5 Murder at the High School Reunion

by Steve Demaree

  “About how many people attended the reunion?”

  “I don’t know. I was told there would be somewheres atween thirty and fifty.”

  “Did you know any of them?”

  “I don’t think so. I didn’t really pay no attention to none of them except’n for Miss Calvert. She’s the one who booked the place. She had a couple of other women show up just after she did, but I didn’t know neither of ’em. I pretty much keep to myself. Better that way. That way nobody can accuse you of nothin’.”

  “I assume you were the first one at the school. Did you work all day that day?”

  “Nope, during the summer I come in one or two days a week to keep up with the dust. That day, I got here a little afore 4:00. Got inside just afore the storm hit. It was pretty bad out this way. Like I said, Miss Calvert was the first one of them to git here. She showed up somewheres around 5:00, not long after the storm passed outa here.”

  “Tell me about that night. Did the group stay in one place?”

  “Well, it depends on what ya call stay in one place. I was told they’d be touring the school at first. They came and asked me if I would unlock some of the classroom doors so they could go in and sit in the same seats they sit in when they went here. The school told me they might want to do that, that it was okay, but I had to stay with ’em, make sure they don’t cart nothing off. Luckily, there wasn’t a lot of them to watch. I told ’em ‘fine’ but I had to lock all the doors agin afore they et dinner. So, at 6:45 I started relockin’ all the doors. I had to look in each room, make sure everythang was all right and nobody was in there, then lock the door. After that, their to-do was in the cafeteria, but after a while I could hear some of ’em comin’ out to wander the halls, use the facilities, or go outside and smoke. Ain’t nobody allowed to smoke in the school. They’s real strict about that. They’s also real strict about drinkin’. I told the lady there was to be no drinkin’, but I could tell some of them sneaked some stuff in. It led to a few arguments among some of the party goers, but as long as nobody done no damage to the school I wasn’t steppin’ in. They don’t pay me enough to break up arguments. Anyways, it wasn’t none of my business.”

  “Anything else happen that might stand out?”

  “Well, after a while, probably around 10:00 or 11:00, this here guy shows up, wantin’ to know where his wife is. I was in the restroom at the time, but when I came out and seen a crowd just outside the cafeteria, I walked up to see what was goin’ on. That Calvert woman came up just afore I did, and she said she could handle it. I told her if’n it got out of hand I was callin’ the police. That seemed to calm everybody down somewhat, so I took my friend Earl to my office so we could visit. I hadn’t seen him in a while.”

  “Wait, wait a minute. Who’s Earl, and where did he come in?”

  “He came in with the guy who was lookin’ for his wife. Turns out that the storm we had that day knocked over a tree and blocked the road out where this here guy lives. Well, somebody called this guy from here, told him his wife was runnin’ around with some drunk and he’d better come and git her, take her away. This here guy knew that Earl had a boat, and they could get to the school by way of the river, so that’s what he did, called Earl. Earl’s a really good guy, always willin’ to hep out somebody.”

  The thought of the school and the river made my mind wander. I envisioned the two people floating down the river, without a paddle, hollering for help. Lou nudged me to bring me back to the moment at hand.

  “Did that guy find his wife?”

  “Not here he didn’t. At least not as far as I can tell. A while later, he come in here, knocked on the door, and thanked Earl for bringin’ him. He told Earl that he had another way to get home. That was the last I saw of him.”

  “So, you had your office door shut?”

  “Not all the way. It was open a crack. That way people knowed I was in here, and I could hear if somethin’ really got out of hand.”

  “So, what happened after that?”

  “Earl and me sat here a few minutes, talkin’. I could tell he missed the place, so I give him a chance to revisit the old days. See, Earl was the janitor here afore I was. I worked with him the last year he was here. We got to be good friends, and he showed me the ropes. Anyway, we walked over to the cafeteria, made sure there wasn’t anythang going on that shouldn’t be, then Earl and me walked the halls and he looked over the place he used to clean. Nobody could make a school shine like Earl could. We’d pass some room and Earl’d tell me a story about somebody. After a while we come back down here, made sure everthang was okay. Course I assumed that it was, ’cause we didn’t hear nothin’ and the school’s not all that big.”

  “And was everything okay?”

  “It seemed to be. Earl said he’d better git, and headed out to his boat. I walked out with him, watched him until his boat got outa sight. Oh, when I came back down here, I seen some of them people leaving, and others had already gone, but some stayed right on up until 1:00.”

  “Did you check everything before you left, make sure that everyone had left the building?”

  “No, Earl and me checked all the rooms while we was upstairs. All the doors was locked. Did you go to school here, Lieutenant?”

  “No, I grew up here, but I went to the city schools.”

  “Well, you might not know this. There’s only a couple of classrooms downstairs, wood shop and art. The rest of the downstairs is the gym, the cafeteria, the principal’s office, the guidance counselor, thangs like that.”

  “Did you go here, Walter?”

  “No, I growed up somewheres else. I ain’t been here but four years now. I worked a year fillin’ in for whoever was sick or on vacation, or if they needed more hep somewhere for some reason. They knew that Earl was goin’ to retire in another year, so they sent me over to hep him, since he wasn’t gettin’ no younger, they give him a chance to teach me the ropes, so I wouldn’t have to learn everthang the hard way.”

  “So, tell me about how things ended that night?”

  “I went in the cafeteria, reminded everyone that it was 1:00. There was only a handful of ’em left, though most of ’em had only been gone a few minutes. They packed up their stuff, while I checked the other two doors, to make sure they was locked. That’s when I found out that someone had been in the kitchen and unlocked the outside door. That was the first I knowed about that. I opened the door and looked out, but didn’t see no one. So, I locked up and walked out with Miss Calvert, pulled out right behind her.”

  “Is the back door key where someone could get ahold of it?”

  “Not any of that bunch. Not without bein’ lucky. The only one that wasn’t behind a locked door somewheres was either with the principal or up there.”

  He pointed to keys hanging on the wall behind him.

  “Was it marked ‘kitchen door?’”

  “It was, but I’m pretty sure nobody was in my office.”

  “How easy would it be for someone to unlock the back door from the inside?”

  “Real easy. You just turn the thingamajig inside the knob sideways.”

  “So, whoever unlocked that door would have had to have unlocked it from the inside?”

  “Yep, but after that, someone could have used that door as many times as they wanted.”

  “Let’s get back to when you left. Were there any cars in the parking lot when you left?”

  “Nope, but I already noticed that when I looked out the back door. If there had been, I wouldn’t have left without checking things out again. The parkin’ lot was empty. I went home, got as much sleep as I could, then took off to see my daughter. She was spectin’ me around about 4:00 Sunday afternoon.”

  “One more question. Was the freezer locked the night of the reunion, and if so, where was the key?”

  “Yep, it was, and the key was right on the hook where it always is. You remember me takin’ a key down and unlockin’ it for you a few minutes ago?”

  I nodded.


  “Well, that’s where it always is.”

  “And the key was marked ‘Freezer?’”

  “Right.”

  I thanked Walter for his help, and Lou and I got up to rejoin Frank.

  +++

  “As far as I can tell, Cy, these people died in this freezer, but I won’t know for sure until after I perform the autopsies.”

  “You think they’ve been here since the night of the reunion?”

  “There’s no way to tell for sure, but my guess is ‘yes’. The man had a driver’s license on him, the woman no ID. He was James Russell Conkwright, Jr. of Illinois.”

  “You mean Big Russ’s son.”

  “One and the same, and one of the biggest juvenile offenders as long as his daddy could buy off the judge. Big Russ even got him off from a possible murder charge. That’s when he left town. And not long before that there were rumors that he got drunk and shot someone. Of course, that could never be substantiated.”

  “I didn’t know about the shooting incident, but I remember the wreck. He was driving drunk. The girl with him died.”

  “I think that’s what ultimately killed Big Russ, too. For the most part, he was a good man, but that son of his was nothing like him.”

  “Looks like somebody didn’t like it when that son came back, either. Now, all we have to do is figure out who the woman lying beside him is and where she fits in.”

  “I think it’s safe to say we’ll be able to find a lot of people who didn’t like Junior, and each of them will have a different motive. I’m glad you’re the ones tackling this case, and not me. I’ll just let you know how they died. Plus, we’ll call in the husband whose wife was missing, find out if she’s still missing, and if so, have him come in to see if this is her.”

  “Maybe he’ll be our first suspect.”

  “Could be, Cy, but I doubt if he’s your last.”

  I turned from Frank and walked over to the print crew, who seemed to be finishing up.

  “Find anything that might help us?”

  “We’ve got plenty of smudges, most of those we won’t be able to do anything with. But we did lift some prints from the door of the freezer, like someone had gripped it before opening it, and a full set of prints, as if someone had leaned against it. Also, we have another set of prints from the wall, near where the keys were hanging. Other than that, we didn’t find anything in the rest of the kitchen. I’d say during the school year, finding anything would be nearly impossible, but with school out, and the place being cleaned since the school was used, this could be something. Of course, they could be the custodian’s prints, or whoever opened the door and found these people. We’ll let you know as soon as we have anything.”

  +++

  I drove back into town, dropped Lou at his place, and then drove home to fix lunch. How weird that sounded. It was hard enough adjusting to fixing my own meals when I had nothing else to do. Now I had to do it and solve a murder, too.

  I’d forgotten all about the midmorning snack I was supposed to eat on my new diet. I brushed that aside and fixed myself a burger with no bun, and a salad. I poured a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, and some herbs over the salad. It reminded me of those see-through dressings I can’t stand, but I had to try this, at least long enough to get Doc off my back. I ate, and thought about starting a new book, but I wasn’t sure how busy we’d be on this case. I’d give it a couple of days and then check with Lou, see what he thought we should do. Instead of reading, I Wiied for a few minutes. After that, I was ready for a nap.

  I was sure that Frank would know the woman’s identity the next day. If she was the woman we thought she was, I had another person to question. It would make for a full day; the Calvert woman, the retired custodian, and the husband. I was sure there would be others. It was beginning to look like things would soon be back to normal, minus the meals we were used to eating at the Blue Moon. The Blue Moon. I wondered what Rosie was doing. I wondered if the owner had decided whether or not to reopen. And I wondered that if the diner reopened, would Lou and I be among its customers. Doc had given me an ultimatum. Could I eat at the Blue Moon and still lose weight? If so, I’d have to change what I ate there. It was too much to think about with a couple of new murders facing us.

  Chapter Nine

  Frank called the next morning, after he was sure that I was up. Not only was I up, I’d finished eating a breakfast of two eggs, two pieces of bacon, a bowl of oatmeal with some cinnamon sprinkled on top, and an apple. He called just as I finished reading my daily devotionals and was putting my Bible away.

  I knew that few people had my number, so I answered the phone, pretending to be upset.

  “Which one of you rapscallions is trying to ruin my day?”

  “The one with all the bodies.”

  “So, Frank, you have something for me already?”

  “I do. I know how you’re itching to get out of the house. I want to give you a chance to get some exercise.”

  “So, what did you learn?”

  “They’re both dead.”

  “So, they did that cryo thing, and didn’t have anyone there to unfreeze them?”

  “Go take a shower.”

  “I plan to, just as soon as I exercise.”

  “Cy, the only exercise you ever do is lifting yourself from your bed each morning.”

  Boy, will Frank be surprised when he sees the new me.

  “Well, it’s the only way I can get out of bed, that one-half of a sit-up thing. You have a better idea.”

  “No, since you don’t have a crane in your bedroom, but I do know a little more about our dead people than you do.”

  “Who told you I don’t have a crane in my bedroom? How do you think I’ve been getting up the last few years?”

  “I figured your next-door neighbor came over and helped you up.”

  “If she did, I’d be in quarantine.”

  “You should be anyway. Cy, I’ve got work to do. Do you want to know about these people, or not?”

  “If I say, or not, does that mean I can go back to bed?”

  “Yeah, but I’d say you’d lose your job over it.”

  “Well, then, shoot.”

  “Well, first of all, it’s simple. To use layman’s terms, they froze to death in the freezer.”

  “What do you professionals call it? Hyperventilating?”

  “No, Cy, that’s something else. Now are you going to let me finish?”

  “Go ahead, but remember to use words we peons can understand.”

  “They hadn’t been hit over the head with a blunt instrument, although Conkwright did have some lacerations on the front of his face, as if he’d fallen down on the sidewalk. Actually, it was more like he’d been pushed from behind, but that didn’t have anything to do with the way he died. It didn’t even knock him out. Also, the victims hadn’t been moved since they died. However, we found fingerprints on the door that belong to both of the deceased, and there were smears on the wall, near where the ‘Freezer’ key hung, that we think belonged to the deceased male. Both of the deceased had been drinking, the male enough that he was drunk, the female had had a few, too.”

  “So, do you think they were so inebriated that they walked into the freezer, shut the door, and froze to death?”

  “And used some kind of rope trick to lock the padlock and put the key back?”

  “They could have put the key back themselves, and it’s possible that the custodian saw the padlock unlocked, and locked it back, but someone, whether it was the custodian or not, had to padlock the door after they entered the freezer. Anyway, I’ll ask the custodian if he locked the freezer when he locked the back door. Anything else you have for me?”

  “Just that the freezer door doesn’t close automatically. I tried it. You have to push it to. Oh, and the husband, a guy by the name of Duck Spencer, came in and identified his wife. He seemed upset with her death, but irate that she was found with Jimmy Conkwright. I have his address, plus the address of the woman who
booked the place, if you want to talk to either of them.”

  I wrote down the addresses Frank gave me, hung up my phone, then picked up the phone again and called the school. With these newfangled phones, there’s no hanging up, but my phone is almost as old as I am, so it must be hung up each time I end a call. It’s so old it has a rotary dial.

  I called the school and talked to Walter. He said he couldn’t remember unlocking or locking the freezer that night. He also said that someone got ahold of the principal and he was on his way back from vacation a few days early.

  I hung up, called Lou, told him what I knew. Since it was still early, I told him I’d Wii and shower before I picked him up. After a “Good for you,” I hung up. I wasn’t sure if Lou was glad I was going to Wii, or shower. Probably both. Since Lou is an early riser, I assumed that he’d already done both.

  +++

  Lou opened the door to Lightning, sat down and buckled himself.

  “Jennifer Garner.”

  “No, Cy Dekker, and you are…”

  “I mean Jennifer Garner were the words I received this morning.”

  “Well, who in the world is Jennifer Garner? Is God trying to fix you up with someone?”

  “No, I think He thinks I’m best suited for Thelma Lou.”

  “I don’t know if you’re best suited for anyone, but if there is someone for you, it’s Thelma Lou.”

  “Maybe this Garner dame is someone God wants to fix you up with.”

  “And maybe she was someone who was at the reunion who saw someone close and lock the freezer door. We’ll see if anyone knows her. If not, I’ll Google her when I get home. Maybe she was the homecoming queen at County.”

  Lou’s thoughts for the day appeared to be God’s subtle influence in helping us solve each case. Occasionally, the clues were easy to figure out, but sometimes they were tough. This was a tough one for me. All I know is that each time someone is murdered Lou always gets a thought that has something to do with the murder. I call them his messages from God, even though Lou hears no voice.