Blue Steele Box Sets 2

by Remington Kane

  “Maybe Blue, or I might become a cop like Carol.”

  “Stick to art,” Carol said. “Police work will wear you down.”

  We told Shannon and Holly about our day and I saw Shannon brighten with hope.

  “Another woman was in the car? That would make sense, wouldn’t it? But there was no trace of her.”

  “Yes, and she also never came forward,” Carol said. “That means that she may have something to hide. Perhaps she helped your mother away from the scene and panicked afterward. In any event, if we locate her, she’ll be able to answer a lot of questions.”

  We talked over several scenarios but soon realized that speculation was useless. If and when Billy found a picture of the woman in question, we would still face the task of identifying and locating her. That’s something that could be difficult to do given that well over thirty years had passed.

  The following day was a Friday and Holly had school, while Carol was going to her mother’s house which was three towns away. Her mother had invited her to stay for a few days so that they could try to grow closer.

  As we stood outside our vehicles in the parking lot, I watched as Holly gave Carol a big squeeze before getting on her tip toes to kiss her on the cheek.

  As Donna and Holly drove off, Carol made an observation.

  “If I could be certain of having a kid as sweet as Holly I’d get pregnant right away.”

  I smiled, touched my stomach, and prayed that my own child would turn out as well.

  An hour later, I was in my hotel room, showered, and laying across the bed while talking to my hubby.

  “I miss you, Blue. Any chance that you could be coming home soon?”

  “Maybe,” I said, and then I told him about the lead we had.

  “That sounds like a longshot,” Ramón said.

  “It is, but who knows, once we have the photo and the woman’s name, we may track her down right away. If I had to guess, she helped Donna Weaver get away from the scene after Donna was wounded. Donna likely died afterward, and the woman panicked and ran off.”

  “Yeah, but wouldn’t Donna Weaver’s body have been found?”

  “Sure, but if she died out of state she may have been listed as a Jane Doe. Remember, this all happened many years ago. The police back then would have no reason to tie her death to a drug shootout, plus, her body may not have been discovered for weeks.”

  “I see what you mean. In any event, this sounds like a less risky case then your usual ones. Thank God you won’t be in any danger.”

  I agreed with Ramón. At the time, I had no idea that before it was all over two people involved with the case would be dead.

  Chapter 40

  Three more leads came in overnight and the next day Carol and I checked them out.

  One of the leads was from a man who used to run with Frugazy’s gang. He remembered the redhead and also recalled the fact that she spoke with a slight southern accent, but he couldn’t recall her name. His tip involved the drug deal. According to him, the deal was for much more than the paltry sums listed on the police report. He insinuated that the investigating officers must have pocketed most of the drugs and the cash.

  As we were driving to check out another tip, I asked Carol what she thought of the man’s claims.

  “Anything’s possible I suppose. Still, the officers who had the case back then were both decorated cops and went on to top positions inside the department. From everything I’ve heard about them, I doubt they would have been crooked.”

  “Have you spoken to them?”

  “No, one man is dead and the other is on his last legs in a nursing home in New Orleans. Besides, they weren’t aware that there might have been another witness to the shootout.”

  “Our mystery redhead?”

  “Yeah,” Carol said, and I could see that something was bothering her.

  “Carol?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is something wrong… is it your mother?”

  “Yes, it’s my mother, but not anything to do with her health. I caught her going through my purse last night.”

  “Seriously? Why would she do that?”

  “Get this, she said that she was looking for drugs, like I’m some kind of high school girl she has to check up on. We wound up getting into an argument and I stormed out.”

  “But you’ll be going back to stay with her, won’t you?”

  “Yeah, Blue, pain in the ass or not, she’s still my mother. I’ll be there for her when she needs me. The woman just has to learn that there are boundaries.”

  “Do you have any siblings?”

  “Nope, it’s just me and my mother. That’s why it hurts so much to not get along with her, but I’m trying, I’m really trying.”

  “You’re a good daughter. Maybe this health scare will make your mother realize just how lucky she is.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not holding my breath.”

  The other two leads turned out to be dead ends and so Carol drove me to where the shootout had taken place. It was at the wide intersection of two roads and looked to have changed little since the time of the shootout. One side of the road displayed farmland while the other side was all woods. Every minute or so a car would drive by, but there was little in the area to attract much traffic.

  Carol gestured to an area near where we were parked.

  “One of the local farmers came upon the scene while he was driving his tractor to another field. His brother was a cop the next town over, and he called in the homicide detectives. The thing is, even if the mystery redhead and Donna Weaver left the scene, where did they go? There’s not much around here now and there was even less back then.”

  “Could they have taken a third vehicle?”

  “It’s possible, but each side had four men and they had pulled their cars onto the sandy shoulder of the road. You’ve seen the report, the tire tracks all matched the two vehicles at the scene. The women must have walked through the woods or cut across a field, but that’s quite a hike, and we know at least one of them was bleeding.”

  “It could be done if the wound was minor, but then why would Donna Weaver abandon her daughter?”

  “Exactly. I sure hope that Billy Barr finds a picture of that redhead along with her name, otherwise, this case could be coming to a dead stop.”

  We left the scene where the shootout had occurred and headed back into the city. As she was driving, Carol gave Shannon a call and was surprised to learn where she was. She put the call on speakerphone so I could listen in on the conversation.

  “What do you mean you’re at Billy Barr’s house? How do you even know where he lives?”

  “I’m a private detective, remember? Finding William Barr’s house was easy. I just want to be here when he returns. I have to see if he’s found a new lead.”

  “He may not be happy to see you camped out on his front steps, and by the way, where’s Holly?”

  “She’s here with me.”

  “Shannon, honey, Billy Barr might not return until late. Why not go home. I promise you that I’ll call as soon as I know something.”

  “No, I need to know as soon as I can… and besides, you told me that he may have more pictures of my mother. You don’t know how much I would love to have more pictures of her.”

  Carol grew quiet. I assumed she was thinking about her relationship with her own mother. She and her mother were both alive and had been estranged for years, meanwhile, Shannon would give anything just to see an old picture of her mom.

  “Shannon, this is Blue. We’ll be there in a few minutes to pick up Holly and take her out for a bite of dinner, okay?”

  “Thanks Blue, she is getting a little restless.”

  We arrived and Holly lit up when she saw Carol. She was torn about leaving her mom alone, but promised her that she would bring back a burger and a milkshake.

  Carol made one last appeal to Shannon. Billy Barr had called as we were driving over and said that he was on his way home but wouldn’t be b
ack for another hour.

  “Does he have pictures?”

  “He sure does, eight of your mother and three with the redhead.”

  “Eight new pictures,” Shannon whispered, and appeared awed by the bounty of new photos headed her way.

  “Come eat with us and we’ll return after,” I said.

  Shannon shook her head. “I’ll wait here, but thanks for taking Holly. She gets cranky when her dinner is late.”

  Holly stuck her tongue out at her mom and we all laughed, then, mother and daughter shared a hug. We left Shannon sitting in her car with the pledge to bring back food for both her and Billy Barr.

  While we ate, Holly drew a picture of our waitress on the back of her paper placemat. The young woman was delighted by the drawing. She told Holly that it was the best tip she had ever received.

  Holly then told us that a lady had been waiting on Billy’s porch when she and her mother arrived at the house.

  “What did she look like, honey?” I asked.

  Holly tilted her head to the side as she recalled the woman’s face.

  “She was old, but not real old, and she had white hair.”

  Carol and I smiled at each other. The woman must have been Billy’s neighbor, Pamela Woolrich. Pam must have been there to chip away at Billy again.

  “I’ll bet you that Pam gets Billy to marry her within a year,” Carol said.

  I shook my head. “No bet. I think you might be right.”

  We returned with food for Shannon and Billy and were glad to see that the old man’s car was in the driveway. However, as we approached the steps, I could see that the front door was sitting ajar and that the home was dark inside. Carol and I exchanged worried glances and then she called out from the foot of the steps.

  “Shannon, Mr. Barr? Hello?”

  There was no response and so Carol reached into her purse for her gun.

  “Blue, please walk Holly back to the car.”

  “I will, but call if you need me, and be careful.”

  “What’s going on?” Holly said. She was young, but not so young that she couldn’t tell that we had both tensed up.

  I led her by the hand back to the car as Carol entered Billy’s home. When a light came on inside the house, I let out the breath I’d been holding in. But then, when Carol didn’t appear in the doorway to wave that all was well, I began to worry again.

  She was gone long enough for me to consider leaving Holly alone to check on her, but then she stepped out onto the porch.

  Carol’s face was white and there were tears in her eyes. She was on the phone with what I assumed was the police dispatcher. Something horrible had happened inside that house. Without saying a word, Carol walked over and took Holly in her arms. One look into her eyes and I knew that both Shannon and Billy were dead.

  Chapter 41

  Two days later, I was seated across from Carol inside the police station as I studied the crime scene photos. The coroner’s report had just been released and contained no surprises or clues.

  Shannon Reed and Billy Barr had each been shot three times with a 9mm. weapon. It was suspected to have been used with a homemade silencer. Bits of cotton wading were found at the scene, while the next-door neighbor on the right reported hearing only three shots. The makeshift silencer failed after three rounds before the noise had become noticeable.

  The pictures of our mysterious redhead were nowhere to be found along with the other photos Billy had gathered from his sister’s basement. Whoever killed Billy and Shannon did so in order to gain possession of those pictures. Only a few people even know that he had them.

  Through falling tears, little Holly told us that she was sure her mom hadn’t told anyone but her about the photos. Shannon’s phone records confirmed this. She had only phoned Carol and had also made a short call to her elderly mother-in-law. That was to confirm that she and Holly would be visiting on the weekend.

  Of the six text messages Shannon had sent to clients of hers, none of them were of a personal nature.

  As far as we could tell, only Billy, myself, Carol and Holly knew that Billy Barr was locating photos that had significance to the case. A very cold case had suddenly become red hot and spawned a double homicide.

  I was even more determined to see everything to the end. Doing so would be easier said than done since we had no suspects.

  We interviewed Shannon’s clients and found that her work didn’t seem to intersect with the type of criminal that would commit a cold-blooded double homicide. Plus, if someone from her past had killed her, why would they take a bunch of old photos from the scene? No, the murders were linked to the first case that concerned Shannon’s mother. I was certain of that.

  When I looked up from the crime scene photos, I saw that Carol was wiping away tears.

  “You’re thinking about poor Holly, aren’t you? I cried for her too.”

  Carol grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.

  “I’m sick with grief and worry for Holly, but no, I was crying for myself. Last night my mother told me that she never wanted to see me again.”

  “Why would she say such a thing?”

  Carol made a sound of disgust.

  “It’s simple really. She discovered that she wouldn’t need me after all. Her tests all came back negative and she now has a clean bill of health.”

  “Well… that’s great news, but I still don’t understand why she would drive you away again.”

  Carol sighed. “We had a big argument over Holly.”

  “Holly?”

  “I want custody of her, Blue. You’ve seen her grandmother, that old woman might be the only family Holly has left, but she’s in her eighties and in ill health. How is she going to raise Holly?”

  “She won’t, and then Holly would be placed into foster care.”

  “Exactly, but before that happens I can take her in and even adopt her. When I told my mother what I had planned she went ballistic. She started telling me how stupid I was to want to take on a burden like that. See, to my mother, children are burdens. That’s all I ever was to her, a burden.”

  I let a moment of silence pass before I spoke.

  “Carol, have you talked to Holly about this?”

  A smile spread over Carol’s face.

  “Holly hugged me so tightly when I told her I wanted her to come stay with me.”

  “How’s her grandmother feel about it?”

  “Actually, I think the old lady is relieved. She loves Holly to death, that’s plain to see, but she also knows that she’s not in a position to raise her properly. She’s willing to let me have her.”

  “That’s great. You two seem to share a bond already and Holly is blessed to have you be there for her.”

  Carol pointed to the case files.

  “I really need to find her mother’s killer. If I don’t do at least that, then how do I ever look Holly in the eye again?”

  “We’ll figure it out,” I said, and even as I spoke the words I wondered if I was lying.

  Chapter 42

  My best friend Becca called me as I sat in the tub in my hotel room and soaked.

  I often took a long hot bath when I had a problem to think over and this current case was a mystery I needed to solve.

  After Becca and I discussed my pregnancy and my joyfully expanding baby bump, I used her as a sounding board and discussed the case with her. Becca has surprised me more than once by coming up with an angle or an insight that I had missed. Once again, she placed me on the right track.

  “I don’t know, Blue, but this redheaded woman, how old would she be now?”

  “Hmm, she’d be in her late-sixties, maybe even in her seventies.”

  “Well, is there anyone involved with the case that could be her?”

  “There is, a neighbor of William Barr’s named Pamela Woolrich. Carol and I checked her out. She had an alibi for the time of the murders. She was also living in another part of the country back when Donna Weaver went missing.”


  “Oh, well there goes my idea.”

  Becca and I talked a little longer as she told me the latest news about her kids and her husband, Richie. We hung up after making plans to get together soon.

  Despite the fact that Billy’s neighbor, Pam, had an alibi, I began thinking about her. Had she been the redhead we were looking for? Surely Billy Barr would have recognized her from when they’d met in the past. Then again, so many years had passed in between and she could have changed significantly.

  My mind was racing over the case as I climbed from the tub and dyed off. After throwing on a robe, I paced about my hotel room like a caged tiger as I ran over everything I’d seen and heard since coming on the case.

  When the answer struck me, I came to such a sudden stop that I actually tripped forward a few steps before regaining my balance.

  I rushed to my phone and looked through the contact list. Holly’s grandmother answered on the fifth ring.

  “Miss Steele? Yes, Holly is still awake but she was getting ready for bed.”

  “I need to see her tonight. It’s very important.”

  “Does this have something to do with Shannon getting killed?”

  “Yes ma’am; I’m hoping it will lead me to her murderer.”

  “Come right over. That dear girl was like a daughter to me and her killer needs to pay.”

  I dressed in a flash and headed to see Holly.

  Before I left the sad little girl that night, I had evidence that would lead to her mother’s killer. Unfortunately, it would also break a friend’s heart.

  Carol was surprised by my late-night visit but seemed happy to see me. She was dressed in a pair of old jeans that were speckled with pink and white paint.

  “I’ve been painting my spare room for Holly and tomorrow I have new carpet coming.”

  Carol was flushed with happiness about the opportunity to raise Holly. Knowing how unhappy I was about to make her saddened me, and she saw it on my face.