The Pastor's Daughter: Episode XIII

In every profession there are people who fail to practice what they preach. Good examples include doctors who smoke a pack of cigarette a day, accountants who forget to file tax returns, and dentists with mouthfuls of rotten teeth. I feel like one of these people. As a newspaper man, a journalist, I has sworn to be honest and courageous in gathering and reporting news. But now, what am I doing? I’m exactly doing the opposite: trying to cover and hide the truth about my relationship with Brittany. One voice inside me told me to confess the truth both to the police and to Reverend Waters. Perhaps he may be ….

“You are Harry, right?”

I immediately snapped out of my nightmare. I almost dropped the video camera in the process. And who did I saw when I looked up? Mrs. Susan Waters! She was standing before me. She was wearing a knee-length green dress, ornamented with golden buttons, and black high-heeled shoes.

I got to my feet.

“That’s right, Mrs. Waters”

“You are looking for my husband, I believe?”

“I thought that I may, perhaps, speak to him before he left”

“He will be here soon”, she said.

She then sat down on the lounging chair near to the one I was sitting and crossed her legs. She made sure I saw her beautiful laps. Then she said to me, “Please sit down Harry. There’s something I want to tell you.”

“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked.

She shook her head.

“I’m fine,” she said. “But, thanks for asking. I’ve only just finished lunch. Reginald and I are hoping to leave by three-forty. He’s taking care of the packing right now. He enjoys doing stuffs like that.”

I sat down and looked at her.

“Look Harry, I don’t have much time,” she began. “Please don’t get me wrong if I sound too harsh about Brittany. However, I must speak to you about her. I’m sure you see my husband Reginald as gentle clergyman. There’s a lot about him that you don’t know. He is also ruthless and hard. I’m sorry to say it that way, but that’s the truth. In any case, like so many hard men, he has a soft spot: his daughter Brittany. He lavished her with all his affection and love. You may not believe this, but Reginald basically worshipped his daughter.”

I moved restlessly. Why is she telling me all these? I was mentally trying to figure out where this was leading to, with great difficulty. Brittany told me a lot about her father, you know, about how bitter she had been. As a matter of fact, she had said that he had no interest in her. She even said that her father only thought of himself and of how to find a new woman to spend his time with. What Susan Waters  was telling me didn’t add up.

“As far as I know he didn’t give that impression,” I said cautiously. “Many people I know think he had no time for her.”

“What people?”

“Common Mrs. Susan Waters” I said, “The Waters are basically celebrities. People in the newspaper world always talk about them.”

She remained silence for a while, and then said, “Sure, you are right. That was the impression he did give. But I’m telling you the real truth now. In actual fact Reginald is crazy about his daughter. His world revolves around her. But as a clergyman he was anxious not to be thought an indulgent father. That’s why he stupidly kept her short of money. He thought too much money will spoil her. I had always believed that giving Brittany only one  hundred dollars every two weeks was ridiculous.”

I sank a little lower in my chair. I was not really interested in all these information.

“I know you are anxious to take up your new appointment in Trenton: you are going to be in charge of the Trenton Office, right?” She said abruptly.

That stiffened my attention.

“Yes” I replied. “That’s what your husband said.”

“And I know the job means a lot to you?”

“Sure, why…?”

“Reginald do indeed have a very high opinion of you,” She went on. “He loves you like a son, and he told me what he wants you to do about this Brittany’s issue. He believes that Brittany was murdered. I know my husband very well. He always get these fixed ideas and theories from time to time. And whenever he’s like that nothing anyone can say will make him think otherwise. He doesn’t care if you or the police or even the medical examiner are satisfied that her death was an accident. See what I mean?

I grunted.

She looked inquiringly at me, smiling.

Sitting down talking about this made me uncomfortable. Perhaps it was because I believed that her smiling calmness was fake. I must confess, there is something about her I could sense rather than see.

“So, do you really believe what my husband is saying?”

“I can’t say,” I said. “But then, that’s something I’m going to investigate.”

“I know” she said. “That’s why I want to talk to you, Harry. My advise is, be careful how you probe into this business. Reginald, my husband, was crazy about Brittany. And nobody can blame him for that: it is very natural. And I don’t like speaking bad things about anyone who can’t defend themselves either, simply because they are dead and gone. But in this case I have no choice. Reginald see Brittany as a good, decent and virtuous daughter, but she wasn’t. The truth is, Brittany loves money a lot. In fact, the best way to describe her relationship with money is that it is true love. I mean, she can do anything for money: anything. Like I told you earlier, Reginald gave her an allowance of one  hundred dollars every two weeks. I know for a fact that she spends as much as three hundred dollars a week when she was living in Trenton. She doesn’t care how she got the money so long as she got it. I can tell you this: Brittany is one of the most undisciplined, immoral, worldly, licentious and nasty girl I have ever met.”

The rasp in her voice as she said this stunned me.

“I know it is not a good thing to say,” she went on, “but I’m sorry to say that it is the truth. You will find this out for yourself when you probe her past. She was utterly rotten, and that’s not an understatement. You will be surprised to know that this wasn’t the first time she was pregnant. Such things doesn’t bother her. She knew exactly how to handle it. She dated only lowlifes and degenerate criminals. If anyone deserved to be killed in that fashion, she did.”

Wow! This is getting more scary. I drew in a long, slow breath.

“You know all these, and yet you don’t think she was murdered?” I said.

“I have no idea.” She stared at me. “All I can tell you is that the police and the medical examiner are satisfied her death was an accident. So my question to you is this: why do you doubt their verdict?”

“I’m just doing what your husband told me to do. Just look at it this way: he is my boss and he wants me to investigate. So, it’s an order.”

“Look Harry, I’m telling you know that you are certain to uncover a whole series of unpleasant things about her if you investigate her death as a murder. I am sure she behaved in Middle River as she had behaved in Trenton. It will be impossible for you to hide these facts from Reginald. The problem is that he is very fragile and sensitive when it comes to Brittany. He is completely convinced that Brittany is a descent girl. He will be in a state of shock if you reveal her dark side to him. And believe him, he will hate you forever for shattering his illusions about Brittany. Not only that, I doubt if he will hire a man who has shown him how completely fooled he has been about such a worthless daughter in the most important position on his newspaper company. See what I mean? Between me and you, you can see why I am asking you not to probe deeply into this business?”

Again, this was a huge surprise, coming from somebody like Susan Waters. I reached out, picked up my glass and finished my drink.

“So, how come you know so much about Brittany Waters?” I asked.

“Because, unlike my husband, I’m not blind. She was my step-daughter, and I’ve known her for years. I had seen the men in her life. You can say I told you this: Brittany’s behavior was notorious.”

I thought then there was more to it than that. I was so sure of it that I could bet on it, but I didn’t say so.

“What you are telling me now puts me on a spot,” I said. “Your husband has told me that I won’t get the Trenton job if I don’t uncover the facts about Brittany’s death. Now you are telling me I still won’t get it if I do. So, what do you want from me?”

“Don’t uncover anything about Brittany’s death,” she said. “Go slow and delay things. I can assure you my husband will eventually get over the shock of her death. I do understand that he is furious and revengeful at the moment. But as soon as he gets back to Trenton or Middle River, or wherever he decides to stay, he will be caught up once more in his work, and he will calm down. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do nothing to convince him that you are really busy working on the assignment, you know. You can report progress to him in a couple of weeks. Believe me he will soon  let the matter drop. If you don’t start a formal investigation, you will still get the Trenton job. I can assure you of that. But if you do, you will be surprised of the outcome. I know my husband very well. He will never forgive you when he learns the truth about Brittany.”

“So you suggest I sit back and do nothing, while at the same time acting like I am working of the assignment?”

I was looking at her face when I said this. And I noticed that, for a brief moment, her fixed smile slipped. A starring fear jumped into her eyes and that startled me. It was there for a split second, then the smile came back. But I’m sure I had seen her fear all right.

“Like I said before, you will have to make my husband to believe you are doing your best, Harry. Believe me, no one can blame you if you don’t discover any worthwhile information, as long as you are sending him reports.” As she said that, she leaned forward and put her hand on mine. “Please I need you to do this for me. Just don’t check up Brittany’s life in Middle River. I want peace of mind in my marriage. I know how my husband would react if he knew the truth about Brittany. I’m the one who persuaded him to let her go to Middle River, and he’s going to blame me too. So I’m not asking you just for your sake. I have my selfish reasons too.”

Since I could see the reception hall from where I was sitting, I saw Reverend Waters came out of the elevator and go over to the reception desk. I quickly pulled my hand from hers and stood up.

“Here’s Reverend Waters now.”

Her mouth tightened. However, she turned to wave to Reverend Waters who came over. On his left arm was a light overcoat and he carried a dispatch case on his other hand.

“Hello Harry,” he said as he put down his case. “Did you want to see me? We really don’t have much time.”

I actually went there to tell him about the missing films and about the black Pontiac that had followed me. But I can’t say that now, after listening to Susan Waters, his wife. Instead I decided that I needed some time to think over what she had said before I committed myself. For a while I couldn’t explain what I was doing there. But Susan already knew what to say to cover me up.

“Mr. Harry brought Brittany’s camera,” she said.

I was surprised how she knew the camera was Brittany’s.  But then I glanced at the case and realized she had spotted Brittany’s initials on it. In any case, this show of ingenuity told me that she is a lot clever than I had imagined.

Reverend Waters scowled at the camera.

“I really don’t want the camera – nor any of her things,” he said. “They bring bad memories. Get rid of it.”

I said I would do that.

“Did you find any new thing at the vacation house?”

I caught Susan’s anxious eyes, and then shook my head.

“Nothing helpful” I said.

“Please try harder. I need to see results as soon as possible. We need to get this asshole and deal with him fast. You are permitted to hire some men and put them to work on this. I want you to have something reasonable for me by the time I get back to Middle River….understand?”

I said I understood.

He took from his pocket a key and gave it to me.

“This is the key to our house in Middle River. I want you to arrange to have her clothes and other things collected and sold or donated to some charity. I leave it to you. I don’t need any of her stuff, except her pictures of course.”

I put the key in my pocket.

“We should be going Reginald,” Susan said suddenly.

He looked at his Rolex watch.

“Sure” he said. “I’ll leave this to you, Harry. Don’t forget to let me know the moment you found this asshole, okay?”

As he  said that, he picked up his dispatch case and began to move out of the bar, heading towards the reception hall. Susan followed him, but that was after she had given me a long, steady stare. 

I saw them into the Cadillac.

“I want to every move you make on this case Harry,” Reverend Waters said through the open car window. “Money will not be a problem. If you need some people to help you, then hire as many as you need. The quicker you get this bastard, the quicker you’ll be working at our Trenton office.”

I told him I will do my best.

As the Cadillac drove away, Susan Waters looked back at me through the rear window. From her eyes, I could see that she is very anxious and worried.

END OF EPISODE XIII

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