Serial Separation (16 page)

“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.

Chapter
47

Lisa had time to study her parents since she couldn’t drive her new Mustang. They were good together and complemented each other’s ways. However, seeing them up close increased her desire to be with Scott.

She had been doing a lot of thinking about him and realized her last conversation with him was out of character. What she had said to Scott was dangerous; she knew what he did really did matter.

Talking to her mother about her ordeal with Jimmy was a positive step. It was the last thing she thought she would do, but it was so right.

It had been quite a few years since she and Mom had bonded. School took her in one direction, and the camp counselor murders had taken her mother in another.

Her mother shared a secret with her. She wondered if the counselors would still be alive if she had confronted all of them at the time of the camp incident.

She thought about what her mom had shared. There was an incident one year getting Knotty Pine Camp ready for the upcoming season. Jimmy was only fifteen. His job at the camp was to winterize the facilities in the fall, and the reverse at the start of the summer season.

He was in his third year helping close and open the camp. The three, female, head camp counselors would prepare the camp for the upcoming activities, which included getting ready for the first wave of campers.

However, the preparation left the four of them to complete those tasks without supervision. Mom said she was pregnant with me.

Mom drove Jimmy to the camp before the weekend and would pick him up late Sunday. It had never been a problem in previous years, maybe due to Jimmy’s age, and other older people helping. However, that year, the hormones must have been raging.

When she arrived, a little early, she could not find Jimmy. She went to the counselors’ cabin and found Jimmy running naked from the back of the cabin. When she confronted the girls about what was going on, they made excuses. She thought it had been hormonal, thinking it best to let the whole thing pass. Negative press would not be in the best interest of the camp.

It had been the wrong thing to do. Mom said she should have found out what happened. It was later learned the girls had found Jimmy spying on them. They caught and punished him for the balance of the weekend, actually branding him with their initials.

Years later, after the New England Strangler rampage, Jimmy went after each of the women, seeking revenge, and was successful in killing two of them. Punishment for her mother not investigating that weekend was to go after me. She never knew any of this until Jimmy explained things to her just before he was about to kill her.

* * *

She blocked many of the details of that ordeal. She did everything she could to put it out of her mind. However, Jimmy’s image kept coming at the wrong time when she was with Scott. Pushing it aside was the wrong thing to do. Talking with her mom a while ago enabled her to deal with that night more clearly.

She remembered the details of that night with Jimmy. Judy and I were going to get a new dorm room on the fifth floor. It looked out on the alley way. When I first checked out the room I noticed a man’s room with lights on across the alley. The next time I visited, curiosity got the best of me and I brought a pair of binoculars. When I focused the binoculars on the man’s bedroom there was a note on the bed that read: