Chapter 24

As the door bell rang for the first time, Grace realized that she was sweating, her palms were moist and she was having a hard time focusing on what she was going to say. She knew that it meant that she was starting to have a panic attack. She had not had one of these in such a long time and this was not the time to start having one. It was going to be difficult to get herself under control but she knew that she had to.

When the front door opened, she was greeted by a man in his late thirties whom she had never seen before.

“Hi, my name is Grace Winters and I am here looking for Milly Tillerman.”

“I’m sorry but my mom is not looking to buy anything. She just got back from a trip and would just like to relax.”

“Oh, I am not here to sell her anything. In fact, I am working with the police department and I would like to speak to her about the case that we are currently working on.”

“I really don’t know what my mom would have to say that would help you out on any case. She had never had a run in with the law in her entire life.

“Well, Mr. Tillerman, if you would be kind enough to allow me to enter your house and speak with your mother I can let you both know what is going on.”

Mr. Tillerman seemed taken back by her forcefulness but Grace knew that it was imperative that she spoke to Milly and if that meant that her son was going to be involved as well, then so be it. She was sure that Milly’s son was going to want to be there when she was speaking with her, so he would completely understand what was going on. It might be good for Milly to have the moral support of her son once everything was told to her.

Mr. Tillerman, who introduced himself as Jesse, backed away from the door and invited her inside the home. He showed her the way to the living room.

“Can I get you something to drink, while I go and get my mom?”

“If you have some water, I wouldn’t mind having a glass.”

Jesse walked into the kitchen and got out the pitcher of water from the refrigerator. He pulled down two glasses from the cupboard and poured them both a glass of water.

“Let me go and tell my mom that you are here,” Jesse said to her as he was walking towards the hallway. Grace could hear him walking up the stairs and knocking on a door. The voices that he heard were muffled so she could not make out what they were saying. In a few minutes, Jesse came down the stairs towards her.

“It is going to be a little bit, as my mom is taking a shower. Is there anything that I could do for you that would help this go more quickly?”

“Not really, what I need to say to your mom needs to wait until she is here. Could you maybe tell me where she just returned from?”

“Yes, she just got back from Connecticut. She had gone to her old school to update all of her information and to also see how the school was doing. She uses to be the headmistress at the school and she likes to return there every so often. Since she had recently moved here to Grangeville, she wanted to update them all of where she was now.”

Grace figured that Veronica would have already found out this information and would be busy trying to figure out if this was the connection that was between the victims. She would be wrong. The reason this crazed man was doing what he was, went much deeper. It was not simply a past student that was trying to take out revenge on the rest of his old classmates.

There would be no reason for Veronica or William to think that there was any other connection. That is what Grace had thought the first time as well. It was not until that final time looking through it that it all became clear. There was a much stronger string that was being pulled on these people that were being murdered.

She started to speak to Jesse, “I think that there is reason to believe that your mom might be at risk to become the next victim of “El Diablo.” You have heard about this case, correct.”

“Of course I know what you are speaking about. It is all over the news and in the newspapers; however my mom really has not been following it as she can hardly read the newspaper any more and she hates to watch the news. She knows that there have been murders going on but she does not know anything about it. Is there a reason why you think my mom is next in line?”

“There is a very strong reason, but I would rather wait until she is able to come down and speak to me herself.” At that moment a small bell sounded.

“That would be my mom. She must be ready to come down the stairs. If you will excuse me I will be right back.”

When Jesse brought Milly Tillerman into the living room, she was taken back as to how frail she appeared. She had expected a very vibrant woman and yet was being faced with a woman who looked as if life had taken its toll on her. She was very pale and it was obvious that she was having a hard time getting around. Grace thought that it was a good thing that she had a son that was so willing to be with her. Otherwise there would be no way that she could live in this house on her own.

“Mom, this is Grace Winters, she is with the Grangeville Police Department.” Milly extended her hand and Grace took it in hers and was amazed at how cold it was. She had not expected her hands to be as cold as they were.

“Ms. Tillerman, it is a pleasure to finally get the chance to meet you. I have wanted to talk to you ever since I found out some sort of connect between the case that I am working on and yourself.”

“What kind of connection could be between me and a mad man that is out there killing people?”

“That is what I want to speak about. It is very important that you listen to me carefully and are willing to do anything and everything that I ask you to do. Are you willing to do that?”

“I can try my best, but I have to tell you that you are worrying me quite a bit and I am not sure that I will be able to remain calm.”

“That is fine, Milly, that is why I have asked your son to stay here with you so you will have the moral support of him.”

Grace then went into the details that connected Milly Tillerman to the case of “El Diablo.” To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. She was not sure how to handle everything that was being told to her but she did the best that she could.

There were quite a few times that Grace had to stop what she was saying and calm her down. She wanted her to understand that she was completely safe and that the police were going to do everything within their powers to make sure that she stayed that way. Grace told her that she could not guarantee her safety if she did not leave Grangeville as soon as she possibly could. Milly agreed.

Grace got on the phone and spoke to Veronica as her flight was preparing to land at the airport. Veronica was quite suspicious of the plans but agreed to do whatever was asked of her without question. It was apparent to Grace that it was not easy for her to not call up and speak to Jason about what she had found out; Veronica did her best to put those fears behind her.

When she got off the phone with Veronica, Grace told Milly that they needed to head to the airport immediately. The tickets were bought on the way to the airport by Jesse and he was comforting his mother as well. It was not easy for either one of them to realize that if Grace had not figured out this case, Milly would probably not have survived the night. With that prospect at the forefront of her mind, she was able to agree to get on the plane and do whatever was asked of her.

Grace was not looking forward to explaining herself to Jason because she knew that he would be angry with her for putting herself in harms way, but it was the only way to do it. She was going to have to live with the aspect that she might fall out of the graces with the police. She hoped that it was not so, but was willing to live with that if it helped to lead to the arrest of “El Diablo.” He had put the town of Grangeville under fear for far too long and she was not going to let it continue.