by Tonya Kappes
“Thank you,” I whispered when Bartleby put the cup down in front of me.
“Do you want something to eat?” he asked.
“No. I need to go back to the office.” I gestured to the back of the restaurant. Bartleby rushed off to the register, where there was a line for people to pay their bill.
“Seriously, tell us how you’re holding up,” Tibbie said. Her skin tone and hazel eyes really stood out against the green dress. It was natural for my good friends to ask me about my life, but I knew they also wanted the lowdown on the investigation.
“I’m fine. A little busy, that’s all.” I carefully pulled the cup up to my lips and blew on the hot liquid, nearly choking on the substance when Poppa appeared next to the table. We were going to have to have a signal, like a ringing of a bell or something, to alert me that he was about to make an appearance.
“Kenni?” Katy Lee’s eyes slid to the space I was staring into. “What are you staring at?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking about something with the case,” I lied, hoping they would just drop it.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Katy Lee leaned forward on the table, resting on her forearms. “I didn’t want to say anything, but Rowdy told me that you were talking to yourself and someone heard you were seen going into Dr. Shively’s office.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine,” I blew it off. “I have a bad habit of talking to Poppa’s stone as if he’s there. I just had a couple medical questions for Camille.”
“Let’s go. We need to make sure the evidence got sent to the crime lab, Kenni-bug.” Poppa bent down near Tibbie’s head trying to get my attention.
“I’ve got to go to the office.” I stood up, grabbed my bag, and picked up the mug. “I’ll see you tonight at Euchre.” My chair scooted across the floor when I stood up. “Katy Lee, I’ll be stopping by your office this morning.” I wanted to make sure she knew I was coming. I couldn’t openly talk to her here.
“Sure.” Katy Lee’s eyes popped open wide and she drew back in suspicion. “You know where to find me.”
We said our goodbyes. Before I turned the corner of the diner to head back to the office, I glanced back at my friends. Their heads were huddled together and there was no doubt in my mind that they were coming up with all sorts of stories for why I was going to stop by the insurance agency.
“You have got to stop showing up like that without warning.” I put the bag on my desk and looked at my Poppa.
Duke had laid down on the big pillow bed behind my desk and was snoring loudly.
“Going around having coffee with friends isn’t going to solve the crimes.” He pointed his finger toward the restaurant. “All of those people in there eating are watching you. Especially now that you have to step up and get a killer behind bars.” His gestures were exactly how Poppa would act alive. I had seen him give a similar speech to Wyatt when they were working on a crime spree that spread across the entire state. “I’m not saying ignore your friends. Do your job, then socialize.” He lifted his hands in the air.
“I can’t go around ignoring everyone in town. It’s so small, I see my friends everywhere.” I brought up my email, hitting print when I saw the tire photos from Finn. “Plus Katy Lee would have information on any insurance policy Viola might have.”
“Good thinking, Kenni-bug.” Poppa tapped his noggin with his finger. “Keep your ear to the ground and hear the gossip. Some of my best investigative work was going to Stella’s Bible study.” Poppa followed me over to the printer.
“How so?” I asked, taking a good look at the tire marks.
“Those women don’t spend too much time around the Bible. They spend time eating and gossiping. You wouldn’t believe what you find out just by listening.” He glanced over my shoulder at the photo.
I held it up so he could get a better view.
“Here are the tire tracks that had dried perfectly in the mud.” I pointed out the tracks. “I looked in the front yard the morning of the murder, but it was so muddy from the rain. It is possible the killer drove to the back of the house and parked.”
“You’re on the right track.” Poppa smiled, pride on his face.
“Do you know who did it?” I asked, hoping he’d tell me if he did.
“No. I told you that.” His voice cracked. He shook his head. He continued, “I was trying to keep the town safe. I failed you, Kenni-bug.”
“You didn’t fail me.” Suddenly talking to Poppa’s ghost didn’t feel so strange. “Now you can help me.” I gulped back tears, letting go of the fact that I might be seeing things because talking to him made me feel so much better.
This was far better than going to the cemetery and talking to his stone.
“Like you said, if anyone knows about tires, it’s Luke.” I shook the photo. Luke not only had the basement theatre, he owned Pump and Munch, the gas station in the middle of town. Luke was a mechanic and he knew his stuff. “And I’m going to ask him about Summer of Sam.”
“Summer of Sam?” Wyatt stood in the doorway. He glanced around the small room. “Do you have someone in the holding room?”
“No.” I pulled the photo down to my chest.
“Who are you talking to?” His wiry brows furrowed.
“Duke.” I laughed nervously. Duke lifted his head. “I think better out loud.” I walked over to Wyatt. “Look at this.”
He took the photo from my hand.
“What is it?” he asked.
Poppa stood over Wyatt’s shoulder looking at the photo. Duke jumped up and ran to Poppa’s side. Poppa rubbed Duke’s head. Duke rolled his head in the air, taking advantage of all of Poppa’s fingers.
“What’s wrong with him?” Wyatt’s mouth clenched. He shifted to his right and turned his head to get a look behind him at Duke.
Crap.
Duke did look a little silly, flailing his head in the air, and since Wyatt couldn’t see Poppa, Duke looked like he was having some sort of seizure.
“Duke.” I got his attention and Poppa’s. “What are you doing?” My voice cracked as I tried to get Poppa’s attention to stop petting the dog. “Go lay down.”
Poppa flicked his hand trying to brush Duke away, but Duke was having none of it. He jumped around on his hind legs, bouncing back and forth like he did when Poppa played with him.
“Are you sure he’s okay? It’s like he sees something.” Wyatt looked at the space where Poppa was standing. “You know,” Wyatt scratched his head, “he used to act like that around Elmer,” he mused, using my Poppa’s name.
“Maybe he’s hungry.” I walked back over to my desk and opened the bottom drawer where I kept extra dog food for when I was at the office. I dumped a handful into the bowl next to his bed. “Here, Duke!”
Playtime was over when it came to food. Duke ran over to the bowl, completely forgetting about Poppa, gobbling up the kibble.
I walked back over to Wyatt and shoved the photo back in his face.
“Those are tire tracks from the back of Doc Walton’s house.” I pointed them out. “Finn took them. I meant to show those to you this morning, but I wanted us to get to the bottom of the security cameras.”
“What does this prove?” Wyatt looked at me.
“Well…” I looked at the photos again. “It really doesn’t prove anything right now, but it might tie in somewhere,” I said. “Finn found them while securing Doc’s office. He also said there were smudged mud marks by the door where someone had tried to wipe off footprints.” I smiled, remembering what Toots had said about Doc Walton hating muddy feet and how he made clients take off their shoes.
Wyatt snapped his fingers in the air and said, “Doc Walton didn’t let anyone come in his home with their shoes on. The killer probably knew it and came in the back, then tried to smudge their shoe prints, which would hav
e been evidence if we found out what type of shoes the killer had on.”
“But,” I poked the photo with my finger, “we have better. Tire marks. And I’m going to ask Luke what type of tires these are and see what car uses this type of tire.”
“A good start since we don’t have a lot of leads,” Wyatt acknowledged. “But don’t get your hopes up. Nowadays, all cars can use the same brand of tire.”
“It might be a long shot, but I’m not going to look at it that way. It could be a clue.”
I wasn’t going to let Wyatt burst my bubble. I was going to check all the evidence. Twice if I had to.
“Attagirl.” Poppa stood behind Wyatt, tapping his temple. “Using your noggin just like your old Poppa.”
“I thought I told you to send this off for evidence.” I pointed to some of the files on his desk that had the information on possible fingerprints picked up at the scene along with the gloves Doc had and different blood samples.
“Ran out of time yesterday. I’ll get those off right now.” Wyatt took the bag with the microchip. “And I’ll send this off with the rest.” He looked up at me and smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I would think I was standing here with Sheriff Elmer.” He tapped his finger on the desk between us. “You are starting to think like him. Good job, Sheriff.”
I smiled, taking all the credit. Poppa winked.
“When I walked in you said Summer of Sam.” Wyatt pulled out the evidence bags and log where we tracked evidence that needed to be sent off. A sheet we never had used before.
“Have you seen the movie?” I asked.
“You didn’t have to see the movie to know about it. It was a big case. National attention.” Wyatt scribbled on the log and pulled the back off the envelope to seal it.
I pulled the camera out of my bag and walked over to Wyatt’s desk.
“This is Doc’s wrist.” I showed him the Sharpie tattoo.
“Ronald had a tattoo?” Wyatt’s face contorted.
“No.” I pushed the forward button and showed him the carpet from White’s. “This was spray-painted on the carpet at White’s. Tying both crimes together. The killer wants us to know they are connected.”
“What the hell is it?” he asked, then apologized for his language.
I clicked the forward button on the camera again to show him the photo on Kim’s Buffet’s wall. “I went over to Kim’s and asked Mrs. Kim what this was because I knew it was some sort of Chinese symbol.”
“And?” he coaxed me.
“She said it meant ‘family.’”
“Ronald didn’t have any family around here.” Wyatt didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. “So what does this mean?”
“I don’t know. I want you to look into getting his will, calling next of kin and all of that. I’m hoping we come up with some names and talk to them. Did he ever talk about his family?”
“Never.” He shook his head. “But I’m not following the Son of Sam thing.”
“Me neither, but I heard that killer left behind notes or markings or something and it just didn’t sit well in my gut.” I put my hand on my stomach. It was growling; time for me to grab something to eat. “What about teeth marks?”
“Teeth marks?”
Wyatt stared at me, baffled.
“Doc Walton had two sets of bite marks on him.” The words made my stomach curl. Who on earth could have done this to him? “I’m thinking the killer bit Doc while Doc fought them off and the killer had some sort of partial that Doc knocked out of their mouth.”
Wyatt’s face contorted. “I think you’re going to solve these crimes. Where is Officer Vincent?”
“Yes, I am. I’m not sure where he is this morning.” I looked at my watch. It was still pretty early and I hadn’t told him a specific time to get to the office. “I imagine he had some calls to make to the Reserves about him taking the part-time deputy position.”
“It’s good to have him onboard. He seems very thorough. I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to take the position.” The corners of his eyes sagged. “I feel like you’re investigating like your Poppa and it sure would’ve been fun solving some crimes with you.”
“You are.” I patted the evidence bag. “You’re helping me out more than you know.”
I really wasn’t sure why he hadn’t sent off the evidence we had collected the day of the murder yet. It was of the upmost importance. All law enforcement knew that the first forty-eight hours in a murder case was the most important. The longer time went on, the harder it was to solve a crime. I wasn’t about to let my first murder case become a cold case. But I decided to let Wyatt off the hook. He was only looking out for me. After all, he’d been around my whole life.
“Anything new, gang?” Betty sashayed in, the phone tucked under her armpit and her coffee in her hands.
I grabbed the form I needed to get a warrant. If I gave it to Betty now, she’d be able to get it down to the courthouse and in front of the judge by day’s end.
“Betty, I’m filling out this warrant request to get my hands on Camille Shively’s files.” I signed the form and handed it to her. “Can you get this over to the judge ASAP while Wyatt sends off the evidence? I need to go interview a couple of more people.”
“I sure will.” She put the phone on the charger and took the paper. “Do you think she had anything to do with it?”
“I don’t know. But they were in public discussing something in a very heated manner and she’s not saying much to me right now.” I knew the warrant would speak volumes.
“I’ll keep my ear to the ground with the women in my sewing circle. They always have some good gossip about rumblings,” Betty noted and went on to fill out the paperwork.
Chapter Twenty-One
I left Duke at the jail. It wasn’t like he wanted to come with me anyway. His belly was full and he was happily sleeping on his big pillow Ruby Smith had gotten from one of the estate sales she had attended. Today I had a lot of stops to make and leaving him in the car wasn’t something he would want. Wyatt said he’d be at the office working and he’d let Duke out to potty and make sure he had plenty of water.
Duke liked Wyatt. Wyatt was known to take Duke on little trips with him. Everyone liked Duke. His name even made it on a write-in ballot against Mayor Ryland in the last election. Something the mayor wasn’t too happy about. I had no idea who had written Duke in, but I loved the idea.
“Where to now?” Poppa rubbed his hands together in the front seat.
“Well, I am going to go see Beverly Houston, Katy Lee, and Luke Jones,” I said without looking at my list. That should take up my day until I had to be at my weekly Euchre game.
Beverly Houston’s dental office was located on the north side of town past Lulu’s Boutique in a little strip mall. Jolee’s food truck was once again set up along the side of the boutique and the line was down the street.
I did a double take and gripped the wheel when I saw Finn in the front of the line. I turned down the street, pulled in front of the food truck, put my hazards on, and got out.
“Are you cutting line?” Finn nudged me. He had on a solid t-shirt, jeans, the same big belt buckle, and now a pair of cowboy boots.
“One day in Cottonwood and we turned this Yank into a country boy.” Jolee winked from behind the window. “The usual?”
“Nah.” I waved her off. “I’m not staying. Give him the usual.”
He shook his head. “I’m going to have country ham biscuit with a dollop of gravy and eggs sunny-side up. A little oozy, but a whole lot of goodness.” He grinned. I momentarily lost all sense of what I was doing there. “I think those were your exact words.”
Jolee cocked her head to the side. “And to think I wasn’t gonna raise my hand last night to vote you in as deputy. Shame on me.” She winked and went back
to making his order.
“No food?” he asked. We stepped to the side so the others could order.
“I already had enough coffee for everyone in this line,” I joked. “I’m going to go to the dentist’s office to show Beverly Houston those teeth marks and see what I can find out. I already told Katy Lee Hart I’d be by to talk to her. She’s the insurance agent in Cottonwood. She’d know if Viola would’ve had insurance on the store.”
“Sounds good. What if I grab my breakfast and meet you at Hart’s?” he asked.
“You know, I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s a good idea.” I snapped my fingers. “Two heads are better than one.”
“Maybe.” He laughed. His smile reached his eyes and my heart thumped a little too hard.
“I’ll see you in a little bit.” I left before I couldn’t hide the awkward attraction I was feeling for him.
I’d head on over to Beverly Houston’s office first. That would give him plenty of time to eat and give me enough time to feel out Beverly.
Within a couple of minutes, I was sitting in Beverly’s parking lot glancing in the rearview mirror. I liked to get a good view of my surroundings. The strip mall had the dentist’s office, Tiny Tina’s, The Pawn, Cottonwood Federal Savings, Hart’s insurance office, and a Subway. A few of the rockers that lined the front of the strip mall shops were occupied by customers. They were probably waiting for their turn at Dr. Houston’s.
Katy Lee didn’t look like she was at the insurance office yet, which meant she was probably still sitting with Tibbie at Cowboy’s Catfish.
I got out and headed into Dr. Houston’s office.
The smell of fluoride and the buzzing sound of some sort of drill made the hairs on my arms stand to attention. The only thing that really scared me was the dentist. Not even the thought of Poppa’s ghost scared me as much as standing where I was at this moment.