by Marja McGraw
“I know. You really don’t need to come with me on every interview.”
“But I want to. Except, now that I’ve seen Hector, I realize how useless I’d be if anything happened. I guess I could stick with you on most of the interviews, just not when you’re meeting with him.”
“Hector?”
“Yeah. His mother was telling me that he really has done some bad things. He’s hurt some people.” Prudy was very subdued. I liked the other Prudy better. This one made me feel sad, just like the humble Prudy had.
“Now, come on, Prudy. You’ve been a big help to me. And you don’t have to see Hector again. I can handle him alone.”
“Or you could send Pete,” she said hopefully.
“Or I can send Pete, if the need arises to even see Hector again. But you know, I’m beginning to think maybe Nick Stanton really did kill Matthew. At least it’s starting to look that way. I’m not sure, but I thought Esther might have something to add to the story, too.”
“It does seem that everyone remembers something about Nick. And if he was drunk, he could have gotten out of control. You know, he could have let things fester and then maybe gone after Matthew.”
“Poor ol’ Matthew,” I said. “It doesn’t sound like he did anything wrong, but he still got the blame. Stretch got on him for not helping Slim, and Nick Stanton thought he’d tried to hurt his daughter.”
“And they were both wrong,” Prudy added. “Matthew really was just an innocent bystander in all of this. All he ever tried to do was mind his own business, but people wouldn’t leave him alone.”
We drove home without much more conversation, both lost in our own thoughts.
I needed to do more research on Nick Stanton. It sounded like he might have had a temper that people would remember. I wanted to speak to Opal again, too. I knew she could tell me more than she had already. It felt like there were some pertinent items missing on my list of facts.
Had Nick gone out again that night? Could he have been bold enough to attack Matthew Bremmer and beat him to death? Opal said he hurt people with words, not violence. Was she covering for him? I thought she might be.
“When we get home I’m going to call Opal and see if she still wants to have lunch,” Prudy said, interrupting my thoughts.
“Good idea,” I said. “Maybe she’ll open up more if you two are alone. I honestly don’t believe she’s told us everything she knows.”
“I think you’re right. Like, I’ll bet she knows if Nick went out again that night. I also think she’s holding out on us. I’ll grill her ‘til she sings like a bird. I know how to do it.”
Prudy was back. She’d left her sentimentality back in the old neighborhood. I had a feeling that was a good place for it, that her attitude was what kept her young.
“I’ll bet you do. I’d like to be a fly buzzing around the room so I could hear that conversation.”
Prudy stuck her black cigarette holder in her mouth and clamped down on it, deep in thought again.
I pulled up to the curb in front of my house and ran around to help Prudy out of the car. She waved me away and I held her cane while she rocked out of the vehicle.
“I’ve got to go fill Dolly in on our morning,” Prudy said impatiently. “Maybe she’ll have some good ideas.”
“You do that. I’m heading back for the office after I check on Bubba.”
“Why don’t you let me take him over to Dolly’s with me?” After spending time with Hector, I had a feeling Bubba probably represented security for Prudy. “He can keep us old ladies company.”
“I’ll bring him over before I leave,” I assured her.
I checked the answering machine and found a new message from my mother.
“Sandra, what’s going on there? How are things going with Prudy?” She sounded agitated. “Give me a call when you have the time.”
I decided I might as well get it over with and dialed her number. “Hi, Mom.”
“Well, it’s about time. You’ve got our Prudy there in California and no one has called to let us know what’s going on. Hold on a second.”
She moved the mouthpiece away and called to Frank. “Get on the other line, Frank. It’s Sandi.”
I heard a click as he picked up the phone.
“Hi Frank,” I said.
“Hi Sandi. How’s it going? Are you and Prudy making any headway on the case?”
“Yes. Okay, Mom, we’re coming up with some pretty good information. It’s beginning to look like Nick Stanton may have killed Matthew Bremmer. He was a neighbor who thought Matthew might have tried to do something to his nine-year-old daughter.
“The thing I can’t figure out is why someone is trying to stop us from investigating. Nick – ”
My mother interrupted. “If he did it, then of course he’s trying to make you stay out of it. He still wouldn’t want to be caught.”
“But, Mother, Nick died a couple of years ago. Someone else wants us to stop investigating.”
“How did this Nick die?” Frank asked. “Not that it’s relevant, but I’m curious.”
“According to what we could find, he died at a construction site. He lost his footing and fell off a four-story building, breaking his neck.”
“How’s Prudy doing?” My mother wanted to be sure I was taking care of her elderly friend. I could understand that.
“She’s doing just fine. Actually, she’s staying with Dolly, and they’re having a good time talking about the old days. Prudy’s son is out of town, so Dolly invited her to stay at her house. She’s gone with me when I questioned some of her old neighbors, and other than one of the suspects, she seemed happy to see all of them.”
“Don’t you let her overdo it and wear herself out. I want her home in one piece.” My mother was worrying, something she’s quite good at.
“You’re the one who got me involved in this,” I reminded her. “I didn’t even want to bring her back to L.A. with us.”
“I know, honey. I just didn’t expect to have someone trying to stop your investigation. What did they do, anyway?”
“Not much. A couple of crank calls and a dead rat on my porch.”
“A dead rat?” Frank didn’t sound too happy.
“Yeah, but the only one interested in the rat is Bubba. He seems to think it’s a new toy.” Uh oh. I’d just reminded myself that the rat was still in my trunk.
“Okay, if there’s nothing else, I’ve got things to do. Gotta get going.”
“Just keep us updated, sweetie. Please. I worry, you know.” I should know better than to tell my mother things.
“We’re fine so don’t drive over here.” The words rushed out of my mouth like a delicate little burp.
“Oh, we’re not coming over,” my mother assured me. “But you’d better be careful. I don’t like the dead rat thing.”
I didn’t either, but I wasn’t in a panic and there hadn’t been any more messages on the machine.
We hung up and I walked Bubba over to Dolly’s house. They were in the midst of eating lunch. The ladies made a fuss over him, so he rolled over on his back to give them better access to his favorite scratching spots before begging for food.
“Where’s Miss Kitty?” I asked. With all the attention Bubba was raking in, I was surprised the cat wasn’t there hissing at him.
Dolly grinned. “She snuck out the door when I went out to get the mail. Bubba’s safe.”
I left and headed for the office, thinking about Nick Stanton. I needed more information about him. I knew Opal was leaving something out.
And then there was Esther. I wanted to talk to Esther without Hector hanging over her shoulder.
Twenty-five
“Sandi, where have you been?” Pete was waiting for me at the office.
“I drove over to Prudy’s old neighborhood. Remember? We met with Slim, and found out that Hector is still in the old family house. So we met with him, too. Then I took Prudy back to Dolly’s. Why? What’s up?”
“Did you
check your messages when you took Prudy back to Dolly’s?” Pete sounded concerned.
Now what?
“Yes. There was one from my mother. Why?”
“There was a message on the machine here when I came back from lunch. I thought maybe he’d left one on your machine at home, too. I think you’d better listen to this.”
I pushed the Play button and waited. An elderly male voice said, “This is Elmore Balesmon, and I’m calling for Sandi Webster.
“I understand you’re looking into the old Bremmer case. I think we’d better talk right away, because you may be in danger.” I heard some heavy breathing and wheezing, and a cough before the Sergeant continued. “I tried looking into it a while back, and almost lost my life in the process. Call me.”
“I wonder what that’s all about.”
Stanley had joined us, also looking concerned. “Sandi, didn’t he sound a bit frightened to you? Or was it my imagination?”
“I guess he did sound kind of shaky, but that could be because of his age. I’ll call him right now and we’ll clear this up.” I reached for the phone book to look up his number, remembering that Stanley had found him listed.
“I already tried to call him,” Pete said. “No answer.”
“When?” I asked.
“About an hour ago.”
“Okay, so maybe he went out and he’s home by now. I’ll try again.”
I picked up the receiver and punched in Balesmon’s phone number. It rang eight times before the ex-cop picked up. He sounded out of breath.
“Hello?”
“Is this Elmore Balesmon?” I asked.
“Who wants to know?” He sounded suspicious.
“This is Sandi Webster. You left a message on my machine this morning. I’m returning your call.”
“We’ve got to talk,” he said.
“What’s going on? Your message said you’d had some type of problem when you were investigating.”
“That’s an understatement. This case got under my skin. I couldn’t let go of it. I’ve worked on it off and on for years. I’m positive I know who killed Bremmer, but I haven’t been able to prove it. So I started asking questions again, about a year and a half ago.” He paused. “I think you’d better come over and talk to me. Someone tried to kill me and the same thing could happen to you.”
“Someone tried to kill you?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Someone really didn’t want Matthew’s murder solved.
“That’s right. I started receiving threats, and then someone took a shot at me. I knew Brian Lewis had come up with something interesting, but then he went to war and never came back. His wife had his notes but we couldn’t figure out his chicken scratching, so I never learned what it was, and I started asking questions. Anyway, I dropped the case. I’m an old man, and I’d rather die from old age than be shot to death.”
“Let me ask you one thing,” I said. “Did you put anything about this case in your book?”
“You know about my book?” He sounded pleased. “I wrote a chapter about the Bremmer case, using it as the one I’d never solved but never given up on. The book is supposed to be fiction though, so I embellished things and changed the names. I really wanted to be able to close the books on this one. Just wanted to know if my theory about the killer was right or not. I thought writing about it in the book would draw someone out, but it didn’t. At least, I didn’t think so until someone shot at me.”
“Give me your address,” I said. “I’ll be over as soon as I can. You’re right. We do need to talk.”
He gave me his address and said, “I think Brian’s new info had to do with…” I heard Balesmon cough again. “Hold on a sec. Someone’s at the door.”
He left me hanging while he answered the door. I could hear him talking to someone, but I couldn’t make out the words, and I could only hear his voice – it sounded panicky. There was a pause before I heard Balesmon cry out. I heard a thud. The phone receiver was replaced and the line went dead.
“Stanley! Call 9-1-1. Something’s happened to Balesmon. Pete, come with me.”
I ran out the door with Pete on my heels. He had his car keys out and we jumped into his car. “Where do I go?”
I gave Pete the address, which wasn’t too far away. He whipped out of the parking lot, turning right, and we headed for Balesmon’s house, rushing at every opportunity.
“What did he say?” Pete glanced at me and back at the road. The wheels screeched when he turned right again.
I listened to the whine of the engine as he stepped on the gas. “Slow down! I don’t want to meet Balesmon in person. I know he’s dead and I don’t want to be in line behind him when he meets his Maker.”
Pete gave me a disgusted look. “You wanted to get there in a hurry. Now what did he say?”
“He had some information. There was someone at his door and he didn’t finish what he was about to say. I heard him yell and then someone hung up the phone.”
Pete didn’t ask any more questions, but pushed on the gas pedal again and drove like a man on a mission, which he was. We both knew something bad had happened.
The police beat us to the scene, but not by much. There were two cops at Balesmon’s door, just pushing it open. As it swung inward, I could see the old man’s feet. And they weren’t in a standing position.
I watched as the cops slowly entered the residence. They checked the house carefully before calling it in. The old man was dead.
I began making my way to the house and Pete grabbed my arm, holding me back. “Not yet, Sandi. Wait.”
“But – ”
“Let them do their job. You’ll be in the way right now.”
Leaning back against Pete’s car, I watched the scene in front of me. He left my side for a moment and said something to one of the officers. He nodded and returned to my side. “Rick Mason is on his way. We’ll talk to him when he arrives.”
Rick Mason is Pete’s friend, and a Homicide Detective. I’d come to know him well, and I knew from experience that we’d learn something soon.
Rick pulled up and looked at us questioningly. “What are you two doing here?”
“Sandi was talking with the victim on the phone when he was killed. Apparently, the perp hung up on her.”
Rick looked at me with a Why are you always in the mix? expression. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be wanting to talk to you.”
I nodded.
“I knew he was murdered,” I said, looking up at Pete. “There couldn’t be any other explanation for what I heard.” I felt nauseous. I’d seen a few dead bodies since opening my agency, but it never got easier. Even though I wasn’t up close and personal to Balesmon’s body, I pretty much knew what it would look like.
“Yeah. The cop I spoke to said the old man had been hit on the head. The perp didn’t even bother to take the weapon with him.”
“Let me guess. You know the responding officer. Otherwise he wouldn’t have told you anything. Are there any cops in this town that you don’t know?”
“Plenty. But yes, I do know this one. He didn’t tell me much though. He realized he’d opened his big mouth when he shouldn’t have and backed off.”
We watched as the medical team pulled up and began their job. I’d seen Rick speak to the two officers who’d been first on the scene, and he’d pointed me out. They didn’t tell us to leave, so I assumed Rick had told them about the phone call.
About twenty minutes later Rick walked out of the house and headed for Pete and me. One of the officers accompanied him.
“So, Sandi. Tell me about this phone call.” Rick was ready to take notes.
I told him the whole story, beginning with Balesmon’s message and ending with what I thought sounded like a thud after he yelled.
“So this time you’re working on a murder that took place in 1943? And the vic knew something about it?” Rick was writing it all down.
“That’s about the gist of it. He said someone had made an attempt on his life about a
year and a half ago after making threats, and he wanted to warn me.”
“Guess they finally followed through on their threats.” Rick closed his notebook and looked me in the eye. “You’re a little magnet for trouble, aren’t you?” It wasn’t really a question. “Now tell me what you know about the old case.”
“There’s not much to tell.” I filled him in on why I’d taken the case, and what little I knew. He stood and watched me with his arms folded across his chest while I talked. I finished my story and shrugged my shoulders. “Well? You think there’s a connection?”
“Don’t know. Could have been a home invasion, or it could be connected to your case. Maybe you should back off until we know more.”
Pete laughed. “Yeah, right. Sandi’s gonna back off. Hell, this’ll just make her more determined to figure it out. You know her, Rick.”
“I’m learning more about her all the time. She’s a tiger, alright.”
Pete patted me on the back, condescendingly. “One of these days she’ll listen to me and stick to the insurance frauds.”
“You think she’ll ever really listen to you?” Rick’s expression was skeptical.
They were talking over my head. I didn’t like it. “Hey. I’m right here, ya know. How about talking to me?”
“Like you’d listen.” Pete was grinning. No matter what words come out of his mouth, I know he likes me just the way I am. Otherwise he’d have disappeared a long time ago.
Rather than snap at him, I ignored him. “Okay, I’ll watch my step. But it makes sense that I’m onto something or this wouldn’t have happened. That poor man knew something and he was going to share it with me. I sure wish he’d had time to tell me what it was.”
“Well, the fact of the matter is that now he’s dead. And you could be next.” Rick studied my face, trying to see what his words did to me.
“Yeah, I could be next. Balesmon dropped the investigation and he was killed anyway. So I’m going to figure this out before someone else dies.” That’s what his words did to me.
Twenty-six
Opening the door to Pete’s car, I settled myself in the passenger seat. I had nothing else to say to anyone. Following Rick’s example, I folded my arms across my chest, waiting for Pete to take me back to the office.
