Murder to Go

by Brenda Donelan

  Roaring into the motel parking lot, Marlee did not see as Detective Ramos waved at her as he was getting out of his white four door car. She parked the car, slammed the door, and began to stomp toward her room.

  “Hey, what’s your problem?” Ramos called out.

  Marlee whirled around, ready to give whoever was talking a glare and a smart comment. Then she saw it was Hector Ramos. She stopped in her tracks and her jaw went slack. “Uh, hi,” she said, at a loss for words.

  “You looked really pissed about something. Are your students giving you problems?”

  “Something like that,” Marlee said, her mood improving already. “I told the students to be here by three to meet with you. Some of them should be here shortly.”

  “Great. I’ll see what I can find out about Roxie and if she seemed particularly obsessed with any one student on campus.”

  Marlee nodded, not sure what else to say to the suave detective.

  “I’d like to talk to you further after I’m done meeting with each of your students,” Ramos said.

  “Sure. If you find out anything from the students you can let me know,” Marlee said.

  “Do you have tours later this afternoon or evening?”

  “At seven, we’re meeting at The Tree Top for a class dinner and a meeting. We’re doing it a little differently this year. Last year we asked some corrections officials to come to our supper and talk to us on an informal basis over a meal. It was our treat. Well, they sort of took advantage of us. Two of them ordered all the drinks they could hold and got drunk. One guy was belligerent and I felt like punching him in the face. I decided this year we wouldn’t have the corrections folks come in.”

  Hector chuckled as she told the story, Marlee again appreciating that he liked her sense of humor. “So no speaker this year, huh?”

  “Nope. Not unless you want to do it,” Marlee said off handedly.

  “Okay. Sure. I’ll do it,” Hector said.

  “Uh… really?” Marlee was not prepared for this. She just threw out the offer more as a joke than anything else. She really never expected him to accept the offer.

  “Yeah. What do you want me to talk about?” he asked.

  “Maybe you could talk about some of the cases you’ve worked on, why you got into law enforcement, the best and worst things about being a detective, and so on. You can talk about whatever you want,” Marlee said, thinking on her feet.

  Donnie Stacks drove her car in the lot and parked near Marlee and Ramos. Jasper, Donnie, Dom, and Marcus exited the car and approached the professor and the detective. Marlee made the introductions and it was agreed that he would talk to each person individually in his car. Donnie volunteered to be the first interviewed and got into the passenger side of the detective’s car. Marlee asked Marcus to wait in the parking lot and make sure all the students waited there for their interview.

  Walking toward her room, she glanced over at Ramos’ car. He made eye contact with Marlee as he was talking to Donnie and smiled. Marlee smiled back and made her way to her room. She had butterflies in her stomach and realized she was nervous and excited to see the detective later that night.

  Poor judgment and risky behavior will follow you into adulthood if you aren’t careful. And even sometimes when you are careful.

  Chapter 13

  After a two hour nap, a shower, and change of clothes, Marlee felt completely restored. The rest did her a world of good, even better than a few cocktails. She was still mourning the loss of her relationship with Vince Chipperton, but the sting was blunted by the spark she felt for Detective Hector Ramos. She took a little extra time getting ready before going to the restaurant to meet the class. Marlee put on an extra coat of mascara in hopes of lengthening her already long lashes, and lipstick a shade darker than she usually wore. Her usual beauty routine consisted of a dash of mascara and some Chapstick, so this was a major glamour session. The sunburn from a few days ago had faded and miraculously, Marlee’s skin had not peeled.

  She selected blue dangling earrings and a coordinating silver and blue ring. Her wavy auburn hair was curlier than usual, due to the humidity in the air from the afternoon rain. She pulled part of it back and fastened it with a barrette, letting the curly tendrils fall about her face. Marlee pulled on a V-neck summer sweater in cornflower blue and a pair of navy capris. She finished off the look with navy sandals with a bit of a heel. Not too bad, if I do say so myself, she thought as she twirled in front of the full length mirror attached to the bathroom wall. As soon as I lose another thirty pounds, I’ll be looking good!

  Marlee arrived at The Tree Top a bit early to ensure the class had a table reserved. Reservations were made weeks ago and she had called to confirm just last week. Being ever careful, the professor was worried the class might not have one big table in a private room. Her worries were unfounded when a woman Marlee’s age led her to a back room with twelve chairs placed around a circular table to they could all see each other. She was just about to ask for another chair to be brought in for Detective Ramos when she remembered there was already an extra chair at the table. The chair that was meant for Roxie. She gulped as she remembered that one of her students had died while under her supervision. The details of Roxie’s death replayed in Marlee’s mind as she waited for the others to arrive.

  The meeting room was decorated with stuffed deer heads and walleyes mounted on wooden plaques and hung on the walls. The host explained that this room was most often used by hunting enthusiasts in various clubs and had been decorated with their tastes in mind. Marlee sat with her back to the wall, facing the entrance to the room, for two reasons. First, when she was a probation officer she never wanted anyone to be able to sneak up behind her so she always sat so she could see people approaching her. Some habits died hard. The second reason was there were no stuffed carcasses hanging by the door and she wouldn’t have to look at a dead animal’s glassy stare. It was hard to enjoy a thick steak or grilled fish if you were looking its brethren in the eye.

  Dom, Jasper, and Donnie arrived next and seated themselves to Marlee’s right. Donnie leaned over and handed her a piece of paper. “It’s Bethanny Hayes’ number. You said you wanted to contact her about some information she might have about Dean Green being inappropriate with others on campus.”

  “Yeah, thanks. Good work, Donnie. Did you talk to Bethanny?”

  “Nope, just got her number from a mutual friend. Bethanny’s not around much this summer. She went home to Fargo to work,” Donnie reported.

  By this time, the remaining students were filtering into the room and Hector Ramos was with them. He grabbed the chair to Marlee’s left and gave her a wide smile. “How’s it going?”

  “Great. How about you?” Marlee asked.

  “Can’t complain. I’m ready for my talk,” the detective said as he took a sip from his water glass.

  A server came through and took everyone’s drink orders. A limited menu with a set price was set at each place setting, offering one dish each of fish, beef, chicken, or vegetarian. “So we pick one of these, right?” asked Bart.

  Marlee smiled and nodded. Leave it to a student to inquire if they could order more than one meal. She stood and cleared her throat to get the room’s attention. “Hi, everybody. Hope you had a nice afternoon. Thank you all for being here on time. Tonight after our meal, Detective Ramos will speak about life in law enforcement and answer some questions for you. We should be finished here by eight-thirty and then you have the remainder of the evening to yourselves. Remember, we are meeting at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow to visit a halfway house. Then we meet for a group lunch and meeting and then the class is finished until next week when we meet on Monday for a few hours to go over what was learned and observed during our week touring various correctional facilities.”

  The server came back with the drinks and Marlee sat down. The orders were taken and while they waited for their food, Marlee and Hector talked about everything but the Roxie Harper murder case. He liked fishing, cano
eing, and playing sports. Marlee talked of her love of travel, books, and bicycling. The love of cycling was exaggerated, as she had not been on a bike in over two years. She wanted him to think she was more athletic than she really was, although he could most likely tell by looking at her doughy frame that she was not a regular at the gym.

  The detective and the professor talked to each other while the rest of the class members entertained themselves with discussions of what they would be doing for fun later that night. Those who were twenty one or older intended to hit the more popular bars in town, while the underage students talked about shopping and swimming at the motel pool. Marlee had to congratulate herself on booking hotels that had pools. It helped the students work off some energy, get exercise, and provided an alternative to drinking in the bars and in their motel rooms. She thought about bringing her swim suit on the trip, but didn’t want anyone in her class to see her in the shallow end of the pool doing flutter kicks and jogging in place. Not only was she embarrassed to be seen in her one piece bathing suit, but Marlee had never learned to swim. It was a task she intended to master one of these days.

  After a completely forgettable meal, Marlee pushed back her empty plate and introduced Detective Ramos, even though everyone in the room had been interviewed by him earlier that day. Marlee was surprised by his eloquent and well-planned presentation. The students listened with intent as Ramos talked about his early years as a patrol officer in Taos, New Mexico and how policing is handled similarly between South Dakota and the desert Southwest. Then Ramos discussed some of the typical cases he investigated as a detective and finished with the general qualifications one needs for being accepted into a career in law enforcement. His presentation was met with a hearty round of applause and several questions from the students.

  An hour after first standing to speak, the detective returned to his chair next to Marlee.

  “Wow, that was great!”

  “You sound surprised. What did you think I would say?” Ramos asked feigning disappointment.

  “No, I didn’t mean that,” she corrected. “I meant that you did a nice job of explaining the work in a realistic manner, yet not scaring the students. Sometimes I have speakers who tell every gritty detail of their work and the students get so creeped out that there’s no way in hell they’d want to go into that line of work. Then other speakers are all pie in the sky about their jobs and don’t address any of the realities of law enforcement. You did very well in not going to either extreme.”

  “Ah…” Hector said with a smile as he looked straight into her eyes.

  Realizing that the students were all sitting the table, ready to be released from the mandatory supper, Marlee stood and reminded them of their schedule the following morning. “Our tour tomorrow isn’t until 10:00 a.m., so you get to sleep in a bit. Have a good night, and see you tomorrow.” Chairs squeaked as they were pushed back from the table with force in the students’ haste to get on with their plans for the remainder of the evening.

  “What are you doing for the rest of the evening?” Ramos asked as pushed back his chair and slowly rose to a standing position.

  “I’ve got a bottle of rum in my room with my name on it. It’s been one of those kinds of days,” Marlee said. “Are you heading back to Chamberlain?”

  “No, I’m staying in Sioux Falls tonight. I had a couple other things I wanted to follow up on before I left. Do you want to go somewhere for a drink? I have a couple other things to tell you about the investigation,” Ramos said.

  “Uh, sure. Any place in particular you want to go?” Marlee was getting more and more excited to find out the new information on Roxie’s death. Had he found out something from one of the students?

  “I noticed there was a bar across the street from the motel,” Ramos said.

  “The motel where I’m staying?” Marlee asked.

  “I got a room there too. Since I spent half the afternoon interviewing your students, I thought it was a good place to stay, in case I needed to follow up with any of them in the morning.”

  “Okay, I’ll meet you at the bar in twenty minutes.” Marlee picked up her things and walked to the restroom before going to her car. She was unsure if Hector was hitting on her. They were both single and seemed to get along well. It felt like there were sparks between them, but she didn’t know if she could trust her own instincts when it came to matters of the heart. Most likely he was just lonely and found her interesting to talk with because of her background in criminal justice.

  Marlee ran to her room in the motel before going to the bar. She checked her face to make sure no new zits had cropped up and brushed her teeth to lessen the spices of her supper from her breath. The professor felt stupid for the excess attention to grooming, but she wanted to make sure she looked her best for the attractive single detective. Before leaving her room, she placed a quick call to Bethanny Hayes. When there was no answer, Marlee left a quick voicemail message asking for a return call.

  Chaser’s was a small dimly lit bar with two video lottery machines near the entrance and numerous booths with cracked and peeling red vinyl lining the walls. A small area in the middle was open, presumably for dancing, although there was really nowhere for a band. The juke box behind the last set of booths was the most likely explanation for the dance area. Chaser’s one waitress was barely over five feet tall and in her late sixties. She had a gravelly voice as if she had spent the past fifty five years chain smoking. She walked over to Marlee after she sat in the booth furthest away from the jukebox. Country tunes were playing and Marlee was not a fan. She preferred hard rock from the 80s and 90s, what was now being called hair metal.

  Marlee ordered a Bud Light from the waitress and waited for Ramos to join her. She looked around and noticed four people sitting individually at the bar, talking to no one and looking either down at their drinks or up at the small television broadcasting a baseball game. The people in the booths had multiple empty bottles and glasses in front of them. The waitress either didn’t have the time or the inclination to clear them. All in all, it was a sad bunch. The depressed on the bar stools and the alcoholics in the booths. Marlee started to feel a bit sad for the group at Chaser’s just as the front door opened and in walked Hector Ramos. Her jaw dropped a bit even though she was expecting him any minute. She waved her hand so he could see where she was sitting and he walked over. On his way, he saw the waitress and ordered a beer. She looked him up and down as he placed his order, not missing out on one bit of his handsomeness.

  Sliding across from her at the booth Ramos said, “Fancy meeting you here. What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”

  Marlee laughed as she took a nervous gulp of beer. The waitress caught her eye and she motioned for another beer.

  “How many of those have you had so far?” Hector asked with a laugh as the waitress brought over both of their bottles of beer.

  “This is just my second.” Marlee killed the first beer and lifted the second one to her lips. She was nervous and she had a tendency to drink too much when feeling socially awkward. If she didn’t slow down she would make an ass of herself within the hour.

  “Sure, whatever you say,” Ramos teased.

  “So, what’s the big news about the investigation that you couldn’t tell me at supper tonight?”

  “We have a lead on Ira Green. He was spotted yesterday and he’s still in South Dakota. I didn’t want to announce that at the supper because I didn’t want to scare the students. It’s doubtful that he’s the one who killed Roxie and I didn’t want to get them all upset about their safety.” Ramos took a long swig on his Leinenkugel and waited for Marlee to respond.

  “Where was he seen? Who reported it?”

  “It was an anonymous tip. He was seen in Yankton.”

  “We were in Yankton yesterday. Are you sure he’s not keeping our class in his sights? I mean, it just seems weird that he showed up in Chamberlain and then in Yankton, both on the days we were there.” Marlee was worri
ed again. Although the students were all adults and legally on their own, she felt responsible for them and their welfare. Especially when they were majoring in criminal justice or in one of her classes. She wasn’t worried about her own safety. She’d been on her own for a long time and could take care of herself.

  “I don’t think he’s a threat. Besides, you already talked to the students about sticking together and not going off by themselves, right?” Ramos asked.

  “Yeah, I think I made it very clear. But you know how it is when you’re in your late teens and early twenties. You think you know everything. You’re invincible!” Marlee raised her beer in the air in a salute. Good God, I’m getting tipsy and I’m only halfway through my second Bud Light.

  Hector laughed, enjoying the conversation, even though they were talking shop. “Any idea why Green is touring South Dakota when he no longer has a job here?”

  “That is odd. I don’t know. As far as I know, he and his wife came to South Dakota without knowing anyone. He’s really outgoing and was dean for a couple years, so maybe he has some friends or acquaintances he’s stopping in to see. Dean Green’s the type of guy that would just show up at somebody’s place unannounced even if he’d only met them once. He lacks boundaries, that’s for sure.”

  “What do you know about his wife?” Ramos asked.

  “Very nice and polite. She’s quiet and seems very deferential to him. He’s definitely the dominant one in the relationship. I think she just lives to please him,” Marlee said, recalling the two occasions the met Mrs. Dean Green. She was not even sure of her first name. One time she met Mrs. Green at a campus function; another time they were at a picnic and brought their enormous canine with them. That dog had the biggest balls Marlee had ever seen. At first glance she thought he might have been a small bull, but after speaking to the Greens face-to-face, observed that it was indeed a dog.