by Allen Gates
After two cups of coffee, Anne was feeling better and was ready to start the day when Lon returned. She stood to prove her steadiness and they walked out with unnecessary taunting from Lon.
“I’ll drive, if it is all the same to you, partner? With your lead foot and hangover, I would not be able to relax with your hands on the wheel.”
He laughed, but Anne did not and entered the car and leaned back on the head rest.
The drive was interrupted by frequent dispatch messages over the radio and a personal call for Lon from Allie. They arrived at the senator’s estate pushed the button and waited for the gate to open.
“Nice place. The senator is doing okay.”
Lon parked behind a small Mercedes and next to a mile long Lincoln Town Car and they both seemed mesmerized and just sat taking in the magnificence of the surrounding grounds.
“We can with certainty assume he hires a landscape company because no one could keep this under control without help.”
Anne was the first to break the spell and stepped out of the car. She looked up at the large brick structure dotted with numerous windows. She was sure she saw a curtain open and close in a second floor window, but thought nothing of it.
Lon called in their location to headquarters and then they proceeded to the front entrance and were met by the senator immediately and after a very pleasant greeting he invited them in. He could see the admiring glances by the two detectives of his home and took it as an opportunity to delay their questioning.
“Look around if you would like; I’ll order iced tea to be ready for us in the study.”
The senator’s study was an unbelievable example of what money can do. A wall of books from ceiling to the floor set in a room of polished walnut walls was almost impossible to comprehend. Next they walked across the hall and entered the dining room, with a magnificent table highlighted by fresh flowers in the center and twelve chairs around it.
“Dinner is served MY LORD,” Anne said in jest in an almost inaudible voice. Lon disappointed her by not appreciating her attempt at humor. He was totally locked in on the senator and his desire to prove his involvement in the wife’s murder. They looked in one other small side room then headed back to the study to locate their host and found him standing with his arm resting on a leather arm chair.
“Senator, I’d like to go over the evening events one more time. We have to be sure we understand your actions to be able to totally piece together what took place. Take a seat and we’ll get this over with.”
The senator sat and seemed too calm, to Anne.
“It all started with a tiff between us. I had planned a nice dinner and movie night out. I wanted to spend some time with Marie before the next Senate session began. When I told her my intentions, she said that she already had plans and she refused to change them. I became very angry and this is where I went wrong, like a child who had his feelings hurt, I screamed at her and then left in a fury of angry threats. If I could relive the incident, I would have been a little more persuasive and slower to anger.”
“I needed to relieve the tension so I drove to the coast to a spot that we designated as our special place. I sat on the beach, for some two hours just watching and listening to the waves. They are hypnotizing, to say the least and somehow make it easy to forget your problems.”
“Do you have any questions to this point?”
“Not yet, came from Lon.”
“I then drove back to the house and of course, Marie was gone. I made myself a couple of drinks sat in a chair and waited for her return. Around midnight I started getting tired and not wanting to give her the appearance that I was overly concerned or apologetic I went to bed. You know how we men are, detectives, we sometimes play games instead of being real.” He received no response from Lon or Anne with his remark.
“I awoke after four o’clock and at four-thirty she had not returned so I called the police to inquire of her possible report being involved in an accident. I was told nothing had been reported to that point. I then reported her missing. Later that morning, I drove to the station and you know the rest.”
“So, you didn’t stop anywhere like a gas station or for coffee so someone could confirm your time line.”
“No lieutenant, I went directly to the shore and directly back to this location.
“Okay Senator, thank you. I know this stuff is hard, but we have a job to do. We would like to see the bedroom where she slept. We’d also like to take possession of her personal computer.”
“I have no problem with any of that, detective. Marie’s room is at the top of the stairway to the right and her laptop is on the stand next to the bed. I would prefer to remain here while you search.”
They were amazed at the collection of family photos on the wall as they climbed the stairway. They spent considerable time in the room and found nothing of significance, so they picked up the computer and went back down and thanked the Senator for his time. As they left Lon turned to him stating that they may be back again and they departed.
19
HER THUNDERBIRD WAS visible as he pulled off the highway and onto the dirt lane. The excitement was growing inside of him again. He parked as far away as possible from the small parking area along the crest of the hill to keep from being heard.
Taking a small bag out of the trunk, he made his preparations. Slowly walking to the area near her car, he looked down the sloped ground and scanned the beach for who he was there for. His legs began shaking uncontrollably as he saw her lying on a towel. He moved his eyes slowly from side to side, checking for movement of any kind. The dog caught his eye running along the water line. He knew the dog would definitely present a problem by alerting her to his presence. He turned away knowing another opportunity was lost for now and to regain his composure. He placed the bag back into the trunk and drove out onto the highway, unfulfilled. He was convincing his inner self that he had been right in being careful, trying to ease the disappointment.
“Next time, I’ll be better prepared and all will be perfect.”
20
“I WONDER IF the kissing bandit will be here tonight,” Anne thought as she pulled into the parking lot. She had pictured herself kissing him several times during the day and as she remembered the kiss now, she asked herself if she had liked it? Of course you liked it, and you want more of the same came to her mind so go in and see if he’s here. She felt like a school girl as she walked toward the bar.
“Hey there, it’s nice timing on my part.”
She turned toward the voice as he was getting out of his car.
“I’ve been driving around hoping to time my arrival with your usual time.”
“I was not aware that I was that predictable. As a cop, I’m not supposed to display predictable behavior patterns.”
“Do you want to go inside or would you like to go for a drive?”
“Let’s go inside and talk about the possibility of a drive.”
Smiling to show his understanding of her point, he followed her inside. Their conversation remained light and the time seemed to fly by. Anne could feel herself becoming attracted to the man. He was attractive and very pleasant to be with. She warned herself, slow down, you have been drinking and you know nothing about him. Her cop instincts told her to back off, but her womanly needs said “Hurry up.”
He felt her distant attention and asked where she was.
She apologized and said she was having a debate with her inner self. He did not understand, but let it drop.
“Now Anne, are you up for that drive?”
“Let’s go,” she said. “You know, on second thought, let’s go to my place.”
“Will I be safe there young lady?”
“I suspect you will be fine. Remember, I’m a member of the city’s law enforcement. I think you’ll be safe in my hands.” She blushed at the suggestive statement and he smiled at her and took her arm.
21
STEPHANIE TURNED OVER on the towel just in time to see the
top of the car pulling out, heading toward the highway. She wondered if it had been William.
The sun had now set and for some reason he had not appeared.
Oh well, she thought. Next time, maybe. This must have been the odd night when he decided not to take in a sunset.
Picking up her towel, she turned one last time for the magnificent view over the horizon, called Hobo and headed for her car. Hobo ran ahead but suddenly stopped and growled.
“You’re scaring me, boy. What do you see?”
A mother raccoon and two babies were moving along the tree line.
“Let’s go Hobo we need to get back to the homestead.”
She opened the door and the dog jumped into the passenger seat and sat down ready to go.
“Good boy.”
As she drove she tried to remember his features. He was definitely handsome. His slightly graying hair gave him a distinguished look. There was also a familiarity to him that she couldn’t put to rest. I am definitely interested in knowing more about him. Turning on the radio, news of the death of a Senator’s wife was dominating the airways.
“Just my luck, I move into a new area and right into a serial killers playground.”
Switching off the news station, the Beach Boy’s “California Girls,” came roaring into the night air. She looked at Hobo and pretended to howl and he broke into a doggie aria. She laughed, and continued to sing along with the surf music. Life is good, was all she could think, as she headed to town and her room.
22
IT WAS DECIDED that Terry would follow in his car to Anne’s apartment. She was second guessing her decision now and wished that she had gone home alone. How is this going to play out, she wondered. How far is this going to go? You know what he is thinking. Sure, your lonely, but come on girl, you just met this guy.
They pulled into the parking lot behind her apartment house. Terry turned toward her and they stared at each other through their side windows. He smiled, turned away to exit the car. Anne followed suit and they walked together toward the rear entrance. He held the door for her and they made their way to the elevator.
“Third floor please, sir.”
“Third floor it is,” as he pushed the requested number. He bent over and kissed her. She responded in kind and then she knew the answer to the questions she had asked herself. There was no turning back, this was what he wanted and she needed.
Entering the room, they continued to exchange mutual aggressive actions of pent up passions. Anne suddenly stopped and looked into his eyes.
“There is one condition, before this goes any further. You cannot get up and leave me. You are here for the night.”
“I can live with that, officer.”
She grabbed his hand and they walked into the bedroom.
The detective had just arrived home when he heard his phone and recognized the station number. “Sanders here, I hope you are calling with good news.”
“Hey sergeant; what’s going on that’s so urgent?” He listened as he received news that the senator’s car had been found basically right under the department’s noses.
“How could we have missed this; the description of the car used by this guy matches the stolen vehicle reported by the senator. How did those reports not match up somewhere in the department? What you’re telling me is, that car has been sitting in a parking lot with the keys in the ignition and nobody noticed it?”
“No, I won’t come down. I’m home for the night and nothing is going to change that. Get someone else on it and get that car to the garage compound. Make sure nobody sits in that car and put a fire under the lab boys to complete their examination. We need help!” He turned and realized his son was listening to him from the kitchen.
“Are you leaving, Dad?”
“No Tad, I’m home for the night. Let’s finish dinner and see if your mom wants to go to a movie.”
“I’ll bet she does, can I pick the movie?”
“Yes, but I retain the right of review on any selection you come up with. We don’t want to embarrass your mother with some old love story.”
23
ANNE’S EYES OPENED and the morning light was shining directly on her face. Without turning over, she knew he was gone. When did he leave? Why did he leave? It angered her that he had not lived up to their agreement. She showered, dressed, and went to retrieve her pistol and a panic rushed through her when her holster was empty. Her first thought was that he had taken it. She calmed remembering she had removed her weapon and secured it with him being there in the apartment. Attaching the weapon to her belt she took one last look in the mirror. You look younger this morning, whatever could have caused that? Winking at her reflection, she turned and headed for the door. This should be a good day, she thought.
After filling up with gas and buying a coffee and bagel, she headed for the station. She turned on the news and there was continuous coverage of the serial killings with heavy emphasis on Marie Radford, a prominent senator’s wife. Turning to a music station, she thought, too much news, too early for me right now. My whole day is going to be filled with questions about this maniac. I don’t have to listen to it while I’m enjoying a pleasant memory and a great cup of coffee.
Pulling in next to Lon’s car she let out a profanity then muttered;
“Lon, can’t I ever get here before you? You must live here.”
Walking in, she was confronted with Lon’s typical morning jab.
“You look awfully perky this morning, partner! Did you get a lot of sleep or something and I do mean something?”
He looked into her eyes, and smiled. “You had a date, I can tell. Tell me about it and don’t give me; the I don’t kiss and tell bit.”
Anne gave him a half-smile turned and sat down at her desk slightly embarrassed, but pleased he had noticed. She toughened up and confronted him.
“Forget my love life and let’s figure where we are on the questions needing answers on this case?”
“Come on Anne, who is he? How did you meet him?”
“I think you’re jealous that I’m having a life outside this job. You ought to try it I think it would help your disposition.” She sat back in her chair.
“For the first time in a long time Lon, I woke up and felt like singing. When was the last time you woke up feeling like that?”
“Okay, I give. I’ll leave you alone on the matter until you feel like talking about it. Just one more question? Did you get lucky?”
She threw a pen at him, which he ducked relishing in the humor of his question.
“You would love it if I described the entire evening in complete detail, wouldn’t you?”
He smiled, nodded yes as he answered his phone, and received a message from a lady officer on patrol.
“New information Anne, the senator’s car was located last night. I want you to call and tell him we’ve located his stolen car and inform him that he can pick up the Mercedes his wife was driving that night. We will hang on to the car until it has been thoroughly examined. If he needs assistance in the matter, volunteer the two of us to drive the wife’s car home for him. It will give us another chance to check in on him and check his level of grief now that time has passed. One other thing, it was bad news on the lab report. Nothing was found to implicate your senator.”
The call was placed and it was agreed that they would drive Mrs. Radford’s car home and he agreed to another session of questions. He had agreed, but it had to be coordinated with his schedule.
24
STEPHANIE PARKED IN her designated spot at the hospital. She fluffed her hair in the visor mirror, checked her teeth, shrugged her shoulders and left the car. Her second week on the job and surprisingly it was beginning to feel like home. She hoped this move would be good for her and as soon as she found a house, her life should be normal again. She walked through the side door of the hospital and was greeted warmly by several staff people, but one orderly in particular, always over did his greetings with a look that made her feel u
ncomfortable.
“Avoid that one,” she said to herself.
The desk nurse handed her the clip board that held her schedule for the day. Regardless of the difficulty of her schedule she always started her mornings by visiting two terminal patients that she had grown fond of and dropped in to keep their spirits up. They had little or no family who spent time with them and it gave her a warm feeling to provide them this small gesture.
As her morning rounds ended, her stomach alarm alerted her to head down to the cafeteria. The elevator door opened and the dreaded orderly, pushing a wheelchair patient, entered the elevator.
“Hey Doc, are you checking up on me?”
“Why, pray tell me, would I want to do that?”
The car stopped at the next level and he pushed the patient out into the hallway, turned, smiled and said, “See you.”
She ignored him as the door slid shut. She tried to get his arrogance out of her mind as she stepped out into the dining area. There were quite a few hospital staff as well as visitors already seated.
“Salad today Stephanie and forget the pie, even if they have pumpkin! Do you understand?” Her mind was saying yes, but her taste buds were saying, “You love pumpkin pie.”
“I’ll have the house salad and the dressing on the side. Hold the roll. I’m going to have a piece of pumpkin pie.”
There goes the new bikini for another two weeks, she thought as she asked for whipped cream on top. Taking the tray, she walked to a table near the windows. It’s such a beautiful day; I wonder if William, will be there tonight. Listen to me! I called him William, like I know him.
She looked around for a friendly face and caught the eyes of the orderly. He smiled and continued to look at her as he ate. It’s all coincidence, she told herself. You’re going to run into men like him when you work in the same setting like a hospital. He really has done nothing wrong; still, it gives me the creeps when I keep running into him.