Detective Jones gunned the engine of the unmarked police car, as she impatiently waited for her partner to emerge from the station.
Stepping into the parking lot, Detective Smith made a slight adjustment to his blue and white striped tie. Getting in on the passenger side, he buckled the seat belt across his lap.
“So?” Angel asked, dropping the car in drive and accelerating slowly out of the lot.
“Turns out our Miss Lerner has no parents, she’s an orphan. I spoke with Officer Dearborn, she did a door-to-door of her neighbors. Both next-door neighbors were sound asleep and heard nothing. But, the one across the street, Beatrice Buttersmidt, said she didn’t hear the gunshot, but her toy poodle, Sapphire, woke her around 12:40am barking like crazy. She got up to see what the dog was yapping about, and saw a white Mercury Cougar slowly driving by.”
“The old biddy didn’t happen to catch the license plate number?” Angel chimed in.
“As a matter of fact, she did.” Donny said grinning.
“Are you kidding?” she asked in disbelief.
“I ran it through DMV and got a hit. Belongs to an Adam Earl Nixon, over on Lexington Street. At the next light, turn left,” he instructed Angel.
“Which one is it?” she asked approaching several apartment buildings.
“Says, building three, apartment 402, there…that one on the end,” Donny said pointing.
Angel pulled into the side parking lot. They entered only to discover the single elevator was off line for repairs.
“You believe this shit?” Angel said staring up the flight of stairs.
“What are you complaining about, you’re in great shape,” he noted.
“Well, thank you for noticing,” she said starting up.
Reaching the fourth floor, they stopped, took a short break and continued. Locating apartment 402, they could hear rock-and-roll music booming through the door. Donny knocked loudly on the door. The music went silent, followed by the door opening to reveal a young man of possibly twenty or thereabouts.
Showing his badge, “I’m Detective Smith and this is my partner, Detective Jones. Are you Adam Nixon?”
“Hey, Donny, what’s up man?” Adam said raising his right hand for a high-five greeting.
Donny looked at Angel and shrugged his shoulders, then faced Adam. “Excuse me, you know me?” he questioned.
“Don’t remember me, do ya?” the boy shot back lowering his hand.
“Sorry, I can’t place your face, or your name.”
“It’s okay, man; it was a couple years ago. I have my father’s last name, you know, since the divorce and all,” Adam continued.
“So, kid, just how do you know Detective Smith?” Angel asked growing impatient.
“My mother’s your boss, Rachel Temme; she went back to her maiden name.”
“You’re Chief Temme’s son?” Angel asked, looking at Donny.
“That’s right, come on in,” he motioned for them to sit down.
The apartment was a typical, young, single boy’s pad; clothes, trash, beer cans, strewn everywhere. The place was in need of a good cleaning.
They sat on the worn-out, ripped brown cloth couch, which was missing one leg, which had been replaced by a thick dictionary to level it out.
It now dawned on Donny where he had met the kid. “You were at the Christmas party a few years back, now I remember. Your hair was shorter, and you dressed better then. I wondered who you were with, but other things were going on. I guess I overlooked you, sorry.”
“No sweat man, nobody pays attention to teenagers. So, what brings you here?” Adam inquired.
“You own a white, 1986, two-door Mercury Cougar?” Donny asked.
“Yeah, Mom bought me that old car, why?”
“Where were you last night between midnight and 1 am?”
“I got off work at 12:30 and went to make the money drop,” Adam answered.
Angel interjected, “Money drop?”
“Yeah, I work at KFC over on Florida Avenue. After the night manager counts up the receipts, he puts them and the cash in a zip-bag, and I drive it over to the night deposit box at the bank.”
“So after you dropped off the bag, where to then?” Angel asked.
“Right here to my humble little kingdom,” he said grinning.
“What route do you take from work to the bank?” she asked.
“From Florida, I go right on Cherry, then left on Walnut to the bank, then I continue on down Walnut. Once I pass the Food-Mart, I turn left onto Lexington and I’m home.”
“Lerner’s place is on Cherry Street, looks like just a simple case of coincidence to me,” Donny stated to Angel.
“Who’s Lerner?” Adam asked.
“Don’t sweat it kid,” Angel said heading out of the pigsty.
Donny followed her out and yelled back, “Do us a favor, don’t tell your mother you saw us!”
“No sweat man!” he hollered, closing his apartment door.
Heading down the four flights, Angel said, “The Chief would have shit a brick if we arrested her kid for murder,” she laughed.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, ballistics matched the bullet to Lerner’s gun,” Donny said as they arrived on the first floor.
“So now what?” she asked, not sure if he truly forgot to tell her, or was just holding out on her.
“Doctor Lerner said she kept her gun in her office at the hospital. Let’s go see who had access to it, shall we?”
“Very clever for a fag, Detective Smith.” She winked.
“I have my moments, Detective Dyke.” He winked back.
They exited the side door and Donny beat her to the car. “I’ll drive; I want to get there while I’m young.”
“Don’t start anything you can’t finish.” Angel gave Donny a serious look.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
Donny squealed the tires as he peeled out of the apartment lot. She made a big show of putting on her seatbelt, which he pretended not to notice. Arriving at the hospital, they made their way to Father Crawford’s office.
“Sorry to barge in, but your secretary isn’t at her desk,” Donny said.
Looking up from his desk, “That’s quite all right, please be seated. I must apologize; I’m a bit out of sorts, with all that has happened of late.” Father Andy replied.
“And what happened, if you don’t mind my asking?” Angel asked.
“There’s the James Butler murder, poor boy, he was a good man. And now, poor Nora, my secretary, her son Simon escaped the locked unit last night. Well you know the rest of that tragedy, being the police,” he said lowering his head.
“And just what would be the rest of that tragedy?” Donny asked, not sure of what he meant to convey.
“Why, Simon attacking his mother, Nora of course.”
“I’m afraid we haven’t been informed of that, is she all right?” Donny asked.
“Yes, of course, but she had to shoot her own flesh and blood. Simon tried to kill her, she had no choice.”
“Is Simon dead?” Angel blurted out.
“No, he’s alive; they have him over at the Hot Springs Medical center. I think he’s under police guard.” Father Andy replied.
“Oh, that explains why we weren’t notified, it wasn’t a homicide,” Donny lamented to Angel.
“I’ve been praying for guidance on how best to help Nora in her hour of need,” Father Andy said rubbing his head.
“How did that Simon guy escape? Ain’t this place locked twenty-four/seven?” Angel asked rudely.
“I spoke with our night tech, Leroy Washington. All he knows is that when he checked on him at three am, he was in his room. But on the four am check, he was missing. He searched everywhere and couldn’t locate him. He found the door leading to the back stairs unsecured. I’ll be conducting a more in-depth investigation next week.” Father Andy reported.
As Leroy came on duty, a deep sadness was heavy on his heart. Knowing from his many years how life plays out, he knew if Simon remained in the psych ward, he would either die, or even worse, go insane from the horrible drugs and shock treatments. Sorrow came over him as he stood and watched Simon sleeping in his room.
Leroy watched as Father Andy pulled out of the parking lot below. He faced a serious dilemma, but one he knew to be right in his soul. Entering his room, “Boy, wake up, you got to go.”
Opening my tired eyes, Roy came into view; he was hovering over me. I felt safe when he was near, even though I wasn’t sure why. “Roy, you on duty now?”
“I need you to get dressed,” he said as he handed me a set of clothes.
Even in my tired state of mind, I could sense something wasn’t right. Roy never seemed to rush, or be in any great hurry, yet now, he acted like time was important. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes boy, somethin’s wrong. You stay here, you gonna die here, so get dressed. You gotta’ leave this evil place, you hear what I’m tellin’ you boy?” He said helping me dress.
“Yes sir,” I said dressing faster. I wanted out more then he wanted me out. It’s been hell, locked in this torture chamber.
“Here, put this in your pocket, help you start a new life,” he said handing me three, $100 bills.
“Thanks. I’ll pay you back when I get on my feet again.”
“You don’t owe me boy, I owe you.” Leroy said in a serious tone.
“What for?” I asked, puzzled at his remark.
“Never you mind, now let’s get you outta’ here,” he said leading me to the elevator. Unlocking it, the doors opened. He pushed the first floor button as I got in. Giving me a big bear hug, he then stepped out as the doors began to close. “God bless you Simon, you did a stranger a great kindness.”
I gave a little wave; the doors closed and the elevator descended. As the doors opened, I felt free again. I made my way through the darkness, heading home to get some personal things. I figured I could stay with Mom’s brother, Uncle Scott in Texas for a short time.
I was hoping to make Mom understand how awful that place was, since I hadn’t seen her since the day I arrived. But, even if she didn’t understand, I was heading for Texas. Uncle Scott and I always got on pretty well.
After walking for almost two hours, or so it seemed, I could see home, just up the way. I could make out a faint light that was on in the kitchen.
Changing the subject, Detective Smith now started the questioning toward the real reason for their visit. “Father, who had access to Doctor Lerner’s office?”
“Let me think for a moment…besides her, I have the only other key.”
“We’ll be needing your key to look around her office, if that’s okay with you sir?” Donny asked.
“I’m sorry, you should really ask her permission, since it is her private office,” Father Andy replied.
The detectives glanced at each other. “You’re not aware of her death last night?” Donny asked.
“My God, she’s dead?! What happened?”
“She was shot point-blank in the head, and where were you last night,” Angel asked, stepping up into his face.
Father Andy leaned back. “Surely you don’t think I had anything to do with her death?” he gasped.
Donny reached up and took hold of Angel’s arm, and with a gentle tug, he intervened. “No, we just need to cover all the bases, you understand.”
Angel turned and looked at Donny; he released her arm. She turned back to face Father Andy. “Yeah, nobody’s accusing you of murder, not yet anyway. So, how about that key, Father?”
Flabbergasted, he fumbled around in his desk and produced the key. Turning it over to the detectives, he slumped into his chair and with his elbows on the desk; he lowered his face into his hands, and began to cry softly, as the news of her death struck home.
Donny and Angel made their way to Doctor Lerner’s office. Opening the locked door, they conducted a thorough search, including her desk, but no gun was found.
“So, what now boy genius?” Angel quipped.
“You think Father Andy is capable of murder?” Donny asked in earnest.
“Anybody can kill given the right motivation.”
“Let’s go have a look at that escaped guys shooting,” he said.
“That Simon guy?” she asked with a puzzled look on her face.
“Yes, I want to see the police report; something isn’t right about all this. Everybody is connected to this place in some way, and that’s too much of a coincidence.”
“So, it’s off to the station we go,” Angel sang.