I pushed up my glasses. “Thank you. And what about Creighton?” I said.
“Which part?”
Her question garnered some attention from both Chester and Adal. Chester rubbed his mustache with his knuckle as he inspected Jodie, and Adal looked like he wanted to say something but then changed his mind.
“I, uh. Well, here’s what my head has put together,” I said boldly. “The meeting was Lloyd’s idea. He was successful, but he knew the others weren’t anymore. Howard, Donte, and maybe he knew something about Creighton that you don’t know yet, something big enough to lead to his fall, something you might have been suspecting. Anyway, maybe Lloyd wanted to show off. Though no one is admitting to having a close relationship with Lloyd back in high school, maybe he was taunted by them. They were those kinds of people.”
“Despite all his failings, though, Creighton wasn’t that type of person,” Jodie said.
“I know.” I nodded and swallowed hard. “But what if I’m the reason he invited Creighton? He obviously knew about my personal life, and maybe he wanted to point out to Creighton that he and I were no longer together. Anyway, you know what Brenda said.”
“I do,” Jodie said.
“Who’s Brenda and what did she say?” Chester asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” I said.
“Lloyd had a thing for Clare ever since high school. I don’t know if it was love or obsession, but”—she looked at me—“you might have a good point, Clare. I’ll have to take a look at it from that angle, see if the pieces come together. It’s a lot of extrapolation and guessing, but there might be something there.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“I think we, the police, also need to consider that the tie these people had to each other had nothing to do with their business success or lack thereof. There’s another connection.”
“High school?”
“In a roundabout way, maybe.”
“Did you look up Eloise MacPherson?” I asked.
“Who’s that?” Chester asked.
“Tell you in a minute,” I said.
“Yeah. A woman named Eloise MacPherson was shot and killed one year ago in her home, a trailer outside Heber. She was a known drug dealer, and so were those suspected of killing her.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Hang on. There’s no record of Creighton arresting a woman with that name, or even being in the area at that time. And, according to what I could find, Creighton hasn’t turned in any drug evidence for over eighteen months.”
“He took the drugs?”
“Not what I’m saying. I just think that he hasn’t worked a drug case in that long, at least one that’s bigger than kids with some weed. My guess is that Eloise was a fabrication by our séance folks. In theory they could have researched Eloise’s murder and made up their own story about Creighton’s being involved. I’m not sure. Honestly, Clare, it wouldn’t be the first time. People try to catch or accuse cops of doing bad things all the time. Goes with the badge, I suppose, but for the most part we know how to point out evidence or the lack thereof, so those setups usually backfire.”
“But why would they want to set Creighton up for anything?”
“The only reason I can think of is to divert our attention from something else, but my attention isn’t on anything I can use right now anyway. Lots of unknowns.”
“I guess the thing that needs the most attention is who killed Lloyd?”
“That’s what I’m working on. Well, now that we’ve found our wayward author. Look, I gotta go.”
Jodie turned and took fast, quick steps out of the shop. She hadn’t changed out of her wet clothes, but they seemed to be a little dryer.
“Change clothes. You’ll catch your death,” I said as she went out the door and sent us a backward wave.
“Jodie!” Adal said.
She turned. “Yeah?”
“Where is he? Can we go see him?”
“Yep. He didn’t even go down to Salt Lake. He’s at the Star City Med Center.”
“Thanks,” Adal said with too friendly a smile.
“You’re welcome,” she said with too friendly a smile before she went through the door.
“Oh boy,” I muttered.
Adal looked at Chester.
“Oh yes, go ahead. You go too, Clare,” Chester said. “I’ve got the store, and Marion will be back later.”
“Let’s go,” I said, not needing any further prompting.
The drive to Star City Medical was quick and almost free of traffic.
As we sat in the otherwise-empty waiting room, I counted off the times I’d visited the small Star City hospital. I’d been a patient only once—a sprained ankle. Other than that, I’d brought three broken ankles, one broken wrist, and two dislocated shoulders over from the slopes.
“You brought them over from the slopes?” Adal asked when I told him about the shoulders.
“Yes, when I was a teenager, we all just took care of each other out there. We didn’t bother with ambulances if the person was conscious. Things have changed just over the last ten years or so, and that wouldn’t be allowed anymore.”
“You just put them in your car and brought them over?”
“Sometimes. There’s always been a ski patrol, but there didn’t used to be as many around as there are now, and there weren’t as many rules, safety stuff. And, of course, we were young and thought we could handle everything ourselves. Different time even if it wasn’t that long ago.”
“When’s the last time you were here?”
“With my grandmother,” I said. My voice skipped and it surprised me
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I will always miss my grandmother, but usually my emotions aren’t quite so close to the surface. I think it’s just been a highly emotional day. I’m fine, and it’s always good to think about her even if it makes me a little sad sometimes.”
“Chester was talking about her the other day.”
“He was?”
“Yes, he has good memories and he shared a story about one of their adventures. They went to New Mexico and ended up being adopted by a Native American tribe. He laughed as he told the story. Your grandmother apparently enjoyed the entire trip.”
“I remember them talking about that. At first I wondered if it was something Chester made up. Can you be adopted by a Native American tribe? But my grandmother assured us all that it was true.”
“I believe so.”
“Clare?” A nurse came out through some doors.
I stood in a rush. “Can we see him?”
“He’d like to see you,” she said. “He’s fine, but tired.”
“But he’s truly going to be fine?” Adal said.
“I think so,” she said. “Follow me.”
We walked down a wide corridor with curtains at each emergency bay opening.
“Are you going to take him to a room?” I said.
“He said he just wants to stay in the bed here, but you can talk to him,” she said as she pulled back a bit on a curtain.
We went to its other side and she closed it after us.
“Clare, Adal,” Nathan said with a wide smile and a Band-Aid over the injury on his forehead. “So good to see you.”
“Nathan, man, you are a sight for pained eyes,” Adal said.
Nathan and I looked at him and I realized he meant “sore eyes.” It was rare that he got mixed up or confused regarding American phrases.
“What happened, Nathan?” I asked, wanting to hear the details myself.
“Oh hell, I was dumb and hit black ice when I ventured up that canyon. I was fascinated by the snow-covered roofs and I wanted to see what my friends’ cabin looked like. I honestly don’t remember the car falling off the side, but I remember waking up and thinking I was in trouble. I won�
��t go into the details of how horrifying that was. I’m sure I’ll use it all in a book anyway, and you can read and experience it firsthand.”
“Go on,” I said after he paused.
“After our delightful dinner, I thought a lot about Lloyd Gavin and what might have happened to him. I thought about the people involved and then I took a stroll up the hill instead of down toward the hotel. I wanted to see the bookstore we’d talked about for myself, and it was dark enough that chances were pretty good that I wouldn’t be bothered by fans.”
Nathan leaned to his left slightly and looked at the curtain. It was closed tight, but there was no privacy here. He signaled us to move closer.
“What about Sarah?” he said quietly.
“Sarah?” I said, just as quietly.
“Is anyone suspicious of her?”
“I’m equally not suspicious about everyone,” I said. “I don’t have any idea what the police think.”
“Well, there we are,” he said. “I was going up to talk to her yesterday morning after looking in the window the night before. I thought she’d like some of my books, and all bookstore owners like to meet me.” He shrugged. “I was going to ask her some questions, see if she’s evil enough to kill.”
“I think that sounds reasonable,” I said doubtfully.
Nathan smiled. “I’m pretty good at spotting evil. But there’s more.”
Adal smiled too. “Ah, now we get to the good part.”
“Yes, I was building to the good part there. How’d it work?” Nathan asked.
“You’ve done better,” I said.
Nathan shrugged one hospital-gown-clad shoulder. “Needs a little editing. All right, when I got up to the bookstore yesterday morning, I looked in the window. At first I thought no one was there, because it was completely dark inside, but just as I stepped away from the window, a pop of light showed from the back, as if someone opened a door and the space inside it was lit. I zipped to the side of the window, where I could be mostly hidden by the building, and peered in as inconspicuously as possible. Two people came out of the back room, quick-stepping it to the front door. There was really nothing for me to do except either be seen or hide. Fortunately, there was a thin space between the two buildings that I could duck into. It was so early that no one else was around to watch me, so I slipped into that space and waited. The man and the woman both came out of the shop, and from what you’ve described to me, Clare, the man in the cowboy hat was named Howard, and the woman was Sarah.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” I said. “Maybe. I know they’re friends, and Jodie and I saw him there later.”
Nathan said, “And even more interesting is what they were saying to each other.”
Adal and I looked at each other as Nathan paused for dramatic effect, and then we looked at Nathan.
He smiled again before he continued. “The man, Howard, said that she had gone too far this time, that he couldn’t believe what she’d done.”
“What did Sarah say?” I asked.
“She said she was sorry, and to please not tell the police. The man hurried away after that, down the hill. Passed right in front of where I was hiding but didn’t see me. Sarah went back inside and after a few minutes I ditched the idea of giving her the books, hopped back into my car, and went out to look at the cabin. I might not have done that if I didn’t need the time to think about things. I like to drive and think.”
“Did you tell Jodie?”
Nathan sighed and shook his head. “No, I talked to her here not that long ago. I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to tell you first. Her brother is a part of the group involved. Family always comes first. Should we tell another officer?”
“No, we can tell Jodie. We should.” I pulled out my phone, but doubt bloomed and stopped me from calling her right away. Nathan was correct, family did come first. But hadn’t Jodie just told me that that wasn’t always the case with her, that sometimes other people, like me, come first? And hadn’t she always been about the job? Yes. Except when maybe she looked the other way for a brief instant or two, and more than once those instants had been for me. “Let me think about it a minute.”
“You should tell Jodie,” Adal said. He had skin in this game, but I wasn’t sure how much.
“I will,” I said. “I just need a few minutes to think.”
“See, you get what I’m saying,” Nathan said.
I waved away his comment. “We should let you rest.”
“Sure. But I think I’m going to ask if I can leave soon. I’ll be at The Rescued Word tomorrow, I promise.”
“Do as the doctors tell you,” I said.
“I’m fine. I was dehydrated, but they gave me some fluids. I’m as good as new.”
Over the years, I’d heard many stories about cars sliding off icy roads. A limited few of those stories had included a mountain road and a steep slope. It came with where we lived. I’d never heard of someone sustaining the little to no injury Nathan had.
“Was it horrible, those hours in the car?” I said.
Something other than joviality shaded his eyes, but he smiled again a second later. “I was scared, but I knew I wasn’t hurt. I couldn’t gain purchase to get myself out of there, but I could reach a couple of blankets in the backseat. I threw out the scarf and sent a prayer of sorts out with it. I stayed warm and tried to rest. I hoped the snow would melt enough that I could find some friction, but that didn’t happen. I did my best not to think too much about the grave circumstances, and about the murder instead. I have a whole new novel right here.” He tapped his head. “I think I would have been scared again if it had gone on much longer. I’m grateful you and Jodie found me.”
“It could have been so much worse,” I said.
“So much.”
“We’ll let you rest. Adal?” I said.
“I think I’m going to stay. I’ll make sure he gets back to the hotel. Unless you need me at the shop?”
I hesitated. Should we both stay? Was it rude that I was leaving? I didn’t think so. Adal had taken on a responsibility for Nathan that was akin to my protectiveness for my apprentice.
“No, that would be fine,” I finally said. “Do you want my car?”
“No, we’ll figure it out.”
“I’m okay,” Nathan said. “I promise.”
I turned to leave but then turned back again.
“Nathan, is there any chance you called for help last night? I mean, used the word ‘help’ specifically?” I said.
“Yes, many times.”
I nodded.
“Why?”
“Just curious. Get some rest.”
I slipped around the curtain and left the medical center. I couldn’t help wondering—had we heard him through Donte?
Probably not. Those things weren’t truly possible.
Were they?
18
I was eager to get back to work, but as I was about to turn onto Bygone, I spotted a familiar figure up the hill walking into Starry Night Books. Creighton. He wasn’t in uniform, and for an instant I thought he spotted me, but his eyes didn’t stay on mine. But—and even though I only had an instant to determine this—he behaved like he was trying to be sneaky. Dressed in jeans and ski coat and a John Deere cap, he didn’t look like any version of Creighton that I was familiar with. He wasn’t a small person, though, and only so many people walk with their shoulders and chest held like they could huff and puff and break down a door or a wall at will.
I turned off my blinker and drove up the hill, finding a parking spot a few doors down from the bookstore. I didn’t have a plan after that, so a couple of minutes later when he hadn’t come out yet and I began to feel ridiculous for spying, I started the car again.
And then he did exit the store. And saw me. After sending me some highly disgruntled eyes underneath the brim of his cap, h
e took long, quick steps to get to my car. He opened the passenger door and got in.
“Spying on me?” he asked before I could inform him that I hadn’t invited him inside.
“Yes, I suppose I am,” I said, and authoritatively pushed up my glasses.
“What are you looking for?”
“I’m not sure. I saw you go in and I couldn’t stop myself from parking and watching.”
“What do you want to know?”
“You’ll answer my questions?” I said.
“I don’t know, Clare. I want to know what you’re trying to figure out first.”
“Doesn’t seem fair.”
“Don’t care.”
I bit my bottom lip as I looked at the bookstore. “Okay, why did you go in there, in civilian clothes?”
“Last night was weird,” he said.
“Yeah. You think something’s up with the whole ‘séance’ thing?”
He huffed a laugh. “Everyone knows there was something up with the whole séance thing. But not only that. I think someone there last night had something to do with Lloyd’s murder. I thought I’d play the friendly role and see what I could find out about why Eloise was brought into the picture last night.”
“Sarah’s the common denominator?” I said.
“No, we all are,” he said, almost exactly like Nathan had. “But last night was strange and obviously staged. Whether you believe it, or anyone believes it, Clare, I did not kill Eloise MacPherson. And I can’t imagine why that was set up the way it was. Where did they get that name, and why?”
I nodded. “You know who she was?”
“Of course I do. I’m a police officer and I pay attention to what happens around here. She was a drug dealer, a bad one. I’m of the belief that other drug dealers killed her.”
“Okay, but because of that act you think one of them killed Lloyd?”
“No, the séance was dumb, but I think one of them might have had something to do with Lloyd’s murder, because I did some research and their businesses were struggling.”
“You think they were jealous?”
Comic Sans Murder Page 15