by Donna Doyle
“But Sean had nothing to do with what’s going on in Settler Springs now,” Kelly said. She had barely touched her dinner, so engaged in the conversation was she.
“Except you.”
24
Tracking Eddie Kavlick
Troy was reluctant, but he finally capitulated to Kelly’s suggestion to let Doug know about the Eldredge staff member whose stolen car had been the one in which Sean had died. She offered to do it and Troy agreed. He was still uncomfortable sharing information with Doug—the longstanding prejudice of the police against the media was a hard one to break—but he didn’t see any other way of advancing their investigation.
Doug showed up at the library later the next evening. He had a stack of photographs from the Memorial Day program to give to Kelly so that she could arrange them in a display in the meeting room. “You’re all alone tonight?”
“Mrs. Stark doesn’t usually stay after five, Carmela had a doctor’s appointment and left early, and it’s almost summer,” Kelly said. “Kids are outside playing, school is almost over.”
“So you get a break,” he grinned.
“We start summer reading in two weeks,” she said.
Doug knew that because the promotion for the program had run in the paper.
“So,” he said, “what’s up?”
There was no one in the library, but Kelly kept her voice low as she told him what Troy had learned.
Doug’s eyes narrowed the way they did when he was processing pieces of information. “The car that was stolen was owned by Keith Rigowski?”
“That’s what Troy found out.” Troy had told Kelly to leave Trooper Callahan out of this in case there were repercussions.
“Rigowski is a straight-arrow,” Doug said, giving her the bio that he kept in his head of all the people with whom he interacted in his work. “He works for Eldredge. If something funny is going on, I don’t know if he’d know it. He takes care of constituent concerns. People call him when they’re concerned about a vote or they want a sign put up in their neighborhood, things like that. He’s responsive and that makes Eldredge look good. Keith and his wife are divorced and she lives in North Carolina. He said that Eldredge gave him the time off so he could see his son. That was a couple of weeks ago, no, more than that. Three weeks ago, that’s when he told me. The staff is usually busy arranging Eldredge’s speaking engagements over the holiday, lots of veterans groups to meet with. I was asking him some questions about a bill in Congress for funding for veterans. He said the bill was still in committee. That’s when he told me he’d be away for a few days over Memorial Day weekend.”
“And while he’s away, his car is stolen. Sean Claypool’s body is found in it, a suicide. Troy says there are too many circumstantial details and not enough to make anything stick.”
“Troy’s right,” Doug answered calmly. “But that’s true of a lot of crimes. I’ve been doing some talking to people who had spent time with Claypool. No one thought he was despondent.”
“You’ve been working on this?” Kelly said, pleased. She hadn’t been sure if the story had enough merit for a reporter to pursue it.
“That part of the parade, where the Krymanskis marched, holding photographs of Claypool . . . that said something. I looked at Stark’s face while they marched by. He didn’t like it. He couldn’t do anything about it, they hadn’t asked for permission. But that photograph makes it a story.” He shifted his posture and the cameras around his neck shifted with him. “Mrs. Stark called the office. She thought it showed poor judgement to run that photo. She said it was unfair to the ‘poor dead veteran’ who had committed suicide and couldn’t rest in peace because our newspaper made him part of the story.”
“What did you say?”
“I apologized for creating that impression. I told her we were trying to highlight the plight of all the veterans. A lot of them do commit suicide, at least the younger ones.”
“Did she believe you?”
“There was no reason for her not to. It was the truth. That’s the bill I had spoken to Keith about—a mental health funding bill for veterans.”
“The photograph of her and Chief Stark on the grandstand with Representative Eldredge must have pleased her.”
“She thanked me for that,” Doug said. “She said that it was good for people to see how dedicated her husband and Representative Eldredge are to the people in this community.”
“Uh-huh.”
Doug grinned. “Kelly Armello, you’re not turning into a cynic, are you? Leave that to me; it works better on a journalist than it does a librarian. So, to recap, there’s nothing on the abduction of Mason Shaw; there’s nothing on Eddie Kavlick.”
“No,” Kelly said. “Not yet. Everything seems so ephemeral, but I’m sure there’s a connection.”
“I don’t doubt it. Just keep chipping away, Kel.”
Kelly was looking forward to seeing Troy so that she could relay Doug’s information to him. It wasn’t much, but at least they knew that the staff member would not have been involved in any plot to let his own car be stolen. But Representative Eldredge was aware of when Rigowski was going to be on vacation. She wondered how Troy was doing on his investigation into Eddie Kavlick. With no leads and no real sources to follow, Troy had a harder path to travel.
Troy was surprised that there was so little current information on Kavlick. He had lived in Apple Ridge, that much of the information Art Speering had obtained when he registered him for the Memorial Day program was accurate. But when Troy drove to Apple Ridge to learn more, he found that no one seemed to know Kavlick. The address on his driver’s license took Troy to an empty lot. The neighbors in the area said they didn’t know Kavlick.
The police force consisted of two part-time officers; the state police covered most of their calls, Troy was told. But the address on Kavlick’s license, which itself was three years old, was for a transient area of the town where people came and went without putting down roots.
Would it be worth going to Punxsutawney, Troy wondered, where Kavlick had been connected to Travis Shaw’s dubious connections? He decided that it would, but on his own time.
Kelly was up for a Saturday trip to Punxsutawney after they had their weekly run on the Trail, followed by breakfast. They each went home to shower and change, and Troy picked Kelly up an hour later.
Punxsutawney looked very different to Kelly than it had on Groundhog Day, when the town streets were teeming with tourists who had come for the festivities. It was a quiet town, its groundhog statues giving a quirky ambience to the surroundings.
“So how do we find out about Eddie Kavlick?” she asked.
“First we try the police station. Then we try the state police. I met with Trooper Cavendish when the Knesbit murder was being investigated. If I don’t have any luck with the locals, I’ll go there.”
When they first arrived at the local police department office, the door was locked, and no cars were in the lot. They sat on the bench in front of the municipal building and waited. After half an hour, a police car drove up. The officer parked and got out.
“What can I do for you folks?” he asked as he got out of the car and nearer to the office.
Troy introduced himself and Kelly. He didn’t explain why she was with him, knowing that the officer would assume she was his girlfriend. It was simpler than explaining that Kelly was helping him find a murderer. And he didn’t mind if anyone thought she was his girlfriend.
“Eddie Kavlick?” the officer repeated as he punched in the security code so that they could enter the station. “Haven’t seen him in a while. And I don’t want to. Why are you looking for him?”
“He got into some trouble in Settler Springs and now no one seems to know where he is. I thought I’d try his former stomping grounds. What can you tell me about him?”
“Ex-Marine. More brawn than brains, likes to fight, isn’t afraid to get rough . . . he used to be Travis Shaw’s enforcer before Shaw ended up in prison. Shaw was heavy
into the local drug operation. A lot of money. Kavlick made sure that Shaw got what was owed to him. He moved out of Punxsy before Shaw did. I don’t know where he ended up and I don’t care, as long as he stays away.”
“He ended up in a town called Apple Ridge. Ever hear of it?”
The policeman, who had introduced himself as Neal Brock, shook his head. “No, but there are a lot of small towns in Pennsylvania. If Kavlick went there, trouble probably followed.”
“Did he and Shaw have a falling out?”
“Not as far as I know. He just moved on.
“Who ran the drug trade around here?”
Officer Brock wore a defeated expression on his face. “We’ve never been able to find out,” he said. “When we do manage to catch someone who’s one level up from the bottom-feeders, they don’t talk.”
“Does that tell you anything?”
“Yeah, it tells me that whoever is running the racket is important enough to scare
the people on the lower rungs.”
“No clues at all?”
“I told you, nobody talks.”
“You heard about Travis Shaw’s interview on TV, where he said he was forced to confess to the murder that he now says he didn’t commit?”
Brock nodded. “I heard the interview,” he said. “Shaw is setting up the apparatus to get off the rap. And someone is helping him. Someone higher up and important.”
25
No Leads
Kelly was pensive when they left the police station. Troy decided there was no need to stop and ask the state police what they knew. Officer Brock had been forthcoming and candid. He was convinced that the drug operation in Punxsutawney was bigger than the police knew and that whoever was behind it had created a local network of workers that covered a lot more territory than just the nearby towns.
“Now what do we do?” she asked once they were back on the road.
“I can swing by the state police station when we’re closer to home and find out if there’s anything new. Trooper Callahan might be working. If she is . . . maybe she’ll have something. You can come in with me.”
Trooper Callahan was working, and she was alone. Her expression didn’t change when Troy entered the office, and the scrutiny she gave Kelly revealed nothing.
“This is Kelly Armello; she’s the person who found the bike and Mason Shaw after he was abducted.”
“Kavlick isn’t anywhere to be found. He’s known to law enforcement all over the area, but no one has anything on him.”
“Is anyone looking for him?” Troy asked bluntly.
“I’ve been—” she interrupted herself when the door opened and two state policemen came in. Troy recognized both of them. Trooper Davies gave him a half wave in greeting; the other officer, Trooper Meigle, wasn’t quite as welcoming.
“I hope you aren’t checking into another death and claiming it’s a murder,” Meigle said. “We’re busy enough as it is.”
Kelly was aware of Troy’s instinctive response, but she was relieved that he didn’t lose his temper. “I stopped by to see if anyone had found Kavlick,” Troy said. “He abducted a child, and no one seems to want to do anything about it.”
“I heard about it. The kid wanted to stay out of trouble with his folks, so he made up a story about someone taking him. Kids do things like that.”
“Not this kid,” Kelly spoke up, drawn into the conversation in defense of Mason.
“He’s not a liar and he’s not the kind of kid who likes to stir things up.”
“His mother is a drug addict, right? Maybe her dealer took him. Maybe the dealer was trying to teach her a lesson.”
“His mother is clean.”
Officer Meigle’s expression was derisive. “For a while, maybe. But not for long. They can’t stay away from it.”
“She has!” Kelly declared hotly. “She has a job and she’s trying to live her life the right way.”
“Maybe she’d have a better chance of doing that if her father wasn’t forcing confessions out of people like Shaw,” Meigle said. “Look, we have work to do and we can’t be wasting time following fake crimes out of Settler Springs. Chief Stark is back now, and he’ll have things in order. Let him do his job and don’t get in the way.”
Kelly was surprised that Troy didn’t object. He gave the officers a curt nod and held the door open for Kelly as they walked out of the station.
“Do state police always know so much about the towns they cover?” Kelly asked when they were on the highway once more.
“They have to know a lot,” Troy said, “because they’re called on so often when local forces don’t have the manpower.”
“Why was he so hostile?” she asked. “He sounded like you’re the problem and Chief Stark is the solution.”
“Maybe that’s what he thinks.”
Kelly was silent. The silence went on long enough for Troy to turn his head to look at her as she stared out the window, her forehead furrowed in thought.
“What do you think?’
“I just think it’s strange that he was so dismissive of what you told him, and when he said you’re making up murders and Chief Stark is going to make things right . . . that just doesn’t seem right.”
Troy smiled wearily. “I appreciate the vote of confidence,” he told her.
“It’s not a vote of confidence, Troy. Wouldn’t you think he’d be wondering why so many things are happening in Settler Springs now? Drugs, murders, a supposed suicide in a stolen car, and he’s not the least bit curious?”
“You heard him. He thinks these things happened because Stark wasn’t in charge. Now that Stark is back, he’s claiming that everything will return to normal.”
“But normal was Scotty Stark dealing drugs,” she persisted. “And you and I both know that his father knew. Travis Shaw gets a TV interview and we find out later that the Starks are campaign donors to Representative Eldredge. Someone keeps harassing Mia Shaw. They’ve gotten Leo out of the police force, so he’s not there to protect Mia or know when something is going on. Mia is frightened for her kids. If they frighten her enough, she’ll say whatever Travis Shaw wants her to say when his case comes to trial. They can make it sound like she’s a vengeful ex-wife and her credibility will be so destroyed that any testimony she gives won’t be worth anything. They’ll pin a robbery on Travis Shaw and the murder will go unsolved.”
“Maybe.”
“Troy, you know that what I’m saying makes sense,” Kelly said urgently. “The pieces all fit.”
“Maybe.”
“Troy, why are you acting like we didn’t learn anything? I think we did, and I think we need to pursue it. Doug is already following up leads. We can’t just leave him to do it on his own.”
“Doug can take care of himself. And I can take care of myself. But I don’t want you dragged into this. If Stark and his gang think that you’re working against them, they might start harassing you like they’re harassing Mia Shaw.” Why had he let Kelly come into the office with him? Why hadn’t he told her to stay in the car? Meigle might not have noticed her if she was in the parking lot waiting, and he certainly wouldn’t have gotten a good enough look at her to be able to identify her. If Kelly was in any danger, it was Troy’s fault.
“Mrs. Stark is more than enough harassment,” Kelly told him. “Do you think I’m going to swoon or fall into a faint because Chief Stark might put a dead rat in the book drop?”
Despite himself, Troy had to smile. She was indignant at the thought that she could be frightened off. “No, Kelly,” he said. “I don’t think you’re the kind of woman who’d faint easily. That’s just it. You’ll defend someone who’s innocent with your last ounce of strength. You won’t let up; I know that from the way you defended Lucas when everyone else was perfectly willing to let him go to jail for a murder there was no way he could have committed.”
“It’s not wrong to want to defend someone who’s innocent.”
“No, of course not. The judicial syste
m is built on that. But Stark, and maybe Meigle, and maybe others that we don’t know, aren’t going to admire you for your values. Stark is back in control and that means he’s going to put a lid on everything until Shaw’s trial. He’s already cast doubts on the confession and made Leo an unreliable witness. They’re working on Mia. If they target you, it could mean your job.”
“My job isn’t me.”
“It’s a big part of who you are.”
“Pull the car over and park,” she ordered him. “I need to talk, and I can’t do it while you’re looking at the road.”
“Kelly—”
“Pull over,” she said again.
“Temperamental redhead,” he murmured, but he did as she asked, turning into a grocery store parking lot and turning off the car. “Okay, what do you want to say?”
“I love my job. I love what I do for a living. But right is right and wrong is wrong and I feel the same way about finding Sean’s murderer—let me finish—as I did about finding the person who killed Tyra Cardew and left Lucas looking guilty.”
“You play rough,” Troy said after he’d gotten his response under control.
“I’m not playing, Troy, and neither are they. They’re going to do whatever they have to do to get Travis Shaw off on a lesser sentence. Robbery rather than murder. Dealing drugs rather than murder. They’ve put Leo out of commission and they’re going to do the same to Mia and she’ll be easy because she’s vulnerable. She’s a former addict; that makes her questionable from the start. They can control her by threatening her kids. They’ve already done it. You already know all this.”
“Kelly, you don’t want to get involved in this,” he said. “You don’t—I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
He looked away. He was vulnerable now, too, if Stark and his group suspected that he had feelings for Kelly. He needed to make sure that no one suspected that he was more emotionally involved with the Settler Springs librarian than anyone knew.