A Murder State of Mind Boxed Set

by Jude Pittman

  “True, but that does tell us it wasn’t one of the kids from the stable.”

  “Yes. Thank God. It’s the first thing I asked her. She’s positive it wasn’t anyone she knows.”

  “Okay. So now the big question, did she tell you what she was hiding?”

  “Yes. Like you suspected, it was drugs. Sam is apparently an old buddy of Larry’s brother Clinton. It seems that Clinton decided to move out to the West Coast a couple months ago, and Sam started hanging around with Larry. He’d show up at school and take Larry and his friends for rides in his car, stuff like that. Of course, what Sam was looking for was a market for his drugs.”

  “Bastard. So Larry introduced Sam to all his buddies and Sam started supplying. What was he pushing, did Angelina know?”

  “Ecstasy and cocaine she thought, maybe meth.”

  “Okay, so why would someone kill Larry?”

  “Angelina claims she had convinced Larry to come clean with me as soon as we got back from Oregon. She thinks Larry must have told Sam he was going to squeal and Sam’s supplier had him murdered.”

  “Which implies Larry was an innocent bystander who was meaning to do the right thing, and that doesn’t exactly jive with what we’ve been hearing from the other kids.”

  “I know, but Angelina had a crush on Larry, she wanted to believe him.”

  “I take it he did not tell her the name of Sam’s supplier?”

  “She claims he didn’t know.”

  “Did you ask her about Dr. Morgan?”

  “Yes. Larry never mentioned him. I asked Angelina what she thought of the doctor and she said he was 'kind of creepy' but he was good with the horses. For what it’s worth, that’s my take as well.”

  “Fits with Gus’ report too. We’ll keep him in mind though.”

  Kelly slipped his arm around Gillian’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “I know this isn’t easy and I appreciate you asking Angelina all these questions.”

  Gillian rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Do you want to question her, just in case I missed something?”

  “Not now. You’ve done a fine job. Likely Gus will want to talk to her when she’s feeling better, but let’s leave her with family for now. Do you need a ride back to the stables?”

  “No, I brought my car. I’m going to take Mrs. Morales home. She’s been here since last night. I’ll drive her so she doesn’t have to catch a bus.”

  They stood and walked together back to the main lobby.

  “You going to be okay?” Kelly asked.

  “I’ll be fine.” Gillian raised on her toes and pressed her lips to his. “I hate it that all this was happening around me and I was totally unaware. You can bet it won’t happen again. My staff and I are going to be having some serious heart to hearts, and if I don’t like their answers I’ll be doing some house cleaning. Drugs are something I will not tolerate.”

  “I know you’re upset, but so far it looks like Larry and Sam were the only ones actually involved.”

  “I sure hope so, but whatever, I won’t stop until I know every single thing that’s been going on around my stables. This is my family’s legacy we’re talking about, not to mention my own livelihood. I’m not about to stand back and see it destroyed by a bunch of stoner dirt bags.”

  * * *

  After saying goodbye to Gillian, Kelly got back in his truck and headed out Jacksboro Highway. It’s time somebody tracked this Sam character down. He smacked the steering wheel for emphasis and goosed the truck. Time to pay the Texas Brothers a visit.

  They had their place out in Hurst— a small community about twenty miles past Indian Creek. Kelly planned to stop at the Hideaway and pick up Jake and then head to Hurst, where if he was lucky, he might run into Ajax, one of his biker pals under his Jake persona. Probably have to leave his dog in the truck though. At the time it had seemed like a bit of fun to name the dog after his alias, but that bit of irony might just come back and bite him in the ass now that his past seemed to be crossing paths with his present.

  In the aftermath of his wife’s death, Kelly had quit his job as an undercover narcotics agent. He had his pension and didn’t need much.

  When a stray German shepherd had shown up at the market one day and adopted Kelly, it had seemed like a bit of a joke to name the dog Jake.

  * * *

  “Kelly.” A roar went up from inside the Hideaway as soon as Kelly pushed open the door.

  “How’s it going?” Kelly stopped at the table where Doug Phillips and Phil Morley were engaged in a hot game of cribbage.

  “Hey Kelly. Thought you went to Oregon for the wedding?”

  “Got back a couple days ago. You heard about the trouble at Gillian’s stable?”

  “You mean that dope head that got killed over at Lake Country.” Doug dropped an eight on the pile and turned to face Kelly.

  “He was killed in Gillian’s stable.”

  Doug took a drink from his beer mug and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Sorry to hear that Kelly. Paper said it was one of those Preston boys. To tell you the truth, we didn’t pay no mind once we heard that. Those boys ain’t been nuthin' but trouble since the day they were born.”

  “How’s Bubba doing?” Phil dropped a deuce on the pile and turned his attention to the conversation.

  “He’s great. Same old Bubba. He sure has got a great place there in Oregon.”

  “Good fishing,” Doug piped up.

  “Oh yes. According to Bubba they’ve got trout in them waters bigger than catfish.”

  “Yeah. Well you can’t take the liar out of the bait house. Sure do miss that little guy.”

  “Me too. It was great seeing him. You boys ought to take him up on that open invitation of his and go check out his Paradise. You won’t be disappointed.”

  Both men nodded their heads. “Might just do that one day,” Phil acknowledged the suggestion but kept an eye on Doug picking through his cards.

  “Catch you boys later.” Kelly strolled to the end of the bar and waited while Darlene finished serving a customer.

  “Jake outside?” he asked when she joined him.

  “Yep. Keeping the squirrels on their toes.”

  “I sure appreciate you keeping an eye on him.” Kelly waved aside the beer she pulled out of the cooler and motioned to the coffee pot. “I’m heading out to Hurst so best settle for coffee.”

  Darlene set a mug on the counter and grabbed the coffee pot off the warmer. “How’s Gillian holding up?”

  “She’s okay. Worried about the stable and mad as hell at whoever’s behind it all.”

  “I heard it had something to do with a drug deal. Is that right?”

  “It appears that drugs might have been involved, but we’re not sure at this point. That’s part of the reason I’m heading out to Hurst. The Texas Brothers have their clubhouse out there. I’m hoping one of them might be able to give me some information about a guy named Sam.”

  “Sam who?”

  “I don’t know. He’s supposed to be an old friend of Larry’s brother Clinton.”

  “Cam booted those Preston boys out of the Hideaway the year Anna died. I haven’t seen any of them since.”

  “They still live out here?”

  “I don’t think so. The old lady disowned the lot of them years ago. Last I heard she went into a nursing home and left the property to some clinic in exchange for the bill for taking care of her cat.”

  Kelly shook his head. “No wonder Larry was a mess.”

  “Do you think this Sam had something to do with Larry’s death?”

  “I don’t know. We’re pretty sure he was supplying drugs to the local school kids, but we don’t know yet whether or not the murder’s connected.”

  A series of loud barks from the back deck followed by the banging of the screen door preceded a fur covered cannonball that launched itself at Kelly and nearly tipped him off the bar stool.

  “Hey there. That’s some welcome, old buddy.�
�� Kelly rubbed the dog’s ears and ran his hand up and down Jake’s back.

  “I guess that means I’ve been missed,” Kelly said to Darlene, who stood watching the man and canine reunion and shaking her head.

  “That’s the most life I’ve seen out of him in a week. I didn’t want to worry you with everything going on, but I swear this one’s been pining for you for days.”

  Kelly finished his coffee, retrieved Jake’s stuff from the shed behind the Hideaway and said thanks and goodbye to Darlene. Then, with Jake riding shotgun, he pulled out onto the highway and headed for Hurst.

  * * *

  Tucked away on a tree-lined side street, the Clubhouse looked like any other small town residence, with the exception of the large prefab shop dominating the front of the property.

  Kelly pulled into the driveway and stopped.

  “Watch the truck.” He rolled the window down and set Jake on guard, then walked up to the door of the shop and stopped to listen. The roar of pipes and clanking of metal on metal confirmed that someone was hard at work inside.

  Pushing open the door, he stepped inside and stopped. Two men had their backs turned to the door and their heads bent to their work. One of them held onto a bike propped against a rack while he worked a piece of leather over a long narrow seat. The other man used a rubber mallet to bang the hell out of the section of frame he had balanced over an anvil. Kelly searched his memory, came up with the name Benny and circled the bike to come up in front of the man.

  “You seemed occupied so I figured I’d better make myself noticed.” Kelly held out his hand. “How’s it going Ben?”

  At Kelly’s approach the biker had stiffened and watched the intruder with narrowed eyes.

  “Do I know you?”

  “Jake. I know it’s been a couple of years, but I figured I was more memorable than that. I’m an old friend of Ajax. I’m looking for the big guy. That’s what brings me out to these parts.”

  “You been outta circulation, or something?”

  “Let’s just leave it at ‘or something’. What about Ajax? You seen him around?”

  “Not for a year. He’s doing time.”

  “No shit. What for?”

  “Not for me to say.”

  “Okay. Good enough. What about Gene, he still in Haltom City?”

  “Far as I know.”

  Kelly, sensing there wasn’t anything more to be learned from Ben, thanked his reluctant host and headed back to the truck. Back on the highway, he mulled over the loss of Ajax as a contact. He’d been hoping to trade on past favors, but things might not be hopeless. First he’d need to talk to Gus and see how seriously Ajax had run afoul of the authorities. Ajax had never been violent. In fact, most of his brushes with the law had been minor and easily mitigated by Miles Garrett, the bikers’ lawyer of choice.

  I wonder what in hell the big guy got himself involved in this time. Guess I better go find out before I waste any more time speculating.

  With that, Kelly turned his attention back to maneuvering his way through the steadily building afternoon traffic and headed for Tarrant County sheriff’s department headquarters on Taylor Street.

  * * *

  Back at Lake Country stables Gillian had called in her entire crew and had everyone assembled in the training barn.

  Dressed in jeans, a red and white checked shirt, a pair of scuffed cowboy boots, and with a well-worn straw hat covering her blonde hair, Gillian stood facing four young men and one girl.

  “We have several things to deal with this morning, so I’ll ask you to listen to what I have to say and then, after I’ve covered everything there will be time for questions. We’re going to be awhile, so grab a soda out of the cooler and take a seat.” Gillian motioned to a large ice chest placed in front of the circle of straw bales.

  After several minutes of digging through ice, selecting sodas and choosing seats on the bales, the room quieted down and all eyes focused on Gillian.

  "First, most of you probably know Joel, and if you don’t you can introduce yourself after we’re finished.” Gillian pointed to a tall, slender boy with shaggy brown hair who sat on edge of the furthest bail. “As all of you know, we’ve lost two of our workers. I know each of you are sad and upset about what has happened to Larry and Toby the same as I am, and there's no doubt in my mind that Detective Graham and Kelly are going to catch and punish the offenders.” Gillian turned her head in a slow circle looking directly into the eyes of every one of her workers. “That being said, we still have a stable to run, and for now that's where we need to focus our attention.”

  Gillian paused and waited until each worker had nodded agreement, then she continued.

  “First, let’s deal with a very disturbing rumor that has surfaced as a result of these deaths. You may or may not know that there have been allegations of drug involvement by one or more of the members of my crew.” Gillian stopped speaking and paused for emphasis.

  “This is absolute.” She continued, “I will not tolerate drugs in any form or by any person. If you’re involved, then you might as well leave now, because you are going to be found out, and you are going to be dismissed.”

  Once again Gillian stopped and made eye contact with every one of the youth. Relieved, she noted that none of them flinched and no one looked away. Every pair of eyes met hers directly and held until she moved on to the next. One of them might be a master of deception, but Gillian didn’t think so. Larry and Toby were dead, and whatever they’d gotten themselves into, or more accurately whatever this Sam person had gotten them into, appeared not to involve the rest of her workers.

  Gillian stopped for a moment, and then smiled at the young people. “We’re going to need to make some adjustments to our schedule since we’re still down one person. Do any of you have any suggestions?”

  “I wouldn’t mind switching to weekends,” Mike spoke up and Gillian turned towards him.

  “Oh yes, Mike, you’re going to be starting your practicum this summer aren’t you?”

  “Yep. I’m going to be working with the police department at Tarrant County Hospital District. It’s three days a week, but they need me to be flexible, so if I could move to being weekend casual here I could keep both jobs.”

  “What about it, Robin, are you interested in taking Mike’s weekday shift?”

  “I’d love it,” the curly redhead with bright blue eyes and a face full of freckles squealed her excitement, and Gillian smiled. Robin had asked for a full-time position several months ago, but at the time there hadn’t been room.

  “Great. I know you’ve been saving for vet school, so this should work out well for everyone.”

  “Does that mean Joel will be taking Toby’s place?” Paul, a muscular young lad with sharp brown eyes and the kind of dark skin the sun had polished into bronze, questioned Gillian.

  “Yes. Joel has spent a couple of summers working on his uncle’s cattle ranch, but he’s never worked at a stable before. You won’t mind showing him the ropes, will you Paul?”

  Paul had turned to face Joel, and apparently the two approved of what they saw in each other’s eyes, because the young man turned back to Gillian and grinned. “I’ll break him in good,” he said, and then laughed and reached over to clap Joel on the back.

  “Good. So we’re going to be looking for another casual to replace Robin, but for now we should be in good shape. Anybody have any problems they need to discuss?”

  Five heads shook no.

  “Okay. What about the situation with Larry and Toby. Does anybody know anything they haven’t mentioned?”

  Paul coughed and Gillian turned back to face him.

  “Toby kept a box of stuff hidden in the back of the tack room. I don’t know if it’s still there or not, but I figured you might want to know.”

  “Thanks Paul. You and I will go take a look in a few minutes. Anybody else have anything to say?”

  The remaining four shook their heads, and Gillian turned to Paul. “Okay, let’s you
and I go check out the tack room. The rest of you,” she turned to the others, "can head into the house. Celestina has lunch laid out in the kitchen. Paul will join you after he and I finish in the tack room.”

  “Save some for me!” Paul shouted after the others as they stampeded out of the barn headed for the kitchen.

  * * *

  After parking Old Blue in the underground, Kelly made his way to the west side entrance, cleared security and took the elevator to the 7th floor.

  “Hey there Kelly. It’s been a long time.” The receptionist, an old friend from his days on the force, smiled and shook hands. “You here to see the big man?”

  “How’s it going Wallace? Still keeping them in line, I see.”

  “I try. I try. Hang on a minute I’ll buzz Gus for you.”

  Wallace buzzed Gus on the intercom and no more than had time to bring Kelly up to date on the latest gossip, before Gus poked his head through the door and motioned Kelly to join him inside.

  Kelly responded to several greetings called out from the cubicles as he followed Gus across the room. Now that he’d made supervisor Gus had one of the private offices. “It’s open,” he said, motioning Kelly inside.

  “You sound like you’ve been having a bad day?” Kelly slid into one of the chairs fronting the scarred old wooden desk and grinned at his cranky friend.

  “Media officers. As if I don’t have enough going on with some lunatic running around the city killing teenagers, I’m supposed to drop everything and go for a TV interview.”

  Kelly chuckled. “One of the perks of command.”

  Gus waved his hand in a signal to change the subject. “So what have you got? I sure hope it’s better than what we’ve come up with so far.”