Blood Red Sundown: Evil Begins (10 page)

THE DINER SHERRY
referred
to turned out to be a little drive in with only in-car ordering just a few miles
away in the direction of town. He was relieved to see the small amount of cars parked.
There were only three to be exact and he pulled into one of the more obscure ordering
posts away from any of the other cars. Sherry learned over him to make her selection
from the posted menu board on the driver side. He felt uneasy, but stayed calm avoiding
his urges.

“I’ll have a burger and fries and a vanilla shake, she
said. When a man offers to treat, I like to take advantage of the situation.”

He smiled, but did not appreciate the comment, and lost
a little of the warmness he felt for her. Nevertheless, he pushed the button and
placed the order. He turned to look deep into her eyes and deeper into her soul
and then asked her a very personal question.

“Did you ever cheat on your husband, Sherry?”

“Wow, Rob, you get right to the heart of the matter.
Why don’t we start with you? Did you ever cheat on your wife?”

Her question brought an immediate rush of anger, but
before he could vent his feelings and remind her he never married, he heard a loud
voice calling “Sherry.” He recognized the couple from the group back at the bar
walking toward the car and watched her lean her head into the window and the two
of them exchanged quick witty remarks, before Sherry could make introductions.

Blackness clouded his mind and he missed all that was
being said knowing that all was lost. He knew that he was confronted with another
failure. That was all he could think about. He gathered his thoughts together and
greeted them politely trying to remain shielded from direct view.

He caught the gesture of approval by the lady to Sherry.
His thoughts remained saddened by another night wasted, and the hunger was growing.
He convinced himself that it was probably best it was delayed for a night as his
morning would begin very early to complete what was to be a very busy day.

“Well, we had better hit the road and leave these two
alone, the man said.”

“It was nice to meet you Rob the woman called back as
she retreated. Maybe we’ll see you at our next gathering at the Roadside.”

He merely shook his head and smiled.

“Good night, Sherry,” she said with a big smile and a
thumbs up followed as she walked away with her companion.

A waitress came to the car with the ordered items. He
ate in silence listening to Sherry go on and on how wonderful her friends were.
He smiled at her and periodically nodded, but his mind was far away thinking,
you’ll
never know little lady how lucky you are that your friends were here.

“We’d better get you back to your car, Sherry. Like I
said, I have a big day tomorrow.”

The trip back to the bar where he had picked her up took
no time at all and the urge did not appear. He drove to the rear and parked next
to her car turned slightly toward her and told her he had enjoyed her company. Sherry
grabbed the door handle, but suddenly turned and kissed him, catching him off guard.
He responded, returning her kiss with a very warm embrace.

“Thank you for a pleasant evening, Sherry.”

With a disappointed look on her face, she opened the
door and stepped out.

“Will I see you again?”

“I am sure you will,” he responded and watched her enter
her car, then waved as she drove off.

“You have more of a chance of that now than you did an
hour ago,” he said as he followed her car out of the lot.

ANNE OPENED THE
Radford
file and was speed reading though several interesting documents when Lon returned
from his meeting with the mayor and the chief. She could read in his face he had
been subjected to some heavy criticism, which she knew early on in their partnership
he did not take very well.

“I‘m ready now Anne; I brought the big shots up to date
on everything we know and it calmed things down a little bit, but they want some
big time results soon.”

He sat across from Anne and grabbed one of the interview
sheets. “Let’s start by discussing the clerk at the motel and the description he
gave on the man in room 12.” He glanced up at Anne who had not responded to his
remarks.

“Hey wait a minute, partner, where’s your, ‘I’m in lust
look’? You’re looking good these days, but your face has lost that sexy glow brought
on by late night activities, if you get my drift.”

Anne ignored the comment and continued reading through
the notes taken from the motel clerk.

“The young man was pretty explicit on his description
of the man. He described him as having blond hair wearing dark rimmed glasses and
slightly over-weight, about six feet tall. Oh yes, he was Caucasian. You then asked
the clerk to describe him with one word which I thought was very clever on your
part and he responded with ‘strange’.”

“Read me the reasons he felt he was strange.”

“He was emphatic about his hair not seeming right, and
he was also troubled by the guy’s glasses. Horn rims, he called them; black horn
rimmed glasses. He described him as taking them off to sign the registration slip
and accidently knocked them off the counter and didn’t seem to care one way or another.
Here is a detail that I think is important.”

“What’s that?”

“We wrote down that the man parked near the office and
seemed to create an attraction to his coming and goings to be sure he was seen every
time he got in or out of the car. He would actually wave to him each time. The
clerk jokingly said, ‘Our clientele usually try to avoid any contact with the office.’
”

Lon sat listening shaking his head affirmatively as he
pictured the young man describing the killer.

“He appears a bit duplicitous wouldn’t you agree Anne?”

“Is there anything more from this witness?”

“No, that seems to be everything we have on his description
of the man.”

“Alright, now let’s go over each remark and break it
down and see if we can make something meaningful out of it.”

Lon started with, “He said his hair seemed odd.”

Anne immediately said, “He must have been wearing a wig.”

Lon did not hesitate in writing in capital letters WIG
as a potential disguise under description of killer.

“He obviously did not need his glasses. Another apparent
part of his disguise it seems.”

Anne was digesting the earlier comments on the man seeking
attention and asked, “Why, would he insist on being seen? I bet it was because he
was being duplicitous.”

He laughed at her attempt to humiliate him and did not
respond to her question, then posed: “Do you remember that little voice in my stomach,
partner? It’s telling me that this is not our guy. This is a killer who wants us
to think it’s the same guy. No murderer, with a successful avoidance of discovery
record like our man, suddenly insists on calling attention to his movements. This
guy wanted to be seen and described in detail.”

“You could be wrong, or that little voice you so often
refer to could be wrong. If it's not our main man, then our main guy could be fantasizing
as we speak about his next victim.”

STEPHANIE ARRIVED AT
the senator’s residence prior to the family limo still questioning why she had decided
to accept his invitation. She could see several cars being directed where to park
inside the gate, but she felt more at ease parking on the street in case she decided
to leave in a hurry. She walked around the circle drive to the front entrance and
was greeted by a servant who escorted her to the rear area of the house. Timidly
she ventured in trying to avoid the crowd gathering around the pool.

“What am I doing here,” she asked herself as she searched
the faces of the upper crust that would notice her and offer a polite smile as she
walked by their group. She decided against mingling around the pool. A young man,
carrying a tray of champagne, stopped in front of her and Stephanie, with her best
composure, removed a glass and walked to a shadowy spot away from the main cloister
of the crowd that best suited her feeling of not belonging.

In her corner Stephanie thought,
What is wrong
with you? This isn’t where you belong. Why not mingle and meet people?

Suddenly there was a hush and a change in the mood and
the guests became somber. She recognized the reason had walked through the doorway.
It was William. He was greeting people as he slowly made his way in and around the
crowd. As he shook hands and exchanged embraces with the women, he looked over and
saw her standing alone in the corner. She smiled and watched him excuse himself
and make his way politely through the crowd to her.

“It is very nice of you to be here, Stephanie, but I
believe I would be safe in saying that you would much rather be sitting at a certain
spot outside of town playing with your dog. Am I right?”

“Yes and I would bet that the same scenario applies to
you, Senator.”

“Stephanie, please, my name is William. We’re friends
now, and friends don’t refer to me as senator.”

“I will try to remember that from this day forward.”

“Listen, Stephanie, I have to be polite and mingle with
my guests. Will you be staying or do you have to leave?”

“I should be getting back to the hospital.”

“Hospital, what’s wrong with you?”

Laughing she replied, “I’m a doctor, William, a general
practitioner and I should get back and complete my rounds that I delayed to attend
the funeral.”

“I understand, of course. I’m sure we’ll see each other
at the site outside of town.”

“I hope so. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“No more than I,” came his response.

She wove her way through the large gathering of people
and entered the main house. As she went she paused to stare at a large painting
of a very attractive woman hanging over the fireplace. It was not his wife, based
on the photos displayed at the funeral services.

“That is Mrs. Radford the senator’s mother,” the servant
informed her.

“She is deceased. She and the senator were very close
and he took her death very hard.”

“How did she die?”

“Some say a broken heart caused her to drink excessively
and eventually the drinking caused her to drive her car off the road. She was burned
to death in the crash.”

“Oh, how tragic it must have been for the family.”

“I personally think it was the abusive lifestyle of the
father and his disciplined control over the family. He stared at the painting and
then said, “I have said much more than I should have, so if you are ready Madam,
I’ll escort you to the front entrance.”

“Thank you for the information. They are certainly a
very interesting family.”

THE AFTERNOON SHIFT
was on the floor by the time Stephanie checked in at the hospital. It came as a
relief knowing it would delay her next confrontation with the pain in the neck Lenny.
Sooner or later she knew she would have to confront him and stop his unwanted
advances.

Hey, she thought, get a grip and remember where you are;
it’s time to get your mind back on important tasks at hand. People here rely on
your services Doctor, and you’re out running around chasing after a man you just
met like a woman in heat while setting traps for an orderly who probably has a crush
on you. That might sound a little harsh on yourself, but you know it’s reality.
She went immediately to check on her favorite patient. Stepping into the room she
asked the nurse changing the bed, “Where is Mrs. Flanders?”

“I’m sorry to say she left us about two hours ago Doctor.
She said to give you this.

She took the envelope and looked at her name handwritten
on the front. Stephanie’s heart ached as she looked at the writing and recognized
the sign of the obvious pain she had endured to write her name. The last two letters
sort of trailed downward as she was obviously losing control of the pen as she struggled
to complete her name. A tear fell on the envelope and then another. She removed
a folded piece of paper. It was a poem.

“She wanted to write it in long hand, Doc.,” the nurse
said, “but she had so much trouble writing she asked me to put it on my computer
and print it for you.” She wiped her eyes.

“When I had finished she read it and then wrote the scribbled
note at the bottom. At her direction I folded it and placed it in the envelope.
Then she wrote your name on the front, smiled at me and asked me to give it to you.”

Stephanie looked in her face and heard her describe Mrs.
Flanders saying she was seeing angels around her bed.

“I can’t explain it Doctor, but her face was glowing
as she smiled and went to sleep.”

Stephanie stepped out of
the room to hide her tears. As she read the poem she pictured her lying there smiling
at angels around her bed. When she got to the end and read the short scribbled note
at the bottom, her tears began in earnest.

Are angels around are they real

Some say no, but your heart will feel

Them enter I say they are real.

They come and ease the pain

They offer peace a love’s refrain

With good and bad I had to choose

A choice of bad my soul I lose.

I know these last few days I leased

An angel’s care and I die in peace.

I feel no fear as I always had in view

An angel near my bed

And
that angel was you.

Stephanie, I thank you for making it possible for me to find peace.

Reentering the room she looked at the teary eyed nurse
and said, “I should have been with her in those final moments. I could have been
here, instead of running around in some fantasy dream world I do not belong in.”

Leaving word she was off the floor for a brief time she
entered the nurse’s locker room that offered a necessary escape. After cool splash
of water to her face she felt ready to resume her duties.