It was nearly always Rip who forgot at least two or three items at the hardware store, but so as not to willingly hand him a bone to chew on, I’d included myself in the remark.
“Yeah, Rapella, I guess you’re right. Well, I better get on the road. Rest that ankle while I’m gone. All right?”
“I will. I have no plans to leave the trailer today.” Except maybe once. I need to walk up the street and talk with Bruno one more time.
I watched as Rip drove our truck out of the Moores’ driveway, and was delighted to see Bruno pull into the Reynolds’s driveway almost simultaneously. I saw Rip wave at Bruno and the other man return his wave absentmindedly. It was pure habit on both men’s part, I knew.
Still hindered by the crutches, I thought this was the perfect time to approach Bruno. I’m sure he’d suppress a groan when he saw me coming. I know I’d be plumb sick of me by now if I were him.
As expected, Bruno greeted me in a joking manner. “I’m beginning to think you’re stalking me.”
“It probably seems like it,” I said. “I promise I won’t keep you long. I just want to ask you a few questions about Reilly’s disappearance. I’m doing a bit of personal investigating to see if I can help the authorities nail down the killer, if she actually was murdered.”
“Yeah. I figured that out when you called the police to have the crowbar you thought belonged to Tony tested for evidence of Reilly’s death.” He laughed, but his tense demeanor suggested he hadn’t found my meddling at all humorous.
“Yes, well. I never seriously suspected either of you could be involved in her disappearance.” I smiled but sensed Bruno hadn’t bought the bull crap I’d just fed him. “You see, I helped solve the truth behind the death of Milo’s former business partner last year.”
“Cooper?” he asked. “That was a terrible deal. I liked him a lot.”
“I never got a chance to meet him, but I know the loss of Cooper Claypool was hard on my son-in-law―as his business partner and closest friend.”
“Yeah, I know. Milo mentions him every time we get the chance to chat. As far as Reilly’s disappearance, I doubt I’ll be able to answer any of your questions. I was in California throughout Hurricane Harvey. I had planned to evacuate the area, but going to San Francisco was a last-minute thing after I learned my uncle had been placed in hospice care. I arrived at his bedside just hours before he passed.”
“I’m so sorry to hear about your uncle. I can only imagine how hard that was. Particularly not knowing what the storm was doing to your home while you were away.”
“Yeah, it was probably the worst week of my life. I came home to find my house literally in a zillion pieces.” I tried to suppress a smile as Bruno spoke solemnly about the loss of his home. Like Jessie, Bruno didn’t know the true meaning of the word “literal”. At least in this case, his estimation was probably closer to the mark. “It was totally uninhabitable. I’ve since had it razed and will break ground on a new home as soon as I can scrape up the money.”
“I’m so glad to hear you’ll soon be moving forward on a new place.” I was genuinely happy for the man. I knew his home had been uninsured and, like so many other local residents, moving on was easier said than done. “It shouldn’t be too long before you can get your stepdad’s house sold. That should give you enough funds to at least begin construction.”
“How did you know Barlow was my stepdad?" Bruno appeared to be momentarily taken aback by my comment. “Oh, never mind. Nothing you do or say should surprise me by now. Actually, you know the uncle I just mentioned, whose funeral I attended in California?”
“Yeah.”
“His wife was my stepdad’s sister. Barlow left his entire estate to her, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Barlow’s two daughters are livid, but that’s what they get for practically disowning him when he got older and began to have behavioral issues. My stepsisters haven’t offered to help with arranging his services or anything, but that was to be expected.”
“Sounds like the stepsisters are a little on the self-absorbed side.”
“Truer words were never spoken,” Bruno replied. “Barlow and his sister, my Aunt Sofia, were always very close, and she is the sweetest lady ever. It’s not her fault her brother became so disagreeable and mean to everyone he came into contact with in his later years. What my mother ever saw in the guy is a mystery to me. After Mom passed a few years ago, Barlow became even more unbearable. He loved my mom, but sure had a funny way of showing it.”
“I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your mom, and more recent loss of your aunt, along with all the other family issues you're dealing with.”
“Thanks,” replied. “But who doesn’t have at least some level of dysfunction in their family?”
I started to say, “Me!”, then I remembered my brother, Howie, who once had three women pregnant at the same time: a drug-addicted prostitute, our first cousin, Carla, and the local Methodist’s preacher’s wife. It’s probably no surprise Howie passed away from a potent strain of syphilis a few years later. “I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t have at least one ‘free spirit’ in their family.”
“Me neither,” Bruno agreed. “Aunt Sofía’s the reason I’m trying to get Barlow’s house ready to sell. Now that she’s a widow, her already tight budget is about to get even tighter. I want to ease her financial worries by helping her get the house sold quickly and for a decent price. I took some personal time off this week to make Barlow’s funeral arrangements and speak with a realtor on Aunt Sofía’s behalf. I don’t have much left to do here at Walker’s place before I can donate all my time to Barlow’s.”
“That’s so sweet of you. I’m sorry I misjudged you,” I said, contradicting my earlier statement of never having seriously considered Bruno as a suspect. “I know now you're truly too kind a gentleman ever to harm a woman or anyone else who hasn’t insulted your little sister.”
Bruno laughed. “Yeah, I really showed that guy, didn’t I? I bet he’s still smarting from me punching him in the fist with my face.”
We both chuckled at his quip. When our laughter died down, he said, “I appreciate the fact you’re trying to get to the bottom of Reilly’s disappearance. Whatever happened to her, she didn’t deserve it. However, I don’t know if you should put your neck on the line. It could put you in danger. If someone killed Reilly, they’d have nothing to lose by killing someone who’s trying to nail them to the cross for her murder.”
“I know. I’ve considered that possibility, but Reilly didn’t deserve what happened to her. Nobody does. I feel driven to get to the bottom of this mystery.”
“All right. Please be careful, though. Have you spoken to Walker about who he thinks might have had a motive to kill his wife? He may have some kind of inkling.”
“No. Not yet.” I hesitated to tell Bruno that the man he suggested I speak with was actually the person I now suspected of Reilly’s death. I’d lost count, but Walker had just become my fifth, or perhaps sixth, number-one suspect.
“I know he was heartbroken when he heard she was running around on him with some guy who lives in the neighborhood, and he was absolutely crushed when she asked for a divorce. Shortly after that, he tried to kill himself. About a week after finding out about Reilly’s affair, Walker swallowed around two dozen pain pills, but luckily his best friend showed up just in time. He’d stopped by to drop off some beef jerky he’d made with his new dehydrator, but instead found Walker lying on his bed and unresponsive. He was able to perform CPR until the EMT’s arrived. His actions saved Walker’s life.”
“Thank goodness!” I exclaimed. “Sounds like divine intervention. I didn’t realize Reilly had plans to divorce Walker.”
“He doesn’t talk about it much.” Bruno snapped his fingers. “I just remembered something I’ve been wanting to tell you, but keep forgetting. The day you discovered my stepdad hanging in his living room, it should have been me.”
“It should have been you hanging in his living room?” I ask
ed. I was baffled at his remark.
“No.” He looked both amused and sad at the same time. “It should have been me who discovered his body.”
“How’s that?”
“I stopped by Barlow’s in the middle of the day to grab something for lunch because I’d driven straight to Walker’s that morning after spending the night with my new girlfriend. I rushed in the back door, which opens right into the kitchen, and grabbed an apple and a Coke from the fridge. Before I left, I stepped into the pantry to grab a bag of chips and some of the beef jerky Jessie had given me. I froze when I heard you come in the back door. You muttered a few curse words and I recognized your voice.”
“Why didn’t you step out to say hello?”
“For one thing, I was afraid I’d scare the holy hell out of you, and no offense, but I was afraid you’d want to chat. I was in a hurry to get back to Walker’s so I’d be there when the supplies I’d ordered were delivered. That’s why I didn’t take the time to step into the living room. If I had, I’d have been the one to discover Barlow. I have to say, I wasn’t surprised by him taking his own life. He threatened to kill himself about every other day. Naturally, I thought he was bluffing. Guess I was wrong about that one, huh?”
“Dead wrong, it appears. However, to be honest, I'm still not convinced he did take his own life. But that does answer one question I had. The back door was open when I left the kitchen and closed when I returned after finding Barlow’s body, so I knew I hadn’t been alone. Thinking about it later sent chills down my spine.”
“I can imagine. Sorry about that, Rapella.”
“That’s all right. Did you not even wonder what I was doing in your stepdad’s house?”
“Not really. From what I’ve seen the last few days, you don’t hesitate to enter any house, whether you own it or not.” Bruno chuckled, probably trying to take the sting out of his remark.
“Yes, well,” I began, blushing a second time from one of Bruno’s comments. “I’m glad you explained to me what actually happened. I also understand now why you and Tony rushed up to Barlow’s house when you saw the emergency vehicles outside, even though you weren’t allowed inside.”
“Actually, I was. Because I was living there, and Barlow was my stepfather, they allowed me in. Tony was told to remain outside and I joined him on the front lawn shortly after speaking with the sheriff. I certainly hadn’t anticipated the scene that greeted me when I entered the house.”
“No, I’m sure you were shocked to see your nude stepdad swinging from the ceiling.”
“That didn’t surprise me as much as finding you sprawled out on the floor with paramedics tending to you. I’m not surprised you didn’t notice me until later when we were all outside on the lawn. Like I said, Barlow threatened to kill himself frequently. Although I was concerned when I saw a fire truck pull up, I thought he might have forgotten about something he had roasting in the oven and started a kitchen fire.”
“From the number of emergency vehicles at the scene, you’d have thought a terrorist bomb had gone off in Barlow’s oven.” I shut up when I realized I’d sounded flippant about the death of Bruno’s stepdad. “Sorry, Bruno. I should have been more respectful.”
Bruno waved off my apology and seemed completely unmoved by his stepfather’s death. I wondered if he’d treated his stepdad any better than his stepsisters had, even though Barlow had opened up his home to him in his time of need. I couldn’t judge the man by his cold-hearted attitude, however. I hadn’t walked a mile in his shoes and had no clue what had transpired between him and Barlow in the past.
I didn’t want to keep Bruno from his work any longer, so I thanked him and returned to the trailer. If I hadn’t been a little hurt by his remarks about my excessive chattering and trespassing, I’d have told him about another question he’d answered for me. He’d put the thinly veiled insults into nicer words, of course, but that’s what he’d meant.
I’d been confused by the medical examiner’s deduction that Barlow had been dead for nine to ten hours when I discovered his body. At the time, I’d thought perhaps the man’s death was actually a homicide and I’d been in the house with the killer for a short while. Now I knew the person who’d exited the house was Bruno, who’d been hiding in the pantry from the trespassing chatterbox. Bruno told me he’d spent the night with his girlfriend, so his stepdad had been alone in the house all night and the following morning. That meant the nine-to-ten-hour estimate was undoubtedly correct.
As I stepped into the Chartreuse Caboose, a light bulb went off over my head. Literally. And I do know the actual meaning of that word. But another went off over my head figuratively, too. I suddenly had a very clear picture of what had happened to Reilly’s body, and who was responsible for her death.
Twenty-Five
“You want me to call Joe Peabody and have him meet us at the Reynolds’s house?” Rip sounded skeptical. You’d have thought I’d asked him to call Pope Francis and invite him over for pizza and a beer.
“Yes. I think I know who killed Reilly and where her body can be found.”
“Pray tell.” His tone now took skepticism to a whole new level―a highly sarcastic level. “Who and where?”
“I’ll go through all of that when the sheriff arrives.” I made it clear I wasn’t going to give Rip an opportunity to shoot holes in my theory. I was convinced I’d figured out the entire deplorable scheme behind Reilly’s death, and I didn’t want Rip trying to make me second-guess myself.
“All right,” Rip agreed. He was clearly reluctant, but knew if he didn’t call Sheriff Peabody, I would. “Just don’t embarrass me. Okay?”
“Have I ever embarrassed you before?” I asked, daring him to answer my question. Wisely, he didn’t. I glared at him and handed him the phone to dial the sheriff’s direct line. I’ve never before seen anyone take so long to punch seven numbers into a cell phone.
“Under this?” Sheriff Peabody asked an hour later when he joined Rip and me on Walker’s back patio. I could tell he wanted to add, “Are you frigging nuts?” Lucky for him, just as Rip had been earlier, the sheriff was wise enough to keep the thought to himself.
“Yes, under this new concrete. And, no, I’m not crazy!”
“I would never accuse you of being crazy, ma’am.” The sheriff said, although I could tell he was wondering if he’d accidentally voiced the thought out loud.
“Well, I’m certain you were thinking it. When I was talking to Bruno earlier, he referred to Walker’s best friend, and it hit me who had killed Reilly. Everything added up all of a sudden. Let me tell you what I know and why I’m convinced her body is under this concrete patio we’re standing on.”
The three of us sat down in the teal patio furniture that had been reported as a loss on Walker’s insurance claim. I then went on to explain how I’d come to the conclusion that Jessie Garza had killed Reilly Reynolds out of loyalty to his best friend since high school, using the horrific storm to stage the murder to look like a terrible accident.
“It seems as though it had come to Walker’s attention that his wife was having an affair with Percival, the man you just arrested for killing the protected timber rattlers. That arrest was thanks to me, of course.” I couldn’t help but feel a little arrogant. Or a lot arrogant, to be more precise. “I just discovered Reilly told Walker she wanted a divorce shortly before the hurricane. One day I brought some leftover food over here to give Walker, but found Jessie, his general contractor and best buddy, instead. Jessie was asleep on the floor from pure exhaustion. He told me it had been a very long morning. He said he’d been working on water lines all morning, but there was no evidence of that. Instead, Jessie’s clothes were spattered with fresh concrete and his boots were completely covered with it. He’d obviously gotten up early and begun pouring this patio at or before daybreak. He told me an insurance adjuster was coming to appraise the damage to his home later that day. If Reilly’s body had been tightly wrapped in plastic and stored in Jessie’s home since he
r death, he would’ve needed to find a place to move it where it’d never be found.”
Joe Peabody’s expression was one of doubt. “What makes you think the killer didn’t dispose of her body immediately? With all the destruction in town and uprooted trees, it could have easily been buried in a remote area.”
“I realize that, Joe. But I don’t think he did. Maybe he was afraid her body would be found when all the trees were picked up by those large trash haulers with the boom truck and those swinging buckets that look like clam shells. I doubt he was thinking logically at the time, having just murdered his best friend's wife. I asked Jessie specifically if he thought Reilly’s body would ever be found.”
“What’d he say?” The sheriff now showed more interest in my theory.
“He said he did at one time, but at that point, he was certain it’d never be seen again. It was the look in his eyes more than the words he spoke that sent a chill down my spine. It was almost as if he knew without a doubt Reilly’s body would never be discovered. Having just poured a concrete patio over it might have boosted his confidence.”
“Hmm.” The sheriff was cupping his chin with his left hand as he spoke. “That sounds ominously foretelling.”
“Yeah. What he said,” Rip mumbled when I looked at him in question, curious if I’d swayed his opinion. With a wink, he added, “It does sound ominously foretelling.”
I pointed to the portable concrete mixer still in the back yard. “Jessie mixed the concrete himself, and I believe he dug a hole to place Reilly’s wrapped body in before pouring the concrete over her. This, I think, he did before daylight, because I vaguely recall hearing the spinning of a concrete mixer early that morning as I was waking up.”
"I didn't hear anything," Rip said.
"Of course not," I snapped at Rip. "You don't even wear your hearing aids when you're awake, much less while you sleep."
Ripped Apart (A Ripple Effect Cozy Mystery, Book 5) Page 23
