Toni Donovan Mysteries- Books 1-3

by Helen Gray

  “How long have you known him?” Durbin asked John.

  “I just met him this past Monday. I’m taking a summer class at Drury College, earning credits toward a specialist degree, and Jesse is, er… was a member of the class.”

  “Did you get personally acquainted with him?”

  John nodded again. “We were sitting next to one another the first time the class met, and we introduced ourselves. After class we hung around and chatted awhile. Since I’m from out of town and just staying with a friend for the four weeks of the class, Jesse offered to take me to Bass Pro the next day.”

  “You went?”

  John’s face brightened. “Yes. We met Tuesday after class and spent a couple of hours there. I bought a new fishing rod. Then we went to lunch at Taco Bell.”

  “Was that all the time you spent with him?”’

  “It’s the only time we went anywhere off campus together. But we sat together in class every day, and we went to the library together after class one night.”

  Chilton looked up from his writing. “You said you’re not from here. Where are you from?”

  “We live in Clearmount,” John said.

  “By we, you mean the three of you?”

  John nodded. “Clearmount’s down in the southeastern part of the state.”

  “I know where it is,” Officer Chilton said, adding to his notes.

  Durbin faced Toni and Kyle. “Are you two also taking classes?”

  “I’m spending the summer here in Springfield and teaching an eight-week class at OTC,” Toni explained, referring to Ozark Technical College. “I’m filling in for someone who’s on maternity leave. Her baby was born two weeks ago, and she plans to return to the classroom at the beginning of the fall semester.”

  She didn’t explain that the teacher was her best friend and that she had been staying with Kara while Gabe and Garrett stayed at home in Clearmount with their grandparents. The class only met Monday through Thursday, so she went home every three-day weekend. This weekend was an exception because of the Independence Day holiday yesterday and her husband’s family reunion today. She was to spend the final three weeks of the summer session with Kyle’s parents.

  The officer returned his attention to Kyle. “You’re staying here with her?”

  Kyle shook his head. “No, I’m a commercial pilot, and I just brought our boys up to spend the weekend with Toni and attend my family reunion. My parents and sisters live here.” He pointed at the pavilion where his family was gathered.

  “I just started my class this past week,” John explained. “It’s only four weeks, the second four-week block of the summer schedule. My wife came and attended Firefall last night with me, but she’s shopping with a girlfriend today.”

  “John and I teach together at the high school in Clearmount,” Toni explained. “I invited him to come eat with us today.”

  Durbin nodded in a way that made her silently dub him Dubious Durbin. “Okay, that explains the personal stuff and your being here. But you said your son found the body. Do you know what he was doing over here?”

  “Uh, he was just playing, like a normal nine-year-old,” Toni said uneasily.

  Durbin’s gaze sharpened again, picking up on her hesitation. “Why were you looking for him? Did you think he was lost?”

  “No, but he has a tendency to wander off on his own. I was concerned when I didn’t see him with his brother.”

  Durbin considered that for several seconds. “I need to speak to the boy.”

  “I’ll get him,” Kyle said when Toni didn’t move. He went to the end of the pond and called, “Garrett, come over here.”

  When Garrett appeared from around a tree and started toward them the officers went to meet him on the lawn. Toni and John followed. Toni was thankful that Garrett wouldn’t have to return to where the body was for questioning.

  She gave her solemn faced youngest son a smile that was meant to be reassuring. “These officers want to ask you some questions,” she said, trying to beam a mental message into his brain to not say anything about his dream.

  Garrett’s big, rounded eyes moved up over the two officers. “Okay.”

  “We understand you found the man in the water,” Officer Durbin said, his voice gentling the slightest bit. “I need you to tell us about it.”

  Garrett stared at him. “I was walking along here, and I saw him in the water.”

  “What were you doing over here?”

  Garrett shrugged. “Just looking around.”

  “Were you looking for something, or just playing?”

  “I was looking…” Garrett started to speak, but then noticed Toni’s frown and eye movements. “I was just hanging around.”

  She relaxed, but only for a moment.

  “What’s going on here?” Durbin demanded, catching the silent byplay. His eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened.

  “Nothing’s going on,” Toni denied, returning his stare while her heart pumped faster.

  “Then why the signals? What are you afraid he’ll tell me? Does he know the victim?”

  “No, I don’t know him,” Garrett spoke up, clearly unhappy at hearing the policeman speak harshly to his mother. “I just saw him in the water and went to get help.”

  Durbin stared at Garrett, and then back at Toni. “What about you? Are you sure you never met the man?”

  “I’m sure,” Toni said. “I think I’d like to speak to my brother.”

  “Why?” he snapped. “Who’s your brother?”

  “He’s a police officer, and I think I would feel more comfortable talking to him right now. He’s working nights, so he’s asleep, but he’ll come if I call him.”

  “Who is your brother?”

  “Quinton Nash.”

  Quint was seven years younger than Toni, five younger than Bill. She and Bill had adored their little brother when they were children, and had shielded him from their parents when they knew he was up to something that would get him in trouble, so much that it was a wonder he had turned out as well as he had. Now she felt a need for him to shield her.

  Durbin’s expression was impassive, but behind him Toni thought she saw Officer Chilton’s mouth twitch. “Call him,” Durbin ordered in gruff resignation.

  Toni pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “Can you come over to Sequiota Park?” she asked as soon as Quint’s sleepy voice came on the line.

  “Whutsa matter?” he mumbled.

  “Garrett found a body in the lagoon at Sequiota Park, and we’re being questioned.”

  “Are there officers on the scene yet?” His tone suddenly sounded more alert.

  “Yes, but I need to talk to you.”

  There was a pause. “Has the kid been dreaming again?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m on my way.” The line went silent.

  “He’ll be right here,” Toni said to the officers as she ended the call and stuck the phone back in her pocket.

  “You all wait until he gets here. We’ll be back,” Durbin ordered. He and Chilton returned to the body.

  “Let’s sit down,” Kyle suggested, dropping to the ground. Toni, Garrett, and John sat beside him to wait.

  Within a few minutes Toni saw Quint’s navy blue pickup pull into the parking lot. When he came loping across the parking lot, they all stood.

  “I’m sorry to drag you into this,” Toni apologized as he reached them.

  “Fill me in quick,” he ordered as she hugged him.

  Five ten, with brown hair and dark eyes, her youngest brother was more athletic than his medium-size frame would suggest. He had only been with the police department about a year, having joined it a few months after discharging from the army, where he had been an MP.

  “As you know, we went to Firefall last night,” she explained hurriedly.

  Quint nodded.

  “This morning Garrett said he had dreamed he found the fire chief. A little later he told Gabe he was going to go look for the fire chief and took off on
his own. He found that guy in the water.” She pointed back to where the body was now being placed on the gurney.

  “Glad you’re here,” Kyle said, coming to shake Quint’s hand. John did the same.

  “Hi, Uncle Quint.” Garrett gave him a tentative smile.

  “Hi, yourself, Sport.” Quint raised a palm for a high five.

  “Good to see you two,” Quint greeted Durbin and Chilton as the officers joined them. “May I explain something before you question these two any more?”

  “Please do,” Durbin said, not looking or sounding happy.

  Quint gave them a one-minute summary of Garrett’s dreams in relation to the two earlier murder cases. “Toni isn’t hiding anything. She’s just a mother worried about her sons. She doesn’t want them badgered or exposed to the media.”

  Durbin frowned. “Does this mean the boy found this body after having some kind of weird dream that made him go hunting for it?” His eyes were no longer cold, but his tone was more than a little skeptical.

  Toni’s nod was brief.

  Durbin deliberated for a moment, and then he faced Garrett again. “Okay, young man, let’s try this one more time. Can you just relax and tell us what happened? We’ll do everything we can to protect you and keep your name confidential if you’ll be totally honest with us.”

  Garrett smiled slightly and shifted from one foot to the other. “Last night I dreamed that the fire chief would be here today. I didn’t see him, so I went looking around.”

  The officer studied the young boy. “The fire chief?”

  Garrett shrugged. “Yeah.”

  Beside him, Officer Chilton cleared his throat to get his partner’s attention. “Um, I may have a theory.”

  “Yeah, what?” Durbin barked, facing him.

  The younger officer glanced back at the gurney that was being pushed toward them. “Well, the guy was wearing a shirt with a Kickapoo chief on it. My wife teaches at the Kickapoo Junior High, and I remember her telling me about a coach who was fired,” he said, emphasizing the word, “five or six years ago in the middle of the school term. It caused quite a stir at the time, but there was never any official announcement explaining it.”

  Durbin shook his head dubiously. “Fired? A Kickapoo Chief was fired?”

  “Hey, that’s weird,” Garrett exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. “I was looking for a fire chief, but he was a fired chief.”

  “That’s some theory,” Durbin said, looking back at Garrett. “Did you see anyone else around here while you were

  looking?”

  Garrett thought a moment before answering. “No, there weren’t any people over on this side of the water yet.”

  “Did you see any objects around?”

  “You mean like a knife or gun?”

  “Yes.”

  Garrett’s head moved back and forth slowly. “No, I just came out of the woods where I was looking and saw somebody in the water. I ran and told Mom and Dad.”

  Toni watched and listened to her son closely. He didn’t seem traumatized, but would finding a body cause more dreams? “He found a body, but he didn’t witness a crime,” she pointed out, unable to restrain herself.

  “Thank you, young man,” the officer said, extending a hand to Garrett. “If we have any more questions later, we’ll contact your parents. You may join your friends now.”

  Needing no prompting, Garrett turned and trotted away.

  As the gurney rolled past them, a stab of pain struck Toni in the midsection. Someone’s life had ended. She didn’t know him, or anyone connected to him other than John’s brief acquaintance, but the man’s life had been cut short. There had to be people who were going to be devastated when they learned of it. Her heart went out to them.

  “I need your addresses and phone numbers,” Durbin was saying to Kyle and John. Toni was more than happy to let them finish up with the officers.

  “I think the guy was stabbed on the path and pushed into the water,” she told Quint in an undertone. “There were no drag marks, and there was blood near the edge of the water not far from where he was. My guess is that whoever did it left through the woods.”

  “Are you playing detective again?” Quint asked, his brows lifting. “There seems to be a pattern developing with you.”

  Toni grimaced. “This one is away from my home turf and not anyone I know. So I’m not involved.” She raised her palms in a declarative gesture. “Why don’t you stick around and eat with the family? There’s a mountain of food. And your sleep is already disturbed.”

  Quint sighed. “Good point. I might as well mooch a meal.”

  Chapter 3

  Springfield was the third largest city in Missouri. Interstate 44 and Routes 60, 65, and 160 all passed through it. Many people contended that the town’s name was derived from the great spring at the foot of the hill and the plain of the summit, Spring-Field. Others believed it was named in honor of Springfield, Tennessee, the home of Kindred Rose, one of the early settlers.

  Toni wasn’t sure which she believed, but she kind of liked the first choice. With a population of about a hundred fifty thousand, the city boasted five large public high schools, a number of private schools, and over a dozen colleges and universities.

  On the way back to the Donovan home the boys were unusually quiet. Toni glanced over her shoulder and observed Garrett staring out the window at the traffic. Beside him, Gabe sat silent and somber. She started to ask if something was bothering him, but then thought better of it.

  Gabe was more intense than Garrett, a scholar and a stickler for facts and details. He was also athletic, but even in that he was intense. His reading was extensive for an eleven-year-old. Something told Toni he was troubled, but he needed to examine and sort through whatever was on his mind without being pressured. Hopefully he would open up when he reached any conclusions.

  The odd thing was that Garrett seemed so unaffected and relaxed. He was the one who had found a dead man, but he seemed to accept it as just another day at the park—literally. Toni still feared that he would experience some kind of delayed reaction. She hoped there were no more dreams.

  The ride remained quiet until they pulled up in front of the middle class brick façade home of Kyle’s parents. Located not far from Glendale High School, it was only a few minutes from the campus where Toni was teaching.

  Kyle’s sisters had declined invitations to come over for the evening. Toni wasn’t thrilled at staying with Kyle’s parents another three weeks, but that was the arrangement they had worked out when she was asked to do this class. The first four weeks the boys had stayed back in Clearmount with her parents, and Toni had spent the time with Kara and her newborn son. This week was a vacation for the boys to spend with Kyle’s parents, as long as she and Kyle felt the arrangement would work. They would return to Clearmount Thursday afternoon after her class ended and remain with her parents for the final weeks she had to be in Springfield.

  That evening they snacked on ham and potato salad left over from the day’s meal. Then Kyle offered to play catch with the boys in the backyard, an activity they typically loved. Garrett ran to get his glove.

  “You guys go ahead,” Gabe mumbled. “I have a book almost finished.” He left the room quietly, heading for the bedroom he and Garrett were sharing.

  Toni exchanged glances with Kyle. “You and Garrett go on. We’ll talk later.”

  When she and Kyle were finally alone that evening, Toni sat on the side of the bed facing him. “I’m angry.”

  He put down the shirt he was tucking into his suitcase, sat beside her, and pulled her into the circle of his arms. “That’s understandable.”

  “It’s bad enough that people are being killed, but why does it have to frighten our children?” she demanded into his chest.

  He drew a deep breath. “I don’t know, but I know being angry will affect you in a bad way if you let it.”

  She sagged against him. “I know. But it’s hard to see the boys frightened, especia
lly when it’s for me.”

  Kyle gripped her shoulders and pushed her back to where he could look into her face. “So what are you going to do about it?”

  She stared at him, reading a challenge in those steady green eyes. “Are you saying I should get involved in another case?”

  He shrugged, his brows raised. “Can you leave it alone?”

  She studied him another moment. Then she produced a weak smile, her spine stiffening. “There’s very little likelihood of my being welcome anywhere near a case this far from home. But they’ll have my input, whether they want it or not, if the boys are drawn into it.”

  He nodded. “That’s my girl. But if that happens, be careful. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she promised, even as her concerns returned. “Gabe is troubled. Do you think he’ll be all right?”

  “I think so. Today’s discovery was enough to upset anyone. He’ll work through it if we give him time and space.”

  *

  The next morning Toni and her family attended church with Barb and Dan Donovan, and then ate at Cracker Barrel. After the meal they took Kyle’s parents home, since Dan said he didn’t feel up to anything but a nap at that point. Then they changed into denim shorts and tee shirts and took the boys to a Double A minor league Cardinals baseball game at Hammons Field. Quint met them at the entrance, sporting a Cardinals shirt.

  Garrett thrust out a hand. “Hi, Uncle Quint.” Their handshake was vigorous. Quint was one of Garrett’s favorite people.

  “I like your shirts.” Quint indicated the red Cardinal logo on both boys’ shirts that matched his own. Toni’s shirt was solid red, but Cardinal red. As was Kyle’s.

  Quint turned and held out a hand to Gabe.

  Gabe shook it, but his manner lacked Garrett’s enthusiasm.

  “What do you think of the guy who’s pitching today?” Quint asked the boy.

  Gabe shrugged and managed a half smile. “He’s pretty good, I guess.”

  “He’s more than good,” Quint insisted. “I’m predicting he’ll be called up to the majors soon.” He turned a questioning gaze on Toni.