DIGGIN' UP THE DIRT

by Tonya Kappes

  I pulled down the alley and parked in my spot near the department door. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust from the bright sun to the inside of the office.

  “Sheriff,” Herb Brumfield caught me off guard, calling my name when I walked in the sheriff’s department.

  “Herb.” My eyes darted between him, Scott, and Reagan. “How’s your mom?”

  “She’s okay. Her doctors said it was a mild heart attack. But she’ll be fine. I wanted to talk to you about Avon.” He twiddled with his fingernails.

  “Is that right?” My brows rose. “Fine. I’ve got a funeral to go to, so can we do this later?”

  “I’d like to do this now.” He kinda had me in a hard place since I was there to relieve Scott, it was my job to help him.

  “Deputy Lee is here and he’s able to do it.” I walked over to Reagan. “I heard you wanted to see me.”

  “I want you to talk to him.” She had one hand on her hip and jutted to the side. “He’s my alibi.”

  I walked back over to my desk where I’d left my little notebook and flipped it to her statement.

  “We were together.” Herb hurried over, gesturing between him and her.

  I shot her a look.

  “Yes. We are getting back together.” Reagan’s words nearly knocked me off my heels. And I wasn’t great at walking in them in the first place.

  “Is this some sort of you two get married so the other can’t testify against you in court scheme?” This was all sounding too good to me.

  “No. Please. Here me out.” Herb shook both hands in front of him, fingers spread apart. Very desperate.

  “Then you won’t mind me tape recording this statement.” I stalked back over to my desk and flung the top drawer open to get out the tape recorder.

  “It’s true. Avon and I met when I would go over and talk to her about my mother. I know my mom can be a little much and one thing led to another.” His face turned red as if he were remembering their little escapade that got her killed. I wasn’t buying it. “I lost my job and my mom wanted me to move in next door because she’s scared to death of going into a nursing home when she can no longer take care of herself as the disease progresses.”

  That I completely understood.

  “After she found out about me and Avon, she said that she was going to make Avon’s life a living hell. My own mother told Reagan before I could.” He put his hand to his head. “I wasn’t thinking. Avon’s parents didn’t know, they just knew my mom called the cops on her for everything. I put Reagan through hell. She forgot to go to her continuing education classes and lost her job over me.”

  “Avon took and took from you,” I said to Reagan over his shoulder.

  “I didn’t care about her,” she seethed.

  “She took the house you wanted. She took your husband. She took your job. I get it.” I threw my hands into the air. “Any woman would at their wits end if this was them. But most of them wouldn’t kill. That’s where you messed up.” I twisted around to Scott. “Tell us what you found in Reagan’s house.”

  I was sure there was something there. Sure of it.

  “Nothing. It turned up clean.” He pointed to my desk. “The report is on the desk.”

  “Now that you don’t have Avon to take care of you, you want Reagan back so you can mooch off of her. This is why you are here giving your alibi.” I snapped my finger in the air. “But wait. Let me guess. Avon found out that you were cheating on her with your wife. Your ex-wife.”

  I added in the last part for good measure right as Betty Murphy came in for the day.

  “I went to Avon that night after Mom had cut down the branches of her apple tree and told her that I still loved Reagan.” He at least admitted to it.

  Betty shrugged her coat off and sat down at her desk. Her eyes darted between all of us, taking it all in.

  “Then you met her for breakfast before her shift and you rubbed it in her face. Right, Reagan? It was your turn to take from her. But it was her life you took.” My words struck her hard.

  She fell face down on the cot, burying her head in the flat pillow and sobbed.

  “Our lawyer will be here this afternoon. And I expect an apology.” Herb slammed the door on his way of the department.

  “Well, I expect the prosecutor will be bringing murder charges against you this afternoon,” I said to Reagan and headed out the door myself.

  The raid on Reagan’s home, office, and car turned up nothing. I was hoping that he would have found the gun and he was pretty thorough.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  A breeze whistled through the trees in the cemetery. When I got there, I’d already missed the pallbearers taking the casket out of Max Bogus’s hearse. Her parents must’ve bought the plots a long time ago because Avon was being buried in the old part of the cemetery up front where Poppa was buried. Only they probably bought it with the idea they’d be laying in it, not their daughter.

  Finn greeted me with a smile when I walked up and mouthed asking if everything was okay. I gave a slight nod and tried not to smile too big when I saw him. Mama was staring at us from the other side of the gravesite and if I’d smiled too big, she’d think I was having a good time a funeral. And who had a good time at a funeral?

  Preacher Bing said a few kind words about how Avon. He talked about how he wasn’t surprised she went into the healthcare industry because she was always volunteering for the elderly.

  Sebastian Hughes made his way over to me and stood on the opposite side of Finn.

  “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for talking on the behalf of the EMT service,” he whispered low enough so only I heard him.

  “My pleasure,” I tried to whisper but my voice cracked when I saw Poppa sitting on top of his gravestone.

  “Kenni?” Finn put his hand on me. “Are you okay? You’re trembling.”

  I gulped and looked down at my hands. He was right.

  “I’m fine,” I choked out and looked up at Poppa.

  He lifted his arm up in the air and pointed to his wrist. What was he trying to tell me? I squinted to see what he was mouthing.

  I didn’t have to know exactly what he was saying to understand him. Reagan Quinlan was not Avon Meyers’s killer or he’d not be here.

  Poppa’s mouth contorted. Angrily, he jabbed the air in front of him with force. Jab after jab, pointing. I turned towards Sebastian, and Poppa clapped and pointed to his wrist.

  Sebastian had his hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. There was a dingy stain around the button holes of Sebastian’s white dress shirt where cuff links should be.

  “Kenni bug.” Poppa ghosted next to us. “Don’t move and don’t look at me. There are a lot of eyes on you,” Poppa warned. “Sebastian has rust marks on his shirt. The same type of stain I’ve seen many times when I wear cuff links that aren’t real gold or silver.”

  “Finn,” I didn’t whisper this time. I wanted Sebastian to hear. “Before you go to Clay’s Ferry this afternoon.” I looked at Finn under furrowed brows so he knew to play along. “I wanted to tell you that money Lita Brumfield said was under her mattress. That $10,000.” I nodded.

  “Yeah. Did you go back and check that out?” He asked. His eye bore into me.

  “No. But Herb is at the rehab staying with his mom and he said he went to check. It’s still there, so the only thing the robber got was the TV and police scanner.” I put my hand to my heart. “I’m so relieved and wanted you to know so you can put that in your report this afternoon to close your part of the case.”

  I gave him stabbing looks and clenched my jaw, trying to give a slight glance back to Sebastian on my other side without moving my head.

  “You’re pretty sure Reagan Quinlan killed Avon and committed the burglaries?” Finn was so good at reading me.

  “Yes. The prosecutor is writing up t
he charges as we speak.” I nodded. “But I’ve got to get to the office. You’re taking her to the big cell in Clay’s Ferry, right?”

  “Yes. I’ll see you in a few hours. Will you be at the station all afternoon?” He was closing the deal for me.

  “I will.” I curled up on my toes and kissed him before I turned to Sebastian, who was leaning towards me so hard he fumbled to stay upright. “My job never ends. I’ve got a bunch of paperwork to do. Thank you so much for all you do. Everyone is so grateful for your lifesaving techniques.”

  “Thank you, Sheriff.” He smiled real big. “It’s my civic duty.”

  “Yes. Yes, it is.” I tried to be as discreet as I could while powerwalking back to the Wagoneer. I fisted my hands at my side so as to not swing them. The less attention I brought to myself, the better.

  “Scott, it’s Kenni.” I was desperate to get to Lita’s house. “I need you to listen to me very carefully. Reagan is not the killer. Sebastian Hughes, the EMT driver, is the killer and the burglar. I need you to get Herb to meet me at his mother’s house. I have to get inside. I’ve planted a sting operation and I think Sebastian has taken the hook.”

  I reached over my back seat and grabbed my shotgun, dragging it up front as I took a left out of the cemetery straight to Lita’s house on Hickory Hill.

  “I know it’s not good to leave Reagan in the cell while you leave, but you have to. I’m going to need back up.”

  “Yeeee little doggie!” Poppa appeared in the front seat, practically salivating over the gun. “I’ve not seen you use this little baby in a long time.”

  “Are you sure, Sheriff?” Scott questioned.

  “Don’t question me. Do it now.” I threw the cell phone down and drove a little faster.

  “How did you recognize that?” I asked Poppa. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have seen it. I thought you were gone.”

  “Something seemed off to me. So, while you interrogated Reagan, I hung around the rehab center and went over the clues. Who else was around that fit into the puzzle? None of the other nurses had much contact with Avon because Avon was doing PT. But Sebastian took a lot of Avon’s clients to and from the rehab center because of the service contract with Cottonwood.” Poppa was so good. “I didn’t realize that he actually stays for the appointments. He’s doing this with other therapists there too. It puts him in a position to get to know them.”

  “He did say that she was sweet and the donut thing.” I beat the wheel with my hand. “And he brought in Lita Brumfield and Shelby Vincent. He was on the other side of the curtain when Shelby said she couldn’t leave the RV alone.” I shook my head and turned onto Hickory Hill.

  I pulled down the street so he wouldn’t risk seeing me if I did bait him about the fake money.

  “I bet he broke into Reagan’s car while it was in the parking lot and stole her gun. The exact same gun he used to kill Avon.” Poppa’s nose turned red at the tip as he talked and flailed his arms in the air. “We got him, Kenni bug. I know it.”

  I watched in the rearview mirror as I pulled down the street far away enough that if he pulled in front of Lita’s house, he wouldn’t be able to see me.

  “What if he doesn’t park this close?” Poppa asked. “Go park around the corner.”

  Poppa knew best. I did what he said and grabbed the shotgun. I jerked open the glove box and took out a handful of shotgun shells, burying them in my fist.

  “I’ve never shot a gun in a dress before.” I laughed looking at my deputy ghost. “I sure hope I don’t have to today.”

  Herb pulled up with a frantic look on his face.

  “What’s going on, Sheriff?” He asked as he jumped out of his car. “Scott said to hurry.”

  “I need you to let me in your mother’s house. We don’t have much time.” I quickly told him how I’d baited Sebastian and I needed his cooperation.

  “Oh my God and I was bringing my mom home today.” He ran his hand over his face. “You know, Avon was trying to tell me something about him, but it was when I was telling her about me getting back with Reagan. I wasn’t listening to her.” His nostrils flared as though he were trying to hold back a dam of emotions. “I could’ve saved her.”

  “No. No, you couldn’t,” I assured him because I needed him to have his head on straight. “I need you to leave after you let me in. You can go to the station and sit with Reagan because she’s alone there. Don’t try to get her out of the cell you won’t be able to do it without me.”

  He nodded and blinked, as he fumbled getting the key off the keyring.

  I’m not going to say that I was all calm, cool and collected. I was a mess. Finn was right. My hands were trembling and my heart was beating out of my chest. My temples began to throb as I tried to shake my head and clear my thoughts so I could be laser focused.

  I’d quickly let myself in and locked the door behind me. With all the lights completely out, I hunkered down between Lita’s mattress and side table. It seemed like forever until I heard some footsteps in the other room. I took a deep breath and let it out through my mouth in one long stream.

  The footsteps stopped at Lita’s bedroom door. The door made a long creaking sound as it slowly opened. I peeked over the mattress just enough to see it was Sebastian. He was looking around the room as though he were assessing it before he moved towards the bed.

  His hand plunged under the bed. I brought the shotgun up under my armpit and slowly stood up, looking down the site.

  “Sebastian Hughes, stop right there.”

  He jerked around. His face was blank.

  “Put your hands up in the air,” I instructed him. “I’m not afraid to shoot.”

  “I wondered if you were baiting me.” He let out an evil laugh. “But $10,000 would’ve been enough to get out of here without getting caught.”

  “I know you burglarized Woody’s house and took the cuff links. It took me a while, but I placed you at the scene of Lita’s and Finn’s parents RV. But I can’t for the life of me figure out why you killed Avon Meyers.” I took a step towards him.

  He looked over his shoulder.

  “I wouldn’t run,” I warned. “I’m a pretty good shot.”

  “I didn’t kill her and you can’t prove anything different.” He put his hands down. “I’m going to walk out of here. You can kill me over the TV’s, scanners, a little cash along and some fake cuff links, but you’ll be featured on the news as a killer like the other cops on TV.”

  “I wouldn’t kill you. Just get you somewhere where it hurts really bad, but not enough to keep you from going to prison.” It was a great plan.

  I kept my eye on him, trying to decide if I wanted to take another step forward. My ears were perked, waiting for Scott to get there.

  “So you lied in your statement. I can add that on to your list of charges.” I continued to talk to keep him engaged. “You said you hadn’t seen Avon in a couple of days but you’d enjoyed a couple of donuts with her before you killed her.”

  “It was Reagan. She’s the one who ate the chocolate donuts and killed Avon while she was licking her fingers. Unaware she was about to be killed,” He’d just confessed and didn’t know it.

  “I never told you they were eating chocolate donuts and I sure didn’t tell you Avon had been licking her fingers when you killed her.” I made my words perfectly clear. “Sebastian Hughes, you are under arrest for murder in the first degree of Avon Meyers along with burglary and theft,” I started to read him his rights, but he darted out the door like a jet.

  “Hold it right there!” Scott stood at the end of Lita’s hallway with his arms outstretched and his gun pointed directly at Sebastian’s heart. “I believe the sheriff was talking to you.”

  A sigh of relief escaped me as I put down my shotgun and watched as Scott handcuffed Sebastian Hughes. Not only was it a relief that a murderer was brought to just
ice, but I knew Deputy Scott Lee and I were going to be just fine as the new duo in town.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “I’ll have a Diet Coke and a large popcorn,” I told Vita Jones as I stood in the doorway of her basement.

  “I wondered if you were going to make it to Grease night and I see you have. Love the outfit.” She pointed to the extra butter.

  “Load it up. And a box of M&M’s.” There was just something about popcorn with M&M’s sprinkled in.

  “Kenni! Up here!” Jolee hollered. She, Tibbie, and Katy Lee were all turned around on the metal folding chairs and propped up on their knees. All of them had pink scarves tied around their necks, pink leather coats, black pants and flip flops.

  “Enjoy the movie.” Vita took my money in exchange for the goodies.

  “Hello, Pink Ladies.” I giggled and climbed over their knees to get to my seat.

  We’d been seeing Grease in Luke Jones’s basement every year since he’d started showing it. It was always in the summer, so when I was home from college, we still made it our thing.

  “Luke’s been trying to get the screen to pull down but it’s not cooperating tonight.” Jolee pointed and laughed at Luke grunting and pulling. The screen was for sure winning. “How’re the new vibes at the office?”

  “Good. Scott is pretty good. I mean, we’ve got a few things to work through, like him getting to know the town and roads better.” I didn’t tell Jolee, but the reason he was late getting to Lita’s the night I’d set up Sebastian Hughes, was because he didn’t know how to get to Hickory Hill.

  He’d learned real fast that sometimes the roads in Cottonwood don’t make it on to the GPS and he drove around frantically until he found it. Lucky for me that he did find it.

  It was also good to know that Lita had a minor heart attack and was going to be okay. Shelby had a bad case of heartburn and not a heart attack. As for Herb and Reagan, they’d decided to give it another go, especially now that Avon’s parents had sold Herb the house next to his mom’s.

  “What about Finn? Anything new with that?” She asked.