by J. B. Hawker
Nathan smiled with relief. Both messages had been received.
“Oh, I am a very careful dancer. I want my partner to have as much fun as I do, and nobody ever gets hurt.”
“Where’s the local ballroom? Or will this be a private affair?”
Robb played along.
Nathan dropped the code.
“My place is just outside town. An old tourist cabin in the woods. Very private. You could come with me on my Harley, or I can give you directions, if you would rather take your car.”
“It might be better if you give me directions. When did you think of getting together?”
“I thought of it the first time you walked in here...but, we can meet in about half an hour, if that’s okay with you.”
Simpson, nodded, and Nathan left the bar.
“Finally, some action,” Robb, thought.
Nathan was in great shape and seemed like a nice guy, too. It would be a bonus if he knew something about the Thomas killing.
Max spoke to the public information officer at the Sheriff’s Office to make certain he had all the latest facts on the murders, then, before returning to the newspaper office, he drove by Bunny’s place.
The crime scene tape was gone, along with the remains of the pile of leaves.
It was a rotten way to get your yard cleaned up for you, Max, thought.
He came by to be sure there were no more reminders of the body to upset Bunny when she came home that evening.
Max assumed she would be coming back here tonight, at least to get a few of her things. He supposed she would want to stay here until she could find new homes for her cats, anyway.
He was not going to hurry her, though. He sensed how skittish she was about the whole thing.
They would sort themselves out in due time.
Max usually got what he wanted, eventually.
When he returned to the office, Bunny had already closed up and gone to lunch, leaving him a note saying her sister had come by for her and they had gone to Manuela’s.
He thought about joining them, and then decided against it.
Max was not too crazy about Bunny’s older sisters when they were all growing up together and he was not in the mood to spend time with one of them, now.
He picked up the phone and ordered a take-out hamburger and fries from Etta’s Place around the corner.
Banks worked on his news articles while waiting for the food and for Bunny to return.
Dinks Dodd hunched over the decrepit desk in his attic workroom scanning the Internet for stories about the Clark’s Hallow murders.
There were not as many as he had hoped and he did not understand it.
The combination of the holiday, the contest and the killings, especially the way the bodies turned up, should have been like catnip to the media. Instead, there had been just a small initial flurry of coverage, with the more recent discoveries garnering only a footnote here and there.
If this stuff had happened in Southern California or back east, reporters would be crawling out of the knotholes in the paneling.
Maybe the story wasn’t sexy enough for the national news.
Yeah, that’s what it needed, but how was he going to get sex into the murders of three nondescript men? It was too bad there was not a glamorous starlet in the mix.
He needed to do something to focus attention on Clark’s Hallow. He was not sure what, but he would think of something. He had to. All his work would be wasted, otherwise.
When Bunny returned from lunch, she found Max, with mustard-smudged burger wrappers on his desk and a half-eaten French fry lying on his keyboard, busily writing up his stories.
She was happy to forget her worries for a little while and concentrated on the billing for the classified ads.
Almost half of the invoices were finished when Bunny had to stop to answer the telephone. She spoke with the caller for a few moments, hung up the phone and walked into Max’s office.
“Max, I’m sorry to disturb you when you are writing, but that was Sergeant Michelson on the phone. Lieutenant Fuchs wants to see me at his office. ‘Right away’, he said. I told him I would have to get your permission. What do you suppose he wants with me?”
“Oh, it’s probably something routine, Hunny. Just going over your official statement about...well, you know...what you found in the leaves. It probably won’t take you fifteen minutes. I’ll cover the phones until you get back. It’s pretty quiet in here today, anyway.”
“Okay. Thanks. I guess I’ll be going, then. Bye.”
Reluctantly, Bunny grabbed her jacket to walk to the detective’s office.
Michelson ushered Bunny into Fuchs’s office and took a chair in the corner of the room.
Bunny had read and seen enough police dramas to think this was a bad sign.
She sat in the chair across from the detective and waited, nervously.
Fuchs spent a few minutes going over some papers, slid them back into a manila folder and looked up.
“Your name is Level Line Elder, is that right?” he barked.
He mispronounced her given name, but his demeanor so rattled her that Bunny simply nodded.
“Could you speak up, Mrs. Elder?”
“Yes, Leveline is my name. But, everyone calls me Bunny,” she managed to croak out. Her mouth had gone dry.
“And why do you feel the need for an alias, Mrs. Elder? Is there something you did, using your own name, you prefer to forget?”
Fuchs was being deliberately boorish. He wanted to keep her off balance. He decided if this woman did know anything about the murders, she was a pretty cool customer to have reacted as she had to the discoveries.
“Bunny is just a childhood nickname, Lieutenant. Leveline is an unusual name that I’ve never particularly liked, so I prefer to be called Bunny.”
Bunny was beginning to feel anger now, rather than nervousness.
The officer was being ridiculous. And rude.
“Just why did you ask me to leave work to come here, Lieutenant Fuchs?” she demanded.
Foxy realized he might have made a mistake in his handling of the woman. He had gone too far. Damn. Now her back was up.
“You were present at the discovery of Robert Miller’s body and also when the headless body was found. That’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think?” he asked more mildly.
Bunny could not believe what Fuchs seemed to be inferring.
“It was a very unpleasant coincidence, for me, I assure you. What are you implying?” Bunny said indignantly.
She was too annoyed, now, to be worried.
“Why, I’m not implying anything, Mrs. Elder. I am asking for your explanation of why you seem to be around when all of these murder victims pop up. Perhaps you would like to tell me.”
“I work for the Clarion-Review, as you know very well, Lieutenant Fuchs. That is why I was present, along with almost a dozen others, when Bob Miller’s body turned up at the Trainor home. I found the other man because someone hid his maimed body in my yard under a large pile of leaves. If he had been hidden in your yard, maybe you would have been the one to find him.”
“Mrs. Elder, we know you were acquainted with Miller...how well did you know Rufus Wilson?” Fuchs asked.
“I don’t know anyone of that name, I’m sorry,” replied Bunny.
“Oh, come, now, Mrs. Elder. You work for a newspaper and you don’t recognize the name of the man you found in your own yard? Do you expect us to believe that?”
“Yes, I do. I expect you to believe everything I say, because it is the truth. I spend most of my time at the newspaper working on classified ads and keeping up with the filing. I don’t usually work on the news stories and I haven’t read about or discussed the man I found, because it upsets me. It’s upsetting me to talk about it now, as a matter of fact.”
“Why is that?”
“Lieutenant Fuchs, I am a recently widowed, middle-aged pastor’s w
ife. I am not accustomed to violent death. A member of my church was murdered and mutilated in a particularly disgusting manner and I was there to identify his body. I had no chance to recover from the horror of that experience when I stumbled upon another victim of this madman who’s running loose on our streets, while you torment innocent, defenseless women...that is why I am upset!”
“Calm down, calm down, there’s no reason to get all het up, Mrs. Elder. We have to check out everyone involved in these murders, no matter how innocently. If you will just cooperate, I’m sure you will be able to get back to your job, soon.”
Foxy was beginning to regret the whole interview.
“Lieutenant, I am trying to cooperate. Just what to you want to know?”
“Good. I appreciate your attitude. I understand you called in and told Sergeant Michelson what you thought the sign on Mr. Miller’s body meant, is that right?”
Bunny nodded.
“And what was your suggestion?”
“I told the sergeant I thought it was a reference to Bob being gay.”
“Was Miller a homosexual?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know him well, I’m afraid. However, he was still single, lived alone and occasionally did or said something that sort of made me wonder. When I saw “fag” on the sign, something just clicked, and I thought it might possibly be true, that’s all. Max told me to call because it might help with the investigation.”
“Max? Would that be Max Banks, your employer?”
“That’s right. He was with me when I figured out what the sign might mean.”
“As far as you know, was there anyone else who suspected anything about Bob Miller’s sexual orientation?”
“No. It wasn’t being gossiped about, or anything like that.”
“Did Miller get along okay with the other church members? Was he involved in any church controversies or arguments? Can you think of anyone who might have a reason to hold a grudge against him?”
“No, I’m afraid you won’t find your motive, or the killer, in our congregation, Lieutenant. We strive hard to get along with one another, as the Bible instructs. There aren’t any church controversies or arguments for Bob to get involved in.”
Bunny immediately realized how smug she sounded
“I’m not saying we are perfect, you understand. But, we do make a real effort to get along with one another at God’s Truth Baptist.”
“Yes, well, I’m sure you do. But from my perspective, it would have been more helpful if you could tell me about a feud or two involving Miller.”
“I’m sorry, Lieutenant. Fuchs, I simply don’t know of any.”
After a few more questions, Fuchs thanked Bunny and let her leave.
Bunny was hurrying back to work when the electronic carillon in the tower of the Methodist church began to play. This meant it was already after five.
She considered going on to the office to see if Max was still there, then decided to walk home, instead.
What a pointless exercise the interview had been! Bunny was unnerved to learn the authorities still had no idea who the killer might be.
They were obviously suspecting anyone and everyone. She had hoped they were close to an arrest, but they seemed to be as much in the dark as she was.
She suddenly felt very vulnerable walking alone.
On the edge of her vision, the deepening shadows seemed to cloak a menacing presence.
Bunny peered into the darkness under the trees and bushes without discerning anything out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, she began to walk more quickly in the gathering dusk.
She wanted to be safely in her home before night closed in.
Safe at home...how safe was her home, really?
The killer must actually have been in her yard, in order to hide the body. Why hadn’t she thought of it before now?
She could be walking toward the very danger she feared.
For that matter, was any place in Clark’s Hallow safe? Where should she go?
For just a moment, Bunny froze with indecision. Her blood thrummed in her ears. Panic and hysteria were a breath away.
The lights of an approaching car sparked the urge to run away, but she did not move.
All the light had become concentrated in those headlights, deepening the surrounding darkness.
The car swerved to the curb beside her and stopped with a jolt.
Bunny gasped, as the driver jumped out and hurried toward her.
“Hi Buns, want a ride?” her sister asked.
“What are you doing walking around in the dark, anyway? Haven’t you had enough excitement, lately?”
“Oh, Jean! Thank God! I was so frightened,” Bunny sobbed.
“Hey, get a grip old girl. Everything’s okay. Come on. I’ll take you home.”
Jean draped an arm around her younger sister’s shoulders and led her to the car. She had not seen Bunny so upset since they were small. It worried her.
“Why don’t you come home with me tonight, Buns. Nick’s fixing ravioli and he always cooks enough for the entire Holy Roman Empire.”
“Could I stay over tonight, Jean? Would you mind? I don’t feel like sleeping at my place, just now.”
Bunny was becoming more rational by the moment, but she knew there was real danger in Clark’s Hallow as long as this killer walked the streets.
She was going to have to make some kind of arrangements, so she would not have to stay alone until that monster was behind bars.
“Oh, Jean, can we go by my place first? I need to feed Betty and Veronica. I almost forgot.”
“Sure, Buns. We can’t let your girls go hungry, now can we?”
Jean zipped a U-turn, with only the barest hint of squealing tires, and headed back toward Bunny’s house.
“What got you so upset before, Bunny? I think anyone would be nervous living alone after all these murders, but you seemed almost hysterical back there.”
Jean gave Bunny a searching look as she spoke.
“If you don’t keep your eyes on the road, I’m going to be hysterical right here, Jean. Watch out!”
The car was a hair’s breadth from striking a man scurrying across the road, when Jean jerked the wheel and whooshed into Bunny’s driveway.
“That man was coming from your place, Bunny. Were you expecting anyone?”
“No. He was most likely just someone out for an evening stroll. Although I could not see who it was, I am sure we will be able to identify him tomorrow by the permanent look of terror on his face. You nearly killed the man, Jean.”
“Well, I didn’t, and that’s what counts. Come on. We’ve got to feed your precious kitties and get home to Nick’s ravioli.”
Bunny filled the cats’ bowl with dry food, gave them fresh water and then packed her overnight bag.
Now she was home, she was beginning to feel a little sheepish for overreacting earlier.
It was going to be a hassle getting to work tomorrow from Jean and Nick’s place.
“Jean, I think I was just being silly. I don’t know what came over me. Thanks for your help, but I think I’ll just stay home, after all.”
“Now, wait a minute. Something had you practically catatonic out there not twenty minutes ago. Has whatever it was changed that fast?”
“I was just overreacting, I’m afraid. It had just dawned on me the person doing all these horrible killings was actually in my yard in order for me to find that body. I gave me the creeps.”
“No wonder. But, now you are home it doesn’t bother you, anymore?”
“Other people have discovered victims at their homes and nothing has happened to them. I figure finding the body is practically an insurance policy.”
“Well, if that’s what you figure...guess I’ll go on home. Are you sure you don’t want to at least join us for dinner? I could run you home after.”
“Jean, I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but right now the thought of riding with you, again, is the scariest thing I can think of.”
Bunny gave her sister a hug, thanked her, and saw her to the door.
Just knowing she had options took away much of her uneasiness.
Later, as she was preparing for bed, Bunny remembered something unusual.
When she brought her home to feed the cats, Jean went into the house first, without waiting for Bunny to unlock the door. However, Jean didn’t have a key and Bunny never left the doors unlocked.
For a moment, she was frightened again, imagining someone had been in her house. Then, she considered all the turmoil and stress of the past few days and convinced herself she had just forgotten to lock the door.
She promised herself to be more careful in the future and climbed into bed.
That was close! Another couple of inches and that car would have hit him.
Another few moments in the house and he would have been discovered.
It was almost miraculous neither of those things had occurred. God must look after his avenging angels. In fact, maybe nothing bad could ever happen to him again.
On the other hand, maybe he was only protected while he was avenging and after a while it wore off.
He didn’t want it to wear off, ever.
Max Banks had waited at the newspaper for Bunny to return from her interview. When she had not returned by six o’clock, he had called the Sheriff’s office to see how long she was going to be. He found that she had left shortly after five.
Banks drove to Bunny’s just as she and her sister were going into the house.
He was annoyed that she had gone to her sister after the interview rather than coming back to the office.
Max decided to forget about Bunny for that night. Tomorrow they would have to sit down and get some things straightened out.
He drove on to Manuela’s for a few beers and some dinner.
Chapter 20
Make them run in the dark on a slippery road as your angel chases them.
–Psalm 35:6
It was chilly as Robert Simpson drove back to town the next morning.
It had been a good decision to drive his car. Thick pine trees kept the watery sunshine from bringing any warmth to the roadway they sheltered.
It would have been uncomfortably cold riding behind Nathan on the back of a motorcycle.