by W L Ripley
“Well,” Haller said, “Vernon.”
Tommy nodded. “Yeah.”
“Yet you didn’t say anything about the fight?”
“Dad said it would look bad we said anything, that it was an accident and we’d be going to jail as accessories.”
Jake thought about it. The pair of them was certainly stupid enough not to connect the dots. Vernon covered for Steve Barb. Vernon wanted Gage dead.
“We had his dog and his truck. I didn’t have nothing against Gage ’cept he shot his mouth off at me. We took the truck when we grabbed his dog. Ok, probably not smart, looking back.” Tommy looked at the bottle of Jim Beam, Jake nodded and Tommy took a good tug on the whiskey, wiped his mouth and said, “When I heard about him dying, was afraid they’d blame us, you can see that, right, so we hid the truck in the old Grange building. We didn’t want to take it back to his place, well, your place, and get caught with it. Stupid here was supposed to take care of the dog but he pussy’d out.”
“I ain’t killin’ no dog.”
“You know, Noah,” Jake said, using Haller’s first name to establish some closeness, a device he’d learned watching some of the veteran investigators. ‘Their last name shows them they’re nobody to you, their first name makes them your buddy’. Jake continued, saying, “Letting Travis go is a huge plus in your favor. Travis is all right now thanks to you. It convinces me you did not kill Vernon.”
Haller gave Tommy a self-righteous smile.
“As for you, Tommy,” Jake said. “Hurting that dog? When this is done, I’m going to put you on the other end of that.”
“That dog tried to bite me.”
“I can’t understand why you’re not a favorite with animals.”
“Okay, I shouldn’t have done that. So, what now?”
Flipping Fat Boy to Doc could result in Pam’s perfect frame working. There was no way Doc objectively investigates his daughter. Doc had motivation to burn both Haller and Tommy once Pam charged Tommy with sexual assault.
Pam was smart. Always two steps ahead of everyone, including Jake. Doc was closely aligned with Vernon Mitchell. That was another factor. How much did Doc know about Franklin Yoder’s disappearance?
Jake could not turn the dickheads over to Doc. They’d be railroaded into prison sentences and no matter the satisfaction such an outcome would afford Jake, he couldn’t allow that. Much as they deserved to be hung out to dry, especially Tommy, Jake knew he would need to take steps to protect these two mental defectives.
What a world.
“I hate myself for what I’m going to do.”
“What?”
“I’m going to help you both, keep you out of prison. Somehow get you out of this thing. But I need things from you,” Jake said.
“What’s that?” asked Tommy.
“Give me your word you and Haller won’t come out of hiding until you hear from me, and I need a key to your Dad’s place. Stay here and don’t call anyone. No one. Promise me. Otherwise, I’m giving you to Doc and you roll the dice.”
“What choice do we have?” Tommy said, sour expression on his face.
Jake laughed. “Absolutely none.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Jake used Tommy’s cell phone and touched base with Lawyer Jessup, regarding the fugitive Haller, telling the attorney what he had learned from Tommy and Fat Boy.
“I bring in Haller,” Jake said, “No way he gets a fair shake. Pam Mitchell framed him; you know what Kellogg will do with that.”
It was quiet on Jessup’s end for a long moment, Jake thinking the connection had been severed when Jessup said, “It’s byzantine. You can’t harbor a fugitive. You’ll have to return him, Jake. Call Kellogg and have him pick up Haller.”
“No. I’m afraid Haller wouldn’t make it back to Paradise alive.”
“What are you telling me?”
“I can easily imagine a scenario where Haller is killed attempting to escape.”
“That seems implausible and even cynical.”
“No, it’s plausible and likely.”
“You obviously don’t trust Kellogg. You think he’s capable of such a thing?”
“His daughter’s involved. I don’t trust Haller to keep his mouth shut. We’re talking about a guy whose head is a gumball machine. Whatever’s in his tiny brain rolls right down to his mouth and out without consideration of consequence.”
“I can petition for a change of venue, but all of this is going to be complicated by his escape from lawful detention. Bring him in, Jake.”
Jake knew the attorney was right. But he wasn’t ready to do that yet. “Give me twenty-four hours and I’ll bring them in.”
Jessup wasn’t happy about it but, “I don’t know what else I can do if you won’t accept my advice. I don’t know where they are so, grudgingly, you have twenty-four hours.”
Jake had one more thing to do before bringing in Haller. He needed to ascertain if Haller and Tommy were telling the truth. Someone was lying and it was highly possible it was the pair in front of him.
“You’re going to give us up?” said Fat Boy Haller.
“Should, but not now. Relax and do what I say and maybe you stay out of prison, which is where Kellogg will put you, have no illusions about that. You boys sit tight and get along.”
“Why can’t we just go to town and tell what really happened. That we was framed?”
Shaking his head, Jake said, “You couldn’t possibly be as thick as you seem.”
“You’re no smarter than me.”
“I guess maybe you are, after all,” Jake said, chuckling to himself. “You tell Doc anything you told me, and he’ll smoke you and your little playmate here. It’s his daughter. God, why do I have to explain this to you? You’d need to accept I’m your only way out of this.”
“As for you, Tommy, I think you had the right idea to come here to lay low, but Pam may be out to check on Fatty. She’s been here and who knows when she’ll be back again.”
“She won’t be back for a while,” Haller said. “She gave me enough money and food to last a couple weeks.”
“Both of you need to stay as far away from her as possible until this thing is resolved. If she does show, Tommy, you stay hid.”
“I want nothing to do with her.” Tommy, smarter than Haller, was considering things. “You think she killed Dad?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. There’s a lot I don’t understand yet.”
“I don’t know if I like this.”
“I’m trying to imagine a scenario where I give a damn what you think or what you like. You want to confess to Doc I give you leave. I’d as soon watch you tied down on the interstate during rush hour as help you, but my fantasies often go unrealized.”
“What?” Haller said, confused.
Jake nodded. “You seem intent on making my point regarding your intellect.”
“What?”
“Exactly. Did you even graduate from high school?”
“You’re so fucking smart,” Haller said.
“Third in my class. You can look it up.”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Jake sat in Buddy Johnson’s Spartan office – government surplus metal desk, worn vinyl upholstered swivel chair, Jake telling Cal about his talks with Haller and Tommy leaving Pam out of the equation for the moment. Jake didn’t want anyone see him in Cal’s office and Buddy was out on patrol. Also telling Cal what he learned talking to Vienna Dalrymple and Christine McKee excluding the mystery couple who descriptions fit Gage and Pam and also excluding his suspicions about the parentage of McKee.
Cal lit a cigarette and sat back in his chair. “You really need to turn Haller over to Kellogg.”
“Not yet.”
“Not your decision, Jake, your evidence is circumstantial and your witnesses are a couple of part-brains who’ll piss down their legs at a hearing. And you don’t know they won’t choose to ignore your warning and wander back into town telling everyone what you’ve done. They do th
at’ll come back on you. Turn ‘em in and get clear. You’re going to get your tail twisted trusting those guys. Kellogg is never going to pin this on his daughter and we have no standing to impeach his authority. Same problem we’ve had since the beginning.”
“But there is probable cause to investigate Gage’s assault at the grain elevator leading to his homicide. That’s where it started. Not murder but murderous assault. That could lead to a manslaughter charge. I’m not letting go of this, Cal. Barb and Warner are dirt bags. Doc only changed Gage’s vehicular accident finding to a killing when I looked into things so he threw Terry Bill in jail as a scapegoat. Haller skips and I bring him back and he’s cut loose again or worse.”
“Maybe Barb killed Gage in a jealous rage and it has nothing to do with the Mitchells.”
“Possible. He had a motive, but I believe Gage had something they didn’t want known. More to the point, something Vernon covered it up.”
“Vernon’s dead.”
Jake nodded and said, “For a reason though. I think Haller is being set up to take the fall.”
“Who paid Haller’s bail, which was kept secret, not to mention it stinks he was released. Doc has to know this looks bad with an election coming up.”
“I made an arrangement with the Bail Bondsman.” Jake told him about the deal. “I bring in Fat Boy and he gives me the name of the person fronting the money.”
“Fritz Delmar?” Cal whistled lowly, shaking his head. “He’s the only guy I know who’d go along with such a deal. You and that pirate make quite a pair. He’s your match in some ways.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. I already figured out it was Pam Mitchell. That was affirmed when I saw her leaving the lake cabin and Haller said she was helping him.”
“Information just dribbles out from you, doesn’t it?” But Cal smiled. “So Pam bailed out Haller because you think she framed him. It’s a good one, I’ll admit, if it’s true. By the way, had to let your buddies, Warner and Barb go. They made bail.”
“Learn anything from them?”
“Not much.”
“Nothing on Tommy being charged with rape?”
“Nope.”
“Pam’s holding that in reserve to keep Tommy in line.”
“Word around the campfire says Doc is furious at Tommy and wants to talk to him. Apparently, his deputy, Bailey, spilled the beans. No charges yet, without Pam’s filing, but hate to be Tommy when Doc gets his hands on him. Like me, Doc’s getting old, but he’s got a lot of hard bark on him. He survived Vietnam as a medic and he’s no coward. Something you need to keep in mind.”
“Didn’t Doc work with Gage’s Dad when Mister Burnell was sheriff?”
“That’s right. Doc was his deputy.”
Thinking about that now. Something there, right at the back of his mind but Jake couldn’t bring it forth at the moment. Decades of secrets, molding and souring with time.
“Give me one of those cigarettes,” Jake said.
“Not while you’re seeing my daughter. I don’t want her smelling like an ash tray. Already smell your cologne when I’m around her.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t be one of those dad’s, Cal,” Jake said, smiling as he said it. “Speaking of which, is it possible Doc has a sense of the way a real investigation of Vernon and Gage’s murders might be headed?”
“Could be. Hate to think it. Doc used to be a square shooter but anymore with his daughter marrying into the Carrington family – ”
“Who?”
“Dynasty. TV series. You don’t remember...hell, you were a little kid and you’re dull to boot.” Winking. “Doc and Vernon got to be best buddies after the marriage. Pam got even tighter running Mitchell’s empire though of late I’m noticing some cooling between her and Vernon which may have something to do with you and some unpleasant times gone by. Vernon favored Alex and I’d guess he wouldn’t like you raiding the henhouse. They are ‘times gone by’ right?”
“Harper and I have already hashed that out if that’s your concern.”
“Good.”
Jake pondered what to say next, deciding. Might as well say it. He couldn’t trust Cal Bannister, he couldn’t trust anyone. “Somewhere out on the old Yoder place or near my place are the remains of Franklin and Caroline Yoder. I think Vernon killed them, disposed of the bodies and took over the Yoder farm.”
Cal leaned forward and put a hand on his desk. “Hell of thing to come up with. I’ll allow you haven’t been twiddling your thumbs.” Cal looked at his desk then back at Jake. “I suspected such a thing for some time. Gage’s Father thought the same, couldn’t find a handle. No corpus delicti. There was no evidence of a crime, people who vanished. Sheriff Burnell retired about the time you and Gage started high school and Doc took over.” Cal rubbed his jaw and chin with his hand, let out a breath. Shaking his head now, Cal said, “What you’re saying could be true, but Vernon’s dead so how does the information help us? Can’t prosecute Vernon anymore. Seems an ice-cold case with the murderer dead.”
“There’s one person who knows everything.”
“And?”
“That’s why Vernon’s dead.”
“Revenge?”
“No. Anger, maybe inheritance.”
“Alex killed his father?”
Jake said nothing, waiting on Cal.
“You’re not saying it was – ”. Cal said. “Yes, you are. Pam Mitchell? The cigarette in Cal’s mouth nearly fell out of his mouth. He caught it in time. “What’re you telling me? Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know.” Not telling Cal what he had in mind.
“Don’t hand me that gut feeling horseshit. We’re not going to operate like that. This is real life.”
“Has to be her. Think about it.” Jake repeated the incident as Fat Boy Haller had related it to him.
Cal stubbed out his cigarette, leaned back in his chair, hands laced together over his heart. “It’s almost perfect. The perfect crime committed in full view with the perfect fall guy. We can’t go after her because of Doc and his jurisdiction over the case. Vernon’s dead so he has nothing to say about it. We need, or you need, to find more evidence she’s involved and pulled the trigger, and finding people who will testify against her is going to be tough. She neutralized Tommy by holding a rape charge over his head. She’s got a lot of plates spinning. Always was smart.”
“She has Alex in check also.”
“You sure?” Cal said. “Word around is that Alex has a girl on the side.”
“Shari Langston.”
“What don’t you know? Does Buddy know this?” Jake nodded. Cal saying now, “Why do you think Alex is under Pam’s thumb?”
“Alex told me.”
Cal removed laced fingers from his chest and moved them to the back of his head. He smiled a half-smile. “Alex Mitchell, who hates you, told you this. You get around, don’t you? I’m beginning to appreciate you’re a hell of an investigator. You’re sneaky about it. Most see you as a hothead.”
Jake shrugged. “Can’t control what people think. You have Warner and Barb assaulting me. You have Tommy and Fat Boy witnessing Gage’s assault in the grain elevator by the same pair. Speaks to motivation.”
“How to connect the dots? Tommy afraid to testify. Pam has him by the ’nads. You yourself said there will be no fingerprints in Burnell’s vehicle.”
“The absence of fingerprints in a five-year-old vehicle demonstrates cover-up as we form our hypothesis. Besides, they don’t know whether we have fingerprints or not. Bring Barb and Warner back in, threaten ’em, scare ’em. Tell them you sent out the fingerprints and none of them are Gage’s.”
“I just cut them loose.”
“Different charge. Man one. They’re dirty whether they killed Gage or not.”
“How am I going to do that? I don’t have witnesses.”
“You do, Tommy and Haller.”
“Again, sketchy. Then there’s Doc who will holler when he learns we’re cond
ucting a parallel investigation.”
“Doesn’t like us anyway.”
“There’s another problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I ever tell you the prosecuting attorney is Pam Mitchell’s cousin.”
“Who?”
“Darcy Hillman. She was the daughter of Geraldine Mitchell’s sister.”
“I remember her from school.” Darcy and Pam were close in high school. “Have they got a lock on this?”
“No. Darcy’s a fairly straight shooter. Maybe we get Barb and Warner on the assault charge for beating Gage but I don’t see how we get to Pam Mitchell.”
Jake thought about it. “Haller told me Pam sent him away from the house after getting Haller to put his fingerprints on the weapon that killed Vernon.”
Cal following Jake’s reasoning. “And all Pam has to do is provide Haller’s alibi and Haller will owe her his freedom. She already provided his bail. She covered her tracks. We do not have access to the scene of the homicide, and she is confident Daddy won’t pursue her. I’d say we can forget pinning Vernon’s killing on her.”
“No, I won’t do that. She’s been too ruthless. She’s caused too much carnage. You with me on prosecuting Barb and Warner?” Jake said.
Cal lit another cigarette, took his time inhaling the first drag, and blew a cloud of blue smoke, before saying. “Yeah. I don’t like them getting away with assault and a possible homicide in my town. Second, I don’t like what’s been going on here for the past few years. Something’s wrong, I’ve felt it; could do nothing about it until you kicked in a rotted wall and now we can see what’s on the other side.”
“Maybe we can push this past the election for sheriff and get a better shot. Can Buddy beat him?”
“Not unless something happens between now and the election to change things,” Cal said, lifting his chin. “Kellogg’s got connections and backing.”
“Let’s see if we can change things. I think and will soon know if Alex Mitchell has an older sister.”
“He doesn’t have—” Cal stopped, giving up. “Are you kidding? Who would that be?”
“Franklin and Caroline Yoder’s daughter, Christine.”
