Deadly Gratitude

by Lori Donnester

  “What about her last day? What do you know about that?”

  Adam studied his hands for a minute. “She threw me a surprise party for my birthday. She wanted the tree up. We fought about that a little, but I gave in. She loved Christmas, and now I know she just wanted it up for my party.” His eyes glistened and he dropped his gaze. “I guess I noticed the fridge was a little full, but I didn’t think too much about it because that was her department. Then she got me out of the house so she could get ready. I don’t think she left home that day.”

  “Did you suspect anything?”

  “No, her good friend had some legitimate legal questions and I went over to her house to give her advice. Took a couple of hours or so. When I came back, everyone jumped out at me. You know, the surprise part.” At the memory, his lips turned up a fraction.

  Luke leaned forward. “Any jealousy going on in the soccer club or anything like that?”

  Adam shook his head. “None that I know of. I could ask…”

  Don’s phone interrupted. “Layden here.”

  “Detective Layden, you’ve been too slow,” Belinda reprimanded. “Get over to 2603 Aspen Avenue. The killer struck again.” Then the line went dead.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The crime scene was in a state of organized mayhem when Don and Luke pulled up. The street was packed with the various official cars and the forensics team was scrutinizing every square inch of the duplex and the yard. The detectives walked around back and saw that there was no deadbolt on the back door. No real obstacle for the killer.

  Don spotted a member of the forensic team. Even though the man’s back was turned and he was of average height and build, Don knew that head of curly black hair. “Hey Greg, give us the scoop.”

  “Twenty-seven-year-old female.” Greg turned and led them into the bedroom. The victim was on the floor and the back of her head was split in half. Blood was everywhere. A cat had been walking back and forth from the body to other rooms in the house leaving bloody paw prints all over the duplex. Meg was kneeling next to the victim.

  “I hate this guy.” Luke’s voice was quiet, but intense. He stood near the doorframe, shoulders drooping.

  Don squatted down next to Meg. “Tell us what you know so far.”

  “I’d say she’s been dead about twenty hours. There is no sign of a struggle.”

  Greg picked it up. “It looks like her attacker broke in the back door and was waiting for her when she came home.” He looked at the detectives. “I’ll bet we’ll be able to prove that the shoeprints leading up to the back door match those that we found at Alicia Kendrick’s house.” He led Don and Luke to the front door. “She came in here and put her work on this table. These papers have yesterday’s date on them.”

  Don pulled out a pencil to sort through them without touching them. “It looks like she was a school teacher.”

  “Yes,” Greg affirmed. “The school called the police this afternoon to report that Gail Gonzales wasn’t in yet and they couldn’t get in touch with her at home. They said she hadn’t done that in the four years that she worked there.”

  “What school?”

  “Moore Elementary.” Don sucked in a breath. Same school where Alicia was PTA president. He walked back into the bedroom while Luke inspected some other rooms. Meg was still next to Gail. Gail was now lying face up, green eyes wide open and vacant. He walked near the body and knelt down. “She has the same markings on her neck that Alicia had.”

  As he leaned closer, Meg tapped him on the arm and handed him a magnifying glass. “Strange markings, aren’t they? It’s some kind of a beaded necklace but it’s not quite a normal spacing pattern. It’s really odd.”

  “Yes, it is.” Don scrutinized the markings through the glass. “This reminds me of something, but I just can’t think of it.” He put the glass down and chewed the inside of his cheek. “Have you found any stray hairs that might be from the killer? Something that will give us more to go on?”

  “Yeah, you need someone to make your job easier for you, don’t you Detective Layden?” Belinda’s voice of gravel was right behind Don. “You have the records that will give you the answer, but you just haven’t had the time to get through them, isn’t that right? Now you can see that your inefficiency has led to: another murder!” Belinda glanced briefly at the body, then moved away to look around the rest of the duplex.

  Don didn’t move. His eyes were closed. Meg put a hand on his back and spoke in a low voice. “Don don’t listen to her. This guy is smart. And it hasn’t been that long since the last murder. No one could have prevented this.”

  Don took a deep breath. He got up and walked out the front door to get some fresh air. Just then, a television truck pulled up. Don hung his head. It kept getting worse.

  When he looked up, he saw Sarah Snow getting out of the truck. At least he knew her. She’d interviewed him in the past.

  He watched as the cute, petite news reporter marched up the sidewalk, her blonde curls bouncing, and her cobalt blue coat bright against the drabness of the snow. She recognized him and waved. “Why, it’s my superhero, Detective Don Layden! How are you?” When she got near him he put out a hand, but she laughed and gave him a hug. “You think I’m going to settle for a handshake from one of the most handsome men in the city of Denver? You must be crazy, Don Layden.”

  “Oh.” Don blinked and scratched his neck. “Hi, Sarah.”

  “I was hoping you would give me a call after we went out on our date that night.” She smiled up sweetly at him. “Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”

  Don shuffled his feet remembering the last time he saw her. She’d practically broken his arm to have one drink at a bar after she interviewed him about a case. She thought that was a date? “Uh, yeah, sure Sarah. I’ve just been busy keeping the citizens of Denver safe.”

  “Except for what’s been going on lately it seems.” By this time the camera crew was set up. Someone handed Sarah a microphone and she turned to face the camera giving an update as to their location and what she knew, which was not much. She introduced Don and then turned towards him.

  Don took a breath. Man, she worked fast.

  “Detective Layden, what did you find when you arrived?”

  “We found a female homicide victim in her late twenties. We aren’t releasing her name until we notify her relatives.”

  “This is the second female homicide victim in four days. Were there any similarities with the Alicia Kendrick case?”

  Don paused. There was a serial killer on the loose and the people in Denver deserved to know. “Yes.”

  Sarah leaned forward. “Do you have any leads? Where are you on this investigation?”

  “Actually, we have a plethora of leads. Turns out that’s the difficulty. We’re working as fast as we can. Problem is, it takes a lot of time to pursue that many. But I want to assure you that we are very committed to solving these crimes.”

  Just then Belinda burst outside. She gave Don a stony look as Sarah turned to her.

  “Captain Mann, what are your thoughts on these horrible crimes?”

  Belinda straightened her back. “The Denver Police Department is a lean, mean fighting machine. As you know I was recently given an award by the Mayor for the efficiency of this department. I am certain we will get this case closed in a matter of days.”

  Sarah pursed her lips. “We certainly hope so. Based on the timing between Alicia Kendrick’s murder and this one, a few days are all you have before someone else gets murdered.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  As they finished up at the crime scene, Don’s jaw twitched. Only a psycho would do this.

  “We’ve got to find this monster,” Luke hissed. “Let’s hustle on over to the principal’s house.”

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Don l
istened as Luke called the department to tell them to get clearance to give the news to the principal and let her know they were on their way over. As he drove, Don glanced over at Luke. His partner had his forehead pressed against the glass of the passenger side window, staring at the passing scenery. Don guessed he was seeing nothing.

  Within thirty minutes, Don pulled into the principal’s driveway. He knocked on the door and a somber blonde man of about fifty answered. He was somewhat short and had the thick build of a man who enjoyed eating. Don presented his badge. “I’m Detective Layden and this is Detective Malone. We’re here to see Mrs. Gladdick. It’s about…”

  The blonde man interrupted, “I know what it’s about. I’m Dean Gladdick, her husband.”

  Don and Luke followed him into a comfortable living room and found a small woman of about fifty with short red hair sitting on a floral sofa, crying. Don squatted down near her. “Good evening, Mrs. Gladdick. I’m Detective Layden and this is Detective Malone.”

  She nodded to them and gestured towards some chairs. Her husband came in with a handkerchief for her, sat next to her, and reached for her hand. The grief in her face relaxed by a degree as she clutched his hand, and she composed herself.

  Don leaned forward and looked into the principal’s eyes. “I’m sorry for your loss. Thank you for getting in touch with the police when Gail didn’t respond to your calls.” Don pulled out a notebook and his tape recorder. “Okay if I record this conversation? There might be some information that won’t seem like anything today but might mean something later on when I listen to it again.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “When did you realize that something was wrong?”

  “Classes start at a quarter to nine,” whispered the distraught principal. Fighting back tears, she struggled to speak. “When Gail wasn’t in by a quarter after eight, I called her, but she didn’t respond. All of a sudden it was noon and I still hadn’t heard from her. That’s when I called the police.”

  “Okay, do you have a list of the teachers and other staff in the school?” Don asked.

  “Yes, I’ll get that for you right away.” She opened a desk drawer, rummaged through it for a minute, and then produced a roster.

  Don took the list. After thanking her, he and Luke went back to the car. “I think we need to take care of this list tonight.”

  “Exactly. Hand it to me and I’ll tell you where we’re headed, Cheeto.”

  Hours later, Luke made another check mark and drew a circle around one name on the list. “So far we just heard a whole lot of nothing. The only person we haven’t talked to yet is Teresa Whitham. She hasn’t answered her calls and didn’t come to her door.”

  Don’s heart pounded. “I hope she’s okay,” he whispered. He called Mrs. Gladdick. “Hi, this is Detective Layden. Sorry to call you so late but we were not able to get in touch with Teresa Whitham. Would you know if she had plans tonight?” Don exhaled and leaned his head back as he listened to the response. “Thanks for your help. And be sure to let me know if you think of anything else.” He turned to Luke. “She’s in New York right now. If she doesn’t return our calls, we’ll just have to interview her as soon as she gets back.”

  “Okay, that’s the best we can do. Let’s get back to our desks and run through everything we know.”

  At the police station, Don and Luke stood in front of a white board. Luke placed Alicia’s photo in the left corner of the board and Gail’s photo in the right corner. Don had his tape recorder out along with the murder book, which included his notes from Alicia’s murder, and was updated with the notes from their interviews with Gail’s parents and her colleagues. Some notes caught Don’s eye and he looked up. “Gail was in the Bible study group Alicia was in too.”

  Luke’s eyebrows shot up. “Interesting.”

  Don hunted for a marker for the white board. “Okay, we have the Bible study group at St. James Catholic Church and Moore Elementary in common.” Don reached for his cup of coffee.

  “I say we take a harder look at Moore Elementary. Maybe there are some crazy politics going on there. Plus, I asked Sabrina to do a little research on whacked out parents and that scene can get nutty. Maybe we could find something there.” Luke looked at Don. “This predator is definitely whacked.” Luke’s brows furrowed. “What about James, Alicia’s son? What sports is he into?”

  Don moved to his tape recorder as Zach passed by and stopped. “Hey Don, hey Luke. How’s the case going?”

  Don shook his head. “Lots of leads, but nothing’s panned out yet.” He pointed to the pictures of the victims on the white board. “We’re looking at what these ladies had in common. We’re hoping that will help us break it.” He rolled his shoulders to loosen them up. “How ‘bout you? Any progress on the homeless murders?”

  “We’re in the same boat you are in terms of following up on leads,” sighed Zack. “I wish I was rich and could do more to help all these homeless people. It’s driving me crazy that we can’t solve this case.”

  Just then Belinda stormed into the office. When she saw Don and Luke she stopped short. “This looks like a really efficient way to get those files done.” She walked over to Don and stood right under his nose. “And now you’re a movie star.”

  “Huh?”

  “I just saw you on the news. And you told that reporter that the two murders were similar. We agreed that this killer has a revenge motive on Adam Kendrick. But I guess you didn’t think that would play as well on TV. So, you made something up to create a big splash like they do in the movies.”

  Don chewed on the inside of his cheek. “The revenge motive was plausible until Gail’s murder. Gail’s murder and Alicia’s murder have the same MO. We really believe there is someone out there that both of these women knew who is a lunatic. It’s even possible that he could be executing some sort of a plan against a group of women.”

  “Oh, please! Spare me.” Belinda almost spat. “I really hate to burst your bubble, but this is Denver gentlemen, not Hollywood. You two are watching too many police shows. I’ll bet both murders have connections to Adam Kendrick. Period. Figure that out, get to work on those files, and get both of these cases solved. Now!” Belinda spun around and stomped out of the office.

  Don, Luke, and Zach looked first after her and then at each other.

  Zach spoke first. “That’s tough. Sorry guys.”

  Don looked at Luke. Luke’s face appeared to be made of stone. “Let’s get out of here. I’ll go through the files at home. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find some connection to Gail. I’ll call Rebecca and ask her to work on that as well. That way if Belinda asks us about the files, we’re still working them.” Don paused. “But we’re going to Moore Elementary tomorrow.” Don locked eyes with Luke. “Belinda or no Belinda, you and I are going to get this guy.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Kate poured another cup of coffee from the thermos at her desk. She straightened her shoulders and closed her eyes as she rolled her head from side to side. Then she took a stack of papers from her printer and started reviewing each line one more time. About sixty minutes later, she reached her arm behind herself and patted herself on the back. “Kate, you did it girl. Budgets for the upcoming fiscal year are done. And now you are officially on vacation. Wahoo!”

  As she clicked her mouse and emailed the files off to corporate headquarters, she felt the relief surge through her body. Every year she wondered how she got through the long hours of the budgeting process. As she was closing her office door, her phone rang. “Who the heck is that?” she muttered to herself before she answered.

  “Kate?”

  “Hey, Vicki! It’s good to hear from you. What’s up?”

  The voice on the other end of the line shook. “It’s Gail. Gail’s dead. She was murdered just like Alicia.”

  Kate braced herself against the wall
. “Oh my God, no!”

  “Why don’t you come over to my house? I know it’s late but a few of the ladies are already over here.”

  “I’ll be right there.” Kate turned to face the wall and leaned her forehead on it. Then she beat it with her fists and sank to the floor in tears.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  A few blocks away, Don pulled into his garage. He opened his front door and threw the car keys across the room. He pounded the door until his fist bled. Belle’s musical, welcoming chirps sounded in contrast.

  Head hanging, Don trudged over to her cage and peered at his pet. She kept chirping and stretching her wings as she looked at him, letting him know she wanted to get out and be with him. Don’s frown faded a bit as he pulled her out of her cage. He stroked her feathers and felt some of the stress slip away. “Belle, I’ve had a really horrible day.” As he put her on his shoulder, his eyes strayed to a photo near her cage. It was a picture of his family when he was growing up in Michigan. It was taken at a ski resort there. He touched the picture of his father. Then he opened a carved wooden box next to it, which contained some letters. On top of the letters was his father’s badge. He took the badge out and stroked it, then sank down into a couch and held it against his forehead with his eyes closed.

  “Dad, I had a bad day. We’ve got a killer out there murdering women and my boss won’t let me follow my gut. I’ve got to stop him before he kills someone else.” Don pondered the badge. “I wish you were here so I could give you a call. I miss you, Dad.”

  Don reached for the box to put the badge away, then thought better of it and carried it into his office. As he put the badge down, he tilted his head for a second and then rushed back into the entrance and grabbed his tape recorder. He sat down in a reading chair, picked up the badge and rubbed it as he closed his eyes and listened.

  The words from Adam’s interview on the morning of Alicia’s murder washed over him. He heard the words ‘church’ and ‘Bible study’ and ‘man of the cloth’. He stiffened. His eyes flew open and he jumped to his feet so quickly that Belle fluttered off his shoulder. He picked her up and looked at her. “It was a rosary! The markings on the necks of both of the victims were from a rosary!”