Murder in Kincaid Towers

by Jane T O'Brien

  “I guess that will be all right, do you think Travis confessed to killing his wife?”

  “I didn’t get that impression although the police might have evidence to the contrary.

  Molly and Brooke couldn’t stop the tears when they greeted each other at the door to Molly’s apartment.

  “Come in Brooke,” said Molly, “Luke will pour you a glass of chardonnay, I’m sure you can use it to calm your nerves.”

  “It sounds wonderful; however, I think I should keep my head clear. You said you were with Travis in the penthouse, did he confess to killing that woman?”

  “I’m sure he didn’t, Brooke. I saw Travis in a new light tonight. He should have told you about his wife, but he thought the marriage would be over before you needed to know. Brooke, Travis might be the father of a baby who was kidnapped tonight.”

  “He has a child too?” cried Brooke, “what kind of a man is he to deny his wife and baby?”

  “Hold on, if the baby is his, he didn’t know about it,”

  said Molly. She told Brooke and Wiley the story of Travis and Adele’s rushed marriage and the reason for it. “Adele’s doctor confirmed she was pregnant and gave birth while at a place called the Bainbridge Center. She refused to see Travis and wouldn’t permit her doctor to tell him about the baby.”

  “Molly, I can’t believe you are defending Travis. I never thought this day would come. I still can’t forgive him for not being honest with me. I swore I would never become involved with a married man and I’ve broken that vow.”

  Travis sat alone in his penthouse apartment. He didn’t need a DNA test to prove that he is the father of Adele’s baby. He remembered his surprise at her innocence on their wedding night. He blamed it on the fear she felt for her father, however, it was more than that. It wasn’t their first time being together, but Adele changed from the seemingly carefree college co-ed to the women she was when Travis saw her at the airport. He blamed himself for not realizing Adele was troubled and insisting the solution to her problem was as simple as marrying him.

  He dozed off dreaming of babies falling from the sky while he watched helplessly from the sidelines.

  Chapter Twelve

  Several hours earlier:

  “You idiot, why did you bring the baby here? Where is the mother? Joseph, what in the world have you done?”

  “Don't yell at me! The bitch changed her mind. She was going to leave Kincaid's suite with the baby. I had to stop her.”

  “I won't ask how you did that. Now we have a baby to worry about. We can still get money out of Travis. He'll either want the baby for himself or he'll want its birth to remain a secret. Either way, we will get your money.

  What if he doesn't want the brat? You aren't planning to keep it, are you?”

  “No, you fool, we'll leave it in the hospital lobby where someone will find it.”

  “It's kinda cute when it isn't hollerin',” said Joseph.

  “How'd you get out of the penthouse without anyone seeing you, I hope you didn't take the elevator, there are cameras all over the place there.”

  “No, I didn't do anything that stupid. I found the stairway; I thought the stairs would never end. Once I got to the bottom, I pushed the door open and took off down the street to the car. The kid started screaming and getting on my nerves. I wish I'd left it there.”

  “There is no time for wishing, Joseph, luckily, I anticipated Adele, the twit, would change her mind about demanding payment for divorcing Travis. I have this handy little device that will change a voice over the telephone. I also have a disposable cellphone making it impossible to trace calls made from it. I’ve printed a script for you and you are to follow it exactly. Read it through a couple of times so you don’t make any mistakes.”

  “I don’t like it, the cops have ways of discovering the caller’s identity with these gadgets, I know, I’ve seen it in movies.”

  “Joseph, nobody knows what your normal voice sounds like. It wouldn’t take much for Travis to recognize my voice if he does call in the authorities. It’s better if you make the call. Now, practice the words I wrote, I want to hear how you say it. Remember, Travis doesn’t know he has a kid, so you must convince him you have his baby. It’s sleeping now but I’ll pinch it, so he can hear it crying.”

  Joseph didn’t like the way this gig was going. It sounded so simple when she explained the plan to him.

  When he was a first grader in his hometown in Charleston, South Carolina, his mother’s boyfriend, Clayton taught him to play the guitar. Joseph liked Clayton and hoped he would marry his mama and be his dad. One night he heard loud voices that woke him up. The next morning when he crawled out of bed, he looked out the window and Clayton’s old red truck wasn’t parked in the driveway. Beside his bedroom door, Joseph found Clayton’s prized guitar with a note that read: ‘Keep strumin’ kid.’ Joseph never saw Clayton again. He cherished that guitar and still strums it often.

  Joseph grew into a tall, good-looking young man. He wasn’t a scholar but managed to graduate from high school. His dream was to move to Nashville and become a big country western singer. He joined a band as a backup and worked in western bars and honky-tonks for the next several years. He’d been in trouble with the law on a few occasions when he let his quick temper get the best of him. Luckily, he was never officially charged with a crime and his record was clean.

  Ellie Tucker loved only one man in her life. She worked as a receptionist in the executive offices of Kincaid Enterprises. Ellie was barely twenty-years-old when the business school recommended her for the job. Her office skills were exceptional, and it didn’t hurt that she looked like a model with her long shapely legs and flowing auburn hair. Ellie fit the image Francis Kincaid wanted for his staff.

  Ellie wasn’t the first woman to fall for the charms of Francis Kincaid. Although Francis was a ruthless business man, he knew how to lure vulnerable young women into his bed. Ellie was one of those women and unlike most, she fell in love with her boss.

  Ellie’s parents died in an automobile accident when she was a junior in high school. Her mother’s Aunt Harriet moved into the Tucker home to care for Ellie the day after the accident. Aunt Harriet had never married or had children and had no idea what a teenager needed. When Ellie graduated, she used the settlement money from her parent’s accident and applied for entrance to a business school in Hillsboro, New York. Far away from her home, her memories, and her Aunt Harriet.

  Because she had to rent a room near the school and pay the expenses on her ten-year-old car, she studied diligently knowing the settlement money wouldn’t last indefinitely. Ellie was thrilled when she learned she would be working in the offices of Kincaid Towers. It was the most impressive building in Hillsboro. Her first day on the job she saw Francis Kincaid walk through the doors surrounded by men in suits. Ellie thought he was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

  “Don’t fall for Mr. Kincaid, Ellie, he’s way out of your league,” said Patricia who was training her for the job.

  Ellie smiled knowing it was already too late, she was in love.

  After her third week on the job, Francis stood by her desk. She was afraid she’d done something wrong and he was about to fire her because it was the first time he’d acknowledged her existence.

  “What’s your name?” he asked not bothering to look at the nameplate on her desk.

  “I’m Ellie Tucker, Mr. Kincaid,” she said, her voice beginning to quiver.

  “Ellie Tucker come have a drink with me in my office.”

  Ellie followed her boss, her heart pounding. A drunk driver caused her parent’s accident leaving Ellie with an aversion to any kind of alcohol. She didn’t know how to tell this powerful man that she didn’t drink and accepted a snifter of brandy.

  Francis wasn’t often attracted to the innocent type but had watched this girl for the last few days. He wondered what happened to the last one that sat at the receptionist desk and how long since this beauty had taken her place.
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br />   “What are you so nervous about, Ellie Tucker, I’m not going to bite. That is unless you want me to,” Francis said with a sly grin.

  Ellie’s face turned scarlet at hearing his words. Her experience with men was minimal. She didn’t date much in high school. Aunt Harriet didn’t think it was proper for a young girl to be alone and unchaperoned with a boy. Ellie doubted Aunt Harriet ever had the opportunity to be with a boy chaperoned or not.

  Ellie’s wholesomeness intrigued Francis and his desire for her grew as she drained her glass.

  What am I thinking? He said to himself. This girl has a body of a sex kitten but the morals of a missionary. I’d be crazy to continue this any further. I should tell her to get out of here before it’s too late.

  Unfortunately, Francis didn’t listen to his better instincts and poured Ellie more brandy.

  The brandy made Ellie feel warm all over, she slowly unbuttoned the first two buttons of her blouse to cool her body. Francis took her in his arms and kissed her until she gasped for breath.

  Ellie gave herself completely to this man she knew she would love forever.

  Francis felt some remorse for his behavior with the naïve young woman, but it didn’t stop him from making love to her again.

  For the next two months, Ellie was happier than she’d ever imagined she’d be. She lived for the times she and Francis were alone together and imagined it wouldn’t be long before he asked her to be his wife. If anyone in the office knew about the couple’s meetings in Francis’s office, they never let on.

  Ellie had never had a case of the flu like the one she was experiencing now. For over a week she had to quickly leave her receptionist desk for a trip to the ladies’ room. Her frequent visits had not gone unnoticed by another staff member of Kincaid Enterprises who suggested she visit her doctor without delay.

  The doctor ran some tests and confirmed what Ellie was beginning to suspect. I’m going to have Francis’s baby, surely, he will marry me now.

  The happiness Ellie felt was quickly replaced with despair when she told Francis about the baby. At first, he denied being the father and then gave her money to get rid of it.

  Heartbroken, Ellie left the Kincaid offices in tears. She took the money Francis handed her and used it for a bus ticket to Aunt Harriet’s house in Charleston. She knew she would face her aunt’s wrath but didn’t feel she had a choice.

  She gave birth to a baby boy and named him Joseph. He never asked who his father was, and Ellie never mentioned the name Francis Kincaid again.

  Clayton Perry came into her life after Aunt Harriet passed away. He was a good man who loved Ellie and thought of Joseph as his son. Ellie was disillusioned with love and couldn’t open herself up to a relationship with another man. Clayton gave her an ultimatum to marry him or he was leaving. After an intense argument, he felt he had no choice but to leave Ellie and Joseph, the boy who loved him as a father.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Joseph read and reread the script aloud until she was satisfied he could pull off the ransom call to Travis.

  “Take a deep breath, Joseph. If you blow this, you will go to jail for the rest of your life.”

  “You’re making me nervous, let me make the call and be done with it.”

  Joseph heard the phone dialing and then connecting, he could feel the perspiration dripping off his forehead. His hands held the disposable phone so tight, he worried it would break in two. The sound of the deep male voice startled him, he saw the challenging look in his accomplice’s eyes and proceeded to read the demands.

  The words ‘if you want to see your kid alive’ rang in Travis’s ears. This isn’t happening, Adele had a baby? It’s not possible.

  “Is this a joke? Who are you? What are you talking about, I don’t have a kid?”

  Joseph didn’t know what to do, the answers to Kincaid’s questions weren’t in the script. He panicked and disconnected the call.

  “You fool, why did you do that?” the woman shrieked. She grabbed the telephone out of his hand and redialed Travis’s number.

  Travis was tempted to ignore the call but feared the caller might be telling the truth. He pushed the record button on his phone and answered it.

  Although the voice was muffled as before, Travis knew it wasn’t the same person calling.

  “Kincaid, you married Adele Markley in a hush-hush wedding. She went bonkers after her father kicked and ended up in the nut house where she gave birth to your kid.

  “Five million isn’t too much to ask for its safe return.” The woman shook the sleeping baby until it let out a yelp.

  “Look, whoever you are, do you think I’m going to hand over millions of dollars because you say you have my baby, a baby who doesn’t exist?”

  “Travis, I’m not playing games. This kid looks like you when you were a baby. Congratulations, you are a daddy. Tell Rawlings to turn off the cameras tomorrow at noon. Leave the money with him and tell him to take a break. After the money is collected and counted you will receive a call telling you where you can find the kid.”

  This person knows me and knows about Rawlings and the camera. If they are telling the truth and they have Adele’s baby, I’ll have to go along with their demands. They’ve already killed Adele and won’t hesitate to kill an innocent child.

  “You don’t know what you are asking, it’s not like I can withdraw that kind of money from the local bank. It takes time.”

  “You can do it, Travis. Oh, by the way, don’t call the cops or the baby is a goner.”

  The line went dead.

  Travis made calls to his bankers to get the money transferred. There wasn’t much time and he didn’t want to waste any of it. He didn’t care about the money, he was beginning to suspect that the caller was telling the truth. They mentioned the camera near Rawlings’ station. He would have to look at the tapes but first, he had to get someone to represent Brooke. His lawyer recommended his Uncle Wylie. Travis’s father never understood why his younger brother chose to stay with the riff-raff in the slums and conveyed his distaste by refusing to acknowledge Wylie.

  Sorry, Dad, Travis said to the empty room, if Wylie is the best defense attorney in Hillsboro, he is the one to represent Brooke. Travis made the call to his uncle and was relieved when Wylie Kent agreed to meet with Brooke.

  “I’ll pay your retainer no matter how high. Brooke might not accept your services if she knows I’m footing the bill, so let’s keep the financial arrangements between us.”

  “Travis, that’s not the way I work. I am honest with my clients and I expect them to be honest with me. If I represent Ms. Hartley, any financial arrangements will be between my client and me.”

  “Wylie, I want to be sure Brooke has the best representation possible. She doesn’t have it in her to murder someone in cold blood.”

  Travis made several more calls while he waited to see Brooke. He’d been told she refused to see him but stubbornly refused to budge. He didn’t see Molly and Luke in the waiting room and assumed they were with Brooke. He knew Molly discouraged Brooke’s relationship with him. He had to agree, Brooke wouldn’t be in this pickle if she hadn’t become involved with Travis.

  Travis arrived at Kincaid Towers only to find Rawlings dozing off in his chair.

  “Rawlings, wake up. I need to find the videotapes from tonight.” Travis gently pushed the old man aside and searched for the tapes recorded earlier.

  “He took them, sir,” Rawlings said in a raspy voice.

  “Who took them?” Travis said attempting to keep the panic out of his voice.

  “The police officer watched you and the young lady enter the elevator.”

  “What are you talking about? Isn’t there a backup on this thing?” Travis asked impatiently.

  “I think there is, sir. You know I’ve never used this contraption, never had reason to before tonight. Let me check the recorder in the storeroom. I don’t know why we have two of them. A waste of money, if you ask me.”

  Travis hid h
is exasperation with the old man knowing if Rawlings became flustered it would only slow him down even more. The television was running when they entered. Rawlings stopped the recording and pressed the rewind button. Travis watched as the tape rewound showing him entering the elevator in reverse, Brooke arrived approximately ten minutes before he did and then there was a long pause until he saw a man’s back. He was following a woman who Travis recognized as his wife, Adele.

  “Play it forward now, Rawlings.”

  Rawlings did as he was told. Travis could only see the backs of everyone entering the lobby area. He could understand why Rawlings thought the man with Adele was him. He had the same build as Travis. The man was wearing an ill-fitting trench coat and a hat. Travis didn’t wear hats, in fact, he didn’t own a hat of any kind.

  “There you are sir, I remember you walked in with the pretty Adele and then entered the elevator later. I must have stepped away from my post when you left in between times.”

  “That isn’t me, Rawlings, I’d like to know who it is. Did you notice if Mrs. Kincaid was carrying a baby?”

  “A baby? Oh, no, sir. I don’t think she was carrying anything. My eyesight isn’t as good as it used to be, sir.”

  Rawlings wasn’t telling Travis anything he didn’t know. The man needed to retire but Travis couldn’t get himself to fire him. He couldn’t imagine his father would have put up with the old guy for this long. Rawlings had been the night watchman in Kincaid Towers since before Travis was born.

  Although surprised to see Molly Ryan in his living room earlier that evening, Travis had a sense of relief that he could share his concerns about the phone call. He knew Luke’s suggestion to involve the police was the correct thing to do but fear for the baby held him back.