Blinded by the Trees

by Kira Chase

  Frankie called Joe’s cell phone and gave him the apartment number while Selma and Johanna both rushed to Eve who was shaking convulsively. Her face contorted and Frankie feared that the woman would have a heart attack or stroke.

  “Did Clyde murder Cody?” Johanna asked softly. “Do yourself a favor, Eve. If you truly did love Cody, then quit protecting his murderer.”

  “No, he didn’t. Clyde may be many things, but he’s not a murderer! Now get out before I call the police!”

  Frankie walked over to her and stood in front of her. “Call them, Eve.” She met her eyes. Eve’s eyes darted back and forth. “Who told you to take a dead woman’s identity? It was Clyde, wasn’t it?”

  “Leave me alone!” she screamed.

  Suddenly the apartment door flew open and Joe stood inside the frame. “Tell them the truth, Evie. Tell me the truth. Who killed my son?”

  Eve stared at him like she was seeing a ghost. The rest of the color drained from her face. “Joe,” she choked. “Joe, how did you find me?”

  “We’re private investigators, Eve,” Frankie said.

  “You tricked me…pretending that you cared!” Her eyes blazed. “You lied to me pretending you cared about me.” Her voice faltered, then broke as she sank back down onto the sofa.

  “That’s not a lie,” Selma replied. “We do care about what happens to you. You’ve had a horrible life and we want to help you.” She looked at Joe Barnes. “Your brother wants to help you. Please talk to him. No one can help you if you don’t tell the truth.”

  “I don’t know anything. Why are you badgering me?” She pulled herself to her feet and stood swaying on wobbly legs moving toward the kitchen.

  Joe crossed the threshold and wrapped his strong arms around her. “Evie, please tell me how Cody died. He was my son. Please?” Tears brimmed in his eyes.

  Eve sniffed as she pulled out of his embrace. He took her arm and led her back to the sofa. She wiped her face on the worn sleeve of a too big old-fashioned striped pullover sweater. Her jeans were worn and beginning to tear in the knee as she sat.

  Frankie saw the distress registering in Joe Barnes’ eyes as he took in his sister’s physical appearance. They definitely were from two different worlds. By the way he dressed, he’d made a success of his life while his sister lived in squalor raising his child and living with a man who was both verbally and physically abusive.

  “Evie, you’re so thin,” he said softly. “What happened to Clyde? What happened to all his money?”

  “He couldn’t get anything going once we left Wyoming. The money didn’t last long. It cost him a lot to get the marriage certificate and papers for Cody.”

  “What do you mean, Eve? He had someone print those documents? They aren’t real?”

  She shook her head. “No. Clyde and I never had a relationship. But he said it would be easier if everyone thought we were married and Cody was our son. He said we needed papers for Cody so he could be registered in school.”

  Frankie took Johanna’s arm and led her to the other side of the small living room. “Stay here with Mom while I check out the other rooms.”

  Frankie moved down the narrow hall and opened the first door on her left. The room was small. A single bed, bureau, and nightstand were the only pieces of furniture in the room. The room was as neat and clean as the living room. She opened the bureau drawers one at a time. They were stuffed with clothing. She looked at the posters taped on the dull gray walls. The posters were the type every teenager had hanging on their walls. Hazy sunlight streamed through a dirty window with a yellowed curtain located above the bed. She looked through the magazines on top of the bureau. All of them were about cars. She leafed through a couple of them. She stopped and stared at one page. Cody had filled out an application to a local trade school. He’d addressed the envelope. She took a deep breath. The kid never even got a chance to mail his application.

  She exited the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Next, she entered the room directly across the hall. The same dull gray walls adorned this room, too. The room wasn’t much bigger than Cody’s room. She noted that neither room had closets. The flowered spread on the single bed was the only feminine adornment in the entire room. A couple of bottles of cheap perfume sat on top of the bureau. She glanced through the bureau drawers. An assortment of well-worn jeans, sweaters, blouses, bras and panties were all they held. She turned and looked at the nightstand. Unlike Cody’s, this one had a deep drawer. She pulled the drawer open. Her eyes scanned the contents on top, which consisted of a few homemade cards she assumed Cody had made for her years ago. This must be Eve’s special drawer where she kept all of her treasures. She lifted off the stack of cards and saw several small notebooks. Each book was dated. Frankie realized that Eve had been keeping a journal. She looked at the dates and did some mental calculations. The first date was the year she’d run off with Brenda and Joe’s baby with Clyde. She scanned the notebook then picked up another.

  Her cell phone buzzed. It was a text from Johanna asking her what she was doing. She replied that she’d be out in a few minutes then slipped her phone back into her pocket. She placed everything back into the drawer exactly as she’d found it.

  Frankie peeked into the room next to Eve’s, which turned out to be a very small bathroom. It was in desperate need of a remodeling, but she supposed to the tenants it didn’t matter. There was nothing noteworthy as she opened the medicine cabinet, which also served as the only mirror in the room. It held the usual assortment of toothpaste, aspirin, and razors.

  She stepped out into the hall and opened the last door, which was located next to Cody’s room. She peered inside the filthy room. Pigs live better than this. The room smelled like dirty socks. She held her breath as she scanned the room, then closed the door and rejoined the others in the living room.

  Joe and Eve were still sitting together on the sofa. Selma and Johanna sat in the easy chairs watching them.

  Frankie tapped Johanna on the shoulder. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Did you find something?” Johanna asked.

  Frankie led her to the small kitchenette, which was visible from the living room. “Eve’s got a stack of notebooks in her bedroom detailing everything from the first day she moved in with Burrows.”

  “We’ve got to tell George,” Johanna said excitedly. “We can’t let her destroy the books before he takes possession of them.”

  “My thought exactly. I didn’t see any evidence of stolen goods. I’m hoping Eve’s notebooks will reveal all of that information.”

  “I’ll call George. I don’t think he’ll have any trouble getting a search warrant. We’ve got to convince Eve to go down to the station. So far she’s not budging, though.”

  “Has she told her brother anything about Cody’s murder?”

  “No, she keeps insisting that she doesn’t know how it happened. She’s defending Clyde on that score.” She frowned. “It doesn’t make sense. Now with her brother here, she can leave without fear of repercussions from Clyde.”

  Frankie chewed her bottom lip. “Well, go make the call to George and I’ll try to persuade her to talk to him.” She took the chair Johanna had vacated. She listened as Joe tried to get her to go downtown with him to talk to the sheriff.

  “Why do you want me to see the sheriff?” she asked. Her eyes were filled with tears. “Joe, why do you keep asking me the same questions?”

  “Why are you protecting him, Evie? He’s made your life a living hell!” Joe hissed. “What’s he done to you?” His tone softened. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. I’m here now. Clyde can’t hurt you anymore, Evie. But you’ve got to tell me the truth.”

  She ran a hand through her tangled hair. “I didn’t have a life back home. Clyde took care of me when no one else would. Mom and Dad didn’t give a damn about me.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re the one who set me up with Clyde.”

  “I didn’t know what to do. I was living on campus. I had a job that bare
ly paid for my books. Evie, you knew I couldn’t help you financially then, but I want to now. We can set things straight. You’re still young.” He stared into her eyes. “I would have helped you a long time ago if only you’d contacted me. Why didn’t you? Why didn’t you let me know how my son was doing or at least send me a picture of him? Why, Evie?” he demanded.

  Eve twisted her hands together not meeting her brother’s eyes. Her lips were drawn taut.

  “Come on, Eve,” he persisted. “Oh my God! Don’t tell me you’re in love with him?” He grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her. “You are, aren’t you?”

  Eve’s pale face slightly flushed. “I’ve been with him for so long,” she mumbled. “He cares about me.”

  “Eve, listen to me. We witnessed his verbal and physical abuse of you. He doesn’t care about you. He’s been using you and Cody for his own purposes,” Frankie said.

  Eve suddenly thrust her chin out. “Why do you care? This is only a job to you.”

  Selma jumped in. “That’s not true, Eve. You’re afraid to let anyone get close to you. Clyde’s convinced you that you’re worthless. But you’re not worthless. You’re a young beautiful woman. You deserve a better life. None of us know why you went wrong when you were younger, but you don’t have to continue on the same path. It’s up to you. Your brother is willing to face the consequences of his bad judgment all those years ago because he loves you.” Her motherly voice all of a sudden turned stern. “Now get your butt moving and quit feeling sorry for yourself. Clyde Burrows is the scum of the earth. And if you truly did love Cody then you would certainly want justice for him.” Selma stood. “If you don’t, then you’re not the woman I thought you were, but only another bum looking to blame society for every wrong in her life. Maybe I was wrong about you and you don’t give a damn about your brother’s son. You think more of Clyde than you ever did of Cody.”

  Frankie’s jaw dropped as Eve silently jumped to her feet and walked stiffly to the coat rack. She watched as the woman pulled her coat from the hook.

  “I loved that boy and raised him as my own,” Eve whimpered as tears spilled from her eyes. “Let’s go, Joe. I’ll tell Sheriff Ryker everything I know, but I honestly don’t know who killed Cody.”

  Frankie sat still stunned by her mother’s outburst, but even more surprised by Eve’s reaction to Selma. Johanna had come into the room at the beginning of Selma’s speech.

  “Hey, maybe we’d better hire your mother as another partner,” she whispered in Frankie’s ear.

  Chapter 15

  George nodded at the women as he entered the conference room. “Thanks for hanging around.”

  “No problem,” Johanna answered. “Did the judge issue the search warrant?”

  “Yes, he did. A couple of my men are going through the notebooks as we speak. I’ve got a team scouring the apartment and questioning the tenants of the building.”

  “What about Clyde?” Frankie asked. “Anything else come up on him?”

  “So far we can’t link him to Cody’s death, but he’s being processed for a number of burglaries. The notebooks revealed every single break-in he’s committed since Eve moved in with him. She gave times, dates, addresses of the burglaries and what was taken.”

  “Where was he hiding the goods?” Frankie asked.

  George frowned. “He had a couple of scumbags who transported most of the stuff across state lines and sold the goods. They’d split the profits.” He exhaled loudly. “We’re also in the process of rounding up his cohorts.”

  “So he’ll remain behind bars, hopefully, with no bail?”

  “It looks like it since he can’t make bail, but who knows who may step forward and post it for him?” He rubbed his chin. “It’s up to the judge to set the amount of bail. I’ll try to convince him that Burrows is a flight risk. Then, of course, he has a lengthy list of priors.”

  “What’s going to happen to Eve?” Selma asked.

  “She’ll probably serve a few months, maybe none. It’s up to the authorities in Wyoming. The same as her brother. There’s nothing we can charge her with here since she didn’t actually take part in any of the burglaries. We could charge her because she was an accessory to a crime, but the judge is going to drop those charges in order to expedite her and her brother back to Wyoming as soon as possible.” He smiled broadly. “You girls and Selma have done a hell of a job. If it weren’t for you three, Eve probably would have destroyed the notebooks and Clyde would have never been arrested.”

  “But we still don’t know who killed that poor boy,” Selma said.

  “We’ll get him, Selma, but we know that Clyde Burrows isn’t the murderer.”

  “Then who?”

  “Deputy Allen has come up with a couple of theories we’re checking out.” He nodded to Frankie. “Yes, I’ll let you know the minute he’s picked up.”

  “Then you already have someone in mind?” Frankie asked.

  “I’m not saying. Now you three can go home and enjoy your holiday.”

  “I don’t think I’ll enjoy anything until the rest of this case is solved,” Selma replied.

  “Eve wants to see the three of you before she’s taken back to Wyoming.”

  “What for?” Johanna asked.

  The sheriff shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  * * * *

  Eve hugged Selma tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered in her ear.

  “Just remember, you can make something positive out of the rest of your life.”

  “I know. I’m going to get my GED and then take some courses. I’m not sure what I want to do yet, but it’s definitely going to be helping children. Joe says I might be able to get a job at one of the youth centers.”

  “That’s wonderful, Eve,” Selma said.

  “I want to thank you two, also,” she said, looking at Frankie and Johanna. “If you hadn’t persisted, I don’t know what would have happened to me. Clyde was growing restless and had been talking about moving on again.” Her eyes misted. “I tried my best with Cody.”

  “You must have done something right since he was bright enough to work toward finding a way out of this lifestyle for you and him.” Frankie patted her shoulder.

  “Why were you hesitant to come down here to the station back at the apartment?” Johanna asked.

  She shrugged. “I was terrified. I didn’t know what would happen to me. All I’ve ever known is Clyde and Cody. It was only when we moved here that Clyde let me associate with the women in the building. I guess since most of their husbands weren’t any better than him, he figured they were safe.”

  “I wish you well, Eve,” Johanna said. “And I hope that very soon Cody’s murderer is apprehended.”

  Selma hugged the woman again. “Take care of yourself and thank God for the wonderful brother He’s given you.”

  Joe Barnes draped an arm around his sister’s shoulder. “After we give Cody and Brenda a proper burial and serve whatever sentence the judge gives us, we’re going to go into family counseling together. My wife and sons can’t wait to meet my baby sister.” He squeezed Eve’s shoulder. “Thank you for everything.”

  “No, thank you for being honest,” Johanna said.

  * * * *

  “I want to talk to Kate Allen,” Frankie said.

  “What for? She can’t tell us anything. George will tell us as soon as an arrest is made.” Johanna pulled Frankie’s arm. “Come on, let’s go home.”

  “In a minute,” Frankie said, heading down the corridor.

  Johanna looked at Selma and shrugged as they followed her. At the main desk, Frankie asked if Kate Allen was available. The desk clerk, a middle-aged woman smiled at her.

  “I’ll see, Frankie.” She nodded in Johanna and Selma’s direction. “You three are the talk of the station.”

  Frankie grinned. “It’s all good I hope.”

  The woman laughed. “It is.” She paged Kate.

  In a few minutes, Kate Allen walked over to them where they sat in th
e lobby waiting for her. She was grinning widely. “Nice to see you.”

  “Kate, this is my mother Selma.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Barker. I understand that you three have done one hell of a job.”

  Frankie beamed. “You’ve known us long enough by now, Kate, that we always dig a little deeper than George asks us to.”

  She chuckled. “He’s always glad you do even if he won’t admit it. Ever think of going back into uniform? I’d love working with the both of you.”

  “Oh no,” Johanna said with a smile. ‘We’re happy being PIs.”

  She shook her head slowly. “Well, if you ever change your mind, George would hire you two in a heartbeat.”

  Frankie grinned at the dark-haired deputy. “No, we won’t change our minds. We like the slow pace.”

  Kate’s jaw dropped. “I haven’t been here long, but I’ve yet to see you operating at a slow pace. You certainly handle some interesting cases.”

  “Definitely not by choice,” Johanna replied with a smile.

  “So, what did you want to see me about?”

  Frankie lifted an eyebrow. “George says you have some theories about Cody Burrow’s murder. I have a few of my own I’d like to run by you.”

  She frowned and then smiled. “Why don’t you tag along later? I’ve got a few more questions for Sam Clark. Since you live up the road from him, I’ll give you a call when I get there.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Frankie said.

  “It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Barker.”

  Selma shook the deputy’s hand. “It was nice meeting you, too.” She watched as Kate disappeared down a corridor. “She’s a pretty little thing, but she’s so tiny,” she said.

  Frankie laughed. “Don’t let her size fool you, Mom. She’s about as tough as they come.”

  * * * *

  “What do you think Kate Allen is up to, Frankie?” Johanna asked.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I still think the murderer has to be someone Cody knew. Someone who would have lured him to Clark’s Christmas Tree Farm.”