Branded for Murder (3 page)

Chapter 6

She was sitting on her bed in her dorm room waiting for her roommate to return. She was feeling melancholy, not knowing exactly why. Maybe the coming of colder weather and shorter days were involved. Judy, her roommate, was always in a good mood, having a positive affect on her. Many times over the past two years Judy did something unexpectedly that would make both of them happy.

She thought of the young man she had seen in her school library. He doesn’t attend her college as Chase is a school for women. However, she notices he studies there, and she thinks about him often. She hasn’t told Judy all of the details of how much she thinks of him. Some nights in bed, she thinks about him maybe a little too much. There’s something about him that is just driving her crazy.

Yesterday, they noticed him on the bench leading to the library, and he looked so upset. She had talked Judy into joining him on the bench to see if he would hopefully strike up a conversation with her. She thought since he looked so upset, maybe he would like to talk with someone. However, he seemed so shocked when she spoke to him, that he just said he was okay and left and went into the library.

Last night she thought about this encounter, and cried herself to sleep. She knew some of her emotions were tied to her past love life. Well, to be honest, she had hardly ever kissed a boy. She found it hard to understand why she has never had any real association with boys,
why is she using that word?
Association isn’t the correct word; it’s loving someone and having them love you back. She knows she’s more than ready to love someone, especially that handsome boy who obviously attends Harvard. She also noticed the other coeds looking him over while he’s at the library.

Judy has her own boyfriend, Neil. She has seen them together and longs for the same closeness they have. Judy has even shared some of her secrets with her. She even told her how Neil and her have made love, and what it feels like to spend time together in bed. She has tried to hide the fact that she is still a virgin. The picture of Judy and Neil on a swan boat is a constant reminder of having a boyfriend. She was now hugging her favorite teddy bear, and thinking of that young man.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door flew open. “Hi Lisa.” Judy then added, “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing’s the matter, why do you ask?”

“Lisa, we’ve been roommates long enough. I know your moods, maybe better than you do. When you hug that bear like that, fortunately, he’s not really being strangled; I know something’s bothering you.” She joined her on her bed.

Lisa thought for a moment and answered, “I guess I’m still thinking of that guy on the bench yesterday. You know I wanted to meet him. I’m bummed that he didn’t want to talk with me. There’s something I can’t really explain when I see him. He’s so handsome, and cuddly. He’s also so cute when he turns red. I can’t seem to get him out of my mind, and I think about him even when I’m going to sleep.”

“Wow, you’ve got a bad case of…well, something brewing. Neil does that to me, and I can’t seem to get enough of him. I’m glad I met Neil. I really have found someone to be with hopefully for the rest of my life.”

Neither said anything for a few minutes, and then Lisa broke the silence. “Judy, what do you suggest I do?”

Judy pushed her away slightly. “Well, the next time you see him in the library…you should take all of your clothes off and walk up to him and introduce yourself. That should get the message across. He’s bound to notice you then.”

They both laughed, and Lisa wiped the tears away.

“You know Judy, I could almost do that with him…but not in the library.” They remained seated on the bed. “Judy, can I ask you something? No, never mind.”

“Lisa, you can ask me anything. Please, what is it?”

She hugged her teddy bear again, and looked down at the floor and finally asked, “What’s it like to make love?”

*.*.*

Later they had decided to take a walk. Lisa was thankful Judy could cheer her up, surely a dear friend for life. How truly blessed she was to have her for a roommate. She realized as they walked arm in arm, that life can be so changed by meeting someone along the way.

They were not talking, each in their own thoughts. She, unlike Judy, was an only child. She wished she had been closer to her Mom growing up, but her Mom spent much of her time involved with the summer camp she owned. Her dad had his political things that kept him busy. Unlike yesterday on the bench at the library, today she felt the cold. The leaves had turned from their brilliant colors, now covering the ground and walkway. The leaves rustled as they walked along the brick sidewalk.

She also thought about what Judy had told her about being intimate with Neil. She knew she had longed for that, but after Judy’s sharing how wonderful it was…well she might just take off her clothes in the library for that shy guy. She grabbed Judy’s arm and kicked some of the leaves playfully. Judy was quick to join her.

Maybe there’s hope for my love life after all.

*.*.*

They were several blocks from their dorm when the wail of sirens interrupted their quiet time. Lisa turned to look at the police cars screaming down the street. The noise was deafening and they both covered their ears. Two police cars screeched to a halt in the middle of the next block. They watched as four police officers ran up the front stairs and entered the apartment building.

Judy was now pulling on her arm to see what was happening up ahead. She was less interested than Judy was, but she allowed herself to be led up to the now gathering crowd.

Judy broke the silence. “Lisa, I hope it’s not another strangling. If it is, this is too close to our dorm.”

Lisa had read about the women being strangled along with the frightening details. She had tried to imagine what those women had experienced, and always changed her focus. Now, there might be one only a few blocks from their dorm. Other police cars arrived and there were more people gathering behind them. Someone whispered that they had found a woman and she had been strangled.

“Judy, I want to leave. Can we leave please?”

Judy was standing on her tiptoes trying to see what was happening now. She could see a stretcher being wheeled from a Medical Examiner’s truck. “Judy, I’m leaving.” And she pulled her arm out of Judy’s.

“Okay Lisa, we can go.” They left huddled together, but Judy kept looking back over her shoulder.

“Judy, I’m scared. Who knows, we might even know the woman. This is too close to our dorm. We need to get some curtains for our dorm room.”

“We will Lisa, we will.”

Chapter 7

He spent considerable time at the scene of the recent strangling. He watched the activities of the police and the Medical Examiners. He listened to the people around him speculate about what happened, and then after they heard the initial report of what happened, to discuss what happened to her.

He read all the reports of the recent strangling cases. Some of the victims were old and some were college age like this one. He knew first hand about this one. She had been special. He told her that. He had given her hope she would live, but like the others he had to let her go.
No, not to live, but to a place much better than this one. He knew it was nowhere he was going. It’s too late to change now. His fate was cast.

He overheard two young women whispering near him about how scared they were.
Yes, my sweet things, that’s what I want. I want you all to fear me, because when it’s your turn I want you to grasp at any hope to survive. You won’t, you can’t, but I need you to think it.
He was getting excited again just thinking about his latest victim and the two coeds hugging. Maybe I’ll follow both of you and we’ll have a threesome. That would be real enjoyable. He glanced in their direction again and noted how pretty they were.

He closed his eyes and imagined them with him. It was so easy to get them to open the door. Silly fools you were, and are, but that’s my secret. Let the authorities speculate all they want, and by the time they figure it out…well, I might be long gone. He opened his eyes, realizing the crowd was thinning and he should go. He didn’t hear their voices any longer, turning he saw them walking away holding each other.
Maybe I’ll just watch where they go and see if there’s anything interesting there.

They were so much involved with themselves, they didn’t notice him and the others following at a distance.
They must love each other the way they’re holding onto each other…maybe they’re really lovers.
Those thoughts were making him excited again.
Could I kill again so soon? Without a doubt, I’m already ready. Wouldn’t that just piss off the authorities for three strangling cases in one day?

He discretely watched them climb the front stairs to their dormitory entrance.
They really are coeds. Perfect
.
Maybe, just maybe, we’ll meet soon. Take care of yourselves – I may need you.

*.*.*

In his small room, he listened to the news reports about the strangling several blocks away. He had listened to all of the earlier newscasts of women being strangled across New England. He read and reread the newspaper articles about the now famous
New England Strangler
. It excited him. It had also given him some ideas. With every passing day, he was getting closer and closer to implementing his revenge.

He couldn’t wait any longer and stripped off his clothes and reclined on his bed. In his darkened room, he watched the lights come on in the dormitory rooms behind his building.
Year after year they come in from wherever their homes were, and do you think they give any thought about curtains?
No, not most of them anyway. Why? Why worry? This isn’t the big bad city with killers closer than you think. If their mothers only knew what they did, or didn’t do.
He purposely didn’t have any shades, and liked it that way.
That’s the way you girls like it too.
Isn’t that right my lovelies?

With that he got up and turned on his lights and resumed his position on his bed.
Goodnight my lovelies, pleasant dreams. See you, see me…I know you do, but your mothers don’t!

Chapter 8

I was still feeling the rush of being accepted on the task force. I realized I had no one to tell. I had mentioned it to my dad, so this wouldn’t be news to him. The feeling of having no one overwhelmed me. I’ve lost Jackie as well. Maybe the thought of losing Jackie is what this is all about. I recalled not being fully truthful with Paddy and Mike today when asked why I wanted to join the task force.

It wasn’t a lie what I told them. I had given some thought about trying to get on the new task force, but after learning what happened to Jackie, I had to get on it. What will they do when they learn I’m related to Jackie? Will they be upset I hadn’t told them the whole reason I wanted to join.
Would they ask me to leave?
I know I’m doing the right thing, but why am I having such a problem with it?

I went over to my couch and closed my eyes.
I should do some studying
, I thought. My mind was skipping around, nothing making any sense. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. It was so quiet in my room. I could hear the faint hum of traffic along nearby Aspenwall Avenue. I could feel my heart beating. It wasn’t racing, but it was steady.

When I opened my eyes, I realized I must have fallen asleep for several hours, as it was late afternoon. I was in a very comfortable position, reminding me of when I went parking with Jeannie, when I first got my license. She had become upset with me when I fell asleep after we kissed for a while, and then just held onto each other.

She moved closer to her door and strongly suggested I take her home. In my effort to console her, she essentially told me to show her I cared for her, or take her home. We had resumed making out. She had managed to get me overly excited. I had tried to adjust myself, but she thought I was going to unzip and that was all she needed. That was as close as I would ever come to going all the way. We had fun, but that was the last time she ever went out with me.

Why am I thinking of her?
I knew the reason – it’s the girl in the library. I closed my eyes, thinking of her. I can’t say what the reason was, Jackie, Jeannie or what’s her name, but I had reached a major decision. I was going to introduce myself to the girl at the library, and hopefully ask her out.
To where? To do what? I’ll work the details out
.

I know I can’t stand what I’m experiencing. If I don’t take this opportunity to meet her, who knows whether I will have another chance. Thanksgiving was next week and school vacation would hinder my meeting her.
What about my time on the task force?

*.*.*

I was not getting anywhere arguing with myself. I’m going to take my chances and meet her. Tomorrow I have to go to the task force office, but maybe I can go to the library Friday.

Turning on the television, I decided to see if there was any new information on the task force. Shortly, they interrupted the program I was watching with a news report. After listening to the report, I replayed the details in my head. There had been another reported strangling in the Back Bay area on Commonwealth Avenue. A twenty-two year old student was found strangled in her apartment. Police indicated there were similarities to the other recent strangling cases. She was found tied to her bed, partially nude and molested. There were no signs of any forced entry.

I wondered what that meant to my working with Mike Miller on the task force. It suddenly dawned on me,
Shit, I don’t know how I could have overlooked it - that’s in the area of the Chase library. Oh please God don’t let it be her.

Chapter 9

I entered the task force office fifteen minutes before eight. I expected to hear noise coming from the office area, but there wasn’t any. It seemed odd to be in the building alone.

“Is anybody here?”

A response came from the conference room, “Yes, we’re in here.”

I headed to the conference room. “Hello. I’m Scott Tucker…from Harvard…and I was supposed to meet Mike Miller here this morning. Is he here?”

One of the men got up from the conference table, which was covered with photographs. “Hi Scott, Mike was here but had to go back to yesterday’s crime scene. I’m Paul Brosque.” He offered his hand. “Mike asked me to give you some folders to look at. He also said to give you his apologies for not being here. Scott, I need to get a refill, would you like a coffee?”

“That sounds good.” I followed him to the coffee area.

Paul poured his coffee and then mine. “We were told you would be helping on the task force. I’m sure you will find out quickly enough how you can help. Mike asked me to give you the desk next to his and have you look at the folders we have on the different cases. Yesterday we met and consolidated all of the various strangling cases throughout New England into a set of folders. Let me show you what I’m talking about.”

I hung my coat and followed Paul over to a table in front of the far wall lined with file cabinets. There was a stack of folders bulging with material. He picked one up, reading the name. “This one is Jacqueline Russell’s. Why don’t you familiarize yourself with this material. We were just reviewing the crime scene photos from yesterday’s strangling.” He looked at me and asked, “You okay?”

“Should I look at the cases in any sequence?”
I thought about that first file—it was my cousin’s.

*.*.*

He told me to look at them anyway I wanted to and went back to the conference room. I couldn’t look at Jackie’s file, not now and maybe not ever. I considered that, wondering if that made any sense.
If finding Jackie’s killer was what this was all about—shouldn’t I make it a point to understand what happened to her?

I pulled up one of the swivel chairs and sat at the table with my back to the file cabinets. It allowed me to watch the entry way for anyone coming in.

The front door opened and I heard the church bells chiming. It was Colleen. She hung her coat and came into the office area. “Hi Scott, how are you this morning?”

“Good morning Colleen. I’m doing okay.” She looked at the folders. “Mike wanted me to study the previous crimes, so I’m just starting to look at them.” She didn’t immediately respond, but put her hand to her neck. She looked like she was about to choke.

She stared again at the stack of folders. “Scott, I’m not sure I’ll ever be comfortable with what they do here. I’ve typed up some reports, and it gives me the willies when I think about what happened to these women.” She didn’t wait for any response, and headed to her reception desk.

I guess I got my answer to how women feel about these killings. I opened my notebook and the bottom folder. I wrote down the victim’s name, date and town. When I had all of this information listed for all of the cases, I arranged the folders in date sequence. I opened the top folder and looked at the contents.

There were several typed sheets listing the details of the crime. I read the report and then looked at the crime scene photos. This murder was a sixty-eight year old woman, who was attacked in Keene, New Hampshire. The first picture showed the bedroom taken from the hall. The woman was nude on the bed with her hands tied to the bedposts. I flipped quickly to the next picture.

It was a shot taken from the foot of the bed. Pantyhose were tied around her neck. The next picture was a close up taken from the side of the bed showing her head and upper body. I had never seen a picture of a dead person before. I reached for my coffee. I took some deep breaths to control my reaction.
I need to get through this.

I tried to ignore the other pictures anticipating what they were going to show. I read the crime scene report next. I was glad I was alone so no one could see my anxiety. I knew I had many to look at and decided for Jackie’s sake I needed to go through them.

An aspect in the crime scene report forced me back to the pictures. One of the pictures showed the rope tied from the head post to the victim’s wrist. Another picture showed the bite marks on her body. Her mouth was taped shut with electrical tape. The body was left posed with knees raised. There were also several photos of objects out of their normal location, possibly used to molest her. I didn’t study any of those remaining shots, but looked at all of them.

The next item in this first file was the detailed autopsy report. I took my time reading the report and learned some new facts. The report indicated she was alive for up to two hours before being strangled. When the tape was removed from around her mouth, nylon panties were found stuffed in her mouth.

The remaining content of the file consisted of interview reports by the different officers on the scene, covering residents in the apartment building and the neighborhood. I noticed some differences in the content based on the towns where the murders were committed. However, they all covered the crimes in a similar manner. I could see a common pattern in the killings and the signature of the killer.

I was pleased with myself as I had managed to get through some folders without feeling like I was going to get sick. I also made several notes in my notebook about each of the cases for future reference. Another aspect I noted was there was no semen found in their vaginas, but there was some found on the bodies and bedclothes.

I could now understand why the authorities hid certain information. I heard the front door open. I saw Mike, Paddy and several other men enter. Mike looked my way, and I waved.

Paddy headed up the stairs. Two others headed for the conference room and Mike entered the office area. “Good morning Scott, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay.”

Mike’s expression changed. I wondered if he was upset I was looking at the folders.

He put his sport coat on the back of his chair and came back over. “Scott, we just came from yesterday’s crime scene.” He shook his head. “The young lady who was killed, well…it’s such a waste. She was a beautiful girl with only a year of college left.” He paused, looking at the file folders. “This creep has got to be stopped.”

“I have to meet with Paddy for a few minutes. Then we’re going to go over this latest case in the conference room. When we assemble, please join us. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to brace you for what you were going to see in these folders.” He straightened up, and headed out of the room, not waiting for any reply.

I watched as he headed up the stairs. Colleen came into view pulling at the bottom of her white-turtle-neck sweater accenting her figure.
Why hadn’t I noticed that before?
I smiled as she approached, wondering if she could tell I had noticed her figure. I could feel my face turning red.

“You know Scott, I could get a complex working in this office,” she remarked, shaking her head. “Sometimes I think I’m invisible with these men. They come and go and never seem to notice me. I’m sure it’s because they have other things on their mind.” She studied me. “Thanks for not being like the rest of them.”

That answered that question. I had to say something. “Have you been working here long?”

She flipped her hair behind her ear. “I’ve been here just over a week. Paddy interviewed me and told me he wanted me to start that day. It’s nice to get some money to help with my college expenses.”

“Where do you go to college?” I asked, looking to buy some additional time.

“Northeastern. I like it there. However, it’s not anything like Harvard.”

I looked at her brown hair cascading around her face as she bent over slightly, and I realized how pretty she was. “I met Paddy at his lecture earlier this week.”

She studied me without saying anything, then waved her hands over the file folders and asked, “Why would you want to be part of this task force?”

I was glad the folders were closed. “I want to be a district attorney, I think, anyway, and I could use this experience.” I looked at the folders and then back at her as she stood up straight.

“These cases are awful…he has to be stopped.” She looked deep in thought and looked at the folders again, finally adding, “I have been having some nightmares. I had my super add a couple of extra locks to my apartment doors, and have put up extra curtains. I’m not sleeping soundly either, and any noise wakes me. I’m sorry; you probably don’t need to hear these things.”

She looked like she was going to turn and leave. “Colleen, I’m glad you’re being careful.”

“Thanks, Scott. I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice to have someone I can share my thoughts with.” She turned and headed back to her desk.

I wondered
if she had a boyfriend
.

I resumed my study of the folders and noted there was no sign of forced entry.
That means that the women either knew the killer, or he had to be someone of authority. It’s hard to believe all of these women would have known the same man. Maybe the killer is a utility worker, or someone connected with law enforcement.

My thoughts were interrupted by Mike. “Scott, I want you to join us in the conference room. Please bring those folders with you. Get yourself a cup of coffee, if you need one.”

He had to be kidding. I couldn’t carry all of these folders and coffee. I would be lucky to carry all of the folders at the same time. I decided to bring the folders into the conference room and then get another cup of coffee.
Was Mike testing me?