Murder to Go

by Brenda Donelan

  “Do you know anything about his background? His family or anything?” Ramos persisted.

  “I really don’t. I’m not sure what he’s doing this summer either. Some students stay here and work, while others take classes as well as work. Most of our students work part time or even full time jobs while taking a full course load during the regular school term. During the summer only a few classes are offered, so the students who take them tend to be those who want to graduate early or need to make up a failed class. Most of them are happy to take a break from classes over the summer,” Marlee reported.

  “Do you know what the Stone sisters are doing this summer? If they’re around we could talk to them about Johnny,” Hector said.

  “Actually, I do know what they’re up to. Last week they mentioned that they had an apartment together and were both working at Pizza Ranch over the summer.”

  “Let’s plan to track them down first to see what they have to say about their friend, Johnny Marble. Then we can talk to him. The Stone sisters might tell us something that Johnny wouldn’t reveal. From what you tell me, Johnny is more introverted and the Stone sisters are chatter boxes. It’s always good to interview the chatty ones first to get all the information.” Marlee rolled her eyes, but the detective didn’t catch it. Hector was forgetting that she was a fairly good interviewer herself and already knew these tactics. If he continued with the lecture on dealing with witnesses, she would have to set him straight.

  Hector went to his vehicle and retrieved his brief case which contained his file and case notes on the Roxie Harper murder investigation. He rifled through a pile of documents, which appeared to be in no particular order, and pulled out a bent manila folder labeled INTERVIEWS. In the folder he located his interviews of Paula and Violet Stone which contained their contact information.

  “Let’s go to the Stone sisters’ apartment now and see what they can tell us,” Hector said standing up.

  Marlee, not quite caffeinated enough to conduct interviews, ran to the kitchen and made a pitcher of instant ice tea. She poured the tea into an oversized insulated mug, added ice cubes, grabbed a straw and was ready to go. Thank god for instant tea. It tasted like crap, but was good in a time crunch.

  They got into Hector’s car and drove to a newer apartment building east of campus. It was a 4-plex, so the neighbors quite likely knew the Stone sisters unless they had just moved in. When she was a probation officer, Marlee often found out vast amounts of information on her supervisees from neighbors. No one knows what you’re up to quite like your neighbors; especially if the neighbors are nosy.

  Luck was on their side when Violet opened the door to the small apartment. “Uh, Dr. McCabe…what are you doing here? And...Detective?”

  “Hi, Violet,” said Marlee in a soothing tone. “I know it’s unusual for a professor to drop by your apartment, but I’m helping Detective Ramos follow up a few loose ends with his investigation. I came along because I thought you might feel more comfortable with me here.” It was a load of horse shit, but Violet bought it.

  “Sure! Come on in.” Violet motioned them into the apartment and hurried over to the couch which was covered with clothes, a laptop computer, magazines, and other assorted detritus. “Have a seat. Do you need to talk to Paula too? She’s at work and doesn’t get home until four.”

  “No, that’s fine, Violet. We can talk to her later,” Hector said, sitting down on one end of the sagging sofa which looked well-used given the stains and cigarette burns on the arms of the couch. Marlee joined him, sitting discreetly on the other end of the sofa and Violet pulled up one of the two mismatched chairs from a small kitchen table.

  “So, we’re still trying to find out more information about Roxie and thought maybe some of the students in Criminal Justice To Go might have more information on her than they first realized. We’re just here with a few follow up questions about that. But first, we wanted to ask you about Johnny Marble. He’s a friend of yours, I understand?” Hector asked.

  “Yeah, we’re all from Mobridge. It’s a small town and everybody knows everybody. Johnny and Paula graduated together in 2004,” Violet said.

  “Any romance between either of you and Johnny? I mean, he’s a good looking guy. I can see why the ladies would like him,” Hector said, giving Violet an easy opening to reveal a relationship with Johnny.

  “Nope. Just friends. He and one of my friends went out a few times in high school, but that didn’t last long. She cheated on him. I don’t know of anybody Johnny’s dated since then,” Violet reported.

  “I noticed he had hickies on his neck Friday morning. Who gave him those?” Marlee asked.

  Violet just shrugged and looked away.

  “What do you know about his home life?” Marlee asked, easing into a discussion of possible adoption.

  Violet looked from Marlee to Hector and then back at Marlee again. “Well, his parents live in Mobridge. They both work for the government, but I don’t know what they do for sure. Johnny doesn’t talk about them much, but he always got along with them.”

  “Does he have any brothers or sisters?” Hector asked.

  “Yeah, he has an older brother. He said his parents wanted more kids but weren’t able to have any more. I guess it was a blessing when they had him because they had nearly given up,” Violet said. “Why? What does this have to do with Roxie’s murder? You don’t think Johnny did it do you?”

  “No, no. We’re just trying to get a more complete picture of the case and in doing so, we need more information on everyone in the class. Just for our records,” Hector said, lying through his teeth.

  “You said Johnny’s parents had given up on the notion of being parents. They must have been older then when he was born,” said Marlee.

  “Yeah, I guess so. His mom and dad are a lot older than my parents, that’s for sure.”

  “Do you think Johnny was adopted?” Marlee inquired.

  “No. I mean, he never said he was adopted. I never heard anything like that,” Violet said, confused.

  “Did Johnny say anything to you about Roxie before her death?” Hector asked.

  “No. Well, I mean he sort of made fun of her when we saw she was in the class. We all did,” Violet was a decent kid and looked ashamed for poking fun at someone who was now deceased. “Then after she went crazy at the Women’s Prison we all talked about how weird she acted. That’s all. Johnny’s comments weren’t any worse than anyone else’s.”

  “And you said that you, your sister, and Johnny all stayed in your room to watch TV on Monday night. Is that right?” Hector asked.

  Violet nodded.

  “Did any of you leave the room at all after you started watching TV?” Hector inquired.

  “No. Well, actually, Johnny left to go to the snack machine. But he was only gone a minute or two.”

  “What about you and Paula? Did either of you leave the room at all that night?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Violet, can you tell me about your family?” asked Marlee. She had already ruled out Violet and Paula as possible perpetrators of the crime, but felt she should be thorough and ask the Stone sisters a few questions too.

  “Same as Johnny. Small town, lived with my parents and Paula. Mom is a teacher’s aide and Dad works for the city of Mobridge. We had a great childhood and we all got along well. We still do. Paula and I are sisters and we fight a lot, but we’re also best friends,” Violet said.

  “Neither you nor Paula are adopted?” Marlee asked.

  “No. Why all the questions about adoption?”

  “Just trying to fill in a few blanks,” Hector stated as he snapped his notebook shut and stood. “Thank you for your time and if I need anything else I’ll be in touch.”

  Marlee and Hector left the apartment, leaving a quizzical and troubled Violet behind. As soon as her professor and the detective left, Violet grabbed her phone and made a quick call to Johnny Marble. The second call Violet placed was to Pizza Ranch, where she had her
sister paged.

  All I ever wanted was a family. My own family.

  Chapter 18

  Johnny Marble wasn’t home when Marlee and Ramos stopped to see him. A roommate, dressed in cutoff sweatpants and a stained white t-shirt advised that Johnny was at work at Target but would be off in an hour and he usually came straight home right after work. As they walked away, Hector noted, “You weren’t kidding when you said these kids all have jobs.”

  “Midwestern State University is made up of mainly working-class students. They have to work to pay for school and for food, rent, and everything else. There aren’t very many privileged kids with silver spoons here. Sometimes I wonder how they can work full time, go to school full time, and raise a family too. Many of our students are single parents,” Marlee reported.

  “That’s quite a load. I remember the struggles of work, college, and a young kid at home. My ex-wife took care of the baby when I was in college,” Hector recalled.

  “I always had part time jobs in college and I thought I was overloaded! I can’t imagine two full time gigs plus raising kids,” Marlee said.

  The two chatted amiably as they drove to Pizza Ranch. Although they had just eaten bagels not that long ago, both decided they could eat some lunch and make contact with Paula Stone at the same time. It was nearing 2:00 p.m., and the parking lot was packed, which was not unusual for a buffet restaurant on a Saturday. Elmwood residents had large appetites and an eye for value, like most people in the Midwest. Hector circled the parking lot, finally settling on a place near the rear of the building. Approaching the back entrance, they saw a familiar figure. Paula Stone was standing near the employee entrance, one hand holding a cell phone to her ear and the other hand gesturing wildly. When Paula saw Marlee and the detective walking her way, she pulled the phone away from her ear and put it in her pocket.

  “Hi, Paula,” Marlee called out as they neared her. She appeared frazzled and was wringing her hands. Her curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but the wind whipped several pieces loose. She wore the requisite uniform of the restaurant, a navy t-shirt with the Pizza Ranch logo and tan pants. “You remember Detective Ramos, right?”

  Paula nodded. “Yeah. Hi.” She looked from side to side, as if seeing if they were being watched.

  “Hi, Paula,” said Ramos, looking her square in the eye. “Were you just talking to your sister?”

  “Um, no. I mean, yes, I talked to her a few minutes ago. But that wasn’t her I was talking to right now,” Paula stammered.

  “So she let you know we were going to ask you more questions about Roxie’s death?”

  “Well, yeah. She mentioned you’d been by earlier. But that wasn’t the main reason she called. It just came up in conversation,” Paula insisted. “Violet really didn’t say much about it at all.”

  “Okay,” Marlee said, not believing Paula’s story. “So, Detective Ramos just has a few questions for you to fill in some gaps in his investigation. No big deal. I came along because I thought you might feel more comfortable since you already know me.”

  Paula nodded, but she looked anything but comfortable. “I need to go inside and tell them I’ll be on break for a bit.” She turned and went in the back door which led into a loud, chaotic kitchen. The heavenly scent of fried chicken and other grease-laden delicacies wafted out the door.

  “Well, that’s suspicious. She’s acting nervous and guilty. Paula knows something,” Marlee said and Hector nodded in agreement.

  When Paula returned, no time was wasted on pleasantries or social graces. Hector cleared his throat. “I need to know a bit more about each of the students on the trip, so I’m asking everyone the same types of questions.” Hector was a smooth liar. I’ll have to keep an eye on that.

  Hector and Marlee asked Paula the same types of questions about Johnny that they just asked her sister not more than an hour earlier. Her responses were similar to those provided by Violet. Paula’s demeanor continued to be nervous and suspicious, her eyes wildly darting about. When the questions turned to her parents, Paula became even more upset.

  “Paula, tell us why you’re on edge. You look like you’re ready to freak out,” Marlee said pointedly but with kindness.

  That statement was all it took. Paula broke down into tears and relayed her story. “Violet and I aren’t sisters. We’re cousins. My parents adopted her as a newborn because my aunt couldn’t take care of her. Actually, she didn’t want Violet, so Mom and Dad took over right away.”

  “Okay, so Violet is adopted. What has you so upset?” Hector asked with a gentleness to his voice.

  “Violet doesn’t know she’s adopted. I only found out a few years ago by accident when I was snooping through some old papers in the basement,” Paula said between sobs.

  “You’re afraid Violet’s adoption will come out during this investigation and you’re worried how she’ll take it,” Marlee said, putting words in Paula’s mouth.

  Paula nodded. “Mom and Dad know that I know, but they made me promise not to tell Violet. Nobody else around town even knew she was adopted because we look so much alike. Mom said she was out of state for a while getting the adoption arranged, so when she returned with a baby everyone just assumed she had another child. Mom said she didn’t show much when she was carrying me, so I suppose everybody in town thought it was the same situation when she brought Violet home.”

  “What about the relatives? Didn’t any of them say anything?” Hector asked.

  “Nobody else knew except for the aunt who gave up Violet. I never met our aunt, but I heard she was a complete mess. Mom said she was an alcoholic, couldn’t hold a job, and would steal anything that wasn’t nailed down.”

  “Where’s your aunt now?” Marlee asked.

  “No idea. We’ve never had any contact with her. I don’t even know her name,” Paula said. “Mom and Dad just called her “auntie” when they told me about her. I don’t know if she’s Mom’s sister or Dad’s.”

  Hector gathered the names and contact information for Paula’s parents. Paula was in tears again as she begged them not to tell Violet she was adopted. They said they’d do their best to keep the family’s secret, but because of the criminal investigation they couldn’t make any promises.

  As they walked toward the front entrance of Pizza Ranch, Marlee turned around and faced Paula. “Who were you talking to when we first saw you? You said you talked to your sister earlier.”

  “I was talking to Johnny,” Paula said as she pulled open the back door and quickly entered into the noisy kitchen.

  “Wow, that was a bombshell!” Marlee exclaimed, looking at Hector, trying to read his take on this new development.

  “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that. As soon as we saw Paula today I knew something was up, but I never expected this,” Hector said.

  The pair decided they wanted to discuss Violet’s adoption over lunch, but didn’t want Paula to overhear. They nixed Pizza Ranch and drove to Bernie’s, a small mom and pop café that Marlee knew would be empty this time of day. It was hidden in an older part of town and did the bulk of its business in the mornings. It was an early morning hot spot for people seeking a cheap, greasy breakfast or those wanting to connect with a group that drank endless refills of coffee and effortlessly solved the problems of society.

  Bernie’s parking lot was nearly empty when Hector pulled his car into the lot. They entered the establishment and observed only one occupied table near the front of the diner. Marlee led Hector toward a rickety table in the back corner, which was still in full view of the kitchen and the entrance. The smell of grease permeated the air and made Marlee hungry for something fried.

  A waitress, whose nametag identified her as Barb, rushed over to their table with two plastic glasses of water. As she set them down on the table, water from Marlee’s glass sloshed over the top and onto the table. “Sorry ‘bout that,” Barb said as she grabbed a towel tucked inside the band of the apron covering her clothes. She handed them menus and advised that t
he lunch special, which would be in effect for another hour, was rattlesnake chili accompanied by a slice of cornbread. Still in a hurry, even though there were only three customers in the café, including them, Barb raced off, leaving them to ponder the menu.

  “Rattlesnake chili?” Hector asked with a grin.

  “Whatever you do, don’t order it. They use frozen rattlesnake and everybody knows rattlesnake has to be fresh or else it’s tough and chewy,” Marlee said with a straight face.

  Hector broke out with loud laugh. Barb raced back to their table and asked for their orders. Since Bernie’s served breakfast all day long, they both ordered eggs, bacon, and toast. After Barb scurried away to put in the order, Marlee and Hector began to discuss Violet Stone’s adoption and the impact it could have on the Roxie Harper investigation.

  “It seems odd that there are so many adopted students involved in this class. Violet and Marcus are adopted for sure and there may be more,” Marlee mused. Even though two was not a large number, there were only ten students and one assistant in the class.

  “It does. And it seems really strange that the Stone parents kept Violet’s adoption secret from both of the girls and that Violet still doesn’t know about it. Violet’s 18 now, but Paula was acting like it would be the end of the world if she found out they weren’t sisters.” Hector sipped his water as he glanced around the small cafe.

  “We still need to talk to Johnny Marble this afternoon and also talk to the Stone parents. They don’t live that far away from Elmwood, so it shouldn’t take much time. Of course, who knows how much they’ll tell us,” Marlee said.

  “And we still need to hear from Ira Green about meeting with him today,” Hector added.