Framed For Murder (An Anna Nolan Mystery)

by Spencer, Cathy

  “No, I’ll stay. If I go home, I won’t be able to sleep anyway, worrying about what’s happening to Ben.”

  “Okay, Anna. Whatever you want. Can I get you a glass of water or something? ”

  “No thanks. I’m fine, Steve.”

  “Alright. I’ll come back as soon as Tremaine comes up for air.” He left the room and I sank back into the hard chair to wait. Wendy sighed, and I reached down to scratch behind her ears.

  But I couldn’t sit still, so I jumped up to pace around the room. What if Ben were arrested for Jack’s murder? I would need to find him a lawyer, arrange bail – would I have enough money to bail him out? Would he be kept here, or transferred to another jail? What about his job? Would his employer hold his job for him, or would he fire Ben for being arrested for murder? Would Ben’s reputation be ruined if he were arrested? What if he had to move away and start over again somewhere else? Or would it be better for him to stay here where he had family and friends?

  “Oh Lord help me, I’m going crazy,” I thought. I sank back into the chair and buried my head in my hands just as the door clicked open, startling me. I looked up to see Tremaine entering the lobby, looking business-like in a suit. I sat up and swept the hair out of my face as he sat down beside me.

  “How are you, Anna?” he asked, bending to pat Wendy, his voice neutral.

  “Tremaine,” I replied with a nod, trying to appear more collected than I felt.

  “You’ve come about Ben.” He leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees.

  “Yes. What’s going on?” I asked, unable to keep the tremor out of my voice.

  “A witness came forward after lunch to report a suspicious car parked out front of the O’Cleary ranch on the evening your ex-husband was killed. Do you know the place?”

  Mrs. O’Cleary had been a friend of May Weston’s, so I knew about the family. Mrs. O’Cleary had died a few years ago, and her daughter was letting the ranch deteriorate while she tried to sell it for more money than it was worth. “Yes, I’ve driven past it. It’s south of Longview on 181A. You’re not saying . . . ?”

  Tremaine nodded. “The witness gave us a description of the car and an almost complete plate number. It matched Ben’s. We got permission to search the barn this evening and found blood in the lounge. We’re waiting for the test results to see if it’s your ex-husband’s.”

  I took a deep breath. “So, you may have found the place where Jack was murdered?”

  Tremaine shrugged. “Maybe. It certainly fits the scenario. It’s secluded. No one’s lived on the property for three years. There were signs that other parts of the barn have been used, too, although not recently.”

  “What did Ben have to say about his car being seen there?” I asked, wrapping my arms around myself for warmth.

  “That it wasn’t his car. That he was in Calgary at the time.”

  I shook my head. “Why now, Tremaine? It’s been two weeks since Jack died. What prompted our concerned citizen to come forward now?”

  “The witness said she heard about the crime, but had to go away on business and didn’t have a chance to come into the station until this afternoon.”

  So, the witness was a woman. I concentrated hard, picturing the location of the ranch. Township Road 181A was pretty close to the movie set. Was the witness someone from the movie? “Who’s your witness, Tremaine?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I can’t tell you that, Anna.”

  “Why not?”

  “To protect the witness’ privacy, and to prevent you from getting into any more trouble.”

  I had a brainwave. “Was it Karen Quill?”

  Tremaine stared at me, cool as an English cucumber. “Why would you think it was her?”

  “Did you tell Karen and Connie that I was spying on them the night Amy and I talked to them at the Spur?”

  He stiffened. “No. Why?”

  “Because maybe they figured Amy and I were taking too much interest in them and wanted to distract me by getting Ben in trouble with the police. And there was a nasty to-do over at Amy’s house tonight. Did you hear about it? Connie’s missing a gun, and he accused Amy of stealing it. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a coincidence, Connie accusing Amy of stealing his gun and my son’s car reported at the O’Cleary ranch, all on the same day? I think that the Primos are trying to get back at Amy and me.”

  Tremaine reached forward and tapped my knee. “Do you have anything to do with that missing gun, Anna?”

  I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Of course not.” We stared at each other for a moment, neither one of us looking away. “So, now what?” I asked. “What’s going to happen to Ben?”

  Tremaine leaned back in his chair and checked his watch. I glanced at mine; it was close to 11:30. “I’m done with Ben for the night, Anna. You can take him home, but he’ll have to come back for his car tomorrow. I’ve impounded it, and the forensics squad will be examining it tomorrow morning.”

  It frightened me that Ben’s car was being tested, and yet I couldn’t believe that the forensics squad would come up with any evidence against my son. I tried to conceal my fear from Tremaine, for Ben’s sake.

  “What happens if the test results show that Jack died in the O’Cleary lounge, but there’s no evidence that Ben was there or that Jack was in his car?” Tremaine turned away from me to stare out the lobby door. I took a good look at his face for the first time. There were purple shadows under his eyes and blond stubble on his face. It must have been hours since his last shave. Unexpectedly, his mouth creased at the corners. “Then I’ll have to find someone else to suspect.”

  I nodded, glad that he admitted the possibility of Ben’s innocence. I looked at his face with its amused half-smile and thought, “I like this man. I trust him.” Then he turned and looked at me with his intelligent grey eyes, and I was afraid. Tremaine was a good man, but he would follow this investigation through to the end, whatever he discovered and no matter what the consequences. I shivered.

  “What is it, Anna?” he asked in a gentle voice. “Do you want to tell me something?”

  I thought what a relief it would be to open up to him. I could tell him about my crazy dream where Ben killed his father, and how the lie I told Jack might earn my son’s everlasting hatred. How about if I told him that I had searched the Primos’ house and taken Connie’s gun, and now I was worried about getting it back to them? I stared at Tremaine, wondering if confession would be good for my soul or if it would bring all manner of tribulation down upon my head.

  “Anna?”

  “No,” I murmured. He sighed. “But, I’m grateful to you, Tremaine, I really am. I know I shouldn’t have come tonight. Thanks for taking the time to see me.” I touched the back of his hand, letting my fingers linger there for a moment. He nodded and looked away.

  “Ben’s waiting for you in the interview room. Why don’t you take him home now?”

  “Sure,” I said, rising to my feet with Wendy scrambling to hers.

  He held the door open for us and we headed to the interview room together. The door was open and Ben was sitting in a chair with his arms folded over his chest, his face sullen. He climbed to his feet as I came in, and I noticed that he was wearing his uniform from the building supply store. I turned to Tremaine.

  “You picked him up at work?”

  He looked at me from the hallway, his expression blank. “Yes, Anna. Just as soon as we found blood in the O’Cleary barn.”

  I grimaced. “Damn, Tremaine, couldn’t you have been more discreet? What if he loses his job over this?”

  Tremaine didn’t say a word, just stood there staring at me. I sighed and turned back to Ben, hugging him to me. “Let’s go home, honey,” I said in his ear. He nodded, and then squeezed me tight before letting go.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulders.

  Tremaine escorted us to the back door and pushed the crash bar open for me. “Your car should be r
eady by noon, Ben,” he said, looking at my son. Ben’s body was taut and his face was full of resentment.

  “Yeah, I’ll be back for it,” Ben said. He pushed past Tremaine and left me standing in the hallway beside the sergeant.

  “Good night, Anna. Sleep well,” Tremaine said, his eyes tired. I hesitated, not sure how I felt about him. Would I have done any differently in his shoes?

  “Come on, Mom,” Ben said from the parking lot. I met Tremaine’s eyes, nodded, and followed my son to the car.

  As we headed for home, I began questioning him. “So, what happened, Ben? What did he ask you?”

  “The same old crap about my alibi. Where were you? What time did you leave the house? Who did you see on the way to the theatre? All the stuff he asked me before.”

  “Did Tremaine say he checked your alibi with the witness at the drugstore?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good,” I said. “Maybe if you had been cooperative with him right from the start, you could have saved yourself a lot of trouble.”

  Ben turned to glare at me. “It’s all a bunch of bullshit, Mom. The whole idea that I killed Dad is just so stupid.”

  “I know,” I said, reaching for his hand.

  “I wouldn’t have given Dad the time of day, much less killed him.”

  Exasperated, I put my hand back on the steering wheel. “Tremaine told you about the witness who came in this afternoon, right?”

  “Yeah, but that’s plain crazy. I wasn’t there. It wasn’t my car. Whoever that witness was, she was lying.”

  “So why do you think someone would have lied about you to the police?” I asked, pulling into the driveway.

  “How the hell do I know? I don’t even know who it was.”

  “Don’t bite my head off, Ben. I’m just trying to help,” I said as he jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut. He got Wendy out of the back seat and stomped up the driveway to the front door. By the time I got out of the car and followed them inside, Ben was already in the kitchen with his head in the fridge.

  “I’m starving,” he said.

  “I’ll put on the kettle,” I said. “Do you want a decaffeinated tea, or maybe a hot chocolate?”

  “A hot chocolate,” he replied, pulling some leftover pizza out of the fridge. I got out the hot chocolate mix and waited for the kettle to boil while Ben piled some pizza onto a plate. “You want any?” he asked, pointing to the almost empty box.

  “No thanks. I’m not hungry.” As a matter of fact, I couldn’t have eaten a bite. I had just made up my mind to tell Ben about my lie to Jack, and I was scared. Maybe if I gave him a reason not to hate his father, his attitude would change and he would stop walking around with a big chip on his shoulder. His anger wasn’t helping Tremaine to see him in a good light.

  Ben sat down at the table and started eating. “What were you doing out in your pyjamas?” he asked, noticing my clothes for the first time.

  “Huh? Oh, I had to go over to Amy’s house unexpectedly, and then I heard about you and came straight to the station just as I was. Listen, Ben, there’s something important I want to talk to you about.”

  “Yeah? Well if it’s more about Tremaine and this alibi stuff, don’t bother. I’ve told him everything I know, and I’ve got nothing more to say.” He stuffed a wad of pizza in his mouth and chomped on it.

  “No, Ben, it’s not about Tremaine or the investigation. It’s something about your father and me – something I should have told you before.” The kettle whistled and I busied myself with making his hot chocolate.

  “Yeah, what is it?”

  I put his mug on the table and sat down across from him. “Okay, you know how I told you a couple of years ago that your father and I broke up because he cheated on me with another woman.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I told you that it wasn’t the first time – right?”

  “Right. I think you said Dad started cheating on you before I was born.”

  “Uh huh.” I wrapped my hands around the mug to warm them. “Okay, well, the first time it happened was the year before you were born. I was only twenty at the time. I was really upset when I found out about Jack. I wanted to get back at your father, so I told him that I was having an affair, too.”

  Ben put the last slice of pizza back down on his plate and stared at me. “Were you?” he asked.

  “No.”

  He swallowed a sip of hot chocolate before speaking again. “Let me get this straight, Mom. You told Dad that you had an affair just to get back at him.” He picked absent-mindedly at a piece of mushroom on his pizza.

  “That’s right. Can you understand that?”

  Ben shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so, you being upset and all. Besides, he cheated on you, and a lie isn’t as bad as cheating.”

  “Maybe not, Ben. But maybe it affected your father in ways that I hadn’t considered.

  Ben abandoned the food on his plate and leaned back in his chair. “Like what?”

  I took a deep breath. “I got pregnant right after your father and I got back together, Ben. It’s possible that he might have thought you weren’t his.”

  Ben stiffened, staring at me. “I don’t get it. Why would he have thought that? You didn’t tell him that, did you?”

  “No, Ben, of course not. And I’m not saying that your father thought you weren’t his. If he did, he never said anything about it to me. I didn’t even think of it until I had a talk with Erna. She’s the one who saw the possibility and thought I should tell you because it might make a difference.”

  “How?”

  I lay my hand on his arm. “Don’t you see, Ben? It might explain why your father ignored you so much.”

  Ben’s face looked deeply troubled as he lowered his eyes to think. I kept quiet, holding onto his arm, willing him to understand my reasons for doing what I had done. He frowned and looked up at me. “Why are you telling me this? What am I supposed to do with this now?” He got up from his chair and started pacing.

  “I thought it might help you to forgive your father, Ben.”

  “How can I? He’s dead now. I can’t ask him, can I? How can I know what the truth is? Why didn’t you tell me before it was too late?” he shouted.

  I got up from my chair and went to him, my eyes pricking with tears. “Because I didn’t think of it, Ben. I’m so sorry.” I took hold of his hand, but he wouldn’t look at me. “Please forgive me for being so stupid.”

  “You’re right, you were stupid,” he said, wrenching his hand away. “All the time I thought he didn’t love me, it might have been because you lied to get back at him. Well, what about me? He might have been a lousy husband, but he was the only dad I had.”

  Tears began to spill down my cheeks, and I dashed them away. “Please, Ben, imagine how I felt at the time. I was so hurt and upset. I never imagined that you might suffer because of it.”

  His own eyes were teary now and his face was white. “I’ve got to go for a walk. I can’t be with you right now.”

  He stalked out of the kitchen with Wendy slinking after him. I heard the front door slam, and Wendy whined. I burst into tears and grabbed hold of the counter. It was all too much. Everything that had happened over the past two weeks came crashing down on my head. Jack’s death, trying to figure out if Amy, the Primos, or Jessie Wick had murdered him, and now my son’s anger. I sank onto the floor, sobbing. If only this whole thing would go away and I could have my old life back.

  What if Ben wouldn’t forgive me? What was I going to do? Wendy pushed her nose into my face and I grabbed hold of her, pulling her into my lap and clinging to her like a lifeline.

  We sat like that for a long time. Finally, I pushed myself up off the floor, stiff and cold. The kitchen wall clock said that it was 1:15 AM, but Ben still hadn’t come home. I let Wendy out to do her business while mechanically tidying up the kitchen, then shuffled down the hallway to the front door. I peeked outside in case Ben was sitting on the porch. He wasn’t. I closed the door,
leaving it unlocked in case he didn’t have his key, turned on the outside light, and went to bed.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I crawled out of bed around 9:30 the next morning and stumbled down the hallway to Ben’s room. He wasn’t there and his bed hadn’t been slept in. I sank down on his bed, worried that something might have happened to him. I considered calling a couple of his friends who still lived in town, but decided that it was a bad idea. If he wasn’t there, his friends would wonder what had happened to him. If he was there, he wouldn’t want me checking up on him. Faced with a lose-lose scenario, I decided that I needed to get out of the house for awhile. I showered and let my hair air dry on the way over to The Diner. I didn’t want to be alone, and Ben might be there having breakfast.

  There was no sign of Ben at the restaurant, but the Saturday breakfast gang was seated around a table at the back: Betty and Jeff, Erna, May, Mr. Andrews, and Steve. My friends were talking with their heads bent over their plates. They all looked up as I dragged a chair over from another table to join them.

  “Hi everybody. Sorry I’m late,” I said, squeezing in between Steve and May. Everyone was having the weekend breakfast special except for Steve, who was having steak and eggs. This meal would be his supper. May reached over and took my hand.

  “You doing okay, Anna?” she asked, looking concerned. “Steve has been telling us about Ben being taken in for questioning.” I glanced around the table and saw the same worried expression on everyone’s face.

  “I’m doing okay. I brought Ben home with me last night. The police are going over his car this morning. He can pick it up at noon. He went out for a walk, and I didn’t feel like sitting home alone, so I came here.” I didn’t tell them that Ben had left for his walk about nine hours ago.