FIRST STEP MURDER

by H. R. Whidden

  The next two days were pleasant. Robert was more than nice to her. He was more excited about his work, Harper felt so comfortable with him they talked about the Lewis Center project and her getting the permits and city council approval to begin with the pre-selling. Robert seemed excited about her success, enough so much that he offered to help, using his influence to encourage clients to purchase as an investment with the anticipation that the units would double in price.

  Later Harper drove Aunt Rachel to the airport for her flight to Miami.

  “You’ve got plenty of cash, and a credit card, so don’t worry about spending whatever you want,” Harper said. “And meet some nice guy and jump him.”

  “Oh you are so right about that girl, a ship load of single men I’m bound to get lucky at least once. I’m gonna come back with a tan and a smile on my face.”

  It was Thursday and Robert took Harper out for dinner, they just went to a local Italian restaurant in Littleton.

  They sat at their table and Robert reached over and held Harper’s hand.

  “I have a meeting with a prospective client tomorrow in New York City. I’m doing my presentation in the afternoon then taking them out for dinner in the evening, why don’t you come with me?”

  “I don’t think so Robert, I’ll just stay at home.”

  Harper was concerned about being out in public she’d been recognized several times since the horse show. Once just filling up at the gas station, and then by several people at the grocery store that involved pictures.

  “Well I’m going to spend the night, by the time dinners over it’ll be too late to drive back home. I tell you what, why don’t we go to the club when I get back and we’ll play a round of golf. It’ll be Saturday, make us an 11:00am t-time, I promise I’ll be home by then.”

  Harper got up early and made breakfast for Robert before he left to drive to New York. She carried his briefcase as they walked to his Bentley, they hugged and kissed.

  “I have that t-time for tomorrow at 11:00am just like you told me to, so you better get back here so I can brag about how bad I beat you,” Harper said.

  “I think golf is the only thing I can beat you at, so don’t be too cocky,” Robert said. “I love you Harper.” They kissed again. “You know Rachel’s going on a cruise, made me think we haven’t been anywhere since we got married. Let’s go away somewhere, Hawaii, Australia, Hong Kong, I don’t care just somewhere we can be alone and forget about business.”

  “I think that’s a great idea.”

  After Robert left Harper put on her ridding clothes and went down to the stables. Kate showed up, she still sported her cast on her forearm but worked out anyway. Her friend Evelyn showed up and they all had a nice day ridding. Harper even got Evelyn on one of her jumpers and she was able to hold on enough to get over a couple of low fences. She was so excited she wanted to do it again.

  It was nearly dark by the time they left and Harper hung around the stables to help Jose’ brush and curry the horses then give them a can of oats in their stalls. She drove up to the house and went upstairs to the master bedroom and took a shower, after she put on a pair of grey sweat pants, an Aerosmith t-shirt and a pair of socks.

  Down in the kitchen she broiled a pork chop made some quick brown rice in the micro-wave and opened a can of asparagus then heated it in a pan on the stove top. She ate sitting at the bar in the kitchen planning on going upstairs and watching television in her room. She walked to the sink, rinsed her plate off then the fork, she was about to wash the steak knife when out of the corner of her eye she saw something moving. When Harper turned to look she saw someone wearing black trousers, a black hoodie zipped up to the top. The hood was up and pulled tight around a face that was covered with a black ski mask. He raised his hands up taking a skip step to kick the door and she noticed he wore black leather gloves and there was a white cord wrapped around his right hand.

  The sound from the kick startled her, the door shook but didn’t bust in and Harper turned and ran out of the kitchen. Up the stairs to the second floor, down the wide hall, then at the end she turned right to go to the master bedroom and then stopped leaning against the wall listening, she had just realized that all the guns were downstairs in the office. It was too late to go back down, she heard the door jamb break and heavy footsteps walking on the wood floor, it was then she realized she was still holding the steak knife.

  Harper crouched down, her knees bent sitting back on her heels she held the knife handle in her right hand so tight her knuckles were white. Her cell phone was beside the bed on the night side table next to the lamp and alarm clock, but by the time she called someone the intruder would be on her. No this is what she had trained for.

  She took a deep breath to calm herself, and then heard the footsteps again coming up the stairs, clump, clump, clump, and then the creek of the step third from the top. Then heavy steps down the hall coming toward her and she had made up her mind, she’d only get one shot then run down the hall, shut and lock the door to slow him down, and call 911. The way she was crouched down she could lung and stab him, he wouldn’t expect that. Harper trained her eyes on the floor knowing the first thing she’d see was his foot as he started to walk around the corner. Her heart beat in her chest as she listened to the steps get closer, then there he was.

  Harper struck quick pushing with her feet driving the knife in to the hilt. She could hear the man scream as she ran toward the bedroom. She slammed the door and locked it behind her and didn’t remember picking up the phone, she could still hear the man groaning from down the hall.

  “911, what’s your emergency,” the operator asked?”

  “Someone broke into my house, they’re going to kill me and their upstairs, please send someone hurry please.”

  “I have a patrol car near your address ma’am he’s on the way. Stay on the line with me, have you been harmed? Do you need an ambulance?”

  “I’m fine so far, but I stabbed him, he came in through the side door, he broke in through the kitchen.”

  The emergency operator relayed that information to the patrolman. Harper listened to the intruder stumble back down the hall then a loud thud as if he fell, then everything was quiet. She heard the sound of a police siren coming toward the house and then two men coming in through the broken door in the kitchen announcing they were police officers. Harper could hear them come up the steps and then the two officers talking then someone knocked on the bedroom door.

  “Ma’am this is Officer Smith, you can open the door now.”

  Harper opened the door, “Did he get away?”

  “No ma’am he’s still in the upstairs hall,” Harper started to walk around him and he stopped her, “I think you should stay here for right now Mrs. what’s your name?” He took out a pad of paper and a pen.

  “Harper Lewis,” she said.

  “Are you the only one in the house Mrs. Lewis?” The other officer walked into the bedroom, she was sitting on the end of the bed.

  “Is he still in the hall?”

  “He is, he’s dead, looks like he bled out pretty fast. Is that steak knife laying on the floor yours?”

  “It’s all I had.”

  “Well Mrs. Lewis we need you to stay in here for right now, the Lieutenant is on his way, I’m sure he’ll have some questions. Is there anyone you need to call?”

  “Yea my husband, he’s out of town.”

  Harper called Robert, but got no answer, she called three more times and sent several text messages for him to call her as soon as possible, and that there had been an emergency at the house. She called Sam Shepard, the company’s general manager, and longtime family friend.

  “Sam, I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, but Robert’s out of town and I’ve had an incident here at the house. Someone tried to kill me,” her voice shook.

  “Are you ok Harper, were you injured?”

  “No Sam, but the son of a bitch that tried to kill me is dead in the upstairs hall.”

 
He could hear the shake in her voice, “I’ll be right there.”

  Harper stayed in her room and could hear more officers entering the house, the coroner showed up about the same time as Lieutenant Jerry Matson.

  “Damn Harper, you ok?”

  “Just a little shook up, I can’t seem to calm down.”

  “Well I just spoke to the coroner in the hall, he’s checked the body. You stabbed him inside the upper thigh, cut the femoral artery and he bled out. The way he had that cord wrapped around his hand, and the way it was knotted he meant to kill you. It’s text book strangler.”

  “I was aiming for his crotch, guess I got lucky.”

  “Tell me what happened, and this is for the record.”

  He said it like he wanted to make sure nothing would blame her for the man’s death. Just after her story Sam and his wife showed up. She hugged them both and it was the first time that evening she cried on Sam’s shoulder. Carol, Sam’s wife, sat on the end of the bed with her arm around Harper’s shoulders as she explained the story again. After about half an hour Lieutenant Matson came back into the bedroom.

  Harper we need you to see if you can recognize the man. He didn’t have any identification on him. I’m sure you don’t know him, but he might be someone you saw at a horse show, or maybe at the store, maybe someone that was following you?”

  “Is that necessary Lieutenant,” Sam asked?

  “It’s ok Sam I want to see the bastard that tried to kill me.”

  “You sounded just like your father Harper,” Carol said.

  “He’s already in the bag, I’m just gonna unzip it far enough for you to see his face,” said the Lieutenant as they walked down the hall out of the bedroom. Sam walked along with Harper.

  Most of the blood had flowed toward one wall so they could stand next to the body in the bag and not stand in the blood. Jerry Matson leaned down and unzipped the bag. Sam stood beside Harper his arm around her waist.

  “Oh my God,” Sam said.

  Harper gasped but couldn’t say anything.

  “Do you recognize him,” Jerry Matson asked?

  “It’s my husband, Robert Mathis.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Faxon rolled over, his head hurt from too many beers last night and now that tone, what the hell was that tone. It stopped, and in only a moment it started again, it was his cell phone.

  “Hello, who the hell is it,” then he remembered it could be a customer and he needed the work. His last job a few days ago was helping Barbie and that was practically nothing. “I mean this is Faxon Bennett.” He cleared his throat of morning phlegm.

  “Damn Faxon, its 11:00 am you’re not up yet?”

  “No and if I’d known it was you Cullen I’d have let it ring. Did you have to call twice?”

  “You’re gonna be glad I did. I had a strange visitor yesterday, good looking girl, thought it might be a potential client. It has something to do with our favorite case.”

  Faxon sat up on the edge of the bed. “What’s it about James, you got my attention?”

  “She came to see me, had a lot of questions about the Doss murder, she wanted to know the kind of rifle that killed him. And the company that tried to buy his building, you should have seen her face when I told her it was the Marine Group. I thought she was going to puke right there in my office. It was like she knew all the answers already. She did say she knew someone else that had been made an offer by the Marine Group and they turned them down. I told her if that was the case then their life was in danger. With all that said I could swear it was her that turned that offer down, I’d be a shame if she was to get herself murdered Faxon.”

  “Ok, I’ll check into it, what was her name and contact information?”

  “Well, she wouldn’t tell me, but before she left she did ask who was the detective investigating the Doss Murder. So I think she went to see John Walker.”

  Faxon got dressed and drove the old Jeep to the Police Station.

  “Is Walker in his office,” Faxon asked as he walked by the front desk?

  “Yea, go ahead, he’s there,” the desk Sargent said. He didn’t bother to call the detective Faxon was becoming a regular around the station.

  “Hey John,” Faxon sat down in the chair in front of the desk, “I don’t suppose you have any coffee in here do ya, I feel terrible, too much beer last night.”

  “Damn they just let anyone come in unannounced. Coffee’s down the hall I thought you’d know that by now. They don’t give coffee machines in your office until you’re a Lieutenant. Let me guess you talked to Cullen?”

  “He called me this morning, told me this story about a good looking girl that came to see him with a lot of questions about the Doss murder. Thing is she wouldn’t tell him anything about who she was or why she wanted to know the information. But James thought she was coming to see you.”

  “She did, and I warned her that she might be in danger.”

  “Well are you going to tell me what her story was or am I going to have to drag it out of you?”

  “She wouldn’t tell me everything, but I did some research on my own, you’re not the only one with resources. Her names Harper Lewis, her father was Clayton Lewis, owned a construction company, Lewis Construction. He was an important man around town lots of influence. His wife’s maiden name was Lindsey Duncan, an old Boston Family. They were both killed in a head on car crash with a drunk driver almost two years ago. Harper’s an only child, the old man was a tough son of a bitch he’d as soon kick your ass as look at ya. A navy seal and the word around is his daughter is just like him, but from what I saw she’s more super model stuff than tough guy, a real looker. Well she inherited everything and ended up marrying her father’s junior partner in the business, but she owns an undeveloped piece of property in the city, and who’s made several offers to buy it? The Marine Group, well it seems she’s well known in the horse jumping scene and one of her horses was shot at the Hampton Horse Show by a rifle, the Littleton crime lab said it was from a Remington.”

  “Ok John give me her address and I’ll go see her and try to explain that if she doesn’t take precautions she’s gonna get herself and maybe her husband killed,” Faxon said.

  “Yea and maybe you could get them to pay you for protection,” John said.

  “A man’s gotta eat.”

  Faxon went back to his room above the bar at Ned Devine’s, he checked the map on his laptop for the location of the address he’d been given. Hwy. 2 North West to I-495 North then right on 119, Great Road, then right on King Street, left on Goldsmith Street South then left on Laurel Road. The address looked like it was all the way at the end.

  “Damn out in the middle of nowhere, I’ll have to see if Ed will let me take the GTO, at least I can get there fast.” His cell phone rang.

  “Hello, Faxon Bennett here.”

  “Faxon sweetheart, it’s Terri, Amy Lindsey’s brother, you remember the cute guy that you couldn’t take your eyes off of.”

  “You’re not going to start stalking me too are you?”

  “No darling, but you can come by and see me any time handsome. Listen I got my other sister to sign the papers and their keeping Amy at the state institution for thirty days then they’ll review her sanity and decide to keep her for another thirty days. The case worker said that these things sometimes depend on how many people they have committed at the time of the review.”

  “Good, I hope she gets the help she needs.”

  “Me too sweetie, when we took her she went crazy, saying she had to go home because she had to fix dinner before you got there. And that she couldn’t possibly stay that you wouldn’t be able to get along without her, shit she’s gone crackers.”

  “I really hate to hear that Terri but I’m telling you they were about to have her arrested again here at Ned Devine’s three times and they’d put her away in the county lock-up. I can tell you for sure that wouldn’t turn out good for her.”

  It was the next day when Faxon drove to
Littleton, lots of the area out on Laurel road was large parcels most horse farms with white rail fences and large barns and houses. He got to the end of the road and there were large black iron gates and above them a large arch with black iron letters that said New Castle Farms. Faxon noticed the keypad and microphone then looking around he saw the cameras for the security system. Yea anybody with this much money had to have security. He pushed the page button and waited, after a moment he pushed it again. It was a large house people just didn’t run to the intercom system.

  “Hello, can you hear me?”

  It was a woman’s voice and obviously not experienced using the intercom system.

  “My names Faxon Bennett, I’m a private investigator I have some information that might interest Mrs. Lewis and her husband.” It was quiet for a moment, “it has to do with the death of her horse.” Still quiet, “Mrs. Lewis is in danger ma’am.”

  Then there was a younger woman’s voice. “If you’re a private investigator then hold your license and identification where I can see it in the camera.”

  Faxon held up his investigators license and driver’s license, “Mrs. Lewis I talked to Detective John Walker and he told me you came to see him.”

  “I’ll let you in Mr. Bennett, but I warn you if you’re not who you say you are I’ll shoot and kill you without any hesitation.”

  Harper had already called Detective Walker and by the time Faxon got down the driveway to the house, he was describing what Faxon looked like as she opened the front door.

  “He’s 6’ 2” black hair, blue eyes, in good shape, he has a small scar on his right temple, he thinks too much of himself so he usually has a smirk on his face. Girls say he’s good looking but personally I don’t see it.”

  Faxon stood looking at a very attractive tall blond with blue eyes talking on a cell phone. She kept him waiting on the steps, then she smiled, “yea Detective that’s a perfect description.”

  “Did you tell her how smart I am too,” Faxon yelled at her phone.