Steve Demaree - Dekker 09 - Murder on a Blind Date (17 page)

I
wondered if librarians get home from work before salesman do and decided to get
all the women out of the way. I headed to Lucy Marlowe's house. I drove through
traffic to her house, and even though the radio was still off Lou sang along
with what song he figured was playing on the radio. I arrived to check out the
librarian. I decided to leave Lou in the van again. I could overpower a mousy
librarian if the need arose. This time I had a different greeting at the door.

"Oh,
you're the guy I went out with the other night. What are you doing here? I
haven't even sent my card back yet. I was still trying to decide. So, how did
you get my address. I thought that stuff  is supposed to be confidential."

"I
need to talk to you. May I step inside? It's cold out here."

"Just
say what you want to as quick as you can. I don't feel comfortable with a man
in the house."

I started
to tell her that I didn't think she had anything to worry about with any man,
but instead pulled out my credentials and showed them to her.

"This
is for some guy named Cy Dekker. Your name is something else. I can't remember
it right now."

"It's
Cy Dekker and as this says I'm working with the Lexington Police Department on
a case right now."

"That's
not a police car. Whoever heard of a policeman driving a minivan?"

"Well,
I do. Now do you want to talk here, or do you want me to take you in?"

"I
don't think I like your attitude. And I want you to know I can handle myself.
I've thrown a couple of people out of the library before."

"Just
go call the Lexington Police Department and ask for Detective Gruber or
Detective Sanchez and ask them if they have a Cy Dekker working on an
investigation with them."

"Okay,
but until I find out, you're waiting right there."

I stood
there freezing, thinking "and this was the mousy librarian I had to eat
with."

Just as
my skin color changed from lobster red to Smurf blue she returned to the door.

"Detective
Gruber wasn't there. That Sanchez guy wasn't either, but when they transferred
me some woman answered and said 'Detective Sanchez,' so I guess she was
answering the phone for him. Anyway she said you are who you say you are. I
thought about calling back and asking to speak to a man, but I guess you're
okay. Come in and make it quick. You're freezing me to death making me keep
this door open."

I walked
in and didn't wait for her to ask me to sit. I was afraid she would refuse.

"I'm
sorry you had to speak to some woman, but good help is hard to keep these days.
Now, I take it that you are Lucy Marlowe?"

"That's
right! Some of us don't lie about who we are."

"And
you admit that you contacted Just For You about using their service?"

"I
must have been out of my mind."

"I
assume I can take that as a 'yes.'"

"Take
it however you like."

"Miss
Marlowe, how many men have you dated through this service?"

"None."

"None?
You met me, and I understand you've had dates with others."

"I
don't call those dates. We didn't smooch or anything. And you didn't pick me
up, of which I'm thankful."

"So,
give me the names and dates of the men you met at The Cheesecake Factory."

"I'm
not going to do that. You'd probably go to their place and tell them lies about
me."

"Okay,
then I will give them to you." I read a man's name. "And he's been
murdered. And as far as I know you are the last person to have seen him
alive."

I didn't
know if he'd been murdered or not, since I hadn't received any update, but
since Thursday had not yet arrived I guessed that there had been no more
murders.

"Well,
he probably deserved it. He wasn't much of a catch. Sort of like you."

"A
few minutes ago you said you hadn't made up your mind about me yet."

"That's
because I was afraid of what you might do if I told the truth."

"You
should be afraid of what I might do if you don't tell the truth."

"Are
you threatening me?"

"No,
just telling it like it is."

I asked
her a few more questions, but got nowhere. She was stubborn. I had upgraded her
on my likely suspects list, but I had nothing that would allow me to arrest
her. So, I told her to watch herself and that I was going. I started not to
warn her about being careful about whom she opened the door to, but my
conscience got the best of me, so I left her with those encouraging words.

+++

Lou saw a
different look on my face when I returned to the van a second time.

"What
happened there?"

"I
badgered her, but I wanted to batter her."

He
laughed.

"So,
you won't be getting a Christmas card from her this year?"

"No
birthday present, either."

I realized
if my dates had been for real one of the three could have been a love
connection, but I quickly thought of Jennifer and dismissed that thought.
However, I thought better of myself when I remembered that the one of the three
women where I told mostly the truth was the one where the dating service gave
me a woman worthy of my affection. 

+++

I wanted
to forget about another woman. This time I turned on the radio. It was after
6:00
. Cousin Brucie was doing his weekly show on 60s on 6. Listening
to Cousin Brucie always puts my mind at ease. He seems like the kind of person
you would call if you had a problem, and he reminded everyone that he would be
giving away some more prizes to a caller with the correct answer. I figured
that would happen about the time we were questioning another participant in the
dating game. I looked Cousin Brucie up on the internet one time. I expected him
to be a jolly old fat guy. Then I remembered that no one looks less like what
you think they will look like than people on the radio.

I wanted
to talk to Phil Pendleton before Lou and I headed somewhere to eat. It was
already dark, but the wind was calm and there was no snow, so at least that was
in our favor. I turned the radio back on and looked again at Pendleton's
address. I remembered going there earlier and wondered if I would have any
trouble finding his house in the dark. With Lou and I together, I figured one
of us could recognize the house. I was through with women, well through with
coming clean to those I had met at The Cheesecake Factory, so I planned to take
Lou in with me when we found Pendleton's house. A few minutes later I pulled up
in front of it and was excited to see there were lights on inside. Lou and I
jumped out of the van and hurried to the door. A few seconds later we were
greeted by someone I assumed was Phil Pendleton.

"Are
you Phil Pendleton?"

"I
am. And you are?"

"I'm
Cy Dekker, Special Investigator for the Lexington Police Department, and this
is my associate Lou Murdock. I have some questions for you about a matter we
are investigating."

"If
this has to do with my job I'm not sure I'm at liberty to answer any of your
questions."

"No,
it's an entirely different matter."

"I'm
curious now. Come in and have a seat."

"Mr.
Pendleton, I'll come right to the point."

Those
words seemed to unnerve him.

"Has
Just For You dating service arranged any dates for you?"

He
smiled.

"One.
And it worked out well. At least I think it did. I met a young lady through
them and we seemed to hit it off, and I've been trying to call her for a date,
but I can never reach her. The call keeps going to voice mail. And I know she
liked me, too. She sent back a green card just like I did."

He
started to explain what a green card was, but I waved him off.

"I
assume the young lady you're talking about is Diane Elliott."

"That's
right," was his response, but his look returned to one of concern.

"Mr.
Pendleton, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Miss Elliott has been
murdered."

"Murdered?"

"And
not only Miss Elliott, but others who have used the agency have been murdered,
too."

"You
mean some maniac has been running around murdering innocent women?"

"Well
some of the victims were men."

"But
who would do something like that?"

"That's
why we're here. Tell me, when was the last time you saw Miss Elliott, or talked
to her?"

"Well,
it was the night we went out. We had a great time together. I felt good about
having more dates with her, and I left that place with a smile on my face."

"By
that place do you mean The Cheesecake Factory?"

"That's
right. That's some place."

"Have
you been back there since your date with Miss Elliott?"

"No.
No reason to go back."

"Tell
me about your day last Thursday."

"Was
that the day she was murdered?"

"Just
answer the question."

"Well,
it was about like every other day. I was out calling on doctor's offices all
day."

"And
after work?"

"Let's
see. Thursday. Oh, yeah! That was the night I met some friends for dinner at
Malone's."

"And
what did you do between work and dinner?"

"Well,
the friends I was meeting were a couple of couples I've known for a while. We
get together every so often for dinner and catch up. Sometimes I take a date,
but I didn't that night. Thursday was my friend's wife's birthday, so I went
shopping and bought her something, then met them for dinner."

"Let's
stop there. Why didn't you have a date this time?"

"I
just never took the time to ask anyone. Besides, I thought I might have
something going with Diane."

"And
you didn't call her to invite her to join you that night."

"I
thought about it, but I wanted to get to know her a little better before I
turned my friends loose on her. They would have tried to have us married before
the month was over."

"And
before you met her, where did you get most of your dates?"

"Most
of the women I took to dinner were nurses or receptionists in one of the
doctor's offices I call on. I must tell you. I'm a flirt. I flirt with all the
women, even the older ones."

"And
you say that Thursday was a typical day for you."

"Except
for dinner out."

"And
what is your normal work schedule?"

"I
call on doctor's offices Monday through Friday."

"Pretty
busy are you?"

"Pretty
much."

"Let's
say you have to pick up some dry cleaning, or have a bill to pay. Does your day
allow you to take time to do things like that?"

"Oh,
yeah! Well, most days. Occasionally, I have a day where I have to grab lunch on
the run."

"Some
days busier than others?"

"Yeah,
Monday and Friday are my busiest days. Wednesday's the slowest."

"And
have you dated any other women through this service?"

"No,
she was the first. And I thought she was a perfect match. I hate it that this
happened to her. I sure hope you find the guy."

"Oh,
we'll find him. Or her. We're not sure yet who the murderer is. It just looks
like it might be someone who filled out an application for the dating
service."

"So,
you think the people who run the business are on the up and up?"

"Well,
we can't rule them out completely. But for one of them to do it would be like a
wolf chewing off his own foot."

"I
see what you mean. Well, you can cross me off, too. No man would kill a woman
who made his heart go aflutter."

"Well,
technically, we can't rule out anyone yet. But whoever it is, we'll get
them."

"I'm
sure you will. Well, will that be all?"

"Just
a few more things to go over with you."

I asked
him a few more questions, then got up to leave. I stopped on my way to the door
and turned to ask him another question.

"Oh,
Mr. Pendleton, will you contact the agency again for another date?"

"Probably.
After all the first one worked out okay. Well, except that she was murdered. Do
you think that I or another young lady I might date could be in any
danger?"

"Well,
there is that possibility. But we will be watching more closely, now that we
have some idea what we are dealing with."

"Well,
maybe I'll see you soon at The Cheesecake Factory. Of course with that place, I
don't think anyone could have a really bad date."

I thought
of mentioning the names of two of my dates, but refrained from doing so.
Instead, Lou and I walked out.

+++

"Well,
what do you think, Lou?"

"I
think it's time to eat."

"Me,
too. Where do you want to go?"

"We're
going home tomorrow, Cy. Is that right?"

"We
are."

"And
if we come back we won't be back right away?"

"Well,
it depends on your definition of right away. I don't think we'll be back before
next week at the earliest. I think we need to take back what we've gathered so
far and go over it."

"Well,
The Cheesecake Factory still has a lot of things on the menu we haven't
sampled."

I smiled.
It was the best thing Lou had said all day. But then I couldn't think of
anything else he had said that day that I agreed with.

+++

We were
most of the way through our meal, and about to order a piece of cheesecake each
when I got an idea. I looked up at Lou and waited until he looked at me.

"Lou,
would you be interested in doing something tomorrow, for old times sake?"

"You
mean checking out early and driving home to eat breakfast at the Blue
Moon?"

"How
did you know what I was thinking?"

"Well,
we are twins."

"Twins?"

"Well,
except that I got the looks and the brains."

"Lou,
it's always bothered me that you got the looks and brains you did. But it's
never seemed to bother our friendship. You've resigned yourself to the fact
that I look and think better than you do."

He shook
his head, and then we returned to the matter at hand.

"So,
Cy, if I say 'yes,' can you go there without falling off the wagon?"

"Yeah,
Lou. Let's limit ourselves to two eggs and three pieces of bacon each, like we
do at home."

"Do
you think Rosie will be willing to serve us so little?"

"Well,
probably, but first she'll ask, 'What do you really want?'"

+++

As soon
as I got back to my room I made a phone call.

"Eve
Sanchez."

"Cy
Dekker here."

"And
you're not stuttering. Have you found our murderer yet?"

"Well,
I'm going around meeting all the suspects. Some of them are higher on my list
than others. I told you I'd check in with you. Tomorrow's Thursday. Murder day.
Lou and I are going home, but when we get there we're going to look over
everything we know and see if we can solve this thing from a distance. But I
have a question. Since all of the murders have happened on a Thursday, does the
department plan anything tomorrow to check on suspects or possible
victims?"

"We
don't have the manpower to check on everyone, but I'm curious as to who is or
is not leaving the house where the dating service operates. So, we'll have
someone posted outside of that house. And we'll have a couple of guys checking
some of the more recent ones who sent back green cards. They can't babysit
them, but they can check a few times a day and hope none of them have their
final visitor."

I thanked
her and told her I'd let her know if I came up with any ideas.

+++

I ended
one call and punched in the number of the next call.

"This
is Sam I am, dining on green eggs and ham."

"Eating
late tonight, aren't you, Sam?"

"So,
Cy, did you just get in from a date? Is that why are you calling me so
late?"

"No
date tonight. I just got back to my suite at the Hilton Suites and figured you
might be lonely. Actually Sam, I've got some people I want you to check on. Add
that to anything else you come up with about all these murders and I'll be
happy."

"You're
in a suite, Cy? Was the homeless shelter full?"

I ignored
Sam's question and gave him the names of the people I wanted him to check on,
and if he knew the whereabouts of any of them on the last two or three
Thursdays that would be great, too."

He told
me he would get back to me before Christmas.