Casebook Retrieval

I recently retrieved my main casebook which had been idly left at Kingsbury PI's place a few days earlier. It contains observations and suppositions relevant to the case hitherto untouched on.

note 1: The redhead girl in the CCTV footage identified by one of the Boston tech crew as Melody Nelson could she be one of the duo known as 'Melinda Packett'? I recall receipts for auburn hair colour being found at their bay area residence? Sounds like one of those coincidences I don't believe in.

Assuming this is the case, it would seem that there is frequent movement of personnel connected to this whole saga from north to south and east to west. The group seem to have connection in all corners of the continent and also south of the border. Vandeloo and De Leon seem to have moved around more than most people we are aware of in the case - Florida, Baton Rouge, Mexico, Wisconsin, probably Maine. I definitely think these guys are researchers/couriers with major connections moving across the landscape on a constant basis, probably running along differenty routes to the cargo cult already identified. I'm still not sure if they were truly soft core group or if they were government plants.

This moving around would facilitate posting correspondance from all over the US, allowing the group to never use the same address twice, appearing ubiquitous and without an operational centre. This is an organisation structured according to donut law. perhaps they themselves extend around the circumference of the planet and Searly could be anywhere. This is a classic obfuscationist technique, favoured by RC Christian as we have already seen.

One more thing: Dan Stairs. His name sounds so similar to 'downstairs'; it makes me think of basements. I think he could be a good lead. I shall investigate his presence in the Ohio region; preliminary enquiries show he has been spotted in the East Cleveland area.

In Reply

Good sleuthing from ms Kingsbury P.I. BA Phil.
The big fish is indeed in the water.

I note the mention of a certain Jack Vandeloo of Ottawa, and a Jose de Leon, both also ketch ‘enthusiasts’ who many investigators considered likely to be involved in the notorious quota fraud around the Halifax, Novia Scotia bay area in the early 1990’s. The same faces came up again several years later in the Baton Rouge area, after an interim period without any trace as to their whereabouts or activities. In Florida, they were suspected (but later released without charge) in the case of the poaching of young crocodiles to supply private zoos in Mexico. A certain Mr ‘Vermott’ was later to be charged and then convicted of a lesser charge associated with this same crime.

It is unknown whether Vermott was an associate of the other two, or if he was framed by them or others, or whether Vandeloo and de Leon were wholly innocent of the Florida accusations. Vermott was released early and subsequently has been untraced. An ex-work colleague from the Manatee Boat Supplies Company claim he had ‘always talked of visiting Mexico’. Vermott has no known associations with R Searley/Surley/Searly, however a Pasadena phone directory belonging to a James Long was found close to the wreckage of a Buick stationwagon in Maine. In this directory, the name of an R Searle is circled in blue ink with the word Vermouth under it followed by a question mark. Theories have been made that Vermott was an alias, however my contacts feel a more likely explanation is that Vermott used Searle as an alias, intending to pose as Searly, but based on incomplete or incorrect personal information. This supports the theory that both existed and did not know each other directly. Whether foul play can be suspected in the Buick incident, and whether this was conducted by Vermott to silence Long, is unknown.