Alvarez put the paper down. “Okay, you may have something there. But you still have to tie this in with the actual assault on Officer Reasoner. And with more than a guess that she may have possibly suspected the existence of this room.”
There was a knock on the door. Addams said, “Come in” and the door opened. Marie Hazlett stood there.
“Marie, I didn’t know you were back. Any...” He swallowed in anxious concern. “Anything new on Steph?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s still the same. But her parents wanted me back here to help – to help figure out what happened.” Hazlett looked at Alvarez. “For starters, they don’t believe Jeff had anything to do with it.” Alvarez’ stern expression did not change.
“Thank you, Marie. I appreciate your being here.” Addams said.
“I also wanted to let you know that George and Seth have returned. But Seth went right back out. He said he wanted to check on something, be back in a few minutes. And,” she handed him a piece of paper, “we got some information from where Harry Townsend used to work. They were slow in responding to our initial request two days ago.”
Addams held the paper, but continued to look at Hazlett. “Yes?”
“It seems that it was suggested that he leave his previous employment. They said he was a good worker, but they suspected that he had been stealing from the store.” She again turned toward Alvarez and Whittier. “He worked as the manager of the electrical appliance department at a department store.” Then back to Addams. “Nothing was ever proven, but both the store and Townsend felt it was in everyone’s best interests for him to leave. That apparently is when he came here.”
Whittier asked, “What kinds of things were missing?”
Hazlett looked at Addams, and he nodded.
“Mostly items from the appliances. Televisions and stereo equipment. Also some jewelry and watches. Not a lot, but enough to suspect somebody from the inside.”
Alvarez asked Addams, “That match what you found?”
He nodded. “That’s exactly the types of property that was in the hidden closet.”
Alvarez picked up the list of home repairs. “This closet was installed, what, fifteen years ago? So this sounds like something that has been going on for a while.” She waved the paper at Addams. “I think we now do have a legitimate motive and a legitimate suspect. Do we know if anyone saw him at the scene last night?”
Addams shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t specifically recall him there, but then, that wasn’t where my attention was. Officer Peabody has been out trying to find out who was seen then.”
Alvarez stood up. “I understand Officer Peabody has returned. Maybe it’s time for us to reconvene in the conference room and hear what he has to say from his morning’s activities.”
Hazlett stepped aside at the door as Alvarez breezed out of the room, followed by Whittier, who briefly touched Hazlett’s arm. Addams took a deep breath and, much more slowly, rose from the chief’s seat, waving for Hazlett to go ahead.
“Thanks, Marie. Perfect timing, as it happens. I think we may now have moved away from Jeff as a suspect in the assault on Steph.”
At that moment, both the front and back doors opened. Mike Wannamaker pushed through the back door carrying a big bag in one hand and a carrier of drinks in another. He saw Addams and held them up. Addams pointed to Conference Room A, and Wannamaker walked in that direction. Peabody, who had been perusing a plate of pecan rolls in the outer offices, saw the Mac’s Café logo on the side of the bag and came along with him, apparently changing his mind for the moment about the rolls.
Through the front door came Seth Getty holding three big blue trash bags. Addams waited for him while everyone else entered the conference room.
“What do you have, Seth?”
“It occurred to me during the interviews this morning, that last night several people were milling about in front of those businesses. From the interviews, nobody saw anyone throw anything away or try to hide anything, but we haven’t found a weapon.” He held up the trash bags. “There were two trash bins along the sidewalk in that area and one on the other side of the park that hadn’t been emptied yet, and I thought it might not even register consciously to see someone throw something in a trash can. It’s just such a natural occurrence that no one thinks anything of it. So,” he shrugged, “I thought I should check it out.”
Addams clapped him on the shoulder.
“Good idea, Seth. Bring them in here with us. Hopefully, they won’t smell too bad. I’ll let you take the bags to the other side of the room and start looking through them while we find out what you and George learned this morning.”
CHAPTER 22
Addams found Wannamaker at the head of the table sorting out the sandwiches and drinks with everybody else taking seats down the sides. Seth Getty had moved to the far end of the room where there was an open area and had found some old newspapers to spread on the floor. He pulled on latex gloves, preparing to dump the trash and do the sorting. Addams hoped there wasn’t too much of an offending odor to any of the garbage.
“How did the graffiti investigation go, Mike?”
Wannamaker shrugged. “Dennis Johns is pretty sure he knows who did it. It was some obscenities on the side of their shed in back of the church. The custodian was already there ready to repaint it. The pastor just wanted it documented in case it keeps happening. He’ll deal with it, and he’s not looking for us to do anything yet. He’d rather keep the name of the guilty party to himself right now. I’m sure he can address ‘guilt’ pretty well.”
Addams nodded. “Good, if the pastor feels comfortable with handling it, we’ve got enough going on.”
“Okay.” Wannamaker held up two sandwiches toward the rest of the group. “I’ve got six meatloaves and two grilled cheese. And a large bag of Mac’s special onion rings. I had no idea who was going to be here and what they might want. All of the drinks are Marge’s Peach Lemonade. It’s hard to go wrong with that. And too bad if you wanted tea.”
Hazlett took one of the grilled cheeses, and Alvarez asked if there was a spicy chili meatloaf. The rest took whatever was handy, but Peabody pulled the bag holding the extra unclaimed grilled cheese a little bit closer to his seat. Getty put his sandwich aside for the moment – “I’ll get it later.” Addams was glad Peabody was down at that end of the table with Getty and the trash. His appetite never seemed to be disturbed by anything.
Once all the food was passed out, and everybody had started eating, Addams stood in front of the board. It still included all the notes from investigating Mrs. Mathison’s death, but he wasn’t up to erasing them yet. He twirled it over to a blank board on the other side, and Marie Hazlett moved up to start taking a new set of notes under the heading of Officer Reasoner’s Attack.
“Okay. I’m going to start by sharing what we know so far. Jeff has confessed to the apparently accidental death of Mrs. Mathison. His statement is consistent with the evidence that we have found and with the probability of it being an accident. He is currently under arrest and in Cell One because his actions did lead to a death and then he interfered with the evidence and the investigation.
“After confronting him at the bandstand last night with what she had deduced, Steph walked away from him into the trees and the dusk and was stabbed. This we know. She is presently in critical condition at Memorial Hospital. As Jeff has admitted to Mrs. Mathison’s death, which removes his motive, we knew we must have a brand new assailant not connected to the first assault.” He carefully avoided looking at District Attorney Alvarez.
“Through paperwork from the Mathison safety deposit box and statements from Emmett Doolittle, her yard man, we have discovered a hidden closet in the house that contains m
iscellaneous electronics, jewelry, and so on, that appear to be stolen items from garage and yard sales. Sam Getty and Phil Culbertson are going through those now to confirm that.”
Seth looked up surprised, and Peabody almost dropped his sandwich. Almost but he caught it again. This was the first they had heard about the hidden room and its contents.
“Marie has also received information from Harry Townsend’s previous employer that he had been encouraged to leave that job because of suspicions regarding him stealing exactly the types of items found in the closet.”
“Oh my.” Peabody laid down the sandwich and sat up straighter in his seat. “Grace Mathison was hiding stolen goods for her nephew?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions.” Alvarez felt the need to admonish. “Though, if one were impelled to jump, there are worse directions.”
Addams took control of the discussion again. “So, we have an assault specifically directed at Officer Stephanie Reasoner. She was the last one in the house yesterday afternoon. She may or may not have suspected an issue with the size of the spare room, but she did make copies of the papers from the safety deposit box and was planning on studying them, which would have led her to that secret room.”
Getty interrupted from the far end of the room. “But would she have pursued it once she suspected Chief Pierson of the first death? I don’t know her, but wouldn’t that have closed down the case and she might never have looked at the papers at all?”
Addams smiled slightly. “That’s a good question, Seth. That’s a really good point. Which means that her assailant would not have known that Jeff caused Grace’s death and that the investigation could have been ending.”
He turned to Peabody, who had apparently regained his appetite and was in the midst of reaching for another onion ring. “George, what did you and Seth learn?”
“Well.” He wiped his hands on a napkin. “We first went to see Judy Pierson and get the box of objects that Jeff had taken from the Mathison house. It was just like he said, including a bowling trophy with what appeared to be blood sort of wiped off of it. We dropped the box off to Mike here at the station. We wanted it out of our hands.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to do anything like that talking with Judy again. That was rough.”
“Sorry to interrupt.” Getty's voice came up from the floor beyond the end of the table.
“But I have a knife here, from the bin across the green.”
Into the sudden silence, with two latexed fingers, he held up what appeared to be a camping knife, then peered closely at it. “There appears to be some sort of fancy design or lettering on the end of the handle. I can’t quite make out what it is. It’s pretty small.” He laid it on that end of the table, on top of Peabody’s napkin.
Peabody pulled his chair closer to it, and Alvarez jumped up to move down the table to look at it for herself.
Addams whispered to Hazlett, “There’s no way Jeff could have gotten across the green to drop that there. That should definitely eliminate him from Alvarez’s mind.”
“I think it’s fancy initials,” Peabody muttered. “But doggone if I can tell what they are yet. All these crazy unreadable letters they make these days. Stylized, I think they call it. Not what I was taught in school.”
Alvarez looked up. “I think there may be blood on the edge. There was probably a quick wipe, but it didn’t get it all. And I can’t tell clearly from the letter style either. I could hazard a guess, but I’d rather not at this point. Is there a jeweler or somebody in town that would be able to identify these styles?”
Addams nodded. “There’s Hansfelder’s in the next block. I know they do a lot of engraving.”
Hazlett was already out the door heading to the phone.
“And, Marie,” he called out. “See if Phil can come look at this knife.” He turned back to Getty. “Anything else?”
Getty set a handkerchief on the table next to the knife. “This looks like it has blood on it, but it came from a trashcan on this side of the street. I’ll keep on looking if there’s anything more.”
“Okay, we’ll give that to Phil too, and the box George and Seth got from the Pierson’s garage. And anything else you come up with. Seth, good idea to get those trash cans.”
Addams faced the rest of the table. “This is a big find. Under the circumstances, it would be hard to believe that it’s not the weapon used on Stephanie. However, if the handkerchief is tied to it, that is probably what was used to wipe it down, hoping to erase any fingerprints. We’ll let Emil Hansfelder and Phil Culbertson look at them and see what they can tell us.
“George, anything more for us?”
At some point, the extra grilled cheese had disappeared. George opened Seth Getty’s notebook and flipped through a few pages. “I think we’re pretty clear on who was there last night. Charlene Matthews, Hank Peters, Mel Johnson, Harry Townsend, Cheryl Levinsky, who also works at the bank, JJ Plummer, Mrs. McMahon, her dog, and Tracy Skinner, Cecil’s daughter. We interviewed everybody except JJ, Mrs. McMahon, Tracy, and Mrs. McMahon’s dog. JJ and Mrs. McMahon are coming into the station early this afternoon, but we can’t get Tracy till after school.”
He reported some of the specifics from the interviews, but concluded, “So far nobody has seen anything useful. They all heard a yell, or something, but nobody saw anybody near Steph except for Jeff and Bud running to her. The only significant thing is that they all sort of agreed that they didn’t see Harry at first and they don’t know when he got there or where he exactly came from. But it was after everybody else.”
He set the notebook down. “Like Seth said, they didn’t see anybody drop anything or throw anything like a knife away, even into a waste can.”
Addams nodded. “No eyewitness, but that was always a long shot. We know who was in the area immediately afterward, but it could have been somebody that took off on the other side of the green. However, that wouldn’t explain the handkerchief on this side, and...” He looked around the room.
“And, our prime suspect was there, but late. Somebody that could have gone across the green and deposited the knife in that trash can and come back. Harry Townsend was with Steph in the house and the bank, and he may have heard her say something that made him think she was going to find out about that room. He has a history that ties in with these goods found in the house.”
Addams pointed at Wannamaker and Getty. “Seth, you had a good look at that knife. I want you to go over to the Mathison house and see if she has any silverware or cutlery that matches that design. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and there’s a missing knife from one of those knife blocks. Mike, I hate to ask you this, but I’d rather have you at the station. Can you finish going through the trash there?”
Seth stood up and started to take his gloves off, then seemed to realize he may still need them at the house. He left the room. Wannamaker pulled on a new set of gloves and took Seth’s place, kneeling on the floor.
Marie Hazlett came back into the room as Seth Getty was leaving. “Emil Hansfelder is on his way. So is Phil. And several items in that closet match the list of stolen goods from garage and yard sales, as well as many of the smaller items on Mrs. Mathison’s shelves. Since they have already taken pictures and Crime Scene has done their thing, Sam is going to start moving the items to here.”
Alvarez stood. Whittier decided that meant that she needed to stand too.
“Chief, I think it’s time to make an arrest.” Alvarez declared. “There’s definitely cleaning up that needs to be done, but I think we’ve got more than enough to at least arrest Harry Townsend on theft charges. And to ask for his ‘assistance’ in the attack on Officer Reasoner. I will take care of the warrants, including one to search his residence.” She looked around. “Anything else that w
e haven’t specifically covered yet? No? Okay, get to it.”
She left the room. Whittier, after giving Addams a rueful smile, followed her.
George glanced at his watch. “The mayor and Mrs. McMahon will be coming in, but probably not for another hour. After this, I don’t think they have much more to add.”
Addams stood and looked down at the sandwich that he had barely touched. He had the sense that this was the way for many meals from now on.
“George, you’re with me. I think you and I need to be the ones making this arrest. Marie, you and Mike have the office. And if our witnesses come in early, tell them we’ll be back soon. In fact, Mike could start talking with them. You know what to ask, Mike.”
CHAPTER 23
Addams and Peabody found Sherri Northrup at her desk, but on the phone. “Yes, I know. It’s getting so you can’t trust anyone anymore. In Summerfield, of all places. Uh-oh, I’ve got more police coming in, Lisha, and I don’t think it’s to buy a new policy. I gotta go.”
She hung up and turned to them. “Well, Officer Addams, I think that makes the whole force that has come through in the last couple of days.” She softened her tone and addressed Peabody. “George, how’s Steph?”
“The same, Sherri, the same. Nothing new.” He inclined his head towards the back offices. “Mr. Townsend still back there?”
“Oh, yes. And Mr. Johnson. And I don’t think they’re doing anything. Mr. Johnson had a client earlier today. Old man Haversham seems to have a question every week about his homeowner’s policy. Does it cover this kind of leak? What if this happens? Oh my, I probably shouldn’t be telling you any of this. But you are the police. It’s still confidential, isn’t it?”
The Body on the Roof Page 15