by Dave Daren
“Perfect,” I said as I glanced at my watch. “The sooner we can send that, the better.”
Belle nodded as she stepped inside and went straight towards her office. I closed and locked the door again, and followed after her. She was already setting up the computer when I stepped into the room, and the recorder was nowhere to be seen.
“I’ve already listened to the copy,” Belle said, “and it sounds really good but you can listen to it again if you want. Jerry tried to scrub out some of the static so it’s easier to understand.”
“I’ll take a listen,” I said.
Belle played the cleaned version of the recording, and it was easier to understand what was being said. Even the section that had been unintelligible was better, though it largely consisted of Crenshaw repeating his assertion that Watkins was a moron and the need to get rid of Lila. I felt a smidgen of sympathy for Watkins, who had always been on the edge of Shifty and Hup’s operation, and who had then tied his fortunes to a man who considered him a lower life form. It also made me wonder how long Crenshaw would have survived as the new mob leader in town before Watkins would have killed him.
“This is perfect,” I said. “Can I use this laptop to log into my email?”
“Go ahead,” Belle said as she vacated her seat at the desk. “Once you’ve done that, we can head over to Hup’s old office.”
“Won’t it be closed?” I asked as I logged in.
“I convinced the Sheriff to let us look through some of Hup’s files,” she said. “See if we could bolster what he has in his files.”
“How did you do that?” I asked in surprise.
“Oh, I know Shifty’s soft spots,” she said with a grin.
I sent the file, then stared at the screen for several minutes. I didn’t really expect an answer right away, but I hoped Duvernay would at least let me know he had received it. The agent did, and I grinned as I read his reply.
“What, did some lonesome woman in your area invite you to join her in a chat room?” Belle teased when she saw my grin.
“Agent Duvernay listened to the recording,” I explained. “He wrote, ‘Already looking for Crenshaw. Expect things to move fast. My boss wants to hire you if you ever get tired of being an attorney.’”
Belle laughed, a full-throated sound that filled the office and probably much of the surrounding area.
“Come on,” she urged. “Let’s see if we can’t help this Agent Duvernay a little more.”
“Let me call Lila,” I said. “She’ll be wondering what happened.”
“Fine,” Belle agreed. “I’ll just tidy up the kitchen and then we can leave. There’s a phone number for the commune in my rolodex.”
Belle retreated towards the kitchen once again while I flipped through the rolodex. I didn’t find anything under commune or Kerry, but a check for Tracey yielded a phone number designated as ‘general number for anyone’. I dialed and after five rings, someone answered the phone.
“I’m looking for Lila,” I said.
“Oh, um,” the woman on the other end said breathlessly. “I think she’s in the kitchen. Let me check.”
The mention of a kitchen made me realize that I’d barely eaten all day, but I pushed aside thoughts of food and waited for the freckled environmentalist to pick up.
“Hello?” Lila said.
“It’s Hunter,” I replied. “I just wanted to let you know what’s been happening.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she said. “We were starting to get worried.”
I glanced out the window at the street lights that were starting to come on.
“Um, starting to get worried?” I couldn’t help but repeat.
“Well, the bus isn’t all that fast so we know not to expect anyone soon when they take it,” she explained.
“Of course,” I replied. “Well, the bus is fine. It’s at the inn at the moment. I’m actually at Belle’s office but we’ll be heading over to the government building in a minute. We’ve got permission to look for evidence of Hup’s wrongdoing so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to bring the bus back out.”
“There’s no rush,” Lila assured me. “But if you need a hand going through Hup’s files, I’d like to help.”
“I’m not even sure what we’re looking for,” I hedged.
“I was an economics major in college,” she replied. “I can help.”
“Do you have a way to get there?” I asked.
“Oh, sure,” she said airily. “I’ll see you in a few.”
She hung up before I could come up with any more reasons for her to stay at the commune. I had to admit, she was probably safe enough at the moment with Crenshaw in the wind and Watkins dead. The Sheriff was still problematic, but I figured he had bigger problems at the moment than one tree hugger.
“Ready to go?” Belle asked from the doorway.
“Lila’s going to be joining us,” I said as I stood up.
“Oooh, she’s got it bad,” Belle snickered.
“What?” I asked.
“She likes you,” Belle said. “A lot.”
I shook my head and tried to look stern.
“She was an economics major,” I replied.
“That’s convenient,” Belle said. “When did you learn this?”
“Just now,” I admitted.
“Well, an extra pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt,” Belle admitted. “Whether or not they belong to an economics major.”
We shut down the office, then piled back into the Suzuki. We made a brief stop at Belle’s house to feed Chester and set him loose in the backyard, though I didn’t see much reason to try to keep him behind the fence. I was pretty sure the big dog could probably find his own way over the fence, but Belle insisted he would stay though he had been known to go for strolls in the past. After several pats and reminders to stay in the yard, we finally finished our trip to Hup’s office.
Belle opened the door with a key, and I wondered if it was one the Sheriff had recently entrusted to her or if she had it all along. Belle grinned and touched the side of her nose when she saw my expression, then led the way to the dark staircase. There were no lights on, and the place had a gloomy gothic feel to it in the dark. Even the squeak of the staircase seemed unworldly as we climbed to the second floor, and I was relieved when Belle opened the door to the appraiser’s office and turned on the light.
We ignored the clerk’s desks and the plat books and made our way to the closed door that bore a plaque with Hup’s name. I wasn’t surprised that the door was locked, but Belle sorted through her keys and opened Hup’s door as well. We slipped inside and Belle turned on the light, then moved quickly to the desk. It was large, and I had to wonder about the ego of a man who had to have such a monstrosity in his office.
“What about his computer?” I asked. “I don’t suppose you have a password for that?”
“Don’t need it,” she replied as she sat in the chair and looked at the various drawers. “Hup didn’t believe computers were safe. The only things he’ll have on there is what he’s required to keep electronically by the state. Everything else will be done the old-fashioned way.”
We had just settled into the task of going through Hup’s files when I heard footsteps outside the office door.
“Hello?” Lila’s voice called.
“In here,” I replied as I clambered to my feet. I crossed to the door and then stepped back into the clerks’ area. Lila was just inside the door, squinting in the light.
“The door was open so I came on in,” she said as she walked towards me.
“We’ve just started,” I assured her.
The two women exchanged greetings, and then Belle doled out files as she pulled them from Hup’s desk. We flagged anything that looked suspicious or even slightly interesting, but there was nothing that leapt off the page as being a shady payment. Hup had been careful with his bookkeeping, and it would probably take a whole host of accountants months to trace the full extent of Hup’s legacy. Disheartened, and
more than a little hungry, I tossed the last of my share of the files onto the desk and looked at the two women.
“Well,” Belle said in a dejected voice. “He did keep this going for nearly thirty years. He would have to be smart about this.”
“It’s like I can see hints of what was going on, but not the whole picture,” Lila sighed.
“We’ve been through everything in the office,” I remarked. “I don’t think we’re going to find the rest of it here.”
“It’s probably at his house,” Belle sighed. “But I don’t have enough sway with the troopers to get us in there.”
“So now what?” Lila asked.
“We hope the Sheriff lives up to his end of the deal,” I sighed. “And we go get something to eat.”
“I need to get back to Chester,” Belle sighed. “Before he decides to take himself for a walk after all. But you two can go without me. I’ll just leave the porchlight on. I’m assuming you’ll want to stay at the house again tonight, Hunter, and not at the inn? I would imagine your old roomy is still pretty smokey.”
“I don’t want to put you out,” I replied. “And I’m sure they could find another room for me.”
“Let’s get some hamburgers to go and meet at Belle’s,” Lila suggested.
I glanced at the other attorney, who studied the environmentalist for a moment, before nodding.
“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with a side of curly fries,” Belle announced. “Oh, and some of the lemonade, if they still have any.”
We replaced all of the files then, and checked that the office was the way we had found it, before we retreated through the dark building to the main door. Belle locked up behind us, then wandered towards the Suzuki while Lila and I crossed the street and reclaimed the minibus.
The scent of french fries filled the air and my stomach rumbled in response. Lila laughed at the sound, and though I tried to look offended, she only laughed harder. The smell stayed with us all the way to the diner, where we quickly placed our order with Joelle.
“Does she live here in the diner?” I asked Lila as the waitress swept into the kitchen. “I think she’s been here every time I’ve come in.”
“She lives a couple of blocks away,” Lila replied. “She’s one of the owners.”
Lila chatted with some of the other locals for a few minutes and I smiled and nodded to the more familiar faces until Joelle returned with a large paper bag that smelled like grilled meat, grease and hot potatoes. My stomach rumbled again and I snuck a few of the hot fries from the bag as we left the diner.
The bus wasn’t quite so quick on the hill as the Suzuki or even the truck, but the food was still piping hot by the time we pulled in behind the Suzuki. The porch light was on, as promised, as were most of the lights inside the house. Chester peered at us from the side door, and I felt a flash of guilt that we hadn’t ordered a burger for the Great Dane.
Chester woofed, Belle opened the door, and the three of us took spots around the kitchen table and then quickly distributed the contents of the bag. I ended up with a double cheeseburger topped with fried onions, a mound of crispy fries, a tall cup of cold lemonade, and a large slice of the cherry pie. Even Lila’s veggie burger smelled good, and the three of us ate in total silence as we slurped, chewed, and demolished our dinner.
With the food consumed, there was nothing to do but retire to the living room and watch Casablanca on the TV. Belle stayed until the end of the movie, while Lila and I stayed on until the local news was moving onto the sports report. Neither of us said anything as I turned off the TV. We stood up and walked quietly towards the back of the house, then slipped into the room where Chester had woken me that same morning. I closed the door as quietly as I could, and then Lila and I were pulling at our clothes as we tumbled into the bed.
Her cinnamon scent became the only thing I could smell as I wrapped myself around her slender body and kissed my way across every inch of her skin. She giggled whenever I found a ticklish spot, but that soon gave way to moans.
“Hunter,” she begged. “Please, I need you.”
She looked so earnest that I couldn’t tease anymore. She spread her legs as I hovered above her, and then I plunged part way inside, just to make sure she was ready. She arched up as I started to pull out, and grabbed my arms.
“No,” she insisted.
“You’re very demanding tonight,” I chuckled as I plunged deeper inside.
“It’s so good,” she murmured as her eyes narrowed to slits.
We kept going for several hours, though at one point I thought I heard Chester’s nails stop outside our door. The dog didn’t bark or try to break down the door, and a moment later, I heard him move on to the kitchen. Otherwise, the house was silent except for the two of us, and when I collapsed onto the bed for the last time, all I heard was the sound of Lila’s gentle breathing.
So it was a rude awakening when the sound of someone pounding on the front door rocketed through Belle’s home in the gray light of dawn. I rolled out of the bed and found a pair of dirty jeans I could toss on while Lila blinked in confusion at the sudden interruption. I stepped into the hallway just as Belle did, covered in her terry cloth robe and with her glasses clinging to the end of her nose. Chester was next to her, and as the visitor pounded again, the Great Dane woofed in reply. I exchanged a worried look with the older woman, and then the two of us walked to the door together, with Chester between us.
“It’s the Sheriff,” I said as I looked out one of the windows.
“Belle!” Tater Harris called out.
“Hush, Chester,” Belle chided as the dog unleashed a series of quick barks.
Belle pulled the door open before the Sheriff could knock again.
“Tater Harris,” Belle declared. “What on earth are you doing out here at this time of the morning?”
“Get dressed,” he snapped. “The cavalry has arrived.”
“What are you talking about?” Belle demanded.
“There’s at least six government SUV’s in town,” Harris replied. “Those big black ones that the feds use. One stopped at my place this morning, one is at Hup’s place, and I think at least two are down at the commune.”
“Duvernay,” I guessed.
“Nobody’s given me any names,” Harris said in an affronted tone. “Just shoved a piece of paper at me and said they were here to conduct an investigation.”
“Let’s go take a look,” I suggested.
“I certainly won’t be appearing before any federal agents looking like this,” Belle asserted. “And it sounds like they’re not going anywhere soon. So, I’m going to get cleaned up. Sheriff, you can come in unless you plan to stand out there on the porch all day.”
Harris muttered something under his breath, but he stepped inside and slammed the door. Chester growled and the two males regarded each other like silverbacks competing for a mate. Belle waved her hands at the dog and the Sheriff, then retreated into the bathroom. A moment later, I heard the shower come on, and I realized I needed to take a pee. I left the dog and the Sheriff to their staring contest and ran to the tiny half bath just off the kitchen.
When I stepped into the kitchen again, Lila was moving between the cabinets like she had lived there for years as she gathered together the ingredients for breakfast. The Sheriff sat at the breakfast table, a scowl on his face as he watched the coffee maker slowly start percolating.
“Pancakes all right?” Lila asked without even looking at me.
“Pancakes would be fine,” I replied.
Somehow, the four of us made it through breakfast and two more showers without anyone yelling that time was wasting. It was hard, and I could tell the Sheriff was just as anxious as I was to drive into town and find out what was going on, but Belle had a point. It didn’t sound like the agents were planning on leaving anytime soon, and it made little difference if we rushed right over there, or took the time to make ourselves presentable. Besides, one trick every good lawyer knows is to never
appear to be in a hurry. That gives your opponent an edge that he might not otherwise have.
When we were all presentable and looking reasonably professional once again, except for Lila, who still looked like a student, we gathered in the assorted vehicles and drove towards the heart of Folsom. The Sheriff took the lead, with Belle’s Suzuki behind him, and me and Lila in the mini bus bringing up the rear.
It was hard to miss the SUV’s as we pulled onto Jenkins road. They were scattered around the surrounding streets and parked haphazardly on curbs and sidewalks. People in dark suits and dark sunglasses moved in and out of the government building while others congregated in clumps in the park. Locals gathered near the perimeter to watch while the guests at the inn looked on from the parking lot.
There weren’t any parking spots available on the road, so Belle and I both followed the Sheriff into the parking lot behind his office. As we climbed from our various vehicles, I saw the Sheriff shake his head and wipe his brow.
“There’s even more,” he commented.
“Well, we won’t learn anything standing back here,” Belle pointed out. “Let’s see if we can find someone to talk to. Tater, you should take the lead since you’re in a uniform, such as it is.”
The Sheriff glanced down at his wrinkled shirt, the only one I’d ever seen him in, and then patted at the cloth as if that would make the fabric smoother.
“Fine, let’s go,” he muttered.
We walked around the building and back towards the road. I tried to find Desmond Duvernay in the sea of suits, but I couldn’t spot the man’s tall, lanky frame. I wanted to ask if anyone had called off the EPA, or even if anyone had been able to locate Crenshaw, just so I could plan my next move. But without Duvernay around to vouch for me, none of the black suited agents prowling around Folsom would give me the time of day, much less any details about what was happening in the investigation. It was frustrating to be so close to the endgame and feel like little more than a benchwarmer watching Lebron score the winning basket.
