Apparently, April had taken it from his drawer, used it to kill Danny for some unknown reason, and now it was in the closet at Danny’s apartment. Would the knife be enough to tie him in some way to the murders? Should he replace it with a similar knife? If he did, would it appear as if he was trying to cover up the fact she’d been in his house and used his knife to kill Danny or that it wasn’t his knife after all?
The more he thought about it, the more he believed he’d made a huge mistake by making a fuss about not having the knife while the detectives were there questioning him. After thinking about it for a while, he decided he’d try to find one at a garage sale, but he had to be really careful. He couldn’t order one or buy one from a store. There could be no trail showing he purchased it after the fact.
Saturday morning, he headed out to hit some garage sales. If anyone asked, he’d claim he was out looking for woodworking tools to go with the other ones his grandfather had left him. He doubted he’d find the right knife but you never know. People had found all sorts of amazing things at garage sales.
Tyler had driven around for several hours and had stopped at several dozen garage sales, but hadn’t found a single woodworking tool or a knife of the right size or manufacture. Tyler was completely unaware of the man in the beat up LTD who was following him since he had left home.
Carpelli had picked up Tyler Stone about a quarter mile from his house where he had been waiting in the parking lot of the neighborhood 7-Eleven store. He placed a tracking device on Tyler’s car the day before at Tyler’s work, in anticipation of just such an opportunity to tail him.
Carpelli had even ventured up to some of the garage sales to listen in on any conversations Tyler might be having. But Tyler never said a word other than hello and thank you.
At the moment, Carpelli was watching from his car with binoculars from several houses down the street, but there wasn’t much to be seen if anything at all. It was while Carpelli was adjusting the range of the GPS tracker on Tyler’s car that Tyler found a carving knife. It was an exact match for the one April had used to kill Danny. He quickly bought it for five dollars and headed home.
Looking up as Tyler’s car pulled away from the curb, Carpelli assumed Tyler was headed home and raced there ahead of him. Carpelli had little concern about losing him due to the tracking device and was sitting in the street in front of Tyler’s house, waiting when he arrived. While he waited, he took the liberty of leafing through Tyler’s mail. There were a couple of bills and three advertisements.
When Tyler pulled into his driveway, he couldn’t help but wonder who was parked in front of his house. He lived in the woods and his nearest neighbor was three hundred yards away by the 7-Eleven, so they weren’t parked there visiting the neighbors.
As Tyler started to exit his car, he tucked the knife between the center console and the driver’s seat. He then hesitated for a moment as he sized up the guy who got out of the old beat up LTD and started across the front lawn towards him. The guy looked to be fifty, maybe older. He was big—big and stocky. His nose had obviously been broken a few times, because it was nearly flat with a definite lean to the left.
“Can I help you?” Tyler asked curtly, as he exited his car and stared at the man.
“Mr. Tyler Stone?” Carpelli asked as he approached Tyler, but he didn’t wait for Tyler to respond, he just continued talking. “I’m Nate Harcorte and I’d like to ask you a few questions, if I may.”
“Are you with the police?” Tyler inquired.
“I’ve been retained by parties with a vested interest in the apparent disappearance of your wife, Wendy Stone.”
“And who would that be, the interested parties,” Tyler replied.
“I’m not at liberty to say. Have you had any further contact with your wife?”
“I don’t see how any of this is anyone’s business, outside of mine and the police,” Tyler snapped.
“I assure you Mr. Stone, the parties I represent are concerned, and it would be in your best interest to speak with me.”
“I don’t think so. But I will tell you what I told the police. I don’t know a damn thing about Wendy’s supposed disappearance and I don’t care. We’re getting a divorce, in case you’re the only one in town who hasn’t heard.”
“Oh, I’ve heard. I’ve also heard what your sister-in-law had to say. She was quite informative about what she believed happened on the night your wife disappeared.”
“I can only imagine what crap she’s shoveling, but if it was even remotely believable the police would have been back to see me.”
“They haven’t been?”
“Like I said, I don’t have any information for you, because I don’t know anything.”
“I doubt she’s left town. In fact, I’m betting she’s hiding out in some hole somewhere,” Carpelli stated to gauge Tyler’s reaction.
“When you find her, tell her I’ve hired an attorney and that he’s looking to serve divorce papers on her.”
“I’ll be sure to mention it but I doubt she’ll care. Dead people rarely do paperwork,” Carpelli stated, making sure Tyler was fully aware of what he was implying.
“Who says she’s dead? Did the police find her body?”
“What happened to not caring?”
“If she’s dead, I don’t have to spend money on a divorce attorney, now do I?”
“No, I don’t imagine you do.”
“So, is she dead? Did her new boyfriend do it?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Isn’t murder a crime of passion that is usually committed by those closest to you?” Tyler paraphrased something he’d read.
“No, studies have found when couples are divorcing and a spouse is missing or killed, it is 98.8 per cent likely that the spouse is involved,” Carpelli clarified.
“Wow, aren’t I lucky. I’m in the 1.2 per cent group that wasn’t involved,” Tyler quickly shot back.
“Yes, and April staged the apartments after she had been poisoned, but before she crashed the car while suffering hallucinations.”
“April staged the apartments? What does that mean?” Tyler inquired.
“Framing someone is an art, Mr. Stone, and it appears that someone has gone a long way towards trying to frame April, but it was done sloppily. I doubt the police will buy it and that will bring them back to you. I might be able to help you, but only if you talk to me. I don’t give a damn about your soon to be ex-wife. I’ve been hired to find Danny Conners. He is the new boyfriend.”
“Yeah, Wendy worked with him. His dad’s some kind of mobster according to the papers. I’ve been doing some checking. Maybe that’s the direction you should be looking in,” Tyler stated and started to walk away.
“Oh, Mr. Stone,” Carpelli called after him. Tyler stopped and turned towards him. “Here’s your mail. It’s mostly bills and ads,” Carpelli stated as he stepped up close to hand over the mail. As Tyler reached for the mail, Carpelli let it drop to the ground and lunged forward grabbing both of Tyler’s wrists tightly while locking his own arms at the elbow, pinning Tyler’s arms down. After Tyler struggled for moment, Carpelli fixed him with his eyes and spoke in a low, quiet voice.
“Mr. Stone, we’ll talk again and when we do, it will not be pleasant for you. But I will have my questions answered. I’d think about what you’re going to tell me, because I will find Danny Conners dead or alive. The only thing you need to worry about is whether you’ll survive the conversation.” Carpelli let go of Tyler.
Tyler spun away and snarled, “Go to hell. I don’t know a damn thing and the next time I see you, you better hope my aim is bad ‘cause I’ll be shooting without asking any questions.”
“Live with your delusions as long as you can, Mr. Stone. I’ll be back and we will have that conversation,” Carpelli stated as he walked away, allowing Tyler to think he had scared him off by spouting some tough talk.
Tyler stood glaring at Carpelli as he drove away. Shit! Who the fuck was that? An
d how did he know the apartments had been staged? No one had seen him. He knew that for a fact. There wasn’t anyone awake in any of the apartments nearby. It was the middle of the night for Christ’s sake. Picking up his mail, Tyler was suddenly overwhelmed by fear. He was so shaken by Carpelli, aka Harcorte, that he had to sit down on the ground for a moment to gather his wits.
How had the mob gotten involved with this? He buried Danny, but he didn’t kill him. That was April. If this guy goes to the police, he could cause all kinds of problems and maybe cause them to start looking at him more closely. What was he saying? The mob didn’t go to the police. If they decided he was involved, they’ll just kill him. Shit! What was he going to do now?
After a few minutes of just sitting there taking deep breaths one after another, Tyler finally managed to get to his feet and stumble into the house. He tossed the mail on the dining room table and stumbled over to the bookshelf where he grabbed the bottle of Jim Beam. This time he didn’t have any trouble swigging down several large gulps to settle his nerves.
It seemed to help. He was able to relax enough to be able to think clearly about this new wrinkle. He decided the only way that framing April was going to stick was to be proactive. He needed to lead the investigation where he wanted it to go. He’d call Detective Beals and inform him he thought Wendy had been in the house without him knowing because she had taken her two favorite pieces of luggage along with some of her clothes. He’d also tell him about Harcorte and how he had alluded their having found Wendy’s body. He’d see what Beals had to say about that. He checked to see what time it was, then remembered it was Saturday and he doubted Beals or Williams were working. He decided to call on Monday instead.
Tyler then went out to the car and recovered the knife he bought at the garage sale and brought it into the house. He washed and dried it by hand. Then he spent several minutes just looking at it. He wondered if he had done the right thing by buying it. It could easily be used to make him look guilty. If he wasn’t involved, why did he have to replace the knife? And how had April gotten her hands on the knife if she hadn’t been in Tyler’s house? If she had gotten his knife, did she kill Danny at Tyler’s house? April’s whole story may take on a new life and cause the police to focus on him. If that happened, the only way this could end would be badly for him.
He took another big swig of Jim Beam and dialed the number of the local pizzeria. He’d stay home tonight, drink Jim Beam and eat pizza, while trying to think his way clear of this mess. After ordering the pizza, he walked back into the kitchen to grab a glass and some ice for his bourbon. He kept a couple of ten pound bags of ice in his refrigerator- freezer because he hated to make ice cubes; plus, he thought ice made from well water tasted terrible.
Upon opening the door to the freezer, he realized he hadn’t brought a glass with him, so he set the knife down inside the freezer and stepped over to the cabinet to get a glass. He then filled it with ice from the bag on top and slammed the freezer door shut, having forgotten about the knife. When he slammed the door, the bag of ice slipped off the other bag spilling the ice out and covering the knife.
When Beals, Williams and two female officers walked into April’s hospital room, they found her sitting on the corner of her bed, staring out the window.
“What’s with the parade?” April snarled after glancing up at the small entourage. She wasn’t a happy camper still being held here two weeks after her accident.
“I’m afraid, April, I have bad news,” Beals stated as he stepped across the room to the opposite side of the bed from her. The two women officers came around to her side of the bed and stood there in front of her.
“You found Wendy’s body didn’t you? It was at Tyler’s wasn’t it? I told you so,” April blurted out. “In fact, that guy Nate Harcorte suggested as much.”
“Who?” Williams asked.
“That attorney who stopped by a couple of days ago to talk to me about my sister’s disappearance,” April replied.
“Oh.” Williams charged out of the room, only to return a moment later holding a business card with a name and number on it but nothing else. Beals looked at him and his expression asked the question to which Williams answered, “It says Nate Harcorte, Esq., like he’s some sort of attorney or something and there’s a phone number. Nothing else.”
Beals turned back to April, “No, we didn’t find her body but we did find some very interesting things in your apartment as well as in Danny Conners’ apartment.”
“Like what?” April demanded.
“We’ll talk about that once we’re downtown. These two officers,” Beals glanced at the two female officers, “will stay with you while you dress.” One of the officers placed a bag on the bed, which April assumed had clothes in it. “And then we’ll take you downtown,” Detective Beals stated.
“What? Why are you taking me downtown? I already told you everything I know. Tyler Stone killed my sister and tried to kill me. Why am I going downtown?” she squealed, knowing why in her heart.
“Because you are under arrest,” Detective Williams stated.
“For what?” April shouted as she glared at Williams.
“I’ll call in this Harcorte information to the ADA,” Beals stated as he turned and walked away leaving Williams and the uniformed officers to finish placing the handcuffs on April.
“For the murders of Danny Conners and Wendy Stone,” Williams stated with conviction.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It was Sunday afternoon before April was able to talk to anyone about her arrest. Unfortunately, that person happened to be Detective Beals who had stopped by the jail to see her. He wanted to ask her if she’d thought about her situation any further and if she had anything else she’d like to discuss.
“Good afternoon, Miss Jennings. Did you sleep well last night?” Detective Beals asked from the other side of the jail bars, in what appeared to be genuine concern for April.
“It’s a damn jail. How do you think I slept? Why did you do this to me?” April asked.
“April, you said yourself, you killed Tyler Stone,” Beals said.
“That’s bullshit! You said that Tyler was still alive. So I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Well, at least you didn’t kill Tyler Stone,” Beals stated.
“What? So who am I supposed to have killed? You said it was my sister and her boyfriend Danny Conners. Why would I kill my own sister?”
“We’ll talk more about that tomorrow after you’re arraigned.”
“I want a lawyer,” April demanded.
“I’ll make the call first thing tomorrow. I doubt the court will be able to arrange for one tonight. In fact, in all likelihood, it won’t happen until sometime tomorrow which will push back your arraignment from tomorrow to the day after. As long as you don’t mind being kept here in this small holding cell, that’s fine by me.”
“I’m not saying anything more to you until I have talked with a lawyer!” April yelled.
“That is your right, Miss Jennings. But it isn’t helping your situation by doing so. It makes you look guilty.”
“Go to hell. I told you Tyler Stone killed my sister and he tried to kill me. If Danny’s dead, then Tyler had to have killed him, too. He hated my sister for leaving him. And anyone with half a brain has to know Tyler had to have hated Danny for stealing his wife away. Even that guy, Nate Harcorte knew that much. Now, I want a lawyer!” April continued to shout in an apparent effort to force Beals to listen to her by the sheer volume of the words. Beals ignored her because he was wondering what Harcorte had to do with this case.
“I’ll make the call,” Beals stated as he turned and walked away. April, for someone not talking, sure was making a lot of noise as he walked away. She was screaming about him being a liar and about not caring if he got the right murderer or not.
The thought occurred to him that April might just have a point, despite her having claimed Tyler had poisoned her and her sister. They had discounted the possibility of his
involvement especially after having found Tyler alive and well.
They further discounted Tyler as a suspect, after having searched the two apartments, hers and Danny Conners’, where they discovered an overwhelming amount of evidence despite the apartments appearing to have been staged.
In the more than two weeks since the disappearances, they had only done a brief walk-through of Tyler’s home, which didn’t count as a search. It was done to test his level of comfort and thus his potential innocence or guilt. Had he said no to their just looking around, then it was more than likely he had something to hide.
He hadn’t refused and maybe that was why he and Williams hadn’t pursued a search warrant for his place, though that could easily be rectified. The missing knife was all the grounds they would need. Beals, feeling a bit uneasy about the situation, went back to his office and filled out the request for a search warrant for Tyler Stone’s home and car then placed it in the Captain’s inbox. He would have a warrant by tomorrow afternoon and they would serve it on him when he arrived home from work tomorrow.
The next morning, Tyler had just finished the most critical of his preprogram scripts for the next day, when his phone rang. Not his office phone but his cell phone. Absentmindedly he answered it. He expected it to be one of his sports buddies and was shocked to hear who it was.
“Mr. Stone, this is Detective Beals. Do you have a minute to talk?” Beals asked.
“Wow, what a coincidence. I was going to call you right after lunch,” Tyler shared.
“Oh, in regards to what?” Beals asked.
“A couple of things. I’m not sure they mean anything but I just thought you should know about them,” Tyler started to tell Beals about the luggage and Nate Harcorte but Beals interjected.
“Mr. Stone, why don’t you come home for lunch today? You can tell me about these issues while we search your house,” Beals stated.
“What? You’re searching my home, why? I thought you had already done that the night you and Detective Williams stopped by?” Tyler was instantly defensive. “It’s extremely difficult for me to leave work right now. Maybe we can do this another time?” Tyler suggested.
Cliff Roberts Thriller Box Set Page 27