“Where did you get the gun?”
“I don’t know, it appeared in my hand. I’ve never fired a weapon and I hate guns after seeing Todd Swayze put a gun to my friend, Emily’s head.”
“Where is the gun now, Sally?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I left it on the island after I killed Mr. Swayze. You told me to talk to Paul about what happened years ago. I couldn’t do it, and now I can’t face him. He and the kids don’t deserve a murderer living in their home.”
“Sally, are you certain the man you saw on the island is Mr. Swayze? The shock of seeing a dead body might have influenced you.”
“He is older, but I recognized his face. I’ll never forget the man who told me I would pay for my false testimony. It was Aunt Tilly who paid with her life.”
“You must tell Detective’s North and West the truth. Vivian said Paul is beside himself with worry about you.”
“Why isn’t Paul at work?”
“Sally, the man loves you, you are in trouble and he wants to help you. That is if you let him. Please don’t shut him out.”
“What if I go to prison?”
“You won’t go to prison. You didn’t kill the man. You had a nightmare, and it came close to what happened. When you saw Mr. Swayze dead, you confused a dream with reality. I’ve asked my son, Alex to be here; he’s an attorney, and you should have legal representation. Shall I ask him to join us before you talk to the detectives?”
“Will you stay with me, Rebecca? I want Paul here too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tears welled in Paul’s eyes as he listened in horror when Sally recounted the robbery, the threats against her and the death of her Aunt Tilly.
“You never told me the full story of what happened that day. You’ve carried this burden and your fear alone, I should have helped you.”
“Paul, it’s not your fault. I found it difficult to think about that time, let alone talk about it. Through the years, it became a distant memory and only resurfaced when I realized Todd Swayze would be released from prison after serving his sentence.”
“Sally,” said Alex Snow, “the police will verify the identity of the man you know as Mr. Swayze. Do you know his first name?”
“Frederick, Frederick Swayze, he was a big shot in Cloverdale where I lived.”
“Do you feel comfortable talking to the detectives?”
“Yes, I think so, they must think I have something to hide because of my behavior. I’m glad I talked to Rebecca first, she has convinced me my dream was not real.”
“It’s best you don’t mention the dream. You will do fine, I’m not worried,” Alex said with more confidence than he felt.
***
Sally repeated her experience to the detectives. Neither Dan nor Erica thought Sally Evans was the type to commit murder, however, they had both been fooled by innocent appearing offenders before.
“Mrs. Evans, tell us what you know about the gun Mr. Crenshaw keeps at the jewelry store.”
“I know he bought a gun for protection from thieves. He wanted the staff to take a course in gun safety. I told him I was deathly afraid of guns and offered to resign if taking the course was a requirement. He didn’t force me, but I knew it was there, under the cabinet. The door was locked, but I avoided standing at that spot behind the counter.”
“Are you aware the gun is missing?” asked Erica.
“Missing? Who would take it? Oh, no, you think it was me and I used it to kill Mr. Swayze!”
Paul held his sobbing wife in his arms. “Officers, I think Sally has answered enough of your questions. I don’t know who took the gun out of its hiding place, but it wasn’t my wife.”
“I agree, Detectives,” said Alex, “Mrs. Evans has nothing more to say.”
This is the part of the job Erica hated. She wanted to assure Sally Evans she wasn’t guilty of murder. However, guilt or innocence is up to a jury to decide. She and Dan gather evidence and present it to the district attorney for evaluation.
As Dan drove back to the station, he said, “I don’t believe she did it either, but we can’t discount the gun being found on her property.”
“What about the husband? Maybe he thought he was protecting his wife? No, that makes little sense, she kept most of the information about Frederick Swayze and his son to herself. The man is trying to protect Sally, he wouldn’t let her take the blame for something he did.”
“We’ll call the Cloverdale Police Department in California. That is where the robbery took place. We’ll verify Swayze’s identity and notify his next of kin. Mrs. Evans was helpful, it will save us from contacting the FBI.”
***
“Alex and I will leave you and Paul alone, it’s been an unsettling morning. Oh look, the mail is being delivered, life goes on, doesn’t it?”
***
“Hello, Mrs. Harper,”
“Hello, Pete, are you putting anything interesting in our mailbox today?”
“It looks like Mr. Harper has a letter, I don’t see many hand-written letters these days. Folks are using their computers to keep in touch with friends. It’s too bad, I enjoyed watching people’s excitement when they received a letter from a friend. Have a glorious day, Mrs. Harper.”
“Thanks, Pete, you too.” Carol looked at the letter with the return address of Miami, Florida. Her heart skipped a beat. Scott learned Albert Fox lived in Miami. It must be a coincidence, she thought to herself.
Scott was in the back yard pulling weeds. It helped relax him. After talking to the detectives, he’d taken the rest of the day off from work.
“Scott, you have a letter from Bainbridge Boarding Home in Miami. It doesn’t look like junk mail.”
“Miami? I wonder if it has something to do with Albert Fox?”
Scott read the letter aloud, when he finished, he looked at Carol. She saw the softness that had been missing in his eyes.
“It never occurred to me Albert Fox was remorseful for what he’d done. He is suffering and I pity him. My bitterness has consumed my life and suddenly my anger is gone. There is a phone number on the envelope. I’m will call him and thank him for the letter. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”
Scott called the phone number and asked to speak with Albert Fox.
“Are you a relative, sir?”
“No, I’m an acquaintance.”
“I’m sorry to tell you, Mr. Fox passed away three days ago.”
It was the same day the letter was mailed.
“Can you tell me the cause of his death?”
“I shouldn’t, but if you are a friend, say a prayer he be forgiven. Mr. Fox took his own life.”
“Thank you, ma’am, I’ll say that prayer,” said Scott. He and Carol both prayed for the man who lost his livelihood, his family, his legs, and now his life.
Chapter Eighteen
The following day
“Dan, this came in from the Cloverdale PD in California,” said Midge holding a print-out in her hand.
“The dead man is Frederick Swayze. His wife died six months ago, his son is serving time in prison. He has a daughter, Cheryl Swayze Harding. Mr. Swayze was a prominent businessman in Cloverdale, the police chief will inform Ms. Harding of her father’s death. They will let the coroner know where to send the body.”
“Midge, if we get a call from Cheryl Harding, put her through immediately, please.”
***
Dan calls Jessica Barnes
“Mrs. Barnes, this is Detective Dan North. I’m calling to update you on your father’s whereabouts. The district attorney assigned to the case has since passed away, his records show the name Kenneth Ford but nothing else. We have gone as far as we can. You don’t want your mother to know you are investigating his disappearance, however, she might have information you aren’t aware of. I’d like your permission to question her.”
“Let me talk to Mom and George first. I don’t know if Mom will cooperate, it was a difficult period in her life and
she’d prefer to forget my father existed.”
“I understand, I’ll wait for your call giving us the okay to talk to her.”
***
Jessica places a call to her mother and tells her she has asked the police detectives to find her father.
“Jessica please don’t do that; your father is gone. Please don’t search for information on him. It was a dreadful time in our lives and I refuse to relive it.”
“Mom, maybe he’s alive and living on the streets, maybe he has amnesia, or maybe he is hiding from the crooks at the bank where he worked.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Jessica. I’m hanging up now, leave it alone.”
***
“Alice, it’s time Jessica learned the truth.”
“No, she’ll never forgive me for lying to her all these years.”
***
“Detective North, my mother refuses to talk to you about my father. I’m not giving up. She volunteers at the hospital tomorrow, I’ll call my step-father, surely he must know something or he might convince her to cooperate.”
“Mrs. Barnes, your mother might have a good reason for not being straight forward. You could discover your father was involved in illegal activities or he could be dead. You have good memories of the man until the day he left. I’d hate to see you disillusioned.”
“I know the outcome might not be of my liking but I need to know what happened and why he disappeared.”
***
Annie Palmer is hypnotized
“You two are busy today,” said Midge poking her head in the door. “Annie Palmer is here with her husband. Dr. Bennett is ready to hypnotize her. She asked Rebecca Snow to be there as well. I think Rebecca should charge for her services. She is in demand.”
“I agree, I know if I were in trouble, I’d want Rebecca in my corner too,” said Erica with Dan nodding in agreement.
“Mrs. Palmer,” said Erica, “We will be here if you need us. You are in good hands with Dr. Bennett.”
***
The session begins with Dr. Bennett quietly guiding Annie to a hypnotic state. There is no guarantee the treatment will work; however, Annie is an eager participant. Under hypnosis, she is led to remember events of the day her sister, Melissa, died. Annie laughs while visions of Melissa running and playing with a ball in the park go through her head. Dr. Bennett asks her to describe what she sees.
For the first several minutes, Annie is smiling recounting the happy time. Her smile disappears when Melissa runs into the street chasing the ball. Annie looks up and watches as a car races past hitting the little girl and causing her to be thrown to the grass. Annie screams recalling the accident, she stands looking to her right and screams again when she recognizes the driver of the car. “Daddy, what have you done to Melissa?”
Dr. Bennett brings Annie back. She is shaking and sobbing. “It’s my father, my father killed Melissa!”
Kevin rushes to his wife’s side and holds her while she weeps. “Oh, Kevin, I can see it now, the eyes I thought I would always remember were my daddy’s eyes. He drove on as though nothing had happened while little Melissa lay dead on the ground.”
Dr. Bennett advised a few sessions of therapy to help Annie manage her grief and deal with the memories buried for years. She agreed, knowing the faceless man she’d hated was none other than her own father. Did he know he’d killed his daughter? Is that why his drinking intensified? Hating him won’t bring Melissa back while forgiving him could bring peace.
Annie embraced Rebecca thanking her for introducing her to Dr. Bennett.
“I’m sorry you had to relive that time, Annie. I can’t imagine the pain you feel.”
“I think I knew all along the driver was my father, but couldn’t face the truth. I have Kevin and the boys and I’m grateful for them.” Annie said as she looked into Kevin’s caring eyes.
***
Erin Rutledge
School doesn’t start for another few weeks and Erin is at loose ends. “Grandma, I’m joining the fitness center in town. I haven’t worked out since I arrived in Oakwood Park.”
“Good for you, Erin, you need to get out and meet young people.”
Erin wore her work-out clothes and carried her swimsuit. The fitness center had an outside pool, Erin loved to swim and thought it would be a nice break after exercising.
The man at the front desk welcomed her. She read his name tag and said, “Hello, Connor; my name is Erin Rutledge, I’m here to join the center.”
Connor took a second look at the pretty woman standing before him. “Are you related to Harvey Rutledge?”
“Yes, he’s my grandfather, do you know him?”
“Yes, he and my dad were teachers at Oakwood Park High. My dad is Charlie Willard.”
Erin’s face turned white. I should never have come back to Oakwood Park, I’ll be forever known as the girl who destroyed two families.
“I’m sorry, Connor, this was a mistake,” Erin turned to leave.
“Was it something I said? Please don’t go.”
“Don’t you know who I am? I’m the person who broke up two marriages, my parents and yours. I don’t think you want me around.”
“My folks divorced years ago, you were a kid then. What do you mean, you broke up their marriage? Wait a minute, is your mother’s name Denise?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know her last name or I wouldn’t have brought it up. I don’t know how it could be your fault, my parents’ marriage was never good. My mother means well, but she is a difficult woman. My dad is a happy-go-lucky guy who made a mistake. Unfortunately, the scandal caused him to lose his job. Mother divorced him and moved us away from Oakwood Park. My friends were here, and I moved back after graduation. Dad lives in Willington. He’s happy there, he coaches at the high school and volunteers with a group of underprivileged kids. Why do you think the divorce was your fault?”
She told him what happened that day. “My mother still blames me for the mess and says your father blames me too.”
“My dad would never blame a child for what he did. He has always taken responsibility for his behavior. I don’t want to say anything against your mother, but she is wrong.”
“Mother told me Coach Willard would find me and teach me a lesson. I was young and believed her. I’ve been afraid of a man I barely remember. My dad says Mother is emotionally unstable.”
“Erin, I wish you could meet my father, he loves kids and would never threaten a little girl. He would be upset if he knew a child was afraid of him.”
“Thanks, Connor, I’m glad I ran into you. Have you worked here long?”
“Since it opened, I own the place. I’m filling in for the lady who works the front desk. Shall I sign you up?”
“Yes, please do.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Detective North, my name is Cheryl Harding, my father is Frederick Swayze. I understand his body was found in your city.”
“Yes, Ms. Harding, I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, Detective. I’m curious why my father was in Oakwood Park. To my knowledge, he has no friends or business contacts in that part of the state. The police chief could only tell me my Father died on a residential street.”
“Your father died of a gunshot wound, Ms. Harding. His connection with Oakwood Park concerns a resident of the city who was a witness to a jewelry store robbery close to twenty years ago.”
“I should have known this concerns my brother. Detective, I’m booked on the next flight to Oakwood Park. I’d like to meet with you first thing in the morning, if possible.”
“My partner and I will be available at your convenience.”
***
The Palmer driveway
Kevin Palmer greets the triplets as they pile out of Jerry Marshall’s van.
“Thanks for being the kids’ chauffeur again today. Annie and I will get back on schedule soon.”
“Don’t worry, Kevin, after what happened here it’s und
erstandable that everyone is in shock. Did they find the guilty party?”
“They’re working on it. Everyone in the circle has been questioned. I can’t believe a neighbor is responsible.”
Murder on Applewood Circle Page 8
