Serial Separation (16 page)

Chapter 45

I slept well last night but never
did get anything to eat. Yesterday was a Christmas to remember and forget, but
hopefully I can make today memorable.

I thought about Mercedes’ input to
the task force yesterday, wondering what was she going to do today? Since it
was Saturday, I found a convenient parking spot near the task force office.
When I entered, Colleen was at the reception desk, something I hadn’t expected.

“Hi Scott, how was your Christmas?”

I thought about whether she was asking
a trick question but decided she was too innocent to know. “Hi, Colleen. It was
very memorable, but today’s a new day. How was yours?”

“It was great! It was nice to spend
time with my family.”

“That’s what holidays are all
about.”

That reminded me, I was glad I had
called my parents last night to explain most of what had happened to prevent me
from making it home. They said they really weren’t expecting me due to the
snowstorm, but they were glad I called and was okay.

“Scott, did you make it to Lisa’s
parents’ house like you had planned? How is Lisa?”

I took a deep breath to figure out
how to explain things and answered, “No, I never made it up there. Lisa is very
upset with me at the moment.”

Fortunately, Mike heard my voice
and came to say hello.

“Good morning, Scott, did you get
any rest last night?”

Colleen had a questioning look on
her face, but I answered him. “Yes, when I hit the bed I was gone. I never ate
dinner last night. I’m starved.”

Mike smiled at me and responded,
“There are some fresh doughnuts by the coffee pot if you’re interested, and I
just made a pot of coffee.”

Just then the front door opened and
Mercedes came in. “Oh look, am I late for a meeting?” she asked, looking at the
three of us just standing at the reception desk.

Mike responded, “Good morning,
Mercy. No, but when you get a cup of coffee we’re going to go over some things
in the conference room. There’s only a few other people in there at the
moment.” He turned and headed for the conference room.

I looked over at Mercy while she
took off her pea coat; she was dressed in black ski pants and a bright red
sweater. When she turned around, it made me turn away. She noticed I had been looking
in her direction. “Scott thanks for the help getting my car out last night.”

“You guys were here . . . on
Christmas?” Colleen immediately questioned. “What did I miss?”

“Paddy called a meeting to go over
some things, even though it was Christmas,” I answered.

Colleen gave me the impression she
was still processing, looking at both of us. She took a sip of her coffee but
didn’t say anything else. I took the opportunity to head to the coffee pot.

Mercedes asked me, “So how did you
sleep last night?”

I thought it strange that everyone
wanted to know about that. “I took a shower and hit the bed, and that was the
last I remember. I never ate dinner last night . . . I guess I was more tired
than I thought.”

She responded, already drinking her
black coffee, “Interesting. Thanks for asking how I slept last night.”

“Sorry, how did you sleep last
night?” We were close enough for me to smell gardenia again, and my mind
pictured her sleeping at the cabin.

“I was very restless for some
reason. Maybe it was my input to the task team that made me restless—or maybe
it was sleeping alone.”

I could tell she was baiting me
again, so I decided to head to the conference room. “Mike and the others are
probably waiting on us. You look very nice today.” I was now moving toward the
conference room.

She grabbed my arm tightly,
stopping me. “Thanks for the compliment, but sleeping alone isn’t what it used
to be. Have you given any more
thought to my question?”

I quickly searched my brain for
what question was outstanding. “I have.”

My response was interrupted by Mike,
peeking around the corner. “Are you two coming in so we can get started?” She
let go of my arm, but gave me the…I’m expecting an answer look.

I resumed walking. “We’re coming.”

She whispered, “Don’t I wish!”

* *
*

I knew my face was red when I
entered the conference room, but I decided to let it pass. Mike was indeed
ready to start and began when we were seated.

“What has not been made public
about Cathy Palmer’s murder is she had been mutilated. ‘Lily’ was carved into
her right breast. We believe the meaning is ‘Lily White,’ which leads us to
believe the kidnappers were not white.”

He continued. “Mercedes provided an
outline yesterday that females might be behind the killings. Cathy Palmer
unfortunately was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bob Sullivan was the
target of the kidnapping, and the kidnappers just kept the girl. They must have
dropped Sullivan off at a location near the water. Two Boston detectives are
pulling a list of all waterfront properties in the Boston Harbor area to narrow
down the potential buildings.”

He took a sip of coffee. “We’re
going to interview Cathy Palmer’s mother again. She was taken to the hospital
when notified Cathy’s body had been discovered. She might be able to give us an
idea where they went after Bob picked up Cathy. Sullivan’s parents had no idea
where Bob was or where he was headed.”

“Boston police detectives have not
found any leads from canvassing the area where Bob and Cathy would have been
abducted. We’re going to continue that effort this afternoon.”

“Scott and Mercedes, if you care to
join the party, you can accompany us.”

He walked to the blackboard, which
still had Mercedes’ and Paddy’s input, adding “Slum Gang” to the list. “Boston
P.D. has asked their gang task force to inquire with their snitches to see if
they can dig up anything relating to who might be involved in the kidnapping.”

“Well, that’s the update. Does
anyone have questions before we take to the street?”

No one asked any questions. I
enjoyed my participation on the last task force, assisting Mike with
questioning people. Mike gave out the assignments, saying I would be working
with him; Mercedes would be working with Paul Brosque and another detective.

I was happy Mike had split us up.
However, I tried not to let it show.

* * *

Mike rang the bell for Palmer 2C while we stood in the Beacon Street apartment entry hall. The speaker in the hall came to life with a woman’s
voice. “Hello?”

“Yes, Mrs. Palmer, this is Detective Mike Miller. I’m with
a task force investigating the recent cases, including Cathy’s.” Without
another word, the entry door buzzer sounded. Mike was tactful with his choice
of words.

We let ourselves in, climbed the stairs to the next level,
located apartment 2C. The door opened to the limit of the safety chain. Mike
held up his badge. Mrs. Palmer closed the door to remove the safety chain,
letting us enter.

“Mrs. Palmer, this is Scott Tucker, who is helping with our
investigation. We would like to talk with you about your daughter. We are very
sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you. Please come in and have a seat.”

Mike and I both noticed she had been crying.

“Is there a Mr. Palmer?” Mike asked.

“No, he was killed in World War II. It’s just Catrina and
me. I’m sorry, her friends call her Cathy.”

We both sat down after she did, and Mike said, “I know you
were unable to provide any details about Cathy, since you were heavily
medicated at the hospital. Let me explain why we want to follow up with you.”

“We believe Cathy was kidnapped with Bob Sullivan on Friday
night the seventeenth. Can you walk me through that evening?”

She dabbed her eyes with the tissue she had been holding.

“Yes, I can tell you what I know. My daughter lives here
with me and goes . . . I’m sorry . . . went to Northeastern University during the day. After dropping off some material Friday, she came home and said she
had a date with her boyfriend.”

“That was Bob Sullivan?”

“Yes, Bob was attending Boston University.”

“Please continue, Mrs. Palmer.”

“Cathy said they were going to a Christmas party nearby
with some of her classmates. They have an apartment across from Newman Prep.
Bob picked her up just after seven o’clock.”

She started to cry. “I’m sorry.”

Mike offered, “Mrs. Palmer, we appreciate your helping us,
but if you need a few moments, please feel free.”

“Thank you. No, I know what you’re doing is important to
find out who might have done this. Let me continue.”

“They were going to take a cab to the party, even though it
was only a few blocks away. I don’t think they planned on walking, but I’m not
sure of anything after they left here.”

“Do you have any idea who was having the party, or an
address, or even a phone number?”

“Yes. I believe Cathy had a number, now that you mention
it, but let me check her room.”

When she left, I noticed the pictures displayed on the wall
in the hall. She returned with a slip of paper that had some phone numbers on
it.

“I believe the phone number at the bottom is the one where
she was going, but I can’t be sure.”

“Can I have this in case I need to check out the other
numbers?”

“Yes, you may have it. She was expected back Friday night,
but when she didn’t come in I thought maybe she decided to stay over at the
party. However, when she didn’t come back on Saturday and didn’t call to tell
me when she would be home, I got really worried.”

“It’s not at all like Cathy. She knew I would be worried.”
She resumed sobbing.

“I called the police late Saturday. They took a brief
report and asked me to fill out a missing person’s report, which I did Sunday
morning.”

“I’m sorry about your daughter, but we want to find the
people who took her. Do you know, or did you see, what cab company they used?”

“No, I’m sorry; I didn’t check to see, but most likely it
was either Checker or Yellow Cab.”

Mike asked, “Could I use your phone to call this number?”

“Yes, certainly, it’s in the kitchen.” Mike went in the
kitchen. I heard him dialing the number.

I brought Mrs. Palmer the box of tissues.

* * *

Mike knew Mrs. Palmer was really hurting and wished someone
was with her. He was going to ask if she had someone coming to be with her. The
phone rang at the other end, and he heard a young woman’s voice. “Hello?”

“Hello. This is detective Mike Miller with the Boston
Police Department.”

“Yes. I’ve already talked with some detectives.”

“I’m with Mrs. Palmer right now; I would like to talk with
you further about your party and Cathy’s attendance. I understand you live
close to Cathy?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Can we come by to talk with you?”

“Yes, did you want to do that now?”

Mike knew investigations can sometimes include multiple
questionings. “Yes, if we could, it could really help us.”

“My name is Pam Dexter.”

“Ms. Dexter, I’m only around the corner, so we could be
there in just a few minutes.”

“Okay. Let me give you my address and apartment number.”

He wrote the address down and thanked her. He returned to
the living room to find Mrs. Palmer weeping with her head bowed. He showed the
address to me, whispering, “We’re going over to see her now.”

Mike waited for Mrs. Palmer to regain some composure. “Mrs.
Palmer, we thank you very much for your time and the information you provided.
Do you have any family coming to be with you?”

“Yes, detective. I thought it was them when you rang the
door bell. They should be here shortly.”

“Good. Do you want us to stay with you until someone
arrives?”

“No, detective. It was nice of you to ask, but I’ll be
okay. Cathy would have wanted me to help in any manner I could.”

“Thank you for talking with us, and, again, we are so sorry
for your loss.”

* * *

Pam Dexter’s apartment building was only a short distance
away. What we learned from Pam, the other detectives had already been told.
Cathy and Bob were both at the party, but left Friday evening shortly before ten o’clock.

There were about twenty people at the party, some coming
and leaving during the evening. Cathy and Bob told her they were going to walk
to one of the Irish pubs in the neighborhood, but they hadn’t indicated which
one.

Ms. Dexter said that it couldn’t have been far away, since
neither was dressed for walking outside on such a cold and windy night.

Mike left his card and told her to call if she or anyone at
the party remembered anything else. Mike made a call on his car radio to find
where the others were on the canvassing.

* * *

We met up with them; they were only a few blocks away. Mike
and Paul split up the remaining apartment buildings. Mercedes and I made eye
contact. She seemed to be enjoying the process.