Colde & Rainey (A Rainey Bell Thriller)

by R. E. Bradshaw

  Ah, so that explained the transformation Leda had undergone. The mother that terrorized her died. Rainey never wished her mother dead, during the turbulent times of their relationship, but gone far away. A place with no phones would have been good. They got along now, since the babies came, but they still had moments. Rainey found herself reminding Constance that saving her life last spring did not equate permission to stick her nose in it.

  A teenaged boy stepped up to Leda. “Mom, I put the last bags of ice in the cooler on the back porch. Anything else?”

  Rainey saw it and she was sure everyone else in town saw it too. Leda’s son looked just like Skylar. From her observation of Leda and Skylar fourteen years ago, she would never have put the two of them together in a million years. Yet, there was no denying that kid was related to the handsome former basketball star. Body language proved it when Skylar crossed close by and Leda saw him. She instinctually moved between her son and the man that was probably his father.

  Just when Rainey was finding this little nonverbal communication interesting, another complication was added to the story when the teenager saw someone across the room and said, “Dad’s here.”

  He wasn’t looking at Skylar, but at a man that looked nothing like him.

  “Go see if he’ll take you to the gym, honey. I don’t think I should leave while all these people are still here.”

  “Okay, Mom.”

  “If it starts to snow, don’t walk home. One of us will pick you up at the gym.”

  Leda watched him cross the room to the man he called Dad. Dad looked over, smiled and waved at Leda, as she returned the gesture. Genuine affection there, Rainey thought. She followed Leda’s eyes to Skylar and saw indisputable contempt. There was definitely animosity and a story between those two.

  “How old is your son?” Rainey asked, curious now, and it was an innocent question, almost.

  Leda turned back to her, “He’ll be fourteen in the fall. They grow so fast. Do you have any children?”

  “Two year old triplets, a girl and two boys,” Rainey said, with some pride and a wide smile.

  “Oh, bless your heart. You must be exhausted, but how wonderful for you. I hear people say horrible things to multiples’ mothers, like ‘I’m glad it’s you, not me’, and I always think, ‘I’m glad it’s not you either’. You are lucky to have all that love in your house, I say.”

  “Thank you, we think so,” Rainey said.

  “Does your husband help you? Benjy was great with Taylor. Both the men in my life are just as sweet as they can be.”

  “I don’t have a husband,” Rainey answered, leaving just enough time for the reaction, and then said, “but I do have a wife.” She reached in her jacket pocket, pulled out her phone, woke up the screen, and turned it toward Leda. “We took this at Christmas,” she said, beaming.

  Leda took the phone and examined the picture. “What a beautiful family you have. Your wife is simply gorgeous.”

  “Yes, she is,” Rainey said, receiving the phone back from Leda.

  “Well, it’s been very nice meeting you, Rainey Bell. I need to get back to the table. Don’t forget to get a brownie.”

  “I will, but don’t tell my wife. She’s limiting my sugar.”

  Leda laughed. “Shame on her, but I promise your secret is safe with me.”

  Rainey turned her attention back to the room and was just about to take another turn through the house to look for Bill Wise, when a voice spoke at her elbow.

  “Rainey?”

  She turned to see Mrs. Wise looking up at her.

  “Yes, Mrs. Wise, I’m Rainey Bell. I’m so sorry for your loss. Your husband was a great friend of my father’s.”

  “Your father was very important to us. I almost didn’t recognize you with the short hair. It’s very attractive, by the way.”

  “I’m sorry, have we met before?”

  “Yes, I met you at your father’s memorial service, but I doubt you will remember me. You were so devastated.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t recall much from that day, but I do remember your husband and what he said to me. I will cherish his words, always.”

  “Would you come with me?” Mrs. Wise asked, beckoning with her hand for Rainey to follow. “Wellman left some things on his desk I think he meant you to see.”

  Rainey followed the shorter woman, stopping with her when people wanted to offer condolences, until they reached a closed door at the end of the main hall.

  “This is Wellman’s study. His sanctuary, as he called it.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she gathered herself and opened the door.

  Rainey followed her into the study. The walls were lined with military memorabilia and the bookshelves with military history books, except one small section. Rainey recognized those books, written by former profilers and criminal psychologist, as the same ones she had in her office at home. A laptop was open on the desk.

  “Captain Wise had a laptop? I’m impressed,” Rainey commented.

  “After he took that class with the FBI, he set about teaching himself to be computer literate. It kept him busy. It also gave him and Bill something to do together, even long distance.”

  “Good for him. I’m glad he found the class inspiring. That’s where I met him first, but I did not know who he was or that he was a friend of my father’s. In fact, I knew nothing of their experience in Vietnam until Captain Wise told me at Dad’s service.”

  “Our son, Bill, is named after your father.”

  “I’m sure he was honored,” Rainey said, realizing the full scope of her father’s importance to this family. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Wise?”

  “Please, call me Harriet.” She moved over to the desk. “I wouldn’t let Bill touch this file until I could show it to you. Look here.”

  Rainey stepped around the desk and looked at the legal pad where Harriet pointed. On the top of the page she saw her name and the phone number for the office.

  “He left a message, but I called back too late,” Rainey said. “The message was garbled, a bad connection, so I’m not sure what he wanted. He said something about a cold case, but I have no idea what that meant.”

  “Maybe he meant the Colde case, Graham Dean Colde, with an e.”

  Ding, ding, ding, the bell went off in Rainey’s head. “Oh, the kid who shot his neighbors. We talked about that when my dad brought me to see the captain, fourteen years ago this week as a matter of fact. Did he wake up from the coma?”

  “Oh yes, he woke up. Could not remember a thing. The doctors at the state hospital kept him there five years. He had to learn how to do everything again, just like a baby. When he turned twenty-one, they saw no need to keep him anymore. A judge agreed that it was cruel and unusual punishment to keep a man in prison for something he did not know he had done. They said he was not a danger to himself or others; so the judge let him go, even let him change his name to avoid the stigma of what he had done as a child. Wellman supported that decision.”

  “He supported letting a double murderer out of prison?” Rainey asked, just to verify she heard Harriet correctly.

  “Yes, he did. Of course, he never believed the whole story was ever told. He was sure someone else was involved or put the Colde boy up to it. He was obsessed with that list. Especially when the people on it started dropping like flies.” She moved some papers and produced a thick file. She handed it to Rainey. “I think he wanted you to see this. I can’t imagine what else it could be. I don’t know what he found, but he was desperate to talk to you about something. He called you that morning and then—”

  Harriet started to cry, but reeled it back in and took a deep breath. Strong woman, Rainey thought.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t believe a hunter shot Wellman accidently. No one came forward, not that I expect someone to admit to firing wildly in the woods, but it just makes no sense. Wellman did not hunt. He fished, but he still wore a bright orange vest whenever he was out in the woods. People hunt with rifles
that are too powerful and have no idea where their bullets end up, he would say. He was very cautious about that.”

  Rainey was taken aback. “Are you saying you think he was murdered?”

  Harriet looked Rainey in the eyes and said, “I do, and I think the answer to who did it is in this folder or on that computer. The last thing he said to me about it was, ‘If I’m right, more people are going to die,’ and then he did.”

  “He didn’t tell you what he thought he was right about?”

  “No, he did not share that information with me.” She touched the desk, trailing her fingertips over her husband’s things, “I would like to leave you with his notes to see if you can figure out what he meant. I need to go back out and see to the guests. It keeps me from being so damn angry.” Harriet looked up at Rainey. “Find out if my husband was murdered because of what is on this desk.”

  Rainey knew the snow was coming. She knew Katie would be pissed if she dallied around and got stuck here, but what else could she do? Billy would have expected, no demanded, that she stay and figure this out, if she could. If there were any question Harriet or her son was in danger, Billy would have been there for them. Since he could not be, the duty fell to Rainey.

  “Let me call home and tell Katie I’ll be later than expected,” Rainey said. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll be glad to take a look and see what I can see.”

  Harriet spontaneously hugged her. “Thank you, Rainey.” She released her from the hug and took Rainey’s hands in hers. “Billy used to come down to fish with Wellman. He always spoke of you with such pride. I can see it was not without merit.”

  Rainey smiled. “Well then, I shall try to live up to my father’s billing.”

  #

  11:35a.m., Overcast, 28.9oF, Windchill 20oF

  “Are you leaving now?” Katie asked without saying hello.

  “No, I need to stay. There’s something I need to do for Mrs. Wise.”

  “Can’t you go back another day? If you don’t leave now, you’ll never make it home tonight. I’m not whining, I just want you home safe so I can stop worrying.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, and you’ve got plenty of help there.” Rainey sighed. She’d really rather be home too. “They named their son after my dad, Katie. I really can’t ignore this request.”

  “What does she want you to do?”

  “Find out if someone killed her husband. She could just be trying to make sense of a tragedy, but she’s convinced this case he wanted to talk to me about caused his death.”

  “How do you mean ‘caused’?” Katie asked, a bit of concern in her voice.

  “Like this wasn’t a hunting accident and if that is true, the murderer is probably in this house right now.”

  “Oh, now that’s comforting. You won’t be driving in a blizzard, but you may be stuck in it with a killer on the loose. Rainey, life with you is never boring.”

  “I know, honey, but at least this time I’m not the one in danger.”

  “Not yet,” Katie said, “but if you find out what Captain Wise discovered you’re going to be, or had that not crossed your mind.”

  “Let’s not go there. Look, I’ll go over this information, and if I can still get home tonight, I will. If not, I’ll find a place to stay and come home in the morning.”

  “All right. I’m sure nothing I can say would change your mind. I love you. Call me later and please be careful.”

  “Always,” Rainey replied, adding, “I love you, too. Kiss the babies for me.”

  “No. I’m telling them you abandoned us in a blizzard.”

  Rainey laughed. “You be nice. Talk to you soon.”

  After hanging up with Katie, Rainey pulled off her jacket and hung it on the back of the desk chair. She took her holster off and set the weapon on the desk. This was going to take a while and sitting with a nine millimeter poking in her back was not comfortable. She unbuttoned the cuffs of her white silk blouse and rolled up her sleeves before opening the thick file.

  She said aloud, “Okay, Captain Wise, what did you want to show me?”

  On the inside cover of the file, Wise had taped down a copy of the hate rant and the list of names from fourteen years ago. The first page of the stack of papers had a title at the top: “The List” and contained the same list of names with a notation beside each.

  Skylar Sweet – Went to college, played basketball, got a degree, and came home to run the family farm. Still a ladies’ man. Cheats on his wife.

  Gordon Terrell – Never left town. Has worked in construction, farming, but mostly works as a hunting guide, when he isn’t high on weed. Does a lot of work for Skylar.

  Adam Goodwin – Went to college, graduated, started his own insurance business. Missing as of April 2013. Went to the beach with fraternity friends. Said he was going to meet someone from high school for a drink and never returned to the cottage. Body never found.

  Burgess Read – Married Ellie Paxton after college and moved to Wilmington to work for one of the studios. In February 2013, died from allergic reaction, accidental ingestion of peanut oil. Found homemade cake, partially eaten. After testing, peanut oil found in the cake. No info on how he got the cake or who made it. EpiPen found near body had been used. Possible malfunction of EpiPen. Possible product tampering? Possible intentional poisoning. Ellie and Burgess were divorcing and she had not lived at the home in twelve months. She was living in Raleigh when contacted about the death.

  Benjy Janson – Married Leda Mann. Lives in town. They took over the diner after Doris died in 2001. Son Taylor is obviously Skylar Sweet’s kid. Rumors of Leda’s rape by members of the basketball team January 2000 – Skylar & Gordon raped her, Adam and Ely witnesses, never confirmed by Leda publicly, but it happened, no doubt.

  Ely Paxton – May 2005 Killed in an accident while putting his boat in at the sandpit. Trailer hitch came loose while he was standing on the ramp behind the boat, which was still on the trailer. Trailer was not chained to truck???? Pinned underwater. No witnesses. Toxicology report said .18 blood-alcohol content. Never known to be a big drinker???

  Cassie Gillian – June 2001 after graduation, dead of apparent suicide or accidental drug overdose of sleeping pills. No clues as to where she obtained the drugs and no evidence of prior drug use.

  Ellie Paxton Read – Married Burgess Read and moved to Wilmington. Worked as an extra in some movies. Returned to town January 2014, after Burgess’s estate settled.

  “Damn,” Rainey said to herself. “If my name was on that list, I’d be worried.”

  She flipped the page out of the way. The next thing in the folder was a copy of the case file for the Paxton murders. Rainey read through it, paying close attention to the autopsy reports for the deceased, medical information on Ely Paxton and Graham Colde’s wounds, and the statement Ellie Paxton gave that morning. Nothing jumped out at Rainey as unusual or unnoticed by the investigators. Their reports were well documented and thorough. Without the anomaly of the transcript of the Eric Harris rant in the shooter’s pocket, it looked very much like Graham Dean Colde was a suicidal, depressed, love sick juvenile with access to weapons.

  Graham Colde apparently walked into his neighbor’s unlocked back door to retrieve his father’s M1 Garand rifle that had been placed in Mr. Paxton’s care. Elbert Paxton, who had slept on the couch, confronted the intruder at the base of the stairs to the second floor. Mr. Paxton died instantly of a rifle shot to the face. His wife, Jane, was next, dying much the same way. She came down the stairs in her nightgown, probably after hearing the shot that killed her husband, and caught a bullet in the brain. Ely was awake by this time and dove down the stairs onto Graham. He wrestled with the much smaller boy, dislodging the rifle from his grasp. Graham then pulled a knife and began to swing wildly. Ellie followed Ely down the stairs, picked up the rifle, and shot Graham Colde twice, once in the head and once in the upper chest, narrowly missing vital organs. The chest shot went through Colde and into Ely’s shou
lder.

  No one had any reason to doubt that was exactly what happened on February 1, 2000. The evidence lined up and the stories matched. Graham Colde was placed in custody of the State Mental Hospital until such time as he either awoke from his coma or died of natural causes. His case was to be adjudicated when and if he was ever fit to stand trial. After five years, in April of 2005, Colde was freed on the recommendation of the state’s psychiatrist and the prosecutor, with the stipulation that he not move back to Hominy Junction. His name was changed and there was no further record in the folder of what happened to him.

  Rainey looked up from the file upon a knock at the study door.

  “Come in,” she said, after closing the file.

  Bill Wise opened the door carrying a tray containing a cup of coffee and a brownie on a small paper plate.

  “Mom didn’t want you to miss the brownies. Dad loved them.”

  “Thank you,” Rainey answered, as Bill sat the tray down on the front of the desk. “I heard they were delicious.”

  “Best I’ve ever eaten,” Bill said.

  Rainey watched his eyes trail around the study.

  “I’m going to miss that old man,” he said, his voice a bit shaky.

  “He was very kind. My father thought a lot of him and so did I.”

  “Your father was Billy Bell. I’m named after him, you know. Did you see this picture?”

  He crossed the room to the far wall. Rainey stood and followed him. He pointed at a picture of three variously bandaged, smiling soldiers standing around a hospital bed with a young Captain Wise, looking a lot like Bill Wise did today. The man at the Captain’s right shoulder was a grinning young twenty-something Billy Bell.

  “They came to see him, after they carried him out of the jungle. Your father was my father’s hero. He could never say enough about how much he owed Master Sergeant Bell. I met him, your father. You look like him, the same eyes and hair.”