Jake and I watched Cliff disappear through the slot.
“What were they doing?” Jake asked.
“Just talking, wondering about Derek, acting a little too gleeful about his death. Come on, let’s have a seat over there and wait for Cliff. Maybe he’ll tell us more.”
Jake and I took a seat on a bench at the end of the boardwalk. We probably wouldn’t be noticed by the women as they exited the barn, but if they did happen to look our direction our attempt to be casual and blend in with the scenery had a fifty-fifty chance of being convincing.
“They were talking about Derek?” Jake asked as we sat. “As in, they or ‘she’ killed him and they were reliving their evil deed?”
“Not really their evil deed. Someone else’s. Maybe.”
“So, listening for another minute would have been better than calling Cliff right away?” Jake said.
“Probably, but I got spooked.”
“I see. That spooked you? Not the ghosts or anything?” Jake said.
“So what did your camera capture?” I smiled.
“Oh.” He opened the side screen and hit the power button. A second later and after hitting some more buttons, he said, “Not one thing.”
“Really?”
“I don’t think so.” He continued to push and scroll through things.
“That’s disappointing.”
“Very.”
When he’d had enough, he closed the screen and set the camera on the bench.
“I think I’m done with it. It’s a good thing it captured you and Jerome at the bakery. At least I know all this stuff is real, not a figment of your imagination.”
“You saw Sally briefly.”
“I did, but if that was all I had to go on, I’d wonder if we were both loopy.”
“I told Teddy,” I said.
“You did? How did that go?”
“Fine. He’s not doubtful, but that’s only because he wants to be supportive. I told him after our incident outside Frankland. If something had happened to us and someone had come upon our bodies, it would have been unexplainable and beyond bizarre. I wanted Teddy to understand that there are forces at work that might make things hard to understand but that neither you nor I, nor Gram for that matter, are interested in hurting ourselves on purpose.”
“Huh. I guess I never thought about that much. Telling Teddy was the right thing to do. Want to tell me what happened behind the barn?”
“Sure.”
I told Jake about Robert and Elvis, and Justice and Grace. I told him that Robert was sure that he killed Justice, but he still wasn’t sure what happened to Grace. Jake concurred that Justice must have somehow hurt Grace, or worse, which was the reason Robert killed him. It wasn’t a difficult conclusion to make, but the small pieces that were missing still left too many questions.
“And Elvis kissed me,” I said.
“He was possessed by Jerome at the time?”
“Yes.”
“Gracious, Betts, if we’re ever sexist enough to have a kissing booth attraction on the boardwalk, I know who should do the work.”
“I’m more popular than I could have ever predicted.”
Jake laughed. “You’ve always been popular. You just mostly ignored it.”
Turning our attention back to the barn, Cliff, Ridley, and Wendy exited one at a time through the slot. From our vantage point, we couldn’t hear their conversation but the women’s demeanor was uncomfortable and apologetic. Cliff extended his hand, and Wendy placed a key in it. He locked the padlock and then put the key in his pocket. Wendy and Ridley exchanged a look and then Wendy said something to Cliff. He listened patiently but then shook his head. The women seemed disappointed, but they took their leave together, crossing the street and moving toward Ridley’s Explorer, which was parked right around the corner. They didn’t even look our direction.
Cliff walked over and joined us on the bench, sitting at the end, keeping Jake in between the two of us.
“How’d it go?” I asked.
“They claim they don’t know who the killer is and weren’t speculating, but I could tell they were lying about that. They stole the key from Bunny,” Cliff said. “It was sitting on the counter by the cash register. It has a tag on it.” Cliff took out the key and showed it to us. It did have a tag with one handwritten word on it. Barn.
“They just took it?” Jake asked.
“Yep. They didn’t have plans to steal it, but they saw it sitting there and took it. They planned to return it after they had a look around.”
“Let me guess. You’re going to return it and tell Bunny what happened,” Jake said.
“That’s probably what I’ll do. The women didn’t mean any harm, I don’t think. They were trespassing, but they weren’t causing any damage to anything that I could see. I might just go put it back on the counter and tell Bunny I found it. We’ll see.”
“You don’t think one of them killed Derek?” I said. I knew this because if he did he would have arrested them for something or taken them to the station for more questioning.
“No, not at all, but, honestly, that’s just instinct at this moment.”
I replayed the brief few moments I’d overheard, and then I leaned forward and inspected Cliff around Jake. He was looking at the barn, but his forehead was creased in concentration.
“What’s up, Cliff?” I said when he fell silent.
He blinked and looked at me. “I think we’ve gone the wrong direction when it comes to Derek’s murder. We’ve missed something big that might be coming clearer.”
“From what I just told you?”
“Care to share what that is?” Jake said.
“No,” Cliff said with a smile.
“Didn’t think so. Betts and I have some research to do. Come along when you can,” he said to me as he stood and headed down the boardwalk, allowing Cliff and I to scoot a little closer together. “I’ll get the archive room warmed up.”
“I’ll be right there,” I said.
Jake wasn’t leaving us alone so we could have a romantic moment. We’d had plenty of romantic moments with Jake in the vicinity. I knew he was hoping that Cliff would share something with me that he wouldn’t with Jake. I didn’t think it would work, but I understood and appreciated the effort.
“Jake wants me to tell you a secret that he thinks you’ll tell him when you join him in the archives,” Cliff said.
“He tried to be subtle,” I said.
Cliff laughed. “We’ve known each other a long time. It would have been difficult not to catch that one.”
“So, what’d’ya say? Got something you want to tell me?”
“Yeah. I love you,” he said, catching me so totally off guard that I about fell off the bench.
We’d expressed those sentiments when we were teenagers, and many times during our relationship revival, even though we were both more about actions than words. But neither of us had said it much lately, and it suddenly felt kind of new. I liked it.
“I love you, too,” I said. Honestly, I was surprised at how there was not one tiny note of hesitation in my voice. And then I was somewhat horrified that I’d been surprised.
“Good. I knew you did, but it was nice to hear it again,” Cliff said. “Now, as for Derek’s ex-wives, more specifically the two who were in the barn, they know something they aren’t telling. I have no doubt, but I also don’t know how to get more information out of them.”
“I know they’re scared of Lynn,” I said.
“Yes, they’re all scared of Lynn, so she knows something that could make their lives miserable. Neither Jim nor I have any idea what that could be, or, frankly, why they’re so genuinely scared. Lynn can be an annoying person, but I don’t think she’s truly capable of causing harm. She’s cried wolf too often.”
“There must s
omething she’s holding over them, like something emotional or financial,” I said.
“Yes, but . . .” Cliff sat up straighter on the bench.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“Just talking to you has made me think of everything differently, from another angle. That one missing piece, maybe,” he said.
“I have no idea what I did to get you this excited, but I like it.” I smiled.
Cliff lifted an eyebrow. “Why can’t it be something both emotional and financial?”
“I bet it can be.”
“Maybe it is. I need to go talk to Jim.”
Cliff leaned toward me. I thought it would be a quick kiss, but after a few seconds I thought about asking if we should maybe just call it an evening and get a room somewhere.
Unfortunately, he pulled back. “Gotta go, but I will see you soon. Be at your house later?”
“I will. I hope you will, too.”
Cliff jogged back to the police station. I watched and enjoyed the view of his retreat.
“Jake was right, these lips are popular lately,” I said to myself.
I did my own quick jog to Jake’s place, let myself inside the open front doors, and then through the doors that led to the back.
“Did he tell you anything?” Jake said. “I left so he’d tell you a secret.”
“No, but thanks for leaving. He kissed me like I haven’t been kissed in a long time.”
“That’s really not something I need to hear about, but considering you’re locking lips with every man you’re meeting these days, kisses are old news.”
“Okay, Jake, we need to look at some editions of the Noose in 1888. Let’s go August fifteenth through August twentieth just to get a good span. I want to see if there was any news about Justice Adams or Grace. Maybe their murders made the news, or their bodies, I mean. If they’d been identified, I think you’d know the stories.”
“That’s one of our easier searches.” Jake rolled his chair to his computer and started typing.
The Noose was never a big enough paper to microfiche all its old copies, but Jake had tediously taken the time to archive as many as possible by taking pictures of the original copies that were currently held together by giant hard bindings and some string in the Noose’s back office. He’d gotten as far back as 1858. It was impressive, and I’d heard that a software company had contacted him for help in creating a program that would aid other papers in similar situations. He wouldn’t talk about the details.
“Here we go. Let me just print out the first few pages and we’ll see where that takes us.”
Another moment later, the printer came to a gentle stop and Jake grabbed the papers from its tray. He spread them out on the table.
“Let’s see. We had a hanging,” he said as he peered at the page. “It probably only made the news because it was successful. The rope did not break.”
“That would have been news,” I said.
“Three cows got loose from a local farm. Apparently, they caused quite the commotion downtown.”
“Okay,” I said. I was looking at the second sheet, but the news was similar to what Jake had mentioned. There’d been a bar brawl and a gunfight. Typical day in Broken Rope.
But on the third page in an article dated August eighteenth, I found something.
The small headline said: Potential Disturbance Reported Behind the Train Depot. Police Seek Answers.
“Jake, here.” I pointed at the small article.
Jake read the rest of it aloud: “Mrs. Truman Oliphant reported that she thought she heard screams last night coming from the field behind the train depot. She sent Mr. Truman out to investigate, but he did not find a disturbance. Police followed up with a search of the scene and reported that they discovered what might be blood. They are asking for the public’s help in determining if someone was hurt.”
“That’s it?” I said when he didn’t say more.
“That’s it for that day,” Jake said. “More might have happened later. I can look.” He went back to the computer.
“Another ‘almost there,’” I said.
“Well, yes, but we’re a little closer than we were a few minutes ago.”
“My ever optimistic friend.”
“A quick scan at the next few days isn’t showing me anything, but we can look closely at the weeks following the incident. Hang on.” He stifled a yawn.
He would work at this all night if I asked him to. It wasn’t fair. “Not tonight, Jake. I’ve taken up more of your time than I should have. Maybe tomorrow if you have time.”
“Sure? Okay. Hey, Betts, are you all right?” He looked at me like he might check my forehead for fever again.
“I’m great. Why?”
“Lots going on.”
“No more than what’s becoming usual.”
“Still.”
I looked at my concerned friend. “You know what, I’m great, Jake. Maybe better than I have been for a long time. There was something about telling Teddy about the ghosts that really helped. It was like I shrugged some of the burden off on him, even though I know I truly didn’t. He can’t see or communicate with them. I get why Gram was pleased to have me aboard the ghost train, so to speak.”
“So to speak.” Jake smiled patiently. He didn’t need to tell me that I was speaking a little too quickly or with too high a pitch.
I cleared my throat. “I think I’m going to go home and get some rest.”
“Good plan. Me too.” Jake pushed the power button on his computer.
Chapter 20
The good news was that Cliff was on his way over at some point. The bad news, it turned out, was that Cliff was on his way over at some point. He wouldn’t be too bothered by the person sitting on my front porch, but since he’d witnessed us kissing recently, it might put a crimp in the evening.
“Paul. Hi,” I said as I got out of the Nova. I parked on the street in front of my house more often than in the narrow driveway.
“Hey, Betts. Don’t worry, I’m not going to attack,” he said. He tried to sound humorous, but it was easy to hear his embarrassment.
“I’m not worried. What’s up? Have you been here long?”
“Not too long,” he said. “When you didn’t answer the door, I wasn’t sure if I should call you or not. I decided to just wait and see if you showed up. And here you are.”
“Here I am.” The last time I’d checked the clock on my phone, it had been after ten. I didn’t want to be rude and check it in front of Paul. Surely he realized how late it was.
I climbed the stairs and sat down next to him on the porch. I didn’t want to invite him in and it didn’t seem like something he expected. He smiled, not totally uncomfortably, in my direction and then scooted over a little to give me more room.
“I’m not here to throw myself at you, though I’d like to apologize one more time for the way I behaved. I’m sorry.”
“No need. All is well. What’s up?” I asked again.
“I was wondering if you heard something the day before Derek was killed. We were all in the barn, and I wasn’t sure if I heard it correctly. I wanted to talk to someone else to confirm before I went to the police. I trust you the most.”
“What do you think you heard?”
Paul nodded. “I have to set the stage a little. We were all there. It was Sunday but remember that Roy wanted to show us how he tightened the brakes. We needed to get a quick feel for them before we took out any tourists.”
“Yes, I remember,” I said, noting silently to myself that this was something I’d been thinking about earlier but hadn’t been able to pinpoint. I knew that Roy had recently done something with the brakes, but I hadn’t been able to remember exactly when. I was suddenly pretty sure these moments were what my mind had been searching for. Also, hadn’t he dropped
a wrench or two at the morning meeting at the cooking school? I was pretty sure he had, and then he’d seemed puzzled as he put them away. I decided I should mention those moments to Cliff. “In fact, I’ve thought about that day in case something happened that might be important, but I didn’t remember anything.”
“I didn’t at first either, and what I remember is pretty small but it keeps coming back to me now.”
“What?”
“Roy climbed up onto the first Trigger and was about to demonstrate for us, right?”
“Got it. I remember that now.”
“Just as he got up there, remember the clanging noise behind the Trigger? We all turned and Roy asked if everything was okay?”
“Sure, but it was all pretty quick.”
“Exactly. Well, then Todd stood up straight and said that he’d knocked a tool off the back end of the Trigger, but that he’d put it away in the toolbox when Roy was done with the demonstration.”
Honestly, I didn’t remember that part well. I’d been next to Lynn and April and they were chatting about something; my focus was on them, though currently I couldn’t remember what they’d been talking about either. And, really, Roy hadn’t turned to see if everything was okay so much as just asked the question over his shoulder quickly and then moved on to the next step of the demonstration without waiting for an answer. There’d been no figurative spotlight on Todd as he stood back up and proclaimed that he had the tool. It had all just been a part of the moment, a small, blended part.
“That’s a little murky to me,” I said.
“I know; me too. The other women were on your one side and I was on your other side. I was . . . well, my thoughts were distracted from the demonstration. But now that a few days have passed, that moment keeps coming back to me. Was that a wrench?”
“Even if it was, so what?” I said.
“What if Todd didn’t put it back? What if it was the wrench that killed Derek and hurt you?”
“Even if it was, Todd probably did exactly what he said he did, and put it back later. Anyone could have grabbed it.”
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