The Promise Read online

  Gallagher and Larsen quickly look at each other, "The Promise?” What exactly is that, Mrs. Taylor?"

  The Promise is made up of a group of girls from her prep school. They made up a secret club that swears lifelong allegiance to each other no matter what the cost.

  It is based around a promise that if any of them got into trouble they would all stop what they were doing and meet to solve it, no matter the cost to any of them.

  I think someone called Allison telling her to come to a secret place for the sake of one of the girls in that group."

  Gallagher was a little mystified. He asked the next question gently, "Mrs. Taylor, has Allison ever disappeared before and gone to these, uh, “Promise” sessions in the past?"

  "Not that I am aware of, no. But, on one occasion she told me that a day might come when she might be called to assist in the need of a friend and not to worry because she would be back shortly."

  At that, Mrs. Taylor lets out a small smile and seems to breathe a sigh of relief. "That is what it is, The Promise. Yes.

  She will be all right, she is actually fine and here I am babbling like there is a problem or something. Everything is good. I am sorry to take up your time. I shall be going now."

  Mike Gallagher recognizes that his interviewee is lapsing into a state of shock.

  He goes to her side and helps her sit back down.

  Elie goes to the phone in the outer office and dials the hospital. "I need a couple of paramedics right away to campus precinct number 19. My name is FBI agent Elie Larsen and I have a lady going into shock. She is approximately forty-five years of age and will need a sedative immediately.

  Please come quickly!"

  Hanging up the phone, she runs to a storage closet and retrieves a blanket and returns to the conference room. Together, she and Detective Gallagher help Mrs. Taylor to a nearby couch and place the covering over her.

  As they wait for the ambulance to arrive they hear her murmur over and over, "It's The Promise, she will be fine. It's The Promise. I understand now."

  Within six minutes, the paramedics arrive and carefully place the lady on a stretcher and quickly load her into the vehicle.

  As it speeds off, Mike Gallagher wonders aloud, "A secret club from high school? I would never have expected that from the level-headed Allison Taylor.

  Maybe there are some things to this girl lurking underneath that carefully crafted image of hers."

  Larsen shot back, "And maybe there is no secret club like the one Mrs. Taylor told us about. It could have been a group of girls who made some silly high school promises, period."

  "Yeah, but if it isn't the end of it, we have a new wrinkle on this case. I know one thing for sure now.”

  "What's that Gallagher?"

  "You need to forget about being an adult for awhile and go back to prep school. If there is a secret club for girls we may just find the elusive Miss Taylor."

  “You want me to go undercover, as a teenager?”

  Gallagher laughed, “It’s not what I want, it’s the chief’s call on this one.”

  “I’m a profiler, not an actress.”

  “Even Julia Roberts had to start somewhere.”

  “Oh my god,” sighed Elie.

  Chapter Four-the Colony

  Prep schools are the backbone of the upper end of a society. They ensure that the wealthy families can continue to flourish in a system that calls itself capitalistic but is, in reality, more of a socialist state.

  It is an elite few who truly govern the masses, even in America. It has economically been that way for over two hundred years and it was inevitable that the so-called middle class would eventually collapse and relinquish the remaining power to the upper echelon which gladly accepted it.

  The system which carries on the ongoing success of this echelon is education and breeding. The heart and soul of private education is the prep school.

  It was here that Allison Taylor was nurtured and primed for her future. Like her well-off counterparts, she knew that the society in which she lived would be hers to shape and sculpture for years to come.

  The Colony was such a school.

  Like most all-girls schools in the South, it was steeped in tradition. The outer walls were red brick and ivy of course, but the philosophy inside was even more protective.

  The old world and ways of the elite were programmed into the students like a pounding bass drum.

  They had a responsibility to maintain the status quo and to stand united against any less fortunate interloper who tried to grasp even a semblance of economic power.

  They were noble and they were ruthless. The system was replenished with each graduating class. It was a machine that never failed since the beginning of our Republic.

  Students were as far removed from the unfortunate and ugly side of the world as they could possibly be.

  Sheltered and protected, the high school students had imposing iron gates to ward off any unpleasantness. These fences succeeded not only in keeping the unwelcome ones out but in trapping the ones inside as well.

  It is a social tragedy that young people have to be exposed only to their kind. It is the subtlest form of bigotry.

  Good looking kids who have everything in life but lack a sense of reality.

  The world outside their walls is not theirs, it belongs to their ancestors and to their heirs. They would capture its materialism and technology, but they would never understand its soul.

  It was in this privileged setting that a red sedan wound its way through the curving trees and arrived at the front of the school.

  Out stepped a young woman looking nothing like her real identity as an FBI profiler. She was well-dressed like many of the others who attended there. She was accompanied by an older policewoman posing at her legal guardian.

  Ms. Margaret Hamilton and her young charge, “Bree Kelly.”

  As a new applicant to the school she was warmly greeted by its headmaster, Dr. Theotis Morgan, and his assistant, Dr. Malcolm Oden.

  Introductions were exchanged.

  The headmaster, Dr. Morgan, was lanky, with bushy eyebrows and a decidedly pointed nose. He seemed to have a nervous tic around his eyes that instantly made Elie smile and irritated her at the same time.

  He spoke in a monotone reminiscent of a Ben Stein class lecture. It was not easy listening to him.

  The much younger, Dr. Oden, on the other hand, was smooth in his voice and manner. Slimy smooth.

  Elie quickly perceived he was a player when it came to women. She made a mental note to be wary of him.

  Dr. Morgan motioned to Elie, “Why don’t we find a little peace and quiet so we can talk in a more relaxed manner. Follow me.”

  They quickly made their way inside to the principal's office and disappeared behind the large oak door.

  "Can I get you and Ms. Hamilton some coffee or a soda, Ms. Kelly?" asked the headmaster, perhaps you are thirsty?"

  Her mom guardian accepted coffee. Black. Bree Kelly smiled and nodded. "I’d like a diet soda, that would be kind of you, Dr. Morgan. Thank you. And, you can call me Bree, sir."

  "Well, I appreciate that, Miss Kelly, but we are a bit more formal around here. We address our students by their last names. So, why did you choose to enroll here at the Colony for school?"

  Detective Larsen put down her soda, glanced over at her mother and thought carefully before she spoke. "My father always told me that I should go for the best. As a tribute to his memory I decided to transfer here.

  The Colony is the most outstanding prep school in this area. Wouldn't you agree Dr. Morgan?"

  Dr. Morgan smiled, "First of all, my regrets to your family on the passing of your father. Now, about our school.

  We like to think we are competitive, yes!" He paused as he perused the "Bree Kelly" file, "I see you went to a very good school up north, Westminster Academy. Hmm, I think I know the headmaster there."

  Agent Larsen caught her breath, she had not expected Dr. Morgan to be familiar
with the Westminster school.

  The police consultant who had prepared her false identity had not counted on this possibility either. The falsified records should have been enough for her cover.

  "Such a small world, isn't it Dr. Morgan." She bluffed, "I didn’t have a lot of contact with him. Administrators are usually very busy."

  She sat calmly, belying her nervousness.

  “Yes, as I remember he is a very busy man. What was his name? I seem to have forgotten it at this exact moment.”

  Elie felt her heart starting to beat faster. The headmaster was staring right at her. She shouted to herself, Think, Elie, think!

  Laughing as she stalled for time, “Oh, Dr. Morgan, he always spoke highly of you. I think you were his role model for headmasters. He would be so hurt if you forgot him.”

  Dr. Morgan suddenly calmed the frenetic, mental storm building inside of Elie, “Dr. Stoddard. David Stoddard. Yes, of course. I think highly of him, as well.

  Dr. Oden smiled strangely at Elie sending a chill through her as he sardonically observed, “Looks like both of you had a little trouble there for a moment.”

  Did he suspect something?

  Elie looked down at the floor hoping to avert his eyes.

  Morgan bailed her out again, "Yes, well, Dr. Stoddard up there is a bit of an elitist. As you suggest, he doesn't care much for anyone.

  We operate a little more personally down here. I may call you by your last name, but my office is always open to you. Miss Kelly.

  Isn't that right, Dr. Oden?"

  "Yes, Dr. Morgan. I concur. We want every student here, new or otherwise to feel right at home. My office is open, too.

  Please feel free to come see me anytime, Miss Kelly is it?"

  As he peered at her, Elie Larsen suddenly felt violated. He seemed to be sexually staring at her. “You are a very, lovely, young woman.”

  There was something in Dr. Oden's eyes that did not feel quite right. More shudders of mistrust shot through her.

  "Well, I appreciate the compliment, Dr. Oden." she gamely responded. "But, I’m just me."

  Dr. Morgan chuckled, "Well, I have to concur with Dr. Oden. I hope you are as conscientious as you are attractive. I take it you have read our regulations, Miss Kelly?"

  "Yes, sir I have. And I will have no problem with them. I’m not a party girl, nor do I have a boyfriend. I came here for my education and to get my degree. Period."

  Dr. Oden leaned in towards her, a little too closely as he whispered near her ear,

  "Well, we do encourage the students to have a little fun, too! Too much work and not enough play is not healthy for young people.

  As a student, I always made certain I never worked too hard. You do like to play, yes?"

  Elie Larsen sized up the assistant and judged his age to be in the mid-thirties. He was in stark contrast to the grandfatherly Headmaster.

  Dr. Oden had attractive features and he seemed to know it. His hair was dark brown and he had a muscular build. His eyes were a piercing green, sensual and emotionless. Looking into them was like seeing deep pools of emerald ice.

  They made Elie cringe. He kept staring at her and her suspicions about his motives towards her grew even stronger.

  She shakily replied, "Well, I do take time to relax but I probably work too hard and I’m a bit of a loner. I guess I’m not the social type!"

  Dr. Oden's eyes continued to penetrate right through her. His mind seemed to be recording every statement she made.

  Elie was very uncomfortable now. He was doing this on purpose. He seemed to be undressing her with his eyes.

  She glanced down to see if he had on a wedding ring. The finger was bare. She shifted uneasily in her chair. Dr. Morgan stood up and relieved the situation.

  "Well, I think you’re going to do fine here, Miss Kelly. I trust that you will find a healthy balance between academics and relaxation.

  We’re excited to have you. Your record at Westminster was outstanding and we are confident your relationship with us will be mutually rewarding!"

  Dr. Oden stood as well, extending his hand. Elie reluctantly took it. His fingers entwined around hers as a poisonous snake envelops one of its victims just before the venom is released.

  He seemed to move it around ever so slightly in her grip as if to use his fingers were trying to possess hers. She pulled her hand away.

  "It has been a pleasure meeting you Dr. Morgan. And uh, you as well, Dr. Oden. I’m sure I will be seeing a lot of you this year!"

  Oden's response did not make Elie feel any better; "You can count on seeing me a lot this year."

  Again his eyes looked at her in a way that was a little too personal for a professional relationship between an administrator and a student. Elie shook hands with the headmaster and turned towards the door.

  "Well, I have some errands to run and I’ll be back tonight to move my stuff in. I have requested a single room so,"

  The headmaster interjected, "I’m sorry, Miss Kelly, our rules state that all first semester students must have a roommate. It is on page four of the school regulations!"

  Dr. Morgan added, "I hope that will not be a problem!"

  Another chill went through agent Larsen. She thought to herself, “A roommate? Her undercover identity would be harder to conceal with someone living with her. The consultant had assured her he had taken care of this potential problem.

  Make a note, recommend a certain consultant should be dismissed for stupidity.”

  "Uh, Dr. Morgan, I had requested a private room as a result of my situation. It should be in my file."

  "Yes, well, we do agree that the loss of your parents this year to that tragic automobile accident was very traumatic but, sometimes it is best to have companionship.

  To have someone to talk to during those times of grief when being alone can be very difficult. We made an executive decision to see to it that you have a friend on a daily basis.

  I hope you appreciate our rules and our concern for you. In fact, Dr. Oden and I decided your roommate should be a very special person, so we chose someone perfect for you."

  Elie gave him a blank stare.

  Dr. Oden spoke up, "Miss Kelly, your new roommate will be my sister. Since she doesn’t have a boyfriend either, the two of you can have an excellent time checking out young men together.

  That is, unless you prefer older men.”

  Elie felt sick to her stomach. This guy was a viper.

  “How could Dr. Morgan let this slimy assistant of his talk to me like this? It’s so obvious he is hitting on me,” she thought to herself.

  This was turning into a nightmare.

  Not to mention her personal qualms about Oden, who now had ready access to her through his sister, the roommate.

  Her privacy had been compromised and now a potential personal violation loomed ahead. The undercover plan was in serious jeopardy as well as was her personal comfort zone.

  She could not wait to get back to the office and discuss this with Chief Parker and Gallagher. The next statement she made was almost impossible to verbalize,

  "What a nice surprise." she forced out of her throat, "I cannot wait to meet her! What’s her name?"

  Dr. Oden smiled, "My sister's name is Verna. It is a bit old-fashioned, but it was our grandmother's name and they are very loyal to each other.

  That quality is very important to my sister and she tends to treat everyone like a close relative. Just like her grandmother. So, I am sure we will all be one big happy family.

  His last statement brought more leering glances from him.

  They sickened her now. “He is a total jerk,” thought Larsen, “He is playing with my head and he knows it. I need to get as far away from here as I can. This undercover plan will not work.”

  She was tactful, "Well, I am sure we will be, Dr. Oden. I want to thank both of you for making me feel most welcome. If you will excuse me I really have to go now!" As she moved out the door she heard Oden fire one more salvo,r />
  "I am sure the pleasure was more ours, Miss Kelly. We will do everything in our power to make your stay here a very memorable one."

  As Elie left the office she could feel his eyes boring right through her back.

  She could not get to her car fast enough.