Marie smiled broadly and said, “He’s a reporter with the Kansas City Star. The managing editor has told him that it shouldn’t be long before he’ll be promoted to an editor at large, which means he’ll be free to write on any subject he wants. He’s always looking to expand his knowledge in different areas, so I think it would be a perfect job for him. He’s also been approached by several television stations to work for them. I’m so proud of him.”
“How wonderful. Please let him know how highly Greg thought of him.”
As Kat finished speaking a small woman approached them. She had short mousy brown hair, her face was devoid of make-up, and she wore a baggy flowered dress. Kat remembered that her mother used to wear something similar when she was doing housework before she left the house for the day. When she came home, she’d change back into what her mother used to call a house dress. All in all, Stephanie Dickerson was very nondescript, a woman no one would ever look at twice or even remember.
“Hello,” the woman said, in the same whispery tone that Kat recognized from their earlier phone call. “I’m Stephanie Dickerson. Welcome to Castle Dickerson. Would you like a tour? Most people who come here do. I’ve thought of opening it up to the public, but I’m reluctant to have a lot of people I don’t know come traipsing around in my home.”
“Yes, I’d love a tour. As I told you on the phone, I’m an author and several people mentioned that your castle would make an interesting backdrop for an upcoming book I’m going to write.” Kat reached into her pocket and pulled one of her business cards out of it. “Here’s my card. I’m leaving town shortly, and I’ll begin to write the book while I’m gone. Thank you so much for taking the time to see me.”
“You’re welcome. Please, follow me,” Stephanie said as she turned and started walking down a stone hallway. Looking back over her shoulder at Kat, she said, “In medieval times, a castle was fortified, as opposed to a palace which was not. There’s a well within the castle property, in case our outside water supply is cut off. Obviously, I don’t have a military group or anything like that protecting my castle, but I do have alligators in the moat. Of course, I would have liked dragons, but I couldn’t find any.” There was no hint of a joke on Stephanie’s face as she spoke.
She wanted dragons, but couldn’t find any. Is this woman for real?
“Maybe you saw the alligators when you drove in, Stephanie said as she walked ahead, leading Kat into a dark chamber filled with dusty caskets. She noticed Kat looking at them. “I thought about getting some dead bodies and putting them in the caskets, but Leo didn’t think that was a good idea. Anyway, if I feel threatened, or I feel that I’m going to have unwanted visitors, I simply pull up the drawbridge. No one is going to get in a moat with alligators in order to get inside the castle. I had it built just like in medieval times. It’s thirty feet deep.”
Kat shuddered. The air inside the castle was cold and damp, despite the pleasant October day outside. “No, I’m sure no one would get in a moat with alligators,” Kat said as she thought to herself that Mrs. Dickerson had to be unhinged.
Sane people don’t build castles with moats and alligators in the middle of Kansas. It’s not like someone is going to storm the castle in this day and age. This is downright weird.
They continued going from room to room while Stephanie explained what she had installed to make the structure into a castle, from the dungeon to the turrets on top of the towers. There were even arrow slits in the walls emulating the long thin slits in medieval castles that were a defense mechanism, places that arrows or guns could be shot from, although as she explained it, now they were primarily used for letting in light.
“Of course, if the castle was ever under attack, we could use the arrow slits for their intended purpose, except we’d use them for high-powered rifles instead of arrows. I have a huge arsenal of guns in a back room in the dungeon.”
She has a huge arsenal of guns in the dungeon? No one could make this stuff up. And isn’t it interesting the judge was murdered by a gunshot?
“Mrs. Dickerson, your husband was a judge. As such, did he have any concerns about having an arsenal of guns in the castle or a moat with alligators in it?” Kat quickened her step to keep up with Stephanie. For such a petite woman, Stephanie moved fast, maybe because there were a lot of rooms to get through.
“Oh, no, dear. Leo idolized me.” Stephanie turned to Kat, and for the first time Kat saw her express a flicker of emotion. The sides of Stephanie’s mouth curled up just a little, before her face straightened again. “Whatever I wanted to do was fine with him. You see, I’ve loved castles ever since I was a child, and my mother read me fairy tales about them. I always wanted to live in a castle. Anyway, Leo was so proud of the castle, he couldn’t wait to come home at night. I’m just sorry he died before everything was completed.”
It seemed to Kat a lot of things about the castle were incomplete. The furnishings were grand, and the kitchen and office had all of the latest appliances and gadgets, but it was soulless, with no sense of being a home. Stephanie’s tour did not include the sleeping quarters, so Kat was unable to tell if Stephanie had shared a bedroom with her husband.
They soon found themselves back in the entryway, having come full circle in the castle. “Mrs. Dickerson, I know you have a lot on your mind right now, and I really appreciate you taking the time to show me the castle. It’s quite something.”
Inwardly, Kat was thinking how she much preferred the comfort of her own smaller but regular house.
“It is, isn’t it?” Stephanie’s eyes darted around before settling on Kat. “And there’s still so much I want to do. With Leo gone, I think I’ll build a house next to the guard gate and have it manned around the clock with an armed guard. A person can’t be too careful, these days, you know.”
Kat nodded solemnly. “You’re absolutely right. I’m glad you’re going to take steps to ensure that you’re safe when you’re alone out here. Again, thank you for taking your valuable time to show me around. I’ve never been to Europe, so I’ve not seen anything quite like this. It’s been an experience.” Kat walked out to her car, hoping Mrs. Dickerson wouldn’t raise the drawbridge, because there was no way she was going to get in a moat full of alligators in order to get back to the safety of her home.
CHAPTER 16
After her castle tour, Kat headed home thinking that a meat loaf sandwich and a slice of the lemon tart she’d made yesterday would make her feel somewhat normal after spending time with Mrs. Dickerson. She was certain the woman was a certifiable wacko. She wondered if she’d ever been to a psychiatrist, although she doubted Mrs. Dickerson even thought she had a problem.
When Kat had finished her lunch, and made sure the dogs had plenty of water, she went upstairs to her computer and made some notes. While she was driving home from the castle several more ideas for her new book had come to her, and she wanted to capture them in writing before she forgot them. While she was in her office, she also made notes about her meeting with Mrs. Dickerson, still having a hard time believing what she’d seen and heard.
She looked at her watch and saw it was time to leave for her meeting with Professor White. She hurried downstairs, secured the dogs, and headed for the university, dreading going to the building she’d been to so many times when her husband had been alive. Even though she was as happy as she’d ever been, Greg’s sudden death, and the changes to hers and Lacie’s lives, were still hard to revisit.
She’d gone to the building where his office had been located several times after his death to take care of his personal effects, and it had never been pleasant. This time when she entered the building, she realized that although the thought of his death still affected her, the strong emotions she’d felt in the past had finally dissipated.
She looked at the roster of the offices and found Professor White’s name and her office number which was on the fourth floor. She rode the elevator up and walked down the hall to it. When she entered the reception area, she was
greeted by a young college student, who was probably thrilled to have been hired by such a prominent professor. Kat imagined the young woman was one of Professor White’s better students, as was usually the case with the young men and women who worked in the professors’ offices.
“May I help you?” the young woman asked, smiling.
“Yes. My name is Kat Denham. I have an appointment with Professor White at 2:00. I know I’m a little early, so I’ll just take a seat until she can see me.”
Kat had just started to sit down and was reaching for an old issue of Time magazine sitting on the side table, when a door opened, and Professor White walked out. A wiry woman with dark curly hair flecked with gray, she hurried over to Kat and hugged her. “It’s so good to see you again. Please, come into my office and tell me how I can help you. Unfortunately, a meeting has come up that I have to attend, but I do have about fifteen minutes. Hopefully, I can tell you what you’d like to know in that time.”
When they were seated on either side of the professor’s desk in her small, cramped office filled with books, Kat confided in her what had happened to the judge, how Blaine was a potential suspect, and the part about the Mothers Against Pornography Addiction.
“Professor, I don’t know if any of this makes sense, since I know nothing about this subject. I guess what I’d like to find out is if there’s such a thing as a profile for someone who is, and I don’t know what constitutes addiction, but someone who is addicted to watching porn on the internet. And my second question is whether or not there’s a profile for women who appear on these sites.”
Professor White clasped her hands together and rested them on her desk. “I’ll answer those after I ask you to please use my first name, Deborah, rather than Professor White. My answers will be a short version for both, since I could talk about this subject in my lectures for hours.
“First of all, as to the person who watches or is addicted to porn. The person who is watching porn has a pleasurable response to it. Men crave intimacy, and pornography is a shortcut to that desire for visual and sexual stimulation. In other words, it makes them feel good. That’s the bottom line. Kat, I’ve seen studies that have shown 25% of males look at things that could be considered porn on the internet daily, so the behavior is not that uncommon.”
Kat was clearly taken aback. “You’re kidding, right? I find that statistic unbelievable. Doesn’t it present problems for them?”
“Yes, especially for those who engage in it a lot. It definitely affects their social life because they often experience a sense of isolation. It can cause a host of problems for them including career loss, decreased productivity in their home or work life, depression, and even financial consequences. Kat, think of it like any other addiction, such as alcohol, gambling, or drugs. All of those things make the person feel better for a while, then when the good feeling wears off, they need to engage in that type of behavior again to get back that feeling. It’s really quite simple.”
“Deborah, if someone didn’t want to engage in that behavior any longer, what’s the prescribed treatment?” Kat asked.
“There are 12-step programs similar to those for other more traditional addicts. Psychological counseling is another method. Some people respond to one method, some to another. Because of my position as the head of the department, I have a private counselling business, but I often refer people to one of the 12-step programs.”
Kat thought for a moment. “I know this is hard to answer, but can these people be helped?”
“Obviously I feel they can, or I wouldn’t have that type of practice. I have had some incredible success with certain individuals, and I have others who have not been helped at all. Kat, the person you are referring to, Judge Dickerson, was a patient of mine. Since he’s deceased, the doctor-patient relationship no longer exists, so I can share this with you. He came to me because of the letters he was getting from a group called Mothers Against Pornography Addiction.”
“Were you able to help him, Deborah?”
“A little. I only saw him four times and cases like his can take a long time before we see any favorable results, but quite honestly, I think he very well might have been a success story. Unfortunately, I’ll never know.”
“I met his wife earlier today. She’s a real piece of work. Can a bad marital relationship play into this type of addiction?”
“I hate to say one behavior leads to another, but it certainly can affect it. As you might have guessed, it was not a marriage of boundless love.” Deborah looked at her watch. “Kat, I’m going to have to leave in a couple of minutes, so let me try to answer your second question.
“There are a number of reasons women choose to appear on porn sites. It could be they need the money. Some probably came from unstable homes or were abused. They simply didn’t have anyone to teach them their worth or protect them from abuse, and there was no one to help them heal if it did occur.”
“That’s so sad,” Kat said, thinking of the close relationship she had with her daughter, Lacie, and how she would fight like a mother bear if she ever thought Lacie was in danger.
“There can be other reasons as well,” Deborah continued. “Some women like the glamor that comes from being seen on a porn site. They may feel they’re on par with a movie star. Certainly, others feel it’s a way to get their foot in the door in the modeling or movie industries, which are well-known for abusing women in that way. If I had to pick one thing that is a commonality among them, it would be the attention they get, be it positive or negative. For many women, it’s the only attention they’ve ever gotten, so they continue to engage in the behavior for that reason.”
She looked at her watch again. “Kat, I’m sorry, but I really do need to get to that meeting. I hope what I’ve said helped. Whether this has anything to do with Judge Dickerson’s death, I couldn’t say.”
Kat stood up. “I need to think about it, and see if it does. Thank you so much for taking the time to see me on such short notice. I really would like to talk to you more, and not about this subject. When this over, I’ll call you and maybe we can get together for lunch.”
Professor White picked up a folder from her desk and led the way back to the reception area. “Please do. I’d enjoy that very much. You have my number,” she said as she put on her suit coat and walked down the hall with Kat.
Well, I feel I know more than I did when I came here, but I’m not sure it has anything to do with the judge’s murder. Maybe I can use it in a book, Kat thought as she made her way back to where she’d parked her car.
CHAPTER 17
When Kat got in her car she looked at the address Nick had given her earlier that morning for Kim Rosen. Lindsay was a small town and the address was just a few miles from the university. She decided to drive by and see if Kim was home. She had no desire to meet her husband, Jules, based on what Nick had told her about him.
She drove by the house that matched the address and saw there was a car in the driveway. Nick had told her Kim’s husband worked at a granite company outside of town. He was on the job at 8:00 a.m. and home by 5:00. Nick had said that the judge and Kim met during the day, usually at a motel on the opposite side of town from the granite company. He’d also said that her husband insisted she be home when he got home from work. Kat was pretty sure the car was Kim’s.
She turned around at the end of the street and parked in front of Kim’s house. A moment later she knocked on the door of the house which had a neglected look to it. Weeds were growing in the cracks in the driveway, a rain gutter had come loose from the roof and was hanging down at an odd angle on the side of the house, and the front door had definitely seen better days. A can of paint was sorely needed.
In answer to her knock, a woman’s voice, asked “Who is it?”
Kat leaned in to the cracked wooden door. “My name is Kat Denham. I’m an author. I wondered if I might take a few moments of your time. I’d like to talk to you about a book I’m writing.” Kat hoped that would whet Kim’s i
nterest. She’d found that people usually responded positively to thoughts of contributing to a book or even having a character based on them.
The door opened and Kat found herself face to face with an attractive woman in her early forties. She had shoulder length black hair, a flawless complexion, and wore a tight sweater and jeans. Kat could see why her husband was jealous of her and why the judge was meeting her at a motel.
“Come in. I was just getting a glass of wine. May I get you one?” Kim asked, although from the looks of the liquid in the bottom of the wine glass she was holding, it wouldn’t be her first.
“Thanks, but since I’m driving, I think I’ll pass.”
Kim walked over to the kitchen counter and poured herself a hefty glass of wine before putting the bottle back in the refrigerator. She turned to Kat and said, “We can sit in the chairs over there. What did you want to ask me?”
Kat settled in a comfortable chair in the living area. The inside of Kim’s house was better maintained than the outside. The kitchen was well-presented, just like Kim, and a wide screen television on the wall was showing the Days of Our Lives show. Kim turned the volume down, using the remote control.
“I did some research and found out your husband served time in prison,” Kat said carefully. “I have a character in my book whose husband has done the same, and I wondered if I could get your thoughts on the process, how you felt when he was gone, and how it felt when he got out of prison.”
Kim took a slug of her wine. “How did you know Jules went to prison, and how did you find out I was married to him?”
“Kim, the internet is pretty incredible. I simply did a search for people who lived in Lindsay and who had been in prison. Your husband’s name came up, and I was directed to newspaper articles about his arrest and conviction. Your name was mentioned in those article as his wife. I Googled you and came up with this address. I was in the area and thought I’d take a chance and see if you were available and could talk to me.”
Murdered at the Courthouse Page 7
