by Sheri Richey
“Lock her in?”
“If you don’t, she’ll run off in five minutes. Trust me.”
“Okay, Chief.”
“Chief Harris, I’m Gordon Toole, an associate of Mr. Beagle. How can I help you?”
“Mr. Toole, I have a very simple question I’m hoping you can help me with.”
“I’m happy to assist the police if possible. What is it you need?”
“Mr. Beagle’s client, Howard Bell, is deceased and we are trying to determine his time of death,” Conrad began.
“Yes, I’m aware of the recent news events.”
“Good. Well, I suspect he was in regular contact with Mr. Beagle around this time and I was hoping you had records that could tell me if there was any contact with your office on December 17th of 1999. I don’t need to know details about his case or anything you feel would be a disclosure concern. I’m just trying to determine what time that day he died.”
“I understand, Chief, and yes, we were anticipating your call. We did hear from Mr. Bell on December 17th. He left a message at 11:27am and Mr. Beagle called him back at approximately 12:10.”
“Did Mr. Beagle speak with him when he called back?”
“Indeed, he did,” Mr. Toole said.
“I’m delighted to hear that and that is very helpful. I appreciate your assistance.”
“Certainly, Chief. We are very interested in the outcome of your investigation. We have long wondered about the disappearance of Mr. Bell. His case was at a very promising point in time and his disappearance was unexplainable.”
“I have one other question and you may or may not be able to answer this, but do you know if he reported to Mr. Beagle that Miriam Landry, his sister and partner in the LLC, had visited him that day? I have reason to believe she was there prior to his death and am hoping to confirm that.”
“Yes, he did tell us Mrs. Landry visited that morning. He was calling to report just that. I don’t know the details of that interaction, but I can confirm that much.”
“That’s all I need right now,” Conrad said with satisfaction. “I appreciate this very much.”
“You’re very welcome, Chief. Good luck with your investigation.”
“Thank you.”
§
“Miriam!” Conrad exclaimed as he walked in the interview room. “It’s wonderful to see you.”
“What is so important that you felt the need to threaten the Chamber of Commerce to get me in here?”
“Threaten? Oh, no, there must be some misunderstanding,” Conrad said earnestly. “I just left a message for you, but I am delighted they were able to reach you. I do have a few questions.”
“What, Conrad? We’ve already talked about this twice. What more could you possibly need?”
“I need for you to tell me about December 17th, 1999,” Conrad said as he pulled out the chair to sit across from Miriam. “Every little thing you remember. No detail is too small.”
“How am I supposed to remember what happened on December 17th? I can’t remember what I did last December 17th, and you want me to remember 1999? You’re insane.”
“Miriam, this is important, and I think that day is significant for you, too, so humor me. What do you remember?”
“Is that the day Howard died?” Miriam asked innocently and Conrad smirked. Miriam didn’t do coy very well.
“Yes, Miriam. It is the day your brother died, and you may very well be the last person to have seen him, so it’s important you tell me what you remember.”
“I don’t know when I saw Howard last. I have no idea where I was or what happened. This is ridiculous.”
“Okay, well, maybe I can help you get started. It was a Friday and the weather was unusually warm that day. You and Howard were in a legal battle over the ownership of land tied up in your family’s Stanton Bell, LLC. You went out to Howard’s house to…” Conrad held out his hand for Miriam to take over.
“I will not sit here any longer,” Miriam said jumping up from her chair. “If you are trying to dig around in my private life, you can talk to my attorney. I’ll sue you for slander. You will not drag my name through the mud because you can’t figure out what happened to my brother and I will not be accused of—”
“I’m not accusing you of anything, Miriam,” Conrad said calmly. “I’m stating the facts. I want you to provide the details. How was Howard that day when you got there?”
“I did not go out to Howard’s house on that day or any other,” Miriam shouted.
“Now, we both know that’s not true.”
“I did not see Howard on December 17th,” Miriam stated sternly. “Whoever told you that is lying.”
“How do you know if you did or not? You said you couldn’t remember,” Conrad said and then chuckled at Miriam’s enraged expression.
“Howard and I were not having a legal battle. I made him an offer involving some jointly owned property. I thought it best if we split it up because, clearly, we didn’t get along well and owning something jointly with someone you don’t speak to makes it difficult to manage the business at hand.”
“I understand,” Conrad nodded. “So, you made him this offer and he declined. Is that fair to say?”
“Yes, we hadn’t reached a compromise yet.” Miriam lowered herself back into her chair.
“Your legal matters are not my concern,” Conrad said. “I need to know approximately what time you were there and in what manner you found him.”
“Ugh, I don’t know,” Miriam huffed. “I assume it was most likely morning. I do all my business in the morning.”
“Okay, so you showed up at his house unannounced and knocked on the door. How was he when he answered?”
“Just like always, I presume. I don’t recall anything out of the ordinary. He was rude, but that was usually how he greeted me,” Miriam said flicking her hand over her skirt to smooth a crease. “Are you concerned that he was sick?”
“Had you seen him ill? Or did he show signs of illness?”
“Nothing new,” Miriam said. “He always had a dreadful cough but nothing else I noticed.”
“How was he when you left?” Conrad asked with a lifted eyebrow.
“Well, I can tell you he was certainly alive!” Miriam screeched. “Are you accusing me of something here, Conrad Harris? Because if you are, I want an attorney.”
§
“Mayor? The Chief’s on the phone,” Amanda called out from her office. “I’m heading out unless you need something.”
“No, I’m fine. You have a nice evening,” Cora said as Amanda waved from the doorway.
“Hey, Connie. How’s it going?” Cora said when she picked up the phone.
“It’s been a long day,” Conrad said leaning back in his desk chair. “Do you have plans for after work?”
“No, not a one,” Cora said. “Just going home and scrounge for dinner.”
“I was wondering if you’d do me a favor.”
“Certainly, if I can. What do you need?”
“Well, I’d like to have Mavis up here when I interview Leanne for a final round, but I don’t really want to send someone out there in a squad car to fetch her. Daniel went home today to tell her what happened and Jack’s there. I’m sure it’s been a really rough day for her. I thought maybe if you went out and brought her back, it might go over easier on her. Do you mind?”
“I don’t mind at all. I’m happy to do it.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you think Leanne is ready to be honest with you now?” Cora said clicking her computer to shut down for the day.
“She’s been in holding for about four hours. I did go talk to her about an hour ago and explained to her how it is. If she’s not ready now, she’s never going to be.”
“Well, you know, if this had been back in 1999, I’d say she’d never crack. She was stubborn and strong-willed back then. Now, she is softer. She’s a mom and she loves her kids. Still hot-headed and prone to outbursts, but she has matured, and she is
n’t as selfish as she once was. I think you have a shot at it now.”
“Was that a vote of confidence?” Conrad chuckled.
“It’s not a statement of your interviewing skill at all. It’s just an observation of her personality. She’s not easily manipulated. That might be an ugly word, but it is in essence what you’re trying to do.”
“Yeah, I’d rather not call it that,” Conrad said scowling.
“I’m just suggesting you might have more success using her kids as leverage. I’m sure she doesn’t want to let them down. Have you talked to Alice about this?”
“I did, but nothing too specific yet. Of course, she wants it referred to the prosecuting attorney, no exceptions, but that’s on standby for the time being.”
“I don’t think Mavis will be surprised by anything that comes out of this now that she’s heard Daniel’s story,” Cora said pulling her purse from her desk drawer. “I’m on my way out now. I’ll be there shortly.”
§
Conrad sat in the interview room waiting for Leanne to be brought up from the holding cell. Regardless of the outcome of this interview, she would be transported to the county jail in Paxton tonight. The coroner had already advised him the prosecutor determined there was enough evidence to hold her. How she handled things from this point forward would make all the difference.
When the door opened, a very different young woman walked in. Leanne Summers looked tired and her anger had simmered to loathing. She sneered at Conrad as she sat down across from him.
“Leanne, before we begin, I want to tell you that our conversation is being recorded,” Conrad said as he pointed to the camera in the corner of the room. “I understand you have been read your Miranda rights and have not chosen to have an attorney present at this time. Is that correct?”
“Yeah.”
“Let me begin by telling you the events of December 17, 1999, have all been disclosed by others involved. Your personal interactions with your stepfather that afternoon are what we still need to discuss. The events that took place after school are not in question.”
Leanne did not acknowledge Conrad’s words but kept her head down as she stared at the cuffs around her wrists.
“I’m hoping you are ready to make a statement and explain to me what happened when you went home in the middle of the day.”
Leanne looked at Conrad and then at the camera but didn’t speak.
“I’ve asked your mom to come up to the station so you can see her. She should be here shortly. Jack and Daniel are at home with your girls. I don’t know if the children know yet, but you will be transported to the county jail tonight so you might want to talk to your mom about what you’d like her to tell the girls.”
Leanne raised her chin up and her eyes were laced with panic. “Why do I have to go to the county jail? I didn’t do anything to Howard. I didn’t kill him.”
“Why don’t you tell me what happened when you went home after lunch that day?”
“I just wanted to talk to him. He was trying to keep me and Jack apart and every time I tried to talk to him, somebody got in the middle of it. Mom didn’t want us to fight and she would interrupt. I needed some way to just talk to him and explain.”
“Okay,” Conrad said nodding. “So, you left school and went home to talk to Howard. What happened when you walked in?”
“He was sitting in the chair in the living room and he yelled at me wanting to know why I wasn’t in school. I told him I came home to talk to him.”
“Was he receptive to that?”
“No, he said there was nothing to talk about. He’d already made up his mind I wasn’t going with Jack after graduation and that was final.”
“What was the urgency?” Conrad said frowning. “Why were you two discussing this when graduation was months away?”
“Because he wanted me to enroll and take the entry exam at the Tech School in Paxton, which was in January. I told him I wasn’t going to stay here after graduation. I was going with Jack. He said I wasn’t.”
“Did you feel like he would prevent you from leaving?”
“He said he would, and Jack was afraid of him. I thought I could reason with him.”
“Okay,” Conrad said leaning back. “So, Howard said there was nothing to talk about and then you gave him your side of the story?”
“Yes, I explained what I planned to do. I knew what I wanted to do with my life and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.”
“Was this a calm discussion?”
“No. He was yelling at me and I was yelling back,” Leanne said as she dropped her head. “He was coughing really hard. He was mad and all the yelling was making him cough more.”
“Howard had asthma,” Conrad said as Leanne raised her head again and looked him in the eye.
“I took his inhaler,” Leanne said softly. “He was asking for it and I had it in my hand.”
Conrad didn’t say anything. He let her cry.
§
“I’m so hungry, I can’t even think. Bring me whatever you have already cooked, Jo,” Conrad said as he slid in a booth at the Ole Thyme Italian Restaurant. “I think I forgot to eat lunch!”
“Oh, no,” Joanne giggled as she handed them both menus and Cora rolled her eyes.
“I’m pretty hungry myself,” Cora said sliding in the other side of the booth. “Emotionally drained as well. You must be exhausted.”
“Yeah, but I think it ended as well as it could,” Conrad said as Joanne returned with drinks.
“If you’re looking for hot and quick, Chief,” Jo said pulling out her pad, “we’ve got lasagna on special tonight.”
“Sounds great. I’ll take that,” Conrad said settling into his seat.
“I’ll do that as well,” Cora said handing back the menu as Joanne scurried off to get their order.
“So, you think they’ll let her off?” Cora’s brow was creased with concern.
“I can’t say for sure. I’m assuming they’ll want to charge her with involuntary manslaughter, but they have nothing to support the inhaler story unless she pleads. I don’t think she’ll do that.”
“If she gets a decent lawyer, I’m sure they’ll see to that. Mavis plans to do that tomorrow.”
“Her biggest worry should be Miriam. If she sees a way to make money, she’ll want to file a wrongful death case. Whatever Mavis and the kids are due on the land heist, Miriam will take back in compensation. She’ll find a way to keep that land.”
“Mavis has really been through it today. I can’t imagine finding all this out eighteen years later. I don’t have kids so maybe I don’t understand, but I’d think it would be hard to accept knowing they did all that and kept it from me all these years.” Conrad leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “I have to say though, I think Leanne’s tears were real.”
“I’m glad they were.”
∞∞∞
Next in The Spicetown Mystery Series
Spilling the Spice
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