Authors: Paizley Stone
“Maybe just be in love? There are worse things in the world.”
“It’s too frightening a proposition right now, but I will give it some serious consideration.”
“Good. I’m squeezing you in as a favor this morning, so we will have to cut this short. Do you want to start scheduling some sessions until this crisis is over?”
“Yes, I’ll see the receptionist on the way out. Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”
“It’s good to see you again, Laura, and think about giving that young man a chance.”
When she finally got to the office, Dan and Roy were working away on the phones. She went down to see Captain Rutledge to let him know that she was back.
“How did your session go with Dr. Walsh?”
“It was short, but she was fitting me in as a courtesy.”
He was trying not to pry, but he had to ask. “Did you make another appointment?”
“Yes, I think I need to see her for a little bit. Even though I hate to admit it, Captain, I’m afraid of this guy.”
“As well you should be. I’ve seen his handiwork. Take all the time you need with Dr. Walsh. She’s a great lady and has helped many officers on this force.”
Laura gave him a serious look. “Sir, if she was seeing this psycho, she would have a moral imperative that was above her doctor-patient, confidentiality agreement, wouldn’t she?”
“Yes, she would, because he means harm to others. Unfortunately, Detective, I don’t think that men as sick as this one go to psychologists, until they are caught and locked up in a mental institution. Speaking of which, what are you guys working on today?”
“We are trying to connect something to the buildings themselves. I haven’t checked with Burns and Murphy yet, because I wanted to let you know that I was back.”
“I appreciate you doing that. Even though I know you feel like it’s an invasion of your privacy, it’s for your own good and safety.”
“I know that, Sir. It’s nice to be cared about. I better get back to work now.”
She left the Captain’s office and headed up to talk to her partners. When she got to her desk, she found them hard at work. “Anything new guys?”
Burns looked up from his pile of papers with a grin. “Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence. Yesterday Murf got a good start on compiling the list of building owners, and we have been calling them. So far, three out of seven buildings link back to Amy Montgomery’s property management group. We are still working on the list. A couple of the owners are in different time zones than us, so we haven’t reached them yet. Also, it’s Monday morning, and surprisingly enough these people seem to think that running their businesses is more important than answering our questions.”
“Okay, that’s a good turn of events and a new starting point. Cut to the chase on the rest of them. Just ask if they do business with Amy.”
Murphy headed toward her desk with an excited look on his face. “I just got two more confirmations on buildings tied to Amy Montgomery. That makes five out of seven. I think we’re really on to something here. I made an appointment for this afternoon to interview her. Who do you want to go?”
“You and I will go. Burns, you can stay and follow up on the other two buildings. Call me as soon as you know anything. If they are not hers, then find out who does their property management. What time is our appointment, Murphy? “
“In about two hours, want to grab a bite on the way?”
“Sure, something quick would be good. I skipped breakfast this morning.”
Amy Montgomery’s office was downtown, so they decided on a little sandwich shop close by. As she ate, the thoughts about what she had discussed with Dr. Walsh filled her head. She felt like she was blushing, even though there was no way he could tell what she was thinking. He was sitting right there in front of her, and she could reach out and touch him, if she dared. “Thanks for working on that list yesterday. This may turn out to be something really important for the case.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, it isn’t like I had a whole lot else to do.”
“No girlfriend?”
“No, I had a bad breakup about two years ago. I like to give myself time in between relationships for reflection and to avoid that whole rebound thing. I think the worse thing you can do is run right out there and try to cover up your feelings with a piece of ass.” As soon as it was out, Dan realized what he had just said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say anything to offend you. It’s just that I see so many guys running around doing just that. To me sex has to mean something, or I feel even lonelier afterwards.”
“You didn’t offend me. I’m actually amazed at your level headedness. I guess that means that you’re not like most guys. Personally, I think that’s a good thing.”
Dan looked at her for a moment. He couldn’t tell if she was flirting, or teasing him. Why did he feel so hopeless around her? He wanted her to like him, but somehow he felt that she was mocking him all the time. “Are you making fun of me?”
“No! What in the world would make you think that? I was paying you a compliment.”
“Sorry, that’s just my insecurity rearing its ugly head. Ignore me until I grow up.”
“You grow any more we’ll have to throw you off of the police force, and sign you up for pro basketball! You’re already a pretty big guy.”
“Yeah, I played football in college, but I never had the urge to go pro. It’s very hard on your body. Sure, you make a lot of money, but you can’t walk straight by the time you’re thirty. Anyway, I wanted to do something to help people. I was always a big guy, so the bullies never went after me. They always picked on the little guys. I wanted to do something to make a difference in life. So, now I’m putting the bullies behind bars.”
After they were finished, Laura picked up the check and headed for the cashier. “Let’s go see if we can narrow down our list of bullies with the help of Ms. Amy Montgomery.”
“Okay, we can walk from here, if you don’t mind. It’s a really beautiful day.”
“That would be great. We’ve been cooped up in that gloomy precinct building way too much lately.”
“Have you noticed that there’s a link to downtown on many of these cases? That may sound stupid, but I was noticing that in the files yesterday. Not the buildings, but things like the offices, restaurants and bars we have been investigating. Even the Wiccan meeting was held downtown.”
“That’s not stupid, Murphy, that’s a very good point. Let’s keep digging on that one.”
They reached the building in just a few minutes, and were informed that Amy was expecting them. The receptionist, who showed them to her office, asked if they wanted any refreshments. They both said no and just sat there looking around at the lush appointments. It was an excessively large room, which seemed very extravagant to Laura. Everything was done in solid wood and deep, dark hues. The desk was made of heavy, hand-carved oak, and the chairs were upholstered in forest green. It actually looked more like a man’s office, than a woman’s.
Amy Montgomery entered the office and extended her hand to Dan. She was a petite blonde who dressed in extremely expensive looking designer suits. “Detective Murphy, how wonderful to see you again! Is this your partner?”
“Yes, this is Detective Peterson. We would like to ask you a few questions.”
Her southern drawl rolled off of her tongue, and the conversation was directed exclusively toward Dan. “Of course, go right ahead. I always pay attention when a handsome man speaks.”
“So far, five of the crime scene buildings in our serial murder case have been linked to your company. We were wondering if you could tell us who would have knowledge of when these buildings would be vacant and available.”
“I’m shocked! I thought it was just the one I was showing the other day.”
“No, there are five all together, and we’re still confirming the other two. Haven’t you gotten any kind of report on the addresses of the crime scenes? You manage the buildings.”
“Sweetie, I just don’t pay attention to things like that. My assistant takes care of all the details. Besides, it would never happen to me. I don’t know what kind of women these were, but
I am
a professional businesswoman. I
do not
consort with those types of people.”
“No offense, Ms. Montgomery, but this guy doesn’t have a type. No one is safe right now. It isn’t like he’s out there picking off prostitutes.”
“Oh, Detective Murphy, you must call me Amy. I couldn’t take offense to you, you’re just too adorable! Maybe my assistant would be the best one to talk to. I handle the showings and set up the big contracts. My assistant, Jenny, handles all of the mundane, daily chores. She is probably going to know the answers to your questions better than I would. My previous assistant would have been perfect, but she’s gone. No one is dependable any more! You probably know exactly what I mean, being a big, strong policeman and all. I bet you’re very dependable, aren’t you? If you don’t have a special lady friend, maybe we could have dinner some evening.”
Dan remained straight faced and professional when he answered her. “Thank you for the invitation, but I’m so busy on this case now, that I don’t have time for social engagements.”
“That’s a shame! When you catch this bad, old man, give me a call. Here’s a card with my personal number written on the back of it. You have a permanent rain check, Detective. Now, let me get Jenny for you.”
Jenny came in and took them to her desk to go over her files. “I don’t know how much help I’m going to be to you right now, Detective Peterson. Ms. Montgomery’s other assistant quit a few days ago. She only worked part time, but she knew everything about this place.”
“Do you have a name and phone number for this person?”
“Yes, I will give it to you. What exactly do you want to know about these buildings? I knew something was going on from what I was hearing on the news. All of the descriptions of the locations were so close to our buildings, and then she walked right in on that last one. I can’t believe Ms. Montgomery is so unaware of what’s going on. That’s why her other assistant quit. Emily said that she couldn’t stand the way Amy was so clueless, used people all the time and had no sense of how much she hurt their feelings.”
“The man we talked to on the cleaning crew, had nothing but good things to say about her.”
“That’s because he just gets a paycheck from her. If you were here in the office every day and listened to what goes on around here, you would understand. I’m sure that Emily just got tired of listening to all of the BS, if you know what I mean. Ms. Montgomery just wraps men around her little finger. Then when she gets what she wants out of them, she drops them. With clients, once she gets the contract signed she won’t even take their calls. Emily had to clean up all of her messes. She only worked here about a year. I guess that was all she could take.”
“Excuse me, Jenny; I have to take this call. Peterson….. Thanks, Burns.” Laura hung up and turned back to the assistant. “Jenny, do you know who Searchlight Management is?”
“Yes, that’s a company that we do business with. Why do you ask?”
“Just trying to tie up a few loose ends. Here is my card. Could you please spend some time putting together a list of any men who have worked here for a year or less, and who might have access to information about the buildings that have been used as crime scenes?”
“I will do my best for you, Detective, but like I said, Emily would be your best bet on that request. I wrote down her name and number for you. Maybe you could give her a call. She’s mad at us, but she might talk to you.”
“Thank you for all your help, and be careful out there until we catch this guy.”
They left Amy Montgomery’s offices and walked back toward the car. Laura was compiling all of the evidence in her head as she walked along. Dan mistook her silence and thought she was upset with him. “Are you mad at me? I didn’t mean to take the lead up there, but that woman was directing all her answers toward me. I would never presume to take over a case. I know that you’re always the Lead Detective.”
Laura looked at Dan and realized that he was thoroughly flustered. “No, I’m not angry. I had no idea you were such a ladies’ man! And now you have that big dinner invitation. My, my, that southern belle thought you were so yummy.”
“I don’t care what she thought! There’s no way I want anything to do with that barracuda!”
“Relax, Murphy, I’m just teasing you! Seriously though, if we have someone to question that relates better to you than to me, feel free to take the lead any time.”
He smiled at her. “Thanks, I was worried that you’d be upset because I jumped in there.”
“Actually, I thought you handled her very well. You were professional and didn’t buy into her flirtation. I just wish we could have gotten more out of her.”
“We didn’t get anything out of her, because there was nothing there to get. She’s a totally self-absorbed phony who has no idea what’s happening, unless it affects her directly.”
“Let me add great judge of character to your list of attributes. I always wonder how people like her get to be so selfish. I call it the Center of the Universe Complex.”
“Yeah, that’s a good one! I like that. My ex girlfriend had that. I didn’t realize it, until I already had feelings for her. It was a rough ride. Kind of like being on a rollercoaster. Everything was fine, as long as things were focused on her. If not, watch out!”