18 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 5
Dedication
To the brave officers who stand between us and evil and to Maria’s courageous family and friends
Author’s Note
This book is based on the author’s experiences and reflects her perception of past, present and future. The personalities, events, actions and conversations portrayed within this story have been taken from interviews, research, court documents, letters, personal papers, press accounts and the memories of some participants.
In an effort to safeguard the privacy of certain people, some individuals’ names and identifying characteristics have been changed. Events involving the characters happened as described. Only minor details may have been altered.
Acknowledgments
Maine Warden Service Lieutenant Pat Dorian’s comments that I might find this story interesting led me to Miramichi, New Brunswick. This book would not have been possible without the generosity of the Miramichi police, especially Deputy Chief Brian Cummings, Chief Paul Fiander, Constable Dewey Gillespie, Sergeant Jody Whyte, Retired Chief Earl Campbell and Greg Scott. Maria Tanasichuk’s family and friends were invaluable in helping me understand her, especially her sister, Sharon Carroll, and dear friends Darlene Gertley and Cindy Richardson.
I have also had the privilege of learning about search and rescue dogs and cadaver dog training from the Maine Warden Service, especially from Specialist Deb Palman and Warden Roger Guay, and about mapping from Lieutenant Kevin Adam. Maine Search and Rescue Dogs (MESARD) volunteers, including Cindy Attwood, Jennifer Fisk, Michele Fleury, Spencer Fuller, Leslie Howe and Nancy Troubh, were kind enough to invite me to observe their training, as was the Warden Service K-9 unit.
I have been well advised.
Table of Contents
Chapter 2 It Takes Two to Tango
Chapter 3 Making Something of Nothing
Chapter 4 Till Drugs Do Us Part
Chapter 5 Four Heads Are Better Than One
Chapter 7 Skeletons in the Closet
Part 2 Cat and Mouse
Chapter 8 Let the Games Begin
Chapter 9 A Cold Night in Hell
Chapter 10 Where Angels Fear to Tread
Chapter 11 Pride Comes Before a Fall
Part 3 Just Give Us a Sign
Chapter 12 The Pressure Cooker
Chapter 13 Going to the Dogs
Chapter 14 Fruitless
Chapter 15 Wonders Never Cease
Chapter 16 Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Chapter 17 Murder Will Out
Chapter 18 Execution
Part 4 Wheels of Justice
Chapter 19 Making the Case
Chapter 20 Second Time Around
Chapter 21 Justice for Maria
Epilogue
Endnotes
Sudden light from outside, triggered by motion sensors, stabbed through the blinds and roused the detective from fitful sleep. In an instant, he was fully awake and on his feet, sweeping up his gun from the head of the bed. Keeping a loaded gun by the bed is against all police training, as is keeping a loaded gun anywhere in a house with small children. But when a vicious killer may be stalking your family, all the rules change.
In the shadowy kitchen, he shoved his feet into waiting winter boots, felt for the step and let himself quietly out of the sleeping house. Outside, he found an unlit corner of the deck and stood staring out into his snowy yard, holding his breath and listening for anything that varied from the usual night sounds. He was a hunter as well as a cop. He knew about listening. He knew what the night should