Bubba's Ghost

by Marja McGraw

  “Well, it’s only my opinion, but it seems like it would cost a lot of money to fix this place up. Are you sure it would be worth it?”

  “I have some insurance money set aside. I inherited some from my parents, and my husband had an insurance policy. It’s not a huge sum, but I haven’t touched it. I thought it would be the right thing to do, but now I’m not so sure. One minute I want to stay here, and the next minute I want out.”

  “I see.” I didn’t actually understand because if she could afford to move, why hadn’t she? Of course, the answer was that she loved the house.

  “Is this where you and your husband were living when he was killed?”

  “Yes.” Her tone of voice was close to defensive, but not quite. And her answer helped me understand why she felt as strongly as she did. “We were going to buy a house someday, but this met our needs in the beginning.”

  “Mommy, wait ’til you see Bubba.” Tammi ran out of her room, excited about something.

  Chrissy and I both turned to the doorway leading to Tammi’s bedroom. Nothing. No Bubba.

  “Come on, boy, come show off how you look.” Tammi appeared to be pretty pleased with herself.

  Bubba walked out of the room looking somewhere between embarrassed and mortified. Tammi had placed a cowgirl hat on his head and a big scarf around his neck. That wouldn’t have made it too funny, but she’d also tied a ribbon around his tail and placed one of her dolls on his back.

  “I sure wish I had a camera with me right now, but I left it at home.” A picture of this would relieve Stanley’s fear of the dog, I was sure. And it was a picture I’d treasure. Too, too funny.

  “Okay, Tammi, take those things off the dog.” Chrissy was having a hard time holding in the laughter.

  “Bubba, you’re a good sport.” I couldn’t contain myself and started to laugh. He turned his back and walked back to Tammi’s room, while the child tried to pull the ribbon off of his tail.

  After we sobered up, I pulled my cell phone out of my backpack. “I need to call Lieutenant Johnson at the police department and let him know I have a name for your bum.”

  “Yeah, maybe he can help.”

  I dialed the number for Covina P.D. and asked for Lieutenant Johnson, giving my name before the woman could ask for it. He came on the line quickly.

  “Ms. Webster. I was just thinking about you. I’ve begun an investigation into Paley’s activities, or lack thereof. I’ll let you know as soon as I have something.”

  “Lieutenant Johnson, I’m calling to let you know I found out who this guy is. He tried to sleep on the school grounds the other night, and the maintenance man made him I.D. himself. His name is John Frendd. F-r-e-n-d-d. Ring any bells?”

  “Actually, it does sound vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place it. Let me get back to you.” Maybe they’d had Frendd in custody, not an unlikely assumption considering his lifestyle.

  I gave him my cell phone number, thanked him, and we hung up. As I was placing the phone on the coffee table, it rang. I flipped it open to answer the call.

  “Sandi, it’s Stan. I found something pretty interesting on John Frendd. You’re going to love this one.” He paused for effect, enjoying the drama.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense, Stan. What’d you find out?”

  “What is it?” Chrissy was sitting forward on her seat. I signaled her to wait while I talked to Stanley.

  “He was born and raised in Covina, and he used to live in the house where Chrissy lives. He grew up there. His family lived in that town for years. And here’s the best part. He still has family in town. His – ”

  Pounding on the front door interrupted our conversation.

  “What’s that noise in the background?” Stanley asked.

  “I think our local bum might be here.”

  “If that’s him, you need to know – ”

  “I’ll call you back,” I said, hanging up on him.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “It’s him,” Chrissy whispered.

  “I’ll take care of this. You get Tammi and go wait in the kitchen.” I was angry. No, I was furious. Who did this guy think he was, banging on the door like that and scaring this woman and her child? I needed anger right then, but I also needed a cool head. I took a deep breath.

  Bubba had run out of Tammi’s bedroom when the banging started. I pointed to the area beside the door. “You sit right there.” He looked at me questioningly, but obeyed my command. “Good boy.” He seemed to understand me, which I found surprising.

  I opened the door.

  It was Frendd, and he was smiling, but when he saw me the grin disappeared. For a brief moment, he looked confused.

  “Who’re you? Where’s the lady? I came to see the lady. You go ’way.” The bum and I were face to face, with only a screen door between us. He’d apparently run a comb through his greasy hair, which only made it look worse than Chrissy had described. Even with the wind blowing, it wasn’t moving. For some reason, that immoveable hair caught my attention.

  “Why don’t you go away and leave these people alone?” I said. “They haven’t done anything to you.”

  “And why don’ you keep your nose outta it?” He slammed his closed fist against the doorframe. “Ain’t none o’ your damn business.”

  “These are my friends, and it is my business. They don’t want you here. You turn around and leave this house right now.” I could smell the booze on his breath through the screen door, but he wasn’t slurring his words too much. I actually would have felt more comfortable if he’d been drunker, and less in control of himself physically.

  “You’re pissin’ me off, bitch! Now go get the lady.” His voice was loud as his hand slammed against the doorframe again. “I wanna see her right now.”

  I saw Bubba stand up, ears back. “Stay,” I ordered. The dog kept his distance, but he was definitely in the protection mode.

  “Stay or go, whadda ya want? You’re the one who doesn’t b’long here.” Instead of scaring him, I was making him angry and losing control of the situation, not a good thing. He squinted, shaking his finger in my general direction. A lock of his hair had finally worked its way loose and was hanging down his forehead.

  I couldn’t stop myself from speaking up. “And quit leaving gifts on the porch. The woman who lives here doesn’t want them. She wants you to leave her alone. Can’t you – ”

  “I can give presents to any damn woman I want to.” He still sounded angry, but there was a little bit of a whine in his tone, too.

  “No you can’t. And I said to leave. Now get out of here. Can’t you understand plain English?”

  “Yeah? Well, let’s jus’ see you make me leave, huh? You jus’ come out here and make me go ’way from this house. Bitches like you are always buttin’ in where they don’ b’long. Need to get rid of bitches like you.” He was yelling and slammed his fist against the doorframe a third time. Three’s a charm.

  “Bubba?” I turned from the door and called to the dog. “Bubba, come here.”

  “Ohhh, you brung your ol’ man with ya, huh? Yeah, well, I’m really scared now. Bring ’im on.” His face contorted, and spittle flew out of his mouth as he spoke, leaving wet spots on the screen. He began yanking on the screen door handle.

  Bubba stepped over and stood in front of me, looking John right in the eye. I couldn’t have felt more relieved if Pete had been standing beside me.

  Frendd stopped talking and bent over to take a good look at the dog. Bubba growled, a deep and threatening sound.

  “Oh.” The bum let go of the door handle and backed up a step, averting his gaze from the dog.

  “Yeah, this is Bubba. And I’m going to leave him here for a while. I wouldn’t come around here again if I were you. I doubt if you’d make a tasty meal, but that’s not going to stop him.” Big words. Bubba stood up and growled again as though to emphasize what I’d said.

  “Good boy,” I said. “Take it easy thoug
h. He’s leaving.” Bubba took a step toward the door showing all of his teeth, only this time it wasn’t a grin. I could hear the rumble of a soft growl, and it was scarier than the loud one.

  “I’m goin’,” Frendd said. He raised his hand as though to hit the door again, but seemed to think better of it and held back. “This ain’t fair. Tha’s the biggest damn dog I ever saw, and it jus’ ain’t fair. But I’ll tell you this, lady, I’ll be back when that ugly monster is gone. Count on it.” He paused for a moment. “Or, maybe I’ll jus’ take out that hound.”

  As he backed away from the door, I saw a police car pull up in front of the house. Officer Paley climbed out of the car and approached the house, taking in the situation.

  I saw Andy standing across the street looking quite smug. He waved.

  “Okay, pal, you’re coming with me.”

  “But – ”

  “Keep your mouth shut until we get to the station,” Paley ordered.

  Paley turned to me. “What’s going on this time?”

  Ignoring his question, I said, “It’s about time you got here. He’s been harassing Chrissy and her daughter again. I brought my dog with me for protection, and I’m leaving him here to take care of the Knights for a few days.”

  “That won’t be necessary. I guarantee you this guy won’t be back. I’ll make sure of it.” He glanced at Bubba and shook his head. “Take your dog and go home.”

  “But – ” Frendd was trying to speak again.

  “I told you to shut up!” Paley put the cuffs on Frendd and turned him away from the door.

  “I’m taking him in. You don’t need to worry anymore. Your part in this is over.” Having said that, he turned and shoved Frendd, none too gently, down the front steps.

  “Bitch!” Frendd screamed at me over his shoulder.

  Paley gave him an extra shove and he almost tumbled down the steps.

  I stood at the door with my mouth hanging open. Something still didn’t seem right. Paley hadn’t asked any questions to speak of, but he was running Frendd in anyway. And it bothered me the way he kept hushing him up.

  Something was wrong, but I sure couldn’t figure this one out.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chrissy walked out of the kitchen, holding Tammi in her arms. Both mother and child were subdued. “Is he gone? I mean, for good?” I saw Tammi’s eyes widen before she buried her face in her mother’s shoulder.

  “I don’t know, Chrissy. I hope so. At least we know he’ll be in jail for tonight. Why don’t you get Tammi settled in her bedroom and we’ll talk.”

  She left the room and didn’t come back for a few minutes. “Tammi’s pretty upset. I told her your dog would sit with her for a few minutes. Is that okay?”

  “Sure.” I pointed toward Tammi’s bedroom. “Bubba, go see Tammi.” He hesitated for a moment, glancing at the front door, before leaving the living room. My mouth dropped open. Talking to this particular dog was like talking to a two-year-old child, except the dog minded better. He seemed to understand what I was saying. Since I’d never had a dog before, this seemed to be working out quite well. Had someone, at some time, trained him?

  “They won’t let him out right away, right?” I understood Chrissy’s concern.

  “I honestly can’t answer that, but I can guarantee he’ll be in jail for the night. And, with that in mind, I think Bubba and I will go home instead of staying here. I’m going to find out what else Stanley dug up as soon as I can. Maybe it’ll shed a new light on this whole thing. I’ll come back tomorrow, and we’ll go from there.”

  “At least I know I’ll be able to sleep tonight.” Chrissy sounded wistful. “One good night’s sleep should do wonders. I haven’t slept well in days. In fact, I think I’ll let Tammi sleep with me tonight. He seemed more violent this time, and she’s awfully scared.”

  “That’s a good idea. If you’d like, I can still leave Bubba here for the night.”

  “No, that’s okay. He’s so big, and I don’t know him. I wouldn’t know what to do with him.”

  “Okay.” Actually, I was relieved. I was becoming accustomed to the big guy, and I didn’t like the idea of going home without him. “I’ll get my things together and we’ll be out of your hair.”

  Chrissy placed her slightly shaking hand on my arm. “Sandi, thank you so much. I don’t know what might have happened tonight if you hadn’t been here.”

  “It’s okay, Chrissy. I’m glad I could help.” Actually, I wasn’t sure what would have happened if Paley hadn’t shown up when he did. I was half afraid that Bubba might have ripped the guy to shreds if he’d kept banging on the doorframe.

  I retrieved my overnight bag and put Bubba’s leash on him, and after a long, tight hug from Tammi – Bubba and I each got a hug – we left. I walked across the street to the school grounds and thanked Andy for calling the police.

  “Oh, I didn’t call them,” he said. “Officer Paley happened to pull in to see how I was doing. We heard the ruckus across the street and he took off like lightning. Lucky thing he stopped in.”

  “Yeah, lucky.” I had to work hard to erase the frown from my face in order to smile at Andy. “Well, anyway, thanks again.”

  I loaded Bubba in the back seat and we headed home, toward Los Angeles. By that time, I was calming down and feeling tired. I decided to call Stanley first thing in the morning. It was going to be late by the time I got home, and I wanted to sleep, with Bubba by the side of my bed. Pete wasn’t going to like that.

  Pete! I hadn’t talked to him yet. As soon as I got home and set down my things, I called Pete.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey, yourself.” Pete sounded a lot perkier than I felt. Maybe he’d had a productive day.

  “How are things going? Have you made any headway in your investigation?”

  “Some, but not a lot. I talked to anyone I could find at home who lives in the area. Two of them noticed a newer black Ford pickup leaving the area around the time of the murders. The only distinguishing thing they could tell me about the truck was that it had been lifted and had big tires; sat pretty high off the ground.”

  “Did you pass that on to the police up there?”

  “Of course, but it isn’t going to help much. They’ve got some special events going on here and there’s plenty of tourist traffic, not to mention skiers in the area.”

  “Huh. Still, you’d think if it was lifted that much, someone would remember it.” I lived in Los Angeles, with plenty of traffic. I should have known better.

  “I don’t think so. Most of the people around here are tourists, and they’re too wrapped up in sightseeing to notice anything. And the truck could be gone already.”

  “So what’s next?” I asked.

  “I think tomorrow morning I’m going to do a little cruising around this town. Keep my eyes open for a newer black truck. Lifted. Wish you were here, Sandi. It would go a lot faster with some help.”

  “I wish I was, too. I had a run-in with Chrissy’s bum tonight.” Uh oh. “But he’s in jail now and everything turned out fine,” I added in a rush.

  “What happened?” Pete’s tone of voice wasn’t conducive to laughing the whole thing off.

  “I took Bubba with me.” I thought maybe he’d relax if he knew I had the canine version of King Kong with me.

  “Bubba? You haven’t found a home for that mutt yet?”

  “Look! Do you want to hear this story or not?”

  “Yeah, go ahead. Tell me how that mutt saved your bacon.”

  I told Pete the whole story, from meeting Andy and learning who the bum was, to Paley taking Frendd away.

  “Good job, Sandi.” Music to my ears. “However, if I were you, I’d check with your lieutenant tomorrow to see what they’re going to do with this guy. Will he be cut loose or are they charging him?”

  “Lieutenant Johnson won’t be there, but I’ll check with the morning watch commander.”

  “Dolly’s granddaughter may still have a problem if th
ey let Frendd out. And you’re telling me something’s not right about this Paley character. Don’t let the situation get away from you. Aw, you’re too smart to let that happen.” Again, I liked Pete giving me advice instead of telling me what to do. We’d come a long way as partners.

  “I’m way ahead of you, Pete. I’m jumping right on this situation first thing in the morning. I can’t explain it, but I sure have a bad feeling. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Frendd for myself now, and I believe that he could turn violent in a flash.”

  “Make sure you’re not the one he turns on,” Pete warned. “I don’t want to have to make an emergency trip home.”

  “Not to worry. I’ll be fine. And I feel better about it because Lieutenant Johnson is showing some honest concern about what’s happening. He doesn’t strike me as a man who’d sit on his hands and wait to see how it turns out. In fact, I think he’s pretty concerned about Paley.”

  “Yeah, well… ”

  “I’d better get some sleep now. Big day tomorrow, for both of us. Call me tomorrow night?”

  “I’ll keep in touch.” I could tell Pete wasn’t too happy at the moment. He’d lost some of his perk since I first answered the phone.

  “Trust me, Pete. I’ll take care of things, including myself. I’m not going to let this bum get the best of me.”

  “Sure, Sandi. I worry though.”

  “I know. It’s the one drawback about us working together. You have to come to terms with what I do for a living and know that I can take care of myself. I always land on my feet, don’t I?”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “Well, don’t I?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Good luck with your truck search tomorrow. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

  “It’s going to take more than crossed fingers. Okay, so good-night. Go get some sleep and I’ll talk to you tomorrow night.”

  “Love you,” I said quickly, and hung up before he could say anything else.

  I hoped morning would bring a lifted black truck for Pete and a jailed bum for me, but I didn’t have a good feeling about any of it.