by Kathi Daley
Tony and I jumped back into his truck and headed toward Colton’s place. I couldn’t imagine what was keeping him. I hoped he was okay. Colton was generally the responsible sort, not at all the type to arrive late for his commitments. Tony pulled up outside his house, and I jumped out and headed to the front door. I admired the colorful wreath he’d hung on his door as I knocked and waited for him to answer. When he didn’t come to the door after several attempts, I headed toward the old wooden building that served as his barn.
“Colton,” I called.
There was no answer. I did see the two horses, which were still in their stalls, and his Santa suit was hanging on a peg on the wall. I knew the sleigh was stored under the large gray tarp in the middle of the barn. It looked like Colton planned to show up for the parade. I really couldn’t imagine what had happened.
“He’s not here,” I said to Tony.
“That’s odd. Maybe we should take a look around.”
“I tried knocking on the door, and he didn’t answer.”
“His truck is here,” Tony pointed out. “Maybe he is in his workshop, or he was in the shower and didn’t hear your knock. Let’s take a look in the workshop.”
I nodded and followed Tony out of the barn. We headed toward the building that served as his workshop. The door was locked up tight, and a quick peek in the window confirmed that no one was inside. We then headed toward the house and knocked on the front door again. Still no answer.
“Maybe we should look around back,” Tony suggested.
“Okay. I’ll walk around to the left, and you take the right. We’ll meet at the back door.”
As I walked around the house, I noticed that one of the upstairs windows was open, which was odd, given how cold it had been, but maybe Colton had found the need to air the place out for some reason. When Tony appeared from around the side of the house, he informed me that he hadn’t seen anything that would indicate that anyone was home. I told him about the window. Tony knocked on the back door, calling out all the while. After a moment, I tried the handle. It gave. I glanced at Tony, he shrugged, and we entered the house.
As we walked from the rear of the home toward the front, my heart rate began to increase. Something felt wrong. Very, very wrong.
“Colton?” I gasped when I spotted the man lying on the floor near the front door.
Tony ran over and knelt down. He felt for a pulse and then shook his head.
I pulled out my phone and called Mike. I was surprised by the level of calm I experienced as I informed my brother that there had been another shooting, and he needed to get over to Colton Davenport’s place right away. After I hung up, I looked at Tony. “You’ll need to be Santa.”
“Me?”
“Mom will have a coronary if there is no Santa for the holiday parade. We have the horses and the sleigh. The Santa suit is designed to fit multiple sizes, and Colton was close to your height. Just pull on the pants and jacket over your clothes. I’ll call Mom to let her know to stall. If you hurry, you should be able to get there by the time the parade is coming to an end.”
“It’ll take longer than we have to hook up the sleigh and drive it over there,” Tony said.
He did have a point.
“Okay, then just ride one of the horses. This year it will be cowboy Santa who brings up the rear.”
Tony hesitated. “Are you sure we shouldn’t wait for Mike?”
“I’ll wait for him; you go. It doesn’t look like anyone was in the barn. I doubt it will be considered part of the crime scene. If Mike balks about the fact that you took the Santa suit and one of the horses, I’ll tell him it was my idea. Now hurry. We don’t want to let the kids down.”
Tony finally did as I asked while I called and briefly filled my mom in. I could tell that she was on the verge of a meltdown. I wasn’t sure if that was because Colton was dead, or that she had no Santa. Probably a combination of both. I explained the idea of a cowboy Santa this year, and she actually liked the idea. I promised that Tony would be there as soon as he could, and if she was able to stall, all the better. She assured me that she would tell the school band to take their time, and the floats with the Little League kids and the tikes from the ballet school tended to want to lag once they got started anyway.
Tony pulled on the Santa suit, complete with a fake beard. It would have been great if he’d had a cowboy hat, but because he didn’t, we figured the Santa hat that came with the costume would have to do.
“Thanks so much.” I quickly kissed Tony through his fluffy, white beard once he was dressed.
“I’m happy to help.” We couldn’t find a saddle, but we did have reins, so Tony agreed to ride bareback. I hoped he wouldn’t fall off, but he seemed comfortable with the situation. He climbed up on a railing and mounted one of the horses, and then Santa took off down the street at a pace that had me clutching my chest.
“Be cool,” I said aloud to myself. “Tony knows how to ride. He knows what he’s doing. He’ll be fine.” I took in a deep breath and blew it out. That seemed to help the panic I’d begun to let into my consciousness. I was sure the entire town was going to be devastated when they found out about Colton’s death, but I was equally certain that cowboy Santa would be talked about for years to come.
Mike pulled up in his cruiser just as Tony disappeared around a bend. He had the oddest expression on his face as he approached. I decided I wasn’t going to bring up our discussion/argument about Dad and Star if he didn’t and jumped right in about what Tony and I had found when we arrived at the house.
Mike headed directly toward the body. He pulled on a pair of gloves and checked for a pulse, as Tony had, even though it seemed obvious the guy was dead.
“How long ago did you find the body?” he asked.
“About fifteen minutes ago. I called you immediately upon discovering the body.”
Mike’s lips tightened. “It took me a little longer to get here than I would have liked because the main road through town is closed due to the parade. Where is Tony?”
“We had the Santa suit that Colton was supposed to wear, so Tony put it on and is covering the parade. We didn’t have time to hook up the sleigh, so he is on horseback. Who do you think did this? And why?”
Mike slowly shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think that Colton’s death and Star’s are connected?”
He frowned. “I don’t see how they could be, but I also think that it is highly unlikely that a small town like White Eagle would experience two murders in a week without the deaths being related.”
I glanced toward the body on the floor. “But as far as I know, Colton had nothing to do with Dad. How could his death be related to Dad and whatever got Star shot?”
“Maybe Star’s death had nothing to do with Dad,” Mike pointed out. He pulled out a radio and called Frank, who was on his way. He confirmed that the coroner was on his way too and then tossed me a pair of gloves and began to look around. “There doesn’t appear to have been any sign of a struggle. I’m going to assume that the killer came to the door and shot Colton as soon as he opened it.”
“Just like Star.”
Mike nodded. “Yes, just like Star. She fell forward across the threshold, but Colton appears to have fallen backward, away from the doorway. Given the fact that the door was closed, I’m going to assume the shooter closed it. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find prints on the doorknob.”
“Do you think the guy would be dumb enough to leave prints behind?”
“No. Not really. But it won’t hurt to look.”
“How long do you think Colton has been lying there?” I asked as I glanced at the body.
“I’m going to guess he was shot sometime this morning, maybe a couple of hours ago. The coroner will be able to provide a better time of death. Tell me again exactly what happened.”
I went through everything again, from the time Tony and I had shown up at the parade until Tony had gone off on the horse and Mike had arrived.
I had zero ideas why anyone would want to kill Colton. He was a nice man who’d lived in the community for quite some time and was well-liked and respected. He did his part as a volunteer and was a business owner whose store was in good standing with the local merchants association as far as I knew. He was a widower with grown children who lived elsewhere, and a talented artist who could take a dilapidated piece of furniture and make it look new again.
When I’d seen a man get out of a car and gun down Star in cold blood, I had believed her death was directly related to her link with our father. I was less certain of that with Colton. I couldn’t imagine any way in which he might be related to Dad, and Mike had made a good point when he’d stated that two shooting deaths in less than a week in our little town almost certainly had to be connected.
Frank showed up while Mike was completing his walk around the house and grounds. I supposed I could take Tony’s truck and leave, but Mike hadn’t asked me to go, so I chose to stay out of the way but hang around until he kicked me out. My mind was having the hardest time processing everything. If Star hadn’t died because of her investigation into her roots, then what on earth was going on?
By the time Mike even remembered I was lurking in the shadows and suggested I go ahead and head back to the parade, it was over. Of course, we still had the spaghetti dinner to get through, but I had time before I was due to show up at the community center to help with the food preparation. I found Tony, still dressed as Santa, holding the reins of his horse and talking to some children when I got back to town.
“The barn manager at the North Pole has been looking for the horse you brought to White Eagle today,” I said in an attempt not to spoil the illusion.
“I guess I should get going,” Tony replied. He looked at the children. “Remember what I told you about minding your parents.”
“We will,” they all replied before running toward the group of adults who were standing around waiting for them.
“Let’s get the horse back to Colton’s place,” I said. “I guess you’ll have to ride him back. I’ll follow in the truck.”
Tony agreed to the plan, but first, he stepped into a bathroom to take off his costume. I slipped it into a bag and put that into the truck. I doubted Tony and I would be able to enjoy any part of the relaxing day we’d hoped for, but finding out who had killed Colton was a lot more important. Not that Mike would let me help, but he might let Tony, and that would allow me to be present by association.
When I pulled the truck onto Colton’s farm, I could see that Mike was busy with his team, so I gave him his space and just waited inside. Tony arrived a short time later. After he got the horse he’d ridden settled in the barn, he wandered over to speak to Mike. I was tempted to join them but stuck with my decision to wait where I was. Mike had actually been cordial when we’d spoken earlier, which was more than I could say for the way he’d been treating me all week. It seemed like a step in the right direction, and I didn’t want to ruin the progress we’d made, so I resisted my natural urge to get involved.
After a while, Tony came over to the truck. “I’m going to stay for a while. I know we talked about going window-shopping, but maybe we can do that later.”
“That’s fine. I guess I’ll head over to the community center to help with the food prep. Maybe Mike can give you a ride over there when you are done here.”
He smiled and nodded. “He said he would. And thanks.”
“For what?”
“For letting Mike handle this, and for waiting in the wings for your chance to get involved. I think that once Mike thinks about it, he’ll realize what a sacrifice you’ve made. I think it will help.”
I tried to prevent the sigh that pushed past my lips. “I hope it helps. I’m ready for us to be friends again.” I thought of Bree. “All of us.”
When I arrived at the community center, there was a group of women in the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, all conversations revolved around Colton and speculation about the person who’d shot him.
“You know that Colton had been seeing someone from Kalispell,” the woman spreading butter on the bread said to the woman in charge of sprinkling on the garlic and Parmesan topping.
“I heard that, but I also heard he broke it off.”
“Oh, he did,” the first woman agreed. “But it was not an amenable breakup from what I’ve heard. In fact, I understand that the woman he was seeing has been going around telling anyone who will listen that Colton is a liar and a user. Not that anyone who actually knew him will agree. He was one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. It just seems that since his wife passed, he has aligned himself with a few women of questionable integrity.”
“You aren’t trying to say that this woman that Colton had been dating was the one to shoot him?” the woman in charge of dicing the veggies for the salad asked.
“No, of course not,” the first woman said. “But when it comes to unrequited love, anything is possible.”
Personally, I doubted that Colton had been shot by a spurned lover, but then again, all possibilities would need to be explored. One of the mistakes I’d noticed when viewing the cop shows I liked to watch on TV was that oftentimes the detective in charge of a case settled onto a single suspect or motive too soon and totally missed what was really going on.
“I heard from a few folks I was chatting with after the parade that Colton had gotten himself into a financial bind, and the person he borrowed money from was the sort to break a leg if they weren’t repaid,” the woman in charge of the sauce joined in.
“Colton isn’t having financial problems,” the woman dicing veggies countered. “I won’t go so far as to say the guy was loaded, but he did okay with his furniture sales. I hear he even went in on a rare desk that was supposedly going to make him and his partner a whole lot of money.”
“What kind of desk?” one of the women asked.
“I’m not sure. I just heard a rumor.”
“No one is going to shoot a person down in cold blood over a desk,” the woman in charge of preparing the pots for the noodles jumped in. “No, if you ask me, Colton most definitely got himself wrapped up with the wrong sort of woman.”
Chapter 8
What a long day. It started out horrifically, but by the time the town gathered to share a meal, I’d begun to feel marginally better. After we were done in town, Tony and I headed toward his place on the lake. Tony built a fire while I headed into the kitchen to scrounge around for a snack. The spaghetti dinner in town had been nice, but with so much going on, I hadn’t eaten much, and now I was hungry. I made a cheese and fruit plate, added some crackers and a bottle of wine, and took it all into the living room. The dogs were lying on the rug in front of the fire, and the cats, Tang and Tinder, were curled up in one of the big chairs closest to the fire.
I sat down and curled my legs under my body.
“With the exception of discovering that Colton Davenport had been murdered, I’d say the day turned out well,” Tony said.
“I guess that is an accurate statement, but wow! I’m still having a hard time with the whole thing. Colton was such a nice guy. Despite the rumors flying around town, I can’t imagine who would kill him in cold blood like that.”
“It sounds like there might be something in the information you overheard about the desk it seems that he and Star might have gone in on together.”
“I guess. I’ve been so convinced that my father or someone associated with him killed Star that I never really considered that as an option concerning Star’s death. But if the same person did shoot both victims, it seems unlikely that my father is the common denominator.” I paused as I watched a burned log roll from the top of the pile. “Did Mike ever get back to you about the preliminary ballistics report from Star’s murder? I imagine the first thing we need to determine is whether both Star and Colton were killed by the same gun.”
“No. I never did hear what sort of gun killed Star. I can call Mike tomorrow to ask about it.”
“If th
ey were killed by the same gun, I think Mike should take a hard look at the estate sale they went to and the items they purchased. They both dealt in old furniture. Star focused on antiques, and Colton bought and refurbished both antiques and common furniture he picked up at garage sales, but they may very well have purchased items from the same sale, and it sounds as if they both extended themselves financially to buy those things.”
“It’s worth looking in to. Maybe we should start by comparing the phone records of both victims,” Tony suggested. “There might be a link that pops out right away. I’ll need to use my workhorse in the basement if you’d like to move down there.”
“Okay.” I picked up the snack I’d just set out and returned it to the kitchen. Tony didn’t allow food in the basement, where he kept all his most expensive equipment. He didn’t allow animals either, so I made sure the dogs and cats were settled before I followed him downstairs.
There wasn’t anything for me to do once I arrived in the cleanroom where Tony worked, so I sat down on a chair near the workstation he chose and watched. Luckily, it didn’t take him long to find something to report.
Tony sent several pages of phone records to the large screen on the wall.
“These are the cell phone records for both Star Moonwalker and Colton Davenport. Colton is on the right, and Star is on the left. As it turns out, Colton was using the unlisted number we noticed on Star’s phone records when we looked at them earlier in the week.”
“So, they were talking to each other?”
Tony nodded and then did a quick count. “They spoke to each other twenty-seven times during the ten days before Star’s death.”
“Which seems to indicate, as we thought, that they probably were working on something together. Probably something having to do with the estate sale Star participated in. Had the two spoken to each other prior to the rash of calls just before Star’s death?” I asked.
“Hang on; I’ll check.” Tony returned to his computer. It took him several minutes, but eventually, he said, “I found a few random calls between the two over the past six months. No two calls were on the same day or even during the same week, and all of the ones prior to the ten days before Star was murdered lasted less than two minutes.”