Murder at the Truck Stop: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 16)
Page 6
He picked up his phone and pressed in three numbers and then said, “Rich, find out everything you can about these two guys.” He gave them Jet and Snack’s full names which Kelly had gotten from Pete, assuming Josh would want them checked out. When he was finished, he turned back to Kelly and said, “Figured we might as well get that started while we’re talking. Next.”
She spent the next half hour recounting her conversations with Pete and Jesse regarding Susie and Little Paul. Josh immediately called Rich again and gave him the information.
“Kelly, why don’t you go home and check on Mike? You’ve been gone all morning, and he could probably use some TLC about now. I’ll call you when I find out anything. Should be within the hour. Rich is one of our best when it comes to finding out information.”
“Okay, Mike probably could use some TLC. I’m going to call Pete and see if he’ll give me Jet’s and Snacks’ telephone numbers. They both live in Cedar Bay. Since they start their routes around six in the morning, I’d imagine they’d be home by mid-afternoon. Might be worth talking to them in person and see if I can find out anything more.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. A murder was committed and since we have a list of suspects and they’re on that list, I have a feeling the sheriff wouldn’t want you doing that on your own.”
“You’re probably right, Josh. Thanks.” And when I take Rebel with me, I won’t be on my own, she thought.
“I’ll wait for your call. At least we have some people we can talk to. The one thing I can’t figure into all of this is if Kimberly’s father was also Lizzie’s father, that makes them half-sisters. And if that’s so, and if Lizzie knew, when did she find out? And if she just found out, what would be her reason for killing Kimberly over it?”
“Well, Kelly, for one thing we don’t know that they shared the same father, and since no one claimed his body when he died, the prison had him cremated and his ashes were disposed of in a common burial ground at the prison. So, I guess we’ll never know. And even if he was their father, I don’t see what that has to do with the murder, at least not at this point.”
“Agreed. Talk to you later,” Kelly said as she stood up and walked out of his office.
*****
When Kelly walked in the house, she heard Mike call out, “Is that you Kelly?”
“Yes, I’ll be right there.”
A few moments later she walked into the bedroom and said, “Well, how’s the patient? Completely healed and ready to run a marathon?”
“Afraid not. I think my fever might have finally broken, but I’ve got to tell you that I feel really weak. Right now, I feel like I have all the energy of a wet dishrag. This is definitely not my idea of fun.”
“I’m sure it isn’t. Are you hungry? I could scramble some eggs and make some toast for you.”
“Thanks, but the only thing that sounds good to me is a cup of that soup you made for me, and I mean that literally. If you could just warm it up, put it in a cup so I could drink it, and bring it to me, I’d be eternally grateful.”
“No problem. Back with it in a minute.”
Kelly went into the kitchen, took the pot of soup out of the refrigerator, and put it on the stove to simmer. While it was heating up, she checked out the refrigerator to see what looked good to her for dinner. She was pretty sure Mike would want the soup again, but she was getting a little tired of it.
She spotted some Bratwurst in the freezer and some buns. She’d been wanting to make a Brats sandwich that had been slow cooked in beer and onions, and it seemed like this was the perfect night to do it. If it turned out as she hoped it would, she’d give the recipe to Charlie. The recipe indicated it was easy to cook and could be held in the beer and onion mixture for a long time. She didn’t have a liquor license at the coffee shop, but she knew it was okay if she cooked with beer as long as she didn’t serve it to a customer.
She took Mike’s cup of soup into the bedroom and said, “Here you go. Let me feel you and see if you need any more aspirin.” She handed the cup to him and felt his forehead. “Mike, I think you’re still running a little fever. Take these two aspirin and let’s hope that will take care of the remnants of the fever.”
“Thanks, Kelly. Sorry I’m being such a wimp, but I just am not up to going to the station and working on the truck stop murder case. How’s Josh doing with it?”
“I think he’s on top of it, and he says for you to stay away from the station and heal. I met with Pete, Roxie’s brother who owns the trucking company. Several of the men who frequent the truck stop work for him and then I met with Josh. Here’s a summation of my conversations with them.”
After Kelly had given him a brief recap, Mike said, “Let me get this straight. On your suspect list you’ve got the two guys who work for Pete and the woman named Lizzie, but so far no actual motives. Does that sound about right?”
“Yes, but I would certainly think that Susie, Little Paul’s wife should also be on the list if for no other reason than she was jealous of Kimberly.”
“That’s true, but from what you told me Susie was talking to Jet about Kimberly, and I gathered from what you said that she was trying to get him to do something to Kimberly. Talking to someone is not a crime.”
“No, but what if that was a ploy? What if she intended all along to murder Kimberly, but she wanted Jesse to overhear her conversation and hope that he would report it to the authorities and they would think Jet had taken some extreme action based on what he was told in that conversation with Susie?”
“What I think is this is too much for a man as sick as I am to intelligently process. I need to get some more sleep.”
“I’ll leave you to it. My cell phone’s ringing, and it’s probably Josh. Sleep well,” Kelly said as she hurried into the kitchen and picked up her cell phone from the counter.
CHAPTER 17
“Hi Josh, were you able to find out anything?”
“Yes, but before I give you the information, how’s the sheriff doing?”
“I think a little better. His fever seems to be down and he actually talked to me for a few minutes about the murder, but he’s sound asleep again.”
“Best place for him. We had three more people at the station leave at lunch because they were sick. Talk about a skeleton crew. At the moment we’re down to me, Rich, and a few others. I’m really glad you’re helping on this, because I can barely keep my head above water.”
“I’m sorry. I hope you’re taking things to combat the flu.”
“On my desk as we speak is a little bottle of oregano oil which my health nut wife swears is the best thing in the world to combat infections. She told me last night it has antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties in it. I just hope it works. We get any more skeletal around here, and I’m going to have to call the sheriffs in a couple of nearby counties and ask them for help.”
“Josh, you can count on me to do whatever you need to help. What did Rich find out?”
“The guy named Jet was arrested several times for misdemeanors. The last time was for a drunk in public charge. According to the information I got, the morning after his arrest the policeman said he was a different man from the one who had been admitted the evening before. Something about how he’d been saved. Kind of weird, if you ask me, but there were no more incidents. He’s been driving trucks now for fifteen years with a spotless record. Pete’s company has a good reputation, so if he’s still working for him, I assume he’s clean.”
“Being clean in the past and murdering someone in the present because of a religious conviction are two different things. If I can get his number from Pete, I’d like to talk to him. Anything on Snacks?”
“Yes. His full name is Cornelius Perthboy. I sure can see why he goes by the name of Snacks. Think I would too. Anyway, he’s clean. No arrests, not even a driving ticket. He’s married and has a son. Pretty salt of the earth other than what was heard on the CB. I see no reason why he would be a suspect.”
“Rich was going to check on them this afternoon. A couple of other things came up that took priority. I should have something on them later today. Gotta go, Kelly. A call just came in that I have to take.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later,” Kelly said. She scrolled through her phone, found Pete’s phone number, and pressed in the numbers.
“Hi, Kelly, find out anything?”
“Nothing that solves the murder. I have a favor to ask of you. Could you give me Snacks and Jet’s phone numbers? I’d like to talk to them in person. I don’t know what I’m looking for, but since they often visit the truck stop, I thought they might know something.”
“Sure. Let me pull their files.” She heard a drawer open and then he said, “Ready?”
“Yes,” she said jotting down the information he gave her. “Pete, the deputy sheriff who’s handling the murder investigation did a check on them, and they both came up clean, so I don’t want you to worry about your employees.”
“Thanks for telling me. I have to admit I was wondering if you were holding back something.”
“No, not a thing. If I find out anything that’s important, I’ll give you a call.”
“I’d appreciate it,” Pete said as he ended the call.
Kelly looked at the time on her cell phone and thought it was probably too early for either of them to be home. She thought it would be a good time to water the house plants and take care of a few other household chores.
An hour later she walked back into the kitchen and pressed the number for Jet Barnes into her phone.
“Hello,” a masculine voice said.
“Mr. Barnes, my name is Kelly Reynolds. My husband’s the sheriff of Beaver County, but he’s got a bad case of the flu as do most of the people at his sheriff station. Since I was the one who discovered the body of Kimberly Laughlin yesterday, he asked me if I would talk to a couple of people on his behalf. I was wondering if you’d have time to see me this afternoon.”
“I don’t know anything about her murder, but yes, I could meet with you. I just got home from my route, and I have a church meeting at 5:00 tonight. Would it be possible for you to come over in the next hour or so?”
“That would work for me. Say in half an hour? And I’ll need your address.”
“Sure. Here it is,” he said, giving her an address which was on the far side of Cedar Bay.
“See you in half an hour,” Kelly said as she ended the conversation.
Next, she placed a call to Snacks. “This is Snacks. You know what to do,” the recorded message on his phone said.
“This is Kelly Reynolds. I’m Sheriff Reynolds wife, and he’s ill. I was the one who discovered…”
“Hi, Mrs. Reynolds. This is Snacks. I just walked in. What can I help you with?”
“Well, as I started to say, I was the one who discovered Kimberly Laughlin’s body yesterday. Most of the people at the sheriff’s station are ill, and my husband asked if I would talk to a couple of people who frequent the truck stop. He was hoping someone might know something that would help solve the murder. Any chance you could see me this afternoon?”
“I could see you at 4:00. I have to pick my son up at school and take him to baseball practice. I’ll be free until I pick him up at 5:30. Would that work for you?”
“Yes, that would be great. I understand from Pete that you live somewhat near Jet. I’m seeing him in half an hour, so I’ll be over in that area.”
“Actually, I live just a few blocks from Jet. When you leave Jet’s house, get back on the highway and go south. Take a right at the second light and go down two blocks to Monroe. Turn right again and ours is the third house on the left. You can’t miss the big rig parked in the driveway.”
“Thanks. See you at 4:00.”
CHAPTER 18
Kelly thought about taking Rebel with her, and she also considered putting her gun in her purse, but decided against both. She reasoned that she’d told both Jet and Snacks that she was acting on behalf of her husband, the county sheriff, so they’d assume that she’d told Mike she had meetings with them.
It was pretty unlikely either one of them would be a threat to her knowing that the sheriff had been told she’d be visiting them. They didn’t need to know that Mike was fast asleep and had no clue where she was going that afternoon.
A half-hour later she pulled into Jet’s driveway and parked her car in front of the garage. Parked next to the driveway under a large canvas tent cover was his big rig. Once again she marveled that anyone had the ability to drive something that big, much less maneuver it in traffic and back it up to loading docks. It was totally beyond her comprehension.
Kelly walked up to the front door of the small well-maintained brick house. Brightly colored tulips lined the sidewalk and pots of pansies and other annuals flanked the front door. She had a hard time imagining that this was the home of a murderer.
Before she could ring the doorbell, it was opened by one of handsomest men she’d ever seen. Jet black hair, deep brown eyes, and a muscular body that spoke to hours spent in the gym stood in the doorway. “You must be Kelly, please come in,” the body said. “I’m Jet.”
All Kelly could think of was that if Kimberly had turned down this hunk, she must have been crazy, then she mentally berated herself for thinking ill of the deceased.
“Thanks for taking the time to see me,” she said as she followed his gesture to come into the house. It was one of the most charming homes she had ever been in. Lush plants were tastefully placed on different pieces of Mission furniture with Native American rugs on the hardwood floors. There was even what looked to her like a Tiffany lamp in the corner of the living room.
“Jet, pardon me for staring, but your home is lovely. I don’t know much about antiques, but these sure look real to me. Do you collect antiques?”
“A little here and a little there. It’s kind of a hobby of mine that started when I inherited this furniture from my parents. One thing led to another and when you have antiques like I was lucky enough to be given, it was only fitting that I continued the look to the outside of the house, thus the plantings.”
“Well, the effect is stunning. You definitely have a very good eye for decorating.”
“Thank you. Please, have a seat. May I get you some coffee or a soft drink?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m here mainly to find out what you can tell me about Kimberly and anything else that might be relevant to her death. And, Jet, my condolences. I understand that you cared deeply for her.”
He took a deep breath and said, “Yes, it was no secret that I did. I sent her flowers, cute dog videos to her Facebook page, and I suppose, generally made a fool of myself over her. I still can’t believe that someone murdered her,” he said as he ran his hand over his face, trying to wipe away the deep emotion that was plainly visible on his face.
“I’m sorry. I know this is difficult, but can you think of anyone who might have wanted to see harm come to her?”
“I’m sure some people were jealous of her. I know Susie, Little Paul’s wife was because of all the attention that Little Paul paid to her, but I don’t think she’d be capable of doing something like that.”
“Jet, I’ve heard some rumors that Kimberly was involved in a bookmaking ring at the truck stop. Do you know anything about that?”
“I don’t have any personal knowledge of it, but I heard some things on the CB about it. From what I heard, she and Snacks were in it together. Snacks and I used to be best of friends, but when I started hearing rumors about Kimberly and him, we became distant. I felt if he was involved in bookmaking with her, it was a slap in the face to me, because he knew how much I cared for her.”
“You must hear a lot on the CB. Doesn’t sound real private to me,” Kelly said.
/> “Not only that, but guys can say whatever they want, and no one censors anything. I heard some people say they thought Kimberly was giving Lizzie a run for her money, and that really made me mad.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know who Lizzie is.” There’s another white lie, but I think it’s better if Jet doesn’t know that I’ve heard of her, Kelly thought.
“She’s the resident Lot Lizard at the truck stop. Every truck stop has at least one and because this truck stop is small, she’s it. Likes to make men happy and get paid for it.”
“How did that make you feel when there were insinuations that Kimberly might be doing the same thing?” Kelly asked.
“Not very good. In fact, I’m pretty religious. Guess some people would call me a fanatic. According to what I believed in, prostitution is a sin and anyone who commits it should be killed.”
“You’re kidding!” Kelly exclaimed. “Are you saying that you think Kimberly might have been murdered because she was a prostitute?”
“No, I don’t think so, but if someone believed the way I did then, they might feel that she should be murdered.”
“Wait a minute. You’re telling me that you believed that prostitutes should be murdered and that some people think that Kimberly was a prostitute. You realize, of course, that would probably make you a prime suspect.”
“Of course I realize that, but I didn’t do it. In fact, I wasn’t at the truck stop yesterday, because I was on a conference call with my preacher and several elders of the church from 6:00 a.m., as soon as I got in my truck, until 8:00 a.m. about that very subject. And please note, I said believed, not believe, as in I used to believe.”
“All right, I’m obviously missing something here. Please, fill me in.”
“I was really angry when I heard rumors on the CB about Kimberly possibly being a prostitute, and then Susie talked to me saying pretty much the same thing. I called my preacher about it, and he said he’d like to have a conference call with me and a few of the church elders, because I must have missed the sermon dealing with the changes that the church made on that particular issue.