A Murder State of Mind Boxed Set

by Jude Pittman

  “I don’t know. It depends on how you feel about turning lose one of your current inmates?”

  “Who and why?”

  “Ajax Barrington.”

  “The biker?”

  “Yeah. You know Ajax?”

  “We’ve met. I didn’t realize he was inside. What for?”

  “Trafficking in stolen auto parts.”

  Gus made a face and shook his head, then he turned to his computer, hit the keys and squinted at the screen.

  “He’s got eight months left. No problems, model prisoner, good candidate for early release, all the usual BS. Shouldn’t be much of a problem. Why do you want him out?”

  “Because I want you to turn him and put him undercover. He’s a great candidate in any event. As you know, the Brothers have never been into hard drugs or anything really nasty. But there have been some shifts in the power structure. The old guys are dying out and the new ones coming into the club don’t have the same kind of standards.”

  Gus snorted. “That’s a hell of a thing. Standards in a biker gang.”

  “You know what I mean. The lines are being blurred and a new breed is taking over. Having a guy like Ajax on the inside, someone who is part of the old guard and has a historical right to entrée into things and information can’t be anything but beneficial.”

  “Yeah. And guys like that aren’t known for cooperating with the cops, no matter what kind of private battles they’re having.”

  “In the past that was true, but Ajax is one of the original Brothers. When I was undercover I had occasion to sit in on a couple of meetings and I know for a fact that he took a lot of pride in the Brothers being what he called a ‘clean’ club. Of course I may have misjudged him, but my gut tells me that Ajax isn’t happy about the changes being made by some of these newcomers. I think, if you approach him right, he might just consider ratting on a drug supplier to be doing a service for his Brothers.”

  Gus leaned back and frowned. “I’m not really opposed to this. He’s inside on a minor rap and getting him out isn’t the problem. I just think we need to go about it in a different way. Guys like Ajax, even if they’re on board with our thinking, they just don’t do business with cops.”

  Kelly started to speak, but Gus interrupted. “Hear me out. I’m all for giving your idea a shot, but I say we take a different approach. I’d like to set you up with a meeting on the inside. You can tell Ajax that I caught you in a minor indiscretion.”

  “Like what?”

  “Hell, I don’t know, make up something. Tell him I offered you a deal to cooperate and you took it. Tell him how you turned in a bunch of information on the Bandits.”

  “He’ll love that.”

  “Exactly, as much as the Brothers hate those bastards you should have his undivided attention.”

  “How am I going to translate that into a reason for Ajax to help us get Sam?”

  “That’s what I’m working on.” Gus leaned back in his chair and Kelly waited while the detective sorted out his story.

  “You can tell him that you know the Brothers don’t agree with selling shit to kids, and you need his help. Tell him I’ve approached you with a proposition that would catch a Yankee who preys on local kids and maybe even murdered a couple of those boys.”

  “I get that, but he’s still going to be cooperating with the cops. I thought you said that’s where he’d draw the line.”

  “I have a hunch it’ll sit better in his craw if it’s you who’s dealing with the cops and he’s just helping his organization get rid of a Yankee scumbag.”

  Kelly nodded. “You know. It might just work. Especially if I suggest this slime ball might have been brought in by one of those new members who have been trying to override the old guard inside the organization. All Ajax has to do is convince his brothers that he has good reason to believe the cops are looking at Sam as a murderer. That’s a hell of a lot more heat than the Brothers will want to deal with. From Ajax’s standpoint turning in Sam will kill two birds with one stone. First he’ll get the Yankee murderer out of the club, and even more important he’ll reestablish the credibility of the club elders and set those newcomers back on their asses. Which, if you ask me, is going to have one hell of a lot of appeal.”

  “That’s what I figured. You tell him to say the word and you’ll see that he’s outside in time to sleep in his own bed.”

  “Sounds good. Set it up and let me know.” Kelly stood and offered his hand. “I’m going back to the stables and see how Gillian’s made out. She was having a council of war with the help this afternoon.”

  “Let me know if she comes up with anything.”

  ’s good.” Kelly pulled out his phone and touched Gillian’s name on the keypad.

  “Hi there.” Her voice in his ear sounded excited.

  “I was just getting ready to call you. I found a locked suitcase that Toby had stashed inside the tack room.”

  “Hang on. I’m in here with Gus. Let me put you on speaker.”

  Kelly pressed the sound button and set his cell down on the desk. “Okay, I’ve got you on speaker. Now say that again for Gus’ benefit.”

  “After my meeting with the kids was over, I asked if any of them knew anything they needed to bring to my attention. That’s when Paul told me he’d seen Sam put something into one of the lockers in the tack room a couple of weeks ago.”

  “What the hell?” Gus leaned forward in his chair. “Kid didn’t say anything when we questioned him.”

  “Well, in defense of Paul, I don’t suppose he figured it had anything to do with Larry’s murder,” Gillian defended her worker. “Remember the kids didn’t know anything about Toby’s death at the time you questioned them. I doubt he even though any more about it until I asked the questions this afternoon.”

  “Yeah,” Gus grunted.

  “Did you find out what was in the locker?” Kelly steered the conversation back to the hidden object.

  “Yes. It’s a small black case. Looks like one of those briefcases the lawyers like to carry.”

  “What was inside?”

  “I don’t know. I left it right where I found it. I just finished sending the kids on their way. I was getting ready to call and see if you wanted me to bring the suitcase in or leave it where it was.”

  “Leave it.” Kelly and Gus spoke in unison. “We’ll be right over.”

  Chapter Six

  Kelly turned through the gates of Lake Country Riding Academy and pulled up behind Gus’ dark blue Crown Victoria.

  “Took you long enough.” Gus unfolded himself from behind the wheel and joined Kelly in front of the gate that led to the stables.

  “Yeah. Not having that blue bubble perched on top slows me down a bit,” Kelly joked as he opened the hand gate for Gus to go through and then followed his former partner down the path that led to the main barn.

  “Gillian said she’d meet us inside. She’s been spending all her spare time out here in the barns.”

  “Almost like looking after kids.”

  “That’s the truth. She loves those horses like they were her children. Can’t blame her for fussing either, what with all the turmoil that’s been going on around here the past week.”

  Kelly led the way past the main entrance to the barn and around to a small door set into the side of the building. “This goes directly into the tack room,” he said. “As you can see it would be simple to slip into and out of this side without anyone from the main buildings being aware you were even on the premises.”

  “That caught my eye right off.” Gus followed Kelly inside and stood. “Want to call Gillian? I’d just as soon have her present before we touch those lockers.”

  “Sure. She should be right outside.” Kelly stepped to another door, pulled it open, and called out. “You got a minute, Gilly?”

  “I’ll be right there.” She poked her head around a stall and waved to show she’d heard them.

  Moments later, brushing straw out of her hair, she joined Kell
y and Gus inside the tack room. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you arrive.”

  Dressed in faded denim with a scarf tied around her head and well-worn cowboy boots on her feet, Gillian looked like she’d been screening a spaghetti western.

  “You all set?” Kelly bent to give her a quick kiss on the lips and then opened the door into the tack room.

  “Hi Gus.” Gillian crossed to where the detective stood waiting beside a bank of lockers. “Like I told Kelly, I bought these lockers from the school board when they built the new elementary school out at Indian Creek. I wanted a place where my workers could keep their personal stuff and these were ideal.”

  “So they all have their own lockers?” Gus followed Gillian down the bank of lockers and watched as she pulled a key out of her pocket and inserted it into the padlock on the far left bottom locker.

  “Yes. Each of them has their own locker and their own padlock. However, this particular locker wasn’t assigned to anyone. I had no idea Toby had given Sam a locker. I still don’t understand it. Everyone knew that Sam was barred from hanging around the stables.”

  “Did Paul say how he came to know about Sam having this locker?” Kelly asked.

  “Paul needed Toby’s help with some bales. He knew Toby liked to hide out in the tack room. Stacking bales is hard work, and Paul didn’t intend to do the work all by himself. He opened the door of the tack room just in time to see Sam closing the locker door and securing the padlock.”

  “Did he ask Sam what he was doing?”

  “No. He says he didn’t think anything about it at the time. He just asked Sam if he’d seen Toby and when Sam said he’d seen him out in the pasture, Paul took off out there. He told me he didn’t give the incident with Sam any more thought until I asked them all to try and remember anything unusual they’d noticed over the past couple of weeks.”

  “Sounds reasonable. If you don’t have any objections let’s go ahead and see what we’ve got.”

  “It’s all yours.” Gillian stepped back and waited while Gus donned a pair of gloves before he reached inside and lifted out a black leather briefcase.

  “Nothing special here,” Gus said, pulling a ring full of keys out of his pocket and selecting a small silver one. “Let’s just see if this works.” He fit the key into the lock, gave it a twist and shook his head. “Close but not yet.” He took another key, tried it, with the same result and kept going. On the fifth try the key turned, clicked, and Gus lifted the lid of the case.

  Inside the case held a letter-sized brown envelope with ‘PRIVATE’ printed on the face in bold black letter.

  “Let’s see what we have.” Gus inserted a finger under the flap and worked it along the seam until it separated at the folds. “Photographs.” He walked over to a work tables on the side of the room.

  “Do you want to cover that table?” Gillian pointed to a large roll of brown paper. “I’ll get it.” Kelly grabbed the roll and held one end while Gillian measured out a strip the length of the table and tore it off the roll.

  “Thanks.” Gus turned up the envelope and poured the contents out on the table.

  “What the hell?” Gus fanned the pictures out across the paper and Kelly reached over and placed an arm around Gillian’s shoulders.

  All of the pictures were shots of young boys. Some of the boys appeared to be as young as five or six and all of them were naked. In most of the pictures the boys had their legs spread and their privates displayed and in two of them a young boy lay on what appeared to be a fur rug, while an adult hand performed an unspeakable act.

  “This is disgusting.” Gillian buried her face against Kelly’s chest.

  “You understand, I have to ask,” Gus’ quiet voice belied his anger. “Do you recognize any of these children?”

  “Good God. No.” Gillian’s voice rose in response to the horror of what they’d seen.

  “I hate having to do this,” Gus addressed Kelly. “But we need to know if either of you recognize any of these kids.”

  Kelly nodded. “We know. Just give Gilly a minute.”

  “Of course. Would you rather we take these to the house?”

  “No!” Gillian practically shrieked. “It’s bad enough knowing they’re in my barn. I don’t want them in my house. Let’s look at them now, and then you can take them away.”

  It took fifteen minutes to go through all of the pictures. Twice Gillian had to ask for time out while she pulled herself together.

  In his years as a cop, Kelly had seen some disgusting stuff, but the envelope full of pictures ranked right up there with the nastiest he’d ever had to handle. “I don’t know what in hell we’ve got here,” Kelly said, after they had sorted all the pictures by child and ended up with eight piles of pictures.

  “Neither do I.” Gus separated each pile of pictures with a blank piece of paper, stacked them and sealed them back in the envelope. “But once I get this stuff back to HQ I can guarantee there won’t be a man on the force who isn’t pulling overtime until we find the perverted bastards responsible for these.” Gus stuck the envelope back inside the briefcase and picked it up by the handle. “I’ll take this now,” he said to Gillian. “You’re okay with that?”

  “Yes. Please take it away from here.” Gillian shuddered and her normally tanned face turned sickly pale.

  “If you don’t mind, lock up the tack room. The CSI’s already went through the place, but now they’ll need to come back and concentrate on this room and those lockers specifically.”

  “Of course. I’ll probably have to stop using this room anyhow. I’ll never be able to forget those pictures.

  Kelly, his arm still wrapped around Gillian’s shoulders, tightened his grip and pulled her against his chest.

  “Once I’ve taken Gillian back to the house I’ll hunt up Paul and see if he has anything to add to his story.”

  “Good. I’ll be in touch.” Gus took the briefcase and left.

  Kelly waited while Gillian locked up the tack room so the two of them could walk back to the house together.

  Jake met them part way and they both stopped to stroke the dog. Gillian bent her head to Jake, wrapped her arms around his neck and accepted his soothing licks.

  “He knows we’re upset.” She stood and they continued walking with Jake marching between them.

  “Not much gets past this old boy.” Kelly’s hand trailed along Jake’s back as they walked. When they reached the porch Kelly led Gillian across to the awning covered swing and urged her onto the seat.

  Jake stretched out alongside. A guardian watching over his adopted mistress.

  “I’ll get some tea.” Kelly went to the kitchen, made a quick call on the phone, and returned to the porch with two ice filled glasses of amber liquid.

  “I have to go back out to the barn,” Gillian said, after they’d sipped their tea in silence for several minutes. “I need to finish changing the straw. Robin’s going to be here soon and I need to be there. It’s her first day on the new schedule and there’s stuff I need to show her.”

  “Sure you do. It’s your business. I know it’s hard, but you need to put everything else out of your mind and leave it to Gus. We all suspected this Sam character was bad news, but none of us expected what we found inside that suitcase. If it’s any consolation, I doubt if Toby knew about those pictures. It takes a really sick mind to deal in child pornography, and I don’t think Toby had that kind of perversion in him.”

  “But why then? Why would Toby let Sam have one of our lockers? Why would he hold onto pictures like that? What does it mean? Where did they come from? Oh God Kelly, I feel so dirty.”

  “I don’t know the why, and right now neither does Gus, but I’ll tell you this. We’re going to find out. Sam lied to Toby about what he wanted to keep in that locker.”

  “So how did Larry get into the picture?”

  “We don’t know that either, but if you want a guess, Larry was involved in Sam’s drug operation. Being the nosy sort he likely overheard a conversati
on between Sam and Toby, or even more likely spying on Sam and catching him taking stuff out of the locker, might have stumbled onto those pictures. It could be that if we find out who and why those pictures got into your locker, we’ll also find out who and why he had reason to kill both Larry and Toby.”

  Gillian shuddered. “It’s all so horrible.”

  “Yes it is, and that’s why I want you to try and put all this stuff out of your mind. Gus is a grandfather. He loves kids, and there’s nothing he hates more than a child abuser. He’s going to catch the monster who's behind all this, and I’m going to do everything in my power to help.”

  Gillian leaned over and kissed Kelly. “Thanks. I needed to hear that. I’ll go out now and get things ready for Robin. I love you.” She turned and headed for the door.

  “Hey,” Kelly yelled after her, "you can’t just say something like that, for the very first time ever, and then take off.”

  Gillian stopped with her hand on the doorknob, smiled and stepped outside.

  Damn. That woman’s really gotten under my skin.

  * * *

  With Gillian gone back to work, Kelly decided to do some work of his own. First he went out to the truck, gathered up the scraps of paper he’d used for scribbling his ’reminders’ over the past few weeks and took them into Gillian’s office. Ever since his days on the force he’d been in the habit of using an evidence board to sort out details. It was the best way he knew to link up what might appear to be unimportant coincidences, but when sorted could often be seen to form a distinctive pattern.

  First he cleared the surface from one of Gillian’s tables, then he tore a strip off a roll of brown paper and covered the surface. Next he took a marker and started making headings.

  First row: ‘Larry’s Murder’. Underneath that he jotted down ‘Toby–Angelina–SAM’. Then he wrote down ‘Common Element’. He stood there, thinking for a long time, and then he grabbed his marker and in bold letters wrote ‘PAUL KING’.

  “Damn. Why didn’t I think of that?”