The Pastor’s Daughter: Episode XV

  

I never knew how   criminals feel when they are suddenly confronted by the police. Seeing Lieutenant Jim Ludlum and his colleague indeed gave me an idea of how that experience might be. Confused and scared, I stood motionless, staring at him. I will be lying if I say my heart didn’t miss several beats before it began to race very violently – so violently that I had difficulty breathing.  Was he here to arrest me? Had he found out that I was Graham Reed?

Candace appeared at the door.

“Good evening Lieutenant Ludlum,” she said. The sound of her voice, which was calm and quiet, had a steadying effect on me.

“Evening miss,” Lieutenant Ludlum said.

I stood aside.

“Come in Lieutenant” I said.

Lieutenant Ludlum moved forward.

“Sergeant Walesa,” he said, nodding to his companion who followed him into the sitting room.

I led the way into the sitting room. Even though I still feel pretty shaken, I had somehow gotten over the first shock of seeing Lieutenant Ludlum.

“This is indeed unexpected, Lieutenant”, I said. “How did you know I was here?”

“Well, the truth is that I was passing by. I became curious when I saw the lights were on. So I decided to see who could be here. I’m glad it’s you because I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

Sergeant Walesa, who is short, thick-set with a flat, expressionless face, leaned against the wall by the door. I could see he had no interest in the proceedings.

“Well, here I am,” I said, waving Lieutenant Ludlum to a chair. “Candace and I were just having a drink. Do you mind joining us?”

“No. We are good. But, thanks for asking.”

With his hands in his coat pockets, he moved around the room. He went over to the window. On getting there, he glanced out, then seemed to have changed his mind. He turned, came over to where I was standing and sat down near me. I could see Candace perching herself on the arm of the settee. So, I sat down too.

“I understand you collected Ms. Brittany’s camera from Lieutenant Reid this morning,” Lieutenant Ludlum said.

Surprised, I said, “Yes. Lieutenant Reid you don’t need it anymore.”

“I thought so too, but I have been thinking about that camera.” Lieutenant Ludlum took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one. I don’t expect him to offer Candace or myself this particular brand that he smoked.  “I felt that we parted with the camera too quick. If you don’t mind, may I have it back?”

“Sure,” I said. “I will make sure you have it latest tomorrow morning.”

“It’s not here?”

“I left it at my apartment.”

“I really need to have it tonight. You would have no objection if we collected it tonight?”

“If it is that important, then it is fine with me.” I lit a cigarette and took a pull at my glass. I’m glad I fixed this drink before they came in – I really needed it. “But, if I may ask, why the sudden interest in the camera, Lieutenant?”

“I had been thinking about it since yesterday,” he said. “And it strikes me as odd that there was no film in it.”

“You came up with this new theory of yours rather late in the day, didn’t you?”

He shrugged.

“At first I thought it was possible that Ms. Brittany had forgotten to put a film in the camera. I, however, changed my mind after talking to an expert. If you had checked the camera, you will notice that its footage indicator showed that twelve feet of films had been exposed. The only sensible explanation for that is that there had been a film in the camera, and that somebody had removed the film. See? I know I’m not that familiar with cine cameras. But my mind kept telling me that maybe I shouldn’t have parted with it quite so soon.”

“Well, no problem. Since you insist, you’ll have it tonight.”

“Do you have an idea of who could have removed the films?”

“How would I know?,” I said. “I think Candace removed them.”

“Whoever took them out did it apparently without the film gate being opened. That would mean the film was ruined since it was exposed to the light as it was been taken out. I’m sure Ms. Brittany would scarcely do that, or would she?”

“You are correct.” I leaned back in my chair.   “I thought this Brittany business is a closed one, Lieutenant.  Now, you seem to have some doubts about your verdict of the case?”            

“Well, I guess the best way to put this is that the doubts have been forced on me,”  Lieutenant Ludlum said. “ I mean, Ms. Brittany bought ten cartons of film. All of them are missing, including the films in the camera. Now, you may not know it but I was here earlier in the morning to examine this house. I did not find any private papers of any description here. As we know, Ms. Brittany stayed here for almost thirteen weeks. So, to me, it is very odd that she apparently didn’t receive or write a letter during those period. Don’t you find it odd that Ms. Brittany never had any bills, kept no diary or telephone numbers during that period? Let me tell you this now: it is odd, unless, of course, someone has been in here before me and had taken her personal papers away.”                                        

“I noticed that myself,” I said. “But it may also be possible that she cleaned up the house before she left for Atlantic City.”

“That could be another explanation, but it is very unlikely”, he said. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Reverend Waters told me to get rid of her things,” I replied.

Lieutenant  Ludlum     studied his fingernails, then he said looking at me.

“My apologies, but I will have to disturb your arrangements. So, please leave everything as they are for the moment. I want  to seal up the house until after the inquest.”      

Although I was pretty sure now what was going on in his mind, I still said to him, “What’s the point here, Lieutenant?

“It’s just the normal routine, Mr. Harry,” Lieutenant  Ludlum said mildly. “We may have to conduct an investigation after the inquest.”

“But Reverend Waters told me that the medical examiner had agreed to record a verdict of accidental death.”

Lieutenant  Ludlum smiled.

“You are correct,” he said. “ Based on the present evidence, I believe that was his intention.  But  the inquest is not until Monday, you know. So, if more evidence come to light before that time frame it will alter the whole situation, see?”

“Reverend Waters won’t be pleased.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate.”

It was obvious now that he was no longer worried about Reverend Waters.

“Have you spoken to your chief?” I asked.  “I believe Reverend Waters has also had a word with him.”

Lieutenant  Ludlum tapped ashes from his cigarette into his hand. He then proceeded to dust them on to the carpet.

“Yes, I did,” he said. “And he agrees with me. Now, don’t get me wrong: it is still possible that Ms. Brittany’s death was an accident. However, this man who was seen in Atlantic City, the missing films, and the fact that this house has been stripped of all personal papers forced us to conclude that there are grounds for an investigation.” He blew a thick smoke towards me. “There’s another thing that puzzles me. I spoke to Ms. Brittany’s bank manager. He told me that she receives an allowance of one  hundred dollars every two weeks. She had with her a small trunk and a suitcase when she arrived in Middle River. I’m sure you’ve seen the contents of the closets and drawers in the other room. I am wondering how she could afford all these things on an allowance of one  hundred dollars every two weeks.”

I could see by now that he had already begun to dig into Brittany’s background.  And I remembered Susan Water’s look of fear when she begged me no to do this thing.

“Obviously, you have some doubts on your mind,” I said as casually as I could.

“Well said, Mr. Harry,” he said, getting to his feet. “Perhaps we could go over to your apartment now to get the camera. I won’t bother you again after that.”

“Alright then.” I stood up. “Come with us Candace. We will have dinner at the Idle Hour after I’ve given the camera to Lieutenant  Ludlum.”

“Do you mind giving me the keys to this house?” Lieutenant  Ludlum said. “You will get them back in a few days.”

I gave him the key, and he handed them to Walesa.

We moved out into the corridor, but Walesa didn’t come with us. He remained in the room. As we leave the house, Lieutenant  Ludlum said, “You were asking me questions about a car number, remember? Does it has anything to do with Ms. Brittany?”

“Nope,” I replied. “ I think I already told you: the guy driving the car clipped me, and he didn’t bother to stop. I thought I wrote down his number correctly. But apparently I was wrong.”

I can feel his eyes on my face. He waited until we got into my car, then he said, “Can you give me the names of Ms. Brittany’s friends?”

“I wish I could,” I said. “I believe I told you already: I don’t really know her very well.”

“But you have talked to her?”

His tone was very mild and calm, and that put me on my guard.

“Sure. But we did not discuss anything about her lifestyle here in Middle River. Remember she was the daughter of my boss. Naturally it didn’t cross my mind to question her about stuffs like that.”

“Did you take Ms. Brittany out to dinner at the Idle Hour Restaurant about four weeks ago?”

I felt as if someone had punched me on my face. This was a shock! Just how much did Lieutenant  Ludlum know? This question implies that someone must have seen Brittany and I together at the restaurant. At this point it doesn’t make any sense to lie to him.

“Yes I did,” I replied calmly. “I happened to run into her at the time. And since I was going to dinner, I asked her along.”

He paused for a minute, and then said, “I see.”

I swung the car into my neighborhood and pulled up outside my private entrance. There was indeed a tense atmosphere in the car. I can feel my heart beating so heavily that I was scared he would hear it.

“Was that the only time you took her out?”

My mind raced. Of course that wasn’t the only time. Brittany and I had gone to two movies together. And we had had dinner together more than two times.

“I believe so – I mean, as far as I can remember,” I replied.

I opened the car door and got out. Walking slowly, he followed me on to the sidewalk. I leaned into the car and said to Candace, “I will be back in a minute. And then we can go to dinner together.”

Humming under his breath, Lieutenant  Ludlum followed me up the staircase. Feeling his eyes examining the back of my head, I walked down the passage that led directly to my front door. I was almost half-way down the passage when I noticed that my front door was standing ajar. I stopped abruptly, surprised.

“Something’s not right,” I said.

“Did you shut the door when you left?” Lieutenant  Ludlum said, moving in front of me.

“Of course I did,” I replied.

We reached the door together.

“Damn! I think I have been robbed. Look.” I said, pointing to the smashed lock in my front door. I made to move into the hall, but Lieutenant  Ludlum pulled me back.

“If you don’t mind, let me go first,” he said curtly. With that he stepped into the hall, crossed it in two quick strides and threw open my sitting room door. I was right on his heels.

We entered  my sitting room. All the lights were on. We both stared around the room that looked as if it had been struck by a hurricane. Everything was scattered around the room. All the drawers in my desk hung open, all my papers were lying scattered on the floor, my cupboards stood open and a couple of chairs were overturned.

Lieutenant  Ludlum went swiftly into my bedroom. I could hear him run down the passage to my bathroom. Meanwhile, I walked over to my desk. I had locked the camera in the bottom drawer. The lock was also smashed and, when I looked inside it, I discovered that the camera was gone.

END OF EPISODE XV

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