The Man Who Remembered Too Much

By Roland Boike

The brutal attack by an unknown assailant on the assistant manager of a supermarket leaves the victim in a coma. This is the second violent crime in this small community within a month.

There appears to be no obvious motive for the attacks. The police task force assigned to solve the mysteries is conducted by Constance Mathis a lieutenant in the Loveland Ohio Police Department. Mathis is assigned the case of the attempted murder of Clayton Westfield along with the murder of an elderly man named Bill Hamilton.

Lieutenant Mathis, in the course of her investigation, falls in love with the victim. Her romantic inclinations are thwarted when she is removed from her investigation by the FBI.

The FBI realizes one of the deaths being investigated on is a man secretly hiding out in the community for the last ten years who was in the witness protection program.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984540515

Roland Boike

Roland Vincent Boike was born October 28, 1930 at his family home in Madeira, Ohio. He is the son of Dr. Stephen Boike and Ludvica Rensi Boike and is one of seven children. During the Korean War, Roland served in 134th and the 147th Field Artillery as Chief of Section of a 105 Howitzers Battalion. Roland attended Western Kentucky State University, Ohio State Department of Agriculture, and the University Of Cincinnati Department Of Applied Arts. He was awarded a full scholarship to attend Lincoln College of Chiropractic where he graduated in 1962 with a Degree in Chiropractic. Roland practiced Chiropractic in Loveland, Ohio for thirty- five years and was a Staff Physician at Jewish Hospital in Kenwood, Ohio. He served as Team Physician for Loveland High School, Western Brown High School and Wilmington College Girls Soccer Team. Roland served as Mayor and Vice Mayor in Loveland, Ohio, a community of over 10,500 residents. Roland was a founder and Director of The Community National Bank, Loveland, Ohio and Chairman of the Loveland 1976 Centennial Celebration, which produced a live outdoor spectacular, The History of Loveland. Roland was a founder, past president and member of the Board of Trustees of The Loveland Chamber of Commerce. He designed the Valentine postage meter stamp and the Logo There Is Nothing In The World So Sweet As Love. He was recognized with an award from The National Safety Council for saving the lives of three children in a submerged automobile at Lake Isabella in May, 1964. Roland was honored by the City of Loveland, Ohio for dedicated service to the community with a commemorative marker In the Veterans Memorial Park. Roland is a Kentucky Colonel and has received numerous awards for civic achievements.

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Copyright © 2018 by Roland Boike.

ISBN:                    Softcover                             978-1-9845-4052-2

                              eBook                                   978-1-9845-4051-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/12/2018

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Contents

Chapter 1      Bill Hampton

Chapter 2      Numbers And Dates

Chapter 3      Conscientious

Chapter 4      Going Home

Chapter 5      Introspection

Chapter 6      Reviewing The Situation

Chapter 7      Advice From Mom

Chapter 8      Another Attempt

Chapter 9      Questioning Leads Nowhere

Chapter 10    My Chaperone

Chapter 11    Mexican Casserole

Chapter 12    Extra Duty

Chapter 13    Another Victim

Chapter 14    A Picture From The Past

Chapter 15    A New Lead

Chapter 16    The Suspects

Chapter 17    Playing Ball

Chapter 18    The Dead Man’s Visitor

Chapter 19    Informing The Family

Chapter 20    Background Check

Chapter 21    The Known And The Unknown

Chapter 22    A Trip To See

Chapter 23    Background Checks

Chapter 24    To Tell The Truth

Chapter 25    The Set-Up

Chapter 26    The Trap

Chapter 27    Dixon And The And The Fbi

Chapter 28    An Old Friend

Chapter 29    Back To Work

Chapter 30    The Vanishing Victim

Chapter 31    Last Minute Thoughts

Chapter 32    The Shoot Out

Chapter 33    The Lottery Lie

Chapter 34    Constance Gets Her Man

Chapter 1

BILL HAMPTON

AS TOLD BY CARLTON WESTFIELD

There was a temporary lull at the Customer Care Counter and as I stood there looking out at the cash registers, I had an opportunity to think back on my childhood and about my past. I have come to the conclusion that my unusual ability to remember dates and numbers all started when I was about three years old.

I have an extremely detailed autobiographical memory. I can remember an abnormally vast number of my life experiences and number combinations.

My mother, who was a high school history teacher, always impressed upon me the importance of dates, and especially historical dates.

I remember one day, October 20, 1989 in particular, when she repeated October 28, October 28, October 28. She repeated the date to me numerous times during the day to remind me that October 28 would be my birthday. As I think back on it now, I don’t believe I really understood the meaning of October 28 nor the word birthday, not alone the word October.

Believing that dates were important to my parents and looking for parental approval, I started to remember dates. I soon spread my talents into the field of numbers and I can still tell you the phone numbers of my grandparents even though they have passed on some 20 years ago now. SY 7715. That would translate in this date and age into 1 513 921 7715 if I would try to call Grandma today using the alphanumerical combinations employed by the phone company at that time. I can tell you the check number and the amount my grandparents gave me for my high school graduation. I can also tell you the check number and the amount of the check that my grandparents gave me when I graduated from college.

In those days, the phone company used such quaint call letters as SY for Sycamore, MU for Mulberry, BR for Bramble and WA for Walnut.

My name is Carlton Westfield, but most people call me Carl. I am 32, single and the assistant manager of Dole’s Supermarkets Inc. in Cincinnati Ohio. I am not married at the present time and my future in the dating game seems only fair.

It’s easy to get a girlfriend; the trouble I have is keeping them. I have an inordinate amount of first dates. Whenever our conversation gets around to numbers or dates, I know them all. I don’t do it on purpose; the information just seems to spill from my lips uncontrollably. Pretty soon most girls find my ability to remember things annoying. As a matter of fact, I have a date with Linda Kirkman this evening. I am planning on taking her to dinner and spending the evening with her. So far, our relationship seems to be pretty good.

I think Linda is a very classy woman. She is an executive secretary at General Electric in Evendale. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She dresses in the latest styles, has great figure, a very pretty face and has a pleasing personality.

I always take her to the most expensive places because I think a girl of her caliber deserves the best.

I have a friend named Kenneth Reiter who is also plagued with a great memory. Strange as it may seem, we make a great team. Kenneth seems to know all the numbers and dates that I do not know and vice a versa.

I love my job and I look forward to spending every morning at work. I enjoy my customers and I love our employees. I am presently in the company training program to groom me for a position as a Vice President, President or CEO of the company. I am paid very well and I am looking forward to the day when I will be in a position to run the company or, better yet, have a cushy job as Chairman of the Board.

I started working with Dole Supermarkets Inc. on Monday, June 4, 1999 as a stock boy after school.

In the eight hours that I work each day, I come in contact with a lot of people. If I am lucky enough to get their name, I never forget it. I also remember their face. That might seem exhausting to people who do not have that type of memory. The thing is, all those numbers, faces and facts are never on my mind. They only suddenly come to mind when I need the information.

For instance, I do not know the gentleman who is approaching the Customer Care Counter at the present time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before.

Good morning, how are you today? How may I help you? I asked.

I need to cash a check, the man said to me.

Have you ever cashed a check in the store before? I asked.

No, Sir, I have never been in the store before, he said as he rested his arm on the top of the counter.

In that case I will need a photo ID to start with, preferably a driver’s license, I said.

The man reached into his hip pocket and pulled out his wallet. He removed his driver’s license and handed it to me.

I held a driver’s license up and compared the picture on it to the man standing in front of me. It appeared that the driver’s license had indeed been issued to the man now standing in front of me. That is when I realized that the driver’s license was registered to a one Alfredo Coleman living at 1214 Durango Avenue, Encinal, Texas.

Do you have any photo identification showing that you are a resident of the state of Ohio, Mister Coleman?

No, I don’t. As a matter of fact, I have only been here a few weeks and I haven’t had time to apply for a new driver’s license, Mister Coleman said.

I’m sorry Mister Coleman, but company policy does not permit me to cash a personal check for people who are not residents of the state, I said.

Were you planning on making any purchases here in the store? I asked.

Yes, I was planning on going to Adams County and doing some target practice with my pistol at a friend’s farm tomorrow and I need to pick up a few things. I see you carry ammo, targets and all of the gun cleaning paraphernalia that I will need. I am really proud of the gun. My dad gave it to me on my 18th birthday.

Do you have a gun? Mister Coleman asked me.

No, I have never felt that I needed one, I said.

Do you have a credit card, I asked.

Yes, I have an American Express, but I don’t use it very often, Mister Coleman responded.

If you go back to the Sporting Goods Department, pick up what you need, go to the cash register and use your American Express Card you will be able to get cash, I said.

That would be great, but I don’t know how to do it, Mister Coleman said.

After you have checked out all of your purchases the pay pad will ask you if you want any cash. If you touch Yes the pay pad will ask you for the amount. Just follow the instructions. The cashier will total your purchases; charge your purchases and the cash amount you want to your credit card. She will then give you the cash money you placed on your credit card.

Thank you very much Mister and after a slight hesitation and looking at my name tag he said, Clayton.

The next person in line at the Customer Care Center is Bill Hampton. He has been a regular customer ever since I started with the company on June 4, 1999. This was my third job after graduating from college. I didn’t feel like I was cut out to be a salesman or a banker.

Mister Hamilton only shops on Tuesday and if you wanted to know, I could tell you what products he usually buys. Most of what he buys are microwavable products, and he always buys a ticket for the Wednesday night Powerball Lottery. I always thought that Bill was widowed or an avid bachelor because he only buys food that can be microwaved, except maybe for an occasional pizza he never buys food that need to be cooked or baked,

Bill always fills out a lottery betting card using numbers that have a special meaning to him at the time. For instance, last week Bill told me that he converted the name of the first company he ever worked for into numbers and used the numbers to put on his betcard.

The man who stepped up behind Bill to get in line for service at the Customer Care Counter is Stu Martin.

I really don’t know much about Stu because he only comes in every other week, usually on Tuesday. He always buys two cartons of Pall Mall Orange, Kings, 100 cigarettes.

I often thought that perhaps Stu does not eat. I shall make it a point someday when I engage him in conversation to find out where he does his grocery shopping. Evidently, he is not aware of the articles published by the Surgeon General regarding the hazards of smoking.

Good morning, Bill. How is your day going today? I asked as he approached the counter.

My day is going great and you have the ability to make it go even better if you would only give me a winning lottery ticket. I’m tired of giving you three dollars every week. I need a winning ticket to recoup some of my losses. Have you bought your ticket yet? Bill asked as he smiled at me.

The only gambling, I do, Bill, is in the stock market and even there, I have someone who knows what he’s doing place my bet, I said. Besides, why are you putting all the blame on me, Bill? I am at the bottom of the food chain. You pick the numbers; the computers and the State Lottery Commission make the rules. In the end, it’s that little machine that blows air onto numbered ping-pong balls that decides the fate of about 300 million people. The probability that no one wins the jackpot is about 12.83%. The present jackpot is $354,546,000, so you can expect at least 400 million tickets will be sold. You see Bill, in spite of your fancy calculations and planning, your chances of winning are something like 1 in 400 million. Besides Bill, what the heck would you do with $354 million?

I would buy all the stock in the Dole Grocery Company and do away with all the Assistant Manager position, Bill said as he laid his betcard on the counter.

Looks like a lot of hen scratching to me, Bill. Having trouble making up your mind?

"Yes, Carl, as a matter of fact it was the last number that I couldn’t come up with. Everything I thought of gave me a number greater than 26 and I was looking for a number between 1 and 25.

When