by Sioux Dallas
In spite of the fact that a cool, spitting rain kept up all day, several customers came in and Liisa happily made some good sales. Bernie helped her hang Arnold’s picture in the hall beside the unknown man. He contacted the people at Niles Jewelers and asked if they could make a gold bar with Arnold’s name and date of birth and death on it.
Mr. Joseph Niles was happy to make the bar to go on the picture. “I want to make the bar and donate it. Arnold was not only a respected businessman, but truly cared about people and was caring about those less fortunate than he.”
Liisa was touched and thankful. “That is so sweet of him and I do appreciate it. Bernie, can I trust you to keep a secret for me?”
“Sure. You should know by now that you can.”
“I’m going to do a portrait of Ted and Sven and surprise them with the drawings. They have been so helpful and caring. All of you have made me feel so much safer and hopeful.” I’m going to do a surprise one of you, too. I can hardly wait to get started.
Ted and Sven came hurrying into the store both trying to talk at once. They looked at each other and laughed. Sven bowed and swept his arm toward Ted. “Go ahead. The oldest rules.”
“We called Sgt. Gregory and Agent Silver and told them what we’d found. Agent Silver suggested that all of us meet with him in the downtown FBI office. He is right. We would be sure that no one could hear anything we would discuss and all the electronics he needs to view the tapes would be there.”
“We haven’t talked this over with anyone else. We thought you might have a suggestion or Liisa might have other plans,” Sven told Bernie.
Bernie nodded his acceptance. I hope you cautioned the guard and doorman to keep this quiet until they hear differently from us.”
“We did,” Ted and Sven spoke as one.
Bernie turned to Liisa. “Call Ben and Paul and ask if it will be convenient for them to meet with us this evening.”
“Don’t forget Cory. He’s been interested and helpful.” Liisa reached for the phone. “Is this phone safe for me to use now? Is there anything on it that will give information to my stalker?”
“Not to my knowledge,” Bernie answered, “but to be on the safe side, use my cell phone and call them.”
“Uncle Ben, hi, it’s Liisa. Fine. How are you? Yes, I have some news. Would it be convenient for you to meet with our group at seven tonight in the downtown FBI office?” She listened a moment. “There’s too much to tell you and I’m using Bernie’s cell phone. You’ll find out tonight with all of us. Could you do me a favor and call Paul for me? He’ll want to call Cory. Tell him to call Bernie’s cell phone if he can’t make it or needs to tell us something. Thanks, Uncle Ben. Love you. Give my love to Aunt Ellen. Bye now.”
Sven stayed with Bernie and Liisa while Ted drove to the FBI office to give the tapes to Agent Silver so he could be viewing them. Agent Silver would contact Sgt. Gregory.
While Sven and Bernie were wrapping some rather large paintings for shipping, Liisa sneaked two sixteen by twenty boards and some artist pencils to make an outline drawing of Sven and one of Bernie. I’ll finish these and use oil paints later when I can do it secretly. I’ll do one of Ted when I finish these.
“What are you up to? You look like the proverbial cat that swallowed the canary,” Sven teased her.
“I’m just relieved that we seem to be making more progress now. I’m hopeful that the end is in sight.” She eased the board down into a box and wadded up paper over it.
There was no call saying that no one could make the meeting, so, Liisa was very anxious to get started and could hardly eat. Bernie, Ted and Sven had insisted on taking her to a restaurant for a decent dinner.
Chapter Ten
Liisa was pleasantly surprised to see Aunt Ellen in the FBI office. Agent Silver took them into a room with a long oak table and very comfortable padded black leather chairs. The chair backs were high enough to give complete support to the back and neck. It was a soundproof room so they felt safe.
Agent Silver asked permission to record this meeting so that they would have correct information for the future. “Nineteen hundred hours in the Porter Room of the FBI building on Broad Street in Waterbury, Connecticut, Tuesday, April 22, 2008. Present are Sgt. Ben Gregory of the Waterbury City Police, Mr. Paul Johnson, attorney, Mr. Cory Patterson, attorney, Mr. Ben Johnson, Physician, Mrs. Ellen Johnson, Mr. Ted Cooley, Private Detective, Mr. Sven Jergenson, Private Detective, Mr. Bernard Wickem, Private Detective and owner of the Confidential Detective Agency, Miss Liisa Lofoten and myself, Special Agent Marvin Silver, FBI.”
“The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the threats and the actions of those threats toward the life of Miss Lofoten. Her employer and close friend, Mr. Arnold Watson was killed, supposedly by the person threatening Miss Lofoten and Mr. Ben Johnson was shot but escaped fatal injury.”
“Do I have the permission of all present to record all conversations and information given while we are here?” Everyone responded with a yes.
Agent Silver had the tapes on a machine ready to be viewed. “I want everyone present to look carefully at what you’ll see on this tape. If you see something important, ask me to stop at that point. Otherwise, we’ll view the tape and then discuss it.”
Liisa was disappointed that the person was so well covered that it was impossible to tell anything about him.
Agent Silver smiled. “This was viewed in our lab by experts in reading such tapes. I have some information that will be a surprise to you.” He hesitated. “There is a possibility that this person is a female. We can’t say for sure but there are mannerisms that are suspiciously like a woman. Look again at the walk.”
They looked at the tape again. “I don’t see it,” Liisa said.
“The person is purposely bent over to disguise height and possible body build. This person is probably about five-eight and around one hundred fifty pounds. The walk is not a stride as most men use but carefully stepping as if the footwear is unfamiliar; maybe heavier than he or she is accustomed to wearing.”
“How does that tell you it’s a woman?” Ellen asked.
“We learn to look at people and read their body language. This is either a woman or an effeminate man. There is a rare chance the person may be suffering with MPD.
“But the voice is harsh and low,” Liisa protested. “What’s MPD?”
“Multiple Personality Disorder. Some women have deep voices,” Sgt. Gregory explained. “Can you think of any woman who might feel that she is threatened by you?”
“Or maybe you won an award this person wanted. Or you might have dated some young man that this person wanted,” Agent Silver explained.
Liisa shook her head. “I haven’t won any specific awards. My artwork is my own and nothing that takes away from someone else. I haven’t dated much because I’ve been too busy getting an education and working.”
“What else can we do to keep Liisa safe, other than keeping her imprisoned and watched night and day?” Uncle Ben was disgusted. “I appreciate and understand all that you gentlemen have done, but it doesn’t seem to deter this willful individual. He’s playing with her like a cat plays with a mouse. Torturing and tormenting until he gets tired and then what? Kill her? Kill more of us first? What?”
“Mr. Johnson, Liisa’s tormentor has only been working on her for a few months. I’ve known some who’ve gone on for years,” Agent Silver tried to calm him. “That’s why we’re having this meeting. To pool ideas and try to put an end to this before more damage is done.”
“Let’s go back and discuss what happened and when, and then when these calls and messages happened. Maybe it will help us pinpoint a specific incident or time and we can determine where the person doing the threatening might be. The fact that there are sometimes several weeks between incidents suggests to me that the person might be out of town for a while,” Sgt. Gregory spoke thoughtfully
“Sgt. Gregory, were all the business owners, or managers, present when you intervi
ewed them?” Ted Cooley asked.
“No. I talked to some assistant managers or to a single clerk in a few cases. Remember the owner of the message shop had gone to the post office, but I did talk to him later.”
“Maybe,” Sven broke in, “Ted and I, or Bernie and I can each take one side of the street and visit the stores again. If it is someone close, on the street, we might stir them enough to do something that would give them away.”
Agent Silver looked up at the ceiling thinking. I have no qualms with your suggestion. It could be a waste of time, or it might chase the person out of their hole. We would all need to be alert for more terrorism. If the person decided to lay low for a while, we still wouldn’t know if it were someone close.”
Aunt Ellen was getting more disturbed and fearful for Liisa. “All I hear is it could be, it might be, or maybe, or why don’t we. What is taking so long? Why haven’t you found some suspicious person by now? Why can’t you be more explicit in your planning and your summaries?”
“Now dear, we’re all doing the best we can. Not knowing who or from what direction doesn’t give us much to go on,” Ben soothed her.
“Mom, we’re all angry at the situation. Of course we want Liisa to be safe and carefree, but sometimes, in life, there are people who get a thrill out of making others unhappy. Maybe Liisa saw or heard something somewhere or maybe the person is just plain jealous of her.”
“There you go with those maybes again.”
Agent Silver took control of the discussion. I think the suggestion of talking to the businesses along the street again is a good idea. If it isn’t someone in the area, there is a chance that the person will catch on that we mean business, and that we’re not giving up, and either go away or do something to give himself away. Frankly I’d be worried if he disappeared. We wouldn’t know what had happened or when or where he might pop up again.”
“Okeydoke,” Bernie said. “Sven and I will start while Ted stays in the store with Liisa. Sven can go down the east side of the street and I’ll go down the west side. How many blocks do we want to cover and do we want to go to other streets? There could be more ground to cover than we can do in a short period of time. All of my operatives are busy with cases, but I’ll assign them as soon as they free up.”
“I never did ask who’s paying you?” Liisa said. “No one ever told me what you’re charging or I would have been giving you some of your fee all along. I was too upset to think of money until I got angry enough to start thinking more clearly.”
“We’ll settle my fee later. I owe Paul more than he could ever pay me. I don’t want any fee for myself, but my operatives must be paid.”
“I want to pay you starting now.”
“Back off, Liisa. The money is taken care of. There are more important things for us to worry about,” Paul cautioned her.
“But I don’t want to accept charity. I can pay my own way,” Liisa announced adamantly.
Ellen and Ben both stood quickly. Ben reached for Liisa’s coat to put it on her. “It seems to me that we’ve covered all that we can tonight. I’m taking my two women home and the rest of you can stay and talk all you please. Thank you for including us. You know how much Liisa means to us and we’re as anxious as any of you to have some closure.”
“I don’t want to leave until we finish talking,” Liisa stood back. Ellen put a firm arm around her waist.
“Come on dear. We’ve heard all that can be said tonight. We don’t need to hear every tiny detail of future plans. Just have faith that these men are doing their level best to make sure you’re protected and will expose the varmint.”
Ellen’s choice of words made everyone laugh. The men stood and waited until Ben had firmly ushered Liisa and Ellen out of the room. They then sat down for some serious planning.
Chapter Eleven
Liisa looked up in surprise when the door was jerked open at the GALLERY and a man breezed in as if everyone should bow down before him. He was only about five-nine but had a commanding aura. He wasn’t lean, nor was he stocky. It was obvious he worked out on a regular basis. His nut brown hair only grew around the lower sides and back similar to a monk’s cut. His bright hazel eyes sparkled with the love of living. He had a tan that looked as if he frequented a tanning salon. She knew him to be fifty-six. There were two young men following him.
“Liisa, dear girl, how nice to see you.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed both cheeks.
Liisa felt foolish standing without speaking. He had never been in the store as long as she worked in the GALLERY. “Mayor Briscom,” she gave a nervous giggle. “Why is it that I deserve the honor of your presence? I haven’t seen you since the Valentine’s dance.”
“Well, my dear, some disturbing news has come to my attention. One of my assistants informed me of the disastrous occurrences in your life. I am furious that such filth has gone on in our city. Arnold was a very dear friend and now I find that he was murdered instead of an unfortunate accident that I first heard.” He pretended to wipe his eyes.
I’m appalled at the scandal breaking in my fair city. Why most of our residents are old families who have been here for several generations. Sure some of them have skeletons in closets that they wouldn’t want brought to light, but murder.” He shivered and walked around pulling on his lower lip. “There’s lots of American history here and a lot of upstanding families. I can’t imagine that one of ours would commit such a heinous crime. We’ve never had something like this happen until now.” He stopped, looking hard at her.
She looked back with no expression, but she was thinking. Why you pompous jackass. Are you subtly saying that I’m to blame, that I’m at fault? How about your affair with the high school coach’s wife. You got off scott-free but the poor coach had to leave town. He got a divorce later.
“Mayor, no one is sorrier than I am that this is taking place. My best friend and employer is tortured and then killed and my Uncle Ben is shot. I’ve been getting threatening phone calls and now messages. Are you suggesting that I just let this drop and say or do nothing else about it? What if he kills again, or kills me this time?”
“No, no. I’m not suggesting anything, I’m just -” He stopped as a tall, slightly overweight woman came hurrying in on ridiculously high heels. Her bottled red hair was flying in all directions and her green eyes were snapping. She had dressed in an expensive dark blue suit with a pristine white shirt with ruffles down the front. Her gold hoop earrings were swinging around as if they were a bird ready to take flight. She wore little cosmetics and only had an expensive gold watch with tiny diamonds circling the face. Her lips were pursed as if in anger. Liisa recognized the woman and thought a pouting mouth was sexy. She was definitely self-centered. “Are you Liisa Lofoten?”
“Yes. How may I help you?”
“I’m Bridget O’Reilly, District Attorney for Loudon County. I need to talk privately to you.”
“Uh, Miss O’Reilly, may I introduce you to Mayor Theodore Briscom of Waterbury. We are having a private conversation about something vitally important. If you would like to make an appointment, I shall be delighted to speak to you at that time.”
“Mayor, my business is very important and I had to come a long way for this. I’m sure you won’t mind if we excuse you.”
“I’m happy to make your acquaintance, Miss O’Reilly, but no, I won’t be excused. I came here during a very busy day at my office because it was important that I talk to this young lady.”
“If you’re talking about the murder of Mr. Watson and the threats on Miss Lofoten’s life, then we’re here for the same purpose. Is there somewhere we can sit and talk?”
Ted had been back in the office and had kept out of sight when the Mayor boiled in. He now stepped forward and stood by Liisa. “My name is Ted Cooley and I’m Miss Lofoten’s bodyguard. No one talks to her without me being present. I have respect for both your offices, but I must insist that I remain in the room. We can go back in the office. Liisa, leave the d
oor open so we can hear if a customer comes in.” He turned and looking back at the three people led them into the office.
Mayor Briscom hesitated and allowed District Attorney O’Reilly to enter the office ahead of him. Ted sat behind Arnold’s desk in his big, comfortable chair. His position established his command of the meeting. Liisa and Miss O’Reilly sat on a burgundy double seat and the Mayor sat in a chair facing Ted.
Liisa stood quickly and offered to serve coffee or tea. She had a plate of Anise Scandinavian cookies and Cardamom Almond cookies, also Scandinavian. She had small paper plates and napkins for each person.
Ted stood and walked to a corner where he brought some TV trays to place in front of each person so they could place their plate and coffee on it. He had barely sat down when they heard the bell ring signaling someone entering the store. Before he could walk out of the office, Bernie and Sven came rushing in.
Bernie had started talking until he saw the visitors. “Are we interrupting something? We can come back later or wait at the front.”
Ted half closed his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. “Sven, get chairs for you and Bernie from the dining set and bring them in here. You might as well be in on this, too. We’d have to share with you later anyway.”
Miss O’Reilly raised her eyebrows and was about to protest.
Liisa smiled at her. “Gentlemen, this is Miss Bridget O’Reilly, District Attorney for Loudon County and Mayor Theodore Briscom of Waterbury. They are both interested in the episodes I’ve experienced. This is Mr. Bernard Wickem, Private Detective and owner of the Confidential Private Detective Agency. These two gentlemen are two of his operatives, Mr. Ted Cooley,” she nodded toward Ted, “and Mr. Sven Jergensen,” she looked toward Sven. “They have been working with me almost from the beginning.”
While the Mayor blustered and tried to swallow a cookie, Miss O’Reilly spoke. “I’m angry that I was not informed of the developments involving this young lady. Why was the FBI brought into it before I was notified?” She would have gone on if Bernie hadn’t spoken.