by Unger, Erin;
Jillian turned in her seat. “It’s the fifth one on the left according to GPS.”
We all stared. Not one, but three, cars lined the front yard of our target trailer, and none of them appeared to be working. I followed the long lines of rust that leaked down the sides of the trailer from the roofline. Had he never painted the outside of it?
I looked at Christopher. “You stay here while we check it out. Keep an eye on anyone coming and going, if you don’t mind.” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a command. “We just don’t want to upset the balance in our favor right now. We want him to talk to us.”
He gave me a nod and a tight smile. I wished I could read his mind right now and try to figure out how we were going to alleviate the awkwardness that now flowed between us since the handholding incident last night. I tried not to breathe in the dusty air as it flowed out from the road where we had parked and shook off the worry. Time to get focused on the case.
We walked through the trailer park, cigarette smoke floating from the porch of the first trailer where a frizzy-haired man sat watching our every move. His white tufts of hair melded with the smoke. I took a mental picture. Who knew if we’d have to come back and interview the majority of the people in the trailer park? He did not wave as most country people did, and I averted my eyes.
At the next couple trailers, there were no cars or signs of life. I took a quick glance through their big bay windows but couldn’t make out much other than a fly trap hanging from the ceiling of one.
Jillian sandwiched herself between us, holding her tablet tight against her chest.
When we reached the fifth trailer, Ava halted us, and I pointed down the yard to the back of the trailer. “Let me get a good look first, and then you can knock on the door.”
I took in all the other trailers to see if anyone was watching me, and then strode into the yard. As I passed the cars, the rust on two of them along with flat tires said they wouldn’t be going anywhere. But the third one was full of fast food wrappers and junk. One seatbelt was cut in two and dangled with ragged ends in the faded red interior of the vehicle. An oil draining container shined its rainbow-colored fluid, leaving its unmistakable odor in the air. I almost tripped over a tire laying on the ground under sheets of yellow, straw-like grass. One window was completely removed, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the trailer where the tail of the curtain blew out in little gusts as if a fan put constant air on it.
At the back of the trailer, I investigated. Nothing. Only more vehicle parts, including a bumper. I peeked around the far side and caught the eye of the neighbor who sat on his porch. He perked up and cocked his head. I tried to give him my most winning smile but when he narrowed his eyes, I was pretty sure he wasn’t buying it.
He pointed a yellowed fingernail at me. “I don’t think my neighbor is going to be too happy to have you back there. If I was you, I wouldn’t mess around with him.”
Sound advice from what I knew of Tony. “Oh, what’s his deal?”
The guy rested each hand on the splintered wood of the Adirondack chair arms where he sat. “He’s a new one out here, and I don’t know much about him, but I’ve seen some pretty nasty looking people coming and going from that trailer since he got here.”
I stepped onto the man’s perfectly manicured yard, careful to avoid a couple of yellow spots where it looked like he’d sprayed weed killer. Better not tread in a place that would incense him considering how perfect he kept his lawn. I waited for him to give me permission to come closer. But he didn’t. “When you say nasty looking people, what do you mean? Dirty, troublemakers…?”
When I looked down the full length of the trailer Ava gave a little wave. Good. She had my back.
The man pulled at his white undershirt. “Oh, I mean some drug heads.”
Trying to school my face, I held in a jolt of excitement. What would Queenie say if she knew this?
“I seen them around town before and no good has ever come of their presence,” he continued. “And before you ask, no, I don’t know their names. I try to stay away from that junk, and my old lady would have my neck if I ever even talked to one of them.”
Did his old lady know any of them?
“And she don’t know them either.”
Could he read minds or what? “If necessary, can you identify them from pictures?”
He tucked his chin to the side and licked his lips before replying, “I’m not the tattling sort.”
Did I detect that he would help if need be? Perhaps. “How long has the new tenant lived here?”
“Ah, since right around the time of the fire in the mountain, I guess. And I’ll be glad when he’s gone.”
Why had Tony moved here around that time? “You ever talk to him about why he moved here?”
His fingers began to tap the arm of his chair. “I told you I ain’t getting into other people’s business. But just so happens he wanted to borrow a couple eggs when he first come. Said he lost his home in the fire. But I never heard of any destroyed houses, only the forest. Course, I kept my mouth shut. He did all the talking. That’s all I know. Are you a cop or something?”
It was a good piece of info to look into. I pulled out my credentials and held it up for him to see. “We’re looking into the murder of Gary Newen.”
Leaning forward, the man ran his hand through his greasy hair and then down the sides of his wrinkled face. “You think he’s involved? I don’t know…but you can keep me out of this one.”
Putting my badge away, I nodded. “We’re only looking for information to help. We’ll keep names out as necessary, no worries. Is there anything else you heard?”
“I said, he didn’t come ’til right after the fire.”
“Well, thanks for your help.” I took out a business card and moved to the bottom step of the porch to hand it to him. “Your name is…?”
“Larry.” He narrowed his eyes and paused to survey me. “Larry Horace.”
I reached as far as I could and handed him the card. He stuffed it into the pocket of his shirt without looking at it and waved me off.
I went back the way I came, looking up to every window as I passed. Did Tony see me? Ava and Jillian met me on the deck. When the feeling that someone was watching me overran my senses, I gazed across the street to a neighbor who stood with arms crossed, staring at us too.
Ava rapped on the door then backed up two steps. When no one answered, she knocked on the door again a little louder. After a third knock, the heavy footfall of someone started toward the door.
Tony blinked at us as he pulled the door open three inches, an indescribable, rotten fruit odor reaching past the doorway. “It’s real early, don’t you think? What you want?”
I moved until my elbow was touching Ava’s. “We had a few questions that came up and were hoping you’d answer them for us.”
Ava’s phone rang, but she silenced it. “Queenie did say she wanted to help, and we figured since we got her permission, you’d be willing to talk to us now.”
He pulled the door open another couple inches, and his exposed, tan, shirtless chest and old jeans with oily spots all over them caught my attention. I looked away as did Ava.
“Hold on a minute.” His grudging tone made me wonder if he was going to return or not. A moment later, he opened the door all the way, revealing a wrinkled shirt he’d thrown on. He ran his hands through his long black hair, but it didn’t help to straighten some of the twisted strands that stuck up from a night of sleep.
As if in an entourage, we all moved into his home together. There’d be no problem grabbing my gun if I had to.
Jillian pulled images of the paperwork up on her tablet and held it out to him. Tony reached for the device, but she pulled it back enough that he couldn’t take it from her. “This company here, sells a variety of things, one of which is home remedies and herbal treatments. Do you work for this company?”
First, he squinted and then he pulled back a hair. “It’s not like a company wh
ere you go to work for them. It’s like a company where you order the products wholesale and then sell them at the suggested rates. I bought lots of stuff from them, but I can’t say that this time I bought those items. What does this have to do with anything?”
Jillian touched the screen with her finger. “Please take a closer look and tell us if these medications were sold by you to Gary Newen. Note the date, please.”
He gave her a sharp stare. “How do you expect me to remember a specific date? I don’t know. There’s more than one person from the tribe who sells those items.”
Jillian pushed the tablet a bit closer to him and cocked her head. He looked from one to the other and bit the inner side of his cheek. “I can’t say for sure. I guess I have sold him some of these items in the past. If I remember correctly, Gary sold these pretty well and came back to buy several more boxes last year.”
I studied the dark room, the only light coming from the broken-out window. The dank odor that filled the room didn’t seem to emanate from any one spot, probably a permanent part of the trampled carpet. The sparse furniture held loads of clothes that smelled dirty. And the walls were empty except for a blanket with a picture on it that dangled from two nails and a small shelf with an incense burner.
Ava shifted to her other foot. “What other kinds of herbs did you sell him?”
He splayed out his hands. “He ordered so many different ones I can’t say for sure what all of them were. I don’t keep that kind of paperwork hanging around here or anywhere else for that matter.”
“Want to try and guess—please? How about St. John’s Wort?”
He puffed out his chest and held up his index finger. “Listen, unless you have a warrant, don’t come up in here and demand things from me.”
So he wasn’t going to answer. I wanted to keep the situation calm. “How long have you been in this trailer park?”
He shifted his gaze to me. “A few months. What does it matter to you?”
“Is it true your place burned in the mountain fire?”
He stopped short. “Yeah.” His hand went to his mouth, and his gaze bounced between Ava and me.
Would it be too much of a gamble for me to push? I softened my tone. “We can imagine how terrible that would be to lose your home. But we never found a report in the news that any houses were lost during that fire.”
“Mine was. Someone who doesn’t respect the land started that fire because they didn’t check behind themselves to make sure they put out a campfire or something. And now my land is barren, and I don’t have a thing to show for it.”
“No insurance policy?”
He narrowed his eyes. “My people rely on each other. We don’t need any insurance policy to help us.”
Then why complain about not having anything left? And maybe he hadn’t stayed in an actual home. Perhaps it was an outbuilding or camper. I toyed with the corner of my shirt. What brought him to this trailer park? “How did you hear about this place? You staying with friends or something?”
“No.” And now he was down to one-word answers.
Jillian moved behind us. “There weren’t any land records in your name. How do you explain the loss of property?”
He balked.
I tried to study his face now that my eyes had adjusted to the gray light in the room. His bloodshot eyes were enough to make me pretty sure there was some drug use recently. “Where exactly were you living when you lost your home?”
He hovered a little closer to me, his menacing posture making me want to push back, but I kept my easy stance, trying to be the least threatening as possible. It didn’t help. He growled, “We’re done with this conversation. You can get out now. It seems like all you women are doing is causing trouble with my chief, the tribe, and me. We don’t need you here. Get the message and go.”
Did he mean more than leaving the trailer? Did he mean leave the town? Should we take it as a threat?
Jillian went out the door before I responded. And Ava wasn’t far behind her. She took my arm and pulled me outside to the deck before the door slammed and the air whooshed past my legs. “We’re never going to get anywhere with him.”
Ava marched off the deck and back to the roadway. “At this point, you’re right, not without the police at our side with a warrant.”
Tapping the screen on her tablet, Jillian shook her head. “That is an affirmative. I’m surprised he let us in anyway.”
As we headed down the dusty road, someone cleared their throat. I checked all the trailers around us and stopped Ava with my hand on her arm.
The woman who had been watching us from across the street motioned for us to join her. She backed into the shadows of her porch out of sight. “Hey, come over here. Let me talk at you a minute.”
Looking both ways for traffic, all three of us hurried over and climbed the porch steps.
“You shouldn’t go over there. That’s not a safe place.”
I laughed. “You’re not the first person to tell us so. But don’t worry. We can protect ourselves if we need to.”
The latticework surrounding the upper part of the porch prevented anyone from seeing us. As the cool breeze of an exterior fan blew my hair out of my face, I thanked God for His little mercies. The shadowed porch was a welcome habitation.
The woman stuck out her hand. “I’m Rena.”
After introductions, Rena moved away from the porch doorway. “So you know, he’s got all kinds of drug lords over there at night. Drives me crazy and makes it hard for my kids to sleep with all that noise when those cars come buzzing up the road spitting rocks and revving engines. I’m sure, as Larry’s told you, we’ll all be glad when that guy is gone.”
“He did tell me the same thing.”
Rena looked at her hot pink manicured nails. “I heard he could be involved in the mountain fire.”
A shot of adrenaline hit me. No one had ever mentioned Tony in connection with the fire even though we’d suspected it. “Who told you?”
“Everybody here’s been talking about it. I’m not sure who started it, but everybody knows he had something to do with it. It started on his grampy’s land.”
Ava eyed me, and I raised an eyebrow. Bam. Connection made. “His grandfather is Albert Slaiger?”
“I believe that’s what I heard.” She cocked her head and perched her chin on her hand. “Let me think about this.” She paused. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Jillian kept looking through the small squares of the latticework to the trailer across the street. A revving car left the trailer park, and she looked at us then pointed down the road. “There he goes.” Once the car pulled away out of sight, Jillian’s shoulders lowered and her back slacked a little more. “He was living on the same land as his grandfather? He claimed his dwelling had been burned down, but the newspapers never said anything about any homes being lost.”
Rena motioned for us all to sit on the wicker loveseat on the porch. She took the matching chair at the far end with big red tropical flowers covering the pillows and seat cushions. Could we all squeeze onto it? “I don’t know anything about that.”
I remained standing while the other two took a seat.
Rena began to stand. “Would you like a drink?”
Ava waved her back to her seat. “We don’t want to bother. We have to leave in a minute, and we don’t want to intrude.”
“If you’re sure.” She leaned a little closer. “I tried to warn the landlord about Tony, but he wouldn’t listen. Said that trailer’s been empty too long, and he needed to get rent on it.”
My attention went straight back to Tony’s trailer as Ava and Jillian talked with the blonde, permed woman. As I inched to the top of the stairs, the neighbor I’d talked to before stared at me and gave a short wave. I crossed my arms and moved back to my partners. “Seems like some of you out here have an eye for what’s going on. Can you tell us more about who visits Tony?”
She snapped her fingernail back and forth with her thumbnail. “They almo
st always come and go at night when I can’t see anybody’s faces. Don’t think I haven’t tried, because I wanted to call the cops on him countless times, and one time I did, but they said without any noise violation or something they wouldn’t waste their time coming out here because he has people coming and going. But I can tell you William Hicks is there all the time. And another guy I don’t know. Seen him around town now and then, but that’s the best I can give you.”
Ava ignored a text that beeped on her phone. Probably Cory. “Can you describe him to us?”
She screwed up her face. “There again, like I keep saying, it’s usually so dark I can’t really make them all out. Course if you talk to the landlord and get him to fix that street lamp, maybe I’d be able to answer all your questions. But I can say he was an older man, graying hair. He’s of the Native American persuasion. Very thin.”
Rena talked for another five minutes, but none of that information was useful or interesting to me. I was glad when Ava finally stood and handed a business card to the woman so we could leave. “Please, call us if there’s anything else that comes to mind. Or if you see anything new.”
As much as I did not want to admit it, we might have to come back and dig around in Rena’s brain for more information.
33
Christopher
I stared into the trees and fields around Jillian’s SUV, the quiet of the day more disturbing than welcome. Since kids were out of school for the summer, I would have expected children to run and play everywhere not for dead calm to keep every lawn hostage. Ava waited at the road in front of a dumpy trailer. Jillian shifted from foot to foot behind her and kept looking at her tablet screen. But Shauna was somewhere out of view.