Murdered by Prejudice: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series

by Dianne Harman

  “At least,” Liz said with a giggle.

  *****

  “The parking fairy must be with you. It’s almost impossible to find a parking spot anywhere near Gertie’s, much less right in front of it. Consider yourself lucky,” Liz said

  “It’s probably because of my clean living,” Cal responded.

  “Somehow I doubt that,” Liz said with a grin as she opened the car door.

  They walked into the restaurant and Liz was immediately bear hugged by a diminutive octogenarian who then released her and said, “Seein’ ya’ twice in two days must be some kinda’ record and that handsome husband of yours just left. Got some special occasion goin’ on or what? And are ya’ gonna’ introduce me to this handsome stud ya’ walked in with or jes’ keep him all to yerself’?

  Liz laughed and said, “Gertie, I’d like you to meet Cal Randolph, a friend of Roger’s. Cal, this is Gertie, a legend in her own time.”

  Gertie looked at him a said, “Well, if’n he’s a friend of Roger’s, how come he’s gonna’ have lunch with you rather than Roger?”

  “Long story, Gertie. Looks like you’re really busy. Any chance you can find a table for us?

  “For ya’ an’ yer friend, I’ve always got room. Follow me.” She walked towards the back of the diner and pointed to a booth. “Got yer’ name on it. Set right down.”

  As they were getting seated, they overheard a man’s loud voice coming from the booth directly behind the one they were in. “That’s not what I ordered, I wanted the special, the meat loaf sandwich. Please take it back and get me what I ordered.”

  “Scuse’ me,” Gertie said to Liz and Cal. “Looks like we got us a situation here. Back in a minute.”

  They overheard her apologizing to the man as the waitress he’d been talking to dissolved into tears and hurried away. In a moment they saw Gertie walking quickly towards the kitchen. Cal leaned across the table towards Liz and asked, “Does she always wear heels that high? Don’t you think she might be a little old for them? Seems to me like she’s one footstep away from a bad fall, and at her age, that could really be dangerous.”

  “I’ve never seen her in anything else, but take a tip from me. Don’t even think about telling her she’s too old. Age is only a word to her. In her mind I think she really believes that aging stopped when she was about thirty. If you don’t believe me, look at her hairdo and her makeup,” Liz said.

  A few minutes later, Gertie hurried down the aisle, a plate with a meat loaf sandwich in hand. “Sorry, sir, but one of my waitresses is dealin’ with a domestic issue, and it looks like it’s affectin’ her work. I’m gonna’ have a lil’ talk with her. Again, sorry for the inconvenience.”

  She walked the few steps back to where Cal and Liz were sitting and said “Man, nobody knows better ‘n me that divorce ain’t no picnic, but I never let any of the five affect the diner here. Don’t know what’s wrong with this younger generation.”

  “I take it one of your waitresses is having problems at home,” Liz said.

  “Yeah. She went through a divorce, but from what she tol’ me, her ex showed up a coupla’ days ago and asked if he could stay in a lil’ room over her garage fer a few days. She tol’ me he makes her nervous. Says something jes’ ain’t right about him.”

  “Do I know her?” Liz asked.

  “Don’t think so. She worked fer me when she was in high school, before ya’ came here. Her parents moved to the East Coast. She got married and then her husband went in the service and was sent to Afghanistan. Said he came home on leave, and he’d really changed. She divorced him and went to live with her parents back East.

  “Did it fer ‘bout a year and said she couldn’t stand it no more. Felt like she was back in high school. They wanted to know everywhere she went, when she’d be back, who she’d been with. Drove her nuts, so she moved back to Red Cedar and asked me fer a job. She’s been fine ‘til her ex showed up.”

  “What’s he like?” Cal asked.

  “Can’t say cuz’ I never met him. She says he jes’ ain’t normal, and he scares her. Says she’ll be glad when he’s gone, and so will I. Maybe I won’t have to fire her.”

  “Has she told you how long he plans on staying in Red Cedar?” Liz asked.

  “Says jes’ a few more days. Kinda’ what’s that word? Crippy? Says his work will be done then and he’ll be movin’ on. Don’t blame her fer bein’ spooked.”

  “Think the word you’re looking for is cryptic, at least that’s what that statement sounds like,” Cal said. He started to say something more, but his attention was drawn to the hamburger, fries, and chocolate milkshake that a server had put in front of him. He looked up questioningly at Gertie and said, “I must have missed something, because I never saw a menu or ordered.”

  “Silly boy,” Gertie said. “I knew what ya’ wanted. Same as Liz always gits. I put in the order when I got the meatloaf fer the guy. By the way, Liz, havin’ any luck with them murders? And I assume this hunk here is part of it.”

  Liz started to answer, but the conversation was interrupted by the sound of a tour bus letting people off in front of Gertie’s Diner. A moment later there was a line out the door of hungry tourists.

  “Sakes alive. Ain’t sure if all this new business is a blessin’ or a curse. Gonna’ be hard pressed to get all their fannies settin’ down. Talk to you later.”

  She started to leave and Cal put his hand on her arm, stopping her. “Gertie, sounds like you know pretty much everything that’s happening around here, at least that’s what Liz told me on the way over her. Would you do me a favor, and if you hear of someone or something that seems a little strange, would you call Liz? I’d appreciate it.”

  Gertie batted her eyes at him and said suggestively, “If it means I’ll get to see ya’ again, ya’ can count on it. Now I gotta’ go. Thinkin’ I need to get me some merchandise to sell while they’re waitin’ fer a seat. Something like a tee-shirt with a picture of me on it and maybe ‘Get Yer Grub at Gerties’ or somethin’ like that. Whadd’ya think, Liz?”

  “I think we need to talk before you do that, Gertie.”

  “Okay, see ya’ later,” she said with a wink at Cal.

  CHAPTER 18

  “Believe it or not, that was just what I needed to counterbalance the heaviness of the meeting we had this morning. You were right. Gertie is truly one-of-a-kind,” Cal said.

  “I couldn’t agree more, but that little old woman has a mind like a steel trap and a memory for everyone and everything. Coupled with the fact that people trust her as soon as they meet her and confide in her, she knows more about what goes on in the Red Cedar area than anyone.”

  “It’s always good to know someone like that when you’re working on a murder case. Wish she could solve it for us.”

  “I agree. How far is it to the Forest Service office?”

  “It’s in Santa Rosa. Dr. Google said it was about half an hour from here. Although I’ve had several conversations with them, I’ve never been to their facility. From what I understand, there are several other government offices in the building.”

  “What specifically are you hoping to find?” Liz asked.

  “Ideally, I’d like to have someone tell me that a threat was made against Red and they have the name and the person’s contact information, but I know that’s not going to happen.”

  “Sure would make things easier.”

  “That it would, but it’s not going to happen. I’ll talk to the people there, examine Red’s personal items and take it from there. After I’m finished with the staff, I’ll probably take his mother into a room so we can talk privately to her. By the way, I’d like you there. I’ve found that talking to an FBI agent can be very threatening to some people. I think you’ll soften my presence.”

  “I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not,” Liz said with a laugh.

  “Meant as a compliment.”

  “Well, then thanks.”

  They were both quiet wit
h their own thoughts as they passed through several heavily forested areas. “We’re almost there,” Cal said. “When I talked to Jeff Moser, he’s the one who’s the acting supervisor until one is appointed, he said to make a right half a mile from where the forest ends and pull into the first building on the right.”

  A few minutes later they walked into the Forest Service office and a large man with red hair and a beard to match walked out of an office and over to them. “Hi, I’m Jeff Moser. You must be Cal Randolph,” he said as he extended his hand towards Cal.

  “I am, and this is a colleague of mine, Liz Lucas.” They shook hands.

  “Cal, how would you like to handle this?” Jeff asked.

  “I’d like to talk to the people who work here, either individually or as a group. How many employees are there?”

  “There are four, excluding me. I’ve talked to all of them and they’ve told me they know nothing. I could save you the trouble.”

  “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d still like to speak to them,” Cal said.

  A few minutes later he and Liz stood in front of the employees that Jeff had called into the meeting and Cal said, “Jeff told me that he’s spoken with all of you, and he told me that none of you know anything. Would one of you walk me through the last few days before Red left for his tour of duty at the fire watch tower?”

  “I can,” a young woman with mousy brown hair said. She was wearing a Forest Service uniform consisting of a light khaki shirt and dark green pants. “I’m on the rotation for that fire watch tower, so before Red would go out there, we would spend some time together to see if anything special was needed. I think everyone here will agree with me that there was nothing unusual in his behavior leading up to his spending time there.”

  “Do you know if he’d been threatened? Did he mention any phone calls or altercations with people?”

  “No, nothing at all. He was excited he’d been promoted, and he even told me his life had never been better. I honestly can’t think of one thing that would have caused him to be the victim of a murder. Don’t you all agree with me?” she said to the other people in the room.

  They all shook their heads in agreement.

  “What about his mail? Who took care of that when he was gone?” Cal asked.

  “Whoever got the mail that was left on the front desk by the mailman would go through it and if one of us was on a watch or gone, it was put in a bag with the person’s name on it. Actually, Red did get mail while he was gone, and it’s still in the bag. We didn’t feel that any of us should go through his mail.”

  “I’d like to see it, please,” Cal said.

  “I’ll get it,” Jeff said. “It’s in my office.” He came back a moment later with a pouch which had Red’s name on it and handed it to Cal.

  “Thanks, I’ll take a look at it later,” Cal said. “Is there anything else you can think of that Ms. Lucas and I should know?”

  They all shook their heads and Jeff said, “I’m afraid we’re not much help. I put all of his personal items such as photos and things like that in some boxes. I don’t think there’s anything in them that will help you. They’re on the credenza in my office. There’s only two of them.”

  “Thank you all for taking the time to talk to us. Naturally, I wish we could have learned more, but it is what it is.” He motioned for Liz to follow him into Jeff’s office.

  “Those are the boxes,” Jeff said. “Feel free to go through them.”

  Cal spent the next ten minutes taking everything out of each of the boxes, but it was just as Jeff had said, there was nothing of interest in them. He heard the door to the office suite open and an elderly Indian woman walked in escorted by a younger woman. Both of them were dressed in jeans and sweatshirts. The elderly woman wore a long braid down her back and looked very ill at ease.

  Cal walked over to her and asked, “Mrs. Patterson?”

  “Yes, that’s me. You must be the one I talked to, Caleb Randolph,” she said in a soft voice

  He turned to Jeff and said, “Do you have a room we could use for a little while?”

  “Yes, follow me.” He walked down a hall while Cal motioned for Liz and the two women to follow them. Jeff opened a door to a room that had a large table and chairs in it. “This is our conference room. You can use it as long as you like.”

  “Thanks.” He turned to Mrs. Patterson and said, “I’d like you to meet my colleague, Liz Lucas, and I assume this is a friend of yours.”

  “Yes,” Mrs. Patterson said. “I don’t drive anymore, so I asked Dawn to bring me here. She’s a good friend of mine.”

  “Please, ladies, have a seat. This won’t take long. I just want to ask you a couple of questions.”

  “Yes sir,” she said in a soft voice. “I’ll do anything I can if it means finding the person who killed my boy.”

  “Did Red ever mention to you that he was having problems with someone?”

  “No. Everyone liked him. He was always the one people went to for advice or when they had problem. I know he could have become a very important elder in our tribe, but he chose to be with the Forest Service. He was so happy when he was recently promoted. He was the first Native American to hold an office like that. The Santa Rosa paper even had an article in it about him. I was so proud of him.”

  “I can see how you would be. What about relationships? I understand that Red was single and had never been married. Was there a special woman in his life? Could there have been problems in that area? Believe me when I say I’m not prying. I’m just trying to find something I can link to his murder. I hope you understand.”

  Mrs. Patterson was quiet, seemingly lost in thought, then she said, “Red was very much in love with a woman in our tribe when he was in his mid-20’s. Unfortunately, like so many members of our tribe, alcohol became very important to her. She became an alcoholic and took her own life. By doing that, she almost took Red’s life as well. It took him a long time to get over her death, if, in fact, anyone ever totally recovers from something like that.”

  “I am so sorry, Mrs. Patterson. That was not in his file.”

  “No, I’m sure it wasn’t. Some things don’t need to be shared by those who never knew her. That’s one of those things. He made a vow about a year after her death, when he was beginning to come to terms with his grief, that he would never care that much for another human being. He said he would rather die than go through that much pain again. No, there was no woman in his life.”

  “Mrs. Patterson, I’m sure this is causing you pain, and for what it’s worth, I share in that pain. Let me ask you one last question. Can you think of anything, it doesn’t matter how insignificant or small you think it is, that was out of the ordinary in the last few weeks or months? Did Red share anything with you that might help in my investigation?”

  “No. I talked to him two days before he was murdered, and he was as upbeat as ever. He loved being alone in the fire watch tower and looking out at nature. He once told me those times made a nice balance to his everyday life.”

  Cal stood up and said, “Mrs. Patterson, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to come here. I’ll carry the two boxes of Red’s personal items to your car for you.” He turned to Liz and said, “Ms. Lucas, do you have anything to add?”

  Liz stood up as well. “No, I just want to tell you how very sorry I am. I’m a mother as well, and I think one of the worst things in the world would be to have one of my children die. And the only thing that could make it worse is for that child to have been murdered. I suppose the only consolation is that your son was the first Native American to hold that high of a position in the Forest Service. It won’t bring him back, but I hope it gives you some sort of solace.”

  She walked over to Mrs. Patterson and gently hugged her. “I promise we will do everything in our power to find the person who did this. I give you my word.”

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Patterson said as she wiped a tear from an eye that had seen too many tears and walked out the door
. Cal picked up the boxes and followed her.

  On the way back to the Red Cedar Lodge and Spa they were both quiet. Cal was the first to speak. “When we get back you probably need to make sure that everything is ready for dinner tonight. I’m taking you up on your invitation to eat at the lodge, but after dinner I’d like to spend some time with you and Roger and look at what we have.”

  “I think that’s a good idea. Roger often has words of wisdom in a case like this based on all the years he spent as a criminal defense attorney. Let’s pick his brain and see if he can come up with anything. And yes, I do need to make sure that Gina’s taken care of everything for tonight, although I don’t know why I bother. At this point I think she could run the dinners single-handedly. She’s done a great job for me when I’ve had to miss them in the past.”

  “Liz, when I talked to Wes, he told me how strongly he feels that you should consider running for the police chief of Red Cedar. I know he mentioned it to you, and as I mentioned to you, there are ways to get around some of the requirements. In other words, they can be waived, if you know the right people. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to throw my weight around. I know all of the members of the Board of Supervisors and it might help.”

  “Thanks, Cal. I appreciate that vote of confidence, but that’s something I’ve never considered. Quite frankly, I was shocked when Wes suggested it.”

  “Don’t be. He told me about some of the murders you’ve solved because the numbskull present chief of police is so incompetent. That, along with the way you were with Mrs. Tanaka and Mrs. Patterson, shows me that you have an innate way of handling yourself in very emotionally difficult situations. From what I hear, the present chief of police is seriously lacking in that area.”

  Liz smiled. “Trust me, Cal, you have no idea how true those words are. Anyway, I appreciate what you’re saying, but it’s something I need to think long and hard about. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy building up the spa and the lodge. It would be a little difficult for me to turn the reins over to other people, although I know Bertha and Gina could handle it. And I’d have to make sure Roger is on board. You heard him the other night. When we got married, having the chief of police as his wife was not part of the deal.”