A Lesson in Murder

by Nick Bishop

  “Please let him talk, Mr. Briner,” one of the cops said.

  “If you insist.”

  The cop nodded. “Go ahead, sir,” he told Jim.

  “My wife was valedictorian of her class…for all the good it did. Like me, she wanted more. But her family was too poor to help her with college. Oh, sure, she could have worked and gone to school, one or the other part-time. But she felt guilty. Her family needed money. Her dad was disabled, and her mom had to take care of him full-time.”

  “I don’t see how you and your wife’s lack of opportunity has any bearing on the murder of my son-in-law. Is it because Joe came from worse circumstances than you and your wife and yet managed to pull himself up? Is it a simple matter of jealousy?”

  “Because neither my wife nor I were able to further our educations, we were determined that our children would be able to go on. It would be hard but somehow we’d do it.”

  “It seems to me, you’re just rambling,” Briner said.

  “You think I did it because of the way I feel about education!” Jim’s face was filled with disbelief. “Well, I didn’t. I may go a little overboard about going on to school, but for God’s sake, I’d never kill anyone.” He glanced at the other workers. “You guys know how I feel about weapons. I’m against them. Totally. How many of you have asked me to go hunting?”

  Many of the other men nodded.

  “And I refused you, didn’t I?”

  “I remember,” one of the said, “how strongly you were against hunting. How you railed against guns.”

  “That’s right,” another said. “You always said that if guns were outlawed, none of the school shootings would have happened.”

  “Sometimes I wondered,” the first man said, “what made you feel so strongly, then I started to think it was funny.”

  “I know. I don’t blame you. Any of you. I just want everyone to understand how I feel about hunting and weapons in general.”

  “So you snapped,” Briner said. “When you came to the house and saw the bow in Joe’s car, you couldn’t help yourself.”

  “No! I would never kill anyone under any circumstances.”

  “So you say,” Briner continued.

  “Okay,” Jed said, “this has gone far enough.”

  “Do you know something we don’t?” Sam asked.

  “Let me ask a few questions, Sam, that I think will clear things up.”

  “Okay with you two?” Sam asked as he turned toward the other two cops.

  “Fine,” the first one said.

  “Why not?” the second answered.

  “Do you know the approximate time Joe was murdered?” he asked Jim.

  “It was when he was on his way to school, from what I hear,” Jim answered.

  “That’s right.”

  “And what time would that have been?”

  “I would guess somewhere between seven thirty and a quarter to eight since school starts at eight”

  “At least that’s what the Dover police have determined.” He turned back to Jim. “What time do you usually get to work in the morning?”

  “Work starts at seven. I try to be a few minutes early.”

  “And were you late to work the day Mr. Johnstone was murdered?”’

  “No, I wasn’t.”

  “Did anyone notice if Jim was late to work any time during the past couple of weeks?”

  “I certainly don’t remember his being late,” one of the men answered.

  “He was never late,” someone else said.

  “And the rest of you?” Jed asked.

  The men shook their heads.

  “So if Joe were murdered on his way to school, that means Jim couldn’t have done it, right? Why? Because he was already at work and had been for at least half an hour.”

  “Something certainly doesn’t fit,” Sam said.

  Jed looked toward Briner. “Who else was at your house the day before Joe was murdered.”

  “No one that I know of.”

  “If that’s true, who could the murderer be? Who took the bow from Joe’s car and later used it to murder him?”

  “It could have been anyone, I suppose,” Briner answered. “As I said, Helen becomes so involved in working with the plants that she tends to block out everything else.”

  “That’s fine,” Jed answered. “But who could have visited your house that had the motive to murder your son-in-law?”

  “That’s for the police to figure out, I suppose,” Briner said. “And unless there’s something Helen and I aren’t aware of, there was no one!”

  “What do you mean?” Sam asked.

  “Are you accusing someone in particular?” Briner asked.

  “Wait a minute?” Jim said. “You’re not thinking Gary did this? Because he wasn’t in school the morning Mr. Johnstone was killed? We told you why he wasn’t.”

  “But we all know, Jim, that Gary wasn’t telling the truth.”

  “I admit he wasn’t. But I didn’t know that when I talked with you and Mrs. Steiner.”

  “So where was Gary at the time?”

  “He was in Dover. At least around nine that morning.”

  “Around nine?”

  “Then he’s the one,” Briner said. “I just knew it. Your son is as crazy as you are.”

  “Just wait a minute, Mr. Briner,” Jed said.

  “Wait a minute? Absolutely not. I want you to arrest this man’s son immediately.”

  “Jed, what’s going on?” Sam asked.

  “Bear with me a minute, Sam.”

  “A minute. No more.”

  “Jim,” Jed said. “Will you tell us where your son was that morning and why he missed school.”

  Jim let out a long breath. “He was at a computer store in Dover. Something I’m sure he can prove.”

  “And why is that?” Jed asked.

  “He’s saved enough money from his part-time job to put money down on one. It was the laptop he really wanted. It was the only one in stock, and he wasn’t sure the store would be getting any others. That’s why he didn’t want to wait until he’d saved all the money to buy it.”

  “How does that explain why he missed half a day of school?” Sam asked.

  “Gary put the money down during the summer to hold it. My wife and I didn’t know it at the time, but the manager of the store called Gary to tell him someone else wanted the computer—which was the only one of that kind in stock—and if he didn’t finish paying for it, they have to sell it to the other person and refund what Gary had paid.”

  “Why didn’t your son just make payments?”

  “They wouldn’t give him credit. Said he was too young.”

  “Then why didn’t he ask you to help him out?”

  “He said he didn’t want to bother us.”

  “So from what I discovered one of Gary’s friends—not the one he was with when he was falsely arrested—has a car but doesn’t drive it to school. He also ditched classes that morning to take Gary for the computer. Gary had saved enough money and was waiting for the weekend to get the laptop.”

  “Where is this going?” Sam asked.

  Jed ignored him. “When he heard Ellie and I were assisting in the investigation, he called me. That was last night, so he and I are the only ones who know this. The boy told me what had happened. He said he kept the laptop at his house until Gary talked to his parents.”

  “So,” Ellie said, “if he bought the computer in Dover, he probably passed right by Joe’s car on the way into town and maybe on the way back.”

  “That’s right.”

  “If neither Bochart nor his son is guilty, who is?” Sam asked.

  “I think you’d better ask Mr. Briner,” Jed said.

  “What are you talking about!” Briner said. “I have no idea who killed Joe!”

  “Oh, but I think you do.”

  Briner’s face turned red. “You think I’m lying, do you?”

  “I know you’re lying.”

  “What’s going o
n, Jed?” Sam asked. “If you know who killed Mr. Johnstone, please tell us.”

  Jed turned to Briner. “You’re looking at him right now.”

  “You’re accusing me of killing my own son-in-law!?” Briner said.

  “Because you’re the one who did it.”

  “You’re insane.”

  “Your wife didn’t need potting soil that day, did she?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Briner asked.

  “I’ll bet she never even called you.” Jed turned to Sam. “Oh, Mr. Briner was devious! He knew that if the police found potting soil in the tracks at the scene, they’d try to figure out who could have left the residue. And he was right. It led to Jim Bochart.”

  Jed faced Briner. “Oh, you thought you were being meticulous in your planning, didn’t you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The fact is that you’re the one who had potting soil on your tires.” He turned to Sam. “He murdered his son-in-law and then tried to make us believe Mr. Bochart did it. What he didn’t know is that Jim didn’t take his car to deliver the soil.” He looked toward Jim. “You didn’t, did you?”

  “You’re right. I didn’t. It was such a beautiful morning I decided to walk to work and leave the car at home. In fact, Gary said he considered taking it to pick up the computer…but decided that if I found out, he’d just get into more trouble.

  “And so you walked to Briner’s house with the bag of potting soil.”

  “Yes.”

  “And Mrs. Briner saw you and offered you a glass of iced tea, didn’t she?”

  “She did indeed.”

  “This is all fabrication!” Briner said. “Not a bit of truth to it.”

  “Oh, but you’re wrong. Your wife did notice Jim after all. And she told your daughter about it, didn’t she?”

  “You’re the one who’s telling such a preposterous story!”

  “Admit it, Briner, you murdered Joe because he wouldn’t do what you wanted. He refused to give up teaching. And you couldn’t handle that. Especially since, in your own words, he came from the wrong side of the tracks. Because of this you felt he should be grateful for anything you offered him…like a partnership in the business.”

  “What if I did kill him!?”

  “What if you did?” Sam asked, his tone incredulous.

  “He never was suitable for my daughter. We didn’t raise her to marry someone like Joe Johnstone.”

  “Mr. Briner,” Sam said. “You’re under arrest for the murder of your son-in-law Joseph Johnstone.”

  “I’m not sorry he’s dead. Laura never should have married him.”

  “Tell me, Mr. Briner,” Jed said. “How did you arrange for Joe to meet you the morning you shot him?”

  “Easy. I told him I found the bow lying in the driveway, that it must have fallen from the car.”

  “But why meet him there instead of giving it to him later?” Jed asked.

  “Again, it was easy. I told him I had to go to Dover that morning for a meeting with someone interested in selling our cheese.”

  “But didn’t he wonder why you wanted to meet him out in the middle of nowhere? I mean he could easily have picked up the bow at your house…if what you’d told him had been true.”

  “He did protest! But I told him I knew how important his archery equipment was to him, and I didn’t want to risk anything happening to it. Of course, he argued. But I persisted, and he agreed to meet me.”

  “Mr. Briner,” Sam said.

  “Arrest me. At least my daughter won’t have to live with such an unsuitable husband anymore.”

  Epilogue

  Jed and Sara sat on the sofa in the living room, a bowl of popcorn in front of them, a cat on each of their laps.

  “Not fair,” Sara said, “I want to hold both of them.”

  “What about me?” Jed asked.

  “You get to cuddle all the time. I get to only occasionally.”

  “Tell you what. Halfway through the movie, we’ll switch. That way you’ll get to hold each of them.”

  “Hmmm,” Sara considered the matter. “If that’s the best you can offer…”

  “You know,” Jed said, “if you moved in, you could hold Sugar and/or Spice any time you want.”

  “That is a thought, isn’t it?”

  Jed was surprised. “It is!”

  “One I’d certainly have to ponder.”

  “And how long will this pondering take, do you think?”

  “That’s something else I’ll have to ponder before I do any other pondering.”

  “Seriously,” Jed said. “You’d consider it.”

  “Uhhh. Consider, yes. But…”

  “But what?”

  “I love you, Jed. I do. But that’s a pretty big step, isn’t it? I mean one of us would have to move.”

  “Well, since I already own the house—at least the bank and I do—and you’re renting your condo…”

  “I see your point. But my lease won’t be up for several months, you know.”

  “You’re an attorney! Surely, you can find a way to break a lease.”

  “On the other hand, I’m an ethical attorney.”

  “I see.”

  “Like I said, I ponder, you ponder, Spice and Sugar ponder. We ponder…”

  “Okay, Okay.”

  “You mind if we talk a little bit first about what happened.”

  “The murder, you mean?”

  “Yes.”

  “What would you like to talk about?”

  “It seems so absurd to me that Harry Briner would kill his son-in-law!”

  “He couldn’t accept that Joe wouldn’t work for him, I guess.”

  “Why was that so important to him?”

  “He’s a snob. He kept insisting that his daughter had married someone unsuitable.”

  “My God,” Sara said, “this is the twenty-first century, and we’re in America where there’s supposed to be equality. Where everyone should have a chance. Where people are supposed to be able to do whatever they want, no matter their backgrounds.”

  “But I bet some people would agree with Briner. Upper class versus lower class. To a lot of people, such a thing matters.”

  “Unfortunately, I think you’re right.”

  “But then why did he keep insisting that Joe work with him?”

  “He told the police that being a partner in and then owning an established business like Briner House would give him respectability, would raise his standard of living. Then his background wouldn’t matter, as much.”

  “So there’s no doubt why Briner murdered his son-in-law.” She paused for a moment. “I wonder what’s going to happen to his wife and daughter.”

  “I hear that Laura plans to learn the business and then run it. Her mother will run the giftshop.”

  “The whole thing is unbelievable. Particularly that Briner would feel so strongly about background and about Joe’s being a teacher.”

  “I guess that means you don’t think I’m less than respectable because I’m a teacher?” Jed kidded.

  Her eyes twinkled. “Doesn’t it sound exciting to love someone who isn’t quite as respectable as he should be?”

  “Let’s see,” Jed answered. “I think I still have that old, white T-shirt I use to wash the car. I’ll get out my old white socks and sandals. And I’m sure I have a pair or two of ragged jeans.”

  “Well, that’s a start,” Sara answered.

  “What else can I do? I could take a sledge hammer to put a few dents in the car. And then—"

  “Oh, just be quiet,” she said as she leaned toward him, eyes closed. Just as their lips met, Sugar and Spice exchanged laps and began to purr.

 

 

 
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