A Treasure to Die For

by Richard Houston

  I took a breath and drank my coffee before continuing. “That is, if Fred didn’t contaminate the evidence when he rolled in all the garbage. There was some really stinky stuff in there.”

  Fred looked up, then laid his head back between his outstretched paws when I didn’t acknowledge him.

  Bonnie raised her cigarette to her lips, but paused before taking another drag. “I know you would like to see Renfield hang, but did you ever consider it was Cory and Jennifer who killed Shelia and Appleton? Why else would they have the bloody shirt and my manicure kit?”

  I wanted to tell her about Jennifer’s poetry, but then I’d have to mention the unborn child and Bonnie was already too upset. “Maybe Cory was keeping those for insurance, or blackmail. I don’t know why, Bon. All I know is Jennifer had nothing to do with any of it.”

  Bonnie blew a perfect smoke circle and watched it float away. “Then how do you explain my manicure kit? I’ll bet that little thief lifted it out of my purse at the signing. No, Jake, she’s in it with that boyfriend of hers, or was. I keep forgetting they’re both dead now.”

  I couldn’t argue with her logic, and realized Jennifer’s poetry may have affected my judgment. “Assuming you’re right, and I’m not agreeing with you, I’m simply thinking out loud, let’s say she did steal the kit from your purse. That would explain how it ended up in her trash. And if it was her and Cory who killed Appleton then there should be the telltale oil spot from the Datsun at his cabin.”

  Bonnie beamed like a child with a new toy. “We should check the cabin to see if the Datsun’s been there.”

  “I suppose it won’t hurt to drive by. We could stop on the way back from giving our statements.”

  “Do we have to, Jake?”

  “It’s already Tuesday; White isn’t going to wait much longer.”

  “Let’s go after we check out the oil spot. If we find one then maybe you can tell him about the shirt.”

  She had a point. There’s no such thing as an anonymous tip since public phone booths went the way of Superman. All other phones can be traced. “No, not the shirt. I’ll have to think of some other way they can discover it. Like I said they will think I planted it to cover our tracks at the cabin. I might as well walk in and sign a confession in triplicate.”

  ***

  We were almost to Conifer when I began to have my doubts; sooner or later the cops would be searching Appleton’s cabin and asking his neighbors questions. We got lucky the first time we went there. The only person other than Margot who knew we were at the cabin was the author Paul Wilson, and he seemed to have bought my story.

  I was driving Bonnie’s Cherokee with her in the passenger seat and Fred’s big head resting on the center divider. The rest of his body was in the back seat. “This is stupid, Bon,” I said without taking my eyes off the road. “Someone might see us.”

  “I already took care of that, Jake. Why do you think my Cherokee is so dirty?”

  “Because you went four wheeling yesterday?”

  “No, silly. Because I made it look dirty. I’ll finish the job just before we get there with a bucket of mud I brought along to complete the subterfuge. It’s a trick Greg used to do, back when we were young and poor. He covered his plates with mud so the cops wouldn’t see they were expired.”

  I had to smile. “My dad told me stories about doing the same thing, only it backfired on him. The cop who pulled him over said the mud was a red flag, and he would have never noticed the expired plate otherwise. It’s the oldest trick in the book.”

  Bonnie thought about it for a while before answering. “Then I’ll only cover a few numbers and leave the sticker visible.”

  “What do you think, Fred? Think the mud on the plate ploy will work?” Fred’s head had been turning like a spectator at a tennis match. He followed whoever was speaking at the moment. When he answered by barking once, I took it as a yes. Sometimes I think he actually understands what we are talking about.

  We pulled over at the Pine Junction Country Store so Bonnie could run in for cigarettes while I smeared mud on the plates. She stopped before getting out and turned to me. “Are you going to tell White if we find the Datsun was there? I mean, it would prove the kids knew Appleton, and if the blood on the shirt is his, well then…”

  “The kids probably killed him,” I finished her thought after she paused too long. “I should, but then I’d have to tell him about our little break-in. No, we’ll just have to hope their forensics can put the pieces together after they find the shirt.”

  “Thanks, Jake. Margot would kill me if you told White without her lawyer present,” she said before going into the store.

  The only other person in the parking lot held the door for her then followed her inside. It was my chance to cover the plates. I didn’t leave any numbers visible because it wasn’t going to fool the police, and I didn’t want any nosy neighbors getting a partial.

  ***

  Bonnie laughed at me when I turned onto Appleton’s road and told her I had heard of cases where they traced a car with only one letter or number by matching it with the make and model. She started to say something about my imagination when we saw several sheriffs’ vehicles and a CBI truck in Appleton’s drive. I kept on going, hoping they didn’t notice the mud on our plates.

  “Wow, that was close,” I said after parking around the bend where we couldn’t be seen. I left the engine running in case we had to make a quick getaway.

  She had her pack of cigarettes out and was playing with the seal. “Did you see that huge truck? What on earth do you suppose that is?”

  “CBI, according to the sign on the door.”

  “It took them long enough,” she said.

  I put the Jeep back in gear and slowly pulled back onto the road. “Lucky for us. If they hadn’t been sidetracked by the fake suicide, they might have sent the forensics’ team out before we had a chance to wipe our prints.”

  ***

  Neither of us spoke again until I was back at the intersection of 285 and waiting for the light to turn. It had taken a little time to find a road that didn’t go past Appleton’s cabin. I tried using Lucy, my GPS, but would have had better luck asking Fred. I gave up after Lucy couldn’t get a signal, and stumbled on to Highway 74, which I knew would take us to 285.

  “Let’s forget about giving any statement today, Bon. Maybe you need Margot’s lawyer after all,” I said, pulling out into traffic when the light finally changed.

  She put the pack of cigarettes she had been holding back in her purse. “You won’t get any argument from me.”

  I was about to answer but was side-tracked when I noticed a semi-truck in my rear-view mirror barreling down on us. The driver had run a red light, and was about to turn us into road kill. I couldn’t switch lanes because another car was already in the fast lane, so I quickly swerved toward the shoulder and came to a stop.

  Bonnie waved a single finger and yelled out a few choice words to the reckless driver when he went speeding by.

  I crossed myself before turning to her. “This is one time I don’t care if you smoke the whole pack, Bon. What was that guy thinking?” I asked before turning around to check on Fred.

  “Oh, crap. That’s all we need now.” Fred was fine, but pulling in behind me was a State Patrol car with its lights flashing.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  By Wednesday, the three of us were on our way to Bailey to give our statements of what we had seen on Mosquito Pass. I had nearly forgotten about the ticket the cop gave me for driving with expired plates. He said he wouldn’t have noticed if they hadn’t been covered in mud. It seems Bonnie was eighteen days past the grace period of getting her plates renewed.

  This time we took my Jeep to avoid another ticket. I waited until we were on the road before telling Bonnie I was going to tell Deputy White about the bloody shirt and our visit to the cabin.

  “You should have said something sooner, Jake. Margot will have a cow. You know I can’t do that without her law
yer.” Bonnie fumbled through her purse, looking for her phone. “I better call her and see if Harvey can meet us there.”

  It would be useless to try to stop her, assuming she found her cell phone. I had seen her miss more than one call when she couldn’t get to it in time. “Harvey must be far too busy to just drop everything and drive to Bailey, but I suppose it’s worth a try.”

  She held a finger to her lips in the universal sign for me to shut my mouth. “Damn it, Margot, answer your phone.”

  Her sister’s phone did as it was told and came back with a recorded message.

  Bonnie yelled into her phone, “Margot, call me back when you get this. It’s important!” Then she slammed the flip-phone shut and looked at me with real fear in her eyes.

  “Can’t we do this later, Jake? Please?”

  “Are you forgetting the cops at Appleton’s yesterday? It can only mean one thing.”

  She cut me off before I could finish. “They no longer think he killed himself.”

  “Exactly, and no matter how clever we thought we were, they are bound to find something to connect us to the crime scene.”

  Bonnie looked at her phone again before putting it back in her purse. “Like Fred’s paw prints,” she said. “Okay, Jake, you win. I suppose Margot can always bail me out if she has to.”

  ***

  We rehearsed our story during the forty-five minute ride, so if we wouldn’t be caught in a lie if we got interrogated separately. It was a simple story. It was basically the one we told Wilson, without the part of us breaking and entering Appleton’s cabin.

  “Be a good boy, Freddie. We shouldn’t be long,” I said after parking the Jeep and rolling down all the windows.

  Bonnie didn’t make a move to get out. “Maybe I should stay here with him, Jake.”

  “It’s not even seventy, Bon. He’ll be fine.”

  “No. Not the heat. What if they arrest us? Who’s going to take care of Fred?”

  “Unless the deputies drive unmarked cars, the answer is no one. There are only two cars in the parking lot, and not one of them is a police vehicle or has county plates.”

  ***

  Once we left the building, I realized my observation had been correct. The only officer at the substation was a clerk, and she was busy with someone paying a ticket. I grabbed Bonnie’s elbow and led her back outside.

  “Change of plans, Bon,” I said once we were back at my Jeep. “Let’s just give them a statement on what we saw and did on Mosquito Pass.”

  Bonnie looked relieved. “Okay with me. I wasn’t looking forward to spending the night in jail anyway. What made you change your mind?”

  “What did you see in there?”

  “Nothing. Just someone paying a ticket.”

  “Exactly. No deputies. I doubt if they have six in the entire county. They have to be way too busy to bother trying to catch us in a lie, so there’s no need in asking for trouble.”

  ***

  The drive home was quiet, at least our conversation was. Margot called back before we got half a mile from the sheriff’s substation. I became invisible while Bonnie reassured her sister everything was okay, and they went on to talk about nothing that interested me. I waited until she hung up before saying anything.

  “How well do you know your Bible, Bon?”

  She looked at me wide-eyed. “What?” Then she seemed to understand. “Oh, you mean for church next Sunday.”

  “Not exactly. I had something a little more devious in mind. I was thinking of knocking on a few doors in Appleton’s neck of the woods. I could dress Fred as a seeing-eye dog and pretend to be a blind Jehovah’s Witness. Of course, I’d need your help to pull it off.”

  “That’s got to be the goofiest idea you’ve ever had,” she said, once she’d finally stopped laughing.

  “We need to know what the cops found at Appleton’s. Maybe one of the neighbors would open up to a couple of bible-toting evangelists, especially if one of them was blind. So unless you have a better idea, I think I need to start looking for one of those harnesses guide dogs wear.”

  “How would they know what the sheriff found in the cabin? It seems to me that if the cops found anything they’d keep it to themselves.” She looked at me like I’d lost it.

  “True, but bear with me for a minute. What if the cops went around interviewing the neighbors after searching the cabin? It’s possible they might have said something about what they found.”

  Bonnie’s vacant stare answered my question without her having to say a word.

  “Yeah, you’re right, Bon. Dumb idea. Besides, I doubt if Fred could pull it off anyway. They’d know he wasn’t a service dog the first time he saw a cat or squirrel.”

  “Well, you did have one good idea today. I’m glad you changed your mind about confessing. Margot would have been madder than a horny hornet if I confessed without her lawyer present.” She absentmindedly turned her phone over and over again. “What really made you change your mind anyway? I’m not buying that it was because they don’t have the manpower to waste on us.”

  “Who were we going to tell? The only one in the office was the clerk. I really need to talk to Deputy White before I go confessing to breaking and entering.”

  She looked at her phone like she’d just realized what it was. “What about Margot? Should I call her back and ask her to send Harvey with us when we talk to White?”

  “You can call her if you want, but tell her you won’t need her lawyer because there’s no need to involve you in this. I’ll tell White it was just me and Fred at the cabin. I’m pretty sure his paw prints are the only prints the CBI will find. I’m positive they will never know you were there.”

  Bonnie had put the phone away and replaced it with a pack of cigarettes as I pulled into her driveway. “I can’t let you take all the blame. No jury in the world is going to convict an old widow pushing seventy. Please let me go with you when you talk to White. I promise not to tell Margot until afterwards.”

  She got out of the Jeep, lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. “I’d like to meet your mama someday, Jake, and tell her what a great job she did raising you.” The smoke must have gotten in her eyes, for I thought I saw her wipe a tear from her face.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Deputy White was waiting at the substation for us Thursday morning. He had returned my call the previous night and agreed to meet us. This time I left Fred home so if we did get arrested, he wouldn’t get lost in some animal shelter.

  His truck was parked next to the car we had seen when we gave our statements earlier. “I wonder if they have a jail cell here?” I asked Bonnie after shutting off my engine.

  She was playing with her cigarette pack again, a sure sign she was nervous. “Do you think they’ll arrest us?”

  “Sorry, I was just thinking out loud. I noticed his truck isn’t set up to transport prisoners, so I was wondering where they kept them until they could send them to Fairplay.”

  Bonnie lit a cigarette once she was out of my Jeep. “I need a minute before we go in there, Jake. You should have let Harvey come with us.”

  “All the more reason you need to stay here and let me go in alone.”

  She dropped her cigarette and stomped on it. “No, I’m just as guilty as you. The Lord would never forgive me if I didn’t own up to my sins.” She didn’t wait for a response and headed toward the building.

  It was all I could do to catch up with her at the door. “Okay, Bon, but let me do the talking,” I said, opening the door for her.

  ***

  We were led to a back office by the clerk where Deputy White was waiting for us.

  “So what is so important that I had to drive all the way in from Fairplay?” he asked after the preliminary greetings were over and we’d taken two chairs in front of his desk.

  “We saw your CSI team yesterday, or whatever you call it.”

  White had a smile that would put Bozo the Clown to shame. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”


  “You knew we were there?” Bonnie asked.

  “I thought I recognized that Cherokee from the time I was at your place, so I ran a check on it and guess who got a ticket not a mile away?”

  Evidently it was a rhetorical question, as he didn’t wait for an answer. “So what were you doing there?”

  Bonnie answered for me. “Jake wanted to check for power-steering fluid in the driveway.”

  He looked briefly at her before turning to me. “Is that why I had to drive all the way from Fairplay, Jake?” I knew the tone in his voice from when I was a kid. My father had used that tone after I’d been caught smoking in the boy’s restroom at school. When I got home, he asked me how was school. He never asked before, so I confessed thinking he already knew.

  “It’s true. I wanted to see if Cory’s Datsun had been there, but it’s not the first time. We were at Appleton’s cabin before he was found dead, and I took a shotgun he had stolen from me.” I wanted to add that Bonnie had not gone inside, but didn’t want to be caught in a lie if they had found her prints.

  “So you’re telling me you two committed a felony breaking and entering, and decided to come clean after driving by Appleton’s cabin yesterday when you saw the forensics truck?”

  “No, sir, Bonnie was just an innocent bystander, and I didn’t break in. The door was wide open and when I saw my gun on his kitchen table…well it did belong to me, so I wasn’t really stealing.”

  I expected the deputy to act surprised, but he only smiled. “You should have called me before taking anything. But I suppose I would have done the same under the circumstances.”

  “Then you’re not upset that we entered a crime scene?”

  “I would be if it was a crime scene,” White answered.

  “Tell him about the blood on the deck, and the shirt Fred found, Jake.”

  I bumped her knee in a futile attempt to shut her up.

  “Jake thinks you should run a DNA test on the blood samples to see if they match. He thinks those kids killed Appleton, don’t you, Jake?”