by BJ Wingate
Joe nodded. “Glad I managed that so well.” He grinned then moved off to take care of a few more customers. Two more men entered the bar and sat at a table in the far corner. Vanessa watched them for a minute before turning and watching Joe in action.
Joe was personable. Friendly without being overbearing, Happy without being overly so. The perfect bartender. And he looked good in the jeans he was wearing behind the bar too. Vanessa sipped her drink again then deliberately set the glass down on the bar. She didn’t want to get drunk, so she needed to go easy on the drinking.
Vanessa stayed there on that bar stool a lot longer than she normally would. Joe would help customers and inevitably end up at her end of the bar exchanging small talk with her as he watched the crowd. At times he would fill her in on one or two of the patrons. One he pointed out was the CEO of his corporation. Another a lawyer and so on. It was comfortable to sit there and let him entertain her this way. For once she wasn’t sitting there planning how to kill her next victim.
At one point, while Joe helped a patron get a cab rather than let him drive home drunk, Vanessa found herself wondering if this was what it was like to really care about someone. Joe seemed to care about everyone that entered or left the bar and yet, how could he? Did he know them all by name? Did he get involved in their lives? He had a lot of information on them, but – then again - he was a bartender and people tended to talk to bartenders. Sometimes more than they should. Vanessa even found herself considering opening up to this man, but she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. If she did … She didn’t bother considering the consequences of that. Instead, she sat there, letting him continue to entertain while he did his job to the best of his ability.
Vanessa thought about all she had done; the things that had happened to her and around her. She considered what might eventually happen to her and shuddered. She had never considered that before, never bothered to think beyond the moment. In a way it was frightening to consider. If she got caught, where would she end up? She wasn’t sure and didn’t really want to be bothered but some reason this night had her doing that. She toyed with the glass on the bar but didn’t drink any more of the liquid inside. It took her a few minutes to realize that Joe had returned to his spot near her.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Joe said quietly.
Vanessa looked up, meeting Joe’s eyes. “I doubt they would be worth that much.” She pushed the glass toward him. “Can I exchange that for coffee?”
Joe nodded. “Sure.” He took the glass, emptied it into the sink behind the bar then walked to where a coffee pot stood half full and poured a cup. He returned to her carrying milk and sugar which he set down as well.
“Thank you.” Vanessa busied herself adding a little milk and a couple spoons of sugar to the cup and stirred it before lifting the cup for a small sip. “It’s good.”
Joe nodded, took the milk and sugar back to where they had been and returned to his spot near her. “You were looking a bit pensive for a bit there. Anything wrong?”
Vanessa smiled sadly and shook her head. “Not really. Just a lot on my mind lately is all.” She sipped at the coffee again and held the cup up close so she could breathe in the smell. Thoughts came to her of her mother, of things from her past and she sighed. “I just realized I probably shouldn’t be taking up so much of your time.”
Joe grinned. “Nonsense, you have been the highlight of my night. Usually I stand back here bored out of my mind while others drink and have fun.”
Vanessa blinked. “But you seem to know so many of them.”
Joe shrugged. “In a way I do. But in a lot of ways, I don’t know any of them.” He glanced around the room. “Some of what I know is from just listening. I hear them talking to one another and can get pretty much their entire stories. At other times they talk to me and tell me stuff, often personal.” He shrugged again. “I do like people though. Almost have to in order to do this type of job. And I’m good at it.” He held up a hand to keep her from commenting as someone walked up for a refill for a table. He got that then returned to her side again. “To be honest I’ve said more to you tonight than I usually say to anyone in a week.”
Vanessa’s eyebrow shot up. “Really?”
Joe smiled. “Really.” He got a cloth out and wiped a spot on the bar for a minute. There hadn’t been anything there but now it was indeed spotless. “I have enjoyed talking to you. For once I had someone listen to me.” His smile got a little bigger and Vanessa smiled back.
“Glad to be of service.” Vanessa finished the coffee and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was close to closing time. “I guess I better get going.” She slid off the bar stool and picked up her purse. “I had fun. For a time, I forget my own problems.”
Joe nodded. “Thank you. I hope you come back.”
Vanessa started to turn away but hesitated. Glancing back, she smiled. “Maybe I will.” Still smiling, she headed for the door, bumping into a man who was also walking out. He smelled of booze but walked fairly straight. Vanessa glared at him for a minute then continued out to her car in a hurry.
Thirty-Eight
Jessica couldn’t sleep. She had gone to bed at her usual time but every time she closed her eyes, she saw the victims of the Slicer. She was worried about bringing the murderer in. She knew who it was -at least she was fairly sure now - but she had to prove it first. Normally that wasn’t a problem but if what she suspected was true, it was going to be very problematic. Sighing, she glanced at her alarm clock. Three-thirty a.m. Groaning she got out of bed, went to the living room, flopped on the couch, and opened her laptop. She logged in and checked her emails. One was from a friend of hers who had moved to another state a few years back. She read and answered it, smiling as she did. She browsed through the rest of her emails but didn’t see anything else of interest.
For a time, Jessica considered turning on the TV but decided not to. She sat back, her laptop still resting on her knees, as she thought over the case. She sat there for maybe an hour going over it all in her mind and had just decided to try and get back to sleep when a noise outside drew her attention. She went to the window and looked out onto the street below. Her apartment was on the third floor so she could see the street fairly well without being seen herself. She watched as two men stood face to face in what appeared to be a low-tone argument. They were trying not to make a lot of noise but every so often one or the other would raise his voice only to lower it again a minute later.
Jessica eased the window open an inch to try and get the gist of what was going on but even then, she had trouble determining what was being said. She fervently hoped it didn’t end in a fistfight, or worse. Glancing at her cell phone she debated calling 911 and having the police break it up. Of course, that could also cause it to escalate. She glanced back down at the street and saw the two men separating and going in opposite directions. Nodding she closed her window again and went back to the couch. She logged off her laptop, closed it, and went back to bed.
* * *
Alyson called in sick the following day, claiming she just felt a bit out of it. She couldn’t explain the restless feeling she was having and yet she knew she needed to just be alone for a time. But not in her small little apartment. Instead, she got in her car and drove around the city a bit, ending up at her mother’s trailer. Her mother wasn’t there, of course, she was still at the institute. But Alyson knew where a hide-a-key was kept and, getting that, let herself in. Entering the trailer was not something she would normally do, but for some reason, it seemed important.
The place smelled musty, having that closed-up unused sort of smell that said no one had been there for quite a while. On impulse, Alyson went through, opening every window in the place letting it air out. In the bedroom, she stripped the bedding off and tossed the sheets into the washing machine and piled the comforter and thin blanket on the floor next to it. Back in the kitchen, to her dismay, she found dirty dishes in the sink. She moved everything out of that sink, scrubbed it down, a
nd filled it with hot water and dish soap. She put some of the dishes back in to soak for a minute as she walked around checking for dust and dirt.
Alyson spent most of the day there, cleaning floors and counters, washing dishes, getting the bedding washed, and put back on the bed. By the time she was finished the place smelled and looked a lot better. Closing the windows again, she promised herself to return at least once every two weeks to at least open the windows to air the place out. It had been her home at one time after all. Letting herself out of the trailer, she returned the hide-a-key to its spot and started to walk to her car. Stopping just short of it, she turned and walked around to the back of the trailer and stood staring at a particular spot against the fence there. The grass never seemed to grow there. Not even weeds would. She shuddered after a minute, circled the trailer to her car, and drove off, heading home.
* * *
Jessica’s day was quiet for the most part. No new murders had occurred, so she busied herself going over all the information she had accumulated so far. Everything pointed at one person as the killer, one person who – on first consideration - was not the type to be a murderer. She shook her head over it all.
Tony had left early since he had had a doctor's appointment that afternoon, so Jessica was at her desk alone. She kept going over things again and again trying to find a reason for it to all be wrong, but she couldn’t. She was right, she knew she was. The problem was, she didn’t want to be. For the first time, she wanted to be wrong about her conclusion. At the end of the day, she left the station but didn’t want to go home. So instead, she went to a small diner she knew of and had dinner there alone. It was quiet, the food was good, and she could forget the case for a time at least. Being a detective was all she had ever dreamed of being and now, she almost wished she wasn’t.
* * *
Vanessa sat in her car outside the upscale bar she had been in a few days ago. She watched people going in and out while she debated going in to see Joe the bartender again. She was wearing the black wig again but not the suit. The pale green dress she was wearing was snug but not skin-tight. After about twenty minutes, she started the engine again and drove off. No sense risking it. She shook her head as she drove. Why on earth was she considering letting a man get that close to her. If she said the wrong thing or made the wrong move … She shrugged. He would have to die that was all. Sighing again she headed back to the storage area to exchange cars but as she headed down that street she saw two police cars close to the storage facility. Instead of pulling in, she kept driving past it and on down the road. A couple of blocks later, she pulled over and simply sat there. This was bad. She needed to switch cars, needed to get in and out without them seeing her. Then she remembered the back exit. You weren’t supposed to go in that way but maybe there was a way.
Vanessa drove around to the backside of the storage area and examined the back gate. There was a panel that you could enter a code into, but she wasn’t sure if it would work or not. Shrugging she pulled up to the pad, put the code for her storage unit in, and – after a minute – the gate rattled itself open in front of her. Smiling, she drove it, parked the car in its usual spot, got into the other one, and drove out the same way. Piece of cake.
Thirty-Nine
Jessica went to work the next day with a renewed sense of purpose. She had wrestled with the problem of proving someone guilty that she thought of a good person and realized, that no matter what, she had to do her duty first and foremost. The Slicer had to be brought to justice no matter what. As she settled at her desk, her phone rang. She answered quietly.
“Jessica Roberts.” She listened for a time frowning as she did. Tony came and sat down at his desk. He started to say something to Jessica but – seeing the look on her face – he hesitated. “When was this? Yesterday? And you’re sure she went around back? Did you see what she did there? No that’s alright. Thank you for calling.” She hung up and sat staring at the phone for a minute.
“Something up?” Tony spoke softly and waited.
Jessica looked up at Tony and nodded. “That was the manager at Mary Powers trailer park. Alyson went there yesterday and cleaned the trailer which, in and of itself, is not a big deal but before she left she was seen going around back near the fence and just stood there staring for a time. The manager wasn’t sure why but just had a nagging feeling that I should know about it.”
Tony nodded. “What do you want to do?”
Jessica opened her mouth to answer then stopped and thought about it for a minute. As she did something came to mind, and she dug through the papers on her desk.
“Either Alyson or her mother mentioned an ex-boyfriend that went missing, didn’t they? Alyson was rather young at the time …” Jessica kept looking but couldn’t find the exact mention.
Tony sipped her coffee and nodded. “I remember that. Why though?”
Jessica sighed. “Because the trailer park manager said that Alyson went out back of the trailer and just … stood there stating. But what was she staring at? And why?”
Tony set her cup down. “You think she killed him and buried him there? As a teenager?”
Jessica ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know. Maybe. He might have been the first victim. Maybe even the catalyst for it all.”
Tony sat there staring at Jessica for a minute or two then picked up his phone. “Hey Connor, get your kit and meet us outside. We have something we want to check out and we may need your help.” As he hung up the phone, Jessica got her purse from the desk drawer where she kept it and they both headed out to their car.
Outside, Connor was standing waiting on them. “Okay, would you care to tell me what is going on? Why am I riding with you two and not taking my wagon?”
Jessica and Tony exchanged a glance and got into the car. Connor got in the back seat and leaned forward as Tony started the engine. “We think there may be evidence at a location, and we want you to check for it and no I’m not telling you what evidence. You have to determine that so we know for sure or not.”
Connor pursed his lips for a minute then nodded. “Okay.” He sat back as they headed off.
Out at the trailer park, the manager pointed out the correct trailer and they walked over from the office, Connor kept looking around. At the trailer, Jessica headed around back with Connor trailing behind her. Once there, Connor glanced around and then stopped. “That’s a dead spot.”
Jessica glanced at Connor. “Dead spot?”
Connor nodded. “Yeah. Probably a dog or other pet buried there.” He motioned toward the fence. “Is that what you wanted me to see?”
Jessica nodded. “I would like you to make sure what is buried there if you don’t mind.”
Connor shrugged. “Sure. Shouldn’t take long. Got a shovel?”
Jessica told Tony to ask the manager for one and he did. He returned with a spade and handed it to Connor.
The digging began with little care but after a few minutes, Connor stopped, dropped the shovel, and got on his knees by the hole. He pulled a pair of gloves from his kit and began digging around with his hands. After a few minutes, he turned and looked at Jessica and Tony. “Better get the full team down here. We have a body or what’s left of one here. Male from what I can tell.”
Tony made the call and within half an hour the area was taped off and the forensics team was hard at it. What they pulled from that hole was mostly a skeleton with very little else left. Connor, of course, said he would have to determine the identity of the person after he got back to the lab and he left with the crew. Jessica and Tony returned to the precinct on their own.
As they entered the station, Jessica and Tony were told the captain was looking for them and they headed to his office. Once there he motioned for Tony to close the door, which he did.
“Okay, do you want to explain how you knew there was anything to find today?” The captain said softly.
Jessica glanced at Tony then nodded. “Some time back we were told that Alyson Harding�
��s mother had had a boyfriend that walked out on her. Just up and disappeared. At the time, considering what we knew of the woman, that didn’t’ seem so strange. However, I’ve concluded that our serial killer is a woman with brown hair. And I believe that woman is Alyson Harding.”
The captain nodded. “So why haven’t you arrested her?”
Jessica sighed. “There is a problem. You see, I think she may be a split personality. One part is quiet, timid, and wouldn’t hurt a fly. But the other one is a cold-blooded killer. I – we – believe that the body we recovered today might be the man who started it all. If he had tried to rape her as a teen she may have developed this other personality to deal with it. So arresting Alyson without being sure … “ Jessica hesitated.
Tony cleared his throat. “Jessica and I have researched it a bit and if we can’t arrest her in the other personality, we might do her more mental harm than good, sir.” Jessica glanced at Tony unaware that he had looked into it the same way she had.
The captain ran a hand over his head slowly. “I see. Unfortunately, we can’t be responsible for that sort of thing. The woman has to be arrested before she kills again. And that IS your job. Find her and bring her in. let's have a psychologist on hand to talk to her and get his help in this. And that is an order.” He sighed. “Do it soon. We need to put an end to this.”
Jessica nodded. Then she and her partner left the captain's office. Back at her desk, Jessica called Alyson’s work and asked if the woman was there. When she was told Alyson had called in sick two days in a row, she hung up the phone quietly.
“She isn’t there. She called in sick.” Jessica found the paperwork with Alyson’s address on it. “You up for another drive partner?” Tony nodded and headed for the door, Jessica immediately behind him.
At Alyson Harding's apartment building, Jessica and Tony knocked on the door but never got an answer. Either she was hiding inside or wasn’t home. There was no evidence of her car in the area either so that was bothersome as well. Where was she? Was she out as herself or as her alter ego? Jessica had no idea but hoped for the best. A general call went out to other officers in the area to be on the lookout for her car. Jessica sincerely hoped she drove the same car as either personality.