Death Comes in Threes

by Marja McGraw

  “Oh, he’s probably showing Frank all the places we visited while we were in Wolf Creek. We left it the way we found it, more or less, so if my stepfather likes history, he should enjoy it.”

  “I see a young woman parking in front of the building.” Stanley stood up, apparently ready to greet our potential client.

  “Stan, would you do me a favor?”

  “Of course.”

  “While I’m talking to Glenna, would you take a casual stroll up and down the street and check for anything suspicious? I know David has been watching me, and you know what he looks like. I’d like you to try to figure out if he followed us to the office.”

  “Will do.”

  Stanley held the door open for Glenna and after she passed through he left the office. I’d have sworn if he had a hat he would have tipped it at her. What a guy.

  Glenna stood before my desk, looking almost embarrassed. “I hope I’m not overreacting to Ronald.” She sat down on a chair and set her large red purse on my desk.

  “Tell me about it.”

  I studied her while she seemed to be pulling her thoughts together. Of medium height for a woman, she had brown hair and brown eyes. Her clothing made me think she was more into comfort than style, although her hair was cut in a current style. She wore very little makeup. She didn’t need much because her skin was so flawless.

  “Was the man at the door the one I talked to on the phone?”

  “Yes, that was Stanley Hawks. He filled me in on what you told him, but I’d like a few more details. You were joking about this guy reminding you of an axe murderer, right?”

  She hesitated. “Kind of, but there’s something not right about him. He’s handsome and all that kind of stuff, but as soon as I met him in person I got a bad feeling. The first thing that went through my mind was, There’s a serial killer if I ever saw one. I can’t get rid of the feeling. He’s got crazy eyes. They kind of look right through you instead of at you. He talks way different in person than he did in his emails, too.”

  “Didn’t you talk to him on the phone before he came out here?”

  “Yeah, but he sounded different then, too.”

  “Have you talked to the police about this?” I hoped she had, but I knew there wasn’t much they could do at this point.

  “I did, but they can’t do anything. I mean, Ronald hasn’t done anything.”

  “Okay, can you give me any specifics about his behavior beyond how he seems to look through you?”

  “Yeah. When he first got here I invited him over for dinner. You know, so we could get to know each other. He walked all around the house looking at my stuff, picking it up and putting it back down, but not like he was gonna steal it. Then he turned around and looked at me like a cat might look at a mouse. Like, yum, heeeere’s breakfast.”

  Her description was creeping me out.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Do I sound like a crazy person?” Glenna asked. “I mean, Ronald hasn’t really done anything. Well, he has, but he hasn’t. I’d better tell you the rest. But do I sound crazy?”

  I smiled at Glenna. “Not yet. You’re letting your instincts guide you, and that’s not always a bad thing. Believe me when I tell you that I know about crazy people, and so far you don’t strike me as one of them.”

  “Good. Okay, so I got a funny feeling about him that first night, and I was soooo relieved when he left. I figured the next time I talked to him I’d tell him I was going back with an old boyfriend – or something.”

  “I take it that didn’t work.”

  “I never got to tell him. He came over again, without an invitation, and before I could open my mouth he started telling me what a good idea it had been to come meet me in person.” She closed her eyes and when she reopened them, they were wide. “He pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and began playing with it. He told me he just loves knives and he gave me a little history about the one he was holding.” She stopped talking and dropped her head, tenting her nose and mouth with her hands. She was shaking. This guy had really rattled her.

  “Take your time, Glenna.”

  She nodded and raised her head. Her eyes were shiny with tears. “He said his father gave him the knife just before he left him and his mother. He told me how he’d caught small animals and killed them with his knife when he was a kid. The dude is a whacko, and I’m not joking.”

  “Where were you when he told you his story?”

  “He showed up at my front door, uninvited. I didn’t let him in so he just stood there talking. I can’t explain it, but I was half afraid to close the door on him, so I just let him talk. Then I told him I had to get some stuff ready for work and he finally left. He called me his ‘sweet little bird’, and all I could think was that a bird is a small animal. He keeps calling me on my cell phone now.”

  This was too creepy. I’d met some oddballs in my line of work, but this guy seemed to be hovering near the top of the list, if what Glenna was saying was accurate. There was always the chance she was exaggerating.

  Her cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her purse to look at Caller ID. “It’s him. I don’t want to answer it.”

  “Put it on speaker phone and answer it.”

  She reached for the button three times before she finally placed the phone on the desk, put one index finger on top of the other one and forced herself to push, with her tongue sticking from between her lips. If things hadn’t been so serious, I probably would have laughed.

  “Hello?” she said, sounding even older and shakier.

  “Is that you, love bug? What’s wrong? You sound funny.”

  “Nothing’s wrong. What do you want?”

  “I want to see you, of course.” His voice sounded whiney, and it was high pitched. He sounded more like a kid than an axe murderer.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on his words instead of my surroundings and the pitch of his voice. I wanted to hear him without seeing the fear on Glenna’s face.

  “I don’t wanna see you,” she said.

  I didn’t have to see her face to know she was watching me, gaining strength from the fact that she wasn’t alone.

  “I don’t get it,” he said. “I thought we were getting along so well.”

  “Well, we’re not. You never told me about killing poor defenseless animals when we talked before, and I don’t like that. I didn’t like you playing with your knife, either. Are you nuts or something?”

  My eyes popped open and I shook my head at her. The last thing she needed to do was aggravate him.

  He was quiet before he spoke again. “I see.” Very formal, all sounds of whininess gone. “You don’t trust me, is that it? You think I’m some sort of weirdo? Well, I’m not. Those buggers didn’t deserve to live. And maybe you don’t either.” He hung up.

  “Oh, Glenna, what were you thinking?”

  “I don’t know. It just seemed like… I don’t know.” She began to shake harder and her face was pale. “Oh no! What did I just do?”

  Great. Me and Glenna, sitting across from each other, each with someone who wanted to kill us. What were the odds? Apparently better than I would have thought. Both of us had been a little too brave on the phone, too. It’s easy to say things when you’re not face to face with someone.

  “Take a deep breath and let’s figure this out. I have a friend at the police department. I’m going to call him and ask him to run a check on this guy. Where did you say he was from? And what’s his last name?”

  Glenna stared at me for a couple of minutes without saying a word. I let her be while she pulled herself together. “His last name is Black, and he’s from Florida.”

  “What does he look like?” I started taking notes.

  “He’s tall, over six feet, and he’s got blond hair and blue eyes. He looks like he works out. And he’s not at all shy, like I thought he was.”

  It was my turn to shake, although I didn’t let Glenna see. I started looking for something in the desk drawer to keep my hand
s busy. There were too many coincidences. She’d just described David.

  “I don’t suppose you have a picture of Ronald, do you?” It felt like my blood pressure was skyrocketing.

  “I have one, but it’s at home in the trash.”

  “Dig it out. I want to see it. In fact, Stanley and I will follow you to your house.” It couldn’t be. Could it? No, she’d been emailing Ronald for a long time. Did they have computers in prison for men to use? Could he have fooled her into thinking he’d been in Florida? No. Nothing else about Ronald sounded like David. David didn’t kill small animals when he was young – as far as I knew.

  “Is it that important?” She seemed surprised that I was so determined to see the picture.

  “Of course it is. I need to be able to recognize this man. Are you sure he was in Florida? Come to think of it, what made you call my agency?”

  “What made me call you? I don’t know. I looked you up in the phone book, and for some reason your name sounded familiar.”

  My heart did a quick two-step before the sound of the voice on the phone struck me and I calmed down. That hadn’t been David’s voice. Or had it? If he’d been following either one of us, he’d have known Glenna was in my office. If he’d called her he would have purposely disguised his voice.

  I picked up the phone and called Rick Mason. I knew he’d be willing to run a check on Ronald Black.

  Rick was in and I gave him a brief overview of what was going on, including the description Glenna had given me.

  He was quiet for a few seconds, which seemed like hours. “Did you say this woman has a picture of Black?” I knew instinctively he was thinking the same thing I was.

  “I did. Stanley and I are going to follow her to her house so I can see what he looks like.”

  “Good idea. Chances are it’s not Smith, but don’t assume it’s not. I want you to be careful, Sandi. Pete would shoot me if anything happened to you.” I knew he was using a figure of speech, but nowadays, with people being so politically correct, I hoped no one had overheard him. “I also found it interesting that both men have names as common as Smith and Black. It may not mean a thing, but…” His voice trailed off, leaving me to make my own assumptions.

  “I’ll call you and let you know what I find out.” We hung up and I turned to Glenna. I was quiet for a moment, wishing Rick hadn’t drawn the same conclusion I had.

  “What did he say?” she asked.

  “He’s going to run a check on Black to see if anything turns up. Ronald Black is such a common name though. It may not be an easy check to do.” I was glad Glenna hadn’t been able to hear Rick’s end of the conversation. I had a feeling if she knew what I was up against in my life that it might send her closer to the edge.

  “I wish I could tell you something pacific about him, but I don’t know anything else.”

  Pacific? I’d known others who couldn’t pronounce specific. For some reason it made me feel protective toward this young woman. Young woman? She was close to my age, but maybe not quite as mature. I did have mature moments every once in a while.

  I shook my head. My mind was beginning to travel in circles, and I couldn’t let that happen.

  “Do you work, Glenna?” Could her job have anything to do with Ronald’s attentions?

  “I do. I’m a teller at a bank. Why?”

  “I just had a random thought. What if he’s not really after you? What if he’s using you for some other purpose? In this case, maybe he’s wants an in at the bank.”

  Glenna stared at the floor before raising her eyes to mine. “I don’t think I ever mentioned my job to him. I can’t remember the subject coming up.”

  “Oh. Well, it was just an idea.”

  Leaving Glenna sitting by my desk, I walked to the door and looked for Stanley. He was pacing back and forth in front of the parking lot, just like he’d done in front of my driveway at home. No baseball bat this time though. I waved him over.

  “What did you find out?” he asked.

  “We’ve got kind of an odd situation, Stan. The guy who’s giving Glenna trouble is beginning to sound a little like David. He even fits David’s description.”

  His back stiffened. “Oh? Are you sure?”

  “I’m not sure of anything yet. She has a picture of Ronald at her house. We’re going to follow her home so I can see it. It’s probably not David, but I want to be sure. I’m not taking any chances.”

  “As you shouldn’t.” Stanley followed me into the office.

  Glenna wrote down her address for me, in case we lost her in traffic. As it turned out, it was a good thing because she drove like a demon was after her, and of course, Stanley still drove like a little old lady. We pulled up in front of her house about ten minutes after she’d arrived home. She was waiting at the front door.

  It was an older neighborhood and Glenna’s house was small. Her home needed painting, but she’d kept her yard up. Mature trees stood on either side of the walkway, and colorful flowers surrounded the house. Purple and white pansies were interspersed with Johnny Jump Ups, also purple. There were two blooming rose bushes planted at each side of the house.

  I climbed the steps and Glenna held the door open.

  “Isn’t your partner coming in?” She pointed toward Stanley, who was standing at the beginning of the walkway with his arms folded, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was watching out for both of us now, and I hoped neither David nor Ronald showed up because I knew Stanley wouldn’t be a match for either of them, although he could be a deterrent.

  “He’s going to wait outside and keep an eye on things. Would you please find that photograph?”

  She disappeared without a word, heading for what I thought might be the kitchen. I could hear noises as she searched through a trash can, and shortly she returned with the picture, handing it over with her fingertips like it was covered with filth – which it was. The photo was covered with coffee grounds and something I didn’t care to identify.

  “Do you have a paper towel I can use to wipe this off?”

  “Sorry.” She disappeared again.

  I tried to see through the coffee grounds, but it was a lost cause. I waited impatiently for Glenna’s return.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Glenna brought me a couple of paper towels, shoving them into my hands like hot potatoes and stepping back quickly. I wasn’t sure what her issue was, unless she was put off by the whole process. I had to get a look at the picture though.

  I sat down on the couch and set one towel on the coffee table, trying not to spill coffee grounds on the floor. I wiped the photo off with the other paper towel, and discovered I was facing more than one problem.

  Glenna had printed the photo from something he’d sent her attached to an email. The moisture from the grounds had caused the colors to run. The man in the picture was wearing a baseball cap, pulled low on his forehead. Not only was his face in shadow, but it was indistinct because of the moisture. I studied it closely, but I couldn’t make out the face. The general appearance and build were similar to the way I remembered David, but I simply couldn’t be sure.

  Glenna sat down next to me. “I’m sorry about the coffee grounds, but does that help at all?”

  “I’m afraid not.” I’d had such high hopes. It would help it I knew whether I was dealing with one man or two. Maybe my name had sounded familiar to Glenna because Ronald, or David, had mentioned it. Or maybe she’d read about me in the newspaper. From time to time one of my cases made the local news.

  “Do you need anything else?” she asked.

  “Let me think about it. I don’t think you should stay here alone. Do you have anyone you can stay with?”

  “Afraid not. My family lives in Oregon. I moved here about two years ago to take the job with the bank.” She looked sad. I understood. Good life, good job, and then along comes some jerk to put everything in jeopardy.

  I studied her living room. Although she seemed somewhat immature, her home indicated otherwise. E
verything was neat and clean, and it appeared she’d enjoyed decorating her house, just as I had. There were family photos sitting on the mantle and on top of a bookcase. I stood up and walked to the case, reading some of the book titles. Mary Higgins Clark, Janet Evanovich, Rhys Bowen, Dorothy Bodoin, Carolyn Hart and several other mystery writers shared space.

  “Do you read?” she asked.

  “Yes. It looks like we enjoy some of the same authors.”

  I continued looking at the books, stalling for time. I had an idea, but it needed a lot of thought. Although I didn’t know Glenna, I related to her. “I’ll be back in a minute. I need to talk to Stanley.”

  I found him still standing at the end of the walkway, watching the neighborhood. A car drove by and we both looked up in time to see a car filled with kids and a woman driving.

  “Stan, maybe you should stay with Glenna instead of watching me. I don’t want to leave her alone. I just have a bad feeling about this. What do you think?”

  Before he could answer, Glenna came running out of the house, waving her cell phone. “He called again,” she said breathlessly. She glanced around nervously and moved to stand between me and Stanley, obviously frightened. “He says I led him on and he’s gonna get even. This is so stupid. He said his little bird wasn’t gonna be singing anymore. What’s the matter with this guy? I invited him out here, but only to meet each other. And now that I think back about it, it was his idea in the first place. Oh, crap! What’s the matter with me? But he seemed so nice in his emails and on the phone. Oh, crap!”

  “We’ve all misjudged people. Don’t beat yourself up.” I knew exactly how she was feeling.

  She balled her hand into a fist and began rubbing her chest. Her shoulders hunched forward.

  “Are you sick?” Stanley asked. “Do you need help?”

  Her face registered pain and discomfort. “When I get really stressed out the muscles in my chest tighten up and it makes my shoulders come forward. Do you think he’d really kill me? He doesn’t even know me.”