Murder Between the Covers

by Maddie Cochere

  I scribbled a short list of things I wanted to accomplish next week, straightened my desk, and grabbed my bag to leave. I remembered Jackie’s forwarded message on my cell phone and pulled the message up. It contained the names of Scotty’s cellmates along with the reason for their incarceration. There were four names on the list.

  No one was in the office to hear me say gleefully, “Aha!” I quickly sat down at Nancy’s computer, pulled up our main search database, and typed in the name. I smiled when I saw the profile, complete with photo and a Cleveland address.

  My heart wrenched even before my brain fully realized why my smile evaporated and my joy turned to fear.

  I knew where Glenn was.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Breathing was impossible with an elephant sitting on my chest. Now I knew how Sergeant Rorski felt when he worked himself into a lather. To make matters worse, all the blood in my body was now in my head, giving it a hot, fuzzy feeling. Without blood, my legs were like rubber as I attempted to run to my truck.

  Concentrating on driving was also impossible. It was a miracle I didn’t cause an accident as I raced for home.

  When I slammed on the brakes in front of the house, the truck slid in the snow. The right front tire bounced up over the curb.

  My hand shook as I shoved the key in the lock and pushed the front door open. I tossed my bag on the table beside the door and fumbled through it until I had my hands on my stun gun. I was pretty sure I knew where Glenn was, but I didn’t know if he was alone.

  Glenn’s grandmother’s rolling pin was in a kitchen drawer. I grabbed it to take with me. I was prepared to do battle if necessary.

  I slowly made my way downstairs. The lights were still on from when Pepper, Jackie, and I had been down here earlier. I opened the door to the furnace room and reached around the corner to flip the light switch. The room was as I expected. Other than the evil furnace, the evil water heater, and the horrible water pipes, the room was empty. I felt for the plastic bag in the crack in the wall. It was still there.

  I went to stand beside my desk, and for a moment, I stared at the wooden door of the fruit cellar. It was one of the creepiest rooms I had ever been in. The stone walls had ugly black stains from dried mildew. The smell from the dirt floor and ghosts of fruits and vegetables long past gave the room a dirty, rotted odor.

  I opened the door a few inches and reached in to flip the light switch. I flipped, but there was no light. I stood off to the side of the door and pushed it open with my foot. I peeked around the corner. The new fluorescent lighting Glenn and Clay had installed over my desk illuminated a path into the room.

  Nothing could have prepared me for the sight before me. If I thought my heart hurt earlier, it was shattered now.

  Glenn hung from the ceiling with a noose around his neck.

  The scream I was prepared to share with the neighborhood wouldn’t come out. Instead, a guttural, anguished sound came from my mouth.

  He jerked with the sound, opened his eyes, and raised his head. I quickly tucked the stun gun into my waistband, dropped the rolling pin, and rushed to his side.

  The room was so dark, I hadn’t noticed his feet were on the edge of a crate. If he wriggled too much, his feet would scoot the crate out behind him. There was a gag in his mouth, and I assumed his hands were tied behind his back.

  My emotions went even more haywire when I saw blood caked on one side of his face. I had no idea how long he’d been down here or how badly he was hurt. He was in his bare feet and wearing only a t-shirt and pajama bottoms.

  I forced myself to slow down and not act impulsively. What if I knocked the crate away while trying to get him down? I didn’t dare do this on my own. I needed help.

  I looked up into his eyes. “I’m going to call the station. Be still just a little while longer.”

  He nodded.

  Before I could turn around, the light coming into the room was partially blocked by someone standing in the doorway.

  “It took you long enough to get here,” he said. “Now, turn around slowly, and don’t do anything stupid. Just give me the map, and I’ll be on my way.”

  I did as he said and turned slowly. He stood in the doorway with a gun in his hand.

  I wanted to run to the furnace room, get the map, and give it to him. The sooner, I could get rid of him, the sooner I could get help for Glenn, but a small voice in the back of my mind told me to stall. He would kill us the minute he had the map.

  “Francis B. Bonebrake. Armed robbery.” I attempted to look up at Glenn and say, “Our new mayor is a felon.”

  The mayor’s initial look of surprise was replaced by one of smugness. “You stupid, small-town hicks could elect a drug lord and be none the wiser. I’m a little impressed you figured out who I was.”

  “Meredith Duncan figured out who you were, too, didn’t she? You’ve put on weight, changed your hair color, and started wearing contacts, but she thought she recognized you from the prison. She was going to hire me to find out for sure and then expose you to the town. Did you know she was probably looking for the map, too? What makes you think I have it? She could have found it a long time ago.”

  He shook his head. “She didn’t have the map. You and that brat kid of your sister’s are terrible liars. After you went to the courthouse and bought the town maps, I knew you were making comparisons.” He was quiet for a moment. “Let’s forget the map. Just tell me where the gold’s buried.” He aimed the gun squarely at my chest.

  Glenn made some noises and began wriggling.

  I put my hand on his leg, and with clear panic in my voice, said, “Stop it!”

  I looked back to the mayor, and saw he had come into the room and was circling to my left. He kept the gun pointed at me and reached out to grab my arm.

  Before I could jerk away, an incredibly loud sound of agony and terror filled the room. The furnace and toilet had begun to run at the same time, and because of the old ductwork, the sounds from both echoed in the room.

  The mayor jumped out of his skin and looked around the room frantically. In one smooth movement, I grabbed the stun gun from my waistband, ducked under the barrel of his gun, and thrust the stun gun upward into his groin.

  He was like a Weeble. He shook and vibrated, but he didn’t fall down. I held the gun on him so long, Glenn began making noises for me to stop, but I couldn’t. The gun finally took matters into its own hands and quit working.

  Once I pulled the gun away, he fell forward, his arm swiping the crate out from under Glenn.

  My mind saw his arm moving toward the crate in slow motion. I instinctively grabbed Glenn’s legs and held on for dear life. It only took a few moments for me to realize I couldn’t hold his dead weight for more than a few minutes. I wasn’t strong enough.

  “Glenn, help me,” I said desperately.

  He moved one leg, but I didn’t know what to do. He moved the leg again - more urgently this time. I had to force myself to let go of that leg. He hooked the leg around me and pulled me under him until he could clench his knees around my shoulders. We weren’t able to complete a piggyback maneuver, but I was able to stand with his knees resting on my shoulders.

  His knees pulled my hair and caused a considerable amount of pain to my shoulders, but I was never so grateful in my life to be so miserable.

  “Are you ok?” I asked. His thighs squeezed my head lightly. “They’re expecting me at the flea market, so maybe someone will come looking for me soon.”

  He gave my head another light squeeze.

  “Can you believe this dirtbag mayor?” I asked, trying not to sound as frightened as I was. In my mind, I could stand and hold Glenn for a lifetime, but in reality, I didn’t know how long it would be before my legs cramped or something else caused me to lose control of him. “I didn’t tell you, but the town council was suspicious of him and had Arnie and me looking into who he really was. That’s why I invited him to Mama’s for dinner. I was hoping he’d give us a few clues.”

/>   I didn’t say anything for a few moments. Already, my legs hurt, and I felt as if I needed to shift my position. I decided to keep talking to distract my mind from my fear and discomfort.

  “The laundromat was raided by the FBI a little while ago. They didn’t find anything, and they’re blaming me. Can you believe that? Oh, and I didn’t tell you this either, but the mayor was in cahoots with the guy who was selling illegal IDs out of the laundromat. I saw him get into his car one day.”

  Glenn didn’t respond or move. The jabs to my heart of fear one moment and panic the next were taking years off my life. If only I knew how badly he had been hurt. “Are you ok up there?”

  He squeezed my head, but it was barely perceptible.

  A few tears slipped down my face. Great. The last thing I wanted to do was cry. I did my best not to make any noise. Not even a sniff. It wasn’t long before watery snot ran from my nose. I wiped it away with my sweater sleeve. My movement caused Glenn to grip for dear life.

  “I’m not moving,” I said quickly. “I’ve got you.”

  A shadow darkened the doorway. Finally, help was here, but I had no idea who stood in the doorway.

  “Bubba,” the man called out. He reached for the light switch and flipped it. The light didn’t come on. He flipped it up and down several times before the room filled with light.

  Even though the light was dim, it caused me to blink rapidly. When I was able to focus on the man, defeat washed over me.

  Geoff Marina, the man from the black Escalade filled the doorway. He, too, had a gun in his hand.

  “What happened to Bubba?”

  I didn’t answer. It should have been obvious by the stun gun at his side.

  He waved his gun as if clearing cobwebs. The barrel settled on me. “Let go of him and get me the map.”

  I didn’t move. “I’ll die before I let him go.” Glenn squeezed my head hard and twisted. I grabbed his knees. “Ouch. Stop it. I’m not letting you go.”

  The man moved the gun from me to Glenn. “I’m sure once you no longer have to hold him, you’ll let go just fine.”

  “No!” I yelled. “Put the crate under him, and I’ll get the map for you.”

  The man looked at Bubba and then back to Glenn and me. He shook his head. “No. I think you can just tell me where it is.”

  I didn’t know what to do. If I told him where the map was, he would kill us anyway. My thought process wasn’t helped when Bubba began to moan and stir on the dirt floor.

  He raised the gun and pointed it at Glenn again.

  “Wait!” I yelled. “Let me think for a minute.”

  “You have until I count to three. If you don’t start talking, he’s dead.” He took a firm stance with his legs slightly spread. “One.”

  I really wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him where the map was, but my voice dried up in my throat. Glenn squeezed my head. I couldn’t think.

  “Two.”

  It was now or never, I squeezed my eyes shut tight and said, “It’s-”

  The sound of the gunshot was deafening. My ears rang, and I felt weak. I struggled to keep my legs solid beneath me.

  The pain in my head was intense. It took a moment for me to realize that even though I had moved forward a bit, I hadn’t fallen, and it was Glenn causing my pain. He was still gripping my head with his knees.

  I managed to look up just as Sergeant Rorski gripped my arms and pulled me out from under Glenn. My legs had nothing left in them, and I fell against the sergeant. He picked me up and carried me out of the room to the chair at my desk.

  Jackie was quickly by my side.

  I was frantic when I asked, “Is Glenn ok? Was he shot?”

  “Glenn’s ok, and no, he wasn’t shot. Sergeant Rorski shot the man who was going to shoot you.”

  “Is he dead?”

  She nodded her head. “Sarge couldn’t risk the guy getting a shot off.”

  “What about the mayor?”

  “If he’s not in cuffs, he will be soon. What happened to him?”

  I managed a bit of a smile. “About a bazillion volts to his groin. I think I broke my stun gun on him.”

  Her smile was huge. She reached over to pat me on the arm. “Good job, Jo.”

  “How did everyone know to come?”

  “After I finished talking with Walt, I went up to the flea market to see how things were coming along. Estelle doesn’t know it, but I’m planning to give her grand opening a two-page spread on Sunday. Nancy said you were supposed to be there to help by then, so she assumed Glenn must have held you up at home. To make a long story short, when I checked my messages and read the text with the names of the inmates, I knew you would know Francis Bonebrake was the mayor. And after he was trying to lead you back to your house with a phony message from Glenn, I knew I needed to get as much help as I could.”

  I leaned over and placed my hand over hers. “Thank you,” I said sincerely. Her observation skills put her far above any reporter in the world as far as I was concerned.

  With help from Clay, Glenn walked through the doorway. I jumped to my feet. He grasped my hand and led me to the loveseat. He sat down and pulled me onto his lap. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. He held me so tightly, I could barely breathe. It felt wonderful.

  “I love you, Jo,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re my Superwoman.”

  We clung to each other for a few minutes before I slid off to sit beside him. Things were chaotic now. Nearly every man on the force was in the basement along with emergency personnel to attend to Glenn and the mayor. Howard Sanders and his crew from the morgue were the last to arrive. Jackie had donned her reporter hat and was talking with everyone while writing furiously on her notepad.

  By the time everyone had done their job, and Glenn and I had been to the hospital for thorough checkups and three stitches to his head, it was four in the morning when we climbed into bed together.

  It felt good to lie down and have him gather me into his arms. It was going to be a while before the events of the day weren’t uppermost in our thoughts. Glenn asked the first question.

  “How did you know where I was?”

  “I knew something wasn’t right when you left the house without making the bed. You would never do that. And then, the mayor told me you left a message with him that you were going home to catch some more zees. You would never talk like that or leave a message with him, so that was suspicious, too. When I found out he’d been in the same prison where Meredith worked, I knew he killed her, and that he was a dangerous man.”

  “But how did you know I was in the basement?”

  “Moaning. I called an emergency meeting with Pepper and Jackie to decide what to do with the map.”

  “We’re giving it to Sergeant Rorski tomorrow,” he said.

  “We can’t. I know where the gold is buried now, and there’s no way we can let anyone know.”

  He pulled back from me a bit. I could make out a look of astonishment on his face. “You know where the gold is buried? Are you sure?”

  “Oh, I’m sure.” I quickly tried to get back on topic. “So, I called the girls over, and while they were here, we heard you moan. The toilet started running at the same time, and I thought the noise was something new from the water pipes. I didn’t think anything of it until later. I realized it was you moaning in one of the creepy rooms.”

  “Creepy rooms?”

  I sighed. “Glenn, we either have to move back to my place, or we have to remodel the basement and get a new furnace and new plumbing.”

  He laughed softly and pulled me closer to him. His hands slid down my back and lightly grasped my bottom. “Where’s the gold?” he whispered.

  I realized I didn’t want to keep any secrets from him. “It’s under Mama’s new flea market.”

  His fingers dug into my flesh. “Oh, crap.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  I awoke to the smell of Italian bacon enticing me to come to the kitchen. The clock on the
nightstand indicated it was shortly after ten o’clock. I only felt a tiny bit guilty for not being there when Estelle’s Emporium of Wonders opened this morning, but I knew Mama would understand.

  I slipped on my fuzzy orange slippers only to have one split down the back. They were long overdue for the trash. I pulled on a pair of socks and grabbed my robe. I slipped the robe on over the long t-shirt I had worn to bed and went downstairs.

  Glenn stepped away from the stove. “Good morning, Sherlock,” he said cheerfully and pulled me into his arms for a kiss. He looked down at my hand. “What do you have there?”

  I tossed the slippers into the trash container by the back door. “They finally bit the dust. I should have gotten rid of them ages ago, but they were comfortable.”

  “Wait here,” he said and took off down the stairs to the basement.

  I poured a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. A few minutes later, he was back in the kitchen with a Christmas present topped with a beautiful bow. “No sense waiting until Christmas when you need them now.”

  I was incredulous, and my jaw dropped. “You’ve had time to shop?”

  He smiled. “Of course. All my shopping is done. Haven’t you even started?”

  I laughed. “No. And I don’t have any idea what to get anyone.”

  He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I’ve got you covered. I put both of our names on most of the gifts for family. If you want to pick out some more personal things and a gift for Arnie, I’ll run you over to Patterson tomorrow, and we’ll do some shopping at the plaza.