Branded for Murder (29 page)

Chapter 65

Mike tried to stay out of Scott’s way. He went up to Paddy’s office to get some phone numbers he needed. He could hear Scott saying goodbye to Colleen, and her shocked and understandable reaction.

He had to sit down and deal with all of this. He sat in Paddy’s swivel chair, looking down at the desk piled high with case material, along with the newspaper article that must have caused Paddy’s heart attack.

He turned around to look out the window.
Why does life throw so many curves at you?
He wasn’t expecting any answer. He had been around long enough to know that business, or in this case police work, was filled to the brim with politics.
If he could change one thing it would be to eliminate it. If he ever owned his own business there would be only teamwork, with everything above board.

He heard the front door open and watched as Scott left the building. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, but he was only carrying a very small box. He had never seen Scott walk as slowly as he was now…it took him forever to get to the front gate at the end of the brick walk. The sun had long ago melted the snow and the red brick seemed to retain its color despite the many hard winters.

Scott got to the end of the walk, opened the gate and turned toward the building. He seemed to be studying it. He closed the gate and then stood up straight and saluted. It wasn’t a quick salute, it was a deliberate action that he held and then withdrew. He recalled the picture in the paper of President Kennedy’s funeral, his young son saluting the coffin.

He watched Scott take something out of his pocket, look at it for a pretty long time and then smile. He put the object back in his pocket, quickly hurrying off faster than his departure down the front walk.

He thought about Scott’s actions a moment ago,
thinking that even at a distance he believed he saw his demeanor change. What the hell did he take out of his pocket? I’ll have to ask him when I see him next time.
Oh to be so young again and have so much life ahead of him.
He turned and looked back at Paddy’s desk, seeing a picture of him and his wife and kids.
Paddy despite his heart attack is a very lucky man.

Years from now is this going to be me sitting here at a desk like this, or will I be in the hospital with my own heart attack?

The ringing telephone made him jump. A few seconds later he heard Colleen’s voice saying, “Mike, it’s the AG on the phone for
you,
and he doesn’t sound happy at all.”

*.*.*

“Hello.”

“Hello Miller, this is Victor Young. We’ve got more shit than we have bags. It seems we can’t even protect the guys in jail from themselves. Arnold Vincenti was killed in his cell last night. For some fucking reason, no one can tell me how someone was able to do that. I need you down at the jail right away to conduct your own interview with those schmucks. I have a good mind to go down there myself and line them all up for a firing…”

The AG abruptly stopped yelling for a second. Mike, thinking it best to respond, said, “I’ll go right down there sir and see what I can find.”

“Call me right away as soon as you have any news. I have to hold a press conference before the word gets out to the papers. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to have an attack like Paddy and we can share a room. I need you on this right away.”

The click in his ear actually hurt. Mike stared at the receiver, putting it down. He was glad he was still sitting down. He turned to look out the window again. He thought about watching Scott a few minutes ago.
Oh to be so young again and have so much life ahead of him.
He stood up; feeling like the weight of the world was now on his shoulders.

Chapter 66

Before I knew it I was at my apartment. It seemed strange to be here when it was light out. I came in the entry way, picked up the newspapers Gram had left for me, and had to smile at the memory of our talk. I knew what I was going to do. I might even credit the coin for the direction.

I knew I should be upset about being let go from the task force, but I wasn’t alone. Guys who had been in law enforcement for years were being sent back to their regular assignments. How could I really complain? Mike had such nice words for me. I know in my heart, I did the best I could have done. We did find the New England Strangler. I put the newspapers down, turned on the television, and headed to drain all of the coffee.

I could hear the television finally come on in the other room. We interrupt our normal broadcast for an important newscast. There was silence on the TV. I wondered if I had lost the signal again. I rushed back to the TV, looking at a dark man standing at a podium. I recognized Victor Young.

“Good morning. My name is Victor Young. For those of you who don’t know me, I am the Attorney General for Massachusetts. I’m here to report that our confessed killer, Arnold Vincenti, who was labeled as the New England Strangler, was found murdered in his cell this morning. I personally want to recognize the fine combined police work, which was instrumental in capturing this serial killer. However, I am very disappointed he did not have his day in court. We are currently investigating the details of his killing, but we have nothing to report at this time. I will not be taking any questions and this ends the news conference. Thank you.”

Holy shit, when things go bad they really go bad. I wonder if Mike’s involved with that investigation, but I’m not going to worry about it. If there are any additional killings it will be easy to say it was not Vincenti that did it. I immediately thought about Jimmy Ballou and wondered how to locate him.

I thought of all the normal methods, which I’m sure the other investigators have researched.
What other investigators? Who’s left?
I’m sure there’s nothing I can do that isn’t already done or being done. I need to see Lisa, and I’m not calling ahead.

*.*.*

Rushing up the front stairs of Lisa’s dorm, I stopped at the guard’s desk. The young lady in uniform greeted me with a smile. “Can I help you?”

I signed the guest register. “I’m here to see Lisa Anderson. Do you know if she’s in?” I asked, looking around the reception area.

She turned the register around, replying, “No, Mr. Tucker, she left a few minutes ago with two friends. I’m sorry; would you care to leave a message?” She started to give me a pad of paper.

“No thanks. If she returns please tell her Scott was here to see her,” I said, not waiting for a response.

I thought I knew where she might have gone especially if she was with Judy and Dottie. I hustled the few blocks to the coffee shop where I thought they might have been headed. Looking through the front window, I saw them seated in the back. I went to the counter and ordered a coffee, but this time black no sugar. I tried to steady the cup as I approached Lisa and the others, but I noticed it was shaking…probably because of my pace to get there.

I was standing behind Lisa when Judy looked up. “Oh my God, look who’s here!” I felt extra eyes on me as Lisa turned to look up at me.

“Scott, what are you doing here? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Sit down.” Lisa looked over to make sure there were no objections.

I spilled some coffee setting it on the table, but managed to give all of them a forced smile. “I’ve had an interesting morning. Do you mind if I sit with you ladies for a few minutes?”

Judy asked, “Lisa would you like us to leave for a few minutes?”

Lisa looked at me and then back at them, nodding and responding, “Just give us a few minutes, okay.”

Lisa put her hand on mine. “What in the world is going on? You look very strange. Is Paddy okay, please tell me he’s not dead.”

When I looked at Lisa, my heart skipped a beat. “No, Paddy is fine and chomping at the bit to get back to work.” I took a deep breath to get it all out before adding, “I was let go this morning, along with some of the others. In addition, Arnold Vincenti, the strangler, was found murdered in his cell this morning.”

She processed what I had blurted out. “I’m glad Paddy is okay, but what happened to you?”

“Well the Attorney General felt there were too many resources on the new strangler case. He ordered most of the task force members to return to their other duties. I was included with that reduction. As far as Vincenti goes, I have no idea what happened there, but I just heard the AG at a press conference.”

Lisa hugged me. “Scott, thanks for coming to see me. You said a lot doing that.” She pushed me back and kissed me.

When the others came back, Judy announced, “Well he looks much better than he did a few minutes ago. Is it okay to come back or do you need more time…or possibly a room?”

I offered a smile. Lisa laughed, answering, “We’re okay. Please sit down you’re drawing stares from the other customers.”

They sat down, holding onto their cups for protection. “I just told Lisa that the New England Strangler was found murdered in his cell. In addition, I’m no longer working on that task force.” I looked at Lisa and then at them. “Do you ladies have any time? I would like to show you the top of Boston.” Lisa smiled, as the words came out of my mouth. I know I asked the question but I had no idea why I did that.

“Oh, what a great idea that is. Judy, Dottie you have to see this place. Come on, let’s go. You can’t say no…I’ll even share Scott with you,” Lisa said, laughing.

Judy responded quickly, “You had me before you offered Scott, but I’ll take a piece if you’re offering him.” Dottie’s head was nodding, but she was just smiling, not saying a word.

*.*.*

I double timed it back to my car, drove to the coffee shop, smelling the new pastry as I opened the door to pick up the ladies. Soon, I was the target of their remarks, but really didn’t mind. Lisa wasn’t riding as close as she normally did, but she looked so fresh. I winked at her as I parked the boat in the parking garage.

In just a few minutes, Lisa was holding one of my arms and Judy was holding the other. Dottie was skipping in front of us. I pictured a maiden, dropping petals for our procession. The Skywalk admission attendant gave us more than one look. I couldn’t hold back the smile as I paid for all of us.

Once in the Skywalk area, Lisa took Judy and Dottie by the arm, dragging them around to her favorite view. It gave me a few moments to think about things. I pulled out the coin, flipping it on the floor. When I picked it up it was ‘heads up.’ Things were going to be okay today. I couldn’t stop smiling. I found the excited ladies taking turns looking through one of the observation machines.

I’m not sure they even noticed me standing there. It reminded me of what a girl sleepover might be like, with all kinds of silliness. I looked around but we were basically alone. I was happy to see this side of Lisa. Before I knew it, she was dragging them over to the city side of the observation area. I took my time; glad they were all having so much fun. I could tell they were looking in the direction of their dormitory. That gave me an idea.

I went over to another machine, inserted a dime and focused the machine on the area where the empty lot was. I could see the snow covered lot. Looking around at the other buildings close by, I eventually focused on Lisa’s dormitory. I could almost look in the top floor windows, as those were the only ones I could make out due to other buildings blocking the view. I had an odd feeling.

Why was Jimmy in Boston, and why did he give his mom an address to a vacant lot. Why is he so close to where Lisa is located? Is it just a coincidence, or is there more to this than it seems. What does this guy look like now, some twenty-two years later? I’m sure he’s on a revenge mission, from what we know so far. What could Lisa have to do with that? Could part of his revenge include making Rose pay for what happened…would Lisa be a better target than Rose?
The hairs on my arms stood up. When I looked for Lisa…she was hugging herself.

I went over to them. Judy and Dottie were enjoying their city discoveries. “Lisa, are you okay?”

She looked at me, as she tucked herself under my arm. “I’m okay. I just had a strange chill.” She put her arms around my waist, looking up at me. “Thanks for bringing us up here. Can’t you tell you made their day? We might never have it to ourselves again.”

I hugged her, hearing the air escape from her lungs. “Lisa, we’ll always have this place to ourselves.” However, I was now more concerned than I had been for a long time. I thought about
what I could have done to prevent Jackie from being killed. I wondered why I was having that thought.

“Scott, lighten up a little, you’re hurting me!” she said, into my ear.

“I’m sorry. My mind was on other things.”

“You can take me there in a few minutes. I want more of what you seem to have today. Don’t they look like they’re enjoying this place? Thanks for suggesting this and bringing us here. We’ve given them something they can share whenever they have a need.” She kissed my ear, and whispered, “I have a need of my own,” and then bit my ear.

“That reminds me, you’ve never been to my apartment during the day. I want you to meet Mrs. Abbott. I think you would enjoy each other, but I don’t want to share you all night long.”

“I promise Scott.” She put her arms around my neck, giving me a kiss that said it all.

*.*.*

We dropped off the other ladies, and Lisa made a quick trip inside her dorm. I decided to double-park. I was the recipient of several hand signals, to which I waved an acknowledgement with a smile. Lisa wasn’t more than five minutes. She came rushing down the stairs like a kid rushing to the tree on Christmas morning.

She was inside in a flash, and we were off. I could smell the fragrance of Chanel. That was not something she normally wore, but I knew the fragrance, as my mother liked it. I smiled at her. She moved under my arm, which was pretty close to her favorite position next to me.

“Are you sure you want me to meet Mrs. Abbott?” she said, running her nails up my leg.

“Yes I’m sure. We’ll have plenty of time. I think you should meet her. I really enjoyed her company the other night.”

“More than mine?”

“Sure.”

She punched my rib. “Ouch.” She caught it just right. I reacted immediately to her knuckle in my side.

“Did that really hurt?”

“Yeah, you must have caught me just right.”

“I’ll kiss it and make it better. The next time I’ll give it a little more thought before I hit you in the
ribs
. Why waste those kisses.” She paused for a second and then shared, “Speaking of kisses, I really like the kiss you gave me up on the Skywalk today. It had something that made me…well excited.”

“Funny, I thought you were kissing me.”

“I was, but you were just a few steps ahead of me. I really thought when you greeted us at the coffee shop you would have been more upset. You were shaking a little, but you didn’t seem as upset as I would have expected. I kind of like how you’ve taken control of things. What’s got into you anyway?”

I looked down at her and joked, “I guess I’ve fallen in love with Mrs. Abbott.”

She gave me a punch in the leg. “I’ll make sure she’s not any competition for me.”

*.*.*

I knocked on Mrs. Abbott’s door. She opened it right away. “Hello Scott. I see you’ve brought a lovely present with you. Who is this?”

“Gram, I would like you to meet Lisa Anderson. Lisa, this is Mrs. Abbott.”

“Hello Mrs. Abbott it’s so nice to meet you. Scott has told me so much about you. He says he’s fallen for you.”

“My dear it’s nice to meet you. Scott is something special. I’m happy he brought you to meet me. Please come in and have a seat.” She pointed to the couch, turning toward the kitchen.

Lisa whispered, “She’s so nice, she reminds me of my grandmother. What a nice lady.”

Shortly Mrs. Abbott hobbled over, handing us cups of hot chocolate with small marshmallows. “Here you go my dears; nobody visits in the winter without having a nice hot chocolate. Tell me, what brings you here during the day? Oh dear I’m sorry, that didn’t sound right.”

I jumped in to making it easier for her. “I was working a part time job. They cut back on employees, so I have some time available and thought I should have Lisa meet you.”

“Why what a nice thought.” Mrs. Abbott was wagging her finger, while she added, “Lisa, this lad is really something special. I gave him a coin the other night. You would have thought I had given him the world. He seemed to have a glow when he left here.”

Lisa studied me for a while. “I know all about that change. As a matter of fact I had the same impression when he came to visit.” She turned red, looking down to hide it.

“You’ll have to excuse me for a few minutes. Please make yourself at home. I’ll be back in just a few.”

I could hear some banging in the kitchen. Obviously, she couldn’t hear us. “So what do you think about her?” I asked.

Lisa looked at me, and then toward the kitchen, and then back with a smile. “Okay, Scott you can love us both. I can see why you’ve taken to her. She has this magical power I can’t seem to explain…it’s kind of like a magnet I guess. I could love her as well.”

Several minutes later she came out of the kitchen, and said, “Okay my dears you can come and get it now.”

We looked at each other with some confusion, walking toward the kitchen area. Mrs. Abbott had put three dishes on the counter along with all of the things needed. “You have to try my pasta dish…you know you need to eat too.”

*.*.*

It was hard for us to leave Mrs. Abbott’s. We had stayed longer than we expected. After dinner she told us stories about meeting her husband and their life together. They were nice stories, but I felt sorry for her. When I commented she said something like ‘don’t be silly she wouldn’t trade all of those memories for anything. A life together filled with even a year of joy is so much better than many years alone. We filled our lives with enough great memories it gives me things to think about every day.’