Branded for Murder (27 page)

Chapter 61

My discussion with Mrs. Abbott was a blessing. I’m sure things happen the way they’re supposed to, but spending a few minutes with her gave me a new outlook.
Lisa’s not going to control our destiny…I am. We’re meant for each other and nothing is going to come between us—nothing!

On the way over to Lisa’s, I decided to drive by the address Mrs. Ballou gave us.

Two trips around the block confirmed the address was a vacant lot. I wanted to call Mike, but he was at the hospital with Paddy.

*.*.*

I climbed the front steps to Lisa’s dormitory. The duty guard was the one that made Lisa uncomfortable.

“Good evening Mr. Tucker. Are you here to see Miss Anderson?”

I stopped at the desk to sign the log book. “Yes, I am. Do you know if she’s in?”

His lips curled and he replied, “I know many things. She’s in.”

“Thanks.” I entered the reception area, waiting until someone acknowledged me.

“You’re looking for Lisa, right?” one of the coeds asked.

“Yes I am. Would you mind getting her for me? She’s not expecting me.”

She had a nice smile, and replied, “I’ll get her for you Scott. Just give me a minute.”

I took a seat, searching through the magazines for something other than
Vogue
. No such luck. I started through one of the Vogue magazines. The pictures immediately reminded me of Lisa. The memory of our first time together flooded my mind. I sensed someone looking at me, turning to see the guard looking in my direction, then towards the stairs. It was Lisa, standing at the top of the stairs.

I put the magazine down, waving. She wasn’t smiling, appearing miles away. I waved again. She turned and disappeared out of sight. I looked over my shoulder to see the guard smiling.

Shortly, Lisa appeared at the top of the stairs with her navy pea coat. She hurried down the stairs. She came over, grabbed my arm without saying a word, and headed toward the door. She rushed us to the sidewalk.

“Okay Scott, which way is your car?”

“It’s down here.” I started walking in that direction. “Lisa I had to see you. I didn’t want to call and have you tell me
no.
”

She didn’t reply, walking faster than I was. She was scanning the area for my car.

I felt like I was walking on egg shells, not saying anything more. She waited for me to unlock the car door. I opened it, and she was inside in one quick motion. Once behind the wheel, I looked at her. One wrong word and I knew she would leave. I headed to the one place I had a chance to plead my case.

*.*.*

The elevator stopped its ascent. She quickly entered the observation deck area. I followed along, feeling like a puppy dog. She went around to the airport side. I stood as close as I dared. We silently watched the planes taking off and landing at Logan.

Finally, I felt the move was mine. I turned her to face me. The tears were running down her cheeks. I immediately reacted to her look of despair. I pulled her to my chest and we just held each other. I could feel her warmth right through our jackets. I realized how well we fit together. I moved slightly, watching her tears flow. I handed her my handkerchief. She took it and dabbed at her eyes.

I took the opportunity to say, “Lisa I feel awful when I see you this upset. I don’t ever want to do anything to upset you, but I seem to be doing my share lately. I love you with all my heart. I can’t afford to lose you. My life is going to be nothing without you. Thanks for seeing me tonight. I know you’re upset about my seeing your parents, but I need to explain all of that to you.”

She turned her head away, staring again at the sights. She whispered, “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I had pictured how I was going to have you meet my parents. It definitely wasn’t without me present.”

I didn’t respond. Her maroon turtle-neck sweater hugged her neck, contrasting nicely with her blonde hair, highlighted by the observation deck lighting. I remember kissing those same hairs along her neck. The Navy pea coat was now unbuttoned, resting on her hips against her black ski pants. Her high heel leather boots came halfway up her calf, making her legs look longer than I remembered.

“Are you done undressing me?” she announced.

I gently pulled her arm, turning her face toward me. “I would love to undress you, but I was just taking in your beauty.” I looked into her blue eyes. “I’m hoping this isn’t my last opportunity to see you, and I guess I was committing you to memory. I’ll say it again Lisa, I love you with all my heart and I’m so sorry I upset you. I hadn’t planned it. However, I can’t change what has happened; I can only try to make things better. That’s why I came over to see you; I couldn’t give you the attention I needed to on the phone.”

She turned her head to look out at the sights. “I love it up here and will always remember our first time here. You were smart to bring me here tonight, because I can’t stay mad at you…not up here.” She turned back to look at me. “Since I love you so much, I guess I need to give you the opportunity to explain what happened. I was just so shocked when my mom called. It took me totally off guard and I guess I took it out on you.” She put her hands on my chest. “Let’s go sit down.”

*.*.*

Where do I begin?
We were seated. I was holding both of her hands. Our knees were the only other parts touching. “So much happened today, I almost don’t know where to begin. Paddy O’Brien is in the hospital with a heart attack. I don’t know how he is going to be.”

“Oh my God Scott that’s awful.” Her eyes were scanning mine, studying my face.

“Yeah, that’s not something that makes my day. As far as your parents go, the shortened version is we learned the counselors branded things at the camp with their initials. The murdered women were branded in the same manner. Helen Ryder, another friend of the murdered women found a piece of paper with her initial burned in it. The murderer was in her house. We needed to talk to your Mom about what she could remember about these counselors. She gave us Jimmy Ballou’s name.”

She leaned back, looked into my eyes and mentioned, “I’ve heard that name before. Do you believe he’s the guy killing these women?”

“We do. We learned he’s living near here in Boston. Getting back to your parents, your mom was resisting talking with the police. She was on the verge of calling her attorney, when I interceded, talking with your parents privately. I explained why we were so intent on finding who is killing these women. In the process, I told them I had met and fallen in love with their daughter. Well, she gave us the lead we needed.”

I watched Lisa put her hand to her forehead, but she was not saying a word.

“Lisa, things with your parents couldn’t be any better. They appreciated what I did. Everyone is really happy how it turned out. That brings it back to our conversation. Under the circumstances, I had to do what I did, and it paid off. We now believe we have a suspect. We need to track him down before he kills Helen or Charlotte.”

Lisa put her head against my chest, and her arm around me. “Scott, I’m sorry I lost it earlier. I’m glad you came to see me. I’m glad you brought me here…I love it up here…things seem to come into perspective much more clearly here…I love you.” She looked at me and I could see tears running down her cheeks. I wiped them. She smiled at me and then kissed me.

Soon we were headed to my apartment, with her nibbling at my ear. I reached for a coin on the console, handed it to her and told her I would tell her the story about it later.

Chapter 62

He was lucky they didn’t catch him at Helen’s the other night. That was a close call, but would work in his favor.

He had an outline of his script and dialed the number.

Shortly, the phone rang and a woman’s voice answered, “Hello.”

“Hello Mrs. Williams?”

“Yes, who’s this?”

“My name is Mr. Kelley. I’m calling from the National Association of Camp Management. I’m looking to talk with Charlotte Williams. Is she there by any chance?”

“No. She’s out of the country.”

“I’m calling about a job opportunity in New Hampshire. She is our top candidate. I need to do a final interview for that position. This job is not being advertised in the papers. We have done a search for suitable candidates, and your daughter was selected because of her experience. I need to talk with her as the position could be filled by someone less qualified. Can you give me her number, or call her and have her call me back?”

“Well, I think it best if she were to call you.” She paused and then added, “I guess I could give you her address and phone number, to save some time. This is so exciting. You say it’s a position in New Hampshire.”

“Yes Mrs. Williams. We understand she used to be a counselor there in New Hampshire, which is one of the reasons she was selected.”

“Just a minute Mr. Kelley, I’ll get her address and phone number.”

*.*.*

That was much easier than he had anticipated. The hook was baited, now to land the fish.

He dialed the number he was given. He had a drafted letter prepared should he need to read it to Charlotte.
Oh Charlotte you bring back such memories. Of the three, you were the one who enjoyed your time with me the most, and I with you. I can’t wait to be with you again, but this time the roles will be reversed.

He could feel his breathing quicken. The phone was ringing in his ear. He looked at the clock, making sure he was not calling too early.

“Hello.” A soft voice answered.

“Hello, is this Charlotte Williams?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“Please don’t hang up. My name is Mr. Kelley. I was on the phone with your mother a few minutes ago. She was nice enough to give me your address and phone number in Bermuda. I’m calling about a position in New Hampshire. Do you have a few minutes, or would you rather I call back later or just send the letter about the position?”

“You say it’s a position in New Hampshire? How did you get my name?”

“Miss Williams, may I call you Charlotte?”

“Yes that’s fine, but how did you get my name?”

“Charlotte, I’m with the
National Association of Camp Management
. We conducted a search for candidates who could fill a senior management position in New Hampshire. The client has facilities mostly in New England. Your name was selected by our search agency from hundreds of names. Your background and experience, including time actually spent in New Hampshire is exactly what they are looking for. The position has a salary range, not including incentives and bonuses, of fifty to ninety thousand a year. We can discuss salary if you’re interested.”

“Well Mr. Kelley I’m very happy with my current position here in Bermuda and love it here. However I do have a love for New England and the position sounds very interesting.”

“Miss Williams, I mean Charlotte, you can’t tell anyone I mentioned this to you, but the camp you’re with in Bermuda is being looked at by the parent organization to be part of our camp network. Obviously, your association with that camp could help significantly in the future as they integrate it into their network. There is one problem.”

“Thank you for sharing that detail…I will keep it to myself. What is the problem?”

“The final offer is contingent on a face-to-face interview with me and signing some release paperwork for ‘non-compete’ things etc. If we fail to sign you for this position this week, we will need to open this position for national publication. Right now no one is aware of this position outside a limited number of people. If you are interested, you must keep this confidential. In fact if you’re not interested, you cannot tell anyone for at least a month.”

“Mr. Kelley, do I have any time to think about this? Can I call you back?”

“Charlotte, no I’m sorry, we have a limited window here. I have made reservations, which I can cancel, but a round-trip ticket is waiting for you at the American Airlines ticket counter. If you do not sign our offer and non-compete documentation by this coming weekend, we will have to post and advertise this position.”

It looks like she sees the bait, now to land her.
“Charlotte, I have seen the evidence of your work. No one else can match your performance or credentials. Of course you can reject our offer, but I must see you in person for the interview. It may involve one other interview while you’re here. One of the noted characteristics about you is your ability to make timely decisions.”

She’s about to bite. “
I didn’t say this, but the position is yours if you want it.”

“Well, Mr. Kelley thanks for your time. I would like to discuss the position with you. Can you share the details of the trip and how the expenses will be covered?”

“Great decision, I know this will be a life-altering event for you. The plane ticket is a round-trip ticket which allows you to; return, give a proper notice and pack your things. The reason for the hasty timing is we need to be ready for this summer season. If we didn’t fill the position right away we might have issues meeting that schedule.”

“I understand,” she replied.

“Let me continue. All of your expenses will be covered; the hotel, car rental, meals basically a per-diem amount. You will be flying into Boston the day after tomorrow. A private limousine will transport you to Plymouth, New Hampshire, where you will stay at the Sheridan Hotel there. A rental car is reserved in your name. Unfortunately, I will not be staying at the hotel. I will be meeting you at the Knotty Pine Camp in Campton near Waterville Valley, the following morning for the interview and contract signing.”

“I used to go to that camp and was a camp counselor there. I loved my time there.”

“We know you were, and that was a critical condition in the selection process. That camp is being sold to our management company, but that is privileged information and you can’t tell anyone about that or this entire process. Your confidentiality is extremely important and critical as we complete our process. As far as your parents are concerned you can tell them about your decision after the interview is conducted. Do you understand?”

“Will I have time to visit with them before I return to Bermuda?”

“Yes, that is entirely up to you, for your return timing. The reservation has an open return date.”

“Mr. Kelley thanks for taking the time to call me. I am looking forward to meeting with you, but its winter up there isn’t it?”

“Yes it is, but you can dress appropriately for it. I can’t tell you how much I’m personally looking forward to seeing you in person. Do you have any further questions?”

“No. This is so exciting.”

“Yes it is. Congratulations! I’ll see you in a few days. Instructions will be left at your hotel regarding the interview times etc. Have a safe trip
Charlotte
.”

“Bye.”

“Good bye.” He hung up the phone, slowly opening the phone booth door.
You my dear Charlotte have no idea how excited I am, knowing you are really coming. Well, she bit the hook, now to land her…or is there a more appropriate term for it?
Despite the cold outside, he had to find a bench to sit down. He was that excited.
Four more days, how am I ever going to pass that time away waiting for your company again?

Two down—two to go.