I gave Detective Cunningham a call on June 30. Every year on Patty’s birthday, I call. He left me a voicemail the very same day, so I was pleased about that. He called himself Dan Cunningham, so in my message I used this information mode of address. I tried not to overthink it, but that move could have been disrespectful or an attempt to get him to feel friendly towards me. I know it fell flat if it was the latter.
I’ve been trying to wean myself off ChatGPT. I refer to it as “C” to save myself a few syllables. It didn’t have the normal aim to please response to the question about what to ask the Homicide Detective (I’m not certain that’s even his title). It advised to “approach Detective Cunningham less as someone seeking investigative secrets and more as someone trying to preserve the historical record of Patty’s life and death.” It recommended a list of questions to avoid. Don’t ask about the suspect or the details that only the killer would know. All the suggested questions I’ve asked, and many have been answered. I know the biggest obstacles. I’ve scoured the public records. Imagine my surprise when C listed at the bottom: “Is there anything about Patty that you wish people understood better when they think about her case?” How thoughtful of C to suggest that. That answer too has probably been answered by one of the detectives. Not Cunningham, but Pierucci I believe. She found herself in a certain life situation. That didn’t make her a bad person. That is definitely what I wish people would take away from reading about her.
I know Detective Cunningham doesn’t have the time to play phone tag with me. I left a detailed message basically culling the suggestions from C told that I had asked, but that had a bit more nuance. I now want to know if there will ever come a time that any details could be released about my friend’s murder. Is there a point at which it wouldn’t matter anymore¾Dan sounded more definitive than ever last time we talked¾because everyone connected to the case is either dead or senile? Witnesses, I believe he called them. That leaves exactly no one to, in his words, corroborate the story?
Patty would have been sixty-five on her birthday. Perhaps had she lived, she’d be ready to collect her social security, relax for a change, draw her family near to her at this time of life when that becomes the most important thing in your life. I can picture her messing around with C like I do. Asking it something like: “Would I screw up my kids, and their kids, if I tell them the story about those rough times I had early in life?” It would likely give reasoned advice, a lecture on age-appropriate content. This is all so hypothetical. Had she lived, I’m almost certain she wouldn’t have made it this long without sharing about¾at least someone¾the gritty, knife edge life that was her youth.
