With sirens screaming through the early morning darkness, the sheriff and his posse pulled into the alley behind St. Timothy's; the same place where, only the day before, they had found the chief dead in his car. Hurrying through the trees to the Clark house, they could see it was deserted. The front door was open, no lights anywhere, and in the darkness, Ken almost fell into Sally's car, derelict and abandoned near the front porch.
Ken told the boys to check out the house while he checked out the car. He was furious with himself. He should have interviewed those two women last night instead of getting drunk. He cursed himself for being a self-indulgent fool. Those women sure as hell had opportunity to kill the chief, living so close to the scene, and motive, if the stories he heard were true.
Sally's car had no license plates, but it did have broken windows, rusted out fenders, and four flat tires. In the dim early morning light, he used his flashlight to search the ground for a gun or anything else that might give him a lead. If they did it, a good place to hide the gun would be this derelict car. There was no door on the glove compartment, floorboards and the front and back were rusted out. He ripped at the tattered upholstery with both hands but found nothing.
Would he have gotten the truth out of them? He had ways that other people never saw. He wondered how they got past the night guard, and where did they go?
Ken yelled at the detectives to check the license bureau, check for car rentals, get a license plate number, and put out an APB. They were only a few miles from two state borders, and he had connections with Wisconsin and Iowa, so there was no reason to get the feds involve. If he knew which direction they were headed, he was sure they wouldn't get far.
Weary and frustrated, they drove back to the clinic. Chuck reminded the sheriff that it was 7 a.m. and nothing was open. Everything would have to wait. He said that if they issued an APB they would have to say why they wanted them apprehended, and he asked if Ken was ready to expose the sleazy Addams story to the whole world.
The sheriff said that nobody had to know about the chief. He would make sure the APB was for child abandonment.
More bad news was waiting for them when they saw Dr. Gold as they returned to the clinic. The Clark family left their newborn behind, so his child abandonment reasoning was real.
Dr. Gold ushered the four men into his office, sat behind his desk, wiped his brow, and blew his nose. Keying on the sheriff, he said, "Ken, I know you saw Lucy. Did she tell you anything, hint that she might be leaving, going home, anything?" He sat back to listen to the sheriff's encounter with the little girl.
"When I went into her room, it seemed to me she squealed, she was so happy to see me. She said something about my cowboy hat, and asked if I had a costume for her. I didn't know what the hell she was talking about. I stood at the foot of her bed, and when I started to ask her some questions, she flung herself at me and reached for my zipper. I had to peel her off. Lucky for me, Kate Addams was there.
"Kate took hold of her and told her I wasn't a cowboy, I was the sheriff and needed to ask her some questions. She yelled, 'Don't hurt my peepee,' and started to cry. Believe me, the whole thing was pointless. The kid's a real weirdo. Kate calmed her down, and I got the hell out of there. Now, tell me about this baby they left behind."
Dr. Gold cleared his throat. "I heard he was your good friend, sheriff, but the baby's DNA was a match with the chief. He was a pedophile. He abused that little girl, and she gave birth to the most deformed infant I have ever seen."
The sheriff paled, but didn't say a word. It was Chuck Flagler who leaned across the desk, asking, 'What do you mean deformed, Doc? You've seen lots of deformities. How was this one different?"
Dr. Gold explained, "Well, if you really need to know, the thing can't breathe on its own and is blind and deaf. It has no sucking mechanism, stumps for arms and legs...should I go on?"
Chuck sat back. "No, I get it. But why? And why would you even bother with the kid if it was so far gone to start with?"
The doctor said, "If I understand correctly, Maggie Clark, Sally Clark, and Lucy Clark are all offspring of the chief. Think about the diluted DNA, and there's good reason for the deformities. The fetus never had a chance. To answer your second question, stubbornness, I guess. I wanted the chief to face his sins. Then, before I knew it, he was dead."
"And you never had a clue about the guy, Ken?" Archie asked.
"What do you take me for?" He raised his voice. "If Addams ever told me such a story I would have stuck him in a hole so deep no one would ever find him. Messing around with little girls or boys isn't fun and games. It's a crime, by God."
The sheriff looked at Dr. Gold. "Well, now I've got my motive, and the Clark girls are prime suspects, but the baby, who owns it? Who prays for it?"
"You'll have to ask the priest or the rabbi about that," he answered.
The sheriff leaned back and closed his eyes. "Give me a minute. This has been a rough trip. First finding out my good friend was murdered, then learning he was a sick pedophile. I still haven't wrapped my mind around it. I thought he was a great guy."
He sat up. "What about Scott's wife, Louise? Isn't she related to this baby in some way? Isn't she the proper one to look after it? From what I know, she was a pretty loyal wife. But if Louise knew about Scott, why didn't she tell somebody?"
Archie turned to the sheriff and said, "Hey Ken, if she called you and told you about Addams, would you have believed her?"
"No way, never," Ken answered.
Bill said, "Listen guys, I'm starving and we have to be at the Addams house at nine. Let's go to Millie's for breakfast."
"Good idea, Billy." The sheriff stood up and they left, except Dr. Gold, who told them to go ahead and he would see them at nine.
They took a booth, gave Millie their order, and the sheriff asked, "What's the story with the chief's car?"
Chuck Flagler answered. "It's in the police garage. We still haven't found the bullet, but I think I understand what happened.
"There was no blood on the passenger side window. That can only mean the window was rolled down the same time as the chief's. Did he do that on purpose or by accident? It's a new car with lots of high tech gimmicks. Maybe he pushed the wrong button and both windows opened. At least, that's my guess."
Ken snorted. "So, you're saying the inside of the car was bloody except for the one window. You're saying the chief was an idiot and didn't know how to operate his own squad car? That's a crock, and you know it."
Bill Greene said, "You're probably right, Ken. We'll look harder, but it was cold as hell Monday. It doesn't make sense he would lower both windows on purpose."
Ken turned his attention to Dr. Meyers. "And you, Archie. Do you have something to tell me?"
"Glad you asked, Ken." He handed the sheriff a blue binder. "Everything about the chief is in here in plain language that any lay person can understand."
The sheriff yawned. "I'm not in a reading mood, Archie. Boil it down for me."
The coroner put the blue binder away and said, "Aside from being thirty pounds overweight and a bullet going through his head, Chief Addams was in perfect health. No diabetes, infections, heart problems. He had high blood pressure that was controlled with medication, so except for the bullet in his head, he could have lived another fifty years."
Twenty
Terry held Mrs. Murphy's arm as they walked out the big front doors of St. Timothy's. They went down the front steps into a sun-bright, crisp winter morning. The sun felt so warm, he unwrapped his scarf, unbuttoned his coat, and shoved his gloves into a pocket.
The weather put him in a more festive mood, and he reminded Mrs. Murphy that Friday night was New Year's Eve. He said that he felt the bright morning sunshine was lightening the dark cloud of the chief's murder that had been hovering around them.
At 446 Sycamore Street, the atmosphere was not at all festive. Louise was talking on the phone when Terry and Mrs. Murphy walked in. To the priest she looked pale, fragile. He t
ouched her elbow, took the receiver from her hand, put it down, and led her to a seat in the living room. He asked if she heard the news about Lucy. She nodded, saying that Dr. Gold just told her about the baby's DNA.
She put her face in her hands and sobbed. Terry patted her shoulder, saying, "It'll be all right, Louise. I'm sure Maggie and Sally will bring Lucy back once they understand how fragile she is, how she needs serious medical attention."
Louise looked up at him, eyes wide. "You don't know them like I do, Father O'Reilly. They won't be back."
Looking around the room, he was glad to see that almost everyone was there who was involved with the chief and the Clark family. Mrs. Murphy came in from the kitchen, smiling and chattering away at the people gathering around her helping themselves to biscuits, coffee, whatever they could grab from the large tray she was carrying. He smiled at a flustered Chuck Flagler when he watched him take the heavy tray from her and set it down on the coffee table, like a dutiful son caring for his mother.
The priest took up a position next to Ken Davis's chair and watched him count heads, then saw him get red in the face, ready to explode, as he looked from person to person. Terry stepped away when the sheriff boomed, "I said everybody! Where the hell is Frank Stevenson? He's acting chief. He should be here. This is his investigation as much as mine." Davis paused. "I know where Archie and Doc Gold are, but I see Kate Addams is missing, too. Isn't this her house? What the hell's going on?"
Terry said, "Calm down, sheriff. They aren't here because Frank insisted that Kate get away for a few hours. He's taking her for a drive— lunch, probably dinner, maybe a show—over in Lanesboro. I tried to get Herb to take Louise out of here, but Louise wouldn't budge."
He didn't say that he felt a twinge of jealousy when Frank took Kate's arm and, without saying a word, she got her coat and followed him out. Whenever he saw Kate with another man, he remembered how close the two of them were; how, for love of Kate Addams, he came close to forgetting his vows to the church. When a slow sigh escaped his lips, Louise looked up at him, "What's the matter, Father O'Reilly. Can I help?"
He patted her hand and assured her that it was just a moment of nostalgia for happier days. The sheriff interrupted Terry's brief reverie, sputtering that he needed to talk to Frank, get his alibi on the record, and because the guy was a master mechanic, send him, Chuck, and Billy to the garage for a final go at the chief's car. He yelled to nobody and everybody, "Who does he think he is? He's a suspect, like everybody else!"
Terry noticed a sudden eerie quiet, as if a cone of silence dropped over the room. The silence was broken by Louise, who stood up and glared at Ken Davis. "Frank Stevenson, a suspect? You're out of your mind. Frank and the chief had their differences, but a murderer, never. Besides, where's your motive and opportunity?"
"Spoken like a true cop's wife, Louise," Ken said. "Now, everybody shut up, sit down, and maybe we can get one of you to admit putting a bullet in the chief's brain. We all know it's somebody in this room. A confession would help, but since you insist on protecting each other, we'll have to do it the hard way. When I say sit down that means you too, Mrs. Murphy.'
Terry wasn't surprised when Mrs. Murphy stood in front of the sheriff, gesturing with her hands as she told him that she was helping so Louise could stay out of the kitchen. She insisted that she would come and go when and how she wanted, and the sheriff should be careful with his demands. She had people and means he didn't ever know.
The sheriff said, "I don't know what your means are but, I swear, I've never seen leprechauns in Oakton."
Terry watched the sheriff smile then look around the room, expecting a laugh. He noticed Chuck, and Bill stifle a chuckle. Louise and Dan weren't smiling. None of this was funny to Terry O'Reilly or the Addams family.
The sheriff went on, "Mrs. Murphy, you are involved in a murder investigation, so kindly put your ass in a seat and be ready to answer questions like everybody else."
Mrs. Murphy was ready to blow off more steam, but when she looked at Father O'Reilly she fussed and fumed under her breath and sat down.
Everyone settled as best they could in Louise's modest living room. Terry noticed that the sheriff adopted a more civil tone when he next addressed them. "By now, you've all heard that sometime during the night, Maggie and Sally Clark stole Lucy Clark out of the clinic and fled the area. We know they had motive in the Scott Addams murder case, and with the chief sitting in his car right in their back yard, they had ample opportunity and easy access. They are serious suspects, and fleeing the scene makes them look guilty. Even so, both of them had iron clad alibis, so we're right back to the people in this room. Get it?"
Terry watched Ken Davis sit back, sip coffee, and slowly look around the room again. Terry followed the man's eyes, stopping for a few seconds on each face. What did the sheriff see in those faces, Terry wondered. Through his ministry in Oakton Terry O'Reilly thought he knew each of them, convinced in his heart no one in that room was capable of murder. Nevertheless, Scott Addams was dead.
Kate and Frank entered the house and startled a bit when all eyes in the living room fell on them. Terry said, "Hey, what's with you two? We thought you were taking a break from the sheriff's harangue, but here you are back in the thick of it."
Taking a closer look at them, Terry noticed a distinct change from yesterday. They were different with each other; warmer, cozier. He liked them both, and if they found each other and came together in the midst of these terrible events, Terry wished them well. If he couldn't be with Kate and make her happy, well, Frank was an okay guy.
He watched Kate speak to her mother. When Louise looked at her daughter, standing close to Frank, Terry was close enough to hear her say, "I guess you two discovered something more important than clues to a murder."
Frank went to the sheriff and whispered something. Terry watched as Ken erupted, "You dumb ass son of a bitch. What the hell did you think you were doing, messing around the chief's car? Impressing your girl friend? Now my guys have to go over there and try to separate you from the killer, if that's possible. What's got into you Frank? Were you trying to mess up our investigation? Compromise the scene? You're a policeman, for God's sake. Until now, you were only a 'person of interest' but now you're suspect number one. Get me some more coffee, somebody."
He yelled at the two detectives. "Hey, Billy Boy, you and Chuck high tail it over to the garage and go over that car again, inch by fucking inch. If Frank messed up, fix it for cripes sakes. I want a full report before two o'clock today. Get it?"
Before leaving, Chuck turned to the sheriff. "Ken, if Frank did it, don't you think he'd be long gone by now? He sure as hell wouldn't stick around just to watch you muck up the investigation." Terry saw the sheriff start to give Chuck the finger, look around, remember where he was, and restrained himself.
With his hand on the door handle, Chuck stopped. "Listen, Frank, I've given this a lot of thought. I know what you said about alibis, but with what we know about Lucy and the rest of them women, even if they did do it, wouldn't any judge say it was justifiable homicide?"
The sheriff glowered at Chuck. "That's not your call, Detective Flagler. Your job is to investigate the crime scene. According to Frank, the two of you did a pretty lousy job of that, so get your asses over there and don't come back until you've got some real evidence." A little calmer, he turned to Frank. "Anything on that APB? Has anybody heard from or seen the Clark women?"
Terry didn't know why, but he was relieved when Frank said he hadn't heard anything, and he would get right back on it.
The doorbell chimed, breaking the tension in the room. Terry was nearest and opened the door to Dr. Gold and Archie Meyers. The priest noticed the doctor wasn't smiling when he greeted everybody, saying that that he had some news and wasn't sure if it was good or bad.
Terry said, "Tell us, doctor, and we'll decide."
He frowned when the doctor told them that he took the baby off life support, putting his life in God's hands. Th
e baby had died soon after. The priest crossed himself, and said, "At least God won't abandon that poor infant."
Terry looked around the room expecting to see pity and sadness. To him, every life was a sacred blessing, so he was chagrined to see Louise and Mrs. Murphy grab each other's hands and smile. He was relieved when Louise explained that she wasn't happy the baby died, just that it no longer suffered. Mrs. Murphy nodded agreement.
He watched Dr. Meyers step into the center of the room, and wave around a blue folder, announcing that the autopsy of the chief was complete, and the interested parties could go ahead with funeral arrangements.
Ken Davis put down his cup, stood up, and in front of the doctor said, "Wait just a minute. There's a serious hitch before any funeral plans are made."
Terry asked what he was talking about and was taken aback by Ken's answer. The sheriff strutted around the room, his chest puffed out in a show of self-importance, reminding everybody that Scott Addams was a respected chief of police. Law enforcement personnel would expect a parade of cars and a public burial. There would be salutes and recognition of his dedicated service from around the entire area, including every sheriff from the adjacent counties, maybe even as far away as Rochester and Minneapolis. They would all expect to honor the chief with the pomp and circumstance commensurate with a hero's death.
Terry was even more surprised when Mrs. Murphy stood up, arms akimbo. "A hero you say? The man was slime. He was an abomination in the eyes of God and St. Patrick. A parade...a parade you say! He should be blown up with his own hot air, and his balls tied in a knot." She humphed, looked around the room, and plopped back into her seat.
The priest watched the sheriff's pomposity faded like a pricked balloon. Then he said that if they didn't do it his way, somebody would have to explain why. He asked, "Which one of you is prepared to 'out' the chief?"
Herb Gordon pushed his way next to the sheriff. "Louise and I have talked, and it's her view that a quick cremation is the answer. If she agrees, we'll take pictures of him laid out in full regalia. You can blow them up, and anybody who wants to can salute the bastard. County police can have their parade without the body. We'll make sure Louise won't be there. She'll be in Minneapolis with Kate and Dan, or better yet, on a vacation with me."
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