APPLE ROAD: THE DEATH OF DAVID BRAMLEY

The public was advised that the man in custody was not the serial killer and the public should still exercise reasonable caution. They called him Ehbo because that is what he called himself and it didn't take long to figure out "Eee" meant "Eat". Ehbo wanted to eat and that was pretty much all he cared about. He was docile. He was no longer a suspect. 

Ehbo was a victim of long term abuse and neglect, yet his demeanor suggested someone had loved him, fed him, led him by the arm and kept him from running to traffic. There was no way he could survive on his own. The head he was keeping in the newspaper stand probably belonged to a fellow victim, probably the one who had looked after him. Ehbo was probably hoping the head would magically come back to life and start taking care of him again.

The forest ranger had another name for the picnic raiding pair, "Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo". Ranger John Reznik had not actually seen them but had received multiple complaints from hikers and tourists about their food being stolen. They knew it wasn't an animal. The footprints were human. Sandwiches disappeared but the picnic baskets where left where they found them. 

The reports of stolen food dwindled. That was probably when the woman was murdered and Ehbo was left on his own. The coat Ehbo was wearing did not belong to the woman he was traveling with.

Dr. Walter Bramley walked down the empty hospital hallway. He came and went unnoticed because of his status at the facility. The next time when he reminded his wife that their son was dead, he would be telling the truth. It was a pity he had to do what he just did. 

When Marina escaped with David in tow, Dr. Bramley couldn't very well call the police. He would not be able to explain away the older scars. He'd done things to them that would cost him his medical license. No one needed to know that Ebho Eee was David Bramley. Marina certainly would never be identified. 

Dr. Bramley spent a reasonable amount of time looking for them and then gave up before he attracted suspicion. He avoided panic and compartmentalized the little breach by fantasizing that perhaps Marina found her way to some sleepy village in Mexico where she and David could live out their ridiculous little lives. She would be satisfied with escape. She wouldn't dare go to the authorities. Marina knew what he was capable of, but as it was now, he wished that whoever had killed Marina had bothered to kill Davy as well so he didn't have to get his hands dirty. 

The medication caused heart failure and it would be assumed Ehbo's death was due to long term exposure to the elements.

Bramley regreted that plucky Cherie Solange was staying at a different hospital where he didn't have rights to practice. Boy would he like to pay that young lady a visit.

~ To Be Continued ~