A Murder State of Mind Boxed Set

by Jude Pittman

  “Sounds good.”

  Back at the house Gus had polished off the basket of biscuits and settled into his chair with a fresh cup of coffee.

  “They’re just finishing with the hay. Gilly will send Kevin along first. He should be here in ten minutes or so. Did you get enough coffee?”

  “Plenty. I made short work of those biscuits. If I don’t see the chef, be sure and give her my compliments.”

  Kelly laughed. “Gillian will like that.”

  Kelly settled down beside Gus in the other oversized deck chair. They sipped coffee in the peaceful dawn.

  “How’s Jake been keeping?” Gus asked.

  “I don’t think that old shepherd is ever going to slow down. He’s frisky as a pup. I stopped by the Hideaway last night and he about knocked me off the porch.”

  “He was probably letting you know he’d had enough of being a house guest.”

  “Don’t I know it. It’s been nice of Darlene to keep him, but with all her cats I’ve a feeling my name is probably ‘Mud’ in dog lingo.”

  “Oh God yeah. She must have half a dozen of those fur balls hanging around.”

  “I’m planning to stay with Gillian for the time being. I’ll run out to the Creek and pick Jake up later tonight.”

  “I like the idea of you staying here until we figure out what this killer’s all about. It might, as I know you realize, be about drugs, but it doesn’t smell right.”

  “I agree. I’ve been out of the racket for quite a while now, but I think I’d recognize the signs, something you never forget. This one doesn’t fit. I thought I’d call a couple of the guys I knew back in the day and run the names of these kids by them. If there’s anything to do with drugs going on, one of those names is bound to pop. That is if you don’t have any objection?”

  “Not at all. I was working up to asking if you were comfortable getting in touch with some of your old contacts.”

  At that point a tall skinny kid with sandy hair and a mouthful of braces opened the gate and approached the two men on the porch.

  “Gillian said you wanted to see me.” The young lad climbed the steps and stopped in front of Gus. “I'm Kevin Holmes.”

  “How are you Kevin?” Gus shook hands and motioned towards Kelly. “I guess you know Kelly McWinter.”

  “Yes sir.” He nodded at Kelly and turned his head back to Gus.

  “Make yourself comfortable.” Gus motioned to one of the chairs and waited while Kevin perched himself tentatively on the edge of the seat.

  “Of course you realize we’re inquiring into the death of one of your coworkers. I think the best way to approach this is for you to tell us as much as you can about Larry and anything in his life that might have precipitated the kind of violence that led to his death.”

  “We weren’t really buds. I just kind of knew him from work. He was okay, but kind of, I don’t know, flaky I guess you’d call it.”

  “What do you mean by flaky?”

  “Well, for instance, he didn’t like to work too much, so if we took in a new horse or something came up that meant we’d have a busy day, he’d probably get sick and not come in that day. Stuff like that.”

  “Okay. How about his relationship with the others? Did he get along? With Larry being a slacker is it possible he made someone angry enough to start a fight?”

  “Nah, nothing like that. He wasn’t a regular, you know, just a casual. We all liked Robin better, but she’s a girl.” Kevin grinned a bit and then ducked his head back down.

  “So as far as you know there wasn’t anything to do with the job that might have led to violence?”

  “No sir. Nothing. I don’t guess any of us considered Larry a pal, but nobody hated him either.”

  “What about Larry’s friends. Did you know any of them?”

  “No. Sorry, like I said, we weren’t buds.”

  “All right. Thank you Kevin. Anything else you can think of that might be worth checking. It doesn’t have to relate just to Larry. What I’m looking for is anything that might have seemed unusual, out of the ordinary.”

  “Well. You mean like Angelina telling Sam he wasn’t allowed to come around the stables when Gillian wasn’t home?”

  “That’s exactly what I mean. Who is this Sam? And when did Angelina run him off?”

  “I think he’s a friend of Clinton, Larry’s brother. I don’t usually work on Saturday but Robin had a test to study for so she asked me if I’d take her shift.”

  “And that’s when you met Sam?”

  “That’s right. Larry and I were mucking out the barn. It was about eleven-thirty when he showed up. Larry said they were supposed to have lunch and did I mind if he knocked off early. I told him he needed to help me finish the mucking out first. Like I said before, he always tried to get out of the crappy jobs.”

  “Was it because Larry wasn’t getting his work done that Angelina told Sam he’d have to leave?”

  “Nope. Sam went over and sat at the break table while Larry and I finished the mucking out. Angelina was in the office, but she came out to the barn for something and that’s when she got into it with Sam. I didn’t really hear what they said, just the last part, when Angelina told him to get out. She yelled at him, and that was unusual. Angelina never raises her voice to anyone.”

  “What about Larry. Do you think he knew what Angelina was upset about?”

  “Maybe you should ask Angelina about that.” Kevin’s face flushed and he dropped his eyes to stare at his hands.

  Gus left it alone. “We’ll be talking to Angelina this evening. Anything else?”

  “No sir. Nothing.”

  “Would you mind sending Mike along when you get back to the barn.” Gus stood up to indicate the interview was over and Kevin hurried down the steps and out the gate to the stable yard.

  “Well that was interesting.” Kelly stretched his long legs and shifted around in the chair. “Gives a bit more credence to our drug theory.”

  * * *

  Mike turned out to be the antithesis of Kevin. Short and pudgy, with curly brown hair and an easy grin, the young man said hi to Kelly, introduced himself to Gus and settled comfortably into the chair vacated by Kevin.

  “I told the others Larry didn’t off himself.” Mike’s nose twitched like a weasel scenting food. “I guess you being here means it’s murder, right?”

  Gus scowled. “We’re doing a preliminary investigation. Suppose you tell us everything you know about what happened on Saturday.”

  “Well. I wasn’t here, of course. But there’s been talk. Larry was kind of a rotter. I suppose you’ve found that out.” Mike kept his eyes fixed on Gus while he talked. “I’m a criminology student, you know. This the first opportunity I’ve had to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, in an investigation. I’ve been asking questions right and left.”

  “That so.” Gus squinted a bit, and Kelly knew he was taking Mike’s measure, deciding how much room he wanted to give the kid.

  “Find out anything useful?” he asked.

  Mike’s eyes lit up. Apparently Gus had decided he might be helpful and you’d have thought the boy had struck gold.

  Larry won’t like it that I’ve told you this, but it’s murder, right?” Mike paused, hoping for confirmation, but Gus waved for him to continue and the boy went on with his story.

  “It was Sunday morning. Toby came in to work and found Larry sleeping one off in the manger.”

  “Was Larry supposed to be there on Sunday?”

  “No. Toby and Robin work Sundays. Larry knows he’s not supposed to hang around the stables when he isn’t working, but Miss Gillian was out of town and Larry liked pushing his luck.”

  “Okay. So Larry was sleeping it off in the stables. I assume he and Toby had a conversation that might be relevant to Larry’s death.”

  “That’s right.” Mike flashed a huge grin and nodded his head up and down.

  “According to Toby, Larry had been out partying Friday night, and since he was
scheduled to work Saturday morning, he decided to crash in the barn. Like I said, he knew Ms. Gillian was out of town.”

  “Then what?”

  “Early Saturday morning Larry heard loud voices coming from down below in the barn. As soon as he realized that a couple of people were having an argument, Larry crawled over to the edge of the manger to see who was talking.”

  “And did he find out?”

  “Yep. It was Sam, a friend of Larry’s brother Clinton. Of course that piqued Larry’s interest, because Sam is a drug dealer, just small time, but Larry figured if he eavesdropped maybe he’d find out enough to get himself a stash.”

  “And the second person?

  “Dr. Morgan, the veterinarian who looks after Miss Gillian’s horses. Larry couldn’t hear it all, but it sounded like Sam was threatening the doctor.”

  “Did he say what kind of threat?”

  “He wasn’t sure. He heard something about Oxycontin—that’s what got Larry’s attention—and then their voices got low, and then Sam said, ‘you either come through or I’ll be spreading it around.’”

  “Did either of them realize that Larry was in the hayloft?”

  “The doctor didn’t. He told Sam he’d see him later and left. Larry figured he was clear, but once the doctor left Sam yelled at Larry to get his ass down from the hayloft.”

  “Do you think Sam was mad enough to do Larry an injury?"

  “No. Sam’s a punk, but he’s not a killer. Besides, Larry said Sam claimed he’d misunderstood the conversation.”

  “How’s that?”

  “According to Sam he and the doctor were arguing about the medication the doctor had given Sam’s friend for his horse. Apparently the doctor had given his friend Oxycontin, but the horse died. Sam’s friend wanted a refund but the doctor said he had to pay for the medicine even if it didn’t work.”

  “What did Larry think about that?”

  “He still thought something was fishy, but he pretended to accept Sam’s explanation. Then, according to Toby, Larry went to the office to see Angelina. He’s got a bad crush on her, and I guess he figured if he couldn’t get anything out of Sam he’d use the information to get on the good side of Angelina.”

  “What did Angelina have to say?”

  “She told Larry that seeing as how Gillian’s boyfriend was a detective,” Mike grinned over at Kelly, “they should wait until Gillian returned and tell her everything so she could decide what needed to be done.”

  “And that was the last time Toby talked to Larry?”

  “No. Not quite. Larry told Toby that after he’d talked to Angelina, he went back to the barn and went to work. It was towards the end of the day when the doctor showed up at the barn to tend to one of the horses.”

  Both Gus and Kelly perked up at the mention of the doctor’s return.

  Mike shifted in his chair and smiled, apparently pleased to have recaptured their attention.

  “Toby told me that Larry was still bugged about Sam’s story so he decided to quiz the doctor.”

  “Not the brightest kid on the planet,” Kelly muttered.

  “Nope. Anyway, the doctor backed up Sam’s story, and when Larry told him that he’d told his girlfriend Angelina about the conversation, he accused Larry of being a trouble-making little rat. Said he’d discuss it with Gillian himself, and for Larry to get the hell out of his sight.”

  Mike looked from Gus to Kelly and beamed at both of them. “I guess you’ll want to be talking to the doctor now?”

  Gus stood up. “You’ve been very helpful. As a criminology student I’m sure you’ll appreciate the importance of keeping the information you’ve given us confidential.”

  “Oh sure.” Mike jumped up from his chair and nodded his head vigorously. “I won’t say a word. You can count on my discretion.”

  “Thank you. We’ll be in touch,” Gus said, and Mike reluctantly headed back to the barn.

  “He sure would have liked to tag along when you went to question the doctor.” Kelly laughed when Gus gave him a scowl.

  “Just what I need. Wet nursing. I’ve got to admit the kid gave us some interesting information.”

  “I imagine the doctor’s at the top of your agenda. Would you like me to check with Toby and see what he has to say about Mike’s story?”

  “That’d be good. Why don’t you follow up that end while I go have a few words with the good doctor.”

  Chapter Four

  Gillian flopped into the chair beside Kelly and pressed her fingers to her eyelids.

  “Headache?”

  “It just started. I’ve taken some Advil, hopefully it’ll work.”

  Kelly rose from his chair and circled behind hers. “Let me give it a try.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently worked his thumbs into the chords along her neck.

  “That’s heavenly.” She let her head fall back and breathed deep.

  “Let's see if we can work out some of those kinks.” Kelly kneaded her neck and shoulders, rubbing gently and then adding more pressure, until gradually the tension seeped out and she slumped back in her chair.

  “Thank you,” she whispered capturing his mouth in hers when he bent over and found her lips.

  “I know an even better headache remedy,” Kelly said, raising his eyebrows and giving her his best imitation of Simon Legree.

  “I bet you do, and when I get done work tonight I’m going to expect a personal demonstration.”

  “You’re on.” Kelly settled back into his chair. “Now, tell me about Toby. Would you consider him a reliable witness?”

  Gillian frowned. “Surely he isn’t mixed up in this mess. He’s one of my regulars you know.”

  “I don’t think he’s necessary mixed up in anything, but it looks like he has information that he hasn’t been forthcoming about.”

  “What kind of information?”

  “According to Mike, Larry overheard Sam trying to blackmail your vet into supplying him with Oxycontin.”

  “Dr. Morgan? That’s ridiculous. Why in heaven’s name would Dr. Morgan get involved with Sam Taylor? He’s a respectable veterinarian and Sam Taylor’s a punk.”

  “That’s what Gus is trying to find out. He left a few minutes ago for the doctor’s clinic. In the meantime he asked me to verify Toby’s story. I thought you might have his home address in your files.”

  “Yes, of course. I just don’t understand any of this. Toby is a very responsible boy. I can’t imagine him having anything to do with drugs or murder.”

  “He might not. All we know at this point is that he supposedly overheard something. Don’t forget this was relayed to us second hand by Mike.”

  “I know. Mike’s another one of my regular hands. I can’t believe he didn’t come to me if he had information about something wrong at the stables.”

  “Hang on, now. Remember you’ve been on vacation. Probably the kids were trying to protect you. Besides, apparently Toby told Angelina, and she was going to talk to you about it herself.”

  “I feel so guilty. If I hadn’t been gone, Angelina wouldn’t be in the hospital and maybe none of this would have happened.”

  Kelly stood and reached down to pull Gillian out of her chair. He wrapped her into his arms. “You can’t think that way. First, we don’t know if the story Toby and Mike are telling has anything to do with Larry’s murder. Secondly, what happened to Angelina would likely have happened whether you were here or not. You know how kids are. They protect one another. Even the best of them. It sounds to me like Angelina was trying to give Sam an opportunity to do the right thing. Angelina would have been in danger whether you’d been here or not. It was protecting her friends that put her in harm’s way, not you being on vacation.”

  Gillian leaned her head on Kelly’s shoulder and sighed. “I suppose you’re right. I just feel so impotent. All this stuff happening right under my nose and I never suspected a thing.”

  “Come on. Let’s not jump to conclusions. The first thing we need t
o do is have a talk with Toby. Why don’t you go get his address and we’ll drive out there together. Does that suit?”

  “Yes. Please. I want to know exactly what Toby overheard and I want you there with me so there won’t be any misunderstanding.”

  “Good. You get his address and I’ll pull the Jeep around front.”

  * * *

  “He lives over near the Stockyards, on Bonnie Bray Avenue. It’s just off East Belknap.” Gillian handed Kelly a neatly printed address card.

  He noted the address, and recognized the location. "That’s about fifteen minutes away. We’ll get there at dinner time and with luck catch him home. Once we get confirmation on the story Kevin told Gus, we’ll have a better idea what kind of mess we’re dealing with."

  “Good. I’m scared Kelly. We need to find out what’s going on before anyone else gets hurt.”

  “Don’t worry. Gus is the best, and I know a few things about criminal investigations myself. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “You’re not going to have to worry about that either. I’m here for the duration. This is the 3000 block, keep an eye out for Bonnie Brae, it’s on your side.”

  Kelly cruised as slow as traffic allowed until Gillian called out.

  “That’s it.” She pointed towards a street sign and Kelly braked for a quick right turn.

  Half way up the block he pulled up in front of a white house with blue shutters and a small but attractive front yard, and turned off the Jeep. “Do you want me to wait here while you see if he’s home?”

  “Yes, thanks. It might spook him if we both show up on his doorstep. I’ll tell him we have some questions that he needs to answer and bring him out.”

  “Good idea. That way we can talk to him alone.”

  Kelly watched Gillian as she crossed the yard and climbed the steps to the front porch. She pressed the doorbell and waited. After a few minutes she pressed again. Finally the door opened and a gray-haired woman in a summery print dress peeked around the door, asked a question and then swung the door open inviting Gillian inside.