Kenhardt - Secrets 24

Moments later the door opened to reveal a petite elderly woman, white hair and glasses. ‘Mrs Gall?’ Joe asked. ‘Yes?’ ‘I’m Detective Joe O’Reily from Riverton Police Dept. Is there any chance that your husband, Martin, is home?’ ‘What is this regarding?’ ‘Just an old case that I believe your husband could be of some assistance with.’ She nodded her head and turned around. ‘Martin!’ she called. ‘You have a visitor,’ she turned back to Joe and smiled. ‘Would you like to come inside?’ ‘Sure,’ he stepped into their home. ‘I’m Linda.’ ‘Pleasure to meet you.’ Just then, an elderly man came tottering down the hallway with a cane. ‘Well this is a surprise,’ he said once he laid eyes on Joe. ‘What can I do for you, Son?’ ‘He’s from Riverton’ Linda said to her husband. ‘He’s a detective.’ ‘A detective,’ Martin repeated. ‘What’s a detective from Riverton doing at our doorstep?’ Joe smiled. ‘I was actually hoping to speak with you about The Sad Killer. I know you were a reporter at the time.’ Martin’s face changed, a spark of recognition. ‘What do you want to know about that? Musta been, what? Fifty years, now?’ ‘Fifty - one.’ Martin laughed. ‘Please, come in.’ Joe followed them into the living room, settling down on the sofa. He looked around the room, observing his surroundings. Fireplace to the left, coffee table to the right, dozens of picture frames everywhere. ‘Would you like anything to drink?’ Linda asked. ‘Coffee, tea?’ ‘Coffee would be great,’ Joe said. ‘Two milks, one Sugar.’ Linda nodded and headed off into the kitchen. ‘So,’ Martin said, settling into his chair. ‘What would you like to know?’ ‘Well,’ Joe said. ‘I’m intrigued. This guy killed seven men in the summer of 1965, then completely dropped off the grid and was never heard from again. Never caught . What to do you think happened to him? You worked closely on the case as a reporter. Surely you must have some theories.’ ‘Oh, I did,’ Martin grinned proudly. ‘It was one of the first stories I ever worked. Well, BIG stories, anyway. Nothing ever happened here in Kenhardt. I’d report on the usual stuff; Events, Politics, The Women’s March, but when the murders happened - well, that gave us all something to do.’ Linda returned to the living room holding two mugs. She placed them on the table that sat between Martin and Joe. ‘We had never seen anything quite like it before,’ Martin continued. ‘I mean, sure, you hear the stories, watch the News. You see crime happening elsewhere. You hear about murderers. But to have one in your own town? Especially a small place like Kenhardt? It was unheard of.’ ‘That’s particularly why I’m interested,’ Joe said. ‘With such a small population, I’m sure there were suspects. Why was no one ever charged?’’ ‘Nothing solid. I’m sure you’ve heard by now that there were a few arrests. They thought they had the guy at one point, but didn’t have enough sufficient evidence to charge him.’ ‘Did you ever have any suspects in mind?’ Martin laughed again. ‘I was sure it was Phoenix Ray. He was one of the first ones arrested on suspicion. I think he was dating the ex-wife of one of the victims. They thought the wife of one of the victims. They thought the wife hired Phoenix to kill them, or something along those lines. The guy seemed guilty. I always suspected it might have been him,’ ‘But why kill the other six? If it was truly the wife and him? Doesn’t make sense.’ ‘I know,’ Martin said. ‘I also know that most serial murders are committed by strangers. The police shouldn’t have been looking at anyone close to the victims. It must have been arbitrary.’ ‘Can you tell me anything about the victims? You were there at the time; what were they like, the men?’ ‘I didn’t know any of them personally,’ Martin said. ‘OF course I’d heard of them all, seen them around a few times. Kenhardt is small, remember, so everyone knows everyone somehow. Anyway, the first victim, Mark Irving… I remember him clearly. He was a few years older than I was - a real Casanova. Young, Charming, Kenhardt’s bachelor. Ask Linda, all the women adored him.’ Linda nodded in agreement. ‘He was a ladies man. Good guy, nice looking. We were all so shocked when he turned up dead. Murdered.’ ‘And you must remembered,’ Martin said. ‘We’d never really seen a murder in Kenhardt before. So when Mark turned up dead, the town turned to pandemonium. The police believed it was a robbery gone wrong. But the murder… it was overkill if you ask me.’ ‘Seven stab wounds to the chest,’ Joe relayed. ‘Exactly, A burglary? NO, they would have just shot him or stabbed him once, taken his things and left. So anyhow, the police believed it to be an isolated incident. Until three weeks or so later, the next body turns up.’ ‘Mike Darby.’ ‘Yes, him.’ ‘What did you know about Mike?’ Martin took in a deep breath. ‘Well, not much. He was closer to my age. I believe. I was twenty - eight at the time. He was a good guy, born and bred in Kenhardt. I think he may have had a girlfriend or fiancé at the time. Again, nice fella. No one could figure out what was happening to these men.’ ‘It was peculiar,’ Linda said. ‘As though all of these men were being targeted for some reason.’ ‘Did any of the victims know each other?’ Joe asked. ‘Perhaps they all attended the same clubs or went to the same bar to hangout?’ ‘There was no correlation,’ Martin said. ‘That was the strangest bit. Arbitrary and individualistic.’ ‘Perhaps they were into drugs,’ Joe suggested. ‘Or Gambling, even. Got into some trouble, owed someone money. And when they couldn’t pay their debts, someone came after them?’ ‘Maybe. But if that was the case, nothing else ever came from it.’ ‘Do you know anyone else who was involved in the investigation that I should talk with?’ Joe asked. ‘Hmmm, only other person I would suggest is Constable Francis. He was in charge of the investigation back then. But he must be in his late eighties by now. I Haven’t heard from him in years.’ ‘How can I find him?’ ‘You could always ask the men down at the station. John Richard will help you with that.’ Martin said. ‘He’s a good man, John.’ ‘Yes, I’ve had the pleasure of working with him these past few days.’ ‘You’re here for those girls, aren’t you?’ Linda asked. Joe nodded. ‘Everyone’s saying it was suicide.’ Linda added. ‘See, that’s called misinformation,’ Joe said. ‘Whenever there’s a death, it’s crucial that no conclusions are drawn from lack of evidence. Everyone in this town has been saying its suicide. That is undetermined.’ ‘Right,’ said Martin, looking Joe over. ‘We could have another murderer on our hands.’ It was Saturday night. Joe should have been on his way home to Jordan by now, but he couldn’t seem to pull himself away from Kenhardt. He had spoken to the Chief and was able to track down Gus Francis, the constable in charge of The Sad Killer investigation back in 1965. IF anyone was going to be able to help Joe solve this, it was Francis…..