The Dirty South - Charlie Parker Series 18 (2020)

by Connolly, John

  ‘You believed him?’

  ‘There’s believing, and there’s lacking a solid reason not to believe. Pappy and Hollis were thick as thieves, and I use the term advisedly, but it’s one thing to pick a man’s pocket, and another to torture a girl to death. When it came to Harmony Ward, I had more doubts. She’s a sad, bitter woman, but she loved Hollis. She’d do whatever it took to protect him. She told us she received two calls from Hollis during the hours when the ME believed Estella was killed. Phone company records confirmed that the calls came from the Cade property.’

  ‘Which doesn’t necessarily mean that Hollis Ward made them,’ said Parker.

  ‘No, but combined with Pappy’s alibis, it left us with little to pursue.’

  ‘Were you still with the sheriff’s office when Hollis Ward disappeared?’

  ‘I was, but I already had one foot out the door, thanks to Pappy’s efforts. I hung on for another year because of my pension, then embraced the inevitable.’

  ‘Did Harmony Ward have any opinion about what might have happened to her husband?’

  ‘None, but my impression was that she genuinely didn’t know where he was.’

  ‘You don’t think she had anything to do with it?’

  ‘His death, you mean?’

  ‘His presumed death,’ Parker corrected.

  ‘Whatever way you look at it, the answer is no. It’s my conviction that she really did love him.’

  ‘What if it came down to a choice between her husband and her son?’ Parker asked.

  ‘I’ve considered that question over the years,’ said Rauls. ‘If Hollis was abusing Tilon, Harmony either knew and turned a blind eye, or she didn’t know, which I find hard to accept. So if she knew and did nothing, then she chose Hollis over Tilon. That’s what makes me think it was Tilon that killed him.’

  ‘If he did, and was avenging childhood abuse, he waited a long time before acting.’

  ‘There’s no statute of limitation on rage.’

  ‘No, I don’t suppose there is.’

  ‘But what if you’re wrong?’ said Colson. ‘What if Hollis Ward isn’t dead?’

  Rauls appeared to physically struggle with this challenge to his assumptions, twisting in his chair.

  ‘Then I’d have to accept that he’s returned, and has started again, but I don’t know where he could have been hiding for all these years, or where he might be holed up now.’

  ‘That’s a lot of forest you have out there,’ said Parker.

  ‘Yeah, but hunters and hikers use it and some of it’s harvested. There’s also the Forest Service.’

  ‘Although the majority is pine,’ Colson pointed out, ‘and clear-cutting has been banned since ninety-three. It would be easier to vanish into it than some might think, if you picked the right areas and knew how to avoid the rangers.’

  Rauls scratched his chin. ‘It’s just about credible, I admit, but it still doesn’t sit easily with my conception of Hollis Ward.’

  ‘What about his son?’ said Parker.

  ‘What about him?’

  ‘According to Chief Griffin, he may be involved in meth production in the Ouachita, but nobody seems to know exactly where.’

  ‘Those boys use mobile labs. They hide them in RVs and campers.’

  ‘If you can hide a meth lab out there,’ said Parker, ‘you can hide a man.’

  Rauls conceded the point.

  ‘If Hollis is alive, could Tilon be helping him?’ said Colson. ‘What if you’re wrong about Tilon killing Hollis, and they’re now working together?’

  ‘Killing women?’ said Rauls. ‘Why would Tilon do that?’

  ‘Because Hollis is his father,’ she said. ‘Some fathers do terrible things to their sons, but their sons never stop loving them, and sometimes even want to become like them.’

  ‘I don’t know what kind of magazines you’re reading, girl,’ said Rauls, ‘but I think you ought to stop.’

  Colson slapped his arm.

  ‘Tilon Ward may have been one of the last people to see Donna Lee Kernigan alive,’ said Parker.

  ‘Seriously?’ said Rauls.

  ‘She was sleeping with someone, but keeping it secret,’ said Colson. ‘It could have been Tilon.’

  ‘If that’s true,’ said Rauls, ‘and Hollis is alive, then he killed his son’s girlfriend.’

  ‘Or Tilon fed her to him,’ said Parker.

  ‘I’m still not of the opinion that Tilon has such capacities,’ said Rauls.

  ‘A few minutes ago, you had him pegged for the murder of his father,’ said Parker.

  ‘That was different,’ said Rauls.

  ‘Different how?’

  ‘Hollis was asking for it.’

  Which answered that question. They batted ideas back and forth. Rauls poured more coffee, and told them about the discovery of Estella Jackson’s body and the investigation that followed. He didn’t have much more to add to what was in the files, although the tale of Pappy Cade’s intervention on Hollis Ward’s behalf bothered Parker. Then again, it probably shouldn’t have: Ward had been doing Pappy’s dirty work for a long time, and might have called in a favor with the alibi in return for keeping quiet about his activities on behalf of the Cade family. But lying for a man accused of the brutal murder of a woman was a service beyond the usual, and there was also Nealus Cade’s account of the falling out between his father and Hollis Ward after Ward’s release from prison. Why would Pappy Cade have been willing to stand up for a man that his son had threatened to jail?

  ‘I’m still troubled by the removal from the Jackson file of your notes on Hollis Ward,’ said Parker. ‘There must have been more to it than the Cades’ reluctance to be associated with an old murder, however peripherally.’

  Rauls thought for a time.

  ‘I can’t recall everything that was in it,’ he said, ‘and I lost a lot of my old papers in a house fire about a year ago. It was lucky we didn’t all go up in flames.’

  He resumed thinking. Parker and Colson waited.

  ‘I do recall that while Pappy had offered to corroborate Hollis’s alibi, he said he could provide other witnesses too, which was why I was prepared to cross Hollis’s name off my list faster than I might otherwise have done.’

  ‘Do you remember who those witnesses were?’

  ‘Delphia was one. It might even have been Jurel as well, although I’m struggling to recall, but certainly Delphia.’

  ‘Did you interview them?’

  ‘Only Delphia, and that was an informal conversation. I didn’t keep notes.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘It wasn’t worth the ink. She confirmed what her father said.’

  ‘Which was?’

  ‘That Hollis Ward had been staying at the Cades’ guesthouse at the time the medical examiner determined Estella Jackson was killed.’

  ‘Did she say why he was there?’

  ‘She claimed that Hollis sometimes stayed over at the property, if I remember right. He and Pappy both liked drinking into the night, even after Pappy officially cut Hollis loose.’

  ‘That makes for a lot of potential alibis,’ said Parker.

  ‘And it’s possible,’ said Rauls, ‘that none of them was completely true.’

  ‘Leaving Hollis Ward as the killer of Estella Jackson.’

  ‘It’s not beyond the bounds of likelihood. Aaron Jackson was a known associate of Ward’s. He helped Hollis when there was work to be done among the coloreds, so Hollis knew the family and knew those roads. Hollis also liked young girls, as that child pornography connection showed, although Estella was closer to a woman when she died. But thinking it and proving it are different animals. It’s just a feeling, that’s all, and unless the justice system has transformed itself in my absence, the courts don’t convict on the basis of whatever might trouble my sleep.’

  ‘I have one last question,’ said Parker. ‘Could the Cades have killed Hollis Ward?’

  ‘A few minutes ago,’ said Rauls, ‘you had Holli
s pegged for the murder of Donna Lee Kernigan.’

  ‘I’m happy to assess alternatives,’ said Parker.

  ‘Why do you think the Cades might have been involved in Hollis Ward’s death,’ asked Colson, ‘assuming he is dead, which is a stretch, seeing as how he’s leaving his fingerprints around?’

  ‘Aside from the fact that they’re involved with everything in this county?’ said Parker.

  ‘Aside from that.’

  ‘I understand why Mr Rauls here was prepared to accept the alibis the Cades offered for Ward, if only to a degree, but that doesn’t mean Pappy and the rest of them weren’t lying. What if Hollis knew enough about the Cades’ activities in Burdon County to blackmail Pappy into speaking up on his behalf? Once Pappy had acceded, he was in danger, because that’s how blackmail works. All things considered, it would have been easier for the Cades if Hollis were to have disappeared permanently in the aftermath. It would silence him, and help prevent the alibi from coming back to haunt Pappy.’

  ‘It still leaves us with Hollis Ward’s fingerprint on Donna Lee Kernigan’s corpse,’ said Colson, ‘and her getting into Tilon’s truck just before she vanished.’

  Rauls poured himself another cup of coffee. Parker didn’t know where the man was putting it all.

  ‘What you have here,’ said Rauls, ‘is what’s called a mystery.’

  75

  Dr Ruth Temple went through the Kernigan autopsy results with Griffin over the phone shortly after 4.30 p.m. She didn’t have a lot to add to what he already knew, apart from confirming that the branches had been placed in Donna Lee’s body after death. While force had been applied in order to lodge them in place, resulting in considerable internal damage, they were not the kind of injuries associated with a frenzied attack, but suggested instead a degree of deliberation.

  Griffin asked if she could pull up the autopsy results from the murder of Estella Jackson.

  ‘I’m already familiar with their contents,’ she said, ‘and I know what you’re going to ask me.’

  ‘They hiring psychics up there at the crime lab now?’

  ‘I don’t think the executive director would approve – although if I were actually a psychic, I’d be able to say for sure. No, I believe you’re going to ask me if the injuries to Jackson were similar to Kernigan’s, in which case I’d say they weren’t. Those branches were jammed repeatedly into Estella Jackson’s mouth and vagina, which was done while she was still alive – and that’s leaving aside the multiple stab wounds. I can go into more detail if you like, but it won’t make you feel any more positive about humanity, or help you much either way.’

  ‘I’ll pass, then.’

  ‘Wise move. Suffice to say that most of Estella Jackson’s teeth were knocked out, her spine was partially severed below the skull, and her uterus was pierced several times. That kind of damage bespeaks fury, which isn’t to say the same individual couldn’t be responsible for both killings, but that would involve psychological profiling, which is beyond my bailiwick.’ She paused. ‘It’s a shame we weren’t able to look at Patricia Hartley’s body.’

  ‘Yeah, a damn shame, and a double damn shame that she was cremated, so we can’t even seek an exhumation.’

  ‘Speaking of which,’ said Temple, ‘it might be politic for me to contact the Burdon County Sheriff’s Office after I’m done talking with you.’

  ‘I understand. I appreciate your tact.’

  ‘It’s my pleasure. I’ll send on hard copies of the report by morning.’

  Griffin hung up. It wouldn’t be long before he heard from Jurel Cade about Hollis Ward, and when he did he’d be forced to share with Cade the likelihood that Hollis’s son, Tilon, was the last known person to have seen Donna Lee Kernigan alive. That would give Cade an excuse to start tearing up the place looking for both Hollis and Tilon. Once, Hollis Ward had been tight with the Cades, but then Hollis went missing and Tilon drifted into criminality. Now nothing would give Jurel Cade more pleasure than to see Tilon Ward incarcerated, and maybe his old man, too.

  There was an aspect of the relationship between the Cades and the Wards that was beyond Griffin’s comprehension, and his inability to pinpoint it bothered him. It was possible to construct a narrative that ran from the bond between Hollis Ward and Pappy Cade; continued through the carving up of the county, and Hollis’s fall from grace and subsequent disappearance; and ended with Jurel Cade’s natural antipathy as a lawman toward someone reckoned to be involved in the production and supply of methamphetamine, namely Tilon Ward. But this narrative wasn’t sufficient to explain the rancor that seemed to underpin the current state of affairs between the Cades and what was left of the Ward family – unless, of course, Tilon Ward was convinced the Cades had something to do with his father’s disappearance, but that would explain only his animosity toward the Cades, not vice versa. Now, it appeared, Hollis Ward was back from wherever he’d been – the Ouachita, or the grave – and had started, or resumed, killing young black women.

  Kel Knight appeared in the doorway of Griffin’s office. He looked exhausted.

  ‘That’s not the face of a man bearing good news,’ said Griffin.

  ‘Pruitt Dix is in the wind,’ said Knight, as he flopped into a chair, ‘and when Robinett and I paid a courtesy call on Randall Butcher at his club, we found it in the hands of one of the assistant managers, who pleaded ignorance of his boss’s whereabouts.’

  ‘Any reason why Butcher might not want to be found?’

  ‘Unofficially, there’s a federal indictment imminent. Robinett told me so, but only because by “imminent” I mean within the next twenty-four hours, although it could be less now that Butcher is running.’

  ‘Man, they kept that quiet,’ said Griffin. Usually a dog couldn’t bark in Little Rock without the fact being remarked upon.

  ‘Because they were afraid Butcher might hear about it,’ said Knight. ‘And if Butcher is conclusively dealing meth, then Tilon Ward may also be involved.’

  ‘Which would explain why Dix didn’t want us talking to Tilon.’

  ‘Wasn’t Sallie Kernigan a dancer at one of Butcher’s clubs when she was younger?’ said Knight.

  ‘I knew she did some club work. I didn’t know it was for Butcher.’

  ‘I remember hearing something about it. Denny Rhinehart might have mentioned it. Can’t think who else would have.’

  ‘Yeah, about Denny,’ said Griffin. ‘I know you’re tired, but I’d be grateful if you could take a run over to the Rhine Heart and ask him why he might have been arguing with Donna Lee. I dropped by earlier, but the bar was all locked up. I’d go myself, but I think I’m going to be hearing from Jurel Cade soon, and I’d prefer to be sitting in my own chair when that happens.’

  Knight pushed himself to his feet.

  ‘Where’s Parker?’ he said.

  ‘With Colson, talking to Eddy Rauls.’

  ‘He find out anything from examining those records at the sheriff’s office?’ said Knight.

  ‘Only that Jurel doesn’t like him any more now than he did yesterday, but my hope is that Parker might have spotted something that Jurel overlooked – and even Rauls, too. Fresh eyes. Why, you missing him?’

  ‘I’d like to be given the opportunity to miss him.’

  ‘You and Jurel ought to get together, now that you’ve found something to agree on. Me, I’m starting to like our Mr Parker.’

  ‘He’s ours now? I worry about you, Chief.’

  ‘We need him,’ said Griffin, waving Knight on his way. ‘Plus he works cheap and has his own gun.’

  76

  Leonard Cresil spent most of the afternoon and early evening driving Charles Shire to and from a series of meetings, at which Shire was required to offer assurances that the investigation underway in Burdon County would not impact negatively on the Kovas contracts, or endanger any investments and payments – official or undocumented, legal or illicit – already made. Occasionally, Cresil would be asked to offer a word of support, but fo
r the most part his presence alone was enough to reassure those who knew of his reputation. While they traveled between venues, Shire would carefully disinfect his hands with sanitizer. When traveling together on commissions like this, they ate only in chain restaurants, usually McDonald’s, because Shire said that the company’s hygiene standards were higher than the norm. The food played hell with Cresil’s guts.

  ‘I think Delphia Cade likes you,’ said Shire, as they drove back to the motel. They had not spoken of Delphia’s presence in Shire’s room. Cresil knew that it was not for him to decide when, or if, to raise the subject.

  ‘If you want me to sleep with her, it’ll cost you extra,’ said Cresil.

  Shire permitted himself what might have been mistaken, in the wrong light, for a smile.

  ‘There are some things even I wouldn’t ask of a man.’

  Cresil doubted that, but let it pass.

  ‘Did you permit her to use the toilet?’ he said. Cresil had become adroit at removing motel toilet seats in order to replace them with Shire’s own. It was, in its way, one of the more reasonable of the man’s phobias.

  ‘No, only the sink. She said she wanted to wash her hands.’

  ‘Of what, blood?’

  ‘She’s too clever for that.’

  Again, Cresil elected not to offer an opinion. He also wouldn’t have put it past Delphia Cade to piss on a man’s toilet seat out of spite. Instead, he said, ‘I’m now ambivalent about the wisdom of going after Parker.’

  Cresil had decided to be straight with Shire about the former NYPD detective, and the moves being planned against him. He didn’t want to be left hanging in the wind if they didn’t work out. As it turned out, Delphia Cade had already made plain to Shire her thoughts on the subject of Parker.

  ‘We’re not going after him,’ said Shire. ‘Butcher and Dix are.’

  ‘Nevertheless.’

  ‘It’s what Delphia wants. Apparently she has taken against Mr Parker. He has proven resistant to her charms, possibly due to his state of grief.’