Burt and Connie Stone were booked on charges of kidnapping, using false documents, and numerous other charges relating to their actions seventeen years ago and the recent efforts to keep them buried. They remained in jail pending a court hearing which would be held later on Monday. If Marlee were to hazard a guess, the Stones wouldn’t be getting out of jail anytime soon. Paula and Violet Stone were charged with using fake passports since they knowingly tried to enter Canada under false pretenses. They were held overnight in the jail, but Marlee suspected they would be released after making their initial court appearances.
Johnny Marble was charged with aggravated assault for knocking Marlee unconscious. He was also held in the Elmwood jail pending a court appearance. Because of Roxie’s death and Violet’s kidnapping and the subsequent steps to cover up both offenses, six people now sat in the local jail awaiting their days in court.
It was into the early hours of Monday morning when Marlee and Hector arrived back at her house. “Wow, I can’t believe how that all came together today!” Marlee exclaimed as she flopped down on her overstuffed couch.
“I would’ve bet money that Ira did it,” Hector said as he sat next to her on the couch.
“My money was on Burt and Connie Stone,” Marlee said, barely suppressing a yawn. “I have the last day of Criminal Justice To Go in a few hours. Luckily, we’ll only be meeting for a bit and then I can come home and take a nap. I’m so tired I can barely stay awake.”
“Me too,” Hector said through a yawn.
BANG BANG BANG!
Marlee jumped from the couch to her feet. She and Hector had fallen asleep on the couch but he was nowhere to be seen. The morning light was shining through the living room windows.
BANG BANG BANG!
What the hell is that noise? Marlee rubbed her eyes and looked around. Then she remembered her doorbell only worked part of the time. Someone was at the door. Marlee smiled. Probably Hector with some breakfast and coffee for us. I could get used to this…
Marlee flung open the door, ready with a smart ass comment for Hector. But it wasn’t Hector. It was Vince Chipperton, with his brother Spud and a grumpy looking female in her late twenties.
“Uh, Vince. What are you doing here?” Marlee asked.
“This is our cousin, Shari. She’s been staying with us while her apartment is being painted. She and Spud have something they want to tell you,” Vince said, pushing Spud up closer to the door.
“Uh, hi, Marlee,” said Spud with a smarmy grin. “You’re never going to believe this. Shari and I decided to play a little trick on you.”
“No we didn’t,” said Shari. “It was Spud’s idea and I just went along with it so he wouldn’t tell Vince that I smoked marijuana at their house.”
“You know I could lose my job for that, don’t you?” Vince said, giving Shari the evil eye.
“It was just once. Anyway, when you called I acted like I was Vince’s old girlfriend so you’d think they were back together,” Shari said nodding toward Marlee.
“Why in the hell would you do that?” Marlee asked.
“Because Spud wanted you and Vince to break up so he could date you,” Shari said with a matter of fact tone.
“Yeah, right! Like that would ever happen,” Marlee said with a disgusted look at Spud. “I’d rather kiss a toilet seat than go on a date with him!”
“Hey, now…” Spud sputtered. That was not the reaction he’d expected.
“So I didn’t cheat on you with Suzanne or anyone else. It was these two knuckleheads that made you think I’d dumped you,” said Vince. “Can we please just get together tonight after work and talk about all of this? I don’t want to break up. I wanted to talk to you about moving in together after you back from your class trip, but then all this happened…”
Hector rounded the corner from the bathroom wearing a towel around his waist, fresh from a shower. “What’s going on?”
Afterward
Petra Green was sentenced to life in prison. She accepted the plea deal offered by the prosecution so she wouldn’t face the death penalty. At the sentencing hearing she never offered any remorse for poisoning Roxie. Petra’s statement to the court dealt only with her justification for the murder; to keep her marriage intact. When investigators searched her motel room and car, they found multiple wigs, an array of disguises, and a variety of make-up. She admitted that for the years she lived in Elmwood, she left home every day, usually dressed as someone else.
What puzzled Marlee and Hector was how Ira Green was able to drive all over Elmwood and not be noticed. During the last interview, Ira confessed that he’d stashed his car in Della Halter’s garage. Ira suspected he was going to be terminated when he had his final meeting with the MSU President, so he grabbed a few personnel files on the faculty. He approached Della immediately after he left MSU and they struck a deal. He could lodge his car in her garage and also borrow her oversized SUV with tinted windows. In exchange, Ira would hand over Della’s personnel file to her. Ira Green stuck to his end of the deal and wouldn’t divulge the information in Della’s file, no matter how much Marlee pleaded with him. Reuben Ira Green left Elmwood, destination unknown. One thing was for sure; he’d land another job at a university under a variation of his own name. Then he’d be free to resume sexually harassing young women on campus.
Connie and Burt Stone both pled guilty in federal court to kidnapping and in exchange, the other charges against them were dropped. Since the kidnapping had extended for seventeen years and spanned several states, the case fell under federal jurisdiction. Both Stones were sentenced to eight years in prison, a lesser amount than Marlee expected. What worked in Burt and Connie’s favor was that Violet testified on their behalf, saying she didn’t fault them for what they did all those years ago. Violet believed she had a better life because of Burt and Connie’s actions than if she had remained in the care of her birth mother, Roxie Harper.
Violet and Paula Stone were both placed on probation for providing false information to law enforcement. All other charges against them were dropped. Johnny Marble wasn’t so lucky. His admission to assaulting Marlee with a baseball bat garnered him sixty days in county jail to be followed by three years of community supervision. The three students returned to MSU to further their education in the fall. Since they all had criminal convictions now, they switched their majors. A conviction was a major stumbling block in getting a job in the criminal justice field, so they changed their majors to other areas in which they could find employment upon graduation.
Marlee, who was usually unattached, found herself in the middle of a love triangle. She started a relationship with Hector when under the assumption that Vince was cheating on her. When that proved untrue, Marlee had some tough decisions to make. Her love life was in turmoil, but for once her career was soaring. Her teaching contract at MSU was renewed, giving her full-time employment until May of 2007. Plus, she was able to apply for tenure during the next year, which would provide her with guaranteed employment at MSU, barring any major violations like bringing a hand grenade to class, or slugging a fellow professor in the gut.
I tracked down Violet about a year before she started classes at MSU. I knew there was no way I could go undetected in a small town like Mobridge, so I rented an apartment and started college at MSU. Paula was already attending college there and I hoped Violet would follow suit. When she did, I was ecstatic! I’d finally found my daughter and would be able to talk to her. To tell her what happened and why I wasn’t in her life while she grew up. I wanted to let her know that I’d been sober for nearly twelve years and would have my college degree in another two years. Mostly, I just wanted to talk to her and find out everything about her. Her favorite color, her favorite foods, all the things a mother should know about her child.
As soon as I talked to Violet I was going to report everything I knew about Burt and Connie to the police. Over the years I’d enlisted law enforcement, social services, and anyone else I could to help me find Vi
olet. No one was of any help at all. I had to do it all on my own because no one cared. By the time I tracked them to Mobridge, I knew I’d handle it my own way. Burt and Connie were going to pay for all my missed years with Violet.
When I met up with Reuben Ira Green on campus, I was shocked. He didn’t know about Violet, but agreed to help me talk to her. At first, I enjoyed his friendship since I didn’t know anyone else on campus. Then he came on really strong; touching me, and trying to kiss me. I told him fifty times that I didn’t want to have a romantic relationship with him of any type, but he wouldn’t listen. When he grabbed me at the library, that was the last straw. I filed sexual harassment complaint against him so he would leave me alone. Then he threatened not to help me talk to Violet. Unless I recanted the sexual harassment claims and helped him get his job back at MSU.
Meeting Pete at AA was a godsend. Finally, someone I could talk to and confide in. I had no idea she was playing me for a fool. And I never suspected she would kill me. If I were still alive, I’d like to think that Violet and I would have reconnected and were able to have a real mother-daughter bond.
But now that can never happen…
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to everyone who supported me during the writing of Murder To Go. I appreciate the pep talks and wise suggestions from what I call “The Four Fs”; family, friends, fans, and fellow writers. A special word of thanks goes to my beta reader, Stacy Jundt. Her careful reading of my manuscript and thoughtful critiques helped me to improve my writing. Alastair Stephens is also to be credited for his patience and diligence in editing my book.
Murder To Go would be without a name were it not for Rhoda Smith. She suggested the title, which I think fits perfectly with the theme of the book. Thanks, Rhoda!
A big thank you goes out to my mother, Patty Donelan. She is the best salesperson I know. Mom has been instrumental in selling my paperbacks to family, friends, people at the Senior Citizen Center, the men and women in her coffee group, the doctor who performed her cataract surgery, the car salesman where my parents bought their new vehicle, and a whole host of other unsuspecting victims.
Samantha Lund Hilmer and I met in the fall of 1986 when we became roommates in Young Hall at South Dakota State University. Fast forward almost thirty years and my longtime friend is now the designer of my book covers and my website. I also want to recognize Aimintang for the cover photography, courtesy of iStock.
I appreciate the help provided by one of my former students, Marissa Mickelson. She was kind enough to give me information about her home town of Mobridge, SD, which is featured in this book.
Finally, I am ever grateful for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). A portion of Murder To Go was written during the Fall 2014 Nanowrimo program.
Also by Brenda Donelan:
Day Of The Dead
When a college professor is found dead on campus, rumors and innuendo begin to swirl at Midwestern State University. The police department and the university are mysteriously secretive about the professor’s background and the ongoing investigation. Marlee McCabe, a professor of Criminology, is unwittingly pulled into the investigation leading her to question the integrity of the police department and her university. Despite warnings, Marlee uncovers information on the professor’s death, making her the next target of someone who has nothing left to lose.
Holiday Homicide
Criminology professor Marlee McCabe is thrust into a criminal investigation when a janitor is murdered at Midwestern State University. Marlee's sleuthing leads her to the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation and into the dangerous underworld of trafficking Native American artifacts and sacred cultural items. Those involved are not afraid to use threats, violence, and even murder to keep their secrets buried. What will they do to keep Marlee from exposing the truth?
About The Author
Brenda Donelan is a life-long resident of South Dakota. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Stanley County, attended college in Brookings, and worked in Aberdeen as a probation officer and later as a college professor. Currently, she resides in Sioux Falls.
Murder To Go is the third book in the University Mystery Series. Brenda is currently working on the fourth book, Art of Deception.
The author can be reached by email at [email protected]. For more information on Brenda Donelan, books in the University Mystery Series, and tour dates, check out her website at brendadonelan.com or find her on Facebook at Brenda Donelan–Author.
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