Fatal Footsteps

by Brenda Donelan

  She took a deep breath and waited before she answered. “I’m in, and I know exactly what I need to do!”

  If a lie is repeated often enough it becomes a fact.

  Chapter 25

  “What are you guys doing in there? Are you having a party? I can hear guys’ voices,” yelled Polly through a closed door as she feverishly knocked.

  Marlee, Jasmine, Barry, and Doug all held their breath until the pest from next door went away. “Keep your voices down,” Marlee chastised. “Or else Miss National Enquirer will be over here.” The guys both nodded, unaccustomed to the acoustics of dorm living.

  After both Marlee and Jasmine were wired, the two police officers tested the wiring ability by having them speak. Once it was determined that the wires were in place and functioning, the group drove in two separate cars to the acreage to talk to the guys from Stairway to Hell. Marlee parked one car in front of the house, and she and Jasmine walked up to the front door. Barry and Doug hung back in the other car, listening to every conversation the women would have.

  The smell of pizza wafted from the house as the front door was opened. Blake’s cousin let Marlee and Jasmine inside and motioned for them to go downstairs. “Guys! You’ve got company,” he yelled past them.

  The scent of pizza intensified as they walked downstairs. In the corner of the living room was a toaster oven and the wrappers from two frozen pizzas. The oven dinged just as the girls descended into the main room. John and Adam stood up from their chairs, paper plates in hand. Blake remained seated, still working on a slice left on his plate.

  “What do you two want?” growled Adam as he sliced the pizza into six pieces with a jack knife that he folded up and placed in his pocket after wiping it clean.

  Marlee took a deep breath, knowing she needed to lie her ass off and make nice with these guys. “We’re here to apologize. I acted like a jerk when we were here the other night. I don’t know what to say other than I’d been drinking, and I was jealous of all the attention Jasmine was getting. I’m sorry and wanted to let you guys know that it’s not how I really am.”

  Jasmine nodded along. “And I didn’t mean to get so emotional. I was having a good time with you guys and then everything just went wrong.” She looked sad, and Marlee had to admit that her roommate was getting much better at lying. It was an uncomfortable silence as the guys grabbed more pizza and flopped back down into their chairs.

  John was the one to finally break the ice. “Grab a beer from the fridge and sit down.” Marlee knew this was guy speak for “all is forgiven.” She grabbed cans of beer for herself and Jasmine, and they settled in on the couch. A basketball game was on the television, and she feigned interest until her eyes felt as though they couldn’t stay open any longer. At least Jasmine cared about sports and was able to carry on a conversation that held the guys’ interest. She wore stirrup pants and a long sweater, but was no less captivating than the last time she was at the house. When Jasmine spoke, the guys listened.

  It was during one of Jasmine’s comments that Marlee pulled Adam away from the rest of the group. “Why did you tell me Beth was a prostitute? I know for a fact that she wasn’t,” Marlee hissed as she maintained eye contact with Adam.

  He looked shocked then dropped his gaze as only someone caught in a lie would do. “I didn’t pay her for sex, but I heard other guys did.”

  “Who?’ Marlee asked pointedly.

  “I don’t know of anyone specifically. It was a rumor going around,” Adam said.

  “If it was a rumor, why would you tell it like it was a fact?” Marlee asked, challenging him.

  “I didn’t. I mean, I don’t know. I heard it at the bar from some guys I was talking to. Beth walked by, and they all commented that she was a hooker. I didn’t ask for any details. Just took them at their word,” Adam said.

  “Who were these guys?” Marlee asked.

  “Don’t know. We didn’t exactly introduce ourselves,” Adam said.

  “Had you seen them before?”

  “Once or twice, I guess,” Adam said.

  “So, you’d remember them if you saw them again?” Marlee pressed on.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I was pretty drunk,” he said.

  “Yeah, right. You’re full of bullshit!” Marlee exclaimed, not caring how this made Adam feel.

  “Screw you! You don’t know anything about me, and you come in here throwing around all kinds of accusations against me and my roommates. Who do you think you are?” Adam shouted.

  “You’re very defensive for someone who says he doesn’t know anything about Tim’s death or Beth’s. I think you guys are in it up to your eyeballs and so do the cops. It’s only a matter of time before they come here and haul you guys down to the cop shop to answer some questions!”

  “That would take proof, and the cops don’t have evidence that me or my roommates did anything illegal,” Adam retorted.

  “An arrest and conviction take proof, but anybody can be questioned about their knowledge or involvement in a crime. Better get your story ready because I’m sure the cops are dying to hear it,” Marlee spat back at Adam.

  Adam stood up and flipped her off with both hands before storming past the rest of the group. He went into a bedroom and slammed the door. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with him contaminating her upcoming talks with his two remaining roommates.

  Jasmine was working her magic and had Blake and John entranced with a story detailing a mix-up with a class assignment. The guys hung on her every word, enchanted with telling of a tale that had happened to all of them at least once.

  Marlee crooked a finger at John, motioning him to follow her to the far corner of the basement. She was impressed that people would agree to speak with her about personal matters even though she had no authority to be doing so. It was a classic example of people obeying those they believed were in authority. But why the guys from Stairway to Hell would think she had any more authority than any other student was beyond her.

  John leaned against the wall, and Marlee stood inches away from him. “How did you find out Beth was a prostitute?”

  “Adam told me. Why?” John asked, not missing a beat.

  “Adam? How did he know?” Marlee asked.

  “I didn’t ask, but I guessed somebody he knew was a customer,” John replied.

  “When did he tell you about Beth’s occupation?”

  “It was a few weeks before she died. Less than a month, anyway. Why all the questions about Beth working as a hooker? I thought her case was closed.”

  “It was, but it was just determined by the cops that she really wasn’t a prostitute and that someone paid others around town to spread the lie. Do you know anything about that?” Marlee asked.

  “No, how would I?” John scoffed.

  Marlee shrugged and changed her line of questioning. “Did Tim ever tell you anything about his sister and how she took over the family farm?”

  “Sure, we all heard about it. When Tim got drunk he told the story of his sister taking the farm away from him. I don’t know if it was true or not, but Tim was really pissed about the whole thing,” John said.

  “Did he mention anything else about Pam?”

  “Just that she was evil and had the whole family wrapped around her finger,” John recalled. “He hated her and was counting the days until he could take the farm away from her.”

  “But he still had at least a year or two before graduation,” Marlee said, recalling a conversation she had with Tim in a 200-level class taken almost exclusively by sophomores.

  “Oh, no. He was graduating in May. Tim took a heavy course load every semester and during the summer too. He was set to graduate after just three years,” John said.

  “So, Tim really was counting down the days until he was finished with college and able to take over the farm,” Marlee said more to herself than to John. During all the questioning of people and uncovering new evidence, Marlee never thought to determine Tim’s graduation date. This fact p
laced Pam back at the center of the controversy, especially since she told Marlee that Tim had a year left before graduation.

  “Yeah, and I guess Pam was none too happy about it,” John said. “I heard them arguing on the phone one day when I came home early from class. He said something like ‘I’m taking over in May, and there’s nothing you can do about it.’ When Tim saw me standing there, he hung up the phone and tried to play the whole thing off like it was a joke. He only talked about the issue with Pam and the farm with me when he was really blitzed. When he was sober, he never even mentioned his family.”

  “Did Tim ever say anything about an accident at the farm when he was just a kid? A cousin of his died about ten years ago when the cousin, Tim, and Pam were playing,” Marlee explained.

  “He said something about a cousin being killed and Pam knowing all about it, but that’s all he ever said. That was one night right before he passed out on the couch,” John said. “Did Pam kill their cousin?”

  “Tim made claims to that effect, but Pam was never charged. Everyone seemed to think it was just an accident,” she said, hoping she wasn’t providing John with too much information. Since they had a good dialog going, Marlee hoped to get more details by providing him with some details he might not have otherwise known.

  John was dumbstruck. His mouth hung open and his eyes bulged as he digested the news Marlee just dropped in his lap. “Are you kidding?”

  “No, Tim told several people that Pam dared their cousin to climb to the top of a ladder and when he did, she shook it and he fell. Billy broke his neck and died. It all happened in the same shed where Tim’s body was found,” Marlee said.

  “No, he never said any more about it,” John replied.

  “Surely, Blake must have brought it up. He and Tim have been friends since they were little boys. They lived right across the street from each other growing up. Even if Blake didn’t know about it at the time it happened, I’m sure he would have heard something as he got older from his parents or the neighbors,” Marlee said.

  “Blake never said anything about a death at Tim’s family’s farm. Either he didn’t know or was keeping it to himself.”

  “Maybe Tim asked him to keep it quiet, and they just talked about it between the two of them. Or maybe Tim didn’t talk about it at all except when he was really drunk,” Marlee suggested.

  John shrugged. “I don’t know. I just don’t know. This is all news to me.” He sat quietly and then put his head in his hands. “What do you think happened?” he finally asked.

  “I’m trying to figure out what happened. That’s why I keep coming out here to talk to you guys. You weren’t just his roommates. You were his best friends. In order to find out more about the crime, I need to have a better understanding of Tim, and you guys are the best resources,” Marlee replied. “Do you really think Beth died because she drank too much and then fell down and froze to death?”

  “Well, yeah. Sure. I mean, that’s what the cops think, right?” John asked.

  “But what do you think happened? Just between you and me, do you think there’s more to her death than that?” Marlee asked.

  “It’s possible, I suppose,” John said.

  “Did you know that the autopsy revealed that Beth was pregnant?” Marlee asked.

  “No, I didn’t. Do they know who the father is?” John asked.

  “Yes,” Marlee said, bluffing, not even knowing if the paternity of a fetus could be determined after death.

  John looked at Marlee with a forlorn expression. “Was it Tim’s baby?”

  Have you ever played the game Two Truths and a Lie? The first person in the group makes three statements and the others try to guess which one is the lie. Everyone takes their turn, and it’s a lot of fun trying to separate truths from lies. I’ve been lied to and deceived so much in real life that I always assume people are lying whenever their lips are moving.

  Chapter 26

  Marlee did her best to hold her composure and not show any shock or emotion. “Do you think Beth was carrying Tim’s baby?”

  “I don’t know. I just wondered,” John said.

  “So, they were seeing each other? Beth and Tim?” Marlee asked.

  “Nothing serious, at least not on Beth’s part. I just think they got together when they were drunk. She stayed over a few times in Tim’s room, and they seemed pretty cozy before they went to his room,” said John.

  “Could Tim have anything to do with Beth dying, especially if he knew she was pregnant with his baby?” Marlee asked.

  “No, he’s not a typical college guy. He would love to have a family, especially since he was moving out to the farm after graduation. A wife and a baby by his side while he was running his grandparents’ farm would be a dream come true for Tim. If he knew Beth was pregnant, he would have asked her to marry him right away. He was really traditional like that,” John said.

  “What if somebody else was the father?” Marlee asked. “What would Tim think of that?”

  “Tim would have stepped up and married her, or at least been involved in the baby’s life if he was the dad. If he wasn’t the baby’s father, he would have hoped for the best for Beth and the baby, and that would be all. Tim wouldn’t be so jealous over Beth’s involvement with another guy that he would kill her, if that’s what you’re getting at,” John said.

  “How long had this thing with Tim and Beth been going on?” Marlee asked.

  “They were together for a couple months. He even met her parents. After she died, he told me her mother asked him to be a pall bearer at Beth’s funeral. As far as I know, he agreed. But then there was the fire, and Tim disappeared, so I don’t know for sure what happened,” John said.

  “Tim knew Beth’s parents? They must have been fairly close if they were meeting each other’s parents,” Marlee observed.

  “Beth introduced them when her mom and dad came to town one weekend. I don’t think she planned it. Tim just happened to be around when they were visiting. They liked him right off the bat. Tim was more serious about their relationship than Beth was. In fact, I think she’s the one who wanted to go from being in a relationship to just being friends,” John reported.

  “How did Tim handle the movement from boyfriend-girlfriend to just friends?” Marlee asked.

  “He tried to play it off like it was no big deal. Tim was a man of few words, as you know. But it bothered him. He liked Beth, and I think he’d envisioned their relationship going in a different direction. Maybe even marriage some time down the road,” said John.

  Marlee was shocked. She never thought about any of her friends or classmates being at the marriage stage. Sure, she had friends from high school who were already married, but most of the college crowd seemed to be all about partying and sometimes classes. “Tim was serious enough about Beth that he considered marriage?”

  “He never came out and said it, but he danced around the subject a few times. We all teased him about it, and he didn’t deny it. He really liked Beth, loved her, even.”

  “Had Tim ever been that serious about anyone else?” Marlee inquired.

  “No, I don’t even remember him seeing any other girl other than just once or twice. This was a big deal for Tim. It wasn’t even so much what he said, but just the look he had on his face every time Beth was around or we brought up her name,” John said. “He thought a lot of her.”

  “What did Beth think of Tim?” Marlee asked.

  “She seemed to be having a good time without any attachment. Beth was always up for a good time, but I don’t think she wanted to be held back. A steady boyfriend would be too much for her. She was all about having fun and enjoying the moment. I talked to her at a party one time at Stairway to Hell, and she was bitching about her sister who was only a year older than her. The sister just got married and was moving to her husband’s farm up north. She was really critical of the whole thing, but I don’t know if it was the marriage, the living arrangements, or the sister that had Beth the most upset.”r />
  “Could you ever see Beth marrying Tim, having a baby, and living on a farm outside of town?” Marlee asked.

  “Hell, no!” exclaimed John. “Not that she ever told me, but if I had to guess, I think Beth would leave the area as soon as she got her degree. I could see her moving to Minneapolis or Chicago and spending the rest of her life in a big city.”

  Marlee agreed. “I can’t picture her as a farm wife either.”

  Marlee was pleased with the information she had extracted from John. She was happy that this discussion ended on a much more positive note than her talk with Adam. After their discussion, Marlee asked John to send Blake over to talk with her.

  Blake caught her by surprise as he bounded over seconds later. “What are you doing?” he asked as he saw her standing there.

  She hadn’t yet decided what type of interview tactics to use on this guy. With Adam, she had been confrontational and aggressive, but with John she took an approach as if they were two colleagues sharing information. Blake wasn’t as cooperative as John, yet not as combative as Adam.

  “So, what can you tell me about Beth Van Dam working as a prostitute?” Marlee asked, jumping right into the topic she most wanted to discuss.

  “I never paid her for sex,” Blake said with an air of indignance.

  “No, I didn’t mean that. I meant, what had you heard about Beth working as a hooker?” Marlee said, clarifying her position with the hopes of putting Blake more at ease.

  “Not much, just that was a prostitute and worked out of the bars and out of the truck stop on the edge of town,” Blake replied.

  “How did you hear about it?” Marlee asked.

  “Everyone knew about it. I don’t remember how I first heard about it,” Blake said.

  “The police thought Beth was a hooker, but now they’ve found out that she wasn’t. Somebody was paying people around town to spread that lie about her,” Marlee said, intentionally leaving her comments open-ended.