Lilly sighed. The statistics for April had to be ready tonight. She hated this part, but it came with the job. In fact she was proud of what she had achieved. After her secondary school she had started in the library as a junior librarian, the same job Kate did now. Twice she had been promoted, and at twenty eight she was now responsible for the choosing and buying of the books. Books had always been her passion, anything she could get her hands on. She had read ‘Crime and Punishment’ at fourteen. Her admiration for Russian writers had grown, but she hadn’t read anything by them since. Although she had really wanted to read ‘Cancer Ward’ by Solzjenitsyn, she hadn’t. Strangely enough, since she worked at the library, she didn’t read as much anymore. At the end of the day she was always very tired and the only thing she wanted then was a bath and a bed after an hours jogging.
Her office was small but nicely decorated. On the wall opposite her was a picture of Pietro Belluschi, the architect of the building. Clearly this was a must because every other office had it too. The rest of the decoration was her personal choice. A low pinewood cabinet against the wall on the right with on it a picture of her parents and one of her niece Amelia. A dry bouquet stood in between them. Above the cabinet a framed poster of the Niagara falls. She had bought that for next to nothing in a garage sale, together with a stone owl that she had put on her desk. On the left side was a big window that gave out onto the park. She counted herself lucky.
With a deep sigh she gazed back at her screen. ‘Come on Lilly, a little bit longer and by five thirty you can go home.’ All of a sudden she realized that Chelsea had planned a birthday party in the cellar of the library. She had completely forgotten about that and really didn’t feel like going, but collegiality was high on her priority list. Finally she printed the statistics and shut down her PC. Luckily the dammed thing was working again. Over the last days it had had its whims. She put the sheet in her drawer and at the same time took out her handbag. Then she went on her way to the cellar. She heard the laughter and giggling even before opening the door.
‘Hey, have a piece of cake,’ Chelsea shouted when she saw Lilly arrive. ‘You’re late. I bet you slaved away again, making us look bad? The girl laughed out loud and shoved a glass of Cava in Lilly’s hand.
‘Happy birthday Chelsea’, Lilly said raising her glass. She was hungry and the cake looked delicious. She was tempted but it was a lot of calories. In the end her good nature won. She would jog off the calories later tonight. She joked and laughed with her colleagues and felt a bit light in the head after three glasses. A bit too much probably on an empty stomach.
Finally at six thirty she could leave without the others protesting. When ten minutes later she opened the front door of her flat, Snowy greeted her purring softly.
‘Hi little girl, I bet you’re hungry’. She petted the cat on her soft head, dropped her keys on the cupboard in the hall and went to the kitchen. Snowy knew the routine and stood meowing in front of the cupboard. Smiling, Lilly poured some cat food in the tray and filled the other one up with water. ‘Here girl, enjoy.’
She had been very lucky to find this flat. It was situated on Jefferson Avenue, close to the Art Center and only ten minutes walk to the library. It wasn’t big but had all she needed. Every weekend she visited her parents in Eugene and took Snowy with her. It was only forty two miles north of Corvallis, one hour by train. Snowy loved these trips in the special basket Lilly had bought her. Her ex boyfriend hadn’t been very happy with the situation and didn’t like it that she went to Eugene every weekend. They had quarreled about it and finally found a compromise: she would go home every other weekend and stay in Corvallis the others. When he started to criticize that arrangement too, she dumped him. That of course meant she came home to an empty flat every evening, with only Snowy and the TV for company. The good side of it was, she was now able to go back to Eugene every weekend. She thought it odd that she still considered Eugene as her home, although she had her official address in Corvallis. As a child she had had a great time at home. Birch Lane was situated in the wooded area, far from the bustling and clattering of the city. She remembered building a tree house with her brother who was two years older. Not a very solid one, because she fell through it one day. And the swimming in the river… Her parents had often warned them not to get too close to the water, but they hadn’t listened and went swimming anyway. Until one day the inevitable happened. Gerry nearly drowned. Since then they never went swimming again. She smiled faintly.
While Snowy lapped the water Lilly went to her bedroom and got into her jogging suit. Normally she would have rested for half an hour after work, but she was late already. The birthday party had messed up her routine. She decided to do the usual route anyway: Jefferson Avenue in the direction of the Willamette, along the tow path by the river to Monroe, grab a sandwich in the ‘On The Go’ and via Central Park back to her flat. She would be back within an hour and she longed already for her hot bath. She petted Snowy on the head again, but the cat was already dozing and purring in her basket next to the settee.
It had started raining but that didn’t bother her. First she jogged at a slow pace, but halfway down Jefferson she started running. She could see the bushes and trees next to the river at the end. A few minutes later she took the tow path and stopped at the end of it to catch her breath. Wheezing she sat down on one of the benches at the riverbank. There were few strollers at this time, but that didn’t really surprise her. With this rain people preferred to stay home.
Suddenly she heard a sound behind her. She looked up but saw nothing. Probably a stray dog. When she stood up from the bench she felt an arm clutching her. A cloth was pushed against her mouth and she smelled a penetrating odor that went all the way down her throat making her gag. It reminded her of a hospital. The smell made her drowsy. Kicking her legs she tried to pull off the cloth, but the pressure increased. She heard heavy breathing behind her and in a panic she tried to remember what to do when attacked: hit him in the crotch, punch his eyes with her fingers, pepper spray….. but she felt her legs give way, her arms and hands refused to work. Her last thoughts were for her parents and Snowy. Then everything went black and she felt herself sink into a bottomless pit.
CHAPTER 3
It was seven when Tim woke up to the penetrating sound of the alarm clock. His head felt as if a bulldozer and a digger were at work in it at the same time. Head in hands he sat down on the edge of the bed. His stomach played up and he swallowed the rising bile in his throat. He felt like throwing up and stumbled to the bathroom. With a few painful heaves he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet and then laid his head against the cold sink, the acid still burning in his throat.
‘Are you feeling any better?’
He jumped up, startled by the voice. He was even more surprised when he saw his colleague Susan Haynes in the door of the bathroom, wearing only knickers, her blonde hair draped over her shoulders. Amazed he looked at her and wondered if he was hallucinating. He couldn’t remember anything from last night, let alone bringing Susan to his house. How stupid could one get?
‘Yes,’ he said sheepishly, ‘I’m fine.’ He certainly was not going to let her know he was utterly astonished to see her here.
‘You looked a lot better last night’, she said smiling. ‘I made breakfast but since I couldn’t find any coffee it will have to be tea.’
‘I’m going to take a shower first and then I’ll come down. I’m afraid though I won’t be able to keep food down. Maybe just a cup of tea.’ He looked at his watch. ‘I don’t have a lot of time anyway. There is a briefing at half past eight.’
‘We’ll make it’, she said. ‘I will have my shower while you have your tea and then we can leave.’
He wondered if he had taken the woman home in his own car or if she drove herself. He didn’t want to arrive at the office with her, in front of all his colleagues. They would know right away, and wouldn’t understand why, with Cammy away for two weeks at a congress, he would div
e into bed with another woman. He couldn’t even understand it himself and off all women with Susan Haynes. He had never found her attractive anyway. But he had to admit to himself, in just her knickers she did look sexy. He saw her gazing at him and quickly held the towel in front of his private parts. He was sure he didn’t look his best at the moment. He wondered about what had happened in bed. He just hoped he had fallen asleep right away, otherwise there could be a lot of trouble ahead. Women regarded a man as their property, once you slept with them.
She smiled at him. ‘Better take a shower, you look awful.’
While he opened the tap and waited for the water to heat up, she went down to the kitchen. He saw her heavy breasts bounce rhythmically. She wasn’t embarrassed at all. He gazed but then stepped into the shower and enjoyed the hot water on his stiff muscles. How could he have been this stupid?
Sitting at the breakfast table he started to feel a little bit better. The machines in his head had calmed down a bit, but he still heard and felt them in the background. He could get through the day with that though. He sipped his tea. He would have to make it clear to Susan that he didn’t intend to start an affair with her, but he would have to be subtle not to hurt her feelings. Very relaxed she pressed a kiss on his cheek and went upstairs to the bathroom. A bit later he heard the water splashing.
‘Where can I drop you off?’ he asked when she was back in the kitchen, hoping she wouldn’t have to drive with him.
She looked at him puzzled. ‘Where I left my car yesterday of course’, she said. ‘Were you that drunk already that you don’t even remember?’
‘Well, my memory has abandoned me at the moment’, he said desperately. Where had he been last night? He remembered the Bombs Away together with David Halloway and his boss Sam Foster. Vaguely he remembered leaving around ten. Did he go to another bar on his own? Susan hadn’t been in the Bombs, of that he was sure. But where did he meet her? He racked his brain, but his grey cells were no match for the bulldozer and the digger. He gave up.
‘All right’, she laughed, ‘Drop me off at the parking of La Bamba. My ever trusty Beatle is waiting there for me.’
How could he have let this happen? He was an inspector, she was a cop. He was her boss. Foster would explode if he knew. But last night this had probably been the least of his concerns. Today it all looked different. What did you do you idiot? You should train her, not fuck her. He adjusted his tie and got up from the table. ‘I’ll take care of this later. We have to go. La Bamba is a long detour. And’, he added, ‘I would really appreciate it if you kept this to yourself.’
She smiled mysteriously. Did that mean: ‘Good, I won’t say anything or ‘you wish.’ He could only guess.
On the drive to La Bamba not a lot was said between them. He let her out at the car park and drove off without saying a word. Five minutes late he parked his car in the police parking lot. Luckily the briefing was limited to the officers so nobody would notice if Haynes would arrive five minutes later, also too late. He hurried to the conference room, waving hallo to Deborah on his way. ‘You’re late, they started already’, he heard.
Through the large window he saw Foster at the head of the table, talking to his men. As quietly ass possible Tim opened the door and slid into his usual chair. Foster looked at him thoughtfully but continued. He was going over the current affairs. A robbery in a jewelers shop on Jefferson, robbery with violence on Adams and a stab in a warehouse. Only for the stab they had a suspect, but the case was not water tight. It couldn’t go to court like that. The lawyers would make mincemeat out of them if it did. Tim still felt the growling of the machines in his head and filled the glass in front of him with water. There was coffee too, but just the thought made his stomach protest.
‘And how far are things with the warehouse Sackley?’ Foster asked. Tim almost choked. He wasn’t really listening. Susan and the possible consequences of his stupidity were on his mind, but he recovered quickly and looked at his boss.
‘Reece insists he was not even near the warehouse but with his friend in Newport. But that friend didn’t die from his first lie, so it seems. There are no other witnesses who saw him in Newport that day. His DNA matches with that found on the victim but that doesn’t mean he stabbed him. He admits he knew the victim and that he went to a pub a few days earlier. His clothes could have contaminated then and would explain the DNA.’
‘How sure are you Reece is our man?’
’Eighty percent, I would say.’
‘Go find the other twenty then and report back to me. I want this case solved. I can’t keep the press of my back any longer. Does he have a criminal record?’
Tim nodded. ‘Susan checked that out and yes, but only minor crimes. Stole a handbag from an old lady last year, but he only got probation for that. Then a hit and run for which he got caught two days later. But since the victim only had minor injuries he got off with a four months jail sentence. Then we have the warehouse. He forced the owner to empty the till, holding a knife to his throat. He got four years for that, but because of the probation he did one year more. He got out in January this year.’
‘What you call minor crimes’, Foster sighed. ‘Did you find a possible motive for the stabbing?’
‘McCann, the victim, waited in the car when Reece did the raid on the supermarket. I think he must have grassed him anonymously, but I can’t be sure of that. That could be a motive though.’
‘Good, look into it.’ Foster turned to the next page in his folder. ‘Bodini. Where are we there?’
‘I called the Salem office. They would go take a look but I haven’t heard from them yet. But like I told her student friend, she will turn up sooner or later.’
‘Contact Salem again and depending on the result we can close this case.’ Foster looked round the men in the room and nodded. ‘If there is nothing more, we end the briefing now.’ He closed his folder and stepped out of the room. Tim found Foster to be a rather nice and humorous guy when they were out drinking last night, but in the office he was the boss and made that very clear.
Susan was standing at the coffee machine when Tim left the conference room. He hesitated but then decided he wanted to talk to her. ‘Hi’, he said. He felt like a schoolboy caught smoking a cigarette.
‘Hi, you feel a bit better now?’ Susan sipped her coffee and gazed at him.
‘A bit. But I wanted to say that I’m sorry about last night. It wasn’t my intention to…..’
‘You don’t have to apologize’, Susan interrupted, ‘I was there too remember. And just in case you still suffer from amnesia, no, you didn’t go all the way, but I did.’ She smiled. ‘Your fingers are very soft and flexible.’ Her mysterious smile was back on her face.
‘I’m ashamed really. Cameron is in San Francisco for two weeks and I take another woman to bed.’
‘Well, you must have felt lonely. I know I did. Wesley has an affair and that son of a bitch doesn’t even try to hide it’, she said angrily.
He didn’t even know Susan had a boyfriend, let alone he cheated on her. But he was grateful she took it this way, that she wasn’t the possessive kind. She could make things difficult for him, but by the looks of it she wasn’t going to.
‘Oh, now I think of it’, he continued, happy the ‘incident’ was behind them, ‘can you contact Salem police to find out if they found Bodini? I presume she will have surfaced again.’
‘Will do boss’, Susan said. He didn’t know if she was teasing him with the title or if she just respected the hierarchy. It didn’t really matter all that much.
He sits in his living room, newspaper in his hands. The front page doesn’t interest him. He leafs through the pages to the local news. A smile appears on his face. Nothing yet. He feels his heart swell with pride. He is good, damn good. To be sure, he checks the local pages again, runs his finger over all the articles. He feels proud and disappointed at the same time. His knee hurts. The woman jogger had kicked him rather hard. He leans back in his chair and nods a
t the newspaper, satisfied. He switches on the light in the basement. The piece of bread next to her is still untouched. She drank the water though. She looks at him with one eye, but then turns her head away. She mumbles something he doesn’t understand. He goes further down the stairs and stands in front of her. Her pussy stinks, like his mother’s. He clutches the red shawl in his right hand and slowly moves towards her. His legs wide apart he stands in front of her.
‘If you believe in Jesus, you can say your last prayers now’, he says sniggering. She moans softly.
‘Please let me go…. I won’t say anything to anybody I promise. I won’t betray you.’ Her voice sounds very clear all of a sudden. He sees hope flickering in her right eye. He roars with laughter. ‘After all the efforts to get you here? No, I really don’t think so. You, like the others, will go back to your creator. Thou has been born out of dust, and thou will return to dust.’ His repulsive laughter echo’s from the walls of the small space.
‘You can fuck me if you want, I will do anything you ask, but let me live.’
Her voice stutters, a tear coming from her right eye drips on her chin. He feels himself getting outraged. How does she dare tell him what to do? He will slaughter her the way he wants. He feels the adrenaline flood through his body.
While pulling off his sweater, trousers and pants, he keeps an eye on her. His body is completely bald, not one hair. He took care of that this morning. He even shaved his head. There had only been a little stubble, same as his pubic area, but he didn’t want to take any risks. He takes the red shawl in his hand again, takes the butchers knife out of the pocket of his trousers and places it next to her on the cold floor. With her remaining eye she looks at the knife and starts screaming frantically. Her chains rattle as she throws her body to and fro. Provokingly, slowly he lowers his body on top of her, pushing hers down with his weight. The shawl is burning in his hand when he pulls it around her neck very slowly. Her scream becomes a gurgle, her body squirms underneath him, for the last time.
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