A Vision of Murder (18 page)

Now it was time to wait.
Mrs. Dodd settled into her comfortable chair in the bedroom and watched the
psychic’s house. She could see the figure of someone moving about inside,
dimly, through the lace curtain. It was only a matter of time now.

“To
the end that had begun”

I got dressed slowly, making
sure that everything was in place. I felt tears well in my eyes, but I brushed them
back. I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to face the fact that I
might lose Dunn forever tonight. The thought of never seeing him again made my
heart wrench deep inside my chest.

But I couldn’t just stop
now. I had to end it.
No matter what.

 Sissy arrived as the
first wave of the storm broke overhead. Thunder boomed over the house, setting
the cups and plates to rattling in the kitchen.

“Oh, my
dear!”
Sissy’s voice rang through the house as she pattered down the hall. The newspaper
she held over her head was sopping wet and dripped on the kitchen floor.

“Right when I was pulling in
the drive. You know, Velma, you really should lock your front door more often.
Anyone could just walk right in.” Sissy said fretfully. Her hair was in
disarray. She tried to pat it back into place unsuccessfully. “I declare. I’m
glad we don’t have to be out in that storm tonight. I’m ready to settle in with
supper and then a good movie.” She sniffed the air appreciatively.

“Sissy,” Mrs. Dodd began, “I
have a great favor to ask you.”

“What?”

“I need you to tell Lorene
that I’m going to be here tonight.”

“But you are going to be
here tonight.”

“No, I’m not,” Mrs. Dodd
said. “I’m going to stop that murderer before someone else dies.”

“You mean… you know where
Gary is?”

Mrs. Dodd paused, a strange
look in her eyes. “I think I do,” she said thoughtfully, “but I can’t be sure.
Not yet.” She paused, a serious expression on her face. “If I’m wrong then
someone will die.”

“But how are you going to
stop a killer?”

“Don’t you worry about
that.
”

Jackson slid through the
bushes while the rain pattered down overhead. It poured down the neck of his
coat, soaking his shirt and causing it to stick to his skin. He shifted
uncomfortably.

His eyes lit up with the
next lightning strike. He had parked down the street and cut across the
backyards till now he was just behind her house.

The glass windows of the
greenhouse felt cold beneath his hand as he paused. He waited for the lightning
to subside. He wished in vain that he had worn one of his hooded coats, but
this one was the only black coat that he owned and he couldn’t risk being seen.

He ducked low as he scurried
from behind the greenhouse to the side of the porch. Inside, he could vaguely
see the two older women arguing. He started to rise and then paused, frozen in
place, as the lightning flashed again.

As darkness descended again,
he pulled himself up over the porch railing. Thunder boomed overhead.

Sissy paused in the middle
of her argument. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“I thought I saw something
go past the window.” Her gaze focused on the door knob. “Is it locked?”

Mrs. Dodd only had time to
shake her head before the two women saw the kitchen doorknob start to twist.

Mrs. Dodd glanced out the
open window to the house nearby. Moving quickly, she shut off the lights as the
door started to open.

I noticed that the lights
were out next door. The tiny house was swathed in darkness. The foreboding
feeling came over me again, but I fought it back. I searched the house for any
sign of life and then noticed the dim shining of television light streaming
across the hallway. I saw Sissy’s car parked in the drive and let out a sigh of
relief.

The old woman was safe at
home and probably would be busy and distracted through the storm with her
friend. I pulled my boots on and checked my face in the mirror. It looked pale
and scared.

I had never seen my own face
look that fear stricken before. It only made me more nervous. I knew what I was
doing was dangerous. I should have just stopped then and tried to continue on
with my life.

If I could have let it go
and left the case unsolved, things would have turned out different. I might
even be with Dunn right now. But, I didn’t. I went in search of the next victim
that night and it changed the course of my life forever.

Sissy started to scream. The
dark figure in the doorway seemed to slide in the house quickly.
Quicker than Sissy thought possible.
Only the light of the
television coming in from the living room made it possible to see, though
dimly.

She wished she hadn’t left
her purse by the door. She grabbed at her friend, determined to pull her back
to safety. But Mrs. Dodd stood firm.

“Jackson,” she
said,
her voice even and calm. “Is the car nearby?”

“Just around the corner,” he
responded. He accepted the clean kitchen towel that was offered to him by Mrs.
Dodd. Sissy watched the proceedings, mouth agape.

“Nobody saw me as far as I
can tell.”

“Good.”

“What’s going on?” Sissy
asked.

“We’re going to catch the
killer tonight, Sissy,” Mrs. Dodd said. “It’s time for this murdering spree to
end.”

“What does Jackson have to
do with it?”

“He’s going to follow the
psychic. I’m hoping she leads him to the next victim.”

“I still don’t know if we
should be following someone,” Jackson protested, not for the first time.

“Especially
not that psychic.
Why, she might lead us right to a criminal!” Sissy said.

Jackson nodded in agreement
and hesitated. Mrs. Dodd got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. “You
agreed to do this for me, Jackson Reilly!” Mrs. Dodd stuck her finger in his
face, even though he stood much taller than her. “You owe me this.”

He paused, torn, and then
nodded grimly. “I hate to think of that little girl, the psychic, going off on
her own…. Alright, I’ll do it. But I’m warning you, Mrs. Dodd. I have a child
to
raise
, alone. I’m not going to leave her an orphan.
If it gets too dangerous, I’m coming right back here. I’m taking enough of a
chance going out in this storm!”

“Fair enough,” Mrs. Dodd
replied, “but I think you should consider that someone’s life may depend on
this. You trust me, don’t you, Jackson?”

He stared at the little old
lady. Her blue eyes seemed to shine brightly back at him in the dim lighting.
Sincerity and truth seemed to flow out of them as she gazed at him. “You can
wait in the car at the end of the street. You should easily be able to see her
leave from there.”

But Jackson knew well enough
from experience that even the most sincere people in the world were sometimes
wrong. Not only in the people they trusted, but in the choices they made.

 “I told you I would
follow her. And I will,” he said, before waving goodbye as the door slid shut
behind him.

“You can’t go out in this!”
Sissy wailed. “Lorene will have my head!”

“I’m going, Sissy. I want
you to stay here and answer the phone if Lorene calls. She’ll be mighty worried
if no one answers.”

“No,” Sissy said decidedly.
“If you’re going, then I’m going.”

Mrs. Dodd started to
protest, but stopped when she saw the determined look on Sissy’s face. She knew
that once her friend bit her lower lip and crossed her arms, she meant
business. Mrs. Dodd sighed.

“I don’t have time to argue
with you tonight, but you need to change if you’re coming with me.” Sissy was
wearing, as usual, very bright colors. Her dress was of a shining yellow
splashed with pink flowers. A matching flowered barrette poised in her loosely
bundled hair quite calmly, though drenched, as if it had been riding out the
storm in safety.

“I’m too small for you to
borrow my clothes, but Lorene’s a bit taller than me. About your height, I
believe.” Mrs. Dodd peeked out the window at the psychic’s house. A shadow
moved behind the curtain next door.

“Watch that house and tell
me if she leaves. I’m going to get some of Lorene’s things.” She left the room
before Sissy could protest.

Reappearing five minutes
later, she couldn’t help but glance at the psychic’s house again. She could
dimly see the girl moving around in the front room.

“Put these on, quick,” she
said to
Sissy, shoving the garments into her
hands.

“I can’t wear slacks!” Sissy
protested. “And they’re black! I’ll look just awful.”

“This isn’t a fashion show,
Sissy. If you want to come with me, you better just change.”

Sissy frowned, but
disappeared into Mrs. Dodd’s bedroom around the corner from the kitchen.

 When Sissy reemerged
from the bedroom she was squeezed tightly into a pair of black pants and a
loose black dress shirt. Mrs. Dodd grinned to herself.

“Well, I never would have
thought that
me
and Lorene were about the same size,”
Sissy said, somewhat smugly, “but these do fit, though they are a tad long.”
She stuck out one leg. The pants had been rolled up several times.

They did belong to Lorene,
Mrs. Dodd had not lied, but they had been some of her dead husband’s clothes.
Sissy would have never fit into some of skinny Lorene’s clothes. Oh well, the
clothes had been carefully washed and put away after his death, and Lorene was
always complaining about not having enough time to go through his clothes to
donate them.

“What do we do now?” Sissy
asked. She blew a blonde curl off of her forehead and checked her makeup in the
mirror over the phone.

“We wait.”

I left my house a little
after eight o’clock. The storm was building and the lights flickered
threateningly overhead. I knew it was just a matter of time till a branch fell
and we were all plunged into darkness for the reminder of the night. The tree
lined roads had left us without power on many nights.

 “Mrs. Dodd?” Water
streamed over my face from my wet hair as I gasped and spluttered.

“Yes?”

“I was just coming to check
on you. It looks like the lights might go out at any second. Is Sissy there
with you?” I tried to peek inside the house, but she didn’t open the door very
wide. Sissy came into view and waved at me.

“She’s here, as you can
see.”

“Are you two going to be
alright?”

“We’ll be fine. Don’t you
worry about
us.
”

“Alright.
You two stay safe tonight.
Don’t take any chances.”

“Chances?” she asked
innocently.

“Go to the basement if the
storm gets worse,” I replied. She looked at me evenly.

“We’ve lived through many
storms. I’m sure we’ll live through many more.”

I nodded and turned to go. I
hoped she would follow my instructions.

Mrs. Dodd watched the
psychic leave. She paused and turned by Sissy’s car, staring back at the house.
Mrs. Dodd felt she could see her and drew back from the window slowly, letting
the curtain fall back into place. When she looked back, the psychic was
crossing the street. The rain poured down overhead and lighting flashed nearby.

“I
stop, turn and face it now”

I glanced over at Mrs.
Baxter’s as I crossed the street to Mr. Nelson’s house. I felt a twinge of pity
for the woman and hoped that her sons did not burn her house down when the
lights went out. They had been by earlier to try to sell me some emergency
candles and the flicker of excitement in their eyes told me that they hoped,
fervently, for downed power lines. There was more than one prospective
pyromaniac in that family, in my opinion.

I knocked on Mr. Nelson’s
door and he answered it quickly, as if he had been standing right there,
waiting on me to come.

“You’re off then?” he asked.
His face could only be described as long and droopy, like the rest of him.
Folds of skin hung down from downturned eyes as if weary of fighting gravity
any longer. His hair was thinning on top and graying.

I felt sorry for Mr. Nelson.
He was much put upon by everyone for his slow thinking coupled with his slow
movements. He reminded me of a large tree, just standing and watching the world
around him. I had always found him to be kind and giving, despite the rumors
about him. I had even heard that he had offered to pay to extend the fence
between his and Mrs. Baxter’s yards, so as to trap the children inside. It was
possible that it would have also been a benefit to him, but she had refused.
Lorene had told me, while laughing, that Mrs. Baxter had said he needn’t
bother. She hadn’t seen a fence yet that could keep those kids in.

I nodded in response to his
question. “I must go through with this. I’ve had a strong feeling for days.”

“Are you sure you shouldn’t
just call the police?”

I hesitated and thought of
Dunn. I could call them right now and tell them where Gary would be with almost
certainty. But what if they didn’t have enough evidence? What if they couldn’t
pin him for the crimes? I knew I had to do this. “I don’t want to involve them
yet. I want to make sure that I can find the suspect beforehand.”

“If you think that’s best,”
he said slowly, handing me the key.

I thanked him and said
goodbye quickly. The rain was cold as ice on my legs as I splashed through the
puddles on my way to the car. I ducked my head down, trying to keep the rain
from soaking me completely, but it was no use.

I climbed into the car and
turned the key, my teeth chattering. I hoped
the defrost
would warm the car quickly. As I turned on the headlights and pulled out of the
driveway, the lights flickered madly in the houses and then went out. Every
house was suddenly dark as the storm raged on overhead.

Mrs. Dodd peered through the
blinds, watching the psychic talk to Mr. Nelson. After a minute or two, she ran
across the yard to his car and climbed inside.

As she pulled out of Mr.
Nelson’s driveway, the television went out with a snap, plunging the house into
darkness. Sissy screamed slightly and stumbled as she neared the door.

“That darn cat ran right
under my feet when the television went out. Are the lights out everywhere?”

“It looks like the whole
street, at least,” Mrs. Dodd replied. The psychic drove slowly down the street,
passing Jackson, where he waited at the intersection and disappearing into the
distance.

The killer was on the way!
The road wound and curved in front of the car and trees flashed by, illuminated
periodically be the lighting flashes.

The bridge, that’s where the
next victim
waited
.
Definitely the
bridge.
And if there wasn’t a victim there, then the
park.
But it should be fairly easy to find someone in need, desperate
need, of shelter on a night like this.

It shouldn’t be difficult at
all.

“What are you doing?!?!”
Sissy exclaimed. The rain was pounding down on the roof overhead and the noise
almost drowned out Sissy’s desperate question.

Mrs. Dodd pushed back the
black scarf from her cloud of white hair so that she could better see. Kneeling
over the back door, she carefully worked a hair pin into the old knob.

“Did you really think that I
was going to miss following that psychic with Jackson just to sit at home!?!?”
Mrs. Dodd chortled.

“Well, I didn’t think you
were going to be breaking into someone’s house!”

“Lucky for us, this old lock
has been through a lot,” Mrs. Dodd straightened with a wide grin on her face as
the door swung open, “and she hasn’t replaced it.”

“You can’t just go in
there!” Sissy objected. She glanced around the dark porch as if expecting
policemen to jump out of the stormy shadows and arrest them.

“I can and I am.” Mrs. Dodd
stepped defiantly inside. Not wasting any time, she crossed the room to the
kitchen drawers. She paused as she reached out with one hand and then hastily
pulling on a pair of gloves, she opened the drawer and started to meticulously
comb through it.

“Velma!” Sissy hissed from
the doorway. Her small feet were poised just on the threshold and her hold body
leaned over the doorjamb. “What
are
you doing?”

“I want to know where that
psychic is going tonight. It’s important, Sissy! This is life or death.”

“She’ll be fine, Velma. She
does this for a living.”

“I know what she does for a
living.” She turned and glared at her friend in the darkness. “I am going to
solve this case, Sissy.”

“This isn’t the way to go
about it. Believe me,” she clucked and sighed in disgrace at her friend, “and
oh, my goodness, Velma! Are those your church gloves you’re wearing?
To commit a crime!”

“Did you want me to wear my
gardening gloves? These are the only gloves I have that aren’t covered in dirt!
You can’t leave clues! And you don’t wear gloves to commit a crime, Sissy! You
wear them to cover one up.” She stared down at the lovely white gloves fondly.
She had owned them for years and they were her favorite pair.
White cotton with beautiful beaded buttons at the cuff.
In
her opinion, they made even rifling through someone else’s personal belongings
look elegant.

“I just can’t believe you
would do that,” Sissy hissed. “Will you come out of that girl’s house?”

“Not until I find out where
she might have gone,” Mrs. Dodd said obstinately. She was almost to the living
room when Sissy spoke up.

“I never thought I would see
the day when Velma Dodd would commit a crime just so that she could solve a
case first!”

Mrs. Dodd didn’t respond to
Sissy’s insult and instead disappeared down the dark hall. Several tense
minutes followed before Mrs. Dodd reappeared, looking slightly disheveled and
distraught.

“I’ve just got to find out
where that girl is going.”

“Well… maybe I know where
she’s going.”

“How would you know that?”
Mrs. Dodd narrowed her eyes at her friend.

“Can we talk about it in
your house? What if that girl comes back? Do you want to go to jail?”

“Not especially, but you are
making us look much more suspicious by lingering in the doorway of the house we
just broke into.”

“We?”
Sissy’s face was a mask of
horror, her bright red lips stretching in a ghastly expression at her friend.

“Yes, we.
You were the lookout.”

“I most certainly was not!”

“You still are.”

“Well.” Sissy huffed out. She
then stood silent for a moment before turning and stalking away. It was almost
comical how she tried to walk with dignity and slink sneakily at the same time.

“How do you know where she’s
going?” Mrs. Dodd called. Receiving no answer, she followed her friend, pausing
only to shut the door carefully behind her.

Sissy refused to answer
until she was safely within Mrs. Dodd’s house.

“You know how Cheri’s is the
last house before the dead end? I was getting my hair cut the other day and she
said, ‘Granny, you will never believe who I saw driving out here today. It was
that psychic girl.’ And I said, ‘You must be wrong about that, Cheri. She
doesn’t have a car and she couldn’t walk all the way out there.’ And then Cheri
said, ‘She wasn’t walking. She must have got a car somewhere because she was
driving one. It was a big blue car.’ So it must be Mr. Nelson’s. Maybe that’s
where she went tonight.”

Mrs. Dodd sank into a
kitchen chair as she thought. “You told me that you didn’t hear anything of
interest at that hair appointment.”

“I wouldn’t call that
exactly interesting!”

Mrs. Dodd ignored her. “Gary
Wright’s house isn’t far from there, is it?”

“Not as the crow flies, no.
You don’t think she was meeting that boy out there, do you?”

“I didn’t,” Mrs. Dodd responded
slowly. “But, now that you mention it, I bet that’s just what’s going to
happen. I’d bet my life on the fact that Gary Wright will be there tonight.
She’s planning on meeting him there. I’m sure of it!”

“That poor
girl!
Why, he could kill her!” Sissy looked troubled. “I don’t like to think of her
meeting up with a murderer like that out here in the woods, even if it does
mean catching him. We should call the police.”

Mrs. Dodd had a crafty look
in her eye as she glanced at her friend, but luckily for her, Sissy did not
notice it. “We’re not even sure that is what’s going to happen.
We
need
to go out there Sissy and see if she’s there. We can’t just call the police
when we don’t know for certain.” Sissy hesitated, but then nodded slowly in
agreement. Mrs. Dodd smiled triumphantly.

The storm raged on as the
killer approached the bridge. A few teenagers were scattered amongst the many
homeless people who were huddled underneath, out of the weather. The killer
grimaced and then drove on by towards the park.
Too many
people.

The curving, tree-covered
road gave Mrs. Dodd a fright on more than one occasion. Tree branches littered
the road in spots, but nothing was completely blocked off. It seemed like time
interminable until they finally reached the turn off.

Sissy’s mouth tightened
grimly as they drove down the narrow road. Wind was gusting into the car,
almost sending it careening into a ditch several times. Her hands were white at
the knuckles from gripping the steering wheel. She was fighting to keep the car
on the road. Her eyes were wide with fright, but she dared not even glance at
her friend.

A popcorn sound started to
echo throughout the car. “I think that’s hail on the car. You better turn on
the radio and see if
there’s any tornado warnings
out.”

Mrs. Dodd reached over and
clicked on the radio. She flipped through the channels until she came to a
weather bulletin. A tiny scream came from Sissy and Mrs. Dodd held her breath
as the weatherman’s voice struggled through the crackling frequency to update
the report.

“Anyone in Hardeman,
Chester, and McNairy counties
take
cover immediately.
There may be a tornado on the ground and headed in your direction. Repeat… if
you are in Hardeman, Chester, and McNairy counties, take cover immediately!”

“That county is just to the
west of us!” Sissy gasped.

“I told you not to come with
me. If you hadn’t come, you could be safe in a basement right now.”

“That’s
right,
I could be safe in a basement right now… knowing that my friend is out in this
storm trying to stop a serial killer by herself! That sounds awfully noble!”

“I’ve got news for you,
Sissy. Sometimes noble people don’t meet the best ends.”

“Besides,” Sissy continued,
aptly ignoring her friend, “I think that I would be more scared hiding by
myself in a basement during a storm with a serial killer on the loose. I can’t
believe I’m helping you do all this just so that you can get credit for solving
a case.”

The hail gave way to heavy
rain as Sissy drove the car carefully behind the nearby barn and parked. So
far, the building appeared to be abandoned.

“What are we going to do?”
Sissy asked. Her fingers were still poised above the ignition as if she was
prepared to turn the car on and flee.

“We’re going inside.”

“In that
spooky old cabin?
What if he’s there?”

Mrs. Dodd surveyed the house
critically. “I think the killer will be here tonight, Sissy. But I think we’re
alone right now.”

Sissy gasped in response as
Mrs. Dodd continued, “You can wait out here if you like, but I prefer to wait
inside. No one is going to die tonight.”

“You think you can stop a
murderer? You’re 67 years old!”

“That’s exactly why I need
to go inside before they get here. I’m old and slow. I need to be inside when
the killer gets here or I might not make it in time to stop a murder.” She
opened the door smartly and stepped out into the downpour. Hiking her pants up,
she climbed over several downed limbs.