Mystery on the Tramway

by Albert Simon

  “I’ve disappointed everyone, I let my father down because I didn’t like sports and wasn’t macho like him. My mother says I’m a queer and she hates me, and Robert lost his partner because of me.” Todd heard the sirens as well and looked right at Henry through his tears. “I thought you said you weren’t a cop.” He stood up from the chair and held his hand over the gun right in front of him.

  “I’m not, but I called them to ask them to bring you home to your mom in one piece. She is very concerned about you and wants to see you safe. Your mother doesn’t hate you at all, she asked me to find you for her.”

  “No, I don’t believe you. She doesn’t care about me, she hates me. And you called the cops on me when I trusted you.” Todd’s eyes flashed with anger as he closed his hand around the gun and picked it up.

  Henry thought it looked as though Todd was going to point the gun at him and he reached around his back and pulled the Glock from its holster and pointed it at Todd. “Put the gun down Todd, let’s not do anything stupid.”

  “It’s all my fault.” Todd said as in one quick motion he put the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger.

  “NOOOO!” Henry screamed, but it was too late, as the .45 roared to life and the back of Todd Gregory’s skull was splattered against the drapes and ceiling as he dropped to the worn out carpet like a bag of sand.

  Smoke from the gun and the stench of cordite filled the room as Henry stumbled over to the door and opened it to the unrelenting but welcoming heat outside as Gloria came running across the parking lot and threw her arms around him. “I’m ok, I’m ok.” He said unconvincingly as a Sheriff’s car rolled to a stop its lights still flashing and its siren dying slower than the young boy in the cheap motel room.

  Chapter 15

  It was two nights later that Henry and Gloria finally went to dinner at L.G.’s Steakhouse on Palm Canyon. Gloria was wearing the black dress she had worn to the funeral but it looked much more festive tonight, she had spruced it up with a brightly colored necklace. As Erik had predicted she now looked elegant, and in Henry’s opinion, sensual. Henry had on his nicest Hilo Hattie Hawaiian shirt; it was black with plumerias and pineapples, a perfect compliment for Gloria’s dress.

  They sat in a booth in the back of the restaurant where it was quiet and intimate, and relaxed for the first time since Todd’s horrible death. They had cancelled their reservation for dinner when they got home the night that they came back from Morongo Valley, and remade it earlier today. Henry swirled his wine in his glass and was momentarily lost in thought.

  At the motel that afternoon two days ago, Wayne Johnson rolled up moments after the first sheriff’s deputy. The deputy had drawn his gun on Henry and Gloria, who still had him in her embrace, and was yelling at Henry to drop his weapon and lay flat on the ground. Wayne came to a stop between the deputy’s car and Henry and waved his arms to let the deputy know everything was ok as Henry and Gloria laid spread eagled on the dusty parking lot pavement.

  Henry’s Glock was impounded by the crime scene investigators and after they were satisfied that he had not fired it, the weapon was returned to him. He was interviewed on the scene at the crummy little motel for a couple of hours. Then he and Gloria drove home in relative silence. She was going to tell him that he scared her half to death when he went into the motel room, but she could see from the look on his face that he was shook up about Todd’s violent suicide. She let him be and figured she could bring it up later.

  He dropped Gloria off at home and without going inside or changing his clothes drove to the Palm Springs police station where they recorded a formal statement. Henry finally returned to his house on Mel after dinner time, Gloria and Charles had already eaten but she made him a special plate and saved it for when he returned. Before he ate he stood under a hot and steamy shower for thirty minutes, lathering and washing the Joshua Tree dust, the grime from the motel, and the remnants of Todd Gregory, off of his body.

  Now, two nights later, they were finally sitting at L.G.’s for the dinner that he had promised her.

  “Where are you honey?” Gloria brought him back to tonight.

  “Here’s to us.” Henry lifted his glass and touched it to Gloria’s.

  “I’ll drink to that. Here’s to us.” Gloria repeated.

  They took a sip of their wine and Gloria set her glass down. “Henry, I still don’t understand one thing. How did Terrance Quinn manage to shoot himself and not have any traces of gun powder on his hand?”

  “It was quite ingenuous actually. Do you remember the crew that we walked past when we went to the top of the tram that was picking up trash?”

  “Sure, I remember, the guys with the shorts and the orange vests?”

  “Right, remember they were using those pick up sticks with the trigger handles so that they don’t have to bend over?” Henry took another sip of wine.

  “I remember they weren’t bending over, but I don’t remember what kind of tool they were using.”

  “Anyway, Quinn rigged it up so that he held the gun with the grabber stick outside of the tram door in one hand. Then with the other he pulled the string he had tied around the trigger. Using the maintenance override key in the gondola he was able to open the car door without the tram stopping. He leaned out the door, fired the gun, and the impact of the bullet knocked him backwards into the tram with the gun and grabber stick ending up in the canyon below.”

  “And that’s why Wayne sent the Search and Rescue crew into the canyon yesterday?” Gloria asked.

  “Exactly, I don’t know if they’ll find either the gun or the grabber, it’s pretty rugged and rocky in there. They’ll be busy for a few days then they’ll give up.” Henry looked up as the waiter came over and they gave him their order.

  After the waiter left, Gloria asked. “How come the tram door was closed when the gondola came to the Valley Station?”

  “Good question. George Margolis and Wayne tested this out yesterday. When Terrance was hit by the bullet, the force of it knocked him backwards onto the garbage bags. That made the tram car swing on the cable and the door slammed shut as a result. They tried it three times yesterday and it worked perfectly every time. Quinn must have tested that as well. If he hadn’t been vain and bragged to Todd as to how to commit the perfect suicide, we would have never been able to solve it.”

  “Why did he take the kid into his confidence? If he hadn’t told him, it would still be considered a murder, and Todd Gregory would probably have been the prime suspect.”

  “That just shows you, there is no perfect crime. Quinn wanted to show off to someone how clever he was and he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. If he had kept quiet, it just might have worked.”

  “You remember when you were trying to get into the killer’s head Henry, to try and figure out what happened?” Gloria asked.

  “Yeah, and I had a hard time with that.” Henry admitted.

  “Well, this is why. The killer and victim are the same person.” Gloria explained.

  “You’re right; I’ve never experienced that before and I hope I never experience it again. You know, three people are dead and it is very sad and shouldn’t have to be this way.” Henry said.

  “You’re right. If Terrance Quinn had health coverage from his company that paid for Robert’s medicine, then Robert would probably still be alive today, and Terrance would not have had to go to these extremes to get Robert the payout from his life insurance. The fact is that Quinn ran out of time, Robert was so sick that all the money in the world could not have saved him.” Gloria was indignant at the inequality of the process that stingy employers and insurance companies put in place.

  “And if Cherie Gregory had been tolerant of her son’s sexual orientation, he wouldn’t have killed himself either. I’d be willing to bet any money that she would like to have him back today, no matter if he is attracted to men or women.” Henry explained.

  “Speaking of Cherie Gregory, the last I heard she was in custody the night that Wayn
e was at our house.” Gloria finished her wine.

  “I didn’t get a chance to tell you, I talked with Wayne this afternoon. They let her go the night of Todd’s death; they really had no reason to hold her. When they told her that Todd committed suicide, she showed no emotion at all. She called Wayne early this morning; it seems that she forgot that she asked one of her boyfriends to drop her gun off for repair at a gun shop here in town. She found the claim ticket from the shop in her bookcase. Wayne went by and picked it up and the police have the gun now. Apparently it was in the shop the entire time during the killings and she’ll be able to get it back after registering it.”

  Henry took a small sip of his ice water before continuing. “Wayne said that as calm as she was the night she got the news, now it was the opposite and she was pretty distraught over Todd’s death. He said she was blubbering on about wanting him back and she was going to keep his room exactly as it was.” Henry reached over and drank the rest of his wine as well and reached for the bottle from the wine cooler to refill both of their glasses.

  “Henry, you know, as a mom, you love your children no matter what. All you want for them is to be happy in their lives. I wish Cherie Gregory had realized that a lot earlier.” Gloria shook her head sadly, when she spoke again, she had shrugged off the sadness. “Let me tell you something, this is the most bizarre thing I have ever been involved with and I want you to know that you scared me to death when you went into that motel room that afternoon. Then, when I heard the gunshot, I almost fainted, I don’t even remember running to you afterwards. I must admit that as I think about it now, dropping to the ground spread eagled when that deputy rolled up is a little funny.” Gloria took another sip of her wine.

  “Yeah, this has been a strange time alright. But in other ways it has been absolutely wonderful.” Henry looked at Gloria and reached across the table and held her hand.

  “Let’s put all this death and prejudice behind us and move on with our lives Henry.” Gloria said squeezing his hand.

  “I’d like that. I have something I need to ask you.” Henry said after he put down his wine.

  “You can ask me anything you want Henry Wright.” Gloria reached over and held his other hand as well.

  “Gloria McCann, will you marry me?” Henry said as the waiter set their steaks down in front of them.

  Copyright 2004, Albert Simon

  Albert Simon, pen name for Bert Simonis, has been writing most of his life, creating and illustrating his first book in his native Dutch at the age of seven. Since then he has written technical papers related to the function of distributed databases and numerous short stories. His essays have been published in the local newspaper, but he finally found his voice in the Henry Wright Mystery series that he is now producing. He is a member of the California Writer’s Club and the Mystery Writers of America. Bert and his wife, Berlynn, have four daughters and live in the Sierra Nevada foothill town of Tuolumne when not vacationing in Palm Springs

  Quick Order Form

  The Henry Wright Mystery Series. Published in E-Book form (PDF & LIT formats) by Desert Dreaming Publishing Company.

  Order online at www.desertdreaming.com or send email to orders@desertdreaming.com

  If you’d like the E-Book on a CD, please indicate this on the order. There is a $5.00 additional charge for production and shipping.

  Use this form to order other titles in this series.

  □ For Sale in Palm Springs - $3.95

  □ Springtime in Sonora - $3.95

  □ Mystery on the Tramway - $3.95

  □ Predicament in Palm Springs – Short Story - $1.95

  □ Drama in the Mother Lode – $3.95

  □ Coachella Valley Traffic Jam – $3.95

  □ Missing from Mel Avenue – coming

  □ Power Problems in Palm Springs –

  □ Intrigue in the Indian Casino – coming

  Your email address: ____________________________________

  Postal orders:

  DesertDreaming E-Book Publishing

  17807 Saddle Drive

  Tuolumne, CA 95379

  Name: _____________________________________

  Address: ___________________________________

  City: ___________________________ Postal Code/Zip: __________