by Dick Waters
Mike gave some thought to where they were now. They had to find Arnold. He could be anywhere. The more time they lost, the further away he might get. Obviously, the episode earlier this morning would have changed his plans, but in what direction? It could make him more volatile, or cause him to go into hiding.
Paddy left to give the AG an update of recent developments. Mike looked over at Paul and decided to share his thoughts. “Paul, I’m glad we have this break, but I would have much preferred to have him in custody. I worry about what this animal might do next.”
“One thing for sure—after looking at the size of Mrs. Stevens’ boyfriend, he’s definitely not going to attempt anything there again. However, we have someone watching the building just in case he does something stupid again.” He was quiet for a few seconds, then added, “Can you believe he had the gall to enter Patricia’s apartment naked?” He smiled, adding, “Seeing that big man jump out of bed must have been very deflating.”
They both laughed. Mike realized it could have been really serious. “It worked out to our advantage, but I wish we had caught him. I sure hope he doesn’t go ballistic on us…I’m sure he knows we must be hot on his tail now.”
*.*.*
There was a lot of activity at the task force office. We had heard every police department in Massachusetts was now looking for Vincenti, or his vehicle. The locals were canvassing every parking lot and hotel/motel complex in and around Boston. They felt he would be headed to some remote part of New England, but they had to check things out locally just in case.
Mike couldn’t control his nerves as he answered the ringing phone. “Strangler Task Force – Mike Miller, how can I help you?” Paul watched, as Mike reacted to the call. He was writing things on a piece of paper. “Thanks. No don’t wait for us. See if you can observe anything there. If you can detect he’s there—take him!”
As soon as he hung the phone up, Paul asked, “What’s up Mike? Good news?”
“Yes, it looks that way. A motel clerk in Revere thought he spotted a guy matching the sketch in the newspaper and called the locals. That was the Revere Police. They wanted to get our input, before raiding the motel room. They confirmed his car is in the parking lot. The hood is cold. He’s been there for a while. You heard what I told them. Keep your fingers crossed.”
*.*.*
Paddy was excited when Mike gave him the news. He was headed back to see the AG, to give him the new information.
Mike called all of us to the conference room for an update. “I wanted all of you to hear the latest news—the Revere police have confirmed Arnold Vincenti is at a seaside motel. They are going in to arrest him. I’m expecting a call from them within minutes.”
I added my cheers to everyone else’s. There were high-fives from everyone. It’s too bad Paddy wasn’t here to see this much excitement, but I guess it was good that he was with the AG. Colleen came in when she heard all of us cheering. She was laughing at the scene in the conference room. When the phone rang, she left to answer it.
*.*.*
Colleen came back into the conference room and went over to Mike. “Mike, you better take this call—there’s been another strangling.”
He picked up the call at his desk. “Hello, this is Mike Miller. I’m the lead investigator for the Strangler task force. What’s up?”
“Mike, this is sergeant McAfee with the Wilmington police department. We have a strangling here in town. Based on your strangling investigation, we thought it best for your team to be involved. It resembles what we know about the other strangling cases, but you better make your own assessment. How soon can you be here?”
“We’ll leave right away. What’s the address? Can you give me directions?”
Watching him from my desk, I could tell it wasn’t good news. Mike wrote down some information then hung up the phone. He looked over at me, shaking his head. “There has been another strangling. I don’t see how that could have happened, but it did. It’s in a small town north of here.”
The phone rang again. A minute later Colleen stepped into the room, and announced, “Mike, it’s the chief of police from Revere on the phone.”
Mike went back to his desk. “This is Mike Miller, what do you have chief?”
He heard the deep voice on the phone responding, “We have Mr. Vincenti in custody. We will hold him here until you arrive. Do you want us to question him, or wait for you?”
“Chief that’s good news, why don’t you question him. We will be there as soon as we can. However, we have another strangling to investigate. Why don’t you also ask him where he was last night?”
*.*.*
They were headed to Wilmington in Mike’s car. Paul interrupted his thoughts. “Mike you’ve been pretty quiet since we left. What are you thinking about?”
His mind had been going in circles since they left. “Paul, I thought all of this was at an end, since we located Vincenti. Now it either looks like he managed to kill someone else last night or worse…we have another strangler on the loose. Either way this shit continues.”
“I know what you mean. Do you think with all of these recent killings, someone has decided to join in?”
“You know as well as I do that we can’t jump to conclusions. We will just have to see when we get there. I can’t see how our number one suspect could have made a midnight visit to Patricia’s house, then drive twenty miles north of here and kill someone else. I can’t see how that’s possible. Revere said his car hood was cold. Why not just pick something closer to the city. Something doesn’t fit here, and I think we’re going to find we have a copycat killer.”
*.*.*
It was easy for them to find the right house; there were a number of flashing lights. Some of the cruisers had Wilmington markings, but there were two Massachusetts State Police vehicles blocking the roadway. As soon as they opened their doors, Sergeant McAfee greeted them. “You must be Mike? I’m Sergeant McAfee. The state police are inside along with my chief and the medical examiner. This town has never had anything like this.” They shook hands.
“Sergeant this is detective Brosque, or if you prefer, Paul.” Mike looked at the number of vehicles and people gathered around the taped off area. “I can tell by the gathering that this isn’t a normal occurrence.”
They followed him into the small yellow cape. “Mike, a neighbor found her body when the husband couldn’t reach her on the phone. The husband and kids were up country taking in some early skiing, but the wife, Karen, didn’t go with them. She has two teenage daughters, who were with their father. Mike, it’s not a pretty sight in there. We left it as we found it, so as to not compromise the scene. I’m sure you will want to compare it to the other strangler cases.”
He nodded, and they started down the small hall leading to the right off the living room. “Oh, chief this is Mike Miller and Paul…”
“Brosque,” Mike added.
“Mike, this is Chief McCue.” They shook hands.
Mike acknowledged the chief, saying, “I wish I was glad to be here, but thanks for getting in touch with us so quickly.”
The chief explained to them, “Mike, the next door neighbor got a call from the husband. He tried to reach his wife early this morning, but there was no answer. He called the neighbor, asking her to check on his wife, Karen. She had a key, let herself in and found Karen. Unfortunately, she told him what she found. He instructed her to call the police, which was about two hours ago now.” The husband and daughters are on their way back from Vermont. She was thirty-nine years old. Her name is Karen Kellerman.
He continued, “The sergeant was dispatched, since there was a suspected homicide. He confirmed they did have a homicide, calling everyone immediately.”
Mike approached the bedroom area. He could see camera flashes. There were three men in the room; two wore state police uniforms. One of them was looking for evidence and the other was taking pictures. The third man was with the medical examiner’s office.
Mike stood at the d
oorway, seeing a nude woman tied to the bed posts. The covers were off the bed. She was lying on the bottom sheet, with her head propped on two pillows. There was a pair of pantyhose around her neck, and a blindfold pushed up on top of her head. Her body was covered in oil. It glistened in the bright lights.
He entered only a few feet into the room, allowing Paul to take in the scene. He could see hangman knots on each rope holding the wrists and ankles. There was a nylon stocking gag around her mouth.
“Chief, can I talk with the Medical Examiner?”
The chief called the examiner out of the room. They went into the living room. Introductions were quickly made. The examiner was expecting detectives from the strangler task force.
The Medical Examiner spoke quickly. “Mr. Miller, here is something you might not have seen from where you were. She was sexually molested prior to her strangling. My report will explain the details after I do a thorough examination. The oil covering her body is baby oil. We did find semen in the vagina and also on the surface of the body.”
“We speculate she was killed sometime around midnight last night, give or take an hour or so. She also suffered a burn mark on her pubic area, resembling the letter K within a circle. I’ll include that and pictures in my report as well. I would like to remove the gag, but I didn’t want to do that until you arrived. Do you have any questions at this time?”
Mike answered quickly, “No. Thanks for the update Doc.” They followed the Medical Examiner back to the room and watched as he finished processing the scene. Mike considered what he had been told, immediately confirming what he feared. We have another strangler from the looks and sounds of things. The ankles have never been left tied to the bedposts, baby oil is something new, and semen in the vagina is not at all similar to the other cases. And what the hell is that burn mark?
Chapter 46
We heard the update about Vincenti being arrested, and that there had been another strangling victim. Colleen let us know Mike had called Paddy, who was still with the AG, to inform him that we had another strangling, and potentially a new killer.
We were all in the conference room awaiting Mike and Paul’s return from the latest murder scene. The state police had been contacted by the Attorney General’s office to bring Vincenti to their Topsfield Mass facility for further questioning.
Earlier, I was thinking about Jackie and the fact we had captured the strangler. Now I didn’t really know what we had. I was anxious to hear what Mike would tell us about the latest strangling. I looked around the conference room. The excited faces I had seen earlier about the strangler being arrested were all replaced by dejected ones. How do these guys do this day after day? Do I really want this to be my life?
*.*.*
Soon, Mike and Paul returned from the murder scene. Paddy arrived shortly after them from the AG’s office.
Mike was standing in front of everyone in the conference room. The only one not present was Colleen. Mike seemed to always have a smile on his face, but he looked like the pressure of the world was on his shoulders at the moment. He said something briefly to Paddy, privately.
He broke up the silence that had overtaken the room. He spoke up saying, “Good morning, everyone! As you know we have some good news and some bad news. Our prime suspect, Arnold Vincenti, is in custody with the state police at this time. However, we have another strangling on our hands.”
He continued with, “We need confirmation of what I’m going to tell you, but I’m pretty sure the autopsy will confirm our crime scene observations. Our latest victim, Karen Kellerman, who was thirty-nine, with a husband and two teenage daughters was found strangled in her home. She was found by a neighbor after the husband couldn’t reach her. The husband and two daughters were skiing in Vermont. Wilmington is normally a small quiet community, so this is very much out of the ordinary. At first observation, the murder scene looked similar to the other strangling cases, but was indeed different.”
I noticed Mike was not drinking coffee. That was very unusual for him.
“Mrs. Kellerman was found naked and tied to the bed. The ropes holding her were tied with hangman knots. This was not the case with the other strangling cases. She had been strangled with panty hose. The Medical Examiner found semen on her body and also in her vagina. There were two other things distinctively different; she had been oiled head to toe with baby oil, and branded in the pubic area.”
He looked around the room, adding, “Gentlemen, we have a different strangler. I base this on the differences at the crime scene and the unlikely ability for Vincenti to drive forty miles round trip after visiting Mrs. Stevens around midnight. It looks like we’re going to be continuing our investigation, to help solve this new case, but my real fear is we have another killer on our hands. Pray this is just one event, and not the start of a new series of stranglings. Do you have any questions?”
Phil asked, “Mike, has Vincenti said anything about either the visit to Stevens’ apartment last night, or anything else?”
“He hasn’t confessed anything, if that’s what you’re referring to. However, his fingerprints were obtained. The state police lab will check his prints against the partial print we have on file. Patricia Stevens, and the cab driver, are going to view a lineup and hopefully ID Vincenti. He has altered his appearance slightly, from the sketch, and has started a mustache.”
“If he is picked out of the lineup, the State Police will confront him about his visit to her last night. Hopefully, that will loosen his tongue about his earlier visit and possibly any of the other stranglings. The first impression we have from the State Police is he doesn’t look like the type who will be hard to break. In my opinion, we should be ecstatic we have captured our strangler. Hopefully, we do not have another serial killer.”
I thought about my commitment to help catch Jackie’s killer—Jackie we may have finally caught the guy who killed you. If we have, I should be thrilled, but why do I feel so remorseful? Do I want to stop my involvement with the task force, or continue to participate? I didn’t understand what I was feeling.
Chapter 47
“Lisa, you should not be upset with Scott. Yes, he did help catch his cousin’s killer. I can understand why he wants to help catch this new strangler,” Judy said, trying to console her.
“Judy, he hasn’t spent much time with me since Thanksgiving when they captured the New England Strangler. I can understand his personal commitment to help catch his cousin’s killer, but why is he so involved with that other strangling? I tried to talk with him about it but he didn’t really answer my question. I don’t think he understands it himself. I just hope it’s not to spend time away from me,” she said, starting to tear up.
“Lisa, we’re going to go skiing this weekend. Neil can’t fit all of us and the ski equipment in his car comfortably, so why don’t you have Scott drive his car? That will give you four hours or more to have him alone to yourself. I’m sure you can get him to open up to you.” She went over to hug Lisa.
She was glad she had a friend like Judy. They were soon laughing about what she said she would do to get him to pay more attention to her.
*.*.*
“Scott, tomorrow night is New Year’s eve! I wonder what festivities the Balsams will have to usher in 1963.” She noticed the ski ends flapping on top of Neil’s station wagon as they crossed over the New Hampshire state line.
I replied, “I’m sure they will have quite the celebration. I have heard stories of how elaborate they decorate the ballroom. The brochure said they will have a twelve piece orchestra playing music until the wee hours of the morning. I thought we talked about that.” I looked over at Lisa, who was staring out the passenger window. Something wasn’t right, I could sense it.
She adjusted herself in the bucket seat to face me. “Scott, you haven’t been yourself since the strangler was caught. That was over a month ago. We see each other, but it’s not the same as when we first met,” she said softly, bowing her head. “Scotty I love you. I feel la
tely that you’re somewhere else. Are we still okay?” She looked over at me. I could see the tears in her eyes.
“Lisa, you mean everything to me. I’m sorry if you feel I haven’t paid enough attention to you. I want to spend all of my free time with you. I guess…”
She interrupted me, complaining, “You don’t make the time for me like you used to. You just said it yourself; ‘free time’ isn’t what it used to be as far as I’m concerned.” A few seconds later she apologized by saying, “I’m sorry Scott, I shouldn’t have said that.” She quickly turned away, curling her body up against her car door.
I wanted to stop the car to show her how much I love her. However, following Neil and the others wasn’t going to allow it. I had hurt her more than I knew. I was glad she was sharing this with me and not holding it inside. I need to show her how much she means to me and how much I love her. There was something about the new strangling that even I didn’t understand. Why was I so involved with the case? I was spending considerable time trying to help understand why Karen was a target of the new killer. However, nothing made any sense. We had really nothing to go on. I went over all of the other rape cases, noting nothing similar.
*.*.*
We were several hours into our drive to northern New Hampshire. Lisa had fallen asleep after her outburst, giving me time to think about what she said and what I had done. I knew she was correct about my not making as much time for her, but it wasn’t that I didn’t love her. She meant everything to me.
Vincenti confessed to his visit to Stevens’ apartment. Hours later he confessed to her earlier rape. Within a day of confessing to that, he confessed to being the New England Strangler. He said in some cases, he gained access into the women’s apartments dressed as a woman detective and in others he posed as a delivery person. The newspapers and TV stations had reports every day about him and his exploits.