Return to Murder

by John Osipowicz

  “Good luck to you.”

  The next morning the call Todd got from Clem Blessing told him that maybe Lulu left town quicker than she thought she would.

  “Sheriff Henson, I’ve got something to tell you.”

  “Clem, I’m not really the sheriff. I’m just filling in. Call me Todd.”

  “If it’s a crime involved, I’m going to call you, Sheriff.”

  “What’s the crime?”

  “Lulu didn’t come home last night.”

  “Maybe she stayed at a girlfriend’s house.”

  “She never does that.”

  “I know she’s always talking about leaving town and making her way in the world elsewhere. Maybe she started doing that.”

  “I talked to her after the race,” Clem said. “She definitely doesn’t have enough money, she said. I know she’s too sensible a person to take off without being able to survive.”

  “Yes, she told me the same thing. Her leaving was at least two months away. I’ll start looking for her.”

  “I’ve got confidence in you, Sheriff. Get my daughter back.”

  Todd didn’t have to be an ace detective to be fairly certain who had captured Lulu.

  Knowing that most people in Calypso loved a pattern, he went back to the street corner where he had seen Murray hanging out with his two buddies. Sure enough the two were there, and Murray wasn’t, a first indication that Todd was right.

  “Where’s your leader?” he asked.

  “We don’t have no leader,” the tall one said. The short one kept quiet, looking the other way.

  Todd was pretty sure he wasn’t going to get any information out of these two for free. He remembered Flip telling him that Murray was known around town as a drug pusher, but had never been caught.

  “Turn, around, both of you.”

  They didn’t move so Todd grabbed each with an arm and twisted. What he heard was pain, and they turned. Sure enough he found the bags of white powder on the quiet one.

  “This cocaine is going to get you both ten years in jail.” Todd thought the exaggeration would help his cause.

  Now the tall one was silent, but the quiet one was very willing to talk. “Those belong to Murray. We were supposed to meet him here; he had a buyer he said.”

  “Shut up, Beanie,” the tall one said.

  “I’m not going to jail for no ten years, Harley.”

  “Maybe you can help me out, Beanie,” Todd said. “Since Murray didn’t show up, where might he have gone? Does he have a favorite place where he hangs out?”

  “Don’t say nuttin’, Beanie.”

  Harley’s request for silence was not honored. “He has a cabin a couple hours from here on the Wabash River, near Lafayette. He likes to hunt and fish there.”

  “Now you’ve gone and done it, Beanie. When Murray comes back he’ll kill us both.”

  “Boys, no need to worry. If Murray has done what I think he’s done, his next stop will be jail. I’ll just hang onto these three bags for safekeeping. You’re getting a break this time, but if I see either of you on this corner again, it’ll be jail for sure.”

  The two hour drive was easy, but Todd was nervous the entire way because he knew he’d be finding a desperate man. He hoped and prayed that Lulu was still alive.

  The directions that the fearful Beanie gave him were accurate, and soon Todd spotted the river and then a single-story cabin. Murray’s black racing car was parked on the gravel driveway. Todd parked his vehicle at the other end of the path and crept up to the house. He drew his gun and tried the door handle. It turned. He took a deep breath pushed the door open and charged in.

  His ankle hit some kind of wire, and he tumbled to the floor. His gun went flying when his elbow hit. Suddenly Murray’s smiling face loomed over him. “I’ll get your gun later. I’ve got one of my own. I thought you might be coming after me, so I set up that little trap. Pretty clever of me, I have to say. Get up slowly. Any sudden move, and I’ll empty this gun into you. I’ll have yours to finish off Lulu later.”

  There was Lulu in the corner, both arms tied to the bedposts. “Detective Henson, I’m so sorry you’re involved. I made a mistake. I was naïve enough to believe that Murray wanted to congratulate me. I should never have gone over to his place. He drugged my drink, and I woke up here.”

  “Lulu and I were just about to have some fun. I would want you to watch, but I don’t think you’d be entertained enough, and probably you’d try to stop me. So I’ll have to kill you first.” He moved toward the bed. “Isn’t she just the loveliest creature?” Lulu was clad only in her bra and panties. Murray reached over the rubbed her stomach. “Ah, skin so smooth. I can hardly wait.”

  He turned back to Todd. “But first I have to take care of you.”

  Todd only hope was to rush the man, but he was now maybe ten feet away. He’s be dead before he got halfway there. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lulu twist her body, raise a leg and give a vicious kick to the area of Murray’s kidneys.

  She scored. Murray let out a help of pain and doubled over. Todd was on him before he could straighten up. One punch was enough.

  ‘Thank you very much, Lulu.”

  “I got you into it; I thought I could at least help.”

  “It was a huge help. I was beginning to wonder if there really was an afterlife. I thought I would be finding out soon.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  With Murray tied up on the back floor of the car, interrupting their conversation every now and then with a stream of profanity, they drove back to Calypso.

  Lulu helped Todd carry Botcher into and out of the car. In both cases she dropped him down none too gently. “Murray, maybe I’ll visit you in jail just so I can see that you’re where you’ve belonged all this time.” More profanity followed her comment.

  Todd called the police chief in South Bend, who said he’d send a deputy to take Botcher off his hands. “I’ll call Indianapolis, to see what they want to do about replacing Sheriff Carbon. You seem to be doing a good job, but like you told me your real bailiwick is Philadelphia. What the heck are you doing there, anyway?”

  Todd told him the story of Billy Jessup.

  “I understand it better now; well, keep looking for your killer, and I’ll see what I can do about getting you some reinforcements, maybe at least one deputy.”

  Lulu saw Todd the next day at McDonald’s, and after thanking him again for his heroics she said, “It’s a small town; everyone knows where you eat. I’ve come to see you on purpose because I thought of something that might help your investigation. I was reminded of it when I saw Mayor Dante blowing that horn to begin the race. In the excitement yesterday I forgot to mention it to you.”

  “Sure, sit down and have some breakfast.”

  “No, I’ve gotta get to the bar. I’m getting excited that those upstairs people will seem to pay any amount for a room of hot sex. I’m going to raise the room price once more. I’ll get out of this town yet. What I want to tell you was I remember people talking to me about my mother having an affair with Dante. You know how mean kids can be in school. They told me my mother was a whore. I beat up a couple of them, but the words stung. I guess these last couple years I’ve tried to block that thought out of my mind. As nasty as those kids could be often they spoke the truth. Not too many months later my mom was killed. You might want to look into all that. I never mentioned it to Clem. I don’t know if he suspected at all.”

  “There could be something there. I’ll look into it for sure.”

  “And again thanks for rescuing me. I’m pretty sure Murray would have killed me. He seemed obsessed with me.”

  “You ended up saving MY life. That crazy guy would have killed us both. By the way, do you know where Mayor Dante lived before he came here?”

  “I think my dad said he was from Goshen, not too far from South Bend.”

  “I’ll see what information I can find on him.”

  Todd thought that since Dante seemed like such a sm
ooth politician to be re-elected so many times, possibly he had practiced his craft elsewhere. He placed a call to the current mayor of Goshen, Ted Carruthers. Instead of a secretary, Carruthers himself answered the phone.

  “Mr. Carruthers, I’m surprised that you take you own phone calls.”

  “I ran on a policy of direct representation for the people. There is no middle person in my office. If someone wants me, they will get me. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m seeking some information about a person who was in your town about a dozen years ago, Ernst Dante.”

  There was a long silence. “I don’t like it that the name has surfaced again. Is he coming back here?”

  “No, I don’t think so, but why do you sound so apprehensive.”

  “The guy used to be mayor here. Geez, that would fifteen years ago now. He was practically run out of town, and for a few years after he gave government a bad name. I was just in my first year of City Council so I hardly knew him personally, but his name eventually became mud here. Where are you calling from?”

  “Calypso. He’s the mayor here, has been for the last dozen years.”

  “Damn, I guess word didn’t spread across the state. Of course the guy is a slick talker, so I guess he convinced some new people that he was wonderful.”

  “What did he do that got himself run out of town?”

  “He raped one of the secretaries here. At least that was the allegation. It was never proven. She brought charges, but the case was dropped for insufficient evidence. There was so much uproar that Dante eventually resigned.”

  “I would like to talk to that woman. Does she still live in Goshen?”

  “She sure does. I married her five years ago.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry my call hits such a personal note.”

  “Heidi is a strong woman. She has moved on. Why are you calling about Dante?”

  “I think he may have killed one or two people in this town, maybe even three. At the moment I’m acting sheriff of the town.”

  “Ah, he’s increased his violence. I’m sure Heidi would be willing to contribute anything she could to his arrest. She failed last time; maybe this time that bastard can spend the rest of his life in prison. She’s home right now with our two children. I’ll hang up and call her right now. Possibly you could even come for dinner tonight. Calypso isn’t too far away. I’m sorry to sound so eager, but Heidi does still get upset that there was no justice connected to that man. I’ll talk to her and call you back in five minutes.”

  Carruthers was true to his word, calling back and saying Heidi would be fine with it. He gave Todd directions to his home, setting a dinner time of seven o’clock.

  On the way there, Todd’s thoughts revolved around how isolated everyone was. The present mayor of Goshen did not know that not quite two hours away a nemesis had become mayor of that town also. Possibly it was because there was so much space in the Midwest. The wide open area did not encourage people to be drawn toward their neighbors. The East Coast was so crowded together it was difficult not to know what was happening a hundred miles away. Of course Ernst Dane had kept a low profile and as of yet had not gotten into any additional trouble, at least that anyone knew about.

  The mayor’s house was a two-story brick with at least four acres of land. A neighbor couldn’t even be seen. It seem to corroborate Todd’s space theory. I live far from you, and I may come in contract with you and I may not.

  Todd’s wife looked very relaxed wearing jeans and a sweatshirt as she answered the door. “So you’re Todd. I’m Heidi. Heidi Stanhope actually. I haven’t changed my name not because I’m progressive but because I’ve always like that name since it’s mine. Please come in.”

  Todd passed a room with three walls filled with books. “That’s the TV room,” Heidi said. “Just kidding, we don’t watch much TV. I’ve always loved reading since I was five. Ted reads when he has to. In fact, that’s his usual behavior. He only does things when he has to. Oh, here he comes downstairs now.”

  It was incongruous, Todd felt, because there was Heidi with her casual clothes while Ted was wearing a suit and tie. He apologized. “I’ve just come from work. Haven’t had time to change.”

  Heidi addressed the situation. “Ted, you don’t have to take off your pants but at least get that tie and coat off.”

  “Yes, dear,” he said mockingly.

  Apparently Heidi had not gone all out for this dinner. It was hot dogs and beans, plus a scoop of ice cream if Todd was still hungry. He had two scoops. Heidi told him he could take the entire half gallon home if he wanted to, eating it on the way. She, apparently, was as sarcastic as her husband was serious.

  When they had entered the kitchen she told Todd she had fed the kids already and sent them out back to play because, “We all wouldn’t be able to get a half a sentence said because they’d keep interrupting. Often during more formal dinners we take them up into the attic and tie them to the ceiling boards.”

  After dinner she gave Todd a snifter of Bailey’s Irish Cream, which was quite good, and they all retired to the book-laden den.

  Heidi did not waste time. “You want to know about Ernst Dante. I worked for him four months. At the beginning I thought I was working for a gallant gentlemen. Soon after my first month in his office, he turned into a monster, getting worse each week. It began with comments about how nice I looked in those short skirts, and that I filled out my blouse very well. Then there were a couple requests to go to dinner with him. I was single at the time, but I didn’t think it was proper to start socializing with my boss. He accepted those refusals well, but the third time I refused he grabbed and shook me saying something like I was passing up a great opportunity. That night he had given me extra work to do; I was staying late to do it, so when he laid hands on me at that time no one else was in the office.”

  “That must have shaken you up not only literally but emotionally,” Todd said.

  “Very much so. In my other work experiences my bosses had been detached but polite. For the next month after the night he grabbed me Dante stared at me a lot, but he made no more advances. I thought that kind of thing was over, but possibly he was lulling me into a false sense of security. One night at least six weeks after that last incident he had me do extra work again, and it was just he and I in the office. I was finishing the work, when he came up behind me, grabbed the back of my button-down sweater and tore it straight down the back, exposing my skin. It happened so fast that he had unclasped my bra before I could even turn around. Then I was on the desk with my panties off and he was inside me. He had slapped me a couple times to get me more submissive. He satisfied himself, pulled out, and then without a word went back into his office and shut the door.”

  “That’s bizarre,” Todd said.

  “It was over within five minutes. It was almost as if it didn’t happen. I lay on that desk probably for a full minute before I got up. I thought he was going to come back and do more, but his office door stayed closed. I got myself dressed, and then I made the mistake of my life. Instead of leaving and going to a hospital to have myself checked, I actually finished the work he had given me, placed it on my desk, and went home to take a hot shower.”

  “It sounds like you were in shock,” Todd said.

  “Totally, but then to make it worse I came in to work that entire next week. Dante went about his business as if nothing had happened. Back then I had known Ted in high school. We had dated once or twice, but nothing got serious. I knew he was now a lawyer, so at the end of that week I called him. He told me to absolutely file a lawsuit. Of course the problem was I had waited all that time, so nothing could be proved. However, Ted and I spread the word about what had happened, and the grapevine was effective. Ernst had his defenders, but more people than not believed me. The turning point was when Ted told me to tell my story to a reporter. That marked the end of Dante’s term in office. He resigned a day after the article came out in the paper. Ted was great backing me up, and we started dating a
gain. Here we are, two kids later.”

  “What a traumatic experience,” Todd said.

  “It definitely was, but Dante was so skillful at doing it that night, that I was sure I was not the first woman this had happened to.”

  “Heidi, I’m investigating some murders in the town of Calypso that I think Dante might have done. Do you think that man could kill someone?”

  “That night I thought he was going to kill me. At the beginning I did struggle, and he grabbed me around the neck with both hands and began choking. I was beginning to lose consciousness, and I thought he would either choke me to death or until I went unconscious, and either way he would probably then rape me anyway. So right at that moment I quit struggling. I still remember the look in his eyes. For sure he could have killed me.”

  Ted spoke up. “Obviously I have heard this story before, but now in the re-telling it still infuriates me. This man was not going to stop doing things like that, but we here failed to stop him. I hope you can.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do. Heidi, if I can get evidence against Dante related to these killings in Calypso, would you testify against him in court as to his violent nature?”

  “With pleasure. If it hadn’t been for Ted I think I would have been ready for the loony bin. I feel all right now but those were some very bad times. Just call on me, and I’ll be there.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Driving back to Calypso, Todd felt he had secured two allies. Both Ted and Heidi would be good prosecution witnesses. The problem was Todd had to prove that Ernst Dante was a killer.

  The next day he went to the General Store porch to talk with Clem.

  It could be a touchy subject, but Todd went straight at it. “Clem, were you ever suspicious that Ma was unfaithful to you?”

  “Many times. But I never caught her at it. Maybe I wasn’t trying hard enough.”

  “How about with Calypso’s current mayor, Ernst Dante?”