“So you see, Mr. ‘only one in the room with a gun’ how I may just feel about following protocols?”
“Turn around and face that wall,” Ralph said without pause.
As Derek turned, he heard Ralph move closer, and then he felt himself being frisked.
“Okay, freelancing Derek, you can turn around now.”
Derek turned to see Ralph lowering his Colt.
“The name is Ralph Fox. And just because I put my trusty peacemaker down doesn’t mean that I won’t pull it back up if you decide to do something stupid.”
“Understood, Ralph.”
“You said you was hired by a Thomas O’Connell, did ya?”
“Yes sir. He hired me to protect him from his brother, Alexander, who my client believes has already killed three men. The three men who, I have to believe were found in this room.”
“I’d say your client is right about Alexander killing people.”
Derek looked around the room, noting the blood-stained couch and splatter stains on the ceiling and walls.
“What the hell happened in this room?” he asked.
“Something that was pretty damn fatal.”
Derek, relieved from the stress he was feeling when a gun was being pointed at him, regained his level of curiosity.
“Not sure if you or your team discovered this yet, but there is a trap door under the bed here.” Derek moved the institutional looking bed to reveal the opening in the floor.
“Son of bitch,” Ralph Fox said. “My boys may not be the best in the world with all this police stuff, but you’da figured that all them State Police investigators would have noticed something like this. How did you find this out?”
“Luck, I guess,” Derek said. “This leads to a crawl space under this part of the lodge. A square of the flashing had its screws and insulation removed. I can’t say for sure, but to me it looks like this was done from underneath, not from inside this room.”
“Like maybe the fella who resided in this here room had some assistance?”
“Seems likely to me.”
“So, tell me Derek Cole, you said you was hired by Thomas O’Connell?”
“Yes. He is the son of Ken and Janet O’Connell, who I believe you contacted already.”
“Yep. Called them the day after my boys discovered this scene. Found their names, and a whole lot of other names in a bunch of files in Doctor Straus’s office. Found a lot of very interesting stuff as well. Medical reports, experiment results, names and addresses, and a stack of pictures. Some of them damn pictures are scary enough to scare the stink off a skunk.”
“I’d love to have to look at those files,” Derek said through a grin.
“I bet you would, now wouldn’t you?”
“The story that my client told me, and that was confirmed by a Doctor Mark Rinaldo, seems a bit hard to believe. You find information in those files that referenced a pretty unbelievable story?”
Ralph gestured for Derek to follow him out of the bedroom, through the sitting room and into the hallway. Ralph didn’t say a word until he reached the entry way of the lodge.
“Now what I found and whether or not it supports this story of yours depends on what your story is. Doesn’t that make sense?”
“I was told that Alexander O’Connell, who may now be called Alexander Black, was reported to have died shortly after birth on account of him not having a heart. I’m no doctor, but I believe having a heart is pretty important.”
“Well now, Derek, I have to say that you and I are on the same page with that statement.”
“I also was told that the doctors in Chicago told the O’Connells that Alexander died and then formulated a plan to hide him away with a Doctor Straus. Straus ran an institution on Long Island.”
“So far what you have said is in agreement to all that I have read and determined as well. But one thing you mentioned caught my attention. I would have asked about it a tad earlier but you seemed pretty excited about telling me the story you heard.”
“And that was?” Derek asked, knowing that there was something about Ralph Fox that he liked. Perhaps it was Ralph’s confidence in himself, his down to earth nature or just the fact that he hadn’t shot him, Derek liked this guy.
“You indicated,” Ralph said as he sat in one of the leather chairs that decorated the lodge’s entry way, “that you had a conversation with a Doctor Mark Rinaldo. I gave Rinaldo a call right after I spoke with the O’Connells to let him know that we found his name on a bunch of medical reports as well as on a list.”
“My client told me about the list. Told me the names that are on it and that two of the names were crossed out in what looked like blood?”
“Their own blood, to be exact,” Ralph said. “Now Derek, you have a fine ability to take a conversation down a different path than what was intended. I’ll get to that list in a while, but I want to have a bit of a conversation about Doctor Rinaldo if you don’t object.”
“Sure. Sorry. Lot’s to digest with this case,” Derek responded.
“As I was saying, I gave Rinaldo a call to find out some details that I may need in this here case and also to let him know that his life may be in danger. Told him that three men, two of them doctors, had already been murdered and that the perpetrator may be fixing to pay him a visit. He didn’t shed any light on my case and didn’t seem to care about my suggestions that he take some precautions.”
“I got the same reaction when I visited with him in his house. He didn’t seem to care if Alexander Black, or whoever is responsible for these murders, came after him. He said he deserved whatever happened.”
“I always say that apathy is a telltale sign of guilt,” Ralph said.
“So is guilt,” Derek replied. “Rinaldo confirmed my client’s story and told me that he deserves whatever Alexander has in store for him. I suggested that he get some protection, but I don’t think he will.”
“He didn’t,” Ralph said, his eyes fixed on Derek’s.
“What do you mean?”
“Rinaldo was killed late last night in his home. Had his skull crushed.”