The Devil in Maryvale

by Jackie Griffey

  "I figured keeping them in separate cells would pay off," Harlan approved. "Jake is pure as the driven snow too, to hear him tell it. He's also trying to act like he doesn't know anything about the connection between them and the school clubs."

  "Won't do him any good. We're getting all the details about their giving the goats' heads to the school groups and encouraging them in their devil worship clubs to cover up their petty thievery. Their tale is they never took enough to make a hardship on anybody, and so on and on and on...."

  "Not on them, that is. But they did invest in the trailer and rent the refrigerated van, poor devils!" Harlan chuckled at their operation costs.

  "They thought they had it made not stealing over two head at any one place and timing it close to when the youngsters had their meetings. It worked for a while."

  "The low life trash," Harlan snorted. "Using children! We ought to turn some school teachers I know loose on them."

  "Yeah, I know of a couple here who would join the lynch mob with vengeance." Cas chuckled picturing Miss Mayme and Miss Minnie in hot pursuit.

  "You said Caleb Martin and Matthew Tinwhistle are ready and willing to prosecute the Crow brothers for the thefts of their cattle and the goat. With the evidence there is against them, thanks to Lorenzo, all three will be put away for a long time. And I notice the weekly papers there and here too are having a field day."

  "Yeah, it's like the circus. Something for everyone. At least Judge Spruce will be able to hear this one. You know we're waiting on another judge to hold the inquest on the Davis case."

  "I hadn't thought about that. How is the Davis case going? You making any headway?"

  "I'm getting there, Harlan. I'm getting there."

  "Getting there. Meaning you know a lot of things you can't begin to prove?"

  "Yeah, you're right. But I've got the germ of a plan to get the proof."

  "Well, let me know if I can do anything to help. I'm sure glad you had your eyes open when you found those prints behind Lorenzo's market. You done good, Cas."

  "Thanks for not calling it dumb luck again." Cas grinned. "It's a good thing we've got each other to brag on us. Now, if I can manage to get lucky on this other case, I'll even let you rib me about it."

  "You'll get there, sure as I'll rib you. I think I'll go down and see what else this older Crow wants to tell me about the other two that I haven't heard yet. May solve some more county crimes without leaving the building!"

  * * *

  Cas opened the safe and took out the little gold bracelet that had belonged to Denise Davis. The D caught the light from the window. He sat looking at it a moment before picking up the phone.

  "Gladys, are Rhodes and Doug still here?"

  "Doug is. Rhodes just went out, I can catch him for you."

  "Okay, hurry. I want to talk to both of them."

  Doug came in, Rhodes wasn't far behind. Gladys shut the door of the office.

  Cas looked at the clock. "I know it's time to go home, this won't take long. I want to run something by you and see what you think of it."

  Both were curious and Rhodes had spotted the bracelet lying on the desk. He pulled his chair closer.

  "Is that the bracelet we were looking for?"

  "Yes," Cas nodded. "That's it. I found it at one of the club's meeting places. I know now, that meeting place is where Denise was killed."

  Cas outlined the plan he had in mind and finished with, "You, Rhodes, and Doug will handle this with me. Gladys will be here that night getting caught up on some things and Raines will be here on duty. Raines made the arrest in the rustling case. That's enough glory to retire on, and we need him here." He looked up at each of them. "Any questions?"

  "Not from me," Rhodes shook his head. "I can't see any other way to get him."

  "I wish Shirley could be here to get the experience. Could you use another witness?" Doug asked Cas with a hopeful look.

  Cas thought about it. "I haven't decided to hire her yet. I haven't had a chance to get her in here and talk to her. Tell you what, tell her to come by tomorrow and I'll talk to her. If she wants to go, and I decide to let her, I'll deputize her. That will make it official."

  "Yes, sir!" Doug beamed, ignoring all the ifs.

  "Now don't get your hopes up," Cas warned. "I haven't said yes yet, and she may not be as anxious to go as you think. Tell her to come in after lunch. That will give us plenty of time to get organized. Don't tell her anything at this point, except to come in. But, we'll see. As for the plan, Gladys and Raines don't know the details either, just that we've got a plan and they are to be here."

  Rhodes stood up, ready to go home.

  Cas and Doug stood too as Cas continued. "I'll talk to Shirley Dalton tomorrow after lunch if she comes in. The three of us, and possibly Shirley, will meet here in the office at four o'clock."

  Doug paused at the door. "Shirley will be here. She'll be glad to get in on an 'if' for something like this. I think she'll make a good deputy."

  Cas nodded, followed them out and turned to Gladys. "I've got an errand to run before it gets too dark. See you tomorrow."

  The errand was to the old ruins on the judge's property. Cas parked near the barn. He took off the broken half of the door opposite the one hiding the small utility truck and took it to a spot above the meeting place.

  He muscled it over to where he'd gone down before he discovered the path. "This should get it down there were I want it."

  Cas turned the door loose and let gravity do the job. He hurried down the path and carried it into the meeting place, being careful not to tear his uniform on its rough places. He leaned it across a corner at the back several feet from the table with the candles on it.

  He stepped behind it to make sure he could see the table and the bench where Hannah had seen Darrell and Denise sitting, where they were standing when she was stabbed. He also tested to make sure the door wouldn't fall, then wiped his hands on his handkerchief. The trap was set.

  Chapter 20

  It was the aroma of pork chops that brought Cas in the kitchen door on scent alert. He always paused to sniff the air unless Connie had heard him and was there to greet him with a kiss. He had been married long enough to have his priorities straight.

  Connie grinned up at him as she came in to put her arms around him. "Yes, it's pork chops. Some nice thick ones Lorenzo cut for me so I could stuff them."

  "Ah, with your good dressing and gravy and potatoes too?" He eyed what Connie called her 'potato bowl' on the counter.

  "Uh-huh. I'm going to a little extra trouble tonight because I'm going to chicken out tomorrow."

  "Chicken out?" Cas backed up a little looking worried. "You mean I don't get fed tomorrow?"

  "No, I mean I'm going to put a chicken in the crockpot because it's the easiest thing to do. I'll be working for Lisa Randolph and won't be home in time to do much more than take up the chicken and open 'the can of your choice.' Am I fired?"

  "No, sounds good to me. I like things cooked all day in the crockpot."

  "That's good. It's easy on the cook, too." She turned away to finish putting things on the table as Missy came in and started pouring tea in the glasses.

  "Hi, dad. Have a good day?"

  "Well, it wasn't dull." Cas nodded without elaborating. He washed his hands at the sink before he sat down.

  Connie passed the rolls. "Maybe Lorenzo will have another meat sale soon and I'll get something good for the crockpot."

  "Uh, I don't think so." Cas said it softly, not looking up.

  "What's that?" Connie buttered her roll, "What do mean you don't think so?"

  "There aren't going to be any more of those beef sales, Connie."

  The butter knife was stilled.

  "Why not?" Missy asked.

  "Because a couple of days ago, we arrested the fellows he's been getting the meat from. They're the ones who were stealing a head or two at a time here and in Marble County. They were selling some of the meat to Lorenzo. We caught them
."

  "You mean he's been arrested? Cortez Lorenzo?" Connie was distressed. "But Lorenzo! No, he wouldn't!"

  "No. Not Lorenzo. You're right. Lorenzo wouldn't. He didn't. He didn't know he was dealing with the Midnight Beef Supply as Harlan and I called it. He helped us catch the thieves. Lorenzo's just fine. He helped us get the thieves red handed. We caught them with the meat when they brought it in and arrested them when they took the money from Lorenzo for it. The write-up will be in tomorrow's paper. Lorenzo's all right and the thieves are in jail. But there won't be any more of those one day meat sales."

  The wheels of reason sped to the correct conclusion in Connie's agile mind. "Those footprints you found! Were they? Did they"

  "Yes, they were made by the thieves. They're also the ones who stole Matthew Tinwhistle's goat."

  "Gertrude," Missy grinned triumphantly. "Gertrude's avenged!"

  "Avenged, at peace, or whatever Tinwhistle wants to call it. One of Harlan Glover's deputies called Gladys and told her he's already been over to Marble County and identified the hide and took it home."

  "The goat, goodness. They stole the poor goat too. But they wouldn't make much selling goat meat, I wouldn't think?" Missy made a face.

  "No," Cas agreed. "Haven't heard of anyone having a goat roast in quite a while. They stole one over in Marble County too. It wasn't stolen for the meat. They gave the heads to the clubs like Darrell's. I guess it's possible the Crows ate the rest, they look like they'd eat anything that didn't bite back."

  Missy laughed but Connie was still thinking about such wholesale wrongdoing.

  "You mean they had the nerve to sell the stolen meat right here in town?"

  Cas told them about the Crow brothers and Harlan's continuing troubles with them. "They not only stole cattle, but worse, they used our children. They were behind some of the devil worship clubs. Giving them goat heads and speaking at meetings and encouraging them to get members and do other things like the orgy Darrell tried to get his club members interested in. They did a few mutilations to scare people, to keep them from reporting the thefts right away. To cover up what they were doing."

  "Well! They certainly deserve to be in jail." Connie's indignation was vehement but faded quickly. "Even so, I sure am going to miss those beef sales."

  Missy laughed at her mother's unhappy face. "Makes pork taste better to me. Just think of poor Gertrude, mom...."

  Cas shrugged. "I know the Anderson sisters will miss the sales too. You've got to take the bitter with the sweet on this. The culprits are in jail where they belong."

  "Oh, I guess so." Connie conceded but not too happily.

  "That reminds me, I won't be home tomorrow for dinner. Save me a piece of that crockpot chicken, will you please?"

  "I don't know." Connie gave him a stern look. "Considering what you did to the beef supply." She tilted her head, regarding him, weighing whether he was worthy of a share of the chicken.

  Cas tried to look properly worried, stifling a grin.

  Missy drowned a giggle in her tea.

  "Oh, I guess I'll save you some. But you do get by with an awful lot around here."

  "Because I'm the Head of the House," Cas announced loftily, winking at Missy.

  "Sure you are," Connie agreed piously. "Just as your Aunt Harry says. I can just hear her. 'Man is the head of the house, woman is the neck and it's her duty to turn him in the right direction!'"

  Missy and Cas laughed at the truth in that. And some of her Great Aunt Harriet's other pearls of wisdom that it brought to mind.

  Neither Missy nor Connie asked what the late work involved but Connie was apprehensive, knowing it had to be something to do with the Davis case.

  * * *

  The next day Cas worked in his office all morning, leaving only to go to The Smithy for lunch. At two o'clock, Gladys rang his phone.

  "There's a Shirley Dalton here to see you."

  "Thanks."

  Cas went to open the door for her, closing it again before directing her to a chair.

  Shirley Dalton was five-seven with shoulder length dark hair, brown eyed, and slender. She was attractive and looked neat and well groomed in a dark suit and white blouse. Cas remembered from her application she was a couple of months away from twenty-two, and just out of college.

  "You are interested in getting into law enforcement, are you?" Cas smiled as he sat back down at his desk. "Would that be Doug Freeman's influence showing up?"

  "I know he likes what he's doing, but it's not just his influence. I have been interested in working in law enforcement for a long time. I'm taking some post graduate courses that will help me. But," she added quickly, "I can get night classes if I need to."

  She impressed Cas as nice, smart, and as he listened, really interested in the deputy job.

  The interview went even better than he had hoped it would and he decided to hire her.

  Cas took an honest look at the future. "She'll fit in here fine and will be dependable help for us. I'd better grab her before pressure to hire a female gets any worse and there's no one this good to recruit."

  "I suppose it did have some influence on me that Doug's happy in his work," Shirley admitted. "But aside from that, it's something I am interested in, that I'll look forward to every day when I come to work. I plan on working a long time." She shot a serious look at Cas.

  "I know what you mean by that. I like my work, too. Let me warn you there is a lot of time that will be dull as mud with only routine to break the monotony. This is Maryvale, not Chicago," Cas reminded her.

  "I know. It's going to be my job to keep it from being like Chicago." She gave him a smile. "I'll count my blessings on the dull days."

  "That's the spirit. Has Doug said anything to you about something we are planning in regard to a case tonight?"

  "No." Shirley waited, wondering what he meant.

  "Good. He wasn't supposed to."

  Shirley thought back, "He told me you had some other applications but you would see me today. I think he tried real hard not to give me any false hopes, but it didn't work. I'm not going to give up until you hire me, turn me down, or hire someone else."

  Cas chuckled. "Neither would I, that's a healthy attitude when you're hunting work. Would you like to help us tonight with something we're going to do in relation to a case we're trying to close?"

  "Yes! I would!" Shirley faltered, "But can I? Does this mean you're going to hire me?"

  She sat on the edge of her chair as he weighed his answer.

  "Yes. I am. It will take time to get through the red tape and processing that must be done. If you want to help us tonight I will have to deputize you. Eventually you might get paid for it, though I have my doubts," he added ruefully.

  "The only certain thing you'll get out of it is experience. The slow processing and the red tape is the reason I've got to be very careful when I hire someone. Deputy Raines is retiring and the paperwork is going forward now. But it's a slow process. It will be a while before you're officially on the county payroll."

  "That's all right with me. It's what I want to do. I'll waive any pay for helping tonight. I'll be glad to do anything I can to help."

  "Then consider yourself in processing and come back here at four o'clock. I'll brief you then on what we're going to do. Wear dark clothes and comfortable shoes."

  "Yes, sir."

  As soon as the outer door closed behind Shirley, Gladys looked through Cas's door and smiled, giving him a thumb-up signal.

  "Just what does that mean?" Cas played dumb.

  "It means I know you're interviewing and I approve of that one. Liked her the minute she walked in."

  "Do you know who she is?"

  "My guess is she's Doug's cousin. He said he was going to send in his cousin Shirley and her name's Shirley."

  "So you put two and two together and came up with six?"

  "Am I wrong?" Gladys narrowed her eyes.

  "No, you're right. Why don't you apply for the job yourself?
"

  "I don't want it," was her candid answer. "I like the one I've got."

  Cas laughed, "I'm glad you do. And she's not only Doug's cousin she looks like the best of the lot so I'm going to hire her. And you can't tell anyone till she's been here and on the payroll a month. Understand?"

  "Understood!" This was accompanied by about the sloppiest salute ever to be seen in the office.

  Cas picked up the ringing phone, "Sheriff Larkin."

  "It's me, Harlan. The flock of Crows is about wrapped up thanks to all the evidence we have in both counties and the goat hides identified. Your Matthew Tinwhistle came over and identified his."

  "Yeah, Gladys told me. He couldn't wait for you to send it over."

  "And you must be a celebrity, catching the Crows red handed the way you did. I'm jealous!" Harlan fussed good naturedly because it was his privilege as a friend and colleague.

  "Sure, I'll bet you are! The only bad thing is my wife's already missing those meat sales. But Marble County's rid of the Crows now. They'll have to chase down the next heifers they steal in wheelchairs."

  "Humpf, they'd try it! But I'll be out there with my cane!"

  Cas laughed, picturing the chase.

  "It was good Raines got some action to retire on, too. Did the press come out and interview you, give you some good publicity?"

  "Guess you'd call it good publicity. A photographer from the local paper, anyway. He came out and took my and Lorenzo's picture and got one of Raines in front of the store. Lorenzo deserved some advertisement. He's still nervous about getting his money back."

  "I hope he's not holding his breath," Harlan chuckled. "But he'll get it if he lives long enough."

  "Yeah, he's hanging in there. The photographer took a good close up picture of Raines as the arresting officer and I gave him some information on him and about his retirement. It will be nice for him and his family to have."

  "Yeah, that's good."

  "The picture of me and Lorenzo was taken in the alley at the back of the store where we happened to be at the time. I wouldn't exactly call it a glamour shot."