by P. Thompson
~~~
Inside the office I found no one! No Loraine, so peeked my head into Jeff’s office and he wasn’t there either. No note on the door saying ‘be right back’, nada. I pulled the cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Bo. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, where is everybody? There’s no one here at the office, not even Loraine.”
“Loraine’s sister, Sophie, and her boyfriend were carjacked and roughed up a bit. Jeff and Loraine are at the scene now and Bubba is also there.”
“I didn’t know Sophie had a boyfriend. I’m not at The Table very much anymore. I guess I’m out of the loop. Who is he?”
“James Carter, he’s a drummer at that new place in Tullahoma called Soul and Sin.”
“That’s a primarily a black bar isn’t it, some multi-racial management there?”
“Yes, James is a Black Muslim and I think he was targeted maybe for being both.”
“I was just sitting here thinking that the two flower shop break-ins and the murder of Tonya at Flowers Forever might be a hate crime. With this last thing with Sophie, you can bet on it. Who do you think is behind something like this? We’ve never had any hate crimes in our town, not even in the schools. The kids get along great. This is really scary.”
“I really don’t know. Never run upon it here before. Could be gang related, like an initiation or something.”
“I think we need to put a guard on Carmen. And Tonya’s funeral is tomorrow, maybe a police presence there would also be in order. If you see the sheriff before I do bring that up to him. I’ll stay here and take Loraine’s place and answer phones and such.”
“Well, I was on my way back there to do just that. Jeff didn’t know where you were so he called me. We didn’t want to wake Cindy up to come back in; she just got off.”
Bo hung up and I searched around to see if I could find the file on Andrew Gibbs. Best bet it would be on the screen in the conference room, but I didn’t want to leave the front desk to go look.
Bo came through the door that was still boarded up, knocking off snow from his boots.
“Do you think this stuff will ever go away? They’re closing schools early before the next storm comes in.”
“I heard, and that means I’ll have to leave the Jeep here and ride with Max. Hope he doesn’t get tied up with something.”
The phone rang and I answered it then told whoever was on there that the sheriff was out and I didn’t know when to expect him back.
It rang again and I answered it. Someone said, “There’s a fight going on at the café at the strip mall. Please send an officer.” They hung up so fast I didn’t get a chance to ask who they were. I picked up the dispatch line and called Lyle.
“Officer Lyle, we have a situation at the café at the strip mall. Are you available to take it?”
“I’m on my way, 10-4.”
“This is not my bag. I don’t do Loraine’s job very well.”
Bo was looking at me and laughing.
“Shut up or I’ll turn this desk and her job over to you.”
The door opened and in came Scott Mallard, smiling from ear to ear.
“I’ve got the glass to put back in the doors. I had them put a rush job on it. I told them it was for the sheriff’s office and they needed it bad.”
“Loraine will appreciate that. She hates not being able to look out the doors. How long will it take?”
“Maybe upwards of thirty minutes. You may want to go back in the conference room because it’s going to get pretty chilly in here while I work on this.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I need to work on stuff back there anyway.”
I closed the door to the sheriff’s office to keep the heat in and moved back to the conference room to work. I can answer phones back there as easily as out here.
“I think I’ll run get us some burgers for lunch as long as we’re going to be here for a while. Do you want anything else?” Bo asked.
“Yes, please stop by Starbucks and get me a coffee. The one I had this morning has worn off.”
“Will do. Be back in a jiff.”
~~~
The place was quiet, just the sounds of Scott working on the doors. I moved the murder board around so the light was on it and put up Tonya’s name. The new polyglass board made it much easier to add and erase things and gave a clearer picture. I went to the computer and got a picture of Tonya, printed it off, and attached it to the board. I added the words Hate Crime with a question mark. I was pretty sure that was the way this was going.
There was a knock on the door and Scott poked his head in, asking, “Hey, there’s a fellow out here needs to talk to someone. Can I send him back?”
I turned the murder board a bit to give it an angle and then said, “Sure, Scott, send him back.”
I recognized him the minute he came through the door. It was Dave Moore. He did the decorating at Table Number Nine when we moved to our new location after the Thirsty Turtle burned down.
“Come in, Dave. How can I help you?”
He was holding his beanie and twisting it as though he was wringing it dry.
“I don’t know exactly where to begin.”
“Try the beginning, Dave. That should get you started.”
“Well, a couple of weeks ago we had some graffiti sprayed on our shop walls. Did you know we moved from the house into a shop since business has got so good?”
“Yes, Dave, I had heard that. I was really happy for you guys. What kind of graffiti exactly was it? Like what did it say?”
“Die you gay faggot.” Dave looked to his feet, still wringing his beanie.
“What else has happened since then?” I asked him.
“There were eggs thrown at the door over the weekend. It had dried and was a mess to clean off. And then this morning the shop was broken into and so much of my merchandise was destroyed.” He was about to cry and sat down in one of the conference room chairs and looked at his feet.”
“Oh, Dave, I’m so sorry. Have you called your insurance company?”
“Yes, ma’am, my brother Ryan called and he’s taking care of all that. He told me while he was doing that I should come and tell you.”
“Have you touched anything at the shop? Like move things back into place or picked up stuff?”
“No. Ryan said maybe there were fingerprints, so not to touch anything.”
“Let me get hold of the CSI team and send them over. Stay here for a few minutes till I know how long they’re going to be.”
I phoned Max straight away, knowing he would do a better job with his team than anybody else, if he wasn’t already on a case. He picked up on the first ring and I could hear him talking to someone else, so I had to wait my turn. When he was through, he said, “Hey babe, what’s up? No bodies I hope.”
“No, but you remember Dave Moore who did the decorating at The Table? His shop has been broke into and graffiti sprayed on the wall. They destroyed a lot of merchandise in his shop. Can one of the fingerprint guys run over and check for me? If nothing else, as a favor?”
“I know Dave’s place. I’ll send over a couple of the guys in about thirty minutes. We’re trying to have a meeting, partly on these flower shop poisonings.”
“Well I got a little something on those poisonings. Bo and I have figured out that they are hate crimes. Loraine’s sister, Sophie, and her boyfriend were carjacked and beat up a while ago. Her boyfriend is a Black Muslim, Dave is gay, Tonya was black, and Carmen is Mexican. There may not be any prints at Dave and Ryan’s, but it’s worth a shot. I really think that whoever is doing this is far too smart to leave prints, but let’s give it a try.”
“Dave, they’re going to be about thirty minutes so hang out here till Max calls me back to let me know they’re on their way. There’s coffee in the kitchen, help yourself, and I think there should be a donut or two left over from this morning.”
“Thank you, I could use something about now,” Dave said.
I turned on
the screen and Andrew Gibb’s profile came up. Loraine was on the ball this morning. I was looking through some of the stuff Loraine had found, which wasn’t much, mostly kid stuff, when Dave came back in the room. He looked up and saw Andrew’s name. He blushed a bit and sat down with his coffee and a much dried-out donut, which he began to dunk in his coffee.
Looking up at me from his coffee cup, he said, “I know Andrew quite well. He’s a really nice person, once you get to know him. He thinks the world hates him because he’s gay so he comes off sort of nasty at first. I met Andrew one night at a bar over in Moore County and we’ve been friends ever since. Almost lovers at one point, but his work and mine keep us so busy there’s no time for love.”
“Thanks for that insight. It helps to know someone who knows the person we are looking at. I’m really past looking at him for any of this, since we believe the things that are happening are hate crime. Till we clear this up, you and Ryan need to be extra cautious. Doors and windows locked, lots of lights left on around your place, and keep away from standing in front of windows. I’m not sure if things will escalate to that level, but caution is better than being hurt.”
The phone rang about that time and I reached over for it when I heard glass breaking. I dropped the phone and headed out front, only to find Scott on the ground bleeding. There was glass everywhere. One look at Scott I knew he was hurt bad.
“Dave, call 911! Hurry!”
I got a bunch of paper towels we keep by the door this time of year to mop up wet spots and headed for Scott. The blood was coming from a wound to his shoulder area. I applied pressure while I asked him what happened.
“Someone drove by and shot me,” he said.
“Shot you? I thought you dropped the glass and got hurt. Let me see your shoulder.”
He rolled over just a bit, wincing as he moved, and sure enough he had a bullet wound.
“Let’s get you inside and out of the cold. Can you move to your feet?” I asked him.
Dave came running out and said, “EMT’s are on their way. I told them to hurry.”
“Dave, help me get Scott up and inside. It’s far too cold to be out here in his condition.”
Between Dave and me, we got Scott into the conference room and shut the door to keep the heat in. Dave went out front to wait for the EMT’s and I kept pressure on Scott shoulder. He kept saying, “Why me? Do you know how many times I’ve changed the glass in those doors?” He was turning white and going into shock when the EMT’s burst through the door. They got him stabilized and then out the door they went, or what was left of it.
Bo came back about that time with burgers and my coffee looking every bit as confused as he should be.
“What in the name of Moses happened here?” He was looking at me as he asked.
“Scott was putting in the glass when someone driving by shot him,” I told him.
Bo looked at the front door and said, “We can’t leave it like that. I’ll have to put the board back up. Thank goodness he only took the one down.”
“His tools are on the ground. They need to be picked up and put in his truck and then locked up. Maybe move his truck into the motor pool for safe keeping.”
Bubba showed up wanting to know what was going on and between Bo and Bubba they got the board back up on the door.
“I’ll make a run to the hospital and see when he can talk to me. How bad was it?” Bubba asked.
“Pretty bad, it’s a shoulder wound. He’ll be out of work for some time from the looks of it. I wouldn’t rush over there just yet; he’ll be in surgery and then recovery before he can talk. Let’s get his truck and stuff in the motor pool.”
I went inside and cranked up the heat as high as it would go when my cell rang out. “Jordan here,” I answered. “Oh hi, Max. With all the excitement here I forgot about you going to call me back. Are you ready for Dave yet?”
“I’ve got two of my men on the way so you can send Dave on out there. What happened at the sheriff’s department?”
“I guess we should put up crime scene tape, but it’s useless at this point. Scott Mallard was putting in the glass for the front doors and was shot. I think Bubba is out front looking for any shells that may have been ejected. I’m about to clean up the bloody towels in the conference room. I’ll send Dave on his way and talk with you later. Love you.”
“You better write up an incident report and put it on the sheriff’s desk. He’s still with Loraine and Sophie at the hospital,” Bo told me.
The door swung open and Bubba came in holding an evidence bag. He was holding it up for all to see.
“Look what I found at the end of the sidewalk.” He had two shell casings nestled together in the bag.
“You know, this might not have even happened if I had left the Jeep parked under the oak tree. A squirrel was eating nuts up there and I didn’t want shells all over the jeep so I moved it to the side of the building. I feel like this is my fault, Scott getting shot.”
Bo wrapped his arm around me just as the door opened again and the sheriff came in.
“I heard what happened, a little bit of it from the EMT’s. Now I want to know from you guys what happened,” the sheriff said with a lot of meaning in his voice.
“I was in the conference room with Dave Moore when I heard glass break. I ran out to find Scott had been shot and Dave called for the EMT’s. Bubba has shell casings from out front so he can take them to the CSI lab. That’s about it for now, till Scott is out of surgery and can talk.”
“I want someone there the minute he is out of recovery. Jenny, call Janet Evens to go sit with him till he’s awake and can talk. She’s on patrol duty so radio her from the command center.” Then he disappeared into his office and I got Janet on her way.
By this time the burgers were ice cold and uneatable. Even the microwave was not much help. And forget the french fries! So we ended up with peanut butter and crackers for lunch.
Chapter 8
After our so called lunch I headed out to see Ms. Miller at Flowers Forever. The snow was beginning to come in pretty heavy. A snow plow was putting down salt and slurry in hopes of keeping the roads somewhat clear. Good luck with that!
I found Ms. Miller sitting at a table putting together flower arrangements; I’m assuming some were for Tonya’s funeral. She looked up as the little bell over her door rang out. A smile crossed her face and she got up to greet me. Hugs were in order and tears were to follow.
“Have you found out anything so far?” she asked me, as she held up a coffee pot as if to ask if I would like a cup. I nodded no.
“Not much, but we’ve come to some conclusion that these are hate crimes toward people of color or different nationalities and even against gays. We’ve never had trouble in this community before and I don’t know what has changed to cause this.”
“Oh, no, I hate to hear this. We’ve always been a well-blended community.”
“I know, and because we think it’s a hate crime, tomorrow we’ll have a special team covering Tonya’s funeral for your protection, and others that will be there. I’ll be part of that team and close by you. If you need anything at all while I’m there just sing out.”
“Thank you so much. I was worried about tomorrow. Nothing unusual happened at the viewing, but being outside in the open, you never can tell. I just hope this storm blows over before then.”
I agreed with her and left her to work her flowers.
After I left I called the sheriff. Explaining the hate crime theory, I told him what the plan for tomorrow was. I told him I wanted to be with Ms. Miller and take care of the immediate family. That was okay with him and he would get a bunch of off-duty officers to make their presence known.
By this time I was so hungry I could have eaten my arm so I headed for The Table. Had to use my key to get in as they weren’t open yet, but I could smell Ralph’s cooking from the parking lot. Betty was busy putting a flower on each table (something new we’ve started). She looked up with a bright smile and
went back to work. I headed for the kitchen. Ralph was busy but I saw no sign of Sammy anywhere.
“Hey, where’s Sammy?” I asked.
“Going to be late. He couldn’t get his truck started. Battery’s dead for all I know. I sent Trena out to get him. They should be here anytime. What are you doing here so early?”
“Well, first of all, with all that has happened today I’ve not eaten, and second of all, Sophie and her boyfriend were carjacked and rough up today, and I don’t think she’ll be here so I’m tending bar. If I remember how, it’s been so long.”
“Just like riding a bike, you never forget. How’s she doing?” Ralph looked at me when he said it.
“I’m not sure. Loraine is with her. Scott Mallard got shot putting in the glass in the office door and he’s in the hospital, so things have been messed up. I hope you’re right about not forgetting how make drinks. Sophie has been making some special drinks and I don’t know what they are or how to make them.”
“Wow, you’ve had a busy day. Do you want to eat now or have something to tide you over till later?”
“Eat now, please. I need to set up the bar so let me eat before I pass out.”
The bar was in good order so there wasn’t much to do. I looked around to see if Sophie had a recipe book she kept for some of her special drinks and found something that looked like she had made notes as she went along. Maybe I’ll just serve the old faithfuls and let the customers wait till Sophie was back for the specials.
The night was slow due to the storm. There were lots of take outs and a few regulars who no matter the weather would be at our table for dinner. Very little activity in the bar area, thank goodness. Max came in around six thirty and kept me company till time to go home.
“Leave your Jeep here and I’ll get us home safe, or do you want to leave it at the sheriff department?” Max asked.
“With all that’s going on, do you think I can get it home? I hate for it to be hanging out at either place after a day like today.”