The Promise
Page 33
“You won’t believe this, boss, but the coroner that died on the fishing trip was color blind. So, Oden was dead all along. There was absolutely no connection between the county official on the fishing trip and his embalming work on Mark Halverson.
“Elie was able to locate her brother through Arch Taylor?”
Gallagher nodded, “Yep. He told Elie all about this school, The Colony, that his daughter went to and when he mentioned the headmasters names, Larsen’s ears perked up. She knew her brother’s pseudonym and she started making weekend visits to Athens to scope out her plan to confront him.
Allison Taylor kept getting into her way. So, she had to neutralize her.
Once she kidnapped her, she knew she had to get to work on being the undercover cop on the case. There was one other girl who was originally assigned to us, but somehow Elie overcame that little obstacle and so she got the assignment to come to Athens.
This was her life’s goal, to wreak revenge on her siblings for what they did to her. Archer Taylor was the perfect foil to help her accomplish that goal.”
“So, Malcolm Oden wasn’t a total creep after all?”
“He was nowhere near the creep Elie made him out to be. But, if he sexually hit on any of those girls under the age of eighteen years, it was illegal. For those girls who were of age, it would be sexual harassment under the law, since he was in a position of authority at that school.
He probably checked out their birthdates before he made his moves to protect himself. In Elie’s case, she was supposedly seventeen years old, but in reality, she was not.
But, remember, he did some background checking into “Bree Kelly” and figured she was fair game for his advances because she was a legal adult.
So, in his mind, he wasn’t breaking any rules, either legally or ethically, especially when he knew she was an undercover cop. He just didn’t count on Elie being mentally ill and more importantly, his sister.
That move, of course, cost him his life the night he seduced her. She even planted the file folder listing him as a Satanist when in reality he was not one. She left it for me to find in her dorm room to vilify him to cover herself the night she murdered him.
Verna was as sweet as Elie was evil. Her murder was very tragic.”
“And, Margaret Williams?”
“Elie hated her. Margaret, aka Raven, never knew that Elie was in England. She first met her in Athens. But, she had a sixth sense about her and never trusted her.
By the way, she was picked up two nights ago at a friend’s house and is back in custody. The county prosecutor is going to drop all charges, including her escape from jail, since she was not guilty to begin with.”
The Chief smiled, “All that stuff about threatening notes, Margaret’s fingerprints and DNA in the Mercedes and Allison’s ‘letter’ to Justin.”
“All the creative handiwork of Miss Elie Lee Larsen.
She was really good at keeping the focus of the investigation going in so many different directions away from herself. She came close to pulling it off. She was going to kill Allison and Justin that day I showed up and then head back to Quantico for her next assignment as a good undercover cop.
We would have spent the rest of our lives trying to find Malcolm Oden for the murders even though he was already dead.
She was one slick cookie, boss.”
Parker laughed, “Not smart enough to outwit Mike Gallagher and Mick the wonder leprechaun.”
Gallagher picked up his little buddy and smiled at him. “The first thing we’re going to do is take you to the dry cleaners, Mick. You’re a mess.”
This statement was unsurprisingly followed by another sneezing spell. The detective quickly tossed the miniature Irishman across the room. His sneezes stopped.
“She also planted the Poe poem and the locket at the library and, the red Mercedes?”
“She did plant them, yes. She also rented a red Mercedes just like her brother’s to throw us off. Then, she checked that back in and stole the original car to confuse us even more.
That’s why her friend was driving Oden’s car at Verna’s funeral. She was a brilliant FBI agent. What a waste of talent.”
Gallagher shook his head in sadness.
Parker asked about the electronic device on the desk, “By the way, why the tape recorder?”
Gallagher smiled, “I promised Dax Rambo he could have the exclusive on the case. My way of saying thanks.”
“Understandable. Well, I guess we better get you a new partner, Mike.”
“Sure, boss, right after I get back from Hawaii fulfilling my promise to Alisha when this case ended.”
The Chief frowned, “Where are you getting the money to go to Hawaii? Our budget is not,”
Gallagher cut him off, “Let’s just say it was a gift from some guy who owns a luxury condo in Maui, a very successful furniture salesman.”
Parker smiled, “Well, you did bring his daughter back to him. There’s some symmetry in that. See you in a week.”
As the detective walked out the door he looked back over his shoulder, “A week? You’ll be lucky if you see me in a month!
Alisha and I are going to have a second honeymoon. I’ll send you a postcard of a volcano.”
As he sneezed one more time, he smiled at his lucky leprechaun, “Don’t worry Mick, I’ll send you one, too. It’s the least I could do for my real partner.”
Gallagher puffed on his cigar and then smiled for the first time in two months.
He even blew smoke circles on the NO SMOKING sign above the door. It felt good, too.
He was a damn good homicide detective.
The best there ever was.
THE END
A Review
I hope you enjoyed my novel. Thank you for purchasing it. It would mean a great deal to me if you would take a moment and write a review of this book and post it on my book’s site on Amazon.
Please go to the link at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E1IAQXS and follow the review instructions.
Thank you,
Patrick Hurley
Pat Hurley’s new novel is ready on Amazon. The original book in the Michael Gallagher Detective Series.
A team of snipers is methodically killing 64 innocent American men, women and children every four days. They will not identify themselves nor do they have any ransom demands or political statements. They just keep killing. These attacks succeed in shutting down most of America. Three questions persist, who is the mastermind, why are they killing innocent citizens and what is the significance of the number 64?
Michael Gallagher, the homicide detective in Athens, Georgia, the site of the first attack, is consumed with a passion to find those responsible for one of the early victims, his beloved daughter, Megan. He sets out to find the snipers and their leader putting him at risk with the FBI, CIA and other law-enforcement authorities who do not appreciate his involvement. Using good police work and the timely assistance of a female investigative reporter, Gallagher not only discovers the truth behind the massacres but puts a stop to the killings with the help of heroic, every day Americans who take their country back in a dramatic one day counterattack.
Google: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E1IAQXS to preview or purchase “64”
Thank you.
Patrick Hurley