Walk the Wire

Chapter 35

Milton Ames and Peter Gunther were waiting for them in the dining hall. They were dressed the same as before, but each man seemed paler, with Ames looking feeble and disoriented.

He mumbled, “When can we have Pammie’s remains? We have to bury her properly.”

“I’ll let you know as soon as possible, Milton,” said Kelly in a gentle tone. “It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“Do they... did they have to, you know?”

“They had to perform an autopsy, yes,” said Jamison quietly. “It’s legally required under the circumstances.”

“I... I guess so. Susan keeps asking. She... we... want to...”

Kelly said, “We’re doing all we can, please believe that.”

“I do, Joe. Thank you.”

Decker said, “I know you didn’t keep a file on Cramer’s documents, but after she gave you the information about her undergraduate degree, did you check with Amherst to see if she actually went there?”

Ames said firmly, “No, we didn’t. Why would she lie about that?”

Gunther chimed in, “And why would someone come all the way out here with a made-up story? We can’t pay a lot. What would be her motive to lie to us about her past? I just don’t see it.”

“Well, if she wanted to disappear but needed a job to support herself?” said Jamison. “That would be one motive.”

Gunther’s expression showed clearly that he did not believe this to be a plausible explanation.

Jamison said, “Did she give you references from past places of work that you could check out? She’d been out of school for about eight years. She had to have held other jobs in the meantime.”

Gunther and Ames exchanged a glance.

Decker said, “During job interviews, you always ask about a potential hire’s experience. You check references.”

Gunther placed his hands together and said quietly, “We needed a teacher and... and she was the only one to apply for the job. It’s not like we could be choosy.”

“Teaching is a lot of work,” added Ames. “And a person could come here and make twice what we were offering just to be a cashier at a truck stop. So when she applied for the position we were thrilled.”

“In fact, I imagine you were desperate for someone?” said Jamison.

“Yes.”

“How’d she find out you needed a teacher in the first place?” asked Decker.

Gunther answered. “We placed an ad online and also in the local paper. She apparently saw it and came in. She interviewed very well. She brought model lesson plans with her, seemed very well prepared to teach our children, and appeared happy and well-adjusted. And she had done a very good job for the time that she was here. Susan told you that herself, if you recall.”

Ames said, “But why all these questions about Irene’s past? How is that relevant to what happened to her? She was a prostitute. Don’t a lot of them have bad things happen to them? I mean, it’s just the nature of the beast, isn’t it?”

“It can be, yes,” said Jamison. “But we have to follow up other angles as well.”

“We’re just trying to trace her past. It might have an impact on what happened to her,” explained Kelly. “At least we can’t discount that yet.”

“Meaning it might be someone from her past who killed her?”

“Could be.”

Gunther nodded. “Well, that is a little comforting. At least it might not be anyone from London. I would hate to think that we might have a brutal killer running around here.”

“You’d be surprised how many places have brutal killers running around,” said Decker, drawing a sharp look from Gunther.

Ames said, “I know that you have to look into what happened to Irene, but do you have any clue as to who killed my daughter?”

Decker looked at Ames. “As Detective Kelly said, we’re working hard on it. Both these cases are a priority for us.”

“Do you think they might be connected?” asked Gunther.

“How so?” asked Kelly.

“Well, both women had ties to this place. Both were killed when they were off our property. Do you think it might be someone who had a grudge against our lifestyle and beliefs? These things do happen. Religious persecution.”

“Yes they do,” said Jamison. “And we will look at that angle, although Cramer was not a member of the Colony.”

“Someone might have held it against her that she taught here or had a mistaken belief that she was a member somehow.”

“Again, we will look into that,” said Jamison, glancing at Decker.

Kelly added, “Do you have any idea where Pamela might have been living in London?”

“She never told me,” said Ames. He paused and his expression grew uncomfortable.

Jamison was quick to pick up on this and said, “Is there something on your mind?”

“The way she was dressed when she was found? I saw the clothing. I... she never had clothing like that when she lived here. I saw how she dressed at the truck stop but this... this was far more... What was going on there? I would like to know. And Susan asked me about it, too. She was deeply worried.”

Kelly said, “She might have just been, you know, trying out a new style.”

Ames said, “You... you don’t think she was? I mean... s-sex? With Hal Parker? She wouldn’t have done that because she found him... attractive. He was older than we were!” He looked down. “But she might have...” He stopped and shook his head. “No, I cannot believe something like that about my daughter. She would not have done that. Never.”

Decker said, “The postmortem showed that they didn’t have sex, if that makes you feel better.”

Ames put his head in his hands, moaned, and looked like he might retch right there on the flowery tablecloth.

Decker reached out and put his hand on Ames’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ames. I just wanted you to know that whatever she went there for, that particular act didn’t happen with Hal Parker, okay? Just put that right out of your mind. And tell your wife that, too.”

Ames lifted his head, rubbed his eyes dry, and nodded. “Okay. Right. Thank you.”

When Decker glanced at Jamison, she was gaping. She quickly said to Gunther, “We understand that you bought some land from the Air Force? And then leased some of it to frackers?”

Gunther nodded. “Yes. The lease payments have come in very handy. It was one of the best investments we made, winning that auction.”

“I’m sure,” said Jamison.

Decker said, “Did you ever notice anything odd at the Air Force facility?”

“Odd? I haven’t. But I don’t really pay attention to it.” Gunther looked at Ames. “What about you, Milton?”

“My home is not near there. But there are others who do live closer to the facility. I can ask them.”

“Do you mind if we do that, and if we could meet with them now?” said Decker.

Gunther said, “All right. But what is all this about?”

“I wish I could tell you,” said Decker. “But I’m not sure myself.”