Kenhardt - Secrets 23

Bentley Carter - what a name. The guy was 5 years older than Haddie, In his 2nd year at UWC. Once the reception was finished, Joe made his way over to the Carter residence. A woman, presumably the mother, answered the door. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked, shielding herself behind the door. ‘Mrs Carter?’ ‘Yes?’ ‘I’m Detective O’Reily with the Riverton Police Dept. Is your son, Bentley, home?’ The woman stared at him a moment. ‘What is this regarding?’ ‘The deaths of the three St.Paul’s girls.’ ‘Why would you need to talk to Bentley about that?’ ‘Mom, It’s alright,’ A young guy, who Joe presumed could only be Bentley, emerged from behind his mother. ‘Stay inside, it’s fine,’ Bentley said to her. His mother was hesitant. Mother - bear mode, once again, Joe thought. Finally, she left her post at the door and disappeared down the hallway. Bentley came onto the front porch, closing the door behind him. ‘Detective O’Reily,’ Joe said, sticking out his hand. ‘Bentley,’ the boy met his grasp and gave him a firm shake. He was a good looking kid. Tall, muscular build, light brown hair, dark eyes. Joe studied him, noting that this was the mystery - man he’d been searching for. If what Kelsey Barnes told him was true, Bentley Carter had been secretly seeing Haddie. And that meant this was most likely the father of her baby. ‘It’s been brought to my attention that you were acquainted with one of the girls - Haddie Taylor.’ Bentley didn’t respond right away. ‘Alright.’ ‘What can you tell me about your relationship with her?’ ‘We went to the same school. I saw her around a few times before going to Uni, but I didn’t know her too well,” Joe eyed him. ‘You don’t need to lie, Mr. Carter. I’m aware of your secret relationship.’ Bentley tried to hide his unease, but Joe could see it. ‘Let’s just make things easier for the both of us,’ Joe continued. ‘What can you tell me about Haddie?’ Bentley debated answering, then finally gave in. ‘It wasn’t anything serious. We kind of started seeing each other occasionally.’ ‘You knew about Haddie and Oliver Harris?’ ‘Didn’t everyone?’ ‘Why were you interested in a girl like Haddie?’ Bentley shrugged. ‘She’s interesting. Gorgeous. We had fun together. She said she was getting tired of being with Ollie. Said she wanted something new. Something exhilarating, were the exact words she used.’ ‘When did your relationship begin?’ He thought about this for a moment. ‘It must have been at the end of December. Around New Year’s.’ ‘And you were still seeing each other up until Tuesday?’ ‘When she died? No, she broke things off with me a couple weeks ago.’ ‘Did she?’ Joe said. ‘Any particular reason?’ Bentley shook his head. ‘didn’t say. She ended things just as quickly as they started,’ he paused for a moment. ‘To be honest, I thought I would be the one to end things between us when it came time. I didn’t think I’d actually fall for her. And then she just goes and dumps me.’ ‘To be with Oliver?’ ‘Who knows.’ ‘Do you know if she was seeing anyone else?’ He looked appalled. ‘You mean other than me and Oliver? Yeah, no.’ ‘During the last few months, does anything in particular stand out that would cause a drastic change in Haddie’s life? Anything that might have happened that affected her negatively? Was she sad? Depressed?’ ‘You’re asking if I think she killed herself?’ ‘Do you?’ He shook his head again. ‘I don’t know what to tell you. I show up in town on Tuesday only to find out that Haddie and her two friends are dead. Everyone was saying they jumped. I don’t know why they would do that. Especially Haddie. She wasn’t like that at all. She was happy. Genuinely happy. Maybe confused sometimes, but she would never kill herself.’ ‘So what do you think happened?’ ‘How would I know?’ he paused for a moment. ‘Did someone do this? Did somebody kill them?’ Joe thought about how to answer this question. ‘It’s possibility. But if they were pushed or talked off the edge - threatened in some way - I need to know everything about them to understand the full story. Who they interacted with, any issues that they had. Was someone after them? Were they in trouble? Did they know something they shouldn’t have?’ ‘Haddie never mentioned anything. She was always up to something. But nothing too serious. Or dangerous.’ ‘What do you mean, up to something?’ ‘You know, just being Haddie. She was always pushing people’s buttons, testing them. I don’t know if she fucked with the wrong people, or got herself into something deep.’ ‘She never mentioned anyone who was out to get her? Anyone who could have held a grudge against her or the girls?’ He shook his head again. ‘Have you talked to her friends? Gabby and them?’ ‘A bit, yeah. No luck there. No one can tell me anything useful. And if they do know something, they’re not telling me.’ Bentley nodded. ‘Try talking to Oliver. He probably knows more than I do.’ ‘I’ve spoken to him. He said Haddie was distant the last few months. He suspected something was off.’ Bentley took in another breath. ‘I don’t know what to tell you. Haddie was everything. And now she’s nothing. I’m still trying to grasp that concept, understand how that can be.’ ‘Call me if you think of anything.’ Joe handed Bentley his card. Bentley took it and nodded. ‘Will do.’ Joe drove back to the Kenhardt station and headed directly for John Richard’s office. John wasn’t in. Right - it was Saturday. People would be at home, trying to rest or take a break from this case. He asked the secretary if he could have access to the evidence room. She happily obliged and let him in. Joe found the 1965 box and took it to the spare office near the front of the station. He began unloading the files, skimming through the paperwork that he and John had reviewed the night before. It was Saturday, he reasoned with himself. The funeral had just finished. He was just taking a little break, that’s all. He would return to the investigation and interviews tomorrow. After all, he felt as though he was at a stand-still, going in circles. Nobody could tell him anything useful, and when they did have something new, or a name, like Bentley Carter, it didn’t prove useful anyways. What were those girls hiding? What were they doing on the roof that day? He would need to reconvene tomorrow. Right now he had other things on his mind. And that was The Sad Killer. Joe knew he shouldn’t be looking into this. He was called to Kenhardt to solve the triple deaths, not a case from fifty years ago. But there was something so alluring about it. Something that was tempting him to peek into those files and learn more. If he was going to find out who The Sad Killer was, he would need to immerse himself into that time period, know the victims, think like the unsub. And in order to do that, he needed to do exactly what he was doing now with the triple deaths at St. Paul’s. He would need to speak with any surviving friends and family members of the victims. Reporters, investigators, locals - anyone he could find, he would speak with. After all, this was Kenhardt. Most people who lived here in 1965 were still here, settled down for retirement and taking it easy. Joe found multiple newspaper clippings from the summer of 1965, new information surfacing each time a body was found. The writer was the same person for each story: Martin Gall. With a quick Google search, Joe found an M and L Gall at 26 Drystel Street. They were still here in Kenhardt. He placed the files back into the box, stuck it in evidence, and headed out. It was almost four O’clock when he reached the Gall’s home. It was a small, cottage looking house. Green grass, white picket fence out front. The garden was beginning to bloom for spring, dozens of Daisies and Marigold’s sprouting out from the ground. Joe walked up the narrow pathway and knocked twice on the door…..