A Killer's Touch. Michael Benson
is your name?”
“My name is Jane—Okay, he’s pulling over into the other lane now. Jane Kowalski. K-O-W-A-L-S-K-I.”
“And give me your cell phone number in case I lose you.”
Kowalski complied hurriedly so she could resume describing what was going on.
“Okay, he’s going to turn. Oh, shit. He is going to turn left on Toledo Blade. He is turning left right now. I—I—I’m in the other lane.”
“You’re going southbound and he’s turning left on Toledo Blade.”
“Right, and it’s like a blue, I want to say like a Camaro type of car. White male. And there’s a kid in the backseat and they kept banging on the window.”
“Left on Toledo Blade. About how old is this child? Can you tell me?”
“I didn’t see the child. I’d say less than ten. Definitely not an infant. Old enough to bang on the window.”
“Okay, seven to ten?”
“I don’t know. Five to ten. Okay, now it’s green. There are green arrows, and he’s going now.”
“He’s turning left on Toledo Blade?”
“Yeah, do you want me to ... Do you want me to turn? Try to follow him? Or ...”
The operator could be heard saying, “Okay. Does he want her to follow him?” Returning her attention to the caller: “Can you turn?”
“Oh, oh, he just turned left on Toledo Blade. I don’t know if I can catch up. There’s a bunch of traffic and I can’t get over. Um, oh, boy.”
Again the operator could be heard relaying a message: “There’s a child in the car somewhere between five and ten that was banging on the window.”
“And screaming,” the caller added.
“And crying,” the operator said.
“And screaming!” the caller corrected. “Like screaming screaming. Screaming. And not a happy scream. It was a ‘Get me out of here’ scream.”
“Left on Toledo Blade, and you say it was a blue Camaro?”
“Blue or black. Very dark. He’s a white male. And I want to say sort of light-colored hair. Maybe a little plump in the face—not, I don’t think, obese. I am way past him now. For me to go catch him, I don’t know if I’d ever be able to go back. I mean, I would never stop him. I’m not going to put myself at risk.”
The operator asked the caller to repeat her name and cell phone number. Jane Kowalski once again said her name, clearly enunciating, then spelling it.
“I mean I hope they weren’t just playing around,” Jane said. Then, looking at the big picture, she revised that statement. “To me, it sounded like the kid was frightened and panicky.”
“Okay.”
“But, um, I don’t know. Instead of taking a chance, I just wanted to make sure I called it in.”
The operator was typing: CALLER LAST SAW A BLUE OR GREEN CAMARO TURN LEFT ON TOLEDO BLADE FROM HWY 41 SOUTHBOUND CAMARO WAS DRIVEN BY W/M WITH LT HAIR AND THERE WAS A CHILD ABOUT 5-10 YRS OLD SCREAMING IN THE VEH AND BANGING ON THE WINDOW COMP CALLED IN THINKING THIS CHILD MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A POSS AMBER ALERT SINCE THIS VEHICLE WAS ACTING VERY STRANGE.
Yes, the witness had said “blue” or “black” and the operator typed “blue” or “green.” The car was actually green, of course, but this happy accident had no effect on what followed.
“Well, I’m very glad that you did, ma’am. That’s exactly what you should do. Okay. Well, you lost him, and thank you now, and we really appreciate you calling us.”
“Okay, can someone follow up with me? I mean ...”
“Hold on, ma’am.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, hang on, ma’am.”
“Okay.”
The operator relayed the caller’s question and then could be heard saying, “The vehicle turned left on Toledo Blade from forty-one southbound. She is no longer with the vehicle. White male driver. Blue or black Camaro. Male had light hair and there was a child screaming in the car and ...”
“And banging on the window,” Jane Kowalski prompted.
“And banging on the window,” the operator relayed. She returned her attention to the caller and said, in an apologetic tone, “I’ve got everyone hollering at me, and ... just a second. Okay, I may need you to pull over, so bear with me.”
“That’s fine. Okay. I’m going to pull over now, let me get over,” the caller said.
“Yeah,” the operator said, again sounding as though she was apologizing for the inconvenience. “That would be great.” There was a moment of silence broken by the operator: “I am glad that you called in.”
“Yeah, me too. I mean, I don’t know if there is an AMBER Alert out or something like that, but—”
“Bear with me. And where are you pulling over?”
“I just pulled over into the Toys ‘R’ Us.”
The operator placed the landmark immediately: “Okay, the Town Center Mall?”
“Town Center Mall. Yeah.”
“Okay, that’s excellent.”
“I’m from Tampa. I’m going down to Fort Myers to visit my sister, and I don’t even know where I am actually, but okay.”
“You’re going where?”
“I’m going down to Fort Myers to visit my grandmother and my sister.”
Conversation could be heard on the operator’s end. Where was the caller exactly? Anywhere near the Chili’s restaurant? What make of car was she driving?
“Tell me what kind of car you’re in?” the operator asked.
Jane Kowalski said that she was driving a silver Mercedes.
“Okay, if you’ll just sit there—and your doors are locked, right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“No, no, I mean ... I always have my car doors locked.”
“That’s probably a good idea, actually. Yeah, okay, all right,” the caller said, now understanding that the operator, despite her assurances to the contrary, thought there was a possibility that she was in harm’s way.
Now there was a long pause and all that could be heard was typing on the computer as the operator input the information she knew so far.
The typing stopped and the operator could be heard saying, “Do they want to make contact with her? She’s pulled over.” More typing. To Jane, she repeated, “Hang on, bear with me here. Forty-one south, yeah, he’d be heading toward the interstate.” A loud sigh could be heard, but it was unclear if it came from the caller or the operator. “I appreciate you holding on, Jane.”
“I just ... Well, actually, I hope it turns out to be nothing, really. I mean, I would never ...”
“She’s pulled over in the Toys ‘R’ Us parking lot. Do they want contact with her?” On the operator’s end, a female voice could be heard giving the operator instructions, a list that brought a frustrated response. “I have that. I already gave that to you.” More instructions. “Okay, I’m asking you. Do they want to make contact with her? Okay, Jane, we have your phone number. If we need you, we’ll call you. You’ll be at that cell phone number if we need you, right?”
“Absolutely. And don’t hesitate. I will give you whatever