The May Day Murders (9 page)

He smiled broadly and said, “I
understand, Ann. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll only feel regret
that we never had the chance to get to know each other. You’re a
lovely woman, as well as kind.”

His flattery made Ann melt a little.
“Thank you, Jerry. I’ll think about it—I promise. I’d better go
back inside now.”

“
Nice meeting you, Ann. Good
day,” he said and stepped into his BMW.

“
Goodbye,” Ann said, then
turned and walked away.

When Ann returned, the checkout girl
had already bagged her groceries and was standing patiently by the
register.

“
Did you catch him?” she
asked.

Ann nodded. “He was very grateful. How
much do I owe you?”

“
Sixty-seven forty-two,” the
checkout girl replied.

Ann quickly wrote out a check for the
amount, feeling the eyes glaring at her from behind. She handed the
check over and showed the girl her driver’s license.

“
Thanks,” she said as she
cleared the register and gave Ann her receipt.

“
Thank you.”

Back in her car, Ann took Jerry’s
business card from her purse and studied it. He was a real estate
broker, apparently working independently, and the card listed a
Dublin address with a local phone number. She wondered if she’d
made a mistake in accepting it, then decided that she hadn’t; the
ball was in her court, after all. She stuck the card back into her
purse and started up the engine.

When she got home, she could hear the
television coming from the family room as she carried the grocery
bags into the kitchen. After setting them down on the table, she
decided to go in and see if Amy wanted any breakfast.

“
Good morning, sleepy head,”
she said as she entered the family room. Amy was sitting on the
sofa watching cartoons.

“’
Morning, Mom,” she
mumbled, not taking her eyes off the tube.

“
Have you eaten
yet?”

“
No. I’m not
hungry.”

“
You need to start eating,
young lady. Let me fix you a bowl of cereal,” Ann
insisted.

“
I’ll eat later, Mom. Let me
wake up first, okay?” she whined.

“
All right—but don’t forget.
Any calls while I was gone?”

“
Karen called. I told her
you’d call her back.”

“
Speaking of calls, who was
it that called in the middle of the night?” Ann asked, suddenly
recalling the phone ringing at three a.m.

Amy glanced over at her. “I don’t
know.”

“
Don’t lie to me, Amy. I
know damn sure it wasn’t for me!”

“
Really, Mom—I don’t know
who it was. Some crank caller.”

Ann immediately sensed there was more
to this. “What do you mean? Did they say anything?”

“
He sure did—it was some
pervert!” she replied with a scowl.

Ann winced. “What did he say,
Amy?”

Amy’s eyes returned to the television.
After some hesitation, she said, “He just breathed really hard at
first—you know. Then he said something …”

Ann felt her pulse quicken. She strode
over so she could face her daughter. “Tell me what he said,
Amy.”

Amy was silent for a moment, and then
she looked directly into her mother’s eyes. “He said, ‘I want to
fuck you.’”

Ann recoiled, but kept her composure.
“Is that all he said?”

“
Yes.”

“
And what did you say?” Ann
asked, her hands beginning to tremble.

Amy leered at her. “Nothing, Mother! Do
you think I’m crazy? I hung up the phone right away!”

“
Well, you did the right
thing, sweetie. And if he ever calls again, just hang up on him
again. Don’t stay on the line.”

“
Don’t worry, I
won’t.”

Ann could see that Amy was upset about
the call but was trying her hardest not to show it. “Do you have
any idea who it could have been, honey?” she asked.

Amy’s eyes had returned to Bugs Bunny.
“No.”

Ann couldn’t tell if she was telling
the truth or not, but gave her the benefit of the doubt. “Did he
sound young or old?” she asked.

“
I couldn’t tell, Mom. I was
half asleep, you know.”

Ann stared at her a moment and could
feel her nerves becoming taut as she thought about her little girl
being traumatized by an obscene phone caller. Once again, she
wished Sam were here to help her now—he’d know what to do. But he
wasn’t here, and it was just two of them.

Then she recalled the sounds she
thought she’d heard in the backyard as a huge wave of apprehension
swept over her. Maybe it hadn’t been her imagination after all. And
the front porch light …

The floodlight! she thought. She must
call Mr. Ogilvy right away.

But first, she sat down beside Amy and
asked, “Are you all right, honey?”

Amy looked directly into her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine, Mom.”

Ann embraced her. “I love you,
sweetie,” she whispered, feeling a sudden urge to cry.

“
I love you too,
Mom.”

Ann hastened to compose herself and
started to get up, but Amy held onto her. “Don’t worry, Mom.
Everything’s going be all right,” she whispered gently.

Ann rested her head on her shoulder. “I
know.”

She hugged her a few moments longer,
then stood up again. “I think I’ll go call Karen back.” She started
to leave, then stopped herself, and turned to Amy. “I really wish
you’d wear a robe or something to cover yourself up,” she said,
regarding her daughter’s scanty attire: a threadbare tee shirt and
panties.

Amy looked at her, her mouth agape.
“God, Mom—don’t be so paranoid!”

Ann stared at her reproachfully, let
out a sigh and left the room.

She stopped in the living room to get
her address book out of the end table drawer, and took it with her
into the kitchen. After finding Mr. Ogilvy’s telephone number, she
picked up the phone and dialed. He answered after the second
ring.

“
Mr. Ogilvy, this is Ann
Middleton.”

“
Yes? How are you, Mrs.
Middleton?”

“
Fine, thank you, but I have
a little problem. The light in the backyard is acting up
again.”

“
What’s that? Is the bulb
burned out?”

Ann could almost see the crotchety old
man’s dour expression as he spoke. “I don’t think so, Mr. Ogilvy.
It must be shorting out again because it goes on sometimes, then
goes out for a while, and then comes on again. Just like it was
doing before.”

There was a pause. Then, “Can’t be—I
fixed that wiring last time I was there. Must be something
else.”

Ann didn’t want to argue with him.
“Well, whatever it is, I’d appreciate it if you’d take a look at
it. As soon as possible, if you don’t mind.” she
asserted.

Another pause, then he said, “All
right, Mrs. Middleton. I’ll stop by sometime this afternoon and
take a look at it.”

“
Thanks a lot, Mr. Ogilvy. I
really do appreciate it.”

“
You’re welcome,” he
grunted, and hung up.

Ann pushed down on the button and
dialed Karen Walker’s number.

“
Hello?”

“
Hi, Karen. Amy told me you
called while I was at the supermarket.”

“
How are you
feeling?”

“
Not real great.”

“
What’s the matter? Is it
Marsha?” Karen asked, concerned.

“
No, not that, something
else … Last night I thought I heard a prowler in the
backyard—two different times, as a matter of fact. Amy was at the
movies—at least she was the second time—and I was here all alone.
Anyway, I looked out the window to see what was making the noise,
but that damn floodlight that’s always acting up wasn’t working. I
could see fairly well though, and didn’t notice anything unusual,
so I figured it must have been either an animal or just my
imagination. I didn’t mention this to you last night, but the front
porch light was off when we got back from Smithtown, too. It looked
like someone had screwed the bulb out partially, because it was
loose in the socket and not burned out. Again, I thought it was
just pure coincidence and didn’t give it much thought at the
time.

“
Well, now I’ve just learned
that Amy got an obscene phone call in the middle of the night! This
guy apparently did the heavy-breathing routine, then said, ‘I want
to fuck you.’ Amy, God love her, wisely hung up on him immediately.
Jesus, Karen, this is so frightening! I’m scared …”

“
All right, Ann, now calm
down a second,” Karen said soothingly. “Do you think the prowler
and the caller might have been the same person?”

“
I don’t know, Karen. I’m
not even sure that there was a prowler. All I know is that some
sick son of a bitch terrorized my daughter on the
phone!”

“
Well, I certainly don’t
blame you for being upset—I’d be too. Have you reported it to the
police yet?”

“
No, I called you
first.”

“
Then here’s what you do.
Call the police and tell them what happened—tell them everything.
They’ll probably tell you there’s nothing they can do about the
obscene phone call, but surely they’ll offer to keep an eye on your
house for a while, I should think. That will at least give you a
little piece of mind. In the meantime, get that light in your
backyard fixed. Do it today.”

“
I’ve already called the
landlord and he’s coming over this afternoon to take a look at it,”
Ann said.

“
Good. So will you call the
police?”

“
Yes, I will. Karen, I don’t
know what I’d do without you … You always know the right thing
to do. I’m not so sure I would have even thought of calling the
police.”

“
Well, hon, you’ve been
under a lot of stress lately, that’s all. There’s just too much
happening all at once and you’re not quite yourself. I’m just doing
what any friend would do.”

“
And I appreciate it. I feel
a lot better already.”

“
I’m happy to hear that. I
hate to say it, but this is all the more reason why you need to get
a man in your life. I mean, for security, if nothing else! Here you
are, two gorgeous gals living all alone, without a man around, and
you’re sitting ducks for things like this. Get yourself a man, Hon!
Your troubles will be over.”

Ann managed to smile at her friend’s
persistence. “You know, it’s funny you’d say that because I just
met someone this morning at the supermarket.”

“
Really? That’s wonderful!
Tell me all about him!” she gushed excitedly.

“
Calm down a little,
Karen—it’s really not that big of deal,” Ann declared. She then
proceeded to tell her friend about the brief encounter with Jerry
Rankin.

When she was finished, Karen said, “So
what are you going to do? You’re going to call him, aren’t
you?”

Ann sighed. “I don’t know, Karen …
I doubt it.”

“
Why not call him? He sounds
like a very nice guy and believe me, they’re few and far between
nowadays. Plus, you said he was a hunk—what’s stopping you,
gal?”

“
I said he was handsome,
Karen, not a ‘hunk!’ At any rate, as I told you yesterday, I’m just
not ready for a relationship. I don’t know if I’ll ever be for that
matter.”

“
Who said anything about a
relationship?” Karen persisted. ”The guy just wants to take you out
to dinner, not marry you! Listen. He’s a widower, right? So he’s
probably not anymore interested in a relationship than you are.
He’s probably lonely, like you, and at the crossroads of his life,
like you. It sounds perfect! What do you have to lose?”

Ann sometimes resented the way Karen
made everything out to seem so logical. She took a deep breath and
said, “Okay, Karen. You’ve made your point. I guess when you put it
that way it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. I’ll give it some
serious thought—I promise. But don’t get on my case if I don’t go
through with it.”

“
Ann, I would never pressure
you over anything like this and you know it. I’m just trying to
encourage you a little—God knows you need encouragement! One last
thing before I drop the subject. It won’t hurt anything if you just
call this guy and talk to him, just like he suggested. You know—get
to know him a little bit and play it by ear. Then, if it looks
good, go ahead and let him take you out. If he sounds like a creep,
then just ditch him. Simple as that.”

Ann sighed. “I guess you’re right; it’s
not like I have to go out with him, right? I could just call and
talk to him, being careful not to tell him my last name or anything
else that might enable him to find out my phone number or where I
live. Then just take it from there. Actually, he didn’t remind me
of the type who would hassle me—he was really sweet … Okay. I
just might do it! But I’m still going to think about it
first.”

“
Great! Promise me you’ll
let me know the scoop if and when you do call him, okay?” Karen
said.