The Promise (42 page)

              “I would love to join him about now. I haven’t been on a horse in years. I’m allergic to ‘em. Hay, too. Darn allergies.”

Just thinking about it, made Gallagher sneeze violently. “See, power of suggestion!” I love horses, I just can’t go near ‘em. Want me to name the Triple Crown winners of horse racing, Chief? Let’s see, Citation, Secretariat, War Admiral, Whirlaway,”

              His boss cut him off, “My favorite was Seabiscuit. Good movie, the people’s horse.”

              “Yeah, he was a feisty little soul. Speaking of movies, maybe I’ll take Alisha to one tonight, something romantic.”

              The Chief made a suggestion, “How about a Michael Moore documentary?” Gallagher laughed. “No thanks. I’m just grateful he hasn’t come down here to do a film on me and this investigation…”

              Parker smiled, “If he did, what would he call it?”

              His detective responded sarcastically, “Bowling for Clueless Detectives. I’ll talk to you later, boss”

              Walking out to his car he was joined by his new best friend.

              “Hello, Gallagher. I’m doing an exclusive interview with Raven in a few minutes. Care to give me a quote?”

              The detective whirled around, “Raven? You know where she is?”

              Rambo laughed, “Just teasin.”

Seriously, can we sit down for five minutes on camera? I would like to discuss this case with someone other than my co-workers. I want the inside story on how the investigation is really going.”

              Gallagher was somber, “Please understand, this. We are conducting a very serious investigation here. I can’t tell you or anyone else what we have uncovered. Work with me, Rambo. I am not trying to be a jerk, but I am not your guy. Isn’t Beth Holloway or Bill O’Reilly available? They are very colorful.”

              “I don’t want colorful, man, I want factual. Just five minutes. That’s all I need. I swear. Come on, Gallagher.”

              Gallagher relented, “Okay, five minutes. Ask.”

              Rambo was ecstatic. He ordered the camera man to set up and did his sound check. In minutes, he was ready.

“This is Dax Rambo with INN with Detective Michael Gallagher, chief homicide detective of the Athens, Georgia, police department. Thank you for joining us today, sir”

Before Gallagher could respond, Rambo was already talking again, “I have a source who tells me Malcolm Oden faked his death. What do you know about that?”

              “The official police investigation’s view is that Malcolm Oden is dead. He committed suicide.”

              “What is the unofficial view, detective Gallagher?”

              “No comment.”

              “That no comment says a lot, detective. I notice you did not deny the possibility that Oden is somehow alive.”

              “I don’t have to deny it. No comment.”

              “What about the possibility that Allison Taylor ran away, that she was unhappy with her father who has been linked to a local scandal in the area and faked her abduction to be with Oden. Because of the fact she has run away in the past, doesn’t that scenario seem possible, detective?”

              “We are treating this as a criminal act. Not a runaway.”

              “But, we have several of her friends who have told us here at INN that Allison was miserable and wanted to start a new life somewhere else. Why won’t you even consider that possibility, Mr. Gallagher?”

              Gallagher looked at his watch, “We have no evidence that she ran away. We believe she was abducted.”

              “What do you make of the report that Justin Shaw, Redding Shaw’s son, was missing his bed check the night Verna Oden was found dead. Was that a coincidence? They were former lovers, you know? Care to comment on that?”

              The question hit Gallagher like a thunderclap. He tried to stay composed. “We have not heard that report. I suppose it will be easy to check out. Verna Oden committed suicide. That is the official coroner’s report.”

              “Did your coroner also report that Justin Shaw was found with a .38 caliber pistol in his possession during his stay at the hospital? Or did your team miss that little fact, too?”

              Gallagher had enough. “Mr. Rambo, I deal in facts not innuendos or anonymous reports. If you are so concerned about Justin Shaw and the coroner, I am sure they would be glad to talk with you. I have to get back to work now.”

He stood up. Rambo instructed the camera to be turned off, “A little testy, Gallagher?”

              “Where do you get your crazy information, Rambo? There is an abducted girl out there and you are throwing crap at the walls hoping something will stick. I thought you had more professionalism than that.”

              “Come on, Mike,”

              “It’s Detective Gallagher!”

              “Detective, the news business is based on some facts and a lot of bluffing, despite what the pompous assholes at some of our more serious competitors tell us.

We don’t know most of what is going on, so we dig and nag and dig some more and make someone crazy enough to react with an accidental admission of truth. Hey, I owe you one for the interview. I hope you find the girl. I just heard some things,”

              “You don’t owe me anything. Try to keep your bluffing to a minimum, Rambo. There is a grieving family out there. Try to remember that. Later.”

As he walked off as he heard one final statement from Dax Rambo, “You really do need to check out Justin Shaw, Gallagher. I was telling the truth about the gun.”

Chapter Seventy-s
even---mental Anguish

             
As Gallagher drove home he kept thinking about all the developments in the case up to that point. “
I am missing something here. With all these clues and developments, there is an answer hidden among them. What is it?”

His mind raced from one development to the next from the first day that Allison Taylor vanished off the earth. Malcolm Oden, Dr. Morgan, a dead professor in England, Odin and the Nordic symbols, the raven necklace, Redding Shaw’s involvement with high school girls, Justin Shaw’s nervous breakdown, the death threat to Elie, Verna’s apparent suicide, the unknown man he observed at Verna’s funeral who was later found shot to death in the Mercedes behind the stadium, Raven’s lack of alibis and suspicious behavior, Archer Taylor’s heart attack, The Promise and the prostitution ring, illicit pictures of Allison and several other girl’s from the Colony, the mortician who filed a conflicting death report on Malcolm Oden and soon after was found dead and now, Raven’s escape from jail.

Where was the clue? What were the links here to a missing girl? What did any of these developments have to do with Allison Taylor’s whereabouts?

And, the latest development in the case, Justin Shaw and his .38 caliber gun?

Was Allison a run away? What and whom was part of this case and, as importantly, what and whom was not?

              As he drove, he got more and more frustrated. He had never encountered a case like this with so many baffling loose ends.

He was also angry that he couldn’t put the clues together. He took pride in his work and he had to make a painful admission to himself,

“I have no tangible proof how this girl vanished and who, if anyone, had a hand in it. I am no closer to solving this today than I was a month ago.”

He was a homicide detective. He had been assigned this case, a very high-profile case, because his boss, Chief Parker thought he was the best man for the job. He felt he had let everyone down, including himself by his lack of performance so far.

He suddenly felt like a failure, both as a detective and as a man. It was a terrible feeling.

              He turned to his leprechaun who sat stoically on the seat next to him, “Tough time right now, Mick. Tell me it’ll get better.”

The mascot never moved. It sat there staring straight ahead. Gallagher snorted derisively, “See, even you know how bad it is.”

              As he pulled up to his street, he saw his wife driving towards him. He flagged her down. “Where are you going, sweetie?” She laughed, “It’s my girl’s night out, remember? We’re going out for dinner and maybe a movie, Gayle, Barb, Sue and Joanne.”

              Gallagher’s heart sank. “So, I’m hanging out with our children tonight, huh?”

              His wife continued to smile, “Yeah, why don’t you play a game with them, you can call it, ‘Who’s that man that looks like Daddy!’”

              Her point made, he smiled back, “Have I been gone that much?”

              Alisha was semi-smiling now, “Yes, dear. You have. Go home. Love on them. When I get home, I’ll do the same for you.”

              With that, his wife was gone. The husband and father pulled into the driveway and made a promise to have a great night with his children.

A promise he kept.

Chapter Seventy-eight--more evidence rolls In

             
The following day, Gallagher was in the conference room with Chief Parker and Elie. They were reviewing the new evidence that had come in from the forensics report on Dr. Morgan and his automobile.

There were a few surprises.

              “Two bullet holes produced by the same type of weapon used in the Stadium murder,” analyzed Gallagher. “It was a .38 caliber gun. Looks like it was the same murderer in both shootings.”

              Parker agreed, “So, we most likely have a double murderer here. The question is, did this person have anything to do with Allison Taylor’s disappearance?”

              “Well, we don’t know if the person did, but we do know the car was involved in her disappearance if Raven is to be believed and the DNA is accurate, which I believe it is, then, we have a connection between the first murder and the red Mercedes.

The type of shooting, execution-style, of Dr. Morgan, seems to link the first murder to the second. Therefore, this logically could be all part of the same case.