At that the courtroom noise level shot up and the judge hammered with his gavel. Bergner whispered to the others at the table who didn’t seem to have any clue. The bailiff moved forward and the judge directed everyone to quiet down and take their seats or be charged in contempt. Once there was order again, the judge looked to Marty to continue.
“Dr. Wellburn, can you reveal whose DNA the tissue matched?”
The match was with Malloy. With a few more questions, it was established that when Malloy had been brought in for questioning earlier, Hirsch had obtained a swab for DNA testing. Marty established the chain of evidence and the DNA report was entered into evidence. At this point, two weeks after the fact, there were no matching scratches on Malloy. Marty immediately called for the arrest of Malloy and the dismissal of charges against Clive Johnson. Bergner looked shocked.
Although the judge hesitated just a bit, Bergner had nothing to say. The judge granted the motion and dismissed the case. The bailiff yelled for all to rise as the judge rose and escaped the pandemonium in the courtroom.
Bergner and his cronies exited quickly as did most of the media and Justin’s parents. Everyone else gathered around Clive and Marty. Brett and I stood back a bit and watched the celebration. No one looked more surprised or emotional than Clive. Joe came over after speaking with Clive. He looked relieved and commented that now he had a story to write. He, of course, took some credit for implicating Malloy.
Kim joined us. She had been sitting in the back of the courtroom and she beamed at the turn of events. I told her about the lineup and the arrest of the man who assaulted me. Although he would always be the hairy, beady-eyed man to me, he now had a name, Jared Skinner.
The crowd eventually thinned and Clive thanked everyone. Officer Matthews waited patiently and then explained Clive needed to be processed for release. Clive’s boss agreed to meet him at the station and give him a ride home.
Brett, Kim, Marty and I left the courthouse together and went in our different directions. Brett kissed me and went back to the station to tie up loose ends. The arrest of Malloy was easily accomplished as he had been held at the police station in association with the charges against Skinner for my assault.
I went home. Thinking that Skinner was in jail, I felt safe enough to take Charlie out for a walk. I settled down to do some work, but instead looked at my drawing and added in lines.
It seemed that Brett and I had been correct about Malloy being the killer. With the lines drawn between Brendon and Malloy and Brendon and Justin, he probably was the key to how they connected. The Arboretum was likely the suggestion of one or the other. I speculated that Brendon’s involvement was likely limited to his knowing about the drug ring and pushing the investment scams.
I added Malvodio Dunn to the drawing with a line to Garrett and Investment Surge. That led to another link to Brendon. I added Jared Skinner and his connection to Investment Surge and to me. I still had some unanswered questions that had to wait for Brett and Hirsch to finish their investigation.
Chapter 27
It was a few days later and a rather mixed group of us gathered at the Grill for dinner. It had started out small – just Brett and me with Kim and Marty. Then Brett invited Hirsch, who invited Ali. Joe asked if he and Terra could join us. So eight of us converged to debrief.
Malloy was indicted in the murder of Justin Blake and for several drug charges. His contact at Investment Surge, Dunn, also was indicted on all the drug charges. The State Police and FBI were taking a harder look at the company and others in key positions. The investment scams were shut down. The authorities believed that somehow the investment scams served as a means of hiding the money garnered from the drugs.
Jared Skinner was not only charged with my assault but several other drug-related assaults in North Shore and elsewhere. It ended up that he was also implicated in Brett’s other case. Brett suspected they’d eventually connect Dunn as well. Two other men and a young woman with a rose tattooed on her wrist were also picked up in the North Shore bust.
We ate our food and continued to chat. Hirsch shared with the group that the mayor had officially designated me as a consultant to the police department. That apparently was news to Joe and he let me know he wanted an interview. Hirsch smiled like the proverbial Cheshire cat.
“You might need to block off a lot of time for those interviews. Might want to start with Chief Pfeiffe, Joe. He announced today he’ll be resigning end of June.”
We all cheered at that, and Joe, excited looked to Hirsch and asked, “So are you up for that position Hirsch?”
Hirsch shrugged and was noncommittal, but the gleam in his eyes suggested that was the case. We chatted some more and then Hirsch said he had something else to share. He pulled out a flyer and ad copy for the local paper. Brett and Hirsch high-fived as he told us that President Cramer had approved the use of the rec center for self-defense classes as long as the police department took responsibility for finding instructors.
Hirsch, along with Officer Matthews and Brett, would be teaching self-defense on weekends beginning in May. Classes would be offered multiple times during the year. The first course was not specifically for students, but later on, some courses would be offered for students that would qualify for College physical education credit. Joe scribbled frantically and added that to his list of things to follow up on.
As much as we tried to stick to the more positive aspects of the past few weeks, eventually the conversation turned to Brendon and the suspected drug problem among the country club crowd. No one had any immediate suggestions. Cramer had contacted me about putting together a training module like the one for sexual harassment for drug use. Kim agreed to work on it with me. Neither of us had much hope for that as a solution.
Terra was the brave soul to ask what was going to happen to Brendon. Hirsch explained that other than the threatening notes, he couldn’t be charged with any other crimes. It did seem that Mr. Whitfield’s eyes had been opened. Brendon had been fined for several misdemeanors. Brendon was an adult, but he’d had to return any funds from Investment Surge and that left him dependent on his father to pay the fine. Mr. Whitfield had insisted that he wouldn’t pay the fine unless Brendon was also required to do community service. Brendon was angry but agreed. Hirsch had a feeling that for a little while at least, Brendon wasn’t going to have it quite as cushy.
“Did anyone ever figure out what the real story was behind the fight at the ChickShack?” I never quite believed it was as simple as Dirk had explained.
“Brendon finally came clean on that too. He was pressuring Roy and Dirk to invest in the pyramid scheme. Roy accused him of investing in drugs and being the one responsible for Justin’s getting killed. It hit a little too close to the truth and Brendon panicked. He was afraid someone might overhear and tried to shut Roy up with force.” Hirsch shook his head at the logic.
Lots of head shaking followed until Kim tried to lighten the mood by asking about everyone’s summer plans. Most of us hadn’t made any yet. Brett mentioned that he wanted to take Madison to Busch Gardens and Williamsburg at some point during the summer. He looked at me questioningly, and said, “Think about it.” I nodded and smiled. It looked like I had a lot to look forward to.
Author Note
Dear Reader:
I hope you enjoyed MURDER IN THE ARBORETUM! It is the second in the Cold Creek Series. The third in the series, MURDER AT THE GRILL is now available onAmazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016X7FZWQ. Get a head start with the first chapter below.
The fourth in the series MURDER IN THE THEATER was released in August 2016. You can keep up with the series at the Cold Creek Mystery Series Facebook Page
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SNEAK PEEK – MURDER AT THE GRIL L
CHAPTER 1
I turned the radio on in the empty house for noise when I walked in. As I rolled my suitcase into the living room, I caught the newscaster’s announcement. A murder at the Grill? I searched for my phone, confident my best friend and colleague, Kim, would tell me what happened. She answered her phone as if she’d been waiting for the call.
“Hi, Sheridan! When did you get back? Today? I wasn’t sure if you’d be back today or tomorrow. Has it been a week already? No doubt you had a great time in Williamsburg.” She rambled at her usual quick pace and didn’t sound concerned about a murder or anything else.
“I got home about ten minutes ago. We had a great time. Took a bunch of pics. I’ll tell you about the trip for sure. The morning newsman reported a murder at the Grill? What did I miss?”
“I didn’t hear they determined it was murder. That’s not good.” I sensed the confusion in her voice, no longer as upbeat, and imagined her brows knitted together.
She paused before continuing, “Marty and I were eating an early dinner there last night when it happened. A man keeled over and Zoe screamed. The place was packed. Even the tables outside were filled despite the heat. Everyone just froze for a few minutes. Hirsch came in and an ambulance took the man away. He was dead for sure.”
She took a breath and continued in a more conversational tone. “I have trouble calling Hirsch ‘Chief’, but he took control. Hirsch and Doc Wellburn told everyone to leave their food. Doc told us to write down what we’d ordered and eaten. He cautioned us to seek medical attention if we experienced a headache, nausea, or other intestinal problems. Doc and Hirsch were concerned about food poisoning. Murder?” She finally stopped long enough to take another breath.
“That’s what the KCCX newscaster said. Anything strike you as strange?”
“Other than I wasn’t able to eat my meal and Zoe was hysterical, not really. One minute the man was yelling something and Zoe scowled at him. The next, he’s on the ground, writhing, and then dead. When the paramedics expressed concern about food poisoning, everyone freaked out and grabbed their stomachs.”
“Any idea who the man was?” My curiosity peaked. In my case, curiosity was both a good and bad thing and always active.
“Not at first. He sat in the back corner. You know the table out of the way, near the kitchen and restrooms? Someone said he’d been at the Grill most of Zoe’s shift and gave her all sorts of grief. Then later I found out he was her ex-husband, Jebediah.”
“Oh, how awful. Sorry this happened to Zoe.”
“Sher, Zoe’s worried. She was afraid someone might think she was responsible for the food poisoning. She delivered the food and waited on him. And they had words and she’s the ex-wife. She was upset. Now with murder instead of food poisoning, she’s liable to be the prime suspect. She probably had a motive. I sure wanted to kill my ex a time or two.”
I shook my head. Kim might have wanted to but murder and her personality didn’t match. She paused, not her usual approach. With a more subdued tone, “I volunteered us. I told her we’d help her if she needed it.”
I chuckled to myself. Kim and I are on the faculty of the local private four-year college. We aren’t detectives, yet somehow we keep getting involved in murders or at least in solving them.
“Zoe’s always been good to us. She may not need our help after all. I guess there will be more on the news later. Aside from the excitement, how are you?”
“Good. But I want to know about your trip. How about lunch? I’m guessing the Grill is closed. Chinese?”
In a small town like Cold Creek, there’s not an abundance of restaurants unless you want to eat at the national fast food chains. The Grill was our “go to” place. With it closed, Chinese sounded good. Besides, I’d just gotten home the night before and there weren’t a lot of groceries in the house.
“Sounds like a plan. I have to go pick up Charlie. About noon?”
“See you at noon. I can’t wait to hear all about your trip.”
Kim hung up and I finished my breakfast. As I sipped my coffee in the quiet of the early morning, I reflected on the past week. I met Brett McMann last fall when a colleague was murdered. We’d been dating ever since. After several months, the time came for me to meet his teenage daughter. Acceptance by Madison was as critical to our relationship as meeting parents. We’d settled on Williamsburg as neutral ground with a variety of activities to keep a teen occupied.
The trip with Madison went very well, despite some awkwardness. How do you figure out sleeping arrangements when the two adults – Brett and I – aren’t married and you’re travelling with an impressionable 13 year old? The solution we came up with was that Madison and I shared a room, with Brett in the room next door. Not all bad. Madison and I had some time to get acquainted with each other. Brett and I managed some alone time after Madison went to sleep. I tingled as I recalled some of those alone times.
As I replayed other parts of the trip, I laughed to myself over the silly things we did and a few of Madison’s comments and questions. Although as a psychologist I have worked with teens, the dad’s girlfriend was a novel role for me. A nerve racking and scary role, in fact. Add in Brett’s naiveté about teenage girls and the trip was full of surprises as well as laughs.
Madison lacked the finesse of an older teen and often blurted out whatever came to mind. Brett and I were both a little surprised at the questions she asked or what she seemed to know and what she was trying to figure out. It would never have occurred to me to ask my mother when to wear lace undies, but maybe that was why she asked me. I don’t recall suggesting my mother get lacy undies either. I hadn’t packed anything remotely sexy for that trip. Everything I’d brought or worn had a GP rating. Maybe even milder, if that was possible. My selection may have prompted the questions. Then there were the questions prompted by the television ads for Viagra. Brett turned several shades of red over that discussion. I still wasn’t sure if some of Madison’s questions weren’t intended to get that reaction.
Murder in the Arboretum (Cold Creek Book 2) Page 17