by Sheri Richey
It took June a few minutes to answer, but she seemed delighted at the company.
“Come in. Come in. I just made some hot chocolate and I have a cinnamon Bundt cake fresh baked today. You have to try it.”
Cora and Conrad stomped on the doormat to remove the snow from their boots and stripped off their coats while June bustled ahead into the kitchen to get plates.
“Did you see Saucy when you were out and about today?” June plated them each a piece of cake and opened the cabinet for mugs as they sat down. “I made the cake thinking he’d be here for dinner tonight but he hasn’t shown up yet.”
“Do you need anything from the store? I know you were expecting him to do some shopping for you,” Cora said accepting a mug of hot chocolate from June.
“Oh, nothing urgent, I guess. I just thought he’d be around.”
“Well, I saw him today,” Conrad said tapping a napkin on his mouth. “The cake is delicious, June.”
“Yes, it’s very good,” Cora said. “I told the Chief about our visit today. He saw Saucy down at the police department earlier.”
“What was he complaining about this time?” June laughed with a rasping cough. “He’s always got it out for somebody.”
“Well, no. This time it was different. The sheriff wanted to talk to him.”
“What? Really? I sure didn’t know that. What could the sheriff want with him? I can’t imagine Saucy could help out Sheriff Bell.”
“Well, I wasn’t in there when they talked, but the sheriff talked to Denise, too.”
“Oh, no. Denise has probably gotten him tangled up in some of her foolishness then. That girl has never been anything but trouble to him.”
“Cora tells me that Saucy stored some boxes in your garage recently,” Conrad said as June took the empty plate from him and put it in her sink.
“Yes, that’s why my darn car is out there stuck in the snow. Not that I use it much, but you know, you want to be able to use it if you need it.”
“Of course. I think I can probably get someone over here to clear off your car and driveway, if that will help you,” Conrad said as June took Cora’s plate to the counter.
“Oh, I don’t want to trouble nobody,” June said dismissively. “I don’t need to get out for the next few days anyway.”
“Well, I hate to see you stuck out there.”
“If I need to go somewhere, I’ll just get Saucy to take me. It’s his fault anyway.” June smiled as she sat back down at the table.
“June,” Cora said softly. “Do you know what’s in those boxes out in your garage? I mean, have you looked in any of them?”
“Why, no. Why?”
“Well, I just wondered if the stuff really belonged to Saucy.
“Whose stuff would it be? You think he’s storing stuff for Denise in my garage?” June’s voice escalated slightly and tension built in the room.
“We don’t know that,” Conrad said calmly. “I just know he had boxes in his own garage recently and they weren’t his belongings. At least he said they weren’t. He said they belonged to a friend.”
“Psst, Saucy don’t have any friends,” June said with a flippant wave. “Even if he did, he wouldn’t give them his garage. You think the stuff in my garage came from his?”
“It’s possible,” Conrad raised his eyebrows and nodded. “And it may not belong to him.”
June slapped her hand on the table. “If he put that fool girl’s stuff in there and let my car get covered in snow, he’s going to hear about it.”
“I don’t want to make you angry at Saucy, now,” Conrad said soothingly. “I just wondered if you’d looked in those boxes and knew what was out there.”
“No, I hadn’t given it a thought.”
“Would you like me to take a look?” As Conrad offered the help, Cora hoped she’d welcome the assistance.
“Oh, no. Thank you, but I’ll just talk to Saucy about it when he gets here.” June rose from her chair.
“Is it something I could move over for you?” Conrad got up from the table and walked into the utility room off the kitchen to peer through the window to the attached garage. “If I moved some things over, we might get your car in there.”
June followed him through her kitchen and into the utility room where her washer and dryer were neatly stored on one side. Boxes of various sizes were stacked three or four high in the garage. One box had markings on the side indicating it originally held a television, but the others were smaller.
“Did Saucy recently get a new TV?” Cora asked June, looking over June’s shoulder to the garage. “I see a TV box out there. Maybe he reused the box.”
“No, he ain’t had anything new in years except that truck. He don’t care about household type things one bit. He listens to the radio or the scanner more than TV anyway. He’s always trying to do your job, isn’t he, Chief?”
June chuckled at her joke. “Can I get you both some more hot chocolate? There’s plenty.” June tried to lead them back to the kitchen, but Cora waited hoping June would open the door. Conrad wouldn’t want things to be construed later than he had violated any property.
“You know, I think I can stack them a little better and move things around,” Conrad said with his hand on the door knob.
“I think there’s just too many of them,” June said but she didn’t stop him from opening the door.
When she saw they were all taped, June turned to go back into the utility room and came out with scissors in her hand to open the box and handed them to Conrad.
“Go ahead, Chief. Let’s see what’s in there. Here, let’s open this little one right here.” June tapped on the small box just outside the utility room door.
Conrad opened the scissors and used one side to slice open the tape of the closest box. It was fairly small and unmarked but when they pulled back the flaps and peered in, they saw smaller boxes. June picked up the small white box and opened it.
“Candles. I guess Saucy’s not worried about the power going out. Maybe this is Denise’s stuff, and he just didn’t tell me. He knew I’d say no if he asked me to store stuff for her.”
June tossed them back in the box and took the scissors from Conrad’s hand as Conrad walked a little farther into the maze of boxes and saw one large box with the flap not taped. As June wandered back into the house with Cora, he flipped up the edge and got a quick glance before following the ladies into the house.
As they walked into the kitchen, Cora heard her phone chirp that a text had been received and she slid her hand into her purse as she continued to nod at June while she complained about the loss of her garage.
“I believe there are storage units available just south of town. You could always tell Saucy that he needs to move these boxes there so you can store your car properly for the winter.” Conrad reached into his shirt pocket to retrieve his vibrating phone.
Glancing at the message, he tapped a quick message and looked at Cora.
“I’m sorry for the disturbance tonight, June, but I’ve got to get back to the station right now. I thank you for the warm drink and cake though. It was a real treat.”
“Oh, Chief, it was my pleasure. I’m always glad for a little company. Cora, you’re welcome to stay a spell and visit.”
“I’m sorry, June. Maybe another time. I really have to get going, too. I’ll surely check back in on you though real soon.”
“Well, all right,” June said as she ambled slowly to the front closet to help them retrieve their coats.
“I’m telling Saucy in the morning to clean up my car and vacate my garage,” June said sharply. “I’m not having any more of this nonsense with Denise and I wish he’d stop getting involved with her. She’s nothing but trouble.”
Cora gave June a hug, and they said their goodbyes as she let them out the front door. When Conrad heard the front door click shut, he looked back at Cora.
“Bobby has pulled Bryan Stotlar in for questioning and wants to interview him at the PD.”
/> “I know. Amanda just texted me. She’s at the PD and she’s frantic. She was talking to Bryan on the phone while he waited at the county shed to get the plow cleaned when the deputies showed up. Is Bobby trying to tie Bryan to Shawn Ellis? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know but we need to go down there and find out. Bobby needs to tell me what he’s up to.”
Cora fastened her seatbelt as Conrad walked around and got into the driver’s seat. “Doesn’t Bobby know you’re on the same team?”
“No, and frankly, I don’t want to be on his team.”
“Well, I know,” Cora said as Conrad started the car, “but law enforcement should be sharing information.”
“Yes, but he has never done that. Even when we were partners, he wouldn’t tell me what he was up to.”
“You were partners? I didn’t know that.”
“Briefly, yes. We didn’t make a very good team then either, but I don’t know anyone that was very successful working as a partner with Bobby.”
“What happened?”
“Well, years ago, we were forced to work together but Bobby wouldn’t even tell me when we were assigned a new case. He would go out and try to work it alone first. When I would find out about it, I’d go do my own investigation. Bobby couldn’t work with anyone else but he could sure take credit for someone else’s work.”
“He was your partner, but he wouldn’t work cases with you?”
“The first time it happened, it caught me off guard. I watched him accept congratulations from the squad for a job well done and even brag about it when he had done nothing.
“The second time it happened, I confronted Bobby about it. That was a pretty unpleasant exchange, and we ended our partnership over it. I asked to be reassigned and Bobby was left to work alone. His success rate was zero, but at least he wasn’t ruining anyone else’s career.”
“Have you ever talked about it with him?” Cora asked. “I mean, does he ever mention it?”
“No, we didn’t speak for years. Even when we saw each other in the office, we didn’t make eye contact. I never even told anybody but Bobby wasn’t as kind. He tried to slander my name whenever an opportunity arose. I thought I saw the last of him when I left the sheriff’s office.”
“I guess the chance of ever getting an apology is zero.” Cora shook her head in disgust. “Now you’re stuck with him again.”
“These recent election results were hard to swallow,” Conrad admitted. He realized from the ache in his jaws that his teeth had been clinched throughout every encounter and now he was headed into another.
“Right now, I just want to help Bobby get the information he needs so he’ll leave. He can have all the credit for it he wants.”
They parked near the employee’s side entrance to the police department and scampered in the door. Sheriff Bell was pacing around the dispatch area with his hands tucked in the back waistband of his jeans massaging his lower back. Amanda was sitting in a plastic chair in the hallway and her eyes widened when she saw Cora enter the room. Conrad walked to the viewing window and saw Bryan in an interview room with a deputy.
“Sheriff,” Conrad nodded. “Can I talk with you for a minute?”
Cora walked directly up to Bobby Bell and tipped her chin up. “Sheriff, I would like to speak to my administrative assistant that is sitting in the hall. Is that all right with you?”
Conrad’s shoulders straightened from the tension in the room. Bobby didn’t realize it, but Cora was seconds away from laying right into him if he didn’t respond the way she wanted. She had an edge to her voice he learned quickly after spending time around her. A polite impatience that was curt and direct. One wrong move and the teacher in her came out to reduce him to a naughty schoolboy caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Mayor! Certainly.” Bobby waved his arm to invite her to walk by him. As Conrad turned toward his office back down the hallway, Sam peered at him from the dispatch booth with apprehension, but Conrad turned as Bobby shuffled behind him.
§
Cora reached out to touch Amanda’s arm when she saw her red eyes and Amanda embraced her in a trembling hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for coming so fast. I didn’t know what to do when he told me on the phone that they were taking him in. He didn’t even know why.”
“It’s going to be all right,” Cora said rubbing Amanda’s back. “The Chief will get this all straightened out. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“I know it’s about Denise Ivy. I could hear them say her name over the phone before it disconnected. Bryan hardly even knows Denise. He just sells those little plants—”
“I know, Mandy. It’s going to be okay. The Chief will explain everything to the sheriff. I’m sure the sheriff is just trying to learn more about Denise and Shawn Ellis.”
“But Bryan doesn’t know anything,” Amanda sniffed.
“Well, he’s been around them and he may know something that could help them. I don’t think they’re after him for anything. It’s just questions. He has a case to work.”
“If they aren’t after him, then why couldn’t they just call and ask him?” Amanda’s teary trembling was turning to rage. “He would have answered their questions. You don’t just pull somebody out of a snowplow in front of everybody and make it look like you’re arresting him if you just want some information.”
“I agree,” Cora conceded. “It does seem a bit rash, but the sheriff has his way--.”
“Of being a bully,” Amanda blurted out. “He told the dispatcher to put Bryan’s little girlfriend out in the hallway when I came in here asking questions. So condescending,” Amanda huffed and pulled her coat down.
The anger was straightening Amanda’s spine and Cora wanted her weepiness to turn to strength. If this was more than just Bobby’s brisk manner, Bryan would need her to be supportive, not sappy.
“Let me go see what I can find out,” Cora said. “I’ll be right back.”
§
“Come in. Have a seat,” Conrad said gesturing Bobby to a chair as he shut the door.
“I have some information that might interest you.” Conrad sat down at his desk. “I’d like first to know why you are questioning Bryan Stotlar.”
“He’s just part of the picture,” Bobby said grasping his ankle and pulling it up over his knee. “He knows Ellis and that Ivy lady.”
“What do you have on Ellis?” Conrad thought he knew, but he wanted to make Bobby talk.
“I think he’s good for some burglaries in Paxton. He didn’t do them alone though.”
“What was stolen?” Conrad glared at Bobby Bell as he fidgeted in his chair and put his foot back down on the floor. “Specifically, what goods have you recovered or had reported stolen?” Conrad added to fill the silence.
“Different things,” Bobby said shrugging. “Retail theft, mostly.”
“Specifically,” Conrad said again. “What goods have been reported? What retail?”
“A whole slew of places,” Bobby said throwing his hands up in the air. “A book store, a gift shop, a small appliance store and a pawn shop.”
Conrad stared at Bobby for several seconds and waited in the silence until Bobby’s eyes rose to meet his. “Do you think Ellis stole your fireworks?”
“It’s possible.” Bobby nodded and jutted his chin up in the air. “He’s a thief. It could have been lots of things. I just need to get someone to roll on him so I can recover the goods and charge him.”
“Well,” Conrad said rolling his shoulders to relax. “I can tell you that Bryan Stotlar isn’t involved.”
“Oh, you know that, do you?” Bobby tilted his head in a sneer.
“I’m pretty confident about it,” Conrad said with a satisfied smirk as he shifted his weight in his chair. “I can also tell you where your fireworks are.”
Just as Bobby opened his mouth, there was a light tap on his office door.
“Come in,” Conrad called out, ignoring Bobby as
he sat up abruptly.
“Chief,” Cora said softly. “I’m sorry to interrupt you both, but I’d like to take these kids home if that’s okay with you.” Cora looked from Conrad to Bobby and smiled sweetly. “It’s getting late.”
Bobby looked uncertainly at Conrad and Conrad nodded briskly. “I’m sure that would be okay. Isn’t it, Sheriff?”
“Well,” Bobby frowned.
“If you need anything more from them, I know where to find them,” Conrad reassured him and Bobby nodded.
“Okay. Okay, yeah.”
“Thank you, both.” Cora backed out of the door and closed it softly.
“Now what are you up to?” Bobby growled at Conrad.
“Let’s take a ride.” Conrad stood from his desk and waited for Bobby to stand, too.
Chapter Thirty
Cora waited patiently while Sheriff Bell ordered his deputy to release Bryan and then he walked down the hallway following Conrad without speaking a word to her.
Cora stood to see Bryan walk out in the hallway and embrace Amanda as she clutched to him with teary eyes. There were definitely feelings there. She could see it in both of them and it left an ache of emptiness in her heart.
Shaking off selfish feelings, she walked out into the hallway and asked them if they would take her home. Conrad had picked her up, and she didn’t have a car at the station.
“Thank you so much, Cora,” Amanda said grasping her arm. “I was scared to death when the deputies showed up while we were talking on the phone. I didn’t know what to do. I just ran down here.”
“I didn’t do a thing,” Cora said patting her hand. “It’s all going to be all right. They just had to cover all their bases, but I know it can be scary.”
They walked out to the parking lot to Amanda’s SUV and Bryan opened the passenger door for Cora. It took her a few tries but with Amanda pulling on her hands she finally was able to hoist herself into the seat.
“So, they just told you that you could go?” Amanda asked Bryan turning to the backseat.
“Yeah,” Bryan said shrugging. “The deputy said they would let me know if they had any more questions but that I could go for now.”