“Winslow, I’m shocked that you would share this with us I had you pegged as one of them in every way,” Miranda said.
“I could sense that you didn’t trust me, but I have a personal interest in this murder being solved. I could get into a lot of trouble if the department finds out I was here.”
“What is your personal interest?” Lee asked.
“The department isn’t aware that my dad was friends with Bert Grayson, so I would like to see his killer, if he is still around, brought to justice. I don’t think my dad knew, but I was friends with Bert’s son.”
“What? Wait, he had a son?” Lee said.
“Oh, yeah. He was a nice guy. All the girls liked him. He was killed a couple of years ago in a hunting accident.”
“What was his name?” Miranda said.
“John Wiggins. He took his mother’s last name since Bert wouldn’t marry her, Bert told her he was in love with someone else and it wouldn’t be right to take a wife you weren’t in love with. Bert supported John and his mother until he died.”
“Who else knows about Bert’s son?” Lee said.
“No one as far as I know, except maybe some of the family, but I’m not sure about that.”
Lee looked at Miranda and back to Winslow.
“So are you telling us that you are willing to help with the investigation?” Lee asked.
Winslow smiled. “I would love to help, but I have to be careful. I could lose my job—or my life. These people don’t mess around.”
“How do we know the police didn’t send you as a spy to find out what we are learning?” Lee said.
“Well, I guess you don’t. So you will either trust me or not use me.” Winslow smiled and winked at Miranda. Her face turned pink.
“One more question, Winslow,” Lee said. “Did you happen to know a Sara Dowell?”
“You mean old Piano Legs Dowell? Yeah, she was our speech teacher in school. Why do you ask about her?”
“Her name came up a couple of times and I wondered who she was. Why do you call her Piano Legs?”
“She had wide legs filled with varicose veins, we thought they resembled a piano keyboard. I know—not a nice thing to say, but we were kids.”
Winslow stood. “I have to go, they keep track of us all the time. I took a chance coming here.” Lee and Miranda walked Winslow to the door watching him as he got into his police car and drove away.
Lee looked at Miranda. “Did you believe any of that?”
“I don’t know, he sounded sincere, but it was too unbelievable.”
“Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he does help us,” Lee said. “By the way, Miranda, I found out some information on Clay,” Lee said with a Cheshire cat grin.
“You did? How did you do that?”
“While you were at the gym I googled, him.”
“Wow, I’m impressed. So, you do know how to use a computer?”
“Well, maybe a bit more than I let on. I picked up a few things watching Sally.”
“Oh, I see you’re a piker.”
Lee put his hand on his chest. “How could you talk to me like that?”
She laughed out loud.
“You’re impossible. Let’s get back to work. So what did you find out about Clay?” Miranda sat at the table, crossed her feet, and stared at Lee as he shared what he had found out.
“Since Clay is still alive and living in this area, we will need to be careful. He was a dangerous character then working as an enforcer and local bookie for the mafia.”
Miranda interrupted Lee. “Now wait a minute, you mean he made people pay up on bets by beating them up?”
“Yes, my dear. Or, worse yet, if they didn’t pay, he killed them. I found an old newspaper article that told of a man here in town—who, by the way, is still alive—placed a bet on a football game with Clay and lost.”
“Did you say he was still alive?” Miranda asked.
“Yes, and living in Bridgetown. The guy’s name is John Fink. I think he is related to Derrick. After losing the bet Fink refused to pay up. Clay followed this guy to the unemployment office the following Monday morning. He waited outside, when Fink stepped out onto the street counting his money, Clay grabbed him and demanded his money.”
“Wow, this is one nervy guy.”
“It gets worse,” Lee continued. “When Fink refused to hand the money over to him, Clay pulled out a gun and shot him in the middle of a busy sidewalk in broad daylight. By the time the police arrived, Clay had shot him twice then kicked him into the street.” Lee paused. Miranda sat back in her chair.
“He was one mean guy,” Miranda said.
“They arrested Clay and the ambulance took Fink to the hospital.” Lee sat down in his chair.
“That poor man,” Miranda said.
“Clay only spent a couple of days in jail,” Lee said. “Now isn’t that suspicious?”
“Sounds to me like corruption ruled then,” Miranda said.
Lee walked into the living room stopping in front of the windows, he stood watching dark clouds rolling in over the mountains.
“Well, Kid, I think that incident backs up Lilly’s claim that the police protected Clay along with his mob ties. They was arrested him once before on numbers running and enforcing for the mob. He only spent a couple of days in jail on those charges.” By this time Miranda, was standing at Lee’s side looking at the mountains as the sky grew dark.
“They look like snow clouds to me,” Miranda said.
“I think Lilly is sounding more convincing all the time. By the way, Kid, did you learn anything about Robert Mason?”
“Yes, he was a local historian and writer. That’s all I’ve learned about him so far. He’s living in Florida somewhere around Miami.”
“I wonder if he’s still in Florida or if he’s visiting here in Bridgetown,” Lee said, as he turned toward Miranda.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because this guy could still be looking for Lilly’s book, the one he tried to get from her back then.”
“Lee, that’s the silliest thing you’ve said yet. Why would he still want the book?”
“I don’t know, Miranda, but my gut feeling is that he is here looking for the book.”
“Lee, it seems whoever they are would go to any length to get what they wanted.”
“That’s right, Kid. From where I’m standing, it looks like the bodies are beginning to pile up in this investigation.”
“This hasn’t turned out to be as easy as we thought it would be,” Miranda said.
“Lilly makes the statement that she wasn’t afraid of George anymore in her eighth letter. Then I remembered reading on George’s military record,” Lee said, “that he died in November of the year before. She knew he couldn’t reach out from the grave to slap her around ever again.”
“It’s interesting she has a sister still alive in a nursing home in upstate New York with late stages of Alzheimer’s,” Miranda said.
“I should go see her sister. Would you look up the address for me?”
“When were you going to go? I have some things to take care of here and can’t go with you,” Miranda said.
“That’s okay, Kid, I have a GPS. I can find the place. You stay here and take care of what you need to do. Are you sure you don’t mind staying by yourself? I mean, with Adrian gone. He doesn’t leave you alone.”
“I’ll be fine, Lee. It should only take you a couple of hours to drive up and back. You should be back here before dark. I can get a lot of research done while you’re gone.” She handed Lee his coat, along with the phone number and address of the nursing home, while walking him to the door. Lee paused, turned back to Miranda.
“I wonder if the family knew George beat and kicked Lilly around.”
“I think they did, Lee. If it was my relative living with a guy like George, I would probably suspect that she admitted herself to the mental hospital from time to time for protection from an abusive husband.”
“So it is possible that any information about the book may be lost, unless Lilly’s sister could remember something,” Lee said. “I hope this trip won’t be a waste of time.” He raised his eyebrows at Miranda.
“We seem to be running into a lot of dead ends,” Miranda said.
“Yes, but dead ends aren’t all that bad. We’re finding that a lot of what Lilly said was true. Tomorrow should be interesting. The interview with the police and the ad comes out in the paper.”
Chapter 20
Present Day
Lee pulled into the parking lot of the Safe Haven Rest Home forty-five minutes later. At the front desk he told the receptionist, he was here to visit Kathy Wilson.
“Hum, you’re not on the list of visitors for Kathy.” She looked Lee directly in the eyes.
“Yes, I know that, but I was a friend of her sister Lilly, she asked me to stop in and see Kathy if I was ever in the area.”
“Well, okay. I’ll take you back to her room.”
When the nurse opened the door, his eyes stopped at a small, frail looking women sitting in a chair by the window. Lee walked in took a seat in the chair beside her. She stared with a blank expression at him.
“Do I know you, young man?”
“Kathy, my name is Lee Perkins. I would like to ask you some questions about your sister, Lillian.”
Kathy broke into a faint smile.
“Do you know Lilly?” she said as she leaned closer to Lee.
“Well, I’m an acquaintance of hers.” Lee took Kathy’s hand in his gently patting it. “Kathy, I need you to think hard, if you can.”
She nodded.
“Lilly wrote a book, I think she hid it in a safe deposit box in a bank somewhere.”
Kathy’s face lit up. “Yes, but I’m not allowed to tell anyone where Lilly hid it.”
Lee raised his eyebrows. “You mean you know where it is?” he whispered.
“Oh, yes, I know, but I promised Lilly I wouldn’t tell anyone where she hid it. Because she exposed the police for the corrupt men they were. Why, that no good Mr. McCune, he was nothing but a numbers runner and enforcer for the mafia back then. She stopped and put her finger to her lips. You can’t tell anyone I told you that. I promised Lilly I wouldn’t say anything.”
“Don’t worry, Kathy, your secret is safe with me. Now, to get back to where the book is.” “You can tell me. Lilly wouldn’t mind. She wanted me to get it to clear some things up for her.”
“Well, I guess it would be alright to tell you. Lilly was more afraid of Robert Mason getting it than anyone. I miss Lilly. Did she say when she was coming to see me again? She didn’t like Robert. He was trying to get her money.” Kathy paused. “Then there was that Indiana druggist she married. She said he was the only guy who ever treat her right, and what did he do? He up and died three weeks after she married him from a throat infection. Poor Lilly. She had the worst luck with men and love.”
“You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure Robert doesn’t get it,” Lee said. “Do you know where Lilly hid the key?”
Her eyes glazed over as she smiled.
“Oh, yes. I have it around my neck. Lilly said I was to keep it safe for her.” She put her hand up to her neck pulling on a gold chain inside her nightgown. When she slid it out, Lee could see a large ornate key on the end.
Lee’s eyes widened.
Kathy smiled. “Here it is, but don’t tell anyone I have it. It’s a secret.”
“That’s the key?”
“Yes. It’s the key to my heart. Lilly has one just like it. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Lee’s face dropped as he patted her hand. “Yes, Kathy, it’s beautiful.”
Kathy stiffened, and looked at Lee with wide eyes.
“Who are you and why are you holding my hand? What are you doing in my room? I don’t know you.” She grabbed the buzzer next to her chair. Lee tried to stop her, but was too late. She pushed it.
The door to her room flew open. “Nurse, I don’t know who this man is. I want him to leave.” Kathy turned her head away from Lee.
“Sir, you will have to leave now, or I’ll call the guard.” The nurse pointed to the door.
“Yes, okay, I’m going. Goodbye, Kathy.” Lee stood, shook his head as he made his way to the door. In his car driving back to Bridgetown, he called Miranda and told her what had taken place.
CHAPTER 21
Present Day
Lee opened the door of the mansion, walked in dropping his keys on the counter as Miranda stuck her head around the corner.
“Hey, Lee, sorry you didn’t find out anything.”
“Do you remember in Lilly’s last letter, she said she put some jewelry and coins in a safe deposit box?” Lee said.
Lee made his way into the computer room and took a chair next to her. She stopped working, looking up at him with a smirk.
“Yes, I remember that she also said she hid the key to the box in a safe place,” Miranda said.
“One thing I know for sure, it won’t match the one Kathy has around her neck. We need to find the real key. What did that last paragraph in the letter say?”
Lee stood pacing back and forth in front of her, trying to contain his anger. He was still angry with Kathy for not telling him what he wanted to know.
“Kid, do you think Kathy knew what she was talking about, or was she delusional when she said she knew where the book was?”
“You’re the one who talked with her. What do you think?”
“We need to head on down to Florida, get that manuscript, and maybe the extra bonus of jewelry and coins.”
“Stop pacing, Lee, and calm down. I’ve been dying to find that key.”
He stopped and looked at her.
Miranda got up from her chair, walked out to the living room, stopping in front of the window staring out at the mountains. Lee moved over and stood beside her.
“I was disappointed after reading the last letter,” he said. “Lilly seemed to change her attitude, or maybe she resigned herself to the fact that she couldn’t change city hall. Maybe she gave up the fight, being too old to care anymore. In any event, it was a different Lilly from the other letters. If it wasn’t for the key and what might be in that safe deposit box, her last letter would have been a bomb.”
“I was disappointed, too, except for the key thing,” Miranda said. “Or was it that Lilly had so successfully sucked me into her world that I had become emotionally invested in her life after only a couple of hours of reading? Then at the last minute she slammed the door on me in her last letter. Lilly seemed removed from her love for Bert, the murder, and who committed it. Making me believe she wrote off that part of her life.”
“Lilly may have wrote of that part, but we haven’t or at least I haven’t, we need to think about that key. I think banks only hold a safe deposit box as long the rent is paid on it. Then what do they do if no one claims what’s in it? Do they have to hold it for a certain period of time, or do they empty it and throw away the contents? And how do we know what bank? Was it in Bridgetown or in Florida? But first we need the key.”
Miranda walked over to the sofa taking a seat on the end.
“Yes, we have a lot to look into. Maybe the ad in the newspaper will help. That is, if anyone even remembers the murder or Lilly.” Miranda raised an eyebrow and pointed her finger at Lee. “Maybe we need to read the last part of Lilly’s letter again. Maybe she was giving us clues and we didn’t recognize them.”
Lee picked up the letter again. This time he studied the last two paragraphs.
CHAPTER 22
Present Day
P.S. My book was never published, but I put the manuscript in a safe deposit box at my bank. . . . Everything should be okay there. I put the key to the box in an envelope and put it in a safe place.
Love never dies; it just mellows with age. Friends and lovers help hide what we hold dear. Bert always held the secrets to my heart. As he protected them in life, he will protect them in deat
h. Oh, well, at least the manuscript is in a safe place now. In a place where I know that old coot Robert Mason won’t be able to get his fingers on it.
As Lee finished reading the last two paragraphs, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Miranda sprinted to the door. From Lee’s position in the room he could see the surprised look on her face when she swung the door open.
“If isn’t a ghost from the past, Ridgeway Tarkington, get in here and give me a hug. You’re still a big old good looking guy.” Miranda wrapped her arms around the neck of a tall well-built man who looked to be in his early sixties, as he stepped into the vestibule scooping her up in his arms he flashed a white toothy grin through his five o’clock shadow planting a kiss on her cheek. Lee was instantly jealous. Miranda looked like a little kid in this big guy’s arms.
“Miranda, you’re still as beautiful as the first day I met you.” He placed Miranda back down on the floor.
“You always could charm the boots off a cowgirl, Ridge.”
“Yes, but I could never charm yours off of you, and not for lack of trying.” Miranda’s face flushed, she turned toward Lee while touching the man’s elbow.
“Come in, Ridge. I would like you to meet Lee Perkins, a fellow research investigator.”
Ridge stuck out his big hand and shook Lee’s with a tight grip. “Hello, Lee, it’s nice to meet you. I’m glad to see Miranda has a friend to share this big house with.”
“Hello, Ridge, it’s a pleasure.” Lee shook his hand.
Ridge grinned at Lee.
“Wait a minute, Ridge. Lee and I don’t share anything. Lee is staying with me as a guest while we work together on an investigation. That’s all there is to it.” A wide grin broke across Ridge’s face as he looked at Miranda.
Secret Keepers and Skinny Shadows: Lee and Miranda Page 9