“So, is my work done?”
“You wish. I’ve got a guy here, Bob Downey, the next-door neighbor. He’s been here a little over two years, but I’d like for you to see what you can find out about him before he came here.”
“Do you know where he’s from?”
“Here, there, and everywhere. But he did give me the name of one guy he worked for, and three women he has scattered across the country.”
“Ex-wives?”
“Not according to him. Just women he knew that he stopped in to see whenever he was in their area. I don’t know if I told you or not, but Bob Downey claims to be a retired trucker, only he retired early. He says he’s forty-four, and retired a little over two years ago.”
“You’ve got a strange group, Cy. Guys from late twenties to mid-fifties, and all over the place. Some of them live near here, others way across the country, and all of them are hard to find.”
“I found the next-door neighbor okay. It’s just those guys you’re looking for that can’t be found. You’re not losing your touch, are you, Sam?”
“Are you ready to have someone else do your dirty work?”
“Not on your life. Just giving you a hard time. Just like you do me.”
“Well, you do have a picture of your murderer, Cy. You’d think you’d find him by now.”
“We don’t know for sure that this guy is our murderer. It just seems that way. I’ll let you go. We’ll stop by later and pick up those pictures.”
+++
I was about to slip out the back door and drive away before my next-door neighbor could see me. About to. God must’ve been looking out for me, because I did something that morning I seldom do, unless the weather is bad. I lifted one of the blinds, and looked out the door. As I looked down, I saw the toe of a shoe, a shoe that looked like it might belong to an ugly woman. Did the scourge of the earth plan to jump me as soon as I opened the door?
I sneaked away, headed to the front door. Surely, she couldn’t be two places at once. She wasn’t. Her mutt was. I backed away from the door. Drastic times called for drastic measures. I picked up a roll of duct tape, eased over to the door, and opened the door slightly. The curious mutt eased its nose over to the door. I opened it a little wider, bent down, and grabbed the dog, shut its mouth, and started wrapping it in duct tape. I lifted the trespasser, took it back to its own front porch, where I found its leash, and hooked the leash over the front doorknob.
One down, and one to go. Then I sneaked back to my house, slipped inside as quietly as possible, washed dog smell off my hands, and slipped out the front door, again. I tiptoed across my yard and the yard of my neighbor on the other side, eased around the house, until I came to an opening in the backyard hedge, an opening that allowed me to open Lightning’s passenger side door, without being seen from my back porch. I locked Lightning’s doors, inserted the key, and started my vehicle. I managed to back most of the way out of the driveway, before the evil one rounded the corner and rushed toward Lightning. It looked like I was going to have start leaving bear traps in my yard, just to get in and out of my house each day.
I pulled down the street and stopped. That woman figured I was gone for the day, so she rushed to my front porch looking for her watchdog. I didn’t pull away until I’d watched her struggle as she tried to pull duct tape off a mangy mutt.
+++
“What kept you?” Lou asked me, as I pulled up in front of his building, and he opened Lightning’s door.
“Enemy invasion.”
“You mean your neighbor broke into your house?”
“Almost,” I said, and then I proceeded to tell him about my early morning activity.
“You might want to stay away from your house for a while. The ASPCA might be paying you a visit.”
“I didn’t hurt the varmint. My neighbor’s the one who yanked the tape off.”
+++
I’d had such a harrowing experience I’d forgotten to ask Lou what God’s message was. We were in the Blue Moon at the time. Lou took his finger, dipped it in his syrup, and wrote “Houdini,” then made it disappear. It was a few minutes before I could follow up.
“So, Lou, does this mean that one of our locals is going to disappear?” I asked as soon as we left the restaurant and secured ourselves in my car.
He gave me his “you’ll never learn” look.
“Well, it could be that we’ll learn something about someone who’s already disappeared.”
Lou’s look didn’t change.
I remembered that the college student who delivered the pizza on the Colonel’s street got out of class just before 11:00. I drove up to his building, just as someone abandoned a spot in front of the building next to his. Was it to be our lucky day?
A few minutes later, Lou and I returned to Lightning with a confession from the college student. I wish it were that easy, but of course, it wasn’t. Like two others before him, he said he thought it was the guy he saw, but he couldn’t testify to it. That was okay. So far we didn’t have anyone for him to identify.
+++
We left the campus area and drove to Sam’s house.
“It took you that long to eat breakfast?”
“No, Sam. Some of us have more suspects than others.”
“Well, at least yours are easier to locate.”
“You mean you haven’t found anyone since this morning.”
“No, they’re all too busy playing hide and seek.”
We cut the chitchat, and Sam handed me pictures of Terloff and Bauerman.
“This guy isn’t some long-haired hippie,” I said, as I looked at Terloff’s picture.”
“Both of these pictures are around ten years old. Evidently, Terloff wasn’t at his campsite when Olan Mills called about a recent special.”
“You mean Olan Mills is still around?”
“I’ve no idea, Cy. You might try Googling them.”
Sam laughed, knowing that I’d never Googled anyone, nor did I’ve the means to do so. At least now I realize that Googling is something you do on the computer. That way I don’t look too stupid. Okay, maybe I do to some people.
++
I took the pictures and Lou and I headed to A-1 Plumbing. As expected, Robert Collins was out on calls. I showed the woman behind the counter my credentials and pulled out the pictures.
“Is either of these men Robert Collins?”
“He doesn’t look anything like either one of them.”
“And I assume you’ve never seen either of these two men?”
“Not as far as I know.”
“Well, do you have a picture of Collins I can have?”
“Just a second. I’ve to check with Mrs. Abney.”
The woman left, then returned with an older woman.
“May I help you gentlemen?”
I went through the identification process again and asked for a picture of Collins. I told her that I didn’t think he was the person I wanted, but I needed a picture of every person who had been in the Colonel’s house. Reluctantly, she complied.
+++
Lou and I entered Dunleavy Pest Control. A young man in a uniform approached us. “May I help you?”
I identified myself.
“Is there something wrong, Officer?”
“There’s something wrong, but I don’t think that Dunleavy Pest Control has anything to do with it. I’m inquiring about a former employee, Tom Johnson.”
“Yes, Tom worked here until a few weeks ago. Is he all right?”
“I don’t know. I’m trying to find him, but I don’t know what he looks like. Is either of these two men Tom?”
“The one guy’s too young, and Tom would never have long hair or a beard. Tom had more of a Marine look.”
“Do you have a picture of him?”
“We should have one somewhere. Let me check.”
He returned with a picture and said something that was foreign to me.
“Ah, the miracle of computers. I found a pictu
re of Tom and printed it for you. Here it is.”
The man was right. Tom didn’t look anything like our long-haired suspect. At least not as far as his hair was concerned. Tom’s hair was short, and he had no facial hair. And his chest and arms were larger. Terloff was a skinny guy. So was Bauerman.
“I’m looking into something that happened at the Hardesty place on Cherry Hill Lane. Could you tell me how many visits you made there, what man made the call, and the dates of those calls?”
The man sat down, hit a few buttons on his computer, jotted something down for us, and returned to the counter.
“Here you go.”
“So, there were two calls, and Tom Johnson made both of them. Are you sure?”
“That’s what the computer says.”
“Is it always right?”
“I’ve never known it to be wrong. Besides, if possible, we send the same man back for a second call unless there was a problem the first time.”
“Do you have any idea where Tom might be now?”
“No, like I told the cop that called before, Tom left suddenly to take care of his ailing mother. He acted like he’d be back as soon as she got to feeling better.”
“What kind of a worker was Tom?”
“Really knew his stuff. Of course, he came with a good recommendation from another pest control company out of state. We checked him out before we hired him. Never had anyone complain about Tom. Always did his work right. Always on time.”
I pocketed the new picture, and Lou and I left. It was past time for lunch.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was a little after 2:00 when we slid down off our stools and exited the Blue Moon. I knew that school let out at 2:45, so we drove out to the county high school to get our first look at a man I hated before I ever met him. As soon as we arrived, Lou and I stopped in the office, let them know that we were investigating a murder, and that we were there to question Michael Belding. We received puzzled looks from the student worker and the secretary. I wanted to smile, but didn’t. My request for a picture brought the principal into the proceedings.
“Is Michael a suspect?”
“A lot of people are suspects. We just need pictures of everyone on our list.”
Reluctantly, the principal complied.
I asked for directions to Belding’s classroom, and was told that school was almost over and was asked to wait until after school let out before we questioned Belding. We agreed, but told the principal we wanted to be outside Belding’s room when school ended, so he couldn’t slip away without us seeing him. This statement brought more curious looks.
+++
More than one student looked us up and down as the bell rang, school ended, and they flooded the hallway. We waited until the traffic flow lessened, and stepped into the classroom just as a man attempted to leave.
“Can I help you with something?”
“You can if you’re Michael Belding.”
“I am, and who might you be. I don’t do consultations with parents without an appointment. I’d be glad to make an appointment for you for another time.”
“Now’s good, and we’re not parents. We’re police.”
“Police? Has one of my students gotten in trouble?”
“No, we’re here to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“About James Buckham Hardesty.”
“Oh, him.”
“Yes, him. As I understand it, you didn’t like him.”
“That’s right. He cost me my job at the university.”
“And you threatened to get even.”
“A lot of people make threats. Let’s just say I didn’t cry a lot when I found out he died.”
It took all my self-control to keep from hitting him.
“When did you find out, Mr. Belding? When you watched him die?”
“I didn’t kill him.”
“You weren’t at school when he died. Where were you?”
My statement was a bluff. Either Belding knew when the Colonel died, or he didn’t, but I wasn’t ready for his answer.
“I was sick that day. I was home in bed.”
“Any witnesses?”
“Just the dog. Does he count?”
“Mr. Belding, I don’t think you understand the serious nature of our visit. Would you feel better if we talked downtown?”
“No, it’s just that I’m still mad. That man cost me my job. I could’ve amounted to something.”
“I imagine you yourself cost you that job, and I doubt if you’d amount to more than you do now.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“Listen, Belding, we have a picture of you. We’ll be showing it around, and if we find anyone who saw you in the area of the murder, we’ll be hauling you downtown.”
“I’ll have your badge.”
“I don’t think you’re man enough to wear it. Just watch your step. I assume you’ve heard those stories about what happens to men in prison.”
“Get out of my room.”
“I will, but if we find anyone who can place you in the vicinity of the murder, we’ll be back to get you.”
With that, I turned and Lou followed me out the door.
It took me a few minutes of sitting in the car before I calmed down. I didn’t like that man, whether he murdered the Colonel, or not.
+++
I ate enough candy while I sat in the car and fumed that I made the Midtown Market our next stop. Lou picked up a couple bags of M&Ms while he was there. He had even cut back on the amount of candy he was eating.
Next, we wanted to check out the house where Tom Johnson lived before he left town. I stopped by a pay phone and called Sam. He gave me the address. It was a street I’d seldom driven down, but I knew where it was.
I pulled up, looked at the house. Actually, it was a duplex. According to the address Sam gave me, Johnson rented the right side. The windows were still bare, so evidently no one had moved in yet.
I walked up to the unit on the left, rang the bell. A woman came to the door. I identified myself and asked her what she could tell me about Johnson.
“Evidently he was quiet. Occasionally I heard someone over there, but most of the time, nothing.”
“How often did you see Mr. Johnson?”
“Come to think of it, I think I only saw him once. See I work and he worked, and I think we had different schedules.”
“Miss Elliott, I’d like for you to look at these pictures and tell me if any of them is a picture of Mr. Johnson, and if you recognize any of the other men.”
“Sorry, can’t say that any of them is the guy I saw coming out one night.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You mean one of them is this Mr. Johnson, who was supposed to be renting the place?”
“That’s right, but maybe the person you saw was someone visiting him.”
“Could be. Sorry I can’t help you more.”
“That’s okay. If you think of anything else, just call the department.”
Lou and I turned away just as a man was coming out of the house next door, the house next to Johnson’s side of the duplex. I caught his attention, and Lou and I hurried over to question him.
“Yeah, I seen somebody in there a few times. Actually a couple of guys, but not at the same time. But there was something funny about that place.”
“Funny? How do you mean?”
“Well, it was like no one actually lived there. I remember one time this one guy came in, and a little while later, this other guy left. I never did see the one guy leave, even the next morning, but I saw him come in the next night, then I didn’t see either one of them for a while.”
“What did the two guys look like?”
“One of them was sort of thin, the other more muscular.”
“Mr. Simons, I’d like for you to look at these pictures and tell me if you see either of the men you saw enter or leave the house, and if you recognize any of the men from anywhere else.”
“This one. I saw him two or three times. Mainly coming in the house at night. Never saw him leave, but once.”
I took the picture from Simons, noted that he’d identified Johnson, the man the woman on the other side of the duplex had never seen.
“But none of these are the other man you saw leave?”
“Nope. This guy’s the only one.”
“Well, thank you for your help. Let us know if you think of anything else, or see any of these men again. Just call the department. They’ll get in touch with me.”
Lou and I checked with a few of the other neighbors, but like most neighborhoods these days, no one could tell me anything about anyone who lived in the right side of the duplex.
+++
It was getting close to supper time. We’d wait to see Joe Guilfoyle, the Colonel’s friend, the next day. He was retired. We expected to catch him in the daytime. Same for the Hoskins, only we’d have to catch them after they got home from work. We also wanted to show the pictures to Martha and the rest of her household, but most of them would be gone during the day Tuesday. We’d wait until late afternoon to pay her another visit. It looked like Tuesday would be just as busy for us as Monday. With all the leg work we were doing, I hoped that we’d soon crack the case.
+++
As I drove Lou home, we discussed our plans for the next day. We agreed to do something we seldom did in a murder investigation. We planned to take the morning off and spend time with our new friends at Scene of the Crime. At 10:00, anyone who wanted could attend and take part in the roundtable discussion of books we’d read and authors we’d recommend. Lou and I were the new guys on the block. Most everyone else had been a part of the group for at least close to a year, but we were made to feel like one of the gang from the beginning. Still, as far as we knew, no one in the group knows what we did for a living. And just as well.
Because Lou and I felt like we were lagging behind the others, I wanted to get home and read as much of the Puzzle Lady book as I could. Lou felt the same way. If I didn’t fall asleep, I thought I might stay up until I finished. That way I would have one more book I could talk about at the next day’s roundtable discussion, although I expected I would listen rather than talk.
3 Murder In The Library Page 14