Pulling the Trooth

by Robert P. Wills

  “Uhhh.” Summer said. She looked at Maxine and grimaced as she sat at the little kitchen table.

  “Mind if I take a picture?” Maxine asked.

  “I suppose not.” Bill put his hands on his knees. “Go ahead.” He looked at Maxine with a large fake smile on his face.

  “Say gingivitis.” Maxine said as she took the picture.

  “She always like this?”

  “Only since... No, never mind; yeah she’s always like this.” Summer smiled at the man. “I’m sorry you were tricked into a bad room. That’s a terrible thing to do with how you’re helping out Terrance.”

  Maxine sat. “And he’s done it before?”

  Bill still had the wide grin on his face. “In Seattle.”

  “Are you okay?” Summer asked.

  “Huh? Yeah, sure.” The smile faded. “Better?”

  “Actually...” Maxine started.

  “Seattle?” Summer interrupted. “That’s when Scott Anderson first yelled at you.”

  “How...” Bill’s hands came up as he started to throttle a notional Scott Anderson. “Him too. Choke the life out of him. Oh yeah. Eyes bulging out of his pompous head.”

  “That’s a pretty personal way to kill someone,” Maxine said. “I mean...”

  “I don’t own a gun,” Bill said. “Can’t.” He looked at the kitchenette. “Hey, stabbing would be satisfying as well. Oh yeah.” He smiled again as he closed his eyes and made repeated stabbing motions with his hand. “No, no!” He said. “Oh yes!” He said again. He opened his eyes and smiled at Maxine. “Yeah, that was nice.”

  “Was?” Maxine said softly to Summer. “Was nice?”

  “Why did Scott yell at you in Seattle?”

  “How do you even know that?”

  “What’s Scott Anderson got against you?” Summer pressed on, not wanting Earl to have to deal with the wrath of the obviously disturbed man. “I mean, you work for Terrance and his dental clinics are a thousand miles from Scott in Vegas. You two shouldn’t even know each other.”

  Bill patted the tops of his knees nervously. “Off the record?”

  “Sure,” Maxine said. “That’s fine for me, of course.”

  Summer kept quiet. To her relief, Brian began to speak:

  “Doctor Brushwood convinced me to come to a convention...”

  “In Seattle?” Summer interjected.

  “No, no; this was before that. In Des Moines, ironically. Six months earlier. I needed a filling and he told me that if I came to the convention, he’d do it for free.” He shrugged. “I figured a free filling and a couple of days in a hotel would be like a mini-vacation, right? So why not?”

  “Sounds reasonable.” Summer gestured around the room. “And... was it like this?”

  “No, it was a nice room. A real nice room; a Holiday Inn Express.” He frowned. “Nothing like this.” He sighed. “So I went to the convention and... you know, things happen and I...” He smiled sheepishly. “I kind of hooked up with this gal who was staying in the hotel.”

  “It happens,” Summer said. “Oh!” She leaned forward. “It wasn’t Scotts’ wife, was it?”

  “Nothing like that,” Bill said. “It was his patient he had brought from Las Vegas.”

  Summer stifled a chuckle. “Hah, figure the odds. So you and her...”

  “It was a whirlwind romance.” He smiled as he thought back. “She was a dancer. On the strip. I mean, a legitimate Vegas showgirl. Me and an actual show girl!” He sighed. “Man, we had a really good time. She wasn’t like any of the other girls I had ever dated.”

  “Good for you,” Summer said. “But why would Doctor Anderson care?”

  “We had a really good time.” Bill blushed. “And Heather missed the filling competition.”

  “Ooh. You both missed your appointments? I can see why he would be upset. And Terrance.”

  “No, no; I made it there; Heather wasn’t there. She was too hung over. She couldn’t even leave her room.”

  “Ohhh.”

  “And by the time Doctor Anderson realized Heather wasn’t going to make it, it was too late for him to find a replacement. And to make matters worse, we won the competition.”

  “Uh oh!”

  “And then we kind of had it out in the convention center afterwards”

  “You and Doctor Brushwood? Why- he won?”

  “Sure,” Bill nodded. “But he said I tainted his legitimate win. He leaned back. “Then Doctor Anderson found us and he blamed Terrance and me. He said he was going to file a complaint with the convention center to get us blacklisted from all conventions.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “Then, I guess he found Heather and had her kicked out of her room because when I got back there, she had checked out. Gone. I don’t even know what he told her because she’s never talked to me since.” He put his head in his hands. “The love of my life and she’s gone.”

  “And he’s given you a hard time ever since?”

  “Well, yeah. Since I punched him in the mouth that same day.”

  “You punched him in the mouth?”

  “I wanted to knock out mister perfect dentist’s teeth. Have him choke on them.” Bill seethed. He clenched up his fists. “I hate that man. He ruined it between me and Heather.”

  “Well, I mean, she lives in Vegas and you live in Seattle.”

  He smirked. “I live in Des Moines, actually.”

  “Wait, you live in Iowa? Now I’m confused.”

  Bill shook his head. “I live in Des Moines, Washington. It’s south of Seattle, on the I-5 corridor. That’s the irony; I left Des Moines, Washington and went to Des Moines, Iowa and met the love of my life.”

  “I see. That is ironic,” Summer said. “Still, Vegas and Des Moines are a long way...”

  Bill teared up. “I would have moved for Heather. In a heartbeat. I... run a software games management company. I can do that from anywhere.”

  “And she was a showgirl?” Maxine said.

  He gestured at the two women. “You two are good looking, sure, but Heather was a complete knockout.” He brought his hands up as fists, “And Scott Anderson is the reason she’s not in my life anymore. A bus needs to run over him!” He put his hands like he was holding a steering wheel. “With me driving!”

  “I...” Summer looked at Maxine. “I see. Well, this has been enlightening... our talk.” Summer stood. “Maxie, ready?”

  “You bet.” She stood as well.

  “Thanks for your time, Bill.” Summer said. “And I’m sorry about Heather. Really, I am.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Bill leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Sure.”

  “Okay then.” Summer jerked her thumb at the door. “See you later on at the convention center, Bill.”

  Maxine hurried to the door and opened it. “Thanks for your time,” she said as she stepped outside. She snapped another photo of Bill on the small couch looking sad and forlorn.

  Summer closed the door without another word.

  “That man is the mur-der-er!” Maxine hissed. “We just did an interview of a murderer.” She pointed at the door. “Right in there.” She took a picture of the door. “Murderer’s door. Oh man, I’ve got the heebie jeebies!”

  “Let’s go talk to Terrance and see what he has to say about all this. Get his side of the story.”

  Maxine nodded. “Yeah, let’s go talk to a non-homicidal person. That would be a refreshing change.”

  “Sounds good to me. Let’s go find Benny.”

  As the two walked across the parking lot, Maxine stopped to take a picture of the motel’s sign. “Murderer’s motel,” she said to Summer when she caught up.

  SEVENTEEN

  “Murderer!” Maxine said as she sat down across from Benny. “We just met a murderer.”

  Several patrons turned to look at her.

  “Please stop saying that,” Summer said a she sat beside her. “Or at least say it quieter.”

  “This Bill guy seemed pretty
upset with both Doctors Anderson and Brushwood.”

  “Alright now, who is who?” Benny said. He ate a piece of his pie.

  Maxine placed her hands on the table on either side of Benny’s pie. “Okay, so Doctor Scott Anderson is dead.” She lowered her voice. “Mur-dered.” She smiled. “Doctor Terrance Brushwood is some dentist from up in Washington State. And Bill Volker is the mur-der-er.”

  “I see.” Benny took a sip of his coffee. “Pie?” He gestured. “It’s really good.”

  “Sure?” Maxine said.

  Benny looked at the counter and made eye contact with the waitress. He held up two fingers and pointed to his pie. “Coffee?”

  “Why not?” Summer said.

  Benny gestured at his coffee and held up two fingers again.

  “What else did you learn?”

  “Hmmm.” Maxine sat up. “Apparently, we aren’t pretty enough to be Vegas showgirls.” She stuck out her lower lip. “That kind of hurt.”

  Benny shook his head. “Nah, you two could easily be showgirls,” he said around the piece of pie in his mouth. “Although...” He smirked. “Can you high kick?”

  “I can,” Summer said. “Full round house kicks to the head if I need to.”

  “I used to play soccer,” Maxine said.

  “Then you two are showgirl material. Easy.”

  “Thanks Benny.” Maxine said. “That’s nice.”

  “Sure thing, Maxine.” Benny took another sip of coffee. “So why did Bill kill this Anderson guy?”

  “If Bill had his way, he would have choked the life out of him barehanded.”

  “That’s up-close and personal. And takes a good bit of time. Four, five minutes to be sure.”

  Maxine leaned back even more. “It sounds like you have personal experience.”

  “I heard that in a first aid class back in the Army.” He leaned back as the waitress slid two pieces of pie onto the table as well as two empty cups. “Anything else for you folks?” She put a carafe of coffee down.

  “Plenty of cream and sugar,” Summer said.

  The waitress nodded and walked off.

  “If you just choke someone until they pass out, they just start breathing again once you let go of them. I mean, the brain is all for keeping oxygen flowing. So you have to keep their throat closed until the heart stops beating. And even then, there’s still a bit of oxygen in the old blood steam.” He cut his last piece of pie in half. “It’s like those kids that fall into a frozen lake for thirty minutes that come out okay.”

  “Well, apparently Bill stabbed Scott in the chest with a huge kitchen knife,” Maxine said as the waitress put a small container of cream and a little box full of various kinds of sweeteners on the table. “Errr, at least that’s what happened in the movie,” she said as the waitress looked at her with large eyes.

  The waitress slid the check onto the table so she didn’t have to come back. “Pay at the register.” She said as she walked off quickly.

  “Smooth, Maxie.” Summer said as she poured a good bit of cream in her coffee. “You’re making it hard for us to become regulars here.”

  “You want to come back here?”

  “Listen, this pie is excellent.” Benny freshened up his coffee. “Don’t burn your bridges is all I’m saying.”

  “See?” Summer said. She took a bite of her pie. She looked down at it. “Wow, this is good pie.”

  “If you don’t finish it, I will,” Benny said. He pointed his fork at Maxine. His last piece of pie was on it. “Okay, so you’re sold that this Bill character across the street killed that dentist?”

  Maxine nodded “Oh yeah, he practically confessed while we were over there, right Summer?”

  Summer shrugged. “I think we need to talk to the other suspects first.”

  “I thought you two were reporters,” Benny said. He put his last piece of pie in his mouth. “Not cops.”

  “It’s a story... a great story,” Summer said. “We’re going to have the scoop on the murder if we can figure it out.”

  Maxine pointed across the street “Bill’s the murderer. We’ve solved it.”

  “Why would Bill kill that doctor? Doesn’t he work with that other Washington state one?” Benny sipped his coffee.

  “True love,” Maxine said. She took a bite of her pie. Her eyebrows went up. “Wow.”

  “True love?” Benny put his cup down. “Listen lady, true love is the greatest thing in the world- except for a nice MLT. A mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomatoes...” Benny deadpanned.

  Maxine reached across the table and hit Benny on the shoulder. “That’s enough out of you Miracle Max.”

  Benny laughed. “Okay, okay. So what’s this true love deal?”

  “Well, it seems dentists bring their own patients to these conventions for the dental competitions and demonstrations. That way they know who they’re working on. And when Doctor Brushwood brought Bill to a convention, he hooked up with Doctor Anderson’s patient.”

  “And that’s who Bill fell in love with? What’s his name?”

  “It’s a her; she was... is a Vegas showgirl.”

  Benny pointed at them. “Ahh, that’s where the ‘you don’t look as good as a showgirl’ comes from.”

  “Right. And when their partying resulted in her not showing up for Doctor Anderson, he took it out on the two of them and Bill never saw her again.”

  “I can understand why Bill’s upset about that. I mean... a Vegas showgirl.” He grinned. “Especially if she’s better looking that you two.” He whistled. “She must be amazing.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” Summer said. “But we should still talk to Stephanie... And Brian.” She winked at Benny. “Those two are sleeping together.”

  “Were.” Maxine said. “Until Doctor Anderson got involved, it seems. Now they’re not.”

  “Wow, this Anderson sounds like a real popular guy. You sure he was only stabbed once? It might have been a Murder of the Orient Express kind of deal.”

  “Actually, we haven’t talked to the police so we aren’t sure how many times he was stabbed.” Maxine shuddered. “Summer found the body. There was a knife sticking out of him.”

  “Sounds like he was asking for it.” Benny said. He sipped his coffee. “Bill does sound suspicious. Losing a knock out gal is devastating, take it from me. But having your affair broken up also sounds like motive. You should talk to those other two just to cover your bases.”

  “Right after I finish my pie,” Maxine said. “I mean, it would be rude to leave it.” She took a large bite. “If we’re going to be regulars and all.”

  Benny laughed. “Well said.” He got serious. “Now listen, you two need to be careful. Someone who is willing to stick a knife into someone else’s chest, for any reason, isn’t someone who you should take lightly. You get them cornered, and you could end up on the business end of a sharp knife.”

  “We’ll be careful.” Summer said. “Thanks, though.”

  Benny reached into his pocket. “Here.” He pulled out a business card. “If you run into trouble, or need to get someplace quick, just give me a call. My cell is on there.” He slid the card across the table to Summer. “I mean it.”

  “Thanks, Benny.” Summer took the card. “Really, thanks.” She slipped it into the outermost pocket in her satchel. “I hope we don’t need it and can just meet later for pie.”

  “I hope so too.” Benny said. “I might be old, but I’m still up for hanging out with a couple of good looking gals.” He smirked. “And I’ll still put up a good fight if I need to.”

  “Let’s stick to pie.” Summer gestured at Maxine- she had a mouthful of the last of her pie. “It has Maxie’s stamp of approval.”

  “Damn good pie,” Maxine said with a full mouth.

  Summer snorted. “See?”

  “Then it’s a date.” Benny said. “You can tell me how you solved the case.” He reached for the bill. “Ready?”

&nb
sp; “I’ll get it.” Summer grabbed it first.

  “You’re going to turn in a receipt for three pieces of pie and coffee to your editor?” Benny raised an eyebrow.

  “I’ll say it was an interview.” Summer slid out of the booth. “Sounds plausible, right? Oh!” She pulled out her digital recorder. “Interviewing Benny the cab driver,” she said into it, then put it away. “There; it’s official. Eddie’ll have to accept the receipt.”

  “Especially since we solved the murder,” Maxine said as she also stood. “The dental murders? Damn; it still sounds like a Nancy Drew game.”

  “We’ll think of something.” Summer assured her. “Benny?”

  “I’ll sign back on duty while you pay the bill. I still don’t feel right about you getting the tab. Especially after you gave me five bucks to cover it.”

  Summer shrugged. “Leave it as a big tip. Since we’re regulars and all.”

  “Good idea.” Benny said. “We’ll try the rhubarb pie next time. I’m buying.” He smacked his lips. “It should be perky.”

  “Deal.” Summer moved toward the register. “Meet you outside.”

  “Okay.” Maxine said as she offered her arm to Benny. “Let’s go.”

  “This way to the great egress, Ma’am,” Benny said as he hooked his arm through hers and led her off.

  Summer stepped up to the register. Their waitress was at it. She looked at Summer with wide eyes. “Stabbed with a kitchen knife?”

  Summer laughed. “Oh, we were just joking around is all.” She held up her press pass. “We’re reporters you see. And... we were joking around?” She finished meekly.

  “Sure, sure.” She said as she took the receipt. “Eight thirty five. Do you want to add a tip?”

  Summer handed over her business credit card. “The exact amount please; your tip is on the table.”

  She raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “It’s a good one too; we’re going to be regulars.” Summer smiled at her.

  “Really?” The waitress rang up the order and swiped the credit card.

  “Probably not.” Summer admitted. “The pie was excellent, though.”