Branded for Murder (14 page)

I could feel her body shaking and heard her crying. I thought of Jackie again and how her life was cut short by that madman, and the President’s recent murder. “I’ll take care of you…and we’ll have a long life together.” I thought about my promise to Jackie. “I promise.”

We spent several minutes in the car after I parked near her dorm. It was hard to say goodbye, neither of us wanting to leave each other. I think I was stronger, finally saying, “Lisa, we both need to get going. I’ll miss you but we will be back together soon. Enjoy the time with your parents. I’ll call you Friday. Maybe we can see each other Friday night or over the weekend?”

She didn’t answer. She just kissed me and kissed me. I finally had to literally push her away. I opened my door. I went around and opened her door, but she was pouting and wiggling her finger at me. We shared a long passionate kiss. I was very close to getting back in the car, taking her back to my apartment. I don’t know how I got the strength, but I pulled her out of the car and we kissed once more. “Lisa, I’m going to need a day to recover from all of this.” I smiled, starting to walk her to her dorm. She reluctantly joined me.

It was cold outside, but it felt good. We climbed the dorm stairs. I started kissing her again, and she froze. She broke my hold and went inside quickly and didn’t even turn around. “Call me Scott.”

She flew past the guard and the reception area, running up the stairs. I watched her cover the distance in seconds. I turned to leave, noticing the guard, who made Lisa uncomfortable. He was twisting a paperclip like he was riding a miniature bicycle. He had a big smile on his face.

As the door was closing behind me, I heard him break the silence. “Happy Thanksgiving. Have a nice day.”

It was too late to respond, but I felt goose bumps. I sensed him watching me descend the stairs to the sidewalk. As I turned to walk to my car, the cold air felt very uncomfortable.

Chapter 35

It was nice to see my parents for Thanksgiving dinner. They invited my aunt and uncle from next door. It was the first time I’d seen them since Jackie’s funeral. They were happy to be with us. I’m sure it took their mind off her not being there. At least they gave that impression. We played cards after dinner. I remembered Jackie teaching me how to play cards.

When Dad and I were alone, he asked me how the case was going. I told him we were making progress, and that I had found a lead which might turn out to be the strangler. He told me their local newspaper carried the sketch of the man wanted for questioning in a rape case. He told me he was proud of me, and Jackie would be too.

I wanted to share with him that I had met somebody special, but for some reason I didn’t bring it up. My mom wanted to know how I was keeping busy. I couldn’t tell her about being on the task force. I told her I was doing some research which would help my career. It wasn’t a lie, and she didn’t push for more details.

Going to bed that night in my apartment, all I could smell was the scent of Lisa. I switched pillows and the scent was even stronger. I had trouble falling asleep. This surprised me, since I hadn’t really slept the night before. My mind was wrapped around Lisa, the Strangler, the new process and Lisa’s comments about someone possibly taking her underwear from her dorm room. I finally curled up to a pillow, talking myself into making believe it was her.

Whatever sleep I did get must have been a deep sleep. I was up early, taking a long shower until the hot water ran out. Everything I did, or touched, now reminded me of Lisa. I smiled when I saw the crumbs from the toast I had made us for breakfast. While I was getting dressed, I decided to wear the white shirt Lisa had worn. Her scent was on the shirt, so she would be with me all day. Many times on the way to work, I recalled her image in my apartment. I wanted to call her and make plans for tonight.

At the office, only a few people had arrived before me. Colleen was not at the reception desk. The new form I reviewed with her was still there, but there was a stack of them. She must have made copies before she left. When I reached my desk, there was a small stack of new forms for me to review. Nobody was around at the moment, so I started going through them.

*.*.*

As I read the first sheet, it listed a call from a woman who said the guy in the sketch was her butcher, and she was not going to shop there anymore. She left her address and phone number, as well as the name and address of the delicatessen. I thought about not capturing that information on my summary document, but realized it might just be true.

I spent the next hour reading the sheets. It reinforced how I might be able to tie this different information together. Two separate calls talked about the guy being a door-to-door salesman selling vacuums. One of those women had the guy’s name and phone number. I was getting so excited about the few sheets I was reading, I realized I wasn’t consolidating them the way I planned.

I started back through the forms, numbering them and consolidating them correctly on my summary sheet. I made references back and forth where two separate calls could be related. Eventually, I thought I could let Mike, or someone he chose, know which calls should be investigated first. I felt the process was rewarding.

Hearing Colleen’s voice at her desk, I went to talk with her, but she was still on the phone. She smiled, giving me the thumbs up sign. I noticed she was busy filling out a new sheet. I smiled back at her, silently mouthing good morning. I wondered why she decided to come in…she was supposed to have the two days off. I heard Mike say something to Paddy, as he headed down the stairs.

“Good morning Scott. How was your holiday? I thought I gave you the entire four days off.”

“I had a good time with my parents. How was your holiday?”

I followed him to his desk, and turning, he shared, “Well, I managed to spend a couple of hours with my family for dinner, but we’re getting inundated with calls about the sketch in the paper. When the other calls get referred here, we’re going to be even more swamped.”

I started to say something, but he beat me to the punch. “Those new call sheets you designed are really going to be an aid to us. I saw your procedure and how you plan to cross-reference them. Have you done anything with the ones we left on your desk?”

“Well I’ve read all of them and I’ll try to summarize them right now. I can see some that are pointing to the same person. I think I’ll be able to give you some suggestions to follow up on shortly.”

“Good…that sounds like what we need.” He reached into his top desk drawer, bringing out a two inch stack of completed forms. “I got these early yesterday, never putting them with the others we filled out yesterday afternoon. Now, do you still think you can consolidate them?” He smiled, knowing it was a rhetorical question.

I took the pile and the others on my desk and went into the conference room to spread them out. I knew I was going to need a lot more room to work this. I was logging and assigning numbers and summarizing the call information when Mike stuck his head in.

“Scott, I have Paul and Phil looking for leads they can follow up on. Do you have any you can give me where the information is similar?”

I went to three which pointed to the vacuum salesman. “Mike, here are three separate calls, all talking about the same vacuum salesman. One of them has the guy’s name and phone number.” I handed him those call forms, and he started reading them. Mike, there’s one other guy…let me find the sheets, which mention a neighborhood butcher.” I handed him the sheets.

He stopped reading the sheets. “Scott, we’ve been doing this for years. I have to tell you, your way of organizing them is going to help us. I can see how a computer could really help too, but that’s down the road. Thanks for your help.” He waved the sheets, leaving the conference room.

Colleen came in a second later asking, “Scott, where do you want the new sheets?”

I was happy I had the conference room, at least for now.

Chapter 36

Mike purposely left Scott in the conference room working on the leads. He asked Paul and Phil to join him over at the table in front of the file cabinets. He had Colleen make copies of the five leads he was giving them to follow up.

Mike noticed Paul talking with Colleen at her reception desk. “Paul, we’re going to go over those leads, can you join us?”

Colleen turned bright red. Paul smiled, whispered something to Colleen, turning to join Mike.

Mike had five call sheets spread out in two piles when Paul and Phil sat down at the table. “We have five calls, pointing to two different men. I would like both of you to talk to the people who reported these two men. One is a butcher at a corner deli, which was reported by two different people.” He pointed to the two call sheets. “The other three sheets mention a vacuum cleaner salesman, resembling the man in the sketch.” Paul picked up one set and Phil the other. Mike gave them a few minutes to read and share the different call sheets.

“Mike, the butcher guy sounds a little far fetched, since he had to travel all over New England to commit these crimes. The salesman could be a more significant lead, where he would be knocking on doors, possibly getting into the women’s apartments,” Paul stated, offering his thoughts.

Mike responded, “I had the same impression, but why don’t you check out both anyway. I don’t want you to contact either of the two men at this time. If you can, make contact with the women who reported these two guys. Let’s talk about what they had to say when you return. Find out as much as you can about the salesman, including the company he represents.”

Phil offered, “I like what Scott did with these call sheets. It helps to have everything consolidated like this.” He added, “We did the same thing before, but it seems like he was able to identify them faster than we could have. He doesn’t say much to us you know. He just seems to be on a mission. Do we pay him anything?”

Mike smiled, knowing why Scott was so driven. “I know what you mean, but he’s doing this just to help find the strangler.”

Paul offered his observation, “I saw him looking at the strangler case files and the other rape case files. He looked shocked by what he saw. It’s amazing to me that he would put himself into such an uncomfortable position, but I’m glad he’s helping us.”

“I’ll let him know you guys appreciate his effort. As a matter of fact, don’t be afraid to talk to him, I’m sure he would like to know he’s valued. I’ve had a beer or two with him and I really like him. He’s really going to be something down the line. I’m also happy he’s with us.”

*.*.*

Late in the afternoon, Mike called a meeting with Paul and Phil, asking me to join them. Mike wanted to hear what the two detectives had learned from talking with the women who had made the calls.

Mike offered, “I asked Scott to join us to see how these leads panned out. I think it might help him as he reviews the other call sheets. What did you learn?”

The two men welcomed me, immediately sharing their interviews. Paul started first. “The two calls about the butcher were interesting. What I mean is that the two ladies who reported him were very suspect of everything. Both had multiple locks on their doors. We had to show our IDs multiple times before they would let us inside their respective apartments. They both live on the same block. After talking to them we went by the butcher shop and looked at the guy. The butcher doesn’t even resemble the sketch. It turns out both women know each other, got to talking about the strangling cases, and decided the butcher could be the guy. There’s nothing more to be said about the leads there.”

Phil immediately jumped in after Paul finished. “However, the three reports of the vacuum salesman were the other end of the spectrum. All three women failed to let the guy into their apartment. Two women were middle age, in their forties, and the other was in her late twenties. One did get a phone number, which she gave me. Here it is.” He handed the number to Mike continuing, “He looks like he’s an independent salesman. He was trying to set up appointments and wasn’t carrying any equipment other than a briefcase.”

Paul added, “That was the main reason the women didn’t let him in. One of the women was interested in a new vacuum, but when he wasn’t able to show her something right then, she told him she wasn’t interested. When they saw the sketch in the paper, each of them decided he closely resembled it. The phone number is an ‘Oliver’ exchange, which puts him located in the Roxbury section of Boston.”

Mike weighed the input and then offered, “I think this guy might be a good lead. I want to cover this and the sheets with Paddy. Do you have your notes on the call sheets?”

Paul answered, “We made our notes on the back of each sheet. If you want my opinion, we should bring this guy in for questioning.”

Mike immediately responded, “Yeah, but once we do that, if he’s the guy, it would change his approach, possibly forcing him to move from this area. I’ll see what Paddy suggests we do. Thanks guys for your effort.”

As they got up to leave, Phil addressed me. “Scott, we appreciate what you’re doing. It looks like you might have come up with at least one good lead. Thanks.” They stood and shook my hand. “We both think you’re crazy to be involved in this, but I guess that’s your business.”

“Thanks guys. I’m glad I’m helping. Your comment will keep me going for a couple more days,” I responded.

The two detectives left and Mike touched me on the shoulder. “Do you have plans for tonight, or are you going to see Lisa?”

“Oh shit. I’m sorry. I forgot to call her and it’s already late. I appreciate the offer, but I really need to see her. Do you mind if I use the office phone?”

Mike smiled. “No, go ahead. I understand. I need to talk with Paddy about what we learned. Have a good night. I’m glad the guys value what you’re doing. You are helping, you know.” He paused, adding, “How are you making out with the rest of these call sheets?”

“I’m pretty far along. I think I have one more lead for you to check out. It’s in reference to a police detective.”

*.*.*

Mike noticed Colleen on the phone, filling out one of the call sheets. He knew Paddy was still in the office, so he climbed the stairs to his office. He was glad the guys mentioned they appreciated what Scott is doing. He wondered if Scott realized that he might just prevent some woman from being killed. He thought about Scott telling him about his cousin being one of the victims.
I really don’t think Paddy needs to know about that. If he were to kick Scott off the task force it wouldn’t help our efforts at all. He decided to keep that secret.

Paddy looked up from his paperwork and acknowledged Mike. “Mike, how’s it going downstairs?” Paddy motioned him to have a seat.

Mike responded, “Well, that’s what I wanted to see you about. Scott found three call sheets, all talking about a vacuum salesman matching the sketch in the paper. I had Paul and Phil check with the callers. They all had similar experiences. None of them let him in, but when he knocked on their doors he wasn’t carrying any equipment, just a briefcase. I wanted to talk to you about whether we should bring this guy in for questioning. We have his phone number, but no actual address.” Mike handed the number and call sheets to Paddy.

Paddy looked at the call sheets and the detectives’ comments on the back. After a few minutes reading the sheets, he responded, “These are impressive. It looks like they may point to a good lead. Where did these call sheet forms come from…I don’t remember seeing them.”

“Scott worked up the form, and the process to review them. He actually pulled two different sets out, which Phil and Paul checked out. The other was a corner butcher, but the guys checked him out and felt he is not worth any follow up effort.”

Paddy put his glasses down on his desk, and asked, “What do you think about Scott working with us?”

Mike looked at the serious look on Paddy’s face. “We wouldn’t be where we are if Scott wasn’t helping us.”

Paddy turned his chair to look out the window. “I had the same feeling.” He paused, staring out the window for a few seconds. He turned, looking at the three call sheets again. “The AG is on my case to drop Scott from the task force. He’s not in favor of a non-law enforcement person having access to the strangler case material, and the other rape cases. He says there’s too much of a legal issue involved. If something happened to Scott, it wouldn’t look good.”

He studied Paddy for a few seconds, offering, “You are kidding me. You can’t drop Scott from the team. The guys appreciate his effort and have even told him so. You know how hard it is for our guys to give anyone else credit. They just told him that. Paddy, you have to support Scott being involved with us.” He thought about what Scott had shared with him and was glad Paddy didn’t know about their secret. “Paddy, look at what Scott has done.”