“Lise, are you in there?” He asked at her door that was slightly ajar.
Pushing it open a tad wider, he peered inside. Lisa was lying across the ruffled bed, sound asleep. Victor remembered how much he loved to watch her sleep as a small child. She was growing up so quickly now and he felt like he was losing her.
Quietly, he backed out of the room and shut the door. Just then, the doorbell sounded and he hurried back downstairs.
“I hope I didn’t take too long,” Betty said walking past him.
“No. As a matter of fact, I just got here myself,” Victor replied.
“Where are the kids?”
“Lisa’s upstairs sleeping and Tim, I guess, is somewhere around the neighborhood.
“Great! Coast is clear,” Betty retreated to the sofa. “Now, let’s talk.”
Victor slid Harold’s letter out of his pocket and showed it to her. “Harold found this under his front door a few days ago,” he said.
Betty read the letter carefully. “My goodness!”
“Yeah, I was rather shocked myself,” Victor remarked.
“Someone’s actually threatened to kill him! Do you think it’s the same person who’s trying to frame you?” She asked wide-eyed.
“I don’t know; maybe.” Then a thought came to mind. “Wait right here,” Victor said before sprinting upstairs.
As Betty sat waiting, she tried not to allow the lingering dread she felt to overwhelm her.
Victor returned minutes later and sat next to her. “See, the handwriting on this one doesn’t even remotely match the one you have.” He referred to the last letter he had personally received.
“You’re right,” Betty agreed. “The handwriting on Harold’s letter looks like that of a third-grader.”
“You think this whole thing is just a game someone’s playing to frighten Harold and Mary?” Victor asked.
“I certainly hope so,” Betty sighed. “We could have blamed it on the same lunatic who’s pulling your strings, except that nothing matches here. Whoever wrote this is playing a very serious game. We know that threats like this should not be ignored, but I feel like right now, it just might be what it seems - some very immature kid playing a very stupid prank.” She paused for a moment then said, “But then again, what if I’m wrong? What if Harold and Mary are really in danger? I don’t know if he would want to show that letter to the police just in case.”
“I’ll suggest it to him,” Victor replied. “But I doubt he’d want to. He doesn’t want Mary to know about it.”
“Yeah, well, as you and I both know firsthand, these days we should never underestimate people and what they might be capable of. You just never know…”
The next morning, Victor suggested to Harold that it might be a good idea for him to take the anonymous letter to the police. However, Harold promptly refused.
That day, at a special luncheon held at the Lee Harper hotel in celebration of the company’s thirtieth anniversary, Harold graciously expressed a sincere appreciation to his staff for all of their hard work throughout the years and openly attributed a great deal of the company’s success to Victor Emerson, whom he referred to as “…a man of the highest caliber.” He commended him for his unrelenting efforts and commitment, and for being his most entrusted employee and friend for so many years.
* * * *
Natalie Brooks claimed to have no knowledge of her sister, Edith's, whereabouts. She indicated to Nick Myers that she had no reason to suspect that Edith was missing since they rarely kept in contact with each other. Nevertheless, she provided the names and address of the people Edith worked for in the suburbs.
The Atkins, an elderly couple who had hired Edith to do part-time housekeeping in their home, confirmed that they had not seen or heard from Edith since what turned out to be the very day that Nick and Lou had visited her house and initially spoke with Rufus Ferguson.
Nick grew very concerned. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he could not seem to shake. He requested a warrant to search Edith Larson's residence and that same afternoon, he, Lou and two uniformed police officers headed for Crenshaw.
Rufus, who was sitting on his porch, immediately stood up and watched as the officers forced their way inside Edith’s house.
Nick commenced his search of the living room area as Lou and the other officers carefully rummaged through the remainder of the house.
Edith's apparent love of figurines instantly caught Nick’s eye. There were many beautiful, colorful ones in various shapes and sizes. A stereo sat in the corner of the room near the front window and three tables - a five-foot long, rectangular one in the center of the room and two small squarely-shaped ones stood on opposite sides near the windows. Aside from the fairly crowded tables and the plain white curtains, there was nothing more to the room. Still, Nick left nothing unturned. In the end, however, he uncovered nothing that might somehow explain Edith's sudden disappearance.
In less than an hour later, everyone assembled in the living room with nothing of any substance to report.
“Nothing, guys? Not even the littlest object that could somehow justify this woman's disappearance?” Nick asked.
“Everywhere was checked thoroughly, Nick,” Lou replied. “Nothing stood out from our angle. Her closets are still full of clothing and shoes; her dresser drawers are all stacked. I don’t know what to say.” He shrugged.
“All right guys, let's head out then,” Nick said.
As they all left the house and headed for their vehicles, Rufus yelled to them from the other side of the fence. “What you find?”
Nick approached the fence, “Nothing that tells us where your friend is,” he said quietly. “Do me a favor and keep an eye out for anything unusual that might come this way, all right?”
“Sure. No problem,” Rufus replied.
“Still got that card I gave you?” Nick asked.
“Yeah, right there on my bedroom windowsill.”
As all the cars pulled away, a now worried Rufus stood on the porch watching them.
FIFTEEN
Annie Keller picked up the phone and dialed the number only after she was certain that Frank had fallen asleep.
The phone rang just once before someone answered. “Hello…”
“Ray?” Annie asked softly.
“Annie… is that you?”
“It’s me.”
“Annie, you have no idea what you put me through all week. I didn’t know if you were going to call or change your supermarket on me.” He sounded distressed.
Annie chuckled.
“I was crushed when I didn’t see you at the market on Thursday. I waited there for hours to see if you’d come.”
“Really? I went there today instead.” Annie was flattered to hear that she had such a profound effect on a total stranger.
“Oh, I see then. You intentionally avoided poor, lonely me,” Ray pouted. “But if you’re up to it, dinner on me tomorrow? That would really help me get over the disappointment.”
“You truly are persistent, aren’t you?” Annie remarked.
“Persistent, you say? After an entire week of not hearing your angelic voice, seeing your beautiful face, smelling your fragrantly sweet skin, I ask you for one date and you call me persistent? You got a dictionary handy?”
“Why?” Annie asked.
“Do me a favor lady. Get yourself that dictionary and look up the meaning of the word persistent, will you?”
Annie was tickled at how serious he sounded.
“Well, did you grab one?”
“No, Ray. I know what persistent means; believe me,” she replied.
“So, what do you say - dinner or breakfast, or would it be breakfast and dinner?”
Smiling, Annie said, “Okay. Lunch would be better for me. I have to take care of a few things for my brother, Frank, tomorrow morning. So afterwards would be fine.”
“Great! Lunch is great!” Ray beamed. “How about we meet at Tops around noon?”
The next morning, she was awakened by the chirping of birds nestled in a beautiful mimosa tree near her window. Annie took a long stretch, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was 7:15. She got up and opened the drapes, allowing the glaring sunlight to flow in. She felt happy and energized - like a teenager again.
After making her bed and brushing her teeth, she headed into the kitchen. She got the kettle going for their usual morning tea which she sometimes looked forward to the most. While scrambling eggs, she hummed a romantic melody and danced gracefully around the kitchen.
Moments later, she heard the front door shut, then the sound of Frank’s wheelchair approaching. Just when she thought he would enter the kitchen, it stopped. She lowered the fire on the stove and went into the other room.
Frank was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. “Good morning, Frank. How are you today?” She asked, opening the blinds.
Poker-faced, he glanced up at her, then resumed his reading.
“Is that this morning’s paper?” She snuck a closer peek.
He nodded.
“All right. Well, I guess I’ll have a read when you’re done then. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes.”
After setting everything down, she sat across from him and uttered a short, quiet prayer for both of them. “Slept well?” She asked unfolding her napkin.
He nodded, then folded the newspaper and handed it to her.
“Well, I certainly did. I even overslept a little this morning,” she chuckled.
Annie read the newspaper while Frank focused all of his attention on the meal in front of him.
After putting the paper away, Annie started fiddling with the remainder of her food. “I have to make a run downtown today,” she said. “I’ll be gone for a couple of hours.” The anticipated silence which followed made her very uneasy. She said little afterwards. Later, she completed her chores and looked forward to her lunch date at noon.
* * * *
Chief Tuyler failed to make good on his threat, but he attempted to off-load onto Nick and Lou some of the pressure he himself had been sinking under, particularly since the death of Haley Freedman.
Nolan Freedman’s greatest quest was to conduct a state-wide campaign in order to belittle and degrade the integrity of the L.A.P.D. for failing to prevent the death of his daughter, Haley. He went as far as urging the police to take full responsibility for any and all future killings that might be perpetrated by the hands of the vicious killer.
The city of Los Angeles was now in a state of panic. Applications for gun licenses skyrocketed and citizens were notably on edge as evident in the increased cases of violence that suddenly flooded police precincts.
One night at headquarters while Nick had sunken his teeth deeply into Clare Moore’s file, his prayers were finally answered: He received a long-awaited call from Richard Braxton.
“Detective, how is the investigation going?” Braxton asked casually.
Nick sensed an air of mischief. “We could certainly do a lot better with more leads from you, Braxton,” he said.
“Well, that’s what I’m here for. I have some information you might be interested in. I guarantee you that once you follow my instructions to the T, you will put an end to the killings once and for all.”
Nick leaned forward in his chair. “Okay. What do you have for me?”
“I know who’s next,” Braxton replied abruptly.
“What did you say?”
“You heard right, detective. I know who’s next.”
“I’m all ears, Braxton.” And Nick listened as Braxton revealed what he knew.
“How do you know all this?” Nick asked - his curiosity piqued.
“Whenever I meet you in person, I’ll fill you in. I promise,” Braxton said.
“Okay, well how about you leave your contact information with me so I can reach you afterwards?”
“I’ll do all the contacting, detective,” Braxton answered sharply. “If you want your killer tonight, you’d take my advice.” And he hung up.
* * * *
Annie got into her jeep and headed for the restaurant. She was outfitted in a gold and black pants suit, and her hair was neatly pinned up with long, curly strands dangling loosely on both sides on her narrow face. It was a quarter of twelve. She knew it would take her approximately twenty minutes to arrive at her destination.
She parked her jeep at the rear of the restaurant where she had found ample parking space. Tops was usually busy at lunch-time and that day was no different. Ray waved to her from the back and she quickly headed in that direction. He had secured a table near the window and quickly stood as she approached.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Annie said.
“I’d wait for you forever, my love,” Ray said with what Annie secretly deemed a celestial smile.
They plunged into conversation, forgetting for some time to view the menus in front of them. The waiter stood patiently while they decided.
“What are you having?” Annie asked, needing some assistance in deciding for herself.
“Oh...I don’t know,” Ray replied. “The shrimp looks good. I think I’ll try that along with some of their veggie rice and slaw.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have the same.”
As the waiter left with their orders, Ray looked at Annie mischievously. “Are you ordering that because I’m ordering it?”
“I’m ordering it because it looks good and I eat a lot,” she smiled without a tinge of embarrassment.
As they sat there, Annie felt seething desire in Ray’s eyes as he spoke to her. Because of his wild sense of humor, she was able to, for the most part, ignore the butterflies that were floating around her stomach.
Ray was incredibly handsome. His complexion was tan and radiant, and his physique, lean and toned. Annie knew that he could get any woman he wanted. Yet, he was spending time with her.
“So are you married?” She asked, sipping her fruit punch.
“Na. Never met the right woman,” Ray said.
“Any kids?”
He shook his head. “Haven’t been so lucky yet. What about you?”
“My husband… he was unable to,” she started, “but it never really bothered me. At the time, I sort of had a difficult time picturing myself as a mom anyway,”
“Why’s that?” Ray asked curiously.
“I’m not sure.” Annie slowly swirled the cherry in the glass.
“Personally, I think you’d make a great mom,” Ray said. “I know I don’t know you one iota, but I got a good hunch about it.”
Annie blushed at the compliment.
“So tell me more about your brother.” Ray rested his elbows on the table, fingers clenched beneath his chin.
“Who… Frank?”
“I guess. You have another one?” He asked.
“No. I’m sorry, I must be in a daze here,” Annie said feeling temporarily inelegant. “Well, like I mentioned before, Frank had been crippled in a car wreck about a year ago - actually six months after my husband, Tom, passed away. He suffered a nervous breakdown shortly after the accident and hasn’t spoken a word since. His doctor feels that his inability to speak is more psychological than physiological – if I’m saying it right.”
“So, in essence, Frank has the control as far as his speech coming back?” Ray asked.
“To a certain extent,” she answered. “What frustrates me though is that he doesn’t try to do anything about it. He just sits there all day in that wheelchair of his as if his life is over. He has so much anger inside because of what our father did to us.”
Ray sat quietly, careful not to intrude.
“We just had a lot of rough times growing up,” Annie continued.
“But you’re okay?” Ray asked tenderly, reaching for her hand.
“I’m okay no
w,” she nodded. “Through the years, I’ve pretty much gotten over it; accepted life as it is, but Frank – he still has a lot to work through. Sometimes his distance even scares me. He sits there so quietly and I never know what’s going on inside his head. I just wish I could do something to help him,” she sighed.
“Have you ever considered therapy?” Ray asked.
“Absolutely, but he refuses,” Annie shot her hands up. “He even refuses to bow his head in prayer at the dinner table as if he blames God for everything. I love him so much, Ray. My brother’s been there for me through thick and thin, he’s encouraged me in all my endeavors, but he hasn’t done very much for himself. I feel like I owe him something,” she paused to collect her thoughts. “I feel like I owe him my life. To be honest with you, I haven’t dated anyone since Tom died. I always felt like I’d be betraying Frank. Isn’t that weird?” She tried to laugh it off.
Ray just looked at her attentively.
“If a man showed even the slightest interest in me, I could always tell that Frank wasn't pleased. One time, he said that no man deserved me; that I was too good for any.”
“I agree,” Ray said, squeezing her hand gently.
“I don’t want to live the rest of my life lonely and unhappy like he does,” Annie went on. Now overwhelmed with emotion, she hid her face with her hands.
“You’re not going to be lonely anymore, Annie,” Ray told her. “I promise you that with all my heart.”
Just then, the waiter returned with their meals. Refusing to allow her personal issues to dampen her date with Ray, Annie decided to end the topic there. They had a wonderful time together and she gave her phone number to Ray that day.
Later, after arriving home, Annie walked inside and rested her handbag on a nearby table. “There was a heap of traffic out there,” she uttered before slumping onto the couch. She could feel Frank’s stare, but ignored it.
Unresponsive, Frank turned his wheelchair around and retreated to his bedroom.
Dangerous & Deadly- The Nick Myers Series Page 9