Inside Out: A Heather's Forge Cozy Mystery, Book 5

by N. L. Cameron

  I started back down the sidewalk when I caught sight of the four women guests from the inn. They stood on the green in front of the Heather Calliwell statue. They compared their notebooks and pointed in different directions.

  I cringed at the sight of them. Thanks to me, their cheery little get-together had turned into another secret society—one dedicated to tracking down all the clues Heather’s Forge had to offer. What had I done?

  The four women crossed the street to the gas station. They hunted through the alley between the station and Cooker’s Shack. They looked into dumpsters and even inspected the goods for sale next to the cash register. What were they looking for now? Someone must have told them about Max Nash’s murder and how Marty Tucker, the restaurant’s original owner when it used to be the DoubleDown Diner, murdered him for a few more parking spaces.

  I turned away and headed back to the station when a shout called me back. “Allie! Allie!”

  I turned around to find the four detectives rushing up to me. “Hi, guys. How’s the investigation going?”

  Tanya laughed. “It’s going great! This is the best vacation ever. Can you tell us where the sheriff’s station is? We want to interview Sheriff Mills about the murders. We have to interview Dr. Brock about the autopsies, too. Can you tell us where his office is?”

  “I wouldn’t bother the sheriff right now. He’s got a lot on his plate at the moment with the museum robbery, and I don’t think he would appreciate me turning the other three murders into a tourist attraction.”

  “Oh.” Gina looked up and down the street. “That’s a shame.”

  “Dr. Brock, on the other hand,” I added, “would probably be more than happy to talk your ear off about the autopsies he performed. His office is right over there.” I pointed to NightHawks Bar.

  The four women stood stock still and stared at the building. “But… but that’s a bar.”

  “His office is upstairs. It makes sense, if you think about it. The bar patrons aren’t around during the day, and Dr. Brock’s patients aren’t around at night. The two groups would never see each other.”

  The women stared at me. Then they all burst into fits of laughter. “Of course! It makes perfect sense. We’ll go there, just as soon as we go visit Dale Thresher.”

  “What are you visiting him for?” I asked. “He didn’t have anything to do with the murders, and I already showed you his archery practice range.”

  “He’s giving us a demonstration,” Rose replied. “We asked him how he practices his hunting there, and he invited us there this afternoon to watch him run a few drills. I can’t wait!”

  “Isn’t he the studliest man you’ve seen in about a hundred years?” Gina gushed. “Oh, my goodness, I could eat that man for lunch.”

  All four started chattering away about what a hunk Dale was. It was nothing I hadn’t heard a million times before from the women of Heather’s Forge. The only guy they drooled over more was Levi.

  “I hate to burst your bubble,” I began, “but Dale is gay. You realize that, don’t you?”

  “Of course we know that!” Tanya exclaimed. “All the best ones are. That doesn’t mean we can’t get an eyeful, and getting an eyeful while he crawls around in the dirt and squats to shoot his bow—oh, my goodness! Nothing beats it. Have you seen his chest? Mmm-mmm. Yes, please.”

  I had to laugh at the four of them gaggling off down the street. They couldn’t stop talking about Dale Thresher. He was a pretty studly guy. Even I had to admit that. Both he and Levi haunted the dreams of more women than they knew what to do with, and Dale wouldn’t know what to do with a woman if he fell over her.

  I shook my head and continued on my way back to the station, but I couldn’t help glancing over my shoulder to watch them out of sight. I could never perv over a man like that, but I had to admire them for coming out and doing it in plain view. They would probably proposition Dale, just for a joke. That would be just like them.

  I had to wonder, though. How much did their husbands know about their activities? Did they know or care that their wives were visiting murder sites and eye candy around Heather’s Forge?

  Chapter 9

  I marched into the sheriff’s station. No more Miss Nice Guy. I was on a mission. “You’ve got a problem, Sheriff.”

  He glanced up at me with bleary, blood-shot eyes. “What is it now? Please don’t tell me anybody else is dead. I just couldn’t handle that right now.”

  “Nobody’s dead. I just found out Laura Lane had a motive to kill Freddy and I had to tell you. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t tell you herself. She also knew how to open the door to her cell and get into Freddy’s. She thought he stole a valuable bracelet that was a gift from her father. Sheila Potter heard her talking about it in the hardware store. Laura resented that she never got it back. She could have killed him after all.”

  Sheriff Mills hung his head and nodded. “That’s about right. I guess we better go talk to her again. Do you want to come? You’ve been in this thing from the beginning. You might as well see it through.”

  Just then, Deputy Leonard rushed into the office. “Smitty’s gone. I gave him his lunch in the cell, and when I came back fifteen minutes later, he was gone. He’s flown the coop.”

  Sheriff Mills’ lunged to his feet. “What? This is an outrage! Get after him. He can’t have gone far. Check all the ground around the hardware store. That would be his first stop. Bring him back dead or alive. If you don’t bring him back in ten minutes, I’m calling in the National Guard. This is the last straw. From now on, we’ll tie ‘em to their beds if that’s what it takes to keep ‘em locked up. We can’t allow any more prisoners to escape.”

  Deputy Leonard bolted for the door and down the street. Sheriff Mills strode over to a large safe in the corner and started pulling out every kind of weapon known to man. He slotted open rifles and shotguns and stacked them on his desk. He piled up box after box of ammunition until the pile toppled over.

  “Don’t you think that’s a little bit of overkill, Sheriff?” I remarked. “Smitty’s not dangerous, and he’s not even a suspect in the murder. He’s a drunk. Give him a chance to come back before you pull out the big guns.”

  Sheriff Mills shook his head. “You don’t understand. My reputation is at stake. This is the last escape I’ll ever have on my record. Someone’s gotta pay.”

  He built up a huge pile of weapons, handcuffs, grenades, pepper spray, and tasers on his desk. He started for the door when Rufus came back leading Smitty Potter by the arm. The young man wore no handcuffs.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Sheriff Mills bellowed at Deputy Leonard. “Are you trying to let him go again?”

  “He came voluntarily,” Rufus replied. “He said he was sorry.”

  “Sorry!” Sheriff Mills rounded on Smitty. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself? You realize this is another felony on your record? Are you trying to get yourself sent to Rikers, or what?”

  “Sorry, Sheriff,” Smitty answered. “I was scared, you know? How am I supposed to know I won’t be the next guy to get chopped in these cells?”

  Sheriff Mills stared at him in blank astonishment. No one could deny Smitty’s claim. The cells weren’t safe. That’s all there was to it. One man had already wound up dead there. Who knew when someone else would get bumped off the same way?

  Sheriff Mills slumped into his chair behind his mountain of weapons. “All right, son. I’ll send you to the county lock-up in Hereford instead. Sit down in that chair right over there, and I’ll make the call.”

  Smitty looked around. “Aren’t you gonna at least handcuff me?”

  “No, I’m not,” Sheriff Mills replied. “If you came willingly with Rufus, I’ll trust you to just sit there and not make another run for it. Sit down and button your lip. I’ll make the call, and as soon as I’ve got it arranged, Rufus will drive you down to Hereford. Just don’t make me regret I trusted you. I’ve got enough to deal with right now.”

  Smitty sa
t down and didn’t move. Rufus Leonard went off into the back of the station somewhere while Sheriff Mills made a phone call.

  Smitty smiled up at me staring down at him. “Hi.”

  I blushed. “Hi. It was good of you to come back the way you did. Sheriff Mills is really worried about this jail.”

  “I don’t want to make trouble for anybody,” Smitty replied. “I just don’t want to be the next victim in this place. That’s all.”

  “So, why do you steal from your parents’ store?” I asked. “Your mom told me you’ve been doing it for years. What do you get out of it? You can’t be doing it for money. You’ve got a good job and you live with your parents.”

  “I never did it for money,” he replied. “I was just bored. I started doing it just to see what would happen—to see if I got caught or anything. I didn’t, so I just did it again. I was bored. I wanted to do something. Everything was so easy. I had money. I had a nice home, but nothing ever happened. I didn’t care what it was, just so as something happened. That’s how it got started. Then it just sort of just kept on happening. I knew I ought to stop, but I never really got around to it.”

  “You really upset your parents,” I told him. “You know that, don’t you?”

  He hung his head. “Sure, I know it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I guess I’m just a bad egg.”

  “You don’t have to be,” I offered. “You could make it up to them.”

  “They won’t let me. They’ll never let me come back to the store now.”

  “Maybe you could make it up to them in other ways,” I suggested. “Maybe you could try to show them you realize you did wrong. You could show them you’re ready to change.”

  He sighed. “Yeah.”

  Sheriff Mills put down his phone. “All right, boy. It’s all squared away. Rufus can take you down to the county lock-up, and you can stay there until we get this matter figured out.”

  Smitty rubbed his hands together. “Thanks, Sheriff. I really appreciate it. If someone was after Freddy, they could be coming after me next.”

  “I don’t think so,” I told him.

  Rufus appeared and took Smitty’s arm. He walked the young man out to the cruiser and drove away with him.

  Sheriff Mills spoke up behind me. “Now then, young lady, where were we?”

  “We were talking about Laura Lane,” I replied. “We were talking about her having a motive to kill Freddy after all.”

  “Oh, yes. We were on our way to go have a word with her. Are you still with me? You’re not too busy?”

  I turned bright red. “I’ll come with you… just for a minute. She might respond better with a woman around.”

  “I’m sure she will,” he replied, “although I never had a problem with her in the past. She’s always happy to talk to the police.”

  “I’m sure she is.”

  He led the way out of the station, but Laura’s house was close enough we didn’t have to drive. We walked around the block, and he knocked on the door. Laura gave him a big smile when she opened it. “Well, hello there, Sheriff. How are you, Miss Garrett? What can I do for you today?”

  “We have some more questions for you about Freddy Wright’s death,” Sheriff Mills replied.

  Laura smiled even bigger. “Sure. I’ll answer any questions you have. You know I always cooperate, Sheriff.”

  “You told Sheila Potter you thought Freddy stole a bracelet your father gave you. Is that true?”

  The innocent smile evaporated off Laura’s face. “A bracelet?”

  “Just tell us if you mentioned it in the hardware store,” he told her. “It doesn’t mean you killed Freddy. We just need to follow up all our leads.”

  “Freddy never stole anything from me,” Laura snapped. “I don’t know who’s spreading rumors around this town. I would never accuse someone without some reason to do so.”

  “You accused Freddy in a public place,” Sheriff Mills pointed out. “I’m sure Sheila wasn’t the only person who heard you say it.”

  Laura flapped her hands in the air. “Oh, I don’t know what I said. It happened so long ago, I can’t remember. It didn’t mean anything.”

  Sheriff Mills glared at her. “Unfortunately, it does mean something. That boy is dead, and we have to find out who did it. If you have nothing to hide, you have everything to gain by telling us the truth. You must have been angry at him for stealing something that meant a lot to you.”

  “I never knew who stole that bracelet,” Laura replied. “I was upset when I said that. I never meant to accuse Freddy.”

  “Why did you, then?” he asked.

  “Well, he was stealing a lot back then,” she replied. “Everybody lost something to that kid. Nothing was safe. I just assumed it was him. I shouldn’t have said anything. That was a mistake. I’m sure Sheila understands that. I’m surprised at her repeating it in public, especially so long after the fact.”

  Sheriff Mills nodded. “Yeah, I remember Freddy was stealing a lot back then. I’ll have a look at his files, but either way, I have to bring you back to the station until we get this business cleared up. Unfortunately, this is a much more serious matter than stealing that stuff from the museum. If I can’t clear this up, I might have to book you for murder.”

  Laura smiled and shut her door behind her. “I understand, and you can count on my full cooperation, Sheriff.”

  She strolled back to the station with us like this was her idea of a Sunday outing. She probably dreamed of getting accused of murder. She lived for any way to get the town talking about her and thinking the worst of her. That was her idea of a good time.

  Back at the station, Sheriff Mills plucked a pair of handcuffs off the pile on his desk. He marched Laura back to the same cell and steered her into it. “What are the handcuffs for?”

  He looped the handcuffs around the door and locked it shut with that. “There. I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere for a while.”

  He went back to his desk and meticulously returned every item on it to the safe. He locked it and sat down in front of his computer. “Now, then, young lady, if you’ll be so good, I need to take your statement on a few matters.”

  “Sure, Sheriff. Anything you want.”

  “First, I need you to repeat everything Sheila Potter said to you about Laura’s remarks. I’ll get a statement from Sheila, too. What exactly did she say?”

  I repeated it. I also repeated Laura’s remarks about the cells. “I suppose there is the possibility she didn’t know how to open the doors. She could have found out some other way and just said that.”

  “I doubt it,” he replied. “She must have known or she wouldn’t say anything.”

  I didn’t argue. “What about Lincoln? Did you check out his statement about the party?”

  “Rufus questioned the girlfriend and a few other people. He definitely wasn’t here at the time of Freddy’s death.”

  “That’s bad,” I remarked.

  “Right. Now you better get going. I have a few more people to question. Try not to get mixed up in anything between here and your car, okay?”

  I laughed. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”

  He got up and walked away toward the back of the station. I stood in the office and thought the whole subject over. I couldn’t bring myself to believe Laura really killed Freddy. She was all talk. She never really committed any crime.

  While I stood there thinking, Rufus Leonard entered the office leading… I froze in shock. Artie Gordon walked right past me on his way down the hall. My blood raced in my veins, but I couldn’t move or speak. I stared at the man in startled astonishment.

  Had I come within a hair’s breadth of getting caught in this man’s shed in the mountains? He couldn’t know I was the one who found the Anubis statue in the same trashcan where he was looking for it. He also couldn’t know I discovered that Bible with my aunt’s name in it on his property.

  He didn’t give me a second glance. He had no idea who I was. He walked on past,
and he and Deputy Leonard entered the interview room. What was he doing here? Did the sheriff bring him in for questioning about the Anubis statue, or did Sheriff Mills suspect him of Freddy’s murder?

  My mind whirred through all the possible scenarios. Artie Gordon! If he killed Freddy, he’d be after me next for taking the statue away from him.

  Who was he, really? Eliza said he was a troublemaker. Did the sheriff bring him into the station for some other reason? Maybe he didn’t have anything to do with Freddy’s murder or the robbery.

  I couldn’t will my body to move. Something dangerous hovered around that man. He gave me the shivers, and I barely knew him. I had to get away from him. I had to find out for certain if he was the man I saw outside the shed in the mountains.

  I shook myself out of my stupor and headed out of the station. All these questions gave me no rest. I had to find Levi. He would know what to do about this. No, wait. I couldn’t tell Levi. I would have to tell him all about the tunnels and the Bible and the cabin and everything else.

  I floundered in confusion, not sure what I should do, but I couldn’t stay here. I had to move. I had to seek and find out. That’s what I knew, and that was the best way to go when I didn’t know what else to do.

  Chapter 10

  I stepped out of the sheriff’s station to return to my car when Sheriff Mills appeared in the doorway behind me with Artie Gordon. Sheriff Mills exchanged a few words with him, and Artie moved off down the street.

  I experienced the same reaction I had in the station. I stood frozen at the sight of that man. He, on the other hand, didn’t notice me. He sauntered off down the street and turned a corner.

  I waited until he passed out of sight before I hurried over to the sheriff. “What was Artie Gordon doing here?”

  “I was just asking him if he knew about the cell doors,” Sheriff Mills replied. “He’s been in and out of this jail on minor charges here and there. I thought he might know about it. He says he doesn’t, but I can’t believe anybody now.”