Hidden Motive

by Alexander, Hannah

  Murph slid his unused plate, fork, and knife across the table. “Plenty. Have some.”

  Bryce took a seat across from Murph and reached for the pot. “I’m starved. Who cooked this?”

  “I have no idea,” Murph said.

  “I need to go talk to Sable.” Craig shoved his plate aside and left.

  * * *

  Sable had nearly fallen asleep when Craig arrived at her door, insisting that he had to talk to her alone.

  After a brief run-in with Audrey, he got his way. With a disapproving sigh, Audrey walked out, leaving the door open. Sable motioned for Craig to close it as he entered.

  “What’s so important you had to disturb me from my death bed?” she drawled.

  Craig sank onto the chest at the end of the bed. “Someone tries to kill you what, twice? Three times? And you don’t think it’s important?”

  Sable groaned and readjusted the ice pack. “What did Murph say?”

  “I want to know what you say. You can’t leave everybody in the dark like this. Something big’s going on and that means everyone in this house could be in danger.”

  “I’m sorry. Apparently, someone followed us from Freemont.”

  “And that’s important because…?”

  She stifled a groan. She didn’t have the energy for another explanation. “That’s what we’re here to find out.”

  “Has it ever occurred to you that Murph is the one who followed you? Doesn’t it strike you as strange that—”

  “Someone tried to kill Murph.” Sometimes Craig Holt was the most annoying—

  “What!”

  “Keep your voice down. We’re trying to keep this quiet for now. It happened on the hillside while he was chopping wood yesterday. You saw his injury. I saw it happen, but again, I didn’t see who. Now stop with the protective brother act.”

  Craig spread his hands and stood up. “Fine.” He paced to the window. “Something’s up and you don’t think I deserve an explanation. That’s just fine. What did the police tell you about Josiah’s automobile accident?”

  She hesitated at the abrupt change of subject. “They thought he might have fallen asleep at the wheel or swerved to miss an animal on the road.”

  “And that’s what they told you killed him.”

  “He hit a tree.”

  Craig was silent for a moment, arms stiffly folded over his chest, face grim. “Josiah didn’t have any automobile accident,” he said softly. “That wasn’t what killed him.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “There’s something else you need to know. Something only the mortician would see.”

  “You mean Bobby Ray?”

  “Yes, but he’d get into big trouble if anyone found out.”

  “Let’s hear it.”

  * * *

  Bryce carried his dishes to the sink. “Murph, were you and Craig fighting when I came in?”

  “No, we’re both a little jumpy after Sable’s accident.”

  “Good.” Bryce grinned as he returned to the table. “So don’t get mad at him, okay? He played the same trick on me that Sable played on her brothers.”

  “What trick?”

  “He left me alone in the cave.”

  “He left you?”

  “He kept aiming his flashlight at the ceiling of the passage, like he was looking for something specific. You know where all that fog got so thick? We came to a little stream of water trickling from up above. He climbed up the side and disappeared into that fog. After a while I called to him but he didn’t answer. He disappeared.”

  “He never told you what he was searching for?”

  “Nope. That guy loves to get dirty. Did you see all that mud on him?”

  “How long was he gone?”

  “Maybe ten or fifteen minutes. I had a flashlight, could’ve found my way back, but I decided to stay put.”

  Murph shoved his chair backward. “I need to check on Sable.”

  “Hey wait, I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Bryce called. “Please don’t tell him I told you.”

  * * *

  The ice pack was getting warm and Sable needed to refill it. She also needed to use the restroom and get a drink of water. But not before she heard what Craig had to say.

  “Better be sure you want to hear this,” Craig said, “because you won't like it. I swear it's the truth, though. Bobby Ray wouldn’t lie about this.”

  “Tell me.”

  He took a deep breath, reached up to comb his fingers through his damp black hair. “Bobby was supposed to keep the casket closed, right?”

  “Yes. The body was prepared in Freemont. There wasn't any reason for him to do anything.”

  “He always respects the family's wishes. He's a good mortician.”

  “Are you going to tell me what Bobby Ray did?”

  “The mortician in Freemont called him after the body was shipped, reminding him not to open the casket under any circumstances.”

  Sable frowned. “Is that normal?”

  “Nope.”

  “And?”

  “Why would he be so adamant about that?” As always when he grew excited, his voice betrayed that excitement.

  Sable glanced toward the closed door. “Whatever it is, let’s not tell everyone in the house.”

  He turned from his vigil at the window and leaned so close to Sable she could smell the freshly caked mud on his shirt. “What did they tell you about the body?”

  “They advised a closed casket because of the damage.”

  “There wasn’t a mark on Josiah’s body.”

  The soggy ice pack fell from Sable’s hands.

  “I convinced Bobby Ray to open the casket,” he said.

  “Against the wishes of the family? Craig—”

  “Remember it was Bobby Ray’s son with me when I had that wreck that got me into such hot water. Bobby Ray knew what Boswell did to Dad. From that day on I never trusted him. I didn’t think it would hurt anything to check and see why they insisted on a closed casket. I mean, I’ve practically been a member of this family and I didn’t feel everything was exactly right, you know?”

  “Why were you suspicious?”

  “I knew Josiah wanted to talk to Dad about contacting the legislators in Oklahoma about some mining discrepancies.”

  “Discrepancies?”

  “Ground pollution. Contamination from the mine tailings. Right now there aren’t a lot of laws to control the mining companies, and the unethical ones swoop in, tear up the land, swoop back out, leaving millions of dollars’ worth of cleanup that they don’t have to do anything about. You can bet Boswell would leave the mess there if he could.”

  “Grandpa was worried about this pollution?”

  Craig nodded. “You can bet if Boswell found out your grandfather talked to the authorities, he pitched a fit.”

  “Are you suggesting he killed Grandpa to stop—”

  “Josiah’s body didn’t have any bruises or blood. Does that sound like he died in a car wreck? Why force you to have a closed casket when there was no reason for it? But Bobby Ray had his orders and he could get into big trouble for what he did.”

  “And so he didn’t say anything.”

  “A body doesn’t bruise after it’s dead, isn’t that right? And he was in a wreck. The thing is, it sounds like he was already dead when the wreck happened. Looks to me like that wreck was a cover-up. I think somebody killed Josiah and you can bet the farm that Boswell was in on it. Josiah thought he’d gotten such a good deal when he and his buddy bought into the mine in Freemont.” Craig sat down beside her. “Now are you going to tell me what’s going on around—”

  The door flew open and Murph strode into the room, eyes blazing fury. “Get away from her.”

  Chapter 23

  It had been a long time since Murph had felt such an urge to punch someone. His face apparently reflected that because as he started across the room at Craig, Sable scrambled from the bed.

  “What are you d
oing?”

  “I said get away from her.” When Craig didn’t move, Murph reached beneath his shirt.

  “No!” Sable cried. “What are you doing?”

  Murph didn’t take his gaze from Craig. “Why did you leave Bryce alone in that passage?”

  Craig groaned and rolled his eyes. “Bryce told you about that? Look, it was no big deal, okay?”

  “What did you do with the watch?”

  “What are you talking about?” Sable asked.

  “That’s what I’d like to know,” Craig said. “You’re losing it, pal. I mean, you’re really losing it here.”

  “Our attacker took the watch and chain from Sable’s neck.”

  Confusion did a relay across Craig’s face. “That old thing? Why?”

  “Good question,” Murph said. “Sable told you before we separated down in the cave that her watch didn’t run.”

  “So?”

  “Do you know why it didn’t work?” Murph asked.

  “Like I should care? It’s nothing more than a sentimental thing for her. It was Josiah’s watch. Besides that, how am I supposed to have attacked you and taken Sable’s watch when I was halfway on the other side of the whole cave system?”

  “Shortcuts that only a select few might know from exploring down here. You left Bryce alone in that passage,” Murph said. “You know the cave as well as anyone. If there’s a shortcut to the crystal cavern—”

  “Sable, he’s talking crazy!” Craig exclaimed.

  “We were the only four down there,” Murph said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Why did you leave Bryce alone in that passage?” Murph asked again.

  Craig rolled his eyes and shook his head. “It was no big deal. We were looking for the sinkhole Josiah fell into, right? Naturally, when the fog thickened, I thought for sure there was an opening nearby—you know, dry cold air mingled with warmer moist air from the cave.” He glanced at Sable, and in spite of Murph’s current grilling, Craig’s eyes glinted with triumph. “I found it.”

  “What?” Sable exclaimed. “The sinkhole?”

  Craig shrugged. “Doesn’t amount to much and I couldn’t get out because the hole was about four feet above my head.” He looked back at Murph. “I didn’t attack you and Sable, okay?”

  “Why couldn’t you have told Bryce what you were doing?” Sable asked.

  “If I’d have told Bryce, he’d have blabbed it to everyone.”

  “You left a kid alone in the cave,” Murph said.

  “Sable did it to us when we were kids.”

  “You knew that cave. Bryce doesn’t.”

  “Bryce laughed when we told him our stories,” Craig said. “I thought he’d get a kick out of it and then I’d get to tease Sable for months because I knew something about the cave that she didn’t know.”

  Murph leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. Craig Holt was a big kid. A goof.

  Right now Murph was feeling like a bit of a goof, himself. So much for logical conclusions.

  Sable sank back onto the bed and picked up the ice pack. “Craig, would you mind filling this with ice again?”

  “Um, sure, no problem. Are you sure you’re safe with this lunatic?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Murph sank onto the chest when Craig walked out. “Sorry. It was too great a coincidence to ignore.”

  Sable chuckled.

  “It isn’t funny,” he said.

  She laughed out loud and then immediately groaned and reached for her head. “I wish I’d had a camera. My brothers will love hearing about this.”

  He knew he shouldn’t allow his masculine pride to be offended. “I nearly pulled my gun. I don’t think it’s funny.”

  “I’m sorry.” She made an obvious effort to revamp her expression. “Okay, granted, you don’t know him the way I do, but it’s just like him to look for that sinkhole and then try to keep it a secret.”

  Murph frowned. Craig was still a big kid.

  She got up from the bed and closed the door, then sat back down. “I don’t believe in ghosts.”

  He blinked, mystified.

  “But I don’t know how else to explain what happened down there,” she said. “How does one see without any kind of light?”

  “Ah, the ghost eyes. That scared me. I thought you might be injured worse than the Glasgow scale suggested. But the ‘ghost’ took your watch.”

  “There was no flashlight, nothing but this sort of intermittent green glow. I thought I was going to be strangled, but then the chain broke and my attacker left with it.”

  Murph reached for the flashlight on her dresser. “Could you have had some kind of temporary blindness?”

  “Could have been a reaction to the concussion, I suppose. I don’t know any other way to explain it.”

  “Are you having trouble with your vision now?”

  “None. Why would anyone take my watch?”

  “Maybe whoever it was had reason to believe there was something important in it. The only person who knew it didn’t work besides you and me was Craig.”

  “And Bryce. A couple of kids. The map that was taken from the attic wall had a drawing of the watch face next to the etching of the sinkhole. Everyone knew that was there because Craig blabbed it to everybody when we first arrived, remember? Someone made the connection.”

  He aimed a beam into her right eye, then her left. “Pupils equal and reactive. Do you know what day it is?”

  “Sunday.”

  “Your age?”

  “I’ll be thirty-one on Tuesday.”

  “Where are we?”

  “Missouri Ozarks. I can see you, I’m alert and oriented.”

  He put the flashlight back on the dresser.

  “My grandfather was murdered,” Sable said quietly.

  Murph frowned at her. “We had considered that, of course, but what makes you think—”

  “Craig told me.”

  “Craig? How would he know?”

  “He saw Grandpa's body after they shipped it back here.”

  “And he saw something no one else did?”

  “The casket was sealed,” Sable explained. “The family was advised to have a closed casket funeral because of the damage but Craig said there wasn’t a mark on the body.” She leaned forward. “We can trust Craig. I believe him.”

  There was a knock at the door. Murph stiffened. “Yes?”

  “Room service with the ice the lady ordered.”

  Murph opened the door, and Craig brought in two plastic zipper bags filled with broken pieces of ice from outside. He presented them to Sable with a flourish.

  Sable took them and nodded to Murph. “Close the door. He needs to know what’s going on. Craig, we need to talk.”

  “Oh, no, not this again.”

  “Just shut the door,” she said.

  * * *

  Sable let Murph feed Craig information in sound bites. Craig’s dark brows drew closer with each revelation until they formed a slash across his forehead. She knew that look well.

  “So you’re wanted by the police,” he said to Sable when Murph had finished his story. “They’re blaming you for the murder of Murph’s uncle?”

  “That’s right,” Sable said.

  “Morons,” he muttered. “You should tell the others.”

  “One of those others obviously followed us from Freemont,” Murph said.

  “But the rest of us didn’t. Shouldn’t they be warned?”

  “We’re the ones being stalked,” Murph said.

  “Look, all I’m saying here is that I’m sure glad you told me, okay? Don’t you think other innocents would appreciate it, too? They’ve got to know something’s going on with all the so-called accidents happening around here.”

  “Let’s wait,” Sable said.

  Craig shrugged and stood. “Fine with me, but I think you need more people to watch your backside, if you know what I mean. I’m going downstairs to check the fire.�
�

  Murph shook his head. “Come to the attic with me?” he asked Sable. “We need to find out what’s in that safe. We must have missed a clue in Josiah’s note.”

  Sable retrieved the note from the pocket of her discarded slacks. “I’m with you.”

  * * *

  “Read it to me again,” Murph said. They were missing something, but he thought they were on the right track.

  As she read the words he dialed the combination, convinced that the note referred to something more sinister than Josiah’s involvement with the Seitz mine.

  Why would anyone salt the crystal cavern? It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t as if he was going to sell it as a mining site. Why would he have had those chunks of galena, sphalerite, and silver analyzed?

  Murph tried the handle. Nothing.

  “Okay,” Sable said, “Do the same thing but this time only turn it once after fifteen. He probably didn't realize he was writing for twice.”

  Murph followed her directions. This time the metal handle slid up stiffly.

  “It worked!” He swung the thick door open.

  The shelves were crammed full of papers, birth certificates, marriage license, titles.

  Sable pulled out a folder marked “photographs.” She thumbed through the first few, holding them up to the glow from Murph’s flashlight.

  “This looks like the crystal cavern,” Murph said. “Why would he take a picture of that?”

  She turned the photograph over to see where Josiah had written “Seitz mine” in his flamboyant script.

  She held up the next photo. “This one is the crystal cavern.”

  “Then what’s this?” Murph asked, picking up the next one on the stack. He read it and whistled again. “That’s Number Three, one of the working mines outside of Freemont. It looks as if he was comparing the appearance of each place.”

  She held the three photos up together. “These were all dated in January this year.”

  “What if your grandfather started looking too closely? He checked the Seitz mine Boswell had convinced his partners to purchase.”