The Pastor's Daughter: Episode VI

          Candace was so surprised when she saw me at the office in the morning. I was a little worried about it.  In any case, it felt good to be back on my home base.

“What happened?” Candace asked. “Is something wrong?”

          To say the truth, my greatest wish then was to tell her exactly how wrong things were. But I just couldn’t do that – it’s too risky. I smiled instead.

          “Oh no Candace,” I said, “There’s nothing wrong. I changed my mind about going to Vegas. While thinking about a new place to go, I thought I might as well  put a little work on to the book I was writing about Henry Ford. I worked on it until two O’clock this morning. I just got bored and decided to say hi to you guys”

          From the way she looked at me, I knew she suspected something was badly wrong. I could see as she stared up at me that she did not believe me. Well, that was the best explanation I could give her at the time. I suddenly realized that I made a mistake to see her soon after Brittany’s death.

          “But I thought you…” she began to say, but then the door opened and Phorbus  came in. He gave me a curious stare and I can see that he wasn’t pleased to see me.

          “Well Harry!” he exclaimed, and then moved into the room, closing the door behind him. “Just  stay clear and let me do this job, will you?”

          Though he was smiling, I didn’t buy that. But then, I wasn’t worried about him.

          “You are the boss now Phorbus,” I said. “I didn’t go to Vegas as I planned yesterday. I got bored at home so I just stopped by to say hi to you guys.”

          “Nothing wrong with that comrade,” he said, relaxing a little. “So if you are not going to Vegas, where are you going?”

          “I’m still thinking about it,” I replied.

          “Well,” he said. “You should get organized. So, what were you doing all day yesterday? I guess I knew why you were bored now”

          “Working on my book – the biography of Henry Ford,” I said.

          He was  surprised.

          “You are writing a book?”

          “Sure, I am. Every journalist, including you, should write one. You never know – you might make a fortune out of it.”

He smiled.

“If that’s how you spend your spare time, then you are missing a lot” he said. “I prefer to get laid in my free time. Well, I’ve got work to do. See you around.”

“That’s a polite way of telling me to leave,” I said, smiling at him.

“Oh come one Harry,” he said. “Don’t start”

When he had gone into the inner office and had shut the door, I told Candace I will be on my way.

“I will hang around at my apartment for a while,” I said. “I will give you a call when I decide the new place to go for my vacation. So you know where to reach me if anything blows up.”

She was surprised when I said that.

“We will be fine Harry,” she said. “Just go ahead and enjoy your vacation.”

“I knew that Candace,” I said to her smiling. “I was just talking. But all the same, should you want me, just call my apartment. Bye for now.”

When I left her and walked down to my car, I knew she will be staring at me. I told myself I could be wrong by giving Candace this hint. But I do know that the news about Brittany’s death would break out sooner or later. The Middle River Police are aware that Reverend Waters is the elder brother and the only living partner of Kamal Waters, the founder of Middle River Times. So once they found out who Brittany was, they were bound to contact the parish house. And if they can’t find the Reverend there, the next place they would come to is here. And, naturally, I will like to be a part of the investigation.

I went back to my apartment. But I wasn’t really in the mood to work on my book. I kept thinking about Brittany’s death. The thought lay heavy on my mind like a blanket. Why did I behave so foolishly? My moral compass was deceived by her physical attractions. I was stupid to have thought I was in love with her. Though she was dead, I discovered that I don’t really miss her. I only think about her death now because I was worried about its repercussion on my life. If really loved her, I would be missing her now, right? But I’m not. Perhaps I should call the police and spill out the whole truth. Unless I do that, I wasn’t going to have an easy moment. But since I have gone this far, it would be wise to hold on and wait for the inquest. How relieved I would be if the verdict is recorded as accidental death!

And Mr Graham Reed? I knew there will be an inquiry about who this mysterious man is. Brittany told me she had rented the vacation house in that name. I am sure the Police will get that information from the rental office. It won’t take a long time for the Atlantic City Police to discover that Brittany wasn’t Mrs. Graham Reed. They would put two and two together and conclude that Graham Reed was her secret lover. Would they conclude that Graham Reed hadn’t shown up at the vacation house? Who knows?  If they do that, would it be enough reason for them to drop that side of the investigation? If they eventually decide to search for Mr. Graham Reed, I was convinced that I had covered my tracks well enough to remain undiscovered.

I sat on my big lounge while all these thoughts were going on my mind and I really sweated. Around four o’clock, my telephone rang. I was reluctant to answer it, but I had no choice. I am in this shit now; so I should handle it properly for my own good.

I picked up the receiver.

With a voice sounding like the croak of a frog I said, “Hello?”

“Is that you, Harry?”

It was Phorbus.

“Sure,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

“My God! Harry!” He sounded scared and worried. “I’ve got the worst news in my life dropped into my lap. The police found Brittany Waters dead! They are arriving here at any moment. Will you come over right away? Please? I won’t forget this favor from you, believe me.”

“Brittany dead? What happened?”

“Just come over Harry. You know how much we love you, don’t you?” he said.

“I will be there in a minute,” I said, and hung up.

This was it, I said to myself. I was worried that they moved faster than I expected. My hands started shaking and I went into my bathroom to wash my face. While in the bathroom, I looked at the mirror. I could not recognized who I saw. My eyes looked scared and my face was flushed with fear. I tried hard to calm myself down. And by the time I pulled outside the Middle River Times building, I had finally got rid of my fears.

I found Candace and Phorbus in the outer office. I became worried about Phorbus because he looked bad. His face was so white that it reminded me of a fresh fall of snow. Candace was shaken, but I knew she’ll be fine. However, I am aware that she believe I was hiding something from them.

“Thanks a lot for coming Harry!” Phorbus exclaimed. “We have a big problem now. Who will break the news to Reverend Waters? I am concerned about what he will do when he hears this bad news.”

“Take it easy now Phorbus,” I said sharply. “So what happened? Come on, give me all the details.”

“Nobody knows the details yet,” he said. “But the police said she had been found dead. They said it appears that she fell down from a two story vacation house in Atlantic City.”

“Fell down from a vacation house?” I was acting hard now. “What was she doing in Atlantic City anyway?”

“Search me,” Phorbus said, looking more confused. “I had no idea! I thought you were her bodyguard? I should be asking you! I can’t believe my hard luck followed me down here! For this to happen on my first trip down here is not funny at all. I know Reverend Waters will shoot his top. Look Harry, I can buy you a dinner tonight if you want, but you will have to break the news to him.”

“Relax,” I said. “I will tell him. I am however trying hard to figure out why she was at Atlantic City.”

“The police might know,” he said, pounding his fist into the palm of his hand. “And that’s where I need your help. I know you can handle this Harry. Reverend Waters will want an inquiry. He will…”

“Come on Phorbus,” I said. “Calm down. I already told you I will handle it.”

At this moment the door opened and Lieutenant Jim Ludlum of Middle River Homicide Department came in. Jim was dark in complexion. He is short and has pale penetrating blue eyes. I had known him for about three years. We had taken a couple of drinks together at the neighborhood bar and we are good friends. He  is not a genius but he always get good results from his work, usually through careful, painstaking   plodding.

As he shook hands with me, he said, “I was informed you were on vacation.”

“Sure,” I replied, “But I was still trying to make up my mind about the place to spend my vacation when this bad news broke out. I’m sure you know Ms Candace. This is Mr.  Phorbus Taylor. He will be in charge of the office while I’m away.”

Jim shook hands with both of them. I waved him to a chair and sat down on Candace’s desk.

“Well?” I said, “Let’s have the whole story. So by now you are certain it’s Brittany Waters?”

“I believe it is her,” he said. “The headquarters called our office a few hours ago to inform us that  a dead woman identified as Brittany Waters was found lying at the back of a vacation house in Atlantic City. It was thought that she had fallen off the window of the house. She had probably rented the house because her luggage are inside the house. I went to the parish house where I was informed that Reverend Waters is not in the country. Since this newspaper house belonged to him and his late brother Kamal Waters, I figured that the quickest way to reach him is to come to you guys. It is also a way of killing two birds with a stone – informing him and the press as well, you know. In any case, I will need one of you to come with me to Atlantic City to identify the body.

Well, as smart as I thought I was, I hadn’t expected this. For me, it would be very sickening to go into the morgue to identify what remained of Brittany’s loveliness.

Phorbus’ response was quick too.

“You go with him Harry,” he said, “You’ve met her before. I haven’t. I’ve only seen her pictures.”

Looking at me Jim said, “If you can come to me, we will go there right away.”

“Not a problem,” I said. Turning to Phorbus, I went on, “I will like you to stick around here until you hear from me. I will call you as soon as we are certain it’s her.

“How about the old man?”

“I will handle that end myself,” I said.

While we were driving down to Atlantic City, I said to Jim, “Does anybody have an idea how it happened?”

“I thought I told you already: the information I got was that she fell down the window of the house.”

“Is that’s all? No other information?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t really know,” he said, “But she rented the vacation house under the name of Mr and Mrs. Graham Reed. I didn’t know she was married.”

“As far as I know, she wasn’t married,” I said.

He lit a cigarette and puffed smoke out of the car window.

“I’m concerned about a few complications,” he said,  after a long moment of silence. “Reverend Waters is a very important man. He can make a lot of trouble for us, and that’s the last thing I want now.”

“I don’t want any trouble either,” I said. “He’s my boss, you know. I was supposed to “watch” her while the Reverend is away. Now this happened. See the trouble I’m in now.”

I paused for a brief moment, and then said, “Apart from using a false name, are there more complications?”

His eyes searched my face.

“For the moment, no one else know about this sad news except you, me, and the Atlantic City Police. But I’m sure it won’t be possible to keep it quiet for long. So tell me, what do you know about her? I have no doubt on my mind that she had a lover.

“Well, lieutenant,  I hope you don’t tell that to the press. It might upset the Reverend.”

He nodded.

“I believe you. But how can we keep it from him? She rented the vacation house in the joint names of Mr and Mrs. Graham Reed. This means that she was secretly married. What do you think?

“Maybe,” I said, “But I doubt it.”

“I do too. If you ask me, I would say she was on an unofficial honeymoon in Atlantic City. Things like that happens these days.  It’s almost 1980 and with this ‘women liberation’ thing, we should expect that. So, do you know anyone called Mr Graham Reed?”

“Nope.”

He tapped ash off his cigarette.

“Lieutenant Reid of the Atlantic City Police Department is handling this case. He seems satisfied it was an accidental fall. But he knows Reverend Waters is an important man who is connected to the establishment. That’s the only reason he asked me to check with him. But this Mr Graham Reed is the problem now. His involvement made the whole thing look complicated and suspicious. It would have been a straightforward open and closed case if no lover was involved.”

Looking out of the car window, I asked, “Is it really necessary to mention him?”

“Well,” he said. “We may not mention him. You wouldn’t know if she had any lover at all, whoever that may be?

“I really don’t know,” I said. “Since you don’t have her pictures, let’s not conclude that it is her yet.”

“Of course it is her,” he said. “All her belongings – clothes, bags, et cetera – carry her name. They also found letters in her luggage. The description fits her like the glove. At the inquest, the fact that she rented the vacation house under another name is bound to come out. I leave it to you to explain everything to Reverend Waters.”

I nodded.

“Not a problem at all.”

He sank further down in his seat and went on in a coma of brooding. I had no choice than to went off into one of my own. But I was worried he hadn’t said anymore about Mr Graham Reed though. Like I said before, I knew Jim very well. He moved slowly, but he is also very meticulous and thorough.

It was noon by the time we reached Atlantic City. Lieutenant Reid  was standing by a police car waiting for us. We followed him to the morgue. It was a small brick building at the back of the railway station. We got out of the car.

“I know you won’t like this Harry,” Jim said to me. “It is, however, important. Somebody has to identify her.”

“I understand,” I replied.

But, to say the truth, he was right – this won’t be pleasant for me. I was actually sweating. I followed them through the door of the building into a small bare room. There was a trestle table in the middle of the room. A body, which was covered with a sheet, lay on this table. My heart was beating sluggishly as we moved forward up to the table. As I watched Jim reach forward and turned back the sheet, I knew I must have lost color because I started feeling bad.

END OF EPISODE VI

P.S. Episode Seven will be published here next Monday.