by Andrew Hess
“You wanted my help,” I smirked. “Go wait by my car. A unit is on their way to pick him up and book him. I’ll take you back to the station for your statement.”
Fred’s eyes returned to the doors of the restaurant. “What do I do about her?”
“For starters; I’d get a good divorce lawyer. I might know someone that can help. And I suggest moving on it tomorrow before your wife has a chance to spin the story in her favor.”
Chapter 43
Mark hid in his room; keeping up appearances so he didn’t arouse suspicion, but avoided his neighbors at all cost. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Jess since their disastrous date at Pasquales. Part of him was angry he was in the friend zone; angry he let his emotions get in the way of crossing more names off his list.
“No more waiting. It’s time,” he mumbled to himself as he took a black sweatshirt and hat from the dresser and stared through the peephole in his door; ensuring Jess wasn’t around.
The door across the hall was closed and couldn’t see any light shining under the small crack at the bottom. Mark threw his door open and made his hasty exit.
By the time he made it to campus, the glowing orange sun had disappeared behind a wall of darkness. The street lamps slowly turned on; providing enough light for Mark to see, but not enough for someone to recognize him.
He knew his plan was a bit risky. Half of campus already suspected there was a possible killer on the loose and so did several officers working for the campus police. They patrolled the area more frequently than they used to; making sure to drive up to each hall every hour after dark; even sending someone to patrol the walkways. But even if they found him lurking around, they’d never know he was the one they were looking for.
Mark parked his car in the commuter parking lot across from Estrada Hall. His eyes lingered at the large building in the distance. The right corner of his mouth curled into a half smile as he walked to the end of the lot. He found a small wall of stones; layered knee high; surrounded by a cluster of trees. It was his cover; his camouflage; keeping him hidden from the campus patrol. He was in perfect view of Lennox Hall; a four story dormitory that almost every student on campus wanted to live in as it was the newest, cleanest, and biggest set of dorms New Paltz had to offer.
He waited patiently; taking a psychology text book from his bag; keeping it open to chapter four as his eyes combed the walkway for anyone walking to or from the back door of Lennox Hall. He didn’t have to wait long as a young man in his late teens with short spiky hair turned the corner onto Loop Road and headed right for Lennox.
Mark slowly packed the book into his bag, pulled out a cell phone and pretended to be on a call as the boy passed. He followed the boy closely; keeping a few feet away as they approached the beige door. The boy didn’t know Mark was behind him; probably wouldn’t have cared if he did. His hand reached inside his pocket, pulled out the New Paltz ID and swiped it across an electronic sensor. The door clicked loudly as it unlocked; letting the boy enter and Mark catch the door just as it was about to close.
“Thanks,” Mark whispered while watching the boy climb the stairs to the next floor. His eyes swept the corridor thinking; great, I’m in; now how the fuck do I find her?”
Mark hadn’t thought about how he was going to track down his next victim; only knew she moved to Lennox Hall last year after getting off the waiting list. The building was bigger than Mark thought. There were four floors to cover; too many halls of rooms to search through. He knew it would take forever to go door to door looking for one specific person. And it wasn’t like he could ask for help. He wasn’t supposed to be there and if he didn’t move fast, someone was bound to get suspicious.
Mark entered the door to the first floor; passing several rooms as he entered the main floor common area. It was massive; maybe as big as a small house with bluish grey couches lining the walls and high rise tables with wooden chairs for students to sit on. He was impressed; even wished he decided to live on campus instead of renting a room in a house.
“Where is it,” he whispered; scouring the lobby for a way to search for which room a student was in. To his surprise he found an answer waiting by the thick glass doors. A long stretch of gray mailboxes were plastered against the wall. He bent down to check on them. Shit, they don’t have names on them.
His heart raced; pounding at the thought of being duped by the New Paltz education system; annoyed that his attempt at locating his next victim was foiled by a mail box. And then, he heard the chime of the elevator; alerting him someone was about to see him; notice him panicking at the sight of those stupid mail boxes.
He rushed back inside the lobby; throwing himself down on the couch; ripping the text book from his bag just as a curly haired brunette stepped out of the elevator. His eyes locked on her as if he were a computer system locating and identifying his target; ready to strike. The girl wore blue jeans and a dark gray New Paltz sweatshirt with the collar of a black shirt peeking out the very top.
Mark’s devilish grin was resurfacing; hidden behind his copy of last year’s abnormal psych book. He delightfully watched her as she stood a mere twenty feet away; walking towards the same gray mailboxes that outwitted Mark just moments before. He watched her take a key from her pocket and drop to her knees.
“You’re making this so easy for me.” It was getting harder for him to hold back a cackle of laughter; letting a grunt of pleasure escape as he counted the rows until he memorized which box was hers.
Mark watched her exit through the front doors. Where the hell is she going this late? He packed up his book, ran towards the door; mentally checking off which mail box was hers and finding her room number in small print.
Chapter 44
Mark followed the girl; watching her curls bounce with every step as they reached the other side of campus. He kept a satisfied distance of ten feet from her at all times; avoiding any possible suspicion. He watched her round the corner and walk up a flight of concrete steps towards the Lecture Hall.
“What the hell is she doing here,” he whispered. Mark knew most classes ended before six. There were only a few that started later than that; none that were tempting enough to drag yourself out of your room for; especially ones that were typically three hours long.
Mark hid behind the brick side of the building; watching the curly haired girl enter without letting her catching a glimpse of him. He took a deep breath and flung open the heavy black door. The lobby was a large communal area filled with hard wooden benches and tables, bright orange and dark blue chairs were scattered over a beige and light brown checkered carpet.
Mark pulled open a nearby door; finding his target slipping passed a bald headed man with piercings in his eyebrows, nose, ears and lips.
“This should be interesting,” Mark whispered. “Maybe it’s time to say hello to some old friends.”
Mark entered the room; keeping his head slightly turned as he made his way to the back of the room.
A smiling couple walked through the doorway holding hands; letting the door close behind them. They looked at the time and faced a small group of students sitting in chairs.
The rugged looking red headed man was clean cut and handsome, wearing cargo shorts and a green polo shirt. “All right guys. Welcome to the Outdoors Club. We’re keeping this meeting brief. We mostly wanted to touch base with everyone.” His eyes scanned the room; resting on the bald man and on Mark. “I see we have some new faces here tonight and want to welcome them.”
“So much for keeping a low profile,” Mark hissed.
“We usually meet here Wednesday nights at eight. I hope you guys can make it next week as we will be planning our first trip.”
Someone raised their hand asking where they were going.
The woman stepped in front of the desk. She had golden brown hair; dressed in black sweatpants with a baby pink sweatshirt hanging over it.
“Typically, we go to Mohonk Mountain for the weekend. We’re waiting to finalize the details and
should have them for you guys next week.”
Mark watched the curly headed girl turn to her friend; begging the bald man to come back with her the next week.
Mark rubbed his tongue under the tip tooth with anticipation. “I know where I’ll be next week.”
Chapter 45
The Lieutenant refused to speak to me for the rest of the week. If he saw me in passing he would grunt, nod or completely ignore me all together. I was starting to believe just the sight of me spiked his blood pressure. So it wasn’t farfetched to think he was relieved when I told him I wanted to use up a few personal days.
“You want some time away from here?” Esposito did something I didn’t think was possible. He smiled. “Take as much time as you need.”
The look on his face was priceless. I swore it was the first night he would go home and not need a drink because of me. I was just lucky he didn’t try to find out why. If he knew I was conducting an investigation on my own, especially one he told me to drop, he would’ve exploded.
I took the files to a local coffee shop off of Main Street. I grabbed my grande soy latte and sat outside to enjoy the cool brisk day. I took a seat at a nearby table overlooking the main road and stared at my favorite bar and restaurant P&Gs.
“Care for some company,” a woman’s voice said. It was familiar; a little too familiar.
I turned around to find Amanda and Shawn standing behind me. I had to suppress my annoyance at the sight of her boyfriend; push down the repulsion as he stood there in his baggy blue jeans and white tank top that boys his age called wife beaters.
“It’s uh good to see you guys.” I closed the folder; hiding its contents and slipped it into a brown leather satchel. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We got out of class early and figured we’d grab some coffee before we head back to Shawn’s to cram for tomorrow’s test.”
The thought of Amanda being alone in Shawn’s room to “study” made me want to vomit. Instead, I faked a bad cough; covering my hand with a napkin.
“Hey since you guys are here; you mind answering a few questions.” As much as I hated to admit it, they were my best shot at getting any answers without directly interfering with the Lieutenant’s orders.
“Oh no,” Amanda replied. “You’re not suckering us into helping you work your case.”
Shawn’s big brown eyes lit up. “Wait, you mean; I can be a part of an official investigation?”
“Not quite.” I kicked out a chair towards him. “But I could use some help. What do ya know about Rachel Walker and Nicole Sherman?”
Amanda shoved the chair back. “I already told you. I didn’t really know either of them.”
“Why would you want to,” Shawn smirked.
“What do you mean?”
Shawn pulled another chair towards the table; placing it next to me. He was closer than I would’ve preferred, but if he was going to give me any answers it was worth it.
“I’ve run into them a few times; mostly during freshman year. I used to bump into them in Estrada Hall and had English 101 with them.” He took a moment to think about the class and shook his head as if a chill ran over his body. “Man, I couldn’t wait to get outta that one.”
“Tell me more about them.”
“Nicole was a little Miss know-it-all; always butting into every conversation; insisting she was right and everyone else was wrong.”
“And Rachel?”
“You mean two face?” He read the confused expression on my face. “She was always nice to people, but talked so much shit behind their backs.”
“Would you say they had a lot of enemies?”
“No idea, but I wouldn’t doubt it. They just rubbed people the wrong way.” I could tell by Shawn’s flaring nostrils they crossed him at some point, but I couldn’t question him on it; not in front of my sister.
“Ali, do you really think someone did this to them,” Amanda asked. I could see the fear creeping back in her eyes; the same fear I saw when the police wheeled Rachel’s body from Estrada Hall.
I leaned in close. “To be honest, yeah I think someone killed them. I can’t go into specifics, but I found evidence that contradicts the suicide theories.”
“Then why not bring it up to your boss?”
“His mind is set on keeping these cases closed. Either he really doesn’t believe there’s a killer on the loose or he’s in complete denial.”
Shawn sat up in his chair. “Shit, you’re doing this off the record.” He held up his hand; palm facing me. “Way to stick it to the man.”
I hesitantly smacked his hand with mine. “Thanks I guess. Listen, I need your help.”
“Yeah, you got it; whatever you need.”
Amanda snapped her head towards he boyfriend; shooting him a dirty look before turning back to me. “What you want us to do?”
“Keep your eyes open for anything or anyone suspicious. If you see something, call me.”
“You got it sis,” Amanda said and tugged on Shawn’s arm; motioning for him to go with her. “We gotta run.”
I nodded and took a sip from my latte while watching them leave the table. I pulled Shawn’s hand. “Keep an eye on my sister for me; make sure nothing happens to her.”
“Trust me Ali; I’d do anything to protect her. I’d die for her.”
Part of me was thrilled to hear him say that, but I was hoping it would never come to that.”
Chapter 46
Weeks of deaths, investigations and being screamed at circled my head as I sat in the white porcelain tub. The hot water and soothing bubbles covered my body as my long legs stretched out; allowing me to dangle my feet over the side. It was the first time I’d been alone with my thoughts for quite some time.
I wanted to let go; to let the water relax me; take me to a place where I had nothing to worry about. But I couldn’t; not with some lunatic on the loose killing innocent girls and staging their deaths to look like suicides.
Why can’t anyone see what I see? It was the question I wish I could ask, but was forbidden to even bring up the notion. I was beginning to think I was the only one that could see the truth.
Then there was the Lieutenant. I couldn’t understand why he was so adamant about registering those as suicides. In the short time I worked for him, he’s never stifled me or told me not to act on my hunches. In fact, it’s why he chose me to be a detective at his station in the first place.
But despite his orders, I needed to keep looking into the Rachel Walker and Nicole Sherman cases. I needed to be sure how they died. I needed to make sure there wasn’t a killer out stalking more students. After all, my sister lived in the same hall as the victims.
As I sat in the tub, the bubbles slowly disappeared. I could see my legs through the cloudy water and decided it was time to get out; maybe watch a little TV or call it an early night. I sat up; pulled the plug from the tub and let the water drain.
I stood in the tub; letting droplets of water run down my naked body as I reached for the fluffy brown towel. I had an eerie feeling come over me as I reached for the forest green bathrobe. Feeling like I was being watched, I wrapped it around my body; tying the belt tightly around my waist. I stayed in the tub; stood high on my tiptoes and looked out the window to my backyard.
My eyes darted from one side to another. “It’s nothing,” I reassured myself. “I’m just being paranoid.” I stepped out of the tub and slipped into a pair of fuzzy slippers when I heard a twig snapping near the front of the house.
I snapped and threw open the cabinet doors; pulling a spare glock from under the sink. My back leaned against the wall; hugging it tightly as I reached for the painted gold handle on the door. I took a deep breath, yanked the door open and pointed the gun into the empty hallway.
I hurried across the hall and slipped into my bedroom. I looked around the room. “Where the hell’s my phone?” I threw my jeans back on with my baby blue tank top and continued searching the house.
I was locked and lo
aded; pointing the nuzzle in every room until I reached the living room. Then I heard it; a loud bang as if someone dropped something heavy on my front porch.
“Damn it,” a man’s voice shouted.
I ran to the door; pressing my body against it. I leaned over; peered through the peephole and saw the backside of a large man. He was bent over; reaching to pick up a torn plastic bag. My fingers reached for the doorknob and flung the door open.
“Freeze asshole!”
Chapter 47
The man spun around; jumping backwards into the bannister. The man’s hands shot to the air in surrender. His mocha clean shaven face turned ghastly white.
“Shit Ali, you trying to give me a heart attack?” Matthew’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “You mind putting that away?”
“Sorry,” I replied while shoving my weapon down to my right side. “What are you doing here?”
“I called the station and Rodney told me you were taking some time off. I figured I’d surprise you with some dinner, drinks and a movie.”
I looked down at his feet; finding a six pack of Bud in a broken plastic bag. Next to it was a small stack of DVDs and a large white pizza box.
“You should’ve called. I thought you were someone trying to break in.”
“Sorry, I figured you work hard and are usually busy taking care of everyone else; I thought it was time someone did the same for you.”
My glare turned into a smile. “Here, let me help you with everything.” I grabbed the pizza box and brought it inside. “I’ll get us some plates and napkins. Do you want a glass for your beer?”
Matthew popped the top to a can and took a sip. “No, this is good.” He took off his black suit jacket and placed it on a nearby chair.
I never pictured Matthew to be a beer kind of guy. He was always in a suit and tie. He ordered wine whenever we went to dinner and always took me to a nice restaurant anytime we went out. So it was a shock to me when he plopped down on my couch while loosening his tie and opening his navy blue dress shirt from the top three buttons.
