by R E Gauthier
“What if you have never felt attraction to anyone before, but suddenly you think you do, does that mean the sex of that person you have those feeling for is the one you are oriented to?” Kelsey rushed the question before she could chicken out.
Miranda answered the question first.
“That is hard to say, I mean if the person had never truly had feelings of attraction to either sex but then suddenly has them for one person and not really their sex it could be they only are attracted to that one person. Doc you can help me here, isn’t there a psychologist who believes that attraction isn’t about a certain sex but about that person’s attributes that attracts the person?”
“Yes it is Doctor Zeelichikoff and his paper is on Sexual Fluidity but there are many people in his field debunking his theories because they say it will only give more strength to the notion that people can chose one’s sexuality.”
Kelsey sat there and just listened to them discuss the pros and cons of such a theory and she couldn’t help but think about her own situation. She had never had crushes or strong feelings of attraction to anyone until she had met Race Norwood and then she had just chalked it up to feeling lonely. But she had felt definite attraction towards the petite author in front of her. Does that mean I’m a lesbian?
The humming of her phone soon drowned out the humming of the two people talking; she absently answered her phone.
“Hello.”
“Kels is that you? It’s Race; I hope I haven’t called at a bad time.”
Her mind searched for a kernel of recognition, then it hit her, Race Norwood had called her and how ironic I had been just thinking of her. Her face heated and she excused herself walking out into the hall to resume the conversation.
“No God it’s been a long time. How have you been?” She recovered from her surprise.
“Well I am doing well but I didn’t just call to talk about myself, I called because I got your number from Coach and he said you were in Baltimore and as luck would have it, so am I. How about you and I go out and catch up?”
“I’d like to but I’m here in the city with the FBI I can’t get away I’m afraid.” She knew she could but thought it would be best if she didn’t let more of her personal life intrude while she should be working in this case.
“You’re sure you can’t get away just for a few hours? I have been thinking a lot lately about the girl who got away after kissing me senseless under the bleachers before she rushed off to college, never to be seen again.”
Kelsey remembered that day too and the kiss, her body heating up as all the emotions began to crash in upon her. I really don’t this walk down memory lane right now.
“I’m sorry Race maybe after this case…I should really get back to work but can I call you sometime?”
“Of course you can call me and I hope you change your mind, I’ll be in town for a week or so. Oh and Kels, you are not seeing anyone are you? Or married?”
“No. No one and not married either.”
“That’s even better. Bye for now.” Race ended the call.
Kelsey stood there wondering why she couldn’t take a few hours off tonight or tomorrow night to catch up with Race. She thought about calling Race back to say she would go out with her after all. But I don’t need another distraction right now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“You cannot hide a secret from yourself forever.”
Kelsey and Doc worked with Miranda all afternoon and the author looked tired but the important question had been answered, she did appear to have repressed memories of the night Kate had been killed. Doc had determined through a series of mind exercises; the night, Katherine Montgomery had been killed had been the precipitating trauma for Miranda’s memory repression. The author didn’t seem to have any unresolved issues with her past. They had learned why she hated to fly in an airplane; at twelve she had been in a plane crash killing both her parents, leaving her and her brother orphans. Miranda also didn’t drive a car because she drove the car when her brother and aunt were killed in a head-on collision, leaving her without any living relatives. The woman had been traumatized by these events but lived a full life without obvious repercussions. After leaving Baltimore six and half weeks ago, Miranda had suffered headaches and nightmares that plagued her relentlessly but she couldn’t remember anything after leaving the restaurant and before she arrived at the motel across town. She had lost two and half hours of that night’s memories.
“I think we have made amazing headway for today. I am so glad you practice meditation and relaxation Miranda, it makes my job so much easier,” Doc said rising to open the blackout curtains and then blow out the candles.
Miranda yawned and stretched. “Well it does help that I am feeling so relaxed here, it’s not like being in a doctor’s office at all. Actually I almost felt like I slept while you were talking to me.” She said stifling another yawn that was threatening to overtake her.
Kelsey didn’t try to hide her yawns, as she rose and stretched, last night’s dreams had kept her awake, they were of the woman coming to her and then crying and begging her to help her. The woman’s identity and what she wanted Kelsey to do was robbing her of her much needed sleep. She only wished she could sleep peacefully like she had at Nanna’s house.
Miranda would never tire of watching the agent, the view of her lean athletic body stretching playing havoc with her libido. She found it easy to observe her unnoticed but when the agent turned those soul-searching brown eyes on her she had difficulty keeping her feelings in check. God I have to do some writing soon, my mind is filling with all sorts of scenarios, ones I cannot take time to enjoy right now. She watched the agent twist and turn to get the kinks out. She could feel herself getting twitchy and when she felt this way it was best to get out and walk.
“Agent MacGregor, can I be seen by the rest of the taskforce or would you prefer I stay hidden awhile longer?” She asked hoping the agent wouldn’t be upset. At the same time she wanted to put some distance between them so she could keep her head clear. Walking out on the rooftop wouldn’t be enough especially if the agent wanted to join her. “I promise I can hide if I see anyone,” biting her bottom lip. Please Kelsey I need to get away from you.
Kelsey saw the anxious expression on the author’s face and wished she could allow her to go for a walk but couldn’t allow the woman to charm her. How can I explain why I can’t without hurting her feelings?
“I do want to know where we stand with your involvement in the case first, before we let everyone know I have found you. And while we’re in my room you can call me Kelsey.”
“You mean you want to know if I am the killer before you let on to the rest of your team that you have been hiding me away. I’m not making the same mistake twice treating you like anything more than the FBI Agent leading the investigation that I am being questioned about.” Miranda said as she turned her back and looked out over the harbor.
Kelsey looked awkwardly at Doc and shrugged.
“Miranda you should get some rest so that tomorrow you’ll be able to withstand some more questioning. I’m leaving now so please try those breathing exercises and meditation I mentioned earlier; get a goodnight’s rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thank you Doc. I do plan on having a quiet night with little stress; your advice sounds like just the perfect way.”
“Good, I’ll see you tomorrow then, have a good night,” he said turning to leave. “Mack could you walk out with me, so I can discuss a few things about the case?”
Glancing at the rigid back of the author she nodded before walking out with Doc.
“What just happened?” she asked.
“Mack this is to be expected, repressed memories are manifested because of traumatic events and sometimes when we try to get to the source some individuals will have mood swings, happy one moment, irritable the next. Don’t take it personal. Miranda has done wonderfully today. I honestly think her meditation and yoga practices will help, she is alr
eady open to deep relaxation and I think hypnosis will be quite easy for her.”
“What can I do to help her?” Kelsey asked.
“I know you want to help but I think it is best if you just let her do her own thing, you cannot help her with this,” Doc said. “I can see you’re worried and I’m sure it’s a foreign feeling for you to care about a stranger but she does seem to have an effect on me too. I feel myself wanting to protect her.”
“Doc I...” she started to say she did feel the same way but she knew it was a lie. I’m feeling much more than protective for her. She said her goodbyes to him and stood in the hallway for a moment to take a few soothing breaths. Don’t take it personal.
She returned to the room and Miranda flatly stated she would not need that walk after all and left for her own room without another word. Yeah right don’t take it personal.
After Miranda left her nerves were jumping; pacing and a shower did little to calm them, so she called Nikki and asked her to check on a few things for her. She asked her to get a list of cab companies that worked in the area of Patterson Park and once she had the list she called asking for the dispatchers to send them their records for the night of July 15th.
One dispatcher had been very helpful when she remembered that a man had called upset that a lady needed a cab that night. The call had come in at 12:15am just as her shift was about to end. The cabdriver she dispatched reported in later he had taken a woman to the Holiday Inn Express at the Stadiums. She didn’t know that part of town and asked what that was near and was told it was close to the Casino and the Greyhound Bus Station. That made sense because Miranda had said she had checked in at 1am at the Holiday Inn and took the bus the next day.
She now had a timeline to figure out that Miranda had been truthful about her whereabouts after she left the park but how she got to the park and when were still mysteries.
Not wanting to drive in late afternoon traffic weighed heavily on her mind as she took the route her rental car’s GPS had given her as the quickest way to Patterson Park. Her worries had not been unfounded as she sat for nearly half an hour in a traffic snarl from a fender bender. Someone more impatient than her had obviously run a red light up ahead.
On her way again she arrived at the Park and found a parking spot half a block from the corner of East Baltimore and South Patterson Park Avenue. She looked around and checked on her GPS how far the condo address was from the park. The distance was just over half a mile so it’s reasonable that Miranda had been able to reach it on foot.
At the park corner entrance there was a set of steps and an older man sat on them smoking a cigarette. He looked and her and asked her if she was a cop.
“No I’m not a cop, why would you ask that?”
“Because they always chase me away from here this time of day, I’m not supposed to be here but I sneak around until after dark to get a good spot to sleep.”
Getting an idea she asked him if he stays here every night and he told her he usually did unless the weather was bad. When she asked him if he could remember if he was here the night of July 15th he said his memory wasn’t all that good.
“How about a woman do you remember seeing a woman? Maybe you called her a cab, does that jog your memory.”
“You said you weren’t a cop.”
“I’m not I just want to know about this woman, do you remember her?”
“I didn’t hurt her I promise, I found her like that.”
Alarmed by that comment she asked him what he meant by that comment and he explained that night had been cooler than usual so he thought he’d find more shelter and he came upon a woman lying on the steps at this very corner. He thought it was odd because the homeless women don’t usually hang around this area of the park so he approached and asked if she was okay. He told her he had been scared when she kept mumbling and crying and he could smell urine like she had pissed herself. After a few minutes she seemed to calm down and then looked at him and asked him where she was. He asked her if she wanted to call an ambulance or the police and she said no just a cab.
“I gave her a blanket to put around her because she was cold and wet from…well you know she peed her pants and then when the cab got here she got in and left. Do you know if she is okay? I have thought about but never saw her around again.”
“She is okay thanks to you.” Kelsey could believe a total stranger had been so kind but it renewed her faith that there were still good people in this fffed up world.
After asking him a few questions she determined he had been a Good Samaritan and hadn’t harmed the woman. Kelsey knew he had to be talking about Miranda. When asked when he had found her he said it was 11:50pm. She now had a more definitive timeline where Miranda had been that night. She gave the man named Randall a drive to a restaurant and gave the waitress her credit card and told her charge a full meal with all the fixings for Randall. She left him thanking him for being a good man, if he hadn’t found Miranda no telling what may have happened to her.
After dropping Randall off she called Nikki and told her about what she had found out then told her she’d be back to the hotel by six and wanted to meet with her to discuss the day’s events and progress in the investigation. Then she drove to Essex Street outside the condo where Katherine Montgomery died and looked around. Parking her car she started walking in the direction most likely Miranda took when she left the condo that night. She set her phone on a stopwatch to time her progress. Even with her long strides it took her nearly 13 minutes to reach the corner where Randall said he found Miranda. Of course if the author had run and there was no traffic it may have taken less time.
Having a clearer idea of where Miranda had been and what she had been doing that night sat well with Kelsey. She’s definitely the witness I’ve been looking for, now we just need to unlock the memories inside the author’s head.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I get stronger each day from learning to pick myself up when I get knocked down.”
Over a meal and few drinks in the hotel’s restaurant, they discussed all of the day’s investigative results. Kelsey avoided talking about her feelings or how Miranda’s mood swings hurt her. She didn’t want to talk about anything she couldn’t do anything about at that moment.
“So far we know that the suspect is a woman with revenge as a motive. We have one woman who, knows all four victims, in for questioning but doesn’t remember that night. I am going to go over the disciplinary records for the three victims while they attended Kent Place School to look for any person or persons who may have had a grudge against our victims and we also have another potential victim we are looking for, Beth Ellis who was Liz or Elizabeth Townsend when they all went to school together; she’s married and is a photo journalist.” Nikki said while making smacking lip sounds eating her crème Brule.
“Any leads on her whereabouts yet?” She asked between bites of her chocolate mousse.
“None yet but the Delaware Police have been notified because her last known address is Wilmington.”
Kelsey nodded and then decided to let Nikki in on her plans for the author.
“So I think it is best to keep Miranda Gauthier’s presence here on the down low for another day. Doc thinks he can hypnotize her tomorrow and see if we can get some answers to what she may have seen the night Miss Montgomery was killed.”
“Well you did great work today developing a timeline for her whereabouts that night, what a stroke of luck that you found ...Randall was it?”
“I know I’m glad I found him and can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am he found her. Can you imagine her wandering around the streets of Baltimore after witnessing Kate’s murder?”
“I don’t want to even think about, she must have been so messed up. Does Doc think he can help her?”
“He just said that she should be open to hypnosis that we’ll take it slow and careful so we don’t traumatize her any further.” Kelsey felt irritable again and looked around the restaurant.
“Mack, what is it with you? You have been anxious and jittery all night, and you have looked at your watch and phone several times in the last hour. Is there something you want to tell me?”
“I’m worried about Miran...Miss Gauthier because Doc thinks she could have some adverse effects from today’s session.”
Nikki reached across the table and grabbed her best friend’s fidgeting hands. “Stop it...just call her Miranda, you were doing so all weekend with your Nanna and now you’re forcing yourself to use her formal name. It isn’t working and you know it. This morning it was upsetting her and your kept doing it.”
She sighed loudly and hung her head.
“I know but I have been trying to put some separation between us, but then I find myself needing to do otherwise. It is driving me crazy and I know it is upsetting her.”
Nikki knew right away when she saw the two women together that they had some connection that she had never seen her tall, best friend have with anyone. She wasn’t sure how she should breach this topic without upsetting Mack.
“Mack, just be yourself, it is the best you can do and I think that when you do, you’ll see that you and she will be better for it.” She chuckled when she saw the look on her friend’s face.
Mack guffawed and then threw her head back and laughed heartily.
Okay now what is that about? Mack laughed but never like that.
“You have been spending too much time around Rachel; you’re starting to give me sage advice and not acting at all like the friend who usually drives me crazy.”
“Well if I had of said what I wanted to say you would have punched me in the face and told me to go ‘fff’ myself.”
“What were you going to say?” Mack asked.
Nikki knew her friend needed to face the obvious feelings she was having for the author but it was best that she learn that on her own, than have it thrown in her face tonight. She’d come to her own conclusions and then come to her if she wanted to talk about it.