Serial Separation (27 page)

Chapter 73

Paddy and Mike updated the team on what had been learned about Daniels. Paul Brosque immediately left to call the Boston Police to establish support for their planned confrontation with Daniels. Paul returned to the conference room a few minutes later.

Paddy commented, “Carole Daniels may have nothing to do with these murders. We must keep that in mind, but right now, she is a significant lead. If she is involved, the likelihood she will admit anything is far fetched. However, we need to check this out this afternoon. Paul, do you have an update?”

“Daniels lives in the Bunker Hill area of Charlestown. The police are going to send a detective by her apartment to see if anyone can verify she’s there. We should have some input within the hour. They are also going to suggest the best way to approach her apartment and to secure the area.”

“Thanks, Paul. She could be armed; we need to prepare ourselves for a potential confrontation. If she is involved, she would have nothing to lose.”

Mike offered, “One thought is to have the super of the building tell her he needs to check out something in her apartment. When she opens the door, we will confront her.”

Paddy responded, “We can evaluate our options when we know more. We should stay here until we receive the surveillance input.”

John Dunbar, one of the other detectives, asked, “Paddy, while we’re waiting, there’s a rumor going around that Mercedes might be involved. Can you share anything with us?”

“We did question her about where she was all weekend and about some missing property listings. She left upset because we addressed these issues with her. All we have is speculation.”

“However, we did have to ask her about these things. She did not provide any answers to our questions. I don’t think she will return today, but if she does please let Mike or I know,” Paddy answered.

Mike studied the blackboard additions.

“Mercedes has been a help.” Paddy pointed to the board. “I hoped she would have given us some answers, but she took offense at our considering her a suspect. I can appreciate her position, but we have a job to do.”

Mike added, “Speaking of help, Scott is still out checking two properties. He doesn’t know we confronted Mercedes. We need to explain to him what happened with our one-sided discussion.”

* * *

Mike was always concerned about Paul’s driving. Now they were speeding to Charlestown to join the police. Mike thought about the update he received.

Daniels is indeed in her apartment currently. The superintendent indicated many people are still at work and many of the neighbors wouldn’t return until after 4:00 p.m. The super was also prepared to knock on her door, indicating he wanted to check out one of her reported maintenance issues.

Mike questioned Paul. “Do you think if she’s involved she could be the women’s contact with the Calumet gang?”

Paul quickly responded. “Someone I know in the guard told me, ‘If I ever want something—it could be obtained, but I better be ready to pay for it when it’s delivered.’ I think she would have access to those sources, either directly or indirectly.”

Paul turned into the lot at the Bunker Hill Precinct, which was a small, four-story brick building. When they entered through the gate, they realized the parking area dwarfed the building. A man in a suit waved to them. Patrol cars were already lined up waiting for them.

They huddled around Detective Froton, who placed a small map on the hood of Mike’s car and outlined the plan.

He described the apartment building where Daniels’ apartment was located and how they would enter through the superintendent’s apartment. His apartment had access to the back alley, where they would park their car. The other cruisers would be stationed at the end of the block.

Mike and Paul were invited to join them in Froton’s unmarked car. As they were leaving, Mike’s attention was diverted to the old church clock chiming 3:00 p.m. The nice sound of the bells was immediately replaced by the crackling radio dispatch announcing their departure to 273 Monument Ave.

Chapter 74

She now realized how tired she was from the weekend activity.

They really made Jason pay for all of the gang rapes. He finally confessed to so many, they lost count. When Carole’s rage was spent, there was a significant change in her demeanor. She noticed how Carole’s body relaxed when his body parts were placed in the trophy area yesterday. She had to admit his trophy had added color to the other three victims.

The phone startled her.

“Hello.”

“Hi Red. This is Carole. Listen, I only have a couple of minutes. I just heard on the police scanner they are coming to my apartment building. I assume they are coming for me, but I can’t be sure. I am going to try to make it out of here, but I don’t think I’ll have time.”

She responded, “Thanks for calling, but you have to get yourself out now.”

Carole was quick to respond “Look, the only evidence they could possibly have are the ‘trophies’ at the warehouse. You need to go to there and dump them. I have no idea how they determined I was involved, but we can’t take the chance.”

“Thanks, I’ll leave right away.”

“Don’t forget to take the photographs with you when you leave. I’m going to try to reach Jean and Sandra now, but they’re most likely still at work. At least the four of us completed our quest to make the four of them pay for what they did.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do when they arrive?”

“Not entirely, but you might not see me again. Somehow, I thought we could just complete our mission, and no one would be the wiser. We should never have let that other guy go. I just couldn’t bring myself to kill someone who didn’t do anything. I have to make those other two calls. See you around ‘Red.’”

She was trying to deal with her emotion and didn’t immediately respond. The next thing she heard was the dial tone. She hung up the phone. The constant sound reminded her of the flat lining on a heart monitor. Carole would not be arrested; she knew she was saying good-bye.

* * *

She started her car and the big V8 engine rocked the car. Her heart was beating fast, much faster than when they were avenging the rapes. Tears were running down her face.

Did she want to go to the warehouse or just give herself up? She questioned whether she could take her own life. The answer was clear to her as she headed toward the warehouse.

The sound of a siren caused her to look at her speedometer, and she needed to slow down or run the risk of being stopped. Her fancy car caused enough attention as it was.

She passed bridge overpasses; the bridge abutments drew her attention. She had to consciously steer to keep the car from ending things. The thoughts of Carole were now superseded by the task to dump the trophies.

Her thoughts went to Bob Sullivan. He had made her a woman. Why did he ruin things by having his friends treat her so poorly?

She realized it wasn’t so much the rape, but how Bob had laughed at her afterward. He had used her. However, his biggest mistake was threatening her sister. That was something she couldn’t ignore. Her fantasies always involved him. She intended to take another picture of him before she dumped his remains in the ocean.

Chapter 75

I checked out the first property. It was another waste of time. The building was set up with the same design as the earlier one, but it was still much too close to other buildings to be conducive for weekend murders. That left the other listing, and I hoped it would not be a waste of time. I wished Mercedes was with me for company.

I pulled the map of Boston Harbor to double check the location of this next property and I saw something I should have noticed earlier. The property was located out on Long Island. It’s about as far as you can get out of Boston and still be considered in the Boston area. A bridge provides access to the island from Squantum.

The property was on the northern part of the island, possibly at the far end. I couldn’t tell by looking at the address, but the way the map looked, it was the only place the road actually touched the ocean.

The property was far enough from other buildings so it did not draw attention. I figured this had to be it. If not, then we’d be back at square one.

I checked the time and it was almost 4:00 p.m. I still had enough time to check this property out and do the things I needed to do to be on time for dinner with Lisa.

I needed to check the map Mercedes had given me to see where the turn was for Squantum. I thought about pulling over, but that would have slowed me down. I continued driving, studying the map, which smelled of gardenia. I determined where I needed to turn.

I hoped the session with Mercedes went okay. I thought she might even be able to meet me at this next property. I thought about it and realized I hadn’t left any note regarding the addresses. I wrote the addresses down on a scratch pad and took the sheet with me.

I realized I couldn’t do anything about it. I put my headlights on to compensate for the early darkness. The clouds were hanging low nearing the waterfront. The map noted the Long Island Bridge, and I could see it ahead.

The bridge length and height would have given Jeremy the sensation he reported. I told myself I’d have to remember to turn my lights off when I get nearer the building. Looking out at the island, it didn’t give the impression any buildings of the sort described in the listing would be located here. Just the type of location the women needed—off the beaten path.

* * *

That seemed like an odd twist, since they beat those men to death. It was almost hard to believe there could be a multi-story building located way out here. It must have been related to some World War II installations.

The road, if you could call it that, was just a narrow, two-lane surface that was pretty worn. After I winced hitting the first pot hole, I needed to pay closer attention to the road. Road repair out here was apparently not a high priority.

I remembered the map showed about a ninety-degree turn as it neared the end of the island. My lights picked up a sand dune covered with snow straight ahead, so I figured that must be the turn. I pulled to the side of the road and shut my lights off. I thought I better walk the rest of the way.

As I walked up the road, there was a slight hill blocking the view of any structures. Cresting the top of the hill, I could see the dark outline of a multi-story building. The only sounds I could hear were the seagulls hovering like vultures flying low. They reminded me of my nightmare. I wonder what Mercedes thought of my dream? What a time to be thinking of her.

I didn’t have my flashlight turned on, but should have. I never saw the pothole and fell, breaking my fall with my hands. I tried the flashlight, and it wouldn’t come on. I could feel the blood on my hand where I must have cut myself. The building was about a hundred yards ahead.

I stopped. The building was silhouetted against the early evening sky. It looked just like the listing. It had two almost identical sides. I could see a sign on the right-hand side of the building, which had to be the occupied side. There was no way I could read it.

I wondered if I’d locked my car. I thought about going back to get it. Since it was Monday, the women would have already disposed of Jason’s body and left the building. But maybe they hadn’t left. I needed to just check the building out on foot.

There was only a partial moon, but it was too early to provide much help. Jason never mentioned a potholed road surface, but maybe he was traumatized when they put him in the car.

I stood looking at this larger-than-expected, very black building. I heard something break the crust of the snow near where I was standing and flinched. I had no idea what could have made that sound but decided to get closer to the building.

I could see more building detail. No windows faced the road. There was a wooden fence to the left and another on the occupied side. When I reached it, it was too high to look over. I knelt and looked under it and could see only a few feet, but noticed car tire tracks.

I contemplated climbing the fence, but there were no cross strips on the face of it. I crept along the front of the building. I looked to see if I could see my car, but it was blocked by the hill.

I heard the noise again and froze in place. I was afraid to move, straining to listen. I could hear the seagulls, the jets in the distance, and a remote foghorn. I felt like a man who had just stepped on a landmine.

Chapter 76

I was having that naked dream again.

I couldn’t see, and it was hard to move. My hands were tied behind me. However, this time, I felt the pain in my ankles—I was hanging upside down.

I decided not to move, but listened for any sign of someone near. I felt the ice cold air on my body. This couldn’t be a dream. I mentally started counting backward from a hundred. I reached seventy-five and realized this was not a dream.

I had good news and bad news. The good news was I had found the right building. The bad news was I had unfortunately found the right building at the wrong time.

I couldn’t see a thing—it was total blackness. I smelled hemp, or that rope smell, mixed with burnt wood. It was a strange sweet fragrance.

There were no close sounds, but when I tried a slight move of my body I could hear the metallic sound of a pulley. One thing was for sure—it was cold in here. My jaw started to shudder and I could hear my teeth chattering.

I thought,
if someone doesn’t come quickly, I won’t last long here
. I moved my head and shoulders as much as I could. I thought I heard something other than the metallic sound.

I would have recognized that sound anywhere. It was my Pontiac. Someone was moving my car. They were probably moving it behind the fence.
What’s the chance of someone finding me here?
I wondered.

I heard the sound of someone possibly coming and held still. I tried to calm my breathing, but could tell my heart was racing a mile a minute. Shortly, I sensed someone standing nearby. I tried to stay calm. Whoever was there was waiting with me. My chattering teeth gave me away.

The next thing I knew, I was being moved. A hand was pushing against my back, and I could feel the air hitting my face. The rolling stopped, and the air temperature seemed warmer.

I could feel my body swaying from the sudden stop. I heard the sound of air sputtering. Then the ice cold water jolted me. It actually felt warm, but soon it was as cold as the other room.

There was obviously someone with me, but I couldn’t tell if it was more than one person.

The water stopped. There was a pause, and I knew the person was studying me. The person knew I was awake now. I realized my head was pounding. I flinched. This time it was in reaction to the bristles against my feet. I was being washed, and soon realized I was being washed all over.

From the attention being paid to my body, I knew it was a woman. Her fingers held me to prevent me from turning while I was being cleaned. I understood now why I was being washed; I smelled the coal dust as it cascaded across my face.

She knew I was awake now, as I cried out several times from the pain of the brush. I could hear her chuckle, and my cry increased the pressure. I tried to get my mind on other things. She must have dropped me down the coal chute I saw while I was standing in front of the building. My body was burning all over, and I wished she would stop.

She did. Then the ice-cold spray hit me again and I could feel my body turning from the pressure.

The water was a cold contrast to the burning from the brush. The spray stopped, and I continued to swing in place. I tried to contain my breathing, but I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I started to pay attention to the sounds around me, but all I could hear was the water dripping off me. I decided I had nothing to lose.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

There was no answer, but I could hear the sound of someone walking in the water.

“Why are you doing this to me? I haven’t done anything. If you let me go, I’ll just leave and not say anything about this.”

I could feel the heat from someone near me. She was very close. She stopped me from spinning. Her hand was like a branding iron on my naked skin. The heat was a drastic contrast to the cold. I wondered what else she had in store for me and whether there were others. Or, would they arrive shortly.

I couldn’t control my breathing any longer and took an audible breath. That’s when I smelled that familiar fragrance, gardenia,
Oh my God, Mercedes
.

“Mercedes, why are you doing this to me?”