Middle River Murders (5 page)

“If she’s a killer, you’d be doing the world a favor, Mom.
Try to look at it like that.”

“What if it turns out that she isn’t a killer?”

“I think she’s a killer,” Billy said. “And from what Alice
Aikens has told me, I think she’s going to kill again. I think she thinks she’s
gotten away with it and finds it exciting to have that kind of power. She’s
tasted blood; now there’s no turning back.”

“I agree with you,” Mom said. “There’s something mysterious
about that woman.”

“When I get out of here we’re going to sit down and the two
of you can fill me in on everything, but right now, I’m more concerned with Mom
getting home safely. After what happened to Jonathan, that woman might still be
lurking around in the parking lot.”

“Oh, she’s long gone by now,” Billy said. “You don’t just
shoot someone and then hang around.”

“Maybe not,” I said. “But I want you to wait for Mom to get
safely in her car before you leave her, okay?”

“I can drive her home if you’d feel better.”

“Nonsense,” Mom said to both of us. “Get me to my car and
I’ll be fine.” She looked down at me. “Look, Ethan’s fallen asleep. Doesn’t he
need to be burped? I can do that for you before I leave. Here, let me take
him.”

Mom reached down to take him as I took the cloth burp pad and
wiped the little bit of milk that had dribbled down the side of his mouth.

“He’s so special.” My words fell on deaf eyes as I watched
Mom put his tiny, wrapped up body on her shoulders and patted his back ever so
gently.

Billy just stood close and watched. The look on his face was
a treasure to behold.

Ethan let out an amazingly loud burp for someone so small.

“That sounded like it hurt,” I said, chuckling.

Ethan was almost asleep when Mom handed him back to me. He
could barely keep his eyes open. His belly was full and he was ready to sleep
another two hours.

Now I know why they make breast pumps—a mother has to take a
break sometime— and that’s where a breast pump and a daddy come in.

As soon as Mom and Billy left the room, the nurse came in for
Ethan. I asked her to let him stay a little longer and she said he could stay
in the room if I wanted him to. I quickly agreed, and by the time Billy had
walked Mom to her car and made it back up to my room, Ethan was asleep in his
plastic bed on wheels by my side.

Billy was overjoyed to see his son still in the room with me.

“He has to sleep in his little cart, but he can stay in the
room overnight,” I said.

“I guess they figure he’s going home tomorrow, so what could
it hurt?”

“Yeah,” I said, sleepily. “I guess so.” I yawned.

“You need your rest, `ge ya,” Billy said.

“Why don’t you go home, Billy? You need your rest, too. Just
be back here by
ten
o’clock
. I’m sure
they’ll send me home before lunch so they won’t have to feed me.” I chuckled.

“I think I’ll stay if you don’t mind. After what happened to
Jonathan, I’m not leaving my wife and son alone.”

“We’ll be fine, but if you want to stay, that’s okay with
me.” I motioned for him to come closer. “This bed isn’t very big, but I bet
it’s big enough for us if we cuddle up.”

“No way! After what you went through, you need that bed all
to yourself. Stretch out and try to get comfortable. I’m going to put these two
chairs together and sleep next to my son.”

“Okay, dear,” I said and then closed my eyes. “What ever you
say. I’ll just close my eyes for a few minutes and then I’ll be as good as
new.” I fell fast asleep and slept like a log in a fireplace until I was
startled awake by the ringing of the phone. By the time I had opened my eyes;
Billy was up and had the phone in his hand.

“Hello,” he whispered.

I looked up and saw the sun shining through the partially
closed curtains. I smiled and then looked over to check on Ethan, but he was
gone.

“Where’s Ethan?” I asked, groggily. “Where’s my baby?”

Billy looked stunned that Ethan wasn’t in the room. I could
see it on his face. He must’ve fallen asleep, too. He handed me the phone and
said, “Here, it’s your mother. I’m going to find out where Ethan is.”

I panicked. “Mom, I’ll have to call you back,” I said and
hung up the phone without giving her a chance to say a word. I threw the covers
back and slowly crawled out of bed. I grabbed my robe, put it on and then slid
my feet into my bedroom slippers. Two seconds later I was ambling down the
hallway heading to the nursery. As I rounded the corner I could hear Billy
talking loudly to one of the nurses.

“Where’s my baby,” I screamed as I sobbed. I grabbed Billy by
the arm and cried, “Where’s Ethan? Where’s my baby?”

“He’s fine, `ge ya,” Billy said trying to calm me down. “They
had one last test to run and when the nurse came to get him, we were both
asleep. The nurse explained that she didn’t want to wake us. They finished the
test and she was on her way back, but we woke up before she got to us. We
panicked, that’s all. Ethan’s okay. See for yourself.”

The nurse pushed his cart out of the nursery and said, “I’m
so sorry if I upset you, but I was sure it wouldn’t take but a second.
Unfortunately, we’re running a little behind. We had three more babies come
into the nursery in the last two hours. It’s been pretty hectic, but then
again, it always is.” She smiled. “Here’s your son and his test is fine. He’s
ready to go home. Your doctor will be in to see you soon.”

I grabbed Ethan’s cart and walked away. My heart was beating
so fast that I couldn’t speak. All I wanted to do was to take my baby home. The
minute I realized Ethan wasn’t in the room, the first thing I thought of was
that Daisy Clark had come in and had taken him. Visions of mushrooms danced in
my head.

“I want to go home,” I said as we headed back to my room.

“You will as soon as the…”

“No, I want to go home now! Go check on Jonathan and then
we’re out of here.”

I closed the door as soon as we got back to my room. I pushed
Ethan’s cart up close to the wall and walked over to the closet.

“I’m getting dressed and…”

“Hold on, Jesse. You need to calm down.”

Suddenly, my milk started flowing and Ethan started crying. I
walked over, changed his diaper and then picked him up. I held him close to me
and cried.

“I guess you’re right,” I said. “Maybe I did get a little
crazy, but I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him. I love him so
much.”

“I know you do, `ge ya. I do, too. You just panicked, that’s
all.”

Billy rubbed my shoulders as I sat in a chair and fed our
son.

Sarah and Chief Sam walked into the room.

I looked up and kept right on feeding Ethan. I was no longer
shy about feeding my child in front of anyone. After giving birth in front of
God, my husband, my mother, and all the doctors and nurses who came in and out
of the room, my vanity went right out the front door.

Billy walked over, hugged his mom, shook his dad’s hand and
then asked, “How’s Jonathan? We’ve been worried.”

“The pain medicine was wearing off, so the nurse came in and
gave him a shot just as we were about to leave. He asked us to come get you. He
wants to talk to you in private, as if he thinks we don’t know what’s
happening. I told him we’d send you down, so you’d better hurry.” She turned
and looked at me. “I hear they’re letting you out today, Jesse.”

I looked at Billy and laughed.

“After that little scene a few minutes ago, I bet they’re
ready to be rid of me.”

“What happened?” Sarah asked.

As I told them about my little fit, Billy turned and left the
room to go see Jonathan.

“The nurse should’ve told you that she was taking the baby
even if she had to wake you up,” Sarah said. “I would’ve been livid! What’s
wrong with these people? But... I guess they have their hands full around here.
I bet you panicked.”

“Oh, trust me, I did. I just about went off the cliff. I
probably freaked out the entire staff. I’m surprised they didn’t throw me out
of here.”

“I’m sure they see their share of nervous new mothers,” the
chief added. “You’re not the only one to act a little nutty.”

Sarah and I sat and chatted as the chief held his grandson.

“You’re such a good grandfather,” I said, looking over at
him. “Ethan said he wants to be just like you.” I snickered. “Yep, he wants to
grow up and be heap big medicine man like his grandpa!”

“We can make that happen.”

Thirty minutes later, Billy walked back into the room. He had
a forlorn look on his face.

“What is it?” I asked. “You looked so troubled.”

“I am,” he said. “Daisy
Clark
is the one who shot Jonathan.”

“Is that what Jonathan said?”

“Yeah,” Billy replied. “Jonathan said she walked right up to
him and stuck a gun in his chest. It happened so fast that he only got a quick
glance at her, but he’s pretty sure it was Daisy.”

“Pretty sure isn’t enough. He needs to be positive that it
was Daisy.”

“He’s almost positive,” Billy said. “He said she came around
the car and was in his face in a split second. He did say that he thought she
might be wearing a wig. Her hair looked weird as if it wasn’t on straight.”

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“We’re going to get her,” Billy said. “We’re going to stop
her before she has a chance to hurt anyone else.”

“Where’s my nanny?” I asked, looking around the room. “I’m
with you, pal! Let’s go find us a killer!”

She looked up in the rearview mirror and thought she recognized
the car behind her, but she didn’t recognize the driver. Obviously, she knew
the car wasn’t her friend’s car, because her friend would never drive so
recklessly.

She couldn’t figure out why someone would follow so close to
her bumper. Everyone who drives this road knows it’s too dangerous to drive so
fast, especially when you come up on another car. Tailgating makes matters
worse. What would happen if you had to stop quickly?

Playing games wasn’t meant to be done on the road, and this
road in particular was too curvy for anyone to be able to negotiate some of the
turns at high speed.

The driver continued to follow her, barely inches from her
rear end. If she slowed down or sped up, the other driver did the same.

At first, it seemed to be a silly game the other driver was
playing, but it wasn’t funny anymore. It became obvious that whoever was
driving that car was determined to instill fear in her.

Panic set in as she tried to out-run her tormentor, wondering
the whole time why anyone would be after her.

What did this person want? Had she cut off the driver
earlier?

She dug in her purse for her cell phone, at the same time
trying to keep her eyes on the road. After opening up the phone, she hesitated
for a second and tried to remember what she did with the business card she had
received from Billy Blackhawk, the private detective she had contacted about
Pat’s death.

Pat had been a good friend to her and she knew something was
fishy about her untimely death, so she’d called another friend to get the name of
a reputable P.I.

Mr. Blackhawk had seemed like a nice man and he was
interested in what she had to say. He didn’t think she was crazy. He treated
her with the utmost respect and gave her suspicions the importance they
deserved. He promised that he would help her. He said that he would dig around
until he came up with an answer for her. He would not let the matter rest until
she was satisfied.

She suddenly remembered that she had stuck his card in
between the pages of her small address book. She grabbed her purse and dumped
the contents on the seat beside her and rummaged for the little black book.

The driver rammed her car in the rear, causing her neck to
snap backwards. A sharp pain shot down her spine. At the same time, some of the
stuff on the seat fell to the floor board of the car.

She glanced down and caught sight of the address book. It was
lying on the floor!

She gripped the steering wheel and tried to negotiate a
curve. Once she rounded the curve, she bent down quickly and tried to snatch up
the little book.

It was useless. She couldn’t reach the book and drive the car
at the same time.

Should she dare pull over and stop the car?

Then a miracle happened. She glanced over to the other seat
and noticed the small business card lying amongst the few items that were still
there.

Luck was on her side!

She reached over and grabbed the card, looked for the phone
number and then punched the numbers into her phone.

The phone rang several times before a man on the other end
answered her call. His voice was familiar and she knew she had reached Mr.
Blackhawk. He would save her!

She quickly explained her situation and told him that she
needed help. She said she was afraid the driver of the other car was going to
kill her. She also told him that she couldn’t understand why anyone would be
after her. She wouldn’t cause harm, nor would she deliberately hurt anyone.

As she continued to drive, it didn’t take long for her to be
convinced that the person trying to run her off the road had to be involved
with the investigation she’d instigated. She conveyed her fears to the man on
the end of the line.

Mr. Blackhawk tried to calm her down by telling her that he
would contact the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. Someone would be along soon;
just hang in there. He put her on hold so he could call the sheriff.

She held the phone in her hand and waited for him to make the
call.

It seemed like hours before he returned to the line and told
her that the police were on their way. He tried to reassure her that she would
be all right. Someone would help her. He even suggested that she lay the phone
down on the seat so that she could maintain better control of the car, but she
refused.

She was terrified and she needed to hear his voice. That was
the only thing that was keeping her together. If she laid the phone down, she’d
lose her sanity. She was shaking all over and her stomach was doing flips.

Against his advice, she held onto the phone and continued to
talk to him as she drove the car. Even though it was hard to drive and talk on the
phone at the same time, she knew that it was this conversation that was keeping
her alive. If she didn’t have a comforting voice to settle her nerves, she’d
never be able to handle what was happening.

There was a tricky curve up ahead, but she figured she could
make it as long as the driver of the other car stayed off her rear end. If she
got bumped going into the curve, she’d go off the road for sure.

She pressed down on the gas pedal hoping to put plenty of
space between her and her enemy.

Soon it became a race for life… one she would not win.

Excessive speed and being rammed by a maniac driver sent her
over the edge and down an embankment. Her cell phone fell from her hand to the
floorboard of the car as she breathed her last breath.