Bleeding Blue

by Don Weston

  “Not much. She seemed to be getting at something without really getting at it. She asked me about some things that happened in the past.”

  “What type of things?”

  “She wanted to know about an investigation I spearheaded a few years back. She seemed fascinated by it.”

  “Was that the one you hired Earl for?”

  “How did you know about Earl?”

  “You were seen talking to him out here the other day. The person who saw you overheard your conversation. You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Yeah, I’ve used Earl before. He’s so unassuming and it’s a mistake to take him at face value. There’s a lot more going on there than you would think.”

  “Is he working for you now?”

  “We talk from time to time.”

  “So, your little talk out here with Earl was just a casual conversation?”

  “Not exactly. He’s working on a little matter for me. He was briefing me. I can’t talk about the matter so please don’t ask me about it.”

  “Does it have anything to do with me or my brother’s death?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “You aren’t a hundred percent sure?”

  “Nothing’s a sure thing. I just don’t see a link.”

  I sat thinking, momentarily out of questions.

  “What’s your angle here?” he asked. “Why are you so interested in me?”

  I thought he was involved in Darrin’s death somehow, but I didn’t have a motive for him and it kept me in limbo. I decided to try the direct approach.

  “I saw a security video of a short thin man, named Monty, The Jet, breaking into your office last week. He went into the Mayor’s office, then into Blaney’s and then yours.”

  I watched as the gears turned and Tuttle nodded slowly. “The guard said that video had been recorded over when I asked him about it later. Then it wasn’t Blaney who rifled my drawers.”

  “The Jet was the one who shot me, and he was involved in killing my brother.”

  “Sweet Jesus. You don’t think I . . . why would he be in my office?”

  “I think he was looking for the person who hired him.”

  Tuttle’s face turned white. “I wouldn’t do something like that. Why would I want you or your brother dead?”

  “I don’t know. Why would you?”

  He ignored the question so I asked another.

  “You and Bob still chat between the secret doors?”

  “Not lately. There has been some friction between us and Bob’s become reclusive. I think he’s having problems with his wife.”

  “Because she tried to seduce you?”

  “How did you know? I mean, I didn’t respond to her overtures even though it was hard not to.”

  I shrugged. “She tried to seduce me too. In my case she was trying to get information and steer me away from the investigation for the Mayor.”

  “I didn’t know she went both ways.” He laughed. “Heck, I didn’t know you did either.”

  “I don’t.” My faced flushed. “She’d do anything to help her husband’s career. Or maybe it’s the Mayor she’s hoping to latch onto.”

  “I don’t pay attention to any of the office gossip I hear. I will say, however, it’s well known Mayor Clemons would like to run for Governor someday, and he’s grooming young Blaney for a place in his administration if it ever happens.”

  “You think it will happen?”

  “Stranger things have.” He paused for a minute and added: “I hope he doesn’t take the Blaneys with him. It would be a mistake.”

  Chapter 27

  After my meeting with Tuttle, I went City Hall to see if I could find Blaney or Mayor Clemons. I wasn’t looking forward to this because of the possibility of running into Eileen. Blaney was out to lunch and so was Clemons so I decided to meet my supposed gayness issue head on.

  I rounded the hall from Clemons’ office to the reception lobby and entered the door. Eileen sat near the back, her hair frizzled and she was dressed in a brown skirt and similar colored blouse. Her glasses perched on her nose reminded me of the first day I met her. The last few times we were together she was like a peacock spreading her wings, but now she had reverted to her formerly dowdy self.

  I mustered help from two other clerks in the office to get her attention and when she finally strolled to the counter, she was merely pleasant toward me.

  “Hello, Billie. What do you want today?”

  “Could we talk privately somewhere? I need to explain something.”

  “I’ve been trying to get you on the phone for the past day and a half. Why didn’t you call me back? I was worried about you. This morning your assistant told me to quit calling.”

  “I’ll explain, but not here, okay?”

  She turned to one of the clerks. “Susan, I’ll be gone for a couple of minutes.”

  Susan nodded and Eileen ushered me out the door and into the hallway.

  “Talk,” she said.

  “Well this isn’t easy for me,” I began.

  “It wasn’t easy for me, either, to realize you’ve just been using me. Pretending to like me and then disappearing like our friendship was a one-night stand. I was worried about you. You were injured and I took you in and dressed your wounds, staying up all night to make sure you were going to be okay. I finally fell asleep and you snuck out on me. Not even a note.”

  “I’m sorry. I was confused. Put yourself in my position. I woke up in bed with you and I was naked. And so were you.”

  “You fell asleep,” she said. “I didn’t want to try to get a nightgown on you, so I just removed your clothes and tucked you in. What? Do you think I’m going to jump your bones or something?”

  Two elderly ladies walked by and my face flushed.

  “Oh my God. You did think I was going to jump you.”

  “I didn’t know what to think. Angel said you were seeing someone new and she was kidding me about our dates. She said you might have something romantic in mind.”

  “You and me? Cripes, Billie. I’ve started seeing a new man a couple of days before my date with Earl. He’s younger but he’s very attentive.”

  I breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Tell me all about him.”

  “I don’t want to jinx it by talking about him and getting my hopes up. That’s why I never mentioned it to you before. We’ve only been on two dates. I wanted to wait and see if anything serious develops.”

  “Then you’ll tell me all about him?”

  “Do you want me to?”

  “Of course I do. We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

  “Are we?”

  I hugged her hard. “I like you. You’re fun to be with and it can be hard to find someone you like who likes you too. Of course, we’re friends.”

  She teared up. “I thought you and Earl were just using me.”

  “Did Earl do something to you?”

  She dried her eyes with a hanky as a group of rowdy students strolled past. “He wanted me to get him into Bob Blaney’s office so he could go through financial records for the city.”

  “Did he say why?”

  “No. I told him after the burglary the night before that I couldn’t possibly go in snooping. He kept pushing me to do it until I started crying and then he said he’d find another way.”

  Eileen’s head bobbed over my shoulder. Mayor Clemons walked through the lobby toward us. Eileen dabbed at her face with her hanky.

  “I’ve got to go. I can’t afford to be seen with you.” And she was gone.

  Bob Blaney walked alongside Clemons and the two chatted amicably.

  “I was hoping to run into you two,” I said, as they came closer.

  “What can we do for you?” Blaney asked.

  “Answer a few questions about Steve’s arrest.”

  In Clemons’ outer office, his secretary had just hung up the phone. She wore a conservative business suit which coordinated well with her weary eyes and grey hair.

  �
��I made the call you asked about earlier,” she said. “I expect to hear back soon.”

  “Fine,” Clemons said. “See we aren’t disturbed, will you?”

  She nodded and displayed an awkward grin, which for some reason bothered me.

  Clemons’ office was spacious and tidy. The Mayor sat behind his desk and motioned me to sit in a chair while Blaney leaned against a window sill.

  “So why was Steve arrested?” I asked.

  “You’ve heard the evidence,” Clemons said. “He killed your brother. I told you if you would back off we’d get his killer.”

  “Gloria told me,” I said. I could tell by Blaney’s surprised look this was the first he’d heard of it.

  “She was doing me a favor,” Clemons said. “I wanted to get word to you unofficially that we were on the job and just needed a little time to put the pieces together. I’m afraid we may have jumped the gun a little though. I pushed hard to get the police to put a solid case together because there has been a lot of pressure to find Darrin’s killer. I got a call before lunch from the District Attorney and he isn’t going to prosecute Thomas until we have more to go on.”

  “What else do you need?” Blaney asked. “You found the murder weapon in his car. He had motive and opportunity. It seems to me to be more than a circumstantial case.”

  “Maybe he needs to be guilty,” I said.

  “You think he’s innocent?” Clemons asked.

  “He might be,” I said. “I don’t trust tipsters calling the police with incriminating evidence. And I don’t think Steve was stupid enough to be driving around town with the murder weapon in his car.”

  “Are they going to release him?” Blaney said.

  Clemons swiveled his chair toward Blaney and then me, smiling.

  “They already have and you’d better watch yourself, Billie. You’re not safe while Thomas is at large. He knows we’re still putting together a case, and he might just be bold enough to try and finish the job before we can nail him.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Mayor.” I switched my attention to Blaney. “I heard your office was burgled a couple of times. Did they take anything?”

  Blaney’s face went from passive to stern. “How would you know about that?”

  “Word gets around. And I am an investigator. It happened once last week and again night before last. Was anything taken?”

  “No, and if I ever get my hands on the person who broke in, I’ll wring their neck.” Blaney made a twisting motion with both hands.

  “You don’t have any suspects?” I asked.

  “Ah no. Well yes. But I’ve got to keep it on the q.t.,” he said.

  “What would anybody want in your office?” I asked, pushing for an answer.

  “Ah . . . we’re accepting bids for resurfacing the downtown bridges,” Clemons offered. “Competition is fierce and the deadline is next week. We think someone was hired to copy the bids in hopes of winning the project.”

  “Have you seen the bids?” I asked.

  “Oh, no. The council won’t see anything until after the bidding process is finished. Bob here is the only one permitted, and he’s not talking, right Bob?”

  Blaney threw a quizzical look at Clemons and then responded. “Yeah, we’re trying to keep the process honest. There have been complaints from participants during the last couple of projects we awarded.”

  Their hesitant remarks made me wonder if this was a story they cooked up in case anyone asked why The Jet might have been snooping around.

  I played along. “These bidders think the fix was in?”

  “Something like that,” Blaney said. “The council is sensitive to their concerns so they developed this process. It seems to be working, but with these break-ins I’m more than a little nervous. I’m the one who gets blamed if anything goes wrong.”

  Clemons looked at his watch.

  “Are you late for something?” I asked. I was beginning to feel the way I did the last time I visited him. Nervous.

  “Me? Oh no,” he said. “Just checking the time.”

  “He’s waiting for the cops to show up and arrest you,” Blaney said smugly.

  “Arrest me? For what?” The odd look the secretary gave me made sense now. She spotted us coming down the hall through her glass window and had made the call the Mayor instructed her to make: to the cops.

  “We know it was you who broke into my office the other night,” Blaney said. “You and Eileen. Did you think we wouldn’t check the video? Damn night guard tried to stonewall us. He’s been suspended.”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you didn’t capture me on video,” I said hopefully.

  “I’m afraid we did,” Clemons said. “It was an outside camera, but it was a little before the break in so we know you were in the vicinity. If Eileen wants to keep her job, she’ll talk.”

  Clemons’ secretary knocked on the door. “Do you want to talk to the security guards before they confront Eileen?”

  “They have their instructions,” he said. “Tell them to follow through and report back to me.” She nodded and closed the door. In the background I heard mumbling.

  “What are you going to do with Eileen?” I said.

  “She’s going to be escorted out of the building, pending an investigation and then terminated if she won’t talk,” Clemons said.

  “The bum’s rush,” Blaney said, enjoying the moment.

  “Shush, Bob. I wanted this to be a surprise.”

  “Judging by her face, I’d say we surprised her,” he said.

  “I think what he means is that he wanted to stall me until the police showed up,” I suggested.

  Blaney stood between me and the door. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

  “You are,” I said. I moved quickly and tried to shove him aside. He anticipated this and planted himself firmly, wrapping his arms around me in a bear hug.

  “Bob, this isn’t necessary,” Clemons said.

  I stomped on the instep of his foot as hard as I could and he released me and hopped backward a step. He came at me again as I started for the door. I balled up a fist and planted it on his nose with a crack. I opened the door to the outer office and spun around.

  “You must be pretty desperate to have me arrested.”

  Clemons cocked his head at a stunned Blaney, sitting on the floor holding his bloodied nose, and then at me with a slightly amused expression. “Have a nice trip. You won’t get far.”

  I entered the hallway in time to see two beefy security guards pulling Eileen out the door of her office. “Eileen, I’m sorry,” I stammered.

  “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I’ll call my union rep when I get home. You’d better scat. They’ll be after you too.”

  I walked out with her and the guards and tried to hide behind them as two uniforms approached. I knew one of them and realized he would recognize me.

  “Hi Billie, What’s new?” Patrolman Hernandez said.

  “Same shit, different day,” I said, ready now to go to jail. I guessed they were on their way up to Mayor Clemons’ office to get me.

  “Isn’t that the truth,” he said.

  “Isn’t she the one we’re supposed to arrest?” the other cop said.

  “If she is, we didn’t see her. You got that rookie?” Hernandez winked at me. “Better get going. It’s going to get crowded really quick. Lots of chatter on the radio.”

  “Thanks for the bulletin,” I said and smiled at him. I guess he didn’t want to be the cop to arrest Darrin Bly’s sister.

  I couldn’t stay and talk with Eileen so I ran up the block toward my car in the rain. A squad car drove by and I turned toward the building. Another cop car was parked on the corner a half-block from my new ride, so I meandered the other way toward the waterfront.

  I ducked into a building doorway, out of the drizzle and watched two more police cars, going in opposite directions, stop in the middle of the street and talk for a few seconds. Word was out I got away and these guys were searc
hing for me.

  I drifted inside Pioneer Place, a multi-story building of retail stores, and looked through the shop windows to the street. I didn’t see any cops outside, but I felt I was being watched. I glanced casually over my shoulder, but didn’t see any storm troopers. In fact, not many people were about as the rain showers intensified. I walked a ways and slipped into a boutique and hid behind a female mannequin draped in the latest fall colors.

  I sat for a few minutes pondering what to do next and decided to make for the light rail on Southwest First Avenue. I wanted to get out of the downtown area where a squad car could turn up at any moment. I imagined a police dispatcher was organizing a grid search. A few minutes later I hit the street and again I felt the omnipresence of some sinister being.

  It wasn’t until I reached the Max line I spotted a figure dart behind the corner of a building. I dropped my eyes to the street and jogged across the slippery tracks to wait for the Max train.

  When I turned and looked back over to the corner I was greeted by a flash of light where the figure had stepped out from under a store awning. Before I could react, the Max train brushed in front of me and at the same instant I heard a metallic ping of a bullet striking the trolley as it passed in front of me, followed by the muffled pop of a gun with a silencer.

  I weighed my chance of getting away on the Max and thought it would be too easy for my assailant to catch up or to call police. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would have realized he wasn’t going to call the cops. He wanted me dead.

  The Max passing in front of me gave me good cover for a moment, and I turned and ran through some party tents still set up near the Willamette River. I ran a block up Waterfront Park and was greeted by more tents laid out over a four-block area in preparation for the next weekend’s Food Festival. I ran past four or five tents, kneeled behind one and grabbed my gun from my purse.

  The shooter wasn’t in sight, and he couldn’t cross over to the park without my seeing him so I sat and waited. The rain shower stopped, but witnesses weren’t about to take a chance and stroll through the park yet. Five minutes went by and I was thinking whoever had taken a shot at me must have jumped on the train. It had four cars so it might take him a while to realize I wasn’t on it.