Middle River Murders

by Ann Mullen

  Inside, there were more clothes torn and littered about as if the culprit had taken a knife and slashed at everything in sight.

  A rage so intense built up inside of me, I felt as if I were going to explode.

  Billy walked up and put his hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump.

  “I know this looks bad, but I think your mom is okay. I can feel it.”

  “I sure hope so. The anger I have scares me, Billy. I just want to hurt someone. If my mother…”

  “We’ll find your mom, Jesse, and she’ll be okay.”

  “You’re just saying that, Billy Blackhawk! Someone has hurt her! I can tell. Look around. Someone went crazy in here. Look at the bed. The sheets have been ripped off and the pillows have been slashed, just like the clothes that were once hanging in my mother’s closet. Someone wanted to torment my mother and then…”

  “Nobody killed your mother, so just put that thought out of your head. If your mother had been killed, they would’ve left her body here. She’s not here. Whoever has your mother, doesn’t want her dead; they want our attention.”

  “Do you really think so?” I asked, tears streaming down my cheeks.

  I looked around at the carnage and tried not to think about what my poor mother must be going through. I knew she’d be scared, alone and hoping for someone to come and save her. The thought of my mother going through such a terrible ordeal was awful. I wanted to kill the person who did this and if I got a chance, I would. I promised myself that whoever hurt Mom would pay dearly… if I had to kill that person with my bare hands.

  “I know you must be having some terrible thoughts going through your head, but you must put them aside if we’re to find your mother. Just let them go, `ge ya.”

  “I can’t,” I cried as we walked out of the room. “I just want to hurt somebody, Billy. If my mother is dead, I’m going to wind up in jail. I’ll kill whoever did this to my mom. That person will never make it to trial, because I’ll kill her first.”

  We walked to the kitchen, dining room and living room, looking for evidence. We finally ended up back in Mom’s bedroom.

  Time seemed to stand still, until finally, Claire arrived.

  “Jesse!” Claire called out.

  I looked up at Billy and said, “We can’t let her come in here.”

  I grabbed Billy by the arm and ran out of the room. I closed the bedroom door behind us, hoping Claire wouldn’t notice.

  “Is that you, Claire?” I called out as we walked back through the living room to the kitchen. We met Claire, Randy and Frank in the kitchen before they had a chance to go any further.

  “You’ve been crying, Jesse,” Claire said with fear in her voice. “What’s the matter? Have you heard anything... any news about Mom?”

  “No, not yet,” I said, trying to regain control of my emotions. “Mom isn’t here and her minivan is gone.”

  We exchanged hugs and then got right down to business.

  “Have you searched the house?” Frank asked.

  “We haven’t searched all of it,” Billy replied. He looked at me and waited for me to say something.

  “We need to search for clues,” Claire suggested.

  “I’ll take the upstairs,” Randy said.

  “I’ll go with you,” added Frank.

  They took off upstairs and were back down within minutes claiming to have found nothing out of the ordinary.

  I stalled as long as I could, but then realized that there was no way of getting around it. My sister would have to know everything.

  “Come on,” I said, taking her hand. “You might as well see for yourself. There’s no way I can explain it to you.”

  “What is it?” Claire asked as I led everyone to Mom’s bedroom. “Mom isn’t…”

  “No, she’s not here, Claire,” Billy replied. “But she’s been here since she went missing.”

  “How do you know she’s been here?” Claire stopped, stepped back and gasped at the sight of Mom’s room. “Look at this room!” She broke down and burst into tears.

  I grabbed her by the shoulders and said, “Get a grip, Claire! We need to keep it together if we’re going to find Mom!”

  She walked into the room and looked around. As soon as she saw the blood in the bathroom she turned and fled. She was all the way outside by the time we caught up with her. She was bent over, her hand on the porch rail for support, and was puking.

  I went up to her, put my hand on her back and rubbed it. I walked her over to the porch swing and motioned for her to sit down.

  She sat down on the swing and hung her head.

  Billy walked over and handed her a handkerchief.

  “It’s going to take a lot of courage to get through this, but we have to be strong, Claire,” I said. “We have to do it for Mom’s sake.”

  She straightened up and took the handkerchief Billy offered. After wiping her face and blowing her nose, she said, “We have to find Mom before it is too late, Jesse.”

  We cried together as Billy, Randy and Frank stood by helplessly and watched.

  “We will,” I assured her.

  Unfortunately, deep down inside, I had a nagging feeling that it was already too late… but I refused to give up.

  Chapter 27

  Heavy, dark clouds rolled in as we stood outside talking and listening to the thunder off in the distance. A storm, probably one of the last ones of the summer, was on the way. Lightning streaked the sky.

  “We should go inside,” I said. “I don’t like the way this looks.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Billy agreed. “If you can hear the thunder you can be struck by lightning.”

  “Is that true?” Claire asked as we all made a dash for the door.

  “It sure is,” Billy said, making a dash for the door.

  The minute we got inside, the rain poured down.

  I looked over at the front window and saw the headlights of a police cruiser pull up in the driveway. Fear seized me, taking my breath away, until I saw Cole jump out. He ran up the front steps, onto the porch and then pounded on the door.

  My heart beat rapidly as I ran to open the door. A pain in my sternum shot up through my throat, choking the wind out of me. I grabbed my throat as my face turned red.

  “Water,” I said, pointing to the kitchen sink.

  Randy instantly reacted. He ran to the sink, grabbed a glass and then filled it with water. He hurried to my side.

  “Here, drink this,” Randy said. “I hope this makes you feel better.”

  I took the glass as I tried to breathe. When I finally caught my breath, I lifted the glass to my lips and drank. Seconds later, I was back to normal. However, I was stuck with an endless barrage of questions.

  “What was that all about?” Frank asked. “I thought you were having a heart attack!”

  “I did, too!” added Claire. “You scared the crap out of me! Are you okay?”

  “Do you need to sit down?” Randy asked.

  “No, I’m fine,” I managed to get out. “Just give me a minute.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need to sit down?” Cole offered. “You look pale, Jesse. That was weird. Maybe you should see a doctor.”

  “I have,” I replied. “A few times.”

  Billy recognized the signs of the beginning of a panic attack. He knew I’d be all right after I drank the water and calmed down. He put his arms around me and asked, “Are you going to make it?” He smiled and then kissed me on the cheek.

  I felt warm and cozy in the comfort of his arms.

  “I think I’ll survive this one, but next time…”

  He held me tighter and tried to make me feel secure. “I’ll take care of you, `ge ya. Don’t worry.”

  All of a sudden, I felt dizzy. “Whoa,” I said, shaking. “Perhaps I should sit down. I feel faint.”

  Billy led me over to the sofa and told me to lie down.

  “Just for a minute, Jesse,” he said. “You’ve been going strong for days. You need to rest even
if it’s only for a little bit. Lay down and you can listen. I’m going to show Cole your Mom’s room.”

  As I lay back, Billy motioned for Claire to come over and sit with me. Claire sat down on the edge of the sofa beside me, and as Billy walked away, I heard the slight squeak of Mom’s bedroom door.

  The men gathered in Mom’s bedroom and talked about what they saw. I could hear every word they said, so I didn’t feel as if I was missing anything. Before I knew what had happened, I dozed off. Exhaustion had set in. I slept soundly until a loud clap of thunder woke me.

  “Are you awake, Jesse?” Billy asked from across the room.

  “Not anymore,” I answered as I sat up and turned toward the sound of his voice. “What happened?” I looked around the room and noticed that everyone was sitting at the kitchen table. “How long was I out?”

  Billy got up from the table and came over to me. He held out his hand. “Come into the kitchen and have a cup of coffee. You’re going to need one to stay alert.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Did something happen while I was asleep? Why did you let me sleep? How am I going to find Mom, if I’m asleep?”

  “We have some news,” Billy said, but before he could finish, sirens in the background drowned out his words.

  Startled, I turned around and saw flashing blue lights in the front yard. Several Greene County police cruisers pulled up, and the deputies piled out of their cars.

  I turned to Billy in a state of panic.

  He reached out and grabbed me by the shoulders.

  “Don’t flip out,” he said. “It’s not what you think. We haven’t heard anything about your mother. These guys are here to collect evidence. As far as we know, your mother is still alive and Cole brought us some news. Come with me to the kitchen.”

  I turned and followed him.

  The doorbell rang and Cole jumped up from the table. He went to the door and opened it.

  “Come on in,” he said to Sheriff Hudson. “Everyone’s in the kitchen.” He pointed to the bedroom and said, “That’s the room.”

  The sheriff motioned to his deputies and then walked to the kitchen. They turned and headed to the bedroom with their black satchels in hand.

  I assumed those bags held their evidence collecting paraphernalia.

  “Aren’t we going to wait for the crime scene people to get here?” I asked the sheriff.

  “They are here,” he replied. “My men are cross-trained in forensics. You’d be amazed at modern technology and how it’s helped us. We assess the crime scene and collect evidence ourselves now.”

  “With lawsuits running rampart, is it a wise idea to collect the evidence yourself?” Claire asked as she stood and offered the sheriff a place at the table.

  He waved her off.

  She sat back down and continued, “I mean, not that we’re going to sue, but… ah… never mind. That didn’t come out right.”

  “I understand,” Sheriff Hudson said. “You’re under a lot of stress.” He looked over at Billy and then to me. “I assume that Deputy James has told you about…”

  “Yes, he has,” Billy butted in. “But we haven’t had a chance to tell Jesse. She had a panic attack and had to lie down. She fell asleep and just woke up. I was getting ready to fill her in when you showed up.”

  “I hope you’re okay, Mrs. Blackhawk,” the sheriff said. “Those attacks sure are scary. I have a sister who has them a lot and she says they’re no picnic.”

  “I’m going to be fine, and please call me Jesse.”

  “Let me take this opportunity to fill everyone in on what we have so far,” he said. He looked around the kitchen and then his eyes came back to me. “I told Deputy James that he could tell you that we had a match on the fingerprints found in the abandoned Greene County police cruiser. They were those of a Michigan woman.”

  “I told you so!” I exclaimed. I jumped up and danced around as if I were in a tizzy. “I told you she wasn’t dead! Sophie Kent’s alive and she’s back for vengeance! She had a fight with Kansas and when she fell overboard, she decided she’d make him suffer. She hid out and waited to see what he’d do when he thought she was dead.” I started to calm down when my take on the situation began to unfold. “She got lucky when that body turned up. Kansas thought it was Sophie and he freaked out. She had no idea he’d try to kill himself because he was so guilt-ridden, and then be left in the body of a man with the mentality of a child. So she waited for the opportunity to get her revenge against the one person who caused all the problems to start with—Daisy Clark. Daisy was the one who convinced her brother to dump Sophie and Sophie knew it. After what happened to Kansas because of Daisy’s selfish demands, Sophie had really lost everything. What better way to cause trouble than to kill someone and make it look as if Daisy was the guilty party. If she killed enough people and Daisy got the blame, we’re talking about the death penalty here.”

  “What you say makes good sense, except the prints didn’t belong to Sophie Kent. The prints belong to Naomi Kent—her mother.”

  The case was solved. The killer had been identified and my bubble had burst. I thought for sure I had it figured out. A defeated look came over my face as I slumped down in the chair at the table. “I was so sure that I was right.”

  “I think you might be about much of the rest,” Sheriff Hudson said. “Naomi Kent was the one who wanted the revenge.”

  “Her daughter died and she obviously blamed Kansas Moon,” Billy added.

  “When he tried to kill himself, but was left brain-damaged instead, she probably figured he got what he deserved,” Frank Trainum agreed. He looked over at me and said, “I did some research on the case in the helicopter. Wireless technology is the way to go, Jesse.”

  “But she still wasn’t happy,” Claire said. “She wanted Daisy to suffer like she had, only more. She wanted to make Daisy pay with her freedom, so she started killing off people associated with the woman she hated.”

  “And now she has my mom,” I said, weakly. “And she’s going to kill her if we don’t get to her first.”

  “No, Jesse,” Billy said. “She can’t kill your mother with Daisy in the hospital. Daisy would have an alibi.”

  “Yeah, Daisy was in the hospital when she took Mom,” I deducted. “She made a mistake. She expected Daisy to be released, but she wasn’t. By then she had already abducted Mom and it was too late to change her plans. Now she has Mom and Daisy’s still in the hospital.”

  “She made a mistake and now she’s got to clean it up,” Sheriff Hudson said as he glanced my way.

  “She has to kill my mother,” I whispered. I looked at Claire and felt my lip quiver. “She’s going to kill Mom.”

  Claire stood up and walked around the table to where I was sitting. She put her arms around me and said, “We’ll kill her if she hurts Mom.”

  “I keep thinking about the times we went camping up on the Skyline Drive. Mom hated the bugs and mosquitoes, but we loved it. They never bothered us. We were too busy running around in the woods and getting poison ivy.”

  “Mom had a good time,” Claire said as she cried quietly. “She loved being with Dad and us. It didn’t matter where we went; she always made the best of it.”

  “Remember that time I went fishing with Dad up at the cabin and my legs got sunburned real bad? Mom was furious. She didn’t talk to Dad for two days.”

  “I think it was three.”

  Claire and I looked at each other and cried over the memories we shared. Together, we prayed for our mother’s safe return and tried to control our grief.

  Unable to restrain myself any longer, I jumped up and screamed at the sheriff, “You’d better find that woman before I do, because when I do find her, the last face she’ll ever see will be mine. I promise you that.”

  “I didn’t hear that,” Sheriff Hudson said as he turned to look at his men. He then turned back to me and said, “You can trust me when I say we’ll find your mother. Naomi Kent’s still around. She won’t leave until she g
ets her revenge, and I believe her revenge isn’t to see Daisy Clark get the death penalty, but to actually take her life…. after she’s taken everything else from her.”

  A thought occurred to me. “What about Gabe? If what you say is true; he’s in danger.”

  “We have someone watching him. I also sent one of my guys to lift prints from Daisy’s car. Since her car was identified as the car that ran Alice Aikens off the road and to her death, I wanted to know who was driving it.”

  “That’s right,” I added. “Daisy said they were out of town the day Alice was killed. If that’s true, then who was driving her car?”

  “My point exactly,” the sheriff said.

  “I would’ve thought you would have gone over that car with a fine-tooth comb by now.”

  “We’re going over it again. I have my men on it.”

  I tried not to cry again, but it was difficult. My mother meant the world to me. If I didn’t have her, I don’t know what I’d do. If someone killed her, I’d surely do jail time for killing the one responsible. Hate consumed me.

  Frank stood and walked over to the sink. He looked around as if he sensed something, and then said, “I thought Sarah said you had one of your dogs with you. Where’s the dog?”

  “Where is Athena?” I asked, looking over at Billy.

  Billy looked back at me and said, “That’s a good question. She jumped out of the truck when we got here and then ran off into the woods. I didn’t think anything about it at the time and then I forgot about her until just now.”

  It was as if the lights went out and Billy and I were the only ones who noticed… with maybe the exception of Frank who seemed to be aware of everything. Athena took off into the woods for a reason. When she got a scent, she was like a hound dog—she wouldn’t give up until her curiosity was satisfied.

  “She’s out looking for Mom,” I said. “I’d stake my life on it! Kansas Moon lives right up the road. We need to go to his house.”

  Billy’s cell phone rang. He snatched it up and left the room.

  We were right in the middle of a thunderstorm and now wasn’t a good time to be talking on a cell phone, but I let it go. The call could be about Mom. Normally, I would give my get off the phone, it’s lightning and thundering outside speech, but not this time.