Who's Dead, Doc?

by J. M. Griffin

  With a snort, Jack remarked, “With those instincts, you should give up rabbit farming.”

  I gave him a slanted look, and said drily, “Really?”

  “Just joking. Don’t get any ideas of joining the force.”

  “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. Due to your antics, I have more gray hair than ever from pure worry alone. Tell me every detail of what you’ve been up to. All of it.”

  Other than Carina’s argument with Evelyn, Carina’s request to clear her as a suspect, and Evelyn’s murder, I gave Jack a full picture of what took place from the moment I had entered the rabbit show. He listened with rapt attention, didn’t comment or interject his personal views, nor did he ask a single question. Until I stopped talking.

  Bun peeked out at Jack, got more comfortable in the sling, and said, “That ought to give him something to chew on.”

  “You actually went into the Montgomery home for this?” He held the paper up, waved it a bit, and slapped it back on his desk. Oh, boy.

  In my own defense, I said, “I didn’t break in, the basement door was unlocked. It was quite unsettling to think I might come across Seamus McKenna and Colin Bedford. Seamus is mean and nasty.”

  “Nasty? He’s an outright criminal. He’s been jailed a few times. Mean, yes, but nasty doesn’t come close to what he is.” Jack’s voice had risen quite a bit.

  To quell his anger, I spoke softly. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t yell at me.”

  His eyes narrowed to a near squint and then he did as I asked.

  “It’s clear you have a mind of your own, which has placed you in an untenable situation in the past. My goal is to keep that from happening again. You might not be so lucky this time.”

  “I appreciate that you look out for me, and I thank you for doing so. My curiosity does get the better of my common sense, which leads to involvements I should, but can’t, refrain from. That said, I don’t believe Colin would harm me. He was horrified when Seamus attacked me at the show. He might not have considered what the consequences of all this would be, mainly because Seamus could have made it seem like an easy job. They hadn’t expected me to ask questions at the show, or nose my way into Evelyn’s background and her business.” I stuffed my hands in the pockets of my jacket and touched the notebook.

  I took it out and held it out to him. “I found this at Evelyn’s. I wasn’t sure what use you’d have for it, but thought I should give it to you.” I watched as he skimmed the pages. When he reached the numbers noted with initials, his eyes widened. “Have you seen this?”

  “Just before I came here. Evelyn had dirt on every person she allowed into the show. Adam must have told you what was written across many of the show applications. Do you think those figures are payments she received from blackmail?” I waved my hands a bit before he could speak and said, “Just a thought. If anyone was going to kill her for something, other than the birth certificate, one of those people on that list might have performed that task. If so, the certificate would then be irrelevant, don’t you think?”

  He examined the book more thoroughly and fingered the first page of sums. “I’ll look into it. Thanks for this.” He held the small book in his hand and waggled it. “Evelyn wasn’t quite the upstanding citizen she wanted everyone to think she was.”

  “I guess not.” Unwilling to offer my opinion of her beyond what I had already said, I left it at that. No need to generate questions I didn’t want to answer. Jack, being a keen cop, was likely to jump to the conclusion that I held back on him and that was the last thing I needed.

  “Are we done here? I’d like to go home now. We have a lot to talk about, and you can’t say a word now without Sheriff Carver thinking you’ve lost your marbles.”

  I cleared my throat and started to rise. Jack motioned for me to remain seated. “We have some other things to clear up before you leave.”

  “Oh.”

  “If you hear from Colin, let me know. Tell him you’ve decided to give him the certificate because you have no use for it. Officers will be in place, and you have to give this to him before he’s taken into custody.” He offered me the folded paper.

  With a sense of dread, I took it. This was way more than I had bargained for and knew I had passed the point of no return.

  “This isn’t going to be healthy for us, Jules. What if Colin has a weapon? What then? This could go terribly wrong, you know that, don’t you?”

  I tweaked Bun’s ears and gently patted his head to let him know I agreed. “Jack, what am I supposed to do if Colin is armed?”

  “You’re not to concern yourself with that. Like you said, he doesn’t seem to be willing to harm you, so just give him what he wants.”

  “What if he thinks I shouldn’t be left alive as a witness? Colin will get paid for his efforts, but he has broken the law and is being sought by the police. He may not want me to testify against him.”

  “You’re going to be fine. Nothing will go wrong if you do as I say. Let me do my job.”

  I rose from the chair, took the birth certificate from him, and remarked, “Easy for you to say.” With that, I left the station.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The idea of dealing with Colin, face-to-face, gave me the jitters. Bun and I were on our way home, when he said, “This will work, I will be there to protect you. Don’t you worry for a minute. My superpowers are working perfectly.”

  Right about now, I wanted some superpowers of my own. If I offered the document to Colin, he could very well take it and just walk away. I hoped that would be the case, because he was apt to show up unannounced at my house anytime now. His desperation was out of control, I’d heard it in his voice when we’d spoken earlier. The money he’d be paid was his ticket out of town, or so he thought. Life isn’t that easy, nor would it ever work out the way we wanted it to.

  Who was the buyer? The name on the certificate was a shock when I had read it. I’d never have guessed, and was curious over the importance put on acquiring it. We arrived home, I took Bun into the house, and left him while I took time to check on the rabbits. Finished with the job, I returned to the kitchen.

  “Whose name surprised you so much?” Bun asked as the phone rang.

  The caller ID said the caller was unknown. I dialed Jack’s cell phone and said Colin was calling me. I left both my cell phone and the house phone on speaker mode when I answered Colin’s call.

  “Hello.”

  Colin sounded breathless. “This is the last time I will ask nicely, Juliette. I want that document.”

  “Okay, okay, I have it, come and pick it up. I’m here alone with the rabbits. Be careful, I don’t want you to be seen. Sneak along the edge of the woods near the rear of the house if you have to.”

  “This better not be a trick.”

  “It isn’t. I just want this nonsense to stop. I’m a wreck for fear you’ll hurt me.”

  His voice was soft as he said, “I would never do that, you have to believe me.”

  “I do. I’ll be on the lookout, then. How long before you get here?”

  He hesitated a fraction of a second, before he said, “I’m outside your back door.”

  Bun sprang forward. His ears vibrating as fast as my nerves were. Frantic, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and stilled my body. Another breath and then a third brought a reasonable level of calm.

  “Will the sheriff be on his way or what?”

  I leaned toward him and whispered, “We can only hope so.”

  I’d never have guessed Colin would show up so soon. He had been awaiting my return. Dang, that was annoying. I left the cell phone call open on the desk, behind my handbag. Hopefully, Carver would have sent a slew of cops my way by now, but who knew what was taking place on his end of things?

  I sent Bun to his room and walked through the hallway to the back door, which was bolted, and the door handle locked. I undid the locks and opened the door, and there stood Colin on the doorstep, nerves
frayed. He kept glancing over each of his shoulders, his angst showing on his face.

  I moved aside to let him in and led the way to the kitchen, where he looked around and peered into the rooms that led off it. His gaze went to the stairs. “Anybody up there?”

  “Not a soul. Sit down, you’re a mess. Would you like something to eat or drink?”

  “Stop with the niceties, but yeah, give me whatever you have to drink that’s handy.”

  There was hope for me yet. I handed him a tall glass of iced tea and watched him gulp it down. He set the empty glass on the table. His clothes dirty and disheveled, Colin was in need of a shower. I could smell his body odor from where I stood, next to the sink.

  “Where’s the document?”

  “I have it right here. Before I give it to you, will you tell me why you were asked to fetch it?”

  “Seamus got asked. He convinced me that the job was easy, but he was wrong. He said we’d be paid a huge amount of cash. He never mentioned why, or who would do that, he just said this was a chance of a lifetime for us. Seamus woulda worked alone, but needed a lookout while he hunted for it. Do you know what’s so important about this piece of paper?”

  “Not a clue, I’m afraid.” I was baffled. As surprised as I was when I’d read Bailey Kimball’s name on it, I was unsure what she had to do with Evelyn’s death, if anything at all. She’d left the birthday party before I had finished packing up the rabbits and their paraphernalia. We hadn’t had a minute to talk. Bailey entertained throughout the day, then showed the children the puppets and how things worked behind the scenes before a puppet show started.

  Busy as I was, I hadn’t noticed if Bailey left her station at all. I’d think about the day when my present circumstances ended with Colin’s arrest. Was Bailey behind all this? Or was someone else pulling the strings?

  “You wouldn’t be lyin’ to me, would ya? I don’t take kindly to liars.”

  I crossed my heart with two fingers. “I promise, I’m not lying. The only reason I lied before was because I hoped you would go to the police and tell them the entire story.”

  “I’m no snitch, but this is all Seamus’s fault. He’s a cruel man, he threatened to kill me when I wanted to get out of our agreement.”

  “I see. Well, here’s the document you were in need of. I’m sorry you went through such a difficult time these past weeks. At heart, you’re a good person, Colin, and Seamus led you astray.”

  Good golly, I was full of crap. The young man might have been fooled by the idea of easy money, but that’s where it ended. We both knew it, too. His eyes took on a slyness that gave me a sudden case of the chills.

  “I’m listening and ready to go when you need me to.”

  I held the paper out to Colin, who snatched it from my hand as fast as a bolt of lightning cuts into the night sky. Greed covered his features, I’d seen it in the past when I’d found myself in dire straits.

  “You talk a good line of crap, Juliette, but I don’t believe a word of it.” He shoved the paper into a pocket of his filthy jeans and started for the back door. “I said I wouldn’t harm you and I meant it unless you tell anyone about me being here. Then I’ll have to come back, understand?”

  I nodded, my stomach doing flip-flops, and watched, with Bun at my side, as he opened the back door. In an instant, armed men pushed their way in the front and rear doors. I scooped Bun and ran into his room. We peeked around the edge of the door casing to see what happened.

  Sheriff Carver entered last. A scuffle had taken place in the hallway and all I could hear was Colin yelling threats on how he’d get even with me. The words sank into the core of my bones. I breathed a sigh and waited until the officers manhandled him out the front door.

  “Let’s hope he doesn’t escape.”

  “Mm.”

  “You can come out now, Juliette.”

  Sheriff Carver held the birth certificate in his hand and then tossed it onto the table. “Sit, I’ll get you something to drink. You’ve had a harrowing experience.”

  Bun and I sat at the table, where he nestled into my lap while Jack brought me a shot of whiskey. How he knew where I kept it, I didn’t know, but was glad he’d found it. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, in fact, I rarely drank hard liquor, but downed this as if it were my last drink. My innards instantly warmed, then burned, and I nearly choked. Maybe that was why I didn’t care for it, but stuck to an occasional glass of wine.

  “Thanks for coming to the rescue. I kept him talking as long as I could.”

  “You did well. It was surprising to all of us that he was on your doorstep. My team was in place, but hadn’t seen him until I gave them a heads-up that he had arrived. When you turned on the outside light, Adam saw him plain as day. He notified the others and we waited until you had done what I asked of you.”

  “I didn’t know if you had things under control or what. If Colin had tried anything, I would have fought him tooth and nail. He’s a wiry guy and they tend to be strong.”

  “From what Adam told me, you don’t do too badly yourself in the way of self-defense.” He smirked and shook his head as he sat across from me. “What do you think about this?”

  “I tried to remember if Bailey left her puppet station during the day. I didn’t see her do so, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t. I was busy with the rabbits and the partygoers. Even the mothers came by to visit. Sorry, Jack, I just didn’t notice what Bailey was doing all day. The one question I do have is, why would she kill her own mother, if Evelyn was indeed her mother?”

  “I can’t say. I don’t know Bailey like you do, and it would be useless to guess. By the way, does Bailey have loads of money?”

  “Not that I’m aware of. If she did, why would she perform puppet shows? Her business has taken off and we even have a gig together this coming weekend. We usually chat or get together to discuss our strategy for the day.”

  “Why a strategy?”

  “Have you ever had to handle ten to twenty children all at once?”

  “No.”

  “Then think of them as loose rabbits, scrambling everywhere, getting into everything they shouldn’t. Top that with them being as loud as possible without listening to what their mothers say, and you’ll have a fair idea of what I go through at every party.”

  “I see. You haven’t heard from Bailey?”

  “No, she is on my call list, along with Carina Richland. Have you taken her off your suspect list?”

  “Not yet. There’s something about her that bothers me.”

  “Like what?”

  “I can’t figure it out. Something doesn’t sit right with me when I talk to her. It feels like she’s hiding something from me.”

  Was this a gambit or should I come clean and tell Carver what Carina was worried about? Gambit or not, I said, “She and Evelyn had one heck of an argument. Neither woman wanted me to tell anyone what I heard, which was nothing that made sense, anyway.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I heard a few words. Evelyn said she had rights. Carina was distraught at the time. A few minutes later, Carina remarked Evelyn was nothing, then mumbled a few words and said loudly Evelyn would remain that way. Like I said, it made no sense to me. I wasn’t even aware they knew each other. Not that I would know, but to see her at Adrian’s party seemed odd. Everyone else had a child or two with them.”

  “Adam filled me in on what you told him. You should have come to me with any information you had. You realize that, don’t you? All of this might have been avoided if I’d been made aware sooner of all you knew. I’m disappointed in you, Juliette.”

  My heart plummeted. This man and his wife cared about me and my life, my safety, and the farm. Guilt rolled over me, then settled like a mantle on my shoulders, weighing me down.

  I stared at the floor, and said, “I’m sorry. I should have been honest with you. I’ll try harder in the future.”

  “Keep that in mind the next time you go on a tangent. I have to get to the station
and interrogate Colin. I’m glad you’re safe. Really glad.”

  “Thank you.”

  After he’d gone, Bun leapt off my lap and sat in front of me. His whiskers jittered, and his nose worked overtime. “You shouldn’t feel guilty. We’ve assisted Sheriff Carver in furthering his investigation. Imagine where he’d be if we hadn’t nosed around the way we have? So what if I was used as a pawn, no big deal. We do what is necessary, you and I, we’re a great team. Don’t let the sheriff drag you down, it isn’t good for you.”

  “I’ve been reckless, again. You’d think I would learn from past mistakes, right? I’ll do better from now on to keep us both out of danger. When you were in their hands and I couldn’t find you, I nearly lost my mind. Instead, I got angry and walked into a possible trap. If I’d notified Jack, he would have caught Seamus and Colin then.”

  “Maybe.”

  “No maybe about it, Bun. It’s true. I should have been forthcoming and because of it, we ended up in tonight’s situation.”

  “You were only trying to help Carina. Let’s look forward instead of thinking about what’s happened in the past. Isn’t that what you always say to me?”

  “I guess.” This four-legged character always made me feel better. While my guilt lingered, there was nothing I could do to change what had happened, but I could move forward and let Jack know my plans.

  “I can tell you’re starting to feel better. Can I have a snack? All this action has made me hungry.”

  I went to the fridge and took a couple of nibbles of fruit and ripped some greens from a bunch. I put it in his dish and let him have at it. My cell phone jingled. Carina’s name appeared on the screen.

  “Hi, Carina.”

  “I just heard the news. Sheriff Carver has caught Evelyn’s killer?”

  “Not that I know of, though it’s a possibility. He has arrested two men who broke into her house in search of some documents.”

  “Uh-oh, the newscaster must have gotten the story wrong. Fake news, and all that.”

  “That must be it, more fake news.”

  “You and Bailey Kimball are scheduled for Adelle Philby’s kid’s party this weekend, aren’t you?”