After dinner they sat in the living room talking before watching a movie. "Stacy, Shirley is the youngest of the Burgers. She never married and only she would know why not. Her mother was well off and as she's the only one left; lives comfortably in Coquille. The few times I talked to Dave, he seemed happy that Shirley was around a lot of the time. That's about all I know. As to the cohorts of the scammer, I've not a clue about them, but give me a name or names to work with."
"One name we have is a guy from here. His name is Phil Winters."
"Yes, I know the man. He lives in the grey area of life. He too is a wheeler dealer, but nobody has filed a charge against him yet. Let me see if I can find out more tomorrow what he's been up to and if he's had any company lately."
"Do you happen to know a woman by the name of Sara Tweet from Coquille," asked Stacy. Her father shook his head no."How about a guy named Rolf Peters?"
"Now that name I know. He owns a fair amount of Fairview bottom land, such as it is. He's one smart cookie. Some people think he was in cahoots with Dave Lever, but nothing ever came of it. Once he was put away and the damage was established, nothing was left to do but feel sorry for the victims."
"His son's name is Dave Jr. He lives in Portland. He's a professional oral surgeon. He's an only son and according to Shirley, they're very close he and dad. I wonder what he knows and if he knows Glen Levers is out of prison."
"No idea daughter dear. Let's watch some movie we both have no idea what it's about. I like falling asleep watching TV. Tomorrow is another day."
And what a day it turned out to be. At seven am Stacy was in her office working her fresh load of newly regenerated grey cells from a good night rest. Rory was just climbing out of bed having a bad dream about his crush Stacy Foreham. She'd told him to go fly a kite. The last part he remembered was running along the sea cliff flying a kite and then he was falling through the air off the cliff. He woke just before landing on the beach floor.
He staggered to the shower to wash away the nightmare. The only way he was going to catch this girl was through hard work. Women loved a man that worked hard and then shared his life with his best friend and lover. He so wanted to be that man for Stacy. After the shower, he poured on the Old Spice wishing his scent would help land his catch.
At or about nine am, Stacy was on the phone with Dave Edwards Jr. His voice was similar to his fathers, Stacy thought. "Dr. Edwards, I'm investigating a homicide here in Bandon. Judge Guy Nethers was murdered and his daughter kidnapped. I know this is going back over bad memories, but is there anything you might tell me about Glen Levers and his associates?"
"As far as I know detective, he's still in Salem serving time. Are you saying or know that he's been released," Dave Jr. asked rather strongly.
"Yes, he was released two weeks ago. We're seeking his whereabouts. I talked to your father yesterday and he was a big help with some names associated with Dave Levers. I know you followed the trial closely. Maybe there are a few things you saw or heard that might shed some light on where this fugitive might be hiding or living."
"Let me think about that for awhile. Give me names my father gave you so I don't repeat. Give me you number and I'll call you late this coming afternoon. I hope you catch the bastard and hang him by his testicles."
Stacy gave him the names and phone number of her cell and office. She thanked the man and hung up going over the conversation once again in her head. Some questions remained unanswered. Did Junior know about his release date? How much did his father know about Glen Levers and a death threat against the judge? Well, enough of that, thought Stacy as she saw her smart phone flashing at her.
"Good morning Detective Stacy. What's up for the morning assignments? I hope it's down there as I'm starving as usual," said Rory.
"Come down when you want. Let's go over those transcripts and I'll see if we can interview a guy down here that was/is associated with Glen Levers. I think Ben needs to hang around the wife Gerri, but find out what he discovered about the probation officer who is assigned to Levers."
"A headline will appear in the World Newspaper this afternoon. It's show the little girl's picture and notify the kidnappers that contact is desired for the mutual benefit of all parties."
Here's a name for him to check on and interview the guy who was associated with Levers. His name is, Rolf Peters of Fairview. I'm told he is shrewd and smart. Okay, see you soon. Oh, I'm hungry to and maybe a little hungry for both."
Rory thought, as they cut the line, what did she mean by that: 'hungry for both?'
Stacy rang up Phil Winters. She got his answering service. She left her name and number. Meanwhile, she wondered if Smiling Sam was fishing again or not. She decided to check him out as he probably knew something about Phil Winters.
She found him on the jetty fishing but not in the same place as before. He had a big smile for her. She pulled up a big rock and said, "I'm in a bit of a hurry Sam, but what can you tell me about a guy by the name of Phil Winters here in town?"
"He's a silver tongue worthless human being. How he stays out of jail is beyond me. He preys on old people in outlying areas selling life insurance, accident insurance and used cars. He hangs out at Senior Centers with his slick hair and tongue. Next thing they realize, their bank account is depleted. He's one not nice guy. He lives between Bandon and Coquille in an old house that would serve as a haunted Halloween house. Be careful if you go out there because he has a mean dog on a heavy chain."
"Thanks Sam. Keep reading the papers. The perps kidnapped the judge's little eleven year old girl. These people suck people Sam," said Stacy.
"Keep me in the loop, as they say," Sam said chuckling.
Rory was at the station as she came back from seeing Smiling Sam. He met her at the door with fried eggs over easy on his mind. She ordered French toast and he had a double order of ham and eggs. While they waited she gave him the story of Dave Edwards and his son. She also made a point of mentioning Shirley Burger.
Rory said, "I've no doubt Glen Levers is in the county somewhere. We'll have to check out each contact he had years ago." The breakfast came and that was the end of him talking for at least ten minutes. He was still eating his toast when Stacy's cell let her know a call was coming in.
"You called me. This is Phil Winters. What can I do for you detective?"
"If you have a few minutes can we talk about an old friend of yours?"
"You must mean Glen, but he's no friend of mine. We split the sheets years ago. But, come on out as I'll be here until noon. Toot your horn so the dog doesn't eat your tires."
"Boy he sounds like a real piece of work to me. I'm glad you're with me. From what his place and his reputation are, maybe his only friend is the watch dog," said Stacy.
Well, let hit the road Stacy. I'm full so you drive. While we're at it, why not go up to Coquille and see that secretary Sara Tweet?"
"Give her a call please. Her number is on this notepad. By the way, did Ben find out what was what about the perps probation officer?"
"Yes, his address was listed as an apartment in Salem. It is a half way house. He never checked in and has disappeared."
"Have Ben run a check on Dave Edwards Jr. from Beaverton," said Stacy.
"Have you some suspicion about him," asked Rory.
"No not really, but he's to call me later today with some information about Dave's so called friends."
They were climbing the small hill going east out of Old Town. Rory had set a time to see Sara Tweet at eleven am. The sun was shining brightly through the windshield. It felt good, she thought. Any other day, riding with a handsome man out into the rural area, would be or could be a romantic time. Spring was a good time for romance, but unfortunately, work got in the way.
Once again, using her GPS and inserting the address, it was fairly easy to find Phil Winter's house. It sat off a gravel road among some straggling pine trees looking as forlorn as the scraggly dog on a logger's chain. The hundred foot driveway was a series of p
otholes testing her new SUV's shocks. She tooted her horn, as she parked behind an old Ford pickup truck.
The watch dog was straining at the end of his chain barking up a storm. Slim came down the steps yelling at the dog then kicked it sending it scurrying to its dog house. "Come in," he said. "Watch out for land mines."
Stacy and Rory both were careful of the wooden stairs as if any moment the creaking boards would break. Inside was a carbon copy of the outside: decayed within a few moments of its life. The walls had giant holes in them. Stacy couldn't imagine why. It looked like someone had taken a sledge hammer to the place. The smell was of cat waste and mice droppings. Phil sat down in an old wooden rocker leaving the sofa for the two detectives. Rory saw two wooden chairs against the wall so he fetched those to sit on.
"I'll come right to the point Mr. Winters. We're looking for Dave Levers. He's out of prison and not where he supposed to be while on probation. Because you knew him, maybe you could help us find some of his friend's locations where he might be hanging out," said Stacy.
"Well you're welcome to look around because he's not here, that's for sure. I did know him, but we were not what you'd call friends. I'm too low on the social registrar for him. He pals around with the upper crust mostly." He looked up at the ceiling as if to see if the roof was leaking, but a smile crossed his narrow face as he turned to look at Stacy. "You know, he did have a cabin up at Lakeside. I was never there, but I heard it was a nice secluded place. Only a select few were invited. Other than that, I've no idea where he might hang out," said Phil Winters.
On the way back to town, Rory drove while Stacy was working over what they'd learned. Would he be stupid enough to hide out where he used to hold social hour when he was flush? It shouldn't be hard to find out where his cabin was. Lakeside being a small town, the locals would know for sure.
It was still early so they pushed on to Coquille. Their timing was good as they knocked on Sara Tweet's door at eleven am. She lived near the court house making it easy to find her. The woman who answered the door was still lovely in her waning years. With short grey hair, head held high, smooth skin and indeed she was trim appearing in good shape. She was dressed in Nike apparel head to foot.
They were asked to sit in the living room. Typical of the area, the houses were on the small side. Hers was no exception. Cozy would be a good word to describe the house. There was nothing out of order anywhere. Stacy thought she couldn't live like this. It looked like Sara Tweet was a neat freak.
After declining refreshments, Stacy dove right in saying, "Would you describe your relationship with Glen Levers. I'm not insinuating romance here but professional would be best. If you don't know, he's been released and we have reason to believe he might be in the area. Anything you tell us will help. Particularly where he might be staying and what friends might help him in time of need."
"In a gravelly tone, denoting a smoker's voice she said, "No I didn't know he was out. Isn't it a little early for his release? Anyway, our relationship was purely professional. I was his secretary for the year he was doing business in Coos Bay. His friends were Rolf Peters, Phil Winters, Shirley Burger and his lawyer Bruce Livingstone of Portland. I've not talked to any of those people since the trial."
Stacy was rocked back by hearing that Shirley Burger was a friend of Glen Levers. That put a new twist into the already twisted string of events. "I'm curious Ms. Tweet, but did you know what was going on with his business scheme?"
"Not a clue. It all looked and felt like just good business to me. I've done secretarial work all my life and I was shocked when the house of cards came tumbling down. Glen was very personable and a good listener. Anyone that came around was sucked into his vacuum of friendship. Few could resist and most gave him what he asked. The exception might be Rolf. Rolf told me if it sounded too good to be true, it probably was. Not very original maybe but more should listen that becoming rich overnight is for dreamers. I was lucky not having anything to throw into the sinking ship."
"Two more questions if you please," said Stacy. One is did Glen Levers and Shirley Burger have a relationship between them; and last do you think Glen Levers is a violent man?"
"No doubt Glen had something going with Shirley. Why, in the aftermath, Shirley was the sister of Dave Edward's wife Dorena. He used her for leverage. Shirley was blind to that fact. She'd come in with her nose in the air and a smirk on her face. When it came to the end, he told her to get lost. Now as to him being violent? Before I'd say no, but now, definitely he's dangerous. If I was a detective, I'd think he'd be my prime suspect in the judge's murder."
"We thank you so much for your help. I wish you well. Here is my card if you think of anything else," said Stacy handing her the card.
"One more thing detectives, word gets around as you well know. It was rumored that the judge's arm was cut off. I'll never forget when Judge Guy Nethers sentenced Glen. He said, with a rare show of anger, 'I'd give my right arm to see the money returned to all those people you scammed out of their life savings.' Glen was standing up and he said, 'You'll get part of your wish judge.'''
Back in the SUV Stacy asked, "Where to now Tall Man?"
"Let's give Ben a call. We should have heard from him by now. Hang on—let me call."
Ben answered right away. He was just leaving Fairview and would be Highway 101 in twenty minutes. Rory said they'd meet him at the intersection.
-Six-
Stacy and Rory were early. That sat and waited. Stacy said, "I was surprised that Shirley was involved with Glen Levers. Obviously she is not happy being dumped and used. I'm hungry. Let's eat when Ben gets here."
"What if she hasn't been dumped and is aiding him in some way. Maybe he was thinking ahead that while in prison he'd need her. I wonder if he wrote letters to her. Somebody in Salem might know the answer to that question," Rory said.
"I see Ben coming now. You know—you might be on to something—let's go that French toast is long gone."
At the sit down restaurant, a buffet that Rory liked to stuff his belly, Ben related a long story about Rolf Peters. His meager plate of salad and sliced roast beef could wait while he said: "Rolf is no man's dummy. He saw through Glen Levers from the beginning. However, he liked to watch the action so he hung on the periphery. With me he had a captive audience to ward of the boredom of his daily life.
He said Glen would come here with his lawyer friend from Portland, Bruce Livingstone. Livingstone did all the legal paper work for the bogus corporations. He thought the reason Glen hung around was to show others that his friend Rolf was endorsing his scheming ways. There were other times when he'd stop by for a brief hello with his lady friend Sara Tweet.
The only other guy he mentioned was a low life name of Phil Winters. Rolf didn't know how he fit into the picture, but he thought there must be a reason to be acquainted with him. I asked him if he thought Glen had it in him to kill the judge. The guy smiled and nodded his head. That's about it."
Stacy had finished so she filled Ben in on the interview with both Phil and Sara Tweet. "Sara Tweet told us she only had a professional relationship with Glen Levers. In fact she told us that Shirley Burger was his lady friend. The most important news was Glen owned a cabin on Lakeside. Where it is we don't know. I'm all for driving up there to find it. What do you guys think," asked Stacy.
Rory looked at Ben and shrugged his shoulders, stood up and went for seconds. Stacy and Ben both just shook their heads as the amount of food that man could put away. "Let me see if I can find that cabin. I'll go outside and make a call or two. Come out when ready," said Ben.
Rory was back with a load of roast beef and gravy with a piece of chocolate cake on the side of the gravy. Stacy was shuddering thinking about cake with gravy on it. "Ben's out making a call about the Lakeside cabin. What I'm worried about is this, if he's there with the little girl and we drive up, her life might become more endangered. I think we need to do a fly over or a discreet drive by in an unmarked car."
"Good i
dea. We've a Suburban parked at the office. It's a confiscated drug car. Let's get it, if Ben can find the cabin. Surely someone would know in downtown Lakeside. Boy, am I full. I'm good now till dinner time. Let's go Stacy."
Ben had roughly found out the cabin was on North Lake Road. The road followed the ridgeline around North Lake. Off the gravel road a few side roads dropped down to cabins that overlooked the lake.
After arriving in town, they went into the market for information about the location of the cabin. A middle aged lady who was the market manager told them that the cabin was about three miles up the North Lake Road. A small orange tape used to mark the road down to the cabin. If that was not there she said, "A tall snag sits on the opposite side of the driveway. You can't miss it."
Rory bought some water and salty chips for the ride up the mountain. It was a nice day with no rain and fairly clear skies. They had no trouble finding the driveway. Indeed the faded orange tape was there along with the tall white dead tree across the road. It was very difficult to see the cabin let alone tell if anyone was home. It presented a dilemma for sure.
Rory said, "Drop me off and wait for me down the road a quarter mile. I'm an old Boy Scouter guy."
Ben stopped and Rory hit the brush. When he got back in the car, his clothes were a mess. He said, "Well I worked lunch off that's for sure. Lord what a jungle. Anyway, the place is locked up tight and nobody looks to have been there for a long time. I need a shower. Let's head for the office."
What Rory didn't see was the cabin had a full basement. The sides of the cabin were over grown with underbrush and trees. It would have been difficult for him to go around the cabin which overlooked the lake. The occupants were aware somebody was outside the cabin.
Murder Mysteries Page 24
