Serial Separation (17 page)

When we got back in Mike’s car, he told me that we were
starting with the apartments at the far end of the street and working our way
back toward Paul and the others.

Mike said we needed to go up to Beacon Street and work our
way down Exeter. I drew a map of where Mrs. Palmer’s apartment was located,
where Dexter’s party was, and the possible directions to Irish pubs.

Mike was not a slow driver. My map didn’t have many
straight lines. He parked at the corner of Beacon and Exeter.

“Scott, if you look down Exeter toward where the Dexter
party was, you can see one possible direction for them to walk up Exeter toward us. Do you notice anything about where we are standing?”

I looked around and said, “I think any of these corner
apartments have a view all the way down Exeter. Is that what you mean?”

“That, my friend, is exactly what I mean. Let’s start with
this building and see what we get.”

Mike pressed the button labeled “SUPR,” which I knew was
the superintendent of the building. A loud voice yelled back, “Yeah, what do
you want?”

Mike announced us, and, without acknowledgement, the entry
door buzzer sounded. We entered the small entry hall. Mike had his badge ready
and a door opened nearby.

“I’m the super, how can I help you?”

Mike showed his badge. “Two young people were kidnapped in
this area a week ago. Both were found murdered. We’re trying to find if anyone
witnessed their abduction.”

“I didn’t see anything. However, you can check the
apartments if you care to.”

We started walking to the next apartment door, and he
added, “You might try the woman in 2A; she always has her nose in someone else’s
business. Maybe she saw something.”

* * *

Mike nodded toward the stairs. “Let’s give it a shot. If
she’s on the second floor facing the street, we might have some luck.”

I followed him up the stairs to the second floor. Despite
the super, the apartment building appeared to be well maintained.

Mike knocked at the door of 2A, but there was no answer. He
knocked again and waited. He knocked one last time, but this time he really
banged on the door.

“Yeees?” a feeble voice answered.

“Thank you for answering. I’m Mike Miller with the Boston
Police Department.”

Automatically, he held his shield up to the peephole.
Within a few seconds, we could hear numerous locks being unlocked. The door
opened to the limit of the safety chain.

Mike showed his badge again, and the old woman looked at it
closely. “Just a minute.”

The door closed and reopened. The old woman looked at both
of us.

“My name is Mike Miller, and your name?”

“I’m Virginia Kelly. Do you want to talk in the hall or
would you like to come in?”

“If we could come in, that would be much better.” She
stepped aside, letting us into her apartment.

“Please have a seat.” She pointed to an antique maroon
couch in what looked like a living room.

Mike quickly went in, and I followed.

“This is Scott Tucker. He is helping with our
investigation. Mrs. Kelly, we are investigating an abduction that occurred a
week ago on the seventeenth. Do you mind if I look out your front window?”

“No, please, go ahead.”

Mike moved the sheer curtains.

“I knew someone would report that crime.”

Mike and I were stunned. “And what crime was that, Mrs.
Kelly?”

“I knew someone was going to report that crime. It was the
one where the young people were confronted and taken away. I saw them. It was
just awful.”

Mike came back and sat down. “Mrs. Kelly, what exactly did
you see that night?”

“Would you like some coffee or tea?”

“No, thank you. We’re fine. Please go on.”

Mrs. Kelly took a deep breath and pointed toward the
window. “Well, it was late and I was just about to head for bed. I was sitting
in the front window, looking out at the wind. It was really blowing that night,
you know.”

She continued. “Well, I saw a young lad and his female
companion walking up Exeter toward Beacon here. Halfway up the block, four dark-skinned
men confronted them. The first two men let them pass, but then they surrounded
them and stopped their progress.”

Mike nodded his head and said, “You’re doing a fine job,
Mrs. Kelly.”

“The next thing I knew they were attacking the young man.
One of the others picked up the young lady and carried her off into the alley.
The next thing I saw was the young lady’s hat blowing down the street. It
caught on a lamp post.”

She stopped and bit her lip. “Then some of what must have
been her clothes went blowing as well. It wasn’t but a few seconds, if I
remember correctly, they carried the nearly naked young thing to the back seat
of a car. They just threw her inside.”

She stopped looking toward the window. “The rest of the men
grabbed the young man and put him in the front seat. He wasn’t moving at all.
While they were putting him in the front, the young lady tried to escape out
the back, but those awful men hauled her back into the car.”

She continued. “The next thing I knew they were driving
away without any lights. That’s against the law, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Mrs. Kelly, that’s against the law. Do you remember
anything else?”

“Well, those men were not from this neighborhood. They were
the wrong color. I felt like those two folks were not going to fare too well
with those awful men. Did anyone else report this?”

“No, Mrs. Kelly, no one else did. I’m sorry to report that
both of these young people were found murdered. The information you provided
just now is extremely important to our investigation. We thank you for it.”

“Well, I would have reported it, but I don’t have a phone.
Someone else must certainly have seen what happened.”

Mike asked her, “Do you remember anything else?”

She thought for a moment. “Those two youngsters weren’t
really dressed for the cold. It was so windy and cold that night. That young
lady without her clothes must have been freezing to death.”

Mike stood and repeated, “Thank you again for your help. If
we need to talk to you again, may we stop by?”

“Yes, you certainly may. My granddaughter goes to
Northeastern. I’m so glad she was not involved.”

We excused ourselves and Mike called the others on the
radio. “We have some information that will help. Unless you want to continue
canvassing, we can go back to the task force office.”

We both heard a cheer on the other end of the radio.

Chapter
46

The day after
Christmas, we usually enjoyed our family time together. However, I hadn’t seen
my folks at all this Christmas. At least we talked on the phone, and they were
doing fine. The farm in Maine received the same amount of snow as Massachusetts.

Dad said he was
in no rush to tackle digging out. He said the layer of ice was going to be hard
to deal with. Instead, they were just going to enjoy sitting by the fire, reading
a couple of books. He said he would change his plans if I was coming, but since
I couldn’t, he said he was just going to wait for summer.

Waiting at the
pub for Mike to arrive, I had time to think about my time at the cabin with
Mercedes. She couldn’t have scripted that any better. We could never recapture
the innocence or the intimacy.

Lisa and I had
shared similar settings getting to know each other. I remember our first kiss
at the top of the Prudential tower, and our first dance at my apartment.

My thoughts were
interrupted when Mike arrived.

“Hi, Scott.”

Mike was always on time. “Hi, Mike. We have the place to
ourselves.”

“Yeah, most people are with their families. What’s wrong
with us?”

Maggie came over and greeted us. “I have to work, but what
are you guys doing here Christmas weekend?”

“Same old, same old,” Mike replied. “How was your Christmas,
Maggie?”

“My fiancé and I spent the day together. It was nice. Just
the two of us.” She took our order and left.

“I enjoyed going on the interviews with you today. It was
interesting to find a woman who actually witnessed the abduction.”

Mike held a reply for a moment. “Yeah, it’s good we found
her, but I wish she had reported it. It might have made a difference. A week
could have helped our investigation. I don’t think we could have prevented what
happened, but we wouldn’t have lost so much time.”

Maggie arrived with our beers, flipping the coasters from a
few steps away. We both smiled at her and said in concert, “Thanks.”

“Scott, how’s Lisa? Did you manage to talk with her at her
parents’?”

I studied my beer and thought about where to begin.

* * *

“Well, after your call to the cabin, I did get to talk with
Lisa. I told her about heading to Newburyport and the bad road conditions.
Unfortunately, I dropped the ‘we’ too soon without explaining the situation to
her. I told her we were lucky to pull off the road safely.”

He had warned me about his telling Lisa there was someone
with me.

“How did that go over?”

“Well, I didn’t hide anything from her, explaining the
person with me was not a male and we had shared a cabin together. So, it didn’t
go over well at all. She was very upset; I was in the wrong place at the wrong
time with the wrong person.”

“Mike, she said some things I would rather not repeat. I’m
letting things cool off at the present time.”

Mike sipped his beer. “You certainly have your hands full.”

I nodded, drinking some beer, but anticipated the next
question.

“So, tell me about Mercedes. I was surprised she admitted
she got my call and didn’t tell you.”

I took a deep breath. “There’s a lot to that lady—more than
just concealing your call.”

“Scott, I kind of put the pieces together myself when she
told us she took my call, and then I knew she had stayed with you.”

“Well, we stayed in the same cabin because we didn’t have
enough money to pay for two cabins. However, it was a lie. Later, I noticed she
had plenty of cash in her wallet to pay for separate cabins.”

He smiled for the first time. “Very interesting.”

“Mike, it was a big setup. She wanted to ride to Newburyport with me, she knew from your phone call we shouldn’t try to make it, it was
Christmas Eve, and she had enough money for separate cabins. If I were a fish,
I would be caught, filleted, cooked, and eaten.”

“So, you’re telling me she really likes you?”

I considered what he suggested. “I think I’m confused about
my own emotions after spending time with her. She is really quite the package.”

Mike commented, “Her profiling and presentation skills are
quite amazing also. She was so on target, it was eye opening. She all but gave
us the names of the women. I was watching Paddy’s reaction and can tell you he
was very impressed.”

“Now, we know from Mrs. Kelly, a gang actually kidnapped
Cathy and Bob. This confirms part of her profile; someone close to them does
the kidnapping. It raises the question of why a gang would provide such a
service. I suspect they’re getting paid handsomely. If so, that implies someone
involved has access to a considerable amount of money.”

We both considered that concept for a few moments.

“Anything else you care to share about your unfortunate
stay with Mercedes?”

I thought for a moment. “Not really, Mike. However, I have
been having nightmares I’m about to be one of these men.”

* * *

Mike ordered us another round. He must have been
considering what I told him. “Scott, maybe you’re too close to these cases.
Seeing those men’s photographs might have been too shocking for you. Maybe I
was wrong convincing Paddy to let you join the task force.”

I thought about the three dead men I knew. “No, Mike, I
needed to get on the task force. I knew these guys. I’m concerned other men I
knew may be killed.”

It struck me again about what I said to Mike. ‘Maybe I’m
going to be one of them.’

“Scott, I think the fact you are having nightmares is an
indication that these murders are upsetting you, but I don’t think you should
include yourself as a target.”

He paused. “Let’s change the subject. How about the
Bruins?”

I had a sense of urgency before joining the task force. Now
I had a greater sense. “You know I should really go to one of the games; they’re
doing really well and are in town this week. Do you want to go to one?”

“I wish I could, but there are too many things going on
with this case. My family would also wonder about my priorities if I took in a
game. Maybe later?”

“Okay, Mike, we now have an added priority to finding these
killers.”

We both raised our glasses to our new objective.