by Cindy Bell
“I didn’t want him to know, because he is one of them. He could easily spread the word through the ranks, then whoever Colin was investigating will think that we’re on to him or her.” He buckled his seat belt, then started the car.
“Oops.” Samantha bit into her bottom lip for a moment. Now that he’d explained it, she could see the value in keeping that information to herself. However, it still didn’t change her opinion completely on it. “But I think Brunner needed to know, Eddy. He’s involved in the investigation. He’ll need any leads about who might have wanted Colin dead.” She grimaced as she spoke. “I’m sorry, Eddy. I can’t believe he’s gone, and I barely met him. I know you two had so much history together. This has to be upsetting.”
“People die.” He grunted, then backed the car out of the parking spot.
Samantha didn’t press him. Eddy kept his emotions close to the cuff, and she knew better than to try to force them out of him. He would open up, but he would do it at his own pace.
Silence filled the car for several minutes. Samantha realized that she had no idea where Eddy was driving to. He wasn’t going in the direction of Sage Gardens, or any other place she was familiar with. After a few more minutes she realized he was just driving. She let it go, and relaxed in the seat beside him. If that was what he needed to do to work through some of his feelings she was happy to let him do it uninterrupted.
“We need to find out who did this.” Eddy’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Colin was on to something, something big, otherwise he wouldn’t be dead. If only he’d told me what it was when I asked, we might have more of a head start.”
“We’ll just have to work with what we have for now.” Samantha shifted in her seat. “We know it likely had something to do with money, since that’s what he intended to give to you. But what?” She shook her head. “Maybe if we can get hold of his computer we could find some kind of record of what he was involved in.”
“Maybe.” Eddy nodded. He finally turned down a street that headed back to Sage Gardens.
“Did you take a picture of the note he left you? Maybe we can find more information in that.”
“No, I didn’t take a picture.” Eddy glanced over at her, then back at the road. “I didn’t need one.”
“Why not?” Samantha narrowed her eyes. “It might have a clue hidden in it.”
“I know that.” Eddy parked in front of Samantha’s villa. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded up note. “I have it right here.”
“Eddy!” Samantha stared at him, then at the note. “That was evidence! You should have given it to Detective Brunner.”
“It was addressed to me.” Eddy shrugged. “No reason to hand it over.” He turned in his seat to look directly at her. “What do you think would happen to me if Brunner found a note in Colin’s pocket, addressed to me? I would become the main suspect.”
“You don’t know that. Detective Brunner admires you. He wouldn’t automatically suspect that you were involved in Colin’s death.”
“Then he’s not a very good detective. Because my first line of questioning would be directed at the person named on the note. I can’t investigate or solve Colin’s murder if I’m in lock-up, waiting for my chance to prove myself innocent, now can I?”
“I guess not.” Samantha pursed her lips.
“I just wanted a little time to look into the note myself.” He glanced through the passenger side window at her villa. “I’ll wait until you’re safely inside.”
“Eddy, why don’t you let me look into things with you?”
“I just need some time to myself to sort all of this out.”
“Okay. But if you need me, I’m here.”
“Thanks, Sam.”
As she made her way up to her villa, she could feel his eyes on her. Normally, he would walk her up, he was such a gentleman, but she guessed his mind was too occupied. Either way, she unlocked the door, then glanced back, and saw him still waiting there. He would do anything he could to protect her, and she intended to do the very same.
Chapter 7
Eddy couldn’t drive straight home, he needed to do something. Instead, he drove towards the one place that he and Colin always retreated to, to blow off steam. Eddy was drinking a bit more in those days, but he avoided cop bars. He didn’t like the idea of being with cops all the time, he enjoyed having a break from them so he could clear his head. Instead he found an out of the way hole in the wall bar. He hadn’t been to it in years, but he and Colin spent many nights there after tough days on the job. As he pulled into the parking lot he was relieved to see that The Bridge was still The Bridge. It hadn’t been bulldozed or bought out by a trendy bar. Instead, its peeling blue paint still stood up against a worn parking lot. There were never more than a few cars parked in front of it, and tonight there was only one. The bartender would be in the back. Rex, if he still worked there.
The best thing about Rex was that was all Eddy knew about him, even after years of showing up at his bar. Rex wasn’t a talker, which meant that Eddy didn’t have to talk either, which meant that The Bridge became his haven. For some time, he resisted bringing Colin along, as he didn’t want to share his haven. But after a particularly hard day, when he knew he couldn’t let the rookie go off on his own, he invited him to the bar, and they shared their first beer together. It was a bonding moment, mostly because Colin confessed all of his fears and concerns about wearing the badge, and Eddy went out of his way to help him through them. There weren’t many people, especially at that time in his life, that he spoke to for that length of time, or at that emotional level.
As he pulled the door open the familiar scent of stale beer and moldy nuts greeted him as if he’d only been there the day before. Never mind that he’d lost count of how long it had been since his last visit. There, behind the bar, looking only a few days older than the last time he saw him, was Rex. He rubbed a cloth over a glass, and didn’t bother to look up. Eddy sensed another pair of eyes on him, but they belonged to someone who would rather not be seen, seated in a booth towards the back. He ignored it, and sat down at the bar.
Only then did Rex glance up. He squinted at Eddy for a moment, then set down the glass he was only rubbing more smudges into.
“I know you.”
“It’s been a while.” Eddy managed a small smile. “Beer, please.”
“That’s all we got.” He shrugged as he placed a cold bottle on the bar.
“That’s what I like.” Eddy felt comforted that the brand hadn’t changed. The place barely stayed afloat, and rarely had much variety in stock.
“Lucky you.” Rex nodded as he turned his attention back to the glass.
“Lucky me,” Eddy muttered to himself, and realized he’d made a mistake by coming there. Everywhere he looked reminded him of Colin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the note that Colin left him. As he read it over, he knew there was no clue hidden in it. Colin said it would make sense soon enough, but he didn’t know how. Colin left the note and money as a back-up, but he had intended to tell him everything himself. If only he’d pressed a little harder to find out faster, maybe he would know what happened, or maybe he could have prevented it. Instead he was stuck at a bar, with a useless note, and a bottle of beer that didn’t taste as good as it used to.
Eddy tossed the note down on the table and sighed. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out something else. He hunched his shoulders to hide it from view. It was a single one-hundred-dollar bill. He’d pulled it off the top of the top stack of money that Colin left in his pocket. He thought he might be able to find something out about the bill itself, and where it came from. But as he looked at it, he was surprised to see a few tiny symbols etched near the border of the bill. He knew that happened sometimes. It wasn’t uncommon to see things scribbled on bills of any denomination. It was written too small for him to read. For a moment he wondered if they might just be smudges. But the edges were too defined to be random. As he leaned over it, he
heard the footsteps of the bartender approach him.
“Need another?” He nudged the bottle of beer that was still half full.
“No, I’m good.” Eddy didn’t look up from the bill.
“I remember you coming in here. You and your buddy, right?”
Eddy looked up sharply.
“You do?”
“Sure. Two of my best customers.” He hesitated. “Then you quit coming in.”
“Yeah, our lives took us elsewhere.” Eddy shrugged.
“Well, your life did.” He eyed him for a long moment. “Colin said you retired.”
Eddy sat back on the barstool and gazed at Rex with renewed interest. He had no idea that Colin continued to frequent the bar, or that Rex had known either of their names.
“I did.” He pursed his lips as he wondered if he should tell him what happened to Colin. All at once, he had to. It was as if he had no choice. He’d never confided in a bartender in his life, yet today, he felt the need bubble up irresistibly. “Colin was killed today.”
“What?” Rex took a step back from the bar. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Eddy narrowed his eyes. “You’d gotten to know him pretty well?”
Rex looked towards the booth at the back of the bar, then turned his attention back to Eddy.
“You could say that.” His voice wavered some. His hands balled into fists on the bar. “He was right.”
“Right about what?” Eddy stared at him.
“He told me, if anything happened to him, that you would come in here. I doubted it. He said you hadn’t talked in years.”
“No, we hadn’t, but he was right, I’m here.” Eddy studied him skeptically, he couldn’t think of a reason why Rex and Colin would be speaking about him.
“He was.” Rex licked his lips, then looked towards the back booth again. When he spoke again his voice was barely above a whisper. “But why are you here?”
“I came in for a beer.” Eddy picked up the bottle off the bar and took a long swallow. “I wasn’t even sure this place would still be standing. I didn’t expect you to still be here.”
“I own the place now, actually.” Rex raised an eyebrow. “It’s not exactly a step up, trust me.”
“Congratulations.” Eddy nodded. “It’s good to have your own business.”
“I guess.” He glanced towards the back booth again, then locked his eyes on Eddy. “Colin told me, if anything ever happened to him, and you came in here, like he knew that you would, I was to give you something. But I’m not sure if I should.”
Eddy’s mind began to mull over what Colin might have left him. Was it possible that his old friend would predict that he would return to The Bridge? He guessed it was, since generally he was a creature of habit.
“What is it?” He leaned forward some. He lowered his voice, because Rex had, though he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t overlook the way he kept looking over at the occupied booth. Maybe someone was there that he didn’t want hearing the conversation.
“It’s in the back. I’ll show you.” He gestured for Eddy to walk around the bar.
He stood up from the barstool and started to walk around the bar, but paused right at the edge. A ripple of caution carried through him. What if it was some kind of trap?
“Who is in the booth?” He looked into Rex’s eyes, his expression hard.
“A customer.” Rex stared back, just as sternly. “Let’s go, it’s back here.” He pushed open the door that led into the back room.
Again, Eddy hesitated. He had no idea what Rex’s intentions were. For all he knew, he could have had something to do with Colin’s death. Still, if he wanted to figure it out, he would have to take some risks. He followed behind Rex. Once through the door they veered off into a small office. Rex stepped around behind the desk and pulled a key ring off his belt. He rummaged through the keys, then used a small one to open a lock on a drawer in his desk. Eddy watched, curious about what would come out of the drawer. It could be another note from Colin, or it could be a gun. He braced himself, ready to react.
“Here.” Rex tossed something small and rectangular down on the desk.
“What’s that?” Eddy stared at it.
“It’s a flash drive.” He raised an eyebrow. “Right, you’re a dinosaur like me. It’s a storage device, you plug it into a computer and you can access all of the files on it.”
“I know what a flash drive is.” Eddy sighed. “But what’s on it?”
“I don’t know. He just told me to give it to you if anything ever happened to him. He’s dead, so now it’s yours.” He pushed the flash drive towards him. “I don’t know what’s on it. I never wanted to know. But—” He froze and looked past Eddy. “What are you doing back here?”
Eddy’s heart dropped as he turned to face whoever was behind him.
Behind him was a short-statured man, with a thick, black mustache, and sharp, dark eyes. Although, he was petite in size, his attitude more than made up for it with confidence and authority.
“Am I interrupting?” He held up an empty glass. “I thought this was a bar, and I might be able to get a refill?”
Eddy quickly surmised that this was the man who had been sitting in the booth ever since he arrived at the bar. When he glanced back at Rex, he could see that the bartender had grown very pale. He watched the other man nervously.
“It’s a private conversation, Orin. I’ll be right out to get you another beer.”
“Private, huh?” He locked his eyes on to Eddy’s. “How can it be private, if it’s about me? Don’t you think I should be involved in the conversation if I’m the main topic?” He chuckled.
“You’re mistaken, no one was talking about you. Orin, is it?” Eddy furrowed his brow. “I don’t think I’ve ever met you before, so why would I have a conversation about you?”
“You didn’t tell him?” Orin smirked as he spoke to Rex, but kept his eyes trained on Eddy.
“I didn’t know if you would want me to. Colin told me to pass on the information, he didn’t tell me to do anything more than that.” Rex took a step back from his desk.
“So, Colin is dead, huh?” Orin scraped his nails back across the tight curls of his dark hair. “I can’t say it surprises me. I warned him.” He drew his lips into a thin line, released a long breath through his nostrils, then closed his eyes. “I guess I’ll be the next to go.”
“Please, can one of you explain to me what’s going on here?” Eddy looked between them. “I know that you seem to have a lot more information than I do, but I can’t keep up with all of this.”
“You take a look at that flash drive, then we’ll talk.” Orin looked across the desk at Rex. “Did Colin leave you any cash for me?”
“No.” Rex took another step back until he was against the rear wall of the office.
“Or did you just keep it?” Orin brushed past Eddy and headed towards Rex. “He told me, if something happened to him, you would have what I needed. So, where is it? I need to get out of town, if they offed Colin, then I’ll be next.”
“Calm down.” Eddy placed his hand on Orin’s shoulder. “I’m sure Rex is telling you the truth.”
“Oh, you’re sure of that, are you?” Orin turned swiftly to face Eddy. “I said, go home, and have a look at that flash drive, then contact me.” He pushed a slip of paper into Eddy’s hand. “We’ll talk then. Until then, Rex and I have some business to settle.”
“Orin, he didn’t leave me anything, I swear.” Rex looked between Orin and Eddy. “If he did I would give it to you.”
“Well, then you’re just going to have to front me the cash. I need to get out of here, and fast.” He held his hand out to Rex.
“I don’t have anything to give you!” Rex grimaced as Orin moved closer to him. “I swear!”
“Wait just a minute.” Eddy grabbed Orin by the shoulder and pulled him back. “Now look, I don’t know everything that’s going on here, but I can tell you I’m not going to stand here and let you hurt t
his man. So, you better back off. Got it?”
“Oh, Mr. Tough Guy, huh?” Orin rolled his eyes. “Fine, but one of you had better come up with some money for me by tomorrow afternoon.” He slammed his way back through the door and continued out of the bar.
“What is really going on here?” Eddy turned back to Rex. “Are you going to tell me now?”
“The flash drive will. I never wanted to be involved in any of this, but Colin and Orin didn’t give me a choice. Eddy, you have to believe me, Colin didn’t leave me any money for Orin.” He rested his hands against the desk and drew in a few deep breaths.
“Who is Orin? You act like you’re scared of him. What’s the deal?” Eddy frowned as he studied Rex.
“I am scared of him. He’s a horrible man. You should be scared of him too, Eddy. You know I almost decided not to give you the flash drive. I thought, you don’t need this in your life. You don’t need to get pulled into the middle of this. But Colin made me promise him.”
“How was Colin mixed up with Orin?”
“I can’t tell you exactly. But they would meet here. Orin thinks he owns me. Well, in a way, he does.” He sighed. “I took a loan from him, biggest mistake of my life.”
“I just don’t understand, Colin was a great cop. Why would he be working with a loan shark?”
“Oh, Orin is far more than that.” He tapped the flash drive. “Take a look. But once you do, you’re not going to be able to get out of this.” He held up his hands in the air. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Okay?”
“Okay, I guess.” Eddy eyed him for a moment longer. “Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to stay while you close up?”
“I’ll be fine.” He shook his head. “Orin doesn’t want me dead, yet. But be careful, Eddy. I told Colin he had no idea what he was getting into, and I’ll tell you the same thing.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the heads up.” Eddy tucked the flash drive into his pocket, then headed out of the bar. Near the entrance he hesitated. He did a sweep of the parking lot to be sure that Orin was gone. The single additional car in the lot was no longer there. He wished he had paid more attention to it while it was still there.
