Branson was furious. “You sonofabitch, you’re barking up a seriously wrong tree! I do not know anything about why Kyle went out there, but I know it got him killed, and that bastard sitting in my jail is the one who did it. Why don’t you get off your lazy ass and help me lock that down? That’s supposed to be your job, isn’t it?”
I got to my feet and stood nose to nose with him. “My job, Sheriff, is to find the truth, and that is exactly what I intend to do. Why don’t you just tell me what it is you know, so we can get this resolved? You know who Sal is, I know damned well you do, and I know damn well that you know what Kyle Johnson was doing there that night. Everything about you tells me I’m right, and I will find the truth. One way or another”
“You are fucking insane,” Branson yelled. “And I’m about fed up with you sticking your nose into places where it doesn’t belong. Maybe you don’t realize it, but that’s a pretty unhealthy thing to be doing.”
“What, are you threatening a federal agent? Gonna sic some of your deputies on me? I already know that some of your people are out of control, Branson, and it’s starting to look like you’ve been covering it up. You got female staff being forced into sexual acts, and anyone who talks tends to get set up on drug charges.” I gritted my teeth, trying to contain the rage that was building up inside me. “Man, I’ve seen corruption in my time, but this shit takes the whole fucking cake! Everybody here is so scared of you that they’re afraid to talk, they’re afraid of what will happen to them, or to their families. Well, let me tell you something, you sick sonofabitch, there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you get away with it. I’m going to dig and dig and keep digging until I find enough dirt to hang you out to dry, and when I finally get your ass, I’m going to make sure you get buried in the deepest, most violent prison I can find.”
Branson raised his fist, and for a split second I thought he was going to swing, but he held it back. Slowly, he lowered it again. “You think you can get me? You think you’re smart enough? I’ve run this county for more than twenty years, and you’re not the first outsider who thought he could come in here and take me down. Well, guess what, it hasn’t happened yet, and you’re not the fucker who will do it.”
He turned and stomped out of the room, leaving me standing there, trembling with rage. Just the fact that he had gotten so angry was enough to convince me I was on the right track, but being convinced isn’t the same as having evidence. I needed to know what the connection was between Branson and Sal Jones. I needed a way to prove that he was lying about not knowing who Sal was. That should be enough to force his hand, and make him take action against me.
Yes, that was my plan. I needed to make him worry that I might come up with the truth, so that he would make a mistake. Somehow, I needed to get something that would make him snap.
I knew it was risky, sure. Even with Kyle Johnson gone, I had no doubt that he had enough control over at least some of the other deputies that he could make something bad happen to me if he chose. The trick was to convince him that only he could handle me, that he would have to take care of me personally. I needed a confrontation, one that would let me find out what was really going on. Branson was an egotist; once he thought he had the upper hand, he’d be just stupid enough to gloat and spill everything.
I walked out into the sheriff’s office and called in the next deputy, who happened to be Ross Levens. According to Janice Borden, the secretary, this was the one who had blackmailed a female jailer into sex and got her pregnant. He took his seat at the table as I closed the door behind us.
“Deputy Levens,” I said. “I’m just trying to learn a few things about your late colleague, Kyle Johnson, so I’m talking to everyone that works here. What can you tell me about him?”
Levens shrugged. “He was just Kyle,” he said. “Sheriff’s pet, if you ask me. Those two were pretty much always together, especially when they were off-duty.”
I nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard that. Listen, a few people have told me that Johnson had a tendency to abuse his position. Would you say that’s accurate?”
He looked nervous. “I don’t know that I’d say he abused it, but it was pretty common knowledge that he could be a bit excessive when it came to taking someone into custody. Some of his arrests had to make a detour to the hospital, before they came to jail.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that, too. Do you think he was dirty?”
He shifted in his seat a moment before he replied. “He, uh, he always seemed pretty flush, money-wise, I mean. There aren’t too many deputy sheriffs who can afford to buy a new Corvette, know what I mean? He had one, though, and a brand-new truck, too. I never figured out how he swung that.”
“I know Kyle wasn’t married,” I said. “Do you know of any romantic relationships he might have had? Girlfriends, or even just friends with benefits?”
That question got him looking all over the room, trying to come up with an answer. “Well, not really,” he finally said. “There were rumors about him and one of the dispatchers for a little while, but he shut that up in a hurry. I know that Jenny Susskind, she works over at the jail, she had a thing for him, but I don’t know if they ever got together.”
“Do you think he might’ve ever forced any of the women who work here to have sex with him?”
He suddenly glared at me. “What the hell kind of question is that?”
“A question I just asked you, and which I expect you to answer. There are rumors around town that he bragged about making some of the women here put out for him, and he’s not the only one I’ve heard that about.” I maintained eye contact with him as I added that last bit.
He stared directly into my eyes. “I have never heard any such thing,” he said slowly and emphatically. “And if you are trying to imply that anyone’s ever said anything like that about me, then I want to know who it was. I’m not going to put up with that shit.”
“Why would you think I might have heard that about you? Got something on your conscience?”
Levens sat there with his mouth shut for a moment, just staring at me. I could see anger building inside him, but the way he was chewing his bottom lip told me that he was getting scared, as well.
“I thought this was just about Kyle,” he said at last.
I held his eyes for a few more seconds, then looked down at my notepad. “Do you know what Johnson was working on around the time he was killed?”
Levens hesitated for a second, then shrugged. “You’d have to ask the sheriff,” he said. “I know they were in his office for a couple of hours, that afternoon, and nobody knows what it was about.”
That surprised me. I had expected Levens to deny knowing anything at all. For him to tell me that Johnson and the sheriff might have been up to something together was interesting. The bitterness in his voice implied that Levens might have been jealous of Johnson’s place in the hierarchy.
“But you got your suspicions, right? What do you think it was about?”
He shrugged again. “I honestly don’t know, but Kyle went to Selkirk just after that. All he said was that he had to go check something out, but he didn’t go into detail. Personally, I figured it must be something to do with some big deal the sheriff has been dropping hints about.”
“Big deal? What kind of big deal?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “The sheriff’s been talking about retiring, something about getting rich off some big investment. He’s been going to Selkirk now and then, talking to someone over there about it. Don’t know who.”
“Investment?” I questioned. “Any idea what kind of investment?”
Levens shrugged again. “Not a clue. And I’ll tell you something else, I can’t imagine Branson being any kind of investor, so I’m sure it’s someone else’s idea. Maybe he just backed his way into it, put up some money for a piece of the action.”
“Deputy, the sheriff was pretty upset that I’m talking to all of you folks. Any idea why that might bother him?”
That brought a
grin to his face. “Let’s just say he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t like people poking into his business. A lot of people around the county seem to think he runs things, so there are a lot of folks who would love to see him out of office. The trouble is that most of them are too scared to vote against him, even when somebody has enough courage to try to run as an opponent. If somebody like you comes along and manages to dig up any dirt on him, he might stand to lose his position.”
“But if he’s talking about retiring, what would he care?”
“Just like anybody else,” he said. “If he’s got a skeleton or two in his closet, and you manage to dig them out, he could lose a lot more than his job.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s true. Tell me, Levens, who stands to take over if he were to be removed from office?”
Levens blinked. “Well, Kyle was the chief deputy up until he died. The sheriff hasn’t named the new one yet, but I’d be next in line on seniority. I’ve been here longer than anybody else.”
“Then, if I were to find one of those possible skeletons, and he were removed from office, you would be taking over until the next election?”
He shrugged once more. “Yes, Sir, I would.”
I sat there and considered him for a moment. “I’ve heard a rumor that you are the father of one of the children born to a jailer, here. Is there any truth to that?”
He bit his lip again. “I pay child support,” he said. “We kept it kind of secret because— well, because I was engaged when it happened. After my engagement broke off, I talked to the mother about maybe us getting together, but she had a boyfriend by then, so we just left it the way it was.”
“From what I heard, you blackmailed the woman into having sex with you. Tell me straight, is there any truth to that?”
His eyes went wide, and registered genuine shock at the accusation. “No way,” he said. “Jackie and me, we used to date in high school. What happened between us that night, it was just sort of an accident. I was at the jail when she was getting off duty, and I had just clocked out, myself. We were laughing and cutting up, and decided to go out for a beer. One thing led to another, and I woke up at her place. There wasn’t any pressure, there wasn’t any blackmail, you can ask her. I guarantee you she’ll tell you the same story.”
I nodded, it seemed genuine. But I’d probably still ask her about it, just to be sure. “The thing is,” I said, “I’ve got a very strong feeling that your sheriff and his skeletons may be about to find themselves exposed to some sunlight, and that will probably be the end of his career. I’m telling you this because I feel that it might be in your best interest to assist me in my investigations. Unless, of course, you don’t want the sheriff’s job?”
“Hell, yes, I want it. I was planning to run in the next election, anyway.”
I smiled. “Can you imagine how much easier it would be to win, if you are the incumbent? He’s got more than a year left on this term, so you’d have all that time to prove yourself a better sheriff. That could go a long way toward securing you the job for another few years, don’t you think?”
Levens looked at me hard for a moment. “So, what do you want me to do?”
I leaned forward and put my elbows on the table, crossing my arms. It was a posture that suggested I was taking him into my confidence. “I need someone to dig around, see if you can find out what Johnson was working on. It could be that he was out there in the course of an investigation, but if not, then I need to find out what the real reason was.”
He shrugged. “I can do that,” he said. “Only thing is, we can’t afford for any other deputy to find out we’re working together. Some of these bastards would be loyal to Branson, and some of them are just downright scared of him. If anyone finds out, then Branson will find out as well. Then we’d be dead.”
“No, no, this stays between us.” I handed him my card. “That’s got my cell number on it, and it’s secure. You call me on my cell if you have anything to tell me, alright?”
He immediately took out his phone and punched my number in. “I’m putting you in my contacts, under the name Susan. Anybody ever looks, they’ll think it’s just another girl that I talked to.” I shook my head at the absurdity and genius of it. He slid my card back across the table to me. “Let me get out of here, and spend some time on patrol. Later this afternoon, I’ll come in and take a look at some of the files. I’ll find out what Kyle was working on, and then we can decide whether it was connected. Okay?”
We shook hands, and my new secret agent walked out into the hostile territory of his own world.
Chapter 24
I woke up when the lights came on in my cell, used the bathroom and got myself ready for breakfast. It came a few minutes later, a bowl of cereal and a blueberry muffin, with the usual orange juice and coffee. I had halfway been hoping for another note in the tray, but there wasn’t one. I sat down and ate, passed my tray back when the trusty came around, then waited on my bunk until it was time for me to go out and get my shower.
This time, as soon as I finish my shower, a voice came over the day room speaker and told me to get ready to go back to general population. I was surprised, because I had expected to stay in the SHU for the rest of my time in the jail. From what I had been told, that was common when you are caught with a weapon.
I didn’t argue, though. The main door buzzed, and a jailer motioned for me to step on out. “No handcuffs this time?” I joked.
The jailer grinned. “That’s only for when they think you been a bad boy,” he said. “Apparently, enough people said they saw you get attacked and take the shank away that they’ve decided you didn’t do anything wrong.”
I walked along with jailer until we got back to that part of the jail, and then he took me to get another bedroll. I guess they had taken mine out when I went to the hole. After I got it, he took me back to the same cell block I had been in before, told me I was going back to D7, and called for the door to be opened. I stepped into the short hallway, the door behind me closed, and the one in front of me opened. I stepped inside.
“Motherfucker!” Gunner screamed out, a big smile spreading across his face. “I held your spot for you, Sal.”
I grinned at him, then lugged my bedroll up the stairs and set up my bunk once more. He came in while I was laying it out, and actually gave me a hug.
“Man, it’s good to see you,” he said. “How this happen?”
I shrugged. “The jailer said some of the guys here admitted that someone attacked me with that shank and that I only took it away. They decided I wasn’t the problem, I guess, so they let me come back.”
“Righteous! That’s just righteous. After you left, the BGF started trying to start shit with me, but enough of our independent friends stood up for me that it kept anything from happening. I thought once I was gonna have to fight, but when they saw I had backup, they backed it on down. Now that you back, ain’t nobody going to start no shit.”
I laughed. “Yep,” I said, “Poppa Sal is here to take care of you.”
I suddenly realized that being back in general population meant it would be harder for my unknown ally to get notes to me. That made me think about the one I’d already gotten, and even though it had warned me not to tell anyone, I wanted to talk to Gunner about it. I didn’t think it was safe to talk at that moment, however, since people were walking past our door. During the day, cell doors were required to stay open, so we couldn’t shut it for privacy.
We went back down to the day room, and Gunner fixed me up a cup of coffee. We sat at our usual table, and all the independents came and gathered up around us. I had to tell them all about being in the hole, and repeat what I had been told about why I was brought back. There was a lot of congratulatory talk, and several pats on my shoulder.
Old Charlie was there, and he asked me if I knew any more about my case. I told him and the others about the new developments, that I was now charged with two murders, but that the prosecutor had offered me just as good a deal as he had
offered before on only one.
“Only reason he’d do that is if he’s afraid you might get off,” Charlie said, and the others all agreed with him. “That means they’ve come across some kind of evidence that makes them wonder if you did it or not. Their case isn’t as strong as they want you to think it is, so they’re hoping you’ll cave in and let them have an easy conviction.”
“Well, I told them no deals,” I said. “My lawyer says she’s ready to do all she can for me, but she’s hoping we can come up with more evidence in my favor.”
They all nodded and muttered their own hopes for me. “Only problem with that,” Gunner said, “is ain’t nobody else was there but you and the sheriff. He ain’t gonna admit you telling the truth, because then he the only motherfucker who coulda cut Crazy Kyle’s throat.”
“Yeah, I know,” I said. “But there’s got to be something, some kind of way I can prove I was in that basement when Johnson was cut. I just wish I knew of some way to find that kind of proof.”
We sat around talking until lunch time came, and things went right back to the way they’d been before. The line of Guerillas stood off to the side, waiting for me to go first. The other independent guys still had to wait, and were at the back of the line.
I got my tray and headed for our table, while Gunner got his and followed. I sat down and took the cover off, and there was another note. I quickly grabbed it and shoved it into my pocket, but Gunner saw it.
He was cool, and smart. He glanced at my eyes, then at my pocket, but said nothing. We sat there and ate our lunch—a ham and cheese sandwich with fried onion rings—and the other independents joined us a few minutes later.
We talked as we ate, but of course, Gunner and I were finished first. We took our trays to the dishwasher window, then went back and sat down at the table again.
The note was almost burning me; I was dying to read it. I kept myself under control, though, because I didn’t want to risk anyone else seeing it. It would have to wait until that night, when Gunner and I would be in our cell, alone.
Thriller: I Am Sal - A Mystifying Crime Thriller (Thriller, Crime Thriller, Murder Mystery Book 1) Page 15