“Yes, this is a good time. He’s lucid and has most of his strength,” Khalid said, leading them into Eugene Bickersley’s room.
After quick introductions, the television was switched off, and at the request of the detectives, they were left alone with Bickersley. They positioned a tablet and a phone to video record, then began.
Petro and O’Shea stated their names, the date, and their shield numbers, along with Bickersley’s identification, date of birth, address, the date and location of the recording, and his position at the Tall Elm School in Erie County.
“Mr. Bickersley,” Petro began, “you may proceed with your statement concerning the missing person case of Jennifer Marie Griffin, now under active investigation by the New York State Police and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department in Ohio.”
“Yes. Not long before Jennifer Griffin was reported missing, there was an incident, a confidential matter, to which I was a party.”
Giving approximate dates and times, he continued, his voice rasping.
“As a parent with her son enrolled in the school, Jennifer Griffin participated in a number of committees, working closely with board members.
“She was cochair of the Parent School Support Committee that was working to broaden a lunch program policy to include more students. There were many long meetings that went into the evening. The committee was being challenged, chiefly by a school board member, Porter Sellwin, who objected to the cost.”
Bickersley paused to drink some water.
“The day following a late night meeting, Jennifer, very angry, came to my office to speak confidentially about the behavior of Mr. Sellwin, alleging that he had made unwanted sexual advances. Specifically, she claimed that after the previous night’s meeting, Sellwin approached her alone by her car in the parking lot, stated that her passion for improving school programs conveyed her underlying attraction to him, and that she didn’t need to hide it any longer.”
Bickersley paused, then resumed.
“Jennifer said she told him he was mistaken but he laughed, saying that’s what ‘his women’ always tell him. Then he kissed her on the mouth while groping her buttocks. She said she slapped him and drove away. She said she hadn’t told another person, that she wanted my advice about filing a formal complaint with the board.”
Bickersley drank more water.
“I advised her that she had every right to file a formal complaint to the board, and that she could even go to police. But whatever she did would be a serious step. I said because the alleged incident happened on school property, I would need to speak to Mr. Sellwin. She said she wanted time to think it over and was going to the office we had in the school for parental committees.”
Bickersley paused again.
“After she left my office, I considered calling Mr. Sellwin, but he came to my office shortly after she’d left, stating he had seen Jennifer leave my office looking upset. I was taken aback by the sense that he’d been watching her.
“Mr. Sellwin then demanded confidentiality before proceeding to give his account of the incident. He stated it was a misunderstanding, that Jennifer Griffin had invited his advances, then changed her mind. I told him that she may proceed with a complaint or go to police.”
Bickersley stopped to collect his thoughts.
“That’s when Mr. Sellwin became angry, his face got red as he suggested to me, incorrectly, that he had gotten me my position as principal. He then said that if Jennifer Griffin went ahead with her complaint it would be, ‘unpleasant for all of us,’ because he was talking to well-connected people about running for the New York State Assembly, that Jennifer Griffin was not going to stand in his way, and that I had ‘better damn well bury this problem,’ or he would.”
Bickersley glanced at the ceiling briefly.
“Later, after he left, I saw him approach Jennifer Griffin in the parking lot. They appeared to have a conversation where he touched her shoulder and she smacked his hand away before driving off.”
Bickersley blinked several times, looked at the detectives, and swallowed.
“As far as I know, Jennifer Griffin never filed a complaint,” Bickersley said. “I wish to God I had told you this sooner but—my condition—I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
Sixty-Eight
Interstate 90 between Batavia and Buffalo, New York
The image of the woman moaning pleasurably played in Porter Sellwin’s mind while driving west on I-90 to Buffalo.
Traffic was good.
He stole glances at his burner phone, sitting in the center console of his car. The video recording was there.
I can’t wait to watch it.
He relived it...the woman, her top unbuttoned, braless and naked from the waist down. She was straddling Sellwin on the bed. It’d been her idea to meet in a motel outside of Buffalo, at the edge of Batavia, to further discuss Sellwin’s political ambitions.
She was a moaner and held her own with her beauty, her body, and performance, for a gal her age, Sellwin thought, watching the road and smiling because she was unaware he’d recorded them last night.
Sellwin had told his wife the truth. He’d gone to Batavia for a meeting about his political plans with key players in the party, one of them being Lyyindelle Smith, who headed the nomination committee for his district.
Sellwin used his looks and charm to make a pass at Smith.
She accepted.
On the bed, while watching Smith unzip her skirt, take off her pantyhose and unbutton her shirt, Sellwin called his wife on the hotel phone, so the number would show and left her a voice mail. He’d told her his meeting was a success but had run late, and he’d had a few celebratory drinks so he thought it best to stay over.
A short time later, she’d texted him back.
You work so hard, sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning.
His wife sent an immediate second text starting: OMG! Did you hear on the news about the mistake in the—But he’d been too busy to read further at that moment.
Now, enjoying the memory of Smith’s sighs, Sellwin agreed.
I do work hard.
Smith had guaranteed that the party would endorse him as its district candidate for the state assembly. She would arrange for the party’s volunteers to collect signatures for the petition and help him establish his campaign account and launch fundraising.
Taken by Sellwin’s time in the military, his take-charge personality, Smith had told her committee members that he’d proven he was a strong contender. In his time on the school board, he’d demonstrated fiscal responsibility, like his recent opposition to proposals for costly program expansions. Ever since Lyyindelle Smith had let him know that she and the party were impressed with his record, it had been smooth sailing for him.