by A.R. Wise
Chapter Fifteen
Bentley’s text read, ‘Uncle Danny’s coming in.’
Lincoln sighed and tossed the phone onto the passenger side seat. He muttered a curse, and then turned up the music, allowing Buddy Guy to drown out his concerns.
When he got to Boulder, he decided to get coffee before heading to the office. As he was standing in line he got another text from Bentley asking when he thought he’d be in. Lincoln answered, explaining he was almost there, and then asked if Bentley or Hector wanted some coffee.
He didn’t get an answer in time, and decided to order three coffees just in case. After the barista loaded the cups into a carrier, he left on the short walk to the office. He jogged across 11th, away from the section of Pearl Street that was closed to traffic, and saw a van parked outside of the office, blocking several other cars. At first he didn’t pay much attention to the featureless, white van, but then the side door opened and two men stepped out. They looked directly at Lincoln and headed towards him.
Lincoln looked at the van’s side mirror and saw the reflection of the man sitting in the passenger seat of the van. It was Clyde Pettigrew.
“Mr. Pierce?” asked one of the young men approaching him. As they neared, Lincoln noticed they were twins. The one speaking had a tuft of black hair on the top of his head, and the other was completely shaved, giving them an individuality their identical faces would otherwise deny.
“You need to come with us,” said the bald one. The two men stood before him, blocking his way. They both stood taller than Lincoln, with shoulders so wide that Lincoln guessed their suits had to be custom made.
“Sorry, but I’ve got…”
The one with hair moved his suit coat to reveal a pistol holstered at his side. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
“You think showing me a gun’s going to make me want to get in a van with you? Tell your boss that if he wants to talk to me, he can come up to my office.”
A car honked behind the van, and the altercation was getting noticed by people walking along the busy sidewalk. Clyde Pettigrew rolled down his window and said, “Lincoln, get in the damn van. We need to talk.”
“I quit taking rides in strange vans back in college. Why don’t you and the steroid twins pony up the six bucks to park in the garage and then come up to the office?”
Clyde grimaced, and his mustache twitched. He pointed at his two men and said, “Go with him. I’ll be up in a minute.” The van’s wheels screeched as it headed down the street, leaving Lincoln with the two thugs.
“I’d offer you coffee,” said Lincoln as he looked down at the three cups he was carrying, “but I don’t like you. So go fuck yourselves.”
“We’re fine.”
He led the way to the office and saw that Bentley had been working on updating the whiteboard with details about the crime they’d learned from the previous investigator’s notes. There was a map of Boulder taped to the center of the board with a red line drawn to depict the route Trent supposedly took from the mall to the scene of the crime and back again. A timeline of the crime was written beside the picture, meticulously mapping out all the details that were considered facts versus conjecture. The facts were written in black, like the timestamps from the security video at the mall, and the conjecture was written in red, like the prosecution’s account of Trent’s trip to the crime scene.
Bentley heard Lincoln come in and said, “There you are.” His back was turned to the door as he worked on updating the whiteboard. “I sent Hector to the store to…” He paused when he saw the twins come in next. “Mike, Jason, what are you guys doing here?”
“Bentley?” asked the bald twin. “You know this piece of shit?” he asked in reference to Lincoln.
“Wait, you guys know each other?” asked Lincoln.
“Yeah, this is Jason,” said Bentley as he nodded towards the bald twin, “and that’s Mike. We used to hang out.”
“Are these the guys who jumped Grant?”
Bentley nodded.
“You mean Hedland? Why are you telling him about that shit?” asked Jason, annoyed with Bentley.
“We were interviewing Grant and he recognized me,” said Bentley. “I didn’t know he was the same guy that worked with you until we met him.”
“You need to keep your mouth shut, bro,” said Mike as he pointed a meaty finger at Bentley. “What the fuck are you doing sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong? And why are you telling this guy about our business?”
“Look, there’s been some sort of misunderstanding here,” said Bentley.
“I guess so,” said Jason as he cracked his knuckles. “You guys have a lot of nerve.”
“What the fuck is this shit?” asked Mike as he walked over to the whiteboard. There was a section on the board about Grant Hedland, and featured his mugshot. “Are you trying to get him to rat us out?”
“What? No,” said Bentley defensively. “Of course not. We’re looking into a murder case, and he agreed to talk with us about it.”
Lincoln looked through the glass wall to the lobby below and saw Clyde Pettigrew enter and head to the staircase that led up to the opposite side of the second floor. Lincoln opened the door and called out to him, “Clyde, wrong side. We’re over here.”
Clyde descended the opposite staircase, frowning as he did, and then hurried over to the other side. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Mr. Pierce.”
Lincoln held the door open for Clyde and said, “Yeah, so I’ve heard.”
“I’ve got your business card here,” said Clyde as he took Lincoln’s card out of his pocket. “Do you know where I got it?”
“I gave it to you,” said Lincoln.
“You gave me one, but not this one.” He waggled the card in front of Lincoln’s face. “I got this one from James. I think you know him. He’s the security manager at a property I own.” Clyde’s face was turning red as he threw the card at Lincoln. “He tells me you were there, traipsing around, asking questions and going places you don’t belong. And the way James tells it, you’re looking to buy my property. Now, when he first told me your name I didn’t know what to think. And then James said you were asking questions about our security system, and you were out in the back lot. That’s when this whole thing clicked.”
Clyde stepped forward and pushed Lincoln. It was a surprise, and Lincoln was caught off guard. He fell hard against the wall and was about to retaliate when the twins stepped in to intervene. They held Lincoln as Clyde continued, “Who’s paying you to shut me down? Is Dan in on this?”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” said Bentley as he tried to calm the situation down. “We’re not trying to…”
“Shut up, kid,” said Clyde. “No one’s talking to you.” He turned back to Lincoln and said, “Tell me who you’re working for.”
“Like he said, you’ve got it all wrong.” Lincoln struggled in the grip of Mike and Jason. “Now call off the dipshit duo and I’ll explain it to you.”
“Let him go,” said Clyde, and the twins obliged.
Lincoln smoothed his suit coat’s sleeves and then straightened his tie. “No one’s paying me to shut you down. I don’t care about your business, or what sort of agreement you have with Dan. What I do care about, however, is that one of your former associates was involved in a murder trial, and you convinced him to lie on the stand to cover your ass.”
Clyde’s stern expression softened. “You mean Grant? Are you talking about those two dead kids?”
“Betty Kline and Devin Harcourt,” said Lincoln as if Clyde’s failing memory was an insult to the children. “Someone killed them ten years ago, and one of your dealers got himself right in the middle of it.”
“No,” said Clyde, looking more perplexed than perturbed now. “They nailed that kid. What was his name? The pale weirdo.”
“Trent Kline,” said Bentley.
Clyde snapped his fingers and pointed at Bentley as he said, “Yeah, that’s it. Trent Kline. They caught him
. He killed himself because he couldn’t stand the guilt.”
“No, he killed himself because he couldn’t face life in prison as a child killer,” said Lincoln. “He knew what the rest of his life would be like, and he decided it was better to die. Whether or not he was guilty is up for debate.”
“No, you’re wrong,” said Clyde with a surprisingly emphatic tone. “I wouldn’t let a child killer get off free. No way in hell. I’ve got friends on the force who assured me this was an open and shut case. Trent did it, and he went to jail for it.”
“Your friends might be wrong. The prosecution put together a timeline that was only possible if Trent left the mall through the back lot where your security camera was turned off. Now, the problem here is that the camera in question was only turned off when Grant was dealing. Am I right?”
Clyde grimaced, and didn’t answer. He glanced angrily over at the twins.
Lincoln continued, assuming he was right. “If the camera was off, then that means Grant was dealing. That’s why you sent your goons out to scare him into testifying that he didn’t have anything to do with Trent.”
“They caught Trent red-handed. He did it,” said Clyde, but his tone revealed a sense of desperation. “Grant didn’t remember whether he met with Trent that day or not, but that doesn’t matter. The cops didn’t need Grant’s testimony screwing up the case. If he testified, then that child-killer might’ve gone free.”
Lincoln came to a sudden realization, and he blurted it out before thinking. “You were working with the cops. That’s why they never asked any questions about the cameras. You and the cops worked together to keep any evidence that might exonerate Kline away from the trial.”
“That kid was guilty. The last thing anyone needed was to have the defense attorney start building a reasonable doubt case. And another thing we don’t need is someone like you out there digging into the past and dredging up this mess all over again.”
“Even if a killer went free?”
“I’m telling you, that didn’t happen. The investigators showed me some of the details about the case. Trent was the killer. They were sure of it. When questions came up about Grant and the security cameras, they came to me with the evidence they had against Trent. They were worried that the defense would use Grant as an alibi, so we made sure he kept his mouth shut.”
“What sort of evidence did they show you?” asked Lincoln.
“I saw that kid’s journal, and then they showed me pictures of the shed where he killed the boy. He had drawings in his journal that matched the ones in the shed. They didn’t release the pictures to the press until the trial. Trent drew those pictures in his journal, and he drew them in that shed too. The last thing the cops needed was some asshole attorney looking to make a name for himself by building a reasonable doubt case and getting Trent off. I agreed to help them, and they turned a blind eye to what was going on at the mall. We got Grant to lie on the stand so that piece of shit killer would get what he deserved.”
“And what if you were wrong? What if they showed that journal to someone else? And that person used the drawings in the journal to make the ones in that shed?”
“They didn’t show the journal to many people,” said Clyde.
“They showed it to you.” Lincoln walked over to the whiteboard and pointed at Frank Harcourt’s name. “And they showed it to Devin’s parents.”
“You’re missing the point,” said Clyde. “You don’t know what you’re mixed up in here, pal. Dan’s got himself in a big mess, and this scheme of yours was his best chance at fixing things. If you go get the cops involved, then there’s going to be a lot of trouble for everyone. Understand? I thought you guys were supposed to be working on stupid shit, like Bigfoot, or aliens, or crap like that. If I knew you were looking into closed cases I would’ve never agreed to this. And on top of it all, I find out you’re digging into a case that involves my property, and people who work for me? You’re messing with the wrong person, Mr. Pierce. I can shut you down,” he snapped his fingers, “in the blink of an eye.”
Daniel Barr opened the door to the office and saw Clyde. “Oh, you’re here.”
“Welcome to the party,” said Lincoln.
“Good,” said Clyde. “I’m glad you’re here. Did you know what your friend here was looking into? Did you know about the case?”
“I just found out,” said Dan. “I was coming here to…”
“Bullshit,” said Clyde. “You little rat. You knew exactly what they were doing.”
“Clyde, settle down,” said Dan, sweat beading on his greasy forehead. “I didn’t know anything…”
“Save it, Dan,” said Clyde. “If you think you’re getting out of our agreement, then you’ve got another thing coming.” Next he pointed at Lincoln and said, “Quit your investigation. Figure out some other case to look into.”
“You’re going to let the person who killed two kids get away with it?” asked Lincoln.
“He didn’t get away with it,” said Clyde, seething. “Like I told you, the kid did it, and he’s dead. Case closed.”
“And what if you’re wrong?” asked Lincoln. “What if I can prove who killed those kids without ever bringing any attention to your property?”
“Don’t push your luck,” said Clyde with his crooked finger pointed at Lincoln. “Quit the case, and find something else to…”
“I’m not quitting this case,” said Lincoln, stoically defiant. “Not if there’s a child killer on the loose. There’s no way in hell I’m stopping until I find out the truth.”
“You dumb son of a…” Clyde started to walk towards Lincoln.
Lincoln moved forward as well, confident and unafraid. He spoke loudly, as close to shouting as a conversation could get, “The cameras were turned off because Grant was dealing that day, just like Trent said. That means he didn’t do it, and the blood of those kids…”
Clyde’s face was red as he yelled, “Watch your mouth!”
Lincoln was louder, “The blood of those kids is on your hands.” The room was silent and tense as everyone waited to see what would happen next. Lincoln lowered his voice and said, “Help me make it right. Let me continue the investigation, and I won’t say a word to anyone about the security camera at the mall.”
Clyde’s jaw was clenched and his nostrils flared, but he took a moment to consider what Lincoln had said. “I’ve got friends on the force. I’ll have them keeping an ear out for your name, and if it pops up then I’m shutting you down. I don’t want the police to have anything to do with this. Got it?”
Lincoln nodded.
“And as for you,” said Clyde as he pointed at Dan. “We’ll talk later. Boys, let’s go.” The twins followed behind, leaving Lincoln, Dan, and Bentley alone in the office.
Lincoln cocked his head to the side and looked at Dan. “Mind telling me what the hell that was all about?”
“He’s got a temper,” said Dan as if this should all be looked at as just a joke. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t usually worry about people’s tempers, but I make an exception when they bring guns.”
Bentley spoke for his uncle, “He owes Clyde money. A lot of it.”
“Let’s just hold on a second.” Dan tried to stop the explanation before it started, but Bentley continued anyhow.
“Pettigrew was using the money laundering fronts to move through some of his income, but my Uncle…” he paused for a moment as he thought of the proper term. “…misappropriated the cash.”
“It’s temporary,” said Dan. “My laundry mat got shut down due to code violations. It put a damper on things, and tied up some of Clyde’s money.”
“You stole from him,” said Lincoln bluntly, as if the truth was tiring.
“It’s no big deal,” said Dan. “We can take care of this. If we put our heads together, we can figure this out.”
Lincoln laughed and said, “Oh no, big boy. This is your problem, not ours.”
“It just turned into y
our problem,” said Dan as he glanced over at Bentley. “When I found out about your investigation, I knew it could put Clyde in a bad spot. I weighed all the outcomes, and I figured it had a better chance of turning out well for us. The only risk was if Clyde found out, and… well, as you can see, he did.”
“You wanted us looking into this?” asked Lincoln. “I don’t understand.”
“The reason Clyde gave me his money in the first place was because the cops were checking out some of his businesses and he needed to hide some assets. Some of that money…” Dan wavered his hands and said, “Disappeared. Not forever, it just got tied up, and when he came looking for it, I didn’t have it. I thought if we got your business here running, then I could convince him to settle down, and if a little heat came down on him for the mall, then that wouldn’t be so bad either, so I told Benny to go ahead with the investigation.”
Lincoln looked over at Bentley and asked, “And you were in on this?”
Bentley nodded, sheepish and guilty.
“Son of a bitch! Is that why you hid from Grant? Is that why we went to that restaurant where he’d been dealing? Oh Christ, was that place another one of Clyde’s fronts?” The twisted web was falling apart as Lincoln realized the deceptions he’d been ignorant of. “That’s why you had that stun gun, because you knew Grant might recognize you.”
“No,” said Bentley in earnest. “I had no idea he was the same person the twins and I beat up. I swear.”
“But you knew he was still dealing for Pettigrew. And you wanted word to get back to Clyde that the cops were looking into his business. Well, what a damn fool I am, huh? I trusted you, kid, and this whole time you were playing me.”
“Don’t blame him,” said Dan. “He was just doing what I told him to.”
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing. I’m not quitting this case.”
“I didn’t figure you would,” said Dan. “But keep the cops out of it. We don’t need more trouble than we’ve already got, and Clyde’s got friends in high places in this town.”
