The Palindrome Murders

By William Wallace

FBI agents Terry Longfellow and Adriana Dickinson are called on to investigate a series of kidnappings and murders in Massachusetts to Ocean City, Maryland, ending up in Agent Longfellow’s hometown of Dundalk, Maryland. Thinking that they had an edge with this case moving to Agent Longfellow’s hometown, they soon realized it didn’t seem to be the case after all, as the serial killer seemed more comfortable in Dundalk as the killing ground. The frustrated hometown FBI agent, Terry Longfellow, eventually counts on his father’s local law enforcement skills to help him solve this mysterious killer’s identity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662465307

William Wallace

William E. Wallace is the author of The Judas Hunter, a private detective novel, and Tamer, an upcoming western set in Gold Rush California. He is an veteran investigative reporter who worked 26 years for the San Francisco Chronicle before taking early retirement in 2006 to teach and write fiction full time. As a reporter he specialized in projects about political corruption, organized crime and police misconduct. His investigative reports won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the San Francisco Press Club. Wallace has taught journalism at California State University, East Bay in Hayward and at the University of California, Berkeley. He took his bachelor's degree in political science at Cal Berkeley and served as an intelligence analyst while serving in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He lives with his wife and son in Berkeley, California.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Three Blind Mice

After successfully solving a tristate kidnapping case, arresting three criminals and successfully saving the lives of three young men who were the victims, Agents Longfellow and Dickinson had hardly taken a deep breath when Agent Longfellow’s cell rang with FBI director Harold Wellington on the other end.

Agent Longfellow, just calling for two reasons. First, just want to congratulate you and Agent Dickinson on a job well done arresting the three kidnappers without firing a shot. I have to tell you that arrest has gotten the attention of everyone in the bureau, and everyone is talking about how you and Agent Dickinson performed in catching the criminals, said the director. Could you run the process that you and Agent Dickinson initiated in order to free the three students from their captors, requested the director.

Agent Longfellow encouraged Agent Dickinson with, Agent Dickinson, please correct anything that I don’t have just right or forgot to add about this case as I explain it to Director Wellington.

"Sir, we received a call from headquarters telling us of three young men who had been kidnapped from Saint Dominic’s Academy in Newton, Massachusetts, after their lacrosse practice. They had been abducted from the parking lot where their cars were parked. They were abducted at gunpoint by kidnappers wearing masks, were shuffled into a van, and had their hands secured behind their backs with nylon wraps. Their feet were also secured with the nylon wraps.

"Two of the three victims were seventeen years old and one was eighteen. Their names are Drew Forsythe, Bentley Schofield, and Hunter Madison. All three were seniors and due to graduate this year. They all were sought after by every major college, including the Ivy League. They were excellent lacrosse players, and all exceeded 4.0 on their GPAs, and their SATs were in the 1400s. Obviously, they were heavily sought after.

"Their captors left envelopes on their vehicles so that their families would be instructed as to what to do next. On each envelope was written the surname of each family. The first thing written inside all of the envelopes was, ‘Do not call any legal authority! If you’ve contacted legal authorities already, contact them and tell them that your son has safely returned home. You will be contacted and told where to deliver $5 million dollars within the next 48 hours.’

"The contact was made on each of their son’s cell phones just before they were silenced by the kidnappers. The message they each received told their families where to deliver the money, and then they went silent. We were given the families’ contact information and proceeded to split up the information and make contact with each of the families. Agent Dickinson took the Forsythe and Madison families, while I contacted the Schofield family.

"All three families were cooperative with the plan and strategy that we agreed upon. We had established a team of spotters to keep an eye on the grounds around Saint Dominic’s Academy. They kept an eye on every building, athletic field, charter bus activity coming and going, and all of the school’s parking lots.

"The day after the envelopes were removed from the three students’ cars, the cars were no longer there. Someone had removed the cars the night after the abduction and before we were assigned to the case. We have seen the video of the cars being removed by three masked individuals wearing hooded sweatshirts. Aside from their height and weight, there was nothing else recognizable that would establish itself.

"We had a description of the cars from the families that allowed us to put out an APB on the vehicles to all law enforcement in the area, which included make, model, and license number. We had hoped to get a hit from someone on the vehicles, but that didn’t happen right away. It all happened quite accidentally.

"One of the local policemen had stopped at a local convenience store when the APB reached him. He asked the person behind the counter for a pen and paper. The police officer wrote down the information as the person in line behind him just stood there silently until he finished writing when he approached the officer with, ‘Excuse me. I couldn’t help but see the information you were writing down. It looks like you’re looking for certain cars,’ said the young shopper. ‘I think I may be able to help you,’ he said.

"The young shopper continued speaking to the police officer, saying, ‘I was leaving my school at Saint Dominic’s Academy’s front parking lot as I saw the three cars on your APB pulling out of the back parking lot one after another in front of me. I slowed down and decided to follow them to see what was going on because one of the cars belonged to my friend Drew Forsythe. I knew that the person driving his car was not Drew. The driver had a mask on and a hoody. I followed at a distance, hoping that I wasn’t noticed. The three cars continued heading toward the docks. As they approached the docks, I decided to make a turn off the street they were on because I knew that the end of that pier was less than three blocks away, so wherever they were going was going to be nearby, so I pulled down the side street and got out of my car. I walked back to the street that I followed them in time to see the three cars enter one of the buildings. I returned to my car and drove down the street that ran parallel to the street by the docks. I saw the lights of the cars go out, so I know exactly what building they were in. It appeared to be a triple car theft, so I wrote down the street address and contacted the authorities,’ said the young student shopper.

"Agent Dickinson and I had just arrived in Newton, Massachusetts, when my cell phone rang. It was the local police department calling us, as the FBI was already assigned to the case upon request. They had contacted the FBI regarding the local student from Saint Dominic’s Academy who had information on the kidnapped students’ vehicles and their location. The local police gave us the phone number of the student who had told the police that he had tracked the suspects who were stealing his friends’ cars.

"We contacted the student via cell. He seemed to be somewhat nervous. However, later on in our conversation, he admitted that he was a little jumpy talking to FBI agents about something that he saw and reported. His name is Otto Redder, and after he spoke with us, we found him to be very intelligent, polite, and respectful. We agreed that Otto was very detail-oriented, with a great memory for specifics. We agreed to meet Otto at Saint Dominic’s Academy. Otto told us where he would be parked and that he would be wearing a beige Marine Corps hat with Semper Fi on the bill and a red shirt with the letters red printed on the front. Both Agent Dickinson and I were very impressed with Otto Redder already.

"Upon first meeting Otto Redder, you wouldn’t be overly impressed by his physical stature. He had a diminutive appearance and looked to weigh less than one hundred and fifty pounds. His height was almost six feet. His handshake was firm as he stared into our eyes. He knew what was important with first impressions.

"We discussed how well he knew the three missing students. It appeared that he knew them well, as he spent quite a few hours tutoring them to make sure that they kept their GPA as high as possible. We later found out that Otto Redder had never received a grade less than an A+ his entire life. It appears that he has an IQ exceeding 165 to 170 and a photographic memory as well.

"Otto shared with us that he expected to focus on criminal justice in college. There were hundreds of schools attempting to land him as a student with perhaps a future in teaching at their respective institutions of higher learning. He said that he wasn’t interested in being a college professor.

"Agent Dickinson asked Otto about the shirt he was wearing, commenting on the flag image that was the centerpiece, when she was interrupted by Otto that the important part of the shirt’s meaning was in the letters red across the shirt. Otto told her that it stood for Remember Everyone Deployed. ‘That’s very impressive,’ said Agent Dickinson, followed by, ‘Is your family military service-oriented?’ Otto’s reply was, ‘Several generations have served dating back to the War of 1812,’ answered Otto Redder.

"I remember saying ‘God bless your family’ in response. Otto said that he intended to serve in the military but did not want to make it his career. He said that he’d like to join the FBI if they’d consider taking him. I assured him that there are many different career options with the FBI and that they were continuing to expand their investigative programs every year.

"We had Otto join us in our vehicle as he instructed us exactly where to go. He told us not to go down the street where the thieves went with the cars because it may signal them to react irrationally. We agreed that we could possibly find another entrance to the building. We quietly approached the rear of the building where Otto said the cars were located. After trying to look at an access way into the back of the building unsuccessfully, both myself and Agent Dickinson were shocked to see Otto Redder climb up the rain gutter with little or no effort. He was able to make it to an open window where he could see the entire inner sanctum of the kidnappers’ retreat, taking notice whether he was able to see any activity from the kidnappers or his friends, who were presumed being held captive.

"Otto spotted the three cars belonging to the missing classmates. He saw Drew’s 1957 candy apple Red Ford T-Bird, Bentley’s 1957 fuel-injected Corvette Convertible, and Hunter’s 1966 Pontiac GTO muscle car. In a corner, he thought that he saw something moving. About thirty seconds later, one of the kidnappers appeared as he walked across the floor. He met up with the other two kidnappers as they huddled in a circle, having a discussion. Agent Dickinson had notified the headquarters, and the FBI had the building surrounded, awaiting orders to enter the building. Otto signaled to us that he had something in his hand and was preparing to throw it into the building. Agent Dickinson quickly gave the command to the agents surrounding the building to advance into the building immediately, which they did.

"Although they were armed with handguns, the three kidnappers were caught completely off guard and put their hands in the air while dropping to their knees. Agent Dickinson and I walked into the building in time to see the other agents removing the nylon ties from the victims’ hands and feet, the duct tape from their mouths, and the blindfolds from their eyes.

One of the boys said, ‘Otto, what are you doing here?’ Before he could say anything, Agent Dickinson answered for him with, ‘Without Otto, we’d still be discussing what to do next. He showed us where he believed you were being held. As it turned out, Otto was a hundred percent correct. You all owe him a big thank-you.’

Sir, we’ll take as many cases like this as you can give us, finished Agent Longfellow.

Your next assignment is on its way to you as we speak, said Director Wellington.

Chapter 2

Twins Are Double Trouble

Agent Longfellow remembered having a conversation with his partner, Agent Dickinson, shortly after they met five years ago about how many twins they remembered knowing as they were growing up. He also remembered how shocked his partner was when he told her that he could recall knowing over fifteen sets of twins whom he knew from grade school through senior high school. He told her that there were four sets of twins on the track team in high school. Dundalk, Maryland, was loaded with twins. There was a rumor that there was something in the water.

Agents Longfellow and Dickinson decided to pay a visit to the home of Otto Redder before they left Massachusetts. He did not live in Newton, Massachusetts, like his three kidnapped classmates. He lived in a neighboring community named Watertown, which was only eleven miles away. It certainly wasn’t the upscale profile township like Newton. Newton’s population was around 88,000.

Otto lived in the third largest Armenian city in the United States known as Watertown. It had a population of 38,000 citizens. It’s approximately eleven miles from Newton.

Agents Longfellow and Dickinson wanted to compliment Otto’s parents on what a fine young man he was and what he did in assisting them in closing a case that was barely open. They were going to tell Director Wellington exactly what Otto had done to see if he could receive recognition from the FBI for his assistance of possibly saving the three lives of his fellow classmates who were kidnapped and held for fifteen million dollars ransom that was never paid. Both agents felt confident that the FBI would oblige when it came to recognizing a citizen who did as much as the seventeen-year-old Otto Redder had. Recognition should be the least they could do.

Agent Longfellow was just about to call Director Wellington about the recognition idea for Otto Redder when his cell phone rang. It was Director Wellington.

Agent Longfellow, we have a new assignment for you and Agent Dickinson. There’s been two murders that seem to be very similar, and they’re less than ten miles from each other, said the director. You’ll be traveling to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which is not far from Philadelphia. One of the victims is in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and the other is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The victims are about nine miles apart, said Director Wellington. The victims have not been identified other than they’re both female. I don’t even know the approximate age of the victims. Neither one had identification. It’s also possible that the killer could have taken them, finished Director Wellington. We’ll send you what we have so far.

In a manner of seconds, both agents had the information on the exact location of the two murdered victims. The first location was in Cherry Hill Public Library. Agents Longfellow and Dickinson were able to get a flight that put them in Cherry Hill in just under an hour and a half. They made their way to the 72,000-square-foot library in only twenty minutes. They saw the crime scene tape as they approached where the body was found.

One of the local police approached Agents Longfellow and Dickinson, holding an evidence bag in his hand. One of our guys found what appears to be a wallet with identification down this incline under a shrub, said the local officer in charge.

Agent Dickinson quickly accepted the bag from the local officer while thanking him for his inspection diligence in examining the crime scene very carefully and uncovering the identification of the murdered victim. She immediately contacted headquarters with the newly found information, requesting headquarters to give them anything and everything on this person whose name was Hannah Marie Lombardi. Her driver’s license is from New Jersey, and according to her license, she was twenty-four years old. Check to see if there’s a missing person’s report on her, said Agent Dickinson as she completed her call.

After the phone call, Agent Dickinson noticed that a new person had entered the crime scene area and was approaching the corpse that was intentionally posed with the index finger pointing toward the sky. Excuse me, she said loudly to the new entrant to the crime scene.

Are you addressing me? asked the new entrant as she turned around, and Agent Dickinson could clearly see that the person she was addressing just happened to be the local medical examiner. I have a great idea, said the medical examiner, who continued with, Why don’t you mind your business, and I’ll mind mine. I’m the local medical examiner. I know why I’m here. Oh, and my name is Irene Boniface.

Agent Longfellow just absorbed the entire back-and-forth between the ME and his partner. He almost couldn’t wait for what he expected to happen next. Agent Dickinson spun around in a menacing fashion and headed straight for the corpse of Hannah Marie Lombardi. As she approached the dead body and the medical examiner, she extended her hand, saying, I’m FBI Field Agent Dickinson. Ms. Boniface, it’s going to be a pleasure to be working with you on this case. Agent Longfellow couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. He couldn’t wait to discuss this situation with his partner later. The discussion would have to wait, as the agents had to get to Philadelphia to attend to the other dead victim.

Agents Longfellow and Dickinson arrived at the second crime scene area in less than fifteen minutes. The local police were covering the ins and outs around the area where the corpse was found. Along with the local law enforcement, there was another medical examiner who was obviously doing his job by examining the corpse thoroughly. Not trying to make any more enemies, Agent Dickinson decided to approach the busy medical examiner with, Hello, I’m FBI Field Agent Dickinson, and my partner here is Agent Longfellow who heads up our team.

The ME pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. "Not trying to be unsociable, but I’ve got work to do. I’m Joseph Stalin, but please don’t laugh. I’ll explain later, I just need to get this situation wrapped up. My superiors aren’t very patient if I take longer than an hour to give them their initial report, and I’m