by Cindy Bell
“No, it’s okay. I feel safe now I know the police will be looking for him. Have you seen Marlin? Is he still staying there at Dune House?” Her voice grew more urgent with every word she spoke.
“No, he left last night.” Mary frowned. “Why? Did you see him today, too?”
“No, I didn’t see him, but I want to. I’ve been trying to get in contact with him. I really need to speak to him.” Her voice wavered again. “Any idea where he might be?”
“What do you need to speak to him about?” Mary glanced over at Suzie. “Did he threaten you, again?”
“Please, I just need to speak to Marlin. If you see him, please let him know that.”
“I will. But I’d still like to meet with you. Suzie and I have a few things we want to talk to you about, and we want to make sure that you’re doing okay. How about tonight? Can we meet up tonight?”
“Sure, I guess. Where?”
“Maybe at the garage? I need to get the SUV if possible. I know it’s insensitive, but I do need to try to get it fixed.” Mary hesitated as she wondered how Carlene might react to that.
“It’s okay, we can meet there. I know where the keys are. Graham did finish fixing it, though. I was writing up the invoice for it that morning. I was about to call you when everything happened.” Carlene sighed.
“He finished it?” Mary looked at Suzie with amazement.
“Yes, he started it straight after you dropped it off, he wanted it to be done for you as quickly as possible. He seemed to like both of you. He mentioned Dune House, and how many people he’d heard say good things about it. I’m sure he did a good job.”
“Thank you for sharing that with us.” Mary pressed her hand to her chest. “Around seven tonight at the garage?”
“Yes, I’ll be there. Apparently, Graham had a silent partner in the garage. He is going to get new mechanics in to run the place. So, I’m getting things ready for him. But remember, if you see Marlin, I need him to get in contact with me as soon as possible.” She hung up the phone before Mary could say another word.
As Mary lowered her phone, she sighed. “So, now we know for sure that Carlene is a liar, and a good one.”
“Yes, we do.” Suzie frowned as she turned towards Garber.
“I can’t believe that she would make up a story like that. Honestly, if we hadn’t just been following Brennan I would have one hundred percent believed her.” Mary shook her head as she sunk down in her seat. “Some detective I am.”
“Carlene is likely a member of a gang. Honest people don’t exactly join gangs. I’m sure she has a natural talent for lying.” Suzie turned down the road that led to Dune House. “Besides, she had me fooled as well. She plays the sweet, innocent victim pretty well.”
“But why is she playing it?” Mary gazed out at the water that sparkled blue in the glare of the sunlight. “Do you think she’s trying to frame Brennan for the murder? Do you think she’s trying to protect someone?”
“I don’t know exactly. Maybe she realized that Wes and Jason know about her connection to the gang. We know that Marlin knew, and he was threatening her with that information. Marlin suspected she was trying to protect Brody. Yes, he has an alibi, but maybe he found a way to fake it. If so, Carlene may be trying to protect him. Maybe she thinks if she points the spotlight more towards Brennan, the heat will ease up on Brody.”
“Maybe.”
“Or maybe she knows that Brennan did this and she is trying to get him arrested to protect herself.” She pulled into the parking lot, then looked over at Mary. “Or maybe she really was involved in the murder and she’s doing everything she can to throw Wes off her trail.”
“It’s possible. But she was attacked, too. What about the bruise? You’ve seen the huge bruise. She must have been hit with something very heavy. Do you really think she would do that to herself?” Mary winced at the thought and then stepped out of the car. A warm breeze blew off the water and soothed the tension in her face.
“It’s a good way to cover up her involvement, but from the look of that bruise I don’t think she could do that to herself.” Suzie headed up the porch to the front door of Dune House. “Maybe it’s the person she is protecting? Maybe she has a partner?”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” Mary narrowed her eyes. “It’s possible, though. Maybe someone from the gang? But what is her motive for killing Graham? Maybe he found out that she had been involved in a gang?”
“I don’t think she’d need to kill him over that. He could have just fired her, or she could have quit. But maybe Graham confronted her about it. Maybe he wanted to try to help her? Maybe someone else from the gang wanted to keep him quiet?” Suzie cringed as she opened the door and stepped inside. “It’s hard to think that he might have been killed for trying to steer her in the right direction.”
“It’s also a big leap to make. Everyone said Graham was such a good and honest guy, but what if he was involved in the car thefts?”
“I don’t know, it’s just an endless sea of ‘what ifs’.” Suzie dropped the keys on the dining room table and sighed. “I feel like we haven’t gotten any closer to the truth. Brennan is still a suspect, Brody is still a suspect, and now Carlene is definitely a suspect, and there’s always the loose end of Marlin. He came here for a reason, the only problem is we don’t know exactly what that reason was.”
“You’re right.” Mary pulled out a chair at the dining room table and sat down.
“Maybe Brody is telling the truth. Maybe he really was at that class. Do you think that Carlene and Brennan could have been working together? Maybe that’s why she’s turning on him now?”
“Interesting.” Mary considered the possibility as she pursed her lips. “But if that’s the case, why is she so desperate to see Marlin? You know, he’s the mystery factor in all of this. We know about Carlene’s connection to the gang, we know about Brennan’s anger towards Graham because of his damaged race car, we know that Brody might be connected to the gang as well. What we don’t know is exactly how Marlin is involved in all of this, there are so many questions around him.”
“The great mystery, maybe it’s time we found out a little bit more about him.” Suzie rapped her knuckles lightly on the table. “Of all of our suspects, he would certainly know how to commit a crime and get away with it.”
“True, and he might even have the right connections with active law enforcement officers to smooth anything over that comes up in the investigation. His former captain is singing his praises. But that doesn’t exactly jive with the man we saw pointing a gun at Carlene, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t.” Suzie pulled out her phone and opened a web browser. “Now we know his real name, maybe we can dig up a little bit more about him. Are you going to call Wes about what Carlene said?”
“Not just yet. I want to figure out what she’s up to first. I’m not going to let her manipulate me that way. We know that she is up to something, that’s for sure. We just don’t know if it’s because she’s innocent and trying to protect herself, or if she’s trying to protect someone and is possibly even involved in the murder.” Mary rubbed her hand along her forehead. “The problem is we really have no idea what is going on. Is it Carlene who is playing a game? Is it Marlin?”
“We haven’t seen or heard from him since he left Dune House.” Suzie frowned as she scrolled through a few things the search returned about Marlin.
“Well, I didn’t expect we would. We didn’t exactly end things on the best terms.”
“You’re right about that.” Suzie stood up and began to pace back and forth. “But I am still not convinced that he didn’t have something to do with this. He conveniently shows up right before the murder takes place? He says he’s a hired private investigator, but what if his employer paid him a little extra?” She paused and looked straight into Mary’s eyes. “What if he is also an assassin?”
“I hadn’t considered that.” Mary took a sharp breath at the thought. “I guess that is possible. We
know that he went there the day before Graham was killed. What was to stop him from following through with his employer’s wishes?”
“His employer, who we still don’t know the name of, that’s the problem. I think we need to speak to him, and get a better feel for why Marlin was even here in the first place.” She began to pace again. “But we’re not going to be able to find that out unless we find Marlin.”
“I know Wes told him not to leave town.” Mary crossed her arms as she considered the possibilities. “There aren’t too many other places he could be staying, at least here in Garber.”
“Or eating!” Suzie snapped her fingers. “I gave him coupons and a menu to the diner when he first arrived. Maybe we should check and see if he’s been there?”
“I’ll give Pam a call. I bet she’s working.” Mary dialed the number of the waitress she’d become friends with since moving to Garber.
“Hello, this is Pam.”
“Hi Pam, this is Mary. Sorry to bother you. Are you working right now?”
“Yes, I am. But it’s no bother. We’re not too busy.”
“Do you know James? He was staying here at Dune House?”
“Sure, why?”
“We’re just trying to locate him.” Mary frowned as she wondered if Pam might be in any danger around him. “Could you let me know if he comes in?”
“He’s here now.” Her voice lowered some as she spoke into the phone. “He just ordered his meal. Do you want me to stall him until you get here?”
“Yes, that would be great. Thanks.” Mary hung up the phone, then turned to face Suzie. “He’s at the diner, he just ordered his food. If we get there now we should be able to speak to him.”
“Let’s go.” Suzie grabbed her purse. “I’m starving anyway.”
“Me, too.” Mary grabbed her purse as well and headed for the door. On the way to the car she checked on Pilot and hesitated as she saw him curled up in his soft bed in the yard. For some reason she had the urge to bring him with her. Instead, she pushed the thought away and headed after Suzie.
Suzie drove the short distance to the diner. As she turned into the parking lot she felt some relief that she’d managed to make it there without facing any disasters.
Together, they entered the diner, which was filled with hungry customers.
“There!” Mary hissed to Suzie, then tugged her forward some. “Near the back.”
“Yes, I see him.”
“What’s the plan?” Mary started to ask, but Suzie walked boldly past her towards Marlin’s table. Mary hurried to catch up with her.
“You two.” Marlin looked up from his plate with a slow smirk. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that this is a coincidence?”
“No coincidence.” Suzie pulled a chair up to his table and sat down. “Mary and I were looking for you.”
“Please, join me.” He chuckled and gestured to the free chair across from him. “Sit down, Mary.”
Mary’s skin prickled as she eased her way down into the chair. Was she sitting down across from a murderer?
“Thanks for the invite.” Suzie locked eyes with him to let him know that she intended to be in control of the conversation. “We need some more information from you, Marlin.”
“You do?” He eyed her. “What kind of information?”
“The kind that tells us who your employer is.” Mary took over, as her desire to know the truth came to the surface. “Who hired you to come here?”
“I’m sorry, that information is confidential. Ah, there’s Pam. Would you like to order something?” His eyes sparkled as he looked between them.
“How can you be enjoying this?” Suzie stared at him as anger bristled every nerve in her body. “A good man is dead.”
“First, I’m not enjoying anyone being dead. Second, I’m not so sure he was a good man. Are you?” Marlin picked up his fork and pushed some of his mashed potatoes around on his plate. “Last, the two of you continue to bark up the wrong tree. Why is that? Because I’m not from around here?” He scooped up some of the potatoes. The gummy white concoction dripped slowly through the tines of the fork as he stared at them. “Or is it just because you don’t like me?”
“Marlin, you lied to us from the first moment you arrived.” Suzie’s voice was sharpened by her frustration. “And now you’re showing us that you don’t want to make the slightest effort to help us.”
“Help you what?” He set the fork down again, the bite of potatoes abandoned. “Set me up?”
“Why would you think that?” Suzie leaned forward to take a closer look into his eyes.
“Why not? You reported me to the police about the gun, you threw me out of Dune House, and now for some reason that I don’t understand, you are obsessed with getting me to violate my employer’s privacy. I’ve told you on multiple occasions, I had nothing to do with this, and yet you continue to come at me as if I’m a suspect.” Marlin rocked back in his chair and folded his hands together across his stomach. “Perhaps I have the wrong idea here, but I’m fairly certain that you would like to see me behind bars.”
“All we want is the truth.” Suzie looked into his eyes. “The less information you give us, the less chance there is of us finding out the truth.”
“Or your version of the truth?” Marlin pushed his plate aside. “Let’s say I told you the name of my employer, and you decided to go after him or confront him. Do you think I would ever be able to get another paying job? Do you think, even though I’m innocent, that I will be able to live down the consequences of divulging my employer’s information, and continue to have a career?” He shook his head as he studied their stunned faces. “No, you’re not the least bit concerned about that, because it isn’t your problem. And, ladies so sorry to tell you, your need for information isn’t my problem.” He stood up from the table, tossed down some cash, and headed for the door.
Chapter 14
Marlin’s absence left them both in silence for some time. Then Mary shifted in her chair. The subtle squeak of the chair leg against the tiled floor startled both of them out of their dazed state.
“Well, that didn’t go well.” Suzie frowned as she looked over at Mary.
“I didn’t expect him to tell us, really.” Mary sighed as she settled back in her chair. “He’s a clever man.”
“Too clever.” Suzie glanced up as Pam walked over to them.
“Would you two like to order? I can clear this all away.” She began to pile up Marlin’s dishes.
“Yes, actually. We need to eat, Suzie.” Mary met her eyes. “Then we can decide what our next step will be.”
“Good idea.” Suzie’s stomach rumbled as she spoke.
After a quick lunch, Suzie drove them back to Dune House.
“I have an idea.” She turned towards Mary as they stepped out of the car.
“You do?”
“Marlin said his client hired Graham to repair some cars. Maybe he sells them?”
“Maybe.” Mary nodded.
“You know that new high-end place in Parish that everyone talks about because it’s so out of place.”
“Kline Automobiles?” Mary snapped her fingers. “Of course. Let’s go there now.”
“I think we should see if we can find out a bit about the owner first. What do you think?”
“Okay, let’s do some research.”
They rushed into Dune House and let Pilot inside. He was so excited to see them and even more excited about his food. After feeding him they sat down at the dining room table as Suzie started searching. It was easy to find the information.
“Benjamin Kline is the owner.” Suzie nodded.
Suzie and Mary turned towards the front door as it opened, and Jason walked in.
“Jason!” Suzie greeted him.
“Hi ladies. I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you aren’t getting in any trouble.” He smiled as he looked between them.
“No, nothing to report.” Suzie shook her head. “But we were wondering if you know
anything about Benjamin Kline, the owner of Kline Automobiles in Parish.”
“All I know is that you need to steer clear of him.” Jason’s expression darkened.
“What do you mean? Have you met him?” Suzie asked.
“No, I’ve never met him. He’s only new to the area, but I know that he sells very high-end cars. We’re talking about cars I would never be able to own.” He shook his head as he straightened his shoulders. “He’s not someone you want to get on the wrong side of from what I understand. He’s not someone to be toyed with.”
“Okay,” Suzie said.
“You haven’t seen Marlin? Have you?” Jason asked.
“We have, actually.” Suzie nodded. “At the diner, about thirty minutes ago. Why, were you looking for him?”
“Yes. We got a call that he’s been harassing Carlene. Wes asked us to keep a look out for him here in Garber. Any idea where he went after that?” He pulled out his phone.
“No, sorry.” Mary frowned. “I wouldn’t fully believe everything Carlene says. I don’t think she is completely trustworthy.” She briefly explained that Carlene had called her about Brennan. She left out a few details so that Jason wouldn’t know that they had been following Brennan. She knew if he knew, he would have been furious.
“Okay, that’s interesting, at least we know Marlin is in town. Thanks.” He hurried out the door and down the steps towards his patrol car.
“Well, that settles it, I guess.” Mary gazed after him. “We’re never going to find anything out from Benjamin Kline.”
“He’ll only hide if he thinks we’re after information. I have an idea.” Suzie stood up and looked directly at Mary. “Put on your finest dress. You and I are in the market for a car worth more than everything we’ve ever owned combined.”
“Great idea!” Mary laughed as she headed for her room.
After Suzie dressed, she knocked lightly on Mary’s bedroom door.