5 Murder at the High School Reunion

by Steve Demaree

  We went downstairs for the fellowship time anyway. My will power was good. I wasn’t tempted. Well, not much. After chatting with a few friends, Lou and I hurried to the sanctuary to get our customary back row seats. I didn’t want visitors taking what was rightfully ours. Besides, we could hear quite nicely from the back. As it turned out, we could be seen on the back row, too. I didn’t know this until we were greeted by our pastor on the way out after the service.

  “Cy, as always, good to see you. You must have liked today’s sermon in particular.”

  “I like all of you sermons.”

  “But today I could see the smile on your face, the joy in your heart.”

  I elbowed Lou so that he wouldn’t comment on the joy in my heart, and he took the hint. Of course he had a few words about my joy after we’d left the congregation behind. Neither Lou nor I are prone to dressing up or dressing down, so we didn’t have to bring a change of clothes for the picnic. The girls on the other hand, did change from their church clothes. We arrived at Thelma Lou’s house just after the girls had changed into casual attire.

  We walked in to encounter a luxurious creature hidden behind a paper mask of grotesque proportions. Evidently someone had had enough time to print a picture from her Facebook page. I walked over and took the hand that held up the paper mask, lowered the hand and the mask.

  “I like this face better.”

  “I have a confession to make.”

  “Oh, what’s that? You mean that this mask is what you really look like?”

  “No, I mean I had trouble sleeping last night. I kept thinking of you.”

  A lump formed in my throat. I finally managed to whisper, “Me, too.”

  “You mean you thought of yourself last night, too?”

  I love a beautiful woman with a sense of humor.

  We stood there, starring into each other’s eyes, until Thelma Lou said, “Jennifer, if you’re busy I can pack the food by myself.”

  I was starting to let her go, when she replied, “Sure, if you don’t mind.”

  Those words were music to my ears. Almost as heavenly was when Lou said to Thelma Lou, “Let me help you.”

  Jennifer reached out and did her best to put her arms around this big, burly guy. I don’t know how long we stood there and embraced, but at some point before we were joined by Lou and Thelma Lou we stepped back, while still holding hands. Again I gazed into her eyes, and I was the first to speak.

  “How soon can you move here?”

  “How does yesterday sound?”

  A clearing of the throat, voices, and approaching footsteps alerted us that it was time to separate completely.

  “Well, are you two ready to go?”

  “If you two are,” Jennifer replied.

  +++

  Thelma Lou directed Lou toward Lakeside Park, a city-owned park on the outskirts of town. We arrived a few minutes later, realized that we didn’t have the place all to ourselves, and looked for a place to park the car and our carcasses. The first was easy. The second took a couple of minutes, but finally we spotted an empty picnic table. We took our time eating, even fed each other. Well, Lou and I didn’t feed each other, but Jennifer and I did. However, we refrained from eating from both ends of anything until me met in the middle. After all, I had no idea if the Chief or some of my friends from the department were there. I could imagine what they’d have to say, simply seeing me somewhere with a woman. We were close enough that none of them would have believed she was my cousin from Alabama.

  After we finished eating, we must have sat and talked for thirty minutes or so, as a foursome.

  “What do you think of going out on the lake in a couple of those paddleboats?” Jennifer asked.

  “Jennifer, how about you and I taking a walk down the woodland trail instead?”

  “Sounds good to me. But Thelma Lou and Lou, you feel free to give one of those paddleboats a try. Let us know what you think of it.”

  I was glad that she was not someone who had to plan everything. And that she wanted to be alone with me as much as I wanted to be alone with her.

  We took off down the woodland trail and were thankful that we seemed to have the trail all to ourselves. She reached over and took my hand, and we swung them back and forth, as we walked slowly down the trail. I assume that we walked slowly because neither of us was ready for the moment to end. Plus, we looked more at each other than we did the pathway, so we had to go slowly so as not to fall down.

  Hidden from the rest of the world, we talked about ourselves. She asked me questions about myself that she didn’t already know the answers to, and I learned what I could about her.

  We walked for a while, and then we stopped. I looked around, saw no one. Then I looked at her, so close to me. I’m five feet ten inches tall, so I guessed her to be around five eight. I looked at her, mere inches from me. I don’t know who made the first move, but our lips met, and our kiss lingered.

  When we parted, she looked at me and saw that I had tears in my eyes.

  “What’s wrong, Cy? I’m sorry if I did something wrong.”

  Tears began to form in her eyes, too.

  “It’s just that you’re the first woman I’ve kissed since my mother died. And the last woman I kissed on the lips was my Eunice, and she’s been gone over twenty years.”

  “I’m sorry. I guess I should have waited.”

  “But I’m not sorry. I’d just forgotten what it’s like to have feelings for a woman.”

  This time I’m sure she was the one who kissed first, and the second kiss lingered longer than the first. We parted only when we heard the snickers. I looked up to see a boy and a girl. They looked around twelve years of age.

  “Sorry to interrupt you, but there’s not enough room for us to get by. If you could let us by before you carry on.”

  We stepped aside to let them pass, but heard their remarks as they walked on by.

  “They are supposed to be our role models.”

  “Yeah, they tell us no PDA, but I see they don’t practice what they preach.”

  We gave them time to move away from us, and then we too walked on, but happy we’d taken the trail.

  +++

  We’d agreed to meet at Lou’s car, and we returned just as two leg-weary people stepped from a paddleboat back on to hard ground. Their first few steps were wobbly. I was glad we’d chosen the trail instead.

  It was time to leave. Neither Jennifer nor I wanted the day to end, but Jennifer had already told me that she needed to leave town before 4:00 in order to get home before dark. Luckily, it was summer and darkness didn’t arrive until somewhere around 9:00.

  Lou drove back to Thelma Lou’s. Jennifer and I were silent, both of us wrapped up in our thoughts. A few minutes later, we stood in Thelma Lou’s living room saying our goodbyes.

  “I’ve made up my mind. I’m definitely going to move here, but it might be a few months before I can sell my house and find one here. But, I can probably arrange another weekend trip before long.”

  I nodded, and reached out and hugged her. She broke apart from me long enough to put her arms around my neck and pull my lips to hers. It didn’t matter what Lou or Thelma Lou saw. That kiss had to last us for a while.

  She had already packed. I helped her carry her things out, kissed her one more time, and the three of us stood there and watched her drive off.

  Thelma Lou walked over and gave me a hug.

  “Thanks for making my cousin feel welcome,” and then she laughed. We all did.

  “Thanks for having a cousin,” I replied.

  +++

  I expected Lou to let fly as soon as we left, but he left me to my thoughts. He drove me home. I got out and said, “Thanks.”

  He replied, “Remember Cy, we have to go back to work tomorrow.”

  “I know, but that’s tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.”

  He laughed and backed out of my driveway.

  I gave myself an hour to think of Jennifer, and then my
thoughts returned to the murder case.

  +++

  I had trouble leaving my thoughts of Jennifer behind and moving on to the case at hand. For the first five minutes I did nothing but rescue Jennifer from the freezer at the school. Finally, I was able to move on.

  I pictured each of the suspects, none of whom looked any guiltier than any of the others. When I thought of what I had planned for the next day, to see what I could find out about Miriam Van Meter, the girl who died in the wreck twenty years ago, I wondered if her death had anything to do with the murders. From everything I could ascertain, the murders were not premeditated. No one, including Rose Ellen Calvert who organized the reunion, seemed to have any knowledge that Jimmy Conkwright was coming to the reunion. I couldn’t even find out how Conkwright knew that the reunion was taking place, but he did. Obviously, someone saw an opportunity to rid the world of a bad person and took advantage of that opportunity. But who?

  +++

  I continued to ponder the case until the phone rang. I looked at my watch. It was almost 9:00. I couldn’t imagine anyone calling me at that time on a Sunday night except Lou. Maybe he’d been thinking about the case too, and had come up with a lead.

  “Dekker here.”

  “Sharp here,” came the reply.

  “You got that right! You’re as sharp as they come, in every way.”

  “I just wanted to let you know I made it home okay. The drive home didn’t seem as long. I thought of you all the way back.”

  “Why don’t you just turn around and come back, and think of me all the way here?”

  “I can’t do that yet, but I will as soon as I can. Besides, aren’t you working on a case?”

  “I was just going over it when the phone rang.”

  “Well, I’d better let you go, then. I miss you already.”

  “And I missed you already before you disappeared out of sight.”

  I hung up and gave up. There was no way I could focus on the case again until the next morning. I went to the computer, Googled Jennifer. It was just as I hoped. The ugly picture had been replaced by a gorgeous one. It was all I could do to keep from kissing the computer screen.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I awoke Monday morning and made myself focus on the case. Once I got back into the routine of fixing breakfast, Wiiing, and heading out to bring the case to a conclusion I would be all right. I sprang from the bed a little quicker than I was able to do a few weeks before, and set about doing just that, whatever I could do to bring the case to a conclusion. I could think about Jennifer while I Wiied, but after that it was back to business. I set a new high score in Advanced Step, and even attempted the Tree exercise. I still wasn’t able to support myself with one foot tucked underneath me, so I had to put my foot down, since Jennifer wasn’t there to catch me.

  +++

  “Good morning, Sam.”

  “You seem especially chipper this morning, Cy. Are you calling me to tell me you’ve solved your case?”

  “Not yet, Sam, but I am calling you to give you a little work to do.”

  “So, you’ve come up with sixteen more suspects you want me to check on.”

  “No, just one name, and she’s not a suspect. She died twenty years ago.”

  “If she died twenty years ago, why do you want me to check on her? I doubt if she’s gone anywhere.”

  “I’m not sure about that, but if she did, she went twenty years ago. Her name is Miriam Van Meter. She was the girl who was killed in the car wreck one night when Jimmy Conkwright was drunk.”

  “I vaguely remember something about that. It caused quite a stir around here for a while. So, what do you want from me?”

  “I want you to see if you can figure out where she came from. All anyone I’ve talked to seems to know is that one day she arrived at County High. No one seems to have seen her before that. Check with the school. Find out where she came from. Then check there to see if she still has family there. Find out as much as you can about her. In the meantime, Lou and I are going to check on where she went. Maybe take a look at her tombstone, see if it tells us anything. We’re on our way to the cemetery.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re getting out of the house for a change. Is that all you have for me?”

  “It is for now, and I have been out working on the case every day.”

  “If you say so. Well, I should be able to get back to you with the information you want some time today or tomorrow.”

  +++

  I pulled up in front of Lou’s apartment building. He was sitting on the front porch. He got up quickly and seemed to bounce as he made his way to Lightning.

  “After the dash,” he said, as he tucked himself into his seatbelt.

  “Huh?” was all I could mutter.

  “I said, ‘after the dash.’ Cy, you need to get those love stars out of your eyes and focus on the case again.”

  “I am focusing on the case.”

  “Then why don’t you recognize the clue of the day?”

  I stared at him dejectedly.

  “What’s the matter, Cy?”

  “You said, ‘After the dash?’”

  “That’s right.”

  “It’s just that it doesn’t sound like something that Google will be able to help us with.”

  “Remember, Cy, we were always able to figure things out before we ever heard of Google.”

  “Yeah, but it always took us longer. Do you have any idea what it means?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “You do?” I couldn’t believe Lou’s answer because he always gave me a strange look or a rebuke when I asked him that before.

  “Sure. It means that you are to run a fifty yard dash, and I will be there at the end. At that time, your adrenalin will be so strong that you will know what this clue means.”

  “You know, Lou, I do think I’ll be ready to do the ten minute run on the Wii before long.”

  “You mean within the decade?”

  “Yeah, and maybe within a month.”

  “You know, Cy, love does some strange things to people. Now, where are we going?”

  I informed Lou that it was time to see if Miriam Van Meter’s death had anything to do with the murders, so we needed to see what we could find out about her.

  +++

  We arrived at the cemetery, found Lightning a comfortable place to rest, then got out and made our way to the office.

  “Hi, I’m Lt. Dekker with the Hilldale Police Department. This is Sgt. Murdock. We’re here to inquire about someone who was buried here twenty years ago.”

  “Do you have the exact date this burial took place?”

  “No, but it was sometime in May, and we do have her name. It’s Miriam Van Meter.”

  The woman turned to the computer and hit some keys, then hit some more. She sat there puzzled for a moment, and then turned back to me.

  “Is this the correct spelling?”

  “That’s right. At least I think it’s right. Just tell me where to find her grave. And if you have any information on her next of kin, that would be appreciated, too.”

  “I’m sorry, Lieutenant, but she doesn’t seem to be buried here. What made you think that she was?”

  “She lived here, and she died here.”

  “Was she born here?”

  “I don’t think so. Where she was born is what I’m trying to find out.”

  “Well, if her family came from somewhere else, there’s a good possibility that they might have buried her back where they came from. Was she an older woman?”

  “Quite the opposite. She was a teenager.”

  “Well, sometimes when a tragedy strikes a family, like when a young person dies, that family tries to rid themselves of anything or any place that might conjure up memories of the awful occasion. It could be they moved back where they came from and they had her buried there. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

  +++

  If the cemetery couldn’t help us, maybe the mortuary could. Hilldale had t
wo of them, McPeak’s and Herrington & Sons. We would check both places. We began with McPeak’s, since it was closer.

  Lou opened the front door and someone came rushing out of the office to meet us.

  “I’m sorry, for the delay, but some of our people are still out at the cemetery. We had a funeral this morning.”

  I said I understood, and told the man who welcomed me why we were there.

  “What was the name again?”

  “Miriam Van Meter.”

  As was the case at the cemetery, the man sat down in front of a computer, and pushed some keys.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t seem to have anything. Are you sure we served the family, or could it have been Herrington?”

  “I’m really not sure. It was a long time ago.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize that. How long ago?”

  When I said twenty years, the man turned and smiled at me.

  “That might explain it. See, twenty years ago we weren’t computerized. All of those files are stored in the basement. As time permits, we’re trying to convert everything to the computer, but we’ve been so busy lately we haven’t had time to get all of them done. We’d be glad to check on that for you, Lieutenant, but we have another funeral today. It would probably be tomorrow sometime before we can find what you want.”

  I was disappointed, but I understood. I agree to check back the next day.

  Lou and I left and made the short drive to Herrington & Sons. We left five minutes later, with the same response.

  I was at a loss as to what to do next. All I could think of was for Lou and me to head to my house and mull over what we knew. There had to be something out there that could help us. Otherwise, our only hope was if Sam had more luck than we had had.

  +++

  “Any ideas, Lou?”

  “None, Cy.”

  “I guess all we can do is lay it all out on the table, clues, suspects, motives, and see if anything jumps out at us.”

  Both of us grabbed a legal pad and headed to my dining room table. We put down who we had talked to, who might have had a reason to murder either or both of the victims, and the clues we had been given. In Column A we had Walter Gillis, Rose Ellen Calvert, Earl Spickard, Jim Bob Gibbons, Billy Korlein, April Korlein, George Justice, Sandy Justice, and Duck Spencer. We refrained from putting down Mrs. Eversole, Lou’s neighbor, because she had a good alibi for the night of the murders. She was watching Jennifer Somebody on TV in her apartment. I was sorry I thought of Mrs. Eversole, because the thought of Jennifer anybody made me think of Jennifer Special. I needed to focus.