Mystery at the Fair

by Connie Cockrell

  "So you're doing nothing?" The Mayor's voice squeaked.

  Nick's hand gripped the handset harder. "We're talking to persons of interest, we're examining evidence, we're talking to Ina's family to try and identify her timeline."

  The Mayor took a deep breath. "I can sympathize with the process, Nick. But people want to know that something is being done."

  "I appreciate your concern, Mayor. But I can't go any faster than the technicians can process evidence." Can you give me a break, Ed? He was probably calling from his dry cleaning business, Nick thought as he checked the wall clock. He probably had people coming in all day talking about the murder and he was getting nervous.

  "I'm glad you can see my point of view, Nick. You'll call me as soon as you know something?"

  Nick closed his eyes again. He'd never said he saw the man's point of view. "As soon as I can, Ed. As soon as I can."

  Nick hung up and looked at the report in front of him. The coroner had put in a call to Phoenix for help. He just wasn't qualified to examine a body in such a state. It would be a day or more before anyone could come and help him. The evidence was being sorted slowly. Everything in the container had to be removed, tagged, logged, and the first thing to be fingerprinted was the double-door cabinet the body had fallen from. He snapped a finger against the report. Of course it had Arris's fingerprints on it. It also had fingerprints from pretty much everyone else in the county. Not Ms. Hays's prints though. I guess she's too new. She's spunky, that's for sure. Must be that military background.

  He'd had her background run right after she came to his office. Twenty years in the Air Force, a project planner. Figures she'd pick up volunteer work like the fair. Gutsy, coming in here like that. He had considered Paul's suggestion that he help her out. He wanted to; his aunt had her prize roses entered in the fair. He shook his head. He just couldn't do it. First things had to be examined first, though the tubs had been close to the cabinet. They were up to be examined next.

  Nick slapped the folder shut and tossed it in the Out box. Greta would retrieve it and bring it back full of information that told him nothing. He drummed his fingers on the desk. Arris could only tell the police that he and Ina had quarreled and he'd thought she took a trip. Time to check out Arris some more. His timeline was the next priority after Ina's.

  He picked up the phone and punched some numbers into the dial. "Paul, get a guy on Arris's timeline. The last eight months. If he isn't the killer, maybe someone he or Ina knew well is."

  "Sure, Nick. You want me to expand the search?"

  "Yeah, let's expand the search. What if Arris is being set up? He might be one of the victims here."

  The line was quiet for a moment. "Treading a fine line there, buddy. Some people might think you're protecting the guy."

  Nick's boot tapped the floor under his desk. "Let them think. I'm not gonna railroad the man just because the Mayor wants an instant killer."

  "Fair enough. I'll get on it."

  Nick hung up. He was going to get flak for this, but he didn't care.

  Chapter Eleven

  At five pm, exhibit entries were still slow. "It's just the calm before the storm," Karen told Jean. Jean had stopped by Karen's department to see how it was going. "I let my volunteers go for half an hour to catch a break. How are you doing? Any more electrical problems?"

  "No," Jean laughed. "One a day is sufficient. No problems over here?"

  "Not a one." She looked up and down the building and in a low voice said, "I have an idea."

  Jean's interest was piqued. "About?"

  "Don't be a goose, Jean. About Ina's murder." The two women met at the end of Karen's processing table. "Look, I have a cousin, second cousin actually, who lives over in Rancho Verde. He knows one of Ina's lovers from before Arris."

  Jean nodded. "And?"

  "I say that after we get done here, we trot on over to my cousin's house and see what he knows."

  Jean didn't feel good about this plan. "And then what? We question him and he says so and so was Ina's lover, then we just go knock on the guy's door?"

  "Yeah!" Karen was beaming. "Isn't this a great idea?"

  Jean's eyebrow arched. "Well, no, not exactly. I mean, what if your cousin doesn't really know anything and we knock on some crazy guy's door? We could get killed."

  Karen's eyes rolled. "No one is going to hurt us. This isn't Washington, D.C."

  "I don't know, Karen." Jean thought about some of the places she'd been on projects for the Air Force. Places where you could get mugged for your sack lunch. "It sounds risky."

  "Nonsense. My cousin will tell us if it's all right to visit whoever it is. Come on. Let's investigate."

  Jean studied Karen's excited face. She sighed. This sounded like something for the police to look into but after hearing so much about Ina and Arris over the afternoon, her interest was piqued. "I guess. Meet me at the middle door when everyone is done. I have to shut stuff off and lock up."

  Karen whooped. "Yes! This is going to be so much fun."

  Jean snorted at Karen's enthusiasm. "Sure. A barrel of laughs."

  Chapter Twelve

  While the rest of the Exhibits building was busy with people dropping off their entries, she pulled the card for Chief White's office out of her pocket. She dialed the number on her cell phone. Greta picked up. "Hi Greta, this is Jean Hays, we spoke yesterday?"

  "Yes, Ms. Hays. I remember. What can I do for you?"

  "Please, call me Jean. We're taking in a lot of exhibits. Is there any way to get my ribbon bins for tomorrow?" She crossed her fingers.

  "I'm sorry, Jean, but everything is still in the lab. Should I get Chief White for you?"

  He shoulders slumped. Memories of her last conversation with him flew through her mind. "No, no, thanks anyway. No need to bother the Chief. Look, if you can, would you call me as soon as the bins are released?"

  Greta laughed. "Yes, I'll do what I can. My husband has a woodworking project he's entering as soon as he gets out of work. He'd hate not to have a ribbon."

  "Thank you, Greta. I appreciate it."

  "Good luck, Jean." She clicked off.

  Jean turned her phone over and over in her hand. After a few moments she dialed Arris.

  "Hello?"

  "Arris, it's Jean. Sorry to bother you."

  "Not a bother, Jean. What's the problem?"

  Jean watched several people come into the building through the middle door and from both end doors. Lines were forming at the tables in every department. She put a hand over one ear to hear the call over the cacophony of voices. "It doesn't look as though the bins will be released. Did you call Gila County?"

  "Yeah, sorry, I just got off the phone with my friend over there. They can supply the ribbons for the Exhibits building. I know that Jason Lerner, the VP of Livestock, has everything he needs for the livestock and horse competitions."

  A wave of relief washed over Jean. "That's great, Arris. Can you go get them?"

  "No, sorry, Jean. I'm sort of restricted to town at the moment."

  "Oh," she stammered, her face suddenly flushed. "Of course."

  "I'll give you my friend's name and number and you can call him to meet and get the ribbons."

  "Wonderful. Wait, let me get a pen and paper."

  She took down the information and sighed. "I'm so sorry about this, Arris. What a disaster."

  "No worries. I know I didn't do it. I'm going to help Nick with whatever I can."

  Jean was surprised. "You know Chief White?"

  "Of course, I was his 4-H leader back in the day. The boy raised some mighty fine beef. He's a good man. He'll be fair."

  I should have figured. "I'm glad you have confidence in him, Arris. He treated me like rotten cheese."

  Arris laughed. "Yeah, he's a hometown boy. Came home as soon as he finished college. He did well, summa cum laude in Criminal Justice."

  Her mouth fell open. "I didn't know. I'll remember that, Arris. Take it easy, okay?"


  "Sure. Remember to call me if there's a problem. I heard you handled the electrical problem just fine."

  "You heard about that?"

  He laughed again. "Small town, Jean. Small town." He hung up.

  Jean clicked off. I have to remember everyone knows everything in a small town. She checked the number she wrote and dialed. Time to set up getting those ribbons.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nick stood on the stoop outside Arris Van Horn's house. The place hadn't changed much from when he was a boy coming here for 4-H meetings. The porch had been expanded to cover the entire front of the log cabin instead of just a small roof over the door. The landscaping had matured. Arris's first wife had planted roses which he kept up despite Analise's attempts to have them removed. They were well shaped and had been deadheaded recently. Arris's pick-up truck was parked in front of the separate garage, also log-built. He remembered the huge stack of ponderosa pine Arris had piled near the spot where the garage now stood. The man had built it himself with a little help from friends and using the wood from his own property.

  Nick had always admired that kind of self-sufficiency. Forest green shutters were hooked open and freshly painted. Arris wasn't the kind of man to let things slide. That was the main reason Nick didn't think he had anything to do with Ina's death.

  The door opened. "Nick! Good to see you, son." Arris held out his hand.

  Nick shook it. "Sorry to intrude, Arris, but I have to ask you some questions."

  "Not a problem, Nick. Come on in. Coffee?"

  Nick stepped in and closed the door behind him. "Yeah, that would be good." He looked around. Even though Arris didn't have a wife, everything was clean and orderly. The curtains were neat and open. The coffee table was dust free, magazines stacked neatly at one end except for one that was lying open. He followed Arris to the kitchen.

  It was just as he had remembered it. A big table that could seat ten people sat in front of a bay window looking out to the back yard and the barn. A stove was mounted in the island where a coffee pot was plugged in and half full.

  Arris pulled a couple of mugs out of the cupboard. "Milk? Sugar?"

  "Yeah. Thanks."

  Arris opened the fridge and retrieved a carton of half and half. Then he opened the cupboard opposite the range and picked up a ceramic sugar bowl, which he put on the island next to the coffee pot. "Sorry you had to drive way out here." Arris lived north of town, half-way up the Moggollon rim in a small community of ranchers.

  "It's just a few minutes' drive, Arris."

  "I thought your friend Paul had already asked all the questions you had." He poured coffee into each mug then pushed one toward Nick. He got a spoon out of a drawer next to the sink and handed it to Nick.

  "He did. I have some more." Nick put a spoon of sugar in his mug, then a splash of half and half. He stirred. "Tell me about you and Ina."

  Arris picked up his mug and sat down at the table. He sipped his coffee as he looked out the window at a pair of horses grazing in the field next to the barn. "Not much to tell. We got along well, went dancing. Had some fun."

  Nick followed him over and sat at the end of the table so he could see Arris's face. "That's it? You just had fun? What was the argument about?"

  After another sip he said, "I don't want to tell tales, Nick. It's over. What does it matter now?"

  Nick saw the sadness on his mentor's face. "I have to ask, Arris. It's the only way I can clear your name. What was the argument about?"

  Arris ran his hand over his brush-cut gray hair. "Have you talked to Ina's family?"

  "We are." He sipped his coffee. It was a little cold. "But let me get the info from you."

  "She gambled. You might know that already."

  Nick nodded encouragement. He hadn't known that.

  "The Apaches put that casino in twenty years ago. Ina loved it. It wasn't a big deal at first. I'd seen her there myself, back in the day. But it wasn't until I started stepping out with her that I realized she had a problem."

  "I understand." Nick did understand. The casino was great for the tribe but it was hell on wheels for some of the people in the community that couldn't seem to leave it alone. A good bit of the crime in town came from people robbing convenience stores and ripping off open cars for cash to pay gambling debts. "So what happened?

  "I mentioned it a few times, how I noticed she had no food in the house or when she borrowed money from me to pay the light bill." He shook his head. "I sat down with her just before she disappeared and tried to get her to get some help." He stared out at the horses again. "She had a melt-down. She threw a candy dish at me, screamed and cried. I felt terrible."

  "Where did this happen, Arris?"

  "Her house. I was there to pick her up to go dancing. A couple of the tribe were just leaving. When she answered the door she was in tears. I asked her what the tribe people were doing at her door. That's when it all came apart." He drank again. "I left after she threw me out. Called me judgmental, as bad as her family." Arris turned to Nick. "I wasn't judging her, Nick. But she had a gambling problem. I was trying to help."

  Nick saw the man's eyes go red with unshed tears. "I'm sorry, Arris. She wasn't the only one in town with a problem." He saw Arris shrug. "And you didn't see her again?"

  "No." Arris shook his head. "I tried to call her for a few days but I kept getting her machine. Then I got a message that the machine was full and couldn't take any more messages. I didn't know what else to do. I stopped by a few times and knocked on the door. I asked around but no one had seen her. I figured she'd just decided to take one of those long cruises she always talked about."

  "I'm sorry, Arris."

  "I should have done more."

  "I'll talk to her family, see what they can tell me about any problems she had with the gambling. I'll check the phone records, too. You know, to verify your story."

  Arris just nodded.

  Nick stood up. "I don't think you did this horrible thing, Arris. But I have to check."

  Arris slid his chair back and stood. He walked Nick to the door. "I know you do, son." When Nick stepped out onto the porch he said, "Just find out who did this, would you?"

  "I will, Arris." Nick walked back to his SUV. He definitely wanted to talk to her family. Then the casino. Was the casino strong-arming delinquent debtors? He'd have to look into that.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was after seven pm when Jean locked the door to the Exhibits building. "That was quite a rush of people at the end," she told Karen.

  "Happens every year. We say we close at six, and then fifty people rush in at five fifty-nine. I don't usually mind; they're getting off work and stuff. But today we want to get out and we get more at the last minute than usual."

  The two women walked to the cars. Jean was grateful for the fresh air. As soon as the sun went down it began cooling off. It was a pleasant eighty degrees right now. She could hear the livestock in the livestock barns and kids playing music. A lot of laughter floated through the air. "They're having fun."

  "Yep. They're here till Sunday night, when they load their market animals onto the slaughter truck. Then there'll be tears. Poor things. But right now they're excited and ready to show their animals."

  Jean nodded to the security guard. Now that there were valuables in the Exhibit Building, they'd hired someone to keep an eye on things. He locked the gate behind them. Once in the car, Jean asked, "Want to get something to eat? We can hit a drive-thru and eat on the way."

  "Great idea."

  Fifteen minutes later Jean was driving east on Highway 620, heading for Rancho Verde. They ate quietly. Karen gathered up the paper trash and stuffed it in one of the takeout bags. "Just toss it behind my seat, I'll clean it out later," Jean instructed Karen as she wiped her hands on the last napkin. "What's your cousin's name?"

  Karen settled back into her seat. "Ari Robertson. His mother is of Greek descent and she named him for some uncle of hers."

  "And how did you know
to call him about Ina?" Jean adjusted her rear view-mirror to cut the glare from following cars.

  "I called around. Friends, cousins, neighbors, anyone I could think of. Ari said he may know something and I told him I'd bring you down."

  "Ah. I just wondered."

  The two women spent the rest of the trip talking about the day's events on the fairgrounds. It took them half an hour to get to Rancho Verde. Karen directed Jean to her cousin's house.

  They parked in the driveway and got out of the car. "Geesh, must be ninety down here."

  "Yeah, they're three thousand feet lower than Greyson. It's more desert here. That's why the river was such a big deal to early ranchers."

  Jean looked at the house. It was a manufactured home set on a barren spot of land. There were no trees around the house for shade, though a few cactuses were scattered around the yard. Lights showed through the living-room and kitchen windows. "Let's get this done." Jean felt a little ridiculous for doing this. She wasn't a cop but it just bugged her that Arris was being railroaded. She followed her friend to the door. Karen rang the doorbell.

  It was opened by a man holding a two-year-old child, a girl by the look of her pajamas. "Hey, Karen. Glad to see you." The girl stared at them with big brown eyes and her thumb and forefinger stuck in her mouth. "Come on in."

  Once inside, Karen made introductions. "Ari, this is my friend Jean. Jean, my cousin Ari and," she grinned at the baby, "my newest cousin, Lea." She cooed at the baby.

  "Nice to meet you, Ari, Lea." Jean smiled at the girl. She didn't hold out her arms or try to touch her. It had bugged her no end when her boy, Jim, was poked and grabbed as a baby.

  "Want coffee or something?" He shifted the child to the other arm.

  "No, we just ate. Thank you though," Jean told him.

  "Come on into the kitchen."

  As they followed him she noticed that the floor was covered with toys, but otherwise it was a nice little house. Art hung on the walls, photographs of family seemed to cover every horizontal surface. "Sorry about the mess," Ari said as he sat down at the island counter. "My wife has a craft project all over the table. Are you sure I can't get you something?"