Branded for Murder (17 page)

Chapter 42

Mike, Paddy and some of the others left earlier to set up the apartment sting. I made as much progress on the calls as I could. With the number of calls reporting the salesman, I was thinking he was our guy for sure.

I worked all afternoon going through the input from the other police departments, along with the new ones received here. The two that stand out from all the calls are the two I mentioned to Paddy and Mike; the vacuum salesman, and the detective.

Looking at the material on my desk, I knew I was wasting time working with these sheets any longer. Besides, my mind was on Jackie, hoping we could make some progress catching her killer. Thinking of Jackie quickly brought Lisa to mind.
I wonder if we could recapture last night, or should we do something else?

*.*.*

I called Lisa’s dorm, waiting for her to pick up the phone. I had become used to the time it took her to come to the phone, but it seemed to be taking longer than usual. I could hear some of the girls talking in the background, but really couldn’t hear enough to know if it was the girl who answered the phone. I couldn’t hang up, because the phone would just ring busy.

“Hello,” I heard a girl’s voice say. “Who are you waiting for?”

“I was trying to get Lisa Anderson. I have been holding for ten minutes now. Can you get her to the phone?”

“Is this Scott?”

“Yes.”

“Scott, I think she went out with Judy a while ago, but let me check for you.”

“Thanks.” I heard the phone bang against the wall, and the sound of someone pounding up the stairs. I hope she is there, and hasn’t gone out. I looked at my watch again, and it was only 6:30 pm.

Just a minute or so she was back at the phone. “Scott. She is not in her room. It looks like both of them must have gone out. There’s no answer. Do you want me to leave a message that you called?”

“Yes please. Would you tell her I’m going to my apartment, and to call me there? Thanks again.”

“Sure, I’ll leave her the message. Have a good night. Bye.”

*.*.*

I felt awful that I missed reaching Lisa. I had hoped to go by and pick her up when I left the office. I wondered why she went out with Judy on a Saturday night. I gave that a little more thought. Depending on when they left, it wasn’t really evening. Maybe I should drive by and see if she’s back.

I decided against it, heading to my apartment. When I entered, my apartment seemed so empty. I headed into the bedroom to get out some clean clothes. The bed had been hastily made from last night. After undressing, I put my head down on the pillow. The fragrance of Lisa’s perfume greeted me. I closed my eyes, thinking about our future together. I could see her wearing an apron working in the kitchen. I was kissing her on the neck with my arms around her pregnant tummy. She was smiling, telling me to leave her alone and to let her finish.

It was clear to me that no matter how many years we were married, I would still be attracted to her. I could even hear the twins playing in the other room.

The ringing phone interrupted my thoughts. I ran to answer it.

“Hello.”

“Hi Scott, its Lisa, I heard you called earlier. I just got back.”

“Hi Lisa, I really miss you. Would you like to go out someplace? Have you eaten?”

“No. I mean I haven’t eaten, and yes I would like to go out. What do you have in mind?”

“How would you like to go to one of the restaurants along the shore?”

“Sounds like fun. Do you want me to see if Judy and Neil want to go?”

“Sure. Do you want to call me back, or should I hold?”

“Why don’t you hold? It’s easier that way. Just a minute I’ll be right back.” I heard her place the phone down and head up the stairs. It was just a few minutes when I heard her voice again. “Scott, they can’t come. Neil has a weekend drill. She thanked us, but I guess we’ll just have to be alone again.”

“Sounds good to me. What time do you want me to pick you up?”

“I’ll be ready as soon as you get here.”

We said goodbye and I jumped in the shower and was ready in record time. I really just wanted to be close to her.

*.*.*

When I entered Lisa’s dorm there was a female guard on duty. She smiled and asked me who I was and who I was coming to see. Before I could answer Lisa was rushing from the reception area and jumped into my arms.

“I guess that answers at least one of the questions. Are you two leaving or do I have company tonight?” she asked, smiling at both of us.

Without answering, Lisa pulled me outside. “Scott I missed you. Do we have to go to dinner?”

I looked into her eyes and smiled at her. “Yes we do. You’ll enjoy our time better if we have a nice dinner.”

She looked like she had mischief in mind. “Well, that’s your opinion, but it’s your loss. I know what I want to eat.” She pulled my hand and I almost fell down the front stairs. “Time’s a wasting…let’s go slowpoke.”

I was parked down at the end of the block. Lisa was dressed in a short-red skirt, which was a change from the ski pants she usually wore, but it looked great with her black sweater. She had a matching red beret and her blonde hair was a nice contrast against her navy pea coat. She wasn’t walking in front of me she was skipping and I had all I could do to keep up with her. I wondered why she wasn’t cold.

I opened the car door for her and went around to the other side. She was in my lap as soon as I was seated. Her kiss was much more erotic than the kisses I remembered when we first met. Shortly she asked, “So are you still set on going out to dinner?”

I studied her, not wanting to offend her. “I think we should have a nice dinner, and then go to my place for dessert.”

She put her hands against my chest. “Okay…what a party pooper you are. I agree, but on one condition.” She wasn’t looking for my answer. “As long as you’re dessert.”

I smiled at her, gave her a short kiss, and reached for the key. When I started the car, she slipped over to her bucket. As she straightened her skirt, I caught a flash of white thighs. I would have changed my mind about dinner, if she mentioned it again.

I was pulling away, when she added, “I can’t wait to get you away for a whole weekend. I don’t think you have the strength to resist me.” She slid back over beside me, close enough to stick her tongue in my ear. I increased the speed, changing the restaurant closer to Boston. I was going to drive to the North Shore, but under the circumstances there was not really that much of a need.
What kind of animal have I created?

*.*.*

I found a nice small restaurant in Marblehead Harbor, specializing in seafood. We had to wait for our table, so we went to the lounge for a drink. We were on the second drink, when we were called for our table.

When we settled at our table, I answered her question about what was happening at the task force. While waiting for our meals to arrive I explained what was going on with the investigation.

“Well, we think we’re close to an arrest of a suspect who matches the sketch in the paper. We have had a number of reports pointing to a salesman matching the description. I helped identify him. Hopefully, it’s the guy and we can let the various towns get back to normal.”

“Scott, did you ever tell Mike about what happened to us the other evening?” she asked, with a frown on her face.

“No I didn’t, but I will.” I had given some thought to telling Mike about it, but felt it was really in the hands of the locals. Mike had enough to worry about with the strangling cases.

We talked about going skiing over the Christmas break with two other couples. Unless things changed between now and then, plans would be made. We both enjoyed our delicious seafood meal. When our waiter asked if we would care for dessert, Lisa looked at me and licked her lips. I told him thanks, but we already had plans for dessert at our favorite place.

*.*.*

Lisa leaned across the console, very close to me on the way to my apartment. She was sitting with her legs underneath her. All that I could see was the white of her thighs. She was indeed bothering me, but it was nice to be the center of attention. I could tell she was enjoying her new found ability to rush me there.

“Scott if you do the driving to northern New Hampshire when we go skiing, I really don’t know what you’re going to do. You can’t control yourself even for this short drive, let alone four hours or more. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drive this fast,” she said, blowing in my ear.

“I’ll get even with you. Maybe I should have you do the driving when we go skiing. How does that sound to you?”

She smiled at my offer, and whispered, “We wouldn’t get very far if the roles were reversed, but I do like the offer to get even.” She was quiet for a few seconds, and then added, “I don’t know what gets into me when I’m with you…maybe I’m just making up for lost time. I can’t seem to keep my hands off you. I’m going to have to work on some surprises for you when we go on our ski trip.”

*.*.*

I watched Lisa make breakfast in my small kitchen. She was wearing another one of my white shirts, which looked better on her than on me for sure. It was sexier looking at her partially covered, than if she was cooking entirely naked. I could tell she was enjoying making the meal. Maybe she was enjoying my studying her. Every so often she would flip her blonde hair behind her ear, to see if I was still watching.

My mind wandered to those strangling and rape cases. It was hard to believe there were so many cases, with many more unreported.
What was missing in these men’s lives that caused them to attack and kill women?

I think Lisa sensed I was someplace else. She turned around, and said, “Breakfast is ready now!”

My mouth dropped when she turned to announce breakfast—she had my white shirt unbuttoned completely. She motioned for me to follow her down the hall, and I was hot on her tail.

Breakfast had to be reheated when we got back to it, but it never tasted so good.
Lisa can make breakfast for me anytime she wants.

We had no sooner finished breakfast and were getting dressed, when the phone’s harsh ring made us jump.

Chapter 43

“Scott this is Mike. Sorry to call you this early, but we’re going to meet at the office at eight o’clock. If you can make it we would like to have you there. There have been some new developments we want everyone to know about.”

“Did you catch the creep?” I asked, immediately.

“No Scott. That’s what we want to go over. The salesman was not the guy. However, the strangler tried to strike last night. I have to make some more calls, but if you can make it, I would like you there.” He didn’t wait for a reply. I heard the dial tone.

Lisa was watching my reaction. “Scott, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Did they catch the strangler?”

“No. It wasn’t the guy, but I guess the strangler tried again last night. I’m not sure what it all means, but Mike would like me at the task force office. I better get dressed and get you back to your dorm.”

This was the first time we were diligent about getting ready to leave. It was hard to stay focused on getting ready, but I guess I was stronger than I thought. Lisa didn’t tease me. I think she knew what was happening was important.

We made tentative plans to see each other that night, but I couldn’t say for sure whether I would make it or not.

I didn’t like to just drop her at the door, so I double parked. We kissed and she hesitated leaving, but then she smiled and opened the car door. I watched her rush up the steps, noticing her short skirt again.
Later, I told myself.

*.*.*

Mike noticed everyone gathered in the conference room including Scott. Paddy wasn’t smiling. He stood and welcomed everyone. “Paddy knows what I’m going to tell you, but let me begin with our attempt to bait the vacuum cleaner salesman. We, as you know, had several reports that he resembled the sketch we published in the paper. Well he was not our guy…he did not attempt anything with our female detective. He was just a salesman who looked like the strangler, but he was really just a salesman.”

“However, last night we believe the actual strangler made a revisit to Patricia Stevens’ apartment. Here is what happened last night around midnight. Mrs. Stevens, who you remember is the widow who gave us the description of the strangler, heard something which woke her up. When she focused her eyes she observed a naked man approaching her bed. She screamed, immediately waking her boyfriend. He got out of bed to confront the guy. There was a struggle, but the man managed to escape with his clothes in his arms.

Mike continued. “The boyfriend put on jeans, and ran down the stairs and outside the building to see the guy drive away. The good news is he got his license plate number. Patricia confirmed when we spoke to her; it was indeed the man who had attacked her. It looks like we now have the means to locate this madman.”

“Fortunately, there was someone there to confront him. Had she been alone, we believe he would have attacked and strangled her. He left behind a small bag containing rope and torture items. The guy left in such a hurry, he also dropped the key he used to enter her apartment. The first units on the scene also found a pair of her panty hose near the front door.”

Mike further explained, “In addition to the boyfriend, we have a cab driver who witnessed the naked man run to his car and drive away. He reported the event to his dispatcher, also reporting the description of the vehicle and the license plate number. The cab company called the police around one this morning to report seeing a naked man running from an apartment building.”

He added, “So, we have at least three people who can put this creep at the scene this morning. We have traced the plate to an Arnold Vincenti. We are getting a warrant now.”

A loud cheer went up in the room.

I noticed how similar it was to the cheers when the Bruins scored a goal. I could feel a strange pressure in my chest, but loved the reaction, as they shared high-fives with each other. Paddy looked like he was holding his chest, but he had a huge smile. I had never seen him smile like that, even when he was lecturing at Harvard.

Mike held up his hands to gain attention. “Thank you everyone. I think this is what we were looking for. This guy fits the profile of the killer; he’s married with a couple of kids. We’re not sure what he does, but we’re checking into that right now.”

He then added, “We have more work to do, but today might be a day we will always remember.”

I thought to myself,
I sure hope this is the guy. Jackie we might just know your killer.