As usual, Lana was looking forward to seeing her Tommy. He’d been working extra hours lately and with their work schedules they weren’t together as much as she’d have liked.
When they spoke on the telephone earlier he seemed especially enthusiastic and she told him so.
Sheski claimed it was because he’d missed her so much.
She loved Tommy’s romantic side. At my age, I’d almost given up on finding real love. I’m so lucky.
Lana finished dressing in a casual silk pantsuit. They had dinner reservations at a nice restaurant and she wanted to look good for him. She opened her jewelry box and gazed at the items inside. A wide assortment of costume and good jewelry, both old and new, lay before her.
Lana saved everything. She kept every souvenir, photograph, and ticket stub that had been part of her life’s story. She always knew where everything was.
Bunky, Lana’s Yorkshire Terrier, started yelping in response to the doorbell.
“Hey, down there,” she yelled to the tiny dog. “Keep it down. It’s only Tommy, and you adore him.”
As if he understood, Bunky quieted and waited expectantly for the visitor to come visit him
Lana rushed to the door and flung it open. A broad grin creased her face when she saw her Tommy.
Sheski pulled her close without waiting for her to greet him. He had missed her. Neither of them wanted to break the embrace.
In the laundry room, Bunky started to yelp again until their visitor went in and petted him. Sheski’s presence made the small dog happy. After the visit was over Bunky climbed up on his stool and stared out the window, watching for squirrels.
Tommy and Lana took a short ride to where he’d made their dinner reservation.
Upon entering the restaurant, Lana gasped at the beautiful candlelight which illuminated the dining area.
The hostess and waitresses, having been alerted to Sheski’s intentions, gave them some privacy by staying out of their way.
“Look at the beautiful pink roses they’ve placed on our table,” Lana said to him. “My favorite.” A lit milky-white candle shimmered near the dozen unblemished flowers.
“I ordered them especially for tonight, Lana. I want everything to be perfect.”
“What’s this all about?” she asked. Her face shone in the candlelight.
Tommy didn’t answer. He took Lana’s hand in his and stared into her eyes. He was trembling. He intertwined his fingers in hers, caressing them as he studied her closely.
“Is something wrong?” She asked.
“No,” Tommy said. “Something is right. Very right. I love you, Lana. You’ve enriched my life in a way I could never have imagined.”
The flowers, the candlelight, her handsome lover. What more could I want?
She couldn’t think of a thing.
Tommy reached into his suit jacket and brought out a small box. He opened it and held it out to Lana, never taking his eyes from hers.
“I love you, Lana. Will you marry me?”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she gazed at the sparkling stone.
“It’s beautiful,” she managed to whisper. “I love you, too, Tommy.”
He released the ring from its velvet slot and, holding it in his hand, asked her again. “Will you marry me, Lana? Soon? Now?” His expression was hopeful for an affirmative reply.
“Yes, Tommy, I’ll marry you,” she said.
They embraced as the pleasure of the moment engulfed them. Tommy stroked her back and murmured words of love before pulling away. Gently, he took her left hand in his and placed the ring on her finger.
Chapter Seven
Friday morning
“So spit it out. What have you two been keeping from me?” Pat asked, looking from Mike to Sheski to Mike again. “And don’t give me your double-barreled BS. I want the truth.” She put her hands on her hips, narrowed her eyes, and waited for an answer.
Gathered in Sheski’s office, the three were waiting for Paul to arrive and drive them to their Harrisburg meeting.
The two men were seated at a desk looking through folders. Their ‘Pat Strategy’ in place, they stared at the younger trooper and said nothing.
“I didn’t buy that lame story you gave me. Either you tell me now what’s going on or Paul and I’ll have a talk about this.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mike said. “I haven’t a clue.” He turned his back to her.
“Me either,” Sheski added. He was glad the folder with Lana’s involvement in the case was deep in his attache case, out of her reach.
Pat eyed Sheski’s attache and thought about reaching for it to see what he was hiding.
Sheski saw her looking at the case. He picked it up and rested it under his arm.
He stared Pat down, silently daring her to make a move.
She stepped back. There was something in his look that caused her to check her desire to grab the case.
Both men were standing firm. Neither of them were about to be bullied. During their careers, they were used to dealing with workplace bullies. They were everywhere in the employment world. There were occasions they had to tolerate it, but not this time. This one didn’t have rank on them so they weren’t letting her get away with pushing them around. They weren’t about to reveal Lana’s part in Teen Lovers until they were good and ready and not until Sheski had a chance to discuss it with Paul.
Pat’s eyes hardened and her face turned red. “We’ll see who gets the last word on this.”
Unimpressed, the two men got back to their discussion of the recent engagement. Mike was so happy that he telephoned Lillian and interrupted her work.
“That’s wonderful,” Lillian said. “I’ll call Lana. Before I do, put Sheski on so I can talk to him. Lillian offered her congratulations, reminding him what a lucky guy he was. “Lana’s lucky, too,” she said. “Don’t go getting married until I have this baby, though. I want to be there in a real dress, not a tent.”
Sheski said he and Lana had taken that into consideration and were planning on being married after the baby came. “That should give you time to get back into your clothes.”
Lillian moaned in reply. Touching her abdomen, she wondered if she’d ever get back into regular clothing. She also worried about the dangers her obstetrician outlined for a woman her age carrying a baby to term.
After Lillian hung up, the telephone on Sheski’s desk rang twice, then twice again. Inside call, Sheski thought.
Mike shot him a, “I know who that is” look, and picked up the receiver.
“Lieutenant James,” the voice on the other end said.
“Hi Paul,” Mike said, looking over at his partner. He grimaced, held the phone away from his ear, then put the mouthpiece close to his lips and said, “Yes sir. Right away, sir.”
“What kind of games are you two playing here? You promised me the three of you could get along.” Paul reached into his suit coat for some antacids, giving the partners time to reply. He fumbled from pocket to pocket, both inside and out, searching for the evasive tablets. Finally locating them, he pulled a fresh roll of pills forth and unwrapped paper and foil and popped a handful in his mouth and chewed.
“She can cause a lot of problems for us with this case.” Paul said between crunching and swallowing. “The governor couldn’t be plainer about his intentions for the Teen Lovers. He wants it solved already. If there’s trouble with you three, that’ll slow the investigation down.”
From the look of relief on Paul’s face, the antacids were beginning to take effect. He stood up and got close to Mike and Sheski, close enough so they could smell the pills’ sweet flavoring. “I’m waiting,” he said.
“She knows everything we know,” Mike said. “She’s just paranoid. You know how she is. My Gosh, she worries when one of us goes to the bathroom without her for fear she’ll miss something.” Mike’s voice began to rise. “And you know what else? I’m getting sick and tired of her acting like some goddess, showing off her l
egs and wearing see-through blouses. You tell her to knock it off or she’ll have a lawyer on her back. We don’t have to take that. If a woman was put into these circumstances, a man would already be facing disciplinary action.”
Paul pulled his head back, a look of surprise taking the place of annoyance.
“Sheski and I told her to dress appropriately and keep her mind on her work and she laughed at us. Well, we’re going to contact someone outside this office about this and we’ll see who causes trouble for whom.”
Mike was the aggressor now, leaning into his boss for emphasis and to hear Paul’s reply.
Paul was clearly taken back by the revelations and stammered. “Why didn’t you tell me about this right away? I’d have spoken to her immediately.”
Sheski took over. “Look. We know how much the Teen Lovers case means to you and Harrisburg. It means a lot to us, too. We don’t want any problems and we want it to go smoothly, too, but someone has to keep Pat in line. She’s used to getting her way because her father has friends high up. That can be tough to work with. All we’re asking is for you to keep an eye on her and not let her get away with anything the rest of us wouldn’t get away with.”
“Okay,” their boss agreed. “That’s fair. I’ll keep an eye on her, but you have to promise me you’re playing square with her. Both of you.”
The detectives lied through their teeth, swearing they were up front with Pat.
Paul bought it for now.
Later
“See you,” Sheski said to Debbie, the Police Communications Officer.
Known to the troopers as the PCO, Debbie knew everyone and everything going on.
Sheski and Mike headed to the parking lot.
The four of them, Sheski and Mike in the back seat, and Pat and Paul up front, were on Route 15 South, heading toward Harrisburg. Occasionally, they could hear Debbie’s voice on the car radio, communicating with other troopers.
Paul had spoken briefly to Pat just before they left and what he had said to her had soothed her ruffled feathers for now.
Pat was comfortably seated in the front passenger seat, occasionally telling him how to drive, giving him her vision for the future of the case and what she was going to say and do at the meeting. Occasionally she name-dropped important people she was acquainted with.
Paul mostly ignored her, nodding his head once in awhile.
The men in the back were enjoying Paul’s discomfort. They thought it great he was getting a taste of the Pat Riley they knew.
By 9:00 AM, their meeting with Charlie Schwartz, Deputy Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, was underway.
After introductions, Charlie outlined what the governor had for them. An aged Cal Kelly, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Rockview, dying of cancer and congestive heart failure, was giving a deathbed confession. The prisoner was making his peace before the grim reaper beckoned for him to follow. Those who knew Cal were sure his organs would give out before his sentence was carried out. He was due to be sent to the state execution chamber for his crimes against society.
Charlie informed them how, through labored gasps for air, Cal had contacted Shelly Griffith, his prison social worker to unburden himself. Because of his weakened condition, it took awhile for him to finish.
Shelly taped their time together, typed it up and contacted the prison warden who telephoned the governor. Shelly knew, considering the case and Cal’s condition, they’d want to put this on the fast track.
Charlie rapped his fingers noisily on a stack of papers near his arm. He informed them he’d give them the basics of Cal’s confession and they’d be responsible to contact the social worker to schedule a visit with the prisoner. He cautioned them not to wait too long to interview Mr. Kelly. “The prison doctor says he doesn’t have much time left.”
The Deputy Commissioner told of the story Shelly had documented from hours spent with the dying man. Due to be executed for knifing a homeless man for his meager belongings and gravely ill, Cal knew his days were numbered. He recounted his part in the 1954 murders of two teenagers in Danville, PA.
Charlie read from his notes which reported that in November 1954, Cal was a self-described no good teenager running Danville’s streets all hours of the night with a couple of older toughs. They ended the day of the murders, hanging out at the town football field, smoking, goofing off, and looking for money or other valuables under the bleachers that may have fallen from the hands and trousers of fans during games.
About 11:00 PM. during their escapades, they came upon the bodies of two murdered teenagers. Cal testified he was told by an older teen to run to the police station for help. According to Cal, when he arrived at the station, the police repeatedly questioned him before they went to the field to verify the young man’s story.
“Apparently, Mr. Kelly was frightened that night,” Charlie said. “Scared enough that he ran away from home and lived out of state all these years. He said he was afraid because of what had happened and what he’d heard.” Charlie looked down at his notes. “We’ve verified he was born and raised in Danville so he may be telling the truth. I saw the videotape Shelly Griffith made and believe me, it’s convincing. So convincing when the governor saw it he called for an immediate reopening of this case. That’s where you come in.”
Charlie leaned over and reached into a drawer on the right side of his desk. He pulled out a large, bulging satchel. Unzipping it, he grasped materials for the team.
“There’s copies of the recording Shelly made of the interview and print copies, word for word. We’re keeping strict control over who has access to this information. I’ve no idea who’s still alive to know anything about this, but this is an old case and we want to get to any surviving witnesses before word of it gets out.”
“What’s our time frame here?” Paul asked. “How soon is the governor expecting to hear from us?”
“He expects to hear from you personally by Wednesday morning. No later. So get on it.”
Chapter Eight
Sheski had a problem because of Lana’s role in the case. This was one of those times he was glad he had a boss who enjoyed running everything they did.
Paul listened to Sheski’s story of Lana’s involvement in the case. He scowled when told she’d been at the home of Shirley Adams the fateful night of the murders. With his long work history, he knew what to do about the detective’s predicament.
Paul and Sheski reviewed their options and decided Lana was to be told tonight they were investigating the Teen Lovers case. Paul offered Sheski the opportunity of turning the case over to someone else if he thought he couldn’t remain neutral.
“I can handle it,” Sheski said.
Paul’s controlling nature took over. He was ruminating over the the problem and his sharp mind came up with some good suggestions. He told Sheski to share just the basics of the case with Lana and record his interview of her.
“What about Pat?” Sheski asked. “How should we handle this with her?
Paul leaned back against his chair, folded his hands prayer-like in front of him and let out a sigh. “Don’t give her any of this information yet. I’m not sure what she’d do with it. Her father knows too many people and I don’t want him getting wind of this until we’re ready to deal with it. And I don’t know who else Pat knows who she could get involved in what’s going on here. I don’t want any interference until I’ve had time to do some things I’m planning. End of conversation.”
Sheski was relieved Pat wouldn’t know Lana’s part in this right now. He saw the way she’d responded to Lillian and even though he knew Lana could handle Pat, he didn’t want to put her through the same treatment.
That evening
Lana was concerned when Sheski telephoned to tell her they had to talk and it had to be tonight. He’d sounded serious and declined to tell her anything further, just that she wasn’t to worry. Lana looked at the clock and saw she only had a little time until he was due to arrive.
> Bunky’s rapid, throaty bark alarmed her someone was outside their home.
Lana hurried to open the door and was pleased to see her fiance waiting on the front porch.
Sheski was holding onto a satchel and looking up Sunbury Road through the climbing wisteria.
Her heart skipped a beat at his handsome good looks. How did I get so lucky? Lana opened the door, glad he was there, but concerned about what it was he needed to talk about.
Sheski took her hand in his, looked at the engagement ring and pulled her to him.
She loved it when she was near him this way and snuggled close. He kissed her before setting the satchel down and taking off his coat.
“What’s going on, Tommy?” Lana asked. “You sounded so serious when you called.”
Staring into her eyes, he was aware of how lovely she was. Her sweet personality shined through and most would never guess her real age. He began to get distracted and had to remind himself tonight was going to be mostly business.
“Tommy,” Lana said. “I asked you what’s going on.”
“As you know, I’m working on a new case, Lana. What you don’t know is it’s one you share a history with. The Teen Lovers murders. Your name was documented as someone who’d been at Shirley’s home the night it happened. We have to record your testimony of what you know about the night of the murders. I have to do an interview with you.”
Lana inhaled sharply when she heard the name ‘Teen Lovers.’ It brought back a flood of memories of the events of the evening she was at her friend’s house and saw Shirley leave for her date with Joey. She could recall it as if it was yesterday.
Sheski opened the satchel and showed her his copies of the photographs of the good-looking teenagers.
The photos took Lana back in time to her childhood friends and their families. Linda, Shirley, Joey and the others. They were all young then with their futures ahead of them. Or so they thought.
Looking at the photos, Lana was reminded how beautiful Shirley and Joey had been. Their faces shone out from their senior pictures with promise and hope for a future; a future stolen from them.
TEEN LOVERS: Murder Along the River Page 4
