The Thomas Girls: Book 4 of the Adelaide Henson Mystery Series

by William Cain

  At the sliders, the killer picks the lock and they slide gently open. She then relocks the doors and heads upstairs. Time is on her side, as she casually and carefully looks around, purposely trying not to disturb things. It’s part of the plan. She’ll kill Reggi’s date right in front of the old woman. But to do that, she’ll have to get rid of the cops first. Then, it’s open season. She knows what to do, and has practiced it many times. She did it with that ass Orlando Banks. He deserved it. His boyfriend didn’t, but, hey, too bad. When she suddenly appeared in their cabin, their fear was second only to their surprise. There they were, naked in front of the fireplace on the bearskin rug. No door was heard to have been opened, and all of the windows were locked. Orlando was a paranoid little man. But the killer has her ways, and they served their purpose for her.

  When the killer has readied what she needs, she tests it a few times. After admiring her work, it’s off to a favorite hiding place. The waiting game begins. Happily humming to herself, she nestles there.

  Soon, it’s dark and the lucky couple returns home. As they enter the drive, the killer takes position. The killer hears voices. One of them belongs to Captain Henson, barking orders.

  “I want this place searched up and down, and make sure everything is locked up tight.”

  Pointing to four officers, “You four, take upstairs. You other three, this level and the basement. Lock everything down and search every crevice. Attic, crawl space, sheds … everything.”

  The group begins scrambling, leaving Addie alone with Agatha. “What the hell is happening? This is not what we expected. Has the killer left without taking her prize?”

  Agatha is thinking deeply. “She knows we’re onto her, Addie. She’s decided to act unpredictably, opposing our profile. She is near this house, I know it. She would expect we’re too confident. That our presence, our numbers, would cause her to reconsider and stay away. So, she’s doing the opposite. The killer is here.”

  “So, what do we do about it? Think! We need to catch this person. Now!” Addie says emphatically.

  Agatha puts her mind to it. When she believes her thoughts, her plans, are right, she brings them out. “We need to leave.”

  Addie stares at her. “If the killer is here, then those too will be at more risk than we know. It’s too dangerous, Agatha.”

  “Still, it’s the only way. The killer will come out when she thinks we’ve battened it down like a fort. She’ll only come out when we leave.”

  “Let’s leave two officers behind, then. We have to make sure Reggi and John are safe.”

  The look on Agatha’s face spells trouble. Addie’s predicting the younger woman’s reply.

  “No, Addie. The killer knows how many cops are here and will know how many leave. The only way to get her to come out is to leave. We have to trust our task force will button this place tight. Then we leave and we wait. The killer can’t see around corners, and won’t see us when we return. Quietly.”

  Addie is nodding, then Agatha tells her what she doesn’t want to hear, “The killer will know we are returning. She’ll know she has a limited time to do what she wants. We have to stay ahead. You and I. We’re first. The group here is our back up. We arrive a little early and take the chance the killer isn’t ready. Surprise will be on our side.”

  Addie looks down to her feet, mulling this plan over. It’s a dangerous one. Her oath to protect the public could be violated by Addie herself. She considers her options, and makes the gamble that the killer needs to be caught. It’s time to stop playing around with this monster. She makes her decision and looks up to Agatha,

  “Game on. Let’s do it.”

  ◆◆◆

  After the task force has left, reassuring Reggi and John over the search of the house, the killer is alone. The roof of the home, under the starry skies, offers beautiful views of the heavens. And privacy. The home is two levels, with adjoining roofs, multi-level, overlapping in some spots. In one of those spots lies the killer, concealed. She counted the task force as they left. Same number in, same number out. Now the fun begins. As she rises again from her roost, the killer stretches. What she’s about to do takes some strength.

  She lowers herself from one roof line to another, careful her duffle bag doesn’t make any noises. She’s a machine, and estimates she has three minutes to do what she wants to do. What she loves to do. Standing on the lower roof, she approaches the window she rigged earlier today. She used a Tautline Hitch at the end of 80-pound line. To see it, you have to stare right at it. It’s easily missed. She sports an ugly grin as she pulls on it, gently at first. As it gives, she pulls a little harder. The latch gives way, silently, and the killer slowly lifts the window. Stepping over the sash, she’s inside. She pulls her mask down, prepared for the work ahead.

  Creeping downstairs, she hears a voice. It’s the old woman. She hears foot pads fall away. Someone is leaving the room at the bottom of the landing. The room to the right of it, where the light is on. When she reaches the landing, she looks around the doorsill, her dark mask hiding her, shielding her presence. Inside stands the woman. Reggi’s back is to her, having picked up the remote to watch a show. The killer silently approaches her.

  Reggi feels quite secure, with all these police running around making them safe. John has gone to the kitchen to fetch a bite to eat. She wishes he would just leave, but has to admit that he is growing on her. He’s like he was when they first met. She may be old now, but she remembers. The old days. When things were good. Maybe, just maybe, she should forgive him a little.

  A brush of a breeze is all it was. Reggi has picked up the remote. Bending over slightly to get it off the top of the stand is when she felt it. It’s probably nothing. This is silly. Still, she can’t help from keeping still and slowly turning her head to see if there is something there. When she does, she drops the remote, raising her hand to her mouth. Fear. The remote falls to the floor with a clank. And then Reggi fully turns. She sees the bat held high, the figure dressed in black, the mask. The monster standing there, prepared to strike her. Then the killer lowers the weapon to its side, remaining frozen now. Unmoving. The two stay like that, looking at each other, an old woman and a black-clothed, dark, shadowy figure, masked. Wordless. Slowly, after an eternity, the black figure raises the bat and points it at Reggi’s chest, one inch away. With a gentle prod, the figure pushes the bat into her, pushing her slightly, the meaning clear. This killer intends to kill her date while she watches. The killer pushes again, almost laughing quietly. Then drops the bat and steps back.

  Footfalls are heard as someone approaches. The killer is going to make short work of this guy while the old woman looks on in horror. She’s practiced this many times. Orlando and his buddy were the perfect punching bags. The killer expects to do that one better with the poor loser that’s now approaching the room she’s in, whoever he is.

  When John enters, he looks at Reggi. Something is wrong. His back is to the killer. Reggi begins to point as John asks, “I can’t leave you for one minute? You dropped something. Are you OK?” Then he sees her finger, her uplifted arm.

  He feels the bat, pushing into his back, strongly. As the killer did before with Reggi, she’s guiding him somewhat as to where to stand when she begins. She wants Reggi to have a front-row seat to this. When he’s pushed and steps to his right a few times, he slowly turns, knowing what to expect. The bat is held high, in both hands. The killer’s eyes show strength. The killer’s eyes show hatred. When John is fully turned, he’s still looking at the killer, the bat ready for its first use. He’s done for. He’s a dead man. No time to pray. No time to tell Reggi he’s sorry. His mission has failed. He can’t protect her. He can’t protect Madison.

  These fleeting thoughts of John’s are the sum of his feelings, instantly realized as the bat comes crashing down. The killer sees the man before her. In the instant it takes her to pull her deadly weapon down, she also pulls it away. It misses him and she lets it hit the floor.

  S
urprised, John stares at the killer. The two look at each other for a moment - a long, long time. Reggi remains unmoving. The dim light of the TV room casting blurred shadows as the three stand there. The monster isn’t interested in killing John.

  The killer holds the bat to the side, ready to strike if threatened. She asks in a small voice, neither man nor woman, “Why are you here? Is that you?”

  Silence follows, then, “You shouldn’t be here.”

  Nothing is said in the still of the air for a long time. Then, “I should kill you for what you’ve done. I’d have no guilt.”

  The killer hisses and swings her bat viciously. As John and Reggi flinchingly react in defense, the killer disappears.

  Realizing the killer has left, Reggi breaks her trance and reaches for John. The two old lovers embrace and hold each other in this time of danger and death, thankful to be alive, holding on.

  Holding on for life.

  31

  Great acts are made up of small deeds. Lao Tzu

  Addie wakes up first after a long, sleepless night. She doesn’t have to shake off drowsiness, she has to shake off her failure. The killer did it again. She got away. Maybe, this time, she’s gone for good. Addie can’t pin things down, she doesn’t have enough to be certain of who that murdering witch is – yet. And she’s not leaving San Luis Obispo without the answer. She owes it to the victims. She owes it to Madison, who nearly lost the man she loves.

  Reggi’s another issue. She’s headed back to lock-up soon, where she’s safe and everyone else is safe from her. Yes, Reggi goes back and the world still turns. Addie called Woodside Psychiatric about Reggi. They were excited to hear their escaped inmate and patient, Reggi Thomas, would be coming home, unharmed. Promises were made to send a contingent to accompany her along with an armed escort. Difficulty in sending escaped murderers long distances requires protection of the public from the inmate, as well as protection of the inmate from the public.

  Agatha's eyes are open, provoking Addie to think she also did not sleep well. Both women replay last night’s events over and over, punishing themselves for not having arrived sooner to catch this person that ran away, into the night. The two of them arrived half a minute after the killer swung at the older couple and fled. Agatha started to give chase, again, but Addie stopped her. It’s too dangerous. Calls were made to the members of the task force over her field radio, but Addie knew the killer would be long gone. When she and Agatha inspected the home, they found the window of entry, along with the knot and open latch. Very clever. An inspection of the roofline revealed several dead spots where you could park a truck and not be seen.

  Returning downstairs, the policewomen interviewed Reggi and John. It’s a puzzle. Why did the killer not take the bait? John recounted what happened. He didn’t see the killer’s face and couldn’t make out or recognize the voice. It was all so strange. Guiltily, Addie believes had the killer start in on John, she would have most certainly been caught before major damage had been done. But that’s creepy and cruel and unlike her to even give marginal thought to it. Addie pushes it away, admonishing herself, hoping Agatha won’t be able to read her mind.

  As she rises from bed, heading to the bath to freshen up, her ringtone alerts her. It’s 100 Asheville Court. It must be Detective Singletary with news about the report. If it holds what she expects, then she’ll know who the killer is. Last night won’t matter anymore. This case will be solved.

  Eagerly, she opens the call. “Detective? What do you have?”

  “Whoa, Captain. Hello to you, also,” he jests. He also senses the urgency in Addie’s voice and decides to get to it. “This is the final report, after forensics made their determination on cause of death.”

  “Let me put you on speaker, first,” Addie tells him, walking to Agatha’s bed so they both can hear. “OK, you’re up.”

  “It’s called the ‘Orlando report’. Orlando’s face was shattered by a blunt object. It’s determined a bat was used. Bluish metal flakes, very small, were found all over the body. It was rather messy as the body has several broken bones and bruises from the bat. Captain, they’re all over his body, the contusions. The cause of death, however, as it reads here, is from blows to the facial cavity. That’s basically it.”

  Addie looks at Agatha, mildly replying to her detective, “Thank you, Singletary. I’ll be back in a day or two. We think we have the case solved now.”

  Hanging up, she asks Agatha, “What do you make of that?”

  “Classic pattern, Addie. The killer is practicing.”

  “Let’s go to the stationhouse. It’s almost time. Shower up and we’ll go.” Addie says, lost in thought.

  Agatha remembers what she said about the case, that it’s solved now. Deciding to wait until later to discuss it, she heads to the bath to begin her day.

  Later, inside the station, Addie calls Reggi and Madison. Agatha is with her, as she wants to keep her in the loop. Agatha’s final opinion will be important, and she’s hoping to hear what she needs to make this evening turn out right. This killer is a slippery one, and won’t be easily cornered. But no one’s perfect, and it’s time things went her way for a change.

  When the call is made, Madison answers. She’s been returned home after last night’s fiasco. “Madison, it’s Addie. We’ll be returning tonight. But before that, I have a simple question. Can you put me on speaker and find your grandmother?”

  When Reggi’s arrival is announced, the formalities are made and Madison asks, “What is it? You have a question?”

  “Right. It’s this. Did you know Orlando Banks, the hairdresser?” Addie asks.

  Reggi interjects strongly, “Oh, yes. His salon is very popular. If you can make an appointment there, and he styles you himself, well, that is very big!”

  Madison's expression reveals her distaste, knowing her grandmother secretly detests Orlando. “It’s like this, Aunt Addie. Anybody who’s somebody uses Orlando. It’s a status symbol. He may not be well liked by some, maybe even a lot of people. But he’s an important scene-maker in Asheville.”

  “OK, thanks, ladies. See you around six tonight.”

  As the women say their goodbyes, closing the call, Addie reflects.

  That decides it for her as a policewoman. Addie knows now after hearing the forensics report, and what Reggi and Madison just told her. She’s connected the dots. Their suspect list was less than twenty. Now, after applying profiling – age, strength, hate, intelligence, and status – it leaves only one. The attacks on Jimmy don’t fit the profile, which is discouraging. First leaving him be in Tyler, Texas. Then trying to finish him off here. But the averted attack on Agatha did fit the profile. The flee of the attacker after not striking John, last night, also fits the profile. Nancy and Kevin, the neighbors, were to be killed. That was the intent. That fits, too.

  While inside the stationhouse, later in the day, Addie receives a call from Las Cruces P.D. They have identified the man that set the women free there, allowing them to escape. The cops there were bored – and guilty, it’s the least they could do – so they lifted prints from the folder the man touched. His identification first surfaced with another name, Gregory Talbot, completely legit. Just one problem, Talbot has Vitiligo, the skin pigment disease. It’s not very pronounced, but it is visible, from what they could see from the records. Unless you’re reading the entire report, though, you won’t see the fine print mentioning Vitiligo. And, there are many types of background reports. It’s very possible the Underground used one that didn’t even mention it.

  The police there, in Las Cruces, decided to dig deeper, using a specialist sometimes employed in El Paso, which is a much larger jurisdiction.

  This specialist, a woman, is a contractor used by corporations and government entities. She was arrested years ago for having been involved in Identification papers scamming. She was flipped and now works for the common good, so it is thought. When she creates a new identity for someone, it is solid and tight; it can’t be broken. T
o find someone’s real identity involves work. She says ‘Pick a universe and find those that have disappeared, then use the process of elimination.’ It’s involved and takes time, but it can be done.

  She started with Asheville proper, believing this Gregory Talbot was raised and possibly born there. As it turned out, Las Cruces can give themselves a pat on the back. Talbot has been identified, from his high school graduation photo, as Richard Lawry, of the wealthy Lawry family and the vast Lawry grocery store chain.

  Addie intends to arrest Lawry also, as well as the killer.

  32

  When women go wrong, men go right after them. Mae West

  “What do you think, Agatha?” Addie asks. She’s referring to the elementary school roof where John was watching the women from. There had been someone else up there, on top of the other building, watching the house. Addie didn’t see this go on, but she believes him. She’s certain it’s the killer.

  If Addie’s right about just who the killer is, then she sees trouble ahead. It’s none too pleasant to be an officer of the law when you have to bust heads and arrest people you don’t want to. It’s her job, and she carries it out just like her dad, a retired detective from Chicago, told her to.

  Agatha asked Addie about the identity of the murdering, bat-wielding monster that had followed the women from Florida, to Texas, to Las Cruces and now here. Leaving bodies and blood behind to mark her territory, and an impression. A big impression. Reggi and Madison were at once terrified and angry. Now, Madison is angry and determined. She’s not afraid, willing to put herself at risk to beat and kill this person. Addie hopes it doesn’t come to that. She has her reasons.

  When Addie told Agatha about the killer’s identity, she agreed, having been thinking the same. It made sense. Addie’s new plan, the one she’ll present to David in the coming task force meeting, is simple. Agatha will take the lead on it, telling David and the group about her belief the killer will be on the roof tonight, flaunting herself as uncatchable. Taunting the law, unafraid and bold, regarding David and his group as Keystone Cops, running into each other and making mistakes. She’d be right, too. It hasn’t been easy to arrive here. But now he and his group are so close.