Not A Good Reason

by McCarthy, G. L.

  “I don’t want you to lie to her. If she asks just tell her I made you promise not to tell anyone.” Alex knew that would not set well with Sam, but that’s the way she wanted it.

  “Are you in any danger? Is that why you don’t want Sam to know?” Carol hoped this wasn’t the case.

  “I’ve put her through so much lately. This is nothing I can’t handle on my own. She has enough on her mind right now. When she gets done with training I’ll tell her everything. That is if she doesn’t find out beforehand.” Alex stood and kissed Carol on the cheek good-bye. “I need to get moving and get to the Tea House to order dinner, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome and be careful.” Carol picked up the phone to call Bob. He was never going to believe this.

  Alex hit number six on her speed dial as she walked out of the hardware store. She waved goodbye to Jason as she didn’t have any more time to stop and chat. When Ping heard her voice he knew exactly what the order was before she had to tell him. It would be ready by the time she retrieved her car from in front of the Sheriff’s office and drove over.

  Alex didn’t want to run but she was running later than she had hoped. As she walked as fast as she could her cellphone chimed that she had a text message. It was from Sam apologizing for the lateness of the message, but she and Zane were at the firing range practicing and would get dinner afterwards. Only being slightly miffed, because she actually wanted Sam to be late, Alex could slowly walk to her car. She wondered if the Sheriff would want to share her dinner. She would pop in and ask him if he or Jim was hungry.

  When she walked in no one was in sight.

  “Hello. Sheriff, Jim anyone home?” Alex then heard a chair move across the floor and footsteps coming her way.

  “Hi Alex. The Sheriff is on the phone with the State. I don’t know how long he’ll be. Do you want to wait or leave a message?” Jim had his arms full of file folders.

  “No message. I just wanted to know if you both would like to share some Egg Rolls with me. My dinner date cancelled.” Alex saw a slight smile come over Jim’s face.

  “I can’t speak for the Sheriff, but I would love to share.” Jim carefully placed the folders on his desk so they wouldn’t slide to the floor.

  “Excellent. Do you like Plum Wine?” Alex thought that since he wasn’t an officer he could have a glass.

  “No, but Tea works.” Jim loved Tea.

  “Tea it is. I’ll go fetch our Egg Rolls and be right back. If the Sheriff gets off the phone tell him I’m bringing him some too.” Alex was hoping those folders were the case files on the missing women. This evening could be very productive.

  Alex was back within twenty minutes which was due to her increasing her Egg Roll order. Ping would hang onto the rest of the order of Orange Chicken for Alex to pick up when she headed for home. The Sheriff was off the phone and organizing the folders while Jim was entering the specific details to a spread sheet. The Sheriff wanted a time line to see just how far back the disappearance went and when they stopped.

  The phone was still quiet, but it would be ringing off the hook once the news was released that five bodies had been found in the woods near their quiet little town. The remains were going to the County Morgue to confirm that the identification found with the bodies were in fact the women wrapped in the tarps.

  Sheriff Taylor was checking his list with the files and all five women had been reported missing by their husbands. But for personal reasons in each case the husband’s had requested that no names be released to the Press. In each case no foul play had been considered. Each file consisted of a theft report itemizing jewelry that had disappeared from their residence along with the wife. The theory being that they had stolen the items to pawn so they could leave the area and start a new life.

  “So no one suspected any wrong doing. They just thought these women took everything of value and ran away?” Alex wondered how times had changed and if they’d gone missing nowadays the husband would be one of the prime suspects.

  “It happened, not a lot, but I guess believing your wife had run off with another guy was easier than thinking someone intentionally killed her for what little valuables you had. Not a good reason, but it’s a reason.” The Sheriff was rather embarrassed by the lack of detailed information in the reports.

  “So do you know if any of these women had anything in common? I mean did they all live on the same street, or belong to any service organizations. The fact that it was spread out over a period of time, might mean they all knew the killer socially.” Alex was relaying on all her memories of crime shows plots.

  “I see where you’re going. All five women were thought to have run away with someone. So there had to be a place they could have met this guy. I’ll do some checking.” The Sheriff was wondering if Alex ever thought of a job in law enforcement. She’d be a great detective, with this gift of hers and of course her special friends.

  “May I see a list of the victim’s names?” Alex knew she wouldn’t recognize anyone, but she was just curious.

  “Sure. Jim, can you print that and a few other pertinent details?” The Sheriff highlighted a few more details like age; maiden name, date reported missing, address, and spouse’s name. He knew she wouldn’t let it out.

  Jim started typing and in a minute the printer came to life and printed out a half page.

  “Oh my gosh. Is this woman’s last name correct?” Alex couldn’t believe what she saw.

  “Yes, Elizabeth Ridgeway Borden. That’s her married name.” Jim knew Alex was thinking of the infamous Lizzie Borden.

  “No, you don’t understand.” Alex paused for a minute wondering if she should tell them this next part.

  “Understand?” The Sheriff looked at Alex and waited for more.

  “Okay, don’t get upset, but this woman’s ghost is living in a small run down cabin I visited on Monday.” Alex could see Jim’s eyes get really big at this news.

  “Where exactly is this ghost’s cabin?” The Sheriff was trying to be calm.

  “Wow. You took that well. Not all that far from where we were today.” Alex knew she’d have to tell them about Oliver since this was his discovery.

  “Is there anything else you need to tell me about this case?” The Sheriff was rubbing the bridge of his nose from where his reading glasses had made an impression.

  “Can you keep a really big unbelievable secret?” Alex was looking at both men.

  “I think after all we’ve been through you could trust us. Jim knows as much as I do about your special friends.” The Sheriff trusted Jim more than anyone else in his life.

  “Awesome. Okay, you know how I have my two spirit guardians. Well Sam brought a ghost home with her from Pennsylvania. He’s a Civil War Soldier who died shortly after Gettysburg and hitched a ride when she was passing through. His name is Oliver and he found the cabin while checking out the area around my place.” Alex watched as neither man’s expression changed.

  “His name is Oliver and he’s living with you and Sam. Does he have a last name?” The Sheriff didn’t know what else to ask.

  “Yes, it’s Simmons. Oliver Wade Simmons, of the 46th PA Regiment. He was hung for desertion, but I think he ran because of PTSD. He’s just a kid and never should have been there in the first place.” Alex didn’t want them thinking poorly of Oliver.

  The Sheriff looked at Jim who had been typing feverishly into the computer and then looked up at Alex and smiled.

  “Cool. The 46th was at Gettysburg. I would love to talk to him. Do you think he would talk to me?” Jim would love to learn everything Oliver was willing to share.

  “I can ask him. Oliver loves to talk and watch TV. He’s a big fan of Westerns. I just hope he lets you see him. So what do we do about the cabin? I mean she’s not going anywhere; and like me she could identify her killer. That’s if she’s willing to talk to us and hasn’t crossed over now that we’ve found her body.” Alex knew this case could be closed within days if she did.

  “How do I
arrest someone on the word of a ghost? But getting a name would get us going in the right direction. Do you need me to come along?” The Sheriff didn’t know what he would do to help, except be a presence to show that the police were investigating.

  “Well now that I know her real name I can try to talk to her. Before when she told Oliver her name I thought she was just being a pain in the neck.” Alex almost said bitch and also wondered about her maiden name of Ridgeway. “She was the third to go missing?”

  “Yes. Her parents used to own the Ridgeway until they both passed away. Tragic story – the mother never did believe her daughter ran away with another man. She said she was unhappy in her marriage, but to leave like that without saying goodbye. No, the Mother wasn’t having any of that. It looks like they suspected the Husband for a nano-second, but he had an air tight alibi.” Sheriff Taylor read the report that stated her husband had been in the Army and was deployed in Kosovo, Yugoslavia at the time.

  “May I read the whole report?” Alex thought the more she knew about this woman the better.

  “Sure, but you need to read it all here.” The Sheriff knew this case was going to be tough enough to keep control of without files floating around.

  “Of course.” Alex grabbed an Egg Roll and a napkin and started to read the file cover to cover.

  The file didn’t contain all that much information, because like the other missing women each case wasn’t considered to be anything but another unhappy wife leaving her dysfunctional marriage. The sudden activity coming from the phone interrupted their calm meal. Alex also knew her trip to the cabin would have to wait until tomorrow as it was too late to go now. Also, she needed to get out of the Sheriff’s office before the reporters started to appear for more details into this grizzly discovery. Alex cleaned up her part of the dinner mess and returned the file to Jim. She’d check in with the Sheriff after work tomorrow and then head for the cabin to see if she could get Mrs. Borden to talk.

  Both the Sheriff and Jim gave Alex a hug goodbye and they all had a quick laugh at these bizarre events that had brought them together once again.

  Chapter 40

  When Alex finally got home, with the rest of her order from the Tea House, she had still beaten Sam there. Not wanting to take any chances, Alex jumped into her sweats so it would appear she’d been home for a while, hoping Sam wouldn’t ask why she was so late.

  She needed to regroup and think about what she was going to tell Sam about her part in this latest mystery. But was it a sin of omission if she said nothing at all? Once the lid was off did she have to let it all out? There was no way this would go unnoticed unless Sam’s current preoccupation with work gave her this evening to let it slide. Alex walked through the house looking for Oliver and then called out to him after not seeing him anywhere.

  “Hey Alex you’re home late. What’s up?” Oliver was beginning to sound less like a shy kid and more like a confident adult.

  “Hey yourself. Whatcha been up to?” Alex wanted to fill him in, but not if Sam was going to walk through the door at any minute.

  “I’ve been over watching the police dig up the bodies. I was hiding because I didn’t want to distract you. I had to wait until that dog left to be able to see the whole thing. He was looking right at me, but his owner thought he was looking at birds or squirrels. It was really interesting and sad too. All those women. Who could do such a thing?” Oliver had seen so much death that these killings, like those during the war, seemed so useless.

  “Someone who felt he had a good reason. But that reason was only known to him. You’ll never guess what I found out tonight.” Alex could see Oliver’s puzzled look so now she needed to explain. “Remember the woman from the Cabin – Lizzie Borden?”

  “Yeah, the one you said wasn’t telling us her real name.” Oliver hoped Alex didn’t want to go see her again.

  “She’s one of the women who was killed. Her real name was Elizabeth Ridgeway Borden. Borden is her married name. So she is connected to this case. How cool is that?” Alex could hardly wait to go talk to her. “But remember we aren’t telling Sam yet. So when she comes through that door we change the subject – agreed?”

  “Agreed. Does this mean you want to go see her again?” Oliver would go if he had too.

  “Yes, but I’ll go alone. You’ve done more than enough and I know how much you dislike the place.” Alex then heard Sam’s truck coming. “Mum’s the word.”

  “Okay, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’ll be in the guest room watching the box.” Oliver felt if he didn’t see Sam then he wouldn’t have to lie if she were to ask him what he did today.

  When Sam came through the door she looked drained and troubled. She gave Alex a big hug and then headed for the bathroom without saying a word. Alex knew something had happened, but wouldn’t push Sam for an explanation. It was her secret for the time being and Alex was glad she wasn’t the only one keeping them.

  When Sam finally came out of the bathroom she was showered and in her bathrobe. Alex knew she’d eaten with Zane and began to wonder what had happened. But would act like nothing was off and just go with the flow.

  “You look really tired. Why don’t you get some sleep and we can talk about our day tomorrow.” Alex hoped that would get her heading in that direction.

  “Thanks. That’s a good idea. I love you so much.” Sam gave Alex another long hug and then went to their room.

  “I love you too.” Alex felt a lump in her throat.

  Alex watched Sam shuffle to their room and thought she looked like a whipped puppy. What could have happened that put her in such a funk? The text about being late came after she finished her day’s training. So it had to be what happened with Zane afterwards. Alex stared at their closed bedroom door and then a sick feeling came over her. She wondered if something had happened between Sam and Zane. That had to be it, the depressed look and two long hugs. Wow, this was big. But was Sam’s depression from having cheated with Zane or was she depressed because she wanted to do it with Zane? Either way it was another possible blow that Alex really wasn’t ready for. She still hadn’t fully closed the door on her relationship with Dez. She’d been so busy these past few months that she never really talked to Dez about how she ended their relationship. She had just left and then found Sam. Who does that – apparently she did. A therapist would have a field day with this.

  Alex took a seat at the kitchen table and needed to pull herself together. This could just be her wild imagination working overtime. Maybe Sam was just overly tired and lost another shooting competition to Zane. It could be just that simple or not. She needed to get a grip and look at the fact that Sam came home to her. So until Sam let her know what was going on, she just needed to chill out. Besides Ramon was supposed to be keeping Sam from blowing it. So whatever happened; must have happened for a reason. Alex would just have to let the Universe figure it all out. She was getting tired and needed to get some sleep as well.

  When the alarm went off Alex had been in a sound sleep all night. No dreams of murders or bodies being buried. She also felt it was later than usual and it was confirmed when she hit the snooze button. Sam was gone and the clock had been reset to Alex’s normal wake up time. Now Alex knew something big was coming and hoped she would find a note from Sam with some sort of explanation.

  The sick feeling in Alex’s stomach wasn’t how she wanted to feel all day not knowing what was going on with Sam. But she was stopped in her tracks when she saw the note on the kitchen table. She had mixed thoughts of wanting to read it to not. But she had to know and so she fixed herself a cup of coffee, then took a deep breathe and sat down. It wasn’t a quick note, but a half page letter.

  Alex: I hope you can forgive me for what I’m about to tell you. Last night a line was crossed with Zane that should have never been crossed. It was a momentary lapse in judgement, but was all my fault. I am so upset I can’t even stand to look at myself or you. I need to be alone for a while to figure out who I’m am and what I’m doi
ng with my life. I wish I was one tenth as good a person as you are. Please be patient with me and I will be back so we can talk about this. I love you so much, Sam

  Alex felt the tears run down her cheeks and at that moment knew how Dez must have been feeling. How could this have happened? She couldn’t blame Sam for wanting to be a police officer and therefore meeting Zane at the academy. But if she and Sam were meant to be together then why this sudden sink hole in their road to living happily ever after? Was this some kind of relationship test to see what would break them up or make their union stronger? How could she talk to anyone about this without them thinking badly of Sam? Was this the Universe’s way of correcting her relationship again? Yes, she wasn’t happy about Sam’s bad temper or her current self absorption with her new job. But she wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet and maybe the line Sam crossed was just a kiss. Heck Alex had one of those at the Ranch, but she wasn’t in control of her own body so maybe it didn’t count. Could this be a glimpse into what would be her life with Sam? A string of indiscretions with fellow police officers or attractive motorists who’d do anything to avoid a traffic ticket? Alex needed to get a grip and take a deep breath. This could be a good thing, sort of. She needed to let Sam find out who she is and that way Alex could do her thing without feeling guilty for not sharing. Maybe the Universe did know what it was doing. Alex could only hope and she also needed to get ready for work. It was going to be a long day because she wanted to go visit the ghost of Elizabeth Borden and rough because her best friend/lover wouldn’t be coming home for a while.

  Chapter 41

  JT stared at the television as the news broadcasted the report about the discovered skeletal remains of five women buried in the woods. Their identities were being kept secret until notification of next of kin. ‘How could they have found them?’ ‘Why would any hiker be in that area, it wasn’t anywhere near a trail and the main reason he chose it.’ JT was not moving and with his fists tightly clinched he was being viewed by staff and other patients with concern.