Murder at Black Lake

by Anne Patrick

  "Well, he better not ever show his face around here again."

  The minute Gage walked into the room, the young blonde flew into a rant laced with curse words. Until she saw her father. Then her face lost all color.

  Jack just stood there, as if in shock.

  "Have a seat, Nicole." Gage pulled out a chair for Jack and one for himself. Gage had read her rights to her as they left the supermarket, but he repeated them on account of her dad. "Now, I might be willing to overlook the obstruction of justice charge if you tell me what you know about the burglary of your father's store."

  "I did it. Nick had nothing to do with it."

  "I don't believe that for a second. You might have gone along on the ride, but you didn't break in. I doubt you weigh more than ninety pounds, and you don't have any cuts or bruises on you."

  "I was careful."

  "How could you, Nicole?" Jack got up from his chair and grabbed the back of it, his knuckles turning white. "I told you to stay away from that boy."

  "Okay, Nicole, say I believe you," Gage continued. "It was all you. Why'd you call Nick and why did he run?"

  "Because I was afraid you would blame him for it."

  "Do you have any idea what this is going to do to your mother?" Jack asked.

  "So I stole some beer and smokes. You have insurance." Nicole huffed as she crossed her arms. "The police should be putting their efforts into solving more serious crimes in this town." She looked directly at Gage now. "Like people shoving little old ladies down stairs."

  "What are you talking about?" Gage demanded.

  "Mrs. Jennings."

  "Did you see something, Nicole?"

  "Depends," she answered smugly.

  Gage thought back to the last speeding ticket he gave Nick Bennett. The address on his license put him in the same neighborhood as Lucy Jennings. "That's a very serious accusation. If you saw something and didn't report it, you could—"

  "What is wrong with you, Nicole? Have you lost every sense of decency you've been taught? I swear if you don't start cooperating with this man, not only will I take away your car and laptop, you won't step out of the house again without me on your tail."

  "Fine. I'll tell you." She sighed and unfolded her arms. "Last Tuesday, I was over at Nick's house. We were sitting on his porch and—"

  "The night you said you were staying at Erica's?" Jack interrupted.

  "Jack, please."

  "Sorry."

  Gage recalled Jamie had paid Mrs. Jennings a visit earlier in the day. That very next night, an intruder broke into Jamie's home and threatened her. Was it the same guy? "Go ahead, Nicole."

  "It was between midnight and one, maybe later, and we heard this noise—like a door slamming. We looked across the street and I saw this guy running from the back of her house toward the alley. A couple of seconds later, we heard a truck, at least it sounded like a truck, tear down the alley."

  "Why didn't you call 9-1-1?"

  "Nick wanted to, but I knew if the cops came out, my parents would find out I lied about where I was. I had no idea she was hurt. I just figured . . . I don't know . . . that it wasn't anything serious. Not like that, anyway."

  "You are so grounded, young lady."

  "Could you see what type of clothing he wore? Was he wearing a ski mask?"

  "His clothes were black and he wore a hoodie over his head. I don't know about the ski mask. He was too far away."

  Gage was certain it was the same guy. "Where can we find Nick? Where would he go besides home?"

  "I don't know. I swear."

  Gage stood and motioned for Jack to join him in the hall. "You need to get her an attorney."

  "Can't you just let this one slide, Gage? I'll make sure her and Nick pay for the damages and work off the debt."

  "I'm afraid not, Jack. Not this time. Burglary is a felony. Now, I can't charge her for not calling 9-1-1, but I sure wish I could. Mrs. Jennings is extremely fortunate to be alive. Whether or not a call would've done any good, I don't know. The fact that she had to lie there for more than five or six hours in excruciating pain, that's inexcusable."

  "You're right. Who knows, maybe this will do her some good."

  "I'll put in a good word for her, let the prosecutor and judge know she cooperated on another case. I imagine all she'll get is probation and community service. Nick, on the other hand, is an adult and could face some county jail time if he's proven guilty."

  "Can't say I'm disappointed to hear that." He rubbed his stubble. "I don't know where we went wrong, Gage. She's never given us any trouble before. Not until she hooked up with that kid."

  His comments almost made Gage glad he didn't have children. Almost. "All you can do is teach them right from wrong, Jack, and pray they make the right choices. And when they don't, they need to face the consequences, so they learn and it doesn't happen again."

  Jack shook Gage's hand. "Thanks. Guess I better go call Bob."

  Gage had just finished booking Nicole when Alex came in with Nick Bennett. "Caught him hiding at his folks' house out by the lake."

  "You better steer clear of Jack I imagine he'd like to take a piece out of him."

  "I'm not afraid of him," Nick spat.

  Gage shook his head. "I wouldn't be too cocky if I were you, kid. Besides evading a police officer and felony burglary, we're adding contributing to the delinquency of a minor to your charges."

  "The whole thing was Nicole's idea."

  "Then I guess you should've had better sense."

  Alex chuckled as he pushed Nick down the hall toward booking.

  Gage stopped at dispatch and told Macy he was going on his lunch break and was nearly to his patrol car when his cellphone rang.

  "Officer Hansen, this is Officer Williams from Greensburg PD. Sorry, I'm just now returning your call. I had to take a couple of days off work." There was a lot of background noise like he was outside in a crowd.

  "That's okay. Were you able to locate Ricky Drayton?"

  "Yes, and you were right in your suspicions. There's little doubt that he's the guy who attacked Jamie. He's a match to the video surveillance at the mall and the grey truck is parked in his garage. He's not talking, though."

  "He lawyer up?"

  "He's dead."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Gage turned down 1500 Road and saw several patrol cars lining the drive to a nice, blue, two-story farmhouse. He pulled in and parked on the grass between a silver Mustang and the house. The garage door was open; the grey truck they'd been looking for was parked inside.

  Officer Williams met Gage. "It's Ricky Drayton according to the wallet on the body. He's been dead a few days, as you can tell by the smell. Looks like he was working on his truck and the jack fell, crushing him. Fire department had to get him out. It wasn't a pretty sight. We've got a pathologist coming in to do the autopsy."

  Gage peered around Officer Williams to inspect a large dark stain on the cement underneath the truck. "Mind if I have a look, Officer?"

  "Go ahead. And you can call me Cade. The house and the Mustang are in his name, but the truck was reported stolen last year in Nebraska. Didn't have a phone on him. We're running his name through county records, trying to find any next of kin."

  Gage knelt down in front of the lopsided truck and looked underneath it. An oil pan was crushed between the undercarriage and cement, with oil splattered all around it, as if the guy was in the process of changing his oil when the accident happened. "There's no wrench."

  "I've already processed it. The jack didn't appear tampered with, but I'm sending it to the state crime lab anyway to be checked out, and I dusted it and the wrench for prints. Got several, hopefully, I'll get a hit in IAFIS."

  "Are you thinking it may not be an accident?"

  "I don't know. Maybe. Let me show you something." Cade pulled down the garage door. Even with the overhead light on and the sunlight shining in through the windows, the room was pretty dark.

  Gage peered underneath the truck
again and noticed something was missing. "No work light."

  "Yeah. I don't know about you, but I'd need one to see what I was doing."

  "Do you know anything about the guy?"

  "He was thirty-one. No wedding band or pictures of family in his wallet, and he doesn't have a criminal record. Paystubs in the house put him working as a mechanic at a garage downtown. I haven't talked to his employer yet."

  "If he worked on cars for a living, you would think he would've used blocks to support the weight of the truck."

  "I thought the same thing." Cade raised the garage door. "I'm not a mechanic, but I'm smart enough not to crawl under my truck without a cinder block or some other kind of support."

  "When Jamie was attacked, you'd mentioned other muggings. Did you find any stolen items such as wallets, purses, or credit cards in the house?"

  "Nothing. The only credit or debit cards I found were in his wallet, and they were issued to him. Add all that together and it feels kind of hinky to me."

  For a cop who hadn't been on the force that long, Cade had great instincts. "I agree," Gage said with a nod.

  "What put you on to this guy to begin with? I mean how'd you know he was Jamie's attacker?"

  Gage knew Williams had grown up in Jackson Ridge, and so far he had been very helpful, so Gage went with his intuition. "Ricky Drayton has a connection to James Riedel's murder, which I'm looking into unofficially. Only a handful of people know so I would appreciate you keeping a lid on it."

  "What's his connection?"

  "You don't seem that surprised."

  "I was three years behind you and Jamie in school. To be honest, I kinda had a crush on her."

  Join the club. Gage started to have second doubts about involving him.

  "I also knew Dwight. He was gentle as a mouse. It was hard to imagine him capable of killing Jamie's father."

  "Which brings us back to Ricky Drayton." Gage set aside his jealousy for the greater good. "He was the 9-1-1 caller who directed law enforcement to the Jennings' cabin. I thought he was the killer. Now, I'm not so sure."

  "Then you might be interested in this." Williams walked over to the trunk of his patrol car, parked in the drive. Gage followed. After opening the trunk, Williams pulled out an evidence bag sealed and marked. Through the plastic, Gage could see what appeared to be a black ski mask. "I found it stuffed in the glove box of the truck."

  "I think someone is playing us for fools, Cade."

  "How can I help?"

  Gage told him everything, including about the break-in at Jamie's and Mrs. Jennings' houses. Cade listened quietly, never showing any emotion.

  Once Gage had finished, Cade closed his trunk and leaned against it. "So, whether Drayton is the killer or not, we need to find a connection that links him to Jackson Ridge and the Riedel family."

  "Yes. Having a better estimate of his time of death can tell us a lot. If he isn't the killer, then the man responsible is trying to get rid of anyone who can link him to the murder. Including Jamie."

  ***

  Jamie called Gage for the directions to his house then locked up and headed into town. Beautiful rose bushes fronted the two-story brownstone that sat on the corner of Crescent and First Street. Jamie parked on the street and walked up the dozen steps.

  Gage met her at the door and greeted her with a kiss. He then led her inside and up the stairs. There were two apartments on each floor. His door was on the right, at the end of the hall, facing the street. Once inside, he gave her a tour. The two-bedroom apartment was cozy. It had tan carpet throughout, except for the kitchen and bathroom, which were tiled. The walls were pastel colors and the furnishings looked fairly new.

  Gage led her back into the living room, and she sat on the sofa while he got them each a soda.

  Jamie took a sip of hers then set it on the coaster. "This is a nice place. How long have you been here?"

  "Since I graduated the academy." He sat down next to her.

  "So this is where you and your ex lived?"

  He nodded. "I considered moving after she left, but the rent is cheap and I like the neighbors."

  "Did you meet her in college?" Up until now, Jamie had avoided the subject, but she wanted to get to know him better, and the woman was a part of his life once.

  "We first met at church camp when we were kids but didn't really get to know one another until my third year of college. She was my roommate's girlfriend." He lowered his gaze as if the mistake still haunted him. "I lost a good friend over her. I thought she was worth it at the time." He smiled. "Guess I deserved what I got in the end. Should've known. Once a cheater, always a cheater."

  "You're preaching to the choir on that one." Jamie had known Richie was a womanizer going into the relationship, but that hadn't stopped her. "In my case, I think I gave myself too much credit. I was foolish enough to think I could change him." She turned on the cushion, wrapping one leg underneath her. Behind him, Jamie noticed a guitar in the corner. She wondered if he still played.

  Gage reached over and wrapped his hand around hers. "I suppose I'm guilty of that, too."

  "I'm guessing you didn't have kids or you would've mentioned them by now."

  "No. She didn't want children. I thought I was okay with that. At twenty-one, the thought of the next eighteen years of your life being consumed with kids—that's pretty scary."

  "You've since changed your mind," she assumed.

  "Yeah. Seeing how happy Carter is with his family kind of brings out the nurturing desire in me."

  "I know what you mean. Up until a couple of years ago, I didn't think I wanted children either until some of my friends started families. I'd forgotten how much fun kids could be." Before that, her career had come first in her life. Nothing else mattered. She had since learned there were far greater things in life than success.

  Jamie glanced at Gage's guitar again. He used to play so well, especially the old folk songs. No longer able to resist, she asked, "Do you still play your guitar?"

  "Occasionally."

  "Will you play me something?"

  He grinned and shook his head.

  "Please." Jamie tilted her head and added a pout like he had done to her when he wanted to watch her movie.

  Gage laughed. "All right." He walked over and picked up the acoustic guitar and rejoined her on the sofa. "What do you wanna hear?"

  "One of the songs you used to play when we'd all go camping."

  "Okay."

  The moment he started strumming, the words to "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor came to mind. Jamie sang along. Though she was off key slightly, causing him to chuckle and miss an occasional cord, they both ended up in rhythm by the song's end.

  "I've always loved that song. Whenever I hear it on the radio, I always think of you and Mallory. Thank you." She leaned over to kiss his cheek, he turned and captured her lips instead.

  ***

  Gage added the pasta to his pan of boiling water. It'd been so long since he fixed a meal for anyone; he prayed he wouldn't mess it up.

  "If you have the ingredients for a salad, I'll make one," Jamie offered, leaning against the doorframe.

  He stirred the hamburger meat as he glanced over at her. "You're not going to eat any of my spaghetti, are you?"

  "Yes, I am. I just thought a salad might be a nice side dish."

  "I think there might be enough items to throw something together. I don't have cheese, though."

  "That's okay." Jamie went to the refrigerator and started pulling out some assorted vegetables. "Oh, good heavens." She whirled around with her head reared back, holding out a container at arm's length. "How long has it been since you cleaned out your fridge?"

  "Uh . . . it's been a while." He snatched the—whatever it was—from her hand and deposited it in his trash bin under the sink.

  Seconds later, she fetched the bin and started throwing out other items. Gage couldn’t help but laugh.

  "You're disgusting."

  "And you're kind of
rude," he teased.

  Eventually, she stopped cleaning and tied off the bag. "Where's your dumpster?"

  "In the back. I'll take it out later." Still smiling, he placed the bin back under the sink. He then peered around her at the almost bare shelves. "Oh man. Now I'm going to have to go shopping."

  Jamie grinned and shook her head.

  They dined by candlelight at the kitchen table with the radio tuned to a classic rock station. Midway through the meal, Jamie asked him if Cade ever called him back.

  Gage reluctantly filled her in on the happenings of the day. The only thing he held back was Nicole's statement. Gage didn't tell her about the attack on Mrs. Jennings because he was afraid Jamie might blame herself for going over there that day.

  "Do you think he was the killer?"

  Gage wanted to tell her yes because he hated the thought of her being frightened all the time. But he didn't want to chance her letting her guard down, and it turn out Drayton' death wasn't an accident and the real killer was still out there. "There's no way of knowing for sure. It may not have been an accident. The ski mask could've been planted."

  "Is this ever going to end?"

  "Yes. We're going to solve this thing, Jamie. Cade promised he'll do all he can on his end. Find out as much as possible about Drayton. And I'm handling things here. I promise I'm not giving up until we are absolutely certain there are no longer any threats to your life."

  "When we talked about Ricky Drayton the other day, you suggested he might have grown up around Jackson Ridge and then moved to Greensburg. Is there any way you can find out if that's the case?"

  "There isn't anyone with the last name Drayton in Green County now, but I haven't checked the land registry or marriage and birth records yet. It's on my list."

  "In other words, back off and let you do your job," she said, smiling.

  "Yeah, but not too far." Gage reached across the table and held her hand. "I like having you around."

  "I enjoy your company, too." She continued to hold his gaze. The warmth of her eyes in the candlelight and the slight parting of her lips made his heart race like he was in a hot foot pursuit. "I'll do the dishes," she said, squashing the moment.