by Bill Crider
Jack sat there while she put her pistol back into its case and picked up her purse. When she got into the car, he said, “I told you there was nobody out here.”
“You can never be too careful,” Sally said, and started the engine.
25
Hal Kaul lived in one of the newest sections of Hughes, a monster housing addition called Horizon Ranch. It had sprung up practically overnight, complete with large, two-story houses, landscaping, an eighteen-hole golf course, and a number of small lakes.
“How can he afford a place like this?” Jack asked when they drove up. “The college must pay the business manager a lot more than the instructors get.”
“Fair is fair,” Sally said. “You know that colleges can get plenty of teachers. Where would we be without all those people willing to teach part-time for next to nothing? But a good business manager is a pearl of great price. One of those can save the school lots of money and manage what’s there so that everybody comes out ahead.”
“Right. That’s the way it should work. So why is it that the business manager didn’t blow the whistle on the school’s deal with Bostic?”
Sally didn’t respond. She parked in the driveway, and they got out. A couple of blocks away, more new houses were going up. The smell of new wood and sawdust filled the air.
Sally noticed that Kaul’s lawn was much more impressive than either Jack’s or Sally’s, almost on a par with Mae’s, though Sally was certain that Mae did all her own yard work, while Hal no doubt had a much more expensive lawn service than the one Sally used.
They walked up to the imposing front door, solid carved wood, and Jack rang the bell. Sally noted that the sound of the bell was much more satisfactory than Mae’s. It had three different tones and a resonant bong bing bong sound. Actually, she thought, bongs one and three were the same, but it was still very nice, sort of like the NBC chimes.
A woman opened the door. She was small, shorter than Sally, and round and soft, not at all like her husband, who was all angles and planes, though equally short. Sally introduced herself and Jack, and asked if they could see Hal.
“Of course,” she said. “Come on in.”
They stepped on the tiled floor of the entryway, and Mrs. Kaul led them to a small room that was outfitted as a home office. They could see Kaul seated at his computer desk, looking at a seventeen-inch monitor. Sally could smell the scent of a vanilla candle burning somewhere in the house.
“Hal’s doing online auctions,” Mrs. Kaul said. “I’ll let him know you’re here.”
She went into the office and said something to her husband, who looked up from his monitor and saw them. He nodded to his wife, who told them to come on in. His wife drifted off to another room, where Sally could hear muffled voices coming from a TV set.
Sally looked around the office. Kaul had all sorts of junk stacked around: costume jewelry, old toys, old magazines, old catalogs, even old phone books.
“I do this for fun,” Kaul said, waving a hand at the room in general. “It’s a kind of hobby. I buy this stuff at garage sales and flea markets, and then I resell it at the online auctions. I don’t make much money doing it, but I have a lot of fun.”
“Seems as if it would take quite a bit of time,” Jack said.
“Not really,” Kaul said. “I take a picture of something with my digital camera, or I scan it if it’s flat. Then I just upload the picture and a description, price it, and it’s done. It just takes a few minutes. But I’ll bet you didn’t come here to talk about online auctions.”
“No,” Sally said. “We came to talk about Ralph Bostic.”
Kaul ran his hand through his sparse gray hair, which was cut very short as if somehow to disguise the fact that there wasn’t much of it.
“That’s what I figured,” he said. “Your friend Jack there is in a little trouble about that, from what I hear. Is that right, Jack?”
Jack acknowledged that it was.
“Glad to hear that the old school grapevine is still functioning as well as ever. You can always count on it. Now, what was it that you wanted to know about Bostic?”
Sally looked at Jack, who picked up his cue.
“You probably know I had a fracas with Bostic at a board meeting.”
Kaul nodded.
“Well, it seemed to me that if Bostic was repairing cars for the school, someone knew how much it was costing. Someone should have caught on to the way the college was getting ripped off a long time ago.”
“And I’ll bet I know who you think that someone is,” Kaul said.
“I’m not making any accusations,” Jack said. “I was just wondering how things were handled. I know there are forms that have to be filled out, and I know that someone has to write the checks. All that stuff eventually has to cross your desk, I suppose.”
“But you’re not making any accusations,” Kaul said, his voice dry.
“No, just wondering.”
“Well, then, I’ll set your mind at ease. Or maybe I’ll just give you something else to worry about. You see, I did think those figures Bostic turned in were exorbitant. It took me a few months to catch on, but I did. And, like you, I wondered how he ever got the job of repairing school vehicles in the first place. You did wonder that, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Jack said. “I did.”
“And I’m just the guy who can tell you. The usual process is for us to develop a working relationship with a single garage for all our automotive repairs. They give us the best deal, and we give them all our business. Makes sense, right?”
Jack and Sally both nodded agreement.
“Sure it does,” Kaul said. “So that’s exactly what we did. For years, we sent all our work to Buddy Berry and everyone was happy. But let’s say that even though you were perfectly satisfied with the arrangement you had, someone came to you, someone you trusted and thought would know all the angles, and told you that you could get a better deal somewhere else. What would you do?”
“The school’s always trying to save money,” Jack said. “I’d probably change garages, or at least have a look at what the better deal was.”
“You wouldn’t do it all that fast, though. You’d investigate things for yourself. You’d talk to the owner of the business, you’d get assurances that things would be even better than they’d been at Buddy’s, you’d even check things out by sending a couple of vehicles over to the new place. Wouldn’t you?”
“I guess so,” Jack said.
“If you were going to do things right, you would. And that’s what we did. Bostic was great, too. The repairs were done right, they were done fairly fast, and the price was fair.”
“Then what about the figures I got?” Jack asked. “The ones that got Bostic so upset with me.”
Kaul looked at his computer monitor and tapped a couple of keys on the keyboard.
“That all came along later,” he said. “When it started, I took the bills to the person I trusted, the one who was supposed to be the expert, and had him check them out. He said they looked fine to him. He said we were getting a bargain.”
“What about a conflict of interest?” Jack asked. “After all, Bostic was on the board.”
“The vehicle repairs don’t go out for bids, and Bostic just avoided voting on anything that seemed remotely connected to that kind of thing. So there wasn’t any conflict. He was just a businessman, giving us a good deal. Or so he told us.”
“That’s interesting,” Sally said. “But let’s back up a little. Twice you’ve mentioned a ‘trustworthy person’ that you consulted. Are you planning to tell us who that person is?”
“Was,” Kaul said. “I can tell you who he was.”
“All right,” Sally said, surprised that a business manager would be so finicky about verb tense. “Who was he?”
“Ray Thomas,” Kaul said. “That’s who.”
26
I told you it was about cars,“Sally said.
“I guess you were right,” Jack said.
&
nbsp; Kaul said he wouldn’t be at all surprised if she was, but that there was more to the story.
“Let us have it then,” Jack said.
“Roy Don Talon’s mixed up in it somehow,” Kaul said.
“What about Jorge Rodriguez?” Sally asked, more or less hoping that Kaul wouldn’t have an answer, or at least not one that would reflect poorly on Jorge.
Kaul’s eyebrows went up.
“How did you know about him?” he asked.
Damn, Sally thought.
“Never mind how I know,” Sally said. “It was more or less just a hunch, anyway. How is he involved?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Kaul said. “How about letting me tell this my own way?”
“Go ahead,” Sally said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Anyway, Roy Don Talon’s auto dealership is in some kind of trouble. It’s all a little vague, just rumors so far, but something’s going on there that’s not on the up-and-up.”
“Hey, I know that,” Jack said. “Have you ever had any work done on your car at that dealership? You’re lucky if your car survives. I had some windshield wiper blades installed on mine because they were an odd size, and I wanted to be sure it was done right. Two days later I was in a rainstorm in Houston, up on the Pierce Elevated, and as soon as I turned the wipers on, the blades just peeled right off. I thought I was going to die before I could get to an exit and get off the highway.”
“I have to admit that Roy Don’s repair department doesn’t have a sterling reputation,” Kaul said, “much less a commendable success rate, but that’s not what the problem is.”
“Then tell us what it is,” Sally said.
“I told you that nobody knows for sure. There are just rumors that something’s wrong and that Roy Don could be in big trouble. Money trouble. Lawsuit trouble.”
“That sounds bad, all right,” Jack said. “What does Jorge have to do with it?”
“That’s a little mysterious, too.” Kaul gave Sally a speculative look. “I thought I was the only one who knew. He came around asking me questions about Thomas, but he never would say why.”
“Maybe it had something to do with Thomas losing his job at the prison,” Sally suggested.
“I don’t think so,” Kaul said. “That was years ago. My conversation with Jorge was just last week.”
Sally wished now that she hadn’t asked about Jorge. It was beginning to seem more and more as if he might have something to do with Thomas’s death. And maybe Bostic’s, too.
“What about Fieldstone?” Jack asked. “Had he been told about all this?”
“He knew most of it,” Kaul said. “If you hadn’t nailed Bostic at that board meeting, Fieldstone would have. He was very upset with Bostic already because Bostic had accused him of fiscal irresponsibility, and when I told him what Bostic was doing to the college, he hit the roof.”
Sally wasn’t surprised to hear that. Fieldstone was rarely known to lose his temper, but when he did, no one wanted to be nearby.
Jack asked Kaul a few more questions, but he couldn’t answer any of them. He seemed to want Sally and Jack to leave so he could get back to his auctions.
Sally took the hint, nudged Jack, and said, “We have to be going now, Hal. Thanks for your help.”
Kaul started to get up, but Sally said, “Don’t bother. We can find the door.”
She took Jack’s arm and guided him back outside. When the door had closed behind them, she said, “Could he have been lying?”
“Lying?” Jack said. “Why would he do that?”
“He could be the one who was conspiring with Bostic, not Thomas. Now that everything is about to come out into the open, he needed a scapegoat.”
“Or a scapecat,” Jack said.
“Stop that. This is serious business.”
“Right. Scapegoat. But you’re going to have to explain it to me. I don’t get it. I must have missed something.”
“Maybe you do have a concussion after all.”
“I’m not seeing the little lights any more.”
“Good. But you’re not thinking straight, either.”
“Oh, yes, I am. I can see what you’re really worried about here. You’re worried about Jorge.”
Sally started to deny it, then stopped. After all, it was awfully close to being the truth. No matter how much she hated to admit it to herself, she was concerned about Jorge. She didn’t want him to be a killer. Well, he was already a killer. She knew that. But that was different. She was sure of it.
“Let’s get in the car,” she said. “I could use some air-conditioning.”
A breeze had come in off the Gulf, but it hadn’t done much to lower either the temperature or the humidity, and Sally could feel her hair turning into a frizz that the Bride of Frankenstein would envy.
“Well?” Jack said when they were in the Acura.
“Of course I’m concerned about Jorge,” Sally said, starting the engine. “He’s a colleague, just like you are. I’m trying to help you, and I’d try to help him if he were falsely accused, too.”
“Hmmm,” Jack said as Sally backed into the street.
“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Sally asked.
“Nothing. I was just thinking. Let’s get back to the scapegoat.”
“Fine. Here’s what I think. Maybe Hal knew he was going to be blamed for the cheating that went on in the billing. So he had to get rid of the two people who could fix the blame: Thomas and Bostic.”
“That’s not bad,” Jack said. “And to make things even harder to figure out, he used my knife, knowing I’d get blamed, at least at first, because of my quarrel with Bostic.”
“Right. So you agree that it could have happened that way?”
“Not really. There’s too much it doesn’t explain.”
“Such as?”
“Jorge’s involvement. And all that stuff about Roy Don Talon.”
“What stuff? Hal didn’t really know anything about Roy Don.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to find out,” Jack said. “Won’t we?”
“I suppose so,” Sally said. “But not until tomorrow.”
“I thought you didn’t mind bothering people at home on Friday night.”
“That was before I got tired,” Sally said.
“Oh, Jack said.
Sally didn’t want to visit Roy Don Talon, and she didn’t want to talk about Jorge. What she really wanted was a Hershey bar.
“Do you eat candy?” she asked.
“Candy?” Jack said.
“That’s right, candy. Like Hershey bars or Snickers.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Nothing. Just answer the question.”
“I like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups,” Jack said. “But I hardly ever eat them. I try to watch my weight.” He looked at Sally. “But now might be a good time to have one.”
“Good idea,” Sally said.
She drove to the nearest 24/7 Mart and stopped the car.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Jack, and got out.
When she returned, she was carrying a Hershey bar and a package of two Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. She handed the Reese’s to Jack and said, “My treat.”
“Thanks. I didn’t know you were hungry. I mean, we didn’t have to get just a candy bar. I would’ve been glad to spring for a cheeseburger.”
“I didn’t want a cheeseburger,” Sally said, unwrapping the Hershey bar.
They sat in the car and ate their candy, watching the customers come and go at the convenience store. Most of them appeared more interested in cigarettes, soft drinks, and lottery tickets than in food.
Jack finished eating first and crumpled the candy wrapper in his fist.
“Litter bag?” he said.
“Backseat.”
Jack twisted himself around, and Sally could see that his ribs were hurting him. He dropped the wrapper in the litter bag and turned back.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Sally folded the Hershey wrapper and deposited it in the litter bag. She resisted the urge to lick her fingers. She didn’t think it would seem dignified. So she got a tissue from her purse and wiped her hands.
“Do you have any ideas about how to approach Roy Don Talon?” she asked when she was finished.
“Not a single one,” Jack said. “Maybe we should just forget the whole thing.”
Sally would have liked nothing better. It wasn’t really any of her business. Except that Jack was a member of her department, and he was her friend. Boyfriend was too strong a word, but she did like Jack.
Besides, she was sure that Weems wasn’t investigating properly. If he were, he would have questioned Hal Kaul, and Hal would have mentioned it to them earlier. Weems must still think that Jack was somehow involved with the murders, or at least with Bostic’s, and since Sally knew Jack was most definitely not involved, it was up to her, with Jack’s help, of course, to prove it.
“I can’t just forget it,” she said. “Somehow I think we have all the pieces of the puzzle if we could just put them together in the right order.”
“I keep thinking there’s something I’ve missed,” Jack said. “Some little something that would make a big difference if I could just think of what it is.”
“Maybe that knock on the head made you forget.”
“I don’t think so. I think I’d already forgotten whatever it was before I got the knock. And the knot.” Jack touched the back of his head. “I think the knot’s getting smaller, though. Maybe I’ll remember.”
“Maybe what we need is a good night’s sleep,” Sally suggested. “We can go see Roy Don Talon first thing in the morning.”
“Do you really think he’ll tell us anything? If his business is in trouble, it’s not likely that he’s going to talk about it to the two of us. Besides, I don’t think he likes you very much, not after that business about the picture.”