by J. R. Martin
****
For the next week and a half, things around Garth Simmons room were uneventful. No one came at night and no one came in the day. In fact Garth had no visitors at all. Garth seemed to be un-impressed, it was as though he didn’t care that he had no visitors. In fact, when the nurses came in and changed his bed he just moved over to a chair and continued to get his reading done, paying all of them no attention. He was so indifferent that one of the nurses told Dr. Williams about his lethargic manner and encouraged the doctor to look in on Garth.
Late one afternoon Dr. Williams knocked on Garth’s door and then let himself in. Garth seemed to be glad to see the doctor and carried on a very good conversation with him. Finally Dr. Williams said,
“Garth, have you had any visitors lately?”
Garth said, “No, should I have?”
Dr. Williams just sit looking at Garth as he took his vitals and then he said, “The nurses have been a little concerned about you. They say you haven’t been interacting with them very much.”
“Haven’t had anything to interact with them about.” Garth said. “I’ve been reading my books and have been totally engrossed with them. Does that make me look bad, doctor?”
“No, but they just knew your manner had changed, some.” Dr. Williams said. “And as your doctor I am always interested if your mannerisms change.”
“Well, you of all people know what goes on in my head. I’m just making the best of this situation. Maybe someday I will be declared sane, and then I can get out of here.” Garth said.
Doctor Williams did not reply to that because he knew no matter how much Garth changed, he would never get out of this hospital. The courts of law had made that very clear. He put his stethoscope back in his bag and said, “I’ll see you later, Garth. Keep on thinking those positive thoughts.” And the good doctor left.
Garth sit in his chair looking at the closed door for a long time after Dr. Williams left. Thinking aloud he said, “And you, good doctor, think I don’t know your back with my sister. You think you’re so smart and the two of you are keeping your relationship a secret? Please, doctor, you are fooling no one, last of all, me.”
When Dr. Williams got back to his office he wrote a note on Garth’s chart, it read:
Garth Simmons appears to be improving, but I know that that’s most likely all show. This man is a pathological liar and a murderer. He has no conscience. He is a madman. But, one that can certainly put on a good show when he wants to make others think he’s sane. Do not be fooled by this side of him. He’s just play acting. He’s still very, very dangerous, and a total maniac.
Then the doctor locked his office and went back to his apartment. Once there he picked up the phone and called Grace Simmons, just to see how she was doing. While he had her on the phone he relayed that Garth had been acting very sane. He had been reading a lot and the nurses were even concerned about his not communicating with them.
Grace said, “Don’t for one minute believe him, doctor. He is as crazy now as he was the day he was committed to that hospital for the criminally insane. Garth’s danger lies in the fact he can fool so many people.”
“Oh, I know.” Dr. Williams said, “but, I thought you’d want to know.”
“And I wish it were true, I really do, but he’s never going to be sane. You know that and I know that. And that makes me very said.” Grace said. “I do hope you have your records written out so if something should happen to you or me, it would be a matter of record.”
“Oh, I do.” Dr. Williams said, “I do.”
****
Ivan Bennet decided he needed to go look at that key chain and key the city police had in their custody. He was going to try and get a copy made and just keep it with him. He didn’t know if the police department would go along with that so he went to his Commander and ask him he would write a letter recommending this. The Commander said,
“What is it you think you can achieve by having the key with you, Bennet? Do you think you have an idea of who the key might belong to?”
“No, sir. I don’t have a clue, but I thought it might be wise if I just kept it with me in case. One never knows when I might run across something that makes me think about the key. I’m also going to pay another visit to Brasserie Zidel. And see if they have any more information.” Ivan shared.
The Commander wrote the letter and Ivan put it in his pocket and when he arrived at Police headquarters he walked to the desk Sargent and showed him the letter. Looking it over, the desk Sargent said, “I’m going to have to get the Chief’s approval for this.”
“Is he in?” Ivan asked.
“Yeah, he’s in. Give me a minute.”
The desk Sargent walked to the Chief’s office, knocked on the door and entered. He was gone about ten minutes and then he came back out to the front desk he said,
“Chief says it’s okay for you to make a clay copy of the key and see if you can get a key made, but, there’s no way he’s letting the key out of our sight.”
“Okay I’m not surprised by that. In fact I brought my clay today. So if you will allow, I will make a copy and take it to a lock smith.” Ivan said.
“Very well, right this way. We will go back to evidence where it’s locked up.” The Sargent said as he led the way.
Ivan pressed the key hard into the clay. It made an excellent image of the key. But, just to be sure, he made another impression. Then he turned to the desk Sargent and said,
“Thanks a lot ole man, I appreciate your courtesy. If Scotland Yard can ever be of service to you, just let us know.”
“You’re quite welcome, Detective. I do hope that we are able to stop the copycat killer in the White Chapel District soon. However, we have enjoyed the lull we’ve had of late.”
“That’s for sure.” Ivan agreed. “And thank you. I’m going to see if I can run down this key. And see who it belongs to, etc.”
“Good luck with that.” The desk Sargent said. “If we can be of further assistance let us know.”
Ivan waved a good-by and then headed out the door.
****
It was about five o’clock in the afternoon when Ivan made his visit to the Brasserie Zidel. The place was abuzz with happy hour clients and there was lots of laughter and dart playing. Ivan walked over to the bar, ordered a scotch on the rocks and when the bartender slid it his way he caught it and had a seat at a nearby table.
He observed everyone that was there this day. It was a mixture of young executives and young professionals in all walks of life. The crowd was equally balanced between males and females. From the looks of them Ivan would guess the average age to be about thirty-five. He sipped on his scotch and said nothing. He was here today to observe and later on he would question the manager.
As the evening wore on he finally decided that he just needed to speak to the manager. Ivan got up and walked to the bartender and then he asked, “Who’s the manager here?”
The bartender answered and then he pointed to an office in the very back of the bar.
“His name is Gordon Cunningham. He should be back there now.” The bartender said. “Just knock.”
Ivan took the bartender’s advice and knocked gently on the office door. A voice answered, “Come in.”
When Ivan entered, he was surprised to see an office piled up with paper work. Then a short stocky man rose from behind the pile of papers and said,
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, Mr. Cunningham, my name is Ivan Bennet and I’m with Scotland Yard.”
The short balding man looked a little surprised and then he said, “What does Scotland Yard want with me?” He asked.
“Not necessarily with you, sir, but I need some information.” Ivan explained.
Pulling the key and key chain from his pocket he showed the two. to the manager and then he said, “Do you remember when you gave these key chains away? Of course the key we have no way of knowing who that belongs to, but I thought maybe you would remember the key chain. T
his is not the original, but it looked like this.” Ivan explained.
The manager took the key chain from Ivan and examined it thoroughly. Then he said,
“Yes, we gave these away last summer, to tourist mostly. We thought they were cute and would give the tourist a good feeling about this place
“Is that the only time you have ever given them away.” Ivan asked.
“Yeah, last summer.” The manager said.
“Okay sir, thank you.” Ivan said and walked out of the office. He turned his glass of scotch up and finished his drink and then he walked out of the bar, into the foggy night.
****
When he arrived home he unlocked the door to his apartment and immediately unloaded his keys and excess pocket change, onto the entry hall table. This was a ritual he went through every night. He also took out the keychain and key he had collected and took to Brasserie Zidel in hopes of finding a clue. He threw it on the table too, and then, his heart almost stopped beating. He starred down at his apartment key and the key and key chain he had picked up at the City Police Department. The keys were identical. The key he had wondered and searched vigorously for the owner was the exact duplicate of his key. He immediately picked up the suspect key and tried it in his door lock.
To Ivan’s repulsion the key turned the lock. It worked perfectly. Ivan looked at the key in horror and then he said aloud, “no way, there’s no way in hell this is my key.” And he stared in disbelief, at the key he held in his hand.
Chapter Seventeen
Ivan wasn’t sure what he was going to do about the key. He didn’t want to tell the Commander because the first thing he would do was pull him of the case until the owner of the key could be found. So he decided, at least for now, that he would remain silent about the key and it fitting his lock.
When the Commander asked him the next day if he had managed to stir up any new leads concerning the White Chapel Murders, Ivan just nodded his head no and lied, “not a thing new Commander.”
Ivan called Ray Roberts on the phone and asked the undercover agent if he had seen anymore late night visitors to Garth Simmons room. The detective just told him, ‘no.’ I haven’t seen anyone go in or out of that room since the night we were together and saw that person.
“Nothing more has happened.” Roberts said.
“It’s okay, I’m going to come back out there tonight and work the shift with you.” Ivan said.
“Oh, sure, I’ll let the Commander know.” Roberts said.
“Good, I’ll see you about ten on the east parking lot.” Ivan said
“Yeah, that’s fine, see you then.” Roberts agreed.
He hung up the phone and went in to tell the Commander he had it all sit up with Roberts to meet him again tonight in the east parking lot. The Commander looked at Ivan and said, “If anyone goes into that room tonight, I want you to arrest them, there on the spot. Don’t worry about trying to catch and identify them. Just arrest them and we will worry about the other later.”
“Yes, sir. I understand.” Ivan said.
****
Ivan and undercover agent Ray Roberts, took their seats down the hall and just out of sight. They could see Garth’s room clearly and if anyone came into that room tonight they were going to be captured on the spot.
The two men chatted for a little while and then about 1:45 a.m. Ivan said, “You want a cup of coffee? I can run down to the next floor and pick up a couple of cups. They won’t think anything about it even if they see me.”
“Yeah, that would be good. Thanks.” Roberts said.
Ivan made his way quietly down the back stairs to the next floor. He knew the refreshment bar was right there by the stairs. He opened the door and the coast was clear so he got two cups of coffee, with cream in both and headed back upstairs. He acted quickly because he didn’t want to leave Roberts alone for long for fear someone would come and no one would be there to help him. Ivan opened the fifth-floor door and held it with his foot while he balanced the coffee with both hands.
He glanced at room 501 and all was quiet down there and no one was on this floor that he could see so he just walked leisurely back to the cove where the two officers had made their stake out for the night. When he rounded the corner, he dropped both cups in the floor spilling the hot liquid onto his pants and splattering the floor with the coffee.
Lying sprawled out on the floor was Ray Roberts, aka Morris Wims, an officer for over twenty years. His throat had been cut and the blood was running a river of crimson over the hospital floor. Ivan just stood staring at the scene before him and then he started screaming. Screaming for someone to come and help him.
The charge nurse ran down the corridor where someone was calling for help and when she rounded the corner she saw a man sprawled on the floor and the other man she recognized to be Officer Ivan Bennett standing over him.
“What happened here?” The nurse asked.
“I went to get coffee and when I came back he was dead. I’ve checked Garth Simmons door and it’s locked securely. Someone must have slipped up on him and cut his throat.” Ivan said. “I can’t believe another friend is dead and one more time I was gone.”
Ivan started sobbing and the nurse said, “Please Officer Bennett, have a seat. I’ll have a doctor here in moments and he can give you something. I will call the police for you. Is there anyone else you want me to call?” The nurse asked.
“Yes, please call Scotland Yard and have them tell Commander Sanders that Roberts has been killed.” Ivan sit down in the chair and starred off into space. He couldn’t believe how quick the murderer had struck and to get the drop on Robertson, a seasoned undercover agent. That was unheard of. He buried his head in his hands and waited for the police to arrive.
When the Commander walked in Ivan looked at him in relief, he felt like a friend had come to help him.
“Detective, I want you to tell me step by step what went on tonight. From the time you and Roberts met on the east parking lot of the Insane Asylum until you found him murdered.”
“Well, sir, everything was routine. We took our positions out of sight about 11:15 p.m. and we talked and quietly visited. No one came or went, no nurse, no doctor, no one. About 1:15 a.m. I asked Ray if he would like a cup of coffee and he said ‘yes’ he’d love it. So I went down the back stairs to the fourth floor. I had seen a refreshment center there so I knew I could get down there and back without being seen and therefore no one would suspect anything. I did that and when I got back to our stake out I saw Ray lying in a pool of blood.
He had fallen from the chair he had been sitting in all night. I don’t know how anyone could have slipped up behind him unless he got up to look out the window. There was a thunderstorm raging outside and the lights had been going off and on all night. That’s the only explanation I can give you, sir.” Ivan said and then collapsed in a chair.
The doctor had come in and given him a shot before the Commander had arrived and his eyes were starting to droop, but he knew regardless of how tired and exhausted he was, sleep would be elusive for him tonight.
The Commander walked over and put his hand on Ivan’s shoulder and he asked, “Detective, have you and Roberts looked at the Nanny Cam you hid in Garth Simmons’s room yet?”
“No, sir we haven’t, or I haven’t and I don’t think Ray had either, because he didn’t mention it to me.” Ivan said.
“I don’t want to get that camera tonight,” the Commander said, but tomorrow when Simmons is out of his room I want to get that camera and look at it. I don’t think he did this, but I need to see what’s going on in that room when everyone leaves.”
“Yes, sir. Do you want me to get it tomorrow for you?” Ivan asked.
“No, Ray told me where he put it and I’ll get another detective to watch and when Garth is taken down to exercise he can get it. Why don’t you take tomorrow off, Detective.” The Commander said.
“I think I will do that.” Ivan said.
Maybe he could relax at le
ast for a day, he thought.
****
Surprising himself, Ivan had slept most of the night. He had not been interrupted by nightmares or woke up gasping for breath. As a matter of fact the sun was shining bright after the stormy night and it looked as though the earth had taken a bath. Everything looked pretty and clean.
Ivan stood at the window gazing at the city street below his apartment and he was able, for just a brief span of time to not think of his partner Walt, or Eve or his other friend, Ray Roberts. For a brief moment, it was just a beautiful morning.
The teakettle whistling reminded Ivan he was ready for a cup of tea. Anything a little different attracted him this morning. He had drunk so much coffee the night before he had a hangover, a hangover from coffee? He thought and then remembered when he came in last night he’d had a few drinks and they were a lot stronger than coffee.
“Oh, well, I just thank goodness I was able to sleep.” Ivan said aloud to the walls. He put a teabag in his favorite cup and settled down at the breakfast table, while the tea seeped in the hot water he had poured in his cup.
He took the cup of tea and walked into the entry hall where he routinely placed his keys and loose change. By looking apparently he had done that last night, just as he did every night. He looked at the door key and the keys to his mail box down stairs. He gazed at them intently trying to remember what it was, that wasn’t there. Then it dawned on him, the key chain from Brasserie Zidel and the house key. The key that looked exactly like his house key and he remembered he had locked and unlocked his apartment with that key.