Chapter Three

Anthony nodded, the asked "So what are they uploading now?"

She clicked on the bottom of the screen and pulled up photos of Jessica, and Seth at the restaurant that evening. There were even a few wide shots that had Anthony in the background. Other shots she couldn't quite make out, and then there were shots of a young man on the bed, his eyes were wide, and afraid. His hands were bound in the next one, and the following shots showed a close up of his throat being cut. Taylor closed the lid of the laptop and covered her eyes with her hands. "Oh God..." she gasped.

Anthony put his arms around her and hugged her gently. "He isn't in pain anymore... the Dr. said that he died rather quickly...I'm so sorry you had to see that..." He heard a soft whine from Sydney. Anthony reached down and stroked Sydney's ear. "Its ok, Every thing will be ok..." he murmured.

Morning came with a drenching rain and a chilling fog that curled about the city. Anthony took the steps to the hotel's third floor two at a time. The Mall security had arrived to discover that the equipment was still up and running, but no one was in the lab itself. There was no indication of a break in- The police were called in to dust for fingerprints. The parent company wanted to play it very close to the vest until the police let them know otherwise.

Jessica woke gently, and looking to the main area of the room. She saw Diana crossing the room to answer the door. Anthony entered the room with a broad grin. "We've had a break in the case. We're waiting on surveillance tapes, and an arrest should be forthcoming soon."

Jess sat up in the bed. "For which murder?"

Anthony looked at her "Well, for both of them. The mater'd and the waiter were killed by the blackmailer, which we know to be Martin Goodfellow..."

Jessica was shocked "Martins a blackmailer? What blackmail? Who was the subject of the blackmail?"

Anthony felt a bit uncomfortable. "Well, we've evidence that indicates that you were the next person, and we have intercepted photos that we know were retouched that are, sensitive in nature." Jess shook her head. "What makes you think it is Martin? He is a wonderful photographer, and has a flourishing business... Sondra! in all of the turmoil, we forgot to check up on Sondra! is she all right? "

Anthony shook his head. " We don't know. She went to the hotel after dinner, then left the hotel with her bags, and hasn't been seen since. Martin hasn't returned to the room, nor has been seen by any of those who have been following him since he left the restaurant. Some photos were discovered in your room that we know were to be used by the blackmailer. We discovered the location where the photos were reproduced, and we have a direct link to the murder...why? unless you have other information?"

Jessica leaned back on her pillow and pulled the covers up a bit

."Just that its possible that the waiter saw the murder of the mater'd and was killed to be silenced- by someone who wants the irony of a murder to happen in a murder mystery writers room..." Jess hung her head. "I tend to stumble over so much of this, people have come to think I could be responsible for the deaths...How - why do you feel Martin is a blackmailer?"

Anthony shifted on the bed. "One of his "subjects" came forward and gave evidence that he had to pay blackmail to Martin, and that he knew that you were the intended target."

Jessica arched her eyebrows "So, it wasn't by chance that you made contact with Sondra in the restaurant?"

He nodded "Oh, that was 100 chance, though I suspect that she did something just to use an excuse to get out of there. She was terrified."

Jess nodded. "Something was upsetting her .But it isn't like her to just run away like that."

Anthony continued. "We learned about the hotel and the tickets, and made arrangements to have you and Seth followed,.. Martin Goodfellow has blackmailed many people. We discovered his files last night, and there are photos from the murder as well in those files." Anthony's cell phone rang urgently. He answered it curious." Hello?"

Even Jess could hear the ladies voice at the other end -quite upset though she couldn't quite make out the words.

Anthony listened. Jess saw the confidence on his turn into sadness. "I'll be there shortly..."Twenty minutes later at F' Stop Photo he saw Taylor speaking with inspector Taggart. She had Sydney tucked in her arms. She told Anthony "Sydney found him in the storage area...He's alive...So who is this bastard?" Anthony escorted Taylor over to the side of the lab while the paramedics took Greg Simmon's out on the stretcher. He had been locked in the storage area were they kept the paper and the chemicals. It was an airtight area that had humidity control. There were only smeared finger prints on the handle, nothing definite. Taylor had informed the paramedic to conceder the young man under arrest, and that they would be hearing from the company's lawyers as to what was to be done with him. Beyond short term o2 depravation ,the young man was unhurt. Given enough time, yes, he would have passed out completely and suffocated, but he wasn't in any real danger until that time. Taylor closed the gate and locked up the store front. She turned to Anthony.

"Look, whoever dropped off the photos, the film, and the generic bag is still here...That in itself doesn't make any sense if they were going to take the time to lock him up before fleeing."

"Your thinking, the person left them, and will be back? Then how did he get in the storage area?"

She shrugged. "Easy, crawl in and pull the door closed behind you. except, he didn't know there isn't a latch on the inside to open it... It suggests allot of things. and I'm not to comfortable any of them... He can't say that he was on the schedule last night and stayed over, because he is off this weekend as a four day week end..."

: "Well, that means there is someone coming in to open the store. Which is - when?" "In an hour the mall opens to the walkers, and we open in two for sales... Your thinking the person will come back for the film? I'm not inclined to let my people come in contact with a murderer. AND your people have dust everywhere. This entire lab has to be cleaned from top to bottom before we can open it up to any one."

Anthony looked at the officers that were still spraying the fine powder for dusting about. "It will take the boys about a half hour to finish here, any where we can get a cup of whatever you gave me last night?"

She nodded and lead him back to the office. There was a coffee pot with water still hot in it and two mugs. One she knew was Greg's, the other they kept on hand for company.

"You may want to dust that one for prints..." she said pointing to the mug. She turned to Anthony. "Lets walk up to the mall office. We need to speak with the security office, and I know they have a pot of something brewing."

Jessica and her things were moved to another room and for the first time had a moment to be alone. Seth had let her know about the photos, and she felt a flush over her at the thought of them. His voice had been tender, and apologetic, and the look in his eyes showed that if there had been any thoughts of it before... well, the thoughts were in the open for all to see. Not that that's what she had wanted, but there were moments that she missed with her husband. She suspected Seth had the same feelings about his wife Ruth as well. A flashing light on her telephone interrupted her thoughts. She picked it up and pushed the buttons to retrieve the message.

To her surprise it was Sondra. Her voice was ragged on the phone speakers "Jess, I'm sorry. I can't stop him from hurting you, but I can stop him from hurting the people he had before. I really like having you as a friend, and neighbor. I can't go back, there's nothing for me to go back too .If I stayed with Martin any longer, it would be the death of me..."(a catch of a sob) " He - none of my family would believe me when I told them about the beatings he gave me. And his mother said "If I was the proper wife, he wouldn't have to correct me..." That's not even a good excuse; I was the proper, perfect wife for my husband. We had the perfect home, and (another sob, her voice becoming ragged) I just can't take it any more... I couldn't leave and not tell someone, not and have Martin just sit back and play wounded husband... Don't sign any thing from him Jess, don't be like the others, you won't ever stop paying for it..." The call ended with another sob, and then a click. There was a hum, and then an operators recorded voice said "Charges 3.75 for 2minuteswill be billed to your account at Sky View Hotel at 4:30 am..."

Jess set the receiver down and grabbed her coat and purse. She ran to the door that adjoined their two rooms and knocked on it. He opened it up and looked at her. He wore a faint blush still, and almost couldn't make eye contact. "Where is Donald and Diana?" she asked softly. He pointed with his thumb at the room that connected to his.

He saw the look in her eyes and stepped into her room. "Something tells me you don't want to involve them just yet..."

She nodded "I know where Sondra is, and we had better get to her soon... I just hope that the murderer didn't have the same thought that I did!"

Seth grabbed his coat and ducked through Jesses room to the hall outside. They strode down the hall to the stairs and slipped down them to the lobby. Seth hailed a cab for them and in a moment they were on their way to the Sky View. Donald and Diana didn't discover till later that they were gone, and only Adam at the front desk mentioned that he had seen them get a cab earlier. As they wondered why they would leave, and ask if they had any incoming calls, Adam shook his head, and said only the one message that had come in about4:30 that morning, and they had forwarded to her new room number.

Seth held Jessica's hand during the drive to the hotel. The message was several hours old and Jess had only said that if they didn't act now, Sondra may move on. His watch said 8:45 as the cab pulled into the parking lot. Seth gave the cabbie his fair, and let him know they would be having a return fair shortly. It took a moment to get the room number from the desk clerk.

Sondra heard the knock, and looked through the peephole. She saw Jess, and Seth, both looking very concerned for her. Reluctantly she opened the door and let them in. Her eyes were red from crying and with her arms bare. Seth could see the deep angry bruises on her upper arms and showing they continued to her chest.

He said to her, almost as a scolding parent would ."Sondra, all this time you were saying you were clumsy, and it was from Martin?"

She nodded, then sat on her bed and began to cry again. Jessica sat beside her and gathered her into her arms. "I had to... Martin- no one would believe me - he is such a gentle man with every one else, and I kept trying to be what he wanted me to be... and I thought if I just got away from him I would be alright, but it woke me last night, and I had to warn you..."

Seth said gently. "He won't ever hurt you again. Child, if you would have told me, I would have made sure that it stopped and helped you get protection from him, and get him out of your life...right then and there!"

Sondra looked at him. "And then what? Where would I have gone? A woman's shelter? How long would that have lasted with him looking for me and him wanting to- "Teach me to mind him?" Jess saw the utter hopelessness in her eyes. Sondra continued. "So many times people say, "Just leave." Its not ever that simple. I had to learn for myself that It wasn't anything that I was doing, or not doing that was the cause, and then its passed as, he is "sick." It's not a sickness, it's, it's- his habit. Controlling people and things. Controlling me. Even if it meant hurting me. It's why I had to leave him..."

Jessica saw the dress from the evening before carefully washed and near dry. The clerk at the desk had informed Seth that she had arrived early in the evening, and stayed in her room Jess asked her quietly "Is that why you set your home on fire to prevent him from continuing to blackmail people?"

Sondra, startled looked at Jess, guilt written on her face. "How- what do you mean?" she gasped.

"Sondra, your home in Cabot cove was destroyed in a fire, that they suspect was arson. You didn't know that a private investigator was watching you place the call to your home, and according to the fire marshal, sent the signal to the device that started the fire..."

"From a phone call? That's impossible!" Sondra shook her head in denial.

Seth, leaned against the wall, and waited. He didn't know of any fire marshal report, but, Jess had her knack of uncovering the truth. "The signal was activated by the answering machine. I know mine, if I forget to turn it on, and someone calls, will automatically pick up after several rings. You used this feature, didn't you? Sondra, your husband didn't keep his negatives at the house. he kept them on the internet where he could access them at anyplace and have as many copies as he needed."

Sondra crumpled into a ball and began to cry softly, hugging herself with her arms. " I won't ever be free of him... I won't- not till the day that I die and even then I won't!

"Yes, you will Sondra...Every thing will work out.." Said Seth softly. He went to her, took her hand, and said "Right now, you have to come with us. Don't worry, You'll be safe from Martin... and we will get this all straightened up."

I can't go back... I can't..."

Seth drew her up to her feet. "You won't have to. You will only go forward...Come along M'dear.."

Anthony waited in the back room of the F' Stop Photo store watching the split video screen. Half of it was the people coming and going out of the store. The other half were the tapes from the security office of the after hour people who came and went into the store. Taylor had let her company CEP know, and was given the police photographer to work as the counter help in the store. A blanket warrant to search the web storage site was granted, and more blackmail photos were uncovered under the different names of the people he had been blackmailing.

The telephone rang in the office softly .Taylor answered it then handed it to Anthony. She gathered Sydney from the back desk before she had a chance to dip her muzzle into Anthony's drink, then went out with her to the front counter placing Sydney on a corner of the counter and telling her to stay. A rush of people had entered into the store, and Raphael was becoming overwhelmed with requests to have the one-hour process for the film. It was a crazy rush to fill the orders, get them in order and ready for processing.

Taylor didn't notice one of the customers standing off to the side watching every thing going on until Sydney gave a low growl in her throat. The growl was low, and deep enough that the sensitive mike that was hidden near the register could pick it up and alert Anthony that there was something amiss. Sydney stayed put on the corner of the counter, and just looked at the man, growling. When Taylor looked at him, she knew him to be Martin Goodfellow.

He looked tired, and as if he had spent the night on a park bench. He stepped up to the other side of the counter, away from Sydney and handed Raphael his claim check for his photos. He had to dig in his pocket for his wallet, and placed his camera on the counter in the process. Taylor glanced at the camera, and saw a dark fingerprint in brown on the side of the camera. She drew in her breath sharply.

Martin saw her look at the camera, his expression froze on his face . "What are you looking at?" he snapped at her a half second before Sydney launched herself snarling at Martins throat. He staggered back and fell to the floor. From his pockets fell several more rolls of film... He found himself being flipped over and handcuffed as his face pressed into the cold tile floor before being hoisted to his feet in an undignified manor and the words of his rights ringing in his ears.

Martin sat on the stiff, straight-backed chair in the interrogation room of the police station. He had thought about all the ways that he could make the owner of the dog pay for the "Attack" by the dog but the gun falling out of his pocket didn't help matters for him. Nor did the fact that the film he had on him were the negative from his last blackmail job. He couldn't figure how they were on to him, but the look that chick gave his camera told him that there was some far more serious things going down than black mail. He wondered to himself if his "loving wife" had decided to tell the world what a monster he was, not that she could prove anything, None of anything that they had on him could be proved any way

Anthony sat in the observation room watching Martin sit coolly at the table . Inspector Taggart came in with a sheet of paper, a grim smile of satisfaction on his face. "There was blood on the inside of the camera as well, and it matches the Dna. of the mater'd of the restaurant.

" Has he said anything? We have him on that one at least. The fingerprint on the outside doesn't match ether of the victims, or Martin... Which begs the question who killed the waiter? Who put us on to this character anyway?"

Taggart shrugged. "One of his former "clients." called it in as an anonymous tip. We only had word that he was blackmailing people. Now we do have the evidence

Anthony shook his head. "No, we only have photos of people that haven't come forward, and this last one refused to sign the release form. Yes, we have the blood in the camera, but we don't know how it got in there, and we can't prove that he did anything wrong..."

Taggart studied him. "You should be angry, but you can't be ,because of how your heart feels for her at this moment...am I right? That doesn't help you solve this case, does it?... And her dog likes you too, That's a definite sign this is for keeps.

Anthony turned in his chair and slowly stood up. "You, old man, are a hopeless romantic." Anthony wore a schooled smile, knowing that his old friend was quite right. There was a knock on the door and then it opened before Jessica entered. Seth was behind her looking very grim.

Behind them ,was Donald who said to Anthony. "Mrs. Fletcher found Sondra Goodfellow. She's in protective custody, and receiving medical treatment for physical abuse... Looks like Martin isn't the sweet guy after all..."

Jessica looked at Donald. "A murderer seldom wears a sign saying "I murder people"... But I have a feeling, I know who the other murderer is..."

Seth looked at Martin. "Um, Jessie dear, there is your murderer, right there..."