Reserved For Murder

by Kevin Hopkins

‘Do you know when he’ll be able to go home?’ Penner asked the doctor.

  ‘Probably tomorrow afternoon—if he stops playing with those stitches,’ the doctor said, seeing Sammy sneak a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

  ‘But they’re so itchy!’ Sammy said.

  ‘The more you scratch them, the longer you’re going to have to stay here,’ the doctor said, putting the chart back.

  ‘Well, if you’re getting me ice cream then that’s not too bad a trade off, is it?’ Sammy said. His mom slapped him on the leg again. ‘I’m going to be all bruised by the time I get out of here.’

  ‘Then stop being such a little devil,’ said Mrs. Greycrow.

  ‘I think we’ll see ourselves out,’ Grant said. ‘Glad you’re doing okay, Sammy. Can we give you a drive home, Mrs. Greycrow?’

  ‘No, I’m going to stay here for a while, make sure he behaves himself and doesn’t eat too much junk,’ Mrs. Greycrow said. Her voice softened and her eyes started to well up as she added, ‘Thank you again for helping my boy.’

  ‘I’m just glad we got there in time,’ said Grant. ‘What about you, Sarah? Need a lift?’

  ‘No, I’ve gotta work tonight, so I’m just going to crash here for a bit then walk over. Closer than going home,’ Sarah said, giving Grant a hug. ‘Thanks for everything.’

  ‘No problem,’ Grant said as they left the room. ‘Oh, I almost forgot,’ he added, poking his head back into the room. ‘Mrs. Greycrow, did you happen to show the note to Sooleawa this morning?’

  ‘No, she never saw it,’ Mrs. Greycrow said. ‘I kept it in my purse the entire time. Until Detective Penner asked to see it.’

  ‘Okay, thanks. Rest up, Sammy. And stop scratching,’ Grant said, watching Sammy quickly lower his hand back to his side.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ‘So, what’s the plan now?’ Grant asked as they exited the hospital and walked across the parking lot.

  ‘Well,’ Penner said, checking her watch, ‘It’s getting late and I’m starved…and seriously lacking caffeine. I think we need to talk to Travis again, so it looks like we’ll have to crash at the reserve one more night.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Millar agreed, standing next to his car. ‘If Sammy’s getting released tomorrow, I want to make sure it’s safe for him to go home.’

  ‘But, if we’re staying one more night, I need to pick up a couple of things,’ said Penner. ‘Probably wouldn’t kill you to buy a new t-shirt and some deodorant…just saying.’ She wrinkled her nose at Millar.

  ‘What are you talking about? Fresh as a daisy.’ Millar feigned offense. ‘Reminds me of the old days and twenty-four hour stakeouts.’

  ‘I think there’s a bargain department store downtown, next to a pizza joint,’ offered Grant. ‘Why don’t we swing by there, you guys can pick up whatever you need and then we’ll grab some dinner and discuss the next steps.’

  ‘Sounds good. Shotgun!’ Penner called out, as she quickly stepped around Grant to claim the front passenger seat of the car.

  ***

  ‘I still can’t believe you didn’t buy that t-shirt,’ Millar said, holding the restaurant door open for Grant and Penner.

  ‘From the back, I thought it looked alright—but then the front had that sequin tiger on it!’ Penner shuddered.

  ‘That was the best part! Who doesn’t want to wear a bedazzled tiger?’ Millar argued as they sat themselves down in a booth.

  ‘So, guys,’ Grant waited until the waitress placed the menus down before continuing, ‘Do you think we have enough to get a warrant for Travis? Seems like he was the last one to see Sammy before he—what—got attacked, I guess?’

  ‘I really don’t know. It’s all so circumstantial,’ Penner said, reading one side of the menu and then flipping it over. ‘Sammy remembers being out in the woods with Travis and that’s it. He doesn’t know what happened. I’d be really surprised if we got a judge to sign off on a warrant with what we have.’

  ‘You think?’ Grant said, sounding disappointed.

  ‘Think about it. The kid’s in the woods, playing with a guy’s dog. Next thing he knows, he’s in a hospital. Easy enough for Travis to say they were playing with the dog and then Sammy left on his own. No one can tell exactly when he got hit on the head, or who tied the rope around his neck. Without more evidence, no judge is going to say we’ve got enough to make a charge stick.’

  ‘Maybe not,’ Millar said. ‘But Travis doesn’t need to know that.’

  ‘I recognize that look,’ Penner said. ‘You thinking we play a bit dirty?’

  ‘Just a little,’ Millar said, pausing as the waitress brought a pitcher of water and three glasses over. She took their orders before Millar continued. ‘We’ll call it a night for tonight. Travis knows we’ve been talking to Sammy, so let’s let him stew on that while Sammy is safe in the hospital. Tomorrow morning, we’ll tell him we had a talk with Sammy and we have enough to arrest him, see what he says. We know whoever killed Jonny didn’t work alone, and I’m thinking Travis was one of the two involved. Let’s see if he’s willing to let us know who his partner in crime was. I want to see what the Chief has to say about the note, too. If Sooleawa didn’t mention anything about it to him, then how did he know what it said?’

  ‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ Penner said. ‘You can play bad cop, if you want. If you’re up for it, that is. I know you aren’t really back on full-time duty, yet.’

  ‘This could be just what I need to get back into the swing of things,’ Millar said. ‘Besides, it could be fun.’

  ***

  Early the next morning, Millar and Penner were sharing a pot of coffee in Grant’s apartment while Grant kept watch on the band office from his living room window.

  ‘The Chief and Sooleawa just showed up,’ Grant said, letting the blinds fall back into place. ‘Should we go see if Travis is there? I didn’t see him come through the front door, but, at this time of the morning, he should already be there,’ Grant said, looking at his watch.

  ‘Good a place as any to start,’ Millar said finishing his coffee and setting his mug down on the kitchen counter. ‘Let’s roll.’

  As they crossed the road and approached the front door, Penner asked, ‘So, how do you want to play this?’

  ‘Not too sure, really,’ Millar said, hand on the door knob. ‘I think we’ll just start talking about Sammy’s conversation and see if he squirms or talks. If need be, we’ll turn up the heat a bit.’ He opened the door and they went in.

  In the back room, Chief Ravenclaw and Sooleawa were in the middle of a heated discussion. The Chief seemed startled when the door opened. ‘Detectives,’ he said. ‘How’s young Sammy doing? I hope he’s starting to make a recovery.’ He walked towards them out of the back room, Sooleawa by his side. ‘We’ve been so worried that we were going to lose another one of our youth.’

  ‘Fortunately, it seems like he’s going to make a full recovery,’ Millar said. ‘May end up with a scar on his head, but it’ll give him a good story to tell later on.’

  ‘That’s good to hear,’ the Chief said. ‘Was he able to talk while you were there?’

  ‘He was,’ Millar said warily. ‘He talked quite a bit, actually.’

  ‘Oh, really,’ the Chief said. ‘And what did he have to say?’ His voice was calm, but his hands were fidgeting at his sides. Sooleawa seemed to notice, and reached over to hold his hand, interlacing her fingers with his.

  ‘Just told us what he remembers from the other night,’ Millar said. ‘Rather interesting conversation.’ The Chief stared at Millar, as though he was trying to read his thoughts. Neither man was giving up anything. ‘Do you know where Travis is?’

  ‘Travis? Why?’ the Chief asked.

  ‘Just have a couple of questions for him is all,’ Millar said. ‘Do you know where we can find him?’

  ‘I haven’t seen him yet today,’ the Chief said. ‘Have you?’ he asked, turning to Sooleawa.

  ‘No, I haven’t seen him since yester
day,’ Sooleawa said. She dropped the Chief’s hand and strode over to the window. ‘But he should be around. Maybe he’s out having a smoke or walking his dog.’ She made a show of looking out the window and down the street.

  ‘Right,’ said Millar. ‘Chief Ravenclaw, I have a question for you.’

  ‘Go ahead,’ the Chief said, crossing his arms in front of his body and leaning against Travis’s desk.

  ‘The note that was found on Sammy. How did you know what it said?’ Millar asked. Grant watched the Chief’s expression closely. It never wavered.

  ‘Like I said before, Sooleawa mentioned it when she called me from the hospital,’ the Chief replied. ‘Why?’

  ‘Well, thing is,’ Millar started. ‘Mrs. Greycrow said she never showed anyone the note. So, how is it possible you knew what was in it?’ he asked Sooleawa.

  ‘She’s obviously mistaken,’ Sooleawa said, wheeling around. ‘Poor woman had just seen her son, her youngest child, brought into a hospital, clinging to life. I’ve been there. I know how she was feeling. She obviously wasn’t in the right frame of mind and just forgot showing me the note.’

  ‘She seemed pretty sure, though,’ Millar said.

  ‘Well, I don’t know what to tell you,’ said Sooleawa firmly. ‘I know what I saw and I definitely told Mac about it on the phone.’

  ‘There you have it,’ the Chief said, still stone faced. ‘Sooleawa saw the note and let me know what it said. Unless you have any other questions, I have things I need to take care of. The community still has to plan the funeral for Jonny.’

  Millar looked at Penner who shrugged. ‘No, I think that’s all for now,’ Millar said. ‘If you see Travis, let him know we want to talk to him.’

  ‘Will do, Detective,’ the Chief said. He seemed to visibly relax. ‘Again, thanks to the three of you for helping with Sammy. Our community is forever grateful. We were very lucky that you were here. I feel like you were sent by one of the ancestors.’

  ‘It’s been our pleasure.’ Millar turned to head towards the door, following behind Grant and Penner. As Grant reached out for the knob, the door flew open, almost hitting him in the face.

  ‘You guys have to come quick!’ Barry cried, bursting into the room. ‘It’s Travis. He’s dead!’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Grant asked, putting his hand on Barry’s shoulder. ‘Where is he?’

  ‘In the woods,’ Barry said, catching his breath. ‘Looks like he shot himself!’

  Millar turned to look at the Chief, who was looking at Sooleawa. ‘Not another suicide,’ the Chief said. ‘You better go and investigate.’

  ‘Why do I feel like you already knew about this?’ Millar asked, taking a step towards the Chief.

  ‘I’d be careful what you say, Detective. Slander is very serious,’ the Chief said, drawing out the words. ‘Remember, you’re a guest here and have no jurisdiction whatsoever. Keep it up and I’ll have you removed from our community. Now go, tend to Travis. Barry can use your help, I’m sure.’

  ‘I’ll be back for you,’ Millar said. ‘Mark my words.’

  ‘Mark my words?’ Chief Ravenclaw repeated in a mocking tone. ‘Detective, do you know what I did before I returned to the reserve to become Chief? I was a lawyer. A defence lawyer. And a good one, too. I know my rights and how the system works. Just keep that in mind. You don’t want to go around making unfounded accusations about me or any of my people.’

  ‘Millar, let’s go,’ Penner said, grabbing Millar’s shoulder and pulling him towards the door. ‘We’ll figure this all out.’

  Millar glared at the Chief, who returned the look, a shadow of a smirk playing on his lips. Millar turned and followed Penner out the door, hustling to catch up with Grant and Barry. ‘That bastard. He’s got something to do with this, I’m sure. And either his wife’s covering for him or she’s in on it, too.’

  ‘We don’t know that for sure,’ Penner said.

  ‘Pretty obvious though, isn’t it?’ Millar said. ‘He has to be involved.’

  ‘Maybe so, but don’t go pushing him too far,’ Penner said. ‘If he kicks us out of here now, we’ll never be able to solve this. He’s right—we’re guests and have no power here. We can’t go accusing him of anything without more proof. And right now, we really have nothing.’

  ‘Fine,’ Millar said. ‘But I’m going to make him pay for this before we’re done.’

  ‘In due time,’ Penner said. ‘Come on. Where is he, Barry?’

  ‘Follow me,’ Barry said, leading them off towards the woods. If he was surprised by their conversation about the Chief’s potential involvement, he didn’t let it show.

  ‘Were you the one that found him?’ Grant asked as they ran along.

  ‘Yup,’ Barry said, panting slightly. ‘I was walking to town to get my daughter a gift when I came across him.’

  ‘Sure he’s dead?’ Penner asked.

  ‘Very,’ Barry said. ‘Gunshot wound to the side of his head. I checked for vitals, but it was pretty obvious that he was gone. I’d say he’s been there for a few hours—probably happened overnight. Oh, and there was a small handgun laying beside him.’

  ‘Did you just leave the gun there?’ Millar asked.

  ‘I did,’ Barry said, shaking his head. ‘Crap, I probably shouldn’t have left it there. I wasn’t thinking clearly—we don’t get a whole lot of gun deaths out here. I tried to call you guys from the scene, but I didn’t have any service.’

  ‘Should be okay—I doubt anyone will touch it if they come across it,’ Millar said. ‘But we should hurry up, just in case.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  ‘Do you know the coroner’s number?’ Grant asked, holding an arm up to ward off branches as he jogged through the woods behind Barry. ‘We should probably get him out here right away.’

  ‘It’s back in the office,’ Barry said, stopping suddenly. ‘Do you want to go call, or should I?’

  ‘If you know where it is, probably be easier for you to go back and call,’ Grant said. ‘Is Travis easy enough to find?’

  ‘Yeah, just keep going down this path,’ Barry said pointed ahead of them. ‘He’ll be a couple hundred yards ahead, just on your right. I’ll go back to the station and make the call, then I’ll meet you at the scene,’ he said, turning around and running back for the second time that morning

  ‘Perfect. See you soon,’ Grant called after him, continuing down the path at a quick pace.

  ‘Man, it’s been a while since I ran, I guess,’ Millar said, panting loudly. ‘Crazy how fast you lose it when you don’t keep it up.’

  ‘Come on, old man. You can do it,’ Penner said, running past Millar, leaping over the occasional root sticking up from the path. ‘There he is,’ she said, slowing to a stop. Travis’s lifeless body was slumped over at the base of a large oak tree. ‘Definitely looks dead.’ She approached the body and reached down to feel for a pulse on his wrist. ‘Cold, just like Barry said.’ She looked at his face. His lips were an eerie shade of grey and a river of blood had dried down the side of his cheek. It almost looked like he was made up for Hallowe’en.

  ‘Definitely a gunshot wound to his left temple,’ Millar said, leaning over to have a better look. ‘Blood’s congealed, so I agree with Barry. He’s probably been here a couple hours.’ Laying on the ground, next to Travis’s leg, was a small hand gun. ‘Looks like a 22.’

  ‘Is that normal?’ Grant asked, pointing at the gun. ‘I thought his muscles would have contracted when he died and the gun would still be in his hand.’

  ‘Sometimes, but not always,’ Millar explained. ‘It really depends on what part of the brain was hit. Hit the right spot and every muscle instantly tightens up. You’d have a hard time getting the gun out if that had happened. But, other times, the muscles just go limp and the gun comes out from the force of the recoil.’

  ‘Any blood splatter on his hand?’ Penner asked, trying to have a look.

  ‘Hard to tell,’ Millar said, leaning down further t
o see Travis’s hand. ‘The way he’s fallen over, I can’t really see it properly. We’ll have to wait for the coroner.’

  ‘Don’t suppose either of you have gloves, do you?’ Penner asked. ‘I don’t want to handle the gun and contaminate any prints.’

  ‘I don’t,’ Millar said, feeling around his pockets.

  ‘Me neither, but I do have a handkerchief,’ Grant said, pulling a white square of cloth out of his back pocket. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said to Penner, seeing her expression as he passed it to her. ‘I haven’t used it,’ he added.

  ‘What are you, seventy?’ Penner said, taking the handkerchief and holding it gingerly by the corner. ‘Who your age carries one of these? And are you sure you haven’t used it?’

  ‘I’m sure. When I first joined the force, one of the old-timers told me to always carry one,’ Grant said. ‘You never know when you’re going to need to pick something up. If you always have one with you, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have gloves,’ he said with a smile.

  Penner laid the cloth across her hand, reached down and picked up the gun. She tilted her head, looking at the gunshot wound and then down at the ground where she had retrieved the gun. ‘Do you know if he was left handed?’

  ‘You know, I’m not sure,’ Grant said, trying to remember if he had ever seen Travis writing. ‘Maybe. To be honest, I never noticed either way. I think that if I had seen him writing with his left hand, I would have noticed. Lefties kind of jump out at you where you don’t see it all the time.’

  ‘Well, he was shot in the left temple—if he was right handed, I very much doubt that he shot himself,’ Millar observed. ‘No one would use their wrong hand to shoot. And you wouldn’t reach around your head, either. We’ll have to ask Barry. He might know.’

  ‘So, you’re saying he didn’t shoot himself?’ Penner asked Millar, looking back down at the body.

  ‘I’m just saying it’s a possibility,’ Millar said. ‘We don’t know anything for sure at this point. We’ll have to wait for the coroner to have a look at the wound, see if it’s the right angle to be self-inflicted. And we need to find out if he was left handed or not, but…to be honest,’ Millar sighed. ‘I don’t think I’d be surprised if he said it wasn’t suicide. I honestly think the Chief is involved in all of this somehow.’