by Howe, A. E.
“Makes some sense. Especially if they want him to keep running the business and just give them a cut. They wouldn’t want to hurt or kill him. But could there be enough money to fight over? I can’t imagine a small-time hooch operation like that is bringing in enough dough for a gang to want a piece of the action bad enough to start killing people.”
“Sometimes, in the mountains of my homeland, there will come a young tough who’s just starting out. He wants to make a name for himself and build up his gang. They’ll go after another small operation and, when they do, they’ll sometimes overplay their hand. They’re too violent and overreact to every situation,” Blasko said, but even as he expounded on the subject, he didn’t think the analogy held up.
“I’ll look into the possibility,” Bobby said.
“I have another idea,” Blasko said suddenly, pausing dramatically. Almost against their will, Bobby and Josephine leaned toward him. “Something else has to happen before the sheriff would consider releasing Hopkins, correct?”
“Yes, and it would need to be soon. Once he charges him, it’d be like pulling teeth to get him to turn the man loose. Logan is a bulldog when it comes to his suspects.”
“So why don’t I go over to the Ericksons’ house and suggest that Hopkins is going to be released and that a new suspect is going to be named shortly?”
“You think it might flush out a bird? But I’m not convinced it’s one of the family.”
“I agree that there are still other possibilities. So I’d also suggest you go down to the garage tomorrow and pull Clarence aside. Talk to him in a way that others might think he’s a prime suspect or, better yet, that he might be naming a suspect.”
“Yeah, I can see that. Folks hanging around the garage see me pushing him and next thing you know, the word is all around town.”
“And should filter back to any Junior Dillinger hiding in the background,” Blasko said.
“That could get Clarence killed.”
“And fear might make him talk. Remember, if it is gangsters, then he knows exactly what’s happening. If he thinks he’s in the crosshairs, he might come clean.”
“That should shake both branches of the tree pretty good,” Josephine said, sounding eager at the prospect.
“This is a dangerous business,” Bobby said. “You should stay as far away from all this as possible,” he said to Josephine.
“I will not,” she responded emphatically. “I’m not some shrinking violet that has be taken care of.”
“And if she needs protection, I will be there to provide it,” Blasko said magnanimously.
“This is crazy,” Bobby said to them both. After a pause, he added, “But I really don’t want to see us hang the wrong guy.”
“We’ll go over there now,” Blasko said.
“If they even let us in the door. After my last trip, there’s no guarantee,” Josephine admitted.
“You’ve got a point. Drop a hint that you’ve been talking to me and see who’s interested in hearing what you have to say. Not that you wouldn’t expect anyone whose family has been targeted like theirs to be interested in the investigation.” Bobby thought for a minute. “Probably best if you go over there throwing around the idea there’s going to be a new look at everything. Then Clarence will already be nervous when I show up at the garage tomorrow.”
“Then we’d better get going,” Josephine said, looking at the clock on the mantel. It was almost too late for a social call.
“If you find out anything really interesting, let me know before I head over to the garage in the morning,” Bobby said, standing and heading for the hallway. “And don’t use the phone. Dolly listens in on as many calls as she can.”
“I know all about our operator,” Josephine agreed.
“Why would you use something that can be so easily compromised?” Blasko asked as Bobby left through the front door. He had tried using the phone a couple of times and found it an odd and disconcerting way of talking to someone.
“Because sometimes it’s easier than walking or driving over to see someone,” Josephine said.
“Real communication requires using all your senses, not just your hearing.”
Josephine gave him a hard look. “Just because we’re working together on this doesn’t mean I’m forgetting what you did. We still need to deal with that.”
“I agree… Completely,” Blasko said with attitude. He wasn’t going to let Josephine shame him for something that he needed and that he thought he’d handled in the best way possible.
Josephine picked up on his tone. “I can see we’re going to have a lot to talk about when this is over.”
“Agreed.”
“Okay.”
“Good.”
“Quit that. It’s not funny. Come on. We need to get over to the Ericksons’ before they turn in for the night.”
Blasko didn’t say a word, turning on his heel and opening the door.
“You are one exasperating man,” Josephine said, then couldn’t resist adding under her breath, “Or whatever you are.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Do we have a plan for getting inside the house?” Blasko asked as they walked across the street.
“I’m thinking,” Josephine responded, squinting in concentration.
Again, it was Clarence who answered the door. Josephine had been running her brain in high gear, trying to come up with an opening gambit to explain why they were visiting so late.
“Clarence, I am so sorry to bother you again, but Deputy Tucker was over at our place asking all sorts of questions, and I’m absolutely confused by the whole thing. The baron suggested that, since y’all are closer to the investigation with your poor family at the center of it, you might be able to help me understand all the strange questions Deputy Tucker was asking.”
Though Clarence had looked like he was prepared to slam the door in Josephine’s face, her hurried explanation managed to turn his face from a stone wall into an open door. “I’ll be glad to tell you what I can,” he said, ushering them inside. “I’m afraid I might not be much help. We thought Hopkins was going to be charged with the murder any day now. No one has told us any different.”
Inside, the house was strewn with flower arrangements festooned in black silk.
“I still can’t believe what’s happened. Dad murdered in this very house and my wife slaughtered on the street. A crazy person has to be behind this,” Clarence said, leading them into the parlor where Lucy was standing by the window.
“I’m not sure I can entertain anyone this evening,” she said to Clarence.
“Tucker was just over at their house questioning them about the murders,” Clarence told her.
“Questioning you?” Lucy exclaimed, putting her hand to her chest. “Why? Did you see something?”
“No, that’s just the thing,” Josephine said. “We don’t really know anything. But from the questions that Bobby was asking, it sounded like they’re looking for someone other than Hopkins.”
“But they’ve caught the killer. Surely?” Lucy sank into a large wingback chair.
“I don’t think they’re so sure anymore,” Josephine said.
“But why is he questioning you?” Clarence pressed.
Blasko took the opportunity afforded by Josephine being the focus of their attention to look around the room. In particular, he wondered where Carrie was. He noticed that the door leading into the den was slightly open. Could he see movement in the next room? He breathed as deeply as he could without looking too much like a bloodhound. Yes, he could detect a faint whiff of female scent from the doorway.
Josephine was still talking to Clarence. “Bobby asked me if I’d seen anyone leave your house on the morning Amanda was killed.”
“Did you?”
“No. I’d have said something before this if I had. He also asked me if I’d heard anything at your garage the other day.”
Clarence leaned forward and looked directly into her eyes. “What do you thin
k he was looking for?”
“I asked him that very question. All he said was that there are rumors floating around and he needs to check them out.”
“But the sheriff is still holding Hopkins, isn’t he?” Lucy asked.
“For now,” Blasko said, and everyone turned to look at him. “But I don’t think he’ll be in jail much longer. There was a witness who can give him an alibi.”
“For which murder?” Clarence asked.
“I’m not sure. In fact, I’m not even sure where I heard it.” Blasko waved his hand. “But the deputy was asking a lot of questions and most of them didn’t seem to relate to Mr. Hopkins.”
“All of this is just too painful,” Lucy said, wiping at her eyes. “It’s bad enough that we have suffered two losses in our family, and now the sheriff seems unable to keep that killer locked up. I would find it just too much if he was allowed to walk the streets with us. Samuel always said Logan wasn’t very smart. I’ve got a friend in Montgomery. I swear, if they let that man loose, I’ll get the governor himself involved.” Lucy sounded close to hysterics.
Clarence went over to her and touched her shoulder. “Lucy, don’t worry. This will all get worked out. I’ll find the killer myself if I have to. And if it is Hopkins… well…” He looked at Josephine and Blasko. “I’ll do whatever’s necessary to see that we aren’t living in the same town as the man who killed my wife and father.”
Lucy reached up and patted his hand. Josephine thought that Lucy would probably find another husband without too much trouble. She seemed a paradox—powerful, yet needy.
Blasko also watched the tableau presented by Lucy and Clarence. They seemed close. He thought about Carrie. Did she feel left out? Had she committed the murders as a way to get back at a family that had taken her for granted? And was she listening at the door even now?
Making sure they didn’t overstay their welcome, Josephine again apologized for bothering them and she and Blasko made their escape. Once they were out of earshot of the house, Blasko asked, “Is he serious about seeking vengeance against Hopkins?”
“Ha, this is the South. He’d be expected to. Maybe not to kill him, but run him out of town, certainly. In fact, if the consensus around town is that Hopkins did commit the murders, Clarence won’t have to lift a finger. The townspeople will do it for him.” Caught up in the excitement of the evening, Josephine had forgotten she was supposed to be angry at Blasko.
When they reached her porch, Josephine stopped and turned to face him. She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, blown there by a southerly breeze. A cold front would be pushing through during the night, and already there was the sense of an impending storm in the air. Josephine couldn’t help but feel that more than one storm was building.
“We’re going to have to work this out between us. I can’t live like this,” she said.
“Let’s deal with the murders first.”
“Promise me that, until we’ve talked, you won’t attack anyone else.”
Blasko winced at the word “attack.” “You have my word that I won’t seek blood from anyone else until we’ve finished with this murder investigation,” he said, hoping he could keep his word.
“Thank you.” She turned and opened the door.
“Wait,” Blasko said, cursing himself for what he was going to say next. “I’m sorry if this has hurt you.” Damn her, she makes me weak.
“It’s not just me that you’re hurting. Are you coming in?”
“No, I have a few things I want to look into.” He saw the look on her face, a fleeting look of suspicion that she tried to hide. “I gave you my word.”
She nodded and closed the door.
Blasko headed out through the tree-lined streets. He walked briskly, passing many houses with their lights still on, but he noticed there weren’t as many people walking the streets or sitting on their porches as there might have been a week ago.
The murders had been a shock. Sumter was small enough that the majority of the citizens knew Sheriff Logan personally. While they knew that he was a good man, and they trusted him, they weren’t so sure he was up to the task of catching the killer. Hopkins had looked like he was good for the murders at first, but the people that knew him, and the people who just liked to stir the pot, had all been saying that the wrong man was in jail and the killer would strike again. The town was balanced on a razor’s edge.
Blasko stopped outside the Kellys’ house and watched the windows. He could see Sarah Kelly moving from room to room, but there was no sign of Thomas. Blasko was hoping for the opportunity to talk with him. Thomas was a man whose hidden life was now out in the open for everyone to ridicule. He might be in the mood to blurt out everyone else’s secrets. Blasko had seen this play out before in the old country. A man caught bedding another man’s wife wasted no time telling everyone that the butcher was in love with the maid or the priest was stealing from the parish.
Blasko walked around the house and noticed that a light was on in the garage. Peering in through the cottage door, he saw Thomas sitting on an old sofa, trying to read a paper by the dim overhead light.
Blasko tapped on the door and watched as Thomas almost fell on the floor. His eyes were huge as he stared toward the door, almost as if he feared the killer might be knocking. Blasko rapped again and moved closer to the window so Thomas could see who it was.
“You scared the bejesus out of me,” Thomas said, looking puzzled as he opened the door.
“Can I come in?” Blasko asked.
“Yeah, yeah, come on in.” Thomas backed away from the door, swinging it wide for Blasko to enter. “You were there the other night, weren’t you?”
“The night you were pounding on the jail door? Yes, I was.”
“I guess I was a little out of control.” Thomas looked close to tears. “It’s just…”
“I understand,” Blasko said stiffly, a little worried that he was going to have to console the grieving man.
“I guess everyone knows by now. My wife damn sure does.” He indicated the pillows and blankets on the sofa. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make it right. Hell, I’m not sure I want to.”
“You were in love with Amanda?” Blasko prompted. He didn’t want to make Thomas more upset, but they needed to get past this part in order for Blasko to get the information he really wanted.
“I knew her from way back when, before she’d gotten involved with the Ericksons. We went to school together. I guess I had a crush on her. Stuff got in the way and I never even asked her out on a proper date. Then I fell in love with Sarah, or at least thought I did, and the next thing I knew, we were married. Then one day I bumped into Amanda and we kinda picked up our friendship where we’d left off. She invited us to start playing cards with them. All innocent at first, I swear. But it didn’t take long before we were meeting up to talk, then one thing led to another.” He paused and looked up at Blasko. “You don’t care about all of this. Why did you come by?”
“I’m still looking for Erickson’s killer… and now Amanda’s.”
“You don’t think Hopkins did it?”
“No. Do you?”
“I did. Hopkins is an ass and a violent drunk.”
“But you aren’t sure anymore if he killed Amanda.”
“No. Like I said, at first I could see it. The man is dangerous when he’s drunk, but to just attack someone…? I don’t know. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. I’ve seen him get into a few fights, and it always starts with an argument, and then he’s swinging those big ham hocks on the ends of his arms. He could hurt you real bad with those, but not once have I seen him pick up a weapon. He likes to hit people with his hands. Hopkins wants a fight. I can’t see him sneaking up and hitting Old Man Erickson while he was sleeping. That’s not Hopkins’s style.”
“I agree. Which brings us back to who really killed Erickson and Amanda.”
“I’d like to know. Whoever it was killed the sweetest woman in the world.” His eyes were tearing
up again.
“What about Clarence? Could he have killed them?”
“Maybe… I don’t know. Clarence isn’t that… focused. I don’t think he could follow through with it.”
“Did he know about you and Amanda?”
“If he did, he didn’t care. Amanda said that he didn’t have a lot of interest in her. With him, it’s all about the garage and whatever he does there. They’d both gotten to the point where they ignored each other most of the time.”
“What about your wife?”
“You mean, did she know about Amanda and me? I didn’t think so. I thought I was being real sneaky, but now Sarah says she did. Women. Screw me. What she’s mad about now is that everyone else knows.”
“Could your wife have killed Amanda?” Blasko asked bluntly.
“A week ago I’d have said that she didn’t have it in her. But I’ve learned a lot in a few days.” He rolled up his sleeve and showed Blasko a bandage wrapped around his arm. The white cotton was stained with blood. “She went after me with a butcher knife when I got back from the jail the other night. For a minute, I thought she might kill me.”
“Can you think of any reason she might have hated Samuel Erickson?”
“No. They were partners sometimes when Lucy and Sam would join us for pinochle.”
“Don’t you need tables of four? You, Sarah, Clarence, Amanda and the Ericksons make six. Who else joined you?”
“All depends. Usually people who were visiting one of us. It was an irregular thing for the Ericksons to join in.”
“But when they did, your wife would be Samuel Erickson’s partner?”
“That’s usually how it’d work out. We kind of had a rule that couples didn’t partner up. Of course, looking back, I’m not sure that was a good idea. Playing together at all wasn’t too good of an idea. But Amanda and I would be partners and Clarence usually ended up with Lucy.”
“But you just said that couples couldn’t be partners. Wouldn’t that leave the final couple as partners?”
“That’s right, but the rule didn’t extend to guests. We learned over the years that strangers to our game were more comfortable if they played together. Guess it all sounds a bit arbitrary now. Maybe it was a rule we made up so that Amanda and I could play together.”
