"I need to speak with Thomas Dareson," she said, "or, should I say, Sam Darquesied."
It had taken Tommy a few seconds to get ever his apprehension of seeing the police car in the gate monitor. He finally pushed the intercom button as Alyssa dashed upstairs to get some clothes on, but even then, it took him a minute to ask the police woman if he could help her.
"May I ask what this is about?" said Tommy.
She said, "My name is Corporal Lindsey Stapleton, of the Provincial Police, Novamercado division; and it is important that I speak to you."
Just then, there was a knock on the door and Kendall walked in, "It's okay, Sammy, It's Lindsey. With all that was going on this morning, I forgot to tell you she was coming."
"Your friend Lindsey? You never mentioned that she was a cop!?" he said.
Still a little concerned he pushed the intercom at the same time as the gate lock and said, "Okay, just drive straight up to the house."
Kendall went out to meet her as Alyssa came back downstairs, wearing a black and white, floral print dress. As they started out the door he noticed that Alyssa had forgotten to remove the collar. He quickly undid the buckle, shoved the collar in his pocket, and went outside.
Corporal Stapleton was standing by her cruiser and talking with Kendall as Tommy approached. She was quite attractive, with long, dark hair done up in a French braid. Even though the uniform was not particularly flattering, it was clear the she was well built; muscular, but not muscle bound. She greeted Tommy with a firm handshake and a sincere smile.
"I'm sorry to surprise you like this; Kendall was supposed to let you know I was coming," she said.
Kendall just shrugged her shoulders and Tommy said, "Yes, well Kendall seems to be holding back all kinds of information...like the fact that her best friend Lindsey is a police officer!"
Corporal Stapleton said, "Do you have a problem with that?"
Tommy said, "You tell me."
"I assure you that I am not here to cause you any grief," she said, "I've come to ask for your help."
"My help...?" he said, "Okay...how be we go in the house and talk over coffee."
Kendall apologized again and went to tend the horses, while the others went into the house. The police woman and Tommy sat at the small kitchen table as Alyssa got coffee for all, and then joined them.
Tommy said, "Well, Corporal Stapleton, how can we help you?"
"Please, call me Lindsey," she said, "I only use 'Corporal Stapleton' for official business."
He said, "Okay, Lindsey, how can we help you?"
She said, "First of all, I should tell you...I know what goes on here. Kendall and I have been best friends since before high school and we tell each other pretty much everything."
"Should I be worried?" he said.
"Not at all," she said, "I don't see anything illegal here; in fact, near as I can tell, everybody who comes and goes here, appears to be pretty...happy.
"As I said, I'm here to ask your help...You may have seen in the news that two young women have been killed around here over the past four months."
Tommy said, "I read about one, a couple of weeks ago. They found her body just south of Carillon."
"Yes, that's one of them," said Lindsey, "and another was found about three months before that, around two miles from there."
Tommy suddenly said, "Oh wait! You think I had something to do with that!?"
"No, NO!" she said, "You are not a suspect, I assure you...please, let me finish."
He relaxed a bit and Lindsey continued, "There are several police forces working on this, round the clock. Last week, a forensic pathologist came up with something that has pointed us to, what we feel, is a good lead.
"At first, we thought the girls had simply been beaten to death, but the autopsies showed evidence of torture...whipping and more."
Skeptically, Tommy said, "Oh...so, naturally you thought of me!"
Lindsey, speaking with authority, said, "Please, Mr. Dareson, let me finish!
"Now...the post mortems showed that there were some injuries that had healed somewhat. They also showed that some were less severe than others, indicating, we think, that the torture may have started relatively light then progressed over the next few days."
Tommy said, "So, you think the girls were tortured to death?"
"At first, but the autopsies showed that both girls died from dehydration and malnutrition...they starved to death."
He said, "How long would that take?"
"They must have been given some water, but not a lot; probably just enough to keep them alive...barely. We estimate they lasted about a week; maybe a bit longer." she answered.
Alyssa broke in, "I still don't see how we can help."
Lindsey continued, "Well...long story short; our investigation has led us to believe that the killer is trolling for victims by using personal ads in local papers and the Internet. We have psychologists, profilers, and several other investigators who are experts in this sort of thing; and they have come up with about sixty personal ads; one of which may have been placed by the killer.
"What I was hoping, was that you might come to the station and have a look at the ads, and possibly narrow it down a bit."
"I'd really like to help," he said, "but what makes you think I can do better than your psychologists?"
She said, "It's a shot in the dark, Mr. Dareson, but what has us very concerned is that the ads are mostly current. This bastard may be hunting for a new victim—"
Just then, the phone rang, and Alyssa excused herself and went to the office to answer the call.
Tommy said, "Call me Sam please."
"Oh...okay," she said, "Kendall explained the name thing, but I still find it kind of strange."
Alyssa returned, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's Sadie's lawyer, from Chicago...He said it was important."
Tommy said, "Okay, I should take this...can you excuse me for a minute?"
