Daddy's Little Killer

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 

"What did you learn?"

Charlie's fingers pinched into my upper arm. He half dragged me through the lobby toward the elevators. Inside, he pressed the button for the eighth floor, but stopped the elevator before it could reach the destination.

"You're starting to worry me, Charlie. What's happening?"

"Two things." He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a small listening device. "It's been disabled, but one of the guys who processed your room this morning said they found three of these planted in your room. Someone is very interested in what you have to say, Dr. Eriksson."

"No surprise there. Is this why you refused to speak in front of Dr. Winslow?"

"It wasn't her specifically, ma'am. I didn't want anybody to hear what I'm about to tell you."

"And I appreciate the diligence. What did you discover today?"

"First off, Johnny Orion is lying about something. We talked to a shit load of neighbors who told us Orion has been hanging around the Foster house for the past three months. They spoke to the head of the neighborhood watch who in turn had a conversation with Orion."

"Back up," I said. "When you say hanging around do you mean visiting or providing surveillance?"

"Surveillance. The neighbor across the street seemed to be the one leading the charge. She's a real nosy type, if you know what I mean." He reached inside his jacket again and procured a small notebook. "This is from the past month. It details dates, times and what Orion was doing while he was at Gwen Foster's home."

I took the notebook and thumbed through the first few pages. "Arrived at seven twelve. Gwen five minutes ahead of him. Sitting in car in front of house. Car still there in morning until Gwen left for work. Man did not leave car." The other entries didn't vary greatly.

"What did Orion tell the head of the neighborhood watch?"

"He was keeping an eye on Gwen, like a bodyguard."

"Interesting," I murmured. I thought of the guard Orion had posted outside my room and wondered which of my early morning visitors had planted the listening devices. "Do you mind if I keep this, Charlie?" I opened my palm to reveal the bug.

"Forsythe has the other two at the crime lab. They already tested that one for prints. He's using the others to try to figure out where the signal is being transmitted."

"A device this size is most certainly short range. I imagine that the listener would have to be yards away, possibly a few stories below, to hear me. I'd like to have my room swept again," I said, "and it's probably a pretty good idea if I start looking for a more secure place to stay in the meantime."

"Chief Weber says you might be here for a while," Haverston said. "We appreciate that you advocated to keep us on the investigation, Dr. Eriksson, but-"

"No buts, Charlie. I know this puts you in an awkward position with Chief Lowe. If he has questions about the investigation, you should direct him to me or Chief Weber."

"That's not what I meant. Chief Lowe just about popped his buttons when he told us we'd be continuing on this case. He's not upset about it at all. It's Rogers and Daltry that got us concerned."

In that second, I wondered what Dad would think about a city like Darkwater Bay. Would he, like I was quickly learning, see that the good guys are necessary to balance an equation? "What did Rogers and Daltry do?"