by Terry Shames
“Shall we go pick up your aunt Jeanne to have lunch with us?”
He’s all for that. We drive out to the house and unload his suitcase. Jeanne is back from the store with enough food for a small army, and we help her put it away.
“Where do you want to go to eat?” I ask them.
“The Dairy Queen,” Tom says, jumping up and down.
“Oh, you always want to go there,” Jeanne says in a pretend whiney voice. “I’d like to get dressed up and drive over to San Antonio and get a fancy meal. You could wear a suit. You’d be so good-lookin’ the girls would swarm all over you.”
“Ewww.”
“All right, I guess if you don’t want girls making a fuss, maybe we should go to the DQ,” I say. “We can get you a burger. I heard they started making them with armadillo, and they’re pretty good.”
Chapter 22
As soon as we’re done eating, I tell Jeanne that I need to go up to Bobtail.
“What for?”
“I need to meet with a Texas Ranger there.”
“Oh boy!” Tom’s eyes are wide. “A real Texas Ranger? Can I go?”
“No, honey, your uncle Samuel has work to do.” Her emphasis on the word “work” gives me some idea what she thinks of it.
He whines a little bit until Jeanne asks him if he’d like to have a friend over to the house. “You can tell him your uncle is off helping the Rangers,” she says.
I arrive at Bobtail PD to find the parking lot full of media vehicles. Apparently the press has found out that an arrest has been made. There’s even a TV news truck from Houston. I recognize a couple of the reporters from the fire site, but clearly no one recognizes me because they barely glance my way as I walk up the steps. At least there’s some advantage to being a small-town cop.
Inside, Curren Wills and his partner, Luke Schoppe, are standing with John Sutherland. I see from their posture that the two senior men are having an argument. “It’s not enough to go on,” Wills says. His arms are folded tight across his chest.
“We’ll let the district attorney make that decision,” Sutherland says. His face is bright red.
“You know as well as I do that that boy is in danger staying in jail over the weekend.”
“You saying you think Newberry can’t keep him safe? That’s not my problem.”
“Newberry needs manpower, and that costs money.”
“I’m not backing down on this. If you’re so all-fired worried, lend Newberry a couple of your men. You’ve got the resources to do that.”
Wills takes his hat off and runs his hand across his balding head. “I guess that’s what I’ll have to do,” he says.
They both look my way, and I feel like fresh meat. “What are you doing here?” Sutherland asks. Before I can reply, he grins a nasty grin and says, “I hope you liked that autopsy.”
“I can’t say I liked it. But it was informative.”
“Humph. It was a waste of time. We’ve got our man.” Sutherland must have asked how I behaved during the autopsy, and he doesn’t like it that I managed to get through it without making a fool of myself.
“You asked what I’m doing here. I’d like to talk to the two of you,” I say.
“Sorry, I’ve got somewhere to be. Maybe Officer Wills has time on his hands.”
He follows up on his words by heading out the door.
“Don’t let the door hit you on the backside,” Wills mutters. He gives me a bland look. I feel pretty good hearing those words, since they echo my sentiments.
I tell Wills I have something I’d like to run by him. We go down the street to a coffee shop to confer. There, I tell Wills and Schoppe about the feud between the two Cato brothers, the fire out at the farm, and about coming upon Blue Dudley and Freddie Carmichael at the burned house. Then I tell them I had a threatening phone call. Wills sits up straight. “That I don’t care for. Have you ever had a call like that before?”
“No, sir. But the caller wasn’t specific. There’s a chance this is concerning something else.”
He tilts his hat back. “And what might that be?”
“We’ve got a drug problem in town. Everything has been kind of quiet on that front for a while, but all of a sudden the high school principal called me in to light a fire under me.”
“What kind of drugs? Hard drugs? Marijuana?”
“I think it’s marijuana. That and kids stealing pills out of their parents’ medicine cabinets.”
“We’re seeing a lot of that in small towns. Used to just be the cities.” He rubs his hand along the side of his jaw. “I expect if you’ve kept a low profile and suddenly somebody thinks you’re investigating where the drugs are coming from, that might be enough to warrant a warning call.” He looks directly at me. “But you said the caller mentioned ‘colored people,’ so I doubt the call was about the drug problem, am I right?”
“I suppose.”
“You watch your backside. Now what about this man they’ve got in custody? Why don’t you think he’s guilty?”
“I wish I had something smart to say, but all I know is I don’t believe he is. I’ve known Truly my whole life. He’s not the kind of person to do something like that.”
Wills grunts. “Unfortunately, that’s not much to go on. I’m with you on thinking that Sutherland has jumped the gun, but unless a better suspect is found, I fear that your man Bennett is going to be charged.”
“Is there anything the Rangers can do?”
Wills sighs. “Craddock, this is a jurisdictional problem. The highway patrol has to ask for us to step in. We can’t just take over.”
I start to reply, but he holds his hand up. “There’s more to it than that, but I can’t go into with you. What I can say is that if whoever really murdered those people is going to be found, it has to be done by somebody other than the THP.” He raises he eyebrows at me.
“And that somebody could be me.”
He nods his head slowly. “That phone call tells me somebody doesn’t want you nosing around.”
I swallow. “The problem is, I don’t have the resources to investigate the people involved. I asked Bobtail PD to get me information about Dudley and Carmichael, but they didn’t get much. And if I’m going to look into the Cato family, I doubt Bobtail PD will want to go after that. And there are a couple of other people I’d like to get a line on.”
“Who?”
“Man by the name of Beaumont Penny.”
Wills laughs. “Who is Beaumont Penny?”
I tell him about Zerlene’s son.
“You’ve already been busy. How did you get a line on him?”
“I’d rather not say. It’s a confidential informer.”
“Well, well. A CI. Like the big-city cops have.” He laughs harder and exchanges a look with Schoppe. “Told you Craddock had some brains.”
I look over to see Schoppe grinning at me. Schoppe is lucky to have Wills to help him learn specifics.
“I’ll tell you what,” Wills says. “When you need information, you call Schoppe and he’ll find it for you. He needs the experience anyway.” He turns to his junior partner. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”
“No, sir,” Schoppe says. “Whatever needs to be done.”
Wills gets up. “Best get back to work. And let me tell you something. I think you’re going to do okay.”
“I appreciate that,” I say. “One more thing. Can you tell me what evidence Sutherland thinks he has?”
“I don’t suppose it will hurt for you to know. In one of the dead girls’ pockets they found a note.”
I nod.
“You knew that?”
“Found out at the coroner’s office, but they didn’t say what was in the note.”
“It was a name and phone number.”
“Whose?”
“Truly Bennett’s sister. Sutherland’s idea is that the occupants of the house were whores. He thinks they were trying to recruit Bennett’s sister, and when he found out, he murdered the
whole bunch.”
Looks like I’m going to have to talk to Alva Bennett again and ask why a note with her name and phone number was in a dead girl’s pocket.
When we walk back to the jail, Wills and Schoppe take off. I see Ezekiel Bennett pacing in the parking lot. I ask him if he has seen Truly today.
“Yes sir, they let me in to see him. He seems all right, except not able to get much sleep. The other man in there makes a lot of racket.”
“I expect that’s going to last the weekend. Not much to be done. I’m going in to see Truly now.”
“Chief Craddock, I want you to know I appreciate your help.”
I hope my shoulders are wide enough to bear his trust.
Once inside, I ask the duty officer if I can go talk to Truly and he says, “Be my guest.”
When I get there, the desk outside the room with the cells is empty and the door is open. I step inside and find the officer leaning against the bars of Carl Rooney’s cell, chatting with him. So much for security. He frowns and straightens up. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to talk to your other prisoner.” I nod toward Truly’s cell.
“You have authorization?”
“I’m chief of police in Jarrett Creek.” I hold out my hand to shake.
He looks at it for a couple of seconds before he snakes his hand out for a quick shake. “Marvin King.” He looks me up and down and grins. “Have at it.” He turns back and whispers something to Rooney.
Truly is sitting on the edge of his bunk with his hands folded in front of him, watching. He stands up as if his bones hurt and walks over to the bars. His voice is low. “You don’t have to keep coming here, you know.” He tips a nod in the direction of Rooney and his cop buddy.
“Listen, I’d like to try to get Bonnie Bedichek in here to do an interview with you. Would you talk to her?”
He shoves his hands in his pockets. His eyes are dull and there are purple circles under his eyes. “I don’t know if I ought to.”
“Have you got a lawyer?”
“They told me the state would get me a defense lawyer sometime next week. My daddy’s trying to raise money for a private lawyer, but it’s expensive.”
“Maybe I can help out.”
“No. Daddy wouldn’t want you to. He’s proud like that. He’ll try to get help from the church congregation.”
“I don’t know what a lawyer would say, but I don’t think it would hurt to talk to Bonnie. The big newspapers don’t care who you are, and they’ll just give you a name. Bonnie will make people see you as a person. You’ll be better off.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Rooney and King break out in raucous laughter. I wonder how long it will take for Wills to get someone here to keep an eye on things, if he even remembers he said he would. I leave with an idea in mind that makes me queasy. Not only could it jeopardize my job, but it could get me hounded out of town if anyone finds out.
Chapter 23
Back at headquarters, I phone Bonnie Bedichek. “Can you come over here? We need to talk.”
While I wait for Bonnie, I think a little more about my germ of a plan. I have no idea what Bonnie may think of it. She has never given me the slightest idea of her politics. Not that I wear mine on my sleeve either.
Bonnie comes rushing in the way she always does, hair flying back like she’s running a race. She plops down like we’re old friends. “Okay, have you found out what they have on Truly Bennett?”
“Whoa! Let’s back up a little. First of all, would you consider going over to the jail to interview Truly?”
She shakes her head as if I’m a naughty child. “Samuel, they’re not going to let me in there. You saw that the other day. If they let any reporter in at all, it would be one of the big ones.”
I should have thought of that. “I might be able to persuade Newberry. Let me give it a try.” I pause, staring at her. There’s no turning back if I ask for her help. If she doesn’t keep quiet, I may be sorry. “There’s something else.”
“What?” She narrows her eyes.
“You have to promise me you won’t blab what I’m about to say.”
She sighs. “I’m a newspaper reporter, not a priest. It’s my job to blab. All I can promise is that I’ll only publish it if it’s real news.”
“All right, never mind.”
She shakes her head. “I’m a fool. Okay, spill it. I promise I won’t tell.”
“I want to let Albert Lamond know that Truly has been arrested.”
“Oh, my Lord. Samuel, you’re playing with fire. If people find out you did that, they’ll never let you forget it.”
“That’s why I want you to keep it quiet.”
“Why did you even tell me?”
I look at her with my eyebrows raised, a silent question.
“Now wait a minute. I know what you’re thinking. I can’t do that. It’ a violation of journalist ethics because it would involve me in something I’m writing about. And besides, Lamond is going to find out soon enough.”
“Suppose he doesn’t? Suppose something happens to Truly over the weekend?” I tell her what I found when I was at the jail—Rooney and Officer King laughing it up. “Bonnie, even if somebody found out you made the call, they’d just think you were trying to stir things up for news. If they find out I did it . . .” I throw my hands up.
“I don’t even know how to get in touch with somebody like that.” She bites the knuckles of one hand. As big as she talks, like me she’s a small fry in a big situation.
“I can get the number.”
“If I’m going to make a call to those rabble-rousers, I need something in return. Tell me what the evidence is against Truly.”
I don’t want Truly’s sister dragged into this, so I tell her half the truth, that a note in one of the victims’ pockets pointed in Truly’s direction.
“What was on the note?”
“I didn’t see it. All I know is that Sutherland jumped to conclusions from whatever it said.”
“Maybe you’re right. The press needs to shine a light on Truly’s situation. I better get on up there to Bobtail and see if I can talk my way in.” She jumps up and then remembers. “I guess I owe it to you to make that call. Tell me when you can get me the number.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to do it myself.”
“Why?”
I wave her away. She leaves and I stare after her, wondering what it takes for someone to become a reporter. It’s more than being nosy. It’s like she’s on a mission.
I pull the phone toward me and open my desk drawer where I stuck the card from Albert Lamond’s aide. “Juno Williams, Assistant,” the card says. I’m not foisting this off on Bonnie because I figure if she has the gumption to push her way into the jail, I can have the guts to call Albert Lamond.
I reach an answering machine and identify myself. “Mr. Lamond might be interested to know that someone has been arrested in the murder and arson case here in Jarrett Creek. His name is Truly Bennett, and I believe he’s innocent and could use Mr. Lamond’s help. He’s in the county jail in Bobtail.” I hesitate, trying to decide if I should ask them to keep it quiet that I alerted him, but then I hang up. What I did was impulsive, but I’m either committed or I’m not.
I know I ought to go home, but I also know that Jeanne is perfectly happy with Tom.
Zerlene Penny told me vaguely where she and her husband live, but I have to stop and inquire at two places before I find the house.
Alvin Penny is a wiry man, probably a head shorter than his wife. The muscles in his arms are like ropes. His face is light-skinned, and when he speaks there’s a hint of some accent I can’t quite identify. “Mr. Penny, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions about your son Beaumont.”
“Zerlene told me you’d be poking around. Come on in.”
I step into a comfortable living room, and it’s obvious that Zerlene uses her mop and cleaning rags here as vigorously as she does at Reverend H
awkins’s place.
“Sit down. I can offer you some coffee, but I’m afraid you won’t care for it. It’s chicory.” Now I get the accent. He’s from somewhere in Louisiana and came out with a bit of a Cajun lilt.
“That’s all right. I won’t stay long. I need to get the names of some of your son Beaumont’s friends.”
“Daddy? Did I hear somebody at the door?” A striking-looking man a few years older than me enters. He’s darker than his daddy, but his eyes are electric blue. I wonder why I’ve never seen him in town.
I stand up and offer my hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
He takes my hand easily. “I’m Tyler Penny. I remember you. You were a few years behind me in school. I left here as soon as I graduated.”
“Got him a degree in biology from SMU, and he’s teaching up there in Dallas.” If Alvin Penny was any more proud of his son, he’d glow in the dark.
“Now, Daddy . . .”
“Not like that brother of his.”
“Here we go,” the son says.
“If you don’t mind,” I say, “you might be more able to answer my question than your daddy. Do you know any of your brother Beaumont’s friends?”
“You mind telling me what this is about?”
“Your brother was mentioned to me as someone who might be able to tell me the names of the people who were living in the house that burned down.”
Penny looks blank. “You mean Duchess Wortham and her family?”
Alvin Penny clears his throat, and his son looks at him. “What’s the trouble? Oh, don’t tell me. You all closed ranks. I’m sorry to spoil your fun, but I don’t get the point.”
“You never did,” Penny says. He sighs. “I suppose you’re right. It’s just that it never did us any good to get mixed up with the law.”
I jump in. “Mr. Penny, when those people were killed, I promised that I’d get to the bottom of what happened. How the hell am I supposed to do that if nobody will talk?”
They look startled at my outburst. Alvin tilts his chin up. “As I understand it, you’re not the man in charge of the investigation.”
“The man in charge has arrested Truly Bennett for the murders.”