by Dick Waters
He knew he had only twenty minutes or so to get out of the area, or the police could block off the roads leading from the valley area. He was driving as fast as he dared, but not so fast as to attract the attention of any cruisers heading his way. His heart was pounding in his chest. He couldn’t feel his hands or feet. Turning on the heater full blast, it felt good. Not as good as the heat he would have felt with Charlotte’s body, but at least he was still free.
A good soldier is always prepared. He hadn’t expected something like this, but he had a backup plan. Charlotte was gone now, Bermuda was gone now…life is just about over now…but now to plan B.
Chapter 82
Mike was focused on his driving. He was praying they weren’t going to be too late to rescue Charlotte Williams.
“Mike, the next exit is the one for Waterville Valley and Campton. We need to take that,” Paul said with some emotion.
“I guess I better slow this puppy down then, huh?”
“Yeah, you might be able to make the exit under seventy, but not at the speed you’re doing right now,” Paul said, with his hand on the dashboard.
The exit turnoff was coming up faster than Mike anticipated. He had to decelerate quickly, the big V8 engine resisting the change. Mike could smell the smoke of rubber burning as they slid sideways towards the exit ramp. Mike never stopped at the stop sign either, flooring the gas again. “Well Paul how did you like that landing?”
“Remind me when we get back, if we get back, to go to confession this Sunday. I have some things I need to get off my chest,” he said, with a forced laugh. “Speaking of chests, did you know Colleen and I were dating?” Paul announced.
“I might be getting old, but I’m still a detective.” He looked over at Paul, smiling. “She’s a very nice girl. I hope things work out for you both.”
“I thought I would bring it up so maybe the return trip can be a little more respectable.”
“Paul, are you saying you don’t like my driving? Would you like to drive on the way back?” Mike asked.
They looked at each other. Neither said a word. Then they smiled at each other.
*.*.*
The radio interrupted their thoughts. “Detective Mike Miller, this is the New Hampshire State police. We have a unit at the camp. They found Miss Williams, and she is safe now. What is your twenty?”
Paul picked up the microphone. “This is detective Brosque with detective Miller. We received your call and are about ten minutes from the camp, over.”
“An ambulance has arrived at the camp and is taking Miss Williams to the hospital in Plymouth. She’s in shock but alive. The patrol unit is standing by awaiting your arrival.”
“Roger, over and out,” Paul replied.
*.*.*
Minutes later they turned onto the main road leading to the camp. “Paul, we did it. We intercepted Jimmy before he could kill Miss Williams. I hope she’s okay.”
“We were very lucky…but I wonder what happened to Jimmy,” Paul responded.
As they approached the entrance to Knotty Pine Camp, the ambulance was backing up onto the main road. It pulled away with its lights and siren going.
He pulled into the drive, stopping their car behind the police cruiser. They were immediately greeted by a tall state trooper with a large brimmed brown hat and green uniform. They got out and introduced themselves to the trooper.
“Hello, I’m detective Mike Miller and this is detective Paul Brosque. Ten minutes ago your dispatch told us what was happening here. Can you update us?”
“I’m Officer Potter. It’s nice to meet you folks. Please let me give you a recap of what went down. You best follow me.” He turned, heading to the cabin, where the snow had been removed from the small porch. The cabin’s porch didn’t like our combined weight, by the sound it made. “I suggest we not go inside, but let me tell you what I found when I arrived.”
He informed them, “When I first pulled in, the black Chevrolet was parked where you see it. I approached the only cabin with snow removed from the steps and porch. When I went inside, I found Miss Williams tied to the bed. She was nude, with a gag in her mouth. I must say she was happy to see me. She told me Jimmy Ballou was the guy who tied her up and raped her. She said he left about twenty minutes before I arrived.”
“Any sign of him?”
“When the ambulance team arrived and took care of Miss Williams, I tried to locate the suspect. I followed fresh tracks down the camp road, but there was no sign of the car or him. He must have followed the drive around, leaving by the other exit. I have no idea what kind of car he was driving.”
“Did he threaten her?”
“Miss Williams was in some amount of shock, and was unclear about some of the details of what happened. She believes he held something against her nose and mouth. She passed out. When she came to she found herself tied to the bed and naked. She said he spent what seemed like hours with her and raped her several times. However, that’s when things get a little unclear.”
“She said he left. She thinks it was to decide if he was going to kill her or not. Whatever it was that caused him to leave her for a few minutes, may have been the difference to finding her alive or not.”
“Officer, I notice there are four hangman knots at each corner of the bed. That is similar to the other two camp counselor murders we are investigating. We believe the same person committed those murders.”
He replied, “I was not aware of that. There is an almost empty bottle of baby oil, which she said he put on both of them. However, he wiped it off them, just before he went for a walk.”
“Thanks Officer Potter. Would you please radio your dispatch that we are looking for James Ballou. He is thirty seven, six feet with blonde hair and blue eyes. Should anyone stop him they should consider him dangerous. We’re not sure if he is armed or not. He most likely is headed back to either southern New Hampshire or Massachusetts. His identification might read Andy Lincoln.”
“I’ll call that in,” Potter said. “Oh, one other thing you may want to check out.” He looked at both detectives. “It looks like he went down a path leading to the swimming hole. I haven’t checked that out yet, because I knew you were arriving shortly. When you’re ready, why don’t we see if he left anything behind?”
*.*.*
There were two sets of foot prints leading from the plowed camp road down the small path into the woods. The carved sign at the entrance indicated the path led to the ‘swimming hole.’ Five minutes later the wooded path opened onto a small snow covered area adjacent to the river. We could see where he had cleared the snow on a large boulder and walked barefoot down to the river. There were signs where he had entered the water and exited across the ice patch.
“I can’t believe he actually went in the river. The water temp must be just above freezing. He’s lucky he didn’t drown,” Potter said, shaking his head.
“We’re not surprised he did something like that. A few hours ago, I didn’t hold out much hope we would find Miss Williams alive. Thank you for your fast response officer,” Mike said, patting him on the shoulder.
“Mr. Miller, we should go back to the cabin and retrieve the evidence there. I forgot to mention there was a T-shirt, wool shirt, coat and socks sitting on one of the cots in the cabin. I also found what looked like a small wood-handled tool with a metal letter C in a circle. It was heating up on the wood stove. Does that have any bearing on anything?” Officer Potter asked.
“As a matter of fact it has real significance. The other two camp counselors were branded with their initials. This is the same guy for sure. We believe he was branded when he was younger and is now returning the favor before he kills the women. It’s obvious he was getting close to doing that, if the tool was heating on the stove.”
*.*.*
They headed back to Massachusetts, leaving Officer Potter to collect the evidence.
Paul broke the silence asking, “Mike, where do you think Ballou is headed now? He knows we’re gettin
g close to him, and knows we know who he is now. Do you think he will head to Helen Ryder’s house?”
Mike was quick to reply, “No, I think he’s not going to try that. He doesn’t need two close calls in a single day. I would think he would head back to Boston to pack his things. He’s only an hour ahead of us. We should be able to make up some of that time. He’s not going to take the chance of getting stopped.”
Chapter 83
Periodically she was checking the building behind theirs to see if there were any lights on.
Judy must have been watching her actions, and finally said, “Lisa, will you please stop looking at that room. He’s not there, and he’s not going to be there.”
She went to the window again, peeking through the newspapers. She didn’t answer her friend. She heard the door slam and turned around. Judy had left the room. She looked at her hands and they were shaking. I really need to let this whole thing go. She picked up a magazine and started to flip through the pages, then couldn’t ignore the need to check once again. She peeked across the alley but the lights weren’t on. She went back to her bed and resumed looking at the magazine. She remembered his reaction to the magazine he was reading. She thought about Scott and wanted to talk to him.
*.*.*
She waited near the phone in the reception area. It seemed like there was an endless line of people wanting to use the phone. She realized she needed to get into the makeshift waiting line, or she would be even later calling Scott.
Finally, twenty minutes later she could use the phone and dialed Scott’s apartment. The phone just rang and rang. She let it ring for a number of rings, but he was obviously not there. Where are you Scott…I need you. She hung the phone up, thinking about joining Judy on one of the couches, but she was being pulled to check for the lights in that room. She recalled leaving her binoculars in the room when she left the other night.
Chapter 84
He managed to return to Boston without being stopped. He was really sorry he didn’t have the chance to return to Charlotte. He had decided he was going to take her with him, and see if she was serious about being with him for the rest of their lives. However, that was all interrupted when the police arrived. Now to plan B.
He used the corner phone booth to make the call. This is going to be almost as exciting as being with Charlotte. The phone was ringing and ringing without any answer. He was about to hang up when he heard the voice on the other end.
“Hello,” a woman’s voice announced, sounding perturbed.
“Hello Mrs. Anderson.”
“Hello, who’s this?”
He was silent on the phone.
“Who is this? I’m going to hang up now,” she said, really perturbed now.
Finally he broke the silence. “Hello Rose.” He let that sink in for a second. “This is Jimmy Ballou. You must remember me. I’m the one who you ignored when you found me running around the counselors’ cabin without any clothes on. Do you remember that?”
There was no reply to his question. Then she finally answered, “I remember you Jimmy. Why are you calling me? It’s been such a long time. Oh my God, are you the one murdering those girls?”
“Rose oh Rose…what am I going to do with you? You know you had the chance to prevent a lot of things from happening, but you didn’t. You ignored the whole situation that happened at the camp years ago. Were you afraid of the negative publicity, or were you just so engrossed in your own life that you couldn’t be bothered with what happened to me?”
There was no response on the other end, so he continued. “I really didn’t expect any answer, but had you showed any caring you might have been able to prevent some things from happening, but you didn’t. Now I’m not going to do anything to you or with you, but…but I am going to do something to your very lovely daughter Lisa.”
“Oh my God…oh my God…Harold you have to take this call. Oh my God, no!”
He could picture her reaction, waiting for Mr. Anderson to pick up.
“Who is this? What is this about?” he yelled into the phone.
“Mr. Anderson, this is Jimmy Ballou. You probably have no idea about what happened at camp years ago, so I’m not going to go into it. However, I just explained to your wife that I need to take some revenge for what happened years ago to me at camp. I have decided that your daughter is a much lovelier target than your wife. Please say goodbye to your wife for me, and I’ll say goodbye to your daughter for both of you. Have a nice life.”
*.*.*
He hung up not really hearing what Mr. Anderson was yelling into the phone. He went up to his room, to get the material he was going to need. It had been prepared for months, now just waiting for the right time. He entered his room, turned on the lights, grabbed his goody bag and went to the window.
He could see her lights were on in her room. However, the newspapers blocked his view. He wondered if she was as predictable as he thought. He quickly wrote a note, leaving it on his bed with the lights on. See you soon my dear.
Chapter 85
Running into her room, she couldn’t ignore looking out the window again. She moved the newspaper screen. She couldn’t believe her eyes as she focused on the room across the alley. She closed her eyes and opened them to make sure they weren’t playing tricks on her. No the lights were definitely on.
She changed the batteries in the flashlight, sticking it in the back of her pants. She headed down to the lobby to get the keys to the annex and room 516. The female guard was on duty. She needed to wait for the right opportunity to get the keys without being seen. Judy was talking to her, but she was not paying attention…her focus was on the guard.
“Lisa. I asked if you’re okay. Lisa, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just have some things on my mind.”
“I think you need to forget about that room and try to reach Scott again.”
Lisa looked over to the phone, and it wasn’t being used. “That’s a good idea. I’ll try him again.” She got up to use the phone, trying to pull her white sweater away from the flashlight in her slacks.
She let the phone ring and ring. Still, there was no answer at Scott’s apartment. Where is he? Scott, please get my vibe that I’m looking for you. Please.
Chapter 86
They were just entering the task force office. Hearing the phone ringing, Paul ran to catch it. “Hello,” he quickly said, into the receiver.
“Who is it Paul?” Mike asked.
“I missed whoever it was. I wonder who that was,” Paul said, more to himself than to Mike.
“If it’s important they will call back.” He was about to head up to Paddy’s office, wondering if Colleen had shut off the coffee pot. He wondered more if there was any coffee still available. He headed down to the coffee area to check it out. “Paul, there’s still some coffee in the pot, and there are a few doughnuts left. Are you interested?”
“Sure. Lunch was…did we have any lunch?” he said, with a smile.
“No we didn’t. I would like to head over to the pub and catch something there, but we better see if we can alert the locals here to find Jimmy.”
“We should go check out Lisa’s dorm, and that apartment building behind. I think Jimmy might head back there.”
Mike grabbed a doughnut and coffee and they headed out of the building. They were almost around the building when he realized he never checked to see if the coffee pot was unplugged. “Paul, I’ve got to go back to check the coffee pot. Give me a minute.”
He entered the building again, checking the coffee pot, which was unplugged. He headed back towards the door. The phone rang.
He answered, “Task Force office Mike Miller, how can I help you?”
A rushed voice on the other end responded, “Mike, I’m glad I caught you. This is Lieutenant Dennison with the Derry police. Listen, Harold Anderson just called us. Rose just got a threatening call from Jimmy Ballou indicating that he is going after their daughter Lisa Anderson.”
He acknowledge
d the call. “Thanks Lieutenant. You just caught us leaving the building.”
“Mike, I tried several times. I was going to try some other numbers, but they weren’t handy. I’m glad I caught you.”
“Thanks lieutenant, I’m glad you persisted. We’ll take it from here.
Chapter 87
I was just entering my apartment when I heard the phone ringing. I rushed over thinking it might be Lisa.
“Hello.”
“Hello Scott, I’m glad I caught you. Listen. This is Harold Anderson. Jimmy Ballou called here a few minutes ago and threatened us. Well, more specifically he threatened Lisa.”
I couldn’t respond. My mouth wouldn’t work.
“Scott. We called the Derry police and they were going to try to reach the guys connected to the task force down there. We have no idea whether they were successful or not, which is why we thought of calling you. Scott, you have to do something. We’ve tried the dorm but the phone is just ringing busy.”
“I’ll take it from here. Thank you for calling me. I know what I need to do.” I didn’t wait for any response. I headed to my car without locking any doors.
Chapter 88
Finally, the guard left her desk and headed to the ladies room. Lisa looked around. Everyone was occupied watching television. She walked over to the guard’s desk as fast as she dared. She knew where the correct keys were, and took each of them. She headed up the stairs to the annex door, noticing no one paying any attention to her. Great.