by PJ Fernor
“This isn’t some playground scuffle,” I said. “Two women were killed. How can I just forget about it?”
“What if it saves other lives?” Mayor Jim shrugged his shoulders. “Think about it. You keep looking into this, the notes get worse, and someone else ends up dead. I mean, look at what happened with Mrs. Mickels. She could have been killed. Realistically here, Allie, she should have been killed.”
“So your plan is to let a killer walk free,” I said. “That’s the logic from the mayor in town. Just let it go.”
“I know how crazy it sounds.”
“I don’t think you do, Jim. I think your judgment is cloudy at best. You want this to go away. You want this to benefit you. And you’re scared of it all. I get why you’re scared. That’s why I keep telling you to stay away from it. Let me do my job. Without you showing up and interrupting me.”
“It’s not that, Allie,” Mayor Jim snapped. He cleared his throat. “It’s not that at all.”
“Then what is it? What you’re saying right now makes no sense. It actually makes you look bad.”
“Fine,” Mayor Jim said. “I called you to meet me… because there’s something I need to tell you…”
“What?” I asked. “Stop wasting my time.”
Mayor Jim leaned closer to the table so he could whisper. “Allie, this isn’t the first time this killer has struck in town.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
I stared at Mayor Jim for a handful of seconds in complete silence.
When I finally spoke, I said, “Say that again.”
Mayor Jim sighed. “This isn’t the first time this has happened, Allie.”
“You mean… murder? Notes? We’ve been through a lot in this town as of late. It’s not exactly the perfect small town any more. There’s a lot of issues with wanting the town to be developed, struggles with jobs and the economy. That’s everywhere though.”
“Allie,” Mayor Jim said. “Please listen. I’m telling you something.”
“You’re telling me this happened before.”
“This exact thing.”
I straightened my back.
“Allie, there’s something you must know or remember about me. I actually helped with the police department. A long time ago.”
“You were a cop?”
“It was a short-lived situation,” Mayor Jim said. “But, yes, I worked on some special assignments. I went to college for criminal justice. Then I went to law school. I’ve had a busy life. I never really found my calling or my voice until I got back here and was able to capture attention. I’m a small-town mayor. My job might not look like much on paper, but to me, it matters.”
“Nice. Speech aside, Jim, I need you to tell me what in the world is going on here.”
“Remember Lenny Beauchamp? Or were you too young?”
“The name sounds vaguely familiar.”
“He ran the department for a long time. A really long time. In fact, if it wasn’t for Lenny, I wouldn’t have become mayor. He battled hard with everyone. I would have to step in and smooth things over. That’s how we worked. That’s how I got pulled into certain cases with him. Including… this one…”
“Meaning?”
“A body turned up one day,” Mayor Jim said. “Some kid messing around in the woods found her. Woman in her twenties. Not from around here. Found her car a mile away with a flat tire. At that time there were no cell phones. She must have gotten a flat and thought she could walk into town to get help. She never survived that decision. When Lenny got the call, he asked me to come with him. Just in case people were there. He wanted me to get everyone back. When we got there, nobody was around. I went into the woods with him. And there she was. Face up. Wrists cut. Throat slit.”
“Body part missing?” I asked.
Mayor Jim nodded. “Yeah. Left foot.”
“Did you find it in a pumpkin?”
“No,” Mayor Jim. “It was in a brown paper shopping bag. From the old grocery store in town.”
“Henderns?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Then what happened?”
“We had no leads, Allie. No idea who would have done this. Lenny and I dug into the victim’s life. Past, present, everything. She was just a lonely traveler. Nothing made sense. There was no evidence that someone followed her, damaged her car, nothing. Her only family was her sister, who lived across the country. The tire blowing out was just circumstance. It wasn’t tampered with or shot or anything like that. It was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like now with Claire and Candice.”
“Okay, so there’s some coincidence.”
“Allie,” Mayor Jim said. “Look at my face. You said to me that I was starting to look nervous. Right? I am. And nothing makes me nervous. This does.”
“So what happened with the case?”
“Just like now, Allie. Letters started turning up. Little phrases. A few requests and demands.”
“Like?”
“There was one about popcorn,” Mayor Jim said. “I remember because me and two other officers spent an hour making popcorn. Bag after bag in the microwave. To fill up a blue bin. We had to leave it on a street corner. Sound familiar?”
I swallowed hard. “Okay. You’ve got my attention even more now.”
“Yeah, well, that’s how it went. Random notes. A few demands. It just kept dragging on. But… as long as we showed interest or worry or listened, nothing else happened. Nobody else was killed. That’s the key, Allie. That’s why I said what I said to you yesterday. I know it didn’t make much sense then. But think about it now.”
“So what did you do? You complied with the letters and tracked him down?”
“I wish.”
“You wish?”
“We kept listening to him,” Mayor Jim said. “Or her. For all we know, then and now, it’s a woman.”
“I don’t understand. What happened to the investigation?”
“It just fizzled out.”
“Fizzled out… as in…”
“We listened and he eventually went away. That’s what happened, Allie. All the notes, the requests, everything… it stopped. Whoever did it just kind of faded away. It was just one of those things.”
“One of those things?” I asked. “A murderer got away.”
“I don’t have to tell you that it happens all the time, do I?”
I wanted to argue but Mayor Jim had a point.
I thought about my new friend, Lizzy Cold. Her specialty revolved around cold cases.
“He eventually stopped,” I said. “That’s a little vague for me. I need more information, Jim.”
“Allie…”
Mayor Jim turned his head and a woman slowly approached the table.
Clutching her phone to her chest.
“I’m so sorry to do this,” she said. “But I heard you were here, Mr. Mayor. I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”
“Nothing is more important than the concerns and needs of our citizens,” Mayor Jim said, turning right back into a politician.
“I was hoping to get a picture with you,” the woman said.
“Oh, of course,” Mayor Jim said.
He looked at me and nodded.
“I’ll take the picture,” I said, forcing a smile.
I stood up and took the woman’s phone.
She stood next to Mayor Jim.
He wore that big, mayoral smile.
The woman matched his smile.
I took the picture.
Then a few more just to be sure I got the right angle and shot.
I needed this woman to go away.
Mayor Jim and I were far from done talking.
Chapter Forty-Nine
“Thanks for letting me do that,” Mayor Jim said.
“I get it,” I said. “That’s a voter.”
“She was excited to meet me. That’s still an odd feeling for me. I really do appreciate this town, Allie. The people in this town. I don’t ta
ke this job for granted. I mean that. This job is everything to me.”
“Look, if you’re trying to get my vote right now, I’m still considered undecided,” I said.
Mayor Jim nodded. Then he grinned. “That’s better than telling me you will never vote for me.”
“Small victory then?”
“Exactly.”
“I respect that, Jim. Now, back to what we were talking about.”
“Allie…”
“Everything, Jim. Beginning to end. Because if this is happening again…”
Mayor Jim nodded. That same nervous look washed across his face.
He folded his hands. “There was a part of it all that just seemed… forgettable. The worst thing to do in a case, I’m sure. You forget about the person who was murdered. Lenny looked at it as… I don’t know. Nobody was looking for her, you know? I already said she had a sister. That was the only contact we had. To be sure, I looked into it. Her sister couldn’t have done it. The logistics didn’t make sense, but I checked anyway. Lenny wanted to keep things quiet in town. He didn’t want anyone to get too excited. There were rumors floating around. Peter Bouledge towed the car. He had a big mouth when he had a few drinks. When he suggested it might have been a bear, Lenny just let everyone run with that. It seemed logical at the time.”
“So everyone thought this woman was killed by a bear?” I asked.
“There were a lot of rumors. None pointed to a murderer. Just someone in a bad place at a bad time. And where it happened… everyone knew not to go that way. That far out on a road. A dark road.”
“Okay, I get it, Jim. The town wasn’t worried.”
“The notes showed up. One by one. A threat came in that if we didn’t listen, someone else would die. Someone in town would die. That got our attention. By then it was just Lenny and I worrying about it. I snuck around and complied with the murderer. Lenny wanted to see how far it would go. He wanted to see if we could establish some kind of relationship.”
“What else?”
“Allie, I don’t know what you’re looking for here. You think this is a small town now? You should have seen it back then. There was no real department or help. We were on our own. One phone call would have changed everything for everyone. Our hands were… tied.”
“Tied,” I said. “That’s what you want to give me right now, Jim.”
“I’m being honest. Lenny was dealing with a lot. There was zero evidence to go on. We had notes. Random notes at random times. Okay?”
“And you two did nothing.”
“Don’t say that. We did what we had to do.” Mayor Jim shook his head. “Even the victim’s sister. She didn’t want to know anything either. She didn’t even want the body, Allie. The woman was…”
“Like she never existed,” I said.
“Yes.”
“That’s not how this is supposed to work.”
“If I could go back, I would have done more. What would I have done? I don’t know. Don’t take offense to this, Allie, but look where you’re at right now. You have no leads. You have notes. You’re scrambling. The killer wanted a pumpkin and you listened.”
I pointed at Mayor Jim. “The difference is that I’m going to find who did this and make sure it never happens again.”
“Okay,” Mayor Jim said. “I believe you.”
“So I’m wondering who else worked on the case,” I said. “Or who knew about it. The notes and whatnot. Maybe we have a copycat here. Or someone who stumbled upon the case. Where are the files? Does anyone know the truth? Someone that could have told someone else? You know how these stories go. Maybe something was posted online. I’ll have to do a little research. I can ask Lo. She’s good at searching for stuff online.”
“That’s smart,” Mayor Jim said.
“You don’t seem confident.”
“I just…”
He shook his head.
“What, Jim?”
“I don’t know. I can tell you this. We just went with it. At that time. We just… went with it. The town was quiet. Everyone was safe. Lenny figured as long as it stayed that way, don’t push back. And then it stopped.”
“The letters stopped.”
“The letters stopped, Allie,” Mayor Jim said. “It was tense for a little while. A waiting game to see what would happen. Nothing did. It was over.”
“It wasn’t over, Jim. Someone was murdered and the killer walked away.” I shook my head. “I have to see if this happened anywhere else. If the killer went to another town and did the same thing. What if it was someone just wandering around, doing this kind of thing for fun?”
“Well, I guess I can safely say I’ve given you something to think about.”
“Don’t take credit for this,” I said. “You could have said something earlier.”
“I didn’t want to believe it,” Mayor Jim said.
“You didn’t want to believe it?”
Mayor Jim shut his eyes for a few seconds.
“Oh, great, there’s more to this story. You know what? If you don’t tell me everything right now, I’m going to arrest you. Right in front of your voters.”
My phone began to vibrate.
I saw Ben was calling me. I made the choice to ignore the call. If it was something important he’d either call back or send me a text. I did not want to give Mayor Jim a chance to get out of the rest of this conversation.
“Okay,” Mayor Jim said. “There was a reason the killer stopped sending the notes.”
“What reason was that?”
“There was one last thing he wanted from us.”
“Which was?”
Mayor Jim frowned. His eyes looked dazed and scared. “He wanted us to give him permission to do this again… at some point in the future.”
Chapter Fifty
BEN
Allie didn’t answer my call.
I must have been spending too much time with her because I was the one starting to get uneasy feelings now.
I gripped my phone tight for a second and then got into my car and drove to Mrs. Mickels house.
Muldavey, loyal as always, still had his cruiser parked out front.
He stood on the porch with Mrs. Mickels, drinking a cup of coffee I assumed she made him.
As I approached the porch, I saw Mrs. Mickels looking beyond me.
“Allie isn’t here,” I said. “She’s meeting up with someone.”
“Is that other detective coming? The good looking one?”
“You mean Detective Barby?” I asked.
“That’s the one. He’s quite the good-looking man, isn’t he?”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I said as I walked up the porch steps.
“It’s okay, Ben. You’re a handsome man too. It’s just that, the other detective, he’s just…”
“Mrs. Mickels,” I said. “I don’t need to hear this.”
“If he’s spending time alone with Allie…”
I laughed. “Now we both know if Johnny tried anything funny with Allie, she’d break his fingers, hands, neck…”
“She definitely would,” Muldavey said.
“So let’s just stay on topic then,” I said.
“Can I get you some coffee?” Mrs. Mickels asked.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I do need to talk to Muldavey alone.”
“You know where the sidewalk is,” Mrs. Mickels said.
I looked at Muldavey and we both walked off the porch.
“She’s going to watch you with that mug,” I said to him.
“I’m sure she will. She’s quite the pain in the-”
“Rough night?”
“It was quiet here, Ben,” Muldavey said. “Didn’t see a thing anywhere. She was in the window constantly. The front window. Then a second-floor window. She’s driving herself nuts with this stuff. Now, maybe it’s because I’m parked out front. Or because stuff has been happening. But if she lives like this all the time, she’s going to drive herself insane.”
�
�I think she’s like this all the time,” I said. “But I think now she’s validated and is enjoying it.”
“You don’t think she’s…”
I shook my head. “You were here all night. She didn’t leave. The killer left another note for Allie. This time it was at my house. And this time, he set Johnny Barby’s SUV on fire.”
“Whoa,” Muldavey said. “That explains why Allie called me in a panic over a fire. She kept asking me if Mrs. Mickels’ house was on fire. It wasn’t. I mean, obviously, it’s fine.”
We both looked at the house.
Mrs. Mickels stood on the porch, arms cross.
“So you saw and heard nothing?” I asked Muldavey.
“Nothing. All night.”
“It’s tough work. You want nothing to happen but then you wonder what you’re doing with your life.”
“Not for me,” Muldavey said. “I love it. It’s what I’m meant to do.”
My phone started to ring.
“Hey, you better get that mug back to her,” I said. “Or else she’ll call me to arrest you for stealing.”
“Can you imagine that?”
“With this one?” I asked, nodding toward Mrs. Mickels. “Nothing would shock me.”
I looked at my phone and it wasn’t Allie calling me.
It was Johnny.
I walked away and took the call. “Detective Barby.”
“Really? We’re going formal here, Ben?”
“Did you find anything out about your SUV?”
“Yeah, I did,” Johnny said. “My lucky suit was not in there. I forgot I took it to the dry cleaners yesterday. The suit that burned was just some regular suit.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I said. “Can’t imagine you without your lucky suit.”
“You and sarcasm really get along.”
“Funny how when I talk to you it just feels so natural.”
“I like talking to you, Ben. I can see what Allie sees in you.”
“Great,” I said. “Why are you calling me?”
“Maybe I’m looking for a friend. My vehicle was torched. Remember that?”
“How can I forget?”
“You’re enjoying that part, aren’t you?”