“When was that?” asked Ray.
“It was last summer. Not the beginning of the summer, probably more like the middle of July. He was hanging around, like he was a kid again, the same activities. One of the arts and crafts instructors came to get me. She was quite unhinged by Tom, thought perhaps he was a child predator of some sort. I didn’t banish him from the colony. I did explain that he couldn’t participate in the children’s programs any longer. He was just too old.
“Tom seemed to comprehend what I was telling him. Then I took him home. His mother was there, and I had a long talk with her. He wasn’t around to hear the conversation. She told me that he had had a major breakdown his senior year in college, and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. At the time she thought the problem might have been stress related and wondered about the possibility of the condition being drug induced. They took him over to Rochester for a workup. That’s where they got the diagnosis. So now he’s on drugs, you know the prescription kind, and getting therapy.
“And this summer he started coming around again. He doesn’t do any harm, he’s just rather bizarre, especially when he’s talking on his imaginary phone. His conversations are very animated and loud.”
“One of the ushers, Anna, I believe, mentioned that he had a confrontation with Sterling Shevlin. Do you know about that?” asked Ray.
“Sheriff, I know about everything that happens here. And, yes, I’m well aware of their face-off. If Sterling had just come and gotten me, I would have guided Tom out of there. The worst thing you can do is to confront Tom directly. He totally loses it at that point. Like I said, he is paranoid. He believes that people are out to get him. Tom doesn’t understand that having a loud phone conversation in the back row of the auditorium during a play rehearsal isn’t appropriate behavior.”
“They also said he was around Saturday night for the play, that he tried to get in with a ticked he had created.”
“A ticket he had created. That’s part of his charm. Tom knows he needs a ticket, so he makes one. As you can see, there’s a bit of disconnect there. Not too dissimilar from his creating an imaginary phone conversation. And I have to tell you they are wonderful, the side that I can hear, anyway, always upbeat and full of humor. I wish I knew more about psychiatry. Tom has this way of connecting things together, not that it’s completely comprehensible to the rest of us.”
“We need to talk to him.”
“Why, Sheriff? Tom knows nothing. He’s a total innocent. You will just frighten him. Like I was saying, he’s paranoid, terrified by police. That’s why….” Grubbs stopped midsentence, biting his lip, letting his gaze drop to his hands that rested on the tabletop.
“That’s why what?” prodded Ray.
“A little while after Shevlin’s confrontation with Tom, Malcolm came storming in, demanding that I get a court order prohibiting Tom from stepping on colony property.”
“And did you?”
“I started the process, called our attorney, and asked what steps needed to be taken.”
“Did you authorize them to go forward?”
“Actually, no. The summer is almost over. I talked to Tom’s mother and tried to impress on her that it was important for Tom to stay away, at least for the rest of the season. You have to understand, Sheriff. Malcolm made a big brouhaha, but most times by the next day he was onto something else. Over the winter lots of things could change. Perhaps Tom won’t be around next summer. My hope was that the problem would go away.”
Ray looked over at Sue and then back at Grubbs. “We need to question this Tom. If he was in the area of the theatre, he might have seen the person who turned off the power.”
“Oh, Sheriff, I assure you that anything he might tell you would be absolutely untrustworthy. He lives in his own fantasy world. He would be sending you in the wrong direction and wasting your time. Besides, he’s very wary of males, especially police officers. In the past they are the people who have taken him to the hospital when he’s had his meltdowns. If he sees you coming, he’ll probably will do a runner and disappear into the woods and only God knows what will happen then.”
“Mr. Grubbs, we have to talk with this individual. As you know, someone pulled the main disconnect, giving the perpetrator several minutes of complete darkness. If this Tom person was circulating around the exterior of the building, maybe he saw the person who caused things to go dark.”
“He’s not going to tell you anything, but if you insist, maybe your colleague here can talk to Tom. Like I said, he responds better to women then men.”
Ray looked over at Sue, then answered, “I’m good with that. Will you go with her and do the introductions. Then she needs to talk to Tom in private. Will that work?”
“Yes, and I’ll drive her in my car. Don’t want to spook him with a police car.”
32
Richard Grubbs opened the passenger-side door of his sagging Volvo for Sue Lawrence. She settled on the seat cushion—torn vinyl exposing crumbling foam rubber—and peered out through the windshield at the dull, oxidized finish on the hood. The interior smelled of gasoline, mildew, and petroleum-based grime.
“Just got a 400 thousand mile badge from the company,” bragged Grubbs after he dropped into the driver’s seat. “Sure hoping this baby will make a half a million.”
Sue sent a weak smile his way. “How far are we going?”
“Just a few blocks. We probably should have walked. I’ll go in and introduce you to Tom and his mother. Then I’ll disappear. If you need me, I’ll be here reading a book. If Tom has a meltdown, come and get me. I’m good at talking him down.”
Grubbs parked near the back of the cottage next to a late model Chrysler van, and they walked to the rear entrance. His gentle rap brought an almost instantaneous response.
Pushing the screen door open, a sixtyish woman stepped out, gave Grubbs a quick hug, and then held Sue in a long, suspicious gaze.
“What’s going on, Grubby. Some sort of problem involving Thomas?”
“Nothing of the sort. Sergeant Sue Lawrence, here, is with the Cedar County Sheriffs Department. She’s investigating the death of Malcolm Wudbine. Several witnesses saw Tom near the auditorium Saturday evening.”
“He’s not suspected of….”
“No,” said Grubbs, reassuringly. “But if Tom was in the area at the time of the crime, they are wondering what he might have witnessed outside the Assembly Hall. Sergeant Lawrence would like to have a conversation with Tom.”
“He’s out on the beach smoking. He’s not allowed to smoke in the house. We have this agreement about where he can smoke. I’ll walk you out there, but,” she looked toward Grubbs, “have you explained Tom’s fear of the police?”
“Alice, yes. And I’ve made it clear to both the sheriff and Sue that this questioning might have unexpected consequences. They were most insistent.”
Sue followed, letting them lead the way across a chamomile lawn, and onto a path through the dune grass to the shore. She held back, giving Grubbs time to explain to Tom the situation before she entered the circle.
“I don’t want to talk to her. Why is she here?”
“Tom, I just told you. She only needs a few minutes of your time. Will you please cooperate?”
“Do what Grubby says,” counseled his mother. “You know he’s always been your friend.”
Tom looked over at Sue, then back at Grubbs and his mother. “Okay, but I’ve got important things to do. She can have five minutes.”
“Can we sit over there?” asked Sue, pointing to weathered picnic table.
Tom stood up, brushed the sand off the back of his jeans, and ensconced himself on one side of the table.
“We’ll leave you now,” said Grubbs. “I’ll wait in the car.”
“What do you want?” asked Tom, lighting a cigarette.
“Saturday night, the
night of the play, were you near the auditorium?”
“That was awhile ago, I don’t know.”
“People saw you there, you had a ticket to the play.”
Tom looked thoughtful, “Ticket?” Then he smiled with delight. “It was a wonderful ticket, a piece of art. But those crazy little bitches, they wouldn’t let me in. I went to one door and then the other. They laughed at me. I don’t like that. I hate it when people laugh at me.”
“When you couldn’t get into the theater, what then?”
“I think I watched through a window, they were open. I could hear what was happening until it started to rain and thunder.”
“Then what did you do?”
“Well, I don’t know. I think I went down to the picnic area. It’s covered. Yes, that’s what I did. The picnic area.”
“Could you see the Assembly Hall from there?”
“Lady, it was raining so hard I couldn’t see anything. And then I almost got electrocuted. Boom, crash. I could smell sulfur. I knew the devil was lurking.”
“Were there any lights on in the back of the auditorium?” asked Sue.
“There’s one, you know, the kind that turns on when it gets dark. It’s on the wall above some equipment stuff. It’s always on, summer and winter.”
“Was it on Saturday night?”
“Probably, till everything went out.”
Tom tossed away the cigarette with his left hand.
“Do you remember seeing anyone on Saturday?”
He pulled another cigarette from a crumpled pack, removing the filter and flicking it with the index finger and thumb of his left hand toward the beach. He fumbled with the lighter, his hand unsteady, finally igniting the loose strands of tobacco that extended beyond the paper.
“Like I was telling you. There was someone out there. I remember wondering why they were in the rain. I thought maybe the devil. Maybe a witch.” He looked at Sue, his eyes wide, his grin displaying tobacco-stained teeth.
“Man, woman?”
“It was…it was…a woman.”
“Are you sure?”
“I know the difference…I gotta take this call.” He fished a phone-like object from his pocket, gave Sue a quick glance, and said, “I had it on vibrate so we wouldn’t be disturbed.” Tom brought the object to his ear. “Hello. Garr. Hey dude, what’s happening? How’s the weather?”
He waited for the answer, then responded, “Hot. Hey, I’m not surprised, man. You were into some pretty deep shit…What am I doing? I’m talking to some police lady.”
Tom listened for awhile, nodding his head, his eyes focused on Sue.
“Fuckers! Shot up the place! RPGs and firebombs! I know, get a lawyer and tell them to stay the fuck away! I’m on the case, dude. I won’t tell them shit.”
Tom stood, as he dropped the phone back into his pocket, he leaned over the table, his face only a few inches from Sue’s. “Garr said you were the one. You were shooting at him. You blew his place up. You sent him across the river Styx. Bitch!” His final word was accompanied by a spray of spittle.
Sue remained still, fighting the impulse to push him out of her face.
“I’m not talking to you anymore. I know my constitution, my God given rights. Don’t think you’ll get me like you did Garr. Now I’m getting the fuck out of here. I just hope you don’t shoot me in the back like you did to Garr.”
Tom pushed himself up and then scampered down the beach in long strides, turning and looking back once just before he disappeared into the dunes.
Sue sat for a long moment, stood, and walked to the lake’s edge. She looked at the point where Tom had entered into the woods, then quickly scanned the beach before reaching for her phone.
“I think we have a problem,” she said when Ray answered. After the conversation, she walked back to the cottage to tell Grubbs and Alice Lea how her conversation with Tom had ended.
33
Ray stood near the empty boat slip with Terry McDaniel. As he listened, he looked down river past the seawall on the left to the open water of Lake Michigan. The wind was calm and the lake flat, with only a gentle swell breaking the mirror-like surface.
“I had just brought the grandkids in, my wife was running them back to the cottage. I was going to get more gas and do a few small maintenance jobs I had been putting off.” McDaniel looked at Ray, “To be honest, Sheriff, I was looking forward to some quiet time. We’ve had the grandkids, four boys from five to ten, for almost two weeks. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great kids and all that, but two weeks. My wife does better at this than I do. But then, she used to be a third grade teacher.”
“So tell me exactly what happened,” pressed Ray.
“Well, Tom comes springing in here all breathless like. I’ve known him since he was a boy. So much promise, smart as a whip. You just never know what’s going to happen. I guess we were lucky with our own kids. You know what I mean.
“So Tom arrives, says someone’s after him. He wants to know if I would take him out on the lake for a while. I explain that I’m almost out of fuel, that we would have to stop at the marina. And I try to stall for a little while, saying there are a couple of things I need to do onshore first. As I climb on the dock, he jumps into the boat. Initially, I didn’t think anything about it. I’ve been taking Tom out for years. It’s very therapeutic for him. Being on the water is enormously healing, and I think it gives his mother a break. Alice, that’s his mom, we go back a lot of years. Knew her when we were at Albion. That poor woman has….”
“Then what happened?”
“Well, I walked back to my car. Like I already told you, my wife had our other car with the grandkids. When I got back here, the slip was empty and my boat was heading down the river with Tom at the wheel. I’ve let him drive a lot. He’s perfectly competent. I yelled at him, but I’m sure he couldn’t hear me over the sound of the engine. This is a no-wake zone, but he wasn’t paying attention to that. Tom was hell bent for open water. I don’t know where he’s going, but he doesn’t have too much fuel.”
“How far can he get?” asked Sue, who had been silent up to this point.
“I don’t know for sure. There was a quarter of a tank, maybe less. If he holds it at full throttle, he’ll burn it real fast.”
“Any idea where he might be headed?”
“He likes the islands up north, but there’s not enough fuel.” He paused and looked out toward the lake. “Good thing its calm out there. He’s not going to get bounced around waiting for a tow after the tank runs dry.”
“When did this happen?” asked Sue.
McDaniel pulled a phone from his pants pocket and looked at the screen. “Musta been about an hour ago.”
“Why did you wait so long to call us?” she asked.
“Tom can be a real joker on his good days. I thought he might turn the boat around, come back, and we’d have a good laugh. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. He’s probably off his meds and in full meltdown. He does that from time to time. If that’s the situation now, who knows what might be going on in that screwed-up noodle of his.”
“Was Tom carrying anything?”
“Like what?”
“A backpack where a gun or other weapon might be hidden.”
“No, it was Tom in his summer uniform, old jeans and a T-shirt, the kind with the pocket for his phone and cigarettes. I never let him smoke on the boat.”
“Have you called his mother? Does she know what’s going on?”
“No, I thought I’d call you first. I didn’t want to worry her. She will be frantic as soon as she hears. The poor woman has dedicated her life to that kid. Where will this all end?” McDaniel looked at Ray. “What are you going to do about this, Sheriff?”
“I’m thinking. What’s the make, model, and color of your boat?”
“It’s a Four Win
ns Sundowner, mostly white with some blue and tan trim.”
“Do you have the registration number?” asked Ray.
“It’s on the boat in my wallet. Like I said, I was going to get some gas. Is that going to be a problem?”
“No, we can pull it off a database if we need to. Are there any weapons on the boat: firearms, knives, flare gun?”
“No, nothing of that type. Sheriff, I don’t want Tom arrested. I’m not going to press charges or anything. I just want him safely back on shore, and I’d like my boat back. This is all my fault, well at least partially.”
Ray looked over at Sue. “Why don’t you talk to Tom’s mother, explain what happened, and that we are starting a search for the boat. And see if you can get a sense of the best way to talk him down.”
“She may not be there,” said Sue. “She and Grubbs were going to look for him. She tried to reassure me that it was probably nothing I did that set her son off. She said he has these episodes. He usually wanders home on his own, or she goes out and finds him.”
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