Finally, he snapped off the radio and spoke. “I almost found out firsthand what happened to Max.”
“You mean they were going to --”
“Beat the living crap out of me and maybe kill me. Who knows? Tommy had a baseball bat. I’d like to have that bat tested for Max’s blood.”
“Where were you?”
“Out at Max’s place looking around. They must have followed me.”
“Zack, we’d better go to the sheriff.”
“We already tried that, remember? And I went back again and practically begged him.”
“Yes, but that was before they attacked you.”
“They tried, but I got away. I don’t have a scratch on me, except for a bruised shoulder. I ran into a tree in the dark while escaping. Again it would be their word against mine. Remember, to the sheriff I’m just an outsider, a smart-ass drifter.”
“Zack, I’m scared. What are we going to do?”
He ignored the question. “You know, Tommy ordered me to leave town. I said I would, but that I wanted to take you with me.” Her head jerked toward him. “He said you were still his girl, but you were just confused right now.”
“I hate him!” said Kate. Her eyes narrowed, as she stared at the road ahead. She turned back to Zack. “Let’s do it, Zack. Let’s leave town. Let’s leave tonight.”
“I’m not running.”
“But what other way is there? You didn’t find anything at Max’s place, did you?”
“No.”
“Then there’s nothing else we can do. Please, Zack.”
“Kate, I can’t run. I’ve been running too long. I ran out on my mother. I’m not running out on Max.”
He pulled off on the side of the road and cut the engine. Then he explained everything to her. He told her the story of his mother’s suicide and how he could have prevented it if only he hadn’t run. He told her how, if it weren’t for him, Max would be alive. If he hadn’t taught him how to stand up to Tommy, the attack never would have happened, and Max would be out there in the woods in his little house sleeping peacefully. No, he wasn’t running away ever again.
Kate sat silently through the whole confession. “Oh, Zack,” she said softly, after he’d been silent for a full minute. “Max is gone and getting yourself killed won’t bring him back.”
“I know he’s gone. Once my mother died there was nothing I could do except regret having run out on her, and wondering if I had stayed, whether or not she would be alive today. I have to live with that. At least with Max I can make sure the people who murdered him pay for what they did.”
“But what can we do?”
“There must be a way. Let’s see. What do we have?”
“No evidence.”
“You’re right. In that case, we’ll have to take a different approach. If we can’t prove Tommy’s guilt, then we’ll get him to confess.”
“Confess? You must be kidding. He would never confess.” She opened her purse and removed a cigarette.
Zack knew he was finally onto the solution. The idea was unfolding in his head. “You’re right, of course. He wouldn’t formally confess, but if he didn’t think anyone,like the police, would hear it”
“You mean trick him? A trap?”
“Exactly. We set a trap and have him give us the evidence we need. Now let’s think. How can we do this?”
They sat, thinking. Kate puffed on a Merit.
“If he confesses to us, that’s not enough,” she said. “We’ll have to have some sort of neutral witness.”
“The sheriff!” called Zack.
“But you said he’s against you. That he didn’t want to help.”
“Well, this way he’ll have no choice but to admit that Tommy is the murderer. I think under those circumstances he’d have to go along with us. I’m assuming he’s honest deep down. Just narrow minded.”
“Okay, but how?”
“How does this sound? The one advantage we do have is that Tommy doesn’t know for sure that I didn’t find any evidence against him tonight. I hinted around that I did. Tomorrow I’ll go to work and let Tommy overhear a phone conversation. I’ll pretend that I’m calling the state police, and I’ll say I found evidence on a certain crime, a murder. I’ll tell them that I have to pick it up out at Max’s place and bring it to them. Of course, I won’t exactly say Max’s place, but Tommy will know. Yeah, that sounds good. Your job is to get the sheriff out to Max’s early enough to hide his car and wait inside the house.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Tell him it is life or death. I don’t know. Tell him anything. Can you do it?”
She thought for a few seconds. “I guess so.”
“You guess so? This is life and death, you know. My life or death.”
“Okay. I’ll get him there, even if I have to seduce him. Don’t worry.”
That made him smile. “We break for lunch at twelve, so make sure you get him out there plenty early.” He waited for her to nod. “This way if Tommy comes after me, we’ll know he’s guilty for sure. While you two are inside listening, I’ll get him to admit that he killed Max, so the sheriff can hear it. How does that sound?”
“Dangerous.”
“Do you have any other ideas?”
“No. How do you know he’ll confess?”
“I don’t, but I’ll do my best to draw him out.” Zack started the engine. “Then that’s the plan. Remember, get the sheriff there no matter what. My life could depend on it. Deal?”
She leaned over and kissed him. “Deal. But I don’t like this, Zack.”
“What? The kiss or the plan?”
This time, she smiled. “Don’t joke, please.” She kissed him again. “I love you.”
“Me, too. But right now we’d better get you home, just in case they come looking for me at your house.”
As they drove back to Michaeltown, she asked, “Are you going to sleep at your room tonight?”
“No, too risky. I’ll drive out of town and sleep in the car somewhere. Don’t worry.”
He pulled in front of her house. “I’d open your door, but I’m kind of in a hurry.”
“You be careful, Zack Taylor,” she said and climbed out. Just before he drove away, she blew him a kiss.
Chapter 34
Kate watched until Zack had disappeared around the corner. She was worried. Was there another way to prove Tommy’s guilt? She still couldn’t think of one. If only Zack would forget the whole thing. But no, not after what he had told her. He felt responsible his mother’s death and now Max’s, and he wouldn’t quit until this thing was settled. She would just have to accept that. If Tommy was guilty, he should pay. God only knew how many other crimes he had gotten away with over the years.
She slowly walked with her head down to the porch. For the first time in her life, deep down inside, she cared for a man and now he was in danger. She felt so helpless.
When she stepped inside the house, silence greeted her. Her dad had left the living room light on, and she went in and sat on the couch. Her parents knew how she felt about Zack. They had stopped waiting up for her like they had waited when she was out with Tommy and other boyfriends. They seemed to trust Zack.
After a few minutes, she flipped off the lamp and went upstairs. In her room, she lay without removing her clothes, on top of her made-up bed. Her mind buzzed, and she knew that she wouldn’t be getting much sleep that night.
After a few minutes, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could see deep into the shadows where hideous monsters had lurked in her childhood. She remembered many nights of hiding under the protection of her blankets while her imagination ran wild.
But she wasn’t a child any longer; she was an adult, and tomorrow, Zack’s life could be in her hands. Could she handle it? She stared into the darkness. No matter what, she thought, she would have to succeed.
Chapter 35
Tommy jumped from the woods out into the clearing just in time to see Taylor’s
tail lights disappear down the road. “Son of a bitch!” he yelled, shaking his fist. “Come on, in the truck!”
But when he reached the truck, Bull was already leaning inside the dark, open hood. “It was open when I got here,” he said, turning to Tommy.
“Get out of the way.” Tommy pushed him aside and shined a flashlight into the engine compartment. He reached in with his right hand and felt around. “Shit! He stole the damn distributor cable. That sucker is long gone.” He reached up and slammed the hood shut. Opening the driver-side door, he grabbed a cold beer from the cooler and sat in the grass, his back leaning against the truck.
“Now, what are we going to do?” asked one man.
“It looks like we walk.” He guzzled his beer.
“I mean about Taylor. What if he goes to the sheriff and charges us with assault?”
“Shit, you really think he’d do that?” He was trying to convince his men that everything was still under control. But was he sure himself? He wondered. “The sheriff already hates Taylor’s city-ass. There were no witnesses, and we never laid a hand on him. The sheriff would never believe him over us, and Taylor knows it.” It did sound good, he thought. Now, even he was convinced. “No, I think we got him scared now. He knows we mean business.”
“Do you think he’ll leave town?” asked Bull.
“Who knows? He does have balls. I’ll give him that.” Tommy paused to finish his beer. “I don’t think he found anything out here, and that leaves him at a dead end. Even if he doesn’t leave, what can he do?”
Bull stepped forward. “How do we know he didn’t find anything?”
Tommy got to his feet. “We went over every inch of this place. There was nothing to find.”
Jesse, who’d been standing at the back of the truck away from the rest of the group, stepped up. “I knew it was a mistake to come out here,” he said angrily. “Tommy wanted to teach him a lesson. Oh, yeah. Just like the lesson you wanted to teach the dummy. If he ever had any doubt before, he knows for sure we did it now.”
“So what the hell are you going to do, Jess?” asked Tommy.
“From now on, count me out of any of your little schemes.” He threw his hands in the air. “Why did I ever get involved in the first place?”
“You going to confess or something?” asked Tommy, stepping up close to him.
With his face a few feet from Tommy’s, he spoke. “I’m not a narc. I’ll keep my mouth shut, but I’m warning you, Tommy. Let it go. If we keep a low profile, this thing will blow over. But if we do again like we did tonight, they’ll get us. I’m sure.” He looked around at the others. “I suggest we all forget the whole thing and go on like nothing ever happened. Let Taylor sneak around. He won’t find anything.” He turned and walked off toward the road.
Tommy looked at the other men. “For once,” he said, “I agree with Jesse. We’ll play it cool from now on. Now let’s get out of here and back to town, so I can find a wire for my truck. I don’t want to leave it sitting here all night.”
They walked off in Jesse’s direction.
Tommy wondered if doing nothing would work. It wasn’t his style. Action had always been his way, but he’d try doing nothing for now, at least until he came up with another idea.
Chapter 36
Early the next morning, Zack drove into town and swung past his hotel. He circled the block once to make sure the place wasn’t being staked out and, when he was sure it was clear, parked and went inside. He found his room in order. No dresser drawers dumped out, and his mattress wasn’t overturned. He smiled to himself, realizing that this was real life, not some TV mystery movie.
By the time he shaved, showered, and dressed, he still had forty-five minutes until punch-in time at work. He decided to stop by the diner for breakfast.
Another waitress, Sally, was working the tables for the small breakfast crowd as he arrived. Didn’t Kate have the morning shift today? When Sally brought over a cup of coffee and a menu, he asked, “Where’s Kate this morning?”
“She’s off today.” She smiled. “Seems like you would have her schedule memorized by now, Zack.”
“Thought I did.” He shrugged. “I won’t need the menu. Just give me the special: eggs over easy, hot cakes, and sausages.”
“Hungry this morning?”
“Always am.”
She smiled again and went off toward the kitchen.
Zack couldn’t help looking over his shoulder and feeling that he was being watched, even though he was sure he had nothing to worry about. If they were watching him, what could they do in public and in broad daylight?
By the time he had finished eating, he had five minutes before he was due to punch in. He had kept track of the time, not wanting to arrive with the other workers. He planned to be at least a few minutes late, so that Tommy and friends would have time to get to their machines before he arrived. He wanted to surprise them when he showed up, and, at the same time, he wanted to avoid meeting them in the parking lot before work.
Thirty minutes later, he pulled up to Tommy’s machine with his first load. Tommy’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Catching him off guard had given Zack a warm, satisfied feeling. He wanted to keep Tommy nervous. That way, he would be more likely to take the bait later. The other men reacted similarly when they saw Zack for the first time that day. He only smiled sarcastically in return.
The rest of the morning passed quietly for Zack. He would set his trap during the morning break. Hopefully, Tommy would repeat his morning ritual of going directly to the restroom first thing when the horn sounded for break. This would get Tommy into position to overhear Zack’s imaginary phone call with the state police. If Tommy changed his routine, the whole plan would be blown, and Zack would have to make a real phone call to Kate to let her know the whole thing was off.
Zack was waiting when the horn sounded. He watched Tommy shut down his machine and remove his goggles, but Tommy didn’t leave his station.
Zack watched and waited. “Come on, Tommy,” he murmured. The break would only last fifteen minutes.
Tommy lit a cigarette and talked with Bull while still standing near his printer/slotter. Then he turned, dropped his cigarette butt on the floor, stomped it out, and finally walked off toward the restroom.
Zack let out a sigh. He waited for the door to close and then walked up to the pay phone on the wall next to the men’s room door. With his back turned to the door and the phone receiver held to his right ear, he looked over his shoulder and waited.
A minute later, the door cracked open slightly, and Zack spoke up quickly and loudly to get Tommy’s attention so that Tommy would try to overhear his staged conversation.
“Taylor, officer,” he said a little too loudly, and the door stopped its motion, settling back to only a slit from being closed. Tommy was listening. “Yes, officer, Zack Taylor from Michaeltown,” he continued, now in a lower voice. “Well, I don’t really want to go into it over the phone, but I have evidence of a murder.” He paused. “Yes, I could bring it there so you could examine it.” Another pause. “I did go to the county sheriff, but he didn’t seem to want to help. I figured the state police would be the next stop. Aren’t you?” He had to hurry before someone else walked up. “I’ll explain everything when I get there. I go to lunch at twelve. I’ll have to go by and pick up the evidence. I could be there between twelve-thirty and one. Okay, thank-you. Good-bye.”
Zack hung up the phone and walked toward his forklift twenty yards away. He didn’t look directly at it, but watched the bathroom door out of the corner of his eye.
After waiting about a minute, Tommy came out. Keeping his head down, he walked back to his machine.
The bait was set. At lunch, he would spring the trap.
Chapter 37
Kate’s full bladder awoke her with a dull pain. She hurried to the bathroom, her eyes almost completely closed. When she returned to her bedroom, her body now relaxed with the relief from that pressure, she rubbed her e
yes and looked at the red numbers displayed on her clock radio. Her eyes opened wide; she missed a breath.
Eleven twenty-five? Hadn’t she set the alarm? How could she have slept this late? Then she remembered still being awake after three o’ clock in the morning. How stupid could she be? She ran back to the bathroom and stared into the mirror. She looked terrible, but she only took time for a few swipes of a hairbrush, a Listerine gargle, and a splash of water in her face. Wiping her face with a towel, she reentered the bedroom. Putting on her shoes, she thanked God she’d slept with her clothes on. Before running to the stairs, she looked at the clock again. Eleven twenty-nine. Time was slipping away.
She took the stairs two at a time on the way down and found her mother standing in the foyer when she reached the front door.
“Kate, where --”
“I’m in a hurry, Mother. Sorry. I’ll see you later.” She bolted out the door and ran toward downtown.
Chapter 38
It was almost eleven-thirty when Zack drove back to the warehouse to check on the next load. Thirty minutes. Boy, did time seem to be dragging. The other driver, who unloaded the trucks and set up orders to take to the cutting room, was still working on the next load. Zack decided to pick up a pile of scraps that had been gathered and palletized. He scooped them up and took the elevator to the second floor, where the scraps would be cut into box panels. He made the trip several times a day.
If he took his time, he could stretch this run until almost lunchtime. Ten or fifteen minutes later, he stopped to talk with another worker before driving his forklift back onto the elevator for his return downstairs. He got back to the ground floor with only five minutes left until the lunch horn. He drove to the area where the forklift was normally parked, shut it down, and got off.
When his head turned to look toward the archway that led through to the cutting room, Tommy’s head snapped in the other direction. He’d been watching Zack.
Kentucky Murders: A Small Town Murder Mystery Page 13
