Chapter 3

I explained to Sue that I wouldn't be stopping by tonight since I wouldn't be getting off till after midnight. She mentioned that she planned on catching up on her sleep anyway.

It was a busy night. Some were still celebrating Halloween. The way some women of the night dressed, every night was Halloween. It was a busy night and we were still talking to some of the prostitutes. That along with doing our regular patrol made for a quick night.

It was almost midnight when Jen and I were headed back to the station. As we walked in the door the desk Sergeant called to me and said I had a phone call. I was rather surprised, since no one ever called me at work. I answered the phone and it was Lester, the homeless man.

"Patrolman Wayne, this is Lester. You gave me your card and said to call you if I even saw that woman or her car again."

"Yes Lester, I gave you my card. Did you see the woman and her car tonight?" I asked.

"I didn't see her but I did see her car, you know the silver Honda. It was parked on a side street off the main road."

"How long ago did you see it Lester?"

"Maybe an hour or so. I don't have a watch."

"Why did you wait so long to call me?"

"No one would let me use their phone. I finally walked down to the all night diner and I gave them your card and asked them to dial you. They hesitated but finally called."

"Stay where you are Lester. I'll have a patrol car stop by and get your statement and you can have a free meal on me."

I called Detectives Smith and Cook; they were patrolling the downtown area tonight also. I told them what Lester said and they headed to the place where Lester last saw the car. We hoped we weren't too late: we didn't want another victim.

Their vehicle was unmarked; we didn't want to scare our possible suspect away. Jen and I headed back to our cruiser. We figured we could help with backup if needed. We sent another patrol car over to get Lester's statement and I told them to see he got something to eat. I would reimburse them later.

Jen and I received a call from Detective Smith. He said as they were going down the street they were passed by the Honda. It was driven by a woman with a blonde wig. They didn't get a good look at her but they turned around and were now following her. They also said they passed a parked car with someone sitting in it. We were to go check it out.

We were afraid that our killer struck again. As we turned the corner the parked vehicle started moving. We turned on our lights and he stopped. We asked him to get out of the car.

He was a college-aged man and was scared that we stopped him. He finally told us he had sex with a prostitute and she had just left in her own car. We talked to him and found out that he had been with this same hooker a number of times. Sometimes she wore a red wig but today it was blonde.

She drove a silver Honda and she always wanted sex on the side streets.

"She wasn't like the other women," said the man. "She was older and beautiful. She always wanted me to sit on the passenger side and I didn't have to wear a condom unless I wanted to. I never did, it felt to good when I came in her."

Another patrol car pulled up and we told them to take him to the station and get his statement. If he went along and answered all their questions we wouldn't charge him with solicitation. He readily agreed to tell us anything we wanted to know.

We received a call from Smith and Cook. They said the vehicle they were following was going up Jefferson Ave. They weren't able to make out the plates because the number was blocked. They could have pulled her over for that but wanted to see where she was going.

"John, she's pulling into your apartment parking lot. We'll confront her after she parks." Jen and I were only a few minutes behind.

When we pulled up they had the woman standing outside of her car. She was definitely dressed as a prostitute. God, I prayed it wasn't Sue as we pulled up. She was built similar to Sue but the closer we got I knew it wasn't her. I looked at the woman and realized that it was Madeline Berkshire. Her husband was the first victim. I pulled Detective Smith aside and told him who she was.

They had asked her for her driver's license and proof of insurance. When she said she didn't have that with her, she was asked to get out of the car. They now had probable cause to check her vehicle. They removed a small green purse from her front seat. It contained both a handgun and a barber's straight razor.

She wasn't speaking at all. They found a key to room 321 also in her purse. We all went up to the room. Once we opened the door we could see that she didn't live there. The room was filled with clothes that a prostitute would wear. We figured this was just a place where she changed her clothes before going home.

When I told her that I knew she was Madeline Berkshire, she said she wanted her lawyer. The Detectives took her down to the station and we had our crime scene investigators check out the apartment as well as her vehicle.

Due to all the commotion, a number of people came out of their apartments. I looked down the hall and saw Sue and asked her over. We told everyone else to go back to their apartments.

Sue looked in the apartment and said she saw some of her clothes that were stolen as well as her wigs. She cried and I took her into my arms. I walked her back to her apartment and told her I would see her in the morning.

Mrs. Berkshire did get her lawyer. At first she tried to deny everything but sitting there looking like a hooker didn't help any story she tried to come up with. Her lawyer said she must have had a nervous breakdown. We did get her to finally talk.

It all began when she found out her husband was cheating on her. One evening after work she put on some sexy clothes and went to meet him in the parking garage. She told him she was his prostitute and he could have her for a hundred dollars. He liked the idea of role-playing and went along with her.