Serial Separation (23 page)

Chapter 59

Mercedes and I
were in my car driving to the identified properties. We had narrowed the list
down, deciding the target properties needed to be approximately thirty minutes
from Medford. Jeremy’s indication of a thirty-minute ride was the means to
eliminate some properties. We agreed the women would have driven directly to Medford and would not have extended the drive—not with Jeremy naked in the vehicle.

We still had
fifteen properties to check out, having eliminated only the first two. The
process was taking longer than anticipated. We realized we were not going to
finish that day. Our conversation was focused on the listings, finding them and
looking them over. Mercedes was making notes on the sheets while I did the
driving. We knew we would have to review the properties with Mike when we were
done.

“Well, Scott?”

We were parked
in a small lot near the next property. The building was snowed in without any
sign of anyone having accessed it since the Christmas storm.

“Well, what? It’s
obvious there has not been any access to the building?”

“You’re playing
games with me. You still owe me an answer.” She turned in her bucket seat and
flipped her hair back. “The night we spent together at the cabin was special to
me. I couldn’t have planned it any better. I find you attractive and would like
to . . . well . . . date. We make a good team, and I know you held back because
of Lisa. That tells me volumes about you. You can’t tell me you don’t find me
attractive. I’ve seen all too well how you react.”

I turned the engine
off and faced her. “This is not going to be a quick conversation from the
sounds of it. I’m glad we’re having this talk here and not in the office. Yes,
you do have an impact on me. From the moment I saw you in Paddy’s office, there
was something about you, different from anyone I had ever met. It was hard for
me to deal with our being together at the cabin, but I think we handled it
well.”

“I love Lisa.
She has been acting very strangely since her ordeal with Jimmy Ballou, but I
believe she has finally dealt with those emotions. Consequently, I believe I
was more susceptible to you during our stay in the cabin. Lisa and I are going
forward, trying to patch things up. I need to focus on that and not get
sidetracked with . . . well . . . you.”

“I know you’re
being honest, but it hurts. Then, let me be honest with you.”

* * *

“Since I’m
studying to be a profiler, I have studied psychology enough to know what makes
you tick. Don’t get me wrong, you’re not some kind of experiment. However, I
have done some things to sway you to paying attention to me. Some have been
subtle, others not so much. I purposely did not tell you about Mike’s call
regarding the roads. I wanted to be with you, even if it was riding in the car.
I’m sorry to say this, but I had enough money to pay for two cabins. Doesn’t
that tell you quite a bit?”

“I know you’re
being honest with me. I know you had enough money for separate cabins.” She
looked shocked.

“And you still
stayed in the same cabin?”

“No, I didn’t
learn about the money situation until your wallet spilled out of your purse on
our drive back to Cambridge.”

“You did a good
job keeping it to yourself.”

“There wasn’t an
easy way to bring the subject up. That is until now. Mercy, you’re an
attractive, intelligent woman; you shouldn’t have any problem finding someone
who can make you happy. Just give it some time.”

She wiped the
inside of the windshield and stared outside at the building. She was slow to
respond. “Things in my life haven’t been exactly conducive . . . you happen to
be the first man I’ve lusted for.”

She leaned
toward me. “In the cabin, I watched you in the shower, longing to climb in. However,
I feared it might cause you to withdraw and not be with me. I couldn’t risk it,
so I just waited for things to take their course. Your nightmare gave me the
opportunity I was looking for.”

I could see her
eyes watering. “Mercy, I’m sorry things aren’t right for us. I like you, but I
don’t love you. I love Lisa with all my heart. Seeing her the other night, well,
she was the Lisa I remember. Not the Lisa that Jimmy created. She thought he
had raped her, but she remembered what happened. I saved her at the right
moment.”

It was strange
to see Mercedes vulnerable. She had given the impression she had total control
of everything around her, including people. Looking at her and listening to
her, I felt sorry for her. She came across so strong and needless, but, in
reality, I felt she was more vulnerable than I had ever imagined. Her hands
were clenched into fists like she was going to strike out.

I asked, “Are
you okay?”

She was looking
out the side window and turned slowly to look at me. Tears were streaming down
her cheeks. I reached out, and she let me hug her.
I passed the test, I’ve
focused and I’m now stronger than before
, I thought to myself. I tried to
let her go, and she just held onto me.

She talked into
my chest. “Scott, there’s something else to tell you . . . while we’re being
painfully honest with each other.”

I could feel her
chest expand.

“There was rape
in my family as well. I’m not going to go into detail, but it was bad. The only
way to encapsulate it—it was life changing.”

She pushed away
and looked into my eyes. “All of my family has had to deal with that . . . all
of us. I still have my own nightmares. Your nightmare at the cabin was very
similar to what my own horrendous dreams have been—being tied up, naked,
molested, and tortured.”

She stopped
talking suddenly, sobbing into my chest. I could feel her strong grip.

* * *

We stayed close,
neither of us talking. My thoughts drifted to why she was interested in being a
profiler. Could the rape have anything to do with it? Was this the end of her
sharing, or would she tell me more? It was hard for me to picture her ever
being raped. She just seemed to convey this comfort level with sex. Lisa acted
just the opposite, and she had eventually realized she had never actually been raped.

I thought about
being close to Mercedes now, but it wasn’t to be with her—it was to comfort
her. I told myself, I would do the same thing if I saw a dog hit by a car, or
even a stranger in distress. She pushed herself from my chest, but was still
close. She stared again intently into my eyes. I think she recognized what I
had been doing and it was not something I would have done days earlier.

“Scotty, you are
one of a kind. Thanks for listening to me—and being honest. I’m sorry I’ve made
problems, but I hope you can understand my motive. I promise I will not
pressure you any longer. But, I would like to be a friend, if that’s not too
much to ask.”

She slid fully
back into her bucket seat but waited for my answer.

I thought about
her being a friend. “I think we can be that.” I took the opportunity to start
the car, but we were still trapped. All the car windows were covered on the
inside with moisture. It was now completely dark outside and only a distant
streetlight lit up the roadway.

“You’ll have to
excuse me; I have to go make some yellow snow.”

“Can I—?“ She
suddenly stopped and just smiled.

I got out and
found an area to take care of the problem. While standing in the cold, I took a
deep breath, expecting to smell the ocean but smelled gardenia instead.

Daylight was
gone, so inspecting further buildings would not have been fruitful. It might
even have drawn more attention our way. I went back to the car and opened the
door; the windows were clear and the interior warm. Mercedes had taken off her
coat and was busy with the listings.

“Mercy, I think
we need to call it a day. It’s going to be dark at these buildings, and we
don’t want to make anyone in the buildings suspicious.”

She looked at
the car clock and nodded her head. “While you were outside, I counted the
remaining buildings, and we still have quite a few to cover. Do you want to
meet in the morning in this area, or do you want to pick me up?”

I realized I
never knew where she lived. “So, do you live close by?”

She hesitated.
“I live across the street from MIT. It’s a high-rise apartment.”

I should have
known it would be something like that. She did say her dad had money.

“Your car is
back at the task force, isn’t it?”

“No, actually, I
took the subway this morning. Can you drop me off at my apartment building . .
. no, that’s probably taking you out of your way? Just drop me off at a transit
station and I’ll get home from there.”

“No. I have to
almost go by MIT to get home. I can drop you off, and then I’ll know where to
pick you up tomorrow.”

“Are you sure
it’s not too much trouble? Where do you live?”

I wondered about
her question but didn’t pay much attention. “It’s not too much trouble at all.
My apartment is in Brookline Village. It’s not too far from the task force
office or MIT.”

She smiled,
putting the listings away. “You’re such a nice guy. Thanks Scotty.”

* * *

I was tired from our effort
checking properties. It was eight o’clock when I dropped Mercedes at her
apartment. It was one of those high-rise buildings where I bet she had a nice
view of the city. But I’ll never know.

On the ride from the last listing
we really didn’t say much to each other. I was dealing with her honesty, and it
was hard to tell what she was thinking. Our plan was to meet outside her
apartment building at nine o’clock Friday, which would be New Year’s Day—welcome
1965.

I was thinking of just surprising
Lisa that evening, but I knew she had asked me to call first. So I knew I
should call. Mercedes’ apartment building was about a street away from Lisa’s
dorm, but the Charles River separated them. It would take me longer to find a
phone. So, I won the argument—just stop by. Besides, trying to get the phone
answered and Lisa to the phone would be another time waster—I wasn’t interested
in wasting time.

* * *

It was just after eight when I rang
the bell at her dorm. It looked like some of her dorm members were already
dressed for New Year’s Eve. The coed who answered the door looked me over and
blew a party favor in my face.

“Would you get Lisa Anderson for
me? Please tell her Scott is here.”

“I know who you are. Maybe I’ll
tell her or maybe you should just come with me.” She crooked her finger as she
backed up the stairs, definitely looking like she was already celebrating.

“Thanks, but if you wouldn’t mind
telling her I’m here, she’s expecting me.”

“It’s your loss.”

She was gone for what seemed like
ten minutes. I started to question if she had even gone to get Lisa. I took a seat
in the reception area. Since school was closed there was more activity than I
would have expected. There was a big sign:
Party tonight in 312—Happy New
Year!

Lisa came down the stairs dressed
in tight-black ski pants and a nice white sweater. “You surprised me,” she
said. “I thought you were going to call if you could get away?”

“I was in the area, and it would
have taken me more time to call than to stop by. Can you leave?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Let’s do our usual at the
Skywalk
and ring in the New Year watching the city. Is that okay?”

She looked like she was
contemplating saying no.

“I would like that. Let me get my
coat, and I’ll be right down.”

I realized after she responded that
she was just pulling my leg.

It only took us a few minutes to
make the drive to the Prudential Building, park the car, and make the trip to
the top floor. The city looked great. Lisa looked better. It was nice to be
back in the groove again. When we reached the observation area, we held hands
and watched the planes landing and taking off from Logan. It also was the
darkest side of the building.

We shared a long passionate kiss.
It was like I remembered. We got closer and hugged. I could tell my body was
enjoying the close contact.

Lisa pushed against my chest, but I
was still holding her hips close. “Scott, what’s that smell? It smells like
perfume. Tell me you weren’t holding her close like this?”

Chapter 60

We did stay out
to ring in the New Year, but it was not the same as it should have been. Mercedes’
fragrance was a constant reminder, even though she did her best to ignore it. I
dropped her off at her dorm and returned to my apartment just after one.

I was trying to get to sleep, but
my mind wouldn’t shut off. I was really happy Lisa didn’t make a bigger deal of
how Mercedes’ gardenia fragrance had interrupted our mood. However, I hadn’t
tried to hide what had happened with Mercedes. Although Lisa hadn’t said much
about what happened between us, I believe she might have been happy it was over
and done with. She wanted to move ahead and made a great step forward.

* * *

The alarm went
off several times before I finally realized I needed to get moving if I was
going to pick Mercedes up on time. I quickly ate some toast with peanut butter
and dashed in and out of the shower. By the time the water was hot, I was
already turning it off.

There wasn’t any
traffic to speak of, but I was careful to watch those on the road to make sure
they weren’t going to hit me or go through a red light.

Mercedes was
already outside when I arrived at her building. I was five minutes early, and
she was already there. She was quick to jump in and waved the listings in my
face.

“We have a lot
to do today. You look like you were up all night. Were you?”

I pulled away
and headed around the block toward South Boston.

“No, but I
didn’t get in until after one. It took me a while to get to sleep.”

“So, how was
Lisa?”

I questioned how
much I was going to share. “She was a little upset with me.”

“Why is that?
You did a good job of still seeing her, even after a long day.”

“You were with
us.”

“What do you
mean by that?”

“Unfortunately
your fragrance was all over my coat.”

I could tell she
was looking at me. When I turned to look at her, she was smiling. “Then it worked.”

I took a deep
breath but before I could say anything, she added, “Scotty, I’m just kidding. I’m
sorry that messed things up, and on New Year’s Eve, to boot.”

“Well, did you
do anything interesting?”

“Yes, I did. I
spent time with a 100,000 in Times Square last night.”

* * *

The task force
office was busy, even though it was a holiday.

Mike was headed
to give Paddy the update he requested. He caught Paddy staring at some maps of Boston Harbor. “Happy New Year, Paddy.”

“Happy New Year
to you, Mike. Did you do anything exciting last night with your wife?”

“Actually, we
went to bed early. We had planned to watch the New Year’s celebrations, but we
both fell asleep. How about you?”

“About the same.
Would you believe the AG has already called me looking for a status report?
We’ve got to catch these people or my year is going to be very, very long. Have
you any good news?”

Mike hadn’t
planned on an update from Scott and Mercedes. “Scott and Mercedes had a long
list of properties to check out. They reviewed some yesterday and were going
directly back out today. I didn’t hear anything, which is a sign they haven’t
noticed anything worth reporting.”

“That’s what I
figured but thought I’d ask. The AG is going to be on my case again as to why
I’m using college kids. He’s an okay guy, but he’s getting a fair amount of
pressure from the mayor. You know how that goes.”

“Are we bringing
Jeremy Johnston in today? Where does that stand?”

“When they went
to pick him up at his dorm, he and his girlfriend had already taken off for the
weekend. His roommate says he might be headed to northern New Hampshire—Dixville
Notch. However, he wasn’t sure. The State Police have an APB out for his car,
and they’ve contacted the New Hampshire State Police to watch for it as well.”

Paddy looked at
his wall calendar. “We don’t need this year any longer. What a way to start a
new year.”

Mike added,
“With any luck, we might have Jason Johnston today. If we don’t get him by the
end of the day . . . the women might have him.”

Mike realized
what that meant. “Paddy, Lowell P.D. indicated Jason’s gang is like a bunch of bees
around a hive. They are protecting Jason so well, the police haven’t been able
to get a confirmation on his being there. The informant is going to call if he
can confirm Jason’s location. However, the raid on their gang headquarters is
still planned for midnight, but the raid may be too late.”

“Yeah, you’re
most likely right. Maybe if you and Paul were to go to Lowell, you could prompt
an earlier raid or help in some fashion. Right now there’s not much doing here.”

Mike smiled. “I
was hoping we were on the same page regarding heading to Lowell. My contact
there is Gil Pike, if you need to reach me. How do you want to work tomorrow’s
schedule?”

“Let’s plan on
meeting at eight. We’ll have to see how things sit then. That is if things
don’t go to hell before then. Do you need my lucky charm?”

“No, Paddy, I’m
packing my own.”

* * *

He hadn’t heard
from Mike all day, but he anticipated nothing would happen until later in the
day. It was eight thirty. He had not eaten since lunch time. The office was
deserted, but he decided to stay the night. The phone made such a loud noise,
it made him jump.

“Task force
office, Paddy O’Brien.”

“Paddy, this is
Mike. Let me bring you up to date. About an hour ago, the other gang attacked a
small pub in Lowell. They were after Jason. A fifteen minute gun battle took
place, and there are a couple of gang members down on both sides. We were with
the Lowell P.D. near Jason’s gang headquarters, when the shooting started. We
arrived just as a couple of cars were speeding away and learned Jason was
kidnapped during the shoot-out.”

“Son of a bitch,”
Paddy interrupted.

“There’s more,
Paddy. One of the kidnapping gang members was caught by the Lowell P.D. They
have several others in custody, but he’s the most significant. Anyway, the
police were unable to catch the fleeing cars. The State Police are patrolling
all of the roads leading to the South Shore, and the M.D.C. police are also on
alert.”

There was no
response from Paddy, so he continued. “Gil Pike is headed to the hospital to
question the gang member who was shot during the battle. There are a few other
members who were also rushed to the hospital, along with some innocent
bystanders. The unofficial indication by Jason’s gang is he was taken by the Calumet gang out of Roxbury. Gil indicated to me there’s going to be a huge gang war over
this. Lowell P.D. is already in contact with the Boston P.D. to try to head it
off. If they go to war, the AG will be all over us.”

“You mean he
will be all over me,” Paddy trumpeted. “I guess we might be able to salvage
something out of this mess. If you, or Gil, can get some information from that
member, we might be able to learn where they took Jason. What hospital did they
take him to? I should head there to meet you.”

“Lowell General. Paddy, I’m calling from the phone at the pub. I’m headed to the hospital
too. From what I’ve learned, the ambulances took all the wounded to the same
hospital.”