by Mary Hiker
“What?” Tonya exclaimed and grabbed Gunner’s collar tight. “I’ve never even been inside his house!”
“Good try,” the male deputy said and pulled out his handcuffs. “Your fingerprints were found inside the Medlock’s safe.”
“And your business address was found in the deceased suspect’s pants pocket,” the female deputy added.
My jaw slackened and I reached for the dog’s collar as the deputies pulled Tonya from the tailgate. “I’ll take care of Gunner.”
Tonya’s head dropped and her blond hair fell over her face. The handcuffs made a loud clicking noise as they were tightened around her wrists.
“Ms. Tonya Addison, you’re under arrest…”
Chapter 9
Watching law enforcement officials remove items from my friend’s office made my stomach turn and I decided to divert my attention and take the dogs on a walk. My mind always worked better when I was in motion and I wanted to come up with a plan to help Tonya.
Several short trails weaved their way around the campground property but I chose the one that led out behind the main lodge. The path started on the dirt road that led down the gentle slope past the maintenance building, then turned into a nice wide four wheeler path that made a big loop through the woods bordering Mel Medlock’s property.
Something bothered me about Jacob Tanner’s forcefulness and I wanted to get inside his make-shift office in the maintenance building. I whistled for the dogs and started down the road and they raced past, kicking up dust. They both took a detour and raced through the open door of the maintenance building and I seized the opportunity.
I jogged behind them and was within ten feet from making it through the door when a man’s body suddenly appeared, filling the entire opening.
Jacob leaned against the doorframe and rubbed his chin. “What can I do for you, Avery?”
Thinking fast, I said, “I’m taking the dogs for a walk.”
I leaned to the side and could see the dogs playing tug-o-war with a towel behind his legs. Jacob kept his eyes on mine as he stepped out from the doorway and whistled. Both dogs heeded his request and brought their tug game outside.
Jacob purposefully closed the door behind him, moved one step too close and towered over me. “What do you think happened to Big Diesel’s money?”
I took a step backwards, away from his cologne, and watched him closely. “I was just going to ask you the same thing.”
“Big Diesel will make sure ALL the guilty parties are prosecuted,” he said and pointed to the dogs trotting down the trail. “Have a good walk.”
#
I was half mad and half scared after the encounter with Jacob and my heart raced. It ticked me off that he’d even insinuate that I knew anything about missing money, but Big Diesel had so much power that it made me nervous just the same. I worried what would happen if Jacob mentioned my name to his boss.
After all, it was impossible to believe Tonya had anything to do with a robbery and the deputies had already hauled her off to jail. I sure didn’t want to be railroaded next. It took me a minute to realize that this train of thought wasn’t going to help anything and I forced myself to snap out of it.
I watched the dogs run up and down the trail and gradually focused on studying the trail itself. My search and rescue thought process took over as a story written in the trail’s dried mud revealed itself. There were three sets of tracks on this trail. A man’s large boot track, a smaller sized boot track – probably from a woman and a set of dog‘s tracks.
I slowed and studied the tracks as the dogs were captivated by a smell in the bushes. Some of the prints were deep and sunk in, obviously made while the trail was soaked and muddy. The rest were shallow and recently made in the soft dirt while the trail was dry.
The only time the trail could have been muddy in recent weeks was the night of the robbery and shooting and only a few people even knew this trail existed. My stomach turned as I pulled out my smart phone, squatted down and took pictures of the deep imprints - the woman’s boot prints and the dog tracks.
It just couldn’t be. I’d known her for several years.
But… how well did I really know Tonya?
Chapter 10
You’ve got to be kidding me!
Things were in enough turmoil without coming home from work and finding over-flowing laundry baskets and a dryer that’s conked-out. My back was in knots as I un-plugged and re-plugged the thing at least five times, read all the manual’s trouble shooting tips and pushed every button available. Nothing worked.
It was dead. Like, rest in peace.
A power surge probably fried it during the storm the other day, I thought. Up here in the high country, lightning was no joke.
I knew it would cost at least a couple hundred dollars to even try and get it fixed. I also knew I didn’t have two more weeks’ worth of clean clothes to wear while I waited for a repairman to show up. Sighing heavily, I sucked it up and drove an hour to the city to buy a new one.
The only place that sold appliances this late in the day was Dower’s Hardware Warehouse and I was getting desperate for something to go right. At least Dower’s allowed dogs to come inside and shop and that was a positive, since I brought both Chevy and Gunner along for the ride.
I’d just gotten a system worked out for walking both dogs in a calm manner when Chevy yanked me straight over to the customer service desk. It’d been a month since our last visit, but my dog never forgot where the dog cookies were.
“Oh, Chevy’s here!” a middle aged woman exclaimed and ran out from behind the counter to bury her face in my dog’s golden fur and sneak him a handful of treats.
The other girls flew out from behind the service desk and Gunner jostled for his share of affection and snacks. It was like I was stuck in the pit stop at a car race and had to let Chevy fuel up before I was allowed to actually shop.
None of the ladies there actually knew my name, but they all sure knew my dog. I wasn’t complaining – Chevy’s popularity had gotten me a couple good deals in the past.
I finally made my way back to the appliance department and looked at a few drying machines, putting my hand in the tubs and spinning them around. It didn’t take long to figure out I wasn’t in the mood to shop and I quickly decided to buy the same model dryer I had at home. This would be the easiest sale the appliance guy had made all year.
An older guy with a wisp of white hair, a friendly demeanor and ‘Jeff’ on his nametag went to the stock room to check whether he had a new dryer, while I tried to entertain the two dogs. It was going well enough until an over-worked mother came in to shop with kids that had a lot more energy than she did.
She clung to the baby carrier in her shopping cart, cooing at an infant while the other kids ran in circles and clamored around her. It was apparent that she was out-numbered and in way over her head. The kids raced past us, giggling and darting in and out of the appliance displays. The dogs watched their every move and pranced in place, wanting to join in the fun.
Chevy started play barking and Gunner’s eyes reflected the desire to herd the kids into the corner. The shortest kid ran by and wiped his chocolate covered hands across the front of one of the washing machines, leaving a brown streak in the process. My knuckles grew white as I gripped the dogs’ leashes extra tight, just in case one of them decided to bolt.
Jeff, the sales guy stumbled back. “Sorry ma’am, I don’t have one of those dryers in stock until Wednesday, but if you’d like to purchase the display I’ll give you a ten percent discount.”
I glanced at the chocolate stains on the display next to me and watched one of the older kid’s kick another and decided I could wait another day or two to get a new one. There was plenty of rope at the house and I could put together a clothesline for a couple laundry sessions.
As I paid Jeff for my order, I asked, “Where can I get some clothespins?”
“Aisle fifteen,” he said and pointed toward the other end of the massive store. “Would
you like me to walk you over?”
“No, thanks. I’ll find my way.”
As I slowly walked down the broad cement aisle, I had a vision of Chevy playing tug-o-war with clothes drying on a line and hoped I’d made the right decision.
It’s too late to change my mind now, I thought. I’d already passed up both the display dryer and the ten percent discount.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” I said out loud to myself.
My heartbeat picked up and I jogged down the expansive aisles to the hardware department, with Chevy and Gunner keeping pace beside me. A young woman in a store vest was putting away a box of locks and I made a beeline directly to her. Startled, she took a step back as I approached at full speed.
“Do you sell safes?” I asked between heavy breaths.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Do you give a ten percent discount if it’s a display?” I untangled the dog leashes.
She gave a slight frown. “Only if it’s the last one we have in stock.”
“Can you show me where they are, please?”
I followed the lady two aisles over and hurried past her when I saw the home safes. There was an empty spot in the display area.
“What about this one?” I looked at the tag and wrote down the description.
“We have more on the way.” She patted the dogs on the head. “I sold the display a week or two ago.”
“To who?”
She eyed me for a moment and hesitated. “An older military man, if I remember right.”
I ran out of the store without saying good-bye.
The saleslady called behind me… “I can get you another model for the same price!”
#
“Avery, I keep telling you to stay out of law enforcement investigations.” Don sounded exasperated and it didn’t bother me one bit.
“Just do me one favor.” I stood in the hardware store’s parking lot and opened the passenger door to my truck. “Check and see if Tonya’s prints were ONLY found on the inside of Mr. Medlock’s safe.”
“You had dispatch radio me for that?”
“Listen, I think I know how her prints got in his safe.” I loaded Chevy and Gunner inside so they could be in the air conditioning. “Mel Medlock just got a new safe and is very conservative with his money. I bet he recently bought the display model over at the hardware warehouse for a ten percent discount.”
There was no response from Don. Crickets.
I shut the passenger door and circled the front of the truck to the driver’s side. “Tonya’s been looking for a new safe and recently shopped here, so she could’ve touched the inside of his safe at the store before he bought the display.”
Don blew out a deep breath into the phone and said, “I’ll check it out, but that’s the least of her problems.”
I frowned as Chevy licked my cheek. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve tested the gun found in her office safe.” He paused. “It matches the bullet that killed Mr. Leonardo.”
Chapter 11
“Boy, you sure are quiet today.”
Don glanced at me as he fiddled with the keys, trying to figure out which one fit the door lock.
My eyes felt heavy even after two extra doses of caffeine. I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, due to the battle raging in my mind about Tonya’s situation. The girl I knew was neither a thief nor a murderer, despite the so-called evidence. Things just weren’t adding up.
“Did she tell you where she stores the dog food?” Don asked as he opened the campground lodge door.
“It’s in the mudroom.”
Tonya used her free phone call at the jailhouse to give me instructions about caring for Gunner and asked that we get the dog’s supplies. That was another first for me - getting a phone call from a prisoner. I guess I could mark that off my bucket list, if I had one.
As I stood in the doorway watching Don retrieve a twenty-pound bag of kibble from a storage bin, my eyes roamed to the old towels I’d hung on the hooks the evening of the murder and my heart sank. After all her hard work building up this campground, Tonya might very well lose this place.
I picked up one of the dry, stiff towels from the hook. “You know, Tonya was here for a meeting when you found the dead body.”
“True.” Don walked past me and lugged the dog food down the porch steps. “But according to the evidence, he was shot during the early afternoon. At least two hours before I found the body during the big thunderstorm.”
“Hmmm. That would have been during the afternoon showers.”
Don turned toward my truck.
I stood in the open doorway, glanced around the room one last time and was struck by a missing item.
“Wait just a minute.”
Don groaned as he did a three-sixty and came back inside.
“When I hung these towels in here, Tonya and Jacob Tanner were meeting inside the office and a dripping raincoat was hanging right there.” I pointed to the rung closest to the door.
“Makes sense, it was a rainy day,” Don said and dropped the food bag at his feet.
“Yeah.” I spun around and pointed toward the inside of the lodge. “But when Tonya ran out to meet you, she grabbed her rain jacket from the bed in the back room. It was dry.”
Don pulled out his pad and took a couple notes. “So, Tonya wasn’t outside during the time of the murder – or at least her coat wasn’t.”
“But Jacob was.” I touched the empty rung on the wall. “That must’ve been his jacket.”
I knew that didn’t place him at the murder scene, but I hoped it might be enough to show the detectives - or a judge - that Tonya wasn’t.
“I can look into it further,” Don said and tried to usher me out the door.
“Something doesn’t sit right with me about Jacob Tanner.” I crossed my arms and held my position in the doorway. “He’s too protective of that maintenance barn.”
“I agree, but don’t ask me to barge in there because I don’t have cause.” Don put his arm around my back and guided me out to the porch. “Let me lock this door so I can get back to the investigations, I’ve got two thefts and a murder to figure out.”
I stood on the porch gathering my thoughts and watched as Don heaved the dog food bag into the back of my truck. Chevy and Gunner made me smile when they stuck their heads out the cab window, hoping he’d let them out to play.
Then it hit me.
I know who can spy on Jacob for me.
Chapter 12
“Come here, Chevy.”
The dogs scrambled out of the truck and I leaned in the front passenger seat, pulling out the gift Tonya had given me a few days before. I peeked over the roof of my truck to make sure Don had driven all the way out of the campground, quickly re-read the doggie cam instructions, hooked the camera on Chevy’s collar and made sure it was ready to record.
“Okay buddy, we may have only one shot at this,” I said and gave my dog a quick hug.
Avery, this is ridiculous. My own doubt tried to snuff out my idea before I even had a chance to carry out my plan.
I forced the negative thoughts aside and joined the dogs at the back of the truck, making big circles with my throwing arm to loosen up. Both dogs pranced at my feet, intently watching the tennis ball in my hand and vying for the best position.
“Haven’t played softball since high school, but I’ve still got the touch.” I chuckled to the dogs and did a couple jumping jacks for good measure.
My plan was to entice Jacob to let the dogs in the maintenance barn so Chevy’s dog-cam could record a video of the secret office. I tossed the ball in the air a couple of times, wound up like a pro baseball pitcher and lunged.
The tennis ball flew through the air, hit the dirt path and bounced down the hill towards the maintenance building. Chevy raced after the ball, his golden fur floating in the air, with Gunner hot on his trail.
Both dogs skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill, kicking up a cloud of dust and Chevy grabbe
d the ball just as Gunner stretched out to snatch it. The Border Collie decided he wouldn’t come up second twice and raced back to Don ready for the next throw. Chevy arrived shortly after, squeezing his teeth into the tennis ball with pride.
That didn’t work too well, I thought.
Jacob’s face appeared in the doorway of his temporary office and it gave me a glimmer of hope.
I threw the ball harder this time and the dogs tore down the dirt drive past the building. Gunner made the grab and Jacob whistled for the dogs to come over. He tossed the ball for the dogs a couple times then went into his make-shift office, the dogs trotting in behind him.
Jackpot. I smiled and hoped Jacob didn’t notice the camera hanging from Chevy’s collar. Even if he does, he can’t say anything… Chevy’s just trying out his new toy.
I moved to the chairs on the porch so as not to act suspicious. About a half-hour later the two dogs sauntered around the corner of the lodge, came up on the porch and drank from the water bowl. I unclipped the camera from Chevy’s collar and held it up in triumph.
“Good job doggies, let’s see what this guy is really up to.”
The dogs followed me back into the cabin lodge and straight to Tonya’s office. I locked the door, fired up her computer and stuck in the dog-cam USB. At first the video from Chevy’s collar-cam bounced all over as he chased after the ball.
I blinked my eyes to keep from getting dizzy watching the thing.
Eventually, it got to the interesting part. Jacob walked into the maintenance building and the video capture followed him at knee level. A big hand comes into view holding some dog treats, which disappear with one bite.
“That’s just like you, Chevy,” I laughed. “No wonder you two dogs keep going in there.”
The dog-cam surprisingly took really clear video.
I made a mental note to thank Tonya again for the great present and returned my focus to the video.
My eyes squinted as I noticed something unusual, reached up and touched the computer screen. Sitting on a folding table behind Jacob were a box of latex medical gloves.