Jason P. Knight unlocked the door to his office and rushed in. It figured. The moment he got in the door the phone stopped ringing as the answering machine clicked on to take the call. He heard a sobbing woman’s voice: "Mr. Knight, can you take a case to prove a man innocent? My name is Gloria Johnson at 603-555-8282."

Knight picked up the phone saying, "Mrs. Johnson, I just came in, what is this about?"

"My son. He has been arrested. The police say he raped and murdered the Wilson girl. Do you know the case?"

"Yes, all circumstantial evidence from what I have read in the newspapers. I will take the case. My fee is one hundred dollars a day plus expenses. I take $200 down. I’ll resolve matters as quickly as possible."

"Thank you, Mr. Knight. I’ll send a check over this afternoon, the sooner you get started, the sooner Jeremy will be cleared."

"I’ll see what I can find out. Call me back late this afternoon, Mrs. Johnson."

They both hung up the phone. Knight played back the rest of his messages. The two cases he had been working on were brought to their conclusion. Amelia Street had been located and the mother of Billy Douglas had called to thank him again for finding the kidnapped youth. Mary Anne Leyton had called to ask him where he had been last night. There was no need to call the Street family or Mrs. Douglas. He phoned Mary Anne and explained he had been out of state last night on a case. He was supposed to meet her for dinner, but his investigation prohibited that. He got her on the phone and explained. They agreed to meet for lunch when he

was free. He explained he got a sudden break on the Street case and had to leave abruptly for Florida. After talking

with the woman for sometime she agreed to return home and work out her situation there. They had flown back late last

night. His date had slipped his mind. Knight returned the other calls. He sat down behind his desk taking out his pocket note book and made a few entries from those calls. It was still early and he had to get over to where Merrill had been seen. If he could locate him, he could devote his time to the Johnson case as soon as he cashed the check. The thought seemed cynical, but he had been stiffed twice in the three years since starting in the private investigation business. As a cop he never even thought about getting paid. Now, that was a big consideration. He was careful to get money before starting a case. That was always a risk, but he was good at reading deadbeats and that wasn’t the feeling he had gotten from Gloria Johnson.

He arrived on Cabot street and found a place to park his 1991 Firebird, then went inside. Sitting across from the door, he ordered coffee and waited. Merrill showed up just as Willis said. He was a fifty-five year old informant who was tall and had a weather beaten face. That made him look older than his years. He had been a good "Cooperative

Individual" when Knight was on the force. Willis did not disappoint him now either; Merrill walked in the restaurant

and sat down for breakfast. Knight got up and walked over to the man then tapped him on the shoulder. Merrill looked up asking what he wanted.

"Just this, Mr. Merrill," he said as he handed him the subpoena. Merrill had been avoiding child support for two years before Knight was called into the case. Merrill began to sputter as he read what he had just been handed. Knight returned to his table and tossed a five dollar bill on the table then left. He got back to the office and phoned Mrs. Merrill with the news. He also phoned Mary Anne about lunch, it was her day off. She agreed and would meet him at Amici’s Restaurant in downtown Lowell at noon. Knight sat back in his chair after turning on his computer and rewarded himself with a game of solitaire. He played a second, winning both. The phone rang and he talked about five minutes. The man wanted to locate his teenage daughter who had run away. Knight took down all the pertinent information and then hung-up after talking another ten minutes. Looking at his watch he was surprised at the time. He had fifteen minutes to get to his date, just enough time.

Knight left the office and got to Amici’s for the rendezvous in plenty of time. He went in and got a table by

the window to wait for Mary Anne. In only minutes a medium

height, dark haired woman wearing a dark green sun dress waved to him as she passed in front of him. He smiled, she was right on time. Mary Anne entered the restaurant. She approached the table and Knight stood up to greet her. They

embraced then sat down and ordered a carafe of wine with two glasses. Knight felt like celebrating before beginning the new case. The couple ordered two veal dinners and talked about an hour. Knight felt relaxed and happy. He got ready to return to his office after lunch having told Mary Anne he would meet her for dinner at seven that night. In less than twenty minutes he was back at the office unlocking the door. He crossed the threshold to find a sealed envelope with his name on it. He smiled knowing the envelope was from his new client. Opening it carefully he looked at the check for five hundred dollars. He left the office and drove to the woman’s bank to cash the check. He left the bank with the cash and drove to his own bank to deposit most of the money, then returned to the office.

He checked his answering machine for messages and there was one from Mary Anne thanking him for lunch and telling him the menu for dinner. He smiled listening to the soft sensuous voice of the woman he had been dating for the past

six months. He shook off the mood and picked up the phone

and dialed his ex-partner down at the station, "Sid, I need information, can you help?"

"What do you need, Buddy?"

"What do you have on the Johnson kid?" he asked as he put the Colt .45 ACP Commander in his shoulder holster.

"His prints are all over the girl’s place. He was the last one to see her alive and it was his gun. What do

you want to know?"

"That can’t be all, what else? He was arrested the day after so there is something more."

"The semen matches his blood type. His prints are on the murder weapon. He is known for his bad temper."

"The weapon was his gun wasn’t it?"

"That’s true. He fought with the girl in public. He forced her into his car none too gently."

"Is there anything you can do to get me a glimpse at the crime scene?"

"What is your interest, Buddy? Yeah, I can do something for you, it is my case."

"Great, work with me a minute, the boy’s mother is my client. Can I see the kid? Maybe listen to his story first-hand?"

"You saved my life too many times to have me refuse

you. What time is it, now?" he stopped talking and looked at his watch, then continued, "One-thirty. Come in twenty minutes, I can take a few minutes before the lab results are finished on the case. Can you get over here then?"

"Yeah, thanks." He hung up then called Marvin Gates his best informant. Marvin was about forty, gay and

handsome to the point of being pretty.

The phone rang twice before Marvin picked up. "Hello, Knight here, got a minute?"

"Yeah, just got in from shopping. What do you want?" Knight thumped his fingers impatiently, but said nothing about it.

"I need you to find out about the Wilson girl. Find out if she had any enemies."

"Anything else," Gates started removing his groceries from the bag on the table.

"Find out anything you can."

Gates talked for awhile longer and then Knight rang off. He went to the station. He got a badge and went to see Sid. Sid called and arranged for him to see the suspect. When he spoke with the Johnson boy he learned that Johnson had given the gun to his girlfriend for protection.

His prints were all over it because he had taught her how to

use it.

After seeing the boy, Sid Parker showed Knight the crime scene and photographs the police had taken. Knight was surprised that the room showed signs of a struggle and asked Parker about it. "Doesn’t this seem a bit much for an irate boyfriend?"

"Not really, he was angry. This fits his temperament. Why do you ask?"

"Just seemed that it was too much for the boyfriend."

"He has a history for breaking things up. He wrecked a bar last week he is definitely capable of this."

"Maybe. I think it might be a guy she didn’t know.

The kid claims he dropped her off and didn’t go in. What about that?"

"Come on, of course he would. Can you blame him?" Sid pushed the hair off his face as he spoke.

"No, but what if he is telling the truth? Did the girl have any other enemies?"

"She wasn’t murdered by an enemy, this was rape."

"I know that, but I think it could be a guy she didn’t know."

"Who just happened to have the same blood type as the suspect? No way, I don’t buy coincidence."

"Maybe the couple had sex first, then the rape happened."

"Oh yeah and the guy who did the rape wore a condom right? Come on, this is open and shut. It was semen from the boyfriend and from the looks of the girl, it was rape. The ME says she only had sex that one time that night."

"Okay, type O blood is common. Will you give me that

much? What about the combing of pubic hair?"

"There was nothing." Sid kept shaking his head in disbelief. "So okay, blood type is common, but the gun is loaded with Johnson’s prints and it is the murder weapon."

"Johnson claims he gave it to the girl for protection.

Maybe she drew it on the attacker and he got it away from her, hence the mess in that apartment."

"You should write soap operas. Get off it. It was Johnson."

"I don’t think so. Have you got statements yet from all the neighbors?"

"Yeah, I’ll show you back at the station. I really want to help you, Buddy, but I am telling you that this one is a loser. No one saw anyone, but Johnson enter the premises. No one noticed him leave."

"They saw him enter the apartment, but not leave?"

"So okay, they saw his car drive up, but not when it left. He got out and punched the girl around. Your client is a real sweetheart."

"He admits he was drunk, he’s a mean drunk, and he beat the girl, that explains her black eye and other bruises, he says he left then. He swears he is innocent."

"If I was him I would too."

"What if he is, looks like entry was forced through

that window. What about that?"

"Look, after he smacked the girl around maybe she wasn’t so anxious to let him in?"

"Can you give me the names of the witnesses you’ve got? I need to get a feel for that night. I’d like to talk with

them?"

"Suit yourself, you won’t get anything but what is on their statements. Talk to Michaels in the apartment across from this one. The people in the upstairs over this place heard a struggle and called the police. Your client was found right down the street, I’m telling you, Man, this one is a loser."

"He says he was coming back to talk with the girl. Was his car coming or going?"

"It was on the street next to this one, looked like he was running away."

"That depends on where he was heading from."

"Where was he coming from if not the girl’s apartment?"

"He says he just drove around after the fight thinking. I believe him. It could have happened just the way he said. Just try to give this a chance, maybe he was on his way back here and the window was forced by some other guy? Was anything taken?"

"No, that is a pipe dream, my friend, nothing was

missing. Your guy is guilty."

"Let’s get back to the station so I can read the arrest report and the witnesses statements," said Knight feeling dejected.

"Let’s go, you got it."

The two men drove in silence to the station then walked over to Parker’s desk where he handed over the reports Knight wanted to read. Knight perused the documents thoroughly. He handed them back to the man who had once been his partner.

"There has to be more, no one claims they saw the car when the struggle was going on. It was Michaels who called when the girl screamed. He says she was screaming about

five minutes before the noises of a scuffle. Why did she do that if she knew the guy. It was another ten minutes before the gun was fired, maybe fifteen, why didn’t he just look out to see if the car was still there?"

"Come on, would you think to look out the front window while something like that was happening? That is maybe something an ex-cop might do, Pal, but not John Q. Public."

"Suppose so, damn it, wish he had looked, if only someone thought to look out front. We can’t be sure that Johnson’s car was even there at the time."

"I think it was there, we got all the facts down

cold. It was your guy, this is a loser."

"Okay, I’ve got a list of names now that I can interview, I’ll let you know if I come up with any leads."

"Yeah, right, good luck." Parker waved him away and sat at his desk again.

Knight left the station and went back to the apartment complex to interview the witnesses. He knocked at 105B first, directly across from Kerri Wilson’s apartment. Thomas Michaels answered the door dressed in a terry cloth robe. "Who are you?" he asked.

Knight answered, "I am investigating the murder of the girl next door," he flashed his private investigator’s

badge.

"Come on in, sit down."

Knight came into the room and sat in the living room, "Mr. Michaels, what exactly did you see?"

"Nothin’. I heard blood curdling screams for about ten or fifteen minutes and two gun shots. I had called into the cops when the screaming first started, then again when they weren’t here and there was a gun shot. They were about five minutes apart. Seemed odd, but that is the way it happened. I called you guys right away to report what I knew. Kerri screamed for help at first and if I had a gun I

would have gone over, that was the first time I called you.

The screaming turned to loud crying after the place was broken up, then the gun and later another shot."

"Too bad you couldn’t help her, but better that you called the police right away." Knight did not bother to explain he was not the police. He continued to speak, "What time did you hear the gun shots?"

"I told you guys it was nine o’clock."

"Mr. Michaels, that was after the apartment was being broken up?"

"Yeah, there were two, don’t you guys talk? I went over this all before." Michaels expression was one of

disgust as he tugged at the tie to his robe.

"I read the report. I was surprised you hadn’t looked out your window."

"I was kind of busy and there was nothing happening outside."

"You might have seen a car. Something like that?"

"No, didn’t think to check outdoors. Just called the cops and waited by the phone for a call back. The desk sergeant said they would send a patrol car and they would call me back if they needed more information."

"Right, pretty standard."

"There is nothing else I can tell you, officer."

Knight did not correct the misconception, but asked,

"Had you looked out the window earlier?"

"Yes, there was a black El Dorado parked against the curb, that I had never seen before and a white Impala. That was Johnson’s car. I have seen it here before when Johnson was here. Funny, but I thought it was gone long before the

screams and gun shots."

"Why is that, Mr. Michaels?"

"The muffler is loud and I thought I heard it speed away about 7:30P.M., but maybe not?"

"Is this the first time you have discussed this, I saw

no mention of this in the police report."

"Maybe. I have been thinking a lot about that night since the police interviewed me the first time. I am sure that the car wasn’t there later, at least I am almost positive. Is that a help? I am just sorry I didn’t see anything to help you guys."

"What you just told me helps, I need you to call this number and ask for Detective Parker. Tell him everything you just told me. I won’t hold you up any longer." Knight handed the man the phone number he had just scratched out on the note pad he carried with him.

"That is good, I have to get dressed for work, we are

starting our shift at five today. If we weren’t working crazy hours last week I wouldn’t have been home to hear

the girl."

"Thanks, I will check back with you in a few days to see if you have remembered anything else. You have been extremely helpful."

"That’s good. I have to get ready for work, but I want to help if I can. Jeremy Johnson doesn’t seem like a

murderer, he has a bad temper, but I don’t think he is capable of shooting Kerri."

"Okay, good enough."

The men said good-bye and Knight left the apartment to go upstairs. He knocked on Eunice White’s door, but there was no answer. He tried the adjacent door for John Orville, he too wasn’t home. Knight knocked on all the apartments of the witnesses, but it was early yet for first shift to be home. He wanted corroboration on what Michaels had just told him. He thought maybe Johnson’s car had been definitely seen or heard leaving at the time Michaels said. He would try later after the people got home. Knight left the apartments and went back to his office. He checked his messages then called Marvin Gates back. "Knight here, you have news, Mr. Gates?"

"Yeah, a guy I know saw Johnson at about eight-thirty the night Kerri Wilson got it. He was on Lexington Street.

That is about thirty five minutes from the apartment where

the murder happened."

"Thanks, will the guy go to the police about what he knows?"

"Yeah, he will, what about my fee?"

"Fifty bucks, Mr. Gates, to be paid after the man makes a statement to the police. When can you get him there?"

"Tomorrow morning. After nine. When can I get my money?"

"Right after that."

"Okay, talk to you then."

"Good-bye, Mr. Gates."

Knight was always polite to the man he was just speaking with. He pushed the button on the phone to break the connection and held it down as he thought about calling Sid.

He still held the phone when it rang, it was Mrs. Johnson. She asked him if there was any news on her son’s case. Knight talked for about five minutes assuring her he was going to call the police with what he had learned. After hanging up he called Sid Parker and told him there was a witness who would say Johnson was thirty-five minutes from the scene of the crime the night it happened. Parker was stunned, "What, can you tell me how you found this out so soon?"

"Confidential source from my days with the department."

Knight was feeling pretty good about the case, but he decided to return to the apartment complex to interview the remainder of people he had missed earlier. The interviews took him until nine o’clock and no one heard Johnson’s car leave so he was depending on Michaels and the friend of

Gates. He went home and realized he had missed his date.

He called Mary Anne to explain then turned on his computer for about an hour. He went to bed after losing six games of solitaire feeling more relaxed in spite of the loses.

The next morning Gates called at eight o’clock and caught Knight before he left for his office, "Mr. Knight, I went to get Higgins this morning and he was dead. I called the cops, I am at the station right now. I’ll meet you at the office at nine."

Knight was really shaken, he called the station back after getting off the phone with Gates. He asked to speak with Detective Parker, "Sid, any clues on Higgins? He could clear Johnson by having seen him at the time of the murder thirty-five minutes away. We need to find another witness, are you with me?"

"Your witness was murdered, but this is the first I have heard about it."

"There has to be another witness. Can you put some men

on it?"

"Okay, I can spare one man to ask around, but no promises."

"That is all I am asking, I’ll check myself. Thanks." He hung up and went to his office to meet Gates.

Gates was at the door wiping the sweat from his

forehead with a print handkerchief. Knight nodded and

unlocked the door to let them both in. "Have a seat," said Knight.

"The police asked me a lot of questions that I had trouble answering."

"Like what?"

"They wanted to know how I knew Murray. I said we were friends."

"Murray Higgins was a buddy so you told the truth."

"He was a guy I knew who saw your guy. That is as far as the friendship goes. I’ve known him a day."

"What put you on to him?"

"My lover told me he knew a guy that slept in Hollis park. On a hunch I figured I’d look him up. You had told me Johnson drove around about forty minutes, that would put him about there. He was clean, just desperate and living in the street." Gates drew his breath sadly as he spoke.

"The officer in charge said he was knifed through the

heart."

"Yeah, there was a ton of blood when I found him."

"We have to start over finding another witness who can put my client across town at the time the Wilson girl was murdered."

"I’ll ask around, but this guy was the best source. There are other homeless people in the Hollis area, but they

are druggies and drunks. Higgins didn’t have either habit."

"Mr. Gates, turn up whatever you can. Here is the fifty I owe you," said Knight removing his wallet from his back pocket.

"I figured the deal was off with Murray dead. Thanks." Gates quickly stuffed the bill into his pants pocket.

"That money goes toward any other information you turn up. Higgins was going to help out a lot."

Gates crossed his legs and sat back in his chair. Knight sat on the edge of his desk and said, "How soon can you have something for me?"

"I’ll talk to all the guys I can tonight and call you in the morning to let you know what I find out."

"Sounds like a good plan, those guys will talk with you better than they’ll talk with me."

Gates left the office and Knight turned on his

computer, he felt certain his electronic friend was not

going to help him on this case, but he logged his time anyway, he knew he was a junkie. The time passed quickly as he typed on the computer keys. He knew Gates would try to find another witness, but he didn’t know if there was one

who was sober at the time Johnson was near Hollis Park. His phone rang. He answered quickly, "Sid, what do you have this soon?"

"All we have is hearsay that the Higgin’s guy could ID your client. We can’t release Johnson on what we have, but why was Higgins murdered? Was his testimony that damaging to someone? We need all the help we can get on this one, glad you are working on it."

"I have my source checking with other drifters to see if they know anything. Any lead that puts Johnson across town will be a help."

"I have a man on the case to ask a few questions, but he might not get much from the drifters at Hollis Park after that murder."

"They might all clam up you mean, but I am hoping there is a talker in the bunch."

"Johnson doesn’t even remember seeing anyone on that side of town. He doesn’t help himself much. I talked with him about the guy getting knifed last night. At least he

has an alibi for that."

"He needs an alibi for the death of the girl. It could happen."

"Yeah, keep me informed. Right now it looks pretty bad

for your guy."

"Talk with you tomorrow, good bye."

The men hung-up. Knight shut off the computer and went back to the crime scene. He drove almost aimlessly thinking he was anxious to know how Gates would make out. He parked out front for about and hour going over what he knew a thousand times before returning to his office.

That night there was no way he could help Johnson. When he got into his apartment, he turned on his lap top computer and played solitaire to relax, then he typed up a list of his informants. Gates was his best. Maybe he would check with Norton and Willis? It was too late to roust them up now, but first thing in the morning after talking with Gates he would. They might know something. Knight had a long list of informants he put check marks next to each name that might help him with the Johnson case. He needed to find a motive for the girl’s death. He was convinced that the girl drew the gun and lost it to her attacker in the struggle. Why would Johnson have to rape his own girl friend even if she was not thrilled with him? That did not add up. Why leave through a window when he could have left

by the front door? Why murder the girl you loved? No, he felt certain Johnson was innocent. All he needed was

another suspect.

If he could get Johnson freed that would be ideal, but he needed to find a witness that could place his client across town. Gates might manage to get someone to talk about that night and find a witness. It was up to Knight not to let on that Gates help was that important, but Knight knew that it was vital. He went to bed knowing he would toss and turn all night and morning would not come soon enough.

. . .

Knight slept fitfully and awoke early. He got up and made coffee then turned on his computer to help him relax. He brought up a game of solitaire and played it mentally assembling facts of the Johnson case until his phone rang at 7:30. Gates had found another witness that had seen Johnson’s car in the area. The man’s name was Adam Williams. He didn’t want to go to the police, but Gates

told him there might be some money in it for him if he did. Knight said there was fifty dollars in it for him if he would go to the police. He knew police paid their "Cooperative Individuals". Why shouldn’t I? Gates said he

would tell him that. They talked another fifteen minutes

before they hung up.

Knight got dressed and drove over to see Williams. Gates had said his witness was a wino so Knight wasn’t surprised to find that a man on the sidewalk had already started drinking. Knight asked, "You, Williams?"

"Who wants to know?"

Knight flashed his badge saying, "Jason Knight." He then asked him about the night of the murder. The man rolled over onto his back and looked at Knight with bleary eyes.

"Where’s the money?" he asked before he rolled back on his stomach.

"Right here," said Knight as he removed his wallet from his back pocket, then handed the man two twenties and a ten. Williams grabbed it greedily. "So okay, a guy who looked like that picture was here night before last."

"You are sure a white Impala driven by this guy was across the street at nine P.M.?" Knight asked as he shoved the photograph of Jeremy Johnson under Williams gaze.

"What are you stupid, Buddy?"

"No, just want to be sure."

"Yeah, nine o’clock."

"Okay, let’s go to head quarters."

"Now?" asked the witness eyeing the money licking his lips.

"Right now," said Knight thinking if he let the guy

drink anymore, the police wouldn’t listen to him at all.

He helped Williams up and led him over to his car. He helped the man get in. They exchanged questions and answers for the brief ride to the station. Knight got out and let Williams out of the car. They walked into headquarters. Knight got an ID badge at the desk in the lobby telling Williams to wait and walked over to Sid Parker’s desk.

Sid looked up, "Jay, what’s up?" he asked. Knight told him then brought Williams in.

Parker said, "This the witness?"

"Sure is," Knight patted the man on his shoulder.

Parker told him to sit down. Knight remained standing along side of him. Williams told his story to an impatient Parker who looked up at Knight in disbelief.

"You sure about this?" Sid asked.

"I saw the guy at nine o’clock Wednesday night."

Sid reached out his hand to Williams saying, "Thank you

for coming forward, we appreciate all the information we can get."

Knight felt his heart sink. "Sid, don’t you want to

take a statement?" he asked knowing it was in vain to ask

and Sid did not believe what he had heard.

"That won’t be necessary. You can take Mr. Williams back home now."

Williams shrugged his shoulders and turned to face Knight, "Let’s go."

"Come on."

The two men left the station and walked back to Knight’s car in silence. They returned to the street where Williams lived. Knight dropped him off and left. He went back to the station and went right over to Sid’s desk. "Sid, you didn’t believe Williams just now?"

"That wino would say anything that he thought would earn him a drink or did you pay him?"

"Yeah, you pay CI’s all the time. He didn’t want to talk to police. That was just encouragement. You choose to dismiss his testimony?"

"Come on, he’s a drunk, how can you seriously believe something he says?"

"He had no reason to lie when he was asked if he recognized Johnson."

"He noticed the driver of a car across the street at night while he was no doubt drunk. Yeah, Pal, witnesses

like that are worth their weight in gold."

"Let me see Johnson again, Williams says he stopped

about five minutes on the bridge and got out of the car, that is why he remembered him."

"Fine, talk to Johnson, but I want to be there," he

reached for the phone as he talked. He made a call then said, "Come on, let’s go."

The two men went to an interview room where Johnson was supposed to be brought after his call to arrange that. Knight nodded to Johnson as he sat down at the desk.

"Jeremy, what happened the night of the murder that was unusual?"

"What do ya mean?"

"Why did you stop on Oakridge Hill at the bridge in Melrose?"

"Oh that. I hit a bump and heard the hub cap pop off and saw it roll across the road in the rear view mirror. I was back in the car in under five minutes."

"Why didn’t you mention that to us?" said Parker feeling annoyed.

"Guess I didn’t think of it. Why is it important?"

"Maybe. Someone might have seen you there," said

Knight.

"Don’t think so, I didn’t notice anyone."

"There was a guy here an hour ago who ID’d you as being on the bridge at nine," Knight folded his hands as he spoke.

Parker rolled his eyes, but said nothing.

"That is great!" Johnson’s voice rose three octaves when he said this.

"The police didn’t take a statement from him because he is a wino, but Sid is going to look into your alibi now, right Sid?"

Parker nodded his head then said, "Maybe there is something in what was said. We will check it out."

"Thanks, Officer, I really didn’t kill Kerri."

The three men talked another five minutes before Johnson was returned to his cell. Knight continued to sit at the table and turned toward Sid to ask him a question.

"What if Williams really saw Johnson?" said Knight as he got to his feet.

"Then we have the wrong guy, but I don’t think so."

"You’re going to try to find another witness, aren’t you?"

"I said I would." He got out of his seat and walked to the door, "Come on," he said, "let’s get out of here."

Jason Knight pushed his chair back under the table and walked to the door Sid Parker had just walked through. He

let the door slam shut behind him and caught up with his ex-partner. They talked another ten minutes after they reached Parker’s desk. Knight left feeling better. He returned to his office and switched on his computer. He called up a game of solitaire and played two hands while he thought about the case. The decision to return to Hollis Park seemed random at first, but he felt certain that was the approach he should take. He closed down the game and shut off the computer then left the office. His car was a 1991 Firebird, light blue with dark blue pin stripes. He had parked in the three level garage next to his office on the third floor. Sure is full today, he thought as he got behind the wheel and slipped a tape in the Panasonic cassette player he had installed in the dash himself. He drove over to Hollis Park and asked questions of every wino that was there. There were many. No one had any recollection of the night he asked about. Knight felt frustrated by the end of the afternoon. He decided to take an ad in the local paper for anyone who had been in that area August tenth.

Knight left feeling dejected but determined to find a witness that had seen Johnson. He drove to Melrose’s newspaper office and made arrangements for the ad he had in mind. Joseph Myers wrote up the order and read it back to

him. Knight paid and left the office. He drove the twenty

minutes to Lowell back to his office. Letting himself in he went to his desk to call Mrs. Johnson to report in. The call took ten minutes. He called his CI’s.

After hanging up the phone, Knight turned on his

computer. He brought up the list of informants he had made with typed notes next to each CI’s name that indicated his expectations from them. He reread the list and saved the

changes he had just made since talking with each of them,

then turned off the computer. He left the office. He got into his car and drove to the apartment complex and drove from Dracut to Melrose. It took him forty six minutes to get to the Oakridge Hill of Hollis Park. Even without the traffic it must have taken Johnson thirty five minutes to make the trip. Knight parked his car along the roadside and walked over to the park where several indigents lay asleep on the pavement. Knight kept walking toward the elderly woman who sat on the park bench in the center of the yard. He wished her a good evening then asked if he could talk with her. He flashed his badge and sat next to her. They talked for ten minutes then Knight was convinced she saw nothing and left her to speak with the man who had been lying in the walkway. After asking the man questions he was

no closer to a resolution, he looked around the park at the bodies scattered around and shook his head sadly. He

spotted the apartments that overlooked the street then walked back to his car feeling he had wasted most of the afternoon. He knew the police would question all the tenants. Driving back to the office he thought about the

case against Johnson, he felt certain there was a witness among the apartment dwellers. Knight decided to stop at Eleanor’s Dance Studio, the dance class of the Wilson girl

and question everyone about her. When he got back to the office he played solitaire and thought about what he had learned about the victim. He had to learn more about the night of the murder.

His phone rang and cut into his thoughts, it was Marvin Gates. "Mr. Gates, how are you doing?"

"Fine, Mr. Knight, I tried you at home first before calling the office. The cops ignored Williams, huh? Want me to keep nosing around?"

Knight said yes, he knew that Gates was his best hope. They said good bye. Knight said a silent prayer that a tenant had noticed the car the night of the murder. The phone rang three times before he noticed the interruption in his thoughts. He answered, it was Sid Parker. "Sid, what’s

up?"

"Just letting you know, Buddy, nothing so far. I let Hanes go over to the apartments to question the tenants. He

had interviewed eight before he called and no one saw Johnson. So far things look as bad for your guy as they did this morning. I told him to continue with the interviews until ten."

"Thanks, Sid. There has to be someone who saw him."

"Sure, sweet dreams of that."

"I believe Johnson is innocent. It only takes one witness to corroborate Williams story."

"Right, Buddy, and Santa Claus flies."

"Call me tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, good night."

They hung up. Knight returned his attention to his computer and the game he had been playing before the phone rang. He thought about Johnson and how he was going to prove his innocence. He finished the game and brought up his notes on the informants. He had notified Norton, Willis, Howard and O’Brian. Thinking it over he decided to talk with Pitts and Santorez in the morning. Damn he thought, this case was taking all his time. He knew it might be days before he heard again from any of his CI’s.

Knight programmed in the information he had about the case and got a potential profile on the murderer. It was something to work with. Sketchy, but a start. Knight then fed in all the information about Kerri Wilson, the computer suggested checking with co-workers and how Kerri spent her leisure time. Knight felt frustrated, he was working on that. He had even called her family, but they were avoiding questions

by not answering the phone. Work was next for him to interview the people she knew. He had questioned her dance class. Kerri was a popular girl with all the people

in it. She took ceramics, he still had to interview them. If he could make a case against anyone else, he felt certain Sid would check it out.

After playing three hands of solitaire, he went to bed.

. . .

When Knight woke up the following morning he dressed hurriedly and left his apartment. He went to the office and played back his messages. Mrs. Johnson had called as well as Norton. He returned both calls. Mrs. Johnson wanted an update on the case. Norton wanted to know if the girl could be twenty-five. Knight asked him where he had heard that about the girl. According to Johnson she was twenty-one. If Norton learned she was older then he must have met up with a good friend. Why did Kerri lie about her age? Norton asked again and Knight told him he would check it out with Johnson. They hung up.

Knight went to the station to interview Johnson. He knew this wouldn’t take long. The officer let him into Johnson’s cell.

"Good morning, Mr. Knight," said Johnson.

"How you doing?"

"I don’t know, how am I doing?"

"All right I guess. What’s on my mind is this." He paced the small barred room and asked, "Tell me how old Kerri was."

"She was younger than I am, twenty-one. Why does it matter?"

"I don’t know, Jeremy, it might be important."

"Why? How can that help?"

"Well, it explains why I got no response from the high school about her."

"Really?"

"I will have them try previous years. We need to learn about Kerri as much as we can."

"I told you everything the first time we met."

"I know, I am going to where she worked today. I wanted to be able to devote a day to it."

"I hope they help, keep me up to date, huh?"

"Try to think of anyone that Kerri might have crossed."

"I know, I have. Mr. Knight, you just have to help

me!" his voice grew loud enough to warrant attention by the guard who came over.

"Everything all right here?" he asked as he hurried over toward the two men.

"Yes, things are fine, we just got a little excited, sorry. You can let me out now, anyway," said Knight. He left the police station and got into his car. He headed north to Wilmington. In twenty minutes he was at Adcom. He parked the car in the visitor’s lot. Knight walked over to the receptionist, he asked where he could find personnel. He was sent down the hall to a series of offices right off the main hall. He stopped at the desk at the end of the hall. "Excuse me, Miss, is there someone I can talk with about Kerri Wilson?" he flashed his badge as he spoke.

"Poor Kerri, that was dreadful. Just a minute and I will buzz Mr. Reed for you. The receptionist pressed the button on the intercom to speak with Reed. Knight stood patiently at the front of the desk and heard a deep masculine voice ask, "What is it, Miss Adell?"

"There is an officer here to inquire about Kerri Wilson, Sir."

Knight didn’t explain he was a private detective. A

man walked out of an office over to Knight. They shook hands and Reed said, "Let’s go into my office and talk."

They entered his office and Knight sat in the chair indicated. "How can I help, is it Knight?"

"Yes it is, tell me anything you can about Kerri Wilson."

"She is a hard worker, seldom absent, friendly. What did you want to know?"

"Who knew her best?"

"Steven Willowby was her supervisor, he would know more about her. I am only familiar with Kerri because she was ‘Employee of The Month’ last December. Let me get Steve in here."

Reed phoned his secretary and asked her to get Willowby to come to his office. He asked Knight to be patient until he got to the office. "Do you have any other questions?"

"How long has Kerri worked here, three years, is that right?"

"Let me check her file and I can give you her anniversary date." Reed typed on the computer’s keyboard then said, "January 6th, three and a half years ago."

"Thanks, Mr. Reed. You say the girl was friendly?"

"She made friends easily with all her co-workers."

Willowby walked into the office tapping at the door as he did, "You wanted to see me, Estelle told me to come right in."

"Good, this officer has some questions about Kerri Wilson. Come in and sit down, Steve."

"Sure, Walter. Anything to help."

Willowby sat across from Knight and looked at him expectantly.

Knight reached to shake his hand and said, "Mr. Willowby, can you give me a list of who Kerri Wilson was close to?"

"Yes, of course. I’ll make a list as soon as I get back to my desk. Anything else?"

"Was she as popular as it sounds?"

"She had quite a few friends. Kerri Wilson was bubbly and vivacious."

"Not the type of woman who would be killed in anger or jealousy? Nothing suspicious you can tell me about her?"

"Kerri was a genuinely sweet girl. She didn’t have enemies that I know about."

"Perhaps some of her co-workers are jealous, she was voted an honor?"

"No, no one that I know of. Let me introduce you to my

staff. I have a good crew."

Both men left the office and walked down the hall to the main area of the building. Knight looked at the tables where employees stood assembling printed circuit boards for computers.

"Can I use your office to interview? People will feel more open to questioning in privacy."

"Right there, I’ll start sending people in."

Knight walked into the corner office and sat down at the desk to wait. He took his notebook and pen from his pocket and put them on the desk. He spent the following two hours getting information on the dead girl. He stopped at lunch time so the employees were not inconvenienced. He resumed at one o’clock. The staff was large and he continued until five o’clock when the shift ended. Knight told Willowby he would finish interviewing the following day. He left the building and drove to his apartment. After he tried Mary Anne’s number he sat at his computer and began typing up his notes from the day. It took him until after six to transcribe them. He called Mary Anne again about their date that night. He said he would pick her up at 7:30. Knight shaved and showered then put on a fresh suit. All his suits were dark colored for work, but

light shades for leisure. He drove slowly to Mary Anne’s thinking about the fruits of the day. There were at least five people who did not like the girl. He would check their alibi’s closely.

Mary Anne wanted Chinese food, they went to Lee Wong’s. It took fifteen minutes to get there. After they went to see a movie. They both liked suspense, so the choice seemed easily made. They returned to his apartment. She mentioned that she wanted to stay over night. Knight was glad to have this time with her.

. . .

The following morning Knight drove Mary Anne home after she insisted on making breakfast from the miserly groceries he had in stock. He had to get her home early enough so she could get ready for work. It took him less than twenty minutes to get to his office. He turned on his computer and reread the entries from the previous day, then drove to Adcom to finish his inquiries. It was noon time when he finished so he got a burger from the fast food restaurant down the road though he had done that yesterday as well.

He drove to Kerri’s dance class and questioned her instructor, getting a list of classmates. He returned

to his office shortly after three o’clock. He checked his messages and then called Marvin Gates back, "Knight here. You have news, Mr. Gates?"

"Nothing really, there are over a hundred people living in that complex behind the bridge, but no one seemed to see your client. I did hear that the girl was upset with Johnson for hitting her. That doesn’t help him much, but Genevieve Simon was friendly with the Wilson girl and privy to her confidences. I told you it wasn’t much. Just wanted to let you know what was going on. I will call when there is something more definite. Good bye."

"Good bye, Mr. Gates."

Knight turned on his computer and finished typing the information from the day. It took an hour to finish the Adcom information and until five to add the dance school’s client list. He would check the ceramics class the following day. Knight played a few games of solitaire until six thinking the case over as he did. Amazing the way the game calmed down his nerves. In the morning he would verify the alibi’s of Crane, Randall, Jones, Jackson and Graham. They were all openly hostile that Kerri had won the respect and admiration of the rest of the company. Knight thought, seems like Wilson earned the award with her labor saving

He left the office and stopped at Mary Anne’s apartment to see if she was home. It was a whim, but he was lucky enough to find her at home. He went to the door after parking in the tenants parking lot.

Mary Anne came to the door and giggled when he identified himself, throwing back the chain on the lock to let him into the apartment. "Hi Sweetheart, what a surprise. We didn’t have plans tonight. Why are you here?"

"I was thinking about the dead girl lying about her age and I wanted to ask your opinion about why."

"Jay, that is something I can’t answer, bounce some ideas off me."

"She wanted people to think she was younger because she had something to hide. What do you think?"

"I don’t know, sounds like you are grasping at straws."

"Maybe? I wish I knew. I have the schools in Wilmington checking for her name in the previous five years to the year Johnson thought she graduated. He met her in a bar about eight months ago. He thought he knew everything about her."

"Look, Baby, no one knows everything about their partner in eight months. That is just a little longer than

we have been involved. Is that what you think about me?"

"No, Honey, that is far from true. You constantly amaze me!" he chuckled as he spoke.

"No, I mean it. How well do we know one another?"

"I have never even made you mad and there have been so many dates I have missed. You never hassle me about working odd hours, you are great about the curves I throw. What else do I need to know?"

"That is just the tip of the iceberg, My Pet."

They talked about a half hour before they went out, that night they dined on Mexican food and Knight drove to an amusement park afterwards for Mary Anne’s passion of cotton candy. They walked through the park until ten when she said it was getting late and she was ready to go home. They held hands on the ride home and talked about the plans they had for the rest of the weekend. When they got to her apartment she shut off the engine and kissed Knight intimately, he realized why she had called an end to their stay at the park. They walked slowly into her apartment, then had drinks before getting ready for bed. Mary Anne pushed Knight away from her as they embraced on the sofa and said, "I think you are right, the only thing that makes sense is if the girl was trying to divorce herself from a

past misjudgment."

"What?" asked Knight feeling jarred.

"I was thinking about that poor, unfortunate girl."

"Oh, what made you think of her? For someone who thought what they did earlier, what changed your mind?"

"Something you said. Johnson didn’t care how old she was did he?"

"I don’t think so. What did I say?"

"You said changing your graduation date would change your past."

"It would put you in a different time frame, I don’t know how important it really is."

"Let’s take a shower and go to bed," said the shapely brunette. They went to her room and then to the shower after tossing their clothes on the bed. The night fully relaxed the couple and they slept late the following morning. Knight woke abruptly and realized the time. "Damn," he muttered as he got up and got dressed.

Mary Anne stirred then opened her eyes, "You leaving without breakfast?"

"No time, got to check some alibis. See you tonight?"

"Yes, around seven?"

"Sure thing."
Knight left the apartment and went to the first address on the list in his notebook. Mrs. Sampson came to the door and asked him in. She offered coffee. Knight accepted. She went to the kitchen for a cup. When she returned she asked what he wanted.

"Mrs. Sampson, were you with Benny Crane the night of August 10th?"

"When was that, Tuesday or Wednesday?"

`"Wednesday, Mrs. Sampson."

"Let me think, yes he had come over after he got out of work for some tutoring in journalism. We have been working together for about six months. He wants to work as a news reporter. I did that for twenty years in Melrose."

"How late did he stay?" asked Knight after sipping the hot coffee.

"‘Til about ten I think, maybe later. No, no. It wasn’t later, I think it was about nine. Is that important?"

"A girl he knew was murdered, you are his alibi."

"The girl in the paper?"

"Yes, Kerri Wilson. They worked together."

"Was I specific enough?"
"You were fine, Mrs. Sampson. You have been extremely

helpful. Thank you for seeing me."

Knight left to check as many alibi’s as he could. It was nine-thirty then, he hoped people would not be busy with weekend plans. He drove to Morris Durrell’s next to check on Bill Jackson. Knocking on the door elicited no response. He waited at the curb until ten then went to the next location to interview Maureen Perkins. She answered the door and stepped aside to let Knight enter after he swiftly showed his badge. He almost smiled at the doors his PI badge opened because he had used his influence to get the badge through the system. It closely resembled his police badge. Maureen Perkins was a young woman Oliver Randall had said he dated the night of the murder. After they had settled at the kitchen table Knight asked about that evening. "Miss Perkins, you were on a date with Oliver Randall on Wednesday night?"
"What is your point?"

"I am looking for corroboration. I just want to know when the date started and ended."

"I got picked up at the bar around seven, he followed me home and stayed the night. Funny thing is that he hasn’t phoned me since. He seemed like a great guy. I thought it was a beginning to a relationship, guess I was wrong. What

has he done?"

"Probably nothing, we just needed to be sure that what he told us was accurate," he lied fluently. They talked another twenty minutes as the woman explained she was careful with men and Oliver had been an exception. Knight didn’t care why she had spent the night with the suspect, just that she had. He finally broke away and hurried over across town to Nathan Howard’s tiny apartment. What a dump! he thought as he knocked on the door.

The building attendant answered his knock and let him in when he flashed his badge. He asked which apartment was Howard’s. It was upstairs on the right. Knight walked past the debris to the apartment and knocked on the door. Howard yelled, "Who is it?"

Knight knocked again. Howard yelled again, "I want to know who is there?"

"Jason Knight, I am investigating the murder of Kerri Wilson, I have a few questions."

"Are you from the police?"

Knight used his badge often in a misleading fashion, but he could not falsely represent himself. He answered, "I am a PI looking for evidence to defend the accused young man."

"Drop dead then, I don’t have to talk to you."

"Mr. Howard, I was a police officer until three years ago and I still have many friends down at the station. If you don’t talk with me, I will simply have them interview you, please let me in."

There was silence from the apartment as if the man was thinking about what Knight had just said.

Knight called out, "Please reconsider, Mr. Howard."

The door opened and tall pasty face man said gruffly, "Well, come on in."

Knight crossed the threshold inside the room. "Thank you," he said.

"What is it you want?"

"I want to know when Wednesday night you were with Peter Jones?"

"Who says I was with him?"

"You weren’t?"

"I don’t know him, am I supposed to?"

"Mr. Howard, he provided your name and address to me yesterday as his alibi for the murder."

"Wednesday night he claims he was with me?"

"That is what he told me, why would he know you and you not know him?"

"Can’t answer that. You’re the big detective."

"Mr. Howard, it just doesn’t make sense. How does he know you?"

"Was he the guy who drank with me at the bar on Haptom Avenue?"

"What do you remember about a guy drinking with you that night?"

"He came in about eight and we closed the bar then he drove me home. Might be the same guy? Dunno."

"If I got a picture of him do you think you could recognize him?"

"Not sure, I was totally blotto. Hey pal, I don’t suppose you have ever done that before, have you?"

"Hasn’t everybody? Try to remember all you can."

"Look, Pal, enough. I am hung over and I am out of patience, get lost."

"Thanks for the time, can I come back with a photo? I will bring any kind of booze you want as an incentive."

"Fine, fine, fine. Just let me alone now."

"Good-bye, Mr. Howard."

Knight left the squalor of the run down apartment and decided to try the last name on the list before returning to Durrell’s, it was nearly noon. He drove the ten minutes to

Julia Tomlinson’s house. She let him in right away though he had found her outside gardening. They sat in her living room. Knight asked her about the night of the tenth.

"Let me see, that was just three days ago, I think I am able to remember that." She laughed. "That was the night Steve and I went to the movies. He took me to dinner first and a stupid horror show. He knows I hate them, but they are his favorite’s and they were playing a run of ‘Prince of Darkness’, that came out years ago, but he thinks Jamison Parker is excellent. I give in every now and then, why are you checking on Steve?"

"He didn’t like Kerri Wilson much did he?"

"Who? Should I know him?"

"That is Kerri, with an I, she is a woman who works with Mr. Graham."

"I don’t know anything about her. I feel badly that she was murdered, but I didn’t even know Steve knew her. I have told you all I can, let me get back to my gardening. Let’s go outside."

Knight got up and walked out with her. They parted in the yard and Knight drove back to Durrell’s. There was still no one home. Knight drove to his office. He entered all the data on his hard drive and backed it up on a floppy

then removed that from the computer and put it in the top drawer of his desk. He answered the phone on the second ring. It was Sid Parker. "Hello, Sid, what do you have for me?"

"I think we have a witness who saw your guy from the apartment complex. It took until noon today for Hanes to come up with any thing, he was down to the last two names on the list when he spoke with Hernando Torre. Mr. Torre, it seems, just happened to be driving into the underground garage when he noticed a guy walking around a white Impala looking for something. He waited to see if he was casing the place and saw him pick up a hub cap and put it on the driver’s side rear wheel then drive off, he says he got home about nine. I am having him come down and pick your guy out of a line up in an hour, want to be here?"

"Great news, I’ll be over in twenty minutes, does the kid know about it yet?"

"Not yet, just found out myself and wanted to let you know what was going on."

"Okay, I’ll see you soon."

"Lucky break, Pal, see you soon."

Knight hung up the phone and sat for a minute trying to decide if he should wait to call Mrs. Johnson then picked up

the phone. He told her the news then went to the station. The line-up went well, Johnson was ID’ed by Torre and released. Knight drove him home to his mother’s instead of his apartment as she had indicated because reporters were staking out his apartment. On the drive there Johnson asked Knight to stay on the case and find Kerri’s killer. He agreed. After dropping him off at the back door he slowly drove back to the office where he perused the data on his computer for any hints of what had happened to the girl. "Damn it!" he said loudly slamming his fist against the desk. The desk blotter and pen vibrated under the blow. He sat back in the chair and put his feet on the desk with a low groan. Why can’t I come up with the elusive clue, he thought. His phone rang abruptly breaking his concentration.

"Hello," he said as he quickly grabbed the receiver. "Knight, what can I do for you?"

"Mr. Knight, this is O’Brian. I ran up against a dead end about the girl, I got hold of a year book from her graduating class and guess what?"

"She wasn’t in it?"

"Right, no Wilson’s at all. I am asking a million questions, but nothing so far. What next?"

"I am trying several years earlier for records from the school because she might be as old as twenty-five."

"Why did you think she got out of school three years ago?"

"That is what her boyfriend thought. By the way, he was released tonight, I still need to know about the girl though."

"Right, talk with you soon. Good-bye,"

Knight felt frustrated, he called up a game of solitaire and played for an hour thinking about Kerri Wilson, Why lie about her age?, he thought. The detective felt there had to be a reason. What though? Knight jumped when the phone rang, it was Mary Anne.

They made plans for dinner and he told her that Johnson was released. He returned to his game and finished it then turned off the computer and called information for Durrell’s phone number. He called and got an answering machine, he hung-up without leaving a message.

Knight read and reread the hard copy of the case from his notebook. Each suspect from work seemed to have a good alibi. Monday night the ceramics class was going to meet, he had talked with the instructor on the phone and made arrangements to be there. After realizing it was nearly six

P.M. he decided to leave the office. He went home, then showered and shaved for his date with the foxy Mary Anne. The couple went to dinner at a seafood restaurant, they ordered seafood combinations then went for a drive to the amusement park and more cotton candy for Mary Anne. Knight stayed over at Mary Anne’s for the weekend. He tried not to let Kerri Wilson enter his mind as they sunned on the warm beach eating hot dogs and hamburgers. They rented a boat and went out on the water. The day passed quickly and thoughts of the murder case seemed far away. They enjoyed the rest of the weekend happily together.

. . .

Knight left Mary Anne still sleeping when he went to his office. He consulted his notes again and noticed there was a notation against the name Marsha Wallace, why? He remembered she was bitter about Kerri and said that she had gotten exactly what she deserved. Had she put someone up to the brutal treatment of the girl? Was he letting this case get away from him? I don’t know? he thought.

The phone rang, it was Tony Wyman about his runaway daughter. Knight talked to him in a gentle voice telling him again that he could not take the case. This time the man begged him. He finally said he would look into it and

get back to him. Knight knew he had no time to devote to another case which is why he hesitated to accept the Wyman case. He told the man to supply a recent photo of his daughter and a list of friends and acquaintances. They talked another five minutes and Knight hung up. He started a folder on Heidi Wyman listing a description first and all the information her father had supplied.

The phone rang again, it was Mary Anne, "Honey, why didn’t you wake me before you left?"

"We had such a late night I thought you needed the rest. How are you feeling?"

"I’m fine. I am at work now, the office is slow today so I thought I’d sneak a call into you."

"Last night was terrific. You are a special woman." They talked another ten minutes then Mary Anne was summoned to her supervisor’s office.

Knight looked at the clock as he hung up, "Damn it," he said as he got up quickly. He was due at Adcom to interview Thomas Bowers. He had recommended Kerri Wilson for her position. Willowby had thought he and the girl were good friends. He got to Adcom and went into Willowby’s office after a brief encounter with him.

The door to the office opened and a young man walked

in. "Hi, I am Tom Bowers. You wanted to talk with me, Mr. Willowby says I might help your investigation. I got Kerri her job here. We were neighbors eight years. She moved right after high school to the apartment in Dracut, but we still kept in touch.

"Mr. bowers, how old are you?"

"What difference does that make, I am twenty five."

"And Kerri?"

"She’s twenty five, I mean she was twenty five."

"What was Kerri like in school?"

"She partied with the wrong crowd. Nine times she was almost arrested. She got into trouble with drugs."

"Does it surprise you that Kerri was deceiving her boyfriend about her age?"

"No, she explained why it was necessary to lie. She didn’t want people at Adcom to realize she was as old as she was so they could associate her with her past. There was all the trouble with the law plus the romance with that drug dealer who was arrested three years ago. That made the newspapers. She wanted to avoid stirring things up about her stay at the rehab center."

"Thanks for explaining. Were there other co-workers who knew about Kerri’s past?"

"I don’t think so," said Bowers as he crossed his legs

and folded his hands gracefully. "Actually the crew is a young one. There are employees in their thirties and forties, but no one I remember from the olden days. It was a risk Kerri knew she was taking."

"Was Kerri prone to taking risk?"

"Less with age, but yes."

"Who was the man she was involved with seven years ago?"

"His name was Nathan something. Let me think, Roberts, Robbins, Rothwell; something like that -- it began with an R."

"Do your best to remember. Was Adcom aware of Kerri’s true age?"

"No, she lied on the application. I backed her up. Adcom doesn’t have a thorough screening procedure. They liked her at the interview so she got the job. IT was that easy. She told them she had graduated the previous year and this was her first job."

"Where else did she work?"

"A bakery, a hot dog stand, a restaurant and a tourist agency. I’ll write all the information down for you." Bowers reached into his pocket then said, "Do you have a pen and paper?" He made notes for the next ten minutes. The two men continued talking another twenty minutes as Knight

took down the names of friends and acquaintances in Kerri’s life. Bowers left the office and returned to work. The interview lasted more than an hour. Knight left the office and Willowby asked him if the session had been helpful. He said he thought so. Knight left Willowby to

return to his own office. He immediately entered all the data as soon as he got in. The file on Kerri Wilson was filling up. Afterwards he brought up a game of solitaire and played it for an hour as his thoughts labored over the case. He had left his home number with Bowers to phone him if he remembered Nathan’s last name, but he knew there was no guarantee Bowers would make the connection soon. Ending the game abruptly Knight locked the office and walked to his third floor parking space. Getting in the car he reached for a cassette and put it into the tape player. He adjusted the volume then backed out of the parking space. He circled the lot and sped away towards Nashua, New Hampshire. In twenty minutes he was at the bakery where Kerri had worked two years previously. He spoke with the manager about Kerri. He was told that she had been an erratic worker who was never punctual, but she was a polite girl. He couldn’t remember her friends though there was a man who stopped by to see her every working day. He was unable to remember the man’s name or give a description of

him. He recalled chasing him away daily. Knight left the shop to drive to Merrimack, New Hampshire and talk with Annabelle Parson’s from the hot dog stand where Kerri worked right after high school five years ago. The woman was gracious and talkative. Over coffee they discussed Kerri. Knight asked Parson’s why she remembered Kerri well enough to introduce her to a boyfriend. The man’s name was Nathan Robinson. Knight thought BINGO! Parsons had been involved with Robinson a month before Kerri met him. After the two were introduced there was an immediate attraction. Parsons voice had grown bitter as she spoke. She grew animated as she relived the memories. Knight spoke soothingly to her sympathizing with her plight. She told him Kerri was mixed up with drugs and missed a great deal of work. They finally had to let her go. Robinson turned out to be a drug dealer and Parsons was happy Kerri had come between them. Knight had a second cup of coffee and clucked appropriately as he drank it. Parsons mentioned what a mixed up kid Kerri had been. She had been a teenager who had gotten involved with a much older man. The conversation continued another fifteen minutes.

After leaving Merrimack, Knight drove home. He realized it was close to nine o’clock and he was two hours late for his date with Mary Anne. As soon as he got inside

he called her to apologize. They talked a half hour. When he finished he turned on his computer. He updated the Wilson girl’s file and wondered what had happened to Robinson. He would check that out in the morning. The phone rang, Norton’s staccato voice rang out like thunder as he said, "Kerri Wilson graduated from Wilmington High five years ago, she was nineteen. Had to repeat her senior year. Remarkable thing is she went from straight A’s to C’s, D’s then F’s."

"I talked with a friend of hers today who explained what happened to the girl. She was mixed up with a drug dealer name of Nathan Robinson, find out what you can about him. He was arrested several times these last few years I think for possession and selling."

"I’ll get back to you. Talk to you later."

Knight hung up the phone and returned to his computer. He typed another forty minutes then brought up a game of solitaire. He played an hour before retiring to bed for the night.

. . .

Knight awoke early. He dressed and drove to his office listening to his radio to hear the local news on the way. The release of Jeremy Johnson was mentioned, as well as, the name of the witness that was responsible for identifying him. Knight turned into the parking lot and then into his favorite parking space. He always tried to park adjacent to his office. He went into the building hurriedly. Unlocking the office he noticed the envelope on the floor. It contained a note from Wyman with a picture of his daughter. Knight unlocked his desk and removed Heidi Wyman’s file to insert her picture. Knight took a long look at the photo,

what a beauty, he thought. There is always a chance of foul

play when a teen was missing, but he hoped the girl was still alive. He shook his head sadly when he thought about what her father had told him. She seemed happy at home with no reason to run away. There was no contact with her boyfriend either. They had been close for a year. Surely she would have contacted him if she was able. He had all the information about Heidi’s interests and activities that her father could supply. He fed all the information into the computer and made up flyers to circulate. He would also go to the last known place where the girl had been seen. That was her corner drug store -- George’s. She had her prescription filled that night and picked it up then was never seen again. Knight left the office to circulate the posters and interview the pharmacist. He spent the afternoon on the Wyman case because he was due to see the ceramics class that evening. He had discovered from the instructor that Kerri’s class met on Monday. Not bad progress for less than a week, he thought. He brushed the thought aside as he spoke with the pharmacist on duty. Mr. Stevens mentioned that he had been working nights last week when Heidi had come in. He assured Knight that she was a sweet girl who never caused her parents any worry. They talked for another fifteen minutes, then Knight left. He

went back to his office. He processed the information he had gotten from Mr. Stevens. The phone rang, he grabbed for it and knocked it on the floor. Swiftly he scooped it up. "Hello, who is it?"

"Mr. Knight, it’s Tony Wyman. I got your message that you circulated the photo this afternoon. What is your gut feeling on the case?"
"It is too soon to have any ideas, we have to see where the investigation takes us. Please, be patient, though I understand that will be difficult."

"Do you have children?"

"No, never married or settled down."

They made no further small talk as Knight said good-bye after assuring Wyman that he would notify him with any leads he had uncovered. Knight finished updating the Wyman folder and placed it in the file cabinet. He locked the drawers

then left the office to check the restaurant where Kerri had worked just before the tourist agency. It was a place in Billerica called Rocco’s specializing in Italian food. He spent forty minutes talking with all the employees who worked there, no one remembered Kerri. Feeling dissatisfied he left to check at Tours For Fun. There he heard about the man that spent every afternoon with Kerri. He learned that she had kept her job nearly a year because she loved the

work and managed a high volume of trips for her boyfriend and his acquaintances. The owner was afraid to discharge her because the volume of work her shift always brought in helped the profits of his company. Finally he was unable to rely on her to show up and he dismissed her. That decision had made the girl face her condition. She placed herself in a rehabilitation center until she had dealt with her drug addiction. While she was in the hospital her boyfriend got arrested for dealing in drugs. Thomas Hanes kept in touch with the girl all through her rehabilitation. He was happy that Kerri made the decision to go to work at Adcom. He was one of her personal references. Until she was murdered the two remained friends. She thanked Hanes numerous times for setting her course in motion. He felt dreadful that she died a brutal death though he thought it had something to do with Nathan Robinson. Knight sat up straight as he said,

"Mr. Hanes, why do you think he had anything to do with that?"

"I met him, he was a controlling, dominating and ruthless man."

"I am investigating him and trying to find out if he is in prison."

"If he isn’t then he is the criminal. I have no doubts. He never wanted her off the drugs. That is how he

controlled her."

"When did Kerri realize that?"

"After therapy from the rehab hospital."

They talked until late afternoon and Knight took copious notes. He left in time to make his appointment with Campbell’s Ceramics.

He arrived right after the class started and was introduced by Susan Campbell as a policeman. Knight let the deception stand. He asked if there was any place he could interview the women in private. The ceramic shop owner, a striking young woman, showed him to her office and brought in Kerri’s good friend Emily Waymouth. Emily was about thirty years old with thick rimmed glasses and a dour expression. Knight asked hear to have a seat. She preferred to stand. Knight could feel her reluctance to talk about the murdered girl. "My interest in talking with Kerri’s friends is to find out more about her." He said with a disarming smile to help put the woman at her ease. "How long had you known Kerri?"

"Two years, as long as she was coming here."

"Are you certain you won’t have a seat?"

"Quite. I don’t really want to talk with you."

"Many people have that reaction. I assure you that I am only trying to resolve Kerri’s murder."

Knight cleared his throat then changed the direction of his questions. "Is it Miss or Mrs. Waymouth?"

"Mrs."

"Mrs. Waymouth, was Kerri in any kind of trouble?"

"Not that I know of. She was a sweet girl with a talent for the arts. She wrote you know?"

"No, I had no idea. It sounds as though you two were rather good friends. Tell me about her, will you please?"

"She started dating a hoodlum who beat her up a lot."

"Do you know his name?"
"He is the guy who just got released for her murder. I know he did it!" Her voice rose several octaves when she said this.

Knight was surprised by the vehemence in her voice. He asked, "Did you meet him?"

"He picked Kerri up every Monday night for the past two years. I talked with him. I knew the truth and was never soft-soaped by his winning way. I told Kerri to get rid of him."

Knight said nothing in response but asked the woman more questions. They talked about ten more minutes. He continued with the interviews until all the women had been questioned. After about two hours he returned to his office

and fed all the details into the computer from both cases.

It was nine o’clock before he realized that he had forgotten to check his messages when he got to the office. He played back the tape before finishing. There were three messages on it. One was from Mary Anne reminding him he was late. He called her first. They rescheduled their date for the next night. He called Marvin Gates back and was told that he had been asking questions about Nathan Robinson. He learned nothing about him so far. He knew it was too late to call Sid back and he made a note to call him before he came in tomorrow. He had asked him to find out if Robinson was still in jail. The clock showed it was eleven before he had added all the chances to the files. Knight yawned as he finished and left the office. He feel into bed and slept fitfully trying to assemble all the facts of the two cases he was working on.

. . .

Knight woke and had coffee before he called Sid, giving him time to settle in. Parker always got on shift about 7:30. He dialed police headquarters to find out what he had learned. Sid had been less than open on the answering machine. "Sid, it’s me. What did you learn?"
"Robinson was in prison until a month ago. He had served four years. Drug dealing. He was caught selling on Main Street and they busted up his entire operation. The guy lost a fortune. He is broke now."

"Who busted him?"

"Danny O’Brian. I talked with him yesterday."

"I’ll stop by on the way in to get the story; thanks."

Knight showered and dressed in a hurry then went to the station. He asked for O’Brian and was told he had just been called out on a bust. He was not due back until it was resolved. Knight left a message then went to his office. When he got there, he called up a game of solitaire and played until O’Brian phoned in. "Danny, thanks for calling."

"What did you need?"

"Tell me about Robinson before you busted him."

"He played it close to the chest, he is one smart con man. He had a great pipe line to his supplier and we got them all. He wouldn’t name names until we bargained his jail time down to four years. That was up June 30th."

"Where did he go from jail?"

"I don’t know, but he needed money."

"Is it possible that he found the whereabouts of his old girlfriend, Kerri Wilson?"
"Sure, anything is possible. I don’t think she would have helped him if she had a new boyfriend."

"He might look her up anyway."

"I can get you a set of his prints for comparison. Keep me informed, I would be interested on how you are progressing."

"That sounds like a help, thanks."

The two men continued to talk after which O’Brian got the prints and gave them to Sid Parker to compare with latents at the scene of the murder. The investigation was taking on a new set of circumstances. The police were baffled about the crime, as well as Knight’s reaction feeling the same.