Forests, Fishing, & Forgery

by Tonya Kappes

  Nothing on there made any sort of complete puzzle or sense, for that matter. It was just a bunch of words and suspicion.

  “You’re really going to help Hank?” Ty sat down on the small leather couch and rested his ankle on his knee.

  “I would like to help find out where William is. He is my camper and it truly doesn’t look good that he’s disappeared.” The lights coming down the campground road got my attention. I leaned over the sink and noticed it was Jamison’s car. I watched him and Penelope get out of the car. The dark starry night was giving off just enough light for me to see their silhouettes making their way towards the bungalow. “Anyways, I can dig around a bit to see what I can find out.”

  “Do you think we need to talk about what happened on the trail?” He asked.

  “I thought we’d just spent the last ten minutes talking about it.” I eased down on the couch next to him. My knees pointing towards him.

  “I’m talking about what happened between me and you.” He gestured his beer between us. “It seems like every time we go to do something or get closer, we are tugged apart. Plus the fact that you told Hank you were going back to work instead of meeting me after you got my text.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell Hank. But I didn’t think he needed to know. I didn’t lie to you. I did go to the bank and when I saw the newspaper article Alison had written, I got mad. Then I saw her near the amphitheater and I took off after her.” It was best to tell Ty the entire truth. “That’s when I saw Hank.”

  He nodded his head and stared at me.

  “That’s your answer, huh?” He questioned.

  I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to say.

  “It’s the truth.” Was I wrong and he didn’t want the truth?

  “I do agree that something always comes up or between us when we’ve tried to get together.” His face drew a blank once my words seemed to sink in.

  He stood up.

  “I’ve got to go. It’s getting late and I’ve got to get up early.” He took one last swig of his beer and threw it away in the trashcan underneath my sink. “You can keep the beers.”

  His attitude had completely changed. The sensitive side of him had turned into a cold shoulder for me, but not Fifi. He rubbed her a few times and said his goodbyes to her before he turned to look at me.

  “We’ll talk later.” He gave the head nod before he opened the door. “Try and get some sleep. Don’t let anyone know you’re snooping around. Lock the door when I leave.”

  I forced a smile and wished somehow, I’d given him an answer that would satisfy him. I had hurt Ty and he was the last person I wanted to hurt.

  The night left me and Fifi restless. Fifi couldn’t get comfortable no matter how many times she tried to lay down. My mind couldn’t slow down to give me a restful sleep.

  I wanted it to be Ty that kept me up, but it was the notepad with all my ideas of what happened to Corbin and Alison that swirled around in my head.

  Instead of trying to fight it any longer, I decided to get up and plan out my day.

  I’d gotten Fifi out to go potty while I waited for my coffee to brew. There was still some time left until the coffee was ready, so I filled Fifi’s bowl with some kibble and headed to the bathroom to get showered. I had enough time to head over to the police station and see Agnes before I went to my hair appointment at Cute-icles at noon.

  “Are you not hungry?” I noticed Fifi hadn’t touched her food. I bent down and picked her up. She stiffened up when I felt her belly. “Are you about to have your babies?”

  I put her in her little bed. She seemed the most comfortable there, though that wasn’t saying much. I would have Dottie check on her throughout the morning and afternoon while I was gone. Before I forgot, I texted Dottie knowing she wasn’t awake yet, but she’d get it once she got up.

  The sound of tires driving through the campground made me look out the window.

  “Hank,” I gasped and forgotten I’d agreed to him stopping by.

  Once again, I tried to get a look at my reflection. Wet hair and all, but at least my skinny jeans and tight pink sweater looked cute with my silver flip flops. Not that I was trying to impress him. I grabbed his coat that he’d let me use off the chair. I might’ve taken one more sniff, but I’d never tell.

  I opened the door and walked out under my camper’s retractable canopy, waving to him as he pulled up. From the opposite direction another car was coming.

  It made my heart stop when Ty drove by, slowly, staring at me as I greeted Hank with a big smile. My smile faltered and I waved at Ty, only he zoomed off. Just another incident where I was going to have to explain myself.

  “Good morning,” I greeted Hank and held out his coat.

  “He didn’t like seeing me here this early,” Hank snickered, his eyes drawing up and down my body. He took the coat and threw it in his car before he slammed the door shut and walked up to the camper. “Maybe he thinks you were telling me goodbye from a passionate night.” He winked. His green eyes popped against his ivory skin and black hair. Today he didn’t have on his usual suit. He had on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved button-down shirt.

  “Shut up.” I rolled my eyes and sighed. This was exactly why I called Ty a southern gentleman and Hank a little gruffer. Ty would’ve said good morning where Hank just bypassed it completely.

  “Come on in. You’re just in time for coffee.” The strong scent of pumpkin spice floated out the door and circled around my nose.

  Hank followed me in. Just like Ty, he immediately went to talk to Fifi. While Fifi charmed him like she did Ty, I took out a couple mugs and poured us some coffee.

  “I could smell the coffee outside.” He did at least smile. He stood up.

  “I think she’s about to have the babies.” I handed him his cup. “She tightened up when I felt her belly.”

  “How’s her appetite?” He asked and took that first sip. I could see he enjoyed it. His stern jaw melted and his shoulders relaxed.

  “Funny you should ask.” I leaned up against the counter facing him. “Last night she ate all her food. She was restless all night. She wasn’t hungry this morning.”

  “It’s a sign.” His eyes darted between me and Fifi overtop the mug. “When they feel full and uncomfortable, it’s usually going to come soon.”

  Fifi looked up with her pitiful round and black eyes like she knew we were talking about her.

  He dragged the paper I’d been pondering over last night closer to him.

  “It looks like you’ve been doing a lot of theories on this paper.” He continued to look at it. “Yesterday I told you I’d be by to discuss what I would like you to look into since everyone seems to tell you things and I’d figured it was best to join forces with you instead of working against you.”

  I couldn’t help but smile.

  “As you can see, there are several different suspects other than Penelope and Jamison, though I do think they are still contenders.” I shrugged and took another drink.

  “That’s why I’m here.” He sat back in the chair. “There’s no evidence Corbin was murdered. This looks like two separate crimes.”

  “What about the inmate?” I asked.

  “Stanley Bayer,” Hank said the inmates name. “He is still at large. He was probably just trying to escape and he does have a history of mania. It appears he was worked up in his head when he saw Lester and then Dottie.”

  “You’re telling me that you think he accidentally ate peanut butter?” I asked, thinking it was strange that a man of Corbin’s age all of the sudden slipped up and ate something with peanut butter.

  “It appears so.” He tapped the pad. “So thanks, but we don’t need you to look into anything.”

  “What about Alison?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “She was murdered and it had to do with the drought which has to do with Corbin.”

  “We are looking at all angles.” He took another drink and stood up. “Alison had her nose into a lot of things, not just the
drought.”

  “Like what?” I asked smugly.

  “Don’t make me regret asking you to help out with Corbin.” He gave me a blank look. “Anyways, thank you for the coffee. I’ve got to get out of here.”

  I stewed as I watched him get up. I’d spent the better part of my life yesterday trying to figure out who killed Corbin and Alison. Even if it was separate incidents, which I’d said yesterday was a possibility.

  Hank opened the door. The sunrise was midway up in the sky. Clouds of yellow and orange drifted just above the mountain tree line over the Daniel Boone National Park painted a beautiful picture.

  “Gosh. That’s amazing.” Hank’s sensitive side, that was rarely seen, had made an appearance. He continued to look at the sunrise and walked down the two steps.

  I wasn’t going to let him get away with firing me so easy.

  “You could’ve just texted me that you didn’t need me anymore.” I grabbed the handle of the metal door, my arm extended.

  “Maybe I wanted to see you.” He winked.

  TEN

  “He winked?” Abby Fawn leaned over the desk, propped up on her elbows while she watched me type Stanley Bayer’s name on the Jailtracker.com website.

  The Normal County Public Library was quiet this time of the morning. It was the perfect time to get on the computers before the elderly in the community came in and played their games or looked up all their medications, which was a common occurrence since most of them didn’t have computers at their homes. I’d thought about getting a laptop and hadn’t. It wasn’t a priority in my life and social media wasn’t something I did like Abby did. It was much nicer just to pay her to do all the social media marketing for Happy Trails.

  “Mmhhh,” I ho-hummed and dragged my eyes down the screen at the alphabetical names. There were only a few inmates in the jail. After I found his name, I clicked on it and his rap sheet pulled up.

  “I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never had one guy fall over me, much less two.” She pushed up and leaned her hip on the desk, using her finger to twirl the end of her ponytail. “Oh, well.” She leaned back down. “So this is the guy that’s escaped?”

  We both stared at his mugshot. He didn’t look like a maniac, as Hank has said was in his record. He had short, light brown hair cut above his ears. His sideburns were a little longer than a normal side burn but I’d noticed in the magazines in line at Grassel’s Gas Station that the men had been wearing them longer. Or maybe it was because Stanley, here, was incarcerated and didn’t have access to a good razor. Either way, none of the list of his charges said he’d killed someone, stolen anything, or really committed any crime other than getting a few DUI while hiking. This time it looks like he was in for a thirty day stay.

  “Hashtag criminal on the loose. Hashtag where is Stanley Bayer. Hashtag Stanley Bayer where are you.” Abby texted away on her social media account.

  “Abby, stop.” I gave her a cross look. “We are trying to grow the economy, not scare people off.”

  “Oh.” Her fingers started tapping so fast. “There. Delete.” She looked up, gave a hard nod, and smiled. “Hashtag Happy Trails Campground, hashtag fall family fun, hashtag amazing sunrises, hashtag romance and winking men.”

  “Stop it.” My jaw dropped. I knew she was referring to what’d happened with Hank. I ignored her while she gushed on about how romantic it really was that he’d come over right before sunrise and timed it perfect to see it come up over the horizon. I hit the print icon so I could keep Stanley Bayer’s face in front of me.

  I didn’t care what Hank Sharp thought. I knew my gut and my gut told me something wasn’t right. I couldn’t shake the notion that Stanley could’ve seen something. If I could find Stanley and ask him a few questions, then I’d feel better.

  “I thought you said Hank believes these are two separate cases?” Abby picked up the stack of books she’d laid on the desk when she noticed I was there.

  “That’s what he said.” I reached underneath the desk where the piece of paper popped up with Stanley’s mugshot printed on it along with his rap sheet.

  In the search engine, I typed in Stanley’s name and White Pages. It gave me a listing for a person with his name that lived in Normal. I quickly wrote down the address on the sheet I’d just printed. I’d do a drive-by and check it out.

  More than likely the detective’s office or even the police have gone there if it was his house to make sure he’d not gone there after the escape. He’d be pretty stupid to, but it was the only thing I had at this moment.

  “What are you two doing?” Queenie popped her head around the non-fiction travel section bookshelf.

  “I’m going to put these books back and Miss Private Eye is going to go spy on someone’s house.” Abby took off in the opposite direction with the books stacked in her arms. She did a few steps to the left and then to the right as she tried to balance them on her way.

  “Oh, investigation.” Queenie vigorously rubbed her hands together before she tucked her thumbs in the elastic of her black leggings. She had on a teal zipper jacket and her fanny pack clipped around her waist. “Queenie is at your service.” She shook one hand into jazz hands in the air while the other hand held a romance paperback. She stuck the toe of her bright white tennis shoe out. “I love me a good investigation.”

  “You don’t have class?” I asked wondering why she wasn’t in the basement of the Normal Baptist Church teaching her morning class.

  “Nope. The Bible Thumpers have something going on over there with Detective Hank Sharp, so they made me cancel. So I’ve got all morning to hang out with you since everyone else from the Laundry Club is working.” She shimmied her shoulders at the same time she bent her knees and did a couple of squats. More Jazzercise moves.

  “Your shoes are too white. They’ll see us coming like a bright sun.” I held my hand up to shield my eyes as a joke.

  “I can help you.” She picked up the paper with Stanley’s photo. “I know Snookie Bayer. Her boy is Stanley. The live out on Welcome Home Road down yonder near the water plant.”

  “How well do you know Snookie Bayer?” I asked.

  “Well enough that if I stopped by to visit, she’d not pull her shotgun out on me like she would on someone she didn’t know.” Queenie’s lip twisted up on the corner. “You, she’d definitely cock the trigger.”

  “Did you say Hank was talking to the Bible Thumpers?” This was a bit of information that could help me.

  “Yep. Why? What’s on your mind?” She arched a sly brow.

  “Before we go see Snookie Bayer, I’d like to make a stop and see Agnes Swift.” I grabbed the paper and gathered all my belongings. “Down at the police station.”

  “What are you waiting for?” She did a quick two-step leading into a grapevine Jazzercise move. “I’m ready.”

  She did the grapevine move all the way to the front of the library. Abby laughed when she saw us leaving. I shook my head. What on earth had I gotten myself into?

  “Why do you want to see Stanley?” Queenie asked from the passenger side.

  “He escaped from his community service through Normal Baptist Church at the time of death of Corbin Ashbrook.

  “Now, them Bayer boys are a handful and they’ve given Snookie a heck of a lot of trouble, but none of them boys would hurt a soul.” Queenie always had the gossip. She’d lived here her entire sixty something years, since she’d never reveal her true age,

  “I don’t know. I’m going on a hunch he saw something that made him run out of the woods.” It was only a guess. “He only had thirty days in the jail and he was halfway through according to Jail tracker.”

  “Snookie was pretty upset the first time Stanley came home wasted. She said she wasn’t going to let any more of her boys suck the juice, but it’s in their blood. Their daddy was a drunk and drunk himself to death. But Snookie, she was a nipper here and there.” Queenie looked out the window, taking in the fall foliage. “It’s gonna be a cold winter.”r />
  “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  “I can feel it in my bones.” She rubbed up and down her arms. She settled back into the seat and closed her eyes. A good indication she was done talking.

  While she caught a quick nap on our short trip out to the police station, I turned my thoughts back to Alison. My main reason for seeing Agnes was to ask if she knew what Hank had found out about Alison’s murder. Even though he had told me to stop snooping since they thought Corbin’s death was accidental, that didn’t make the fact that Alison was murdered any less painful. She was starting to confide in me and I wanted to know what she was going to say to me when we’d planned to meet.

  I cracked the windows like Queenie was a dog I was leaving in the car after I put the car in park and turned it off. There were some snorts and snores coming from her, so I left her there. I needed her at her best for when we went to see Snookie Bayer.

  Agnes wasn’t sitting at the sliding glass window when I opened the door to the police station, which meant I couldn’t get rung into the police station.

  I curled up on my toes and knocked on the glass with the middle knuckle on my pointer finger. It was enough to get an officer’s attention. He shot a finger up in the air for me to hold on. In a few seconds, Agnes emerged from the hallway. When she noticed it was me, she put a big grin on her face.

  She shooed me over to the door where she buzzed me in.

  “Well? How was coffee?” There was an unexpected greeting on her face that told me she’d expected more than Hank firing me from snooping when I’d barely gotten started.

  “Maybe I need to give you my phone number for you to warn me when he’s stopping by to fire me.” I snarled.

  “Fired you?” There was an element of surprise on Agnes’s face, that made her saggy eighty-year-old jowls drip down even more. She scratched her gray head of hair with her pointer finger. “That don’t make sense.” She pinched her lips. “He was prepared to. . .hmmm. . .fired you?”