Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction

by Amy Metz

  John knelt down and slowly ran his fingers along the top edges of the trunk. It had a secret compartment that would open once a trigger spot was pressed. The trick was to find that one very subtle, well-disguised spot—so subtle, one couldn’t find it by sight. He closed his eyes and felt for a slight fingertip-sized depression. Once the small indentation was found, he pressed his finger into it and heard the faint sound of the spring releasing.

  After unlocking the trunk and raising the lid so the side panel could lift upward, he bent down at the side of the trunk, where the released spring had raised the side panel ever so slightly. Using his pocketknife to make room for his fingers to get under the panel, he slid it up, revealing tiers of small drawers, and one narrow but deep pocket at the bottom of the trunk, hidden to the eye by its feet. He pulled his revolver out of the deepest space, placed it in his suit coat pocket, and put the letter to Maye in one of the small drawers.

  Pushing the drawer back in and sliding the side panel down, he loaded the spring in place. Locking the trunk back, he thought what a mistake he might have made in never telling anyone about the hidden compartments. He’d kept his secret hiding place to himself because he didn’t want to chance anyone but him finding his gun. I’ll have to find a way to tell her about it now, so she’ll know to look here just in case I don’t return home.

  He sat there for a long time, just staring at the key.

  [ July 2010 ]

  Jack and Tess carried the trunk into her house and sat it on the floor of her living room. Suddenly they could hear the roar of rain hitting the house. Tess and Ezzie went to the window.

  “We got in here just in time. Look at it out there! It’s really coming down in sheets.”

  “Good,” Jack said. “It's been so hot and dry, you could blow dust out of the rain gauge.”

  Ezzie was restless with the storm and went running from window to window.

  Tess joined Jack on the carpet in front of the trunk. “Do you really think there’s a secret compartment in this trunk?”

  “I do. When I researched these Victorian trunks for my book Victory Days, I found out they often had numerous compartments, ranging from basic to complex. A basic trunk was usually comprised of a hatbox, a shirt compartment, a coin box, and a document box. A complex trunk, however, could have several hat and shirt compartments, a coin box, several document boxes and a secret compartment. The trunks were strategically designed so that no one would know of a hidden compartment’s existence except for the owner. It made it safer when traveling.”

  Jack studied the trunk for several minutes in silence. He looked it over top to bottom. They’d taken everything out of it except for some tissue paper on a shelf and left the contents at Lou’s. He took the shelf and paper out, laying them on the floor. Ezzie inched over, took the tissue paper and began shredding it.

  He studied the inside of the trunk, looking for a false bottom, then he sat back, momentarily perplexed.

  “What’s wrong?” Tess asked.

  He reached for her and lay back on the floor, pulling her on top of him as he went. “I just need some fortification,” he said, kissing her.

  She looked at him in a shocked and strange way.

  “ForTification,” he said quickly. “Although the other could be arranged.” He flicked an imaginary cigar in the air and wagged his brows.

  After several minutes of kissing, laughing and rolling around on the floor, Jack suddenly froze.

  “What is it?” Tess asked.

  “I just remembered somethin’. Hidden compartments often have trigger spots that can’t easily be detected.”

  He sat up, closed and locked the trunk, and began running his fingers over the top of it. Tess sat up, watching intently.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before. Damn if you aren’t some kind of distraction.” His smile told her he wasn’t entirely kidding.

  “Well, seeing how you just remembered something vital after kissing me, I’d say I’m a good distraction.”

  “That you are, Mary T. That you are.” His eyes sparkled at her.

  Jack shut his eyes. “I remember reading the Braille method is the best way to find the hidden trigger point. It’s often so subtle it isn’t any bigger than an almost invisible depression. He continued slowly running his fingers over the surface of the trunk. At last, he stopped and looked up at Tess with excitement.

  “I see something in your eyes. You found it, didn’t you?”

  He nodded. “The most intricate designs have an end that slides up, revealing drawers concealed in the false bottom. Because of the shallowness of the secret drawers, the hidden compartment could easily pass unnoticed. Once you find the trigger point,” he took Tess’s fingertip, placed it on the trunk, and pushed down, hearing a soft click, “you can pull the side panel up.”

  Jack put the tip of his pocketknife under the small crack in the side of the trunk. “And voila.” Pulling the wooden side panel straight up, he proudly announced, “Behold, the secret compartment.” He slid three long, shallow drawers out, revealing a single sheet of paper in one of them.

  Pulling the letter out of the drawer, and with awe in his eyes and voice, he said, “Well, I'll be dipped in peanut butter! Would you looka here.”

  Tess squealed, then scurried around behind him so she could read the letter over his shoulder. Mid-way through, she gasped, and splayed her hand over her mouth. The room was silent except for the sound of a hard rain, the rumble of thunder, and the tearing of tissue paper.

  My beloved Maye,

  If you are reading this, I must be dead. I’m so sorry darlin’, I didn’t want to hurt you and the children, I just wanted to find the truth and have justice reign. Please take this letter to Bug, and do not show or discuss it with anyone else. As you are now sadly all too aware, this is serious business.

  I have had thoughts of Nate Hunter’s involvement in the bank robbery for some time now, because of these reasons:

  1) He lowered the window shade on the day of the robbery about two minutes before the bandits entered the bank, although it didn’t register with me until later. This was strange, because not only has that shade never been raised or lowered in the twelve years of my employment at the bank, there also was no cause to lower it. The sun was not shining into that window. I believe Hunter was signaling his cohorts that the time was right for them to begin the robbery.

  2) The robbers’ choice to take Nate hostage instead of Tallulah was a peculiar one. Why take a big man, when you could take a small woman?

  3) Nate didn’t seem to be shaken up when he came back to the bank after the robbers let him go. He also couldn’t provide any details about the robbers, their car, or which way they were headed. Or was it that he wouldn’t provide those details?

  5) At first he was wishy-washy about identifying the robbers.

  6) He’s made some peculiar purchases since the robbery that seem out of bounds on his salary.

  And then tonight after closing time, everyone had gone home except for Nate and me. As he closed the vault to the safe deposit area, I saw him stuffing a wad of bills into his pocket. I questioned him, and he threatened me. Then he offered me a cut of the bank robbery money to keep quiet. I went along with him, and told him I needed more—some from each of the bandits. Once I find out who they all are, I’ll take the money and the information to Bug. For now, the money Nate gave me is in the floorboard behind my desk at the bank. If something should happen to me, tell Bug to look there, and show him this letter.

  I felt the need to leave this account of my suspicions. I can’t tell anyone else, for fear I’ll put them in danger. I pray to God this all ends peacefully and you will never have to read this letter.

  Your loving husband,

  John

  “Holy cow,” Tess said, after she’d finished reading. She shook Jack’s shoulder with excitement. “It was Nate Hunter. Jack! We’ve found it! It was Nate Hunter!”

  They both looked at the letter again, and
reread the entire page.

  Suddenly, the room went dark. They both froze. Ezzie whined and moved in between them. Tess reached for Jack.

  “Jack . . . “

  “It’s okay, Boo. It’s just the storm.” As he finished his sentence, the lights came back on.

  “Whew. I’ve been watching too many movies.” Tess laughed nervously.

  “There’s one problem now, Mary T.”

  “I know. Ezzie made a mess with the tissue paper.” She looked across the room to the carpet littered with shreds of tissue paper. “She had quite a fun time though, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, but that’s not what I meant. Our big problem is we don’t know who’s related to Nate Hunter.” Jack looked at his watch. “Twelve thirty. It’s too late to call Martha Maye or Lou, isn’t it?”

  “I’d say so. Let me get my lap top, though. We can look online and see if we can find anything on one of the genealogy sites.”

  Tess opened her laptop, and tried to log on to the Internet. “Hmm . . . that’s weird. My Internet is down.”

  “I’ll bet it’s the rain. It’s happened before. When the lights tripped a minute ago, somethin’ probably happened with the phone lines, too.” He went to the cordless phone across the room. “Yep. It’s dead.”

  “Well, there’s no reason why this can’t wait until tomorrow morning. Everyone assumes the culprit was Tank Marshall. With him out of the way, whoever’s responsible for all of this probably thinks we’re satisfied the case has been solved. Tomorrow morning we’ll talk to Martha Maye and Lou. If they don’t know who’s related to Nate Hunter, we’ll find somebody in town who does know.”

  Jack went back to the trunk, looking one more time for anything else that might be hidden. Then he put the letter back in the compartment and closed it and the trunk lid, putting the key on top. Tess got up and walked to him, wrapping her arms around him.

  “Tess, I can’t believe you’re not itching to clean up that mess.” His eyes pointed to Ezzie’s tissue paper mess.

  “Well, I’ve never had a Vernon in my life.”

  He smiled and kissed her. Ezzie wagged her tail, her whole bottom moving along with it.

  * * *

  The next morning, Tess had just finished getting dressed when her doorbell rang. Jack had said he’d be by to pick her up around nine o’clock, so she assumed he was at the door.

  “You’re earl—” she stopped when she saw the intimidating men at her door and immediately tried to close it, but Willy and his burly friend were too fast for her. They pushed their way in, and shut the door behind them.

  He Put The 'E' In Ig-nernt

  ignernt: adjective ig-ner-uhnt ignorant

  He put the ‘e’ in ignernt.

  [ July 2010 ]

  “Go close the curtains,” Willy ordered the other man, pushing Tess into the den.

  “Willy, what do you think you’re doing?” Tess demanded.

  “Tying up loose ends.” He looked at the trunk sitting on her living room floor. He took the key off the top and opened it.

  “Looka here, Joe Bob,” Willy said. “Look at this nice big trunk. Are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”

  “Uh . . . what are you thinkin’?”

  “Joe Bob, I swear you put the 'e' in ig-nernt.” Willy threw him some rope. “Tie her up,” he barked. “She's goin' in the trunk.”

  “You? You’re not serious.” Tess snickered. “You can’t be the one who’s been behind all the shenanigans.” She began laughing. He moved toward her while tearing off a piece of duct tape with his teeth.

  “Hold her still,” he told Joe Bob. He roughly plastered the tape over her mouth. He was standing so close to her, she could smell coffee and cigarettes on his breath. He smoothed the tape over her cheek and let his hand linger on her face. He let it trail down her neck, leering at her, as she struggled to get free.

  “Mmm, mmm, Doll. You and me coulda had us a good time. Might still have time for that.” His smile made her shiver.

  Joe Bob finished tying her hands together. “C’mon, Willy, we gotta move it. The boss said get her PDQ.”

  Willy looked confused. “Huh?”

  Tess let out a muffled laugh. Even I know that one.

  Willy looked blankly from Joe Bob to Tess. In a tone that suggested he couldn’t be any more stupid, Joe Bob said, “Pretty Dern Quick. Get it?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I knew that.” He cleared his throat. “You got her hands tied good and tight?”

  Joe Bob tugged on the rope around her hands tied in the back. “Yep.”

  “Head or tail?” Willy sneered.

  “Huh?” It was Joe Bob’s turn to be confused.

  “Aw, crap. Nemmine. I’ll get her head and her tail.” With that, Willy picked up Tess, fireman-style, and carried her to the trunk. Tess kicked and squirmed, but he just laughed as he held on tighter. She kicked harder, and Joe Bob took hold of her legs; together they put her into the trunk and tried to shut the lid.

  “Gad night a livin’,” Willy cursed. “We’re gonna have to undo her hands. We can’t close the lid unless we can get her to curl up into a little ball. She won’t be goin’ anywhere anyway, once the lid is shut and locked. Gwon, untie her.”

  Joe Bob untied Tess’s hands and pushed her head down into the trunk. It was a tight fit, but she was small enough and the trunk was big enough for it to just work out. As soon as they closed the lid, she pulled the tape off of her mouth.

  She could feel the trunk being picked up and could hear the men talking.

  BUMP. They must've run into a wall or something. Bunch of bumbling idiots.

  She felt a jiggling sensation, and she could tell they were walking. Then she felt herself being lowered and dropped, and then seconds later being picked back up. What are they going to do to me? She could see daylight through a small crack in the trunk. Who’s behind this? She felt a sliding motion and figured they were loading her into a vehicle of some kind. Where are they taking me? Her mind was racing. What will they do to me? Her breathing was heavy. Will Jack find me in time? It was so hot inside the trunk she had to breathe through her mouth, but exhaling made it hotter.

  She heard Willy say, “Damnation.” Then she heard a car door and someone else’s voice.

  “Willy? What in tarnation are you doin’ here?” a woman’s voice said.

  Tess tried to slow her breathing and strained to hear what was being said.

  “And where you goin’ with my mama’s trunk?”

  “Help!” Tess screamed.

  “What's that noise? What are you—” She heard Martha Maye scream, then heard movement, like a scuffle.

  Martha Maye! Oh no.

  “Hey!” she screamed.

  The tailgate creaked. A heavy thud landed right next to her. Then there was darkness. Doors slammed shut. The truck started and began moving.

  * * *

  When Jack arrived at the police station, neither Skeeter nor Hank were there.

  “Do you know if they got any information back on the little matter they were looking into?” he asked Bernadette.

  “Hey, Jack.” She sidled up to him. “They said if you came by to tell you, um . . . “ She leaned over her desk and picked up a Post-It note. “They said to tell you the test was pos’tive, whatever that means, and they’ve gone back out to try to gather more evidence. That answer your question, sugar britches?”

  “It sure does, thanks.” He headed toward the door.

  “You’re not pregnant, are ya?” Burnadette laughed.

  “Don’t think so,” he said over his shoulder, running toward the parking lot.

  Jack hurried to his truck. “The donuts will have to wait, Ezzie. We need to get to Tess’s house. This is getting curiouser and curiouser.” He pushed his foot on the accelerator. She stuck her head out the window, nose high in the air, ears flapping like a flag in a stiff breeze. “We gotta go and pick up Tess. I want to talk to Lou as soon as we can. And I don’t want Tess outta my sight until we find out
who’s behind this. Although, I reckon even then I won’t want her outta my sight.”

  He pulled into Tess’s driveway, and Ezzie trotted beside him to the door. He knocked and tried the knob, but it was locked. He waited. He knocked again. “Where is she, girl?” She cocked her head at him. He stepped off the front porch and walked toward the side of the house. And then he noticed it.

  “Oh no.” Dread enveloped him. “The drapes are closed.”

  Wound Up Like A Cheap Alarm Clock

  kin: noun kin family

  You got any kin around these parts?

  kin: noun kin can

  Kin I go up to the store for a spell?

  [ July 2010 ]

  Jack broke the glass of a windowpane in Tess’s kitchen door, reached through and unlocked it, racing through the house, searching and calling for her. “Tess!”

  She was nowhere to be found. He glanced into the den on his way back down the stairs and saw the trunk was missing. Oh no. There’s no way she could move that herself.

  Racing back out the door, he yelled, “Ezzie, stay put. And don’t eat anything.”

  He checked the garage. “Damn. Still there. This isn’t good.”

  After a frantic drive through town, which yielded nothing suspicious, Jack stopped at the bookstore to talk to Lou. He’d called John Ed to report Tess missing, and John Ed promised to get the whole police force looking for her. Even the chief sounded alarmed.

  Pickle was outside the store sweeping the sidewalk as Jack stalked toward him. “You!” Jack said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him inside the store, “Get your butt in here.”