Detective Helena Frye closes the investigation into Bernardo Holyoke's murder. But something's fishy here. The police aren't pursuing his Recon wife, Kostka, claiming she would be no use to their enquiries, and they say the high-tech equipment found concealed at the Five of Cups was just 'automobile parts'. Is this a cover-up? Or maybe an attempt to draw out the culprit...?
By JEREMY CLARIDGE
The police department today announced that it is closing its investigation into the murder of Old Town entrepreneur Bernardo Holyoke. Holyoke was found dead in the bar he owned, the Five of Cups, in late April of this year.
Police Detective Helen Frye said that the police had followed through on every lead they could dig up, but that no further evidence as to the identity of the murderer had been found. "Of course we'll reopen the file if fresh evidence should turn up, but for now, we've run out of resources," she said.
She added that the department truly regretted its failure to produce results in the case. "Unfortunately, even the best forensic work has its limits. Ultimately, all of our leads just evaporated," she said. According to Frye, no witnesses gave testimony leading to suspects, and hard electronic forms of evidence at the scene were either damaged or nonexistent.
One of the case's most promising leads, concealed equipment alleged to be stolen from the Academy, has turned out to be more innocent than originally believed. Frye said that the items stolen from the Academy were simply automobile parts, and that some pieces were in fact obtained lawfully through a mechanical design class Holyoke had attended at the Academy in recent years. The other items were easily-obtained boards and motors one could find at most hardware retailers.
"We have discovered some information and made a few arrests," related to what appears to be a small-time fencing operation Holyoke was running out of his establishment, Frye said. But Holyoke was in no way the spotlight into the city's underworld that police had been hoping.
The police still have not been able to contact Holyoke's estranged wife, Kostka (formerly Jessica), who now resides in a Reconstructionist compound. "It looks like Kostka and Holyoke had not had regular contact for months before his death," Frye said. "We no longer believe she could give us helpful testimony."
