Black Star Canyon: The Mystery Novel (Black Star Canyon Mystery Novel Series Book 1)

by C. C. Wall

  “Yeah. Five star accommodations,” Gus said, full of sarcasm.

  “So, where were you last night?” Lukas said as he sat down on the opposite side of the table. Chaney stood in a darkened corner just out of Gus’s line of sight.

  Gus sighed. “I told you, I passed out after Cook’s. Are you gonna charge me with anything?”

  “We can give you a DWI,” Chaney said.

  Gus turned his head as far back as he could but still couldn’t see Chaney. “You actually can’t. You have no proof other than me saying it. You have to see someone doing that to charge him.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” Chaney responded.

  “The most you can do is impound my car and give me a ticket. I know my rights,” Gus said with a smile.

  Chaney argued, “We can hold you for 24 hours without charging you with anything.”

  Gus violently shook in his chair as if to get up and attack, but he was still in handcuffs. “Fucking charge me with something or let me walk!”

  Lukas jumped up and repeatedly punched himself in the face until he bled. “There you fat fuck! I’m charging you with assaulting an officer of the law!”

  Gus was in shock, “What?!”

  “Your shirt. I’m gonna need that shirt,” Lukas said as he dabbed the blood off his mouth unto his sleeve.

  “Huh?” Gus asked.

  “I need your fucking shirt!” Lukas yelled.

  “To put your blood on it? No way. I know a frame job when I see it,” Gus argued.

  Lukas reached over and ripped at his shirt. It tore down the side and after a few hard tugs, Lukas had it. He found a part of the shirt that was relatively clean and wiped his face on it.

  “You asshole,” Gus said.

  “You want to talk before or after the results come back?” Lukas asked.

  Chaney, before things could get worse, got on the intercom, “Sue, could you please come in here.”

  “Talk now or after we get the blood samples back?” Lukas raised his voice.

  “Fuck you, pig,” Gus said.

  Lukas punched Gus in the face, just as the door opened. It was Deputy Sue Callahan. She had been on the force a while. Sue had joined after almost getting killed by her husband during a domestic dispute. She was in her mid-forties and looked like the world had been pretty rough on her but also looked like back in the day, she had been quite the catch.

  Chaney grabbed the torn shirt and handed it to Sue. “Can you take this in for tests?”

  “Sure thing,” Sue said. “Everything all right in here?”

  “It’s fine,” Lukas said.

  Chaney sighed, “Sue, you better take this guy to his cell.”

  Sue grabbed Gus by his fat arm. Gus had a hard time getting up. He looked at Lukas “I’m gonna file for excessive force by an officer.”

  “And who do you think they will believe, huh?” Lukas yelled. “I dare you!”

  Chaney got between the two. “Sue get him out of here. Now!”

  The doors shut behind them when they left. Chaney slammed his hand down on the table then ran his hands through his hair before pulling on it. He was carefully trying to pick what words came out of his mouth next. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Chaney yelled. “Jesus Christ Lukas, you can’t do that! What the hell were you thinking?” Chaney paced back and forth. “You are nuts. That’s all there is to it. And you’re bleeding.”

  “Calm down. It’s under control.” Lukas couldn’t or wouldn’t look Chaney in the eye.

  “Under control?” Chaney asked. “You just beat the hell out of your face! Under control?” Chaney scoffed at the idea of him being under control of anything.

  “I need a drink,” Lukas said.

  “You need a drink? I need a drink. You need a doctor. A head doctor,” Chaney insisted.

  “That reminds me; we should go meet with the doctor and find out about the body.” Lukas was trying to pull attention away from himself.

  “And check your head. Psycho,” Chaney added.

  12 - The Morgue

  The beautiful Dr. Coleen Clive took off her latex gloves and let her long black hair down. She had just finished a once over on the Jane Doe. A door in the back of the room opened and Lukas and Chaney walked in. The nurse by the door said, “Hello.”

  “Dr. Clive?” Lukas asked.

  The nurse pointed to the woman on the other side of the room. She looked up. “I’m Dr. Clive.”

  “Hello. I’m Detective Lukas, and this is my partner, Detective Chaney. How is it coming along?”

  “Well, I would guess that she expired around 11 or so last night,” Dr. Clive continued, “It looks like she has been strangled but the cause of death could be any number of things. My guess though, strangled. I could let you know for sure by say, mid-morning tomorrow.”

  “Great,” Chaney said. “Do you think you could come by the station when it’s done?”

  “A thorough report may take up to a week but I could bring you some findings. I don’t see why not.” Dr. Clive agreed.

  “Perfect.” Lukas said. “Tomorrow then. Thank you.” Lukas and Chaney headed out of the room and waved to the nurse by the door.

  Dr. Clive’s cell phone started to ring. She picked it up, “This is Dr. Clive.” She gave the nurse a nasty look implying that she should get the hell out of the room, which she then did. Dr. Clive continued, “Now I’m alone,” she said as she walked over to the farthest point from the door. “Yes, they were just here.”

  On the other end of the phone was someone who I can’t yet reveal to you. But what I will tell you is that he is in a room with red curtains and he is wearing black gloves. There was someone else in the room with him. He, I can tell you about. He was kind of scraggly looking. He had a beard and long, wet, dark hair. He was wearing a black hooded, zip up sweatshirt with it’s hood up over his head.

  Dr. Clive was quivering. She was obviously very scared of who was on the other end of that call. “Very well, sir.” She said. She hung up the phone and began weeping.

  13 - The Rifle

  A relatively slow day at Henry’s Handy Shop made the time go by extremely slowly for Henry. He was watching the clock intently. So much so that when the phone rang it gave him quite a start. “Henry’s Handy Shop, this is Henry.” He said as an automatic response. He began to whisper. “Yeah, me too… Same place? …Okay, I’ll see you around five then.” Henry hung up the phone and gleefully started gathering his belongings. “Michael!” Henry yelled to the back, “Make sure to have Jonathan’s rifle done by five. I got to run some errands, make sure to lock up.”

  “Sure thing,” a voice said quietly from the back.

  Henry headed to the door almost skipping with excitement, until he ran into someone.

  “I know I’m an hour early but I’m not known for being punctual,” Jonathan said with a chuckle.

  “Holy crap, John, you scared the hell out of me,” Henry said while catching his breath.

  Jonathan said through gritted teeth, “It’s Jonathan.” He took a deep breath and regained composure of his normal chipper self. “Now, where’s that rifle?”

  “Sorry Jonathan, Michael is finishing it up. Hang around, he’ll help you out with it.” Henry cleared his throat. “I’m running a tad late. You have a good day.”

  “Toodles,” Jonathan said with a smile. “And it looks like rain out there, Henry. Be careful.”

  Henry left and the little bell on the door said “ding-a-ling.”

  Under his breath Jonathan added, “You never can be too careful.”

  Michael walked out shortly thereafter with Jonathan’s rifle and set it up on the counter.

  “So is she all fixed up?” Jonathan asked.

  “She sure is. She was hard to get going at first but then she gave right in,” Michael said with a slightly flirtatious voice. This made Jonathan swallow hard. Michael smiled at him.

  Jonathan ran his hands up and down the rifle. Michael put his hand on top of Jonathan’s and said, �
��And she’s all greased up.”

  14 - An Unexpected Visitor

  The rain had started to come down in Black Star Canyon; a little more than anyone in town would’ve thought after such a beautiful morning. The sun was down and it seemed like a completely different place, full of secrets and mystery. At the sheriff’s station, Sue Callahan was hard at work filling out some necessary papers when she realized that it was getting late and had better check in with her son. She picked up the phone and gave him a call.

  “Eric? Hi. I’m going to be a bit late. …I know. …Are you with Jen? …Why don’t you guys order a pizza. Just save me like, two slices, okay?” She laughed, “I’m not kidding, two slices. …Okay. …Love you.” She hung up the phone just as someone walked through the door, in from the rain.

  “Oh hi, I was just talking to Eric, he and your sister are having pizza.” She was trying to get a laugh but quickly saw that this wasn’t a social call. “What’s wrong?”

  In a somber tone Bekka asked, “Is Detective Chaney here?”

  15 - The Dingiest Motel In All Of Black Star Canyon

  An old beat up pick-up truck pulled into a rain soaked parking lot in front of the dingiest motel in Black Star Canyon. There were only two. One was nice and one was not. When the driver got out of the truck, his boots splashed in a big puddle that was getting bigger by the minute with the rain coming down. The driver ran across the lot and up the stairs to get to the second floor.

  He opened the door to room 23. The room was dark but the light from outside, what little of it there was, lit up a pair of legs on the bed that were bare. Smoke from a cigarette danced by, moving more quickly the closer to the door it got.

  “Oh baby, I missed your loving so much this week,” said Henry. “I can’t wait to get a hold of you.” Henry took a few steps into the room, shut the door, then immediately realized that he had forgotten something. “Crap, I forgot the glove for my monster, baby. I gotta run to the truck.”

  He opened the door, not taking his eyes off of the body in the bed, and standing in the doorway was a dark figure. As Henry turned to walk out, lighting struck and lit up the figure. Henry saw him. Henry looked him right in the face.

  Henry grabbed his chest and fell onto the floor.

  Elizabeth Kensington sat up on the bed and screamed.

  16 - Bekka’s Visit

  The Sheriff’s Station was quieter than usual that night for some reason. It may have been the rain. It might have been the darkness. There really wasn’t that many people who worked there anyway, but that night, everything just seemed cold and dead. Bekka sat in the interrogation room. It was obvious that she had been crying for some time. Officer Sue Callahan, had her arm around her and had tried everything she could to make her feel better and stronger about being there.

  Detective Chaney came in with Detective Lukas. “Hello, Bekka. This is my partner, Detective Lukas, and he will be conducting the interview with me. Is that all right?” Chaney asked.

  “Yes,” Bekka answered.

  “Hello, Bekka.” Lukas said. “Would you like Officer Callahan to stay?”

  “Yes, please,” Bekka said then looked at Sue and forced a laugh out as she wiped tears from her eyes. “What am I supposed to say right now?”

  “Just start wherever you like,” Chaney said. “If we need to, we will ask more questions.”

  “Okay., Bekka began. “I was staying at my boyfriend’s house, Dakota, and we were in bed. This was right after you left, Detective Chaney. So, Dakota’s brother, Colt, came by. He said he just got into town…”

  “Excuse me,” Lukas interrupted, “do you mean Colt Driggers?”

  “Yes. That’s Dakota’s brother,” Bekka said. “He was bragging about picking up some hitchhiker chick last night, but he wouldn’t talk about it in front of me.”

  “And why are you telling us this?” Chaney asked.

  “Because whenever a cop knocks on your door the same day Colt Driggers shows up, it’s never a coincidence,” Bekka said.

  “Colt runs with Gus doesn’t he?” Chaney asked.

  “Yeah.” Bekka responded.

  “What about Dakota? Does he run around with Gus too?” Lukas asked.

  “Not unless Colt is around. And honestly, if he did, he wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Why is that, Bekka?” Chaney asked.

  “I think it’s because he doesn’t trust them around me, or maybe me around them I guess. I don’t know. Dakota just doesn’t like mixing his worlds together.You know what I mean?”

  Chaney nodded. “Thank you very much Bekka. We will be in touch.”

  The look on Bekka’s face turned to terror. “No! Wait. You can’t let anyone know I was here talking to you guys. You can’t call me. You can’t come by the house. If Colt ever knew I was here he would…”

  “Kill you?” Lukas asked.

  They all sat silent for a moment watching Bekka’s eyes fill with tears. Chaney finally broke the silence. “All right. If you hear anything else, you give us a call. Okay?”

  “Thank you, Bekka.” Lukas said. He then looked at Sue, “You can take her out now.” Sue and Bekka left the room. Almost immediately, Lukas and Chaney started to quietly celebrate.

  “Yes!” Chaney said, “Colt Driggers!”

  “What’s the story on Dakota? Is he clean?” Lukas asked.

  “I think so.” Chaney was thinking hard about it. “As far as I know.”

  “Let’s check on that.”

  Sue opened the door and broke up the party. “Lukas, Sheriff Reagan wants to see you.”

  “Shit.”

  17 - Jack’s Big Break

  At the Register, the only real newspaper in Black Star Canyon, Jack Hart was feeling proud of himself. He had finished a story that he thought would really put him on the map. He was just a photographer, but Tom Harker, who ran the paper, had told him if he were to write a really good story, he would put it out in the paper. The story that Jack had just finished, was that story.

  Jack waited outside Tom’s office in eager anticipation. He paced back and forth and could see through the office window that Tom was reading it with the same eagerness. Jack couldn’t stand it. He thought that if he had to wait another minute he might actually explode. Tom finally came to the door, opened it and stuck his head out.

  “Get in here Jack.” Tom said, “Shut the door and sit down.”

  Jack hurriedly proceeded, as if he didn’t shut the door and sat down immediately, he could screw the whole deal up. Jack bit his thumbnail. He was thinking about all the praise that Tom was about to give him. He was thinking of ways he could sound humble without coming across as pompous.

  “What is this crap, Jack?” Tom asked.

  Jack was taken off guard. “Excuse me, sir?”

  “This. Are you seriously thinking I would publish this?”

  Jack was confused. “Well, yes.”

  “How did you think this was going to work?” Tom seemed a little upset. “We write truth here, Jack. We write things that we actually know. We write things that we can back up. This is just…tabloid trash at best.”

  “How can you say that, Tom?” Jack pulled the dagger out of his chest and now was waving it at Tom.

  Tom took a large swig of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. “You say that there was a murdered girl. You don’t say if the police said there was a murdered girl. Then you say she was sexually assaulted…”

  “Yes. It was obvious. You saw the pictures.”

  “I did. That isn’t the point. You need verified quotes from the sheriff’s department. They have not said anything about a “murder” they said “corpse”. They haven’t released any information on the circumstances around it and there may be a pretty damn good reason that they did that too.”

  “But the pictures…”

  “You can’t publish pictures of a dead, naked girl in the goddamn newspaper!” Tom yelled. “You should know better than that Jack.” Tom put his glasses on and looked at his computer, �
��We are done.”

  Jack took a deep breath and clenched his jaw tight. “Thanks, Tom. I’ll try harder.”

  “See that you do that.”

  Jack got up and went back to his desk. He looked at all the pictures that he had taken. He became fixated on one of them. Not one of the girl, but one that he had taken right before he got into his car. It was a picture of Lukas and Chaney looking angry and heading right for him.

  Jack smiled.

  18 - Fishtail

  Sue walked Bekka through the station. “Are you sure I can’t give you a lift? It’s coming down pretty hard out there,” Sue asked.

  “No. I’m fine. I parked around the corner. I should be able to get there pretty quick.”

  Sue looked at her with a sigh. “Don’t let those guys give you any crap. You did the right thing by coming in here tonight.”

  “I know.” Bekka smiled.

  “I’m serious. If any of them lay a hand on you, I’ll be coming down on them hard.” Sue gave her a hug. She watched Bekka as she pulled her big fluffy hood over her head before trudging out into the storm. Bekka was not happy about having to run to her car in the rain but that was way better for her than being seen with a cop by Dakota or Colt.

  Just as she got to the sidewalk, water came flying up at her from the street. Dakota’s truck came to a screeching halt right next to her. His window was down. He was getting wet. He was yelling at her; yelling her name. She could read his lips but was having a hard time hearing him over the rain and the occasional thunder.

  “Bekka!” Dakota shouted, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Bekka was terrified. “Nothing. I was just…”

  “You hear some girl gets offed in the canyon the same day Colt shows up and you run to the cops?” Dakota was beside himself. “Are you serious? How the hell could you do that?”