Mr. Cooter's Bowling Ball

by Harper Harris

  I was so surprised that that was the cause of Gladys’ woes. I’d gotten to know the two of them better over the past month or so and they were always just so… happy. I didn’t know how else to describe it.

  “I guess we’re just really good at hiding it. He’s just been doing a lot of travelling for work and he doesn’t want to retire – and I didn’t want to make him do something he didn’t want to – but he’s always away and we’d been growing apart. Unfortunately, the distance between us led to suspicion and he thinks I’m having an affair with Gustavo.”

  I had to do my best not to physically react to that because I already had an uncertain view of that guy. And, admittedly, I could see where John got that in his mind, but he also has to know that Gladys would never actually do that to him. Even if they were on the rocks, I saw how she looked at him and I just knew.

  “But I’m not. I couldn’t. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it, but I didn’t act on it or anything like that. I mean, Gustavo and I did have coffee at the Appleton Café last Saturday…”

  Oh, Gladys. I knew she didn’t actually have an affair, but that still didn’t sound good.

  “We just wanted to talk and we both came to the conclusion that we didn’t want to have an affair. It felt like it would be tawdry and dirty, and I just couldn’t do that to John. He is a good man, even if he makes a mistake here and there. And right now, he’s acting really jealous and it’s just so hard to live with him. I feel like I’m going crazy because I know I did something wrong, but not what he thinks because… oh, I don’t know…”

  I felt so bad for Gladys. She probably signed up for those dance classes, so she and her husband could get closer, but it looked like all it ended up doing was messing up their relationship even more. I was actually a little mad at Gus. I had a sneaking suspicion that the real reason he decided not to get romantically involved with someone like Gladys – and by that what I meant was she was a little spacy – was that he was probably afraid that it might end up blowing his cover. He probably would have gone along with it if it wasn’t for that little con he was pulling, the little hustler.

  “I’m sure if you talk to John, maybe the two of you could work things out.”

  And like he knew we were talking about, the man appeared. John came running from across the street and, when Gladys saw him, she sharply stood up.

  “John!” she exclaimed.

  I looked up at the two of them, hoping that this would be a happy thing. Then, unexpectedly, John got down on his knees.

  “Gladys, I got your message and I wanted to say that I am so, so sorry. I know I’ve been MIA in this marriage and I should have never done that to you. I love you and I want to work things out because if it’s possible I want to spend the rest of my life waking up next to you and painting with you and just being happy with you.”

  Gladys placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “Oh, John. I thought you didn’t want me anymore. You’re just gone all the time and we barely talk anymore and I know I could have tried a little harder, too.”

  John stood up and cupped his wife’s cheek.

  “Baby, you do so much for me and I should appreciate you more.”

  I felt like a bit of a voyeur just sitting there and watching them bare their souls to one another, so I got up and scooted away quietly. As I was leaving I heard a little bit more of their conversation.

  “Why don’t we try again then? This time together?”

  “I’d love that.”

  Hearing them reconcile with one another, I felt like there was hope for love in this world. You couldn’t deny it after seeing the two of them be so open and vulnerable with one another.

  That small moment also led me to another conclusion – it was Gladys who Gus was rushing off to meet the night Lonny was killed. And the two of them met in a very public place – that meant his alibi was air-tight and, no matter how much I didn’t trust him, I couldn’t just pin it on him. All he was guilty of was being a fraud. Not my business until someone wants to sue him over it.

  I arrived back at work and got through the rest of my workday with relative ease. The second half of the day was a lot easier – the walk seemed to have tired Shorty and Bisco out. Tammy still came in and out to play with them even though it wasn’t needed as much. She just really loved those dogs. It didn’t bother me. I welcomed all the love for the puppies that anyone had to give.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Thursday

  I was at the police station to talk with Sheriff Cranston. He had called to tell me that he had the results for the blood they tested. He could have told me over the phone, but I wanted to also visit Cooter, so I thought he might as well just tell me when I got there. That way I could see him when he delivered the results to me. I wasn’t sure how that would help, but I could never know exactly what would help.

  “Hi, Kari. I have the results right over here.”

  He took me over to his desk and took a folder that was sitting on the top of it.

  “I was looking over it, yesterday, but I don’t really know what to do with it just yet. Like you probably guessed, the blood at both the church and on the postcard was Lonny’s.”

  That was good news, I thought, but I wasn’t sure. I was operating under the assumption that the blood was Lonny’s, but – like Beau – I didn’t have a real use for the information. In fact, it raised more questions than answers.

  “We also tested for fingerprints and found Lonny’s and two unidentified sets. I think one of them must be yours.”

  Which meant the other was the murderer’s. That meant that after murdering Lonny behind the church, the killer moved his body to the dump and then, for whatever reason, the killer tore up Lonny’s invitation to the Bowling Ball and scattered those pieces over Lonny’s body. What kind of sense did that make? Why would anyone do that? And what would that accomplish?

  “I can see the gears turning in that head of yours. Any answers up there?” Beau brought me out of my head and back into reality.

  I shrugged. “Not yet. I think this just brings up more questions than answers unfortunately.” All the questions I had just asked myself. “But, if I do get some answers, I’ll get them to you as soon as I can. Promise.”

  “Thank you. Did you want to talk to Cooter?”

  I nodded, and Beau let me go into the back. I found Coot lying down, relaxed, but awake.

  “Hello, lawyer. How’s my case going?”

  “It’s coming along. Slowly, but there’s definitely progress.”

  I had found out a few things, so I felt like I could say. I just wish I had more to report. I knew Cooter wasn’t into the minutiae of the case, so I wasn’t going to bore him with it.

  “That sounds good. You know I trust you, right?”

  “I know Cooter. I know.”

  It was a short conversation, but it felt done. Cooter still looked oh, so comfortable in jail. I am worried he might not want to come out, if I am able to get him out.

  I left Cooter to relax and went to a preplanned lunch with Ted and Kari. We were having it at his café, since he is such a good cook. We were doing a bit of a late lunch – that way there’d be less people and Ted would hopefully be able to have a nice sit-down meal with us.

  They were both already there when I arrived. Ted was setting one of the tables with plates full of food. It looked delicious and my stomach grumbled a little.

  “Theodore that looks delicious!”

  He looked up at me when I made my declaration. “Thank you, I just hope it tastes good.”

  It definitely smelled like it did.

  “I’m sure it does.” I took my seat while Ted left to go and get us a couple of drinks.

  “How are you doing?” Ashley asked me while I sat down.

  “I’m good. I have a few things I want to tell you and Theodore. I just got back from the police station and I just have so many questions jumbling around in my head.”

  Ted made his reappearance right
there with juices for the three of us.

  “I think I heard some interesting snippets, like that you had a few things you wanted to tell us about this case?” Ted looked at me while he said this.

  I wanted to take a few bites of the yummy looking sandwich sitting in front of me. I held up my hand in the international signal of give me a moment and picked up the sandwich and took a bite.

  “Delicious,” I said with my mouth semi-full of food and Ash shook her head.

  “She has this bad habit of complimenting the food you make while it’s all crammed into her mouth.”

  That I did, but when I got something yummy and had the chance to eat it, I wanted to let whoever took the time out of their day to make it for know how much I loved it as soon as I could.

  “It’s fine. I’d say it’s kind of cute.”

  I wasn’t sure if Ted was back to flirting, but I doubted it since my mouth was full of bread and meat and veggies. He was probably just trying to make me feel better about being a bit of a slob.

  After a few bites – my friends had joined in on the eating – I finally put my sandwich down and told them what I had learned at the Sheriff’s office.

  “So, it turns out the blood I found behind the church was indeed Lonny’s. So, was the blood on the invitation – which was in fact blood like I originally thought.”

  Ash nodded. “What does that mean?”

  I shrugged because I didn’t know.

  “Wait a minute, you found blood behind what church?”

  I had forgotten that Ted had gotten a lot less updates on this case than Ashley. Ash got a daily re-hashing since whenever I came home I would tell her whatever I had learned.

  “Right, um, it’s the church by our house – where those dance classes are sometimes held. I happened to find what looked like a pool of blood and turned out it was. It was a big break because we now know where Lonny was actually killed. His body was dumped in Cooter’s place. And the postcard led me to believe that maybe whoever it was connected to Gustavo Franco’s dance class.”

  “Oh, I’ve heard of that guy. The word around town is that he is quite the character, too. He’s from France or something?”

  I looked over at Ashley and wondered if I should tell Ted what we knew. We did promise Gus that we’d keep his secret for free classes, but Ted was our really close friend and, if he was going to help with putting together theories, he’d need to know everything, right?

  Ash shrugged, and I took that as being a yes.

  “Yes and no. He says he’s from France, but he’s actually a guy named Gus French from Akron, Ohio. It’s a long story, but you can’t tell anyone. He said he’d give Ash and I free dance lessons if we kept his secret for him and since he isn’t really hurting anyone…”

  Ted tilted his head, and I could tell he had a lot of questions. I could see Ash catching on.

  “I really want those dance lessons, Ted.” Ashley said it kind of low. I wouldn’t say it was a threat, but she was very serious.

  Ted threw up his hands. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise. I’m just confused is all. But if you say it’s all good then it’s all good and I wouldn’t want to ruin such a great deal for you guys.”

  I rolled my eyes and took a chip off my plate.

  “Thanks, but even if it somehow gets messed up, it’s not that big of a deal.”

  I looked at Ashley to drive the point home. I hadn’t realized she was so passionate about dance. She told me with her eyes that she understood.

  I continued, “Anyway, that’s what Sheriff Cranston told me the results from the blood test and apparently there were two sets of unidentified fingerprints on the torn-up pieces of postcard. One was presumably mine, but I think the second had to be the murderer’s. But why would someone tear up an invitation to a dance party and a bowling ball place on top of a dead body. It makes no sense, right?”

  Right? Did they hate bowling? Dancing? The general idea of the party?

  “No, it doesn’t make sense,” Ted agreed. “Do you know whose invitation it is?”

  I hadn’t even really thought about that.

  “I just assumed it was Lonny’s. Maybe it belonged to someone else in the class?”

  I wondered if that would be something I’d independently be able to figure out. We only had the few scraps and there was a slim chance that I would find the rest of the invitation. So, it probably wasn’t the best road to go down.

  “Wait, so you said the blood behind the church is definitely Lonny’s,” Ash asked. I nodded. “So, then how did he get to the dump? There’s no way Cooter carted a whole dead body all the way home. And like wouldn’t there have been some kind of blood elsewhere if Lonny was dragged since he doesn’t have a car, so he couldn’t have moved the body that way.”

  It sounded like Ash was more talking to herself and she was having the same trains of thoughts I had.

  “That’s what I was saying! I’m surprised the Sheriff hasn’t released Coot yet with all these holes being made in the case. I’d push harder if my client didn’t seem so comfortable in jail. It’s like a vacation for him.”

  Ash shrugged. “What are you going to do?”

  She had become pretty resigned to the fact that Coot was having the complete opposite reaction to jail than she had. Initially, she couldn’t believe it, but after some time, she accepted just like I had.

  “Wait another second, you guys just told me Gustavo is Gus?”

  I turned to Ted and furrowed my brow because I felt like that was a sudden change in subject.

  “Yeah,” I responded.

  “How do you know that he didn’t do something to Lonny to maybe protect his secret? And he bribed you guys because he didn’t want to go down that road again?”

  Gus had been on my radar, but…

  “He has an alibi. He was with Gladys in your café, Theodore. Do you remember seeing them – it would have been Saturday.”

  Ted took a second to think.

  “I think so. We were pretty busy that night, but I remember Gladys coming in with a kind of odd guy.”

  So, there was my triple verification that Gus could have been the killer. I saw Ash thinking really hard. Her eyes were narrowing as the moved back and forth quickly.

  “Wait a secondary second, but what was Gladys doing having Saturday dinner with Gus? They aren’t – are they?”

  A look of disgust passed over Ash’s face and I started shaking my head and hands to get that thought out of her head.

  “No, no, they aren’t. Gladys told me she considered it, but at that dinner they both decided it would be better if they didn’t have an affair. Plus, she didn’t want to do that to John – it’s a long story and I promise to go into more detail later.”

  I didn’t feel up to describing John and Gladys’ marriage troubles. In fact, I felt like maybe I shouldn’t. She told me all that stuff in confidence and, yeah, she was also friends with Ashley and Ted, but that didn’t mean she wanted them to know about everything that was imploding in her marriage. Plus, it looked like the two of them were going to work on their problems, so I was just going to keep it to myself for a little bit.

  “Okay… so, it wasn’t Gus. Who else is there? I can’t think of anyone who didn’t like Lonny. He was weird like Coot is weird, but, if anything, people found him annoying at most.”

  There were just too few suspects. The last murder had a slew of people, but Lonny seemed to do his own thing. He ruffled a few feathers here and there, but nothing stuck out to me.

  “You’re right. Every time I think I may have found something, it’s just a blip. Like the whole vandalism incident or that weird society that Cindy runs or Gus! It all leads nowhere, but that won’t do because someone murdered Lonny.”

  Ted twisted his mouth to the side like he was considering something.

  “If he was killed behind the church, maybe someone from the class did it?”

  The dance class? That would make sense. That would give them the opportunity. Plus, the
y wouldn’t stick out if they were there. That just means I had to figure out who in the class hated Lonny enough to murder him.

  “So, we’ll just have to look into everyone in the class – except for Gladys and Gus, they’re checked off the list,” Ash commented.

  It shouldn’t be too hard to look into the class. We could…

  “We could go to the Bowling Ball!” I suggested.

  Everyone would be there, and it would be the perfect observe. Plus, we could do it really under the radar, so no one would suspect what we were doing.

  “Really! You’d go?” Ash was beyond excited.

  “For the case, yeah…”

  I had a feeling she was fixing to get me dressed up and dancing, but that was outside the scope of this investigation.

  “Well, we can have fun while we’re there. Solve a murder and cut a rug, two things on our list that I think we can easily achieve if we really want to.”

  “Okay, I’ll go to the dance, but I will dress myself. I can dress myself.”

  Ash didn’t say anything, but I could see the gears turning in her head. She’d been trying to get me to dress up all fancy like her and this dance would have been the perfect opportunity for her, but I was still a little hesitant to let her attempt a makeover. Especially when I was so focused on this case.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Friday

  After lunch, I had rethought crashing the Bowling Ball. We didn’t have an invitation and I didn’t want Gus getting all snippy with us. When I relayed this to Ashley, she was having none of it.

  “What do you mean you don’t want to go? We have to go! It’s going to be so much fun.”

  I wasn’t concerned with the fun aspect of the whole thing. I had a few other worries on my mind.

  “That’s not what I was objecting to. It’s just,” I wrinkled my nose a little, “Gus doesn’t like us very much. At least, I don’t think he does. I mean, aren’t we technically blackmailing him?”

  I really liked the idea of getting free dance classes for life, but the circumstances were a little less than kosher.