Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights

by Marja McGraw

  “My family couldn’t take it and my father kicked me out of the house. That’s how I ended up taking a room at Chance’s place. Actually, I lived in her garage. She’d turned it into a nice little apartment. Well, I made a mess out of things there, too. I drank too much one night and fell asleep while I was smoking. I burned Chance’s garage down.”

  “How’d you get out?” Chris asked.

  “Chance was just coming home from somewhere and saw the smoke. She ran in and woke me up. The two of us barely got out with our lives. Fires move a lot faster than people realize.”

  “With a story like that, what made you keep the nickname, Smokey?” I asked.

  “It’s a reminder of what could have happened. And let me tell you, Chance changed my life that night. She was quite a woman, but she didn’t know it.”

  “How did she change your life?” Chris asked.

  “She was so angry with me that she said the things that everyone else had been holding back. People felt sorry for me for being so young and having gone to war. No one was honest with me about what I’d become until Chance pulled me out of that fire and let me have it – with both barrels, I might add. I can still hear her calling me a no good bum.” Smokey chuckled. “She told me I was the sorriest excuse for a man she’d ever seen, and she said I’d better quit feeling sorry for myself before someone got hurt. Amongst other things, she said she didn’t care what happened to me, but she didn’t want to see anyone else get hurt because of me. That young woman made me look at myself that night like no one else had ever done.”

  “You make her sound different than the woman we met a few days ago,” I said.

  “Was the woman you met conceited and in love with herself?” Smokey asked.

  “Pretty much,” I replied.

  Smokey laughed at that. “Yes, indeed, you met Chance. She thought she was a gift that God gave the world. The fact that she changed my life doesn’t mean she was actually trying to help me. She was angry because I burned down her garage. That’s all she cared about, and she never knew that she changed me.”

  Chris rolled his upper lip under and scrunched up his face before trying to bring Smokey back to the Blakely death. “Smokey, Janet Riley said you had a story to tell about the boarding house that might help us. What was that story?”

  “Well, she put me in mind of an incident that happened during one of my more sober days. I’d only lived there a few weeks when a man showed up at the door looking for someone who used to live there. He said he needed to see this man because the man owed him some money, and he needed it.

  “I recall Chance asking him to leave, and she was none too friendly with her request. She told the man that the other man owed her money, too. She seemed quite upset that the fellow at the door would show his face around her place after what he’d done.”

  “Was anything said about what he did?” I asked.

  “No, I couldn’t tell you that. Although, he sounded indignant. I remember very clearly that he said, ‘What I did? You’re the one who should be hiding her face.’ I didn’t get the feeling that there was any romance lost between these two.”

  “Do you know his name?” I asked.

  “I know his name was mentioned, after he left, but I don’t recall what it was.”

  “Could it have been Sam Shipley or Dudley Long?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t remember.”

  “Do you remember who else was living at Chance’s when you were there?” Chris asked. “We’re trying to talk to anyone we can find.”

  “Well, to be honest, I really don’t recall. Like I said, I only lived there a short time before my life turned around, and I was at least half drunk most of that time. I do know that something had happened and all of the previous tenants had left. Everyone living there when I moved in was new to the boarding house.”

  “Just out of curiosity, Smokey, what did you do with your life after the big change took place?” I asked.

  He laughed heartily at that. “I headed in the opposite direction of where I’d been going. I turned my life over to the Lord and became a preacher. I’m eighty-nine now, and I just recently retired. My son is taking over my church for me.”

  “Well, I’ll be,” I said. “I guess when Chance turns a man around, she does a good job of it.”

  “That she does,” Smokey said. “And she had so much fire in her. Someone had recommended the boarding house to me and they’d described her as a quiet little thing.” He laughed. “There was nothing quiet about her.”

  We didn’t say anything for a moment, trying to think of what else we could ask.

  “Now let me ask you a question,” Smokey said. “You said you’re looking into someone’s death. Who was it and how did he die?”

  “He was a boarder who lived there before your time, named Charles Blakely, and he was murdered,” Chris said.

  “Now that’s a name that does ring the proverbial bell,” Smokey said. “That’s who the fellow at the door was looking for. After all these years, I can’t believe I remember that name.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  After talking to Smokey for a few more minutes, we hung up and turned to each other. Chris appeared thoughtful, so maybe he’d taken more away from the conversation than I had.

  “I guess we didn’t really learn that much, did we?” I asked.

  “Well, we know more now than we did an hour ago. We know that someone came back looking for Blakely, and Smokey confirmed that Chance thought Blakely had run out on her, owing her money.”

  “It’s nice to have a little confirmation once in a while. So what now?”

  The phone rang, interrupting our conversation.

  “Hello?” I said, picking up the receiver.

  “Pamela, this is Janet. I’m over at your property right now and wondered if you two might like to meet me here. I can’t get away for a while and I thought we could exchange information.”

  “Have you found more bodies?” I asked, not really wanting to hear the answer but needing to ask.

  “No. I’m here with the techs and we’re looking to see if we missed anything. We didn’t find too much with the body. It’ll just be easier to meet here.”

  “Chris talked to Smokey Joe, but I’ll tell you about it when we get there. See you in a few.”

  I pushed the Off button and set the phone back in its cradle, leaning back in my chair before turning to Chris. It seemed like we’d been so busy since the restaurant burned down. There were so many things going on, and most of them weren’t of our doing. Sometimes a person needs to take a deep breath before getting on with life and what it hands us. Chris waited patiently while I pulled my thoughts together – thoughts of Blakely and Midge and Pidge, of an elderly woman who seemed to believe she was still the belle of the ball, of lost loves and Sam Shipley, and of a second body. And most importantly, I thought of a killer who’d taken so much from so many.

  “That was Janet,” I said.

  “I figured. It sounded like she wants to see us?”

  “She asked us to meet her at the restaurant. And, by the way, they haven’t found any more remains.”

  “That’s good news, for a change. You know, Pamela, these are old crimes. We haven’t really felt any sense of urgency about this, but for some reason finding the second body has made it feel different. Does that make sense?”

  “It does. In fact, I was thinking that we need to call Midge and let her know about our progress, or lack thereof. “

  Chris gave me a look. “Now what kind of private eye would I be if I didn’t keep in touch with our client? I’ve called her twice over the past few days and updated her.”

  I smiled. “Chris, you’re not a P.I.”

  He smiled back at me. “I know, but it sure feels like it. By the way, I told Midge that we’d like to meet with her mother. Maybe we can learn more about Blakely and about his time at the boarding house.”

  “Good idea. When are we supposed to meet her?”<
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  “This afternoon, around four o’clock.”

  “And when were you going to tell me, Bogey Man? As we pulled up to her house?”

  “It slipped my mind, but I would have remembered eventually, Cupcake.”

  “I’ll call Constance about picking Mikey up at school.”

  Giving Chris a kiss, I grabbed the car keys and said, “Let’s go before I start losing confidence in you.”

  “Never gonna happen, dollface.”

  I gave him another kiss, one with more energy behind it, and thought about staying home. The look on his face said he might be thinking the same thing, but then he grabbed the car keys out of my hand and headed for the door, patting my behind on the way past me. “Later, babe.”

  I sighed, wishing for a brief moment that we had normal lives. No restaurant, no dead bodies, no schedules to keep, no elderly vamps. Vamps?

  “Uh, Chris, I just thought of Chance in terms of being a vamp.”

  He laughed, like I thought he would. “Let’s think of her as the Duchess. It fits her and what she seems to think of herself.”

  “That’s definitely better than The Vamp,” I said, climbing into the car. Where on earth had that old-fashioned term come from? It wasn’t a regular word in my personal vocabulary, and yet it seemed to fit Chance.

  Arriving at the restaurant, we headed for the backyard and what I expected to be a big mess. The coppers hadn’t disappointed me. The grass was torn up and there was dirt everywhere, which reminded me that I needed to call a landscaper.

  Janet waved us over. “The second guy didn’t fare as well as Blakely. He was exposed to the elements out here. He had a wallet, but it was a cheap one and everything in it has pretty much disintegrated. Our initial digging didn’t turn up anyone else, so now we’re concentrating on this burial site. We have an expert looking at his remains, but I don’t expect much. Hopefully we’ll find something to identify him. I have a feeling I know who he is, though.”

  “Want to share with us?” Chris asked.

  “I did more research last night and I found Sam Shipley’s sister through a cousin who’s also named Shipley. The sister said that Sam moved out of the boarding house around the time we’re interested in. He came to visit her and after about a month he returned to California. She never heard from him again. Nothing. No letters, no calls, nothing. The family tried to find him, but they didn’t have the resources that we have now.”

  “Uh oh,” I said, glancing at the techs and where they were digging. “I have a feeling you might be right.”

  Chris told Janet about our conversation with Smokey Joe. “He moved in not long after Blakely went missing. He said he’d been there a couple of weeks when a stranger showed up at the door looking for Blakely. The timing might be right if Shipley went to visit his sister and then returned to Los Angeles. Collins couldn’t remember the name of the stranger, although he’s sure he heard it.”

  “We gave him the names, but Blakely’s was the only one he remembered,” I added.

  “I think we need to find Dudley Long,” Chris said. “He may know something. Then again, he could be the killer.”

  I remembered that Dudley was the one who’d had a falling out with his girlfriend. I’d like to find him to hear the outcome of that situation. Okay, call me nosey, but I wanted his story to have a good ending. I’d hate to think a misunderstanding had ruined a young girl’s life, not to mention his. Although, like Chris said, he could be a killer. He may have ruined a lot of lives.

  “Janet,” I asked, “could we be missing someone? Could the killer be an outside force; someone who didn’t even live here?”

  “It’s possible, but I doubt it because the bodies were buried here. Someone had to have access to the place and they had to know when everyone would be gone so they could get rid of the bodies and the evidence.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “Hey, Riley,” one of the techs called, “wanna come here?”

  “Coming,” she called. “Did you find something?”

  “Maybe.”

  Chris and I watched as the tech handled something very carefully. Janet squatted down to see what he’d found.

  I couldn’t stand it. “What is it?”

  “A button. A very interesting button, but not specifically related to a man’s or a woman’s clothing. It could have come off of the victim’s clothing, or the killer’s clothing. Or it could have come from something that had nothing to do with the murder. It could have fallen off of someone’s shirt and become buried over the years.”

  Janet brought the button over for us to look at. It was oblong and wooden, and had some type of coating on it that had partially protected it from damage. I didn’t see anything interesting about it.

  Janet apparently read my look and said, “Take a closer look. It has the design of an animal etched on it.”

  She was right, although I couldn’t make out what kind of animal it was. It had worn down a bit.

  “How was this guy killed?” Chris asked. “Do you know yet?”

  “Blunt force trauma to the back of the head, just like the other one.” Janet turned back to the tech and spoke in a quiet voice.

  “Do you want anything else from us?” I asked.

  “No, but you’re going to have more research time than I will for a few days. See if you can dig anything up on Shipley or Long. Please. Sorry, I’ve gotten used to giving orders. This is a request, not an order.”

  “Can I ask a question?” I asked.

  “Shoot,” Janet replied.

  “Have you found anything out about Alice Frye?”

  “It looks like she vanished. Does that surprise you? I can’t find any record of her after she lived here. All these people disappearing is making my job a whole lot more difficult. I hope someone turns up soon, and not in another grave.”

  Raising my eyebrows, I glanced at the ground where the tech was digging. “Are you sure this one was a male?”

  “This was definitely a male victim. It wasn’t Alice Frye.”

  “One more question. Have you given enough information to Sharon Stone for her to write a story?”

  Janet turned her head toward me and smiled. “Yes, although it won’t be very definitive. She’s going to have to work to get any more information from me.”

  I smiled an evil little smile and did a small jig as Chris and I turned to walk out front to the car. His eyes had a faraway look in them and he didn’t notice. I wished people would quit missing my performances. After all, they were mostly for the benefit of others, like the giant eye roll I’d done for Sharon. I heard Janet chuckle and felt vindicated.

  “Okay, Pamela, I’m going to concentrate on Dudley Long and Alice Frye. And we’re going to see Chance again. The Duchess knows more than she’s telling us.”

  “I agree. We need to sit down and decide exactly what we’re going to ask her before we go over there, too.”

  ***

  Shortly after arriving home, Chris poured himself a glass of iced tea and headed for the computer.

  After calling Constance about Mikey, I punched in Chance’s number. She was expecting me to come see her, but we’d never settled on a time. I knew in my heart that as soon as she heard Chris was coming with me she’d open the doors wide and welcome us (or more specifically, him) with open arms. I glanced at the clock while I waited for her to answer, and was surprised that it was still relatively early. It was only a quarter to eleven. We hadn’t spent much time with Janet.

  Chance answered on the third ring. “Hello? Who is it?”

  “It’s Pamela Cross. Okay, Duch… uh, Chance, you’re getting your wish. Chris is coming with me today.”

  “Oh, marvelous. I do hope he’ll do his impression of Mr. Bogart again. What time are you coming? I’ll set up some canapés and cold drinks.”

  “That’s why I’m calling. What time would you like us to come over? Oh, and you don’t need to go to any trouble about snacks. We’ll be fine without them.”
/>   “No trouble at all, dear. It will be worth it to see that man again. Why don’t you come around noon?”

  I gritted my teeth and had to force myself to unclench them before I responded to her, reminding myself that she was only an old woman. “We’ll be there. But please remember we’re coming over looking for information. Maybe you could put on your thinking cap and try to remember some of what went on back in 1942? We’d really appreciate that.”

  “Oh, yes. I’ll see what I can do.” Her tone of voice had changed. I didn’t think she liked being reminded that it wasn’t a social call.

  Again, I remembered that she was an elderly woman and probably didn’t have much company. “We’ll stay and visit with you for a while, too.” Could I be magnanimous or what?

  “Oh, gads, there’s not much time. I’d better get busy. I can’t wait!” She’d immediately perked up, making me feel small and petty for letting her annoy me.

  After we hung up, Chris walked slowly into the kitchen, reading a piece of paper he held in his hand.

  “What’s that, Bogey Man?”

  “You can’t imagine how many hits you get when you enter a name. But there’s at least a possibility I found Dudley Long.” His expression didn’t relay joy at his success.

  “Where is he?”

  “Dead.”

  “Dead?”

  “As a doornail. If this is the right Dudley, he died about two years ago.”

  “Now what do we do?” I asked.

  “He had relatives. We contact them.”

  “Dead. Are you sure? I mean that it’s the right Dudley Long.”

  “Dead sure. How’s that for an answer?”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “Do you have any of his relatives’ names?” I asked. “Could his wife have been named Natalie?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Just a hunch, and that tells me he’s the right Dudley.” It also told me about a happy ending to a long ago romance.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  “Nothing.”

  I kept smiling, even when I told Chris that Chance was expecting us at noon. We didn’t have much time to drive to her place, so Chris left his notes on the kitchen table and went out back to check on the dogs.