The Promise (30 page)

This put Raven right back in the thick of things. It was time to call the girl in for another interview. He braced himself as he phoned her with his latest request.

              “Hello Margaret, this is Detective Gallagher.”

              “Yes.”

              “I need for you to come back to the station. I have a few more questions…”

              “Okay, I’ll be there in twenty minutes, Gallagher. See you then!”

Click.

              As he stared at the receiver he wondered if the girl had bipolar disorder. He had expected a tirade and instead, got a gentle assent.

He wondered if she was finally willing to cooperate or if she was changing her tactics as she continued to play a cat and mouse game with him.

He also wondered how well she knew Malcolm Oden. He was pretty clear on how well she knew Archer Taylor.

              She showed up promptly. Just like she promised she would. As she entered the conference room, Gallagher noticed she was smiling at him.

“What is she up to…?”
thought the detective.

“Hello, Raven, thanks for coming by. I want to show you something.”

He opened her file from the school and showed her the handwriting samples from some of her essays. She looked at them and nodded. “Recognize the writing here, Margaret?”

              Raven glared at him. “I don’t like that name. Play nice, Gallagher,“ She reviewed the handwriting and then smiled smugly, “Yep! That’s mine. I remember cheating on this paper, got an ‘A.’”

              “That’s noble, Raven,” the detective then laid a second sheet in front of her It was the cryptic note Justin Shaw had found on his car windshield.  “Do you remember writing this message or is this plagiarism, too?”

              “Hmm, interesting piece of work, isn’t it? Why would Allison Taylor write a stupid thing like that? Oh, I forgot, because she is stupid!”

              Gallagher was surprised. He shouldn’t have been. After all, he was dealing with Raven.

“This was written after Allison Taylor disappeared, Raven. This means, if she wrote it, she may have voluntarily disappeared. If she didn’t write it, then someone who knew her handwriting did and that is the person who probably took her that day at noon.”

              “That’s not her handwriting, Gallagher. It’s my handwriting.”

              The detective was shocked at Raven’s honesty. “So, you’re saying you wrote this note?”

              “Who were you suspecting, Mr. Green in the ballroom with the chandelier?

Try to understand this. This is my handwriting style, not Allison Airhead’s. She loved the way I wrote and she copied me. She didn’t have an original bone in her anorexic body!”

              This was news to Gallagher. “She was anorexic?”

              “No, but she was thinner than me, the bitch!”

              The detective laughed, classic Raven logic.

“Okay, so you’re saying this handwriting is yours, but you didn’t write it? So, who do you think wrote it?”

              “Obviously, the person who took you know who!”

              “And, that wouldn’t be you, you or you?”

              “Not a chance. Too much work. Kicking her ass was fun. But, kidnapping? Oh, the logistics…”

              “You could help me on this case you know…”

              “Yeah, I know. But, I won’t. I don’t like the police. They do strip searches for their own pleasure, creepy.”

              “I didn’t do a strip search on you.”

              Raven smiled suggestively, “But, you’d like to.”

              Gallagher laughed again, “I think I’ll pass. My wife would have an issue with it!”

              “Relax Michael, I don’t do married men.”

              “Really, that’s not what I heard? I was told you and your friends love to party with older men who happen to be very, very married.”

              “Mr. Gallagher, while ‘tis true that I have friends who, on occasion, allow their sleazy side to take money for a certain amusement involving the slimy, middle-aged male underbelly of this fair town, I have no use for someone who would pay me to service them.

Besides, I found the love of my life. It will be awhile before I venture out again after he died.”

              “So, do you think some of your friends were upset with Allison Taylor for any reason relating to her father doing some sleazy partying?”

              Raven frowned at the detective. The look on her face was tentative. She wasn’t sure she trusted him enough to respond to that specific question. At least that is what Gallagher sensed as she twisted her lips in contemplation.

“Let’s just say that Allison Taylor pissed off some very headstrong girls, Michael. And, leave it at that.”

              “You know, I would love some names here Margaret!”

              Raven picked up her purse and turned to leave. As she passed from the conference room to the outer office, she cracked, “When you quit treating me like a child and start respecting me, I might just tell you what I think happened to Allison Taylor. Until then, go strip search a waffle iron.”

              That brought laughs from the other officers in the room as Raven addressed them, too,

“I am looking at the one group of people dumber than that detective in there. Don’t quit your day job!”

              As the room fell silent only one person was heard laughing as she exited.

Chapter
Fifty-win some, lose Some

             
It was time for another briefing.

Chief Parker, Gallagher and Elie sat in the conference room reviewing all their notes as they prepared to update each other on the case to this point.

Gallagher began the discussion.

              “The prognosis on Arch Taylor is guardedly optimistic. He is resting comfortably, but he is not out of the woods, yet. The doctors are trying some new heart medication on him and keeping him relaxed. Must be a miracle drug.”

              Chief Parker laughed, “That’s exactly what this investigation needs. What do you have on Raven, Gallagher?”

              “I have a lot of suspicion and some begrudging respect. I wish she wasn’t a potential suspect because I like her. But, she keeps popping up at the wrong times and in the wrong places and she isn’t exactly what I call a cooperative witness.”

              Elie snorted, “I don’t know why you even hold her in any esteem. She has treated me like Amanda Bynes at a MADD convention.

I have tried to be nice to her. She reacts to me with rudeness and insults. You need to look past her entertainment value, Mike, and see her for what she is, a possible ringleader of a group that kidnapped Allison Taylor.”

              Parker agreed, “She may have a point there, Mike. How many chances does Raven get with you? You seem to be bending over backwards to accept her explanations for things that could incriminate her.

Do you trust this girl?”
 

             
Gallagher considered their insights before he spoke, “I like Margaret. It may be that she reminds me of someone very close to my heart. Her language is considerably saltier, granted, but her sassiness, bluntness, loyalty to her friends and ability to cut to the chase is something that Megan had.”

              The Chief and Elie looked at each other as they realized the power of that statement. Gallagher was comparing Raven to his deceased daughter, Megan.

There was an uncomfortable silence and then the Chief spoke, “Megan was a spunky girl, Mike, there was no question about that. She didn’t take crap from anyone. She was a lot like you, in fact.”

              “Yeah, she was, Chief. Sometimes when I talk to Raven, I see Megan. We used to argue just like that over her late night phone calls to her friends, her messy room, her grades in math, her, well, it doesn’t matter now.

Let’s get back to work here. I have asked for a search warrant from Judge Garrison to examine the red Mercedes for DNA. We will be going over there tomorrow.”

              The Chief asked, “Do you believe Malcolm Oden is alive, Mike? Was that the man you saw doodling at Verna’s funeral?”

              “Boss, there is no way he is alive. But, there is someone who thinks, behaves and even looks like him.

This imposter is linked to Allison’s disappearance, I am certain of that. If we find out who was driving the Mercedes that day, there’s a good chance we will find out what happened to Allison.”

              “So, you think that Mercedes was the vehicle used the day of the disappearance?” asked Chief Parker.

I won’t be surprised if we find some evidence linking the interior of that car with Allison Taylor. We’ll be getting the fingerprint results from the lab concerning the note found on Justin Shaw’s car to see if they match anyone sometime today.

I submitted the prints from Verna and Malcolm Oden, Dr. Morgan, Verna’s friend, Samantha Nelson, Redding Shaw, Ashley and Archer Taylor and of course, Raven.

The lab hinted there were some other prints on the paper, but, when they ran them against anyone having a criminal record they turned up negative. This is a long shot, but worth it.”

              “What about The Promise, Elie, do you have anything on them yet?
 

             
The police woman shook her head, “Nothing. They are there, I just can’t infiltrate them. I thought I had a chance to but, Raven squelched that.

Since then, many of the girls have been polite, but they have acted wary of me. I don’t know if my undercover work is a viable option for us anymore.”

              “This is your call, Mike.”

              Gallagher didn’t hesitate, “Let’s keep Elie there a little while longer.” He turned to her, “I want you to see what you can uncover about Dr. Morgan.

Remember, he lied that day to cover for Verna’s outburst and he may be tied to The Promise in spades here. In fact, he may be their leader.

Do a little digging, okay?”

              Elie nodded affirmatively.

              “So, where is the investigation right now, Mike? Do you feel good about where we are?”

              “Yes and no. This is a tough one. Usually, in a case like this, someone talks out of turn. It’s hard for people to keep their mouth shut in a high profile news event, especially in a smaller town or a college campus.