Murder at the Flower Shop

by P. Thompson

  “Believe me, if I knew I would tell you. I have no clue why someone shot me.”

  “Okay, guy, it’s been a long day for me and I still have to tend bar for Sophie so I’m out of here.”

  “Wait. How is Sophie? I heard she got beat up pretty bad.”

  “Yeah, she did. I just saw her and she’s battered and bruised with stiches in her head. It’s going to be a while before she’s over this.”

  I left to think about what I had just said in there. It’s going to be a while.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning while looking through my pockets I came across the card that Miss Massie had given me. It was just a name and a number.

  “Max, take a look at this. Miss Massie gave me this card yesterday. Seems this guy is bugging her to sell her land. He was almost threatening her in a way, to the point she now has a bodyguard. Oh, and by the way, someone shot a burning arrow into the side of her house. Maybe Loraine can track this dude down and then me and the guys will pay him a visit.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me. Just be careful. Anyone who shoots a flaming arrow might not want to talk with you guys. I'm headed back to the Lucky Kricket this morning. Can we catch lunch together today? It's been a while since we've done that.”

  “I would love that. How about Mama Leoni's?”

  “Good suggestion. Let’s say one o'clock?”

  “That works for me, unless something breaks on one of these cases. Come to think of it, Mama could be a target too.”

  Max went his way and I went mine. The sun had come out, but it was still cold as a bat’s behind in January. I made my way to Doc Simpson's morgue, a lovely little place in the basement of the hospital. His assistant hadn't got in yet, but I could see Billy and Doc working in the closed room. I knocked on the window and heads flew up. A wave of the hand told me I could make my way inside, but needed to dress down and mask up.

  In the room I found Yan Lee on the table. Doc had turned off his recorder and waited for me to make some comment, which I did: “I thought you were through with Yan Lee?”

  “It seems toxicology had other ideas. Yan Lee was poisoned along with getting a nice rap on the head. Same poison as Tonya and Carmen. He was still alive when they poured gas everywhere. It’s the reason his lungs where full of smoke. So now we are figuring out if he died from the poison or the smoke. This may take a bit more time before we have all the answers. Do you have any questions you would like to put forth?”

  “Well, doc, I’m not sure. Things aren't exactly adding up on all cases. I'm guessing that Yan Lee was in pretty good health, or the poison would have got him quick like Tonya. Why all the things they did to him? Hit on the head, poisoned, fire and smoke. Did he piss someone off to the point they tortured him like this? Did you hear about the snake and the letter out at Anna's? They called her helper a Mexican whore and said she should get rid of her or she could be next. We got patrols looking out for everyone till we don't have enough staying in town.”

  “I have no answers for you at this time. Hate crimes are like that. They'll drive you crazy till you figure out who's committing them.”

  “Well, thanks doc. I need to check in and see if Loraine can get me some info on a guy that’s harassing Miss Massie. Talk with you later.”

  At the office things were quiet, so quiet that Loraine was painting her toenails.

  “For God's sake, Loraine, no one’s going to see your toenails in this weather. Save it for summer, which can't come too soon for me.”

  “Well, Roy sees my toenails so they get painted just like my fingernails. By the way, Bo is looking for you. Said he had a lead on that kid in Juvie.”

  I handed her the card that Miss Massie had given me yesterday and said, “Can you run this guy and see what you can find out? He's the guy that’s been out to Miss Massie's harassing her. One of the reasons she has a bodyguard. I need to know all about him. Dig as deep as you can. Where is the sheriff today?”

  “Jeff and Roy have gone out to the Lucky Kricket to mill around. I'm not sure why, as Roy is being very close to the vest on this. I'll get right on this dude and by noon I should have a good start. Name is Alan Smart and this phone number is West Tennessee. I had a call yesterday from someone with a West Tennessee number, but no one was on the line when I answered. How is Scott by the way?”

  “Scott is mending and he hopes he can talk his brother into helping him finish the job here soon.”

  “It's scary not being able to see who's coming in the door. With all the crap going on this week, I need to see out!”

  “Maybe Jeff can put a camera on the outside of the door like the one in here. That would make sense and help you out. I’m sure there’s money in the budget for one. If not I’ll talk with Tony and see what he can do.”

  I went back to the conference room and added the poison to Yan Lee's part of the board. Got the murder book out and brought it up to date. My cell rang and the ID said it was Bo. “Hey, guy. Loraine said you needed to talk to me?”

  “The PE teacher at the high school called me last night and said there were six other kids involved in the gang that the Conner kid belonged to. Two of them are girls. Two of the guys are over eighteen so Bubba and I are going out to the high school to have a little talk with them. Can't pull Juvie records, but we need to see if any of the eighteen year olds have been misbehaving. I'm sending you their names. See if Loraine can find anything on them. Be quiet about one of them; he's a Tennessee congressman's nephew. I don't wish to rattle any chains before it's time.”

  “Will do. I've got her looking into the guy who's been bugging Miss Massie, but that can wait for now.”

  ~~~

  Bo and Bubba met up at Steak and Things before going to the high school. The place was jumping. Guess word got out fast as to just how good the food is. After finding a place to sit down, they ordered and then made their plans on how to tackle the kids.

  “Bubba, you take the girls. You know most of these kids, or at least their families and extended families. I'll start with the kids over eighteen while Jenny and Loraine are looking into them. I'll wait to see what Loraine and Jenny find out on those two guys before coming on strong. Does that sound about right to you?”

  “Yeah, I know both the girls' families. They are quiet kids, sort of on the nerdy side. Never figured them getting into any trouble. Both are college-bound with scholarships. Sarah is headed to UT and Mandy is going out to California to her dad's place. Berkeley is where she's headed. I can't see them giving all that up for some thrill of the moment.”

  “That's the thing about quiet kids: you never know what they are thinking. How are you going to handle them?”

  “Not sweet and easy, that's for sure. I want to scare the pants off of them right off. Might even haul them in to the interrogation room and bring their parents in. This is really serious business we're dealing with here. We've got two murders on our hands and no answers to them. If these kids know anything at all, I want to know what that is and I want to know now!”

  After lunch they took separate vehicles and went to the high school. The school was located on an out of the way road with fencing around most of it. The school was just two years old and still had that new look and smell to it. Kids came from three districts after middle school, so there's a meshing of the different areas, and their ideas and loyalties to one another. It's the only high school in town aside from the private school, Webb.

  Arriving at the school they both entered the office and showing their ID's. The vice-principal had them come into his office.

  “These are good kids. I can't imagine any one of them being in any kind of trouble, all but Conner. I hate to talk bad about a student, but I've had him for four years and not a moment of those four years has been pleasant. Which of the boys do you want to talk with first? Do you want me to call their parents in?”

  “Not at this time, but keep their numbers handy. It may come to that. These kids are old enough to know right from wrong. I don't nee
d parents at this point telling them how wrong we are or how wrong they are.”

  The rooms were set up and the students brought in, first to Bubba and then to Bo. Bubba gave his hard as nails look to Mandy and told her sit down. While she quietly sat down and then began to squirm, Bubba looked over papers and ignored her completely. From time to time he looked up at her and then back to the papers. The longer he took, the more she squirmed. Finally he said, “Mandy, do you know why you're here?”

  Mandy shook her head no.

  “Well, do you know a guy named Conner?”

  “Yes, but I haven't seen him in a few days.”

  “Well that's because he got caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing and now he's in Juvie. That may be where you are headed also.”

  At that point she put down her head and sobbed to the point Bubba felt really sorry for her, but he kept his cool and told her, “Dry your tears little lady. They don't do a thing for me, nor will the courts find that appealing. I need info and I need it now. That's the only way you might be able to turn this around. Tell me how all this got started and where it's supposed to be going.”

  “I'm not sure what you want from me. I haven't done anything wrong. All I did was hangout with friends at the drugstore coffee shop.”

  “So what did you hear while hanging with friends at the coffee shop? Something about breaking into shops, poisons, and murder maybe?”

  “Oh my God, no! Conner needed money and his mom is out of town. He said his friends outside of town wouldn't give him any more till he proved himself worthy. I don't know exactly what that meant, but I'm sure it wasn't murder.” And the tears began to flow once more.

  “Mandy I know your family and I know you're a good kid. Why are you hanging with people who are bound to bring you down to their level? You've got your whole life ahead of you, and from what I've learned it could be a very good life. Anything you can add to all this, like who his friends are outside of town, or where outside of town really is, might help us and you. I don't want to call the juvenile authorities and have them bring you in and call your parents too. So anything you can add to help yourself would help.”

  The tears subsided and she looked him in the eye and said, “If I knew anymore I would tell you, but I don't. You might talk to Carson. He and Conner were pretty tight.”

  “Thank you, Mandy. I'll keep what you've told me between us and my partner. Go on back to class now.”

  The vice-principal was waiting at the door. He stuck his head in and said, “Do you want Sarah next?”

  “Please, and don't let the two of them get together beforehand. Thank you.”

  ~~~

  Meanwhile, as Bo sat studying Austin's school records, he found a very smart teenager. Austin has a 4.0 excelling in the sciences. He plays soccer and has for three years and he's the captain of his team. He's been on the honor society for all his academic life. That and so much more for this kid. The door opened and the vice-principal led in Austin. Bo rose and held out his hand to shake Austin’s hand, which was sweaty with nerves.

  “Have a seat, Austin.” Bo handed him a bottle of water, which he grabbed and opened.

  “I'm detective Martinez. Do you know why you've been called in here today?”

  “My best conclusion would be this has something to do with Conner.”

  “Your best conclusion is right. What can you tell me about him and what he's been up to?”

  “Not a lot. He has friends outside of town that he hangs with most of the time. We just sort of hooked up here about a month ago. I guess he is everything that I'm not. He's cool. He smokes. I'm not sure if he does drugs or not. All the hot girls fall for him. I guess it's his bad boy personality they dig. But I don't know him all that well. Carson has hung with him the longest of us guys and I don't know about the girls. Mandy had big cow eyes for him there for a while.”

  “What made that change? The cow eyes I mean?”

  “Not sure, but I think it was something he said that scared her. She leaves this summer to go live with her dad in California. She's going to college out there. I'll really miss her a lot. I've thought of maybe going that way myself, but I have no one to stay with like she does, and even though I get dorm money, I'm just not sure how far it will go.”

  “Where are you headed for college?”

  “Right now, UT Martin. My brother has an apartment there. He's in his junior year and we're going to share his apartment next year. Is all this Conner business going to jam me up?”

  “Right now, Austin, I can't say. You've been forthcoming with me so I don't think so. Can you tell me anything about conversations you've had with him that would give me some insight into what his plans are. He was caught breaking into a shop where a young lady was poisoned and later died. That in itself worries me for all of you.”

  “That was Ms. Miller’s shop. I've known her for all my life. Before she opened her shop, she used to clean houses. She worked for my grandma when she got sick. Not a nicer lady around and I was sorry to hear about Tonya.”

  “Okay, Austin, you can go back to class, but keep this to yourself. I may have to talk with your parents so don't go muddying the waters for me.”

  With that Austin left the room and Bo went on with his interviews of the other three boys. He got pretty much the same answers and not much more info.

  Bubba interviewed Sarah and they talked of school, college, and plans for the future, but she had nothing to add on Conner, or his friends outside of town.

  After meeting back in the vice-principal’s office, Bo and Bubba left for the office.

  ~~~

  Roy and Sheriff Jeff were meeting in the conference room when Bo and Bubba came in.

  “Geez, could it get any colder out there?” Bubba asked. “You would think we were in Montana for pity’s sake. I’ve never seen a winter like this in all my life and I’ve lived here all my life!”

  Loraine was busy do searches on the eighteen year olds for Bo and Bubba. She looked up as the door opened and the cold wind and air blew through. Even with the little heater under the desk, that cold air penetrated through her clothing and went straight to the bones. “Hey, guys. I got nothing on any of the kids from school. All seem to have stayed out of trouble. You know Conner’s record without even seeing his juvie records, so that’s all I got for you.”

  “Thanks Loraine. You can work on Jenny’s guy now. We need to stay on top of that along with all of this,” Bo commented.

  Roy came out of the conference room and said, “You all are working on the Yan Lee murder, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, along with everything else that’s been happening in this town. Winter seems to bring out the crazies,” Bo said while pulling off his heavy coat and scarf and hanging them on the coatrack. “Miami was never like this!”

  Roy laughed. “Buck up, buttercup, just about six weeks till spring. We’ve got an FBI agent here and he’s going to be out at the Chinese Laundry for the next few nights. There has been some word that it may be the next one hit. Our manpower is down with all the different people we have to watch. This goes beyond the kid stuff you’ve been looking into. Jeff wants you to continue to cover that plus Ms. Miller and Anna’s place, but Yan Lee is FBI as of this morning. These are hate crimes, and even Conner is considered a hate crime, but for now he’s a juvie so we’ll set that aside. I have word that Anna has a night watchman and he has our number in case there’s trouble. Get with Jenny when she get back and fill her in.” And with that he left and went back into the conference room.

  Bo stuck his head in the conference room and said, “What’s the name of the FBI agent that’s going to be out at the Chinese Laundry?”

  Roy looked up from his paperwork and said, “Tim Nelson. He’s out of Detroit and new in the Nashville office. Nice guy, by the way.”

  “Where’s he staying while he’s here?” Bo asked.

  “That little mom and pop motel outside of town. The one going toward Bell Buckle, you know the one. I can’t
remember the name of it, Walking Horse something or other. You know the one I mean, with the big horse out front?”

  “Yeah, I know the one. It’s the one the kids tried to steal the horse their senior year. Found out that horse is cemented into the ground about two feet.”

  “I didn’t know about that. Before my time.” Roy laughed.

  From the other room came a loud “Holy crap!” from Loraine that sent everybody’s head in that direction.

  “What’s going on Loraine? What’s the matter?” Roy asked, running into the front reception room.

  “This guy that Jenny is having me look up that’s been harassing Miss Massie, he’s a big wig with the Aryan Nation out of Idaho. And his brother is head of the KKK in Oklahoma. Their father was killed by a black man three years ago and set both of them off on this path. I think I know why they want Miss Massie’s property. Just think of its location. It’s down in the valley surrounded by hills and woods. We used to laugh and say you had to pump sunlight into her back there. A real out of the way place. A perfect place to hold meetings and camp and God only knows what else.”

  “That may not be the most safe place for her out there, bodyguard or not. A burning arrow into the side of the house, who knows what might be next? Part of her place is government land. Seems they should be looking out for it. Loraine, call DC and see what they might want to do about this. Nashville should have the number and the right department,” Sheriff Jeff said.

  I came through the door about that time and everybody looked up and asked at once, “Where have you been?”

  Shocked, I said, “I went by the couple that Conner used to mow their lawn to let them know he was in juvie and wouldn’t be a problem for a while at least. What’s going on and why is everybody gathered around Loraine’s desk?”