Toni Donovan Mysteries- Books 1-3

by Helen Gray

  “Either she’s a very good liar, or she knows nothing about the gambling--and I think it’s the first,” Quint said as they returned to his truck. “The next time she sees me it’ll be in uniform.”

  “Do you think she overplayed the lighthearted part a little bit? Did she cover for Jesse, let him dump her, and then get even?”

  “I don’t know,” Quint said as he started the engine. “But I’m going to let the detectives know about our little visit. I just hope they appreciate our tips and don’t hassle me about you poking around.”

  That evening Toni curled up on the couch to grade papers. At eight-thirty she called the boys and chatted a while. Then she called Kyle and discussed their plans for the weekend. Before ending the call, Toni shared with him that she thought they needed to have a heart to heart talk with the boys about the danger of getting caught up in any kind of gambling.

  Thursday morning, bleary eyed from grading papers so late, Toni slipped on a pair of periwinkle blue palazzo pants and a bright blue blouse. She pulled the top of her hair back and secured it with a clip and let the rest of it fall free. After applying some light makeup and small hoop earrings, she chose a pair of thick soled navy sandals that felt reasonably good on her bruised toe. Then she joined the Donovans for a breakfast of eggs and toast.

  “I’ll pick John up and head home after class,” she explained when they finished eating.

  Dan gave her a warm hug. “We’ve enjoyed having you around this summer.”

  Barb’s embrace was a bit stiff.

  Chapter 14

  Ten minutes before class was to begin, Nicole Warren entered the room and approached Toni’s desk. “Did you talk to Sonya?” she asked softly as students walked past them.

  Toni looked up at the serious young woman. “Yes, I did. I don’t know if I learned anything helpful, but I think it’s important to talk to as many people as possible who had personal knowledge or contact with your former coach.”

  Nicole nodded. “Does she know I gave you her name?”

  “I didn’t tell her where I got it.”

  At her assurance, she could see the tension drain from Nicole’s shoulders. It made Toni wonder why so much tension. “If you hear anything about a gambling ring, will you tell me about it?”

  Nicole’s eyes darted around, and she seemed uneasy. “I’ll do that. Mrs. Donovan, I hate to ask this, but will I be able to make up any work I miss if I don’t stay for class today? My daughter is sick, and I need to take her to the doctor. She’s in the car with my mother.”

  “You can if you bring me a signed note from the doctor,” Toni assured her, sympathy surging through her for the young single mother.

  “I’ll be sure to ask for one.”

  “We’ll be covering chapters twenty-two through twenty-four on the urinary and reproductive systems today and Monday. Read and study them thoroughly, and I’m sure you’ll be fine. Now go take care of your daughter. I hope it’s nothing serious and she’s fine by tomorrow. I’ll be thinking about you.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Donovan,” Nicole said, her eyes shiny with restrained tears.

  When Nicole was gone, Toni greeted the class and began the lecture. “Lab finals will be next Wednesday and written finals on Thursday,” she announced when she finished. Then she opened the door for them to exit. And found Quint leaning against the wall, dressed in sweat pants and a tee shirt.

  “This could become a habit,” she teased when he crossed the hall toward her.

  “I wanted to catch you before you leave town. Got a minute?”

  “Of course.” She motioned for him to enter the now empty room. She sat at her desk and began clearing it.

  Quint took a seat facing her. “The detectives have been busy. There are a couple of things I thought you’d like to hear.”

  “Go on.” She pushed papers into her satchel. “I can function and listen at the same time.”

  He grinned. “I know. Okay, for starters, officers Durbin and Chilton located and arrested Barry Kuzman.”

  “Good. I hope they found out what’s going on.”

  His grin turned smug. “They got out the cat-o-nine tails, or maybe it was the sharp talking negotiating detectives. However it went, they persuaded Kuzman to tell them about the high school gambling ring in hopes of lightening the charges against him. He’s young and fairly new to this mafia style life, so he’s scared.”

  Toni shoved another stack of papers into the satchel. “Ouch. That smarts.” She grabbed her finger and squeezed it.

  There was a small paper slit on her left index finger, with blood seeping from it. She stuck it in her mouth, and then blew on it.

  Quint just shook his head. “The detectives have also been checking the background of those two teens you talked to in Ozark.”

  “All right!” She made a fist of the hand with the cut finger and pumped it. She was all attention now, paper slit and satchel packing forgotten.

  “Young Mister Vince Harcourt, besides being an arrogant rich kid, is a computer nerd. He can’t spell worth spit, but he’s a whiz with computers and makes A’s in all his classes except communication arts. I’m guessing he’s the Webmaster of that site. He was probably recruiting someone when you showed up at his pool.”

  “That makes sense. The card was part of the promotion.”

  “As for his role beyond that, I’m not sure. It’s hard to imagine a kid that age being a mastermind of the operation, but anything’s possible.”

  “That was more likely Jesse Campbell,” Toni theorized. “If that’s true, two things can happen now. Everything can fall apart, or there could be a power struggle for control. What about the other kid, Dean Patrick?”

  “Mr. Patrick isn’t on the scholastic level of Mr. Harcourt, but they spend a lot of time together, according to the detectives’ sources. If this operation is as big as I’m beginning to suspect, it has kids working as runners, recruiters, collectors, enforcers, and no telling what else. And that’s alongside the online operation. My guess is that Dean Patrick fills one or more of those roles.”

  Quint pushed to his feet. “I know you need to get on the road. See you Sunday.”

  Toni finished tidying the room and went to the van. She called John as she left the parking lot and told him she was on the way. He was waiting on the front porch, his bags beside him, when she arrived at the house where he was staying.

  “Are you in a big hurry to get home?” she asked as he tossed his bags in the back seat.

  He peered over the seat at her. “There’s nothing pressing, other than being anxious to see Jenny. Why?”

  “Do you mind taking a detour? I’d like to swing around through Nixa and see if I can find anyone who’ll talk to us at the construction company where Jesse worked.”

  John grinned and shut the door. As he climbed into the front seat, he was careful with his injured arm. “Could that detour start by way of a burger joint? It’s noon and I’m hungry.”

  “I am, too. Would you settle for a drive through? It would save us time.”

  “Good enough.”

  They got sandwiches at McDonald’s and ate on the road.

  “The company’s supposed to be located just this side of town. I looked up the address and then asked a student from Nixa how to find it. There’s supposed to be a sign where we’re to turn off,” Toni explained as she drove.

  They had no trouble following the directions to Dolman Construction. A trailer with an office sign on it sat in front of an asphalted parking lot for trucks and other equipment, most of them bearing a Dolman logo. There was a barn-like structure behind it that looked like a maintenance shed. Someone in a hard hat walked toward the shed from the back of the trailer. A cement truck roared into the lot.

  Toni parked in front of the office trailer between a red Honda and a black pickup. “Want to start the questioning?” she asked John.

  He grinned. “You trust me?”

  “Sure. Why should I have all the fun? Besides, you need the expe
rience.”

  John’s large frame vibrated as he laughed. “Okay, let’s go.” He cradled his arm to his abdomen as he climbed out of the van and led the way up the wooden steps.

  The office they entered was a utilitarian reception area. To the right was a closed door with a nameplate that said PAUL DOLMAN. To the left was a wide open doorway through which they could see a kitchen and a hallway behind it. In the center of the room, a red haired woman sat at a cluttered desk. She looked to be in her late forties or early fifties and wore a no-nonsense double-breasted navy dress with gold buttons down the front. The nameplate on the desk bore the name Gretchen Horner.

  She looked up. “May I help you?”

  “I’m John Zachary, and this is my colleague, Toni Donovan,” John said. “A friend of mine used to work for this company. He died tragically a few days ago, and I’m looking for information that might help us find out who killed him.”

  The woman’s expression changed from a mixture of welcome, to annoyance at having her concentration broken, and then to one of enlightenment. “You mean Jesse Campbell?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’ve read the stories,” she said with a sad shake of her head. “He seemed like such a nice young man when he came to work here.”

  “We’re hoping you can give us some information,” John repeated in a persuasive tone.

  “I can’t imagine what I could tell you.” She pulled her glasses off and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

  “How long did Jesse work here?”

  The woman thought a moment, and then went to a file cabinet behind her. She worked her fingers along the tops of a row of folders. Then she pulled one out and resumed her seat. After a quick glance inside, she looked up. “He was here about two and a half years, twenty nine months to be exact.”

  “During the time that he was here, did he get along okay with the work and the crew?”

  “His work was fine. He was dependable and a hard worker,” she said. Then she paused, a shadow of unease crossing her face.

  “What about his relationships with the other workers?” John pressed on. “Did he get along with them all right?”

  “I believe so,” she said without elaboration.

  “Were there problems on jobs or anything like that?” Toni asked when John hesitated.

  Gretchen Horner eyed them uneasily. “There may have been,” she said finally. “But I don’t feel comfortable talking about employees.”

  “This is a former employee we’re talking about, a man who was killed by someone,” Toni pointed out. “If you know of any conflicts he had with anyone, don’t you think it would be appropriate to tell us so we can check it out. I assure you we aren’t looking to cause trouble for anyone who wasn’t involved. We just want to find out the truth.”

  The secretary replaced her glasses and stared at them for several long, deliberating moments. Then her chin lifted. “There was one job where there was some trouble. It happened not long before Jesse quit. The crew was working on an expensive remodeling job that took quite a while. The husband worked and the wife stayed home with a couple of young kids.” She hesitated.

  Toni sensed what had to be the story. “Jesse had an affair with the wife, didn’t he?”

  She nodded. “The only reason I know is because he got caught. I mean the husband found out, and he came here looking for Jesse. There was a fight, and the crew had to pull them apart.”

  “What is the man’s name?” John asked.

  Gretchen hesitated again. Then she reopened the file and read for a bit. When she finally looked up, she stared at them in silence.

  “We’re sharing our information with the police,” John said. “If you don’t tell us the man’s name and how to find him, you’ll have to tell them.”

  “Oh, what the heck,” she said suddenly. “The name is Malcolm Burk, and here’s the address.” She opened the file and covered the information above the address with an index card.

  Toni grabbed her pen and notepad from her purse and wrote it down. “Can you tell us the quickest way to find it?”

  The directions she gave them seemed simple. When she finished, they thanked her and left.

  At the edge of town Toni turned on the street Gretchen had said to take. A half mile later she made a right onto the correct street and found the house number. The residence looked like most of the other houses in the neighborhood—dark brick, a picture window, a double garage, and a small yard. The difference was that this yard needed mowing. Badly. She pulled to the curb.

  When they knocked at the door, a man opened it. “Yeah?” He peered at them through bloodshot eyes. “Whatcha want?”

  “Mr. Burk?” John said.

  “Yeah.” He shifted his weight and swayed slightly.

  “We’re John Zachary and Toni Donovan. May we talk to you a few moments?”

  The man stared blearily and made no move to admit them. “What about?”

  He was disheveled, looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, and had large dark circles under his eyes. He was probably six feet tall, but he was so slumped it was hard to tell. His skin was peeling from sunburn, indicative of outdoor work.

  “We understand that you knew Jesse Campbell,” John said.

  The man’s body jerked at the name. “You bet I know who the snake is. So what.”

  “We’re looking for information that could help us find out who killed him.”

  The man stared at them, and then his face and mouth went slack. “I didn’t make it to work today. Musta knowed you wuz comin’.”

  “Will you tell us about your fight with Mr. Campbell?” Toni asked.

  His face contorted. “That lowlife came here to build an addition onto this house like my wife wanted. Then he started sniffing after her. I caught ’em together.”

  “We heard there was trouble of that nature,” John said, speaking carefully, his gaze locked on the man’s face.

  “She was stupid enough to fall for his line. He never had any intention of marrying her. I kicked her out.”

  “Couldn’t you have worked things out?” Toni asked.

  His head moved slowly back and forth. “Already did once. This time proved I couldn’t ever trust her again. The divorce was final this week. She got main custody of the kids.”

  “I’m sorry,” Toni said. “I’m sure you miss them.”

  His chin sank to his chest, his breathing ragged. “Yeah,” he muttered.

  “We understand that you had a fight with Mr. Campbell,” John prodded after giving him a moment to recover.

  “Yeah. I punched the guy,” he growled. “Shoulda done more.”

  “Do you have any idea who wanted him dead?” John persisted.

  His shoulders came back up a little. “A lot of people—including me. But I didn’t do it. Someone did me—and the world—a favor. If you get it figgered out, let me know so I can send a thank you card.”

  With that, he slammed the door.

  They returned to the van and headed home.

  They rode in silence for several miles. “I don’t think he did it.”

  “Why?” Toni asked when John spoke.

  “I think he hated Jesse enough to have killed him, but he’s so drunk and loose lipped that he would have bragged about it if he had done it.”

  Toni kept her eyes on the road. “I think you’re right.”

  John’s sigh this time was one of loss. “I thought I had found a friend to hang out with. It’s hard to believe what kind of guy Jesse turned out to be. He broke up marriages and dallied with a female student—maybe more than one.”

  “Don’t forget that his winning record seems to have been accomplished with the aid of cheating, and it looks like he was deep into gambling.”

  “He may have been drawing kids into it,” John added in disgust. “I’m afraid to find out what else he may have been doing. It seems like motives and suspects are cropping up everywhere.”

  “It’ll narrow down,” Toni said with
conviction. “Some of these people are capable of the kind of rage evidenced in the crime. Some aren’t. The police—or us—will hit on something that will clear up the picture.”

  Toni’s thoughts meandered over what she had learned—and still wanted to learn. She wanted to know more about that web site. Where was it being headquartered? Who owned it? She was a computer user, but far from a technology expert. Suddenly it occurred to her that she knew someone who was.

  The previous year three of her students had discovered a skull not far from the school grounds. Those boys had gotten involved in identifying the victim and figuring out who killed him. One of them was a computer genius. She would call Jeremy Barnes when she got home.

  It was about five-thirty when they reached Clearmount. Toni delivered John to his house and then drove straight to her own home. Her dad’s truck was parked in the driveway.

  Seeing no one around, she gathered her bags and went inside. She didn’t see anyone, but she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. She dumped the bags on the floor and went to find her mother removing a casserole from the oven. It smelled wonderful, and Toni was smart enough to appreciate the help.

  “Where are the boys and Dad?”

  Faye put the casserole on top of the stove and hugged Toni. “They hiked through the woods to the swimming pool. Russell knew you were coming, but he said if they weren’t back by the time you got here, it would give you a chance to unwind a little.”

  Toni nodded. “Sounds like you two have everything under control. If you don’t mind, I want to change into something more comfortable and make a couple of phone calls.”

  “Why are you limping?” Faye asked as Toni headed to her room in her careful walk.

  Toni turned and gave her mother a stern look. “Will you promise not to bring up my past if I tell you?”

  Faye’s eyes dropped to Toni’s foot. “Again?”

  Toni nodded, and then giggled. “I was in a hurry.”

  Faye’s head moved back and forth. “Toni, dear, you’ve got to stop mistreating those poor little piggies. How many times does this make now that you’ve damaged them? Five? Six? Sit down and let me take a look.” She pointed at a chair.