The Promise (48 page)

              “So, that stupid mascot helped you solve another mystery, huh Gallagher?”

              “Now, I have one question for you, Elie?”

              She knew the answer before he finished the sentence, “The Taylor girl is down in the basement, with Justin Shaw.”

              “Is she alive?”

              “You won’t get the chance to find out, Gallagher, because I loved her dad. I kept her alive until I realized today that he wasn’t coming back to me.

So, the ultimate revenge is to take the most important thing in his life away from him. I know the feeling. It’s the least I could do for him. Unfortunately, you will have to join her and Justin now.

Like I said, I’m really sorry you had to be here today. I loved being your partner.”

              Gallagher tried logic, “We both have loaded weapons here. This is going to be a double shooting. You’re going down too. You want us to kill each other?”

              She wasn’t buying it, “I don’t care. You shouldn’t either. Now you can finally be with that dead daughter you miss so much. Meanwhile, I’ll be in hell with my dad.”
 

             
As he grimaced, the reality of what was about to happen made him sad. He tried one more time to dissuade her, “Elie, I believe you’re not an evil person. Put the gun down and let’s just,”

It was the last thing he said to her.

Before he could fire his weapon, her gun went off as she fired several shots into his chest.

Gallagher stumbled backward and fell to the ground. She continued firing into him and then as she aimed her final shot at his head a gunshot went off behind her.

Her chest exploded with blood and tissue everywhere. She went hurtling to the ground. He heard her exhale loudly and then, nothing.

Elie Lee Halverson was finally at peace with her demons.

              The detective groggily looked up and saw Dax Rambo standing there. He smiled down at Gallagher, “I was an expert marksman in the Marines.

Sorry, I waited so long to shoot, but I was getting some great information out of her for my story.”

He reached down and unbuttoned Gallagher’s shirt revealing a bullet-proof vest underneath. “These things have saved my life a couple of times, too. Don’t move for a few minutes. Catch your breath. And, be thankful I followed you out here.”

              “You’re still a pain in the ass, Rambo, Gallagher gasped. “But, thank you.”

              He laughed, “A professional pain in the ass, my friend, and you’re welcome.”

              As the minutes passed, the two men sat quietly until Gallagher felt strong enough to stand up. He and Rambo embraced each other. Then, they walked down the stairs into the basement.

As their eyes accustomed to the light they saw Justin Shaw tied to a water pipe. His eyes were wide and afraid. Gallagher took out his master key to unlock the handcuffs  Elie had used .He cut the duct tape to the boy’s mouth, Justin motioned them to look to his right.

There, lying delicately on a mattress was a beautiful sight for an investigator’s heart. Seeing her made Mike Gallagher appreciate all the hard work he had done for two months.

The blonde girl with a mouth bound by duct tape and eyes filled with tears made him smile with satisfaction as he realized it was none other than Allison Lynne Taylor.

And she was alive.

Chapter Eighty-six--loose Ends

             
The paramedics and the police back up (finally!) arrived and Allison was put on a stretcher and carted into the ambulance. Gallagher stood there and smiled down at her.

She smiled back as her lips formed a polite, “thank you.” He nodded gently to her and off went the paramedics to transport her to Athens General Hospital.

Justin was physically fine.

He told Gallagher that he had heard strange sounds in the basement two nights earlier while he was polishing off a bottle of merlot. When he went down into the cellar to investigate, he encountered Elie who came up behind him, held a gun to his head and handcuffed him, rendering him powerless.

All week he prayed someone would discover them before Ms. Larsen could do away with them. If he needed therapy before, he was a prime candidate now.

Gallagher felt sorry for him. His mother was ecstatic to see him.

              Arch was called to the hospital and the detective was present when he came in. He made certain a doctor was there with some heart medicine.

              For cautionary reasons they prepped him.

They informed him his daughter was safe and sound to avoid the shock of surprising him upon suddenly seeing her. Then they escorted the father down to Allison’s private room.

              When Mr. Taylor and Allison were reunited, he squeezed her so hard Gallagher was afraid Arch was going to have another heart attack. The happy father cried, some out of guilt, but mostly out of relief. He was elated to have his daughter back safely.

Arch whispered to Gallagher, “Thank you, Mike. Thank you. You saved her life. And, mine.”

Gallagher stood there proudly with tears streaking down his face. He had done it.

It made the detective proud of his vocational calling. It was also a personal sense of fulfillment that all his hard work had paid off in the case.

              He had made good on his promise to himself. He had reunited a father with his daughter.

In a very small measure, it made up for Megan. His eyes filled with tears as he briefly watched their reunion.

It was time to respect their privacy.

              He left the two of them alone and headed down to the station. He walked into Chief Parker’s office and was immediately handed a cigar.

The two of them puffed away as they discussed the aspects of the case that remained a little vague. Gallagher was able to fill in some of the finer details to the Chief’s satisfaction.

              “So, why did Oden’s death certificate list him with brown eyes, Mike? That made us believe he was still alive.”

              “You won’t believe this, boss, but the coroner that died on the fishing trip was color blind. So, Oden was dead all along. There was absolutely no connection between the county official on the fishing trip and his embalming work on Mark Halverson.

              “Elie was able to locate her brother through Arch Taylor?”

              Gallagher nodded, “Yep. He told Elie all about this school, The Colony, that his daughter went to and when he mentioned the headmasters names, Larsen’s ears perked up. She knew her brother’s pseudonym and she started making weekend visits to Athens to scope out her plan to confront him.

Allison Taylor kept getting into her way. So, she had to neutralize her.

Once she kidnapped her, she knew she had to get to work on being the undercover cop on the case. There was one other girl who was originally assigned to us, but somehow Elie overcame that little obstacle and so she got the assignment to come to Athens.

This was her life’s goal, to wreak revenge on her siblings for what they did to her. Archer Taylor was the perfect foil to help her accomplish that goal.”

              “So, Malcolm Oden wasn’t a total creep after all?”

              “He was nowhere near the creep Elie made him out to be. But, if he sexually hit on any of those girls under the age of eighteen years, it was illegal. For those girls who were of age, it would be sexual harassment under the law, since he was in a position of authority at that school.

He probably checked out their birthdates before he made his moves to protect himself. In Elie’s case, she was supposedly seventeen years old, but in reality, she was not.

But, remember, he did some background checking into “Bree Kelly” and figured she was fair game for his advances because she was a legal adult.

So, in his mind, he wasn’t breaking any rules, either legally or ethically, especially when he knew she was an undercover cop. He just didn’t count on Elie being mentally ill and more importantly, his sister.

That move, of course, cost him his life the night he seduced her. She even planted the file folder listing him as a Satanist when in reality he was not one. She left it for me to find in her dorm room to vilify him to cover herself the night she murdered him.

Verna was as sweet as Elie was evil. Her murder was very tragic.”

              “And, Margaret Williams?”

              “Elie hated her. Margaret, aka Raven, never knew that Elie was in England. She first met her in Athens. But, she had a sixth sense about her and never trusted her.

By the way, she was picked up two nights ago at a friend’s house and is back in custody. The county prosecutor is going to drop all charges, including her escape from jail, since she was not guilty to begin with.”

              The Chief smiled, “All that stuff about threatening notes, Margaret’s fingerprints and DNA in the Mercedes and Allison’s ‘letter’ to Justin.”

              “All the creative handiwork of Miss Elie Lee Larsen.

She was really good at keeping the focus of the investigation going in so many different directions away from herself. She came close to pulling it off. She was going to kill Allison and Justin that day I showed up and then head back to Quantico for her next assignment as a good undercover cop.

We would have spent the rest of our lives trying to find Malcolm Oden for the murders even though he was already dead.

She was one slick cookie, boss.”

              Parker laughed, “Not smart enough to outwit Mike Gallagher and Mick the wonder leprechaun.”

              Gallagher picked up his little buddy and smiled at him. “The first thing we’re going to do is take you to the dry cleaners, Mick. You’re a mess.”

This statement was unsurprisingly followed by another sneezing spell. The detective quickly tossed the miniature Irishman across the room. His sneezes stopped.

              “She also planted the Poe poem and the locket at the library and, the red Mercedes?”

              “She did plant them, yes. She also rented a red Mercedes just like her brother’s to throw us off. Then, she checked that back in and stole the original car to confuse us even more.

That’s why her friend was driving Oden’s car at Verna’s funeral. She was a brilliant FBI agent. What a waste of talent.”

Gallagher shook his head in sadness.

              Parker asked about the electronic device on the desk, “By the way, why the tape recorder?”

              Gallagher smiled, “I promised Dax Rambo he could have the exclusive on the case. My way of saying thanks.”