by Ian Fox
He only just avoided a large, low-hanging oak tree which suddenly appeared in front of him, but ten yards farther on he crashed into a stumpy maple tree. The radiator grille groaned loudly and the engine stopped instantly. As they crashed, Carlo flew forward and his head was now at Simon’s knees.
Simon sat still for quite a while, holding the steering wheel. He felt like throwing up but knew he mustn’t allow that to happen since it would be evidence for the police.
He angrily took hold of Carlo’s head and pushed the body into a sitting position. Simon jumped out of the limo, into the fresh air and for a while breathed deeply. Feeling as if he was about to have a nervous breakdown, he kept saying to himself, “Oh my God, oh my God. What have I done?” He shuffled here and there, not knowing how to continue.
“Focus, Simon! Focus!” he said aloud. “You have to finish this business!”
He dug his hands into his pockets. “Yes, I have to finish this. I have to concentrate. What’s the most important thing?” He took a few steps deeper into the woods and then returned to the car. “The most important thing is not to leave any tracks.” He looked at the car. “Good. It really does look like an accident. What now?” He wiped his nose. “I have to move him to the driver’s seat. Yes, that’s what I have to do—and quickly, before anyone comes.”
It took him more than five minutes to maneuver Carlo to the other side. Not only did Simon have to move him, he also had to clean him up. He found quite a few leaves stuck to Carlo’s clothes. His trousers were dirty at the knees so Simon had to wipe those too. The worst was cleaning Carlo’s backside. He had to lower the seatback to a horizontal position in order to turn Carlo around. Luckily they hadn’t rolled on the ground, as otherwise he would be too dirty for it to look like an accident.
When he was done with the cleaning, Simon started wiping the fingerprints. With a tissue from his pocket he wiped all the surfaces which he’d most probably touched.
When he was done, he held his head in his hands. He was completely out of breath, wondering if he’d forgotten anything. “Focus, Simon, focus,” he kept telling himself.
Lifting his head, he looked into Carlo’s eyes. He thought he saw a spark of life in them. For a moment he froze. The men stared at each other.
Chapter 73
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That night, Dr. Miner couldn’t sleep. In the adjoining room was Caroline, and his biggest desire was to be physically next to her.
About one in the morning, he needed a drink of water. As soon as he opened the door to the larger living room, where she was, he spotted her moving her head slightly. As he went by her bed, he hoped that Caroline would say something. In the kitchen he deliberately made a lot of noise with the water and then stayed by the window with the glass in his hand. On his way back through her room, his wish came true.
Caroline asked him, “Can’t you sleep?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. No, I can’t sleep, and besides, I was thirsty.”
“I can’t sleep either,” she said.
“Oh, really?” He wanted to offer to bring her a glass of water, but his tongue got stuck in his mouth.
She said, “You don’t have something stronger, by any chance? I was thinking of maybe vodka or whiskey. It usually helps with insomnia.”
“Sure!” His mood went up as he stepped to the drinks cabinet. He offered her a twelve-year-old whiskey.
“Yes, that’ll do,” she said, and sat down to a small round table.
He half-filled two small crystal glasses. “Here, this will warm our hearts and calm our minds. Then we’ll be able to fall asleep in peace.”
He sat down a couple of feet from her. He stared at her breasts that were clearly visible through the blouse of her police uniform. He was wearing a pair of light brown pajamas.
When they clinked their glasses together, hers almost cracked.
“Sorry!” she said.
“Don’t apologize. Instead, why don’t you tell me something about yourself? I’ve done most of the talking until now and I hardly know anything about you. For example, why did you decide to join the police force?”
“Are you really interested, or are you just asking out of politeness?”
“I really am interested.”
“You’re a surgeon and my work is worth nothing compared to yours.”
“Don’t be so modest. To tell you the truth, the work of a surgeon is similar to that of a car mechanic. We fix and change parts that aren’t working properly.”
She smiled, exposing her perfect teeth. “OK then. I’ll tell you why I became a policewoman. Actually, even as a young girl I looked up to the police and the military, those in uniform. I knew their profession required a great deal of discipline and that was the thing I liked most about it. I kept asking my father to buy me toy military cars and weapons. Of course he refused to, but I was stubborn and cried until he gave up in the end. So I already knew then what I wanted to do later in life.”
He thanked God for sending him this woman while saying, “Interesting. I didn’t know until the last moment what I wanted to do, but then, my parents forced me to study medicine.”
“I was forced, too. They told me to go for anything except the police, but that was exactly where I wanted to go. You won’t believe it, but I’ve never regretted it. I like being a police officer.”
“Anyone would envy you that,” he told her openly.
“I don’t know, maybe. But I’ll never have such a wonderful house as yours. I’ve never seen so much classy stuff in one place.”
“Oh come on, I was lucky that my wife was quite rich.” He complained that in spite of all that fortune, he was lonely and would like to meet a woman with which he would be able to travel around the world.
Caroline listened with interest. Never in her wildest dreams did she think that such a man as Dr. Miner would be interested in her. “Whoever marries you will be a really lucky woman,” she said politely.
Dr. Miner immediately reached for his glass and gulped down half of it. He shook his head. “It’s quite strong!”
She also reached out for her glass and drank. “You’re right, very strong.”
After this, their conversation continued in a more relaxed manner. He repeated to her how happy he’d been as a married man; she told him stories from work. They talked for three hours, after which Caroline yawned a few times.
Even though he didn’t want to, the doctor wished her good night. Just the thought of doing something wrong and losing her made him shudder.
In bed he closed his eyes and thought of her. She’s so pretty and strong. I have to have her. I have to have her …. Robert Miner fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Chapter 74
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Simon talked himself into again feeling for a pulse on Carlo’s neck. Of course there wasn’t one. “You really are a fool, Simon,” he said, talking to himself aloud. “How do you think he could come back to life? How could you be so stupid?” He laughed and fixed Carlo’s hair. Simon had a feeling that his own hair was standing on end.
He was still giggling when getting out of the car. It wasn’t the kind of laughter that turns the corners of one’s mouth, but the sort that made his features harden. His hands were shaking, too. “So, dear Carlo, I’m going to leave you now. Stay put. The police will find you in the morning. Don’t do anything stupid.” He took the flashlight and put it in his inside pocket.
Then he closed the car door and stood there, thinking. Something wasn’t right and that’s why he didn’t want to leave.
He opened the door again and started cleaning the passenger seat. Turning on the flashlight, he took one last look to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. He pulled Carlo’s body toward him so that the upper part of the body fell onto the other seat. “There, now it’s how it should be.” He closed the door and wiped the parts he might have touched, and cleaned the other car seat.
“For the last ti
me, check you haven’t forgotten anything.” He looked around the inside of the car with the flashlight, thinking. Everything was as planned.
He didn’t want to shine the light at Carlo, for even though he was dead he still felt an indescribable fear of him.
Finally, he set off. He walked toward the road since that was the only way to find his vehicle. If he went through the woods, he would definitely get lost. He walked along the side of the road, hiding in bushes every time a car approached. After twenty minutes of running and fast walking, he finally made it to his car, sweaty and tired. He could barely stand. His hands and legs were full of cuts from the sharp thorns. But that was of no importance now; he just wanted to get back home.
Turning the key, he slowly accelerated. Because of his shaky legs, the car was jumpy, as if running out of gas. After some yards of this, his driving finally settled down and with the lights off he made it to the road and waited for the right opportunity.
When Simon was absolutely sure there was no one anywhere near, he quickly drove onto the road and turned the lights on. He drove steadily and didn’t want to rush, as he didn’t want the police to stop him for speeding.
Even though he was exhausted and sleepy, his vision was sharp, which helped him realize at the last moment that someone was standing at the front door of his house. That’s the last thing I need right now! He had a feeling it was one of those annoying agents. He quickly turned left into a side street and prayed to God that the man had not spotted him.
Simon drove around town for some time and then parked in a dark parking lot.
An hour later, he returned home in hopes that the agent had given up and left. He was right.
Simon had just enough energy left to take his clothes off and throw them into the washing machine. Something was bothering him. He couldn’t find the tissue he had used to wipe away the fingerprints. He searched and searched but couldn’t find it anywhere. In rage he turned on the washing machine, putting a lot of detergent in. Under the shower he kept trying to remember where he could have lost the tissue, but couldn’t.
“Well done, Simon. Well done. You’re going to get caught because of one little tissue,” he said to himself in bed, before closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.
Chapter 75
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Special Agent Sandra Grant was sipping a coffee from the vending machine, staring into space, a speech forming in her head. I’m going to present him with all the evidence I’ve got against Carlo Vucci and demand that he give me back the case. When he hears about what I saw at the zoo yesterday, he’s going to be proud of me.
She entered her boss’s spacious office. “Richard, I would like to talk to you about—” She noticed he was on the phone.
“Yes, yes, yes …” he said, nodding his head.
She had to wait for half a minute until he hung up and gave her a nod.
“Good morning, boss. I wanted to tell you that I have evidence against Carlo Vucci. I know that he murdered all those people.”
Richard Ross shot her a piercing scowl. “What, you’ve been snooping around him in spite of my orders to the contrary?”
“I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I was sure—”
“I can’t believe it! Even though you were under strict instructions, you ….” He got up, went around his desk, and took a few steps toward her. “Your stubborn attitude is going to get you in trouble one day, are you aware of that?”
“But I was sure. Yesterday at the zoo—”
“You’re not even listening, I may as well be talking to a wall!”
“But I …”
Raising both hands in the air, he returned to his chair. “If you really want this case, you can have it.”
She blushed, not expecting him to give in so fast. “Well, if that’s the case—”
Ross said, “He’s just been found dead, so go and investigate the matter.”
“What? How?”
“Like I said, the case is yours.”
Surprised and speechless, she left his office.
Chapter 76
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After completing an operation on a tumor, Dr. Jerry Duncan went to a small cafe close to the main hospital reception, and bought a candy bar and a black coffee.
While leaning on the table, he ate his candy and thought about his life. Lately, he and Anita had been having problems. He had mentioned marriage a few times but she always skillfully avoided the matter. He didn’t dare mention kids.
Then he considered how he’d been so tense at work. Ever since he’d started operating on his own, he’d been like a balloon that could burst at the slightest touch. He popped the last piece of candy into his mouth and thought of eating another. He’d read somewhere that bingeing on chocolate was connected with dissatisfaction. But he wasn’t unhappy; he had everything a man could want: he was with an attractive and successful woman and he’d finally become an associate neurosurgeon. Actually, he admitted to himself, officially he was still just an assistant, but that wasn’t important. It was only a matter of time.
Five minutes later, as Dr. Duncan was about to return to his office, Brad Horras called him. “Please come to my office,” he said.
Jerry’s mood improved and he decided not to get another candy bar. “At last that idiot has decided to raise my pay. If I had to wait another week ….”
While walking along the corridor and whistling to himself, he wondered what restaurant he should invite Anita to in the evening, to celebrate the good news. Maybe I’ll ask her again to marry me, he mused. Now there was no reason to put it off. They’d both reached the peak of their careers, so why not?
Dr. Horras was waiting for him in his office with someone Jerry had never seen before. They were both smiling broadly.
Dr. Horras said, “You won’t believe what good luck we’ve had. This is Dr. Henry Lawson.”
Jerry Duncan politely offered his hand and introduced himself.
Dr. Horras said, “I mentioned to a few colleagues of mine from different hospitals that we’d lost Dr. Patterson. But I never imagined that someone as important as Dr. Henry Lawson would come knocking on my door.” With bright eyes he looked at Jerry Duncan and then at Dr. Lawson.
“Oh, yes?” Jerry remarked while staring at the tall man who looked to be in his mid-forties.
“Dr. Henry Lawson is a top neurosurgeon. He has published a great many articles and books.”
“Don’t overdo it, Dr. Horras. I did write a few small things.” He turned to Jerry. “My wife and I decided to move from Los Angeles to Medford. We’ve had enough of big-city life. We’d like to lead a quieter life, enjoy the countryside.”
Dr. Horras jumped in. “Having you here is an incredible privilege.”
“Apart from my regular job, I also did research at medical school. But that’s behind me now. I don’t intend to do anything but my job from now on,” Dr. Lawson added.
Jerry’s burning cheeks were the first sign of his deep disappointment. He opened his mouth to say something, but only managed to nod a few times.
“I’m certain you’ll work well together,” Dr. Horras said.
“Yes, yes,” Jerry stammered. Everything that followed flew past his ears; because of the great letdown, he closed his mind to what was being said. In a fraction of a second, quitting and running away from the hospital came into his head. What will Anita say? kept going through his mind. She’s sure to be disappointed. He looked into Dr. Lawson’s eyes and thought about punching him on the nose. The damn idiot! It’s all this idiot’s fault! Then he slowly lowered his gaze, his eyes coming to rest on a long, silver letter opener.
“It’s best you two get to work then. Dr. Duncan will explain everything to you, won’t you, Jerry?” Dr. Horras asked.
I’d only have to stab him once, Jerry thought. He knew exactly how to make the heart stop beating in less than a second. The only question was whether to stab both of them, first Dr. Lawson and then Dr. Horras.
That’s what bugged him. He didn’t know who to stab first. Which of them deserved death more?
“Dr. Duncan, you will brief Dr. Lawson?” Dr. Horras said again.
Jerry could barely take his eyes off the blade of the letter opener. “Sorry, I got lost in thought. Of course I’ll explain everything to him.” He pointed toward the door. “Come, first we’ll go to your office—or rather, Dr. Patterson’s old office. There, you can drop off your things.”
Dr. Horras was bursting with happiness. Grabbing the letter opener, he scratched his neck with it. He really was lucky to have such a renowned surgeon come to work at his hospital.
Half an hour later, Dr. Duncan and Dr. Lawson entered the operating room. The entire staff was there with a patient who was already under anesthesia and was waiting for a spinal operation.
“I’d like to introduce Dr. Lawson,” Jerry Duncan said. He deliberately stood so that he could not see Anita. “Dr. Lawson is a highly acknowledged neurosurgeon who will be joining the team.”
Dr. Lawson shook hands with everyone and then said, “I’ve always wanted to come to Medford. And finally my wife and I decided …”
While he spoke, Anita Carter’s glassy eyes stared at Jerry reproachfully. She wondered why he’d agreed to introduce the new neurosurgeon to the team. He’s really made a fool of himself this time. Surely the hospital director should be doing this.
“Excuse me, Doctor, it’s best we get started,” she said with a hard voice. “The patient is deep in anesthesia.”
Dr. Lawson said, “Sorry! Of course, it’s best we get prepared, Dr. Duncan. The patient always comes first.”
Dr. Duncan operated and Dr. Lawson assisted. The theatre was very quiet. The whole team was wondering about how Jerry felt.