by Dick Waters
She jumped into the bucket, sliding over to kiss me. Then I kissed her back. “I guess you’re glad to see me,” I offered.
“Yes Scott I am. Let’s get going.” She slid back, buckling in.
I put the car in gear and pulled away. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No you didn’t. I just have some things I have to talk to you about.”
As I looked at her, she looked like she had just showered and fixed her makeup. “You look nice. What kind of perfume do you have on? It’s intoxicating.”
She looked over, smiling. “Thanks, but you should have seen me an hour ago. It’s Chanel.” She looked around, asking, “Where are we going anyway?”
“I thought we could go to the Prudential Center.”
“Scott, tonight I want to see you…not the city lights.” She slid over, putting her head against my chest. I wrapped my arm around her.
“Lisa, you’re shaking. Is something the matter?”
“No not really. I have a confession to make, but I want to be in bed with you when I make it. You’ll understand better then.”
*.*.*
I drove quietly into the driveway. We did the same going up the stairs. Neither of us wanted to have a lengthy visit with Mrs. Abbott.
I locked the door. When I turned, Lisa was headed down the hall removing her clothes on the way. I made us each a drink. When I entered the bedroom she was tucked between the sheets resting on an elbow. I handed her one of the glasses and we touched them. “To us,” I said.
“To us,” she echoed. “Now put that glass down and strip for me Mr. Tucker.”
I studied her for a moment.
She added, “Take your time.”
I did as she asked, but felt like a stripper. My mind went to Maggie, wondering if she felt what I was feeling looking at Lisa’s eyes. By the time I had removed everything I was saluting.
“Like I said before Scott, that’s the way to greet a lady.”
I didn’t make love to her—she made love to me. We had been together many times and had made love many ways, but tonight was different from any of those times.
We had forgotten all about our drinks and were spooning. I was mesmerized by her command of our time, from when we entered my apartment. I also loved the fragrance of her perfume. She rolled over, uncovering us.
“Scott I have a confession to make. I hope you will understand.”
I smiled. “You want to make love again.”
“Yes, but let me talk to you about this first.” She was running her fingers slowly up and down my side. Her head and eyes seemed fixed on my body.
“What’s gotten into you tonight?” I asked.
*.*.*
“Okay, earlier tonight I decided I was going to find out who was in the apartment behind my building. I’ve felt he’s been watching me at different times, and was going to see who he was. I got the keys to the annex, which is the building Judy and I will be in next year, and went to our future room on the fifth floor. It was an ordeal just getting there, between the several flights of stairs, the heat in that building, and a flashlight that wasn’t really working. Not to mention some rats scaring the shit out of me on the way.”
Her nails were starting to dig into my side now.
“I finally got to the room, and went to look out the back window to the guy’s room.” She suddenly stopped. “Well I brought binoculars with me. This is hard Scott, bear with me, he didn’t have any clothes on. He was lying on his bed.”
“Interesting,” I said.
“Please Scott, please don’t interrupt me, or I won’t be able to tell you about this. I wanted so much to see his face, but he was reading a magazine.” Her nails were now replaced by her finger tips. “Well I couldn’t see his face but I saw his body. He must have been enjoying the magazine, if you get my drift.”
Putting her head on the pillow beside mine, she said, “I’ve never seen a man…well…I’ve only seen you and you have never done what he was doing. This is so hard for me to talk about. The binoculars were so fogged up, that I had to look away. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him again. Scott, I really wanted to see who he was, but I couldn’t watch any longer. Do you hate me?”
I pulled her to me. “Lisa, there’s nothing to hate you for. I can understand why you wanted to know who he was, especially since you think he has been watching you. I’d like to know who he is also.”
She kissed me and I was lost in the fragrance again.
“Scott, I have a secret.” And she whispered it to me.
Chapter 72
“Hello Mike, this is Chief Wick with the Amherst, New Hampshire police department.”
“Hello chief. Thanks for calling. What’s up?”
“Well, you asked me to call when we were ready for the surveillance at Helen Ryder’s house. We have been observing her home from another camp nearby for several days. We are adding more personnel today and tonight. Did you want to participate in this process?”
“As a matter of fact I would like to join you this evening. How do you want to proceed?”
*.*.*
Mike had time to think about things before arriving at the Amherst police station. He wondered if the strangler, or possibly Jimmy, would indeed follow up his apparent threat to Helen with a visit. Why had he left that warning in her nightstand? To their knowledge none of the other women he killed had been warned in advance, why her? She wasn’t even one of the counselors and might not have actually done anything to Jimmy.
It was already dark, and he was having problems staying awake. He hadn’t been sleeping much the last few days, ever since Paddy was taken to the hospital. He knew he needed to stay awake, so he opened the window vent, forcing the air into his face. What’s up Jimmy? Why are you killing these women? Why can’t we locate you in Boston? What about Charlotte Williams, isn’t she more of a target than Helen? She was one of the counselors. If she participated in any branding, why aren’t you after her?
He had a strange feeling in his gut. He wondered if Jimmy was in Boston to get Lisa Anderson. Wouldn’t she also be a target since Rose owned the camp? He could picture Lisa being a much better target than Rose, based on what he does to the women. What is Scott up to now that he’s not connected with the task force? He had so many questions and not many answers. Maybe if we catch the strangler this weekend these questions won’t need to be answered.
He arrived at the small police station and went inside.
*.*.*
Chief Wick spotted him and buzzed him in. “Hello again Mike, good to see you,” he said offering his hand.
“Thanks chief, and thanks for alerting me about the stakeout.” He looked around, noticing there wasn’t any staff inside the small station. “Where’s everyone?”
The chief laughed. “We’re not a big department. We’re only a one-traffic light sized town. There are four of us; myself, a lieutenant and two patrolmen. The lieutenant has been stationed at the camp within view of Helen’s house. One of our patrolmen just went out to view the back of her house. The other patrolman is covering our normal duties. I’m going with you to join the stakeout, but you better be dressed warmly, as we’re going to be outside all night.”
Mike smiled. “As long as we have some java, I’ll be fine. What are your thoughts on all of this?”
The chief’s face gave away the answer. “Well son, we’re trying to do our part in all of this, but I don’t have a good feeling about whether it’s going to be productive or not. I still think it’s strange that the guy left a calling card. If he was going to attack her, why do that? Why not just do it? Yes, it does create some fear, but is that his objective? Bottom line—I don’t think he’s going to show, but I’ve been wrong once before,” he replied, with a laugh.
He considered the chief’s reply, nodding his head, offering, “We do have at least one other target but she’s out of the country. We have to ride this horse since it’s the only one in the stable.”
The chief smiled at him whi
le heading towards the back of the office area. “I tried riding when I was first married, but learned the hard way that walking has some advantages,” he said rubbing his backside. “I’ll get the coffee.”
*.*.*
An hour later, they had spread their tarp on the ground and were on the far side of Helen’s house. The chief checked in with the other men. “This is Wick, Miller is with me and we are in position as discussed earlier, come back.”
“Hi chief, this is Fisher and I’m still looking at the front of the Ryder house. There is no activity to speak of.”
“Thanks lieutenant, let’s not use her name in future communication. We can all use the ‘target residence,’ okay?”
“Roger that.”
“Chief this is Meads. I Roger your last communication. I’m located on the peninsula behind the target residence. I can see the slope leading from the road down to the lake and also the back portion of the residence. Nothing else to report, other than I’m freezing my ass off here.”
“Thanks Jon, I’ll get you a raise a few years from now. Just sit tight on your ass like you always seem to do.” He held the mike button down, to let him know he was laughing when he finished.
“Thanks chief, I’ll take that to the bank.”
“Okay guys, every hour give me a report even if you don’t see anything. I want to make sure you haven’t found something better to do, over and out.”
“Mike, since we have some time to kill, what’s new?”
Mike was sitting on the tarp, but could feel the cold snow beneath it. He lowered the binoculars to look at the chief who really looked interested in the answer. “Well, you remember Paddy O’Brien…he was taken to the hospital with a heart attack and is still there. He’s doing okay. The Attorney General called on me to take over this case while Paddy’s in the hospital, but he reduced the resources down to myself and one other plus a clerical resource.”
He put the binoculars to his eyes, because he thought he saw something. It was Jon relieving himself down by the frozen lake. He lowered the binoculars and added, “The confessed New England Strangler, Arnold Vincenti, was killed in his cell by one of the guards. It turns out his niece was one of the strangler’s victims. He cut him pretty badly. If he had lived, he wouldn’t have any male tools to do anything with. It’s awful to say, but maybe that kind of justice is better served than putting these guys in jail for the rest of their lives.”
The chief poured two small cups of coffee, handing one to him. “Well it sounds like there’s been a lot going on. What about that young kid that was with you?”
“That was Scott Tucker. He was also let go, but he’s a Harvard student and will be back in class shortly anyway. He’s a good kid and smart too. He helped put some things together for us that helped narrow down our suspects. His cousin was one of the strangler’s victims. He was on a mission to capture the guy who did it.”
“That’s very noble. Were you in the service, Mike?”
“Yes, I was in the marines, but screwed up my knee and had to get out.”
“Once a Marine, always a Marine—right?”
“You can say that. I miss the service…there doesn’t seem to be the level of politics that there is in the police force.”
“Well Mike, I was in the Army. I wish I had stopped for doughnuts. I haven’t done one of these stakeouts in years, wishing I had remembered how painful they were, so I could have found something else to do.”
There was barely any traffic. When car lights did appear they focused their attention in that direction. Helen was going to be alone tonight as her husband was out of town on business. This was discussed with everyone. They thought it might help if the strangler was sizing up who was in the house. Because of their large dog, it was going to be tough for anyone to get to Helen though.
The radio made them jump. “This is Jon. I’m observing the target residence. She is doing her nightly exercises in the normal fashion. Chief, do you want me to look elsewhere?”
“No Jon you keep your eyes on the back of the house. I don’t want anyone to get in the house without us seeing him. Do your best to maintain a professional demeanor, over.”
“Yeah, okay chief, but she’s a very nice looking woman. I’ll do my best, but I’m not as cold as I was a few minutes ago.”
“Okay Jon, that’s enough. Keep it to yourself. Its tough duty I know, but that’s what all that training was for.”
“My wife was very happy to see me last night, over and out.”
Mike had to smile at the transmission. “I take it chief, he’s a young guy?”
“He is, but I’ll tell you this. If I was on the line and my life depended on it…I would want him protecting my flank. Don’t be fooled by him. He’s better than he sounds.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad by it.”
“It’s okay Mike. I know you didn’t. The mayor is on my case about the resources we have on the force, and if they let any of my three guys go…well they will see my ass out the door before theirs.”
It was after midnight now. The last report from Jon was that she had let the dog out one last time and went to bed.
Only minutes later a voice said, “Chief, a car just parked on the peninsula road behind the target’s residence, over.”
“Thanks let me know if you see any additional activity.”
“Chief, we have someone on foot walking down the slope. He’s carrying something that looks like a bucket and is using a flashlight, over.”
“Mike I haven’t been able to spot the figure. Do you see him?” Wick asked.
He was moving back and forth from the top of the hill down. “I can see the light of his flashlight. He’s about half way down the slope to the lake. He is carrying a long pole and a bucket.”
Just then, they both heard the dog barking in the house and the back lights went on. “What is Helen doing that for? I thought we made it clear we wanted to catch him near or in her house,” the chief annoyingly announced.
“Chief, Helen is at the bedroom slider. She just let the dog out and he’s running towards the guy, over.”
“Jon, there’s no sense waiting now. See if you can intercept either the guy or the dog, but be careful. We’ll head your way, over and out.”
*.*.*
Ten minutes later we were all gathered around this guy, who was still shaken up by the dog knocking him down and sending him ass over teakettle down to the edge of the frozen lake. As it turns out, he was just a fisherman going out to do night fishing on the lake. Mike didn’t know there was such a thing, until the chief explained that it was pretty common.
Looking over his shoulder, he could see Helen standing at the slider with a bathrobe around her. He watched as the chief waved to her, giving her a ‘thumbs up’ signal. “Well Mike, it wasn’t our guy, but it sure made a few minutes interesting. I don’t understand why Helen put the outside lights on though. If it had been our guy, we would have nothing significant other than a name…nothing we could take to court.”
He was nodding his head in agreement. “Chief what do you think? I think we’re done here for the night, but if you want to resume I’ll join you again.”
They both looked at their watches. It was approaching one o’clock. “I don’t think our guy is coming Mike. His routine would have put him here by now, so that he could spend some time with Helen. Either he’s not coming or we spooked him. However, we’re at your service if you decide to resume our stakeout.”
Mike looked at the guy on the lake digging his holes with the pole he had, and then back at Helen. “Chief why don’t we call it a night, but your lieutenant is still across the street should he spot something. I guess I would tell Helen what happened here and that we are discontinuing our expanded stakeout. I would also ask her what possessed her to turn on the spotlights, to let her dog out. That’s important should we decide to do another one of these. Sound good?”
“See how easy these things are when there’s no politics involved. I�
�ll do that, getting you back to the station and your car. Jon, please take Mr. Miller back to the police station, and go home and get a good night’s sleep if you can.”
“Thanks chief, but if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll wake my wife up when I get there,” Jon replied with a big smile. He looked like he was going to say something else until he looked over at Mike.
“Thanks for your help Jon. Chief please thank your lieutenant too. If anything does happen, here’s my card. My home phone number is on the back. I really enjoyed this, but next time I will wear more suitable clothes.” They shook hands. He followed Jon up the slope to the peninsula road where he assumed his car was parked.
He could hear Helen whistling for Henry. He looked over his shoulder, noticing him out on the ice, standing beside the guy he had introduced himself to. Bed is sure going to feel good tonight. I’m sorry we didn’t catch the strangler. I was concerned as to whether he would try this again, or what else he might be up to?
Chapter 73
Checking into the hotel at Plymouth, New Hampshire earlier in the day, he visited the Knotty Pine Camp while it was still light out. He knew they would plow the entrance to the camp, down to the town water supply next to the river’s edge. It was always kept plowed so that the well could be inspected periodically and maintained, if necessary. Without that kind of service this would be impossible to pull off.
He quickly removed one of the plywood covers from the back window of the ‘counselor’s’ cabin. He also broke the lock on the front door, to gain access into the cabin. He didn’t need a lantern as there was enough light now coming in the back, but he primed one and lit it to make sure he would have it when he was entertaining. He also readied the stove for use. He spotted the initials burned into the inside door frame. They looked much better there than the ones on his body.