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Keyed in Murder

Page 16

by Helen Gray


  Supper that evening was hastily prepared sloppy joes and potato salad, but her guys ate as if it were a feast.

  “Go on and take your showers,” Toni said when the boys finished eating.

  When they were gone from the kitchen, Kyle helped clear the table. “While you were fixing our food, I overheard the boys chatting.”

  “I guess they rehashed the tournament.”

  “Yeah. But when I left the den to go to our room, I could hear them more clearly from the hall. I heard Garrett tell Gabe that he saw Donnie Chandler and Alex Kingsley smoking cigarettes in the bathroom.”

  Toni paused in wiping the table. “Do you think Garrett was offered one?”

  “If he was, he didn’t say so. He seemed to think they were going to get caught sooner or later and wish they hadn’t smoked at school.”

  “It’s all right if it’s not at school, huh?” She gave the table a hard final swipe.

  “I’ll be on the alert for an opportunity to mention reasons for not smoking to them.”

  “You do that,” she said as she went to the sink.

  Kyle tucked a pot holder into a cabinet drawer next to her. “He also said that when he went out to the parking lot, Twila and Karen were ahead of him and that Karen’s husband pulled up beside them. After Twila went to her car, Mr. Lawson told Karen to get in the car, and he sounded mad.”

  Toni paused in wiping the sink and turned to face Kyle. “That child is almost too observant. But it makes me wonder if there’s another marriage on rocky ground.”

  That evening Toni was just emerging from the shower when the land line phone rang. She grabbed the extension from her bedside table. “Hello.”

  “This is Bonnie Crawford,” the caller said, sounding tense. “My auditor finished her work yesterday and gave me her report. I spent this afternoon visiting some of my most trusted employees and pieced together how my bookkeeper has been operating. You may have a vested interest in helping me handle this.”

  “How?” Toni asked, unable to interpret Bonnie’s meaning.

  “I want to fire Stephanie, but I need irrefutable proof of her stealing. If you help me get it, we could both be rid of a threat to our finances.”

  She had to mean the science club fundraiser in Toni’s case. “Tell me more.”

  What sounded like a sigh of relief reached her ears. “Stephanie has been ordering extra goods, items that would appeal to teenagers, and sneaking them out in grocery bags. I think Jake must have been onto her, but had delayed telling me until he had proof. Can you help me get it and nail her?”

  The request intrigued Toni, but also stymied her. “How could I do that?”

  “Find out how she’s disposing of large amounts of things like cigarettes, energy drinks, videos, makeup, and snack foods.”

  Toni grinned. “I’ll have to think about this, but I admit it smacks of a challenge. If I come up with anything, should I call you or the police chief?”

  A small chuckle sounded. “Since it’s related to my store audit—and possibly my husband’s murder—I think I’d like to know first so I can have the pleasure of calling the chief.”

  “That sounds right to me,” Toni said, rather enjoying this new camaraderie with Bonnie.

  Could it result in identifying Jake’s killer?

  Chapter 15

  Toni woke Sunday morning feeling tired and defeated. The police—or someone—should have identified the killer by now. She understood that life was not without stresses and uncertainties, but at this point she felt she had reached her limit of investigative endurance. The murders were unsolved. The school problems were not resolved. She was …dissolved.

  But she still had a family counting on her to feed them, comfort them, and be strong for them. With that driving her, she crawled out of bed and fixed their breakfast.

  When, in the course of his sermon that morning, the pastor quoted from Isaiah and reminded the members that God would be there with them when they passed through the waters of difficult times, Toni took the promise to heart, asked God to take over her fears and burdens, and drew a fresh measure of strength from it. She also was thankful that Kyle had insisted they eat at the restaurant rather than having to rush home and prepare a meal.

  They had just gotten seated when a group of three couples entered the restaurant and passed by their table on their way to the buffet and dining rooms in the back. The men were laughing and having a good time.

  Suddenly Toni spotted what was the cause of so much hilarity from Denver Hewitt and Luke Kingsley. Apparently without his knowledge, someone had attached a sign saying Kick Me to Allen Lawson’s back. Marty Hewitt and Donna Kingsley were trying to ignore the rather immature practical joke of their husbands. Karen Lawson looked like she would prefer to be anywhere but with any of them.

  They disappeared through the rear doorway. Moments later the sound of a yelp and raucous laughter could be heard, causing heads to turn and brows to lift.

  “Mr. Chandler kicked Mr. Lawson,” Garrett said matter-of-factly.

  Toni stared at her youngest son. Frank Chandler was part of that social group, but he hadn’t entered with them. “How do you know that?”

  Garrett shrugged. “I saw him come in here when we were getting out of the van.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. No dream was involved, only sharp observation. But it was still a little spooky.

  That afternoon, Toni curled up on the sofa and stared sightlessly at the black, silent TV screen. Her mind was still in a turmoil, overwhelmed by the fact that there were too many suspects weaving in and out of this investigation, with nothing leading to Jake’s killer. The boys were outside in the yard. Kyle sat in his recliner reading the newspaper and having a cup of coffee.

  A rustling sound indicated he had put the paper down. “You’ve got that lost in the maze of questions look,” he said. “Would you like to use me as a sounding board?”

  Toni turned to face him. “It’s been over three weeks since Jake Crawford was killed, and all I’ve got is a jumble of who, what, where, when, and why questions tumbling around in my head.” And her frustration had to be showing.

  “Start from the beginning,” he said calmly. “Throw those questions at me, and we’ll see if any of the jumbles make sense when we bounce them around. Let’s go back over the entire case.”

  “Well, it started with Jake’s murder,” she said slowly, thinking back. “Then there was a second murder, Ray’s. What’s the connection? What’s the motive that started it all?”

  Kyle put his paper down and contemplated for several moments. “Ray worked for Norm, the contractor who has an alibi for the time of Jake’s death. So far as I know, Norm hasn’t been questioned about Ray’s death, but I know he and Patsy have to still be thinking he will be. What about motive? Were they both killed for the same reason?”

  Toni shook her head. “That one’s easy. It’s no. Jake was killed for whatever reason. Then Ray was killed because he figured out who killed Jake and tried to blackmail the killer.”

  She had fallen asleep last night still thinking about the previous day’s outing with her husband’s unexpected participation. She realized his main objective was to play bodyguard for her, but he seemed to be taking a genuine interest in seeing the case solved.

  “The two victims have very different companions,” she said, mentally comparing Bonnie’s sophisticated, normal look and manners with Glenda’s coarseness.

  “Two people were first considered suspects.”

  “You mean Norm and Ben.”

  Kyle nodded. “When was Norm arrested?”

  “The day after the murder.”

  “And it was the next day that his wife and daughter asked you to play detective, right?”

  “But then there was the defacement of the school building, and that claimed everybody’s—well, almost everybody’s—attention.”

  “You don’t think it has anything to do with the murders, do you?”

  She didn’t have to ponder t
hat. “No, I’m afraid that’s another matter altogether. We’re learning that school gangs happen in small towns as well as cities. And I think there’s one here, and members of it hurt Gabe. So I intend to do everything I can to help identify who’s involved, and more importantly, who’s behind it. Defacing the school building, damaging vending machines, and keying cars are bad enough. But when students are brutally assaulted, the meanness reaches a whole new level. Those are school issues, and the murders are community issues.”

  “So you got involved.”

  When he waited, Toni resumed the recap. “We soon found out about Jake’s stormy marriage, friction among his social group, and why Norm was less than honest. He fired Ray for stealing from Jake, and when he went talk to Jake about increasing security, he found the man dead, panicked, and left for fear of being blamed.”

  “Then you started handing out flyers for an excuse to chat with Jake’s social group. And saw them bringing Ben in for questioning.”

  She nodded. “But he’s been cleared, as he should have been.”

  Kyle rubbed his chin. “The police did what they had to do. If you had seen those phone records, you would have checked them out the same way they did.”

  “I know,” she admitted, sighing in acknowledgement. “Norm was also released when his story checked out. As others have been. Loretta’s brother was briefly under consideration as a suspect. And that led to the fact that Jake’s new brother-in-law, Butch Downing, has to be considered. Tricia Crawford also came under suspicion. Now we have the store’s bookkeeper on the list.”

  “But then Ray disappeared, and later was found dead,” Kyle said, backtracking to their original discussion point. “You found the reason for his death. But not Jake’s.”

  “It’s all connected, though.” She had no doubt of that.

  “Let’s back up a bit here,” Kyle said, picking up his coffee and eyeing her over the rim of the cup as he drank. He put it down. “After Jake’s murder you visited the crime scene, and you found a key.”

  “And forgot about it,” she reminded him.

  “But soon after that, you were attacked. Then there was a prowler here at our house. Soon after that your purse was grabbed. Those incidents all strike me as if someone is looking for something. And the only thing that you acquired along the way was that key.”

  “That stupid key,” she snapped. “Thank goodness, Buck has it now.”

  “But the person who’s after you doesn’t know that.”

  Her head moved slowly back and forth. “And we have no idea why. It doesn’t fit Jake’s house.”

  “But it was found in front of his house. Why?”

  She spread her palms, shrugging. “I guess someone lost it. I’m flummoxed.”

  “Okay, let’s consider those couples you listed as making up Jake’s close social circle. There’s a lot of interaction among those families. The son of one of those couples snatched your purse. He dates Jake’s daughter. We don’t know who our intruder was, but the car he drove belongs to the son of another of those couples.”

  Toni shook her head. “I know it’s all connected, but I don’t know how. I also know that drugs have been implicated. Bonnie Crawford’s sister was desperate enough for them to steal pain patches from residents at the nursing home. And it’s rumored that there are drugs at the parties of those couples.”

  “Somehow I don’t think the murder was about drugs, though,” he said thoughtfully, picking up the newspaper, folding it, and slapping it back down. “Let’s move on with the sequence of events. Patsy came to tell you about Ray’s death, and she was shot—you think taking a bullet meant for you.” His jaw tightened as he said that.

  Suddenly Toni remembered a detail that now felt scary. “Jake’s killer killed Ray because he had identified him. I thought I saw a shadow when I was at the crime scene, but then decided I hadn’t seen anything. I thought no more about it until I mentioned it while talking to Buck. If I really did see someone, the killer saw me and thinks I can identify him.”

  “I’m afraid so,” Kyle said grimly. “I’m not sure what to think about the key—it very well could be just a lost item—but the killer thinking you can identify him means you’re in grave danger. From now on, you can’t be alone. I’ll follow you to school each morning, and I’m sure John and Jenny will escort you home.”

  He picked up his phone and dialed them.

  While he was explaining what he wanted, Toni’s phone rang. It was Patsy.

  “Would it be okay if the kids and I come over for a few minutes?” she asked when Toni answered.

  “Sure,” she said, not exactly wanting to have her restful afternoon disturbed, but hearing a note in Patsy’s voice that said the woman had something to say that Toni needed to hear. She hoped it didn’t involve anything as explosive as Patsy’s last visit.

  “See you in ten minutes.”

  Kyle ended his conversation and focused back on Toni. “It sounds like you’re having company.”

  “Patsy and her kids are coming.”

  “I’ll stick around, but I’ll go to our room and take a nap. Call if you need me.”

  When Patsy, Allison, and Brian entered the house minutes later, they seemed subdued. Patsy’s arm still rested in a sling.

  “The boys are in their room,” Toni told Brian, pointing toward the hallway. “It’s the first door on the left.”

  Seeming relieved to have something to do, Brian headed that way.

  “May I get you some coffee or iced tea?” Toni offered as she, Patsy, and Allison took seats in the living room.

  Patsy shook her head. “No, thanks. I hope I’m not bringing more trouble,” she said with a nervous shudder, indicating she also was remembering her last visit.

  “Kyle’s here, and I’m not allowed out alone,” Toni assured her.

  “I’m sorry about that, but I’m glad you’re being protected.”

  “May I tell her about the game?” Allison asked her mother.

  Patsy pushed her body back onto the corner of the sofa cushions. “Go ahead.”

  The girl pushed her long lightened hair back behind her ears. “Brian heard something at school,” she began. “Then I heard it, too. Well, actually I asked someone if they had heard what Brian had heard. And they had.”

  Patsy grinned at her daughter. “Get to the point, Allie.”

  Allison grimaced. “Sorry, Mrs. Donovan. I’m not sure this is important at all, but there’s some kind of game going on at school. Brian said he heard some boys talking about having to earn a certain amount of points each month, and they didn’t have enough yet. He said when he got closer to them they stopped talking.”

  “So Brian told you about it?” Toni asked, making sure she followed the information flow.

  Allison nodded in quick jerks. “He said the way they were talking, kind of secretive like, made him curious. So he asked me if I knew what they would have been talking about.”

  Toni smiled. “And that made you curious.”

  Her head nodded again. “I asked my friend Jodi, and she asked her brother. He checked around with some of his buddies, and he found out bits and pieces. Anyhow, it seems there’s some kind of game where the members …”

  “Members?” Toni interrupted. “Members of what?”

  The girl frowned. “I think it’s some kind of club, but I don’t know anything about it.”

  A club? Or worse? “How does this game work?”

  “I don’t know. Like I said, I don’t know if any of this is important, but I thought you might find it interesting, or see something in it that means something. Mom agreed, and that’s why she brought us over here.”

  “It is interesting,” Toni said thoughtfully. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll see if I can find out more about it.” Rick Montgomery came to mind. If he didn’t know, he would see it as a challenge to find out.

  She returned her attention to Patsy, thinking it wouldn’t hurt to question her along another line. “Are you aware of a group of
Jake Crawford’s circle of friends who hang out at the Striker Lanes bowling alley and party together?”

  Allison answered for her mother. “You mean that snooty bunch of people who think they’re so special,” she said in teenage overstatement. “They’re sure not special when it comes to bowling. Brian’s Boy Scout league could out-bowl them any time.”

  Patsy gave her daughter the “look” that meant to watch her attitude. “I know the league you’re talking about. I’ve heard that it’s more of a social club than a serious bowling league. They have a reputation for parties that get kind of wild.”

  “Do you think there are drugs involved?” Toni asked.

  Patsy’s brow furrowed. “I suppose it’s possible, but I don’t know for sure.”

  “What can you tell me for sure?”

  Her face went from puzzlement to determination. “Norm and I are documenting every minute of his movements from the time Ray Fillmore went missing until his body was found.”

  She started to stand, but Toni motioned for her to stay seated.

  “While you’re here, there’s another little thing I’ve been asked to check around about that you might help me with.”

  Patsy and Allison both looked intrigued.

  Toni wasn’t sure how to put this. “There’s some question about an employee at the Crawford Supermarket. Goods are being smuggled out of the store in shopping bags. Mrs. Crawford would like to know what is happening to them. They’re way too large in quantity for one individual’s personal use.”

  Both of her guests took on intense looks. Patsy spoke first.

  “That sounds like an employee with the means to access stuff in a way that management wouldn’t know about. May I assume it’s someone with more authority than a checker or stock clerk?” Her words and expression had taken on an air that said she understood.

  Toni nodded. “That’s the situation.”

  “They have a bookkeeper, don’t they? Or a purchasing agent. Maybe that person handles both orders and payments.”

 

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