Blood Red Sundown: Evil Begins (17 page)

STEPHANIE PUSHED THE
senator aside and raised herself to a sitting position. “It’s too soon, William.
I’m not going to be a party to gossip and the horrible impression you would create
by starting a relationship with me so soon after your wife’s death. We both know
how rapidly it would spread around the news and out to the public. I feel like a
fool denying what we both want, but yet I know I’m right.”

He smiled and drew her close. “Stephanie you are proving
to be very wise, much wiser than this so called learned man who is pursuing you.”
He drew her gently against him in an understanding embrace.

“Shall we go? I know a restaurant that has excellent
down-home cooking. We can sit and stare at each other and I can try and change your
mind over a plate of red beans and rice, and corn bread.”

“How can a girl turn down an offer like that?

The diner was just on the outside of the city limits.
A flashing sign read open. She pulled her car in beside his and he walked to her
car and waited for her to exit. He held on to her as they walked to the entrance.
They were seated in a corner booth and after ordering, he excused himself and left
for the restroom.

Leaning over the sink in the men’s room the senator looked
at his image in the mirror. An image of his smiling Mother appeared.

“I really like her Mother. She seems more suited than
the others, wouldn’t you agree?”

Len, arriving at the diner, recognized the Doctor’s convertible
as he pulled into the parking lot. He parked and looked through the window in the
restaurant’s door and saw her sitting alone at the corner table. His heart quickened,
but he felt it strange she would be at this out of the way place alone.

He scanned the room and seeing no one who could possibly
be with her walked in and moved slowly to her table. She was caught totally off
guard when she looked up and saw him.

“Len, what are you doing here?”

“I often stop here for a burger before going home and
saints be praised, here you are! It’s quite a coincidence, but really Doc, when
I saw you sitting here I thought this would be a perfect time to sit and talk with
you. I’ve been kind of a jerk and I want to discuss a business project with you.”

“That sounds fine, Len, but this is a bad time, let’s
talk about it tomorrow at work.”

Before either could continue she saw the angry face of
William appear over Lenny’s shoulder and in the next instant Len was lying on the
floor. Stephanie jumped up and grabbed William pulling him away.

“What are you doing? I work with this man and we were
just talking.”

Len stood up quickly and took an aggressive step toward
the senator, but a man in an apron quickly stepped in front of him holding him in
a tight embrace.

“I know how you feel mister, but I can’t let it happen
in here.”

Len glared at the senator, turned and walked to the door.
Before exiting he turned, “See you tomorrow Doc.”

Stephanie sat down and found her hands still shaking
and her heart was beating so fast she felt faint.

“Are you alright Miss, the waiter asked?”

She nodded yes and he went back to the counter. William
returning from whatever state of mind he had entered into asked, “Why did you agree
to meet with him? You’re with me now! I won’t have it.”

She felt terrified of him with his angered face and his
threatening body posture. Grabbing her purse off the seat, she moved around him
and walked to the door and left the restaurant. She saw him standing outside the
door watching her as she pulled out of the parking lot. The need to cry hit her
first, then the anger, and then the tears won out.

“I knew it was too good to be true,” she said to the
road ahead. “What do you think of your Prince Charming now?”

Wanting to appear calm, but still filled with rage the
senator walked back into the diner and sat down at their table.

“How could she act like that, he said to the people sitting
at a table closest to him?”

They ignored him so he rose and looked around the diner
at the people staring at him. He turned to leave and he heard his name mentioned
twice.

“That’s Senator Radford.”

“I need to talk to Mother!” He sat quietly in the car
going over the events of the evening then pulled out of the diner parking lot. He
looked in the mirror and asked, “What should I do Mother? I thought her above the
sins of the flesh and yet she betrayed my trust with that man.”

“She is not right for you, William. Don’t you see she
is trying to come between us and ruin your career as future governor?”

The lights of the approaching semi-truck blinded him
and he realized he had been drawn into its path. The blast of the air horn caused
him to swerve and barely escape a collision. He looked back in the mirror and his
mother smiling said, “just come home William,” and then was gone.

THERE HAD BEEN
little
conversation between Lon and Anne as each studied the individual stack of files
when she suddenly stood up and broke the silence. “Why hasn’t he killed again? We
know it’s going to happen. What is he waiting for?” She walked back to her chair,
sat down, and continued her thoughts.

“Listen Lon, I have a suggestion, but don’t reject it
until I get it completely out. I think we should challenge this man’s ego. We can
use the press to question his manhood, call him a coward, say he was abused as a
child and that his mother hated him and wanted him gone. Call him a mother’s boy.
Put a profile on him in words that may stir him up. He may get angry and take the
challenge and contact us directly to defend his self-image or maybe he’ll get so
angry he’ll try to prove something and finally make a mistake.”

Lon sat and internalized the points of her plan when
she was finished, rationalizing her ideas before giving it an up or down. “You really
think this might work, Anne?”

“I feel we have to try something out of the typical routine
if we want to catch this guy, so yes, I think it’s worth a shot.”

“I guess we can run it by the big guy and see if he will
give us the green light. I believe it has enough merit to follow through. In the
meantime I think we should create a list of people we should revisit and check for
something we may have missed or for any inconsistencies in their stories. I would
like that to be a priority as soon as we get back to California.”

“I think the first person we talk to should be the senator
and catch his reaction when we tell him about our visit with Beth Radford. We
need to make him wonder what she revealed by refusing to discuss the trip with him.
Keep him wondering.”

He waited expecting her to defend the man, but she remained
silent.

“Then Anne, we need to call on the Doctor and try to
make some sense out of her problem with the note leaver. Could it be our guy writing
the notes? Are they related to our case in some way?”

He looked at her waiting for her thoughts on his suggestions.
When she simply agreed by shaking her head yes, he figured she was thinking ahead
on his suggested visits.

“What do you say we forget this mess and go for a walk
on the wild side? Let’s go down to the lounge and grab a gin and tonic? Maybe you’ll
get lucky, Anny girl.”

“I assume you’re talking about the slots, Lonny boy.”

“You never talk about your new boy lover, partner. What’s
he like?”

“He’s not someone I care to talk about. Something doesn’t
set right with me when I’m with him, so it can’t go any further. He has an edge
to him that is unnerving for me. Talk about jealousy he’s even jealous of you.”

“I can understand his reasoning on that account. I mean
what man would want his woman hanging around with a hunk like me?”

Anne’s, look of contempt was expected, but he reacted
anyway.

“Come on give me a break, Anne. That was said in jest.
Stand up and let’s dance. I love this song, and we can forget all the troubles of
the world until tomorrow.”

Reluctantly Anne rose and followed him to the dance floor.
It went well between them so they danced to several numbers into the later hours.

When they entered the elevator, Lon looked at Anne and
asked, “Can I kiss you?”

“I don’t think that would be a very good idea you being
such a hunk and all.”

“I understand; you wouldn’t be able to control yourself
and—”

Before he could finish she grabbed him by the hair and
pulled his lips to hers and kissed him deeply pressing herself seductively against
him then stepped back released him and smiled. No words were spoken until they arrived
in the room. She grabbed a robe from the closet and closed the shower room door.

He stood and looked at his image in the mirror, then
turned the bed clothes down on his bed. He listened to the sound of the shower and
fantasized, but knew that it was not going to happen. When Anne walked out of the
bath area she found him fully clothed and asleep with the remote in his hand.

“Typical man, all talk.”

“IT HAS TO
be tonight.”
He paced across the room knowing he had to find an escape from this feeling building
up inside of him. The evil was in control and he was unable to fight it any
longer. He stared out through the window into the night. “It has to be tonight.”

His head was pounding as he drove and he felt a compulsion
to scream out the car window, tonight, it must be tonight.

It was getting late and he was aware his opportunities
were fleeting. He turned driving away from the bright lights of Main Street and
headed for the cities darker less conspicuous areas. “It has to be tonight and it
will be tonight,” he repeated. His eyes caught movement ahead. A woman was walking
to a parked car. He pulled over and watched her lean towards the window then step
back up on the sidewalk and yell something as she watched the car pull away.

“It will be tonight with you my sweet lady.”

His anxiety turned to anticipation and his hands began
to sweat as he pulled ahead and moved over to the curb and waved to her. Approaching
the window, he noted her to be in her forties, clean looking and somewhat attractive.
Lowering the window he asked, need a ride?”

“Are you a cop?”

“No, I’m not a cop.”

“What kind of a ride did you have in mind?”

“I know what you’re asking. I really just want to talk
to someone. I’ll pay you the amount you charge for your normal services.”

“You’re sure you’re not a cop?”

“Yes!”

“Pull around the corner and wait for me. He watched her
in the rear view mirror as she stood, apparently surveying the street for the police.
He turned the corner losing sight of her then saw her walking hurriedly toward his
car. She opened the door and sat down in the passenger side seat. He spoke first,
“Where should we go?”

“Take a right at the next corner, there’s a discreet
parking place behind my building. We can sit there. I’m a fifty dollar an hour date.
You’re on the clock now.”

He felt his confidence growing, which was good, but he
worried he might lose his keen sense of self-preservation. He turned into the dark
parking area.

“This is perfect, he said to her. So, this is where you
live?”

She did not answer she just stared at him apparently
making a final judgment of his intentions.

Shutting off the engine and lights they became engulfed
in total darkness.

“What, did you have in mind sweetie?”

He looked over at her and in a sad childlike voice said,
“I would just like to hold you and have you listen to the problems in my life. Can
we get in the back seat?”

She felt no sense of pity for him assuming it was his
thing.

“It’s your call, and your dime, sweetie.”

Opening the door he turned his face away from the woman
to prevent her from seeing his face in the light. He backed into the rear seat,
closed the door and let the darkness that he loved bring him back to complete tranquility
with the object of his fulfillment sitting next to him.

Opening his arms to accept her she slid across the seat
and laid her head against his chest.

“Is this what you wanted, Honey?”

His arm tightened around her neck. His other hand enclosed
her nose and mouth cutting off all sources of air. She struggled and tried to twist
out of his grasp, but it was futile. She tried to reach his eyes and her slaps did
little damage. Fighting for air she gave a final all-out effort to free herself,
but it only quickened the inevitable. He rocked her tenderly as she sagged against
his chest and then hearing one last gasp he knew it was over. Relaxing his arm slowly,
he pulled her up slightly and placed his head against hers and hummed while he rocked
her.

“Isn’t the darkness peaceful? You can sleep now.”

He began to feel a strange new longing arising from his
evil side and he knew he could not stop it. Realizing this need was becoming more
demanding and not understanding why he began removing her under garments. What had
started with his hand resting on her breast turned into an unrecognized urge and
he could feel the evil one’s demand surging through him.

“SUTCLIFF, NEVADA, DEAD
ahead partner.” He looked out at the countryside and described the view to Anne
as miles of flat terrain with herds of cattle and horses.

“Well you ought to fit right in here, Lonnie Boy, being
you’re a rhinestone cowboy in boots.”

He ignored her comment with a grunt and continued to
watch for the turnoff as they neared their destination.

“We’re going to be a few minutes early, but I can’t picture
Mrs. Radford being upset with us.”

“Maybe we should call first, Lon.”

“Nah, we are almost there let’s get this over with and
get back to the airport. Maybe we can catch an earlier flight home.”

Beth Radford was more than gracious as she welcomed them
into her house.

“I prepared some fruit and pastries, figuring you had
eaten an early breakfast at the hotel. We can sit in the dining room or on the patio.”

“I vote for the patio and if you ladies won’t be offended,
I’ll carry the tray.”

“Patio it is and if you will not be offended detective,
I’ll hold the door for you.”

The view was spectacular and Anne stood admiring it waiting
for the interview to begin. Lon took the lead and said, “When we last talked, Beth,
you were in the mother’s bedroom and describing the contents of a locked case. I
remember you were curious and were searching for any information you could find
about the senator’s father.”

“That’s correct and I remember on one occasion, as the
three of us sat together in the den, I posed a question of concern to them as to
why we never talked about his father. It brought an immediate angry response from
William. He stood up defiantly and instructed me that I was never to mention him
again. The mother became even more troubled at the question and with an angry leer
at me left the room. William just sat and stared at me with that angry expression
that made me very uncomfortable.”

I wanted to escape the situation so I told him I felt
it best if I left the room to go and apologize to her, though I didn’t understand
why I had offended her. I found her in the library and I was relieved when she accepted
my apology. And then, for some reason, she began relating the reasons behind her
getting upset. I could feel her emotional stress as she recalled incidents of their
history with William’s father. I was feeling both uneasy and sympathetic for her
at the same time.”

“Detectives, she described in detail that he was overly
demanding of the two of them and was explicit in detailing the extreme cruelty he
plied on William as a young boy.” She stopped to sip from her glass of tea.

“He would degrade him about being a mommy’s sissy boy
and then slap him into heartbreaking tears all the while telling him he had to learn
to be a man. Her story of the father became more and more frightening and I became
emotionally distraught and wanted her to stop, but she continued on with the story
and described severe physical and emotional abuses. Some I won’t even divulge to
you. I remember she became tearful at that point and hesitated, holding her chest
as she took deep breaths and to wipe her eyes, before she continued. I was crying
at this point.”

Anne asked if she needed to take a break.

She said it was not necessary and continued on.

Whenever the Mother would try to intervene on William’s
behalf, he would strike her or sexually abuse her and insist William stay and watch.”
She said he would immediately leave the house after an incident like that and be
gone for several days. The minute his car was gone, she said, William would wind
up in her arms, oftentimes for the rest of the night.”

“Can you even imagine something like that? I remember
feeling so uneasy hearing this and I think I may have cried even more than I remember
as she described their situation to me. I know I continued to be tearful for several
days after. However, let me stop there to make a serious point. It is one thing
to console your teen age son, another to let him sleep with you.”

She looked at Anne for understanding.

“William, the mother told me, became more and more terrified
of his father and his hate for him overwhelmed him, while he became totally devoted
to her.”

“Oh, and I almost forgot this, as a discipline for William
he would make him stand and stare at a tattoo on his arm while he sat and read a
paper or book. The boy could not move until the father was through reading.”

Anne looked at Lon at various points of the story wondering
if he was grasping the basis for the senator’s problems.

“The mother suspected that there were numerous outside
sexual encounters by the father,” Beth said, “but the mother had never been able
to prove it and really did not want to find out for fear of what he would do to
them.

“Then the father began to stay away for days at a time.
He would return and force her to have sex with him. The night before the suicide,
she and William were going away for a two night trip. At the last minute William
got an invitation from a couple of his friends, so he decided to stay home and go
to a movie.”

Beth paused, “I’m sure you two are already ahead of me
at this point of the story in your mind.”

Lon responded. “The old man gets busted.”

“Correct, she said, William came home and walked in on
his father and his lover. They were dancing in the den, she in her under things
and his father totally nude.”

“He beat William severely.”

“I remember at this point detectives, she became very
odd or strange as she paused and began smiling at me. Then she said to me in much
louder voice, “Beth, we had finally caught the SOB! He sinned and now he must, ‘
Reap
what he has sown.’

“I felt it strange as I viewed her changed facial expression
as she was describing this incident. She kept smiling and I think I remember her
laughing as she rose and left the room.”

“What happened to the senator, did he come to find the
two of you?”

“No, Lon, I never saw him again that night.”

“I remember asking myself, “Did the two of them really
commit suicide or did she have something to do with it? Did they both have something
to do with it? I was never able to uncover any specific details of the suicide.”

Lon and Anne were transfixed in the story and said nothing
as she continued.

“Do you recall my describing the father’s tattoo?”

“As I stood at the foot of her bed and stared at her
large picture, I remembered her saying those words the night she told of the incident,
‘Now he must reap what he has sown.’

“We never discussed that night again. Now I ‘m through
talking, do you have any questions?”

“Anne answered quickly, “I have just two Beth. In your
opinion, do you think William and his mother killed the father and his lover and
second, was there incest between William and his mother?”

“I do and yes I feel there was definitely incest. I believe
the father was so cruel and demeaning to the two of them that they turned to each
other for love and solace. It appears to have started innocently by a scared young
boy and a protective mother’s relationship that progressed to full sexual activity
until the day she died in that horrible car accident.”