Murder Mysteries # 4

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  Stacy asked, "Rhona, this is just a preliminary interview at this time. I'm the bearer of bad news. Patsy Lane was found murdered and we're doing or will be doing everything in our power to bring the killer to justice."

  Surprising not a lot of blubbering was heard over the phone. Stacy waited and Rhona said, "I knew something bad happened when all contact was lost last Wednesday. There'd been a new guy hanging around her lately and she kind of fell for him. I warned her not to be so easy and to check him out first. She scoffed and said she was a big girl and could tell if a guy was evil or not."

  Rhona, could we meet tomorrow for an interview here in my office downtown," asked Stacy.

  "I can do that very thing. What time?"

  "How's 10 am sound," asked Stacy.

  "Fine I'll be there and another friend of ours will come with me. She's more of a busy body than I am," said Rhona with a small laugh.

  Tall Man Rides into Town

  Rory came through the office door at almost 5:30 on the dot. He flashed a white ivory smile at Emma who almost fell out of her chair looking at the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Emma looked up at the bluest eyes imaginable. With her mouth slightly open, Stacy saved her from total embarrassment saying, "Emma this Rory Caltex a detective with the state police stationed in North Bend."

  "Nice to make your acquaintance Rory," said a quickly recovering Emma. Rory had put in motion a neck swivel back and forth between Stacy and Emma.

  "With a voice to die for she heard Rory say, "Me too Emma. Stacy told me a few things about you and my father Walt Caltex who knows you as well."

  "Now I remember Stacy. Yes, Walt Caltex was and or is a fine policeman and also a nice guy. He never hit on me once; much to my chagrin, I might add."

  "Alright let's lock up and find some nice place to eat. I'm sure Tall Man here is famished," said Stacy poking him in the ribs with her elbow.

  Without a guide they walked around downtown until they saw what looked like a good restaurant. As it turned out, it was a good one that served baked chicken that was one of Stacy.' favorites. As usual, Rory went for the biggest steak and baked potato. Emma was like Stacy and had the same baked chicken.

  They each and a glass of wine and discussed the case with Rory listening, but hardly taking his eyes of his crush. Emma would've been blind not to see how head over heels this guy was over Stacy.

  After dinner they went their separate ways. Rory followed Stacy to her apartment.

  A Night to Remember

  This was Rory's first time inside the apartment. He wandered around thinking it was quite spacious with a nice view off the back towards the southern hills of Eugene and in the front an attractive court yard with a pool.

  Stacy changed out of her clothes, took a shower and met him in the living room on the new sofa which sat in front of a giant TV screen attached to the wall. Rory found some lemonade in the refer and had two glasses sitting on coasters atop the heavy wooden coffee table.

  "I wanted a table I could put my feet up on. The end tables are in production at dads shop. Well Tall Man tell me about what's happening on the coast of Oregon."

  "It's been really quiet lately. We've not much to investigate as crime seems to have ceased since you left," he said chuckling. "Now Ben's been kind of depressed since you left. The rather mundane days are getting to him. Other than that, oh wait a minute," he said sitting up a bit, "Captain Blane told me a Captain Louver called him about you. Blane was laughing like hell and when he said that Louver thought the new US Marshall was a tom cat looking for a girlfriend. He laughed even louder. When he quieted down he told me that Louver was a political climber and with your first case involving a high profile city government official, you flatly told the captain you wouldn't pussy foot around a kidnapping murder case."

  "Well, it's true that I alluded to that method of investigation. Just because the man holds a high position doesn't mean he's exempt from interrogation. My father told me the entire story of Watergate and Nixon. Just because he thought a president of the US is above the law, he was dead wrong. He resigned in shame and the better for him. Well, enough of that Tall Man, let's relax and watch a movie. I signed up for an unlimited supply of movies by the month.

  Besides, I'm a bit tired and if you're going to ravish my body, you've got to put me in the mood," Stacy said squeezing his crotch making Rory moan with pleasure.

  Certain Facts are Revealed

  Rory had left Stacy sleeping while he went to the small market store nearby the next morning. He picked up some juice, eggs and a packaged of sliced ham. He asked about a bakery and was directed a couple blocks away. He found some blueberry muffins along with some high fiber sliced bread. He forgot the cheese so he went back to the little store for some Cheddar.

  Back at the apartment he went to work preparing scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. What he couldn't find was a toaster. He put that on his list of 'to get' things. He glanced at his watch seeing 8 am approaching. Rory smiled thinking he'd done a good job so far; and the amazing thing was he enjoyed it. All was prepared for when Stacy finished her shower.

  He heard the water running and in a hot second, shucked his clothes and strode to the bathroom. Lucky for him, the shower area was large enough for two. When he stepped in, Stacy had soap in her hair, he stood back admiring the view while she rinsed her hair. "What are you staring at Caltex," she said rather sternly.

  "You should have been a model with a body like yours," he said.

  "I'd rather make money and be known for my brain than my body. Now give me a good back wash please."

  Sometime later, after she'd made sure his unit was nice and clean, they sat down to breakfast. "Nice job Tall Man. I might get used to this kind of life if it wasn't for the excitement of catching the bad guys," she said while eating dry toast because of no butter or jam available.

  *

  At the office, Emma was busy getting things organized the way she wanted her area set up. Both Stacy and Emma were ready for Rhona and her friend to show up at 10 am. Rory was drinking a giant café mocha from Starbucks observing like a good person remembering instead of interfering all the time.

  At just before 10 two really nice looking girls walked in. Rory thought maybe it was time for a master degree in something, as he tried not to stare at the tall bronze beauty talking to Emma. Her friend, a nicely tanned dark haired lovely in her own right, stood back while Rhona asked to see the Marshall.

  Emma, with her notebook and pocket recorder led the way down the hallway to Stacy office. Rory sat where he was in the front lobby warming the chair.

  When Emma walked through the office door, Stacy stood up with a warm smile looking first at Rhona and then her friend, Aggie Wilson. With the formal greetings out of the way and everyone on a first name basis, got down to the reality of the meeting.

  "Ladies, I need to tell you that our meeting is being recorded. If that's alright with you, we'll continue. By the way, nothing you say will incriminate yourself; unless one of you committed the crime," said Stacy smiling. Both shook the heads agreeing to the recording session.

  "When was the last time either of you saw your friend Patsy?"

  "The last time I saw her was around 4 pm Wednesday past," said Rhona.

  "The same for me Stacy. We were all together at that time and then we went our separate ways," said Aggie.

  "Did Patsy say where she was going," asked Stacy.

  "She didn't actually say she was meeting that new guy Rob, but both of us thought she was meeting him for the evening coming," said Rhona.

  "Does Rob have a last name that you know of," asked Stacy.

  "Rob Werner and he's from Roseburg up here working road construction," said Rhona.

  "Was there something you didn't like about him," said Stacy.

  "A better question might be was there something we did like about him. Well Stacy he's a man who puts notches on his belt for how many women he can score upon. He's good looking spends money and is always flattering Pa
tsy; who eats it up with a spoon. I'm not sure how he came to our circle of friends, but it seemed like one day he was there and he's never left!"

  "How about in the last few days, have either of you seen him?"

  "Nope and no idea where he is or where he went to. He'd be high on my number one prime suspect list if I was an investigator," said Aggie.

  "Okay, Patsy was discovered east of here at Blue River Lake. Are either of you familiar with the campground there?

  "Oh my yes. It's our favorite place to hang out in the summer, or at spring break. A group of us in environmental studies go there to party and hike around. So, somebody took her to the lake and killed her," said Rhona with anger in her voice.

  "Yes, they did. I'll need a list of your friends who are part of the group. Now then, do you know a Forest Service guy by the name of Rick Loomis who works that area," asked Stacy.

  "Yes, we know Rick. He'd come by and make sure we had firewood, if it was permissible to have a fire and he'd stop by to chat. He's a nice guy. None of us are beer drinkers, but we do like our wine. He'd caution us to make sure the noise didn't get out of hand. That's about it," said Rhona.

  "Going back to that Wednesday, did either of you get a text message or when was the last time you actually had a text or talked on a cell to her," asked Stacy.

  "I got a text saying, 'see you tomorrow for coffee.' And that was around 5:30 or so," said Rhona. Stacy saw Aggie nod her head the same for her.

  "Do you girls suspect anyone in your group or in your mutual classes that might do Patsy harm or need money badly," said Stacy.

  "No our group of environmental studies is the same ones for two years now. We're all close friends. Most if not all the students are not rich, but not poor either."

  "How about a professor lurking in the background bent upon getting or finding a way to seduce a student," asked Stacy.

  "Nothing there Stacy. Nobody that we know of," said Aggie.

  "A last question for you guys. How was her relationship with her family and in particular with her father," said Stacy.

  "Her father spoiled her rotten. Fran, her mother is a sweet person and we love her to death. The father wanted her to follow in his political path, but Patsy shunned politics opting for a career in enviro studies," said Rhona

  Stacy stood up and said, "I'm sure there will be more question to come, but for now, I thank you very much." Stacy walked them out and Rory stood up with a grin on his face. Both Rhona and Aggie took a long look at him. He nodded his head and when they left, Stacy wondered if they were talking about the handsome tall man in the lobby.

  Round One City Manager

  Rory joined Stacy and Emma in her office. Stacy called Clancy Lane for an afternoon meeting. First she called his office and discovered he was on the job and so was his secretary; that decided the question where he was. Stacy waited on hold while the secretary checked to see if Mr. Lane had time that afternoon for a meeting. The usual elevator music played while Stacy thought about the Rob guy from Roseburg. It was a little obvious, but if he did the deed, find him, book him and case closed.

  "Marshall Foreham, Mr. Lane can see you at 3 pm in his office. Can you confirm that time and place," said a snippy secretary. Stacy confirmed and hung up.

  "I'd best wear my bullet proof jacket when I go to the enemy's camp," joked Stacy. "Let's find a nice place to eat on a lovely coming fall day."

  Rory was driving with no idea where they were going. They drove by the university campus just to look around. Across the street were many restaurants that catered to academia. One such place, tucked in between two other businesses was a deli advertising German potato salad. Emma spotted it and after a long drive to find a place to cross the busy road, they parked right in front.

  After they'd ordered Stacy went over the nuts and bolts of the interview with the two friends of the victim. When she got to the part of Rob the construction hand, Rory said, "I met a guy from Roseburg who is a contractor. He flew in from Roseburg in a small plane looking to go fishing on the jetty. He spotted me and ran over pleading his case. Anyway, I still have his card and if anyone knows of a construction company doing road work in Eugene, it'd be him. I'll call him after lunch."

  "Emma, what do you think about what's happened so far in the investigation," asked Stacy.

  "The Rob guy is too easy and I doubt he's a suspect, but who knows. So far that's the only lead we've got that I can see. What I'm wondering about is where did the city manager get $500,000 cash to pay the ransom? I'd say the person responsible is or lives in the area. What would he do with so much cash? He'd hide in his garage or bury in the back yard?"

  "Like you he's or they're still in town and haven't left. We need to splash this across the newspapers and TV alerting the public if anyone flashes a wad of money let us know," said Stacy watching Rory wolf down a giant roast beef sand and potato salad.

  "I'm surprised the news hasn't hit yet, especially after an autopsy has been performed. So far someone has a muzzle on the media," said Emma biting into her pastrami and rye sandwich.

  *

  At 3 pm Stacy and Emma entered a city office building of various city employees including the city manager. The 'Ms. Snippy' led them up a flight of stairs and in the back was the office of Clancy Lane. The office was spacious, but stuffy, thought Stacy as she took her first look at a middle forties man with perfect white teeth smiling at her. At average height, with a slight bulge in his midriff, Clancy had the beginnings of a silver streaked head of hair that would define him politically.

  "Let's sit at my conference table Marshall Foreham. Also may we dispense with the formal titles and use our given names, if that's acceptable to you?

  "Quite so Clancy," said Stacy sitting down opposite him with Emma on her right side. "Emma will take some notes Clancy and if alright with you, record the interview." Stacy saw him wiggle a little and also detected a slight tic in his left cheek at the news of a recording.

  "The recording is private and confidential," added Stacy.

  Her relaxed and nodded his approval. Stacy added in voice to the recorder that Clancy Lane approved of the recording.

  "Tell me the story from beginning to end Clancy."

  "On Wednesday, lord not that many days ago, I'm working in my office. My daughter Patsy usually calls around 5 pm to check in. I see it's closer to 5:30 than 5 so I check my phone for any messages. Nothing there. I'm not concerned as she's a big girl and can take care of herself, I thought. I send a quick text and proceed to finish up and go home. About that time my wife Fran calls asking me if I'd heard from Patsy. I told her no and she said she'd sent some messages with no response. I told her I'm on my way home and not to worry.

  At home we try not to over react. Fran sends a text to Rhona and Rhona responds telling us no contact with Patsy since around 5 pm. She'd walked off towards the health clinic

  By 8 pm my wife is a nervous wreck when I receive a text saying, and I quote, "Clancy Lane. Iv ur dtr. I cl u.''. My phone rings, cell phone, and a voice that sounds like it's in a deep well or tunnel tells me that my daughter is safe for the moment and that to keep her alive, $500,000 in fifties and twenties will be required for her safe return by tomorrow at 6 pm. He added no law enforcement or she's dead meat. I asked to speak with her and he said wait. I then heard a very groggy girl voice say, 'daddy help me'. I'm sure it was Patsy. When the voice came back I told him a done deal and to let me know where to take the money and when.

  After I hung up my wife went ballistic screaming and yelling for me to call the FBI or our friend Captain Louver of the state police. I argued against it and wish now I'd listened to her. Anyway, the next day I call my banker to arrange the cash. That's lot of cash for one bank. The cash was sent down from Portland. I put it in a backpack and waited for the call.

  At 6 pm he called instructing me to go to Blue River Lake Campground and put the money in the garbage can at site 23. I was to leave and wait twelve hours and then I'd find my daughter in a tent at site 23.
I did as required and found my daughter dead in a pool of blood."

  Both Stacy and Emmy saw him break down, but somehow maintained some composure only watery eyes and a runny nose. Stacy was moved a little, but he should have played the abduction by the rules learned by the FBI.

  "Clancy, I've the usual questions and then some tougher ones. For example, how did the perpetrators know you have or had money that in one day you came up with half a million dollars cash? Few can do that and please explain."

  Clancy squirmed and said "My family, father and mother, are very wealthy. They've owned thousands of acres of land just north of here since the beginning of western migration. My great, great grandfather Silas Lane was the first to see the future of a growing land second to none. Some say, but not all, that this county is named after my family: Lane. For me a phone call home took care of the cash problem."

  "Without seeming to say a redundant question, the fact remains a lot of people know you're are a wealthy family. Do you have any suspicions Clancy?"

  "Of course being in my position in city government, I've some folks who dislike me, but none that I know of who would kidnap my daughter and murder her for money. No, it appears that this crime involves someone who knows my daughter rather intimately. For her to enter a car with a stranger is plum silly. She'd have to know the person or persons."

  "Did she mention recently of anyone special she'd talked a lot about?"

  "Not to me, but maybe to her mother. Patsy as her mother are very close. Check with her on that end of things. I was more the money man behind the relationship, but still played the fatherly role."

  "Frankly speaking, why didn't you contact the FBI Clancy. An intelligent man like you should have known better."

  "I'll admit a bit of selfish thinking on my part. Also I'm not unfamiliar with the results of a kidnap victim returning unharmed. Weighing the entire situation, I went at it alone hoping that all would turn out for the better, not the worse. Politically I'm dead meat. When the media gets hold of this story it'll make me look selfish and uncaring. Those two things will prevent me from any higher office."