With His Dying Breath

by Nancy Hogue

  “That the one where there was a fatality?”

  “Yes sir, Jenny’s husband Jess was hurt pretty bad and Dr. Christian’s sister was killed. Dr. Christian is a counselor at the high school I go to.”

  “I remember that,” Jasper said. “I was a patrol officer at the time and now I remember reading about it in that rag. Just didn’t ring a bell with me. Didn’t give a city.”

  “Do you remember reading the other one about her dad? From something else I was told by another person, not Jenny, that he blamed Blake for him losing his business and his daughter and other things.”

  “Yeah and a grandchild. He never got to see his grandchild and more or less died of a broken heart. The article said it was a broken heart that was caused by his daughter’s boyfriend and the stress of that relationship.”

  “That’s it,” JJ said. “But what happened to them.”

  “I don’t know. I left them right here. I’m positive.”

  Hilda entered the room and asked about the magazines.

  “Hilda, somebody’s been in here. ‘Cause those rags ain’t here.”

  “Marabell,” Hilda said recognizing the precinct calling.

  “Really, that’s great to know,” nodding her head to JJ. “2002….OK…1992…still in, huh. Great…appreciate it. Be there in a bit.”

  “What’s that about?” Jasper asked, looking for the magazines in desk drawers and sofa cushions.

  “You’re right on, JJ. Kyle Tyler was released in 2002 after twenty years of good behavior. One of them spent his ten years in and was released. The other is still in but was transferred to Jesup, for some reason. They’re faxing a photo of Tyler taken the day he was released.

  “Who’s Tyler?” Jasper asked.

  “Samantha Brockton’s brother. I’m sure we know who Jonas Attaway is. Now we have to catch him. Let’s go on down to the station and see the photo.”

  JJ was ecstatic. She could not wait to see the photo. “Should I call Sammi to meet us there?” she asked.

  “No, we can’t have her down there without her lawyer present. You understand?”

  “Oh, yes ma’am. I forgot about that.”

  “What we can do is make a copy and you can take it to her.”

  “Perfect. Detective Nelson, did you notice anything else missing from here?” JJ asked, noticing the empty bookcases. She had not been in this part of the house before today.

  “Nah, really hard to tell. Those GBI agents took almost everything, books, files and stuff. But that was before I brought those magazines back.”

  “Where is everybody?” Cain Matthews hollered out from the garage door.

  “Daddy, we’re in the study.”

  Cain noticed the kitchen a mess as he passed through and detected an odor as well.

  “Has the power been off?” he asked. “Or maybe the AC’s not on.”

  Detective Nelson walked toward the garage and noticed the microwave time flashing in the kitchen. “The power’s been off. We didn’t turn it off, did we Hil?”

  “No, usually don’t.”

  “What’s in the fridge?” JJ asked as she walked back in the kitchen, opening up the refrigerator door. “Yuk.”

  The freezer had soft food in it and smelled awful.

  “Nothing’s frozen in here and there’s just a few ice cubes,” JJ said. “Somebody just turned it back on today.”

  “Whew, that’s awful,” everyone said in unison.

  “Somebody didn’t want the alarm to go off so somehow they cut the power to get in the house, I bet,” JJ suggested. “Look this French door has a glass missing.”

  Jasper continued, “Then okay, they cut out the glass to open the door, walked straight to the garage and cut the power before the alarm can go off.” He walked out to the garage. Returning to the kitchen, he noticed the French door deadbolt. “But you have to have a key to get in.”

  “Who’s the company that monitor’s the alarm. Anybody see a sign?” Hilda asked.

  “I’ll look outside in the shrubbery,” JJ volunteered. She returned in just about thirty seconds. “Here you go,” JJ said as she handed the name of the alarm company to Detective Marabell.

  “Wonder if Kyle Tyler’s been living here,” Hilda asked. “Maybe we need to dust again, Jasper.”

  “Maybe so, Hilda.”

  “How would he get keys to the house,” JJ asked.

  “When he broke in here the other night. Remember Saturday night!” Hilda said.

  “Sure!” Jasper said.

  “Or when he murdered Mr. Brockton! Mr. Brockton didn’t say Sammi was killing him. He was trying to say my wife’s brother, Kyle!”

  Chapter 31

  Sammi left Evelyn’s home and drove to the nursing home to see the staff and pay her aunt’s final bill. The bill was not ready since it would be prorated to the day of her death. The administrator did not work on Saturday and the nursing supervisor said she would leave a message for him to call Sammi.

  She decided to go back to her apartment to shower and change clothes. Not wanting to just sit around the tiny space, she drove down to Warner Robins to the art gallery she had tried to visit the day Blake died.

  Several beautiful works caught her eye and she made a down payment on one she particularly loved by a local artist. It showed an old steamship cruising down the river with cherry blossoms lining the river’s edge.

  On her way back to River Town, she stopped off to purchase more water and fruit. Her cell phone rang as she backed out of her parking space.

  “Sammi, Bill Fritz. I have a favor to ask.”

  “Sure, Bill. What can I do for you?”

  “Remember that two thousand dollars I gave you out of the slush fund?”

  “Of course, I do, saved me. Why?”

  “Well, I just need you to come in and sign the receipt or I can sign your name, if okay. I thought I could just make an entry for miscellaneous expenses. But it surpassed the limit and needs a receipt. We have auditors coming in Monday morning and we’re trying to clean up our messes. So I’d like to get it taken care of today.”

  “Oh, well, Bill, I don’t mind coming in. Or I can actually bring the money back to you.”

  “No, that’s not necessary to bring the money in. But I’d appreciate getting your signature. I’m just going to show it as reimbursable money for Blake’s personal expenses. I’m showing property over in West Macon till six.”

  “Where do you want to meet up?” she asked.

  “Well, I’ve got a showing at a building off the Third Street alley at six thirty and south Macon after that. I probably won’t get back to the office till about eight thirty.”

  “Ok, Bill, but I know building on Third. It’s the one Blake tried to sell for years. Right?”

  “That’s the one, Sammi.”

  “Well, I’ll just run by there if you can bring the receipt with you. It’s close to my apartment.”

  “Great, thanks Sammi.” He checked his watch.

  Sammi took the exit ramp heading to her apartment. She noticed in her rear view mirror that a red sports car had followed her from Warner Robins. He could have passed her numerous times but stayed close behind. Now he was on the exit ramp. She took a right, drove a half mile then made a U-turn. The driver did not make the U-turn. This is silly; she thought and made another U-turn toward her apartment. She did not notice the red sports car pull out of a side street staying two cars behind her all the way to her apartment.

  She pulled the car into the garage and closed the door. The driver of the red car called a number and reported that she was home.

  The man asked, “You got me a piece?”

  “Yeah, I got it. On my way now.”

  Sammi put away her groceries feeling sad and desolate. Last night’s conversations about her parents and Blake and the other horrible events happening created too much anxiety and she did not like being in the little apartment alone. Her aunt’s death and the possibility that her brother may be out of prison and framing her
was terrifying. She had about three hours before she was to meet Bill. She needed to get out.

  She drove out to the shopping center and noticed the movie marquee. Great, a movie would do me good. She drove around to the back, bought a ticket for a romantic comedy and took an aisle seat. She turned her cell phone off.

  * * *

  “What is the problem with this thing?” Hilda said as she took the fax machine apart.

  “Hilda, that thing is so obsolete,” another detective told her. “We haven’t used it in years.”

  “Well it needs to go in the garbage then,” she yelled out during one of her curt moments. None of the police officers wanted to fuel her fire so they just ignored her.

  JJ was taken aback since she had not seen this side of Detective Marabell.

  “Call whoever you talked to at the prison and tell them the machine’s broken and to email it to us. Tell them we need it yesterday!” she snapped.

  The phone call about the photo reached the warden’s desk at shift change. When the guards on the dayshift are retiring for the day and the guards for the night shift are arriving on duty, all doors are locked as the warden observes. The photo was emailed one hour after the warden received the call.

  JJ waited patiently during this time playing games on her cell phone, updating her Facebook status and checking out her friends’ postings.

  Detective Marabell pulled the photo off the printer and handed it to JJ. “Here you go, she said. You can take this one to Sammi.”

  JJ looked at the photo and said, “Miss Hilda, I don’t have to show it to Sammi. I know this man.”

  “You do? Who is it?”

  “It’s Mr. Fritz at the real estate office. I even smelled that old house smell on him when I bumped into him the other day. I thought, maybe, he had been at Jenny Jones’ house. But I bet he’s the one that’s been in the Brockton house.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes ma’am. It’s not exactly like he looks now but I know it’s him.”

  “Well, come back here to my office. What makes you think it’s him?” She said holding up the picture.

  “See that scar above his eye. Can you get a photo of him, maybe his driver’s license?”

  “Okay, JJ, tell me everything you know about Bill Fritz.”

  “But first I’m going to call Sammi and tell her what I think kinda warn her, okay?” She punched Sammi’s number but her call went straight to voice mail. She left a message to be careful of Mr. Fritz.

  “I hope Sammi gets my message. Maybe she’s taking a nap. Where do you want me to start?”

  “At the beginning is always a good place,” she said.

  “Can’t you run a background on him and find out if he’s for real. Check his real estate license?”

  “Let me get his driver’s license.” She called down and asked for a Bill or William with a last name Fritz and a River Town or Macon address. They had a William S. Fritz and a Lois M. Fritz who live at 2535 Sleepy Meadows Lane.

  “That’s around the corner of the Brockton house. And Lois, wonder if that’s Lois who owns ReClassyfied? I’m sure that’s where the bowtie came from.”

  “He probably stole it then!” JJ said.

  “Did you get Sammi, JJ?”

  “No ma’am. I left a message. I hope she’s okay.”

  “Call your dad and ask him to get hold of Wilson Lopez, Sammi’s lawyer. I’m sure he has his number. Tell your dad what you told me. I want you to stay here, and I’m going to run out to ReClassyfied and talk to Lois, you know feel her out about Bill. I’ll ask Jasper to ride out to the real estate office. Oh, we need to know what kind of car he drives.”

  “Oh, I know that. I saw him get in it the other day. It’s a big black car, a Chrysler. Looks like a funeral home car.”

  Hilda smiled. She still needed the license tag and she called the county office. She found out Bill and Lois Fritz had five cars between them. She put an APB on each one.

  “I mean it, JJ, you stay put,” Hilda felt her pocket for her credentials and her belt for her gun.

  “Yes ma’am.” JJ remembered a time when she would not have paid any attention to dictated advice. She started to call her dad when she heard Chip’s ringtone.

  “Hi Chip,” she said in the phone. “Are you working?” she asked. JJ was extremely happy to hear from Chip. After staying up almost all night, he reported for an eight-hour shift at nine this morning.

  “No, just got off. What are you doing?” He hopped in his truck to drive to wherever she was.

  She told Chip a little bit of the afternoon events and Chip said, “I’ll be right there!”

  Chip arrived just ahead of Cain and Wilson.

  “Anybody heard from Sammi?” Wilson asked.

  JJ told everyone she left her a message but had not heard back. She tried again while the three guys watched but the call went straight to voice mail for the second time.

  “She’s got to be at home, but, surely, she would have her phone on,” Wilson said. “I’m going to run over there.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Cain said catching up to Wilson.

  “Daddy, please be careful.” They were out the door.

  “Chip, look. This is the photo of Sammi’s brother. Who does it look like to you?”

  “I don’t rightly know, babe.” Chip stared at the photo.

  “Look at it quickly. Then look away.” She held the photo up then jerked it away.

  “It’s the man who came to see Sammi the other night. The one who sat over on the chair waiting.”

  “Yes, Bill Fritz, Mr. Brockton’s right hand man. I don’t know how he fooled everybody, but he’s definitely Sammi’s brother.”

  “Where’s he now?” Chip asked checking his pockets for some change. “Would you like a soda?”

  “We don’t know. Nobody’s started looking for him that I know of and yes, I would, an orange if they have it.”

  “Here you go. What can I do to take that worried look off your face, Jessica Jane?” He asked as he sat down next to her.

  “Help me find Sammi.” She fluttered those big blue eyes at him.

  Hilda talked to Lois but did not learn anything new. Lois had no clue as to her husband’s history before her. Only that he said he had a bad childhood and had lived on his own since he was sixteen. Yeah, right. They met shortly after he moved to River Town six years ago. They had been married five years. We’ve been very happy, Lois said. But I’m not sure what the future holds since I haven’t been feeling well. Hilda did not have time to find out her medical history from her. She had to find him.

  Jasper rode out to the real estate office and asked for Bill Fritz. The secretary looked at the board and said he was out showing property. She did not know where. He said he could not be reached by cell phone so I assume he’s out on that property west of Macon

  Jasper called the precinct and asked for a detail be assigned to watch the real estate office in River Town and the downtown office. He told them to bring him in for questioning if he showed up.

  Hilda called the station to issue an APB on his cars giving the descriptions and the tag numbers.

  Cain and Wilson searched Sammi’s apartment for any sign of where she might have gone. Wilson noticed the fresh fruit and case of water in the refrigerator. He saw the legal pads with pages and pages of notes.

  “I don’t see her purse or her cell phone so she must have them,” Wilson said. “But why isn’t she answering?”

  “Let’s go Wilson. Let’s ride through the mall parking lot and various shopping areas. Maybe she’s just out shopping or something.”

  Cain called Hilda to report their results. “Sammi’s not here, Hilda,” Cain said. “Her car’s not here either. We’re going to ride through the shopping areas and see if we see her car. Just a minute.”

  “Cain, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but let me take you to get your car so we can cover the areas faster. I’ll get Maria looking as well.”

  “Hilda, we’re going
to come back and get my car and Wilson’s wife in her car so the three of us will be out looking for Sammi.”

  “Okay, let me know if you see either of them.”

  “JJ still at the precinct?”

  “I told her to stay put. I hope so.” Cain knew JJ sometimes did not follow directions well. Please baby stay where you’re safe.

  Wilson was extremely concerned for the safety of his client. The two men bounced down the long flight of stairs like two teenagers.

  “Oh,” Cain said, “I’ll pay for that tomorrow.”

  “Get in the car, old man,” Wilson said with a laugh in his voice.

  Chapter 32

  For the first time in a long time, Sammi sat in the movie theatre laughing at the romantic antics of the onscreen couple. For a fleeting two hours, she forgot her sorrow and allowed herself to be transported into fantasyland unaware of the approaching danger.

  Every police officer in River Town patrolled shopping areas for her white Mercedes. No one knew she had sold her luxury automobile for a smaller used SUV. No one but Cain, Bill Fritz and his prison cell mate.

  Sammi left the theatre feeling refreshed and light-hearted. She checked her watch and had twenty minutes to meet Bill at the vacant building.

  As she drove toward Macon’s downtown area, she saw a fire blazing and sparks across the sky. She was unable to turn onto Third Street to reach the vacant office building.

  Well, what to do now? She pulled out her cell phone just as Bill’s name popped up in her caller ID.

  “Hi Bill, what’s going on downtown?” she asked.

  “Some building’s on fire. Police are blocking off the whole area.”

  “Where are you now?” She asked stopped in the middle of the street.

  “Well, thought I’d run by the office and hang up the keys since I won’t be needing them tonight. Sorry I didn’t call before now.”

  “Well, I’ve had my phone off.”

  “Sammi, I hate to ask you this but do you mind just running by the downtown office?” Doesn’t seem to be the traffic jam over here.”

  “No problem. Be there in just a few minutes.”