Toni Donovan Mysteries- Books 1-3

by Helen Gray

  Buck nodded in understanding. “There were definitely some people who didn’t like him, or had differences with him.”

  “I’ll give the guy credit for one thing, though,” Russell said. “He was a true Cardinals fan. He always had season tickets and went to St. Louis a lot.”

  “That might have been partly due to the fact that his mother lives in a suburb of St. Louis,” Buck said. “I believe he grew up there.”

  Faye, who had been taking it all in, suddenly contributed. “That’s what I heard. Brock had lived here for six or seven years. My understanding is that he was a full-time evangelist before coming here, and he was dating a girl from the Temple of Light Church when Reverend Hamilton passed away from a heart attack. He began filling in for them when he didn’t have speaking engagements elsewhere, and they really liked him. I guess his meetings must have fallen off along about that time, because he began coming down here more and more often. I don’t know exactly how it all came about, but apparently the congregation had trouble finding another preacher, or they just liked Reverend Goldman so well that they didn’t want anyone else. The church worked out some kind of arrangement with him where he could preach for them when he was here, but he could still schedule as many speaking engagements as he wanted. Later that year he moved into their parsonage and put his membership with their church.”

  “It wasn’t a conventional arrangement, but it seemed to be working for them,” Buck acknowledged. “I guess they liked him so much they were willing to have him part-time and find a substitute when he was away.”

  “He must have done very well,” Bill commented. “He lived more of the good life than any other preachers I know. He always bought the best of everything and seemed to have a lot of money.”

  “What about that house he was supposed to have been at when this girl had a baby? Do you know where this place is, what it’s called, or what his connection to it was?” Quint asked. He had been away for nearly six years and wasn’t up on community happenings.

  Buck shook his head. “This is the first I’ve heard of it. It sounds like he must have been involved in some kind of organization that works with unplanned pregnancies.”

  Faye’s brow had furrowed. Now she focused on Toni. “You said this girl indicated that Reverend Goldman and Nurse Vickers tried to get her to sign release forms. There used to be a nurse named Madison Vickers who worked at the clinic. I think she lived somewhere out in the Brownville area. A few years ago she quit to take another job, said she was going to work at what was then Doctors Hospital in Poplar Bluff. Since then it and Lucy Lee Hospital were both bought by the same company. I don’t know if their personnel records are merged or separate.”

  Do you have any idea whether she’s still there?” Buck asked.

  Her face creased in thought. “I don’t think so. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure she ever actually worked there. I have a friend who has worked there for many years, and one day shortly after Maddy left here, I was visiting with Carolyn. I mentioned that one of our clinic nurses had gone to work there and asked her to say hi to Nurse Maddy for me. She said she didn’t know Maddy, hadn’t met her yet, but she would look her up for me and give her my greeting. A few days later I saw Carolyn again, and she told me that she had looked for Maddy and couldn’t find anyone who knew her. She said she went to the human resources offices and asked where she could be found, and they told her they had no one by that name on the payroll.”

  “Do you think you could have misunderstood where she said she was going to work?” Toni asked.

  Faye frowned, took a sip from her coffee mug, and set it back down. “I decided that’s what I must have done. Now I wonder where she does work.”

  “I might be able to help if you think it’s important,” Kyle offered unexpectedly. “I remember her from the clinic, and I’ve seen her picking up packages of medical supplies I’ve flown into Poplar Bluff. I can’t remember exactly who the shipments were addressed to, but it seems like they were to some woman, a Christy Hayes or something like that. I assume it’s someone’s private practice. I’ll see what I can find out if you’d like.” He gave Buck a look that asked for permission.

  Buck considered for a moment. “At this point I don’t know what’s important or relevant and what’s not. Like the boys said, this nurse was recognized as the man’s girlfriend and was questioned after he disappeared. I believe she implied, without specifically saying so, that he took off with the festival money. But I don’t really buy that. It wouldn’t have been enough reason for him to throw away his whole life. Any information you can come up with is welcome. Whatever you find, we’ll check it out and see what we can make of it.”

  Russell glanced over at the television just then, and a big grin spread across his face. “The Cardinals just scored and took the lead,” he informed them, and then returned to the topic under discussion. “What about the mayor? Do you think there’s anything to what the boys said about her and the preacher?”

  Buck shook his head. “I don’t know. I can easily picture Carmen Joyner telling the boys to get lost. She’s a brusque old gal.”

  “How can she be so heavy-handed and abrasive and still get elected term after term?” Faye asked in an irritated huff.

  Bill snorted. “That’s not so hard to understand. Her political cronies all live in town, while the majority of the business and professional people have built nice homes outside the city limits and can’t vote in city elections. Look at us.” He made a sweeping hand motion. “I’m the only one who lives inside the city limits. Mom and Dad are just outside the limits here, and Buck lives even farther out.”

  “She’s a tough cookie,” Russell said. “And Brock Goldman was pretty tough for a preacher. I have no problem visualizing them going head to head, or doubt that they did.”

  “The boys had one more person on their suspect list,” Toni reminded them. “Wendy Rutherford wasn’t happy about being assigned to work with Goldman as co-chair of the festival. Maybe she should be included in any interviews.”

  “I think the thing I’m going to look into next is the man’s personal finances,” Buck said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

  The kitchen door opened, and Gabe and Garrett entered, making a good deal of noise in the process. They took cold drinks from the refrigerator, slammed the door shut, and marched into the living room to join the adults.

  “We found a little green snake behind the shed,” Gabe informed them, popping the tab of his root beer can. “We took it up into the woods and turned it loose. I think it’ll be happier there.”

  Garrett placed his soda on the table and walked across the room to where Buck was relaxing on the sofa. He stopped next to the police chief, but didn’t speak. He just stood there, silently studying Buck, his eyes dark and troubled.

  “Is there something I can do for you, young man?” Buck motioned for the boy to sit beside him.

  Garrett ignored the hand gesture and continued to stand there, his look penetrating. At last he spoke, his voice soft and slightly tremulous. “I know about the bones Mom and those boys found. I’m scared. Someone was killed, and now the person who did it might hurt Mom to keep her from finding out who he is,” he finished in a rush.

  Toni’s heart caught in her throat. Of course. That was what had been bothering him. She should have known. His extreme quietness and solemnity were from worry over her. She wanted to wrap him in her arms and reassure him, but she forced herself to remain still and listen.

  Buck eyed her young son with compassion. “Catching people who do bad things is my job,” he said quietly. “I promise you I’ll do everything I can to keep your mother from harm. And I appreciate your concern.” He extended a hand.

  Garrett heaved a sigh of relief and hesitated only a moment before reaching out and placing his small hand in the chief’s large one. They sealed the agreement.

  When Garret had returned to the sofa and sat next to Gabe, Buck turned his attention to Toni. “Fear is natural. It’s pow
erful and can override logical thinking, cause us to behave irrationally. I know you’ve had one terrifying experience, and I hope you’ve learned from it.”

  Toni gulped. He knew her too well. “I admit I’ve had some shaky moments,” she said with the slightest of quivers in her voice. “But I’m fine.”

  He read her expression for several moments. Then he grinned. “Back in the thirties President Roosevelt said, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself! And do you remember what Fern always said?’”

  She did.

  They both grinned—and quoted it in unison. “God’s got my back.”

  Chapter 8

  Monday morning before Toni and the boys were ready for school, Kyle hugged the boys and gave Toni a good-bye kiss at the door. ”See you Friday evening. I’ll try to make it home in time to run out to the club and get in a practice round with the guys before Saturday’s tournament.”

  He and Bill planned to play in the Relay for Life charity golf tournament. Buck and Russell were also partnered for it. Toni and Faye would work wherever needed, as would John and Jenny Zachary.

  When Toni arrived at school, she looped around to the teacher’s workroom and checked her mailbox. A wall-mounted rack of cubbyholes were labeled, in alphabetical order, with names of staff members. Packages were stacked on the floor below, notes in the boxes notifying recipients of their arrival.

  Toni removed the batch of items from her box and flipped through it. It was mostly catalogs and sales flyers from companies wanting to sell her materials for her classroom. Near the bottom of the stack was a memo from Ken Douglas stating that teachers were to check absences and tardies recorded in the computer program against their grade books. A list of discrepancies was due by the next day. Good. He was moving quickly on the matter.

  Third hour Toni finished cross-checking her records and submitted her lists. As expected, some of the students with grade changes also had unexcused absences or tardies deleted from their records.

  After school she picked up her boys and went to the ballgame. Since Buck had been at the house yesterday, she wasn’t certain he would still attend, but she would be there just in case.

  It was a pretty day, great weather for an outdoor game. The sun was shining, with the temperature in the seventies. As usual, there were several people in attendance, but plenty of empty seating still remained. These games were not as highly attended as basketball games. Toni wasn’t sure if the difference was that people didn’t like the outdoors, or the slower speed of the game. She suspected the latter.

  A few teachers were present. Some, like herself, had children of their own, who were already participating in little league ball and liked to come watch the ‘big kids’ play. Others came simply to support their students. For Toni it was a combination. She had been raised in a home where her dad loved baseball, and her brothers had both played it all through school. She enjoyed the games, and found it a pleasant way to show support for her students. Lately it had provided a nice place to meet with Buck and discuss the ‘bone’ case.

  Traffic whizzed by on the highway, and children roam the grounds surrounding the ball fields. Gabe and Garrett were out there with them. She sat on a bottom bleacher today, which provided a better vantage point of the area where her sons were playing.

  The game was in the bottom of the sixth inning when Buck finally arrived, bearing the usual two cups of Coke, with two folders tucked under his left arm. He sat next to her, handed her one of the Cokes, and anchored the folders under his right leg. Then he removed his hat and raked a hand over his brow. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it. “

  “I take it you had an exceptionally busy Monday.” Toni took a deep swig of her soda.

  “That’s an understatement. But it’s been informative. I called the lab this morning and asked if they had any identification yet. They said they did and it should arrive in today’s mail.”

  Toni glanced down at the folders.

  “It’s there and you can see it in a bit,” he promised, keeping his voice low enough for their conversation to be private. DNA and dental records confirm our theory. I’ve already made next of kin notification.”

  Toni breathed slow and deep, feeling as if evil had invaded them. “I’m sorry about the whole thing,” she said when she could speak. “But I’m glad you got that taken care of before word gets out from the boys. I’ve cautioned them about airing their theories, but you know how things go.”

  Buck grimaced and took a swig of soda. “Rudy Barnes has been calling from the newspaper office regularly, asking for updates. He called again right after I talked to Mrs. Goldman. I saw no reason to withhold the information any longer, so I gave him the story. He said he was heading right out for St. Louis to do an interview.”

  Toni stared over at where the team sat in the dugout. “I imagine he’s called Jeremy by now, or, if not, he will soon.”

  “After lunch I went out to the Temple of Light Church and got the name of their church treasurer,” Buck continued. “I went to her house and talked to her. After she quit crying long enough to talk to me, she told me how much the church had been paying the man. It was a paltry amount. He was living in the parsonage, which saved him a lot of expenses. She said he was planning to build a house on a piece of property he had bought out in your subdivision.” He raised a brow in question.

  “That sure doesn’t sound like someone planning to take off anywhere,” she said on reflection. “More like someone getting ready to spend a whole lot of money. Which didn’t seem to exist.”

  He nodded. “That’s what I thought. So I went to the bank and talked to the president. Evan Hicks checked for me and found that Goldman’s personal accounts consisted of a checking account with a balance of about five hundred dollars and a savings account of a little over a thousand. Both accounts were closed the Monday after the festival that year. Evan found no record of any Certificates of Deposit or other assets.”

  “So if he had a large amount of money, it wasn’t kept here in town,” Toni mused.

  “Right. Evan said he’ll check with banks in the surrounding area and St. Louis and see if anything else turns up.”

  A loud crack of wooden bat on ball made them look up to see an opposing player streaking for first base as the ball went into the outfield. The runner rounded the base and pumped toward second as the right fielder threw the ball to the base. Sliding into the base roughly, the runner caught the second baseman in the shins, taking him down. As he fell, the ball was dropped and the umpire called the runner safe.

  There were moans from the spectators, and then silence when the second baseman didn’t get up. Coach Hopper, the umpire, and the base coaches all ran out onto the field.

  After several moments of checking, probing, and conferring, the boy sat up and was hoisted to his feet by the coaches, one on each side. They assisted him off the field, hopping, with one foot held off the ground. The leg of his uniform pants was torn, and it looked like the shin was bleeding. The spectators cheered as the boy was taken into the dugout.

  Another boy trotted out and crossed the field to replace the injured player.

  In the section of spectator seats to their right, a man leaped to his feet. “Hey!” he yelled. “Give the younger boys a chance.”

  It was local attorney Damien Hudson. He had a thriving practice and commanded the highest fees, due to his winning track record. He was considered the man to hire if a person really intended to win a case and didn’t care how many bodies were mowed in the process. Toni had heard him referred to as a shark. His wife, Tiffany, a honey blonde, sat beside him. Their junior high age daughter, Kayla, was with some friends at the top of that section of seats.

  Full faced, with a ruddy complexion and flinty blue eyes under thick eyebrows, Damien was about six four and carried about thirty pounds too much weight. He clambered off the bleachers and marched angrily around the back of the seats to the gate next to the home team dugout where the coach stood. His words couldn’t
be heard from that distance, but the body language was unmistakable. The man was furious and letting the coach have it.

  “What’s that about?” Buck asked quietly.

  “He has a freshman son who spends most of his time on the bench. Apparently he thinks the coach should have put Mitch in instead of the kid he did.”

  Buck nodded. “Dealing with parents at these activities is worse than dealing with the kids.”

  “I think any coach will agree with that. I’ve known of some who left the profession because they hated discipline and dealing with parents.”

  “It’s too bad. Oh, here,” he said, pulling the folders from under his leg and handing them to Toni. “If you’d like, you can read these while I watch the rest of the game.” He grinned.

  Toni returned a deprecating grin and took them. She opened the top folder, which proved to be the autopsy report. She skimmed over the introductory headings and began to read the cold scientific facts.

  Partial skeletal remains of an unidentified body were examined. There were no items of personal identification. Dental photo images of the twelve teeth remaining in the skull were taken.

  An intact pelvis was not available. Measurements and morphological assessment of an almost intact skull indicate it is that of an adult male. Morphological and metric analyses reveal a narrow face with a high nose and prominent chin, anatomical traits consistent with white racial affiliation.

  Maturation in portions of the post-cranial bones and closure of the cranial sutures, amount of dental wear of the teeth suggest the man was between 35 and 45 years of age at the time of death. Estimation of stature, based on measurement of a tibia, is 5’9” to 5’11” with a mean stature of 5’10”.

  Toni scanned more paragraphs of statistics and facts she already knew. Then she