“Poor Mason.” Harvey muttered through chattering teeth. “Shot through the head. What a terrible way to go.”
“The killer left something behind,” Nora said. She walked a few steps forward then bent down and, with a handkerchief, lifted the gun that the killer had dropped. Harvey came up to her and peered at it then gave an exclamation.
“The handle! There’s something inscribed on the handle!” he said.
Nora nodded and positioned her flashlight to get a better look. The wooden handle had a gold embossed name on it. Matthew Teaks.
Outside, snow had begun to fall again.
*****
Chapter 10
Aftermath
Nora and Harvey sat in Mason’s kitchen as policemen swarmed around them. Sean had arrived ten minutes after Harvey and the rest of the police soon after. Nora had hunted some blankets out of Mason’s linen cupboard and wrapped them around Harvey so that he was barely visible, except for his head. She’d tried scolding him for rushing out of the house without a proper coat, but Harvey had only shaken his head.
“It was like a sixth sense,” he said. “When I got that text, I knew I didn’t have a moment to waste. I couldn’t think of anything but getting to you.”
“Oh, Harvey!” Nora didn’t like how pale he looked, or the way his teeth were chattering. But she did owe him her life, so she let it drop. He looked warm and cozy and he had a cup of coffee in his hand.
Sean paced behind Harvey, his mouth set in a grim line. Sheriff Ellerton, looking slightly grumpy at having to work so late, was barking orders to his deputies. He finally came into the kitchen and plonked down on the chair next to Harvey.
“So,” he said. “Tell me this theory of yours again.”
“It’s not a theory,” Nora said. “Mason was investigating Lori Birdwhistle’s death. I’m sure of it.”
“Lori Birdwhistle’s disappearance,” Sheriff Ellerton corrected. “We don’t know that she’s dead.”
Nora gave him an impatient look. “Call it what you will. Mason was investigating it, and the killer got spooked. Earlier today, Mason was talking about wanting to write a book about Milburn, a dead woman’s biography. A few days before that, he talked to Anita Teaks about that night at the cabin. A few days before that, he and I talked about Lori Birdwhistle. Clearly, Mason had gotten a new obsession in his head - he wanted to solve her disappearance. Now he’s dead. Murdered in his own home. Do you really think it’s just a theory that Lori’s killer killed him, too? It seems self-evident to me.”
“And this gun?” Sheriff Ellerton asked.
“The killer dropped it and ran when Harvey arrived,” Nora said. “Obviously, it belonged to Johnny and Tucker’s father, Matthew Teaks.”
“Right. Right. Obviously.” Sheriff Ellerton nodded. “So, what you’re telling me is, the two sons of one of the richest families in town, got spooked and killed Mason because he was blabbering on about some 20 year old case that didn’t get solved?”
Sean slammed a hand on the table. “Dave. Come on,” he said. “You know she’s right. Don’t let your ego get in the way of solving Mason’s murder.”
Dave frowned and cleared his throat. “It’s not that. It’s just that I want to be careful before making an arrest. Surely you understand that?”
“You need to send your deputies over to Johnny and Tucker’s house immediately. Interrogate them about their whereabouts,” Sean advised.
“I’d appreciate it if you stopped telling me what to do, boss,” the sheriff said. “You were the boss, but I’m sheriff now, and I’ll handle this how I see fit. So, Nora claims that the killer shot at her twice, but didn’t get her?”
“Yeah.”
“Johnny and Tucker are both champion shooters,” Dave Ellerton said. “If they wanted her dead, she’d be dead.”
“It was dark, the man was nervous!” Harvey said. “That’s such a flimsy excuse to discount them.”
“I think the sheriff’s being smart, actually,” Nora said suddenly. “It might not be Johnny or Tucker. Remember Lori’s note? She talked about a jealous woman.”
“What’s this about notes?” Sheriff Ellerton frowned. “What note?”
Nora flushed, suddenly remembering that they hadn’t exactly informed the sheriff about Austin and the secret diary entry he’d found. As they told him the story, Sheriff Ellerton began to look more and more annoyed. By the end of it, he was furious.
“So you three deliberately kept me in the dark?” he thundered.
“It wasn’t exactly like that,” Harvey said.
“I could throw you in jail for obstruction of justice!” the sheriff hissed. “How dare you!”
“Dave, we made an error in judgment. We’re sorry,” Sean admitted. “Maybe we should have told you but, truthfully, would you have done a thing about it? Would you really have reopened the case at that point?”
“Maybe!” the sheriff exclaimed. “Look. I need to think. I want you to get me that diary and be at the station in fifteen minutes flat, or I’ll get seriously mad. As for the crime scene, I don’t want any of you within a one-mile radius of it. Mason’s dead because of you, as far as I’m concerned!”
“Don’t say that!” Nora exclaimed.
“It’s true, isn’t it? If you hadn’t blundered into this and gone around asking questions, Mason would never have gotten any wild ideas about investigating Lori’s death. The killer might have pulled the trigger, but you’re the one who put Mason in the bullet’s path.”
Nora shrank back into her chair, feeling his words whipping through her. She felt like they were burning into her skin, branding themselves on her. Her throat tightened and guilt flapped its wings and settled like a vulture upon her shoulders.
“Enough.” Harvey stood up, throwing aside the blankets he had wrapped around him. He drew himself up to his full height, shoulders thrown back and jaw clenched. His eyes were glittering like shards of glass. At the sight of him, ferocious and ready to hurt, Sheriff Ellerton cooled down a little.
“That’s my wife you’re talking to. Apologize,” Harvey said.
“Alright.” Sheriff Ellerton sighed. “Guess I was a little harsh. But honestly, folks…”
“Properly,” Harvey said, his voice sounding like two knives rubbing together.
Sheriff Ellerton locked eyes with Harvey for a second while his pride debated with his fear. Fear won out. “Alright. I’m sorry, Nora,” he said, a little more conciliatory. “But I still need you all to stay as far away from this as possible. Drop that diary at the station and then go get a good night’s sleep. This is my job now. I assure you, I intend to do it right.”
Nora stood up unsteadily, feeling completely worn out. Harvey put his arm around her. “You’re right about one thing,” Harvey said. “We need a good night’s sleep. But that’s all we can promise you. I think we’re in too deep to back out now.”
“I—”
“We’ll keep you in the loop, Dave,” Sean agreed. “I know it’s frustrating, and we aren’t trying to undercut your authority. But Harvey’s right. We’re in too deep.”
“It’s madness,” Dave Ellerton said. “Just because you promised some boy that you’d find the truth about his mother—”
“It’s not just that, is it?” Harvey asked. “Though, even that would have been enough reason. It’s personal now. Whoever the murderer is, he made a big mistake when he shot at Nora. Nobody shoots at my wife and gets away with it. One way or another, the killer’s going down.”
“It’s more than that,” Sean said, his face grim. “In the killer’s mind, it’s Nora’s life or his own that’s at stake. Now that the killer’s had one shot at her, I don’t think he’ll stop till the job’s done.”
*****
Chapter 11
The Arrest
“Mom!” Hazel ran out of the door, nearly hysterical, as Nora and Harvey arrived home. She had tears running down her cheeks and her hair was half-out of its bun, in total disarray.
�
��Sweetheart? What’s the matter?”
“I’ve been so worried.” Hazel caught Nora in a tight hug and moved her inside. “First Dad runs off without even taking his coat, then I try calling and neither of you answer—”
Guiltily, Nora looked down at her phone. Sure enough, she had seven missed calls from Hazel. “Sorry, sweetheart. It’s just been a big day. I found Mason murdered in his home. I had to talk to the sheriff, give my witness statement.”
Hazel nodded. “I know. The deputies were here.”
“Here?” Nora’s eyes narrowed. “Why were they here?”
“They took Austin with them!” Hazel exclaimed. “He didn’t want to go but they said he didn’t have a choice. Mom, I’m worried. Do you think they’re trying to arrest him?”
“Arrest him?” Harvey butted in. “Why on earth would they arrest him? We’ve virtually handed the whole case to Dave Ellerton on a silver platter. Obviously one of the Teaks did it.”
“Hang on just a second,” Nora said, trying to make sense of it all. “First, let’s go to the kitchen and get ourselves some soup. I could do with something hot. Then, Hazel, tell us what happened from start to finish.”
In the kitchen, Nora found a big pot of Austin’s chicken noodle soup among the leftovers. He’d somehow found the time to cook it from scratch himself, despite his hours at the diner. Nora reheated three bowls and placed them on the table, then sat down herself. She took a sip and the salty broth, with the slippery noodles and tender chicken, warmed her bones as nothing else could. Outside, the wind was howling and snow was pelting down, but in the comfort of her kitchen, Nora felt the world was a little more controlled.
Hazel refused to sit, pacing around instead.
“After you left, Austin and I were still joking around,” Hazel said. “Then Dad got some kind of text from you and ran out of here like his hair was on fire. I didn’t know what to do, but Austin calmed me down. He said he’d find out what was happening. He took off after Dad. He came back in half an hour, saying he’d tried to follow dad, but lost track of him.”
“Alright.” Nora nodded.
“Well, right around then, the deputies showed up. They said something about Austin confronting Johnny Teaks. They claimed he’d stolen a gun.”
“What!” Nora exclaimed. “Did he?”
“I don’t know. Austin said it was all fake, but the deputies took him down to the station anyway.”
Nora pushed away her soup, feeling suddenly sick.
“What should we do, Mom? Call a lawyer? Poor Austin tried to fake not caring, but I could see he was scared.”
“There’s no need to be scared.” Harvey put a hand on Hazel’s shoulders. “I’ll go down to the station and find out what’s happening. I’ll call Thompson - he’s a good lawyer. We’ll have Austin out in no time. I’m sure they’re just questioning him. They have no evidence to make an arrest.”
“I don’t know.” Hazel’s lower lip was trembling a little. “This is all so scary, Dad. I’ve never seen the deputies looking so stern. They usually just joke around with me when we meet. But the way they talked to Austin…it’s like they were already determined to lock him up for life.”
“I’ve heard enough,” Harvey said, standing up. “Come on, Nora. We need to take Lori’s diary down to the station anyway. Let’s go make sure Ellerton isn’t messing up this case any more than he already has.”
“Alright,” Nora said. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Wear a coat this time.” She smiled. “Before you go charging out into the snow.”
Harvey laughed. “Well, since you’re here to remind me, I will.”
At the station, a sour faced Sheriff Ellerton faced off with them in his office. It was the same office Sean had sat in for years, and yet it looked so different now. Sean’s desk had always been messy with files, while Ellerton was meticulously clean. Sean had kept no personal photos, while Ellerton had smiling photos of his wife and two sons looking down from the walls and several more of Ellerton himself shaking hands with local big-wigs. Finally, there was a shotgun, locked securely in a glass closet, but intimidating nevertheless.
“Lori’s diary,” Harvey said, placing it on the desk in front of him.
“Thanks.” Ellerton motioned for them to sit down as he flipped through the diary and read Lori’s words. He scratched his chin then sighed. “Must be tough on a young kid to come across his mom’s writing. Must have really affected him, since he moved out here all the way from California.”
“Yes,” Nora agreed, glad that Ellerton was being sensitive. “Austin really wanted to get to the bottom of her disappearance.”
“Yes,” Ellerton said. “Austin wanted it so badly, that he managed to rope in three strangers to help him. He was a little unhinged. You said you found him wandering in the snow, right?”
“We did.” Nora frowned. “But what does that have to do with Mason’s murder?”
“You’re not seeing what I see, Nora,” Ellerton said. “Lori’s been gone for 20 years and Austin, he has a track record of getting into fights. Oh, yes. I called up his old schools and he was always what you call a ‘problem student’. He even got a warning from the cops a few times. A lot of anger in him.”
“He mentioned that.” Nora nodded. “He said he’d been trying to improve.”
“But he’s young, and impulsive,” Ellerton said. “Don’t you see? Full of rage, he came to Milburn trying to solve his mother’s disappearance. Do you know what he did yesterday?”
Nora shook her head.
“This was about 5pm. Johnny said he’d recognized Austin instantly when he saw him at the diner. He knew Austin was Lori’s son. So he invited Austin home for a chat, never expecting what happened next. Austin and Johnny went into the study and, after a little while, Austin really lost his cool. As they were talking, Austin started accusing Johnny of killing his mother. He started yelling at Johnny, and physically threatening him,” Ellerton explained. “Johnny brandished a gun at Austin in self-defense and Austin wrestled it out of his hands. Then he stormed out of the house. Obviously, Johnny called me to report what had just happened. He didn’t want Austin arrested or anything. He just wanted his gun back. It was a precious gun, after all. Belonged to Johnny’s father.”
Nora’s jaw dropped a little. “Austin had possession of that gun?”
“And now it’s in our evidence locker.” Sheriff Ellerton nodded. “Austin isn’t what he seems, Nora. We looked around for him, and it took our deputies some time before they figured out he was at your house.”
“But…he was at my house,” Nora said. “He can’t be the killer, Sheriff. The killer was in Mason’s house when I arrived, and Austin was very definitely at home with my daughter.”
“Are you sure?” Sheriff Ellerton asked. “Hazel said Austin left the house to chase after you. Maybe he snuck into Mason’s house, did what he did, and then ran back to secure his alibi.”
“No.” Nora shook her head. “The timeline makes no sense. He simply didn’t have enough time.”
“You’re in shock,” Ellerton said. “Maybe you don’t have a good estimate of time. You want to know what I think? I think Austin killed Mason in anger. Then he went to your house. He panicked when he figured out you were going to Mason’s house, followed you, tried to kill you. When that failed, he dropped the gun and ran away.”
“It makes zero sense to me,” Nora said. “The killer was in the house already when I reached Mason’s. I saw the flashlight moving around. It can’t have been Austin. It just can’t.”
“But Austin had the gun,” Sheriff Ellerton pointed out. “How do you explain that?”
“I can’t. But I’m telling you, he didn’t do it. Besides, why would he kill Mason? Why kill the man who was trying to investigate Lori’s death?”
“Disappearance,” Ellerton corrected. “And, like I said, Austin is unstable. Maybe he suspected Mason of killing Lori.”
“I want to talk to
Austin myself,” Nora said. “You do what you have to, Sheriff but, I’m telling you, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Austin is innocent.”
“Well, he’s being held for questioning, so I’m afraid I can’t let you meet with him.” Sheriff Ellerton crossed his arms over his chest. “Why don’t you go home, Nora? You’re still in shock. Think about what I said. Maybe it would have been a close call, but Austin could have done it the way I said.”
Nora shook her head empathically. “No. That timeline is impossible. Unless you want to imply that I’m mentally unstable, too, and can’t figure out time.”
Sheriff Ellerton shrugged and smirked. “I’m not saying a thing about your mental health. Not while your husband is glaring at me. But I do think you two have done enough for today. Go to sleep.”
“I’m not leaving till I know Austin is okay,” Nora said firmly. “Right, Harvey?”
“Right.” Harvey nodded. “I’ve called a lawyer, he’s on his way. I’m presuming Austin knows his rights? Has he asked for a lawyer?”
Sheriff Ellerton glared at Nora and Harvey. “What is your problem? Why are you defending this kid anyway? He’s a stranger. You know less than nothing about him. The Teaks brothers are good folks. We’ve all known them our entire lives. Yet you’d rather believe him over them? What gives?”
“I can tell an innocent kid when I see one,” Harvey said. “Austin’s a good sort.”
“And I can tell a lazy sheriff when I see one,” Nora said. “You don’t care who actually killed Mason. All you want is to make an arrest and avoid any scandals.”
Sheriff Ellerton sat up, his face a mask. “I can see we’re not going to make any progress. I’m telling this time, not asking - get out of here. Go home.”
“And if we don’t?”
“Fine. Play it your way,” Sheriff Ellerton said. Pressing a button on his phone, he ordered a deputy in. “Take Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel here in for questioning,” Sheriff Ellerton ordered. “I’ve started to have some doubts about the veracity of their story. It doesn’t matter if it takes hours. We’re going to find out everything they know.”
The Milburn Big Box Set Page 146
