by Dave Daren
“You mean he isn’t drawn here by Chester’s welcoming warmth?” I asked in mock surprise as I saluted the dog with my own mug.
The Great Dane had taken up a spot in the doorway that led to the rest of the house and had stared at me in rapt attention ever since Cummings had left.
“He puts up with Cummings because he gives Chester dog treats in the morning when I take him out for his walk,” Belle replied.
We all studied the dog for a moment, who still ignored the two women.
“So, how did you end up in Watkins’ truck?” I finally asked.
“He saw me as I was heading back to the store,” Lila replied. “I was going to call the farm and let them know I’d made it out of the inn. Mrs. Dunworthy is really nice and she always lets me use the phone to make local calls. She even let me call you even though the store was closed.”
“That was nice,” I agreed as I waited for Lila to sort through her story.
“I managed to grab everything and toss it in your duffle bag,” she added. “When I saw the fire outside the window. I don’t know why I did that, but I guess I thought you’d need some of it. And the smoke alarms weren’t going off, at least, not at first. Once they started, though, I ran into the hallway with everyone else. We all ran outside together and that’s when I saw the flames were spreading across the front of the building.”
“You poor dear,” Belle cooed.
“I knew I should call Hunter,” the younger woman continued. “And I knew Mrs. Dunworthy likes to stay late and watch her shows on the little TV in the back room. She gets better reception there than she does at home.”
“So that’s why you went to the yarn store,” I said.
“Yes,” Lila agreed. “I went back to the park after I talked to you, but then I didn’t want my friends at the farm to hear about the fire and worry about me when I didn’t return to the farm. So I set the bag on a bench and asked the lady who does tarot readings to watch it for me. I was about to cross the street when Watkins just appeared out of nowhere.”
Belle tsked and shook her head.
“He said the Sheriff wanted to talk to me, but I’d seen the Sheriff at the inn so I told Deputy Watkins I’d wait until the Sheriff was back at his office,” Lila said. “Ken didn’t like that. He got angry and said the Sheriff wanted to see me right then. I pointed out that I’d just seen the Sheriff and he looked busy at the fire. Ken said I should wait in the office, then, and he tried to pull towards the office, but I said, no, I needed to call someone.”
“Ken didn’t like that either, I’m guessing,” I added.
“No,” she agreed. “That’s when he pulled his gun and told me to get in the truck because someone really wanted to talk to me. He said he’d shoot me and tell everyone that he’d caught me trying to burn down the Sheriff’s office if I tried to yell or run away.”
“I don’t think anyone wanted to talk to you,” I mused. “I’m pretty sure Watkins’ instructions were to get rid of you.”
“I’d concur,” Belle added. “But why? Surely providing Hunter with an alibi isn’t a killing offense.”
The three of us tried to work out that problem while Chester finally sat down, in the doorway, and briefly cast his eyes over the other two humans in the house. Satisfied that neither woman was in immediate danger, he turned his gaze back to me.
“We should have someone keep watch during the night,” I said. “Just to be careful. I mean, someone besides just Chester.”
“I’ve got the rifle and a handgun,” Belle replied. “We’ll take turns. Whoever’s on watch will have the rifle. I’ll keep the handgun with me.”
“I’ll take the first watch,” I volunteered.
“Wake me up at midnight,” Belle said.
“I’m always up early on the farm,” Lila added. “So I can do the last watch.”
“In the meantime, I’ve got some meatloaf in the freezer that I can pop in the oven,” Belle said. “And I think I’ve got enough for a tossed salad. We can eat and figure out what we’re doing tomorrow.”
While Belle and Lila started to move around the kitchen and discuss plans for the next day, I pulled out my cell phone on the off chance that Belle had service out here. There weren’t any bars, but that wasn’t what held my attention. I stared at the date, in tiny print below the time, and nearly dropped several f-word’s a few times. I was running out of time to close the land deal and I wasn’t even sure anymore who all needed to be paid off. Maybe I could convince Bam to sign a new agreement extending the time to close the deal, but that would probably cost the Febbos another sizeable chunk of change.
As much as I dreaded it, another visit to the Sheriff was in order. I just had to hope that he had finally decided to take control of the property appraiser’s scheme, and that he was willing to talk to me about something other than his plans to arrest me for Hup’s murder.
Chapter 12
I woke up to the sound of blue jays squabbling outside the window and Chester’s drool covered mug close to mine. The dog woofed when he saw my eyelids flicker, and though I tried to pull the pillow over my head and ignore the beast, it was too late. Chester’s bark had been heard by the women in the house, and I heard light footsteps venture from the TV room to the back of the house where the two bedrooms were.
“Hunter, are you awake?” Lila called out softly.
“I am,” I admitted from beneath the pillow.
“Belle’s in the shower, and I’m making pancakes,” the environmentalist added.
“Sounds good,” I replied. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
Lila’s footsteps retreated back towards the TV room, and a moment later, I heard the clack of Chester’s nails on the floor as he followed after her. I lowered the pillow, blinked against the light that filtered into the room between the heavy chocolate brown drapes, and slowly sat up. The arm still hurt, but at least it was manageable, and the Bronica did seem to have helped with the bruises. Overall, I decided, I was in a general state of dull pain, but that was something I could work through.
A few minutes later, I heard Belle’s heavier tread as she stepped from the bathroom. I caught a glimpse of the older woman as she strolled past my door, her body encased in a thick terry-cloth robe and her hair hidden beneath a turban made from a pink towel. I heard the door to the other bedroom close, and then classical music filled the area.
With a sigh, I stood up and stepped across the hall to the bathroom. It was quite large, and Belle had told me the night before that one of the first big changes she had made to the house was to eliminate the tiny third bedroom and expand the bathroom. There was space now for a walk in shower, a large jacuzzi style tub, a double sink, and a makeup counter with its own mirror. I stared at the tub and wondered if there was enough time this morning to enjoy its bubbling hot water, then decided I should stick to the fast shower instead.
There were two bottles of shower gel set out, one labeled ‘Blooming Meadow’ and the other labeled ‘Sunny Day’. Neither sounded promising, but I gave them both a sniff, and decided I could live with ‘Sunny Day’. It smelled vaguely beachy, with hints of coconut and something fruity that reminded me of sunscreen. I managed to clean myself up without disturbing the stitches from the night before and toweled off using one of the oversized towels Belle had placed in the bathroom the night before.
I realized then that I hadn’t brought any clothes in with me, and after a quick check of the hallway, I darted back into the room when I had spent the night. I really didn’t want to put the blood smeared t-shirt back on after I’d just cleaned up, but since I hadn’t bothered to retrieve the duffle bag, it was looking like I’d have to wear it at least until I could retrieve my bag.
But someone was a step ahead of me and I found the bed had been made and the duffle bag left at the foot of the bed. I offered a silent thank you to my savior, then picked through the bag to find some reasonably clean clothes.
Dressed in a long-sleeved polo and a pair of dark khakis, I finally made my appearan
ce in the kitchen. Lila was at the stove watching the pancakes intently while Belle set an assortment of plates, jams and syrups on the table in the breakfast nook. I watched them for a moment, until Chester, who came from somewhere behind me, woofed to announce my presence.
“Good morning,” I said as I glared at the dog.
“And good morning to you,” Belle replied in a chipper voice. “Chester, I’ll make you sit out in the backyard if you’re going to be rude to our guests.”
Chester and I stared at each other, but the big dog finally nudged me aside and sauntered into the kitchen. He went to stand by Lila and watched as she flipped some of the pancakes with a look of extreme interest.
“Coffee’s going and I was going to make some tea for myself,” Belle announced.
“Coffee sounds good,” I replied as I moved into the kitchen. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Sit,” Belle ordered as she poured coffee into a pair of mugs. “The pancakes are almost done.”
“I hope you like these,” Lila added a moment later as she slipped the last of the puffy circles of dough onto a platter and carried it to the table.
And puffy was the perfect word for the pancakes. They bulged up in the middle, then flattened out towards the edges. It made me think of blurry photos of UFO’s over the New Mexico desert, but I doubted any UFO smelled so good. I piled several of the strange pancakes onto my plate, and then added maple syrup and blueberry jam. It was amazing, and I ate more than my fair share of the goodies, but both Belle and Lila laughed when I offered to make more just for them, and assured me that they had eaten plenty.
“So what’s everyone going to do today?” Lila asked as she licked some strawberry jam from her finger.
“I want to go to the library in Bridgeport,” Belle replied. “I called a friend of mine last night who might be able to help us with some of the work we were doing yesterday. He said he would meet me this morning to go over what he found.”
“And as much as I hate to do it, I’ve got to talk to the Sheriff this morning,” I added.
“Is there anything I can help with?” Lila asked hopefully.
Belle and I glanced at each other, and I knew we were having the same thought. We couldn’t send the eco-girl to Belle’s office because the board was still there along with the research we’d done on the commune leaders. I didn’t want her to appear at the Sheriff’s office until I knew whether or not he was involved in the attempt to kidnap Lila. And Belle’s friend was going to help the attorney dig through the background on Eliot Crenshaw, among others, and while Lila had her own suspicions about the leader, I wasn’t sure I was ready to entrust the commune member with a deep background search on the commune leader.
“Would you be willing to talk to people again?” I asked. “See if anyone’s bragging about setting the fire at the inn?”
“Oh, sure,” she said with enthusiasm. “I can do that. And I’ll take Chester with me. That way it won’t look strange if I’m just walking up and down the streets.”
I glanced towards the Great Dane, who had folded his enormous body into a ball near the door. I wasn’t sure that anything involving Chester would ever look normal, but at least he could protect the younger woman if she found herself in trouble.
“I’ll drop you off at the office, and we’ll see if we can find the keys to the truck,” Belle offered.
Satisfied that we all had something to do at least for the morning, we cleaned up the kitchen, and set out on our different tasks. Belle and I stopped at the office first, where a Ford hatchback sat next to my truck.
“Gina’s here,” Belle said in relief. “She’s good at finding things.”
We walked into the office and found a young woman with long black hair running the vacuum cleaner over the carpet. She was probably the same age as Lila, and wore jeans and a t-shirt that could have come from Lila’s closet, but the future lawyer wore an apron over her clothing, a face mask over her nose and mouth, and had stress wrinkles on her face that usually appeared much later in life.
The woman looked up when we opened the door and she smiled when she saw Belle. She pulled the mask below her chin, and I saw that she had a tooth missing from the top of her mouth.
“Gina, I’m so glad you’re here,” Belle declared. “Mr. Morgan here set his keys down in my office yesterday, and now we can’t find them.”
“Oh, I found them,” Gina replied as she stuck a hand in one of the oversized pockets on her apron.
Gina’s hand emerged with the now familiar key ring and held it up.
“That’s it,” I said happily.
Gina passed me the ring, then hesitated as she looked back and forth between me and Belle.
“You’re the man from New York City,” she stated.
“I am,” I agreed.
Gina nodded, then cast a questioning glance at Belle.
“He’s also our client,” Belle added.
“Belle will help you,” Gina declared.
“She already has,” I replied. “So, I’ll talk to you later?”
Belle nodded and I bid the two women good morning. Both of them smiled at me as I retreated out the front door, and then I heard the pair start talking quickly to each other before I’d even closed the door. I stepped around the corner into the tiny parking lot and patted the truck on the hood. I’d never thought I’d be so happy to see it, but it already felt like an old friend.
I managed to start the engine without any coughing, and I eased back onto the road and up the hill like an old pro. I was feeling pretty good about my driving skills when I eased to a stop in front of the Sheriff’s office, though the jerk the old truck made as I tried to move the shift into park reminded me that I still had some work to do.
I stepped out of the cab and greeted a couple of passersby, then stepped up to the door of the Sheriff’s office. I took a deep breath, set my shoulders, and pulled on the door. It was still locked, however, and I stared at the door in surprise. And then I remembered. With Watkins now dead, which I reminded myself I wasn’t supposed to know, that just left the Sheriff, and if he was out conducting an investigation or just getting breakfast at the diner, he wouldn’t leave the station unlocked.
I turned around and glanced up and down the street as I tried to guess where the Sheriff might be. I studied the area around the inn, where the scorched wall stood out against the pale beige of the rest of the exterior, but I didn’t see either the Sheriff or his car. Of course, that still left the crime scene at Hup’s place and the road accident out on twelve. Little Folsom, West Virginia, I realized was in the middle of a crime wave, and the Sheriff could be anywhere.
I was about to head down to the diner to see if Joelle might have any suggestions when I heard the lock on the door click and then the door was pushed open. Tater Harris stared at me, his hazel eyes red from a long, sleepless night and his tidy uniform replaced with a pair of jeans and a wrinkled dress shirt.
“What the hell do you want?” he asked.
Despite the wording, the Sheriff’s voice sounded tired and his shoulders were slumped. His fight wasn’t gone, but he was definitely feeling worn down.
“I-- um--” I stalled, “I wanted to see if there was any news about the fire last night or if you had any results from the state troopers about the investigation at Hup’s place.”
“And why would I tell you if there was?” Harris demanded.
“I’d like to find Mr. Baker’s murderer as well,” I said.
“So you can clear your name,” the Sheriff snorted.
“Is that such a terrible thing?” I asked.
I noticed that the other people on the sidewalk had started to slow down and watch the two of us. I recognized several people from the diner as well as the woman who had cleaned the office at the inn. The Sheriff realized we had an audience as well, and after scowling at the other locals, he stepped out of the way so I could enter the office. Once I was inside, he pulled the door shut and locked it again.
�
�Where’s the deputy?” I asked as I walked over to the Sheriff’s desk. “Still at the inn?”
It was a test, of sorts, to see how much he would tell me, but also a chance to gather some information on last night’s events.
“Kevin is dead,” the Sheriff said bluntly as he sat down.
“Dead?” I repeated as I looked over my shoulder at the empty desk. “How?”
“Hit and run last night,” the Sheriff sighed. “Looks like he was speeding and hit the side of the hill. He got out but another car came along and hit him.”
“Wow,” I muttered. “Do you know who hit him?”
The Sheriff stared at me for several seconds, and I could feel the anger seethe off of him as he debated how much I already knew.
“We found some white paint from the other car,” he said. “And the troopers towed the truck back to their lab.”
“I’m sorry,” I said as I shook my head. “That’s a real blow with everything else that’s been going on. I guess someone must have found him when they were driving to work this morning.”
It sounded lame even to my ears, but Shifty looked over at the desk again, then sighed. He seemed to deflate, and for a few minutes, he looked like a normal human.
“He was a good deputy,” Harris said. “He wasn’t perfect, but he wanted to help this town. He didn’t deserve to be run over and left in the middle of the road.”
“It’s terrible,” I agreed.
“There was a call to 9-1-1,” Harris continued. “Troopers figure it was probably the driver of the other car.”
“So they’ll be able to find the person that way,” I said.
“Came from a pay phone,” Harris said as he shook his head. “There was a security camera nearby, but it was pointed at the door, not the phone.”
“Security camera,” I mused. “So that means a store, right? Maybe someone inside the store saw who called.”
“Just a bunch of teenagers,” Harris remarked. “Don’t remember a damn thing except the mini skirt Brandine was wearing.”
Thank God for miniskirts, I thought to myself.
