by D P Lyle
He picked up the phone and dialed. Burt answered on the third ring.
“This is Wade. We need to talk.”
*
Sam and Alyss sat at the kitchen table, sipping wine, while Sam told of her visit with Edgar Locke and her visit to Wade, including the results of the hair analysis.
“Does that mean Billy’s guilty?” Alyss asked.
“It doesn’t look good. But...”
She hesitated as she heard a vehicle come up the drive and stop in front of the inn. A car door slammed and then someone stepped onto the porch. Alyss walked to the door.
“Hello,” Alyss said. “Please, come in.”
Burt came through the door. He wore tailored jeans and a faded denim shirt, which enhanced the blue of his eyes. He flashed his perfect smile. “How are you ladies doing today?
“Fine,” Alyss said
Burt looked around. “I love what you’ve done with the place. Cozy and warm.”
“Thanks,” Alyss said. “I’m just glad to have all that behind me.”
“It is a lot of work,” Burt said. “But, worth it.”
“So, what brings you by?” Sam asked.
“I’m taking the gang to Mama Rose’s again tonight. You’re welcome to join us.”
Alyss looked at Sam and then said, “I think we’re going to relax here tonight. But, thanks.”
“Is everything OK?” Burt asked.
Alyss nodded toward Sam. “With all the excitement around here, we’ve hardly had time to visit so we’re doing leftovers and wine.”
“I understand. It’s been a crazy week.” Burt looked at Sam. “I hear you had a chat with Wade earlier. Guess the hair matching pretty well seals the deal for Billy.”
“Maybe.”
“You can’t still believe he’s innocent?”
“It’s not my job to decide that. Not Wade’s or yours either.”
Burt’s face hardened. “Fairly strong evidence though. It would be hard for a jury to ignore.”
Sam cocked her head to one side. “Why do you care? What difference does it make to you?”
“This is my town. Where I live. Where my son lives every summer. I’m concerned whenever something like this happens. Especially when it happens to someone like Lloyd. And Walt and Ted worked for me.”
Right. Like you give a shit about anyone but yourself.
“I see,” Sam said.
His eyes narrowed. She could see the muscles of his jaws tense. “Wade said you were asking about Morgan Russell? Mind if I ask why?”
Sam matched his steely glare. “What is it? Does Wade report everything to you?”
“No,” Burt said. “He just thought it was a little unusual that you asked about Morgan.”
“So he sent you here to quiz me?”
The sinews in Burt’s neck tightened. “What’s wrong? Why are you mad at me?”
“Maybe I’m tired. Maybe I’m a bitch. Maybe I’m sick of being told what to believe about Billy. Maybe I’m just curious about this Morgan guy.”
“Why?”
“I thought he might know something about those rabbit bones.”
“Why would you think that?” Burt said.
“He did work with you guys, didn’t he?”
“Yes. Nearly two years ago.”
“I know you weren’t doing any animal studies, but I thought maybe this Morgan might have done some stuff on his own,” Sam said. “Things you and Edgar weren’t aware of. And then these bones pop up. And since no one knows what they are, I put two and two together and thought there might be some connection.”
“There isn’t,” Burt said.
“How can you be sure?”
“Edgar and I would have known if Morgan had tried something like that,” Burt said.
“I hear he’s pretty smart.”
“Yes. He was.”
“Was?”
His eyes flicked toward the door, the floor, and then back at her. “He’s gone. Back east somewhere. Johns Hopkins I think.”
“I heard that, too.”
“Well that’s all I know about him. That’s all anyone knows.” Burt stared at her for a minute and then glanced at his watch. “I’d better get going.”
Alyss followed Burt out to the porch, said her goodbyes, and then returned to the kitchen, pulling the door closed in her wake. She looked at Sam. “What the hell was that about? He comes here to invite us out and you jump all over him.”
“He didn’t come here to invite us to dinner. He came here to intimidate me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Morgan Russell.”
“Who’s that?”
“Researcher. Worked with Edgar in Burt’s lab. He may be the key to all this.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know. But, the mere mention of Morgan’s name was important enough that Wade called Burt as soon as I left his office. And important enough that Burt drove over here and threatened me. As he did Edgar.”
“It didn’t sound like a threat to me.”
“It’s not so much what he said, it’s that he felt the need to say anything at all.” Sam drained her glass. “Edgar fears that Morgan or somebody may have reopened the lab and done some renegade experiments. Animal experiments.”
Alyss sat down. “The bones?”
Sam nodded.
“And that means Burt’s involved and lied about the lab being closed,” Alyss said.
“Exactly.”
Chapter 44
Billy slept off and on most of the afternoon. He awoke to a dinner of baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. All lukewarm and mostly tasteless.
After a young girl from the dietary department removed Billy’s dinner tray, Darla Esslinger rolled the dressing cart into the room and parked it next to his bed.
“How you feeling?” she asked.
“Not bad.” He lightly touched his shoulder. “Hurt’s less than before.”
“Good.” She rummaged through the drawers of the cart. After removing what she needed, she peeled the bandage from his shoulder. She pulled on a pair of latex surgical gloves and cleaned the wound with Betadine Solution, flashing a sympathetic smile as he winced. “Sorry,” she said.
“That’s OK.”
She smeared it with antibiotic ointment. “It looks good. Healing nicely.”
“Darla,” Billy said. “Thanks for letting Sam come in earlier.”
“She seemed OK. On your side anyway.”
“Yes, she is.” He sighed heavily. “And right now, I can use all the friends I can get.”
Darla stacked several sterile gauze pads and placed them over his wound. “What can I do to help?”
“You serious?” Billy asked.
She tore off a strip of tape and secured the gauze dressing. “Anything. Just ask.”
“I need out of here.”
“You need to get well first.” She smoothed another strip of tape into place.
“The real killer’s up there.” He yanked his head toward the window and the mountains beyond. “I’m the only one that knows these hills well enough to find him, but I need out of here to do it.”
“You’re in no condition to go tear-assing around looking for a boogeyman.”
Billy grabbed her arm. “Burt and Wade are going to railroad me into a penitentiary. Or worse. I don’t have a choice and I don’t have much time.”
“What about Sam? She’s a cop. I thought she was going to help?”
Billy released his grip on her arm. “This is something I’ve got to do. Ain’t nobody else that can. And if it means I’ve got to go it alone, then that’s what it’ll be.”
She shook her and sighed. “You ain’t alone, Billy. What can I do?”
He rattled the cuff chain against the bed rail. “You don’t happen to have a hack-saw do you?”
“Better than that. Sit tight.” She left the room, but returned in less than a minute with her purse. She snapped it open and pulled out a key ring, which j
angled with two dozen keys. Shuffling through them, she slid one off the ring and held it up. “Cuff key.”
“What are you doing with that?” he asked.
“Remember that cop I used to date? The one from up in Montrose?”
“Wilbur something?”
“That’s him. He liked to play guard and prisoner.” She flashed a devilish grin. “He gave me my own key.”
“That’s more than I need to know,” Billy laughed.
“I’m pulling a double tonight, so I’ll be here until seven in the morning.” She handed him the key. “Wait until after ten or so. Things’ll be quiet then. Leave the key on the table after you’re gone. I’ll pick it up later.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Billy said.
“I know.” She began loading supplies from the dressing cart into a plastic bag. Gauze, tape, antibiotic ointment, a small bottle of Betadine. “You’ll need these. And I’ll swipe a couple of Vicodin from the drug cabinet for you. I’ll chart them as if I had given them to you during the night.”
“Don’t get yourself in trouble.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t. Your clothes are in the closet there.” She nodded toward the metal locker in the corner. “I’ll put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door.”
“Bring me a paper clip,” Billy said. “I’ll leave it by the cuffs so Wade’ll think I picked the lock.”
She laughed. “You always were clever, Billy Bear.”
*
It was nearly 11 p.m. when Billy jumped to the ground from the window of his room. Pain shot through his chest when he landed. He took a sharp breath and leaned against the wall, fighting the wave of dizziness that swept over him. Cold sweat popped out on his face. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he had thought.
After the pain subsided somewhat, he moved along the side of the hospital, checked for cars and pedestrians, and then crossed Church Street. Staying in the shadows, he made his way to Main Street, slipped across, and into the alleyway between Varney’s and the bank. Using his key, he opened Varney’s side door and stepped inside.
He leaned against the closed door and waited for another wave of dizziness and nausea to pass. His breathing settled to a steady rhythm.
He pulled a backpack from a shelf and began filling it. Flashlight, batteries, rain poncho, knife, wool blanket, socks, an extra shirt, matches, and an assortment of canned and packaged foods. He strapped a sleeping bag to the bottom of the pack and slung it over his good shoulder.
He scribbled a note to Louise. After listing the items he had taken, he wrote:
“Don’t worry, there wasn’t another robbery. It’s only me. I’m OK and I’ll find the person that killed Lloyd. I promise. Love you—Billy”
He placed it in the desk drawer beneath a ledger book where only Louise would find it and then left, locking the door behind him.
Chapter 45
Some days are destined to be trouble. Even with no specific clues, a gut-level sense of dread comes with the dawn. The sun paints the morning with its same golden glow as it rises into an identical blue sky as yesterday. The dew forms liquid diamonds on the faces of the flowers, as always. The nocturnal animals hole up for the day and the awakening birds sing their usual songs. Yet, something inside warns that care should be taken.
It was this feeling that greeted Sam when she awoke.
She lay in bed, listening to the birds outside her window. Her mind raced over the events of the past few days. How did she get into the middle of this? Stumbling on to a murder. Breaking into Burt’s lab. Sure the door was unlocked, rather the lock was broken, but B and E was B and E. Becoming confidant to both Billy and Edgar. Raising the ire of Burton Eagan, a man she was sure would do whatever was necessary, including framing an innocent man. Maybe worse.
And what about the creature running around in the mountains? Was it real or merely the figment of a bunch of overactive imaginations? No doubt the thing that killed Lloyd Varney and trampled over her possessed inhuman size and speed, and an odor that was purely animalistic.
And now, this Morgan person. Was he the one that reopened Burt’s lab and performed some rogue animal experiments as Edgar feared?
And how the hell did all this tie together?
She wished Nathan were here instead of somewhere in the Pacific Northwest wilds, chasing Big Foot or whatever the hell he was doing. Of course if he were here, he’d say the killer was Big Foot or something equally outrageous.
Frustrated, she rolled out of bed and climbed into the shower, letting the warm water ease the tension that had crept into her shoulders. After she dressed, she and Alyss went to Mama Rose’s for breakfast. Shelby opted to sleep in since she had stayed up half the night, watching TV in her room.
After a quick muffin and coffee, Sam and Alyss stepped out of Mama Rose’s just as Wade’s truck rolled by. He braked and backed to the curb where they stood.
“Guess you heard Billy escaped last night?” Wade said.
“What?” Sam wasn’t sure why she was surprised. Billy had as much as said he was going to bolt. She had hoped he would reconsider. At least for a day or two until his wound healed somewhat. Men, pigheaded to a fault.
“Picked the lock on his cuffs and jumped out the window.”
“When?” Sam asked.
“Must have been after 3 a.m., according to his nurse. She checked on him every hour up until then. After that she let him sleep until the 7 a.m. change of shift.”
“Now what?” Sam asked.
“I guess we’ll have to hunt him down again.”
“We?”
“Me, Eloy, Burt, Hollis. And Murph's bringing a couple of dogs down.”
“What do Burt and Hollis have to do with this? They aren’t cops.”
“Actually, they are. We have a group we call the Chief’s Posse. A couple dozen of the men around here belong to it.”
“Posse?” Sam said. “Is that what you call it?”
Wade’s eyes narrowed. “With only Eloy and me, sometimes we have to bring in others to help out. Like when we have to track down a dangerous criminal on the run.”
“Come on, Wade,” Sam said. “Billy’s not dangerous and you know it.”
“Don’t look that way to me.”
“You? Or Burt?”
His jaw tightened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Alyss touched Sam’s arm as if to say relax, back off. Sam pulled her arm away and leaned on the door of Wade’s truck, bringing her face close to his.
“It means I know about you and Burt. And I know about Burt’s agenda here. Trying to steal Billy’s land.”
“You’ve been listening to Billy too much.”
“Maybe the State Patrol will see it my way. Maybe they’ll be interested in assuring that Billy gets a fair trial, not a lynching.”
Wade’s eyes turned cold. “Now, don’t go sticking your nose where it don’t belong.”
“What is it with everyone around here?” Sam said. “People threatening each other all the time.”
“I wasn’t threatening you. I was trying to keep you out of trouble.”
“What trouble might that be?”
Wade shook his head. “Some people just have to piss on a electric fence to see if it’s hot.” He shifted the truck into gear. “You’ll have to excuse me, I have a murderer to hunt down.”
With a roar from the engine, the truck lurched away from the curb and down the street.
“What the hell are you doing?” Alyss said. “Wade’s not the kind of person you can push around.”
“Neither am I,” Sam said.
Alyss grabbed her arm. “Sam, slow down. Think about what you’re saying.”
“I know what I’m doing. Burt and Wade and their little confederacy of morons don’t want to capture Billy. They’re going to hunt him down and kill him. Just like they would have done the other day if I hadn’t been there.”
“How do you know that?”
“It’s all they can do. If Billy fin
ds the real killer, Burt loses his chance to cash in and Wade will be in deep shit for his part in the frame.”
“What if Billy is the real killer? No one has seen this mystery creature that supposedly lives in the mountains.”
“I have. He ran right over me. The Kendalls. Shelby. They saw him, too.”
Alyss took in a quick breath at the mention of Shelby’s name. “They saw a bear.”
“No. It wasn’t a bear. It was a big, smelly man-like creature.”
Alyss paled and brought her hand to her chest. “You mean Shelby came face to face with a…?” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Maybe. Probably.”
“Oh, God,” Alyss said. “I never...”
“Let’s go,” Sam said.
“Where?”
“Home. I need to get my Jeep and go after them.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Alyss, I’m not going to let them gun down an innocent man. You know I won’t.”
“But...” Alyss began.
“But nothing. Remember, you wanted me to solve this thing. I may not be able to do that, but I’m damn sure not going to sit by and watch a mob kill Billy.”
*
After reaching Alyss’, Sam called information for the number she needed, and then dialed the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Regional Office in Montrose. She spoke with a junior State Patrol officer named Mac McBride who said he was stuck riding a desk for the weekend and no one else was available. She explained the situation, but he said they were short-handed and couldn’t send any officers until the next day.
“Where’s your Captain?” Sam said.
“He’s up in Redstone. It’s his daughter’s birthday.”
“Can he be reached?”
“Nope. Captain Baker don’t like to be bothered unless it’s an emergency.”
“I think this qualifies,” Sam said. “Just contact your Captain and have him call me as soon as possible.” She gave him the phone number.
She could almost feel his condescending smile over the phone line. After telling her that the CBI didn’t like to stick its nose in local problems unless officially requested, he suggested that she “calm down” and “not get so worked up” and he would have Captain Baker call Chief Wade first thing tomorrow morning.