by Helen Gray
“We’re not sure yet, but we’ll find out,” he answered Kyle.
“Does this connect to Jake’s murder?” Toni asked.
Buck’s mouth flattened. “That part is even harder to determine. We haven’t had time to get very far with this. Toni, are you still sure you have no idea who killed Jake?”
She shook her head. “I told you I don’t. I still don’t. What do you think?”
His eyes rolled upward. “I know that Bonnie Crawford’s sister confirmed her alibi. She says Bonnie took her along on a shopping trip to St. Louis that left Bonnie too tired to drive home that late. She says they spent the night in a motel. The little sister has problems aside from that, and hopes her cooperation will help get her leniency in her personal case, but the motel confirms that they were there. Now,” he continued. “I’d like for you to tell me again everything you know about her husband’s death. There has to be a connection, a reason for these attacks on you. Tell me everything again, and be straight with me.”
Toni thought back. “The forensics class and I were in the body farm the day Jake’s body was discovered, and we heard sirens. That would have been a little before three o’clock. I checked the newspaper web site later and learned that Jake was dead. Then Patsy and Allison Brower waylaid me at school, upset because Norm had been arrested. They asked me to help prove he didn’t do it.”
“That’s when you came to talk to me?”
She nodded.
“Then what did you do?”
Toni searched her memory, trying to be sure in what order she had done things. “I heard that Ben found Jake’s body. Then I came here and talked to Norm.”
“And decided he’s innocent.”
His accusation cut, but she didn’t flinch. “That’s the impression I got.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t have time to argue with you about it. What did you do next?”
Toni was growing weary of being grilled like this, but they needed to figure out what was behind the chaos in her life. She half closed her eyes, blocking out the sound of the traffic outside, and let events replay through her head in slow motion.
“The gate was open,” she said, visualizing her trip to the crime scene.
“What do you mean, the gate was open?” the chief barked. “When were you at the crime scene?”
Her eyes flew open at the interruption. “Huh?”
“You went to the crime scene, didn’t you? When?”
She shook her head to clear it, trying to think. Then it came to her. “It was Saturday morning after the murder. So I didn’t do anything wrong. You were done with it. I just wanted to see the layout, get a better picture of what might have happened.”
“So what picture did you get?”
She shrugged. “I judged where Jake must have lain.”
“Based on Ben’s story?”
She nodded.
“It’s okay. Finish your story.”
Toni continued to search her memory. “After seeing the location, I crossed the yard and passed the pool—that hadn’t been drained and covered yet,” she added, recalling the faint odor of chlorine in the air.
“Did you notice the party debris?”
She visualized the scene again “Yes. I saw drink containers and towels. And while I was looking at it, I thought I saw a shadow. But it was nothing.”
“Where?”
She frowned, trying to place it.
“Where did you think you saw a shadow?” Buck repeated.
An image formed. “At the side of the house, near the crepe myrtle tree.”
“That’s something you’ve never mentioned,” he said sharply. “Of course, you never mentioned visiting the crime scene, but I should have known you would,” he said wearily, his head moving back and forth.
“It was Saturday, nearly a week after the murder,” she pointed out.
“But the killer could have returned there for some reason and seen you, which would explain why he would come to your home and attack you. He thought you saw him and could identify him. It’s probably been too long to find any footprints there, and it’s rained lightly since then, but we still need to check.”
“Are you done with her?” Kyle asked, having been a silent listener to this point.
Buck shook his head, staring at Toni. “There’s one more thing. You didn’t tell me you talked to Norm’s ex-employee, Ray Fillmore.”
She shrugged. “It didn’t seem important, or relevant. Why? What’s wrong?” She read something in his expression that put her on full alert.
“He lives with a girlfriend,” he said brusquely. “She came in this morning and reported him missing.”
Toni couldn’t explain it, but his words sent goose bumps prickling along her arms. “Do you think something has happened to him?”
“We have no idea. He’s young and mouthy, so he could have made enemies. Or he may have just decided to ditch the girlfriend—maybe the whole town.”
He shifted his attention back to Kyle. “I think your wife needs to be careful. It sounds like someone thinks she saw him, and that attack in the parking lot was an effort to silence her. The same thing goes for the break-in at your home. The purse snatching doesn’t make sense, though. I’ll have the night shift guys make regular swings out by your house.”
“I’ll be fine,” Toni assured them. “Kyle’s home most nights, and I’ll lock up tight and keep a phone close when he’s not.”
“If I have to be gone overnight, I’ll call her parents and have one or both of them stay with her,” Kyle said, overriding her words.
The chief’s phone rang. He raised a finger and answered it.
Seeing no reason to hang around, Toni marched to the door. Kyle caught up to her, and they exited the station into the seventy degree afternoon.
“Let’s go find the boys and have supper at the festival with them,” Kyle suggested.
*
After they had their fill of food and the festival, they rounded up the boys and headed toward home. Since Jenny had called Faye, Toni felt obligated to stop by and let her mother check her arm. After she had seen it, Faye agreed with Toni that it would be sore, but no serious damage had been done.
They were all tired when they arrived home, but Toni and Kyle still had one more matter to settle. They waited until Garrett had showered, gone to the den, and turned on the TV while Gabe showered. When Gabe returned to their room, Toni signaled to Garrett that he should continue what he was doing. Then she and Kyle went to the door Gabe had just closed.
Toni tapped lightly on it. “Gabe,” she said softly. “May we come in?”
“It’s not locked,” he answered faintly.
She opened it and eased into the room, with Kyle close behind her. Gabe had already turned off the light and crawled into bed, so they had only the shadowy glow of a night light to guide them. Toni crept over and sat on the foot of his bed. Kyle pulled the chair from behind the boys’ computer desk and sat in it. Toni nodded for him to proceed.
“Son,” he said softly, “we know you’re hurt. Will you tell us how it happened?”
“No.” Gabe flopped over on his side.
“We need to know,” Kyle pressed on. “Why did you fight?”
Suddenly Gabe shot up in the bed. “I didn’t fight,” he declared fiercely—then gasped and pressed a hand over his ribs.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing,” he said, choking back tears. “I was just walking down the hall to meet Mom and come home.”
They waited for him to gather himself.
“Please tell us about it, Son,” Kyle said. “We only want to help you.”
Gabe simply sat there for several long moments. Then he took a long breath and began to speak. “As I went past the bathroom door, two boys ran out and grabbed me and pulled me into the bathroom. It happened so fast I couldn’t think. They started hitting me …and kicking me.” He choked on stifled sobs.
Toni wanted to hit and kick. She bit her lip to keep quiet a
nd let him finish.
“When they finished beating me up, they took off,” he finally said, easing back onto the pillow. “I didn’t want to be seen, so I crawled to the door and waited until the janitor who was mopping the hall had finished and left. Then I went out a side door and got in the van.”
“Why did they hurt you?” Kyle asked. “What were they so mad at you about?”
Gabe’s head moved back and forth in the dim light. “I don’t know.”
“Who were they? Please tell us their names.”
He sniffled. “One of them was Dennis Goines. He’s in my math class. The other one is new this year, and I don’t have any classes with him. I don’t know his name.”
Toni made note of the one name, while the fact that the other boy was new reminded her of the faculty meeting. “Have you heard any talk about a gang of some kind?” she asked, moving to a spot at her son’s side. She raised a hand and brushed it over his hair. She wanted to pull him into her arms and cuddle him, but knew a thirteen-year-old would resist that. And she didn’t want to risk hurting him further.
“I don’t know anything about any gang,” he said. “I just know that bad things, mean things, are happening.”
“I’m so sorry you had this happen to you. I wish you would have felt you could tell us. Why didn’t you?”
He drew a ragged breath. “They told me if I said anything to anyone, they would beat up my little brother.”
Toni’s breath caught. She was thankful for the lack of light. If he could see her face, he would see her tears.
Chapter 9
After they left the boys’ room, Kyle made sure all the doors and screens were locked securely. When Toni grimly shoved chairs under the door knobs, he didn’t say a word.
Once they were in bed, she lay staring up at the ceiling in the dark, unable to sleep. But her mind drifted from the question of the murder to the matter of Gabe being assaulted.
Why, God? she asked silently. It’s one thing for me to get knocked around. My snooping has probably caused it. But my son shouldn’t be hurt because of it. I’m scared, Lord. And worried. Please protect me and my family from a killer. And Gabe from those boys.
Toni tried to sleep, but couldn’t. When she rolled over and started to get up, Kyle’s hand latched onto her arm. “What are you doing?” he mumbled sleepily.
“I can’t sleep. So I thought I’d do some research.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” he said more coherently, releasing her.
But she did. If she hadn’t started asking questions and poking around, she wouldn’t have a killer trying to eliminate her. And maybe Gabe wouldn’t have been attacked. Or maybe he would have. The two matters seemed to be coming at her from different directions.
Toni put on her robe, went to the den, and booted the computer. Then she began to read about gangs in schools. Having long been aware of problems related to drugs, she was surprised to read that gangs were deteriorating schools at a faster rate than drugs. “Gang activity begins around the ages of eleven to thirteen,” she read aloud to herself, horror washing over her.
As she continued to read, a mental picture began to form of what might have happened. Recruitment of new members and expansion of territory were essential for a gang to be powerful, so both willing and unwilling members were recruited. Did they beat up kids to make them join? Gabe hadn’t mentioned anything about being forced to join a gang.
She started to shut down the computer, but one more link caught her attention. She clicked on it, and read that once members were recruited, there could be an initiation. Among the possible initiation rites listed were a drive-by shooting and an assault on an innocent victim.
Tears trickled down her cheeks. Why did such awfulness have to infiltrate the lives of their young people? She closed her eyes, hardly aware of the click the computer made when it shut down. She returned to bed with a heavy heart.
The next morning Kyle rolled over and sat up on his side of the bed an hour earlier than usual for a Sunday.
“What’s wrong?” Toni mumbled groggily.
“I forgot to gas up my truck yesterday,” he said, getting to his feet. “I need to do it now. You have time to sleep a little longer before church.”
An hour later, she crawled out of bed and fixed breakfast. Once they were seated around the table and Kyle had said the blessing, he looked over at Toni. “I had an interesting trip to the gas station.”
She spooned a ladle of sausage gravy over Garrett’s biscuit, indicating with a nod that she was listening.
“The Hartman boy who snatched your purse rolled to the side of the road with a flat tire just as I was leaving the station. When he and his girlfriend got out, I pulled to the curb behind them and helped change the tire. While the boy and I worked, I asked if they think Norman Brower killed Jake Crawford. Without hesitation Steven said he thinks Norm’s guilty. I get the impression he has a poor opinion about everything and everyone in general.”
“What about the girl? Did she express an opinion?”
He tipped his head, as if debating how to answer. “The girl happened to be Jake Crawford’s daughter. Because we were speaking of her dad, I didn’t think she would respond. But she did. She was standing right behind us, and she immediately disagreed with Steven.”
“She doesn’t think he did?” Toni asked impatiently when he paused.
Kyle shook his head. “Nope. She even argued with Steven about it, pointed out that she knows the Browers, and the man was working for her dad. She said the two men were buddies, and that she thinks someone is trying to frame Norman.”
Toni tried to recall more about Tricia Crawford. “She’s only a freshman, and I haven’t had her in class yet. John may have, but I don’t recall him discussing her. I’m not sure what kind of student she is academically, but I’ve heard she has other problems.”
“When Steven repeated that Norm probably did it, she adamantly disagreed, even insisted that he and Jake were friends and went to lunch together sometimes.”
Toni tried to envision the two together. “Did she mention any particular place they ate?”
Kyle shrugged. “If they were like most people, they probably moved around town, sampled everything that’s available.”
“Are you guys gonna eat?” Gabe asked. “It’s almost time to leave for church.”
“You’re right,” Toni said. “We can chat later.” She pushed the matter to the back of her mind and picked up a biscuit.
During the service later, a statement in the pastor’s sermon seemed to be directed at her personally.
“Unknowns and challenges may leave us feeling anxious and worried,” he said. “Life is not without uncertainties, but God invites us to turn our fears and worries over to Him. Let God’s care for you ease your mind.”
As everything that had happened in the last few days returned to mind in full force, she closed her eyes. Help me to rely on You, Lord.
After church their family met John and Jenny Zachary at the Zinger Restaurant and found a table in the back section that was big enough to accommodate six people. The adults ordered the buffet. The boys wanted burgers.
Naturally the subject of the murder came up in the course of dinner conversation. The matter of Gabe’s assault was not mentioned in front of the boys.
“My folks are still somewhat active in the business community,” John said. “They’ve owned their car dealership for many years, but they’re curtailing their hours and delegating more work to trusted employees now.”
“Is your dad still president of the Chamber of Commerce?” Kyle asked.
John paused in the act of drizzling sweetener from a paper packet into his iced tea. “No, but he’s still a member and attends most of the meetings. In a conversation we were having at their house last night he mentioned that Jake Crawford was vice president this year. I assume he was thinking about having Jake advance up the chain to president, as typically happens, but I don’t know how Dad felt about it.”
Toni’s interest heightened. “Did he say anything about Jake’s recent behavior, like if he had been at odds with anyone?”
“No, but he said Jake had seemed moody lately. Intense. Worried. But he had no idea why.” With that, he focused his attention on his dessert.
Jenny, who had been listening quietly, tapped her fingers on the table, her face taking on a pensive look. “I just thought of something. Did you know that the Hartman boy who snatched your purse dates the Crawfords’ daughter?”
Toni glanced over at the boys. “Are you two finished eating?”
They both nodded.
“May we go to the van?” Gabe asked. He looked exhausted, but he had moved without noticeable stiffness at church and here.
“That’s okay. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
Nothing more was said until they had left the room.
“I saw those two together this morning,” Kyle said when the four of them were alone—or as alone as you could be in a busy restaurant. “Do you think they’re involved in drugs?”
John shrugged. “I wish I could say for sure that I don’t, but I can’t. They’re exposed to them, and the combination of peer pressure, curiosity, and the availability of drugs creates a lot of temptation.”
Kyle nodded. “It’s a materialistic world, and kids learn to want the best. Money is necessary to have that best, and getting more of it often leads to dealing.”
Jenny raised a finger for attention. “Remember that their parents are involved in a bowling league that has parties where it’s rumored that drugs are used.”
Toni nodded, absorbing the implications.
“I heard that the Hewitts are getting a divorce,” Jenny continued. “It sounds like the lifestyle may be causing trouble. Their daughter is only in middle school. Their son, Cory, should graduate this year.”
“If he doesn’t get in any more trouble,” John added.
“What kind of trouble?” Kyle asked.
John glanced around to be sure no one was paying attention to their conversation. When satisfied that they were not, he said as softly as he could in the hum of the place, “He was arrested for drug possession. Being suspended caused his grades to drop.”
