Trash Day Tragedy

by Jamie Blair

  Ben blew out a breath. "All right. Well, you came forward and told me about it now, so what I'll do is write up everything you said and we'll go from there."

  "Am I in trouble for this?" Soapy asked. He looked so heartsick over this I could cry just looking at him. I could only imagine how confused and scared he was finding those bones in his trash after seeing someone run away.

  "I can't say for sure," Ben said. "I'll have to talk about it with Reins, and the Franklin County police have been involved. I'll do my best to see that you're treated fairly."

  "That's all I can expect," Soapy said. "I hope you folks don't think too poorly of me after this."

  "Not at all," I said. "You came forward and did the right thing. It might have been a few days delayed, but it was a tricky situation and everyone makes mistakes sometimes."

  Ben nodded in agreement. "Like Cam said, what's important is that you came forward."

  Monica nodded along with us as well.

  Soapy let out a huge breath. "Feels like a hundred pounds off my shoulders." He stood up. "Thank you all for your kindness. I'll get out of your hair and let you get back to your day." He stopped abruptly and looked at Ben. "Unless I'm under arrest and can't leave?"

  Ben stood and clapped him on the shoulder. "No, you aren't under arrest."

  "Theresa would have my hide if she had to run that shop alone," he said.

  "People in this town would help her if it ever came to that," Ben said, sending a jolt through me. What did he mean if it came to that?

  Ben saw Soapy out and came back to the table shaking his head. "This isn't good."

  "What do you mean?" I asked. "We just eliminated a suspect."

  "No, we just got a confession that one was involved. Soapy is the only person we can directly link to those bones."

  "So he's still a person of interest?" I couldn't believe it.

  "Cam, he's the main person of interest. They might want to see if they can issue a warrant for his arrest."

  "Oh, good gravy! That's not fair. He came to clear his name, not put a target on his own back."

  "I'm sorry, but that's the way the law works."

  "If that's justice then it's all upside down and catawampus!"

  "Justice is determined by the court, not the police."

  "Well, do you want to arrest me for finding them in the attic? Maybe arrest yourself too, since you live here. Maybe throw in Monica for good measure? Cuff all of us!"

  "Cam..."

  "I'm going for a walk. Liam! Walk!"

  I hooked on his leash, grabbed my handbag, and scuttled out the back door with Monica on my heels. "I'm sorry," I told her. "I had to get out of there. My mouth was running unfiltered."

  "I know. I don't know how I managed to keep mine shut."

  I groaned. "I know he's only doing his job, but sometimes it seems like he's on the opposite side from the rest of us. You can't tell me he thinks Soapy had those bones all along, hiding them in his shed. And what is he going to be charged with? Hiding a skeleton for a hundred years? Nobody even knows who that man is, let alone what happened to him that long ago."

  "This just means we need to find out and fast. Get the troops on the phone. Logan and Anna should be out of school soon. Let's meet at the church since the raccoons are gone."

  "Good idea. I'm glad you're thinking straight since I'm not." I dug in my purse for my phone, dredging up a little velvet box for jewelry that I kept safety pins in, a cracked outlet cover that I needed a replacement for in the bathroom, and a box of staples. "Where is that phone?"

  "Here, use mine," Monica said. "I have their numbers in my contact list."

  I took her phone and called in the troops. We needed to find out everything we could about the bones, especially who had them first or Soapy could end up behind bars.

  16

  "I knew Soapy didn't do nothing detritus," Roy said, frowning.

  Anna's head jerked back in dismay. "I don't think that word means what you think it means."

  "Listen, young miss," Roy said, shaking his finger at her, "it means what I want it to mean."

  "Debris?" Logan asked. "It means rubble or refuse."

  Roy cleared his throat. "Of course that's what I mean. Soapy wouldn't do nothing to make them bones refuse."

  We'd gathered in the church basement and were off to a typical start for us.

  "You pulled that one out of your ear," Johnna told him.

  "Better than pulling it out of somewhere else," he said, and let out a loud guffaw.

  "Let's go over what we know," I said, trying to rein them in. "The bones were taken to Soapy's dumpster in the middle of the night. He saw a person--man or woman, he couldn't tell which--running away. He found the bones and took them to the trash can in the park beside the gazebo where Monica and I found them. So our mission is to find the person who put the bones in Soapy's dumpster."

  "Which direction did the person run?" Logan asked.

  "He didn't say," Monica answered.

  "Does he know what they were wearing?" Anna asked.

  "Any footprints?" Johnna chimed in.

  "He didn't say any of that," I told them.

  "Sounds to me like he didn't say much. We need to get ahold of Soapy and ask him some questions before we can do anything else," Roy said.

  "I think you're right." I grabbed my handbag. "Who's up for coffee? It's on me."

  "If it's on you, sign me up!" Roy hopped out of his chair.

  "I could always use something to keep my fingers nibble," Johnna said, stowing her knitting in her bag.

  The six of us left the church and took our questions across the bridge to the Soapy Savant. Being mid-afternoon there weren't many people around, which made it easy for Soapy to step away from his work for a few minutes and sit at a table with us.

  "I take it you've told the crew," Soapy said, glancing around the table. "I hope you all don't think too bad of me now."

  "Stop that nonsense talk," Johnna said. "Somebody dumped a bunch of human bones in your trash. You're not to blame."

  "Exactly," Anna said. "Did you see which way the person ran?"

  Soapy pointed to the east. "In the direction of the grist mill and Fiddle Dee Doo. Over that way."

  "Did ya see what he was wearing?" Roy asked.

  "Not really. I don't know if it was a man or a woman, it was a shadow of a person really. If I had to guess I'd say tennis shoes and dark pants, maybe a hooded sweatshirt."

  "Did you search for footprints?" Logan asked.

  "No. That's not a bad idea, though." Soapy stood up. "I'm going to do that now."

  "We'll come help," I said.

  We hustled outside through the back door behind Soapy. The ground was wet and muddy, as it always was in early spring. "This could be promising," I said. "The ground wasn't frozen last week, and it's not baked into a rock by the sun like in the summer."

  "Spread out," Soapy said, waving us apart. "Let's cover rows of about ten feet across and then the next person goes from there so we don't miss anything."

  "I can make a grid on my laptop if it would help," Logan offered.

  "No time for your fancy computer work," Roy said. "Just turn your eyes to the ground and start searchin'."

  We stood in a row across the lawn spread out about every ten feet, like Soapy suggested, and made our way across, slow and steady. "Yell if you find anything," I called.

  Halfway through and nobody had said a word.

  We plodded on.

  I was starting to worry that we might not be able to find the person responsible for dumping the bones and framing Soapy. If I were trying to get away unseen, would I think about footprints? Probably not, especially if I'd just made a bunch of noise and needed to get away fast. I might make a circuitous route though, to throw off anyone who might follow me.

  Behind the Soapy Savant was another row of shops, then a few trees and beyond that, Landow Farm. Maybe the person made their way around.

  I began to veer off my ten-foot s
ection of path and head toward the lane between Soapy's and the next row of shops. "I'm checking it out back here," I called.

  "Did you find something?" Monica asked.

  "No, but I have a hunch."

  "Rome wasn't built on a hunch," Roy shouted.

  "Built in a day," Logan said.

  "Nobody likes a know-it-all," Roy said.

  I left the lawn and stepped onto the gravel. There was a paper coffee cup that I picked up, and a tissue with a smudge of something thick and red on it that got on my thumb. I tossed the wrapper in the cup, wiped my thumb on my jeans and kept going. Litter bugs. Paper went in the trash, bones did not. Maybe we should make a sign.

  Shoes didn't make prints on gravel, so I quickly checked out the sides of the lane where there was some dirt and made my way to the tree line. Old, soggy, half decayed leaves from the fall covered the ground under the tall oaks. A few pines had dropped pinecones and needles. I searched for any sign that a person had run through, but came up empty.

  I turned to head back to the Soapy Savant when my phone rang. The last foray I made into my handbag for my phone turned out to be an exercise in futility, but maybe I could find it if it was ringing.

  Following the ringtone, I honed in on the left bottom corner of my purse. After moving a notebook, wallet, and pack of gum, I found it and tugged it out. Ben's name glowed on the screen, and guilt overwhelmed me.

  "Hi," I said, answering. "I'm sorry. I know you're just doing your job and you don't make the rules or laws and if Soapy is--"

  "Cam! You were right. The workmen putting the pool in Fiona and Jim's yard just found a bone. She's been taken in for questioning by the Franklin County Sheriff's office."

  "What?!"

  Monica, Soapy, Logan, Anna, Johnna, and Roy came running.

  "I don't have all the details yet, but it was an index finger and there was a man's ring on it that might give us a clue to his identity."

  "Good gravy. I never expected this even if I did think it's what happened."

  "You're getting pretty good at this. Maybe I should start hiring you." I could hear the smile in his words, and something else that seemed like it might be pride.

  My police officer husband was proud of me and my powers of deduction. It was bittersweet. The sweet part was his pride, but it came about out of me solving murders in our little town. That was a bitter pill to swallow.

  "I'll be home soon. Does this mean Soapy's off the hook?"

  "That's not up to me, but I would think so."

  Relief flooded over me. He didn't say yes, but it was definitely not a no. If Ben was giving me a maybe then that was a good sign.

  "What's the word, Cameron Cripps Hayman?" Roy asked.

  "I'll let you go," Ben said. "I hear your boss in the background."

  "Very funny," I said. "I'll be home soon."

  I hung up and told them what happened.

  Soapy's face dropped. "I can't believe it. Fiona and Jim hiding bones? In my dumpster?"

  "It looks that way," I said, coming to terms with what this meant for him. His friends and neighbors tried to frame him, or they didn't think of the consequences if the bones were found in his dumpster. Or they just didn't care.

  Poor Soapy. This outcome wasn't as bad as being arrested, but it wasn't the good news I'd originally thought it was.

  17

  The next day I couldn't stand still. Ben was supposed to get a good look at the ring that was found on the index finger. He promised he'd call and describe it to me and if there was any way he could take a picture he would.

  It spoke volumes that he'd trust me with information that only the police were privy to. I figured since he helped me take the journal from the train depot he'd realized there was no turning back. I'd only hound him until he gave in now that I knew he would.

  I tossed a load of laundry in the washing machine and cleaned the bathroom hoping to expel some nervous energy, but no luck. I missed my big dogs and their wild rumpus. Liam moped around looking in every room for Ellsworth. The little guy probably couldn't figure out why all of his friends were leaving him.

  "Liam! Come on, let's go outside and talk to the bees!"

  Liam had no interest in bees, but getting him outside might brighten his spirits. I picked him up and carried him out the front door.

  The bees buzzed in their box. I stood a few feet away, not wanting to get too close. They wouldn't sting me unless I threatened them, but it was best to give them some space.

  "Say hello, Liam." I waved his paw toward the box. He whined.

  "Liam misses his friend Ellsworth," I told the bees. "The big dogs are at training this week. It's been a crazy winter."

  Some people would think I was insane for talking to the bees, but once I got going I couldn't stop. I let Liam sniff around in the flower bed and told them about the winter festival and how two of our neighbors were murdered in a love triangle gone bad. I told them about Roy adopting Ginger the Chow Chow, and Metamora Mike going missing only to turn up in Roy's trailer wearing one of Johnna's tea cozies.

  Finally, I caught them up on the current predicament in town. "So if you know who the bones belong to, it would be great to let me know. Spell it out in honey on the porch or something, okay?"

  Liam scratched at the front door eager to get back inside. His mood hadn't gotten better. "I'll ask Grandma Irene if Ellsworth can come visit."

  He barked and scratched the door some more, so I left the bees until next time and climbed the porch steps to go back inside. I needed to put the laundry in the dryer anyway.

  Liam scampered down the hall and crawled under the sofa in the living room. It broke my heart to see him so sad. When Mia got home I'd have to tell her what was going on. She'd snuggle him up and make him feel better.

  I flipped the top of the washer open and started transferring clothes over to the dryer. I pulled out my jeans from the night before and noticed the reddish pink stain on the leg.

  It was from that darn tissue with the red gunk on it that got on my thumb. I'd wiped it on my jeans and it stained.

  I rubbed the stain. It was dry and the fabric hardened where the color had seeped in. Please, I said to whoever might be listening to desperate women doing laundry, don’t let this be blood. I sprayed it with stain removed and tossed the jeans back in the washer. I didn't have very many pairs that fit without pinching or becoming stretched out after an hour and inching down. If worse came to worse, I'd have to wear them with the red stain on the leg. At least it was only a small spot.

  While I waited for the dryer or Ben, whichever rang first, I grabbed a few cookies from the pantry for me and a new kind of Dog Diggity treat for Liam.

  "Liam, want a cookie?" I padded down the hallway in my slippers and knelt beside the couch in the family room. "Liam, I have Aunt Monica's newest creation, Carrot Cake Canine Cookies."

  I held the little round cookie under the couch. I felt him nudge it with his nose, then carefully take it between his teeth. If that didn't get him out from under there for another one, then I'd have to move the couch and fish him out.

  Maybe Irene would let us keep Ellsworth for the week after all. She had to be reeling with the discovery of a finger bone in Fiona's backyard. Come to think of it, if anyone had insider information it would be Irene. If Fiona had even two-seconds to call her, she knew everything.

  Perhaps she'd be up for a visit under the pretense of a distressed little dog. "Liam! We're going for a ride!"

  Liam snuffled and sniffed double time all the way up the sidewalk at Irene's house. His little legs scampered as fast as I'd let him go on the leash. "You aren't strong enough to pull me," I told him. "Not like your big brothers, thankfully." With any luck they'd come back and be good walkers when leashed and not drag me into the canal anymore.

  I pressed the doorbell and waited, unsure of what I should expect. On one hand Irene could be anxious and overcome by concern for her friend. On the other hand, she could be spitting mad at me over the tribunal. It w
as a roll of the dice.

  The door breezed open and there she stood in her pink twinset and tan slacks, not a hair in her platinum bob out of place. "Hello, Cameron. Come to rub my nose in it?"

  I didn't expect her to be so quick to the draw and was speechless for a moment. "I brought Liam to see Ellsworth. He's been depressed without him, and I think it would do him good to see that he lives here."

  She blinked with exaggerated flicks of her lashes. "He's a dog."

  "And he has feelings, just like you do. Are you taking the new development with Fiona all right? I'm sure it was a surprise."

  "The ideas you have in that head of yours. I'm fine, thank you. Not in Florida, obviously, but fine. Is there anything else?"

  "I guess not."

  "Good. Tell Ben I hold no animosity toward him for this mess."

  "I don't know why you would," I said, then remembered how I'd lashed out when it was my friend under the law's radar. "I mean, that's understandable. I'll let him know."

  Ellsworth slinked between her ankles and meowed. Liam became a furry jumping bean on the end of his leash, darting between Irene's feet to chase his cat buddy.

  Irene steadied herself against the door, grimacing and appalled by my dog's behavior. "Get that dog out of here!"

  "Okay, Liam, you got to see him. Come on now." I knelt and pulled him into my arms. "Let's go home."

  I turned and stepped from the threshold only to see Ellsworth streak past me. Liam barked and tried to free himself from my grip.

  "Ellsworth!" Irene shrieked. "Look what you've done!" she shouted at me, pushing by me to run after her cat.

  Liam wiggled and barked and wasn't staying in my arms no matter what. I put him down and hung on to his leash as he bolted in the direction the cat ran. "We'll find him," I called to Irene as I jogged past with Liam in the lead.

  I headed down the sidewalk with Liam darting left and right, nose to the wind. The click clack of hard-soled flat shoes behind me told me Irene was on our tail. "Don't let him get too far!" she yelled.