“There might be some truth to it. A lot of people talk about her cousin and how she killed him. I can’t tell you anything about it for sure. I met Tim at the party house awhile back, but didn’t really talk to him. But from what I hear, that whole family is really fucked up,” Eddie said.
“What else have you heard?” Marlee asked, leading him wherever he wanted to go with his story.
“Just that the cousin was killed and the rest of the family covered it up. That’s fucked up!”
“It’s not normal, that’s for sure,” Marlee agreed with Eddie, anything to get him to keep talking. This part-time employed aging band member seemed to have his ear to the ground. “Did you know Tim and Beth were seeing each other for a while?
“Didn’t know, didn’t care,” Eddie said, doing his best to exhibit nonchalance. “I told you before, Beth and I would hit it and then she’d go do her thing, and I’d do mine. We didn’t have some big love affair where I was jealous if she was with another guy.”
“Yeah, I remember. But did you know about Beth and Tim?” Marlee persisted.
“Sure, I knew they were together for a bit. Beth told me about it. Not that I cared, but she liked to talk. Sometimes I actually listened, but usually I didn’t,” Eddie said with a laugh.
“What else did she say about Tim and the guys at Stairway to Hell?” Marlee asked.
Eddie shrugged and stared at Marlee. “How about you and me go in the back and talk it over in there?”
“No thanks. I need to be on my way,” Marlee said, springing to her feet and making her way toward the door. “See you around.”
She hurried to the car and gave Barry a full report. “Eddie said he heard Pam killed Billy and Tim to get the farm. He also thought she started the fire at Stairway to Hell but didn’t know the reason.”
“Wow, you got a lot of information,” Barry said admirably.
“And I might have gotten more if Eddie hadn’t suggested that we go into his bedroom for further discussions,” Marlee said, making a gagging sound. “He is honestly one of the grossest guys I’ve ever met!”
“So, he implicated Pam in Tim’s death and the fire?” Barry asked. “Did he have anything to say about Beth?”
“He knew Beth and Tim were together for a while, and he didn’t care. How he got the rest of his information, or misinformation, I don’t know.”
“And he hit on you,” Barry said with bitterness. “Do you want me to go in there and punch him?”
“No, if I thought he needed punching, I would have done it myself. But thanks for the offer,” Marlee said.
Barry drove around town aimlessly, as if he wanted to talk about something but wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. Marlee wanted to ask him to spill it, but was afraid he was going to profess his love for her, and she didn’t want to deal with that mess. Barry cleared his throat and when Marlee looked at him he said, “Do you know any college girls you could introduce me to?”
She broke out laughing, but then stopped when she saw the hurt look on Barry’s face. “Yes! I do, I was just laughing because I wanted to introduce you to my neighbor in the dorm. Her name is Kristie, and I think you two would get along great. She was with me that day I first talked to you over at Stairway to Hell. The morning Beth was found.”
He relaxed after their discussion and drove Marlee back to her dorm. “So, you’re not hurt or jealous, are you?” Barry asked, a bit of hope in his voice.
Marlee, not usually one to indulge the male ego, made an exception this time. “It will be hard to see you two together, but I think we all know it’s for the best,” she said with a sigh as she got out of the car and walked to the dorm. She smiled as she turned away from Barry, knowing she had done a good thing. Marlee made him feel better about himself and potentially had set up a date for her friend. Nothing was going on in her own love life, but at least she was helping out some friends.
Jasmine was asleep when Marlee walked into the room. She needed Jasmine’s help and didn’t want to wait around, so she slammed the door twice and rattled around until her roommate sat straight up in bed.
“What the hell are you doing?” she yelled.
“Oh, Jazz! You were asleep. I’m sorry. I didn’t even see you up there,” Marlee lied, hoping Jasmine would now get out of bed and listen as she talked about Beth and Tim’s cases. “How about if I make us some ramen noodles?”
“Ramen noodles would be good,” Jasmine conceded as she maneuvered her way out of bed and on to the floor. “And maybe some toast.”
Minutes later, they were feasting on a late-night supper of nothing but carbohydrates and fat. “This is delicious. I could eat this for the rest of my life and never get tired of it,” Jasmine said, cramming a second piece of buttered toast into her mouth.
“Me too!” Marlee agreed as she twirled noodles around the tines of a plastic fork and shoveled them into her mouth. “Who needs fancy dining? I think the main food groups should be toast, noodles, Pop Tarts, Diet Pepsi, beer, bananas, and chicken sandwiches.”
“I would take out the pop and add in cheese and bacon,” Jasmine said.
“I deny your omission of Diet Pepsi but will gladly accept your additions. Cheese and bacon make everything better,” Marlee said, and they clinked together their aluminum glasses of Tang instant orange drink.
After updating Jasmine on the new case information and reviewing the old details, Marlee asked, “Do you think Beth’s death was accidental? And who do you think killed Tim? Barry and I have been arguing over whether Pam was involved in Tim’s death or if it was his roommates.”
“Maybe you’ve been looking at the cases all wrong,” Jasmine suggested. “What if they are linked in some way that you haven’t even considered?”
“Such as?”
“Okay, this is far-fetched, but let’s say Tim was dealing drugs and Pam was his supplier. The tension between them was fabricated as a cover. Beth found out about the drug dealing, and Tim killed her to keep her quiet. Then he was overcome with guilt, and Pam killed Tim to make sure he didn’t talk,” Jasmine said.
“Um, that’s really out there. No one ever mentioned that drugs were involved in either Beth or Tim’s deaths,” Marlee said as she mentally sifted through all the information she had taken in during the past few days.
“That was really more of an example than an actual theory.” Jasmine pushed down the lever on the toaster. “It’s not that I think this happened, but maybe something no one has thought of yet is the reason for both of the deaths.”
“That’s a good point. We’ve been under the assumption that if Pam killed Tim that it was because she wanted to keep control of the farm. And if his roommates killed him, it was to keep Tim quiet about Beth and what happened to her at Stairway to Hell. Maybe none of these things are involved. If that’s the case, then who might have killed them?” Marlee asked.
“Assuming, of course, that Beth’s death wasn’t an accident,” Jasmine said.
“I don’t know, Jazz. I just feel like there’s much more to Beth’s death than her getting really drunk and falling down and freezing to death outside a party house. Maybe it’s just because I knew Beth and thought of her as a friend. I’ve asked myself if I would feel the same way if the victim had been someone I didn’t know.”
“And?” Jasmine asked.
“With everything else being the same except that I didn’t know the victim, I’d still feel the same way. It’s a feeling in the pit of my stomach that Beth didn’t die accidentally. I realize the autopsy didn’t show anything suspicious other than too much alcohol in her system, but maybe somebody forced Beth to drink a lot more alcohol than she wanted. It would be a good cover since Beth was a party girl and loved to drink. Who would ever consider that she was held down and forced to consume more than she wanted?” Marlee asked, setting forth her thoughts on Beth and the tragedy that befell her.
“How would someone force her to drink too much? Hold her down?” Jasmine asked.
“Maybe. Or
they could have used a beer funnel and held it in her mouth while they poured in a bunch of beer or hard alcohol,” Marlee said, thinking back to the beer bongs she had seen at various parties.
“But who would do that? And why?” Jasmine asked.
“I don’t know who, but it must have been to keep Beth under control. Maybe they didn’t intend for her to die. The intention might have been for her to get so drunk she would pass out,” Marlee said.
“For what reason?” Jasmine asked, still playing devil’s advocate.
“If she was passed out, she couldn’t talk. Maybe she had information that somebody didn’t want her to tell. Or somebody may have thought they could take advantage of her sexually if she was passed out and unresponsive,” Marlee said, cringing as she imagined what Beth might have endured before she left the party.
“Whatever the intent was, Beth still left the party. Somebody lost track of her, and she wandered off. They must not have looked very hard for her since she was passed out in the yard,” Jasmine said.
“Or, they could have seen her wander outside and fall down and realize that soon she wouldn’t be a problem anymore. I guess that idea only holds water if they were trying to keep her quiet about something,” Marlee said.
“So, it had to be someone at the party who caused Beth to die, if it wasn’t an accident,” said Jasmine.
“Let’s make a list of everyone we can remember from the party that night,” Marlee suggested, and her roommate nodded. After half an hour, they had a list of over fifty people. Some of them were named and some were merely described by appearance or their class/dorm affiliation with Marlee and Jasmine.
“Now let’s cross off the people we absolutely know couldn’t have hurt Beth,” Jasmine suggested.
They crossed themselves off the list along with their neighbor Kristie. When they got to Kristie’s roommate Polly, they hesitated.
“Polly’s a gossip and a back-stabber, but I can’t envision her killing someone, can you?” asked Marlee.
“No, but the intent may not have been to kill Beth. Maybe the idea was just to get her really, really drunk,” Jasmine said.
“I can see Polly thinking that was funny or a good way to get revenge on someone,” Marlee said.
“Me too,” said Jasmine. Polly remained on the list as they sorted through the remaining names. “Other than us and Kristie, anyone could’ve been involved,” Marlee said, dejected as she looked at the remaining forty-seven names on the list.
“What about Eddie Turner? Do you remember seeing him there?” Jasmine asked. “He told you he’d been to parties at Stairway to Hell. I never met him and don’t know what he looks like, but you would remember him, right?”
Marlee thought for a moment before answering. She consumed several alcoholic beverages at the party that night, but she wasn’t drunk enough to forget someone like Eddie Turner. “I’d remember him for sure. I think it’s time to do some investigation into Mr. Turner and his connection to Stairway to Hell.”
Never underestimate a disgruntled neighbor. If you want to know the unvarnished truth about anyone, ask around the neighborhood. They know the whole story and aren’t afraid to dish the dirt.
Chapter 28
Marlee hitched a ride to Pam’s farm with a friend from the dorm who was driving that direction. She didn’t know how she’d get home, but that was a problem for another time. For now, she had information she needed to verify with Pam before things went any further.
Pam trudged toward the house from the barn just as Marlee was knocking on the front door. “Hello, again,” she called out without much enthusiasm. The stress of her brother’s death weighed on the ordinarily rough-and-tough farm gal, and it showed. Her pony tail was in disarray, she had bits of food stuck to her coat, and there was a rip in her stained jeans.
“Forgive me for just stopping in again, but I had a few more questions for you,” Marlee said. “I’m still trying to make sense of what happened to Tim.”
Pam nodded and motioned for her to enter the house. After hanging her coat up in the entry way, she turned and gave Marlee a hard look. “Why are you asking so many questions? Even more than the police. You don’t have any authority in this investigation, do you?”
“Well, no…” Marlee stammered trying to articulate why it was important that she be involved with the investigation. “Tim was my friend, and I want to make sure whoever killed him gets punished for it.” After speaking the words, Marlee regretted them. What if Pam was the one who killed Tim? Bumping off Marlee might be the next thing on Pam’s to-do list since the nosy student was asking so many questions.
Pam’s look softened, and she nodded. “I’ve talked to you more about Tim than I have the cops. It was ruled a homicide, but they don’t seem to be working very hard at solving it. The detective that was out here yesterday kept saying I had a motive. I didn’t handle it very well. I started crying and then told him to get out.”
Marlee realized it might be a good time to change tactics. “Pam, did you go to school with Eddie Turner?” It had just occurred to her that Pam and Eddie Turner were about the same age.
“Sure did. Up until he dropped out toward the end of our junior year. Actually, I don’t know for sure if he dropped out or was kicked out. Eddie missed so many days of school that it was kind of startling when he would show up in class. He was a real trouble-maker.”
“Do you associate with him any more now that you’re adults?”
Pam snorted. “I see him around here and there, but we don’t hang out. I’ve seen his band’s poster up around town, but I don’t know much else about him. He was bad news in high school. Dealt drugs, stole anything that wasn’t nailed down, picked fights, and always had a different girlfriend. No clue what those girls saw in him. He was in legal trouble too, as a kid. I remember the cops bringing him home more than once.”
“You saw the police bring Eddie home? Did he live on your street?” Marlee was ecstatic, hoping Pam might be a gold mine of information when it came to Eddie Turner.
“Sure. His mom is Lettie Rikers. He’s Blake’s half-brother. I thought you knew.”
“No, it never came out in my discussions with Blake or anyone else. Are the two of them close?”
Pam thought for a minute, sipping a cup of coffee she’d just poured. “I don’t know how they are now, but Blake used to idolize his older brother. They were several years apart in age, just like Tim and me. Blake looked up to Eddie and wanted to be just like him, even started acting and dressing like him when he was in middle school.”
“Was Blake a trouble-maker too?”
“Not that I knew of. Tom Rikers kicked Eddie out of the house after he dropped out of high school. The two of them got into fights all the time, and I think Tom was relieved when he could finally kick his step-son out of the house.”
“Wow. Eddie sure has had a tumultuous life,” Marlee said, information swirling around in her brain. “Luckily, Blake didn’t follow in his older brother’s footsteps.”
“Eddie never finished high school and even though Blake finished, he didn’t show any interest in college. They were both geniuses and could’ve gone on to do about anything they wanted for careers. Instead, Eddie is in a band, and Blake works at a printing company,” Pam said. “Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those jobs, but it seems like a waste of potential. I had to work hard for my grades. Eddie was lazy and couldn’t stick to anything. He and Blake acted like they were smarter than everyone else. I remember how Blake used to put Tim down when they were kids. And Tim was no dummy.”
Pam didn’t have any additional information about Tim’s death, and Marlee was in a rush to get to a phone to call Barry. She stood up and as she grabbed her coat off the back of the chair she remembered she’d hitched a ride out to the farm. It was one of the warmer days that week, but still bitingly cold. “Uh, Pam? Would you be willing to give me a ride back to the dorm? Or even just the edge of town? I caught a ride out here.”
�
�How did you plan to get home?” Pam asked as if Marlee’s lack of forethought was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard.
Marlee shrugged her shoulders and did her best to look helpless. Pam gave in and drove her back to the dorm, letting her off right in front of the building. “Let me know what else you find out, okay?” Pam asked, her voice tinged with hope.
“It’s an emergency!” Marlee yelled into the phone as she waited for Barry’s roommate to summon him. She twirled the phone cord anxiously as she waited. And waited. And waited.
“What is it now?” growled an out-of-breath Barry.
“I have big news,” she said getting ready to recap her conversation with Pam.
“So, do I,” Barry interrupted. “I’ll be over to your dorm room in a few minutes.” The phone clicked, leaving Marlee to wonder about the origin of Barry’s big news, doubting it could top hers.
The first full minute of their conversation consisted of both talking and no one listening, convinced their information was the most important. “Stop,” Marlee said, holding up her hand. “Go ahead.” Sometimes it was easy to be the bigger person when you had earth-shattering news.
Barry didn’t hesitate. “Eddie Turner has a criminal record in several states! He’s been charged with everything from burglary to assault.”
“Why didn’t the cops know this before?”
“Because all of our records systems are separate from each other. Not just between states, but even within South Dakota. Remember when we didn’t know about Adam’s attempted rape charge in Brown County? There’s no central cataloging office that keeps track of someone’s criminal offenses,” Barry reported.
“So, there’s not much deterrent to committing crimes if every offense is treated like it’s your first time, as long as it’s in another county or state,” Marlee said, disgusted with the lack of oversight in the criminal justice system.
“Not exactly. When someone comes before the judge to be sentenced, the probation office does some snooping around to find out what crimes they’ve been accused of or convicted of in all the other areas where they’ve lived.”
Fatal Footsteps Page 22