Keeping Secrets

by L A Dobbs

  "Jesse Cowly? Are you sure?" Jo shot a look at Sam. Jesse Cowly was a local that flirted with the wrong side of the law. Sam had caught him in minor crimes but had always let him go, thinking it might not be a bad idea if Jesse owed him.

  Thing was, Sam had a suspicion that Jesse was involved in Thorne's drug ring. And if Jesse and his friends were involved with Thorne and the ATVs were over at Mike Donnelly's, maybe his theory that Thorne had killed Mike to get his farmland wasn't so far-fetched.

  On the way out from the neighbors', Sam and Jo stopped at the Donnellys' to look for the ATV tracks. Sam didn't recall any tracks being there before the pictures, and he was pretty good at remembering the specifics of a crime scene, but it never hurt to take a second look.

  "Did you see any ATV tracks in the grass when we found Mike's body? The tracks in the grass probably wouldn't be there anymore," Jo said as they let Lucy out of the back of the SUV.

  "I don't think so," Sam said. "But Kevin's pictures would probably tell us if there were."

  They went around to the side. The grass was still stained a muddy red. Lucy sniffed around but apparently didn't find anything of interest and trotted off toward the driveway.

  They stood looking out at the woods, where birds chirped and flew from branch to branch. A tufted titmouse swooped down to the ground. A chipmunk poked its head out of a decaying woodpile.

  It was quiet out there. No signs of ATVs now. Just the rustle of leaves and the slight summer breeze. "I don't know if there are many trails in this area for all-terrain vehicles." Sam walked over to the edge of the woods. It was midafternoon, and the low sun elongated the shadows of the tree trunks. He could see a thin deer path but nothing that was wide enough for an ATV.

  "Maybe they drove right up the road," Jo said.

  They slowly crossed the front yard to the driveway.

  "So what did you think of the guy you interviewed?" she asked.

  Sam shrugged. "He was okay. I might like to get your take on some of these interviewees."

  Jo made a face, and Sam laughed. "I know it's a pain in the ass. But we have to hire someone, and it'll be a lot more pleasant for us if it's someone we like."

  "Sure, I get that." Jo stopped at the edge of the driveway, where Lucy was sniffing the tire tracks. The driveway was dirt and a little bit muddy. It had rained two days earlier, and the sun didn't hit the driveway directly, so the dirt stayed damp for a long time. Mike Donnelly's truck was still in the driveway. She could see the tire tracks leading up to it. But there were other tire marks.

  "These are Mike's tracks, but looks like there was another car here recently, too," Jo pointed out.

  "The Ritchies said they saw the other family car here. Maybe one of the kids or Margie came out," Sam said.

  Lucy was sniffing at something on the edge of the driveway. She barked then looked at Jo and Sam.

  "What have you got?" Jo squatted next to Lucy.

  "What do you think this is?" She looked up at Sam. "A bicycle track?"

  Sam looked that the thin track. It was barely even noticeable, but he could faintly see several tracks as if the bike had been ridden back and forth. "Sure looks like it. It's certainly not from any ATV. Those tires would be wider than this but not as wide as the car."

  Jo stood. "A lot of people ride their bikes out here. There's even a bike trail in the woods."

  "And the Donnellys have bikes up on the porch."

  "So it's not much of a lead." Jo pulled open the passenger door of the Tahoe and let Lucy jump in before getting in herself. Sam was still in the driveway, and she leaned across the car and talked to him through the open driver's window. "We need to find those ATV riders and ask them exactly where they were riding. They might have seen something, though chances are slim they'll admit to being here if they were poaching deer."

  Sam opened his door and got into the driver's seat. "Even slimmer if they were involved in the murder."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jesse Cowly lived in an old run-down 1950s ranch with one of his buddies. Jo and Sam knew it was a party house, and after swinging by the auto-body shop where he worked and discovering it was Jesse's day off, they decided to pay a visit to him at home. It was late afternoon, so Jesse and his roommate would be up and probably doing something illegal.

  The house was painted a faded blue. Faded black shutters hung on the windows. The front yard consisted of brown patches of dirt and weeds. A section of screen flapped down from the top corner of the screen door. A dirty curtain flapped in and out of one of the open windows in tempo to the loud music blaring from inside.

  Jo pulled the brim of her cap down and secured her sunglasses. She figured that made her look more official and a little bit more badass.

  Sam knocked on the door. Loudly.

  The music volume was lowered, and the door opened to reveal Jesse's bleary-eyed, puffy face. He looked at Sam, and his eyes widened then darted to Jo. "Uhhh... Can I help you guys?"

  "Yeah. We got some questions." Sam pushed his way into the house. He didn't act confrontational, but Jesse got the message.

  Jesse stumbled back a little bit. "Hey, you can't just come in here, can you?"

  "Sure we can. We're the police," Sam said.

  Lucy pushed her way in beside Sam and stood at attention, her eyes trained on Jesse. Jesse's gaze flicked to Lucy with alarm.

  Jesse's roommate, Brian Carlson, bolted up from the couch, sweeping something that had been sitting on the coffee table next to a crusty pizza box under the couch. The house was spiced with the sweet smell of pot mixed with stale beer and greasy pepperoni. A cloud of smoke hung over Brian's head, and he waved it away.

  "This is entrapment or something, isn't it?" Jesse's eyes darted around the room as if he was looking for other things he should hide.

  "Calm down." Jo pushed Jesse into a chair. "We're not here to arrest you for anything you might be doing in here." She looked around the room pointedly.

  Lucy sat in front of Jesse's chair and stared at him.

  "We have some questions about your ATV activity out down near the logging roads," Sam said.

  Jesse and Brian exchanged a look. "What do you mean?"

  "Nancy Ritchie said you guys ride around back there in the woods." Jo lifted the top of the pizza box carefully with her index finger. Inside was congealed cheesy pizza. She led the lid flop back down.

  "No, she must be mistaken." Jesse leaned back in his chair. Apparently he was trying to look relaxed, but it just made him look more nervous.

  Lucy let out a low growl, and his gaze flicked to her.

  Jo decided to capitalize on Jesse's nervousness by making her way around the room and looking into various boxes and behind sofas while Sam asked them questions about where they were the night Mike had died. She even picked up the corner of the rug.

  "Hey, you can't search in here like that," Brian said.

  Lucy swiveled her head in his direction and barked.

  "We can if we have probable cause like a witness telling us you were out on those roads," Sam lied. "Our witness also heard gunshots out there. What do you know about that?"

  The two looked at each other. Brian said, "We don't know anything about any gunshots, right?"

  "I might ride an ATV once in a while, but I don't know anything about any gunshots," Jesse said.

  "Really? Where were you Monday night?" Sam asked.

  "We were right here." Jesse's answer tumbled out way too fast.

  Lucy inched closer to Jesse and growled.

  Jo could see that Jesse and Brian would try to deny they had been there, but she knew how to make them tell the truth. Her experience with most small-time criminals like Jesse proved that they would easily confess to something minor if they thought they were going to be nailed for a bigger crime.

  "Really?" She came to stand in the center of the room. "That's funny because we know someone who says otherwise. This person saw you out there right about the time that Mike Donnelly was shot."

&
nbsp; The looks of surprise on their faces were almost comical. Apparently, they hadn't known about the shooting. Jo wasn't surprised, though--she didn't think Jesse was the type to escalate his criminal activities to murder. But she did think he had something to do with Thorne's drug operation, and she knew Sam had let him off on a few minor things. She figured Sam was grooming him to be an informant, looking the other way on lesser crimes so that Jesse owed him and he could use him later to catch the big fish.

  "We don't know anything about Mike Donnelly." Brian's face had turned white.

  "Really?" Sam leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well then, how do you explain being seen out there at the time he died?"

  "And why would you lie about it, if you weren't involved?" Jo asked.

  Jesse held his hands up. "Okay, okay. We were out there, but we didn't kill anybody. We were just joyriding on our ATVs."

  "You expect us to believe that? We've got DNA evidence from the body just waiting at the lab, and my bet is that it has your signature all over it, and even if it doesn't, we've got witnesses, and they saw you with guns." Sam smiled. "Oh, did I mention that Mike was shot? I wonder if we'll find the same kind of gun in here."

  "What? No way! We didn't shoot anyone." Jesse shifted in his chair. Lucy edged closer. A bead of sweat formed on Jesse's forehead.

  "Well then, explain to me why you were out there with a gun," Sam said.

  "Screw it," Jesse said. "I'd rather get in trouble for poaching than murder. We were out there poaching deer. We don't know anything about Mike Donnelly getting shot."

  Sam appeared to think it over, causing Jesse and Brian to become even more nervous. "But you were out there near the Donnelly cabin?"

  Jesse shook his head. "Not near it. But we rode up the logging road past it to access the trails in the back."

  "I told you we should have started at the trail on the other side of the woods," Brian muttered.

  "If you rode up the road, then you would've gone past the Donnellys' place," Jo said. "Do you know what time that was?"

  "Shortly before sunset," Jesse said. He looked at Brian then shrugged. "The deer come out at dusk, and we wanted to be in place in the field by then."

  It was June, and the sun set around seven. If someone had been at Mike's, Jesse and Brian might've seen them. "When you drove by, did you see anyone at the Donnellys' camp or anything strange going on there?"

  Jesse screwed up his face and thought for a second. "I didn't see anything funny going on, just a couple cars in the driveway."

  "A couple of cars?" Sam said. "What did they look like?"

  "One was a big black truck. I've seen that one in the driveway before, but the other one was a small white car, a VW Jetta. I recognized it because my sister drives one," Jesse said.

  "Do you know who was driving that Jetta?" Sam asked.

  Jesse shook his head and shrugged. "No, man. Sorry. But whoever it was must have been in the cabin, because I know there was no one outside."

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Ritchies had said that only the family cars had been in the driveway, so Sam and Jo headed off to the Donnellys' to find out who drove a white Jetta and deliver the news that Mike's death might not have been by his own hand. Since Margie had seemed to be fond of Lucy, they brought her again. Melody answered their knock, her eyes narrowing when she saw them.

  "I hope you're here to tell us you're releasing Dad's body." Melody stood in the door, giving the distinct impression she wasn't going to invite them in.

  "Can we come in?" Sam asked gently.

  Melody's eyes flicked to Lucy and then back up to Sam. "Okay, but just because Mom likes the dog. She's not feeling good today."

  Margie was lying on the couch, a colorful afghan wrapped around her. Brian sat in the chair. He tensed when he saw Sam and Jo. Lucy trotted over to Margie, and Margie's eyes flickered open. She put her hand out to stroke Lucy's fur, a ghost of a smile passing over her lips.

  "Sorry to interrupt, ma'am," Sam said.

  Brian pushed up from his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "I hope you're gonna let us bury my father while my mom can still make it to the funeral."

  "We'll be releasing the body today." Sam paused and cleared his throat. "But I'm afraid the medical examiner wasn't able to specifically rule that your father shot himself."

  Melody's brows knitted together. "What are you talking about?"

  Margie struggled to sit up on the couch. Lucy sat at her feet, Margie's hand still rubbing the dog's head. "What's he saying, Melly?"

  Sam walked over to stand in front of Margie. "Mike might not have shot himself."

  "What do you mean? He's not dead?"

  "He is. But someone else might have killed him."

  "Oh, but he was so depressed. I just thought..." Margie's face crinkled, and she looked up at Sam. "Who would do such a thing?"

  "Someone who was angry with him or benefitted from his death."

  Brian scrubbed his hands across his face. "What? Nobody would benefit from his death. He barely had any life insurance. And no one would want my father dead. Everybody liked him. You guys must be wrong."

  "I don't think we are," Sam said.

  Melody collapsed into a chair. "I don't believe it. I thought he was shot with his own gun."

  "He was. Which makes me think he might've been expecting an argument with someone. Otherwise, why would he have taken his gun from the house and brought it to the camp? He didn't normally do that, did he?"

  "No. He would bring the rifles at hunting season but not the revolver,” Margie said.

  "He could've been expecting a fight or some kind of altercation," Jo suggested. "Is there anyone you can think of?"

  "Nobody except Thorne." Margie's hands stilled on Lucy's head, and her gaze jerked up to Sam. "But you don't think he would..."

  "Hard telling," Sam said.

  "We know Mike was at the cabin that night. His truck is still there. But which one of you drives the white Jetta?"

  They all looked at each other.

  "My car is a red Toyota," Melody said. "And Mom drives a brown Ford Taurus."

  "I have a truck like Dad's." Brian looked down at the floor, and Sam glanced at Jo. Was he not telling them everything?

  "Were you all here at the house that night?" Sam asked.

  Margie smiled wryly. "I don't get out much anymore."

  Jo sat next to Margie on the couch and patted her hand.

  Sam looked at Brian and Melody. "And you two were here with her? Did you go to the cabin with your dad that day at all?"

  "This is all so tiring." Margie looked drained, as if this news was sucking what life was left out of her. Sam's heart clenched. It was messy business, but he owed it to Mike Donnelly to get to the bottom of it. Especially if Thorne was involved.

  Melody went to her mother, protectively tucking in the afghan and shooting angry looks at Sam and Jo.

  "I think my mother has had quite enough now." She ushered them out of the room toward the foyer. "Mom's declining rapidly. Just the other day, she was driving, and today, she can barely walk around the house. The doctor said that would happen after she stopped chemo and the cancer started to grow rapidly. I don't know if all this business about my father is good for her. Can't you people go easy on her?"

  "We'll try to bother her as little as possible. Maybe you can help us with just one thing. We need to create a timeline, and I was wondering if any of you could remember what your father did that day. Who he talked to. Did either of you see him or talk to him? Did he mention anything? Did he sound off at all?" Sam asked.

  "I talked to him that morning on the phone, and he sounded fine," Brian said.

  "I saw him at lunch, and he seemed fine, too," Melody said.

  "And where were you both that night?" Sam asked.

  Brian looked at his shoes. "I've been having some car trouble. But that night I was at home."

  "Where do you live?" Jo asked. "Is there anyone else who c
ould verify?"

  "I can," Melody said. At Brian's funny look, she continued. "I wasn't there, but I was picking up Mom's pills at the pharmacy across the street. You can see into Brian's apartment, and I always look over to see if he's home. I was waving like a crazy person out on the sidewalk to catch his attention, but I guess he didn't see me."

  "No. I didn't see you over there. I don't look out the window all the time."

  "Of course not. But I saw you. I didn't have time to go over and visit because Mom needed her pills right away. She'd almost run out, and I didn't want her to be in pain."

  "What time was that?" Jo asked.

  Melody pressed her lips together. "I'd say it was around seven p.m. I'd gotten out of work at the flower shop late and picked up some fast food. Joel--that's my husband--was working at the hospital. He's an RN. Mom needed the pills, and Dad wasn't around. I had no idea that he'd be..."

  "Do either of you know anyone that has a white Jetta? A family member or friend of your Dad's?" Sam asked.

  Brian and Melody looked at each other and shook their heads.

  "Why are you here asking us this stuff? Why aren't you out there finding Dad's killer?" Brian asked. "We sure didn't kill him."

  "That's exactly what we're doing. Starting here with the people that knew him the best. We figure you would know what was going on with him, and that could help us find who did this," Jo said.

  "Well, we don't know anything," Melody said. "Mom and Dad didn't have a lot. Just this run-down farm, and the life insurance is minimal. Won't even cover Mom's co-pays on her medical bills. And everyone liked my father. Like Mom said, about the only person he ever fought with was Thorne."

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sam dropped Jo off at the station to double-check on the value of Mike's life insurance. He sent Lucy in with her. He had an idea of where to look for the white Jetta, and he didn't want the dog to get hurt.

  He headed up Prickett Hill to the site of the condo village that Thorne was building. Once beautiful woods with a view of the lakes below, it was now clear cut, a scar on the landscape that made Sam's stomach tighten with disgust.