Chapter 15
Betty was sitting at the kitchen table when Ed awoke. She had been up for a while and had taken a shower, dressed and made coffee. Ed staggered into the kitchen and grabbed a mug and poured himself a coffee. He leaned against the counter and drank the strong brew before attempting to talk to Betty. Ed poured himself a second cup of coffee and sat down at the table across from Betty. Betty watched him with an amused smile on her face, knowing that he needed at least 2 cups of coffee before he would even realize he was awake.
"I fell asleep last night," she said when she saw his eyes becoming focused, " How did your meeting with Mrs. Bynum go?'
"I didn't learn too much," he started, "I think maybe she can be a help to us after I poke around today. I have to find out who that other woman is. She might be the one that killed Bynum. I'm going to start poking around Horizon and try to find out who gets rattled when I start asking questions. I'm going to print the pictures and maybe show them to the men that raped you and see if they know the pictures exist. I have a feeling that Bynum was either blackmailing one of the men or all of them."
Ed could see that Betty was not happy about the pictures being printed, even though she knew that her face was blacked out and no one would be able to know that she was the woman in the pictures. Ed got up and poured himself a 3rd cup of coffee.
"I think that you better stay inside again today," he said, "I'm going to start rattling some cages and it might start getting sticky. It seems the police aren't considering you a suspect anymore, but I'm afraid that the men in the pictures might still consider you a threat to them."
Betty agreed and said that she didn't mind staying in the apartment.
"Betty, I had Hy Symington come over last night. I looked at the picture of the other woman and I realized that the man on that picture wasn't on any of the other pictures. You can't tell who the man is because the quality of the picture isn't very good. Hy is going to have his people try to enhance the picture so we can figure out who he is. He looks familiar but I can't see his face well enough to ID him."
Ed stood up, "I'm going to get a shower and get going. It's time to turn up the heat and see who gets nervous."
Ed got clothes out of the bedroom and went in and took a shower.
Ed started the drive into the city. He decided to start at Horizon and see what he could find out. He was hampered in his investigation because he no longer had the police powers to enable him to put pressure on people when he had to. He would just have to play it by ear.
Ed walked into the offices of Horizon. He flashed his badge at the receptionist and asked for Bynum's secretary. The receptionist didn't give more than a quick glance at the badge and directed him to George Bynum's secretary. As Ed passed Bynum's office, he saw that the crime scene tape was still up. No one was in Bynum's office. Ed stood before the secretary for a second before she realized he was there.
"Can I help you?" the woman asked.
Ed looked at the nameplate on her desk and saw that her name was Ann Hornsby. She was a pretty woman dressed in a business suit that did little to hide her excellent figure. She appeared to be in her late 30's. She seemed to recognize him. Ed introduced himself and she appeared nervous.
"Mrs. Hornsby, I was here the other day and met with Mr. Bynum," Ed started, "He hired me to do some work for him and since he was murdered before I was able to start what I was hired for, I figured that I should return the retainer he gave me to his widow. Is there any chance you would have her address?"
Ann Hornsby looked at him. He saw a hint of fear in her eyes. Ed realized that for some reason she was worried about Bynum hiring a private detective. He studied her face and decided to take a chance.
"Mrs. Hornsby, I have a copy of the pictures that Bynum has."
Ann Hornsby got flustered, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Ed knew he was on to something. Why else would she get so flustered, "The butterfly tattoo is clear on several of the pictures."
Her face went blank and her shoulders dropped. She put her hands over her face and started to cry. Ed reached over the desk and put his hand on her arm. She immediately pulled away from him.
"What do you want," she snapped, "This has got to stop. I can't take this anymore."
Ed tried to quiet her, "Ann, I have to talk to you somewhere private. Is there anyway you could tell someone that you have to leave. Say you're sick or something. I really didn't know that it was you in the picture I just took a chance. You're not the only woman this happened to. Believe me, I want these pictures destroyed too. Can we go somewhere and talk?"
Ann tried to dry her eyes and straightened her shoulders, "Is this some kind of blackmail? What do you want of me?"
"Ann, there is a woman that I am helping right now that Bynum did the same thing to. I want this to be over and the pictures destroyed.
Ed pulled out his business card and wrote his home number on it, "Call this number and ask for Betty. Talk to her and you'll find out that what I'm saying is true."
Ann looked at him as if trying to see if his eyes would reveal if he were telling the truth or not.
"Would you feel comfortable going to my apartment and talking to the other woman that Bynum did this to?" He asked.
When she hesitated, Ed picked up the phone and called his apartment. The answering machine came on and he waited for his recorded greeting to stop.
"Betty pick up the phone, it's Ed". After a few seconds Betty picked up the phone, "Betty, I found the other woman in the picture. Will you talk to her?"
Ed handed the phone to Ann and she and Betty talked for a few minutes. She hung up the phone with tears in her eyes.
"I'll go with you, I have to stop this once and for all," she said, "I'm married. If my husband finds out about this, I don't know what he would do."
Ed asked her if she had a car. She told him that she did and that her car was in the parking lot. Ed wrote down his address on a piece of paper and drew a simple map showing her how to get to his apartment. Ann called someone and told him or her she was sick and had to leave for the rest of the day. Ed nodded and left the office. He had to let Ann make the decision whether to follow him or not.
Ed left the office building and got into the van. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. He was not sure if Ann would follow him to his apartment or not. He had to take this chance. He was sure that she had suffered like Betty and wanted this to be behind her. He knew that he had to handle her with kid gloves. She was obviously terrified that her husband would find out about the pictures. He hoped that finding out that another woman had suffered as she had would make her open up and tell him everything.
Ed pulled in front of his apartment and got out. Ann was not behind him. He decided to wait a few minutes, hoping that she would come. After about 10 minutes he walked up to his apartment. Betty looked at him as he walked in. He shrugged his shoulders to her unasked question. He was still hoping that Ann would decide to come. Betty got up and stood at the window overlooking the parking lot in front of the apartment. Ed walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.
"Is this her?" Betty asked after a few minutes.
Ed hurried to the window. Ann Hornsby was getting out of her car and stood for a second trying to figure out where his apartment was. When she had decided that she knew which apartment was his, she opened the rear door of her car. Ed saw her moving her hands over the rear seat and put something in her purse. The car hid whatever she put in her purse from his view. She closed the car door and started up to the apartment. Ed told Betty to go into the kitchen. He was worried that she might have put a gun in her purse.
Ed heard her walking up the stairs and opened the door as she reached the top of the stairwell. He held the door open and she hesitated before she entered. When she saw Betty in the kitchen she came into the apartment and Ed asked her to sit at the kitchen table.