Chapter 2
Jack landed at 12:30 AM. Bill was at the airport waiting for Jack to arrive. Bill gave him a brief hug and welcomed him to the area. "Jack, we have an hour drive. Let's get going so we can get a little bit of sleep."
"No problem. Let's go." Jack stated. "Do you have the file with you? We can use the hour to get me caught up."
"I do. It's in the car."
As Bill drove, they discussed the cases. What was common between all the crimes and what was different. "Bill, there is more than one person doing these, but only one person at a time. I would guess there are two individuals planning the crime, but they are taking turns doing it. They are trying to keep you off balance. See, every other crime is the same. Crimes 1,3,5,7 are almost identical. Also, crimes 2, 4, 6, 8, are identical too. Each crime is too similar not to be planned, but different enough the same person is not performing all of them. These are two smart criminals or very lucky."
"Wow. I didn't notice that. That's why I wanted you here."
"It's just a theory Bill. We will need to look further into these to make sure I'm right."
"I agree, but I think you're right. We will be there in about fifteen minutes."
"Great. I'm ready to catch a few hours of sleep. By the way, where am I staying?"
Pastor Frank and Abagail Hogan's house. They have a small apartment above their garage they opened for you. It is a little small but very comfortable. You will like it there. She runs the local café and already said for you to come there to eat any time you want to. It's the best place in town to eat. I'll come by in the morning to pick you up. Let's say 7?"
"Perfect. I don't need a big room. Please thank them for letting me stay."
"I will, but you can too. You will like them. They are great people."
They arrived at the apartment just after 1:30 AM, both men were exhausted. To their surprise, Abagail and Frank's kitchen light was on. When they heard the car pull up, they stepped outside. Jack was taken back by their smiles.
"Great to have you here, Investigator Thorton." Mentioned Abagail as she stepped up shaking his hand and then giving him a small hug.
"Hello Mrs. Hogan, Pastor Hogan. Thank you for letting me stay in your apartment. That is very kind of you. Oh, please, call me Jack."
"Very well, Jack" Frank stated, "Here is your key to the apartment. Feel free to use anything in there. It isn't huge, but you should be comfortable."
"I'm certain I will be fine. Again, thank you."
"Jack, I'll be by at 7 to pick you up."
"Perfect. I will be waiting for you."
"We'll leave you to get settled. If you need anything, please come by the house."
"Thank you."
Jack walked up the steps and opened the door. The apartment was very nice. It was a little small. The living room and kitchen was all one large room. It didn't have many items, but it had everything that was needed to be comfortable. The one bedroom was beside the bathroom. "This is a very nice apartment." He stated to himself.
Jack unpacked his one suit case and brushed his teeth and washed his face. He laid in the comfortable bed looking at the news on his phone before shutting it off and going to sleep.
Jack's phone went off at 5 AM. When Jack answered his phone, Bill was on the line. "Jack, can you be ready in thirty minutes? We had another burglary and I need to get to the scene."
"I'll take a quick shower and be ready. I'll be waiting for you." Jack hung up his phone and placed it on the bed side table. He took a deep breath and got out of bed before he fell asleep and headed to the shower.
Abagail stepped out of the house just after 5:20 to head to the café. "Oh, my goodness Jack. You startled me!"
"I'm so sorry Ms. Abagail. I did not mean to scare you. I'm waiting on Chief Avery."
"I thought he was coming at 7?"
"He was, but he called at five. There has been another crime and he is coming to pick me up. I was hoping to come and get breakfast this morning. I have heard so much about your cooking.?"
"Oh well, I don't know how good it is, but I do have a few constant customers. My good friend Elizabeth is there every morning."
"It's great to have friends and customers like that. May I help you with anything?"
A thought jumped in Abagail's mind. He would be a great match for Elizabeth. She tried to push that thought out of her mind after their last conversation in the café. "She is a great friend. I think of her as my sister instead of a friend. She is a school teacher here in town and all the kids love her. She is precious."
"She sounds like a great woman.'
"She is. I wouldn't know what to do without her."
"Friends like that are rare. She sounds special."
"She is. I hope you can meet her sometime."
"Maybe." I hope she isn't trying to set me up with her friend. Why do most people have a friend for me to meet?
At 5:30 sharp, Bill pulled in the driveway and noticed Jack standing on the side waiting for him. "Sorry we have to start so early on your first day."
"Don't think anything of it Bill. What do you know?"
Elizabeth's alarm went off for the third time. After hitting it again, she moaned as she sat up in bed. She did not sleep well. She kept dreaming of that silly image she drew the night before. She was grumpy from the lack of sleep and became even more grumpy when she realized what time it was. "It's going to be a long day." She stated under her breath. "If I hurry, I can run by Abagail's and get my scone and coffee to go, but I need to get up, NOW!" She stated out loud trying to convince herself to get up.
After the world's fastest shower, she placed her damp hair in a bun on top of her head and put on a small amount of makeup. She looked in the mirror and thought, Oh goodness, this will just have to do. She grabbed her favorite pair of jeans and a nice, loose fitting dress shirt. "I've got to go." She stated out loud trying to demand herself to leave. She grabbed her purse and backpack that contained all her supplies and left for the café.
"What do you think, Jack?"
Jack stood with a piece of paper in his hands. "I think this is going to be helpful in finding one of the suspects. Here, take a look at this."
Bill took the piece of paper and looked over it. The paper was a slip of paper detailing a new project for school. It described the sketching project and outlined the expected work to be done. It also stated that all supplies would be given to each student. The paper was signed by Ms. Thatcher.
"Do you know this Ms. Thatcher lady?" asked Jack.
"Oh yeah, she is the fifth grade teacher at the school. She is a great teacher and better person. She really loves her kids. I bet she is the one donating all the materials."
Jack smiled at Bill's description. His mother was a teacher before she retired last year. She always bought supplies for her students as well. Even though they didn't have a lot of money, his mom always found a way to make sure her students had everything they needed. "She seems like a nice person. I think we need to talk to her. This is just a block letter, but it's a piece of evidence that we need to investigate."
"I agree. You will like her Jack. She is a good person. This is her first teaching job and has been here for three years, but she is a perfect teacher. The kids love her. She is always great to be around. She is so friendly and upbeat. There is no way she is involved in this, but we do need to follow up on this."
"Let's wrap this up and we will go and talk with her."
"Elizabeth, you are going to be late."
"I know. I know. I didn't sleep much last night and had a hard time getting out of bed this morning."
"You are not a morning person, but I understand today. We didn't get to bed until almost 2 this morning."
"Oh heavens. Why so late?"
"Chief Avery brought that investigator to the apartment this morning after his plane landed."
"Are you sure you should let some strange man stay in your apartment?"
"First, he is a very nice man. Chief Avery knows him very well and told us everything would be fine. We may have only talked to him for a few minutes, but he seems to be a fine gentleman. He is your age too."
"Abagail, don't turn into my mother!" Exclaimed Elizabeth. "I need to get going or Ms. Blakely will have my head."
She turned and ran out of the café heading toward the school. If she was lucky, she will arrive just in time to greet her students.
It wasn't until the end of her first period class that she settled. She barely made it on time, but she was disheveled by lack of sleep, being tired, almost being late, the sketch, and that silly dream. In her second class of the day, she hit her normal stride and was feeling comfortable.
Jack and Bill entered the school office at about 9:30.
Bill stepped ahead of Jack and spoke with the receptionist at the front desk. "Good morning Ms. Florence. I hope you are having a great day today."
"I am Chief Avery. I hope you are doing well."
"I am. How is the case going?"
Bill shook his head. This is the only thing everyone wanted to talk about. It was frustrating on several levels. "It is going. This is Investigator Jack Thorton. He is visiting to help us on the case. He runs a special investigation group out of Oklahoma City who specializes in crimes."
"Well, good morning, Investigator Thorton. It is great to meet you." Ms. Florence said with a slight flirtatious tone to her voice. If I was a little younger young man, I would… her thoughts were interrupted by a young boy who just entered the office.
"Good morning, Henry. How may I help you?"
"Ms. Thatcher sent me to the office to ask you to make a copy of this. I lost mine and she didn't have any extra."
She took his piece of paper to make a copy.
"Ms. Florence, we would like to speak with Ms. Thatcher if it is possible?"
"Sure, Chief Avery. Let me make this copy for Henry and he can take you to her room. Second period is almost over and she has a few minutes before her next class begins."
"Thank you, Ms. Florence."
After handing back the two pieces of paper, they began to leave the office when the principle stepped out of her office and asked to have a word with Chief Avery.
"I'll be right back. Jack, go with the child and I will catch up soon. I know where her room is."
Jack nodded and joined the little boy to walk to Ms. Thatcher's room.
Jack smiled down at the young boy. "How are you doing today, young man."
"I'm good. A little tired and hungry, but I'm doing ok."
Jack though it was a little early for him to be hungry but didn't think too much about it. Then he noticed the appearance of the young boy. He was a little on the skinny side. His clothes while nice, was a little unkempt. Jack has seen this sign before. In previous cases, when he noticed kids like this, they were hungry. He made a mental note to check in on him later.
"Hey, Henry, I have a piece of candy, would you like to have it?"
The little boy jumped quickly to take the candy. "Thank you."
This made Jack certain that the young boy was hungry.
"Henry, here is another piece of candy. Why don't you put it in your pocket for later?"
"Thanks Investigator Thorton." The boy smiled while placing the second piece of candy in his front pocket. "Ms. Thatcher's class is the next door."
Then he noticed the two pieces of paper Henry was carrying. "What do you have there, Henry?"
"Oh, I lost the instructions for our class project starting today and Ms. Thatcher didn't have any extra copies. We are starting a project where we are to go around town to find something to sketch."
Jack thoughts went back to the piece of evidence found at the crime scene earlier this morning. This certainly has his attention now. He didn't think Henry was involved in this, but someone connected to Ms. Thatcher's class was involved.
They walked into Ms. Thatcher's room, and he stopped dead in his tracks. Ms. Thatcher turned to look who walked in the door, and she stopped dead in her tracks.
For Jack, this is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her hair was up in a bun but he knew it was long. She had the most gorgeous smile. He was convinced she could get anything she wanted with her smile and eyes. Oh, those eyes were captivating.
For Elizabeth, her dream instantly came to mind. He was a beautiful man. Tall, handsome, and those dimples, oh my, those dimples she thought. In her dream, the faceless man was wearing blue dress slacks with a white shirt and a red stripped tie. He had brown hair and was a couple inches taller than she was. Her sketch was literally standing in front of her now, and it unnerved her. Not only that, but those dimples are better in person than in her sketch or dream. She was speechless, and she is never speechless.
"Good morning, Ms. Thatcher. I'm Investigator Jack Thorton." Jack finally said after a few moments of silence. He was surprised that he had the ability to speak. He reached his hand out to shake her hand.
She reached for his hand and immediately felt tingles in her toes. Where did that come from? she thought to herself. That never happened before. She still couldn't speak until she saw Henry standing beside this man. Then her teacher instincts kicked in, along with her exhaustion, and the frustration of how she was reacting to meeting this man.
"Why are you with him? I sent him to the office for me to have a copy made."
"Yes, he walked in when Chief Avery and I were asking to see you."
"See me, why would you want to see me. I don't know you." She stated with a little more attitude than she wanted too. She didn't know why this man was frustrating her, but he was.
"Henry was nice enough to escort me to see you." Jack said as he smiled at the young boy.
"You shouldn't have been walking with him." She stated and she went to pick up the papers Henry was holding. She handed one back to him.
"We were just walking from the office. Ms. Florence suggest he walk Chief Avery and I here then the principle, Ms. Blakely, asked to speak with Chief Avery."
"Why do you want to speak with me?" Again, a little more tone in her voice. She didn't understand why, but she was frustrated. Well, she knew why but was not willing to admit that this man intrigued her.
"May I speak with you in the hall, Ms. Thatcher?"
She stared at him. If she wasn't frustrated, she would have thought he was handsome. Well, she did think he was, but she was frustrated with him. He was in her sketch and dream, in her thoughts since she woke up that morning but didn't know why, he was walking with one of her students, and now was wanting to see her about something. She couldn't stop her frustration.
"Fine" she stated.
Jack thought to himself, why is this woman so upset?
If he wasn't so taken back by her attitude, he would have watched her sway her hips walking out of the room, but he couldn't get past her hostility. He didn't know this lady, but she did not have a nice personality.
As the door closed, she glared at him as he stepped away from the door. "Why are you here?" She asked him before he has an opportunity to say anything.
"Chief Avery and I found this piece of paper at the crime scene this morning. It's a piece of paper from your classroom, correct?"
"So. Am I a suspect now?" She wasn't sure why she was so defensive, but she couldn't stop it. She was exhausted and that played a major role in her attitude. She also was taken back by Jack and that silly sketch. That whole thing is just odd.
"No ma'am. You are not a suspect. We just needed to know if this is your paper." He handed the paper to her, and she wouldn't take it. She looked at it in his hands.
"If I say yes, are you going to arrest me?"
"Ma'am, I am not going to arrest you."
"Sure sounds like it." She just glared at him.
"Ms. Thatcher, I do not know what is going on with you, but would you please calm down?"
That was the worst thing to say this morning to Elizabeth. "Calm down! Calm down! Investigator Thornton, you haven't seen me upset yet."
"Lady, what is your problem?" Now Jack's attitude was starting to come through his tone. He did not understand why she was so angry.
"My problem is you. You come here questioning one of my students without adult supervision and blaming me for the crimes."
"Ms. Thatcher, I have done no such thing. I asked if the paper is from your class and I walked with Henry from the office. Do you know he is going hungry?"
That was the final straw in her mind. How dare this man, who doesn't know anyone, say she didn't know what one of her students is going through. She took great pride in knowing her students.
"Investigator Thornton, please just state what you want. I have a class that needs my attention."
Jack was finished with this rude lady. He was getting nowhere with her, and he didn't have the want or desire to talk with her anymore. She may have been physically beautiful, but she was ugly in personality. To Jack, that was an important fact to know.
"Ms. Thatcher, have a good day."
Jack did not give her any time to say anything before turning and walking back to the school office. She stared at him. A little angry with him, but also noticing how he looked in those blue pants. She sighed and mentioned under her breath, "What just happened?"
Jack meet Bill at the office. "Jack, did you speak with Ms. Thatcher?"
"Yes, but she was no help. And she is extremely rude!"
"Ms. Thatcher, rude?"
"Absolutely. She wouldn't even take the paper to look at it. She wouldn't answer any questions. She just blamed me for accusing her of being a suspect and interrogating her student. She is a very rude woman."
"Huh…that doesn't sound like Ms. Thatcher at all."
"Well, unless there are two Ms. Thatchers who work here, we are talking about the same person. And I have no interest in speaking to her again."
Bill couldn't understand what just happened. Elizabeth has always been friendly and nice. This did not sound like her at all.
"Hey Bill, do you have a minute before we go?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Can you point me to the cafeteria? I just need a minute."
Jack walked up to a cafeteria worker and introduced himself to her. "Good morning, ma'am. My name is Investigator Jack Thorton. May I ask if Henry, who is in fifth grade in Ms. Thatcher's class has any money on his account for lunch?"
The older lunch lady smiled at the smiling officer and said, "Sure, Officer Thorton. Please come with me and let's take a look." She walked up to the computer and entered the boy's name. "No sir. He doesn't and he as a negative balance too." She looked at the police officer with a sad expression.
"I would like to put some money on his account if that is ok with you?"
"Sure, Officer Thorton. That would be great. I know he will appreciate it."
"How much would he need to have his account current and how much for the next month of breakfast and lunch?"
"Jack paid the amount and asked the nice lady not to mention anything to the young boy. Please just tell him he has money on his account so he knows he can get some food." Jack asked with a sincere look.
The lunch lady smiled at Jack and nodded her head. "I will take care of everything. Thank you for doing that."
He smiled and walked away after thanking the lady for her help.
"Jack, what happened with Ms. Thatcher?" Bill asked as they opened the car doors.
"To be honest, I am not entirely sure. I walked into her classroom, and she was hateful from the beginning. I guess she was in a bad mood or something. She wouldn't answer any questions and was defensive concerning Henry. It was his paper that we found at the crime scene. He was getting an extra copy. That's why he was in the office."
Bill sat stunned. "That doesn't sound like her."
"Well if I speak to her again it would be too soon."
"How did his paper get there?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe he dropped it on the assignment, or a family member dropped it. Maybe it's all an accident. I couldn't get Ms. Thatcher to calm down enough to ask her anything. She was just so defensive."
Elizabeth walked back into her classroom and was frustrated. She wasn't sure why, but she was. She calmed down enough to finish out the next two classes. She gathered her class to walk them down to the cafeteria. Usually, her teacher's aide took the kids to the cafeteria, but something Investigator Thorton said played on her mind.
"Mrs. Jones, do you have a moment?" Elizabeth asked the older lunch lady.
"Sure, Ms. Thatcher. What can I do for you?"
"I was wanting to ask about one of my students"
Mrs. Jones cut her off. "Is this about Henry."
"Yes, it is. How did you know?"
"You are the second person to ask about him today. What do you want to know?"
"Does he have any credit on his lunch account?"
"That's what the other person wanted to know too. He didn't, but he does now."
Mrs. Jones saw the confused look on Elizabeth's face.
"He had a negative balance, but someone paid that off and put enough money on his account for breakfast and lunch for the month. Could you please let him know that, so he knows to come here to eat?"
"I will. Who was so generous to do that? And how did they know to do that?"
"Well, I was asked not to tell anyone."
"Really?" asked a surprised Elizabeth.
"Yes, but maybe you should know since you are his teacher. It was a gentleman named Investigator Jack Thorton. He came in a couple of hours ago and asked. Once he knew there was a negative balance, he paid that off and put enough money for him to eat breakfast and lunch for the rest of this month."
"That was very kind of him."
"I thought so. He also said he didn't want anyone knowing. So, please don't say anything. It was such a generous gift. I don't want to tarnish it by telling people. But since you are his teacher, you may need to know."
"Thank you for telling me. Please let me know if he needs anything."
"I will. He also said that if Henry needed anything to put it on his lunch account and he would come and settle up at the end of the month."
Now Elizabeth felt bad for how she acted toward him. I shouldn't have been that rude to him. She thought. She really didn't know why she was. It didn't make sense. "I need to talk to Abagail." She mentioned under her breath.