“Helluva a coincidence don’t you agree?”
“That and seventy-five cents will get you a morning paper and still not enough for a search warrant,” the number two FBI guy stated.
“But not the case with Ripley… in fact no calls were made this past week, none at all.”
“Wait a sec will ya,” and Josh pulled up the phone records from KB Toys; he zoomed in on two days before Ripley’s disappearance, there were twenty-two calls that day, and a reverse lookup proved insightful. “Who the hell uses a payphone in this day and age?”
“Even money it’s Kyle Kraner.”
“You think so?’
“Bet your life… . same m.o. here, always calls two days before, but as with all criminals they get smarter, well they think they get smarter, the longer they play the game. Somewhere along the line he decided that a payphone is much safer to use than his home phone. Where is that phone located?”
“Just a mile and half from his house.”
“That’s got to be him.”
“So we are saying because this guy is registered as a sex offender, walks with a limp, has no family, bought a can of pink paint and a shovel, and calls a toy store two days prior to his kidnappings that this is our man?”
“Damn straight. I can feel it.”
“All that is circumstantial evidence and still not enough for a warrant.”
“Pull up his driver’s license please.”
Then Lynch picked up the phone.
“Do you have access to a computer?”
“Yes.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, upstairs in my father’s room.”
“Do you have an email account?’
“Yes.”
“Okay give it to me, I’m going to send you a few pictures, okay?”
“Okay,” and a few minutes later his email box beeped.
“I got them, hold on, I have to download them onto my desktop, okay, I have them, now what?”
“Open them, do you recognize anyone?’
“Should I?”
“You tell me?”
“Okay number one… . no… . number two… . no… . number three… . no… number four… .”
“Did you say number three?”
“I’m on four… . wait that was four… . number four I mean no… . now number three… .”
“Did you open it?”
“Yes”
“And?”
“And that looks like the pencil sketch guy… . the one who gave me the ten dollars.”
“Are you sure?”
“No, he looks different somehow, it could be him.”
“But that could be him?”
“Yes.”
“Percentage wise, how sure are you?”
“Eighty-five, maybe ninety.”
Dial tone was all he heard.
“Let’s roll!”
Since this was now a national case the judge was a little lenient in regarding what constitutes proper evidence for a search warrant plus there was the added fact of the FBI breathing down his neck. It was granted without hesitation and the squad cars and an EMT unit gathered at Kyle’s home in Roberta, Georgia. It was a little after eleven pm. Kyle’s car was nowhere to be seen, an APB was placed, and even though it was a weekend night, a squad car was sent to his place of work just in case.
The rest of the group assembled and went over entry strategies. Josh, Lynch, and Garfield covered the front while the FBI covered the rear. They knocked and received no reply. They weren’t expecting one. They knocked again and still no reply. Garfield checked the door and it was locked but it was forced open with one swift kick. They went in with guns drawn. The only light was coming from the rear of the house in the kitchen, where the FBI had just entered through an unlocked door. They gathered in the kitchen and decided to divide and conquer. Josh and one of the g-men went upstairs, and unlike those CSI TV shows, they actually turned on the lights to see where they were going. Lynch covered the other three very small rooms downstairs. Garfield and the remaining g-man tried the cellar door and proceed down the steps. It wasn’t long until the rest of the house heard the commotion.
The steel door was opened and Ripley’s body was lying on the floor, her blonde hair covering her face. Garfield checked for a pulse. To his surprise there was one. The EMT unit was quickly summoned, and they quickly surmised annophalitic shock brought on by the peanut butter sandwich that was half eaten and left by the bed. They had seen this many times in their career. Josh, Garfield, and Lynch watched as the two worked their magic. An injection of antihistamine was all that was needed. She was going to be alright. Lynch grabbed his cell phone and punched in the number to the Newenburgs. He was never expecting to make this phone call. He had rehearsed the other alternative over and over in his mind throughout the past couple of days but not this one.
“Hello, Mrs. Newenburgh, this is detective Lynch, we need you…,” he was trying to hold back his emotions, they seemingly came all at once, “ . . . we need you to come down to the hospital.”
“You found… you found my Ripley?”
“Yes… . yes we did.”
Mrs. Newenburg immediately starting crying for she thought the worse.
“She’s going to be fine Mrs. Newenburg… she’s going to be fine… I will meet you there… don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.”
“Thank you… . thank you,” in between sobs.
“I will take good care of her until you arrive… I promise.”
“Thank you.”
And before he hung up the phone… “You’re welcome”
The big man, Lynch, started to cry. The past few days had really taken its toll on him. Garfield was in the same boat. His bottled up emotions that he kept inside for over a year came to the surface as well. They had found Tanya’s kidnapper, now it was a matter of finding her body, for he knew all too well she was not alive. Josh was a bit more apprehensive, his case was still hot, and there might be a fleeting chance, all he needed to do was talk to Kyle.
As the EMT prepared Ripley for her ride to the hospital, each man shook each other’s hands and exchanged a good bear type of hug; it was an emotional scene. Once outside, Lynch, as promised, took good care of Ripley, he rode in the ambulance with her. Josh and Garfield waited for Kyle’s inevitable capture, while the FBI guys called for even more FBI guys.
Josh went back inside. He searched the house again. He found nothing. Before he did anything else he remembered his partner, his partner worked two solid months straight, sixteen and eighteen hour days, his partner needed to be here. It was now after midnight but he made the call anyway.
After the call he learned that he was not going to get the chance to talk to Kyle Kraner, ever.
It was a fitting demise for Kyle Kraner. He saw the flashing lights in his rearview mirror; he hit the gas, and turned the corner. It was the shortest chase in Roberta’s history. Kyle turned the corner, hit a pole, and his head impacted with the windshield giving yet another mortality statistic in the case for the slogan ‘seatbelts save lives.’
In the hour that followed, the house was a full blown crime scene, with lights, even more FBI and GBI guys, trucks, cameras, and all sorts of investigating equipment. It wasn’t long before they unearthed Tanya’s body from beneath a bed of daisies in the backyard. She was wrapped lovingly in a pink blanket in a little white dress. It wasn’t until late afternoon that Josh and his partner could close their case as well. Becky’s body was found just a short distance from Kyle’s house, in a nearby water reservoir, just off of Kirby Avenue. They found burlap, rope, and a cement block in a small boat by the shed in the backyard. It wasn’t hard to solve the equation by putting two and two together. Within a half an hour of dredging they found Becky. Kyle Kraner was responsible for at least three abductions, possibly more, possibly even Colleen Reinhardt, though her body was never found. Their cases could now be closed after a few final entries. Some questions where still left unanswered, like why? W
hy did he do it? Why did he kill the other girls but not Ripley? Both Tanya and Becky’s body were unable to answer the question of any child abuse but Ripley’s did. She was unmarred in that nature. As far as she was concerned she lived in a pink room for a few days of her life where she played with a bunch of toys. She’ll soon forget the face of her captor, only to be buried in the deep recesses of the mind.
Charles Lynch was bedside by a sleeping Ripley, when her parents rushed in. They couldn’t help but wake her; they loved and missed her so. Her smile alone was worth every bit of thankless tasks he had performed through his lifetime of being a cop. It was moments like this that made him proud to have taken the oath to serve the public even though he feared the worst for this little girl. He made up his mind right there and then that he wouldn’t be accepting his gold watch this year, in fact, they would have to drag him out the door for he had a new lease on life.
He kept Ripley’s picture on his desk from then on.
Josh Cerrito wanted so badly to question Kyle. He couldn’t leave well enough alone and wanted to find out all he could. He went to the County seat in order to find something, anything, the only thing we found, Kyle Kraner was an only child with no living relatives. He searched old school records and found he had dropped out during his junior year for reasons unknown. Josh just couldn’t put his mind around why this would happen, what would drive a person to do such a thing. To Josh this case would never be closed.
. . .
Chapter 71
Jorja had one question on her mind, actually several that she needed answering, and only one person could give her those answers… . her uncle.
When she arrived at the gates she entered her pass code but the iron bars refused to budge. Thinking she miss-keyed, she entered them again and they still did not move. She buzzed the house only to receive no reply. She buzzed again and waited while she reached for her cell. Then a soft voice came over the small tinny speaker.
“Carson residence, how may I help you?”
“Robin, it’s Jorja, is my uncle home?”
“Yes, but…”
“Can you just let me in please? My code doesn’t work, I need to talk to him.”
The gates parted and she pulled up to the front door where Robin was already waiting.
“Your uncle is in his study, but he hasn’t moved or said a word since…”
“Robin, how are you doing?” in a sincere tone.
“Not good, I really don’t want to stay but your uncle needs someone to watch over him.”
“Robin… . I…,” and she turned towards her and gave her a hug, “thank you for being here, it means a lot to us… to me.”
Robin broke from the hug with tears in her eyes and didn’t say another word as she made her way to her private quarters. Jorja went to seek out her uncle and when she arrived at the entrance to his study he was sitting in his favorite chair holding a picture frame that contained the image of his now departed wife. Jorja rapped ever so lightly on the outside wall and without lifting his head he said, “Please come in my dear,” in such a somber tone Jorja’s heart sank even deeper into her chest. She wanted to just go over and hug him but her brain filled with confusion, torn between distrust and love. She walked in quiet like a church mouse and sat in the hard leather chair trying not to make it squeak as the leather relaxed from her frame. She didn’t say a word, mainly because she didn’t know what to say.
“I did love her… even though I rarely said it, I did love her… and yes, I admit, with deep regret… . that… that I took her for granted. Grace was always there for me, she was always there for me and I was never there for her… . and now… now I have nothing, except for some fading memories and these images printed on paper… and I can’t touch either of them. I can’t tell them how sorry I am or how much I love them. They are worthless. I am worthless. I was too concerned with my career. I always have been. And I don’t blame her for what she did. I know I am to blame. I’m to blame for what happened and I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath and Jorja just watched as he tried to gather himself, still not uttering a sound. He lifted his head and looked at Jorja for the first time. “I remember the first time I saw her,” and she so wanted to interrupt him and ask if he meant her aunt or her mother. “I was a freshman in college and I was going to the movies with a bunch of friends. We were in line and I noticed her behind us, only she didn’t appear to have a date. She just had this southern charm that sparkled without saying a word. As the line grew shorter I guess my courage grew stronger. When I approached the ticket counter I bought an extra ticket and without saying a word, I turned around and handed it to her. She thanked me and went on her merry way. The next time I saw her on campus I asked if I could accompany her to the next movie and the rest as they say, is history. She was perfect in every way a man could want or need. I loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her. I just knew we would spend the rest of our lives together.”
Before he could continue, the sob story got the best of her, she bit her lip before she spoke, then eased out the question, “What about my mother?”
He was not expecting that and it took him a while to formulate a reply, searching for words but also trying to ascertain the extent of her knowledge. “Your mother was a different soul and I was very young… . very stupid… . very naïve and without trying to make an excuse… it was college. Your mother caught me by surprise, her beauty, her free will, her confidence. She danced to her own tune. Looking back now I guess it was more lust than love and you cannot build a strong foundation on that. I am a lucky man for when I finally learned that life lesson, Grace was there to forgive me and take me back.”
“So my mother was not your soul mate?”
‘No.”
“That’s not the way Aunt Gracie remembers it. She says the two of you were inseparable from the moment you saw each other.”
“Like I said, it was lust, I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
“So you are saying my mother was a mistake.”
“No, no, nothing like that, we were young that’s all, too young to control feelings that strong.”
“Okay I’m a little confused, first you said it was just lust then you say you had these strong feelings… which was it?”
Taking a moment, “If you must know, the truth is, I loved Carolina, I loved your mother, I have never loved anyone else as deeply as her and at the same time no one has ever caused me so much pain. Like I said we were young, far too young and I let my dreams get in the way. If I could, I would reverse time and do things differently, I would gladly give up what I thought were my dreams in return for a life with the woman I loved… but I can’t. Now I have lost the two women I have loved the most in my life and I have regrets, serious regrets that I must take with me to my grave.”
“Aunt Gracie knew that you loved her but she also knew your heart was not entirely hers. She was okay with that. May I ask, what really happened between you and my mother?”
“There were always conflicts mostly in the political realm. She knew I wanted to plant both feet firmly within the government and I believed I could really make a difference. She feared I would succumb to the evils, the corruption, the mainstream agendas. We fought all the time over our ideals. Then one day she grew tired and left. I loved her even more for not giving in. I tried to win her back, I tried several times but I made a huge mistake in the process and I will never forgive myself for it.”
“What was it?”
“I don’t… .,” trailing off as if almost losing his thought, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Are you sure? You shouldn’t burden your soul with anymore regrets, no matter how painful it may be.”
Taking another deep breath, “You are right my dear… it’s just that… I have lived with this feeling, this image every day of my life and I have never told anyone about it, not even your aunt. It was the moment I lost all hope in a life with Carolina. It was the stupidest thing,” as he paused, “utterly stupid,” he paused a
gain.
“Go on.”
“Well… . I could never win a debate with your mother. Never. And I was captain of the debate team. She was full of piss and vinegar that one. She just had a spin on life that I couldn’t fathom. She got the better of me and after all my failed attempts I just reacted. Maybe it was out of some hidden pent up aggression that emanated from the fact that I never, ever won an argument. It just happened and to this day I still regret it. From that day on things were different between us. Sure we still loved each other but there was always this underlying hint of distrust, and rightfully so on her part.”
“You still didn’t tell me what happened.”
“I never ever did this before, and never did it again, but out of sheer anger, I raised my hand and slapped her across the cheek. When she turned and walked away without saying a word I just knew I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I tried every way possible to say that I was sorry but to no avail.”
“So how many times did you see her during her marriage to my father?”
“Hard to say, not much outside family functions and they were rare, mostly for your birthdays and one or two Christmases. It was very hard on my part. There was always this physical attraction between us, this connection that’s hard to explain, but like I said before you can’t build a foundation on that and on top of that she was married to my brother. And yes, before you say it, I was jealous plain and simple. So I tried not to be around much. I thought of her every single day. So much so I was neglecting my wife. It was sort of this one sided affair in my head.”
“I’m going to be blunt. Did you ever sleep with her during her marriage?”
“No, I am not your father, which I knew you must be thinking, and no I never slept with her during her marriage. Now before she said her vows it came pretty close but wiser heads did prevail. You are definitely my brother’s daughter but I look at you as the daughter I never had. I never told my brother but I was proud of him raising you like he did.” as he shed the slightest of tears, “and I’m not going to lie,I wanted to, wanted to tell your mother that I loved her in the worst way every time I saw her. And to tell you the truth she felt the same way.”
Take the Fourth Page 39