The Pastor’s Daughter: Episode X

I have always believed that trust is easily lost hard to rebuild. I do know that Reverend Waters have great trust in me and the only way I can maintain this trust is to do exactly what he says in this time of crisis. So I was outside the Marriott Hotel with the hired Cadillac at nine O’clock the following morning as instructed.

Meanwhile, the press have given Brittany’s death an impressive coverage. Every newspaper I saw that morning carried her picture. And all the pictures showed her as I had known her: with horn-rimmed glasses, washed out blue jeans, a yellow T-shirt  and flat-heeled shoes, just like any serious-minded college  student.

I had earlier called Phorbus as soon as I left Reverend Waters the previous evening. During our discussion, I told him to go ahead and break the story about Brittany’s death.

“Don’t sensationalize it,” I instructed. “Just make is sound like any other story about a college kid death, you know. The story is that she was on a short vacation in Atlantic City. She was using her camera to take pictures while sitting on her window. For some reasons, she got so absorbed in what she was taking that she lost her balance and fell off her two-storied vacation house to her death.”

“I have my doubts about this story the way you said it,” Phorbus said. “Do you really think these news hawks will swallow a story like that? The vacation house is a large building. Naturally, they will like to know what she was doing there alone. In fact, they will ask how she could afford a house that size.”

“I feel the same way too Phorbus,” I said. “And I feel sorry for you too. But that is the story you will give them. Let’s worry about what comes next when it comes. Reverend Waters want it to be this way. And I don’t have to remind you that that is the way it got to be if you really love to keep your job.”

Before he could argue further, I hung up the phone.

What I saw in the morning papers showed that he had followed my instructions to the letter. The newspapers carried the story and a photograph of Brittany. That was all. None of the reporters had any opinion to express. Soberly and without hysterics, each of the reporters simply wrote the story of her death as known. Reverend Waters came out of the hotel around  nine-ten. With a bunch of newspapers under his arm, he climbed into the back of the Cadillac.

“How are you doing today, Harry,” he said without looking at me.

“I’m doing okay sir,” I replied.

That was the only thing he said to me at that moment. I didn’t waste time to ask him where he wanted to go because he already told me last night.  I simply got in beside the driver and gave him the coroner’s office address. I was concerned, though, that Susan Waters hadn’t come along for the ride. From where I sat in the Rolls, I can see Reverend Waters very well in the driving mirror. So, I secretly watched him read the newspapers. And I knew that he was only reading the news coverage of Brittany. I watched how he went through them quickly and searchingly. As soon as he finished reading what he wanted to read in each paper, he simply dropped it on the floor of the car. Following this approach, he got through all the papers by the time we reached the coroner’s office. So he simply sat at the back of the car, staring out of the window.

When the Rolls pulled up outside the small building that housed the coroner’s office and the mortuary, Reverend Waters got out of the car. He gave me a sign to wait outside. He then went inside the building.

I started to think of what he was going to look at inside the building. He will definitely see Brittany’s smashed  and bruised face. I had dreamed of it all night and her face still hunted me. The feeling is so sickening that I could not resist the urge to light up a cigarette.

About twenty minutes passed. Soon Reverend Waters walked out and got into the back seat of the Rolls.

“Now Harry,” he said. “Take me to the vacation house.”

We were all silent as we drove to the vacation house. I got out of the car and opened the iron gates when we got there. I then got back into the car again. We drove up the drive and I noticed that Brittany’s Mercedes convertible was still packed on the tarmac before the front door.

Reverend Waters got out of the Rolls and said, “Is this Brittany’s car?”

I told him it was.

He stood for a while and looked at the car. He  then shrugged and went on up the steps and into the vacation house. I went after him. The driver of the Rolls watched us without interest. As a matter of fact, as soon as Reverend Waters’ back was turned, he reached for a cigarette.

I kept in the background while Reverend Waters looked the vacation house over. He went to one of the rooms upstairs and spent some time in there. I suddenly became curious of what he was up to. So I went upstairs myself. I then edged to the doorway and looked in. I saw Reverend Waters sitting on the bed beside one of Brittany’s suitcases. He had his big, fat hands in a mass of her clothes while he stared fixedly out of the window. I did not like the look on his face. That look frightened me and I moved silently back until he was out of my sight. Then I sat down and started to think.

The past two days were the worst days of my life. They reminded me of the days I caught a bad case of malaria after a vacation in the Bahamas. I never imagined I would be caught up in this kind of trap. It was as if the trap had a vice-like grip on me and I was waiting for the hunter to come along and finish me off. My mind kept telling me that Lieutenant Ludlum did a swell job of tracing me from the Atlantic City Rail Terminal to this vacation house. I can  feel my flesh creep each time I remember that he knew I had been wearing a dark suit, that he knew exactly the time Brittany died and that he knew that I, as the mysterious man in a dark suit, had been at the vacation house. These thoughts had kept me awake all night. And I am still worried as I sat waiting while Reverend Waters was going through Brittany’s things.

Eventually, he came out  of the room and walked slowly across the lounge to the window. I watched him cautiously. And I continued to wonder what was going on in his mind. For several minutes, he remained like that, and did not say anything. Then he turned and came over to sit in a chair near where I was sitting.

“Did you and Brittany often get together when she was in Middle River?” he said, “I mean, did you guys hang out sometimes?”

The question took me by surprise. I was not expecting it and I felt myself stiffen.  He knows, or what?

“Not really,” I replied. “I did call her twice. She gave me the impression that she can more than take care of herself. Knowing that she looked at me as her father’s employee and hence didn’t want me around, I left her alone.”

Reverend Waters nodded.

“Do you, by any chance, know who her friends were?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t” I said.

“From the look of things, I think she got mixed up with bad people,” he said.

I didn’t say anything.

“I really miss my late wife Anna,” he said. “ If she was here, this wouldn’t have happened. The way I see it, this guy that call himself Graham Reed gave her the jewels and the car. I now blame myself for keeping her so short of money. I should have been smarter than that and gave her more, you know. No matter how decent a girl is, it will be a big temptation for her not to fall for a good-looking  punk who has plenty of money, and is willing to give lavish presents. It is simply human nature for a girl like Brittany to fall for a guy like that. I feel that I put her in the way of such temptation by giving her low allowance.”

Again, I was silent.

“Brittany was really a sweet girl, Harry,” he went on, staring down on his hands. “My little princess. She was going to college. And she was a serious-minded student too. She wanted to study Biology. And I was so proud to have my only daughter attending college.”

I really felt sorry for him now.

“I also have a high opinion of you too,” he continued. “I won’t be recommending you to be in charge of the Trenton Office if I hadn’t. Luckily, this coroner fella had agreed to work with me on this Brittany’s case. He had agreed to bring in a verdict of accidental death. They won’t mention that she was pregnant. I also spoke to the police chief. He’s agree to go along with it as well. My next mission is to convince the press to tow the line. It won’t be too difficult to do that. I have already started working on it. So now we have a clear field. I am going to leave the rest of this issue to you. All the black clergy in the nation will have a conference in Trenton the day after tomorrow and I will be there. As you can see, I have no time to dig into this thing myself. That’s where you come in. From now on, all I want you to do is to find Graham Reed. I will speak to Shabray. He will grant you a paid leave so you can focus on finding him.”

I sat frozen, staring at him. He want me to find me?

“Find Graham Reed?” I repeated stupidly.

“Yes. Graham Reed seduced Brittany. I won’t let him get away with it. He will pay for it. But before that, we need to find him first. That will be your job from now on. I don’t care how much you spend in finding him. I will take care of all the expenses and you can have all the help you need. I am giving you the authority to hire private detectives if you believe it is necessary. I know the job will not be easy. It may be possible he is using a fake name. But people like him always make mistakes. Somewhere along the line he must have left a clue. It is now your job to find that clue. Once you do that, you will definitely find other clues that’ll lead you to him.”

“I will do my best for you, Reverend Waters” I said.

“I will like to know how you are going to handle this job. So keep me informed of every move you make from now onwards. And if by chance I come across anything, I will let you know as well. In the meantime, the thing you will do is to find him fast.”

“What happens when we do find him?” I asked. I had to ask that question because it was important to me.

He looked at me, and I don’t like the expression I saw in his eyes.

“Well,” he said. “The way I see it, Brittany met that punk soon after she arrived in Middle River. So, obviously, it took him a very short time to seduce her. According to the doctor, Brittany was eight weeks’ pregnant. She arrived in Middle River only three and half months ago. So Graham Reed, or whatever he calls himself, worked pretty fast. Brittany probably told him about the pregnancy, and like all lowlifes of his type, he started to fade out of the picture. In my view, Brittany took this vacation house in hope of winning the bastard back. Excuse my language, but I’m so upset right now.”

He turned his head to look around the lounge.

“Just look at this place,” he went on. “It is pretty romantic. She must have thought the surroundings will soften him into doing the right thing. But from what the police said, that punk did come here but he didn’t  soften.”

I crossed my legs, not knowing what to say.

“You know Harry,” he went on. “When women falls in love, they act crazy. I know enough about women psychology to know that. They tend to lose their sense of reason when a handsome man with plenty of money to throw around came into the picture. It does not matter how smart the woman is: a handsome man is their universal weakness. And, like my daughter, when they meet a man like that, they refuse to listen to the warning bells their intuitions sets off. In most cases, they often ignore the advice of rightfully concerned friends. Having that handsome man is everything. It is very unfortunate that my daughter fell for his charms.”

I felt so ashamed that I did not know what to tell him. I had to say something. I could lose his trust by just sitting there like a frozen dummy.

“Now tell me if I’m wrong, Harry” he continued after a brief pause. “I don’t believe Brittany’s death is an accident. And I don’t care whatever said. I am convinced two things happened in this case: Brittany wanted  to scare him into marrying her by threatening to commit suicide. He told her to go ahead and jump, and she jumped. Another option could be that he shoved her off the window to shut her mouth.”

“Do you really believe that….?” I began. My voice was as faint as a fading sound of a music.

“Well, I don’t think she jumped,” he said. “I think that idiot Graham Reed killed her! He knew Brittany was my daughter. And of course he knew I will eventually hear what he had done to her. He knew he won’t have a chance if he messes with me. So, to put an end to his fears, he maneuvered her to the second  floor and gave her the push.”

“If that is what he really did, I mean, assuming you are right, then he murdered her,” I said.

That seemed to please him because he smiled.

“Of course he killed my daughter,” he said. “But then, you don’t have to worry about that. All I want you to do for me is to find him, then I will take it from there. For now, let everybody think it is an accident. I’m okay with that because I don’t want any unnecessary publicity. I have a reputation to protect. And I don’t want anybody to start gossiping behind my back because she was pregnant and unmarried, you know. As a pastor, that won’t sound good at all. The problem is that if this punk is arrested and tried for murder, the whole dirty story will come out, and I don’t want that to happen. But that doesn’t mean I won’t make him pay for killing my daughter. I want to deal with him in my own particular way. For taking the life of my only daughter, my precious Brittany, I am going to make his life such a hell that in the end he will be glad to blow his rotten brains out. I have the money and influence to do it. I’m gonna make him pay for this Harry. Don’t ask me how I will do it, but I’m gonna do it. Just find him for me – that’s your job now.

He remained silent for a while, and then he said, “ Look Harry, I have a proposition to make. If you want that Trenton Office’s job, then find this asshole. That’s my asking price.”

END OF EPISODE X

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