The River Waits for Murder (The Burgenton Files Book 2)

by C. Ruth Daly

  Donna returned the smile and wondered about what was going on between the two of them but considered Glynda is a good soul and deep inside Evan’s gruff exterior rests a pure heart. “Well, Glynda, we are just going to have to devise a plan. Where are you keeping your portion?” She whispered as if any appliance in the kitchen could be bugged by the new nemesis, Dan Green.

  “You won’t believe it, Donna, but tell you what, grab your beer and let’s take a drive.”

  The two gathered their things and headed out the screen door to the driveway where the station wagon waited for them. “Evan, you don’t mind watching the boys, do you?” Glynda asked as she and Donna got in the car.

  “Sure, Glynda. We’s havin’ fun. Right guys?” Evan returned as he slammed the mallet against the red ball and it went flying through the last hoop. The boys jumped up and down and began pummeling Evan as Donna and Glynda backed out onto the road.

  “They really get along well, Glynda.” Donna remarked as the two headed north out of town. “I’m curious, Glynda, about where the hell we’re going,” Donna said, “This will be interesting. I think.” She leaned over, “Do you mind if I turn on the radio?”

  “Go ahead. I like to listen to country but listen to whatever you want, Donna.”

  She turned the dial to catch the news from Hamilton City. “It’s time for the evening news, Glynda—you know, I want to stay informed.” Donna smiled as she leaned back.

  The radio buzzed with the top news story: “News tonight: authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of Camden County Assessor, Robert Mulligan. Douglas R. Newborn of Chicago, Illinois was arrested this afternoon and taken in for questioning and later released. The station will have more news later as information comes in. A two car accident was reported on…” Donna turned off the radio, “Glynda, do you know who that is? That’s one of the guys from Trevor’s opening party. I talked to him that night. He seemed quiet and reserved. I think he’s one of Trevor’s financial advisers or something like that—I don’t know, but what do you make of it? I wonder how they came to the conclusion that he was a suspect.”

  “I dunno, Donna,” she replied as she turned down a gravel road and headed toward an open field, turning right and under a sign: Camden County Pet Cemetery.

  “You’re kidding me, Glynda. Really? I can’t believe this—and where? Where is it?”

  “Remember my dog, Buttons? I got him freshman year in high school. Well when he got loose and was run over out on the highway, I just decided this was the safest place to keep it. No one in the world would suspect, and I never thought I’d tell anyone. No one knows, Donna—except now you. I haven’t told Rodney or no one.” She cut the ignition and got out. “Well, do you want to go visit Buttons or not?”

  Donna climbed out of the passenger’s side and followed Glynda to a gravesite where blue plastic flowers poked above the ground and below them rested a small plaque: Those we love are forever in our hearts: Buttons August 8, 1982.

  “Nice, Glynda, nice. Here I’ve been toting a gun all this time like I’m some old outlaw and you are quietly living your life with it buried out here with good, old Buttons. I’ve got to hand it to you.” She put her arm around Glynda’s shoulder, “Smart, Glynda, very smart.”

  “I sure liked that dog, Donna. He’s a treasure to me. Made sense. I never thought I’d have a funeral for a dog. Well, rest in peace, Buttons.” Glynda scanned the cemetery and the thicket of trees in front of them beyond which perched a freshly planted field of corn. “It sure is quiet out here, Donna, don’t you think?”

  “Glynda, Burgenton and Camden County are quiet—well except for an occasional murder or two or three. I need to tell you what happened with that Dan guy” she whispered, “We need to be careful. I’m worried that trouble’s stirring up and we might be in the thick of things.” They turned and headed back to the station wagon and Glynda drove around the circle, passing rows of plastic flowers on graves, and back to the narrow road, then to the highway.

  “Gosh, Donna, I can’t believe he said that to you, “Haven’t heard the last of me. Who does he think he is anyway? Sheesh. What do you think he will do? I can’t imagine he has much behind him. He looks kinda sleazy—sort of, but not in a bad way—just like he don’t bathe.”

  “I don’t know, but I do know he seems determined to get this map or the gold. I’m not sure what he’s capable of—he seems kind of like he is quick to anger and he may be irrational—I might be a little the same way, but I know myself—I don’t know this Dan Green—other than he likes rhubarb pie,” Donna muttered, and spent the remainder of the drive staring out the window. The two sat in silence, Donna reviewing the day with Dan Green, his threats, if Professor Lucero was here in town—and where; was it really Rita Brennan with Dan or in the car? They pulled up to the corner by the funeral parlor that neighbored Glynda’s house. The yard was quiet and the two entered to find the four males on the living room couch watching wrestling.

  “Thanks for watching the boys, Evan,” Glynda said as she and Donna passed through the room on the way to the kitchen, “Come on Donna, have a seat and we can finish our chat.”

  Donna reached over and shut the door to the living room and the two sat at the table and outlined what to do. “Okay, I’m going out to the resorts tomorrow and find out from Trevor if Professor Lucero is there and if he is with Rita Brennan. This is so weird, Glynda. I can’t imagine Rita and how she’d hook up with Professor Lucero. Let’s see…she would be thirty-eight, thirty-nine about now, right? I thought at this point in her life she would be married with kids and teaching elementary school. If this were Rita, well why wouldn’t she just come and talk with us directly? Certainly she would do that.” Donna shook her head. “I just can’t imagine. Watch yourself around that Dan, and we really should let Evan in on all of this—after all, he’s been with us all along and look what he did guarding it all those years—for Trevor—not really us. It was for Trevor, wasn’t it, Glynda? But not really for us—we wouldn’t ask that of him.”

  “Too late to second guess all of that now, Donna. This is a mess that started fourteen years ago and we’ve been dragging it around with us, and now, well now here we are and it looks like it’s going to come to a head. I’m afraid, Donna. I don’t like the idea that these people seem to be out for it now. Funny. All these years and no one ever came after it. We sure were dumb kids thinking we could take care of this and hide the gold and now—well now I think we are just dumb kids grown into dumb adults. Be careful when you head out to the resorts tomorrow, Donna. Maybe you should take Evan with you, huh?” Glynda walked to the door and opened it, hollering Evan’s name into the living room.

  He eased himself off of the couch and came in. “Evan,” Donna began, “We have to head to the resorts tomorrow. We have a problem.”

  Evan pulled a chair out and sat down. His face crinkled with concern, “What’s goin’ on, Donna, Glynda? What kind of a problem?”

  The two proceeded to tell them about Dan Green, the arrest of Douglas Newborn, Professor Lucero and the mysterious woman who appears to be Rita Brennan.

  “Oh shit.” Evan muttered, “We’ve got trouble.

  “I better go and see how Thelma is doing, guys,” Glynda offered. “I don’t check up on her enough. She don’t answer her phone much these days. She gets confused a lot and has trouble remembering things.”

  “That’s good of you to have befriended her, Glynda. I never thought Thelma would be someone to trust. What changed, do you think?”

  “When I first started at the laundry, I’d see her now and then come in with her big quilts—you know she likes to make quilts and she’s pretty good at it. Anyway, we’d get to talkin’, and she thanked me over and over for savin’ her life. That night we spent in the woods was something I will never forget—neither will she, she’d say and we’d cry and laugh about it. Over the past ten years she’d check on me after the boys were born and then when my old man left, Thelma seemed to understand and she’d cal
l me and come in and make sure I was doin’ okay. I had Mom and Grandma but Thelma was there for me, too. We realized we had a lot in common—in a way. I said that I’d take care of her too when she needed it. She’s not that old, guys, only in her sixties but her mind seems to be slippin’ from her now. It’s sad.”

  “Well Evan,” Donna asked, “Are you willing to go with me to the resorts tomorrow? We need to get to the bottom of this and find out if Professor Lucero is here and Rita Brennan?”

  “Yup. Sounds good, Donna. I’ll be ready to go first thing.”

  Donna got up and headed out the backdoor and to the alley where her mother’s house was only a few yards away. “Goodnight, guys, see you in the morning.”

  She entered through the backdoor of the house and scolded her mother for not locking it, “Mom, there’s been a murder in town—or near town and no one knows why. You really can’t live like you did thirty years ago when you and dad never locked the house or anything. It’s just not a safe world. I thought you started locking the door after the whole Hollis thing.”

  Carol McNally was at the kitchen table with the newspaper’s crossword puzzle in front of her. “I knew you’d be back, Donna. I didn’t want to make it hard for you and I thought you’d appreciate me leaving it open.” Her mother pouted slightly and Donna went to her, placing her hand on her shoulder.

  “I do appreciate it, Mom, but I worry about you alone in this house. Evan and I are headed to Trevor’s resort tomorrow to check out some things. Will you please lock up the house while I’m gone? Things are getting kind of weird with the murder and there are some strangers in town—Glynda told me there’s this guy who keeps coming in the Laundromat and he creeps her out. Will you please, Mom?”

  “Don’t worry about me, Donna. Irish is picking me up tomorrow and I’m going to her house to help in her garden—but I’ll lock up the place when I’m gone. Don’t worry about me.”

  Donna sat down at the other end of the kitchen table and picked up the remaining newspaper from Hamilton City where she read about the murder suspect, Douglas Newborn, and a threat one of the courthouse clerks had overheard him make while in a meeting with the assessor. The Chicago businessman left the assessor’s office and the next day Robert Mulligan was reported missing. No other information available at this time. “Hmm…” Donna muttered, “I wonder who the clerk could be?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  While Donna and Evan headed out of town to the resorts, Glynda went in the opposite direction to pay a visit to Thelma Carson before going to the Laundromat to start her shift. It was around eight-thirty when they passed each other at the stoplight intersection in the middle of the downtown area. Glynda waved and Donna returned with a thumbs up as they focused on their missions. On the drive to the resorts, Donna reflected on her friend and her kindness; how like Glynda to develop a friendship with Thelma Carson; she pondered the qualities in her friend and as she and Evan drove past Lori’s palatial brick homestead, she compared the two and how over the years, the two good friends moved in opposite directions of the other—Lori to a life of entitlement—sort of, she considered, and Glynda with her nose to the grindstone. Donna watched Evan out of the corner of her eye. He sat in solitude with his eyes on the scenery outside the window. It was nearing the fourth of July and the corn was knee high—knee high by the fourth of July, she remembered from her formative years growing up in Camden County.

  They were now climbing up the hill toward the Morrelli River Resorts and Evan finally broke his monastic silence. “What are we going to do, Donna? Do you think Trevor will let us know who’s stayin’ at the resorts?”

  “Let’s hope so,” Donna answered as she turned on the newly paved road that led to Trevor’s place. The wrought iron gate was open and Donna entered and parked right in front of the office. They got out and checked out the place; Donna scanning the area for any sign of Professor Lucero or Rita Brennan and Evan turned with his back to the office viewing the river below.

  Trevor was inside behind the desk in his office when they helped themselves inside, “Hi Trevor, good morning,” Donna greeted him with a warm smile while Evan plopped down on the sofa.

  “What’s up, guys? You’re here awfully early,” he commented as he peered at Donna over the registry on his desk.

  “Trevor, we have problems,” Donna began but was interrupted by him.

  “You think you have problems? Shit. I’ve got problems. My financial adviser is in jail for murder; I’ve been questioned about murdering Rob, and my fiancée is a drunk. When I was in the garage this morning before work, I was looking around for my hex wrench set because the maintenance guy said he doesn’t have one and needs to fix a table leg in the recreation room—anyway, I’m moving stuff around and in these empty oil cans are bottles of vodka and scotch—then I thought what the hell and I go into the laundry room. Same thing but hidden behind detergent and in a box of fabric softener. So I go up to the bedroom where Lori’s sleeping quietly and I shake her to wake her up. She gets all pissed with me and then I yell at her to tell her what I found. She tells me to stay the fuck out of her business. Really? It is my business. We’re planning on having kids in a year or two after the wedding and she can’t be pregnant when she’s an alcoholic.”

  Both Donna and Evan just stared at Trevor and Donna wondered how he could be so blind to the truth. She noticed it after just arriving in town and seeing Lori for the first time as she stumbled out of her chaise lounge and reach for her drink. She also noticed how unhappy her friend seemed to be with her new life, but thought it may not be an accurate assessment. “Sorry to hear it, Trevor. There are programs to help her. Have you tried Alcoholics’ Anonymous? Do you want me to talk to her? Do you think she’d listen to me?”

  Trevor nodded slightly, “I think she will, Donna—I hope. She seems to respect you—but not me.” His voice trailed off.

  “Okay, I’ll call her and we can do lunch or something then I will talk to her, okay? You know it’s an illness so you can’t fault her for it. She’s hiding something emotionally, Trevor. How often do you two really talk? I mean really talk deep down talks?”

  Trevor sat and stared, “What do you mean? We talk about the resort, money, what we want to do in life—stuff like that.”

  “Well Trevor, I’ll talk with her okay?” Donna sighed, “We have other trouble.” She checked behind her and around the room then whispered, “It has to do with the gold, Trevor. There are people in town looking for it—I think a couple of them are staying here at your resort. Would you be okay with me if I checked your register? I’m concerned a professor I know who is very knowledgeable about the Confederacy and Confederate gold may be staying here. Also—remember Rita Brennan? Well, I saw someone who looks just like her in town—and there’s this guy named Dan Stanley Green who’s staying in town and he’s after the map or the gold. His grandfather is this Oliver Fornsby who gambled the gold to Hollis’s dad and now this Dan guy—who seems kind of crazy, is after it. Trevor, I’ve talked to this Dan and I encountered him at the university when I last visited Professor Lucero and then Evan and I ran into him on the interstate on our way back here. We’ve got problems.” Evan nodded in agreement and Trevor’s head dropped into his hands. Then he pushed his guest registry across the desk to Donna. She opened it and scanned the names. “The only one I can find that’s even close is this Steven Davis—but they’re from Tennessee. This doesn’t make sense. What do you think, Evan?”

  “Dunno, Donna, but his name is the only one that matches. Seems like a professor would be smart and not give his real name. Did you check them in, Trevor—this Davis couple?”

  He nodded a yes, and then added, “He was short and dark—looked like he was Latin and the woman was very fair, tiny and petite with long brown hair—light brown hair pulled straight back and her hair was long hanging down her back.”

  Donna cringed, “Yeah, we have trouble guys. Trevor, where are they staying?”

  “I can’t tell you Donna, but
breakfast is being served now if you want to go into the cafeteria and grab a cup of coffee. Tell the wait staff Trevor sent you.” He smiled, “Then come back and tell me if you see anyone. I’ve seen that couple in the restaurant every morning. Let me know what you find out, Donna. Evan, maybe you should stay here.”

  Evan agreed as Donna left the office and followed the path to the restaurant. The air was already muggy at the nine o’clock hour and Donna could see visitors lining up to register for boat rides down the river. That won’t thwart the humidity, Donna thought as she scanned the groups for any sight of Professor Lucero and this Rita look alike. She entered the restaurant through the guest entrance and found a waiter, asked for a cup of coffee, “Trevor sent me. May I just kind of hang in this corner over here?” She asked as the staff politely obliged and brought her a thick cup. She meandered to a corner near the area where the staff kept the coffee and drinks, making sure to stay out of the way of employees. The restaurant was half-full and Donna’s gaze moved from table to table to spot anyone who appeared to be Professor Lucero or the Rita look alike. There was not one match. She remained in her spot for the next thirty minutes and savored the rich coffee. She had to hand it to Trevor for making a good cup of coffee, she thought, as she enjoyed sip after sip.

  When she was about to abandon her position, she caught a glimpse of a couple wandering by outside the window. It was Professor Lucero and the woman. Quickly on alert, she slinked back into a corner as not to be spotted by the pair as they entered the restaurant where they seated themselves near a window to Donna’s left. The couple did not spot her as she peeked out between two posts by the door to the kitchen which frequently opened, obscuring any sign of her—and Lucero and the woman would not look for her, she considered, because why would they suspect she would be there? The wait staff was considerate and allowed the sentry to remain at her post while the couple she watched chatted over coffee, eggs and toast. Donna considered what her next step should be as she observed the exchange between the two. No, she thought, I can’t approach them here. It needs to be outside. She waited until the couple finished their breakfast then she thanked the wait staff for letting her occupy their space and as Lucero and Rhonda left the dining area, she quietly followed. They were unaware of the woman pacing behind them and when outside in the open and on the path headed back to the Sycamore cabin, Donna blurted, “Professor Lucero! Is that you?”