"Very interesting Sam and good work. Actually I thought the AIM was centered more to the Upper Midwest region of the USA. However, I really don't know. Perhaps Rory you can do some research to that end. If anybody has anything else, speak up and if not, let's call it a day. I've a bit of a headache. Ben make sure Sharon has a room please. I'll be here early tomorrow."
-8-
Stacy went home for a hot shower and a cup of tea with honey in it. Her father was out in his wood shop and Fran was making dinner. Stacy sat down in the kitchen to have her tea before a shower. Fran said, "This is a tough one Stacy?"
"Yes, it sure is. We've very little to go on and few people to interview. There was rumor that the assisted living unit was being embezzled, but that would take some time to audit its books. Were looking for motive and the only thing we've got is a Ghost Dancer who has a grievance. That's not much to go on. We did find a heelless shoe print just outside the facility leading away from the residence to the north. Well, tomorrow is another day and hopefully something will develop to give us a step up. I think I'll take a shower Fran and be right back."
"That would be perfect timing Stacy. Dinner in about thirty minutes. I made your father some of his favorite scalloped potatoes."
"Sounds yummy. I'll be right back," she said.
Meanwhile, Rory went up to Coos Bay to the library to do some research and then to the casino to see his favorite dealer. Ben took Sharon to the motel where she could check in. After that they went for dinner at their regular restaurant. By then Sharon had familiarized herself the route to and from the motel and the station. She was excited about staying at a motel that overlooked the ocean with a trail to the beach.
"Ben," she asked, "I get a bad feeling about this case. Usually Stacy is upbeat and anxious to get on with the investigation in a rapid fashion."
"We've very little to go on Sharon. Usually we've at least a handful of suspects, but in this case we've not a single one. There should be a common thread between the Chief's murder and the Doctor. But the only tie between the two of them is that they shared company at the Indian casino. It appears Chief Lance was lonely looking for company because his wife had a difficult time communicating due to her Alzheimer's disease. Oday had a gambling problem. He was up to his neck in debt. Another thing unusual is the doctor doesn't have any family to speak of. No wife or offspring that we can find. I'll interview his second in command and the person who found him tomorrow."
"This would break your guy's perfect record of solved cases if this goes into an unsolved file. That would take the wind out Stacy's sails for sure. On the one hand, I'd hate to be around when that happened, but on the other hand, someone has to be there to support her in times of needs."
"I think the case is solvable, but we have to be flexible in how we investigate it. It's the old adage that one can't see the forest from the trees. Look at what's in front of you and not deep into the interior. Most of us read too much into it. It's similar to a person that holds a doctorate degree. If you ask that person a question, that person has a difficult time knowing where to start the answer. I don't know if that makes any sense to you, but that's what I see happening. The reason a person killed those two was for a reason and one reason only. We have to find that reason and surely it is in the history or both men. Anyway, here we are let's go get some high powered brain food."
Three sat down at the table at Stacy's home. Father looked like he was feeling better about things. Especially after he saw the scalloped potatoes in a bowl. His eyes showed their usual sparkle when things or he's feeling good about life. Stacy was and is sensitive about her father ever since her mother had passed on a few years ago. That was the main reason she came home after the university to be with him for at least awhile.
"Father, we have so little to go on I'm afraid we are running around in the dark on this case."
"Never fear daughter of mine. Something will turn up sooner rather than later. Like the surprise tonight of the potatoes. I never dreamed that we would be having my favorite dish tonight. Tomorrow will bring something special to the case."
As it turned out, truer words were never spoken. It would be a night to remember for eternity.
Stacy helped clean up and then sat in front of a soundless TV while sending some e-mails to various people. One went to her boss Connie to remind her that her father had only volunteered for five days. At last she decided to take a rest. As usual, when on a case with so much on her mind, she took half a sleeping pill to help her drift off. It was one of those pills that put you out quickly, but after four hours or so, it cleaned the system so there was not much of a hangover the next morning.
Father and Fran went to bed first and she followed at around eleven pm. Fran had given her some new flannel sleeping pajamas for Christmas and she put them on, turned off the light and settled down for a good night's sleep.
At around one am, outside the house, a person waited patiently for the house to enter a deep sleep. He noticed all the security that faced him, but that was not an obstacle for him at all. He was used to bypassing security systems that were commercially sold to homeowners. He was selective about who he killed and he really did not want to kill this pretty girl detective, but if she did not take his warning and continued her infringement into his affairs, then she would need eliminating.
It was time to go as he made his way around the house to the east then after passing by the mortor home, he turned west to face the onshore breeze. He never threw caution to the wind. He always took advantage of what was available. In this case the slight wind would help hinder any noise from moving from one place to another.
The night before, and after eliminating the second on his list, he saw the back of the house had a bedroom window slightly cracked open. He would enter the house from that open window. Among his tools in his kit was a stout wooden stick that he would use to pry the window up very slowly. Soon he arrived at the window. His keen ears detected snoring coming from the inside. All else was mostly silence. Some traffic could be heard traveling up or down Highway 101.
Slowly, ever so slowly he pried the window up a fraction of an inch at a time. No noise was heard but the steady breathing of two old people. When the window was about twelve inches up from the sill, he climbed in using his trained body to move without a strain. He knew if he woke up the man the man would be quickly armed shooting first and asking questions afterwards. He really did not want to kill the couple. He had heard the old Chief of Police was a good man.
The bedroom door was open as he silently moved out into the hall way in complete darkness. He saw the bathroom door was cracked and a nightlight cast a dim yellow glow. When he came to the young woman's door, he slowly turned the knob. The door opened without a sound. He thanked the old man for doing his maintenance on the old house. Inside Stacy's bedroom he saw a young woman sleeping on her back. A little light was coming through the curtains from an almost full moon. He had night vision glasses, but he did not need them this night. He was used to working his magic in the darkness.
He moved to the side of her bed. He saw a large comforter over her. He had to be careful when moving the comforter that she did not wake from the cold of the surrounding air rushing onto her body. Never one to be in a hurry, he ever so slowly and deftly moved the blanket down to reveal her night dress. She was breathing regularly and appeared sound asleep. From his tool kit he took a razor knife. He cut off the buttons on her flannel shirt. She was naked underneath, but that did not do anything for him. He wanted just enough skin to put his mark on her heart.
Now he was ready to put an X or her skin where her heart lies beneath slowly beating life through the young woman. He cut his palm and then dipped his finger in the blood to put the X on her chest. She moaned and turned her head just a fraction. He waited for her to continue her breathing. After that was done he took a piece of paper out of his tool kit. He used a safety pin to attach it to her shirt next to her right breast. It said: "Stop looking for me or die". He left
the way he came.
Stacy woke up before the sun came up. She threw back the comforter and sat on the side of her bed. She wondered why her shirt had come unbuttoned. Also her hand found a paper on her shirt. She turned the light on and read the note. Then she looked down at her bare chest seeing the X over her heart. She wanted to scream and almost did. She quickly realized if someone wanted her to come to harm, she would not be alive at this moment. She listened for any sounds in the house. There were none. She went to the hall bathroom to relieve herself and to examine the X mark. With the buttons missing, after determining the X was blood, she took the safety pin to her shirt. After she came out of the bathroom she went to the kitchen. Fran was just up putting water in the coffee maker. Stacy bid her good morning. Fran said, "Did you sleep well my dear?"
"Yes, I sure did Fran. Maybe too well. I think we had a visitor last night," she said as her father walked in.
"What's this about a visitor," said her father a little alarmed.
"Here read this and let me show you what someone put on my chest." She gave him the note with a shaky hand. Fran had moved over to read over his shoulder. Her father looked up and said:
"Where did you find this Stacy?"
"On my shirt and check this out," she said opening her shirt up revealing the X over her heart. "Somebody came into my room last night and did this art work and left a note."
"This is unbelievable. Our security here is good. How did someone get into our house," and then he remembered he crack the window every night for some fresh air. He got up and hurried to his bedroom. He examined the window and noticed that it was about an inch higher than normal. He could not believe what he knew must have happened. The guy came through this window, down the hall, opened the bedroom door to his daughters room, cut off her buttons, left an X on her chest, attached a note and left. All of this without waking a soul or making the alarm go off. He shook his head.
He went back to the kitchen fuming at the nights events. Fran was back fixing some scrambled eggs. Father said, "I'm going out to the shop. I need to be alone for awhile. Stacy as you already know that is blood and you need it scraped for DNA."
Out in his shop Ray Foreham was so angry he threw his coffee mug at his wood stove shattering it into a thousand pieces. About then Rory came in with his hair still wet from the shower. He stopped and looked at the shattered remains. He looked at Ray who looked back with very scary slate grey eyes. He pointed at the house for him to enter there for any answers he might have questions for. Rory hurried to the house. He burst through the kitchen door. He found Stacy sitting at the kitchen table in her pajamas and a cup of tea in front of her. She was starring at nothing with glazed eyes. He wanted to blurt out to see what was wrong, but fear overcame his breaking the silence. He realized something terrible had happened during the night, but what remained hidden in the darkness of his brain. She stood up, turned and slowly went down hall to the bathroom. He heard the door close and waited.
Father had given her a sandwich sized baggie for the samples of blood. She stood in front of the mirror looking at an unfamiliar face. She took off her pajama top and stared at the X between her breasts. With a nail file she scraped the dried blood into the baggie. All that was left was a bright red spot on an otherwise pure white skin. Gingerly she sat the baggie on the counter, turned and put on the shower. It was then she started to shake uncontrollably. After managing to adjust the temperature she stepped into the shower stall with a flood of tears running down her face.
Stacy never realized it but she was blubbering so loud Fran ran to the shop to get Ray. Rory was frozen to his chair, mouth open and the hackles ran up his spine. Ray came running thrugh the kitchen and down the hall. He could hear his daughter moaning over the shower. He came through the door and with clothes and all entered the shower. He tenderly gathered his precious daughter into his arms. She was still shaking, but the sobs became a little bit slower. He told her it would be alright and that it would never happen again. He felt her arms tighten around him. With one arm loose he turned off the water and opened the door. A cloud of steam engulfed the entire room. Fran had a giant towel that she helped him wrap around her. Next, from the back of the door hung Stacy's bathrobe.
Meanwhile, he slowly moved her to the toilet where he sat down and put her on his lap. She cuddled against him. He felt the shakes subside and the tears slowly dried up. Fran helped dry her off. Ray was afraid to move. If he moved she might start shaking all over again. He whispered to Fran: "I'll put her to bed and have Rory contact the clinic to get a sedative for her. Have him tell them it is for me and they will not refuse."
Fran took off with the steam pouring out the door after her. Ray stood up and put the bathrobe around his daughter. Then with a surprising strength picked her up and carried her to bed like he had done many years ago when she was just a little girl. Gently he laid her down in bed. Her eyes were closed and she was relaxing. He covered her up and whispered that he would change his clothes and be right back. He heard her making some throat sounds affirming what he said.
Ray hurried to his bedroom removing his clothes as he walked. In no time he had changed clothes as was back to her room. He lay down beside her. She rolled over next to him. He put his arm around her. She snuggled closer. Soon she was breathing evenly. He dared not move for fear of waking her. After what seemed a long time he slowly removed his arm around her and got up. She continued to sleep. He then went to the kitchen just as Rory came through the door with a small sack in his hand.
For the time being the crisis had passed, but no one knew what mental scars would remain with her. The worst part was that it was not over yet. Would the deranged killer try and make good on his claim if she continued to pursue the case?
Ray and Rory sat down at the table while Fran poured two cups of hot coffee for both of them. Ray held the mug in his hand so tightly that Rory could see the white knuckles of his hand around the cup. Rory waited for him to speak. Finally after a large deep breath he said, "Last night we had an unwanted visitor. He came through my bedroom window. He stole into Stacy's bedroom. He used blood to put an X over her heart. Then he left this note," he handed Rory the note that said, "Stop looking for me or die."
"Good God Ray. How did this person get by your security?"
''That a darn fine question Rory. I want to know the answer as much as you do; maybe more."
"Rory you'd best take over for the time being. Stacy needs some rest. I'll give her the sedative and she can sleep all day. Fran will be here, but I intend to go to the office."
"Good idea and I'm going to call our boss back east. She won't be happy at all. I expect to see Bandon invaded by Marshalls very soon. Connie is not about to let anything happen to her special investigator."
-9-
Rory went to the station house. He found Ben and Sharon on the job. He asked both to come into the situation room for a short meeting. Ben could tell he was not his unusual jovial self. Something had transpired last night, he thought. He said, "Sit down and listen while I call Connie. That way I won't have to tell the story over and over again. He used Stacy's desk and landline. Connie answered almost immediately. He said, "Connie we have a serious situation here in Bandon that directly involves Stacy." He went on to tell about an intruder entering the house, the bloody X left on her bare chest and the note saying to back off or die.
"Are you telling me Rory that someone entered Chief Foreman's house last night without any security alarms going off?"
"That's what I'm saying. I thought his place was well secured with cameras and motion sensors strategically placed. Needless to say Ray is not happy at all. Stacy is in a state of breakdown sleeping with the aid of a sedative. She's been through a terrible time. I've no idea how this event will affect her. I'm waiting for your instructions Connie."
There was a brief silence and then she said, rather calmly, I'll be out there this afternoon. Don't bother to pick me up as I'll have transportation made available for me. For now Rory, c
ontinue your investigation of the people close to Doctor Oday." She hung up, not saying anything else. Rory turned to Ben and Sharon.
"I'm open for questions, but have few answers. Go ahead and fire away," said a teeth grinding Rory. He shuddered thinking this bastard violated his partner and significant one. There was no doubt this violation would have far reaching issues on down the line.
"Rory did she get the DNA from the blood on her body," asked Ben.
"Yes, I have it here in my pocket. I'll have it flown to Portland for analysis this morning. I'll have James take it to the airport."
Sharon said, sitting on the front edge of her chair, "In your opinion how is she doing Rory?"
"I really don't know. I do know she broke down in her bathroom. I think that's a good sign to release the emotions that overcame her. Her father took control and she responded very well to his comfort and love."
"My blood is boiling right now and I can only imagine what Ray is going through. The one saving grace is she wasn't harmed physically, but the mental scars will remain forever to remind her of that event. This is probably the first time I'd like to see this perpetrator six feet under."
Sharon said, "What can we do to find this guy. I'm ready to work 24/7 to help out."
"First let's interview the two staff that discovered the body. One is Ms. Lewis and the other is Ms. Gladys. I'll do that and, Ben what say you go over to Ray's house to see if you can find anything to learn something more about this Ghost Walker. I'm beginning to believe this person has written the book on stealth. Which reminds me, maybe he's former military. I'm calling Rhonda to see if she can find anything about Native Americans as snipers or covert operators in the military. I know it’s a reach, but we need to look at all possibilities. Sharon, have James or another officer deliver this blood sample to the FBI in Portland. Put a rush on it please. Also prepare for Connie to arrive this afternoon. Book rooms for at least six agents. Okay, I realize it's still early, but I need some calories for the upcoming day. Anyone hungry?"
Murder at Police Station Page 7