Murder at the Courthouse

by A. H. Gabhart

  Hank stopped in mid-reach for his notebook. His eyes widened as he hit his chest with his hand instead. “Mine?”

  “You’ve been digging. You may have found out too much.”

  “You’re giving me the willies, Michael.” Hank looked around uneasily. “I won’t even be able to drive out of here without locking my doors now.”

  “Good.”

  “I haven’t really found anything out.”

  “But you like to sound as if you have, and the murderer may not want to take any chances.”

  “Do you think he murdered Roxanne too?”

  Hank didn’t seem to expect an answer since he left his notebook in his pocket. That was just as well because Michael had no answer to give him.

  Evening shadows had darkened into night before they wrapped things up and headed back to civilization. Buck threatened to shoot out Lester’s tires if he tried to go in front of him down the gravel road. So Lester had to settle for the spot behind the wrecker.

  Justin and the divers were long gone, but that still left Hank and Michael behind Lester, with Baxter Perry bringing up the rear as though he had to close some invisible gate behind them. Lester’s blue lights stabbed holes in the darkness as they made their way back to the main road and gave the whole thing the feel of a funeral procession.

  The slow drive away from the lake gave Michael plenty of time to think about Hank’s last question. While it had been nothing but the weirdest coincidence that they found the car while on a wild-goose chase thought up by a delirious man, that didn’t change the fact that Rayburn had known Roxanne, had even professed to know she had been murdered.

  What if she had? What if Rayburn had been blackmailing the murderer all these years and the murderer got tired of paying? That didn’t explain why Rayburn asked Anthony to meet him at the courthouse. Or was Anthony even telling the truth about that? Or about Rayburn already being dead when Anthony got there? How much had Anthony actually seen?

  Too much to let him go home and disappear into the night again. That was for sure.

  Back out on the main road at last, the procession split up, with Buck heading one way, the wrecker turning back out toward the interstate, and Hank rushing for town to get his headlines in print. Hank told Michael this kind of news couldn’t wait till next Wednesday. He planned to put out a special issue of the Gazette the next day.

  Michael radioed Lester to turn off his lights and go home.

  “Can’t I wait till we get to town?” Lester asked.

  “No, Lester. Now.”

  “Okay, Michael.” Lester didn’t sound happy, but he doused the lights. The air was calmer at once. “But if you need any more help tonight, you call me. I’ll be right there.”

  In the backseat, Anthony laughed after Michael signed off. “That Lester’s something. You don’t watch out, he’ll save the world instead of you.”

  “He might.” Michael put down the radio. “As long as it gets saved, right?”

  Anthony scooted up next to the grille between the seats. “Look, Deputy, I’m tired. How about letting me go home? I told you what I know.”

  Michael didn’t bother answering. Instead, as soon as he had a strong cell signal, he pulled over and called Vera Arnold. He told her what they might have found in the lake and that he was going to keep Anthony with him for a while.

  For once in her life, Vera was without words. There was such a long silence that Michael was almost ready to check his phone to see if the call dropped when she squeaked, “Roxanne?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I’m afraid that’s what it looks like, although no official identification has been made. Justin will call you in the morning with more information.”

  “I can’t believe it,” she finally said after another long silence. “I always figured Roxanne would come waltzing home one day dressed to the nines and dripping diamonds, and you say she’s been in the lake all this time?”

  “That’s how it appears, but until Justin makes it official, it’d be best if you didn’t share that news with anybody.”

  After he disconnected the call, he imagined Vera’s hand hovering over her phone. He’d be surprised if she didn’t succumb to the temptation, and by morning everybody in Hidden Springs would know they’d found Roxanne. It didn’t really matter. Though it might not be official, the bones in the car had been Roxanne’s. There wasn’t much doubt about that.

  Michael sighed and then scrolled down to Reece’s number. Nobody answered. Maybe Reece had gone to Eagleton with Alex after Michael canceled out. Just as well. Michael was way too tired to match wits with Alex tonight. Still, her outsider’s view of the town might let her see something in the whole mess that Michael was missing. And he had to be missing something.

  He got burgers and fries at a restaurant’s drive-thru window out at the interstate before he turned toward home. After Anthony made short work of the burger, he scooted up to talk to Michael again. “You said you’d let me go if I talked. I talked.”

  “I know.” Michael kept his eyes on the road. “Sorry about that. But don’t worry. I’ll let you go to school Monday.”

  “How do you know I’ll stay at school? You going to follow me around all day?”

  “Maybe. Or who knows? Lester wants to help. He’d probably enjoy a day at the high school. Now eat your fries before they get cold.”

  “What about your big date tonight, Deputy?” Anthony sat back in the seat and slurped up his drink.

  “Duty before fun.”

  “Are you saying kidnapping me is your duty?”

  “Okay, kid, you want it straight? Here it is.” Michael glanced in his rearview mirror, but he couldn’t see the boy’s face was in the shadows. “You’ve been working hard to get into trouble for some time now. I don’t know why I care, but I do.”

  “Stop it, Deputy.” Anthony groaned. “I’m gonna be sick.”

  “Yeah, I guess it does sound like a scene in a bad movie.” Michael gave a short laugh.

  “All we need is some sappy music.” Anthony crumpled up the hamburger wrapper and bounced it between his hands. “How come you decide to pick on me instead of some of the other kids out at school?”

  “Don’t know the answer to that. Miss Keane says it’s because I think we’re alike.” Michael gripped the steering wheel and stared out at the road.

  “Me and you alike?” The boy snorted. “That’s a joke.”

  “Yeah, a real laugher. But whatever the reason, here we are.”

  “But I need to get my car and go on home. Aunt Vera wants me to mow the yard tomorrow.”

  “Your car will be fine in the parking lot. And your aunt was fine with you staying with me tonight.”

  “I’ll bet,” Anthony said under his breath.

  “Things work out, you can go home tomorrow.” Michael kept his voice casual. “But tonight, like it or not, you’re stuck with me. I aim to make sure you’re alive to mow that yard.”

  “You think somebody wants to do me in?” Anthony sounded surprised.

  “I don’t know. I hope not, but I didn’t think somebody would kill Joe either.”

  Anthony was quiet for a long minute as they turned down the lane leading to Michael’s house. When he did finally speak, his voice had lost the cockiness. “So you think my father would kill me if it came to that.”

  The words settled in the air between them.

  “Your father?” Michael peered over his shoulder at Anthony, but could only see his shape in the backseat out here away from the town lights.

  “Who else would want to make sure that Rayburn didn’t tell whatever he knew?”

  Michael hesitated a minute. “Do you know who that is?”

  “Nope. Aunt Vera says she doesn’t know, but when she gets mad at me, she talks bad about Mama. Says she had lots of boyfriends.”

  “She shouldn’t have told you that.”

  “Why not? I thought you were all about telling the truth.” Anthony laughed, his cockiness back. “You know you’re fighting one
losing battle trying to keep me straight. A mother like that and a murderer for a father.”

  “Whatever else your mother did, she loved you.”

  “Maybe, but not my daddy. I think we can be pretty sure about that. Especially if you think he’s trying to get rid of me. Permanently.” Anthony tried to sound tough, but he wasn’t completely successful.

  Michael concentrated on dodging the chugholes in the lane and kept quiet. He couldn’t think of much to say.

  After a minute, Anthony asked, “What happened to your folks, Deputy?”

  “They were killed in a car wreck.”

  “I remember your mother. She was nice. She used to come and take me to Sunday school. Always gave me chewing gum.” Anthony sounded like he might actually be smiling. Then his voice changed. “She never came after Mama left.”

  “That’s when the wreck happened. That same year your mother disappeared.”

  “You mean the same year my mother was murdered.”

  “We don’t know she was murdered.”

  “You don’t know, but sounds like that Rayburn guy knew. Else why would he be dead?”

  Michael let the question hang in the air without answering it.

  Anthony didn’t seem to care. After a moment, he asked, “Your folks didn’t drive into the lake too, did they?”

  “No, there was another car. My father swerved off the road and hit a tree.” Michael stared out at the dark roadway and remembered how his eyes had jerked open when his mother screamed. The lights were coming straight toward them. “My parents were killed instantly.”

  “The people in the other car get killed too?”

  “The other car didn’t stop. Probably a drunk driver.”

  “So you say that happened the same year Mama disappeared?” Anthony fell silent for a moment. “Think that’s kind of weird?”

  The question surprised Michael. “Why?”

  “Just seems odd you losing your parents and me losing my mother at about the same time.” Anthony leaned up toward the front seat again. “When was the wreck?”

  “Toward the end of June. The twenty-fifth.”

  “Mom disappeared—I guess I should say was killed—in June too. A couple of weeks after school was out.” Anthony ran his fingers up and down the wire grille between the seats. “I was five. So you had to be sixteen or seventeen at least.”

  “Fifteen,” Michael said.

  “So what do you remember about Mama being gone?”

  “I was away at camp most of June before the accident.”

  “Are you sure it was an accident?” Anthony sat back.

  “What are you getting at, kid?” Michael glanced up at the rearview mirror, but it was too dark to see Anthony’s face. He considered flipping on the overhead light, but he didn’t. Sometimes talk was easier in the dark.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Just that everybody thought my mother ran off, but she didn’t. So maybe whoever ran your folks off the road aimed for it to happen. Who knows? Maybe your daddy was my daddy and we’re brothers or something.”

  “That would shoot down your theory that your father is the murderer. Since my father died in the accident.” Michael gave up on seeing Anthony’s face.

  “Yeah, I guess we can rule that out. I wasn’t all that excited about being your brother anyway. It’s just a game I used to play when I was a little kid, wondering if this man or that man might be the one.”

  “Maybe it was Rayburn.”

  “I thought about that, but it didn’t work with the other stuff he told me.”

  “What stuff?”

  “All that stuff I told you already.”

  They turned the last corner to the log house. Light spilled out of the windows, and a car was parked in the drive.

  “Looks like one of your girlfriends is here, Deputy.” Anthony tapped on the window.

  “Maybe it’s the murderer.”

  Anthony laughed. “If you’re trying to scare me, it’s not working. It’s that foxy lady who’s visiting Mr. Sheridan.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I saw her car last night.”

  “That’s right. You were skulking around Keane Street last night. What were you up to anyway?” Michael pulled the car to a stop.

  “I lost a hubcap. Thought I might have lost it there.”

  “It was sort of dark to be looking for a hubcap, wasn’t it?”

  “I’ve got good eyes.”

  “Sure you do. You’ve been seeing a lot, haven’t you?” Michael opened Anthony’s door.

  “More than you.” Anthony climbed out and stood face-to-face with Michael. Then he gave a short laugh and stepped away from the car. “But then it could be you see it, you just don’t want to believe it. People around here want everything to match a pretty little picture of the town they carry around in their head.”

  “If that was ever true, the picture’s been smeared up pretty badly the last few days.” But Anthony was right. That did make Michael sad.

  When Jasper bounded around the house to greet them, Anthony stopped in his tracks. “Does he bite?”

  Michael grabbed Jasper’s collar to keep him from barreling into the boy. The dog knew no strangers. “He’s just excited to see you.”

  “Really?” Something changed in Anthony’s voice as he leaned over to rub Jasper. “To see me? I’ve never had a dog.”

  Jasper licked his hand.

  “Unless Alex found his dog food, he’ll be ready for his supper.”

  “Alex.” Anthony gave the dog one last pat, then straightened up to follow Michael toward the house. “Is that her name? What do you think, Deputy? Maybe that old lawyer uncle of hers is my daddy. That would make her my cousin, wouldn’t it?”

  Michael looked straight at Anthony in the light spilling out of the house’s windows. “Reece isn’t your father.”

  “Maybe not.” Anthony shrugged. “But somebody is. Somebody you think might do me in to keep anybody from finding out.”

  25

  When they went in the door, Alex laid aside the thick brief she’d been reading and uncurled from the couch. The table was set for two with white Styrofoam plates and red plastic cups. No sign of candles.

  “Checking out the law for defenses against breaking and entering?” Michael asked her.

  With an easy laugh, she pushed her silky dark hair back behind her ears and came to meet them. The sight of her sent the familiar rush of pleasure through Michael and started up a little buzz in his ears. Beside him, Anthony’s eyes popped open wide.

  “You don’t see anything broken, do you? Unlawful entry perhaps, but not breaking. The door was unlocked. You have to pay attention to the letter of the law.” She let her eyes touch on Anthony. “Bringing home your work?”

  “You could say that.” Michael glanced at the boy. “Anthony Blake, Alex Sheridan.”

  Alex held her long, slim hand out to Anthony and smiled. “Do you need a lawyer?”

  “I might.” Anthony clasped her hand. “I’m thinking about charging police brutality.”

  “Interesting.” Alex flashed her eyes back to Michael.

  “Don’t get your hopes up, Alex. The kid couldn’t afford your retainer fee. Besides, all I’m doing is trying to keep him alive to give me more trouble tomorrow.”

  “Bet you’re wishing you’d let me take my chances about now.” Anthony sounded very pleased with himself.

  Michael ignored the boy’s smirk. “Hope you brought enough food for three, Alex.”

  “No worry. We have an overabundance,” Alex said. “Malinda called me up. Said she knew you’d be hungry, and since she had some kind of school thing, would I be so kind as to go by Cindy’s and pick up the dinner she’d ordered for you and carry it down here? She even ordered chocolate pie. Knew I loved that. She was sure we’d want to talk over old times anyway. How could I refuse her?”

  “Nobody can turn down that old lady,” Anthony muttered.

  Alex raised her eyebrows, and Michael explained. “She’s
tutoring Anthony.”

  “Consider yourself fortunate, Anthony.” Alex gave Anthony a smile that surely made the boy’s knees weak. “Just pull a chair up to the table while I dig out another piece of china.” She turned back to the kitchen area to set out another Styrofoam plate.

  Alex took the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans out of the oven while Michael filled the plastic cups with ice. It was somehow jarring seeing Alex in a kitchen. She didn’t fit. She was courtroom drama, romantic restaurants, and walking on beaches at sunrise. Not kitchens.

  When she pushed him aside to get a fruit salad and slaw out of the refrigerator, he said, “You actually seem to know what you’re doing here in the kitchen.”

  “Hey, I can be homey.” Alex sounded offended. “I can even cook if I want to.”

  “You? Cook?” Michael gave her a disbelieving look. “What can you cook?”

  “Eggs. Toast. Popcorn in the microwave.” She counted off on her fingers.

  “You think she’ll cook us eggs and toast for breakfast, Deputy?” Anthony settled in the chair against the wall where he could keep his eyes on Alex. He was obviously captivated.

  Alex turned cool eyes on Anthony that made red bloom on his cheeks as he dropped his gaze to the table. “I didn’t mean anything by that, Miss Sheridan.”

  “Of course you didn’t.” She gifted him with a forgiving smile.

  Michael rescued the boy by changing the subject. “So what’s going on?”

  “Your friend Karen called. She tried your cell, but as usual, you didn’t answer. She said the play last night was great and it was too bad you had to miss it, but of course, she understood.” Alex peered over at him. “Don’t look so worried. I didn’t talk to her, just eavesdropped on your answering machine.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  Alex laughed. “Then Judge Campbell left a message.” Her smile disappeared. “Didn’t sound like himself. Has he been sick?”

  “I don’t know about sick. ‘Upset’ might be a better word. Miss June said he took Joe’s death hard.” Michael poured pop into the glasses.

  “People are dead and the judge is upset.” Anthony drummed his fingers on the table.