Murder to Go

by Brenda Donelan

  “Yeah, I sure did. Turns out Burt and Connie Stone did not adopt Violet. They kidnapped her from Roxie,” Hector reported.

  “What? Is Connie really Roxie’s sister?”

  “They’re sisters. That’s one thing they told us which was true. My department found out that Roxie and the baby were living with Roxie’s parents. Connie and Burt lived somewhere nearby and had asked about adopting Violet but Roxie wouldn’t agree. Roxie and Connie’s parents, Jack and Viva Harper, insisted that the baby would stay with them if Roxie decided not to keep it. That way, Violet would always have contact with Roxie even if Roxie couldn’t or wouldn’t take care of her.”

  “Wow!” Marlee exclaimed. “How did the Stones get Violet away from Roxie and the grandparents?”

  “Connie was babysitting one night when Jack and Viva went to a retirement party of one of their coworkers. Roxie was supposed to be watching Violet, but wanted to go out and party so she called Connie to come over. Connie knew this would go on for the rest of Violet’s childhood and she decided to take matters into her own hands. She took Violet back to her house where she and Burt devised a plan. They packed up as much of their apartment as they could, grabbed both girls, and left the state,” Hector said.

  “How were the Stones able to adopt Violet without Roxie’s permission?” Marlee asked.

  “It seems Connie found Violet’s birth certificate in the Harpers’ home and took it. The father was listed as unknown, so Roxie was the only parent that needed to give consent. Connie also grabbed Roxie’s driver’s license, Social Security card, and some other ID. Turns out it really wasn’t that hard for Connie to pass herself off as Roxie when she needed to.”

  “All this time, Roxie was looking for Violet? That’s so sad,” Marlee felt a pang of sadness for what Roxie must have experienced over the past eighteen years. “Have the Stones been hiding out from Roxie and the Harpers all this time?”

  “Yes, they have. That’s why they moved a few times before finally settling in Mobridge twelve years ago. They figured Roxie and the Harper’s would never be able to track them down in the middle of South Dakota. They remained well hidden until it became so easy to find anyone on the Internet.”

  “She tracked Violet down to Mobridge and MSU? But why did she refer to the baby as ‘it’ and ‘X’, I wonder?” Marlee asked.

  Hector shrugged. “She clearly knew the baby was a girl. Maybe she thought the baby’s name had been changed.”

  “So the story Paula told us about Violet’s adoption was all false,” Marlee said. “I bet it’s what her parents told her and she thinks the story is true.”

  “Sounds about right. There’s something else.” Ramos took a hearty drink from his ice tea. “According to our records, Roxie’s never been in prison. The Stones lied about that too.”

  “What?” Marlee couldn’t believe her ears.

  “I don’t think they’ve told anyone the real story because it shows what they really are: kidnappers and liars,” Hector replied.

  “And maybe murderers!” Marlee said, contemplating that the well-groomed, smartly-dressed couple could have poisoned Roxie Harper.

  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about people it’s this; everyone’s working toward their own self-interest. To accomplish that, some people cause damage. A lot of damage. The kind of damage that can’t be fixed.

  Chapter 22

  Reuben Ira Green walked into Easy Street at exactly 9:00 p.m., dressed in what he thought was a disguise. He was a large man, noticeable under any circumstances. The oversized straw hat and dark glasses did nothing to hide his features. Anyone who knew Green without the disguise would surely recognize him with it. He spied Marlee and Hector in the back and quickly strode over to their booth. Green nodded toward the detective as he removed his sunglasses and slid into the opposite side of the booth. The waitress was at their table immediately and he ordered a tap beer.

  “You didn’t tell anybody else about meeting me here, did you?” Green asked with an accusing tone.

  “No, I didn’t tell anyone other than Detective Ramos,” Marlee said, motioning toward Hector.

  “And I have your word you won’t try to arrest me after we talk?” Green asked giving Ramos the stare down.

  “Sure,” Hector lied. The law didn’t prevent law enforcement officers from lying to suspects in order to obtain information.

  “First thing I want to make sure you understand,” Green said leaning on the table and pointing a finger directly at the detective, “is that I had nothing to do with Roxie’s death. Got it? I didn’t kill her and I don’t know who did.” Marlee and Hector both nodded as if in agreement that Green was innocent. This was an active listening technique indicating that the speaker was being heard rather than the listeners were in agreement. Green however, seemed to take the nodding as an affirmation of his innocence.

  “Why don’t you tell me how you met Roxie and about your relationship over the years?” suggested Ramos.

  Ira Green repeated the same story he told Marlee a few days earlier. “We met when she was in one of the classes I taught at Keystone State University. We had a brief fling and then I never saw Roxie again until I came to Elmwood. I recognized her and we got together a couple times to talk. The old spark was back and I realized I was in love with her. She played hard to get, like women do.” Ira Green shot a knowing look at Detective Ramos before continuing. “One night we went out for coffee and she told me she’d had a baby in college and it was mine. Well, of course I didn’t believe her at first, but then she told me the story of how the baby was kidnapped by her own sister and she hadn’t seen her in 17 years.” Green slugged down half of his beer and set the glass down on the table top with a thud.

  “You didn’t know Roxie or your child were here at MSU when you took the job? That seems a little far-fetched,” Marlee said. Hector kicked her under the table, not wanting Green to become defensive and leave before they gathered all the information they could from the ousted dean.

  “I was here in Elmwood before Roxie enrolled. And I had no idea about the child until Roxie told me. She wanted me to help her talk to Violet. To tell her we were her real parents.”

  “Were you going to help Roxie?” Hector jotted down notes in his pocket sized notebook.

  “Well, yeah. I mean, I knew we weren’t going to be one big happy family, but I loved Roxie and knew she wanted to be reunited with Violet. I didn’t have any huge desire to take on a father role, but Roxie really wanted to be involved in Violet’s life now that she’d found her.”

  “How did Roxie track down Violet?” Hector asked.

  “She spent a lot of time on the Internet searching chat rooms, social media sites, and the like. Roxie had named the baby Violet but didn’t know if the Stones had renamed her when they kidnapped her. Roxie didn’t have anything else to go on, so she kept searching using the name Violet. Since Violet isn’t a popular name, like Ashley or Amber, Roxie was able to finally track her down through a MySpace profile. She recognized Violet right away from her profile picture because she looked just like Roxie did when she was a teenager.”

  “Had either of you made any contact with Violet yet?” Marlee inquired.

  “No. Roxie wanted to arrange something after finishing Criminal Justice To Go. She took the class because she knew Violet was in it. She overheard Violet and Paula talking about it and decided it would be a good way to find out more about Violet. Basically, Roxie just wanted to be around her,” Green relayed.

  “Did Roxie make contact with her sister and brother in-law?” Hector asked.

  “No. She was afraid they’d grab Violet and take off again. Anytime she’s gotten close to finding them they leave the state and change their last name. Roxie wanted to establish a connection with Violet first before she confronted her sister about the kidnapping. She told me she wanted them arrested for ruining her life and keeping her away from her child all these years.”

  “How do we know this is true and you’re not ju
st throwing suspicion on Burt and Connie Stone?” Marlee asked. She was rewarded with another kick from Hector.

  “I didn’t kill Roxie! I loved her!” Green wailed. Marlee had never seen him in such a state. He was acting the way a normal, grieving person would act. His usual bluster and bravado were gone.

  “Why were you arguing with Roxie at the motel in Chamberlain the night before she died?” Hector asked.

  “I wanted her to retract her sexual harassment claim against me and help me get my job back at MSU. I’d called her cell earlier and she agreed to meet with me at her motel room. Roxie sounded like her usual self, but when I went to her room, she was in one of her fits again. She was talking nonsense and we argued and I left. That’s it,” Green stated.

  “What about Mrs. Dean Green?” Marlee asked. “How does she fit into all of this?”

  “Her name is Petra,” Green said pointedly. “I was going to ask her for a divorce so I could be with Roxie. But then everything fell apart when Roxie accused me of sexually harassing her and got me fired.”

  “Why would Roxie report you for sexual harassment if she wanted your help in talking to Violet?” Hector inquired.

  “I don’t know. One minute she’s friendly and needs my help and the next minute she’s screaming at me to stay away from her. It’s like she had multiple personalities.”

  “Was she always like that?” Marlee wondered if the unstable moods were a new development or if Roxie had acted in this manner throughout her life.

  “No, she was really calm back when I knew her as a student at Keystone State. She was very mild mannered here in Elmwood too until the last couple of weeks before she died. A couple times that last week she just off the handle and started talking nonsense. I asked her if she was on drugs and she just laughed at me.”

  “When did you first have contact with Roxie in Elmwood?” Hector busily jotted down facts in his notebook as quickly as Green relayed them.

  “It was right before Thanksgiving. I knew it was her the minute I saw her. She knew me too. We talked for a few minutes and then I sought her out a few days later. We started meeting and talking. That’s when she told me about Violet.”

  “Who do you think killed Roxie?” Marlee asked.

  “Her sister and brother in-law. They’re the ones with the most to lose. If Roxie reported them to the police, they’d be in prison for a long time. And Violet would reject them for taking her away from Roxie.”

  Marlee nodded. A kidnapping in which the victim was taken over state borders constituted a federal offense. Burt and Connie Stone were facing several years in federal prison if their actions came to light.

  “You told me before that your wife was in Florida with her sister. When did she leave?” Ramos asked.

  “She flew out the day after I was fired at MSU. Petra was in a rage. She was mad about the damage to my career, but mostly she was upset about my feelings for Roxie. Even though Roxie reported me for sexual harassment, I knew she’d come to her senses and retract her claims. I loved her and she loved me too. She just had a way of over reacting to things.” Green continued on with his usual lack of insight.

  “Petra said she was leaving you? Leaving the marriage?” asked Marlee.

  “That’s what she said, but she’s done that before. Gets mad and leaves then comes back after a week or so. She just needs some time to cool off. Women!” Green shook his head in disgust, looking at Hector again.

  “So you want to get back together with Petra?” Marlee was repulsed by Green before she found out the details of his womanizing, but now it was just getting worse.

  “Sure, why wouldn’t I want to keep my marriage together? Roxie’s dead, so nothing can happen there.” The old Mean Dean Green was back in full force. Just because the woman he claimed to love was dead didn’t mean he’d be leaving his wife as he previously intended. Apparently he believed his second choice, Petra, was better than nothing at all when it came to relationships.

  Marlee felt like throwing up all over Ira Green. He was a disgusting creature and she’d had enough of his callous treatment of Petra Green, the long suffering wife who had put up with countless indiscretions by her pig of a husband.

  “How long have you and Petra been married? How did you meet?” Hector asked, sensing that Marlee was ready to hammer Green with her judgments about his behavior toward women.

  “We met at Keystone State. She was a graduate assistant. Petra and I’ve been together fourteen years this July. Mostly happy times,” Green stated, unaware that his wife could have a very different account of their marriage.

  “And she was okay with your dalliances with other women?” Marlee asked, moving her leg to avoid another kick from Hector.

  “It used to be that the wife looked the other way when her husband needed a little something on the side. Then, with all this women’s lib and feminism bullshit….” Green’s voice trailed off as he shook his head in disbelief.

  “So Petra wasn’t willing to look the other way?” Marlee inquired.

  “No, she wasn’t.”

  “At what point did Petra find out about you and Roxie?” Hector’s pen was poised above his notebook, ready to jot down Green’s response.

  “It all came out when I was let go at MSU. I had to tell her about getting fired. I tried to leave out the part about Roxie, but she just kept questioning me until I told her. That’s when she left Elmwood.”

  “Are you sure she left?” Marlee asked.

  “Of course. I’ve talked to her a couple times since she’s been in Florida at her sister’s condo. She’s still mad, but I think she’ll come around soon,” Green said.

  “Did she know you were planning to leave her for Roxie?” Hector asked.

  “No! Petra never knew about that. As far as she knows, I just had a flirtation with Roxie. She doesn’t know about my past with Roxie or our child,” Green said.

  “So what are your plans? What do you intend to do now?” Marlee asked.

  “I decided to appeal my termination at MSU and hope I can get my dean position back. And I want to make sure the cops know I didn’t hurt Roxie. That’s all I want; to get my good name back and be reinstated at MSU,” Green replied.

  Ira Green provided no further information on the Roxie Harper murder investigation and the conversation between the former dean, the professor, and the detective ended. Before Green left, Hector obtained Petra Green’s cell number and her sister’s home number in Florida. The former dean hoisted his large body out of the booth, donned his enormous hat and sunglasses, and departed Easy Street.

  Hector and Marlee looked at each other for a full thirty seconds before they broke out in a fit of laughter.

  A recipe for disaster: a glass of Coke, a splash of vodka, and a few drops of anti-freeze.

  Chapter 23

  “Is that guy delusional, or what?” Hector asked, after he and Marlee composed themselves from their laugh riot. “He thinks he’s getting his job back and he believes this little talk we just had is enough to clear him from suspicion of murder.”

  “He has no doubt that Petra will come back to him with arms wide open. And what about that disguise?” Marlee giggled again as she envisioned Ira Green in the oversized hat and jumbo sunglasses, both of which might be appropriate for a day in the hot sun but not for a meeting at 9:00 p.m. inside a dimly-lit bar.

  “He’s clueless, that’s for sure, but I still think he’s the one who poisoned Roxie. I just don’t have enough to arrest him yet,” Hector said, not swayed by anything Ira Green just relayed to them. Before Green left, he divulged his current whereabouts. He spent the first few days sleeping in his car. After he returned to Elmwood, he realized he still had a key to Scobey Hall. He couldn’t get into his old office, but he was able to sleep on an old sofa in a never-used faculty lounge in the basement and freshen up in the adjoining restroom. Hector let Green leave on the promise that he would answer his cell phone immediately whenever Hector called him. Ira Green agreed, but it was a gamble that
he would keep his word.

  “Now what?” asked Marlee.

  “I want to run into the Elmwood PD and talk to one of the detectives there. I called them when I was outside earlier and updated them on the investigation. Didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes since I’ve been interviewing more suspects and witnesses in their jurisdiction.”

  “Ah, you have to go play nice with the local cops.” Marlee was amused at the level of territorial bullshit that had to be hammered out between law enforcement officers from differing jurisdictions. Seems as though we should be working together rather than having a war over whose area it is and who gets credit. “It’s nearly ten o’clock and I’m tired. Can you drop me off at home before you go to the PD?”

  As Hector and Marlee left Easy Street, she glanced around and still didn’t see anyone she knew. The bar was filled with men and women who worked long hard days using their hands and their backs. Most of the patrons were in their twenties and thirties. They were on their feet conversing with each other, playing darts, and drinking Bud Light. A few older customers sat together in the booths and were more sedate that their younger counterparts. One old duffer was dressed in well-worn bib overalls and a green John Deere baseball cap. His greasy gray hair stuck out around his ears and the base of his neck. He sat hunched over a table in the back taking an occasional swig of beer from the amber bottle. His long, slim fingers with neatly clipped nails drummed on the bar, keeping time to the beat of the country music playing on the jukebox.

  Hector dropped Marlee off at her house and sped away before she even reached the front door. As she fumbled for her keys, she cursed herself for not turning on the outside light before she left earlier. There weren’t many street-lights in Marlee’s neighborhood and the one across the street had burned out last week. Marlee tried to find the correct key for the front door just by the feel of it since she couldn’t see to distinguish her front door key from the keys to the back door, the garage, her car, Scobey Hall, her office, and her file drawer at work. She tried to fit one key in the lock and had no luck. Marlee was so intent on searching for the correct key to open the front door that she didn’t even hear the person sneak up behind her.