by Tonya Kappes
“Doc was very protective of his patients and his diagnoses.” I loved how Poppa and I played our ideas off of each other. “I wouldn’t put it past Ronald to have confronted Camille Shively like it’s been reported.”
“That’s whose file you have to find.” I felt like a piece of the puzzle had just clicked into place. “You have to go to Camille’s and look for her file.”
“I do think there is something very fishy between Polly and Toots.” Poppa squirmed around in his seat as if he was uneasy. “I think you’re on the right track about the files. I just have a sneaking suspicion that one might be taking up for the other. They are best friends. But who is the killer?”
“I think you’re on track. Something is odd.” My head turned side to side trying to find a parking spot. I couldn’t drop the idea that maybe Polly’s secret was in those files. The conversation between her and Camille Shively wasn’t far from my memory.
The street in front of Luke’s was lined with cars. I recognized most of them. One of them was Wyatt’s. Gunsmoke was a popular movie in Cottonwood. Most westerns were. I took a couple trips around the street to see if anyone had left yet and left a vacant parking spot, but no such luck. I had to park around the corner and walk.
“You know, I was looking around,” Poppa said. “And I saw some posters for the Summer of Sam movie.”
“You did?” I didn’t recall Luke ever showing that movie.
“I did. It looked like he showed it around a year ago. It might be something to ask him about since you are here. Maybe see who was there?” Poppa made some good suggestions.
“I’m not real sure what it has to do with the crimes, but there might be a correlation since the Chinese symbol was found at both crime scenes. How does this tie into Viola, Toots, and Polly?” I tucked Poppa’s information in the back of my head.
“I found clues in places I never thought would pan out. This could be a good lead.” Poppa was right. Sometimes the strangest ideas brought clues I’d never thought of. “You just have to eliminate one person at a time.”
We made our way to the back of Luke’s house to the basement door. The big sign above the door was lit up. It said “Shh,” which meant the movie was in progress.
I slipped in, sticking a couple of dollars in the donation box, and grabbed a popcorn from Vita, Luke’s wife.
“Sheriff.” Vita greeted me with a smile.
“Is Wyatt here?” I asked, squinting through the darkness.
“He’s up in that group somewhere.” She pointed. “They come for all the westerns. But they never give good donations. I told Luke to charge them, but he doesn’t.” She groaned. “It might not cost a lot to run a reel, but it costs something.”
“I’m sure it does,” I agreed with her. “Thank you, Vita.”
I held the bag of popcorn up to my lips and grabbed a piece with my tongue, flipping it in the clutches of my teeth. Mmm…there was nothing better than a perfect piece of buttery, salty popcorn.
I picked a seat right behind Wyatt, who was sitting behind the mayor. He and the other men didn’t notice. There were a few people scattered here and there, but I couldn’t tell in the dark who was there and who wasn’t.
Mayor Ryland didn’t even try to whisper. “Viola White called me saying Kenni accused her of killing Ronald while they were playing Euchre.”
“She did what?” Wyatt jerked to the side to face Mayor Ryland.
“Yeah.” Mayor Ryland let out a puff of air in a laugh. “I wish I could’ve voted you in as her deputy. That way you could keep an eye on this investigation.”
It took everything I had not to come to my own defense.
“She’s doing a fine job. She’s using Finn, and he’s doing a good job too,” Wyatt took up for me.
“Shh.” A voice from behind me pierced the darkness.
“It doesn’t stop there.” This time Mayor Ryland whispered, forcing me to lean in a little more. “Viola also said that Patty Brown called her and said Kenni pulled her gun on her.” Mayor Ryland shook his head. My jaw dropped. Did she leave the part out that she was in my home?
“I’ll talk to her.” Wyatt took a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth. I wished he’d shoved it in the mayor’s face.
Fifteen minutes into the movie, I looked to the back of the room where Luke and Vita were busy cleaning out the popcorn machine. It was probably the only opportunity I was going to have to ask him about the tires and the Summer of Sam movie.
Mayor Ryland glanced over his shoulder when I got up and the chair squeaked. Luckily, he didn’t turn completely around and see me.
“Kenni, I didn’t know you were here.” Luke poured butter into the popcorn machine. My mouth watered. “I keep a close eye on who comes to see what their tastes are so I can get movies everyone likes.” There was pride on his face.
Luke and Vita were good people.
“It looks like a great crowd for the early showing.” I kept my voice down so I wouldn’t bring attention to us. That was the last thing I wanted to do.
“These old westerns always bring in crowds. I didn’t take you for a western kind of girl.” He opened the Morton’s salt container and practically poured the entire thing into the popcorn machine.
“I’m known to watch a western or two since my Poppa loved them.” I smiled, recalling the fond memory. “But I’m really here to ask you a couple of questions about some tires.”
“The Wagoneer really can’t go wrong with the Dunlop. A little pricey, but well worth the wear and tear you put on your car with your job.” He nodded his head. “I bet you could get the town council to vote and use the town funds to purchase them.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m here to ask about some tire prints I found at Doc Walton’s.”
His face clouded with uneasiness. He motioned for me to follow him out the door and I did.
“I’m asking for your opinion since I believe you’re the expert in all things cars, not to mention movies.” Stroking his ego was my way of buttering him up like he did the popcorn.
Luke’s chest puffed out; he tried to contain his smile as he tugged on the waistband of his jeans. His upper lip curled as he took a deep breath of pride.
“I do know a lot about cars.”
“Yes, you do.” I snapped my fingers and pointed at him. “That is why I came directly to you.”
I pulled my phone out, found the pictures Finn had emailed me, and let him take a good look at them.
“May I?” he asked, gesturing to hold my phone.
I handed it to him. He flipped through the pictures and I waited for his response.
He let out a lot of groans and grunts along with a few huhs. A few times he tapped a picture and acted as though he was going to say something, but then kept it to himself.
“Very interesting. I believe these are tire tracks from a fifteen-inch Le Castellet wheel. Very rare; I’ve never seen a set around Cottonwood.” He continued to look at the photos. “I’ve only seen photos since people around here don’t drive foreign cars.”
“Foreign?” I asked.
“You know, we all drive Fords or Chevys.” He laughed. “But this type of tire is from a B3 G60 Syncro Passat.” He showed me the photo. “Volkswagen, small station wagon type of car.”
“You’ve never seen this type of car or tire around here?” I asked again to make sure I heard him right. I had to wonder if this was someone who was traveling through and committed both crimes.
“Never.” He pushed the forward button and looked at the next photo. “Oh my God.” He gasped, his eyes looking up at me hollowly.
“What?” I asked, taking my phone back. The picture of the Chinese family symbol on Doc Walton’s wrist was on there. “I didn’t mean for you to see that.” I stuck the phone back in my pocket.
“What the hell was that?”
“You are still under the law, so this stays between me and you. Now that I have your expert opinion on these tires, I’m more convinced than ever this was not someone in our community and may be someone who is on a crime spree across the state.”
Boy, was I getting good at making stuff up. But I had to do what I needed to do to get him to believe how important it was to keep quiet. I decided to take the opportunity to ask about the movie Summer of Sam.
“Say,” my eyes lowered, “have you ever shown the movie Summer of Sam?”
He nodded. “Yeah, about a year ago.”
“You did?” I asked. “I don’t remember that, and I usually have your schedule posted on my refrigerator.”
“It was only one night because it got stolen. It was the only film I had on DVD.” He rolled his eyes. “Go figure.”
“Can you recall if Polly Parker came to see it?” I asked, wanting to have a connection between her and the crimes as well as Poppa’s claim that she stole a movie.
His lips pursed as though he was remembering something. Slowly he nodded his head. “She was here, come to think of it. Not many people were, but she stuck out because I didn’t figure her for a gory girl.”
“Huh.” I scratched my head. My internal alarm went off.
Polly Parker was becoming more and more connected to the crimes. First the break-in; then she was adamant the crimes were tied to the new condo complex by Doc Walton’s, as though she was trying to get the heat off her; plus her disease Mrs. Brown told me about. But why would she kill Doc? Surely a second opinion on her disease wasn’t a good enough motive for her to kill. Something was missing.
It was proven most of Doc’s stab wounds were shallow, and Polly wasn’t strong. I had said the same for Viola and Toots. But I needed hard evidence. Everything I was going on was circumstantial, not enough to arrest someone.
A knife sticking out of his neck. Chills overcame my body and I found myself shaking in my shoes when I remembered Betty Murphy’s words when she called me over the walkie-talkie. Where was that knife? There was no knife when I went to the scene. The only person in there was Toots.
I gulped. Was Toots an accomplice? I recalled going to Camille’s and hearing Polly Parker’s voice in the exam room next to me. Maybe Polly was upset about the disease this whole time.
“Say, doesn’t Polly’s father have a bunch of cars?” I’d always heard Mr. Parker had a garage just for his vintage cars.
“Yeah, but he doesn’t let me work on them. He sends all of them to those fancy dealerships.” He scoffed. “Spends money like it’s water.”
“Thank you for your time.” I had to get out of there. I had to figure out how to put Polly Parker at the crime scene. I was more convinced than ever that she was the killer. Luke put his hand in the air before he walked back into his basement.
Polly Parker was mad. Doc Walton diagnosed her with the disease. The family disease, which was where I could connect the Chinese family symbol. Her father owned fancy cars, which would explain any strange and unusual tire marks. She killed Doc Walton in a fit of rage, and though I still couldn’t explain the mercury, I would. Then she called Toots to help her. Toots came to take out the knife and panicked when Sterling Stinnett showed up. We wouldn’t think it was strange she was there because we thought she still worked for Doc Walton. While Toots was there covering for her best friend, Polly let herself into White’s Jewelry where she staged a break-in so she’d have an alibi to place her at White’s. But where was the diamond?
Polly Parker killed Doc Walton and Toots Buford was an accessory to murder. I was more convinced than ever.
“Sheriff?” someone called out into the night air as I made my way back to the car. “Can I talk to you?”
Sterling Stinnett stepped out from behind one of the tall oak trees that lined the sidewalk in front of Luke’s.
“Sterling.” I was relieved to see it was just him. “Sure.”
“I wasn’t sure how to ask this, but I was at the town meeting when Finn was voted in as your deputy.” He scuffed the toe of his beat-up shoe on the ground, his head down. “I was wondering if I was still helping out like y’all asked. I mean, if you need me.” He lifted his head. His eyes dipped down. “I sure did like helping out. I felt important.”
“Yes.” I nodded, not wanting to hurt his feelings. “I definitely need all eyes and ears on the lookout for anything. You understand?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” He smiled. “I’ll keep my eyes and ears to the ground like a good hound dog.”
“Thank you so much, Sterling.” I waved over my shoulder on the way back to my car.
Chapter Thirty-One
I didn’t get too far down the road when my phone rang.
“Hello?” I answered.
“A good lead just came in.” Wyatt didn’t bother greeting me with a hello. I could hear the movie in the background. He just dug right on in. “I got a call from Shirley Babbs.”
“Who’s that?” I asked and pulled the Jeep to the side of the road. I grabbed my pen and notebook out of my bag and wrote down everything he was telling me.
“She owns the pawn shop in Clay’s Ferry and she heard about the jewelry store robbery at White’s. She said she had some new pieces that looked too nice to be secondhand.” He talked and my mind raced.
Pawn shops kept really good records.
“What’s the name and address?” I asked, then wrote down the information he gave me. “Have you gotten any of the results from the evidence back yet?”
“No, but I’ll check on that today while you check out the pawn shop.” He was really helping me out. It was refreshing to finally have someone on my side. “Wait,” he corrected himself, “there was nothing on the surveillance tapes from Doc Walton’s. He hadn’t even bothered recording.”
“He must’ve scared off the coyote.” That was the only reason I could figure Doc would stop recording, just like Art Baskin had said. “If this pawn shop lead pans out, then we won’t have to worry about the video. Keep your fingers crossed,” I said, crossing my own fingers like Wyatt could see through the phone. I didn’t bother telling him my hunches about Polly. If this Shirley could identify Polly, we would have a strong reason to arrest her.
“I feel like you’re really close, Kenni.” Wyatt’s words comforted me. “Your Poppa sure would be proud of you.”
“I am.” Poppa appeared in the passenger seat, smiling. “In fact, Luke did identify the make of the tires, so that should help out a lot.”
Wyatt and I said our goodbyes.
Quickly I dialed Finn. He didn’t answer so I left him a message telling him to meet Toots at Cowboy’s Catfish and ask her about her job at Foodtown and why she had left that out in her statement.
“Let’s go.” Poppa sat in the passenger seat and tapped on the dash. He pointed his finger forward. “Go!”
“Feels almost normal.” I smiled over at him. It felt like old times. “You’re really here, aren’t you?”
“I am.” His eyes slid up to mine and held them. “I don’t know why, but after you got elected sheriff, I was able to watch over you like a guardian angel. I have no idea how long I’m here, but I’m enjoying working with you.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” A sudden peace came over me, as if a warm blanket was cocooned around me. “I’m really glad.”
“Let’s go.” I put the Jeep back in gear and headed out of Cottonwood toward Clay’s Ferry. I could tell Poppa wanted me to solve the crimes as much as I wanted me to.
“You know,” Poppa shook a finger at me, “something is just off with all of this.” He shook faster. “I just can’t put a finger on it. But we will, Kenni-bug. We will.”
The pawn shop parking lot was empty. I parked right next to the door. Shirley Babbs’s shop
was just as gaudy as most of the jewelry in her cases. There was nothing there that screamed White’s Jewelry to me.
“What can I do you for?” Shirley stood behind the counter, her jaw flopping open and shut with each crack of her gum. Her hair was piled high on her head, her long nose a little off-center on her thin face.
“I’m Sheriff Lowry from Cottonwood. Wyatt Granger told me that you called in about some jewelry.” I planted my palms on the glass counter and leaned over, looking at the locked-up case.
“This in particular.” Like slow motion, she put her hand in her pocket, pulling out a strand of pearls with a monogram circle charm on the end. “When she brought it in, she was crying, saying she needed the money.” She laid it on the counter. “Most of the time I don’t get in monogrammed items, but this is a real set of pearls. When I got the police report about keeping an eye out for jewelry that might be pawned, this little baby was on there.” She tapped her finger on the circle charm. “A dead ringer for the one listed on your report.”
“I didn’t put it on the report.” I bit my lip, realizing my mess-up. The initials read PP. I had forgotten to add to the report that Polly was missing her infamous pearl bracelet. The bracelet she claimed was stolen. Thank God either Finn or Wyatt had heard me ask her and put it in the report. If they hadn’t, we would’ve never gotten this tip. “What else did she bring in?”
“This is it.” She shrugged.
“Nothing else?”
Shirley slowly shook her head, then suddenly stopped. She straightened up. “I asked Dale and he didn’t get anything else either.”
“Dale?” I asked.
“Yep, my boyfriend comes in to look after the place when I go down to the tanning bed for a half-hour break.” She patted the side of her cheeks with her hands. “I feel better with a little color on me.”
“Back to Dale,” I said, trying to get her back on track.
