Blood Red Sundown: Evil Begins (21 page)

TERRY WATCHED CASSANDRA
sit in the chair never taking her glaring eyes off of him maintaining a deeply concerned
expression.

“Terry Ryan, she started, you have the moral equivalence
of an alley tom cat. I’m beginning to become suspicious of your motives in the handling
of my account. I think you’re trying to manipulate me into some hidden agenda that
will tie me to you romantically. Maybe you’re just after my money, now that you
have become my financial adviser.”

Standing up and walking over to where she was sitting,
he reached out and took both hands and pulled her to her feet.

“Cassandra, you hurt me deeply with these accusations.
I assure you I am looking out for your best financial interests.”

He kissed her hard and felt her immediate response knowing
this was the way to overcome her suspicions. She returned his kiss passionately
and as her arms encircled his neck he felt the surrender in her body. She was his.
This was not Anne, but the feelings were there and strong and he did not have the
will to resist the sensuous powers of this woman. He released her and watched her
walk to the office turn and look at him as she closed the door.

TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY
and
made it difficult for him to keep her car in view. “Where is she going?

He was confused as this was not her usual route after
work. A large truck moved over into his lane and for a brief moment he lost sight
of her car. When he was clear of the truck she had disappeared forcing him to make
a quick decision.

“She must have turned at the last street.”

Turning right at the next corner he turned on the only
possible street she could have taken. He couldn’t locate her car, but as he approached
the police station, he saw her walking up the walk to the front entrance. He pulled
over to observe her wondering the purpose for her stopping here. It must be my notes
and he reasoned she's become frightened and decided to ask for help.

“It's too late my dear. The plan is set and there is
no way to protect you now.”

As he sat projecting images through his mind of the final
fulfilling moments he would spend with her he became indifferent to everything around
him.

A sharp banging startled him.

“Hey, roll down your window. You can’t park here, you’re
going to have to move on.”

“Sorry officer, I was day dreaming and forgot where I
was. I’m on my way.”

He watched the officer in his rear view mirror, thinking,
“Man, you just talked to someone you would love to have in that station of yours.”

His laugh was cold and deliberate as he picked up the
top picture off the stack lying on the center console and looked at color photo
of her walking her dog on the beach. It was a distant photo, but he could plainly
see her face. He had been much closer to her at various times, but this picture
had given him much pleasure in the interim of her daily routine and his future plans
for her.

Red light, his semi-conscious mind screamed. He jammed
on the brake pedal and managed to come to a stop. He now realized his preoccupied
state was too dangerous and he knew he needed to forget her for the moment and concentrate
on his driving. He placed the photo so that she was walking away from him.

I need to get rid of that dog, he thought.

“HEY LON, YOUR
appointment
is here.”

Anne heard the announcement as she was coming out of
the coffee room and greeted the doctor waiting there in the hall. “Hello Dr. Wearing,
can I get you something like coffee or soda before we begin the discussing your
situation?”

“Yes, a soda would be fine.”

“Let me go ahead and take you to the conference room
and my partner and I will join you shortly. I’ll go and get your soda.”

She watched the detective close the door then sat at
the table and looked around the room. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable being
there alone when the door opened.

“How are you Dr. Wearing?”

Lon was surprised to see her in shorts and a complimentary
tee shirt. Stephanie felt his surprised glance and decided to explain her dress.
“I stopped off at the house to change before heading for the beach.”

He was about to chastise her about continuing to spend
her evenings alone at some secluded spot with strange notes appearing, but before
he could respond Anne walked in with the soda interrupting the thought.

“Here you are Doctor Wearing.”

“Please call me Stephanie; I hear Doc or Doctor all day
long and it’s nice once in a while to hear my name.”

Sitting down across from her, Anne made a few small talk
observations and Lon sat and listened, waiting for the opportunity to get to the
problem at hand.

“From the message we received, it seems you have had
some additional run-ins with your mystery man and you want to discuss him with us?
Have you thought any more about who it might be and do you feel you are in danger?”

“I don’t know how to feel. I ignored it at first, but
with common sense and the murders being reported I began to rethink my actions.
I guess you could say I’m feeling very uncomfortable now that I found another note
in my car. I thought I was alone and finding it in my car startled me enough to
realize that someone else had been present. And, when I prepared to leave I saw
a man standing below on the beach where I had just left. He had his back to me.
I wanted to go and ask him if he had written the note. Of course, I realized what
a chance that would be taking and got into my car.”

“Where did you find it and what did this note say, Stephanie?”
Anne asked.

“It said, [I KNOW WHERE YOU GO], hand written in large
letters.”

“Should we assume he is referring to the place there
on the coast that you frequent quite often?”

“Yes, because the first note was left on my car in front
of my apartment.”

“Are there any other incidents that might have a bearing
on his actions you want to tell us?”

Stephanie recapped her experiences including the notes,
the dog taping, and the various sightings on the beach. She explained she quite
often felt as if she was being watched while walking.

“On some occasions, detectives, my dog would become very
uneasy and growl or whimper as if he sensed someone near.”

“You're new here to the area,” Anne noted. Let’s talk
about the men you have had contact with that might be infatuated with you or someone
that may have been infatuated with you and overly friendly including the men you
work with at the hospital.”

SLOWING TO A
speed well
under the posted limit, gave him ample time to pull over and view the parking area.
Seeing no indication of anyone around him, he decided to take advantage of the emptiness
and set the stage for the final act in his plan. He drove on to his usual off-road
place which was a very obscure lane about eight hundred feet further up the road.
The sound of weeds and small bushes scraping along the bottom as the car passed
over them was deafening and irritated him. He checked his mirrors and stopped when
he was hidden from passing autos. He turned off the engine and leaned back in the
seat.

“Will you be here tonight? I will be here waiting for
you.”

He checked his watch and realized he was much too early
for her usual arrival time. He picked up the stack of photos and began staring intently
at each paying close attention to her differing facial expressions. He saw no indication
of fear on her face as she walked or lounged on her blanket.

HESITATING BEFORE RESPONDING
to the detective’s question, Stephanie attempted to recall the male acquaintances
she had dealings with.

“There is Lenny. I held a disillusioned opinion of him
at first contact. He seemed to be everywhere I went in the hospital.”

“Why did you say, at first? Has something happened to
change your mind?”

“I finally confronted him in conversation and made him
realize that we would never be anything but friends at work and he accepted that.
Since then I have grown to like him. I enjoy sitting at lunch or on breaks and talking.
I realize now that I misjudged him.”

“Has he shown up at places that caught you off guard?
You know, like when you were with someone else, or at a place that you felt he shouldn’t
have been familiar with.”

She hesitated not wanting to give the right answer for
fear of hurting Lenny. “I have to say yes.” She then described the incidents at
the beach where she was expecting someone else and he appeared explaining that he
had followed her there just to talk about work. Then there was his strange appearance
at a diner and she explained the incident and the aggressive response of Senator
Radford against Lenny because he was talking to her.

This story brought troubled looks between the detectives.
Lon picked up on the instant anger turning to rage by the senator and related it
to the statement made by his ex, Beth Radford, “He’s like a Jekyll and Hyde.”

Anne waited and then broke his mental silence with, “Let’s
talk about the relationship between Senator Radford and you.”

“Well let’s start with my having broken off all future
contact with him.”

“That’s interesting. I’ll bet he acted weird about something
which caused you to arrive at that decision. I would bet that he tried to dominate
you in some way, or he was suspicious of some event in your past.”

Stephanie was caught off guard at the astuteness of the
detective.

“I am amazed detective that you are right on both counts.
I was so shocked when he described us as a couple and that my actions were against
his acceptable principles. When I suggested that he was totally out of line, he
began to belittle me as a loose woman.”

“Describe his face when he was defining your moral character,
Doc.”

“I felt like he was looking at me, but was talking to
someone else. His face was hateful and I thought he was describing some person he
pictured in his mind and forgot that I was standing in front of him. It was like
I was his wife or lover and he just caught me cheating on him.”

“I can picture what you're saying. I finally see what
my partner has seen all along that there is a dark side to him that emerges at the
mention of an unfaithful partner.”

Lon wanted to ask the question, “How far she thought
he would go,” but she would not have the inside knowledge described in detail by
Beth Radford, so he talked around his question.

“William came to see me at the hospital to apologize,
but the fear on my part was still there even though he was completely humble. I
left with the realization that I wanted no further contact with him.”

“Will he honor that?”

“I can only assume so. However I cannot prevent casual
encounters at the beach where we originally met. He frequently spends time there.”

Yea, with Mommy,
Lon thought.

“Why are you smiling Lon,” Anne asked?

“Sorry, I was picturing him on the beach with other people
in his past.”

Anne gave him the, “You are reprehensible look” and he
accepted it with a look of, “Okay I was out of line.”

“Could it be the senator writing the notes, Stephanie?”

TERRY REMAINED SITTING
in the chair lamenting over the situation. He couldn’t understand why he was still
sitting there languishing over how to gain the attention of another while there
is a lovely lady in the other room desiring his attention. You know the answer is
simple you can’t have the other and that’s a challenge and you can’t walk away from
a challenge.

“Terry,” came softly from the other room. He answered
and began unbuttoning his shirt as he walked to the door. Her glasses were down
on her nose and she was shuffling through personal papers. He stared at her and
knew their relationship was never going to work.

“How can I help, Cassandra?”

He walked to where she was sitting and placed his hands
on her shoulders.

“I do not understand some of these important papers in
my husband’s files.”

“Forget those files, he said. Pulling her chair out from
under the desk, he took both of her hands and pulled her to her feet and drew her
strongly against him. She started to resist but his closeness against her removed
her business mind and she melted against him.

“Listen Cassandra, I don’t feel like talking about your
husband’s estate right now. I mean, come on let’s get lost in a wild eyed no holds
barred spur of the moment sexual session that lasts all night long.”

Cassandra obviously agreed and throwing all caution to
the wind she gave in to a bawdy side of her she didn’t know existed.

“I’d love it,” she answered and turned and ran toward
the bedroom undressing as she ran.

He followed, but in his mind he was thinking of his next
move with Anne while he played with the emotions of this very gullible woman totally
lost in his persuasive desires. He did not hear what she had asked him as he neared
her bed due to his distant thoughts, so he took a chance and answered yes as he
removed his shirt.

“A FEMALE OFFICER
approached
Anne and informed her that patrolman Leo Trent was at the front desk talking to
some of the guys and was there to see you at your request.

Anne walked out and greeted him and led him back to her
desk. She watched his eyes for any sign of nervousness, but he remained stoic looking
directly into her eyes.

“I need you to sit and relax for a sec, Leo, while I
find Lon. I want him to be in the room with us. The coffee room is around the corner
if you’re interested.”

As they started towards the door Lon appeared and they
followed him to the coffee room.

“How are you Leo? How are things out on the patrol front?”

“I’m sure you can remember, Lon. If we could eliminate
homicides like this one, old Santa Barbara’s patrol unit would be a snap.”

“Amen to that. Listen, we brought you in to go back over
the events of the night we were there with the lady discovered by the hitchhiker.”

“I need you to take a minute and picture the scene from
the beginning and try to recall everything about that night. Did you bring your
notebook?”

“Oh yea, I never leave home without it.”

“First thing I want you to do is to put the hiker in
your mind. I want you to see him and recall as much about his actions and demeanor
as you can. Maybe there was something you saw but felt was unimportant and didn’t
write it down.”

“Well, it all started when he flagged me down. I pulled
…

“Hold it Leo, he flagged you down? So, no one actually
summoned a patrol car?”

“No, I was on coast patrol and I saw him in my lights.
As I approached, he turned and waved for me to stop. I pulled over and he informed
me of finding the body.”

“So, you were heading up the coast out of town; is that
right?”

“Yes.” He paused for a second remembering and looked
at his notebook. I have written here that he was headed away from town.”

“My notes say he was heading home, Anne said. Where is
home?”

Lon checked his notes.

“He lives in Summerland.”

“That’s south of Santa Barbara. Now I want you to picture
the moment when you were through with this guy. You release him. He gets out of
the car and you prepare to leave. Which way did he walk?”

“I offered to drive him to town, but he declined. I rolled
up my window and as he walked away he turned north. Yea, his back was to me as I
pulled on to the highway. He was walking north.”

“The question is why if he was heading home?’

Anne surprised both of them with her theory;

“He could have lied about hitchhiking. He could have
been walking back to a car parked further up the road.”

Lon realized she could be right and knew they should
have been a little more suspicious of the guy and pressed him a little harder.

Leo responded with, “As I recall there aren’t many places
to park along there, but what are you thinking he was doing, Anne?”

“There are a couple of possibilities. First if he parked
his car and really was just taking a walk for exercise then every other part of
his story fits.

“Another possibility is that he was with this girl and
they were parked back up the road. Things began getting too hot, she said no jumped
out of the car and walked away. He decided to scare her by giving her plenty of
time to be out there in the dark alone and then go after her. He found her in the
condition we all saw her in and Leo happened to be going by and the guy flagged
him down. After his release from our questioning he walked back up the road to his
car.

“The final possibility would have to be that he brought
her out here and is her killer and probably killed all the others. How is that for
three differing theories? That last one came out of nowhere and if it proves to
be true, we should lose our shields.”

“I would agree with the loss of shield, but thinking
of him as the serial killer is pretty far reaching. But the first two are real possibilities.
When are you patrolling that section of roadway again, Leo?”

“I’ll be in that area tomorrow on my rounds. I’m off
today.”

“I would like you to check out the terrain north of where
the girl was found and determine if there are areas where someone could or even
did pull off the road and would be unseen from the road.”

Anne moved over and sat on the edge of the desk where
Leo was sitting and asked, “Can you think of anything else about that night that
seems more important now?”

“I have arrived at a new conclusion now that I have gone
over the original questioning of him in my mind and I recalled he seemed a little
more reluctant than most. Usually when someone has made a discovery like finding
a body, they are excited to show you and describe how and what they found. He was
exactly the opposite and even seemed scared at first.”

He expected a quick response from one of the detectives,
but when none came he said, “That’s about it guy’s. I need to get going. I’m meeting
the prettiest girl in town and then out to dinner. I’ll let you know sometime tomorrow
about areas around the scene. I hope something from this discussion will bring you
some good luck on this case.”

“Thanks for coming in on your day off and Leo, this will
be off the record, but I’d like to hear details on your date tomorrow.”

He said exiting the door, “No way, Lon.”

The two detectives sat quietly after he walked out until
finally Lon asked, “What’s your prognosis, Anne?”

“Prognosis, Lon? Wow! My prognosis is this, we basically
are at a standstill. So, let’s put the hiker’s name in the system and pray we do
not find something that will make us look worse than we already feel. Meanwhile
there are questions we need answered, like distinguishing differences and similarities
between the motel killing and the other victims. Where and even more important,
why is this idiot taking their clothes? Serial killers always take souvenirs, but
never their entire outside clothing.”

“That question makes our conundrum even more confusing.
Hey, did you notice the ring on Leo’s hand? It reminded me that we have been slack
on that potential clue. I do remember that the senator wore a good size gold ring.
We need to get custody of that ring and get it into a lab to check it for DNA. I
wonder if he would agree to it if we asked without a warrant.”

“Man oh man Lon, you are obsessed with proving the Senator’s
guilt. I remind you we have absolutely nothing to tie him to any crime. Let’s concentrate
on other possibilities.”

“Okay I get your point. I am disappointed you did not
comment on my new word; conundrum.”

When she just shook her head he stood prepared to leave.

“Grab your gear or whatever else you need and let’s roll.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to pay a visit to that magical place everyone
is in love with.”

“I need you to check in with the big guy and explain
our purpose in heading to the coast and I’ll enter the hitchhikers name in the computer
log. Meet me at the car in five minutes.”

Lon was growing impatient as he sat waiting thinking
she was taking way too much time. When she appeared he decided against voicing his
displeasure and smiled as she entered the car. He was proud of himself for his new
found control.

She asked, “What do you expect to find at this Garden
of Eden?”

“Well, if someone is really watching the doctor on her
daily visits, we should be able to determine where he hides and his entry and exit
route. Who knows we may see someone we know there.”

“Like your favorite senator, Lon?”

“That would be interesting; don’t you think?”