When Gil came back down and took a seat at the table next to Jo, she looked over at him and smiled.
Florence cleared her throat theatrically. “Eunice and I have been wondering when you two are going to see that you’re perfect for each other and decide to get married.”
Jo was so shocked, she was speechless, and she could see that Gil was too.
That didn’t stop the twins. Eunice said, “Don’t act so shocked. A blind man could see how you two feel about each other. Besides, the way things are right now, getting married wouldn’t take much adjustment for either one of you.”
Florence continued, “Yes, Jo, you and Carla are already living here.”
Finally, Jo found her voice just as Gil did. They spoke at once.
“But . . ."
“Now Mom . . .”
Jo was blushing and couldn’t look at any of them and she was glad when Gil spoke for both of them.
“Mom, Eunice, I love you both dearly but I’m afraid I’m just going to have to be blunt. That is absolutely between Jo and me and therefore none of your business.”
Florence spoke up first, “But Dear, we’re your only family . . .”
“I don’t care. Whatever happens between Jo and me is going to stay right there until we both decide to share it with you. Is that clear?”
Both women were quiet for a moment then Eunice spoke to Jo. “You do love our Gil, now don’t you?”
“Eunice!”
Jo was glad again that Gil had spoken before she had been forced to answer.
The silence was heavy in the kitchen for a full five minutes and Jo had a funny thought. She wondered how many times both women had been quiet this long.
Her thoughts then turned to the original question that Florence had asked. Yes, she now realized that she loved Gil and she was sure that he loved her too. She was glad she hadn’t had to say it in front of the others the first time. That should be one on one with Gil.
Then her thoughts expanded. Eunice had mentioned marriage. Was getting married the next logical step? And if so, when?
She finally worked up enough nerve to look at Gil to find that he was staring at her. Was he thinking the same thoughts she was? The glint in his eyes and the half-smile on his lips told her that he probably was. Now what?
Well, all of that would just have to wait until they were alone and they could talk without interruptions. She didn’t realize then how long that might take.
Gil looked at the clock and said, “Time to go to church.”
With that, they started out the door and Carla joined them as soon as Jo called out to her up the stairs.
Chapter Fifteen
Something awakened Gil and he looked over at the clock, two o’clock. Then he realized that it was Harry growling. He was surprised that he even heard the little dog. Ever since Jo and Carla had come to stay there, Harry had been sleeping elsewhere and he was sure it was with Carla. The little traitor seemed to have fallen in love with her.
The last time Harry had growled like this, there had been someone out there throwing rocks and eventually shooting at the windows. He certainly hoped that wasn’t the case tonight since he was no longer alone here.
He struggled out of bed and pulled on his slacks to go see what the disturbance was. Harry raced out the door and down the stairs. Soon, Gil could hear the little fellow barking ferociously at something in the backyard.
When he reached the back door and turned the porch light on, he didn’t see anything but Harry standing just outside the door, still growling and looking toward the woods behind the house.
Gil started to step outside but quickly changed his mind when he remembered that someone had shot at him right there and that had been in the daylight. He turned the porch light off and watched the backyard and the edge of the woods as well as he could in the moonlight wishing the new security lights had been installed already. Nothing seemed to be moving and Harry had given up on his barking and was now inside sitting at Gil’s feet.
Well, whatever it was, it was gone now. He might as well try to get some more sleep.
The next morning, they were all five sitting at the kitchen table when Bert came in the back door without knocking as had become his habit. Gil didn’t really mind. Everyone there liked Bert and his mother and aunt always made a big fuss over him and fed him breakfast even though he usually ate at the home before coming.
As skinny as the kid was, Gil wondered where he put all the food he seemed to eat.
This morning, though, Bert seemed agitated for some reason. Florence was talking when he entered but stopped when she saw the way he was swaying from side to side and the strange look on his face.
Bert stopped in front of Gil and said, “Mr. Preacher, did you know that Mr. Clyde is sleeping out behind your fence?”
Gil stood and when Jo started to stand too, he said, “Don’t bother, Jo, he’s probably just sleeping off another drunk.”
He was already out the back door following Bert before he realized that Jo was right behind him anyway. He had to smile at that. She was a protective little thing and he loved her for it.
Bert ran ahead and was through the gate and standing beside Clyde by the time Gil and Jo arrived.
“He’s not snoring, Mr. Preacher.”
Gil realized that was Bert’s way of saying that something seemed to be wrong with Clyde, more than just being drunk.
He squatted beside Clyde and started to reach out and shake his shoulder when he noticed blood on Clyde’s head behind his ear.
Gil then touched Clyde’s throat to check for a pulse and realized that not only was there no pulse but the body was cold and already stiff.
He stood back up and turned to Jo. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he tried to guide her away from the body but she started to resist.
“Aren’t you going to try to wake him up Gil?”
He shook his head. “No, Jo. I’m afraid he’s dead.”
Her eyes glazed over and he tightened his grip on her but she didn’t feint. She just turned pale and said, “How … Are you sure?”
He frowned and nodded his head. “Yes, Jo, I’m sure. Rigor mortis has already set in so that means he’s been dead for at least a few hours.”
Gil started leading Jo back toward the house but she stopped him just inside the gate.
“We have to call Floyd.”
“Yes, I will. As soon as I get you back inside and sitting down, I’ll call him.”
Within a half hour, the backyard and the area behind the fence up to and even including the woods was crawling with sheriff’s deputies and crime scene techs.
Gil hadn’t gone to the church office at his normal time. He’d called Betty to let her know, but he wasn’t surprised that she already knew.
After another thirty minutes, Floyd came in the back door. Gil pointed toward an empty chair at the table. Floyd slid into it, and Gil’s mother set a cup of coffee in front of him.
As he sipped the coffee, Floyd looked at Gil and said, “Is there anything you can tell me that you didn’t tell me when I first got here?”
Gil had only told Floyd that Bert had found Clyde’s body out back. He couldn’t think of anything to add to that at first. Then he remembered Harry waking him up that morning.
“Yes, there is, but I’m not sure if it has anything to do with this or not.”
Floyd said, “Go ahead and let me decide if it’s important or not.”
“Okay. I was awakened by my dog growling at two o’clock. He led me down to the back door and seemed to be barking at something in the backyard but I never saw or heard anything, so I went back to bed.”
Floyd rubbed his chin, took another sip of coffee and said, “Two o’clock huh? That’s about the time Doc thinks Clyde was killed. You sure you didn’t see or hear anything?”
“No, I’m sure. I didn’t want to go outside though since that’s where someone shot at me before.”
Floyd snorted. “Don’t blame you.”
He
then looked around the room and said, “Anybody else hear anything during the night?”
He was greeted with five heads shaking including Bert’s. Floyd turned back to Gil and asked, “Do you know anything about a baseball bat?”
“Sure . . .”
“That’s mine Mr. Sheriff. I play ball with Harry with it.” Bert broke in.
Floyd looked back at Gil. “Has anyone else touched that bat lately?”
“Yes, yesterday when Clyde was here bothering us, Jo picked it up then she tossed it to me but Clyde left before either one of us had to use it.”
Floyd shook his head. “There are three sets of fingerprints on it. If you don’t mind, I’d like our tech guys to print you three to make sure the prints on the bat are yours.”
Floyd finished his coffee and left. A crime scene tech came in shortly and took their fingerprints which Bert greatly enjoyed.
* * *
After Floyd finally finished with them, Gil went to his office at the church, and Jo drove Carla to school in his car.
She decided she’d stop by Sue Ann’s shop to talk to her for a while. The high school was out in the country about two miles from town. She was about halfway back to town when a deer ran across the road so close that she had to swerve to miss it. In so doing, she ran into the ditch that was still a little muddy from last night’s rain.
She sat there for a minute trying to catch her breath and calm down enough to continue driving. When she put the car in reverse and eased down on the accelerator, nothing happened. But no, she heard a strange sound. What was it? She rolled her window down and then she knew it was the tire spinning without gaining traction. She knew enough to take her foot off the accelerator and put the car in Park.
She opened her door and stood there looking down at both front tires buried in the mud. Well, she’d just have to call Leroy for help. She sat back down in the car, turned the motor off, and pulled her purse over into her lap.
After searching through her purse for her cell phone and not finding it, she dumped the contents out on the passenger seat. Then she realized that in all the excitement this morning, she must have left her cell phone sitting on the dresser in the bedroom at Gil’s house.
Oh well, there was nothing else to do but start walking toward town since it was probably just as close as the high school. She was glad she had on jeans and especially her running shoes. That would make the long walk much easier.
After she had walked about a quarter of a mile, she heard a vehicle coming up behind her and turned around to see a battered old pickup pulling onto the shoulder across from her. When she could make out the driver’s face, she recognized Jake Hollis. He was motioning for her to come over and get in the truck.
Normally, she would have thought he would be safe to accept a ride from. After all he was a deacon at Gil’s church. But with all the trouble Gil told her Jake had been giving him about her lately, she hesitated.
He motioned with his hand again and said, “Come on Jo, I saw the preacher’s little car back there stuck in the mud. You were driving it weren’t you?”
When she nodded, he said, “Get in and I’ll take you back there and pull that little thing out of there in no time at all.”
Finally, she decided to trust him. She crossed the road and slid into the truck but as far away from Jake as she could get.
He turned the truck around and headed back toward Gil’s car.
When he drove on past the car, Jo said, “Where are you going Jake? That was Gil’s car back there.”
He laughed and speeded the truck up. She realized quickly that the truck was going too fast for her to be able to open the door and jump out without being seriously injured.
“What are you doing Jake?”
He still didn’t answer her but kept on driving until he turned off on a narrow dirt road that she was pretty sure went out to his farm. She thought that maybe she could get the door open and jump out on that road and get away from him then. But she hadn’t counted on the trees and brush being so close to her side of the truck that when she tried, she couldn’t even get her door open.
Jake just laughed as he turned onto another dirt road that was barely a road at all. It was much narrower and rougher than the first with the trees and bushes much closer. She began to bounce into the door and the seat back. He finally came to a stop when the road seemed to just end in the middle of the woods.
He jumped out of the truck, opened her door before she could, and pulled her out onto the ground. She almost fell, twisting her ankle in the process.
He pulled her along through the dense brush for about one hundred feet. When he stopped, he kept one hand wrapped around her right wrist.
She started to struggle and he turned around and backhanded her across the face. She tasted blood and felt a little dizzy for a moment.
Jake turned away from her, began pulling the brush to one side, and uncovered a quad. He then pulled her to the front of the quad, began pulling more brush to the side, and cleared a narrow track. All the time, he kept a tight painful grip on her wrist.
He straddled the quad and pulled her over to sit in front of him on it.
“Jake, please don’t do this. I’ve never done anything to you. Why are you doing this?”
He only laughed and started the quad.
He growled something under her breath and she thought it was, “You got away.”
He drove the quad in a weaving pattern for several miles before they entered a small clearing that was about fifty feet in diameter. She was shocked to see what she was sure was a still sitting right in the middle of that clearing. She also noticed a small crude shed with a metal roof to one side of the still. Otherwise, the space was clear.
All the time they were on the quad, Jake had her penned in so tightly with his arms and legs that she could barely move much less try to escape. As soon as he pulled her off the quad, she tried to pull away from him, but this time he hit her with his fist and she lost consciousness.
She was dreaming. She had to be. Then her first waking thought was that her face hurt. In fact, her whole face seemed to be on fire. She tried to bring her hand up to touch her face and couldn’t. Her hands were tied behind her back.
Where was she? She opened her eyes and everything was blurry. She blinked a few times and things began to focus a little but all she saw at first were empty bottles, boxes of empty bottles stacked almost to the ceiling in front of her.
When she looked around, she must have moved her head too fast. She became dizzy and nauseous at the same time. She thought she might pass out . . . again? Was that what had happened to her before?
Then she began to remember bits and pieces until she remembered it all. Jake Hollis had brought her here. When she’d tried to resist, he’d hit her so hard that he’d knocked her out.
Now, she was lying on a rough wood floor with her hands tied behind her back. She was surprised to find that she wasn’t gaged. That brought with it the realization that she was probably so far out in the woods that no one would hear her if she did try to cry for help.
* * *
Gil was having difficulty concentrating on his work that afternoon. He couldn’t keep the picture of Clyde’s bloody head out of his mind. Then he worried that it had happened right there just outside his backyard fence. That was too close to all those in the house who were special to him.
What was he going to do? What could he do?
For starters, he would like to know how the investigation was going but knew he wasn’t in with Floyd well enough to just call him up and ask. Then he thought of Jo. If she didn’t already know, she could certainly call Floyd and find out, couldn’t she?
He picked up the phone and called the house. Eunice answered right away and said that Jo wasn’t there but had planned to stop and talk to Sue Ann for a while on her way home from taking Carla to school.
Home! That sounded so good. Was Jo thinking of his home as her home too?
Next, he dialed Jo’s cell ph
one but only got her voice mail. She must be so busy talking or more likely, listening to Sue Ann that she didn’t answer. Could she have left her cell phone at home? He thought about looking up the number for the beauty shop then decided against it. He didn’t want Jo to think he was becoming possessive. She was beginning to trust him almost fully now, so he certainly didn’t want to spoil that.
Gil forced himself to work some more and was finally concentrating fairly well when Betty called out that Floyd was on the phone for him. He looked at his watch, two-thirty. Well, maybe now he could find out something about the investigation.
When Floyd came on the line, he was rather blunt when he simply said, “Can you come down to my office right now, Gil. There’re some things I need to talk to you about.”
At first, Gil was elated. Maybe he could get Floyd to share some information with him that he didn’t want to say over the telephone. That would be great! Then, when he thought about it, Floyd’s tone of voice didn’t sound very friendly.
When Gil walked into lobby of the sheriff’s office, the lady at the desk waved at him then pointed at the door which started buzzing. He walked down the long hallway thinking that it sure sounded quiet there today. The last time he’d been here, he’d heard voices behind almost every door he passed on the way to Floyd’s office at the end. But today, he didn’t hear anything.
Before he could even begin to try to figure out the meaning behind that, he was at Floyd’s door and it flung open just as it had the last time. How did he do that? That was when he noticed a camera mounted above the door. That explained it.
Floyd was standing there looking down at Gil as he said, “Come on in Gil.” He turned around and headed back to his desk chair. “Have a seat.”
Once Gil was sitting there peering over the edge of Floyd’s high desk, he still wasn’t sure whether this was a friendly summons or not. Floyd had a hard frown on his face as he glared at Gil.
He looked directly down into Gil’s eyes and said, “Gil, I got to warn you that it looks to me like someone out there hates you enough to try to pin Clyde’s murder on you.”
No Easy Solution (Crowley County Series Book 1) Page 22