anyone could remember selling one of the punching balloons recently. At the third convenience store, the 'Grab and Run,' he got lucky. He was told that Chip London and Kelli Swift bought a yellow punching balloon, a bottle of green dye, and a tube of Crazy glue on Sunday evening. Chip was one of those that had been banned from being inside the restaurant. Now that he had a name, he would watch Chip and his two friends closer, even away from the restaurant when he had the chance.
However, his vow came too late. Sometime during the time they were in the kitchen peeling potatoes, a glass bottle of Milk of Magnesia was glued to the top of Loren's car along with a typewritten note that read, "For Removal of the reeking shit caused by Grubby's awful Grub." In addition, green poster paint had been used to write on the windshield "The Gimps Garbage.' Vernon Bulan was the first to notice the windshield and the bottle. He was entering the restaurant when he encountered Grubbs on his way to his truck to bring in a supply of cash register rolls that he had stashed in the tool box attached to the truck bed. He told Grubbs about the windshield and bottle on top and said that he had had tried to pick the bottle up but couldn't because of the glue. Grubbs thanked him, looked at the bottle and knew he had had acetone to use in cleaning kitchen tools but was concerned that if he used it, it would damage the paint. He used his cell to call the Chevrolet dealership and learned that acetone could remove the clear coat. He went inside and asked Loren if he could borrow his car for an errand. Loren gave him the keys, Grubbs started the car, turned the window washers on to clear the poster paint and was stunned when the spray came out green and made the windshield worse. Grubbs was seething as he swiftly turned the washers off. He exited the car, took the hose used for cleaning the waste cans and cleared the windshield sufficiently to be able to see enough to safely drive to the dealer three blocks south.
When the dealership shop had removed the glued-on bottle and cleaned the green dye from the car, Grubbs went looking for Chip London. Chip drove a red Mustang but it was nowhere in sight in the downtown area. Chip worked in Maysville, about seven miles north. Grubbs decided not to confront London at his place of work, but would wait until later that evening. He returned to the restaurant, gave Loren his keys, told him he had the car washed, and thanked him for the use of the car, never mentioning the pranks to his car. He saw no good to come from upsetting Loren anymore than necessary.
The following Sunday was one of those early spring days to be relished. It was a cloudless brilliant blue sky served with a very slight cooling breeze that kept the sun from being overly hot .Grubbs kept his eye on the streets for the red Mustang but no sign of it ever caught his eye. The dinner hour was one of panic with guests having to wait for tables and the cash register was getting hot from all the sales rang up. None of the employees had time to wipe their brow it was so busy. The dishwashing machine ran continually pushing out clean plates and utensils to meet the demand. Loren and Grubbs passed each other in the doorway but didn't even have time to smile at each other they were so swamped. At ten after nine, breathing room began to occur and around nine-thirty, Grubbs grabbed Loren by his apron strings and pulled him to the rear door saying, "Let's take a break and enjoy the evening breeze."
They were leaning against the wooden storage shed looking at the gorgeous full moon that lit the entire block. It was so bright that they could read the small print on the Utility pole warning. Loren stuttered a moment saying, "Jack, tonight was the best night we've had all year. I think the whole town was here to eat." Grubbs smiled and punched Loren's left bicep and answered, "I had to empty the register three times it had so many bills stuffed in it. Those are the days that make it all worthwhile, Loren. It solves the depression of the bad days."
Loren thought for a moment and said, "Days like today encourage people to get out of the coop and test their wings again. We need a lot more moonlit nights like tonight, huh?"
"You bet we do and maybe we'll finally get more of these now that spring is beginning to show its colors. Anyway, you did a fantastic job of keeping up with enough supplies to serve everyone without a wait. Good job, buddy. Now let's get back inside and start the cleanup so that we can get some rest."
"Yep, I'm for that because I'm tired for a change."
Monday morning before the eleven hour lunch crowd began to appear, the Sheriff, Nealy West, a good friend of Grubbs, came in and told Grubbs he needed to talk with him. Grubbs nodded and said, "Let's go out back, Nealy. You know I don't have an office where we could sit."
When they were outside, the Sheriff asked, "Where were you last night between six and eleven, Jack?"
"Inside swamped with the biggest crowd of the year. Why?"
"What was your beef with Chip London and Kelli Swift?"
"Pranks they were playing on Loren. Go look at his head. They put one of those punching balloons on Loren's exhaust and when it exploded, it caused Loren to fall and hit his head on a fireplug. You can verify that with Howard Mangess at the drugstore. Later, they glued Milk of Magnesia and a nasty note of his car top and then put green dye in the windshield washer. I wanted them to stop harassing Loren because of his disabilities. They should know better, they're old enough to be responsible citizens and not act like stupid kids. So, why are you concerned, Nealy?"
"This morning, when Eddie Womack got to the 'Sun Days Tanning Salon' he noticed that the door had been jimmied during the night. He immediately called the office and Ray Crowder went to investigate. When they went in, Eddie noticed that two tanning beds were running. He and Ray went in the rooms and looked. When Eddie opened the beds, they found Chip and Kelli, both naked, dead, and burned to a crisp by the lamps. While they waited on the Coroner, they searched the building but could find no clothing for either of them. That means that whoever put them in the beds took their clothes or possibly brought them there after stripping them."
"Oh, my God, Nealy! How were they killed?"
"We don't know yet. We have to wait for the medical examiner to determine the cause of death. The burns were so bad we couldn't see any signs of trauma on the bodies. Tell me, Jack; was Loren here all the time?"
"He was and he didn't know about the glued bottle and green dye. I handled that with Briggs Chevrolet and didn't tell Loren. I didn't want to upset him even more. Just so you know we have at least a hundred and fifty witnesses that will testify that we both were here until after eleven last night.
"Good. That means we can probably eliminate two suspects right away. Have you heard any rumors about anyone else with a beef against them?"
"None. I do know that the high school science teacher had a few problems with them when they were in school. But the way they act, there's probably a few more around town irritated with them. And by the way, they're not the only ones I've had a run in with. You know Cynthia Meyers, Gordon Lamar, Kenny Muraco and Lewanna Chandra? I had to ban them from the restaurant because of the torment they were putting Loren through. Check with those six and see if they can shed some light for you. They were as tight together as any group around Jericho."
"I will check with them, Jack. Thanks for your time. I may pull you in to the investigation because of what you know about them. You know that if I do, you can't say anything to anyone."
"Yeah, I know the rules. They're the same as those on the other cases you confided to me, right?"
"Exactly, but this is one you're much more involved with than the others. So, don't get too far away. I'll probably be back with more questions.
"I have no reason to run, Nealy. I haven't done a thing that would warrant that action. See you for lunch later?"
"That depends on what happens with the bodies. Take care, Jack, take care."
Nealy didn't show for lunch. He didn't show the next day either. But on the third day, he came in, waved Grubbs over to his table and said, "Sit, Jack. I have a story to tell you. Last night around ten, Ray had a call from Lenore Williams. You know Lenore. She lives just across Lakeshore Drive from the Gazebo at Lake Luna. She was very upset and could barely te
ll Ray what she had found. It was a nice moonlit night, so she took her dog for an evening walk to the park. She noticed bare feet sticking out over the bench at the center table inside the Gazebo. Her dog started barking so she went to examine. When she stepped up on the first step she realized it was a naked woman on the bench. She backed off and ran home to call the department. When Ray and I arrived there, we found not only the woman, but a man on the end bench that Lenore couldn't see"
"No, Nealy! Not another couple dead? What the hell is going on in Jericho? Who were they?"
"Jack, tell me that you don't know who they are. Can you account for your time last night from about seven until around ten?"
"Nealy, I have no idea who they are, why would I. I was here from five until eleven and never set a foot outside. And yes, I have witnesses. So does Loren. Who were they?"
"Two of those that you named that you had banned from here. Kenny Muraco and Lewanna Chandra. No clothes anywhere in sight. Either stripped when they were placed on the bench or done before being brought there. Can't tell when they were stripped. The medical examiner thinks they were suffocated but that was a preliminary observation. We still don't know the cause of death in the first two. The
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