EIGHTEEN

 

 

September 18th, 2016

Las Vegas, Nevada

 

THEY HAD ONE more interview to do. Annie and her computer people had discovered that old and close friends of Paul and Jennifer’s parents were still alive and living in a retirement apartment just off the Strip. Ray and Lorraine Walter.

Lott had called them and asked to talk about the Vaughan family if they had time and the Walters had both agreed.

The retirement apartment complex turned out to be very nice, with large expanses of green lawn and palm trees surrounding what looked like small two-bedroom cottages. The complex had a large function space near a pool and the Walters had wanted to meet there. They were going to watch their two grandkids swim in the pool.

Lott was impressed by the health that radiated from the Walters. Both were clearly in shape and tanned. Lorraine was short, slim, and still seemed to have freckles on her face. She wore a blue sundress and a large blue hat.

Ray stood straight and tall and was about Lott’s height, with an easy smile and an attitude that he had survived and from here on out everything was just funny.

They both walked and acted much younger than their mid-seventy years. Lott decided in ten years he wanted to be exactly like them. And he never knew, maybe either Julia’s daughter or Annie might end up giving them grandkids.

But to be in that kind of shape in ten years, he was going to need to start joining Julia at the gym regularly. Might be easy once they started living together.

After introductions to the Walters and their eight- and ten-year-old grandkids who headed for the pool at top speed, they all settled around a metal pool table tucked back in the shade beside the brick pool building. The late morning was still cool enough to make the table comfortable and there was just enough of a breeze to keep the air moving around them.

“So what can we do for you, detectives?” Lorraine asked, pulling off her hat and dropping it beside her chair.

“We’re looking for any information we can about the Vaughan family,” Julia said.

“Messed up,” Ray said, shaking his head.

That surprised Lott and clearly Julia had been surprised at that answer as well.

Lorraine laughed and waved off her husband’s comment. “They just had some different beliefs than were completely common.”

“Walking around in the nude all the time in their backyard is messed up,” Ray said. “And letting their kids do it as well after they hit puberty. Messed up.”

Lorraine laughed. “They believed in nudity and free love or some such nonsense. We lived next door to them. We could see their backyard from our upstairs windows and we weren’t the only ones in the neighborhood who could.”

“We saw things we didn’t want to see,” Ray said, shaking his head in clear disgust.

“Can you mention one or two?” Julia asked. “We really are trying to get a picture of the entire family.”

Lorraine glanced at Ray and he shook his head.

“Might as well tell them. Dead can’t hurt us now,” Ray said.

Lorraine shook her head and Lott could tell she wasn’t going to say anything.

Ray, clearly disgusted still after all the years, was far from shutting up.

“Paul and his sister used to have sex out on that patio,” Ray said. “When I told their parents, they both laughed and said they knew. That it was natural.”

Lott and Julia both sat back. Lott was feeling stunned.

“Messed up,” Ray said, shaking his head.

Lorraine waved her husband’s comments away. “Why are you interested? Did Paul do something?”

“Paul supposedly killed himself twenty years ago,” Julia said. “His sister cleaned up his things. We just talked with her.”

Lorraine just looked puzzled and Ray laughed.

“Why was that funny?” Lott asked, feeling more confused than he had in a long time.

“Because both parents and Jennifer were killed in a car wreck over thirty years ago,” Lorraine said. “They were coming back from some nudist free-love thing in San Francisco.”

“Can you imagine they invited us to go along?” Ray asked, then laughed again. “Damn lucky we didn’t swing that way or we might have been in that car.”

Lott looked at Julia and she was blinking.

Oh, shit, they had just played right into Paul’s hands.

Lott stood and Julia followed almost instantly. He reached out and shook Lorraine’s hand. Then Ray’s hand.

“Thank you,” Lott said. “This information will really help us.”

“After it’s all over,” Ray said, “mind coming back and filling us in on just what the hell is going on?”

Julia laughed. “We will and that’s a promise.”

At that they both almost ran for the car.

On the way back out to the subdivision where they had met Jennifer, Julia filled in Annie on what they had just discovered.

“He’s good,” Annie said. “He covered her death in a really amazing way. I’ll find out how.”

By the time they got back to the expensive house in the subdivision, the For Sale sign was back up and the realtor lock-box was back on the door.

Whoever that Jennifer was had put on a show for them using an empty house. No wonder the house looked staged and clean and perfect. It was staged to sell.

As they sat in front of the house staring at the sign, Annie called.

“The house Jennifer gave you the address to is owned by a bank and is for sale.”

“We know,” Lott said. “We’re sitting in front of it right now.”

Beside him Julia shook her head. “We were played.”

“And Jennifer wasn’t Jennifer,” Lott said. “I don’t know who that was, but I think we now know why he takes twenty-two year old girls.”

“Why?” Annie asked.

“He’s turning them into his sister and having sex with them.”

Annie just sort of gasped softly.

“Ask her to look up two dates,” Julia said. “Jennifer’s birthday and the date of the wreck.”

Lott relayed that request to Annie and she said holdon.

After a moment she came back. “You are right. Jennifer was born on the 3rd of December. The wreck was on the 27th of February, almost three months later.”

Lott nodded to himself, completely numb. “So we have until the 27th of November to find Mary May.”

“If we haven’t already spooked him,” Julia said.

Lott didn’t want to think about that.