Death on Mt Pleasant

by Steve McMillen

  “For now, we are not going to do anything. Just go on as if nothing has happened and if you are questioned, just dummy up. They can’t prove anything.”

  Chapter 54: The Hospital

  I remember Officer Barrish helping me over to the other side of the tree but that was about it until I woke up in the emergency room at Lancaster Hospital. The doctors told me they gave me some blood and did surgery to clean up and sew up my gunshot wound. They told me that my makeshift bandage saved my life. The bullet had nicked a couple of blood vessels and I had lost a lot of blood. They told me I was a lucky guy. They advised me to take it easy for a while and put me in a recovery room. They decided to keep me overnight and release me tomorrow. I agree because I am too tired to disagree.

  I no more than get to my room and close my eyes when big Steve barges in. “So Mickke D, tell me what happened. I would really like to hear the part about the guy falling off the mountain.”

  I try to sound as sick as possible. “Aren’t you supposed to knock before coming in here? The doctors and nurses do.”

  “Yes, but they don’t know you as well as I do.”

  I continue, “And while I’m thinking about it, could you please call Donna Crist and tell her it’s OK to come home?”

  “Sure.” Before he has a chance to interrogate me, the door opens again and in walks Jake.

  “Jake, what the hell are you doing here? Damn, I thought I was here to get some rest. I was shot. I just had surgery. This room is a revolving door of chaotic intrusions.”

  “Hey, big Steve called and said you had been shot. I rushed over to check on you.”

  Detective Reynolds turns and sneers at Jake. Jake, remembering what I had told him about big Steve’s promise to deck us if we called him big Steve, clears his throat and says with a sly grin, “I mean Detective Reynolds called.”

  Still sneering, Detective Reynolds replies, “Thank you Jake, now sit down and shut up while I talk to our friend here,” as he turns back to look at me.

  Those were the last words I remember hearing. I guess whatever the nurse gave me finally kicked in and I was off in La-La land dreaming about my big house on the beach and girls in bikinis around my infinity pool.

  Chapter 55: Beverly and Rick

  The day after Beverly finds out Donna and Sam did not pass out her flyers, she goes out and does the job herself, placing flyers on telephone poles, buildings, and in businesses. She keeps a close eye out for any tails, but she notices no one. She calls Liz and tells her she is going on down to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands next. Liz tells her she will have Lanne keep an eye on the house while she’s away. She also gives her the name and number of a pilot she can trust who can fly her to her destinations while she’s there.

  “Does he work for us?” Beverly asks.

  “Well, sort of,” she replies. “One might say he’s a paid consultant and if you need backup, he’s available. You can trust him. Tell him GG gave you his number.”

  “GG? Where did that come from?”

  “From my granddaughter. When I’m in a bad mood, she calls me grumpy granny.” She curtly replies.

  “Thanks Liz, I’ll give him a call.”

  “He will probably want you to pay him up front, but, tell him to bill me. He knows the rules.” Before she ends the call, Liz says, “Be careful and keep me advised.”

  Beverly calls the number Liz gave her and asks for Rick. “This is Rick, what can I do you out of?”

  Beverly pauses. “I need some transportation. GG gave me your number.”

  After a slight hesitation, he replies, “Ah yes, GG. I take it you need to hire a pilot.”

  “Yes, I would like to make a stop in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and maybe a few other places. Can we leave tomorrow?”

  “Sure thing darlin’, I’m based out of San Andros Airport. What time do you want to leave and how do you want to pay for this?”

  “How about 9:00 in the morning and don’t give me any shit. You know to bill….GG.” She almost slipped and said Liz.

  “Sorry, can’t blame a guy for trying to get paid up front. And what do I call you?”

  She ponders the question, smiles to herself, and then answers, “Scarey Mary, which means I’m a real mean bitch.”

  “OK, why don’t I call you MB for mean bitch. I see we’re going to get along just fine,” he quirks, “see you at 9:00, Hanger B-2.”

  Beverly goes out and makes more copies of her flyers to take with her on the flight. She then goes back to the beach for a little relaxation before going to work.

  Chapter 56: The Interview

  Tuesday morning, I meet big Steve for breakfast at Shaw’s. After some small talk, he tells me that Officer Fredrick pretty much clammed up and wanted an attorney. After doing some background work, the police found that Fredrick was retired Coast Guard and had come into a large inheritance. They also discovered that about five years ago, Officer Fredrick lost some good friends to a drive-by drug shooting, seemed to lose it, and vowed to eliminate the drug problem himself. That was about the period when several drug-related murders began. No one seemed to care much because the victims were either drug dealers, pimps, or addicts. They found several cell phone calls from Frederick to Stuart Peterson’s computer shop in Reynoldsburg, which coincided with some of the murders. They did find Stuart’s cell phone; however, the calls were encrypted, and since the phone manufacturer denied them a backdoor because of privacy issues, they could not download any information from his phone. Therefore, they could tie Fredrick to Stuart but not Stuart to anyone else. He also told me he should have a warrant to search Mr. Peterson’s computer business within the next couple of days. He hopes they’ll find something there.

  Now it was my turn in the barrel. “So, Mickke D, tell me about how Mr. Peterson fell off the mountain.”

  I do not hesitate with my answer, “It’s actually pretty simple. He came over, we got into a fight, I won, and he fell off the mountain. End of story. And by the way, why were you up there Friday morning?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

  He raises his eyebrows and says, “I had a tail on you and I was up there saving your sorry ass. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Not at all. I knew you had a tail on me.”

  With a scoffing look, he replies, “Whatever, let me ask you this. He was stabbed, not shot. Why didn’t you just shoot him?”

  “Detective, did you see how narrow that path was on the other side of that tree? There wasn’t room for his rifle and my rifle. I quickly decided that a knife would be a better weapon and I was right.”

  I figure from his question that he was not on the other side of the forked tree. I guess that means neither he nor Officer Barrish found the vine-covered cave entrance.

  “Mickke D, you never cease to amaze me. So tell me why all of you were up on Mt. Pleasant Friday morning?”

  After a sip of honey-laced hot green tea, I reply, “Well, I had pretty much decided that somehow Dr. Jon Spineback was involved with the death of Sissy’s husband and the later death of Sue Ellen North. I also thought that his twin brother Von Spineback was somehow involved in Sissy’s death. Therefore, I called both of them and told them to meet me on Mt. Pleasant Friday morning or I was going to the police. I arrived early to see who was going to show up. It was Stuart and later Officer Fredrick. I also believe Stuart probably killed Sissy, Kevin and tried to kill Donna Crist as well. Oh, and by the way, one of them shot me. I presumed I had a right to defend myself.”

  “Well, the only problem is that we have no way to tie Stuart to either Jon or Von Spineback and less evidence to tie Stuart to Sissy’s death, Kevin’s death and Donna Crist’s attempted murder. Do you have any ideas?”

  I hesitate and then reply, “Yes I do. I have a photo of Von Spineback with Stuart and Ginny Ridlinger up at Buckeye Lake.”

  “OK, so how do you know it was Von and not Jon and who the hell is Ginny Ridlinger?”

  “Well, for the answer to your second question
, Ginny is the director of public relations at Anchor Hocking and I think she is having an affair with Von. They were both in the Air Force at the same time, although I can’t place them serving together anywhere. Maybe you can find that out. I also think that somehow Anchor Hocking is right in the middle of it all. And that hopefully answers question number one.”

  “OK, let me see the photo.”

  I pull up the photo on my phone and show it to him. “There, is that proof enough?”

  “Nice picture of three people but, not a close-up. It won’t stand up in court. Could be Jon, could be Von, and the woman’s face is hard to see. You should have got closer to them.”

  “Well, detective, I didn’t want them to know I had seen them together.” I then ask, “So why don’t you bring them in and ask some questions? Maybe one of them will crack.”

  “Maybe I will, Mickke D, maybe I will. Email me that photo.”

  He hesitates and then asks, “So when are you going back to the beach?”

  “Well, I’m not sure. I go back to the doctor tomorrow and I’ll see what he says.”

  “OK, but before you leave, I need you to come down to the station and give a deposition about what happened on Mt. Pleasant, just in case we need you to testify at some point.” He gets up and says, “Got to go, take care of breakfast, you owe me.”

  Before I have a chance to counter, he turns, raises his hand, and leaves the restaurant.

  Chapter 57: Rick

  Beverly brings both weapons and her stash of money with her to the airport to meet Rick. She learned her lesson about leaving anything valuable at the house.

  As she enters the hanger, a guy with a big grin on his face walks up and says, “What do you have in the bag, MB? It looks heavy.”

  “You must be Rick. Hey, did I ask you what you had for breakfast?” she curtly replies.

  She sizes Rick up. He is not a very big guy, sort of looks like Jimmy Buffet, and he has had a grin on his face since he first walked up to her. However, she can tell from his hardened gray eyes that he has clearly witnessed the darker side of life. She sees him as sort of a dashing figure with just a hint of snake oil. She tells herself to stay alert and be careful. She just knows Rick is going to tax her patience level.

  They walk out on the tarmac to his plane and she remarks, “Nice ride, Rick, what is it?”

  “That young lady is a 421 Cessna, a pressurized twin piston with a cruising speed of 240 mph. It has a range of anywhere from 810 miles to a max of 1,400. She’ll seat six plus a crew of two. She is a great island-hopping plane. Are you ready?”

  “I’m ready, how long will it take us to get to Puerto Rico?”

  “Let me worry about that. Are you sitting in the back or upfront with me?”

  “I’ll sit up front.” She takes a seat in the co-pilot’s seat and buckles up.

  Rick sits down in the pilot’s seat and remarks, “By the way, it’s about 840 miles. We should be there between 12:30 and 1:00. You can buy lunch.”

  Inside the small airport complex, Donna and Sam watch as Rick and Beverly cruise down the runway and take off into the wild blue yonder.

  There is not a lot of conversation on the trip. Beverly dozes and Rick puts the plane on autopilot and reads a book.

  She wakes up and checks her watch. It’s 10:30. Rick is still reading his book. “What are you reading?” she asks between yawns.

  “It’s called ‘Cougars at the Beach’ and it takes place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Met a guy in Colombia who lives up there. He said it’s a cool place. I’ve been thinking about taking a trip up there to look at a bar I found for sale on the internet. Would you believe it, it’s called Ricky’s Dockside Bar & Grill? I won’t even have to change the name or buy a new sign.”

  Beverly’s heart ends up in her throat. She can hardly speak. “Sounds great. I’ve never been to Myrtle Beach but I’ve heard good things about it.” She closes her eyes and lets her mind drift, hoping Rick will go back to reading.

  “I only have a few chapters to go. I’ll let you read it when I’m finished.”

  “That’s all right, I’m not much of a reader.” She turns her head away from him, discreetly brushes a tear from her cheek and dozes off again.

  Chapter 58: Big Steve & Ginny

  Detective Reynolds walks into Anchor Hocking’s offices on West Fair Avenue, flashes his badge, and asks to see Ginny Ridlinger. Ginny appears within seconds and extends her hand. Steve takes note of the firm handshake and asks her, “Could we talk in private, Ms. Ridlinger?”

  “Why of course Detective, come into my office.” Said the spider to the fly, Steve thinks.

  “Ms. Ridlinger, do you know a man by the name of Stuart Peterson?”

  “Let me think, Stuart Peterson. That name does ring a bell. There was a Mr. Peterson who did some computer work for us a while back, but I don’t really remember his first name. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, he was killed on Mt. Pleasant Friday morning and your name has come up in the investigation. I just need to eliminate you as a possible suspect.”

  “Suspect? I was here at work Friday morning at 7:45. How could I be a suspect?” He can tell by the tone of her voice she is beginning to become upset. He does not want to spook her and have her ask for an attorney.

  “Oh, it’s probably nothing, Ms. Ridlinger, but I have a photo of someone who I think is you, taken at Buckeye Lake with two gentlemen and I think one of them is Stuart Peterson.” He shows her a copy of the photo Mickke D emailed him.

  He notices her face turning a slight shade of pink and then she regains her cool. “Well detective, I don’t know who that woman is, but it’s not me. I’m fairly new in town and I have never heard of Buckeye Lake.”

  “So you don’t recognize the other man as Von Spineback, president of Wilmont Oil & Gas?”

  She answers immediately, “Sorry, never heard of a Von Spineback or Wilmont Oil & Gas. Anything else I can help you with, detective. I do have work to do here.”

  “No, I think that’s about it. Thanks for seeing me, Ms. Ridlinger. “So, you never met a Von Spineback while you were in the Air Force?”

  “I was in the Air Force, but I don’t remember meeting a Von Spineback.”

  “OK. Thanks. I’ll give you a call if I think of anything else.”

  “Anytime.” She sees him to the door and closes it once he has left the office. She takes a deep breath, goes to her desk, and calls Von Spineback.

  “Von, the police were just here and they have a picture of you, me, and Stuart at Buckeye Lake. He also asked if I had met you in the Air Force. Now, what do we do?”

  Von hesitates before replying, “And what did you tell them?”

  “I told them the girl in the picture wasn’t me and that I did not know you. I said a Mr. Peterson had done some computer work for us.”

  “Good girl, That’s our story and we’ll stick with it. Stu is dead so they can’t question him. If they ask me, I’ll say I took Stuart to lunch one day and he brought his girlfriend along but I don’t know you and you don’t know me. Be sure and delete this call from your phone and don’t call me again, I’ll call you. Oh yeah, one more thing. Get yourself a haircut. I don’t want you looking anything like the girl in the photo.”

  Once Detective Reynolds gets to his vehicle, he calls Von Spineback. His plan is to ask him in a polite way to come down to Lancaster and answer a few questions about the death of Stuart Peterson. Von’s secretary says he is on another call, can he hold? I’ll just bet he is, he is thinking to himself. “Yes, I can hold, thank you.”

  Within seconds, Von answers the call and Detective Reynolds poses the question to him. “Should I bring my attorney? What is this about? What does Stuart Peterson’s death have to do with me?” he asks.

  “I don’t know Mr. Spineback, do you need an attorney? Have you done anything wrong?” His polite tone of voice turns into an authoritative attitude.

  “Well, in my business, someone is always suing me, just asking
,” Von replies.

  “Sorry about that Mr. Spineback. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at 11:00.”

  His next call is to Dr. Jon Spineback’s office and he is told by Dr. Jon’s secretary that he and his wife went on a vacation to Canada. They are not expected back for two weeks. He leaves his name and number with the secretary and asks her to have him call as soon as he returns.

  He then calls the Columbus International Airport to see if Dr. Jon or his wife booked a flight. Neither name shows up on their computers.

  Chapter 59: Beverly’s Plan

  Beverly and Rick land in Puerto Rico at 12:30. As they leave the plane, Rick hands Beverly the book he was reading. She looks him straight in the eyes, “I told you I’m not a reader, you can keep your damn book.”

  He quickly pulls the book back. “No problem, MB, what’s on our agenda?”

  Beverly regains her composure. “We’re going to grab a quick sandwich, then you’re going one way and I’m going the other way and we’re going to put up and pass out flyers. Where can we rent a couple of cars?”

  They grab a bite to eat. Ricky finds a place to rent two cars for a couple of hours and they each pass out about 50 flyers. They meet back at the plane at 3:00.

  “How long will it take us to get to The Virgin Islands?” she asks.

  “Not long, it’s only about 110 miles from here to there,” Rick replies. “We’ll fly into the Cynil E. King Airport on the western end of St. Thomas. Are we doing the same thing there?”

  “Yes, we are. I’d like to get flyers out today. We’ll spend the night there and then fly on down to Antigua and Barbados tomorrow. I figure we can spend the night in Barbados and then fly back to the Bahamas the next day.”

  “Works for me, since GG is footing the bill.”

  Beverly sits in the back of the plane on the trip to The Virgin Islands. She doesn’t want to hear anymore about Rick’s book or Myrtle Beach. They get their work done and she rents two rooms at Secret Harbour Beach Resort on St. Thomas. They have an early breakfast and are on their way to Antigua by 8:00 the next morning. She moves back up to the co-pilot’s seat. She has to ask Rick one question. “So who was this guy you met in Colombia from Myrtle Beach?”