Going back down the mountain a few hours later, with Phyllis’s Buick winched up behind the truck, the tire chains jingled like bells on a sleigh. Frank radioed from the police station to say Billy was dead on arrival at the county hospital. Scott thought but didn’t say that with him went all hope of a confession, and any of Scott’s questions answered.
In Rose Hill, snow was pouring down in big downy clusters, and both sky and landscape were clad in its ghostly gray and white cloak. The city looked deserted, and most of the businesses were closed.
Curtis parked the wrecker beside the service station and went inside to relieve his brother Ian, who was covering his shift. Patrick and Scott went to PJ's and ordered some pizza to be delivered across the street to the bar. When they entered the Rose and Thorn, kicking the snow off their boots and removing their heavy outer garments, Ian was already there, sipping his first beer of the day.
“I’m glad it’s Sunday and we don’t have to open,” the older man said. “We probably wouldn’t have any customers even if we did.”
Scott realized he had once again missed church and a meal at his mother’s, and called her, prepared to grovel and make excuses. She surprised him, however, by telling him that Maggie had stopped her before church to tell her about Scott’s migraine.
She further surprised her son by adding, “I’ve always liked Maggie. You ought to bring her for dinner sometime.”
Scott hung up thinking he should probably write this date down somewhere, so he could remember when his mother’s first dementia symptoms began.
After they ate, Scott decided to go see Tommy and take his statement, hoping to save the boy from being interrogated by Sarah. He was asleep when Scott got to their trailer, and Mandy wasn’t about to let anyone wake him up. She went on and on about how Ed had saved his life, and had driven them to the emergency clinic in a blinding snowstorm. Scott listened patiently, foreseeing many free drinks and doughnuts in Ed’s future.
Scott went down to the newspaper office and found Ed working on his account of Theo’s murder for Pendleton’s daily newspaper.
“They can have it in tomorrow’s edition, but I won’t have another Sentinel published for a week,” he said. “I thought about putting together a special edition, but the God’s honest truth is I’m just too damned tired. You don’t look so good yourself.”
Scott sat down at the work table and Ed sat across from him.
“How do you know what happened?” Scott asked. “Did Billy confess to someone?”
“Tommy told us,” Ed said. “After the fight at Phyllis’s, Tommy saw Billy follow Theo down the alley. Tommy was afraid to be in the alley with them, so he ran down Iris Avenue and hid in the walkway between the antique store and the insurance office, to see where they went. He saw Theo banging on the windows of Willy Neff’s truck, which was parked in front of the antique store, and then cursing when he couldn’t get in. He saw Theo take the bat out of the bed of the truck, cross the street, and go behind the vet’s office. Billy, who was hiding in the alley, followed Theo, carrying a piece of the iron pipe railing which used to be in front of the antique store.”
“The murder weapon,” Scott interrupted, and Ed nodded.
“A few minutes later Billy came back with the piece of pipe still in his hand. Tommy said Billy looked in the windows of Willy’s truck, then pushed in the vent window, reached inside the truck to unlock the door, got in, started it, and drove the truck down the street into the fog. Tommy heard the truck door slam, and then heard the truck roll down the hill into the water, but he couldn’t see anything through the fog. He also couldn’t see where Billy went afterward.”
“Wait a minute,” Scott said. “If the fog was so thick Tommy couldn’t see the river, then he couldn’t have seen the barriers were down. That means Billy couldn’t have known they were down either. How far down the street did Billy take the truck before he let it roll?”
“Tommy couldn’t see,” Ed said. “My guess is he let it roll from the intersection of Pine Mountain Road and Lotus Avenue, so it only had to roll a couple hundred feet. He had Willy passed out in the truck, so if he just wanted to plant the murder weapon on him, he could have left him parked on the street. I think he knew the barriers were down, thought Willy would be found drowned with the murder weapon, and everyone would assume Willy killed Theo.”
“Tommy didn’t know Willy was in the truck?”
“Willy must have been passed out across the front seats. Tommy didn’t know Willy was in the truck until they pulled it out of the river. He thought Billy was just getting rid of the pipe in an empty truck.”
Scott thought the pipe was probably still in the cab of Willy’s truck, which was sitting in the parking lot behind the station.
“That poor kid; he must have been terrified.”
“He said he waited a few minutes to make sure Billy wasn’t coming back, and then he went home. Said he got home right ahead of his mom, and got in bed, pretended to be asleep. Of course, he couldn’t sleep. He heard Billy come home later, and crept out to the front room so he could see what he was doing. Tommy saw him come out again, carrying a bag. He disappeared into the fog, and Tommy doesn’t know where he went.”
“Getting rid of the clothes he wore to kill Theo.”
“That’s my guess,” Ed said. “Tommy said he went back to bed, but didn’t fall asleep until morning. He really did oversleep, and that’s why he didn’t show up for work. He felt bad about it. He had no idea I would be the one to find Theo.”
“And he’s been keeping this secret all this time.”
“He hoped that by telling us he saw Billy fight with Theo that it would be enough to put us onto him. He was too afraid to tell the rest of it for fear Billy would hurt him or his mom. When he heard about Willy being drowned in the truck he really panicked. Then last night he heard Billy threaten to kill Phyllis if she didn’t keep her mouth shut, and came to get me. I wasn't in the office so he turned around and went back down the alley, just as I turned the corner and saw him. Then I heard a car come crashing down the alley...”
Ed’s voice became hoarse and he had to pause, as he recalled what he thought had happened to Tommy. Scott went back to the fridge and took out two beers. Ed accepted his and took a long drink before continuing.
“I thought from the sound of it that Billy had run over Tommy, but he jumped in time.”
“I wonder if Billy tried to hit him or just didn’t see him.”
“It’s pretty dark back there and he was flying.”
“How is Tommy?” Scott asked.
“He has a couple cracked ribs and some bruises,” Ed said. “He’s lucky to be alive, but he's okay. His bike is history.”
“We can get him another bike,” Scott said.
“I’m taking care of that,” Ed said.
“Do you know where Phyllis is?” Scott asked, thinking someone had probably given her the news of Billy’s death by now, and not wanting her to be alone.
“She's at her mother's,” Ed said. “Doc Machalvie sedated her. Bonnie, Delia, and Lily Crawford were there with Pauline and Gladys when I called. There’s probably a house full of church women over there by now.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, drinking beer. The phone rang, and Ed got up to answer.
Scott let his mind wander, looking out at the snow flying. If Billy had lived, Tommy would have had to testify against him in court. Scott wasn’t sure Tommy could handle so much pressure or attention. Even now, the strain of being questioned by Sarah would be traumatic. What was the point, really? Theo was dead. Billy was dead. Poor old Willy was dead. Whom would it help?
“That was Frank looking for you,” Ed said. “Someone at the hospital called to say Anne Marie Rodefeffer woke up this morning.”
Both men sat in silence for a moment, processing this new information, and thinking about all they would need to do as a result. Ed would have to write it up for the paper, and Scott would have to interview Anne Marie, to find out
if her husband, Knox, tried to kill her.
“I’m thinking of resigning,” Scott said.
Ed shook his head, smiling.
“I used to think about quitting,” Ed said. “But think about it. You’re a cop like I’m a newsman. What else are we gonna do? I could quit, but I’d still poke my nose in everything and write about it. I can’t help myself. You could quit, but you’d still be running around this town looking out for everybody. A bloodhound needs to track and a collie needs to protect the herd. We just have to accept our roles in life and quit thinking we can do anything different.”
“But I’m not sure I’m making anything better,” Scott said. “Maybe someone else would do a better job.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. People are always going to do bad things to each other. This town isn’t perfect, the people in it aren’t perfect, and you and I aren’t perfect. We can be bitter and miserable about it, or find a way to be happy in a world that isn’t ideal. A man’s got to do what he thinks is right, learn from his mistakes, and know when to let sleeping dogs lie.”
Scott looked over at the black lab snoring by the stove, and then smiled at his friend.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My love and gratitude go to John and Betsy Grandstaff for all their support and encouragement. I give many thanks to early readers Terry Hutchison, Joan Turner, and Ella McComas, who gave me great feedback. I am grateful for the professional assistance and friendship of Kim Cohen and Kara Gray. Love to my good friends Joan, Nancy, Cassie, Mary, and Opal, and thanks for all the good laughs we’ve shared. Love also to Beth Ann, and to Shay and Dale, who introduced me to the joy of reading mysteries.
Books by Pamela Grandstaff:
Rose Hill Mysteries:
Rose Hill
Morning Glory Circle
Iris Avenue
Peony Street
Daisy Lane
Lilac Avenue
For Children:
June Bug Days and Firefly Nights
Ella’s New Hat and Her Terrible Cat
Rose Hill Page 29
