The Promise Page 7
Shaw just shrugged. “I didn’t take what she said seriously, so I forgot about it. Honestly, it never connected with me, until just now.”
Chief Parker was more sympathetic. “Justin, do you believe this is something Allison would really do? Is she that kind of person? You know her as well as anyone.”
Nothing was said for several seconds, finally Justin spoke; “No, I don’t think she would do that. She loves her father and her friends too much. I don’t think she would put all of us through the pain of wondering what happened to her.”
Gallagher, listening carefully jumped in, “She loves her father and friends and her mother, too, right?”
Justin looked blankly at the detective, “No, sir, she doesn’t love her mother. She and her mother have never gotten along. She feels the same way about her mother as her mother feels about her, they both wish the other was dead.”
Gallagher looked over at his boss and whistled softly. Parker looked at Justin Shaw, “Well, that’s not the impression we got from Mrs. Taylor.”
The young man shook his head, “Impressions can be deceiving, sir. That lady is not who you think she is!”
Chief Parker responded, “We are done here for now, Justin. You can go. Please keep what you told us to yourself. Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”
The young man rose from his chair, smiled wanly and said good-bye. As he walked out the door the two men just stood there not sure what they had just heard was real.
Gallagher spoke first, “I don’t believe what he said about Mrs. Taylor. I don’t see that in her. Justin Shaw doesn’t strike me as someone deep enough to understand people all that well.“
The Chief nodded, “Took the words right out of my mouth.”
Chapter Twelve--something Evil
On Saturday afternoon, as Elie rested in her dorm room, surveying the way she and Verna had decorated it, she felt a little better about her undercover assignment.
Verna was nothing like her sleazy brother and even though Elie couldn’t truly be best friends with her, she did feel that her roommate was a good person and someone she could co-exist with as she investigated the Taylor mystery. Lying on her bed, she thumbed through the latest Cosmopolitan she had purchased that morning.
Thinking sarcastically to herself, “Great stuff! I always wanted to know if I had more than one G-spot!”
Shaking her head, she smiled as she realized how silly police work could be sometimes. Here she was, an adult woman, pretending to be a teenage girl. As she got off her bed to change her top into something more casual, a lightweight v-necked sweater, she heard a knock on the door.
Quickly slipping the sweater on, Elie opened it and was more than a little stunned to see the assistant headmaster, Dr. Oden, standing there.
“Yes?” She hesitantly responded.
Dr. Oden stood there smiling smugly, “How are you, Ms. Kelly? Are your accommodations all right here?”
Elie thought this was a bit odd. “The girls had a chaperone, Miss Neville, who took care of their logistical needs. What was he doing here?”
“Yes, everything is fine, Dr. Oden. Is Miss Neville off today?”
Oden responded coyly, “Could be. Or maybe I just wanted to personally make certain you were comfortable. We make an effort to do that with our newer students. Is everything okay?”
Elie warily looked at him. Why was he standing there gazing at her. “Was he coming on to her? “
If so, he was taking a huge risk. He could be fired immediately for any brazen attempt to seduce a girl who was underage. As he kept staring at her and smiling, she couldn’t comprehend his warped confidence.
Maybe she was reading him wrong. She hoped she was. “Oh, I’m not that special, Dr. Oden. I’m just one of the gang. But, thank you for your interest. Have a nice day.”
As she moved to gently close the door, the assistant headmaster muscled the door back open and let himself into the room.
“No need to dismiss me, Ms. Kelly. It’s the weekend. People don’t work on the weekend, they play. And most of them are out playing somewhere else today.”
He then sent a chill through her with his ensuing question, “Do you like to play, Bree?”
Elie was speechless. She was awestruck at his behavior. At the very least, he was flirting with her. She didn’t want to think of the very worst, since he was now in her room with no one else around.
She also realized she had to be careful not to do anything that would jeopardize her cover as a high school student. This was a very disconcerting position she found herself in.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Oden, but I don’t feel comfortable with you in my room. I would appreciate it if you left right now. Please.”
Dr. Oden’s smile disappeared, “I will leave when I choose to leave, Miss Kelly. Understand? And, I don’t choose to leave at this moment.
He turned and locked the door.
I want you to sit down on your bed now.”
Elie was shocked at his words. Part of her wanted to play it out, show him her badge and put him away for fifteen years to life.
The other part of her wanted to stay calm and keep up her impersonation as a Colony student and get him to leave without any damage being done to either of them.
She did not come to Athens to be involved sexually with Malcolm Oden. But, she didn’t want to blow her cover, either.
She sat down obediently on the bed.
“That’s a good girl, Bree. I need to see that kind of response in you. It is important that my girls understand the rules and abide by them. We are off to an excellent start here.”
Elie’s mind was racing now, “My girls? Is that what he just said?”
She was trying to process the words he was using but it wasn’t computing properly. What kind of person was he? She sat there, waiting for his next move.
Dr. Oden walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. “I want you to look at me, Bree. Look into my eyes. And, don’t look away. Do you understand?”
Elie almost laughed in his face, but she needed to play along to find out what his motive was here. So, she followed his lead.
Oden then began to stroke her hair, entwining it in his fingers and caressing it around her neck area. Elie squirmed uncomfortably. “No, do not move while I do this, Bree. Stay focused. Keep looking at me and think of a time in your life when you loved a boy with all your heart. Remember his face. Remember the romantic moment.”
Elie was dumbfounded. “What was this?”
She had never experienced a situation like this before. She kept staring at him in disbelief. His eyes seemed to be boring right through her.
“You have a lot of passion inside you, Bree. I can feel it. You want to help people. You want to make them happy. You are sad when you see someone in pain. It is because you yourself had a lot of pain.
Isn’t that right, Bree?”
Elie was now feeling very uncomfortable.
Not only was he creepy, he was insightful.
Oden continued, “Something happened when you were a child that made you feel helpless, didn’t it? Something bad that involved your friend, what was her name? It starts with a B.
Was it Barbara?”
Elie gasped to herself. She could not believe what her own voice openly admitted to him,
“No, Belinda. Her name was Belinda.”
Dr. Oden smiled, “Yes, Bree, her name was Belinda. And, she had a very wicked father didn’t she?”
Elie’s mind was racing now. She was being drawn into this engagement involuntarily but, she was shocked at his psychic ability and she had no choice but to respond truthfully,
“Yes, she did. He was not a nice man.”
The doctor smiled and began squeezing the sides of her neck gently as if to extract the truth out of her, “And, you told your friend, Belinda, that she would be safe with you, yes?”
Elie nodded yes.
“And, so, the two of you went to a secret place, to hide from him. So, you could protect her, di
dn’t you, Bree?”
Another nod.
“Bree, you like secrets, don’t you?”
Another yes.
Elie was now having trouble breathing. Dr. Oden’s eyes were mesmerizing her. “Especially, if those secrets help people, right?”
Elie responded, “Yes, that’s correct, Dr. Oden.”
Was she was being hypnotized?
His eyes continued to hold hers captive. His hands now were under her neck and his fingertips were gracefully sliding back and forth gently under her chin like singsong feathers.
She was feeling more and more helpless with his each and every move. Her resolve was evaporating.
“I feel you have a secret right now, Bree. It is a very special secret. Are you hiding something, Bree?”
Elie felt chills running through her.
It was everything she could do to stop from blurting out her real identity. He was really getting to her now. All she could do was shake her head from side to side.
“No, I, uh, don’t have a secret.”
Dr. Oden pressed his advantage, “Bree, do not lie to me. Look at me deeper. Let your soul come through your eyes. Let it connect with my soul. Tell me the truth, Bree. You want me to know the truth. You want to respond to me. You want to obey me.”
At that point, his fingers moved down past her collarbone area to the V in her blouse, making her skin tingle as they teased the opening leading to her breasts.
Elie felt powerless, “This cannot be happening!” Her mind screamed to her, “Stop him!’
But, he took Elie’s hand and wrapped it around his index finger causing both their hands to move downward inside her sweater.
Elie suddenly felt terrified,. ”He is making me do his seduction for him!”
Her hand clasped around his finger as they explored together under her sweater and he began to touch her intimately between her breasts, teasing the swelling of them on both sides.
She tried to close her eyes to break the spell. Her head was spinning. “This has to stop!” Oden would have none of that. “Open your eyes, Bree. Look at me!”
She obeyed his command.
He then continued his mesmerizing exploration of her.
Elie felt powerless.
“Bree, you like what I am doing to you. You want to be close to me. I am here with you. You helped Belinda, now we can help your new friend. Do you feel me touching your soul, Bree?”
Elie nodded wordlessly as Dr. Oden moved his index finger at will under her sweater. “You are a good girl. You have always been a good girl, a good girl whose heart is pounding right now.”
Elie nodded her assent. But, even good girls have secrets, don’t they Bree?
Elie was overwhelmed now both physically and psychologically. “How did he know about Belinda? What is happening to me? I want to tell him everything. I have to tell him…”
“Now, tell me the secret, tell me. I feel it, you feel it. Tell, me your secret. It is time, Bree.”
At that moment Elie was prepared to tell Dr. Oden anything he wanted. She had no defenses left.
He had a power over her that she had never experienced in her life. Her mouth was forming the words to give him the truth,
“Yes, Dr. Oden, I have many secrets. I am actually an FBI agent. I am working undercover to find out if anyone at this school had anything to do with the disappearance of Allison Taylor, and there is more…”
As she opened her mouth to reveal everything, she heard a key being inserted in the door lock.
Elie thought, “Thank, God.”
Dr. Oden immediately jumped from the bed and went to the window. Just as he grabbed a book from the shelf, Verna entered the room.
She was noticeably surprised to see her brother standing there.
“Malcolm! What are you doing in my room?”
Dr. Oden just smiled calmly as he held up the publication, “I just came by to pick up my ‘Art of Seduction’ book. I have a counseling appointment in five minutes.
Elie quickly adjusted her sweater and stood up.
Verna was visibly shaken, “Why were you in this room with Bree with the door locked?”
Her brother just smiled, “Verna, if I wanted to do anything inappropriate would I do it in your room in the middle of the day with your roommate? Don’t be silly. By the way, do you have the fifty dollars I loaned you, Verna? You had promised to pay me back. It has been a month now.”
His sister’s face looked downward, “Uh, no, not yet. But, I should be getting paid on Wednesday.” Her brother moved to the door, “Well, I guess I can wait. We are family, right?”
As he patted Verna on her shoulder and kissed her gently on the cheek, he slyly looked over at Elie and smiled smugly, “We are all family here. Thanks for allowing me to get my book, Bree. That was very kind of you. You’re a good person. We will talk soon, okay?”
Elie sat there shaking as Malcolm Oden laughed and departed through the door.
Verna looked at Elie, “He’s pretty incredible isn’t he!”
Elie sat down on her bed in stunned silence. She was actually thinking of another word.
Chapter Thirteen---An angry Father
“Gallagher, you have a phone call on line two. Archer Taylor,” shouted one of the officers. The detective picked up the phone,
“This is Mike Gallagher.”
The voice on the other end of the line was not up for social niceties.
“What in the hell is going on over there, Gallagher? It’s Monday and I haven’t heard a thing from you, Parker or anyone else all weekend! There’s a missing girl out there that I love very much and you are probably thinking to yourself, ‘this coffee needs warming up!’”
Gallagher looked down at his half-empty coffee cup, “Actually, it does need a little warming but that’s because I’m too busy to drink it, sir. I am on this case. And, I have some questions to ask you starting with Justin Shaw.”
Archer Taylor shot back, “What do you want to know?”
The detective asked, “Do you trust him?”
“Hell, no, I don’t trust any young man who wants to be with my daughter, especially that one.”
“Did he ever say or do anything that would cause you to mistrust him?”
“Well, for starters he’s a pathological liar and, he manipulated Allison every chance he got.
In fact, one of the reasons I am calling you is to put a tail on him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something to do with my daughter’s disappearance.”
“Mr. Taylor, it is my understanding that you and your business partner, Redding Shaw wanted Justin and Allison to hook up someday. Is that correct?”
“Redding wanted that to happen. His wife wanted it to happen. I sure as hell, didn’t share their sentiments. Since we’re on the subject of Redding Shaw, I’m in the middle of fending off his hostile takeover bid to buy me out. So, let’s change the subject.”
Mike Gallagher made a note of Arch’s comment about Redding Shaw.
“Second question, what is the nature of Allison and her mom’s relationship?”
“It’s lousy, the same as my relationship with my ex. I wish she would change her last name and move on with her life, the demented broad.
I should never have married her. She is trouble with a capital T.”
Gallagher made more notes. “So, you don’t like Justin, his father or your ex-wife. Is that correct?”
Arch Taylor laughed heartily, “I don’t like most people, Gallagher. And, if you keep this up, I won’t like you.
But, I love my daughter and I want her back safe and sound. Will you keep me posted on every detail as soon as possible? I’m a man who wants my news, good or bad, right away. Clear?”
“Yes, sir,. I understand. I’ll keep you posted. One other thing…”
“What is it?”
“How desperate is Redding Shaw to take over your company?”
“Desperate. You know his nickname?”
“No, sir, I do not.”
“Why do they call him that? Is he Catholic?”
“No, he’s a red-headed bastard! That’s why.”
Gallagher laughed into the phone. “I’ll keep you posted, Mr. Taylor. Hang in there.”
“I’ll do more than hang in there, detective. If this thing doesn’t progress to my satisfaction, I will be calling my good friend, Mayor Resnick. I’ve known him for years. Sold him his first bedroom set when he was a gofer at the Chateau Elan Resort. This is my daughter we’re talking about.