by Lilly York
“Are you thinking someone planted that knife?”
Willow shook her head. “No, I think he put it there. What I want to know is, why?”
Steve led Willow back out to the parking lot. “Let’s go talk to Brian. It certainly won’t hurt to see what he has to say. If anything, he might be able to tell us more about Dean.”
Willow stuck close behind Steve as he led the way to Brian’s house. He had a place in the country. The gates keeping unwanted visitors out indicated the place was very nice. Very nice indeed.
Steve pressed the intercom and was told Brian was not home and not expected until very late and asked if they would return the next morning. Preferably late morning.
After agreeing, he hopped out of his truck and approached Willow’s driver side door. “Well, looks like tomorrow will be the soonest we can see him. What now?”
Willow’s stomach rumbled and she had an idea. “Are you hungry?”
He smirked.
She rolled her eyes. “Silly me. When aren’t you hungry? Let’s go to Chilis. The one by the airport. Dean worked there. Maybe someone will know something.”
Steve agreed. He would accompany her and hopefully, along the way, she would realize the case was done, over, finished. In the meantime, he would pacify her.
Chilis was nearly empty of all customers. Willow was good with that. She would have more time to question the staff.
Willow and Steve took a seat in a booth, opposite one another and perused the menu. She looked at him over the top.
“By the way, how do you know Phillip Crank?”
“We go to church together. Sometimes I help out at the center.”
“Then you knew Dean?”
“No, he didn’t come to the center. Phillip handled the community outreach program in conjunction with the judge. This was his way to help keep kids off the street. He gave up a lucrative career in law to run the center. It’s his life. He handpicked the boys who were on the team. He feels he has let everyone down. Dean. The city. The system. The judge. Himself. And especially the boys.”
The waitress interrupted and took their order. He continued. “I only volunteer one Saturday a month. It’s all I have time for.”
She nodded. “Seems like a good group of people.”
He smiled. “They are. So is Philip. He beat the streets. Now he wants to help as many kids as he can do the same.”
The waitress returned with their ice teas and cups of enchilada soup.
Willow took a bite. “This is good. I sure do miss their broccoli cheese soup though. I loved that stuff.”
It wasn’t long before sizzling platters of fajitas were sitting before them.
Willow filled a flour tortilla. “I’m still hungry from yesterday.” She devoured her food in record time then leaned back and allowed the waitress to take her dishes. “I’m sorry about your co-worker, Dean Babcock.”
“Yeah, we were all shocked. I mean, I know he was into some bad stuff, but you never think it’s going to happen to someone you know.”
“Did you know him well?”
“No, not really. He was a good worker. A little dark at times, but he pulled his own.” The waitress turned to leave then added. “Mindy went to school with him. You should talk to her. She has some stories to tell.”
“Is she here?”
“Yeah, I’ll have her stop by.”
A petite blond girl stopped by a few minutes later. “Clare said you knew Dean. How did you know him?”
Willow answered, “From the barbecue competition. His uncle, Preston, too.”
She nodded. “It’s real sad, what happened. Everybody in our home town is grievin’. I’ve known him all my life. Hit me like a ton of bricks.”
“Do you know of anyone who would want to kill him?”
Mindy seemed sincere when she said, “No, not a soul. I know he was considered a bad boy every now and again. But, everybody understands that was on account of his sister.”
Steve raised his eyebrows. “What happened with his sister?”
“Oh, I best not be telling that story. Mama says gossipin’ is of the devil and it’s not polite to talk bad about the dead. You best talk to his mama if you want that story. Sides, no one knows what really happened, only that Dean blamed himself. There’s all kinds of rumors floatin’ around.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “But if you ask me, that girl Bridget had something to do with it. I think that’s common knowledge so it won’t hurt to go ahead and say it.” The hostess sat a table in her section so she told them goodbye and went back to her job.
Willow sat up a little straighter in her seat and whispered, “So, what happened to his sister?”
Steve leaned forward. “Why are we whispering?”
“I don’t know. Cause she was?”
He looked around the nearly empty restaurant. “Who are we afraid is going to overhear? There’s no one here.”
Willow spoke at a normal volume. “Fine. I’ll ask again. What happened to his sister? And what in the world did Bridget have to do with it?” She let out a slow breath. “I guess we need to talk to Dean’s mama.”
Steve agreed. “I guess so.” He sighed.
“Steve, there’s more to this, I know there is. Chester may have had the knife. And he definitely had a part of stomping on Dean’s face and body, but something else is going on.” She paused, not sure if she should ask for yet another favor, then again, what the heck. “Do you think you could get me in to see Chester? I just want to talk to him. Hear his story.” Seeing his hesitancy, she added, “And maybe after talking to him I’ll know he did it. Then we can forget about murder and go on with our lives.”
“You promise?”
She held out her pinky. “Pinky swear.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, never mind. Yes, I promise.”
Mindy may have been tight lipped about Dean’s past but every other employee had plenty to say. All through dessert, they heard it all, including Dean smoked dope behind the building during shift hours, he was dealing, he owed everyone money, he stole a customer’s car, he broke into people’s houses, he was stealing from Chilis, and not just the chips and salsa—said with a wink—he was blackmailing the managers, he was cross dressing, he had a sex change scheduled. If it were possible, Steve and Willow heard it. They were more confused by the time they left the restaurant than they were before they entered. They left the restaurant together and Steve walked her to her Jeep before heading to his truck which was parked in the rear parking lot.
Willow started her vehicle then checked her voicemail and text messages. Mostly Embry. She heard a horn honk behind her. All the front row parking spots were taken and apparently the dude in the truck wanted her space. She ignored him. He honked again. “This guy is getting on my nerves.” She murmured.
He laid on the horn and held it there.
“That does it.” She turned off her truck, got out, and leaned up against the hood. “Now you’ve done it. I’m not leaving. I’m gonna stay here all night!”
The guy in the four wheel drive floored it and ended up hitting the light pole in the parking lot. Willow willingly dialed the police for him. “Idiot.”
He exited his truck and was cursing all over the place as the police pulled up. Thankfully, they were close by. She pulled up alongside the accident and rolled down her window. “Hey, Mister, I just wanted you to know you can have the parking spot now. I’m done with it.” She rolled up her window and pulled away. In her rearview mirror she saw him yelling and waving his hands in her direction.
Chapter 9
Willow opened the door to The Willow Tree Ice cream Shoppe at 10 the next morning to the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and strong coffee. She began doubting the wisdom in opening a coffee shop in conjunction with the ice cream shop. Even though her bottom line had vastly improved, her age lines also increased. Not good any way you look at it. She was getting less and less sleep. Between murders and working earlier, sometimes her mind just wo
uldn’t shut off. Last night was one of those nights. Every day she was thankful for Janie, who came in for the early morning shift.
Molly, who owned the diner down the street, was standing on the other side of the counter. “Well, look who the cat drug in.”
“I guess I do feel like a dead mouse. Do I look like one too?”
Molly laughed. “Oh, phooey. You don’t look nothin’ like. Just tired is all.”
Willow first met Molly when she participated in the town’s chili cook-off. She now considered Molly a friend. “What brings you in? Did your coffee machine break?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. Sometimes a girl just wants somethin’ different.”
Janie, Willow’s best friend and sometimes partner in crime, interjected. “If you came in earlier of a morning you’d see Molly comes in almost every day for a cup of our coffee. Sometimes a muffin too.”
“This is true. I have to come between the breakfast rush and the lunch rush. This is my change of scenery. I get to breathe here and not have to wait on anyone.”
Janie motioned to a table. “It’s slow at the moment. Why don’t you two sit down and catch up. I’ll bring you some coffee and muffins. I made our popular bran muffins this morning as well as lemon poppy seed.
Willow felt guilty. Between the BBQ contest and the murder, she hadn’t been doing any of the prep work for the baking.
Janie knew her friend well. “Hey, this is why I get paid the big bucks. You hired me to do this job, remember? I love it. If it was too much, I’d let you know.” She pulled out three mugs. “Besides, I’m sitting down for a few minutes too.”
Willow carried a tray of muffins and a crock of butter to a three seat table. Janie was close behind with a carafe of coffee, cream, and sugar.
Both Janie and Molly wanted to hear everything about the weekend. While they ate, Willow told them about Dean Babcock. Molly looked alarmed. “I haven’t watched the news all weekend. I can’t believe I haven’t heard about this.” Her eyes glassed over.
Willow grasped Molly’s arm. “Molly, did you know Dean?”
She nodded. “His mama reached out to our church when her little girl died a few years back. I spent a lot of time praying with her, just being there for her. After a while she stopped going to church. Then she stopped returnin’ my phone calls. I figured it was time to let go and give her room to heal. Now she’s gone and lost another child.” She let the tears flow as Willow and Janie looked on in silence, neither one not knowing exactly how to respond.
Willow waited for Molly to calm down. She hated to ask, but she had to. “Do you know how her daughter died?”
She nodded. “She drowned. It had been stormin’ and as soon as the rain stopped, she went outside to explore. Well, I’m not sure if you’ve experienced one of our flash floods yet, but things can get mighty dangerous mighty quick. And sure enough, she got too close to the creek and got swept away. Everybody was grievin’ something awful. Specially her mama and her brother, Dean. Now his mama is going to be buryin’ another child. It’s just not fair.”
“How old was she when she died?”
“She was eight. There were a good number of years between the little girl and her older brother. Their mama never did say who her daddy was. It was all hush hush like. Same with the drownin’. We all thought there must be more to the story cause nothin’ was ever said about it later. You know how people talk. Well, there was nothin’ to talk about. Nothin’ at all.”
Willow felt bad to be the bearer of bad news. She had wanted to visit with her friend, not cause her an emotional break down. She sighed. All the more reason to find out who killed Dean and give his mama some closure. It would be hard enough to go forward without being in the dark about who hurt him.
Summer afternoons at the shop were slow so Willow spent the rest of the afternoon baking. She made lemon bars, layered brownies, and cheesecake. Afterward, she felt better, as though she contributed something to her own business. Janie wouldn’t have quite so much to do when she came in the morning.
She was cleaning off tables when Steve swung by the shop a few minutes before she closed. “Hey, what brings you in?”
He took off his hat and held it in his hands. “A couple of things, really. First, are we still on for Saturday afternoon? The gun show?”
“Oh, yeah. I completely forgot. Yes, we’re still on. What time?”
“I know your penchant for early mornings, so how does one sound?”
“You know me well. One is perfect. Did you make it back to Brian’s?” She had already apologized for not being able to go with him.
“Yes, and once again, he wasn’t home,” Steve seemed a little nervous.
“Was there something else?”
“Well, um, yeah, there is. You know the center?”
She clarified. “You mean the one we were just at?”
“Yeah, that one. Well, they are having a fundraiser Saturday night.”
“I’m glad to hear that. It seems they’re really making a difference. I hope they do well with it.”
“It’s a dinner and dance.”
She kind of guessed where he was going with this conversation, but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. “That sounds nice.”
“Would you like to go?”
“Well, I wasn’t invited.”
“I’m inviting you now. Would you like to go with me?”
She smiled, relieving his frustration. “Yes, I would be honored to go with you.”
He sighed. “Good, I’m glad. It’s going to be a formal event, you know, multiple knives and forks—me looking confused as can be, but it should be fun. We’ll be sharing a table with my sister and her husband and two other couples from the center.”
She asked, “Should we go to the gun show another time? We won’t be cutting it too close, will we?”
“You don’t think you could manage to get up a little earlier on Saturday, do you? We’d have plenty of time if we went to the gun show in the morning.”
“Fine. Fine. I’ll get up early. But only because of the kids.”
“All right, I’ll pick you up at 10.” He turned to leave then stopped. “I almost forgot. Dean’s funeral is tomorrow. Do you want to go? And I have permission for us to speak with Chester. ”He grimaced. “I hate to say it, but we have a 9 o’clock appointment at the jail. I took what they were offering. We can leave straight from the jail and make it in time for the funeral.”
“I’ll be ready. Bring coffee.”
He nodded. “I can’t imagine a morning with you without coffee.”
She threw her wash cloth at him and he easily stepped aside then left with a smile.
Chapter 10
Willow let Clover out then brushed her teeth. She glanced at the time then muttered to herself. “Steve will be here in less than 10 minutes. Ugh. I need a few more alarm clocks to set around the room.” She was thankful she took a shower the night before. She sure wouldn’t have time to take one this morning.” She donned her favorite pair of black slip on pants and a maroon short sleeve shirt then circled in front of the mirror. “It will do.”
She brushed her hair and noticed the grey skunk stripe just beginning to appear. She tucked the front portion up in a barrette at the top of her head, hoping that would hide the very obvious grey growing out. She would have to dye it before Saturday. She wasn’t getting all dressed up just to have her hair look like it belonged on an animal of the night.
A knock on the door, accompanied by barking, let her know Steve had arrived. “I’m almost ready.” She said after opening the door. A few minutes later she was back. Her diamond studs and lip gloss finished her funeral attire.
He kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She stepped back. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” His natural good looks were magnified in his fitted black suit. She wondered if he would wear the same suit on Saturday night. She wouldn’t mind walking in on his arm, that was for sure.
I
t was hard to get her mind off of the good looking man next to her and on the unfortunate young man sitting across from her.
Chester had that defeated look to him. Like he was without hope. A condemned man. Already judged and convicted.
Willow had to drag his story out of him. “Chester, if you don’t tell me the whole truth, right now, you will go to prison for the rest of your life. You do know Oklahoma has the death penalty, right?”
His eyes widened. Willow was pretty certain he hadn’t considered that fact. He was probably issued a state appointed attorney who was probably over-worked and stretched for time and probably didn’t really explain what could happen if Chester was convicted.
Chester shook his head. “I didn’t do it.”
“How did you get the knife?”
He bit his lip. “I was there with the guys. We wanted to teach Dean a lesson, let him know how much he let us down. We were supposed to have a game and our coach never showed up. He did that sometimes. Like we wasn’t important enough, or somethin’. We had to forfeit the game. We worked hard. We coulda’ beat em’. So, we called him and told him we needed to talk to him. When he showed up, we taught him a lesson. We each stomped on him to give him a reminder of who he was lettin’ down. He was alive when we left him. He was hurtin’. I ain’t sayin’ he wasn’t. But he was alive.”
Willow listened intently to Chester’s story then said, “That doesn’t tell me how you got the knife.”
“Well, I was feelin’ bad. Dean wasn’t such a bad sort. He had his problems. Same as us. So, I went back to check on him. Make sure he was still breathin’. Only thing was—he wasn’t there. I just thought he went back to camp. I was leaving when something shinin’ in the moonlight caught my eye. I used my phone’s flashlight and found that knife. It was covered in blood. I thought one of the guys came back and finished him off. I had to get out of there in case they came back and found me. If they thought I’d gone soft, well, it might be the end of me too.” He looked remorseful. “I took the knife. I know I shouldn’t have. I sure wish I hadn’t.”