Chief Among Sinners

by Lois K. Gibson

  As each of them tried to turn back the clock and remember, it came as a shock that, while most of them could account for some of the time, none of them except Dr. Gold could account for the whole four hours.

  Herb edged close to Louise and whispered, "I can't believe you weren't with somebody during that time. Think, Louise. You need an iron clad alibi or the sheriff will rip our lives wide open."

  The sheriff said, "Cut the whispering, you two. I'll start with you, Louise, and remember, I want the truth."

  Herb raised his voice. "No you don't, sheriff. You have some nerve. This woman has suffered a profound loss. Her husband is dead. You say it's murder, but some of us still believe he may have killed him­self. You called her every dirty name in the book, and now you want to question her like a criminal? I won't permit it."

  Sheriff Davis stood up and yelled at Herb, "Who the hell is this guy, and why is he interfering in things that are none of his business?" He paused, looked around the room, and then, in a steely tone of voice, he surprised everybody when he said, "By the way, Rabbi Gor­don, I heard you own a gun. Is it a .45? Did you kill the chief?"

  Calm and in control, the rabbi stepped back. "Don't push me around, sheriff. Yes I have a gun, and no, I didn't kill him. Let me remind you that I am a rabbi and Mrs. Addams's spiritual counselor. I speak for a higher authority, and I'm telling you, right now to leave her alone."

  The sheriff glowered at Louise. "You're off the hook for now, lady. I don't know who this guy thinks he is, but he sure as hell can't stop a police investigation."

  Kate stood up. "The chief was my father, sheriff. I'm ready to answer any questions you have." As she followed him into the privacy of the den, she said, "Why would you start by asking the rabbi if he killed the chief? You're still convinced it is murder?"

  "Of course it was murder!" the sheriff said. "If Scott could shoot himself with a .38 and leave a bullet hole from a .45, he committed a miraculous suicide." He asked, "And where were you between ten and two today?"

  When Kate came back into the living room, Terry said, "Tell me, Kate, what did he ask? I want to be ready for his questions."

  Kate told him just to tell the truth. She said the sheriff swore her to secrecy when he finished questioning her, adding that Frank, sitting there in the big leather chair, was the sheriff's monitor, making sure no one talked about their testimony.

  Frank watched in silence as each person went into the den for in­dividual private interrogations: Dan, Mrs. Murphy, the rabbi, the priest, Dr. Gold, and lastly, Frank himself.

  The sheriff got a similar story from each of them, and each one confirmed that the chief was a sadistic bastard who preyed on little girls, the Clark family primarily, but not necessarily exclusively.

  Each person had an alibi for some of the time, but no one except Dr. Gold, had an alibi for the whole midday. They told him about er­rands and parishioners, shopping, counseling. Even so, there was time enough for each of them to walk up to the chief's car, get him to lower the window, shoot him once, arrange the body to look like a suicide, and go about their business, and they each had motive and opportunity.

  Done with the questioning, for now, the sheriff followed Frank into the living room. "I've got my notes and your statements on my recorder. I'm going to the clinic with Dr. Gold to see this kid and check with the coroner. Then, I'm going to the police garage with my detectives to go over the chief's car. My men and I will have dinner in town, stay at the nearest motel, and we'll all meet right back here in the morning."

  He lowered his head and spoke through clenched teeth. "I warn you, don't anybody leave town. I expect to see all of you right back here at 9:00 a.m., and I remind you, Louise, tomorrow morning you're first."

  Standing next to the sheriff, Terry said, "Before you leave, sher­iff, I'm worried that if we don't handle this right, it could end up on CNN's headlines: 'SMALL TOWN SHERIFF DEAD IN CAR. WHO DID IT? WHY?' Then we'd surely have the FBI in our hair. Don't you agree that it's best if you continue your investigation without a public announcement?"

  Ken Davis nodded and said he would speak to the coroner and his two detectives about keeping their mouths shut.

  Nineteen

  Sitting in Millie's Diner, a toothpick sticking out of the corner of his mouth, Bill Greene said, "You were kidding when you told them we're staying overnight, weren't you Ken?"

  "I don't kid. None of us are going home tonight. We'll get started again early in the morning, and don't argue. I had a fight with the missus and I don't want to see her ugly face again today. Besides, I haven't finished this damn investigation. There's something screwy going on with this case. It's really bugging me."

  The deputy said, "Well I'm sure we'll find a convenient bed and breakfast. There're enough of them around."

  "B and B, the hell you say. The county ain't shelling out that kind of money for you sons of bitches." Ken stood up and pointed to Archie Meyers. "The coroner already arranged for us to bunk in at the clinic. It's a nice clean place and it's just for one night."

  Bill and Archie shared a look.

  Toweling his hair as he came out of the shower, Bill muttered to himself. "This place is as clean as my mother's kitchen floor. Knowing what a penny-pinching son-of-a-bitch the sheriff is, I was sure he'd stick us in that flea bag motel we passed on our way into town." He felt he should be grateful he could grab a shower after the exhausting drive in. It felt good to clean up and get that road trip feel scrubbed off him.

  Bill answered a sharp knock on the door and opened it to see county coroner Archie Meyers, the other deputy who came with them, Chuck Flagler, and the sheriff shaved, scrubbed, and dressed for the outdoors. Ken called him Billy, and told him to get a move on so they could go to the Okatonowa Bar and Grille right down the road across from the clinic. He thought it looked like a hot place.

  "Please, sheriff, don't call me Billy. I'm not a kid. I'm a county detective. Everybody knows I hate it, and everybody knows that's why you do it."

  Ken Davis answered, "You got it, Billy."

  The four of them walked into a raucous scene at the Okatonawa Bar. Some people were line dancing, boot heels striking the wooden floor so hard it rattled glasses on the tables. The bar stools were all taken with drinkers and gawkers. As he maneuvered his way through the room to one of the few empty tables, Chuck poked Bill in the arm and pointed to the two blonds sitting at the end of the bar.

  The sheriff said, "If I wasn't so tired, I'd be patting the ass of that tall one sitting on the end."

  "But, Ken, you're a married man," Archie said.

  "Yeah, yeah, married. That doesn't mean I don't step out once in a while. If you knew my wife, you'd do the same. I can't keep that woman in line. She read a book once, and now she thinks she can do whatever she wants."

  Chuck ordered a pitcher of beer. Archie and Ken ordered doubles of bourbon, twice. The sheriff threw back both doubles, ordered, and downed two more while the coroner was still sipping his first. When Ken stood up ten minutes later, heading for the men's, the others saw he was more than a little wobbly. Archie stood up, took Ken's arm, struggled him into his coat, and told the boys that the bourbon on the table was his treat and he'd see them in the morning. Bill asked if he needed help with the sheriff. Archie said no and left, holding tight to Ken. Maggie and Sally knew who the detectives were and why they were in Oakton The Oakton Bar was a lively scene, unusual for a Tuesday night. The place was buzzing with the news about Scott Addams. To the people in Oakton who knew him best, Scott Addams was dead and that was cause to celebrate.

  Sally heard from her friend Mary Hansen that the chief was shot practically in the Clarks's backyard, and two detectives, the county coroner, and the county sheriff would be staying at the clinic that night.

  When Sally repeated that to Maggie, Maggie thought for a few minutes, then told Sally she bet those guys would show up at the Bar and Grille some time that night because it was the only place to go near the clinic. Maggie was sure if they did it
right, they would end up in bed with those guys and be able to carry out their plan to get Lucy out of the clinic, and the three of them out of town, but Sally was skeptical.

  Maggie insisted this was their best, if not only way, into the clinic at night without having to answer a lot of questions, and their best chance to steal Lucy out of there and leave Oakton and that deformed baby for good. She said it was only right that Louise Addams take care of her husband's evil spawn.

  Perched on stools at the bar, they watched the four men come in, look around, get a table, and order drinks. They stared at the four men, silly grins on their faces, until all four smiled back at them. The two younger men were grinning while their heads bobbed up and down with the beat of the music.

  Maggie and Sally smiled back and moved away from the bar and joined the dance line. Sally was ready to start the con, sporting her tight jeans and high heel boots. She made sure to bounce and jiggle to the beat of the music, all the while keeping an eye on the man she marked as her ticket into the clinic.

  Bill kept his eyes on the two women from the bar as they danced on the floor, and he followed their path when they went back to the bar. They talked, nodded their heads, and smiled at him and Bill.

  After the sheriff and coroner left, the two women walked over to the table he shared with chuck and introduced themselves. "I'm Maggie, and this is my sister Sally. May we join you?"

  Chuck stood up so fast, his chair fell over. His face grew red as he stuttered, "Of course. Please, sit down."

  Bill rolled his eyes. He didn't make a fool of himself in front of the women and leaned back to get a better look at the younger of the pair. This wasn't the first time he'd been approached in a bar, but this was by far the prettiest woman who ever came on to him. Sally had light hair that curled around her ears, short bangs, a creamy complexion, and blue-green eyes. The deep V in her T-shirt showed breasts bulging to be let loose, and her slim jeans were so tight the crack showed, front and back Even wearing high heel boots, she only came up to his chin. He thought, 'Thank you, God. I died and went to heaven.'

  He smiled at her and looked at Chuck, who he was sure was having a similar reaction because Maggie had the same light curly hair, creamy complexion, and green-blue eyes, but she seemed a little more mature. Her white blouse showed ample cleavage, but her jeans weren't skin tight, and she was a little taller.

  Chuck and Bill finished off the bourbon that Archie left for them, and two more pitchers of beer. They never noticed that the girls sipped whatever was in front of them, never actually drinking very much. It was midnight when Bill checked his watch, reminded Chuck that it was late, and suggested they walk over to the clinic. When the girls smiled, got their coats, and seemed eager to leave with them, Bill was more than happy to agree with Chuck that the girls come back with them. Maggie and Sally didn't even seem to mind that the beds the men invited them to share were hospital beds. Bill caught Chuck's excited smile and grinned back. They were going to get laid!

  They took the girls back to the clinic where one of the locals was keeping guard of the girl being cared for inside. Doctor's orders, Bill supposed. The guard smiled knowingly at the four of them and opened the doors. He greeted Bill and Chuck by name and said, "Hope you get a good sleep tonight, boys." He winked at the girls. As they walked away, Bill heard him relock the door as they stumbled to bed.

  Maggie became nervous when she saw Tom Brady was guarding the clinic door. Remembering their tussle outside Lucy's room that morning, she felt her gorge rise in her throat. She calmed herself and asked, "Hey Tom, what happens if we want to leave and the door's locked?"

  He assured her that he would unlock the door whenever they were ready to leave.

  Putting on her biggest, most innocent smile, she asked, "But what if you're in the john, or doing rounds?"

  He smiled down at her and turned the key, unlocking the door. "You owe me one."

  Maggie went up on tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek, and told him she always pays her debts. She then followed Sally and the two men down the hall to a large room, Room #17. Sally poked Maggie in the arm, motioning to her that they were down the hall from Lucy's Room #14 and right next to the ladies room.

  "So, are you girls ready for a good time?" The man she had chosen grinned at her and breathed with alcohol on his breath. She smiled back at him. After living with the chief and what he'd done to her, this man would be an easy lay.

  There were worse ways to spend a half hour, and all the while, Maggie's thoughts drifted to how she would find Lucy and take her family some place safe for once.

  The man was out like a light afterward, but she waited awhile before Maggie looked at her watch. Two a.m. She crept out of the clinic bed, gathered her clothes and took whatever cash the man had in his wallet. She peeked in on Sally one room over. Sally was wrapped in her man's arms, but not so much so that it was hard for her to escape when Maggie woke her. Sally gathered her things, pilfered her man's wallet, and together they went sneaked into the ladies room to change. They counted the cash; it was $575.

  Stuffing the money in her jeans pockets, Maggie humphed. "It doesn't begin to pay for what we did for those low-country hicks. Those tricks were worth $500 a piece."

  They tiptoed to Room #14, and trying not to wake Lucy, Maggie gently put a hand over her mouth, gathered her up with her toy dog and baby doll, and wrapped her in a blanket. Sally peaked around the door and breathed a sigh of relief. She reported that Tom wasn't guarding the door and the cops were, hopefully, still asleep.

  She motioned to Maggie and they lickety-split down the hall and out the clinic. The minute the cold air hit, Lucy woke up and tried to wriggle free. She bit Maggie's hand, but Maggie stifled the instinct to cry out and managed to keep Lucy's mouth shut as they ran to her car, parked behind the Oakton Bar and Grille.

  When Lucy realized what was happening, she laughed and cried at the same time. Sally sat with her in the back seat, and they laughed and cried together. Lucy was full of questions, but Sally calmed her saying that now they were together and nobody was going to separate them ever again.

  At their house, Lucy was excited and seemed happy to be with her mother. She threw everything she could into her small suitcase. Sally grabbed their reserve cash from the coffee tin in the cupboard, and they took off, leaving the front door swinging on its hinges.

  Maggie told Sally, "We have to be careful. The minute I heard about the chief, I emptied our bank accounts and got Agnes's jewelry from the safe deposit box. I didn't want to risk somebody pounding on our door demanding back what the bastard gave us."

  Sally looked at Maggie and asked, "What safe deposit box? What bank account? What jewelry? How much money could there be from his lousy hundred bucks a week?"

  Maggie piled them into the car and started driving. She explained that she had blackmailed big cash out of the chief in exchange for keeping his secrets. She told Sally that Agnes and the chief had a hot affair, even before Joe got killed by that hit and run, and he lavished their mother with rings and bracelets; real stuff, diamonds and sapphires. Then she admitted that she, Maggie, was his daughter, too.

  Scorn dripping with every word, she said, "Of course, that idiot Louise, never figured it out. She never even knew he was getting kickbacks from every merchant in town. Louise probably thought he was still giving us a very generous hundred bucks a week."

  Maggie laughed. "So, kiddies, we're set for now. Every time that bastard paid up, I put it away, and the money kept growing and growing, and now, if we're careful, Sally can go to a proper school and we can settle down where nobody ever heard of us."

  "So where are we going? How do we get away from them?" Sally said nervously.

  Maggie told her that the cops would expect them to head for the nearest border, Iowa or Wisconsin, but she was going west, then she'd swing south, and when they got to a comfortable, warmer climate, they'd settle in.

  Sally smiled. "Hey, this is so exciting, just like the movie, Thelma and Louise. But te
ll me, Maggie, what did you do with the gun?"

  The car swerved as Maggie slowed and pulled onto the icy shoulder off the road. "What the hell are you babbling about? I thought you killed him. I was going to ask what you did with the gun. That's why I planned this quick get a way."

  Before Sally could respond, she heard a soft murmur and looked at the small child asleep on the back bench seat. Lucy stirred, and Sally heard her murmur, "Where's Kate?" Without warning Lucy sat up and screamed like a bright yellow light piercing the dark night. "Where's Kate? I need my Kate!"

  It was 7 a.m. when Ken paced in the clinic lobby with Archie sitting in a nearby waiting chair. Billy and Chuck were late in getting a start on the morning. He smirked, shook his head, and didn't blame them. From what he heard through those paper thin walls, those boys had a wild night. Still, he had an investigation to complete, and his detectives were holding him up. If they didn't come out soon, he'd go storming in after them.

  Finally Billy and Chuck emerged. They walked over, wearing sheepish and guilty faces. 'Well, that's what you get when you take white trash to bed.'

  A moment later, a very excited Dr. Gold rushed toward them, asking if they saw Lucy any time during the night.

  Ken, Archie, Bill, and Chuck shook their heads. The sheriff said he and Archie were alone all night, then he turned to the two detectives. "Don't lie, boys. We heard you thumping and bumping most of the night. Boy, what stamina. I'm jealous as hell."

  Chuck and Bill both reddened, admitting that that they picked up Maggie and Sally, two women at the bar across the street.

  They saw the doctor go white. He reached to steady himself against the wall and exclaimed, "You idiots. Those were the Clark women. They must have taken Lucy during the night. God knows where they are by now."

  The sheriff exploded. "Maggie and Sally Clark? Gone? We stayed over so I could question them about the chief. Tell me where they live, Doc. Archie, you stay here, Chuck and Bill, you're with me."