by BJ Bourg
“Lower the cable!” I hollered. “I’m clear.”
The cable lurched to a stop, and then reversed course. As it started to lower me, I clawed my way farther away from the edge. Once my entire body was safely resting on the rugged ground, I dragged my body several more feet from the edge and turned onto my back, exhausted and completely spent.
I don’t know how long I lay there with my eyes closed, trying to calm my racing heart, but when I opened them, Leah and several other officers were standing there looking down at me. From somewhere in the distance, I heard Susan’s voice demanding to know what was going on. That lit a fire under my ass.
I quickly pulled myself to my feet. “Thank you, Leah,” I said. “You saved my life.”
“Then we’re even,” she said.
I knew what she meant, and only nodded.
Susan approached us with the chief of police, a wiry man who wore a uniform too large for his frame. He looked like a teenager who had borrowed his father’s clothes for prom.
Susan didn’t ask any questions. There would be time for that later.
The chief walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. “That’s a good place for Jimmy Smith,” he muttered. “He was never worth a shit.”
“You knew him?” I asked.
“I went to school with him.” He spat over the cliff. “He was voted most likely to end up in prison.”
“He confessed to killing Zeke McKenzie,” I offered.
“I’m not surprised,” said the chief.
“His dad verified it,” Leah said. “He was about to finger his son for killing Bud Walker when he died.”
I told them what Jimmy had said about the heist, and the chief nodded his approval. He indicated Leah with a shake of the head and tossed her his keys.
“Take my truck and our friends from Louisiana and go to Winona Munday’s house in a hurry. Media vans are crawling all over her neighborhood and she can’t leave her house. Get her to the office so we can do a victim’s notification in person and in private. See if she can help us connect these assholes to Bud Walker. Also, contact the armored car company and let them know we solved the case.” He shot a thumb toward where Jimmy had been kicked off the cliff. “We’ll clean up this mess and then search the Smith property for the stolen money.”
CHAPTER 43
The tires on Leah’s truck screeched when she braked hard in front of Winona Munday’s house an hour later. There were four news vans parked along the sidewalk that lined the street and one of them was blocking Winona’s driveway. Reporters and cameramen were crowding the tiny garden. Some were even tromping the flowers.
“Get the hell out of her yard!” Leah commanded, jumping from her truck like she was ready to fight a grizzly bear.
I dropped down on my side of the truck and my right knee buckled. I didn’t know if my legs were fatigued from the rough uphill run earlier or if I was still shaken from nearly falling to my death. Either way, Susan noticed and cast a concerned look in my direction. I waved her off. She didn’t say anything.
Although we were over a thousand miles outside of our jurisdiction, we joined Leah in pushing back the media.
“And move this damn van right now or I’ll have it towed!” Leah spat the words, glaring around in search of the driver of the news van that was blocking Winona’s driveway.
A meek-looking cameraman rushed over, threw his equipment through the downed window, and then rushed inside to move the van. Once he had moved, Leah backed her truck in the driveway and then Susan and I followed her into Winona’s house. Winona threw her hands around Leah’s neck.
“Thank you so much! They’re like vultures waiting to feed on a dead carcass.” She released Leah’s neck and pushed the curtain back to survey the front yard. “They’ve been here for over an hour. I don’t even know how they found my address.”
“We’ll get you out of here,” Leah assured the trembling woman. “I’ve got some news to share, but I want to do it down at the police station.”
“Good news or bad news?”
Leah smiled. “Great news.”
Winona’s eyes lit up and she scurried around the living room gathering up her purse, shoes, and cell phone. Once she had the items in hand, she nodded.
“I’m ready.”
The sun was going down when we headed outside, but it was much later than I thought it was, thanks to us being so far west and in a different time zone. Susan and I sat in the back so Winona could sit in the front seat with Leah. Susan leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“There’s no way we’re heading home tonight.”
I nodded and reached for my phone with my left hand. When the palm of my hand brushed against my jeans, I winced. The flesh was torn from sliding down the cable, so I carefully used my fingers to retrieve the phone. I texted Amy to let her know we’d be another day or two, and Susan got on her phone to notify Melvin and my mom.
When we reached the end of Winona’s street, Winona glanced in the side mirror and groaned. “They’re following us!”
“Not for long,” Leah said with a smirk. She stopped at the stop sign and snatched up her radio. “Ready, boys?”
The radio scratched to life and a chorus of 10-4s called back. She then abruptly turned left at the corner and sped off down the street. The speed limit was 25, but she was going at least 50. I glanced back and saw that the news vans were trying to keep up. Before we reached the end of the street, we met two patrol cars heading in the opposite direction. As soon as they passed Leah’s truck, they closed the roadway behind us, cutting off their progress. From some distance behind the news vans, I could see more patrol cars approaching from the rear, boxing them in.
“What’ll happen to them?” Winona asked.
“They’ll get cited for speeding.” Leah grinned. “And speeding fines are doubled in a residential neighborhood.”
Before long, we arrived at the police department and Leah led us down a narrow hall and into an interview room. After asking Winona to sit in the room for a while, Leah returned to her desk and began running criminal history checks and gathering up as much information as she could from her desk. While she did that, Susan accessed a first aid kit that hung from the wall in the hallway and doctored up my hand.
After a few long minutes, Leah mentioned that it was taking too long to run all the necessary checks. She asked one of the officers in the squad room to continue cross-referencing names and addresses of all the players, and she gave Susan and me a nod.
“I’ve got enough here to brief Winona.” She then led Susan and me back down the hallway. The interview room in the Windrift Police Department was about half the size of the interview room in our police station. Susan and Leah sat on one side of the small table in the room and Winona sat across from them. I stood near the door.
With a solemn expression on her face, Leah leaned forward and said, “It’s finally over, Winona. As you already know, Bud Walker has been confirmed dead.”
Winona nodded, but she was far from relaxed just yet. She knew there was more news to come, and she didn’t seem to know if it would be good or bad.
“We’ve been able to identify the two men who unearthed Bud’s remains to retrieve the money from the heist. They’re also the ones who murdered the young boy in Louisiana.” Leah removed two driver’s license pictures and slid them toward Leah. “This is Duke Smith and his son, Jimmy. We’re not sure if they played a role in the heist or not, but we’re looking into that now.”
“They couldn’t have played a role in the heist,” Winona said. “I mean, I didn’t see them in the video store or in the parking lot, so I don’t know how they could be involved. They must’ve met up with Bud later.”
“That’s the other angle we’re pursuing,” Leah said. “Either they were in on it or they came upon him later. Regardless, we believe they’re the ones who killed Bud and buried him and the money in that grave.”
Winona’s face was blank as she studied the photographs. “Aren’t t
hese the same men in the pictures from earlier? The pictures on his”—she pointed toward me—“cell phone?”
Leah nodded her head. “We were hoping you might be able to shed some light on the connection between them and Bud. Do these names or faces ring a bell to you? Had you ever seen Bud interacting with them?”
“No, not at all.”
“Have you ever seen them around the warehouse?”
“Not that I can remember.” Winona shook her head for emphasis. “Were they there? Did they work with me? I don’t remember them ever being around, but it’s a large company.”
“We’re not really sure. At this point, anything’s a possibility and nothing’s certain.” Leah leaned back in her chair and folded her arms in front of her breasts. “I’ve cross-referenced Bud’s name with their names and nothing comes back.”
“Do they have the money from the heist?” Winona asked.
“We believe so. We’ve got people searching their property now.” Leah looked at me and shook her head. I could tell she was frustrated. “Hopefully they’ll find a taped confession along with the money—otherwise we may never know the truth.”
“Why don’t you ask this Duke and that Jimmy what happened?” Winona offered. “Couldn’t they tell you who killed Bud and what they did with the money?”
“They can’t,” Leah said simply.
Winona cocked her head to the side. “Can’t—or won’t?”
“Can’t. They’re both dead.”
Winona gasped and threw a hand to her mouth. “Dead? But how?”
“One took a dive over a cliff and the other took four bullets to the body.” Leah stabbed at the driver’s licenses on the table and set her jaw. “And this I can guarantee you—you will never have to worry about Bud or these men ever again.”
“Are you saying it’s finally over?” Winona asked through a stream of tears that began rolling down her face. “After all these years, can I finally start sleeping in peace again?”
Leah nodded. “Yes, you can.”
“Will the nightmares go away?”
Susan grabbed a box of tissues that was on her side of the table and handed it to Winona. The woman took the tissues and muttered her thanks. As she dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, she asked a dozen questions about the case. She also asked me about Zeke and offered her condolences to his family.
“Had I only been stronger,” she said tearfully, “had I pulled out my gun and stopped him, that young man wouldn’t have had to die.”
Leah immediately jumped in and told her that it was in no way her fault, and that the mere fact that she survived the beating was a testament to her strength.
“So…what do I do now?” Winona asked tentatively.
Leah smiled warmly. “You go home and live your life.”
“But the media…”
“We can put you up in a hotel for a few days if you like,” Leah offered. “It’ll give the story time to die off. I’ll pay for the room myself.”
“No, I don’t want—” Winona began, but was shushed by Leah.
“Nonsense, we’ll drive by your house so you can pack an overnight bag. I’ll make the arrangements.”
As I stood there watching the back and forth, I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket. Excusing myself, I stepped into the hallway and answered.
“Hey, Clint,” Amy began, “I know it’s late where you are, but Karla said she got an urgent call from Albert Boudreaux. He said he needed you to call him back right away. Karla asked if it could wait until morning, but he said he needed to talk to you pronto.”
“Do you have his number handy?” I asked. “I don’t have my notes with me.”
She gave me the number and I thanked her. Leah and Winona had stepped out of the interview room at that point and paused briefly so Winona could shake my hand.
“Thank you for your hard work,” she said. “I’ll be able to sleep in peace now, thanks to you.”
I didn’t like compliments, so I only nodded and wished her luck with her retirement. She said she would begin by sleeping for a week. We all laughed and Leah said she would meet Susan and me back at the police department once Winona was situated in a hotel room.
Susan stepped out of the interview room and shook her head as she watched them walk away. “We are such a long way from our retirement.”
“Thank God,” was all I said as I punched in Albert’s number. I loved law enforcement work almost as much as I loved my family, and I dreaded the day when I’d be forced to walk away from my job.
Before I’d finished entering the number, my phone made a weird noise and I stared from the device to Susan. “What the hell is that sound?”
“It’s FaceTime, you dinosaur!”
I grunted. I’d heard the ring on Susan’s phone before, but never on mine. “What do I do now?”
“Give me that.” Susan snatched the phone from my hand and fiddled with it. “It’s Gracie and your mom!”
CHAPTER 44
Susan and I spent about ten minutes talking back and forth to Grace, who was still fired up after spending twelve hours in the Magic Kingdom. My mom looked ragged, but she was smiling nonetheless. I finally told them I had to make an important phone call and blew kisses at Grace.
“Detective Wolf?” Albert uttered excitedly when he answered my phone call. “I…I know the connection!”
“The connection? What connection?”
“I know how they knew about my family’s land.” He paused briefly to swallow. “Okay, so after talking to you the other day, I began to try and figure out what the connection was between my family and the body you found in the grave. It didn’t make any sense. And then I saw earlier today that the man was identified as…as, um, Bud somebody or other?”
“Yeah, Bud Walker,” I said, breaking through his excited utterance.
“Right, that was the name. It didn’t mean anything to me at first, but then they said he was from Utah.”
“That’s correct,” I said, standing a little straighter and listening more intently. “Did that mean something to you?”
“Well, I thought it was odd that the heist happened thirty years ago in Utah and the man who committed it was found buried in my back yard.”
Although he couldn’t see me, I shrugged. “I mean, he had to be buried somewhere. Other than him being so far from his home, why did you think it was odd?”
“Because I was actually living in Utah when the heist happened.”
“You were?”
Susan detected the surprise in my voice, because her brow furrowed and she began hanging on my every word.
“Yes, sir,” Albert said. “I was single at the time of the heist, but I had dated this girl from Utah a year earlier. It was before I’d met my wife. I actually brought her home to meet my parents two or three times. Each time I brought her home, I took her into the woods and we would hike all the way to our private lake. I’m not exactly sure where you found the grave, but if it was along this trail close to the lake, then I definitely brought her to that area.”
I nodded, pondering what I was hearing and trying to guess where he was going with the information. When I didn’t say anything, he continued.
“At first, I thought it was a strange coincidence, but then my wife just told me that two suspects were killed during an arrest in Windrift today.”
I shook my head when he mentioned knowing about the officer-involved fatalities, remarking to myself how similar Mechant Loup was to Windrift when it came to keeping secrets.
“They mentioned the names of the two men and showed their pictures,” Albert continued, “and I recognized them.”
“You did?”
“Yes, sir. Jimmy’s my ex-girlfriend’s brother and Duke is her dad. And when I saw her on the news, I knew for sure that she was involved with the heist and she was the one who buried—”
“Wait—what?” I blurted, interrupting him. “You saw who on the news?”
“My ex-girlfriend from Utah—the one I bro
ught to the woods behind my house,” he explained. “It was her dad and brother who got killed during that arrest today. I saw her on the news and they were saying she was the victim in that armored car heist, but Winona had to be involved because she was the only one who knew about my property and—”
“Leah!” I hollered, dropping my phone from my ear and sprinting down the hallway. I reached the end and burst through the door and into the lobby. Without realizing it, I had pushed with too much force, causing the door to slam violently into the opposite wall. As I hit the exit door, I heard someone hollering from an office behind us, demanding to know what was going on.
I rushed into the parking lot and glanced around. We were too late. The chief’s truck was long gone. Other than a couple of patrol trucks and my Tahoe, the lot was empty. I hurried back into the lobby and leaned against the receptionist’s window.
“Can you get Leah on the radio right away?”
“Sure.” She turned to a base station and called out Leah’s radio number. I tapped my foot, but stopped abruptly when only static came back. “She didn’t answer, so—”
“Where’s the chief?” I asked impatiently.
“Um, they’re all still out at the Smith property searching for the money,” she said, staring down at her logbook. She mumbled to herself as she slid her finger down the page. “They requested a bulldozer and an excavator about two hours ago. They believe the money is hidden under the barn. I think they’re going to tear the whole thing down. Um, let’s see, they also ordered pizza thirty minutes ago—”
“Look, I need you to get a message to the chief right away,” I said, already heading for the door. “Tell him Winona Munday’s involved in the heist and she’s got Leah.”
“Huh?” the receptionist asked, looking up.
“Leah’s in trouble!” I hollered. “Get some officers out to Winona Munday’s house now!”
