With the Eyes of a Killer: A Jessica Roberts Detective Novel

by BJ Wingate

  Tony shook his head. “Damn.” At that moment, the CSI team rounded the building so Jessica and Tony went to meet them and direct them to what they wanted checked out.

  Twenty-Nine

  Alyson was getting so tired of her life. Things never went well for her. Two people in the office where she worked quit and she ended up with most of the extra workload. If she had any prospects for another job she would quit as well. As it was, she started putting in an extra hour every day to get the stuff done and even then it was not happening. And she hated leaving work without finishing something.

  Still, each day Alyson would do as much as she could, finish whatever she was working on and go home just like normal. Only now she had her supper an hour later, and usually fell asleep right after. It was becoming monotonous. Then the weekend came where she was to go for the sleep study. She was actually looking forward to it in a way.

  That Friday, Alyson left work, went home and got the bag she had packed for this and drove to where the study was to be done. She parked close to the building and carrying her bag, walked into the office and up to the receptionist.

  “Hello.” The lady behind the desk said pleasantly. “How can I help you?”

  Alyson set her bag down next to her. “My doctor recommended me for a sleep study, and I was told to come here tonight for it?”

  The woman smiled. “Of course. And your name?”

  “Alyson Harding.” Alyson waited as the woman searched in the computer. After a minute she saw her frown so gave the name of her doctor as well.

  The receptionist nodded. “I see where the doctor made the appointment and even confirmed it with you but …”

  Alyson frowned. “But?”

  The receptionist looked up. “It says here that the appointment was cancelled.”

  Alyson blinked. “Cancelled? When? Why?”

  The receptionist shook her head. “I wouldn’t know Ms. Harding. You cancelled the appointment last week.”

  Alyson stared at the woman in shock. She cancelled the appointment. She didn’t remember cancelling it. She shook her head. “I … no I didn’t cancel the appointment. Or at least I don’t remember cancelling it.” She was still trying to get her head around the idea. Could she had done it when blacked out? Wasn’t this why the study was to be done? “Can we do it anyway? I mean this is one of the reasons I agreed to the study in the first place.”

  Even before Alyson stopped talking, the receptionist was shaking her head. “I’m sorry but we have limited space for these studies and your slot was given to another person after you cancelled. I can set you a new appointment, but it won’t be for another …” The woman checked her schedule book “… three months. That’s the earliest we have an opening.”

  Alyson debated for a minute and finally shook her head. “No, I … that’s okay. Thank you.” With that, she picked up her bag and headed out to her car. She could almost feel the pitying looks the receptionist and probably anyone else in the area were giving her. She got in the car and drove slowly out of the parking lot.

  * * *

  Vanessa was furious. She had tried a plan the night before that hadn’t worked out well at all. She had made a drive for nothing and was now just pissed off at herself and the world in general. She really needed to get out and do something new, something … different. Thinking about that, she went shopping at a late-night boutique she had found a short time ago.

  The boutique said it catered to an exclusive clientele and Vanessa could well understand that. Some of the dresses she saw cost over a hundred dollars each. She wandered the aisles slowly, her heels clicking on the floor as she brushed one hand over the outfits and dresses on the racks. Her brown wavy hair framed her face and drifted down her back for a few inches. She changed directions and headed over to where several dresses hung on a wall in a very decorative way. As she peered up at one, a male voice addressed her.

  “That is an exclusive item.” The salesman said softly. “The bodice of the dress is covered in seed pearls all hand stitched.”

  Vanessa smiled. “It is lovely but not quite my style.” She was wearing a slinky dark orange dress at that moment as she turned to smile at the salesman. As soon as she looked at him her first thought was that he was into other men, not women. Oh well. She wandered down the next aisle with him following.

  “Perhaps I can make a suggestion or two?” This salesman was out to do a good job.

  “Perhaps.” Vanessa smiled as he indicated a rack of clothing that she hadn’t checked out yet. Once there, the salesman, gave her the once over, flipped through the items on the rack and finally pulled a sort of wraparound dress that was plum colored. On the hanger it didn’t look like much. Seeing her look, he dove back into the rack and pulled out a more flattering black dress that shimmered when he moved it.

  The salesman smiled. “Why don’t you try them on and see which you like the best.” He smiled again. “Or maybe … both.” He led her to the fittings room and handed both dresses to her then held the door as she entered.

  Vanessa eyed the black one and decided she would most likely get that one and yet she took the plum dress off the hanger, got out of her clothes and pulled it on. It wasn’t too hard to figure out how to drape it around herself and – once it was on and tied correctly – it fit like a glove. She blinked and then smiled. Both indeed. She tried on the black one just to be sure it was her size then check the price tags. Each dress was around eighty dollars. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford it, but her upbringing had been to try and save money. Oh well, you got what you paid for. She got back into her clothing, slipped her shoes on and exited the fitting room to find the salesman waiting on her.

  “You were right.” Vanessa said with a smile. “I’ll take them both.”

  The salesman grinned then picked up two pair of shoes. One in a dark plum and the other a shimmery black. Vanessa looked at them, checked the sizes and nodded. She ended up getting all of it to the tune of two hundred and eighty dollars. It wasn’t a drop in the bucket but well worth it. Or so she hoped. She took those items back to her storage and hung them up with pride.

  Thirty

  Jessica and Tony worked for the next several days rechecking facts and looking for connections to Alyson Harding or her mother Mary Elizabeth. The first connection was victim number five, George Billings. He had been Alyson’s ex-boyfriend. On double checking the timing and so on, Jessica discovered that George had been dating Alyson while separated from his wife who later became the ex-Mrs. Billings. The next hit was Charles Lawrence who they found had worked in the same office as Alyson. The rest could have been just random but those two did point in the same direction.

  Tony came across one incident that drew their attention as well. One Leonard Schmidt had gone missing when Alyson had been young, around fifteen or so. Could he have done something to trigger Alyson? And where was he now? Both of them started digging for that information but Leonard Schmidt had seemingly vanished from the face of the earth never to be heard from again.

  Jessica was starting to think they had the killer’s identity but now they had to prove it. They pulled all their information together and told the captain their suspicions. All they could do now was hope Alyson made a mistake big enough to point directly to her.

  Tony suggested at that point to bring in Alyson, tell her about the problem out at the institute and see what her reaction was. At the same time, they could have Robert Carver come in and see if he recognized her as the woman who he and his friend Calvin had drank with that night. It was worth a shot, so Jessica called Alyson’s phone. It only took a moment for Alyson to answer.

  “Hello?” Alyson said quietly.

  “Hello. Is this Alyson Harding?” Jessica kept her voice light and upbeat.

  “Um, yes, it is. Who is this?” Alyson was being cautious, but anyone would be.

  “Hi, it’s Jessica Roberts. I’m the detective you spoke with about your mother a while back. Do you remember me?”

  “
Oh, of course. Yes, I remember you. How can I help you?” Alyson sounded relieved.

  “Well to be honest there has been an incident out at the institute and I’d like to talk to you about that. In person if we can. This afternoon perhaps?” Jessica waited. She glanced over at Tony who was on the phone with Robert Carver asking him to come in for a further statement.

  Alyson looked around. She was still at her job and had planned on staying late again to try to get through the extra work. She had been assured they were hiring another person soon but couldn’t say when exactly. “Well, I had planned on working late but … if you think it’s important then sure, I can come in. What time?”

  Jessica glanced at Tony and he held up three fingers. “Would two forty-five work for you Alyson?”

  Alyson nodded then did a mental head shake. “Yes, I can be there at that time. I’ll see you then Detective.”

  “Good.” Jessica made a note on her calendar real fast. “I will let the desk Sargent know you are coming in and he can have an officer lead you to the room where we will be talking. See you then Alyson.” With that Jessica hung up and glanced at Tony. “Well, hopefully this will work.”

  “Hopefully.” Tony glanced at the clock. It was a little after one p.m. “Let’s get some lunch so we can be ready when they arrive.”

  Together the partners left the precinct and headed out to lunch. For once, Jessica felt good about the case and how it was coming together.

  * * *

  Alyson found herself making mistakes that afternoon. After Detective Roberts called, she worried herself sick about the whole thing. What could have happened with her mother? Was she worse off than they had originally thought? Did she have to be committed for life to save her? At one point, she got up to go use the restroom and knocked over a stack of files. Thank goodness they were well stapled, so they didn’t get mixed up.

  After that, Alyson started taking more care with the papers and things on her desk. She had already told the manager she would have to leave early but didn’t say why exactly. Just that it concerned her mother and was important.

  At two fifteen p.m., Alyson left work and drove to the precinct where she was to meet with Detective Roberts. She was a little early, so she parked and just sat in her car a short time. Just before two forty-five she got out of the car, locked it and walked inside. The desk sergeant, a burly man with short, cropped hair, took her name then waved a young female uniformed officer to lead Alyson back to a small room with a table and two chairs. Alyson sat down in one and looked around the small space. She shivered thinking that she was glad she wasn’t a suspect in anything.

  About fifteen minutes later, Jessica Robert stepped into the room and smiled at Alyson. “Hello Alyson, I’m glad you were able to make it. I apologize for having to use this room for our talk. Normally I would just use the conference room but unfortunately it’s in use at the moment.”

  Alyson nodded as Jessica took the seat across from her. “That’s okay. This must be what they call an interrogation room? I watch crime dramas on TV at times.” Alyson blushed as she admitted that.

  Jessica watched Alyson as she admitted to the crime shows. “I wouldn’t have taken you for the sort to watch those.”

  Alyson shrugged. “I don’t all the time but there are days when there is just nothing else on so …” She shrugged again.

  Jessica smiled. “Oh, I can understand that. Some days I wish they never did reruns. They can be so boring, unless you missed an episode that is.”

  Alyson nodded. “That’s true.” She hesitated for a minute. “You called me down here to talk about my mother. What is going on with her? Is she hurt or something?

  Jessica shook her head. “No, she isn’t hurt but someone apparently tried to either break into her room at the institute or break her out. We aren’t sure yet. All we know for certain is that someone managed to chisel out some of cement around the base of the safety grill work that they have over the windows.”

  Alyson’s hand went to her throat. “Oh no, why would anyone do that? Who would?” As Alyson looked at Jessica, she came to realize the wall behind the detective seemed to be mostly mirror. Was there a room behind that? In some of the crime drama shows she watched there was, and other people could watch you from it. She blinked and looked at Jessica as she realized she had missed a question.

  “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” Alyson blinked.

  Jessica smiled. “I was saying that the doctor at the institute feels they can really help your mother. There is one thing he asked about I guess because your mother mentioned it. There was a boyfriend that took off. Vanished almost? A Leonard Schmidt?” Jessica waited.

  Alyson frowned for a minute then looked away from Jessica fast. In that moment, Jessica had seen her eyes harden, become almost evil looking. It was hard for her to believe. This woman sitting in front of her was one of the most quiet and sincere people she had met and yet, for a moment, Alyson had frightened Jessica.

  When Alyson looked back up, she met Jessica’s eyes. “I … yes I do remember him. I was fifteen and he was drunk. He came into my room and I got scared so I ran to a neighbor’s house and stayed there all night.”

  Jessica nodded. “Did he hurt you? Did he do anything at all to you other than scare you?”

  Alyson tilted her head as if thinking back. “Not that I can remember no. he was so drunk that when I shoved him to run past, he sort of fell over.”

  Jessica tapped her pencil on her hand. “Where was your mother when all this was going on?”

  Alyson shook her head. “Mom was passed out on the sofa. She did that a lot after dad left. Probably still does.”

  Jessica’s eyebrow went up. “Probably? You don’t know?”

  Alyson shook her head. “No. I stay away from her for the most part unless she calls me wanting something that is.”

  The door opened and Tony walked in. Alyson sort of moved back a bit in her chair as he did. He smiled at Alyson and leaned over to say something to Jessica then left the room again.

  Alyson watched as the big man left the room. When the door closed with a click she turned back to Jessica. “Who was that?”

  Jessica smiled. “That huge teddy bear is my partner, Tony Davaco. He is good for intimidating people.”

  Alyson looked at the door again and back. “I can well imagine.”

  Jessica sat thinking it all over. What Tony had said was that Robert thought Alyson might be the woman but with the hair being different and no makeup he wasn’t totally sure. She had to go in a different direction.

  “Alyson, how do you feel about men?” Jessica sat and watched as Alyson looked first at her hands then up at the mirror behind Jessica then around the room a bit before she finally looked straight at Jessica again.

  “Do you mean in general? Or someone in particular.” Alyson seemed composed and relaxed, but her hands were shaking just a little.

  “In general.” Jessica saw Alyson’s hands start to shake just a little more.

  “In general, I guess they are okay. Sort of hard to avoid them that’s for sure.” Alyson looked down at her hands again then up suddenly. “What does this have to do with my mother anyway? She is the one that has problems with men.” The last statement didn’t sound exactly like Alyson. It was harder, a little sharper around the edges so to speak.

  Jessica shrugged. “Sorry I was just making conversation. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Alyson nodded but kept her eyes down. “Can I go now? I skipped lunch and I’m really getting hungry.”

  Jessica heard slight differences in the voice but nodded. “Of course, you can go now. I’ll have someone show you to the front door. Thank you again for coming in.”

  Alyson stood up and Jessica did the same. Alyson kept her head down as Jessica opened the door and motioned for the same young female officer to take Alyson back to the front of the precinct. She watched as Alyson walked quietly with the officer, not talking but glancing to one side then the other as she went
.

  Thirty-One

  Jessica considered her options again where Alyson Harding was concerned. During the week after speaking with her, Jessica concluded that the woman had a serious problem. From the way she acted and the occasional change in attitude or look it seemed as if Alyson may not be aware of what she was doing. Jessica did some research on it and found several cases of split personalities that did horrific things without remembering. That was because it was another personality that did those things. Could that seriously be the situation here? She debated asking about having Alyson brought back in to talk to a psychologist the department used at times. It wasn’t really her responsibility to do such things, but she felt the woman deserved a little consideration.

  Tony, of course, believed they needed to prove Alyson guilty and arrest her to protect others. He was correct of course and the courts would determine if Alyson was ill or not. Still, Jessica wasn’t entirely certain about it. To that end, she made an appointment to go talk to the departments psychologist and ask for his opinion on the matter.

  At around three p.m. that Friday afternoon, Jessica was sitting in the waiting room of Dr. Josef Ferrara. One other person was there, the receptionist, and for some reason she looked nervous. Jessica picked up a magazine to scan through as she waited. Maybe ten minutes later the receptionist smiled.

  “You can go in now.” The receptionist said.

  Jessica nodded, tossed the magazine on the table and stood up. Going to the door the receptionist indicated, she opened it and walked in.

  The Doctors office could have been a study in someone’s home. Two of the walls were lined with bookshelves holding both books and other items. Jessica glanced at those and saw a few that might have come out of an archeological dig. She raised one eyebrow as the man behind the desk stood up and smiled.