The Promise (45 page)

              “My pleasure, madam Elle. Do you need a ride to work tomorrow?”

              “No, my insurance company is providing me with a rental car for a week. I’ll see you in the morning, Mr. Bundy.”

              Laughing some more, she went into the house. Gallagher stayed to make sure she turned the lights on and waved at him through the window. The last thing he needed was to lose his partner.

C
hapter Eighty-three---A spot of Raven

             
As Gallagher drove home his mind was turning in several directions at once. The questions tumbled through it like a load of clothes in a hot dryer. He would catch glimpses of potential solutions but just as he reached out to grab one, another piece of fabric intruded causing him to start perusing that one.

By the time he arrived at his house, his mind was filled with inconclusive possibilities which led nowhere. He was also developing a nasty cold, evidenced by a sudden sneezing spell.

              Alisha greeted him as he cruised into the kitchen. “Hi honey, don’t touch the deviled eggs,” she warned just as her husband popped one into his mouth.

“Achoo!” He snorted, as remnants of egg and its delectable filling spewed out of his mouth across the counter finding its way unerringly to the chocolate cake his wife had baked for dessert.

              “Michael!” she exclaimed as she saw the yellow and white speckles dot the icing.

Realizing this was now a former dessert, she glared at him. “Run over to Kroeger and get another cake. Make sure it is nowhere near your nose as you drive home. Hurry!

Bob and Judy will be here in twenty minutes.”

             
Gallagher sheepishly nodded long enough to seem repentant, but inside he was laughing.

This was funny to him, until the next nasal explosion, “Ahchoo! This is one wicked cold that hit me when I wasn’t looking. I’m sorry, honey.”

              Alisha softened, “I doubt you are, but, you can make amends by getting that other cake. You can have the egg-flavored one all to yourself.”

              Her husband walked swiftly to the car and was relieved to notice the sneezing had stopped. As he fiddled with his keys in the cooling September night, he suddenly felt less congested. “
Miraculous,”
he thought to himself “
I am healed!”

As he drove, the questions reappeared in his mind. One after another, tumbling incessantly, over and over,

“How could Malcolm Oden have faked his death so effectively? Where was Raven? With Oden? Were the two of them involved in the disappearance of Allison Taylor? If so, why? Were any of the recent murders linked to the Taylor case?

Is Margaret Williams capable of murder? Is Allison Taylor still alive? Did she fake her abduction and run away?
”

             
He would have asked more questions but the Kroeger parking lot stopped his intellectual momentum. Just as he exited his car, he began sneezing again.

Violently.

One after another, they came, in a barrage of mini-bursts. He kept his hand over his mouth and nose as he entered the grocery store where his sneezing abruptly stopped.

He went to the bakery section, found a suitable replacement cake and as he re-entered his car he observed an SUV whiz by within a few feet of him. The person in the front passenger seat turned and smiled at him.

It was Margaret Williams.

As he turned to check out the license plates, another sneeze violently forced him to look downward instead. Several more sneezes followed and as he cleared his eyes from the tears caused by his new-found cold, the car had disappeared onto the thoroughfare.

He thought about calling it in, but he realized he didn’t have enough information to do so. It was too brief a look.

It was Raven, she was gone.

              As he drove home in a flurry of more sneezes, he felt like throwing the cake out the window.

Chapter Eighty-four---foul Play?

             
The next day, as Gallagher sat in his office, his cold felt better. He called in the Chief and Elie and they went to the conference room for an evidentiary meeting.

As they sat there looking at all the physical evidence laid out on the table, they were amazed at how little evidentiary material they had amassed in over a month. It was discouraging;

             
THE ODE, “THE RAVEN” BY EDGAR ALLEN POE

THE RAVEN LOCKET FOUND NEAR THE LIBRARY

              THE NOTE FROM ALLISON TAYLOR TO JUSTIN SHAW

             
THE 8x10 AUTOGRAPHED PICTURE OF ALLISON TAYLOR

             
THE .38 SHELL CASINGS FROM THE THREE MURDERS

THE THREATENING NOTES TO ELIE

             
Gallagher spoke first, “Let’s compare our theories at this point with what we have to work with. Elie went first, “I still think Allison Taylor voluntarily disappeared to protect her father in some way. I think Raven has an idea where she is, but she is not telling.”

Then she added, “I hope to God that Malcolm Oden is really dead.”

              Chief Parker disagreed, “I think Raven and Oden kidnapped the Taylor girl. It was for ransom, but something went terribly wrong and she either died accidentally or was murdered by Oden.

I think Raven is with Oden and they are preparing to flee to a faraway place. I doubt we will ever find Allison’s body. I think Dr. Morgan found out what happened and he confronted Malcolm Oden and was executed before he could reveal that evidence.

I think it is pretty obvious that the perp who murdered the unknown man behind the Stadium, was the same person who killed Morgan and Redding Shaw, but I don’t know why. The only apparent link between all these victims is the murder weapon and the method of execution.

I think it is highly unlikely that we will bring that girl home alive to her father.”

              After his boss’s chilling conclusion, Gallagher thought for a moment and calmly proceeded to disagree with both of them.

“First of all, I don’t believe Allison is dead, at least not yet. I believe Malcolm Oden is holding her hostage for personal reasons and possibly for personal enjoyment.”

Upon hearing that statement, Elie stood up and went over to the window. Her body language and facial expressions let the detective know how repulsed she was at his sexual conclusion.

Nevertheless, he continued, “I think the murders were committed by Oden and not Margaret Williams.”

Elie turned abruptly from the window and scolded her partner, “When are you going to wake up, Gallagher? That girl’s a viper. She is crude, obnoxious and capable of anything, including murder, especially, if anyone gets in her way.

Quit treating her like your daughter. She is not your little girl. She is a manipulative little witch who is playing you! I am sorry for being so mean to you here.”

As he looked at his partner, he saw the pain in her eyes. She was upset for him, not at him. Elie was trying to protect him from a person she thought was potentially harmful to him. He went over and hugged her for several seconds.

              “I appreciate you, Elie. Thank you for what you are trying to do for me here.”

              The Chief agreed with Elie, “Mike, I think she’s right. You are probably cutting the Williams girl too much slack. Innocent people don’t generally escape from jail and then smile at you from a car as they drive away.

If she was halfway honorable, she would have told her driver to stop the vehicle and gotten out to surrender herself. She is not to be trusted, Mike. In addition, her fingerprints and DNA are all over the evidence.

Maybe we have a pair of lovers here killing people. It’s happened historically many times.”

              Gallagher moved away from Elie as he waited for his boss to finish his analysis. Then, he countered, “Margaret can be a little witch, as you said, Elie, but she is not a murderer.

Oden is capable of killing. Raven may be with him, so it may not legally matter whether she ever pulls a trigger or not. She will go down with him.

Whether Allison Taylor is alive or not, I can only go on my instincts. I think she is, I hope to God she is. Because I want to bring her home safely to her parents, especially, Arch. But,”

              At that point, he was interrupted by Jerry Simpson, “Mike, sorry to intrude, but we have a hysterical parent in the station…”

              “Who is it?” Gallagher asked.

              “It’s Romy of Athens. Redding Shaw’s widow.

She hasn’t heard from her son since the funeral. She’s claiming her son disappeared and she is afraid something bad has happened to him. I think she’s just overly paranoid due to her husband’s tragic end, but will you talk to her? I’m really sorry to bother you, Gallagher.”

              The detective smiled as he turned to his boss and partner, “We’ll pick this up later. Give me ten minutes, Chief.”

Motioning to Elie, he said, “C’mon, I may need a woman’s touch on this.”

The two of them found their way to a private meeting room to encounter Redding Shaw’s widow screaming uncontrollably. “My beautiful boy is missing! He’s been murdered, just like his father!”

              Gallagher and Elie entered the room and as he closed the door, his partner went over to comfort the grief-stricken mother. After several minutes, Romy Redding sat down on a couch next to Elie and was coherent enough to talk sanely. “He was taking me to dinner last night. It was my birthday.

But, he never showed up. Why?”

              “He never showed up?” Gallagher asked, “Doesn’t he already live at home with you, Mrs. Shaw?”

              The woman nodded affirmatively, “Yes, he does. But, for the past week he has been staying out at our former ranch. It’s quiet out there. Not a soul for miles around. Not even a telephone.

He told me the day he left he would be back yesterday to make certain I had a happy birthday. With all that he has been through and with his father dying, he just needed to be alone. I had my sister here, so I told him to go. He hasn’t come back, oh my god.”

              “Did you think about going out there, Mrs. Shaw? Just to see if he is there?” Gallagher queried.

              “Yes, I did think about it. But, I am afraid. If something did happen to him out there, I don’t,”

              Elie assured her. “You don’t have to explain. We understand.”