by Mary Mantle
Barsik woke up from one of his naps and started sniffing the papers. He began to walk on them, and I said, "Barsik."
He got the hint and went back to sniffing. My eyes felt heavy like blocks of cement. Reading 40 or 50 newspaper articles will do that. Any detail might help me figure out the mystery. I laid back on the floor and rested my eyes for a moment. I heard rustling and bustling. It was Barsik. He batted a piece of paper around, and it would fly in the air, and he would paw at it, making it move in a new direction. Soon the paper was on the other side of the room.
I got up and said, "Barsik Johnson, you know better than that. I need those pieces of paper."
He didn't care too much, and while he stopped playing with the paper, he decided it was time to see if the food dish was restocked.
I picked up the piece of paper.
"Meow," Barsik said at his food dish.
The article that Barsik batted around the room like a mouse more than caught my attention. The headline was: Landlord vs. Tenant.
Local real estate developer, Gary Hollister, is in a bitter feud with his renters, Ralph and Glenda Gunning. Mr. Hollister claims that they have not paid rent for over a year. Glenda Gunning says they are one month behind, and the long-standing feud with Mr. Hollister caused her husband to have a heart attack, and the medical bills made it difficult to pay the last month's rent. Glenda is the secretary at Cedar Cove Elementary school. Oregon does not have squatter's rights, and Mr. Hollister stated that they have until the first of the next month; otherwise, he will have to remove them by a court order. He regrets that it has come to this but maintains that he is a businessman and can allow only so much charity.
The paper dropped out of my hand. Glenda Gunning? No way, it couldn't be. Okay, she was the leader of the anti-ChemCorp group. Big deal, that didn't mean anything, but she also had some past conflict. The article was dated June 20th, 1991. I remembered when Glenda told everyone in the staff lounge about Gary; maybe she wasn't glad to be the first to break the news, perhaps she was genuinely happy. Then I remembered her tearing down the anti-ChemCorp poster. She did it as if the battle was over. And, if Sally didn't visit Hannah, then it had to be Glenda. Why? I'm not sure, but the stars were aligning.
I had to sit down in a chair at the kitchen table. It was all too much. I already falsely accused Sally, which I felt bad for, and I didn't want to do it again. Perhaps I could be more subtle, but it all seemed to make sense. In hindsight, the morning that Gary died, she seemed in a much better mood than normal. It all seemed so obvious. She hated Gary and everything he stood for. I was lost in thought at the table for what felt like hours.
Later that night before bed, I checked the sub alert app, which notified me of available jobs and made it easy to take assignments. The app only cost $4.99 per month, and it saved me lots of time. Suspicion shifted to Glenda, and I wanted to take a job at the elementary school the next day. Sure enough, I got a ding on the app. Second-grade teacher Miss Samuels was out for the day. Perfect. I took the job as quickly as I could.
Tanner was tired and fell asleep early while I lay in the dark, deep in my mind. Sometimes you need some quiet time, which was perfect for me to think about Glenda Gunning.
22
Confronting the Killer
The next morning I got up a half an hour early so I could get to school and have plenty of time to talk to Glenda.
The employee parking lot at the elementary school was mostly vacant, making it easy to find a spot. I parked and took a deep breath. My stomach was in my throat, and my legs tapped. After a few minutes, I was ready to attack the day.
I went through the main doors of the school, and Glenda was already there. She looked up and said, "You're here early."
"Early bird gets the worm."
"Well, you're getting pretty good at learning all the American sayings and clichés."
"I guess so. Trying to get an early start. You know, I've been investigating the Gary Hollister murder, and I think I'm getting close to solving it."
She dropped the paper in her hand and looked up in shock. It didn't last long before she regained her composure. Maybe a tenth of a second, but at that moment I realized she was the one.
She gave me a devious smile and said, "I thought they said it was an accident."
"That's what the cops think, but I came in early because I want some extra time this morning to gather my thoughts and to make sure I'm right."
"So you know who did it?"
"Yeah, I found an old news article from 1991 when someone had a land dispute with Gary. It sounds like it might have caused lots of problems, and there might be more to the story that I don't even know. It sounds like it could be strong enough motivation to kill Gary."
"I think you're mistaken. From everything I've heard about Gary Hollister, it was an accident. He made the wrong turn."
"Maybe, but I'm certain that someone cut his brake lines. I'll figure it all out, and I'll let you know when I catch the bad guy."
"Well, I'll get you checked in for the class. You can head down to Miss Samuels's room now," Glenda said as she was quick to change the subject.
"Okay. I will head down there. I will talk to you later."
She shuffled papers and ignored me.
When I got to the classroom, I glanced over the notes that the teacher left for me. Usually, I don't like working at elementary schools very much. I made an exception so I could talk to Glenda, and I did like Ms. Samuels because she left very detailed notes that made it easy to teach. She always provided enough of a lesson plan to keep the students busy, so there wasn't much extra time that I had to fill to keep the kids from growing restless.
I pulled out my phone and called the police station. I asked for the Chief, and after a few minutes, my call was transferred.
"Okay, what do you want this time Tatiana?" the Chief asked.
"I was wrong about Sally Hollister; I don't think she did it. Glenda Gunning is the culprit."
I heard a booming laugh from the Chief that lasted a lifetime.
"What evidence do you have? A hunch? So now instead of Sally Hollister, you think it is another sweet old lady. What motive does she have?"
"She is against the ChemCorp factory that is coming into town, plus she had problems with Gary in the past. Back in 1991, he evicted her and her husband."
"There is a big difference between being against something or not liking someone and cutting their brake lines, hoping that the car wrecks."
"Can't you just look into it."
"What I'm going to do is ask that you stop playing detective. No, I'm not looking into her and uprooting her life because you have a hunch. We follow evidence in our line of work, not hunches."
My blood boiled inside my veins. I wanted to scream and yell something at the Chief, but instead, I hung up the phone.
Evidence. I needed good old-fashioned evidence. Perhaps I could trick her into a confession and record it on my phone. I wasn't sure if, in the state of Oregon, it was required for the suspect to consent or have knowledge of being recorded for it to be allowed as evidence.
I thought I could figure out how to make her confess. First, I could sympathize with her. Talk about how bad ChemCorp is and how bad Gary was. But, I wasn't sure that would work. Instead, I decided to Google, how to get people to confess. There were 59 million results.
The first thing that popped up was a suggestion that you accuse them of something far worse than what they did. That might trick them into saying, no, I didn't do that bad thing; I only did this other bad thing. It was worth a shot. After that, I had to figure out something worse that I could accuse her of.
Before my thoughts could get too deep, students started piling into the room. I had a geography lesson to go over with the students. It was basic geography of the United States covering the state capitals, nothing too complicated.
After a few classes, it was lunchtime. I planned to find Glenda and corner her and maybe add a little more fuel to the fire. I w
alked to the front secretary's desk, and she wasn't there. Next, I walked to the teacher's lounge, where there were about a dozen teachers but no signs of Glenda. I walked back to the secretary's desk, no luck.
Well, I didn't have much time, and I needed to eat lunch myself, so I went back to the classroom. I had my pink lunch bag, and I pulled out a homemade sandwich and a hard-boiled egg. I enjoyed the silence of an empty classroom.
The rest the day flew by, and soon the last bell rang. Students filed out, and I was a free woman. On my way out, I stopped at the main office, but I didn't see Glenda, and I asked another secretary where Glenda was.
She said, "I'm not sure. I think she had a doctor's appointment or something."
I got in my car and headed home. The school sits on a hill, which is one of the highest points anywhere in Cedar Cove. As I drove down the hill, I pumped my brakes so I would stop. The car didn't slow down. I began to panic and pulled my emergency brake. Nothing.
Instead of slowing down and coming to a stop, I was increasing in speed, and I was going about 40 miles an hour when I reached the stop sign.
That is when I heard the loud crunch, and in a split second, my car was spinning around. A white Ford SUV slammed into the side of my car. I went through the intersection. My car spun in several circles and slammed into the stop sign before it came to a stop.
My thoughts were jumbled; it happened so fast. Tears began to run down my face like a waterfall. I felt around my body, and everything seemed fine. I got out of the car; it was totaled.
Once the panic and fear subsided, I realized that I was all right. The other car was hardly hurt, just a little bit of bumper damage. All I could think about was Glenda.
Sometimes things happen in my life, and you just know. I was 100% sure that Glenda was responsible for the wreck.
I called Tanner.
"I just got in a car wreck. I was coming down the hill from the elementary school, and I couldn't stop. I kept going faster and got hit by a truck."
"Oh, my God. Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm shaken up, but I don't think I got hurt. I think it was Glenda Gunning."
"Are you sure?"
"100 percent."
"Call the police."
"I told the police Chief this morning, and since I told him about Sally and she didn't turn out to be a suspect, he doesn't think I'm reliable."
"What are you going to do?"
"The Chief won't move ahead unless there is evidence, so I need to find some evidence. I want to go up and see if there's any kind of video surveillance at the school."
The tow truck company showed up and took my information, and they hauled the car away. The other driver and I exchanged insurance information.
I walked back up the hill to the school, which took about ten minutes. I went to the principal's office and knocked on the door.
Principal Anderson said, "Come in."
I walked in, and he sat at his desk, which was full of papers. Principal Anderson was a tall man with an honest face. The room had his desk, a bookshelf, and one corner with several computer monitors.
"Tatiana, how can I help you?"
"I think someone cut my brake lines and did something to my car. It happened today while I was teaching. Does the school have any kind of surveillance footage that I can review."
"Sorry to hear that. We do have some cameras. Willie, the maintenance guy, knows more about it than I do. They all feed into that computer bank in the corner of the room."
Principal Anderson picked up the phone and made a call.
"Hey, Willie, can you come down to the office and help us get some video footage. We need to watch the footage of the parking lot."
Willie showed up a few minutes later. His blue coveralls had his name sewn on the left pocket.
"What can I do for you, boss?" Willie asked.
"Tatiana thinks someone did something to her car. Cut her brake lines and caused her to crash. Let's review the footage of the parking lot."
Willie went over to the corner of the room that had several monitors and a computer. He clicked around, and the screen changed from one camera to another. The campus had 20 different security cameras.
He found the angle covering the parking lot where my car was. He went back to the morning when my car pulled into the parking spot.
My excitement built, hoping we would catch Glenda red-handed.
23
Destroyed Footage
The footage was a little blurry. All three of us huddled around the monitor. Willie sped through the footage, looking for someone that might have gone to my car. The feed stopped around 11 am and resumed at 12:30 pm.
Unsure of what it meant, I threw a confused look at Principal Anderson and Willie. They gave me the same look.
"What does it mean?" I asked.
Willie shrugged his shoulders.
Principal Anderson said, "I'm not sure, but it seems like someone disabled the feed for a while, probably so they could do the dirty work."
I asked, "How could someone do that? Can they do it from their computer, or do they have to come in here?"
Willie chimed in, "They have to come in here." He looked at Principal Anderson. "Did you leave the office during that time?"
"Around eleven, I did go down to check on the P.E. class, and then I stopped by Mr. Woolsey's woodshop class, and I think I stayed there until lunch. For lunch, I went to the teacher's lounge."
I asked, "Are there cameras that record your office or the entrance?"
"No," said Willie.
I sighed. "I guess we are back to ground zero. My husband should be here to get me soon."
Dejected, I left the office. Glenda was clever and cunning, and I needed to figure out how to get her. Otherwise, I would have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.
My mind sifted through ideas hoping to think of some clever trap I could set for her. I couldn't think of anything. If I could record a confession, that would help. For that to happen, she would have to get so mad that she couldn't control her emotions.
I walked outside, and the crisp, Northwest air was refreshing as it hit my lungs. A fresh dose of oxygen always helps me think better. Out of nowhere, Faith popped into my mind.
I texted her, asking if she had any new updates.
She texted back. Mr. Thompson would survive, and it looked like he got poisoned, but he made it to the hospital in time. That was a sense of relief. Glenda seemed to be cutting people's brakes and poisoning them left and right.
Tanner pulled up in his truck. He didn't smile; his face seemed tense. I got in and smiled.
"Thanks for coming to get me.'
"I'm just glad you are all right. You are scaring the crap out of me. You have people trying to kill you."
"I know. We are getting close. We watched the security footage of the parking lot, and someone deleted the footage before lunch. I know it in my gut that it is her. I've suspected people so far, but with her, I'm not suspecting. She did it."
"Are you alright?"
I didn't know how to answer. Having someone try to murder you can really make a person sad.
"I'm not sure. Let's go home," I said.
Home we went. At every stop sign, I expected Tanner's brakes not to work. Another twist of events, and I felt I might join Hannah at the Mental Hospital. No one else truly believed Glenda did it, so I looked like the crazy person. However, I wasn't sure if my actions forced the fight or flight emotion.
We drove in silence. The tension the mystery created built a wall between Tanner and me. It wasn't a good thing, but the finish line felt so close I couldn't stop.
I broke the silence.
"What am I going to drive?"
"Well, the car is totaled. The cops probably won't investigate it. Probably won't get any insurance money, so we will have to buy a new car."
"Unless I can prove that Glenda cut the brake line. Then, we should get some money out of the deal."
Tanner didn't
respond. I pulled my phone out and tried to see if I could google Glenda and find her home address. I punched in, Glenda Gunning, and she popped up, but no address.
I went to the Cove County assessor's website, which had Map Information and showed who owned every parcel in the county. Most counties have a similar system. It would be a shot in the dark because I would have to click on random plots and hope that I saw hers.
I was glued to my phone for the rest of the drive. Starting in downtown, one by one, I clicked on parcels of land. I skipped apartment buildings and businesses. My gut told me that she owned a house.
I heard the garage door open and the car drive-in. Tanner got out, but I couldn't pull myself from the phone. I stayed in the car for ten minutes or so.
Tanner came out and said, "Tatiana, if you are going to try and find her home address, you might as well come inside and be comfortable."
"Okay."
I got out of the car. Tanner forced a smile.
"You didn't ask me how my day went," he said.
"I'm sorry. How did your day go?"
"Good. We sold 30 carts, so I had a good day."
We went inside, and I moved the search from my phone to our Mac computer in the office. Having a large screen and the mouse was comfortable. I knew with patience, I would find it.
The map wasn't perfect. It zoomed in and out a lot on its own. I didn't like it when you click on a parcel, and a box appears with the owner's name. Sometimes that box pops up above it, sometimes below it. It made a system of clicking on the parcels, one by one, difficult. I had to click out of order, and it took a lot more focus to make sure I didn't miss a parcel, which I'm sure I did. Doubt crept in that I wouldn't find her house.
