Deadly Waters

by T. Alan Codder

  “Of course. Let’s go to the conference room where everyone can sit down.”

  As he led them into the room he waved at the table in a silent invitation to sit down.

  “Nice to see you again, Evie.”

  “You remember Kenny Limpet?” Evie asked.

  “Mr. Limpet,” Sean said, offering his hand, silently thanking Evie for bailing him out.

  He’d remembered Kenny was on the city council, but had been racking his brain for a name. Kenny was hard to forget. He appeared to be in his late sixties or early seventies, and reminded Sean of W.C. Fields. Kenny had thinning silver hair, small squinty eyes, a large, broad nose, and was considerably overweight. He was dressed in a neatly pressed white shirt, the buttons straining to keep the shirt closed, and tan slacks.

  “Nice to see you again, chief,” Kenny said, taking the offered hand.

  Sean grinned as he shook the man’s hand. Kenny rather sounded like W.C. too.

  “Josh,” Sean said, nodding in acknowledgement as he released Kenny’s hand.

  “Chief.”

  “Steve couldn’t make it?”

  The council members looked at each other and smiled, though there was very little humor it.

  “He was… unavailable,” Josh finally said.

  Sean smiled and nodded in understanding. “How can I help you?” he asked, and then gestured to the chairs again as he pulled one out for himself. “Please. Have a seat.”

  “I’m sure you can guess why we’re here,” Evie said as she settled into a chair.

  “I have an idea, but why don’t you start.”

  “We obviously don’t want to interfere in your investigation, or tell you how to conduct it, but I for one want your assurance this isn’t some wild goose chase and you have something to back up your claim.”

  “I’ve made no claim, Ms. Wirick.”

  “Chief, don’t play games,” Evie said, her tone cool and slightly scolding.

  “No games. I’m simply conducting my investigation and going where the trail leads me.”

  “And that has led you to seizing Steve’s computers and truck?” Kenny asked.

  “It has.”

  “And has anything come of it?” Kenny followed up.

  Sean shrugged. “Depends on what you mean by ‘has anything come of it?’ The investigation continues and nothing I’ve discovered has changed my opinion.”

  “Will you tell us what you’ve found?” Josh asked.

  “No, but I ask you to have faith in the system. I presented the evidence to the county magistrate and had no problem getting a warrant.”

  Evie sat back in her chair. “That’s a good point.”

  “I will also say, after the county forensics lab examined the truck, they found additional evidence linking the truck to Thacker’s murder. Nothing conclusive, mind you, but evidence none the less, evidence that’ll be included in my file to the DA.”

  “So, you’re building a case?” Kenny asked.

  “Yes, and the more I dig, the stronger it’s getting.”

  The three members of the city council looked at each other.

  “Sean, there’s a special session of the city council in a couple of hours. The only item on the agenda is your continued service to the city of Brunswick,” Josh said.

  “So?” Sean asked. “I’m not going to drop this. You can fire me if you must, but I’ll leave the case file with Officer Fisher with orders to continue the investigation. We’re going to bring Boyd Thacker’s murderer to justice, no matter who it is.”

  “You know this is a delicate situation, right?” Kenny asked.

  “Actually, I don’t. The fact that Steve Locoste is a member of the city council doesn’t matter to me at all. If he’s guilty, I’m arresting him, just like I would anyone else.”

  “I’ve heard all I need to hear,” Evie said, slapping her hands on the table.

  “Yeah, I think I have too,” Kenny added as he stood and kicked his chair back. “This is some fucked up shit,” he said, and then looked chagrined. “Sorry Evie.”

  She grinned. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

  Evie and Josh rose and joined Kenny on their feet. “Thank you for talking with us, chief” Josh said.

  “Any time, councilmen, and lady.”

  He escorted them to the lobby, and then shook each of their hands before they stepped outside. He glanced through the window into the dispatch office. Terri was watching him from behind her stylish glasses, her eyes large and questioning.

  “Do I even want to ask?” Terri’s voice came over the speaker.

  “I don’t know. I think we’re okay, but there’s no way to say for sure. I didn’t ask and they didn’t volunteer. Buzz me in.”

  When the door buzzed, he pulled it open then stopped in the dispatch office.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, fine. But if they fire you over this, that’s not right.”

  “If they do, they do. But until they do, I’m going to push this.”

  She smiled and gave him a single nod. “You go, chief.”

  “Thanks, Terri. I appreciate it.”

  He returned to his desk and sat down. He didn’t want to go back to his number crunching. There didn’t seem like much reason to keep working on it if they were going to can him in a few hours.

  He sat, staring at the screen for a moment, and then found where he’d stopped. They could fire him if they wanted, but the data was pointing more and more to Steve being guilty of illegal dumping, and he was going continue to build the case for as long as he was the chief.

  -oOo-

  After several hours work, Sean rocked back in his chair and stared at his spreadsheet. It was a rough set of numbers to be sure, but if his results were anywhere close to right, it was clear LoCoste Adhesives was producing more waste than the dumping logs at the wastewater plant indicated. At the very least, he had enough to arrest Locoste for illegal dumping. He may have Steve on a dumping charge, but he didn’t want him for that, he wanted him for the murder of Boyd Thacker.

  Steve had opportunity, at least for the disposal of the body, the means, and now a motive. All his evidence was circumstantial, but it was solid. If he could somehow tie Thacker to Steve, he’d have him.

  He was sitting at his desk, staring at the computer screen, waiting for inspiration to strike, when his phone rang. It was an outside number and he almost didn’t pick it up. It was after hours and he should be at home already, but he reached for the handset.

  “Chief McGhee.”

  “Sean, Evie Wirick. I’m calling to let you know the city council voted on the resolution to terminate your employment. It got pretty heated. You survived, three to two, but you’d better be right about this. If you’re not, you likely won’t survive another vote.”

  He blew out a long slow breath. “Thank you, councilwoman.”

  “Do what you have to, but quickly.”

  “Yes ma’am. I’m moving on this as fast as I can.”

  Twenty-Nine

  Sean was stepping into his apartment when his cell began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the number, but didn’t recognize it.

  “Sean McGhee,” he said as he closed the door.

  “Sean, this is Rich Spangler, city attorney.”

  “Good evening, Rich. How may I help you?”

  “Tell me what’s going down on this Locoste thing.”

  Sean paused and chewed on his upper lip a moment.

  “I’m not sure I can do that. Aren’t you Locoste’s lawyer as well?”

  “Normally, yes, but I’m the city attorney first and foremost. I won’t be representing Steve in this case. He’s threatening to sue you and the city of Brunswick for harassment and unlawful seizure of assets.”

  Sean hesitated. He’d never been in this situation before and wasn’t sure how to proceed.

  “Sean,” Rich said, his voice encouraging and kind. “I’m the city’s attorney, therefore I’m your attorne
y, unless you want to obtain your own council. Anything you tell me will be held in the strictest of confidence, but I need to know what’s going on if I’m going to court over this.”

  Sean thought it over a moment more.

  “I think Locoste killed Thacker,” Sean finally said.

  “Are you shitting me?” Rich cried.

  “No. I have enough evidence now to obtain an arrest warrant on Steve for illegal dumping, but I think there is more than that. I think Thacker caught Steve dumping, and Steve killed him for it.”

  “Are you going to execute an arrest for the dumping charge?”

  “Maybe, but I think I’m close to having him on murder. I’d rather wait and bring all the charges at once.”

  “How sure are you?”

  “On the dumping? Very. Using Steve’s own production numbers, he is producing at least twice as much waste as he is disposing of legally. The murder of Thacker?” Sean tsked. “That’s a little bit harder. I now have motive. I also have Steve on video where the body was discovered. Further, the zip ties and weights found on Locoste’s truck match those used to weight Thacker down. Finally, the handle used to open and close the valve on his truck could, I repeat, could have caused the damage to Thacker’s skull.”

  “But you have nothing tying Locoste to the actual murder?”

  “Not yet. I’m working on it though,” Sean said, sitting down in his chair. Marmalade jumped into his lap so Sean could scratch his ears.

  “You know all the evidence you have is circumstantial and any decent lawyer will pick you apart?”

  “Why do you think I haven’t arrested him yet?”

  “How are you going to tie Locoste to Thacker?”

  “Like I said, I’m working on it. I wasn’t even sure I was on the right track with Steve until earlier today. I’m still not one hundred percent sure it’s him, but for the first time in this case, all the evidence is pointing to one guy.”

  “Steve?”

  “That’s right. Unless he manages to pull a rabbit out of the hat, I have enough to get him on the dumping charge. I have no indisputable proof, no pictures or anything like that, but like I said, his own production numbers show something is going on.”

  “You’re sure he’s not disposing of his waste somewhere else?”

  “Not positive, no. But if he is, he’s driving a long way, a lot farther than he has too. I checked all the nearest wastewater plants and there is no record of him unloading there.”

  “It sounds to me like you don’t have anything solid.”

  “I’m working on it, Rich. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without his computers and data. It was a duly executed warrant. I laid it out straight for the magistrate and he signed off on it.”

  “What’s your next step?”

  “Trying to find evidence to tie Thacker to Locoste.”

  “How?”

  “Now that I’m confident Locoste is dumping illegally, I have some places to check.”

  “What kind of places?”

  “Places that are private with access to the river. I’ll comb them and try to find something.”

  “How likely is that after this much time?”

  “Tracks will be gone of course, but there might be something. I won’t know until I look.”

  “How long?”

  Sean rolled his eyes. “Why does it matter?”

  “Because you’ve accused a well-respected local businessman, not to mention a member of the Brunswick City Council, of illegal dumping and murder.”

  “I’ve done no such thing!”

  “You might as well have. Look, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but this could get out of hand, and fast. The faster you can provide something other than suppositions, the more likely I can get this whole thing thrown out. The last thing we want is to have this tried in the press. That’s too volatile and hard to predict.”

  “Dammit, Rich! I’ve had one person or another from the city crawling up my ass on this since the body was first discovered. My department is working the case as fast as we can.”

  Rich chuckled. “Welcome to small town politics, but you haven’t answered my question about how long.”

  “I don’t know. As long as it takes. I’m not going to be rushed or bullied on this. That leads to sloppy police work, and that leads to mistakes. Would you rather me take my time and make sure I have everything I need to prove Locoste did it, or didn’t do it, or would you rather I rush through it to try to make some arbitrary deadline?”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but are we talking days, weeks or months?”

  “Hopefully days. If it goes to months, that probably means we’re not going to be able to prove it.”

  “Days I can give you, no problem. Maybe even weeks. But if you don’t turn up something, something tangible, this could get really ugly.”

  Sean sighed. “Believe me, Rich, I’m trying.”

  “I know. I heard about the city council meeting today.”

  Sean snorted. “It’s not even about that. I just want to find out who did it because it happened on my watch. I’ll take it as a personal affront if we can’t solve this.”

  “Okay. Tell me about the harassment charge. What’s he going on about there?”

  “I took his son home after I caught him and his friends drinking beer after hours in the park.”

  “That’s it?” Rich asked, his surprise clear in his voice.

  “I guess. Unless he counts me talking to him or the search warrant. That’s the only dealings I’ve had with him. I know Rudy has had his knickers in a twist because I’ve questioned Steve a couple of times.”

  “Was his son actually drinking or was he just there?”

  “Oh yeah, he’d had a few.”

  “Did you test him?”

  “No, but I could smell it on his breath. There were eight kids there, all underage, and fifteen of eighteen beers were empty. Officer Tilden and I took six of them home.”

  “What about the other two?”

  “Catch and release. One of the girls didn’t appear to have been drinking, so she took her boyfriend home.”

  Rich spluttered. “In that case, the harassment charge won’t go anywhere. He should consider himself lucky you didn’t toss his son in jail. So, we just have to worry about the illegal seizure charge.” Rich paused. “Okay, don’t sweat this. I think we have enough to hold off any challenge for now. How soon can you return Steve’s truck and computers?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Perfect. You’ve gotten from them what you need?”

  “Enough, yeah. I was looking for motive. I’ve found it. If I decide to go for the illegal dumping, I’m going to need someone with more expertise than what I’ve got to go over the books. You want me to sic the EPA on him? That’ll probably keep him busy for a while.”

  Rich chuckled. “That’s actually not a bad idea. That’ll make you really popular around here. I think we should hold off on doing that until we need something to show the court this was all done in good faith.”

  “So, we’re in the clear?” Sean asked.

  “Yeah. I think so. From what I heard, it sounded like you didn’t have anything and were fishing.”

  “Yeah, well, I haven’t told anyone but you what we know. I’ll appreciate it if you keep it that way, at least until Steve actually files his lawsuit.”

  “If he does, we can turn over the files to the state that show what you’ve discovered about the waste. Having them show up and begin an investigation will go a long way in helping us, maybe even enough to have the case dismissed.”

  “Is every case I get going to be like this?” Sean asked.

  Rich chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. The Locoste angle makes this one tough. He and Rudy have been friends for years, and Rudy likes to micromanage. Ask me how I know.”

  “How do you know?” Sean asked, his voice light and teasing.

  Rich chuckled again. “Don’t ask. Keep doing what you’re doing and let me worry abou
t Locoste.”

  “Just keep Rudy out of my way. I’m not looking for trouble, but I don’t have a problem arresting him for interfering with our investigation if it comes to that.”

  “Sean,” Rich rumbled, his disapproval of the comment clear.

  “I mean it, Rich. He hasn’t crossed the line yet, but he’s walked right up to it. He all but ordered me to arrest Maggie Neese as a publicity campaign. Now this vote? This is the second time this has come up during the investigation.”

  “You’re kidding?” Rich exclaimed.

  “Ask him yourself.”

  Rich sighed. “I’ll talk to him. Rudy’s a good guy, but sometimes, I just don’t know about him.”

  “Thanks, Rich.”

  “If you solve the murder of Boyd Thacker and the fish kill thing, that’ll be quite a feather in your cap. Just be sure you’ve got the right man.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to prove.”

  “Hang in there, chief.”

  “Thanks,” Sean replied then ended the call. “You ready for some food?” he asked Marmalade, pushing the cat onto the floor and standing up.

  He searched among the dozen or so cans of cat food, and decided Marmalade would get beef stew tonight. He opened the can and dumped the contents in a bowl as the cat weaved between his legs, meowing and purring.

  “Here you go,” he said, putting the bowl down.

  As the cat ate, he opened the refrigerator and stared, trying to decide what he was having for his own meal. He finally decided on stir fry.

  As he opened packages of frozen vegetables, sliced up a chicken breast, and put rice on to boil, he thought about what to do next, turning the problem over in his mind.

  The trail was going to be stone cold, but the next logical step was try to find where Locoste had been dumping. If he’d actually killed Thacker because he’d been caught doing something illegal, it made sense it would be at that location. He had three good possibilities, but he didn’t know what he was looking for or hoped to find.

  It had rained enough that any tracks he found would be useless, DNA evidence would be long gone, and Steve was far too clever to leave evidence lying around waiting to be found. If there’d been anything obvious, he’d have seen it when Randy was showing him around.