Blood Red Sundown: Evil Begins (30 page)

AT ELEVEN THE
next morning,
Terry called Cassandra and she agreed to meet him for lunch. He was uncertain if
she had checked on him the night before, but if he was laying a bet down he would
bet on the affirmative. Just to be sure he was going to be very careful how he answered
the questions he knew were coming. She was already there waiting for him in the
parking lot. She waved, got out and they walked into the restaurant.

“How was your night, she asked?”

Here comes the trap was all he could think of as he answered.

“It was fairly short and uneventful. I left you and set
out on a direct line for home, then decided to stop off for a drink.”

He waited briefly expecting her to respond.

“I may have had more than one and then it was home to
bed. How about you?”

“I stayed at the bar and had a conversation with your
favorite detective and her friend.”

Terry felt his anger rising inside, but somehow suppressed
it.

Her eyes said,
I know you were there.

“Your friend and I came to an agreement. Then I went
home and now here we are. Let’s order, I have a hair appointment.”

ANNE AND LON
watched
the man coming out of the Roadside Bar and analyzed his mannerisms closely as he
approached looking for anything that might implicate him in some way.

His expression was one of concern as he neared the detectives.

“Are you Marty,” Anne asked.

He shook his head yes and Anne introduced herself as
Detective Cummings, the one who had called him. He looked over at Lon who said nothing
simply stared at the young man as a test to check his nerves for possible guilty
actions.

They asked a few leading questions to test his responses
before letting him know she may have been murdered. His whole demeanor changed as
he was obviously shaken by the news. Lon pulled out the photos taken at the scene
and asked Marty if it was indeed Sherry. He looked away and shook his head yes.
He turned back and said, “I became worried when I saw her car still parked in the
lot. I just felt something might be wrong. Sherry is a wonderful person with many
friends and this doesn’t fit her life style. That’s why I called it in.”

“Was she drinking with anyone special, Marty? More important
did she leave with anyone?”

“She was with two of her good friends, both of whom she
meets here regularly. The two of them stayed around for quite a while after Sherry
left. There was one other person, a classy looking lady who left a minute or so
after Sherry had walked out. They should have been in the back lot around the same
time.”

“Do you know the names of her friends?”

His answer was first names only, but he said they were
there three sometimes four nights each week; usually with Sherry”

“We need to talk to all the people who were here last
night.”

“Can you check and see if the lady used a credit card,
also if the friends paid the same?”

“I remember the lady definitely used a credit card. She
was sort of a tease; you know the type, looking at Lon.”

He noticed Anne’s displeased expression at his remark
and regretted having said it.

“That’s just men talk detective, I meant nothing by it.
Let’s go inside and I’ll look up the credit card slip.”

IT WAS VERY
unpleasant
being on the job the next morning. He was deeply disturbed by his previous night’s
selfish act and for the first time he couldn’t shake the guilt. More and more aware
of his growing problem he knew it had grown to a point that he could no longer control
it. He was doing things that he did not understand and even more of a concern he
knew he could not prevent them from happening again. The feelings of pleasure he
gained with each new act were brief and passed quickly. Nothing compensated for
the guilt he carried inside after the act was complete. He deeply loved all six
of his girlfriends and hoped they forgave him for how he had treated them.

“Maybe now I can stop, he thought. No, that can’t be.
I will stop after her. Yes, right after I finish with her, I’m definitely going
to stop, no matter what!”

Feeling better at reaching a definite conclusion, he
put on a fresh smile and prepared to return to the work he loved.

THE DETECTIVES, SATISFIED
with the man’s responses, suggested that the final questions should be answered
inside the bar. So, they followed him in and waited as he searched through the previous
day’s receipts. He selected one and handed the credit card slip to Lon.

“Her name is Joan Raymore, and its American Express and
Cory and Andrea her two friends definitely paid cash.”

He paused in thought staring at Anne causing her to glance
at Lon to see if he noticed his strange action.

“You know,” he said coming back from somewhere, “come
to think of it, I think Andrea works with Sherry someplace. Yeah, I think I have
heard them discussing that they work together at the hospital.”

“That’s terrific information, Marty. It gives us a starting
point to locate her friends. Listen, if any of the other people who were here last
night come in tonight, explain to them the importance of contacting us so we can
talk to them.

“Take my card and if any agree to hang around, call one
of us and we’ll be here to meet with them. If they don’t want to meet us, give them
the number on the card and have them call us. Tell them it’s important and remind
them we will find them if they decide to hide. We appreciate your help, Marty. Listen
we’re going back outside to take a look around her car. Someone will be here soon
to take it to the crime lab.”

“It’s locked, I tried it.”

“Thanks Marty, we’ll take a look anyway.”

As they were surveying the area around the car they were
interrupted by the arrival of the police wrecker. After a few directions to the
driver from Lon to be careful of the handling, the two of them were on their way
to the hospital.

“This could be the beginning of the end for this guy,
Anne. If this lady caught a glimpse of the person she left the parking lot with,
we’ll finally be on his tail with some real ammunition.” He nodded his head in a
show of confidence to his statement.

“Hey, I need you to call headquarters and request an
address for this Joan Raymore. We need to get to her while last night’s scene is
still fresh in her mind.”

Anne immediately called her name in to the station, explained
the situation and received a promise for a quick response.

Lon was still in a jubilant state as they approached
the hospital sign and turned in to the visitor entrance. Parking in a no parking
area, he placed the blue light on the dash, looked over at Anne and smiled. After
showing their identification at the information desk they asked for all Andrea’s
on their personnel roster.

Meanwhile on the upper floor Len was all smiles as he
approached the station where Stephanie was filling out forms.

“Hey Doc, I haven’t seen you lately. I’m sure you’ve
missed me, right?”

“Right Len, I have been languishing for just the sight
of you and here you are. I’ll join you for coffee at the break.”

“I’ll be there Dr. Wearing, I’ll even treat.”

“Wow move over Bill Gates, big spender in town.”

He laughed and waved as he walked away.

Stephanie went back to her paper work and decided to
check in on the status of her new home search. Her loan had been approved and now
she was waiting for all the final details to be completed. Her phone call to the
realtor resulted in a possible closing date for the following week.

As she filed the last of the day’s forms she remembered
her commitment after work with Leo Trent. A sudden realization came over her. He
said he would pick me up at my place. “How does he know where I live?”

It turned out there were two Andreas on staff at the
hospital. Based on the ages it was easy to figure out which fit the friend of Sherry’s.
They asked that her name be called over the intercom to report to the main lobby.
When she arrived she was confused to learn her visitors were detectives.

“How can I be of service? I don’t think I’ve broken any
laws.” Lon smiled at her causing her to ask, “Have I?”

“No Andrea,” Anne said, “let’s sit over here. We need
to tell you something and ask you a series of questions.”

“Were you at the Roadside last night with Sherry O Donnell?”

“Yes, with another friend. Why is that important?”

“She was murdered last night after leaving the bar.”

Andrea drew back in shock at the news. She then explained
they had made plans to meet again at the Roadside on Saturday with a small group
from the hospital.

“Was there anyone inside the bar that was overly attracted
to her or made eye contact or most importantly followed her outside?”

“No, I would have noticed, it was a slow night.”

“Does she have a regular boyfriend?

“No, she seldom dates.”

“Would she get into a stranger’s car?”

“I would say no. She is hit on all the time at The Roadside
and I can only think of one time she ended up with an unknown.”

“Was it recently?”

“It was about a week ago. I remember she left early just
like last night and we ran into her later at the drive-in restaurant just outside
of town. We were surprised to see her there with a man. She was all giddy about
being there with this guy. I could tell she liked him and seemed to want my opinion
of him.”

Anne could relate to the two women using their eyes to
communicate about an opinion of a man one or the other was with and asked, “Did
you approve?”

“He was very cute, but either shy or very rude.”

“Why did you say shy?”

“He avoided any direct eye contact and faced straight
ahead or out the driver side window. He only turned to me when I specifically asked
him a direct question, and I avoided more conversation after sensing his attitude.”

“Did she ever see him again after that night?”

“No, she was really disappointed that he didn’t call
or accept her invitation to meet her at the bar.”

“So, what you’re saying is he picked her up in the parking
lot?” Lon added.

“They must have met out there or perhaps previously,
and he was waiting for her to leave for home, because he never came inside.”

Anne asked, “Did you notice anyone else leave around
the same time as Sherry? You mentioned a lady.”

“A very nicely dressed lady came in and sat at the bar.
She stayed a very short time and left around the same time as Sherry. She seemed
to be out of place in The Roadside.”

THE ATTITUDE AROUND
the office was considerably more relaxed for Terry since his reconciliation with
Cassandra Jones. His boss was opening a new office and announced he was considering
him as the branch manager. Jill, the secretary, walked into his office and laid
the newspaper on his desk.

“That creep struck again, Terry. Another young female’s
body was found murdered somewhere along the coast. The police have got to find a
way to stop this pervert!”

“He seems to be getting more daring and more frequent.
It’s like he wants to get caught. There is less and less time between each attack.”

Terry added, “Well, I hope they find him and shoot him
on the spot.”

“Why waste time in the court, kill the so-and-so.”

Terry did not respond and continued to read the article.

ANDREA PROVED AN
adequate
witness to the very thorough questioning session with the two detectives and she
assured them that she could identify the man she saw with Sherry at the drive-in.
She described his car as a red sporty type, but she had no idea what model or make.
Her description of the driver was basic, attractive with blond or light hair, forties,
good physique. She never saw him outside the car so she guessed his height to be
average.

“Anything else about him you can remember? How he was
dressed, tattoos, scars.”

“No I can’t think of anything else.”

“Here’s my card Andrea, if you think of anything else
give us a call.”

“I want you to understand if we nab a suspect, we’ll
want you to stand a lineup to see if you can identify him.”

“I understand.”

In the car on the way back to headquarters they received
word that the medical report was complete and waiting for them. Also the office
had located Joan Raymore and relayed her address to them. The young medical examiner
greeted them and led them to the refrigerator room. Anne shook her head not approving
of her description of the body’s location which caused Lon to laugh at her, but
said nothing.

“There are a few things I need to point out detectives.
First, remember I pointed out the tear and mascara mix on her facial area. She evidently
carried a pepper spray apparatus and attempted to use it on her attacker. She must
have partially hit her target as she was struggling with him, but caught herself
in the back spray. He most certainly would have been in agony as he continued to
deprive her of air and after she was gone he wiped his eyes as best he could on
her shoulder continuing to embrace her and I must add he cried real tears. The good
news is we have his DNA. His tears dried on her shoulder. Plus we have a pubic hair.

“He tried to have sex with her, but apparently couldn’t
perform. Maybe that’s the motive we have been looking for, the why he is killing
these ladies. He has become frustrated to the point that he has to take control
over something. It appears that his sexual urges are in irreconcilable contrast
to his high moral values. The guilt after his hideous acts never dissipates, so
he is in a constant fight with himself. That is just a theory with no basis except
an educated guess, I’m not a psychologist.”

“Psychologist or not this is the first good news we have
had that might be a break in the case. Now we can search and hope he is in the DNA
bank for a match.”

Interrupting Lon’s excitement, she walked back to the
girl’s body.

“I need to point one more thing out to you,” she said
as she pulled the sheet down below the breast area.

“Look closely at the red blotches around the left breast.”

“This explains the theory I gave you earlier that he
continued holding her after she had expired.”

Anne bent down to look closely at the marks, but Lon
stayed his distance bending only slightly obviously very uneasy with the situation.
The Dr. smiled at Anne noting his hesitation to examine too closely. Anne had picked
up on it also and planned to use his reluctance to get near her breast later in
the car to question his big talking male ego he was so fond of.

“It’s his hand imprint. He must have squeezed her so
tight and for so long it actually left an impression of his fingers on her skin.”

“Is that normal, Doctor,” Anne asked softly?

“This only happens with post trauma, detective, sometimes
a bruise will appear hours or even a day later with a change of temperature. What
else do you see, Anne?”

“He was wearing a ring. You can see the ridge imprint.”

“You are very good, I need an assistant; are you interested?”

“Absolutely not, this stuff gives me nightmares.”

Lon listened intently to their discussion then finally
joined the conversation.

“I am really excited Doc. This is the first good news
we have had on this case and potentially it gives us hope of finally nabbing this
madman.”

“I do not think he is a madman. I would rather suggest
he is probably a nice man who is troubled over sexual frustrations in his life.
A madman would be using mutilation and other deviant acts to their bodies. No, I
think this is somebody that people like and are friends with. Then one day he gets
the desire and feels it might work this time and that new unexpected urge either
sexual or psychosis makes him seek a victim. He is unable to fight it.”

“You’re saying he’s on a mission to prove himself a complete
man,” Anne queried.

“Yes, but again that is just a theory that I drummed
up in my head from past cases and medical readings.”