“Don’t you see?” I cried. “He knows about the tunnels. He would have known a way to get into the jail without being seen. He could have come up through the tunnels, killed Freddy, and gotten away. Come on! He’s our best suspect.”
Levi shook his head, but at that moment, Pixie raced out of the trees on Artie’s trail. She ran after him, crouched to hide behind a clump of grass, and exploded out again.
Levi and I stared after her. I recovered first. “Now do you believe me? Pixie’s following him. We should follow him, too. She never fails when it comes to things like this. Come on, Levi!”
He hesitated a moment longer. “All right. We’ll follow him, but only a little way to see where he goes and what he’s up to. No farther. Do you understand me?”
I gave him a quick nod and launched myself out of my hiding place. I scampered down the path after Pixie. Whenever Artie came into view, I hid behind a tree or a bush to stop him from seeing me.
Pixie still raced on silent paws along the path behind Artie. She flattened herself on the ground any time he turned around or looked back. As soon as he turned his back, she rocketed ahead to catch up with him.
We tailed him all the way back to the inn, but he didn’t go near the building. He skirted it through the trees. He followed the exact line I imagined the thief took to dispose of the museum artifacts in the stream behind the gardens. He entered the thick part of the forest, passed up the stream, and circled the inn parking lot.
He made his way on an unerring line to the woods next to the road into town. He set off parallel to the road like he knew exactly where he was going. He did know exactly where he was going. He must have been here dozens of times to coordinate with Freddy.
Levi grabbed my arm. “We’re stopping here.”
“We can’t!” I cried. “He’s heading into town. Who knows what he’s up to?”
“You can’t stop a man from going into town. He hasn’t broken the law.”
“Sheriff Mills questioned him in connection with the cells,” I argued. “When I told him about Artie looking through the trashcans, he went after Artie, but he slipped away. We can get him now.”
“We’re not getting him,” Levi shot back. “He’s innocent until proven guilty.”
“We’ll just follow him. We won’t confront him. We just have to find out what he’s up to. This could be our only chance.”
“Following someone is harassment,” Levi told me. “Let him alone. We have to find some other sign of guilt before we start treating him like a murderer.”
I shook my head. “I have to follow him. He’s the closest thing to the murderer we’ve found yet. We already know he had some connection to the robbery, or he wouldn’t have been hunting for the Anubis statue in the trashcan. He had at least two ways to get into the cells to kill Freddy. You can’t deny that.”
“You can’t do this!” he told me.
“You want to just let him walk away? What if he’s on his way to do something else?”
He started to waver. “This is nuts. You know that, don’t you?”
“Come on, Levi,” I urged. “Just follow him a little further, just to see where he goes. That’s all I ask.”
“I’ll go with you,” he replied, “but only if you call the sheriff and tell him everything you know and what we’re up to.”
I yanked out my phone and pushed the button to call the station. Sheriff Mills answered. “Don’t tell me you found Freddy’s killer.”
“As a matter of fact, Sheriff,” I replied, “I think I did. I found Artie Gordon. He had access to the cells. He knew how to break in, and he has some connection to the museum heist. He was looking for the Anubis statue in the trash can. Levi and I are following him into town now.”
“Don’t let him out of your sight,” Sheriff Mills told me. “Keep an eye on him but maintain your distance. Don’t go near him, and whatever you do, don’t engage with him. Got it?”
“I got it,” I replied. “We won’t do anything. We’ll keep you posted on his movements.”
“I’ll coordinate with you from this side. We’ll hem him in front and back.”
“Got it.” I hung up.
Levi cast a sidelong glance my way and shook his head. “All right. You got the okay from the man. Let’s go.”
Chapter 19
Levi and I raced after Pixie, who kept her eye on Artie Gordon. The hike into town took longer than I expected, probably because I couldn’t breathe for excitement. What was Artie Gordon up to? Was that cottage in the mountains his house? Was he the man I saw outside the shed? A thousand questions plagued my mind, and I might be on my way to find out the answers right now.
Might being the operative word. Artie might not be the killer. He might be a harmless crank who went through the town’s garbage just for fun. He might not be connected to Freddy’s murder at all.
I couldn’t entertain that possibility. If Artie wasn’t the killer, this investigation was dead in the water. If that happened, I might just quit in despair the way Sheriff Mills wanted to but couldn’t.
After a long walk, Artie came out on the main road and strode into town like he owned the place. He glanced over his shoulder to cross the road, and Levi and I ducked behind the trees to hide.
“Now what are we going to do?” Levi asked. “He’s out for a walk in the park. He’s not doing anything suspicious.”
I flipped out my phone again and called the sheriff. “Where are you?”
“I’m parked in front of the hardware store,” he replied. “Where are you?”
“Artie just came into town. He’s walking east. He just passed the apartment complex heading for the supermarket. No, he just veered off. He’s crossing the green.”
“I’m moving in,” Sheriff Mills told me. “Close in from behind, and we’ll stop him on the green.”
I hung up. “Come on,” I told Levi. “The sheriff wants us to close in from behind.”
We jumped out onto the road and put on speed. We caught sight of Artie entering the green. He paused by the statue of Heather Calliwell to look around. I hurried so fast I almost broke into a run. Pixie did break into a run. She streaked down the sidewalk heading straight for Artie.
Sheriff Mills’ cruiser appeared on the other side of the green. It loped around Cooker’s Shack, past the gas station, and parked opposite the restaurant. Sheriff Mills got out and started walking toward us. Between him and us, we caught Artie in the middle.
Artie saw Sheriff Mills coming and changed course. He headed for the gazebo. A big stand of stately larch trees stood behind the gazebo. Maybe he knew an entrance to the tunnels over there. He could slip inside and disappear all over again. Once he figured out he was wanted, he would never get caught again.
Sheriff Mills saw him making a break for it at the same moment Levi and I saw it. All three of us bolted forward to hem him in. Levi dodged to one side to cut off his escape. Pixie tore across the grass going sideways. I hit the ground running to come up behind Artie.
Artie zigged and zagged to get into the trees. He made a last desperate dive into the woods when Pixie rocketed forward. She skidded in the grass and ran straight under Artie’s feet. He stumbled over the cat. She rolled onto her back under his foot and let out a dreadful screech that curled my hair.
Artie waved his hands in the air in one last wild attempt to catch his balance. Pixie twisted under his heel, and he collapsed the rest of the way onto the grass. Pixie darted for the trees and vanished.
Artie came down hard on his backside and rolled over on his stomach. Before anybody could react, he yanked a pistol out of his waistband, took aim, and let off three shots, one at each of us. Something whizzed past my ear. The next thing I knew, Levi tackled me to the ground. “Get down!”
He covered me with his bulk. I struggled around to see what was going on. Beyond Levi’s broad shoulders, Sheriff Mills dropped to his knee behind a trashcan. Artie peppered the metal with his bullets, and Sheriff Mills returned fire.
&n
bsp; Sirens blared from all over town. In seconds, cruisers surrounded the green. Rufus Leonard jumped out and brandished a rifle in the air. He waved to three other deputies to flank Artie and surround him. Artie cast a quick eye over the scene, but he never stopped firing.
Artie emptied his magazine into Sheriff Mills’ protective trashcan. In the lull that followed, Sheriff Mills called over the green. “Give it up, Gordon. You can’t get out of here. Come in and give us a statement, and we’ll try to do our best to make it easy on you. Don’t turn this into a battle to the death, cuz you’ll never make it out of here alive.”
The sound of clicking metal sounded across the grass. More deputies poured onto the green every second. Artie must see how hopeless it all was, but he wouldn’t stand down.
He raised his gun to fire one more time when the sound of a phone ringing echoed off the trees. The next thing I knew, there was Artie with the phone pressed to his ear. He muttered into it, and when he put it away, he lowered his gun. “All right, Sheriff. You win. I give up.”
Sheriff Mills didn’t move. “Throw your weapon as far away as you can and put your hands behind your head.”
Artie obeyed. He pitched his gun across the grass and laced his fingers behind his head. He buried his face in the grass and waited. Sheriff Mills kept his own sidearm trained on Artie while Rufus and the other deputies moved in. They pounced on Artie. Rufus jammed his knee into Artie’s neck while two other deputies handcuffed him. They dragged him off to the station.
Sheriff Mills stood up and shoved his pistol into his gun belt. “You two can get up now. It’s all clear.”
Levi peeled himself off me. I uncurled my limbs and brushed myself off. “You got him, Sheriff.”
“That was the most excitement this town has seen in generations,” Levi remarked.
“You two did really good today,” Sheriff Mills told us. “Thanks to you, we had a good outcome today. I suppose you’ll want to come over to the station to listen to the questioning.”
“We don’t have to, Sheriff,” I replied. “We don’t want to cramp your style.”
“Never mind about that,” he replied. “I think we’ll hold off on the questioning until we have a chance to search his home. Maybe you want to drive out and take a look with me.”
“I’d love to. What about you, Levi? Are you coming?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Let’s go.”
We got into Sheriff Mills’ cruiser, and he drove out to a little house off the interstate. My heart sank when I saw it. It wasn’t the cottage I saw from the stable. Someone else must have lived there—someone with a connection to Beatrice.
The three of us went inside. We hunted through every drawer, cupboard, box, and room in the house. We didn’t find one shred of evidence connecting Artie to the museum robbery or Freddy’s death.
I slid into the backseat of the cruiser next to Levi. “Well, that was a complete waste of time.”
“Being thorough is never a waste of time,” he replied. “We ruled his house out as a source of evidence. We don’t have to do that again.”
“But we didn’t find anything to connect him to the murder or the robbery,” I countered. “What if he’s innocent?”
“We didn’t find anything to connect him to the murder or the robbery yet,” he returned. “Just because the evidence wasn’t at his house doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. We’ll find it somewhere. We just have to keep searching.”
“Then you believe he’s guilty? You believe he killed Freddy?”
“I don’t see how someone with as much connection to this case, with the ways, means, opportunity, and motive, could possibly not be the killer. Anyway, even if he is the killer, he’s not the person we’re looking for.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you see the way he surrendered after he got that phone call? He’s working for someone. Someone else ordered that robbery, and Artie went to collect the Anubis statue from the trashcan for this person. Someone called him on the phone in the middle of the standoff and told him to give himself up. That’s all there is to it.”
I stared at him wide-eyed. “What does it all mean?”
“It means whoever orchestrated this whole thing was in town when we cornered Artie on the green. Whoever ordered the robbery and Freddy’s murder was watching the whole thing. That person must have a lot of power to order a man to throw himself under the bus like that.”
“Who could do that?” I asked.
“I have no idea, but we won’t solve this case until we find out.”
Chapter 20
Levi and I watched from the observation room while Sheriff Mills questioned Artie. “Well, Artie,” he began, “you’re going up for a very long time after that stunt on the green.”
“I’m not going anywhere but back home,” Artie replied.
“You’re not getting out of this room until you answer my questions,” Sheriff Mills told him. “You can start by explaining what you were looking for going through the trashcans around town.”
“I was looking for a pair of glasses I accidentally threw away.”
Sheriff Mills narrowed his eyes at the man. “You don’t wear glasses.”
“They were sunglasses,” Artie replied. “Can I go now?”
“Your record says you’ve been incarcerated in the Heather’s Forge jail seven times in the last five years. Is that right?”
“You’re the one reading the records,” Artie countered. “You tell me if it’s right.”
“It is right,” Sheriff Mills replied. “Did you know the cell doors could be opened without a key?”
Artie threw back his head and let out a raucous belly laugh. “What?”
“Just answer the question,” Sheriff Mills growled. “Did you know or not?”
“I didn’t know until you told me right now.”
Sheriff Mills shifted in his seat. This interrogation wasn’t going as well as his interrogation of Smitty Potter. He would have to pull something pretty amazing out of his hat to get Artie to admit anything.
Sheriff Mills took a deep breath to steady his nerves. “Did you know Freddy Wright at all?”
“I knew him.”
“How did you know him?” Sheriff Mills asked.
“I did some work with him.”
“When did you do that?” Sheriff Mills asked.
“Just these last few weeks,” Artie replied. “He did a job, and I got hired to pick up some stolen goods from him.”
Sheriff Mills’ head shot up. “You what?”
“He stole some stuff, and I was supposed to pick it up and deliver it to the client.”
A sort of spasm went through Sheriff Mills’ body. I couldn’t see his face from behind, but he sat rooted to the spot. “You what?”
Artie sat up straight in his chair and fixed Sheriff Mills with a fiery glare. “I killed him. I broke into the jail and killed him on orders from my client. That’s all I’m willing to tell you.”
Sheriff Mills didn’t react right away. I glanced at Levi. The same startled expression crossed his face. None of us expected this turn of events.
“How did you get into the jail?” Sheriff Mills asked.
Artie shrugged. “Oh, you know, in the usual way.”
“What way is that?” Sheriff Mills asked.
“You should ask your deputy,” Artie replied. “He’s too easily distracted. Anybody can get into the jail if they know how.”
“And how do you know how to get into the jail?” Sheriff Mills asked.
Artie shook his head. “I just said I can’t tell you that, and don’t bother asking who my client is. I can’t tell you and I won’t tell you. I killed that kid. That’s all I can tell you. Now give me my phone call and leave me alone.”
Sheriff Mills sat stupefied a moment longer. Artie’s face hardened into a mask of icy stone. He locked his eyes on the observation window straight in front of him and never moved again.
Sheriff Mills must have recognized
that look as well as I did. Nothing would pry the information out of Artie Gordon. Whoever hired him must have done a pretty good job sealing his lips.
Sheriff Mills struggled out of his chair. The next moment, he entered the observation room looking more haggard than ever. “Well, there you have it. He admitted killing the kid.”
“He could be lying,” Levi replied. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“We still have to prove it,” Sheriff Mills returned. “That’s gonna be a job when he won’t cooperate. We’re no further along than when we had Laura Lane locked up in here.”
I stared at Artie through the window. “I believe him. I believe he did it.”
“So do I,” Levi murmured.
“So do I,” Sheriff Mills replied. “That doesn’t change the fact that we’ve got nothing on him.”
At that moment, the sheriff’s phone rang. He pressed it to his ear. “Conrad Mills speaking.”
A garbled racket of tinny noise sounded from the earpiece. Sheriff Mills’ face went into several contortions while he answered. “Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir. I understand completely.”
He hung up.
“What was that about?” I asked.
He stared down at his phone. “That was the Attorney General of the United States.”
Levi gasped. “What?”
“He’s ordering me to release Gordon on bail.”
“But he hasn’t made bail,” I cried. “He hasn’t had a bail hearing or anything. Shouldn’t he go before a judge to see if he even gets granted bail?”
Sheriff Mills turned away. “I’ve got my orders.”
He shuffled back into the interviewing room, and the next thing we knew, Artie Gordon walked out of the station, free as a bird. Sheriff Mills didn’t come back to talk to us. He dragged his feet down the hall to his desk, and we heard his old chair creak when he sat down.
Levi and I stared at each other, thunderstruck. “What in the world just happened?” I asked.
“What did I tell you?” he asked. “Someone’s behind this. Someone paid a lot of money to get Artie off the hook. Someone is out there pulling major strings on this case.”
Inside Out: A Heather's Forge Cozy Mystery, Book 5 Page 12
