by J A Whiting
Lily lifted her head and turned to the front door. She woofed, low in her throat.
Olivia ran her toes over Lily’s back. “It was just a dream, Lily. Go back to sleep, girl.” Lily put her head back down on the rug.
A quiet thump from the direction of the front door caused Olivia to turn and Lily to bounce to her feet. A growl rumbled from the dog. Lily flicked her eyes at Olivia and turned her gaze to the front entrance. Olivia closed the book and rose from the sofa. She and Lily stood motionless, listening.
Olivia went to the window, turned the lamp off, moved the muslin curtain a bit to the side, and looked into the dark, front yard. The driveway was empty and she saw no movement on the lawn. She crept to the window on the far side of the front door which afforded a better view of the porch. Lily barked and Olivia jumped, her heart leaping into her throat.
“Sshhh, Lily,” she said. Olivia put her ear next to the door. She heard nothing. Lily was beside her. Olivia unlocked the deadbolt and put her hand on Lily’s collar.
“Lily, wait,” she whispered.
Olivia pulled on the heavy wooden door and opened it a crack. Lily was eager to get out, but she stood still obeying Olivia’s command. Olivia put one eye in the open crack, and seeing nothing she fully opened the door. Lily pushed against Olivia’s leg but stayed beside her.
Olivia grimaced and gasped and pulled on Lily’s collar preventing her from pushing open the screen door. On the floor of the porch just beyond the front door, were two dead squirrels, one larger than the other. Both of their throats had been slit and they were positioned with their heads yanked back, fully exposing the gashes. The bigger animal had stab wounds along the abdomen.
Olivia’s stomach churned. Her eyes flashed about the yard and down to the street. She pulled Lily back into the house, slammed the door and turned the deadbolt. Her hands were shaking and her breath was coming in gasps. Anger flared in her chest. She closed her eyes for a second to blot out the gruesome sight, but shutting her lids made the image of the bloody creatures flash in her mind.
Bastard. Who did it?
Olivia darted up the stairs to the second floor of the house with Lily running behind. She dashed from bedroom to bedroom peering out of the windows trying to see anyone who might be lurking or running through the yard to the tree line.
Returning to the living room, Olivia played the past few minutes back in her head. She hadn’t heard a car engine or feet creaking on the floorboards of the porch. She hadn’t seen a gleam from headlights or a flashlight. Lily had perked up right before Olivia heard a thump from the front of the house. Whoever was responsible must have been watching and waiting since the delivery of the deceased squirrels happened after Brad and Joe ended their visit. Olivia suspected the person must have checked around the house on other occasions in order to find the easiest and most hidden way to approach and retreat with the least chance of detection.
Olivia clenched her jaw. Her hands were balled into fists. As she moved to the coffee table for her cell phone to place a call to the police, she was almost thankful that she hadn’t discovered the perpetrator in the yard because she didn’t want to be responsible for what she might have done to him.
***
The police arrived and Olivia recounted how she found the animals on the porch. Olivia was grateful that one of the officers removed them so that she wouldn’t have to see the mutilated bodies again. Olivia told the police that she had met with some residents of Howland to inquire about the 1973 murders of her cousins and the officers suggested that the dead animals on the porch were probably a prank by local teenagers who had heard that Olivia was asking questions about the forty year old crime.
“So they grab some squirrels and slit their throats? For a prank?” Olivia asked.
“Kids do stupid stuff,” the officer said. “They don’t think beyond the moment. That’s how they end up in trouble.”
The second officer came inside from disposing of the squirrels. “They’d been shot.”
“Kids must have been hunting and thought it would be funny to stage the old crime scene on the porch,” the first officer said.
“Funny? That’s terrible,” Olivia said. Her stomach was still roiling. She shook her head at the cruelty that people were capable of. She wrapped her arms around herself.
The police concluded the visit by reassuring Olivia that it was most likely a harmless act committed by bored adolescents looking for some excitement.
“Not harmless for the squirrels,” Olivia told them. There was a big, fat knot in her throat. After the officers left, she walked around the first floor pulling the window shades shut. She decided to read upstairs in bed.
“Come on, Lily. Let’s go relax upstairs. Or try to, anyway.” Olivia led the way up the staircase. She looked at Lily next to her and was glad she wasn’t alone in the house.
Chapter 23
Early the next morning, Olivia drove to meet Emily Bradford’s former fiancé at his law offices in Chestnut Hill. She was still shaken over finding the dead squirrels on the front porch the night before and her emotions alternated between worry and fury. Worry that someone might return for another “prank” and fury at whoever did the cruel deed.
Olivia pulled the Jeep into the parking lot of the law offices of Chandler, Mitchell, and Kaplan. When Don Chandler’s secretary buzzed him, he came out to greet Olivia and usher her into his office. Chandler was tall and slim and had the body of a long distance runner. He had sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His charcoal suit was well tailored and he exuded a warm energy.
“Would you like something to drink, Olivia? Tea, coffee, ice water?” Chandler asked. He indicated one of the dark grey matching club chairs and they sat opposite each other.
“Nothing, thank you,” Olivia said. “I don’t want to take much of your time. I appreciate you seeing me.”
“Not at all. I don’t know how much I can help, but I’m glad to answer your questions.”
“I recently learned about the murders of my cousins in the early seventies and I wondered why no one was ever arrested and prosecuted. I’m just asking people who lived in Howland for their impressions. I understand you were in Kenny Overman’s high school class.”
“I was. I was never friends with the guy. We were in some classes together now and then up until high school, then after that I really just saw him in passing.”
“What did you think of him?”
“He was always in trouble for something it seemed. Minor things like not having his homework, misbehaving in class, teasing kids. He was absent a lot.” Chandler looked thoughtful. “Tell you the truth, I didn’t like being around him. He seemed like, I don’t know, like something was simmering under the surface…anger…unhappiness. It’s hard to describe. He seemed unhappy with himself. I found out when I got older that his home life was troubled. He seemed bright enough. If he’d been raised in a different family…” Chandler’s voice trailed off and he shrugged.
Olivia nodded. “His father was an alcoholic, I guess. His mother took off and left them when Kenny was a little kid.”
“Life sure isn’t fair,” Chandler said.
“Did you know Kenny to get into fights, was he ever violent?”
“Never saw that. Never saw or heard of any fights, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. Once we got to high school, I didn’t see much of him.”
“What was the talk in Howland back then? Who was suspected for the murders?”
“Well, Overman for one. Some guy wandering through town was another suspect. There was gossip about the priest at St. Catherine’s but that was probably idle chatter. No one was arrested, as you know.”
“No evidence I suppose. Who did you think did it?”
“I hoped it wasn’t Overman. A guy, my age. Who I knew? That scared the heck out of me. I just wanted the police to figure it out. Get the killer off the streets.”
Olivia nodded. “I understand that you were engaged to Emily Bradford. Her sister spok
e with me recently. Emily dated Kenny in high school.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think attracted her to Kenny?”
“Emily was headstrong. She had her own ways of doing things. She was involved in all the clubs at school, star student, a fantastic athlete. Her parents drove her nuts. They were very controlling. It was Emily’s way of rebelling against them, I suppose. Overman was a good looking guy back then. That didn’t hurt the attraction either, I’m sure.”
“What’s your feeling? Do you think Kenny could have killed my cousins? Was it in him to do something so vicious and violent?”
Chandler inhaled a deep breath. “That is something I just can’t answer.” He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, Olivia. I just don’t know.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. Olivia noticed the collection of photographs on Chandler’s credenza.
“Your family?”
Chandler followed Olivia’s gaze and smiled.
“Yeah. Quite a group.”
“They’re beautiful. How many kids do you have?”
“Five. Three boys and two girls. Most in their twenties now. Youngest is eighteen. Going off to college in the fall. It will be an adjustment for my wife and I, empty nest and all.”
Olivia nodded. “Do you mind if I ask you about Emily?”
Chandler turned back to Olivia. “I don’t mind.”
“Any guesses why she never married? Do you think Kenny’s troubles and then James Martin’s death turned her off to relationships?”
“Could be. We started dating during our last year of college. I went to law school in Boston and she went to grad school in the city as well. We always had separate apartments. I proposed to her right before we graduated. She accepted. We never got around to setting a date. Emily was very career-minded. Worked long hours, was determined to make something of herself. I worked hard too, but family was important to me.” He chuckled. “As you can see from the pictures.”
“Is that why she broke off the engagement? Because she was a workaholic?”
Chandler looked surprised. “I was the one who broke it off. She was furious. She didn’t want kids and I wanted a lot of them. I hoped she would soften to the idea. She didn’t and was adamant about never having a child.” He paused. “She could be…well, sort of cold.”
“How do you mean?”
“She was a great person, but could be very controlling and critical.” Chandler looked down at his hands. “She was…she wasn’t as warm as I wanted my partner to be. She was determined she would never become pregnant. Intimacy was not high on her list. A close, loving relationship was important to me. I couldn’t see my life, my future, with someone like that.”
Olivia turned her head and smiled at the pictures of Chandler’s children. “It seems you have a very happy life.”
“That I do. And I’m grateful for it. I guess Emily’s business was her baby, her child. She’s thrown everything she has into it. She’s very successful. I’ve always wished her nothing but the best.”
Chapter 24
Olivia needed a hair trim and Jackie gave her the name of the person who cut and colored her hair. The stylist squeezed Olivia in around several of her customers which meant Olivia spent a good deal of time sitting and waiting while the stylist worked on other people. After the appointment at the hair salon, Olivia stopped on her way home to pick up some groceries. It was after 9pm when she pulled into the driveway.
There was heavy cloud cover and the moon was obscured. The yard was pitch black and it made Olivia feel like she was driving into an empty void. She forgot to put the porch light on before she left and the front of the house was draped in shadow. The wind was starting to pick up signaling the possibility of rain approaching.
Olivia pressed the button on the garage door opener attached to the car visor but the door stayed closed. She pressed again. Nothing. Ugh. The battery must need to be changed. She pulled the Jeep close to one of the garage bays, turned the key in the ignition and shut down the engine. Olivia gathered her purse and the three grocery bags from the passenger seat, and walked along the brick walkway to the front door of John’s house.
As she was taking the steps, a bag slipped from her hand and hit the floorboards of the porch. Some cans of soup tumbled out. Olivia bent and blocked them with the other bags to keep them from rolling off the porch. In her peripheral vision, she saw a man’s work boots by the front door. Her eyes traveled up from the boots. Her breath caught in her throat. A man stood in the shadows of the porch blocking the entrance to the house. Olivia stumbled back and froze. Her heart pounded like a sledgehammer against her chest wall. The man was tall, broad shouldered. He took a step forward.
“I hear you’re looking for me.” His voice was deep.
Olivia took a step back. “What?”
“You want to talk to me?” he asked.
Olivia was silent. She wanted to run but she knew he would catch her in two strides. She tried to calm herself, tried to think.
“I’m Kenny,” the man said.
“I…I…” Olivia started. Her hands were shaking. She took another small step back.
“You’ve been asking questions about me.” The man moved forward a step.
“I…my cousins….” Olivia didn’t know what to say. She was afraid to incite him.
Kenny stared at her in the darkness.
“How did you get here?” Olivia babbled. She was thinking of swinging the bags of groceries at his head if he came at her. Then run for the car. Where did I put the car keys? Did I lock the car?
“You wanted to find me. I made it easy for you. Here I am.”
“Do you want to go someplace we can talk?” Olivia asked. “To the bar in the center of town?”
Kenny snorted. “Yeah. Imagine how that would go. Look who’s back. The murderer.” He walked down the porch steps and stood in front of Olivia. “Let’s go around back. I don’t want anyone to see us.”
Olivia’s mind was racing. She tried to stall. “Um…I’d like to go in and put the groceries in the kitchen. Let the dog out.” Her eyes darted around the yard trying to think of how to escape.
Kenny sighed. “Where’s your cell phone?”
“In my purse,” Olivia said.
“Take it out. Give it to me. I don’t want you calling the cops.”
Olivia placed the grocery bags on the ground. She started to reach into the purse, when Kenny said, “Give me the purse. I don’t feel like being sprayed with pepper spray or something.”
Olivia handed over the purse. She considered bolting down the driveway but knew he’d catch her before she got to the street, so she decided to continue to gauge the situation and wait for a better moment to get away. Kenny rummaged through the purse.
“Why do women have to carry so much stuff?” His hand came out with the phone and her keys which he placed in his pocket. He tossed the purse on the porch. “Come on, let’s go in the back. I saw some chairs back there.” They walked to the back of the house, around the sunroom under construction, and approached the deck.
“Let’s sit,” Overman said. Olivia climbed the steps and Overman followed. Olivia sat in the deck chair closest to the stairs.
“Why don’t you take that chair,” Overman said indicating the one in the middle of the deck. Olivia moved and Overman took the chair Olivia vacated.
“I’m going to talk,” he said. “Then you can ask questions. Then I’m going to leave.”
Olivia nodded. “Okay,” she said softly. Her anxiety decreased a notch.
“I wouldn’t mind if you kept my visit to yourself. But I can’t force you.”
Olivia didn’t say anything.
“So I got word from a friend that you’ve been buzzing around. Asking questions.”
Olivia nodded.
“You’re like a horsefly. Buzzing around pestering people.”
“I’ve been called things like that before,” Olivia said.
“I’m not surprised.” Ov
erman rubbed his forehead and started talking. “I grew up here in Howland. Me and my old man lived on Wichita Road. Rented a ranch house over there. It was a dump. My mom took off on us before I was a year old. I went to the local schools. Hung out. Got in trouble. Dropped out of high school. It wasn’t for me. I haven’t been back here in almost forty years. It feels more like a hundred, like it was somebody else’s life I’m talkin’ about.” He took a deep breath.
“I was good for nothing back then. Drank too much, took some drugs, screwed around with girls. I had no purpose.” He paused and sat quiet for a minute. “There was one girl I dated for about two years. Emily Bradford. I had no business with her. I thought she cared for me but I finally figured out that the attraction was that dating me made her parents nuts. She was from a family with money. Her dad was a doctor. The mom was a socialite or some such thing…thought she was too good for me…her family was too good for me. She thought I was trash.” He hesitated. “She was right.” He stopped talking for a while. Olivia waited.
“I needed to do something with my life. I was going nowhere. I decided maybe it would be a good idea to join the Army. So on June 5, 1973 I decided to go to Boston to talk to a recruiter. I didn’t get very far in my junk truck. It broke down on the road, a couple of miles from my house. I tried to get it going but it was dead. I walked home, got my motorbike, and took off again. When I got to the Boston recruitment office, there were posters in the windows…of soldiers, guns. I got a big fat lump in my throat, thinking what the heck am I doing. They’re going to send me to ‘Nam. How long will it be before I’m killed over there?”
He swallowed and tapped his hand on his knee absent-mindedly. “So I didn’t go in. I got back on my bike, drove around some. Went over to Fenway. Parked. The Sox were playing but I didn’t have any money for a ticket to the game, so I walked around. I had no idea that something happening back in Howland was about to change my life.”
