Murder Welcomes You to Buxley

by Maddie Cochere

  “I can’t talk to you about it, Jo. It’s an on-going investigation.”

  “You can’t be serious. I know more about what happened that night than you do.” I hesitated. “Unless you found the phone. Did you find it? Did it have the information on it that I thought it would? Come on, Glenn. You can’t leave me out now.”

  He looked thoughtful. “I’ll tell you, but I don’t want Jackie to have any specific details before we have everything tied up. I’ll make sure she gets the information for the paper, but it’ll be when I’m ready. Ok?”

  I nodded my head.

  “First off, these guys are amateurs. It looks like Duck’s been trying to develop his own drug cartel. His middleman to a supplier in Mexico is some guy whose codename or real name is Bender. All of the calls and texts to Duck’s phone came from burner phones, and the phones were changed every week, so it might take a while to find out who Bender is, but Duck has text messages on his phone from the last six months. He tried to use a sort of code, but it was stuff a third grader could figure out – like writing dates as if they were a time of day. Or labeling lists of numbers that were easy to spot as map coordinates. Each of the locations was the scene of a crime, and they included the nursing home fire and all of the fires set Friday night. The information will put Duck away for a long time.”

  “What about Reggie’s murder?” I asked.

  “I thought we didn’t have any leads until I saw what you have on your whiteboard. Your theory about Duck having someone sign him in at Mickelson Foods is probably spot on. I’d like to take your copy of the log and the card with his handwriting. He may confess to the murder when he knows his alibi has been blown.”

  “Why do you think he killed her? If he thought she had his phone, you’d think he’d want her alive to get it back.”

  “He sent a text to her and threatened to kill her because she stole his heroin stash. My guess is the relationship fell apart a while back, and he was furious with her for taking the phone with all the information that was on it. If he couldn’t get the phone back from her, he was going to be sure she couldn’t go to the police with what she knew.”

  “If he got the phone from Susan, why did he try to kill her?”

  “Same reason. If she read the messages, he wouldn’t want her going to the police.”

  In my mind, I saw Duck strangling Susan again. “Glenn, I just thought of something. Duck had a thin rope around Susan’s neck. Do you know if Reggie was strangled with a rope?”

  “I haven’t talked with Howard or looked at his paperwork from the morgue. I can find out for you. Why?”

  “I don’t need to know. You need to know. If Duck used the same rope on Susan that he did on Reggie, there should be DNA from Reggie on it. Don’t you think? If there is, wouldn’t that be enough to prove Duck murdered Reggie?”

  He smiled a bright smile. “Brilliant!” he said. “Let me make a phone call.”

  He stepped into the living room to call the station. I heard him ask for Officer Collins. He asked him to go to the hotel to talk with Susan, get a statement from her, and look for a rope. He sat back down at the counter a few minutes later.

  “Susan already called the station - last night. Collins went over to the hotel and took her statement about the alleged strangling – his word, not mine. He said she gave him the rope, but he didn’t believe her story. She was too calm and her neck was only a little red. He thinks she could have done that herself just by rubbing it. He told her to come by the station this morning if she wanted to file charges, and since she hasn’t come in, he thinks she was making it all up.”

  “He’s an idiot,” I said.

  Glenn smiled. “I don’t think he likes Susan. He said a few things yesterday that made me think he blames her for Sarge’s heart attack.”

  “At least the rope is at the station. Hopefully, you can convince someone to send it out for testing.”

  He began clearing the dishes. I stood to give him a hand, but he gently pushed me back down onto my stool.

  “I’ll clean up. You just sit there and look pretty.”

  I cringed. I had jumped out of bed so fast, I hadn’t brushed my teeth or run a brush through my hair. I probably looked ghastly, and I realized I desperately needed to use the bathroom.

  “Thanks for making breakfast, Glenn. I’ll let you clean up, but I’m going upstairs to get dressed.”

  When I came down twenty minutes later, the kitchen was spotless, and Glenn was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. It was nice having him here. I poured a cup of coffee and went in to sit beside him.

  “Can we talk about one more case?” I asked.

  He set the paper aside. “Sure. Which one.”

  “Johnny Wyler.”

  “I thought you were done with him. If his mother isn’t paying you to do anything more, why would you?”

  “I didn’t have time to put all of my information on the board, so you don’t know the whole story.”

  I told him everything I knew about Susan’s accident, the malfunctioning traffic light, Ed’s chop shop, the information Nick gave us at the diner, and finally how I realized Johnny was involved.”

  He looked alarmed. “Wow, Jo. That’s way too big for you to handle on your own. Does Arnie know this? I can’t believe he’d let you take on an entire police force and a town government to boot.” He stood from the sofa and began pacing. “It could be really dangerous, too. If you go snooping around, someone might want you removed – permanently.”

  He ran his hand through his hair. I knew he was upset.

  “Glenn. Sit down. I’m not doing anything. There’s no one to pay me, and I wouldn’t work a case that far from home anyway. Jackie thinks she can get Nick hired at the Buxley Beacon, and together, they’re going to break the story. Nick has been suspicious for quite a while that something wasn’t right with the money flowing in and out of the police department, and he’s already been digging around. They obviously can’t go to the Hapsburg police with what they find, so Jackie said they’ll contact the F.B.I. when they’re ready to go public with the story.”

  He sat down beside me again and put his arm around me. “Maybe I overreacted, but that’s the kind of scenario movies are made of. Movies with a lot of dead bodies before someone uncovers the truth. Promise me you won’t help Jackie.”

  I laughed. “You watch too much television. It’s a small town, and Jackie could probably uncover the entire story with just a few pies, but I promise. I won’t get involved.”

  He wasn’t convinced, but he visibly relaxed. “So why do you still think there’s something to work on? What do you want to do with Johnny Wyler?”

  I pleaded Johnny’s case. “He’s eighteen, but he’s still a kid. He should be in school and graduate this May. He’s been a good kid all his life, and now he’s mixed up with these jerks in Hapsburg. I don’t want to see him get caught up in this when it all falls apart. His mother is a nice woman, and this will break her heart. What’s the best way to get him out without blowing Jackie’s chances to uncover the story?”

  “It’s grand theft auto, Jo. Even if he walks away now, it’ll probably come out later that he was stealing cars. He’ll do time for every car he lifted.”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of giving him immunity in exchange for his testimony.”

  He made a pooh noise. “Now who’s the one who watches too much television?”

  “Well, at least a lighter sentence. He must have some information that’s worth something to someone.”

  “Let me make a call tomorrow to a contact I have in the F.B.I. and see what he says.”

  “Ok, but don’t give him any specifics. I’m afraid if Ed’s Garage is raided, it will only serve as a heads up to everyone else to lay low. Jackie and Nick will work fast on this, and I don’t think it will take long before the entire scheme comes falling down. That’s why I want to get Johnny out as soon as possible.”

  He smiled. “Is that enough shop talk? We have a cou
ple of hours before Pepper’s party starts. What do you want to do?”

  I snuggled in a little closer under his arm. “I don’t know. I have a deck of cards, a Scrabble game, and there’s always television.”

  His smile turned impish. “I was thinking of something a little more active.”

  I pretended to be surprised but said, “I can do active.”

  My mood was better than it had been in weeks when Glenn and I walked across the cul-de-sac to Pepper’s. A couple hours of active had done wonders for eliminating the buildup of stress I’d accumulated all week.

  We were nearly to the end of the driveway when I saw Darby’s car coming down the street.

  I nudged Glenn. “Susan and Darby. Pepper didn’t tell me they were coming.”

  “She’s pretty enamored with him. Most of the ladies in town are. Why haven’t you fallen under his spell?”

  “He’s attractive, and he’s nice, but he’s not my type. I like my men with guns and dimples.”

  He laughed and gave my hand an affectionate squeeze.

  We waited for them to park and get out of their car. Susan seemed cheerful and didn’t appear to have suffered any ill effects from last night.

  “How are you feeling today?” I asked her.

  “I’m tired, but I’m fine,” she said. “How are you?”

  “I’m good.” I nodded Glenn’s way. “You both know Glenn.”

  I led everyone into the house, through the kitchen, and into the garage. Pepper and the kids had done a wonderful job of decorating. Red, pink, and white covered nearly all of the garage clutter. The atmosphere was festive.

  Buck shouted, “There she is. Buxley’s hero.”

  I laughed, took a little bow, and said, “Thank you.”

  Mama rushed over and was practically batting her eyelashes when she said, “Hi, Darby. Is this your wife?”

  His smile was beautiful and his laugh charming. There was no way I would have admitted to Glenn that I was a little under his spell.

  “No, Estelle, this isn’t my wife. I told you, I have a life partner.”

  She screwed up her face and looked confused.

  “Mama,” I said. “Darby’s gay.”

  The woman could be so embarrassing at times. Her eyes opened as wide as she could possibly get them, and an astonished look came over her face. She shrieked, “What? You mean to tell me I’ve been hangin’ with one of the gays all week?”

  Pepper looked like she wanted to kill Mama. I couldn’t hold back laughter.

  Darby smiled and appeared entertained by her words. “So, what do you think?” he asked her.

  She puckered up her face as though pondering one of life’s greatest questions. She finally smiled and said, “I think I gotta get me some more gay friends.”

  He doubled over with laughter. I didn’t know how much time he’d spent with Mama all week, but it was obvious he liked her.

  Pepper rushed over to take our coats. “Help yourselves to some food,” she said.

  The four of us walked to the tables at the back of the garage. Susan, Darby, and Glenn went for the sandwiches, but I had my eye on the pies - specifically the blueberry.

  Buck introduced himself and set out extra lawn chairs for Susan and Darby. Glenn walked over to stand next to Roger and Mama. I stayed with the pies.

  “Buck, duck, puck,” Keith said behind his dad.

  Buck turned around and warned him with a frown, “Knock it off.”

  Aunt Bee sat down beside Susan. “How are you doing, Susan? I’m Bee. Have you recovered from your attack last night?”

  She looked confused and surprised. “How did you hear about it?”

  Ha! If she stuck around long enough, she’d find out that news travels like lightning with all the busybodies in this town.

  “Jackie was having dinner with Matt at Parker’s when she got the text from Jo that there was trouble at the flea market,” Aunt Bee said. “When she called Matt and said Jo told her Duck tried to strangle you, he repeated it out loud. Milly was at the next table and wouldn’t let him leave until he told her what was going on. Everything was on the gossip wire within the hour.”

  That sounded just about right to me. I took another bite of pie.

  Darby explained to Susan, “Milly owns the beauty shop, and Matt is Jackie’s husband.” He pointed to Matt.

  Susan still looked confused. “How did Jo know Duck tried to strangle me?”

  Now Aunt Bee looked surprised. “Don’t you know? It was Jo who barged in and stopped Duck before he could kill you.”

  I looked over at Susan just as I was about to pop another bite of pie into my mouth. It fell off my fork and rolled down the front of my blouse before splatting on the garage floor. “Poopyshorts,” I muttered under my breath.

  Pepper rushed over with napkins to give me a hand, but ended up making an even bigger blueberry smear on my blouse. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to eat a meal without getting something on my clothes.

  Pepper’s cat, Mr. Honey, made a rare appearance when he came out from behind a stack of boxes and began licking the pie blob.

  “I never saw her,” Susan said. “Mrs. Rorski from across the hall came in and said she saved me.”

  I took my pie and walked over to fill Susan in on the details. I was struck again by how beautiful she was, and here I was with a blueberry stain on my shirt and shoveling more pie into my mouth. I held up a forkful and said, “I only do this on occasion. I’ve actually lost about twenty pounds this year.”

  Susan smiled. “You don’t have to worry about what you eat in front of me. We had pizza last night, and if you don’t eat all the blueberry, I’m going to have a slice. Blueberry’s my favorite.”

  Pepper laughed. “Really? It’s Jo’s favorite, too. You know, I think the two of you are a lot alike.”

  I highly doubted I was anything like Susan.

  I took another bite and said, “Mrs. Rorski did save you.”

  “How?” she asked.

  “Did you give her one of my cards?”

  “I did,” she said. “I told her if she ever needed to tell the police something, she should call you, and you would pass the information on to them.”

  “Well, she called,” I said. “She said the duck hunter went into your room, and she didn’t like that because Reggie didn’t live there, and he had no business being with you.”

  Pepper came to stand beside me and told Susan, “Buck knows Duck from driving truck.”

  Keith looked up from a plate of cookies he was eating and snickered loudly, “Buck, duck, truck.”

  Mama guffawed and said, “Keep it up, Keith. You’re going to slip up, and then you’ll be rubbing my feet for a week.”

  Keith grinned and said, “That would suck, but no such luck. And look! Here comes Huck.”

  Darby chuckled and said under his breath, “That kid is hilarious.”

  Keith was referring to Hank as he walked into the garage. A chorus of Hank! went up from the group. He waved to everyone and walked over to sit with Mama and Roger. It dawned on me that this was a Valentine’s Day party, and Hank didn’t have a girlfriend. He was nearly thirty years old, never married, and it had been a long time since he had dated anyone. A few years ago, Mama set him up on a few dates with daughters of her cronies, but after four disasters in a row, he threatened to never speak to her again if she didn’t stop.

  Pepper continued the story with Susan. “As I was saying, the two men know each other. When Duck came to the house last night, I didn’t think too much about it, because he was here in October for our Halloween party. I heard him telling Buck that he was heartbroken over Reggie’s death. When he said he thought she had his phone with her the night she was killed, I told him Susan had Reggie’s things to give to her parents.”

  I picked up the story. “I got here just as Duck was leaving. Glenn was working, so I was going to watch a movie with them.”

  “You’ve Got Mail,” Pepper said. “I love that movie. I wa
tch it every time I catch it on television. Can you believe Jo’s never seen it?”

  Darby looked shocked. “You’ve got to be kidding. It’s a classic. I love the ending where the dog, Bailey – don’t you love that name – Bailey runs up to her in the park, and she realizes that her email romance is the guy she loves in real life.”

  “I know!” Pepper said. “Me, too.”

  I shook my head. “You two realize I didn’t get to see the movie, don’t you?”

  “It’s a chick flick,” Darby said. “You can see the ending coming a mile away. Watch it. You’ll still enjoy it.”

  “No she won’t,” Pepper said. “She was just humoring me last night. She’d rather watch a crime show or courtroom drama.”

  “Could we focus here, please?” I asked. “After snacks, drinks, Buck, and the kids were ready, I remembered I forgot to check the messages on my answering machine.”

  “You have an answering machine?” Darby asked.

  “She sure does,” Aunt Bee said. “It’s hooked up to her red phone. It’s an old rotary phone she uses for the Two Sisters and a Journalist business. It used to be super secret, but now the whole town knows the number.”

  I could barely stand to remain in the conversation. The group had the attention span of a gnat. I forced my story forward.

  “My answering machine. The light’s burned out and doesn’t flash anymore, and I forgot to check my messages. So, before we started the movie, I called to hear them.” I motioned toward Susan. “Yours were on there. And so was the one from Cecelia Rorski saying the duck hunter was in your room, and he shouldn’t be there.”

  Pepper said, “When Jo told me what the message said, I told her Duck probably went to see you to get his phone back.”

  “After hearing your message, I knew you were in trouble,” I said. “I was afraid I might be too late by the time I got your room number and took the elevator. Your door was open, but I didn’t have a weapon.” I made a point of looking over at Glenn and saying, “Some people don’t think it’s a good idea for me to have a gun.”

  A collective murmur went up with everyone agreeing I shouldn’t have a gun. I was getting used to their lack of faith in my ability to handle a weapon, but it still stung a little that no one was on my side – not even Pepper or Jackie.