Blood Red Sundown: Evil Begins

by Allen Gates

  “We’re here to talk about your ex-husband. We hoped you would be willing to discuss your years spent married to the senator.”

  “William Radford the third, what in the world can I say that will affect anything about him in any way?”

  “His new wife was murdered a few days ago and we’re investigating every possible lead.”

  “That’s terrible news. Was she killed by the same man that has been killing women there in Santa Barbara or am I a suspect?”

  “You are not a suspect, but there are similarities to the serial killings.”

  “We only get bits and pieces of the news, way out here. I’m unsure of how I can be of assistance to you.”

  “We hoped you could give us some insight into the overall mental makeup of the senator.”

  “That would take considerable time, Anne. He is a very complex individual; a Jekyll and Hyde type would best describe him.”

  Hearing that descriptive term by Beth gave Lon his, “I knew it” moment.

  “Tell me about the side that convinced you to marry him.”

  “He can be very persuasive, with his charm and good looks. Those are also the tools he used to get himself elected to the senate. He can sell you anything and make you believe that you need it. Like most divorced couples I didn’t really get to know William until after we were married. It was a whirlwind affair what with him being a high profile lawyer and being with him on his run for the senate. We were living in high cotton, as they say out here, but in Santa Barbara it would be described as dancing with the stars and the big wigs.”

  She paused and took a drink of tea before continuing. “It was at that time that his mother became involved in our daily lives. I had always felt there was an unusually close relationship between her and William. I felt I was in her way. I could have been an employee the way I was treated by her. I sometimes had doubts that she was his mother. He would not even listen when I tried to speak of these feelings and of her hateful actions toward me.”

  “I asked him on one such occasion, if he and his Mother were having an affair. I was only joking, of course, and yet from his reaction I renewed my doubts. Our sex life had become minuscule to almost non-existent in our marriage. He began to sleep in a separate room. After events we attended she would hold his arm, and I would walk along beside or behind them like a puppy dog. I became a sort of passive participant in the marriage.”

  Anne looked over at Lon and he was smirking at being right about the man then asked his first question, “Was he ever abusive physically toward you Beth?”

  “No, but I must admit there were times when his anger toward me became so enraged I would leave the room and stay away until he had totally calmed down. I do believe that, at times, had I not walked away he might have struck me.”

  Anne looked at her partner expecting a response from him, but he said nothing, remaining deep in thought.

  Beth looked at him and waited for his next question which never came so she continued. “His mother often accompanied him on his out-of-town trips. He claimed she would give him advice. When I would call his room late at night at the hotel, she would pick up, say hello knowing it would be me and then pass the phone to William. You can make of that what you will, just as I did.”

  “Now on my part; I could not make a misstep or say the wrong thing or I was in for an angry lecture of all lectures.”

  Again pausing in thought her face reflected pain as she remembered and then continued. “He became obsessively jealous of me. At his required gatherings I was often approached by men in polite conversation and it was a “you must reap what you sow” lecture as soon we hit the car. It would continue into the house and go on for hours.”

  63

  CODE BLUE ROOM 34-B came screaming over the speaker. Stephanie rushed to the room and observed the attending nurses performing CPR.

  “No pulse Doctor.”

  “She checked for a heartbeat and found none. She took the paddles in hand and ready to attach, she shouted, “Every one clear. “Now!”

  “Nothing yet, Doctor.”

  Again, “clear.” A definite beep on the screen and a steady rhythm brought cheers to the room.

  “Keep an eye on him, just to be sure and up his dosage to three hundred. I’ll stop back in a half-hour or so to check on him.”

  Len was coming out of a room and waved. She returned the action with a smile and stopped at the desk.

  “Are there any messages for me?”

  “Well, if you call a message from Senator Radford just a message, then you have a message. He asked that you meet him around five thirty at the same place as the first meeting.”

  “What’s going on, Doc?” Len stood a few feet away and overheard the message being read. A pen that he was holding snapped in half catching the attention of the two women. They looked at each other puzzled at his obvious agitation as he walked away.

  She read the patients log book and all that remained for her was to check on Mr. Gordon, to be sure he was out of danger before leaving for the day. Then she would be free to change in to her swim suit and get to the beach. She could not suppress a smile. It was time for her to acknowledge the fact that she was taken with the senator.

  64

  BETH REFILLED THEIR glasses and sat a tray of varied crackers and cheeses on the small table.

  “I have to ask, Beth, What did you mean, you had your doubts? You actually had doubts that this lady was his mother?”

  Lon looked at Anne and was about to interrupt, but she answered before he could mouth the words.

  “I only had doubts, no proof.”

  Lon could not keep silent any longer. “Are we talking incest, Beth?”

  “I am suggesting that it was not a normal mother-son relationship. She dominated his life completely and as far as incest I never caught them; but there was evidence and signs.”

  “Did you confront him about your concerns on this matter?”

  “Twice I made the accusation that this was going on between them. The first time he became angry calling it totally ridiculous. But the second time, the mother was present and she began laughing at me. William stood up and I thought sure he was going to strike me. He stood over my chair and asked me to leave the house as soon as possible and he would be filing for immediate divorce. I was relieved when he said this as I had been planning on filing myself.”

  “How do you think he would have reacted had you filed first?”

  “I waited for that very reason. I feared his reaction.”

  “There must be certain incidents that triggered your suspicions of their relationship,” Anne asked.

  “The senate was in session and I found myself alone and bored. I wandered around the house and decided to be daring and go into his mother’s room. The room had always been emphasized by William that it was off limit for me.”

  “Can you imagine being barred from a room in your own home?”

  They both just stared at her not sure if they should answer.

  “I was very nervous at the possibility of being discovered. I remember standing at the foot of the bed and staring at the oil painting of the mother and thinking, how attractive she was as a young woman and understood why men would naturally be attracted to her.”

  “I remained in a nervous state being in the room especially when I started going through drawers, not actually looking for anything in particular. I guess it was no more than curiosity about her life. I found a single key in the stand next to her bed in a hanky drawer. I searched, but couldn’t find anything secured with a lock. I was about to search in the closet when I heard the alarm alert on the front door. I replaced the key in the drawer and left the room quickly hoping I would not be discovered by something I had disturbed.”

  Their trance like state of interest in her story was interrupted by a burst of “Dixie” from the pocket of Lon’s coat.

  ”Lon on this end, how can I help you?”

  “Hey chief, It looks like we’ll be staying one more d
ay. It’s very important, chief. Look we’re in an interview right now with Mrs. Radford. Yes I know; I’ll call you later with an update. Right chief, I hear you; I’ll call you.”

  “This seems like a good time to break for lunch detectives. I have lunch with options prepared for you. We can sit outside on the back deck, but there is one requirement. No business during lunch.”

  While they sat and conversed, Beth Radford pointed out the mountains in the distance and some of the early history surrounding the Sutcliff area.

  “I can’t help but wonder why you decided to leave the fast pace you had been living in California to move to this small town in Nevada of all places.

  “You’ll think I’m crazy when you hear how I selected Sutcliff; I wanted to be as far away from my life there in California and William Radford as I could be and I had no particular place that I felt a need to be so I picked Sutcliff by throwing a dart at the US map. I wanted to be totally free from the two of them and Sutcliff has turned out to be the correct choice for me.”

  Anne smiling said, “That is an amazing story.”

  “I lost a lot by leaving Santa Barbara, but I have been very happy with my decision,” she said as she walked to the kitchen.

  65

  AFTER HEARING THE conversation at the nurse’s station, Len left the hospital with his spirits totally drained and asking himself, “What chance do I have against a senator? None, and even if he wasn’t a senator what chance would you have? It’s time to get real and realize you are not going to be a part of her life. You need to get back to your old self and let the nice guy image die. What do you have to lose?”

  “Her guard is down now, maybe she will accept you in some other way than you preferred. Think it out very carefully and then act. Keep your head about you at all times and just be her friend … for now. He knew that he had broken the barrier between them and with patience could get close to her. He also knew where to find her most evenings and that she likes wine. I will drop by bearing a gift of a fine bottle of rosé.

  66

  THEY SAT QUIETLY on the patio both analyzing the previously recounted details of Beth’s marriage. Lon stood and opened the door and as she stepped out onto the patio Anne was amazed at her confident and obviously very happy demeanor.

  “Beth, you were pretty emphatic about the senator being the jealous type, how far do you think your ex would have gone if he thought you had cheated on him?”

  “Let’s just say, Anne, that I feared his reaction so much so that, for me, to even consider such a thing would have caused me to walk in fear every minute of every day. To this day when I am talking with a gentleman friend I sometimes look around because I feel like William may be watching me. I know that sounds foolish, but that’s how brainwashed I had become under his watchful eye. Even today when I go to church and the minister happens to quote the verse that says, “You reap what you sow! I wanted to run out of the church screaming.”

  Lon felt even more convinced as he listened to Beth that this smooth talking senator was definitely capable of being the man they were searching for.

  “Can we get back to your search for whatever that key opened, Lon asked?”

  “Oh yes, I’m sorry. I guess I was beginning to ramble. I was alone once again the next day so I took another chance and entered her room and searched the shelves in her closet. I was about to give up when I reached and discovered a hat box. It felt heavy, so I pulled it down and sat it on hamper there in the closet. I untied the strings and when I opened it I saw a blond wig lying on a black pouch like folder with a lock. I figured that was what the key was for. There were paper clippings and photos in the bottom of the box. I looked at a few of them and then went back to her bedside for the key to open the black folder case.”

  “The key was not where I had left it. I almost panicked thinking she had figured out that I had been there. I opened the next drawer and it was there under her gloves. I was nervous as to why she had moved it.”

  “I opened the lock and then put the key back in the drawer in case I had to get out of the room fast. I hoped that she had simply looked for something or added something the day before and did not suspect that I had been in her drawer.

  Inside the locked case were legal papers, insurance policies, cash, and various envelopes. A folded picture was paper clipped and upon opening it, found it to be a close-up picture of a man sitting at a table with the mother at the other end. I had never seen his father, so I assumed it to be of him. He was pointing to a tattoo on his upper arm that said Gal. 6:7. I thought this must be the source for William’s biblical words.”

  “Let me guess, Beth, ‘You reap what you sow’?”

  “That’s correct, detective. I opened an envelope and it contained photos of the three of them. In every picture the man’s face had been blacked out. I pulled out the last envelope and it was a newspaper clipping’s describing a double suicide. A man and woman had been found in a car dead from carbon monoxide. It was the father and his lover. Across the article and every photo that he had been in was written, ‘Reap What You Sow’. I quickly put everything back as I had found them and practically ran out of the room. I was very distraught.”

  Anne was witnessing the fear welling up in Beth by her body language and when a grimace appeared on her face as she brought up her memories she decided to let her hesitate for a time.

  “Beth, we can certainly understand your distress. Your nerves must have been doing jumping jacks with the fear of discovery and your need to escape after what you had uncovered.”

  “You can’t even imagine the anxiety I felt as I replaced everything as I had found them.”

  She leaned forward in her chair clasping her hands together apparently reliving for the moment from the situation she had experienced. She looked up and smiled at Anne.

  “I feel better now getting some of this behind me. On another occasion when I was alone I reluctantly decided to take a chance to reopen that case and take the time to read the newspaper clippings. I wrote down the woman’s name and the date of the published story. I was determined to learn more about his father.”

  She slouched back in the chair and stared straight ahead then looked up at them and said, “I’m sorry detectives, but I need a rest from the remembrances of this horrible situation I was in. Can we continue this tomorrow? Just talking about that horrible time in my life I can feel myself getting that closed in watched feeling that stayed with me my entire married life. I often thank God for getting me out of that situation.”

  “Tomorrow is fine. I think we are all feeling a little tense. Can we take you out to dinner, Beth? You know the best places in Sutcliff, I imagine.”

  “There are no best places in Sutcliff, they’re all equal greasy spoons, and no thank you, I’m playing bridge tonight. What time will you be here tomorrow?”

  The drive back to Reno was, to say the least, interesting. Lon took his time before taking his expected opportunity to say, “I told you so, Anne.”

  They stopped in a small local bar for a drink and use it as a time to go over the details that surfaced in the meeting with a very interesting lady.

  “Anne you must agree now that this guy is weird. Now I’m even more determined to find out just how weird.”

  “You have to admit, Lon, there are many men that grow up totally tied to their mothers and are never dangerous to anyone else. If you want my opinion I would say the mother was the weird one. The incest is certainly mind boggling and it appears she drove the husband into another woman’s arms.”

  “What or who drove them to suicide?” Lon asked, “A more important question might be was it suicide?”

  67

  THE SURF IS angry tonight, Stephanie thought. She watched as the waves rolled in connected to the darkening sky line and then exploded against the rocky section of the shore. White caps over the deep blue hue were awe inspiring and she wished she was an artist who could transfer the scene to canvas.

  Sunset, she remembered was project
ed to be early tonight. Looking up to the sky she saw it was alive with dramatic colors and displayed with fire-like images. She turned to observe the high ground behind her, hoping to see him walking down the path to watch the sun set with her. Walking closer to the shoreline, she felt as if she was a part of the picture nature was painting on this wonderful night.

  Funny, she thought, how the sun hovers and sinks so slowly and then disappears in an instant below the horizon. You blink or turn for a second and turn back and it has been replaced by a red glowing skyline.

  A car door, the sound she was waiting for. She turned to watch him walk down the trail and recognized his self-confidence in the way he carried himself. His smile was captivating as he approached and stood beside her.

  “I think we’re in for an extra special treat tonight, William. That sky spells out a heavenly sunset,” she said.

  He took her arm and suggested they walk down the beach.

  68

  “I’M SURPRISED YOU bought the suicide story, Lon. The way you have it in for the senator, I figured you for a homicide theory.”

  “I’m going to pursue that theory further on my own time. I think there’s something to be learned from their mother-son relationship.”

  “Do we know how or when the mother died?”

  “It is strange that it has never come up Anne, it seems to be an ignored subject; and yet we talk about her all the time.”

  “Lon, on the back of one of the file pictures, someone, and I have to assume it to have been a police officer, wrote in large letters, [MOMMY WINS AGAIN]. Does that have anything to do with the mother son-relationship we’ve been discussing with Beth?”

  “Wow Anne, I had totally forgotten that time period or maybe I wanted to put it out of my mind because I remember thinking that they went too far. He was definitely considered a mommy’s boy by some of the officers on the force and I never really understood how they had arrived at that conclusion. I never gave it any thought back then about it being anything other than a mother and son close relationship. Stories like that were always circulating around the office about some politician or celebrity. They usually turned out to be false.”