“What are you talking about?” Sadie asked, perplexed.
Jelly joined Sadie on the porch and sat down. Buck reclaimed his seat in the shade of the tree and began to converse with Jelly's hounds.
Jelly wiped his sweaty face with the back of his hand and pulled a crumpled letter out of his pants pocket and handed it to Sadie. It was from the bank where she used to work—now called First Merc State Bank. Consumed with curiosity, she flattened the envelope on her knee, and then pulled the letter out and studied it. As she read, she became greatly concerned. She refolded the letter and handed it and the envelope back to him.
“Jelly, this letter says you're behind on your house payments. They've already started foreclosure procedures.”
“I can read.” Jelly sounded angry. “I know what it says. But it's all lies.”
“What do you mean it's all lies?”
“They take my money every month. My disability check goes straight to their bank. I never get a penny of it. They've got all my money and now they're going to take my place. You know, when my wife died, a little bit of me died, too. Now that they're going to take my place, I don't see any reason to go on.”
“There has to be a mistake.” Sadie said, alarmed. “Did you talk to the bank?”
“Oh, I talked to them all right. They don't care. None of them care about anything except themselves. You know, the good Lord tells us in the Bible to treat everyone the way you want to be treated. You're supposed to love your neighbor as yourself. He tells us what to do. He even tells us how to do it. It's just that nobody does it.” His lip began to quiver. “The only thing left for me to do is destroy this place.”
“Oh, no.” Sadie's mind began to spin. “Please tell me you didn't write a threatening letter to the bank.”
Jelly stared blankly at her. “Yes, I wrote them a letter,” he said in a calm and matter-of-fact tone. “I told them what I just told you. It wasn't a threatening letter. It was just plain old fact. What they are doing is wrong. I told them if they couldn't figure out what they were supposed to do, I would destroy this place. Today is the deadline they gave me, so today is the day I destroy my house.”
Sadie exhaled a long, slow breath.
Buck interrupted their conversation. “I'm going to go ahead and walk home.”
“Hold on, Buck,” Sadie said. “Jelly and I are going to town. I'll drop you off.” She turned her attention back to Jelly. “Get cleaned up, Jelly. We're going to the bank.”
While Sadie waited for Jelly, she pulled out her cell phone and placed a call to Charlie McCord. “Charlie, I've solved the mystery behind your bomb-threat letter…. Well, it's kind of complicated. Can you meet me at the First Merc State Bank branch in Sycamore Springs?…Yes, the branch where I used to work—in about an hour. Thanks.” She hung up and then called Lance. When she got his voice mail, she left him the same message.
She dropped her cell phone in her purse and approached Buck. She loved his independent charm and dry humor. He reminded her of her late father. Buck had been there supporting his neighbor, not judging his actions, just offering his encouragement for the decision Jelly had already made. If Jelly wanted to burn down his house, then Buck was there to cheer him on, and if the truth be known, Buck would have been the one to take Jelly in when he had nowhere else to go. She wondered if either man had bothered to think that far in advance.
“Buck, are you all right?” she asked. “The nurses at the hospital aren't very happy with you. They think you changed into a bird and flew out the window.” She grinned.
A twinkle flashed in his eyes. “I did,” he said. “Flew the coop.” Then he winked at Sadie.
“Where'd you go, anyway? I looked everywhere for you.”
“Went to see my medicine man. He put some herbs on my knee and gave me this walking stick. I feel better already.” He placed his hand on his knee and flexed the lower part of his leg up and down. “Then I went to the gourd dance.” One of Jelly's dogs got up, made a circle, and reclaimed his place next to Buck's chair. Buck reached down and patted him on the head. “Saw your man at the gourd dance,” he said, before moving his attention from the dog to Sadie. “I figured he was looking for me, but when we broke for dinner he was gone. So I caught a ride with someone else and asked them to drop me off at Jelly's. I wasn't in any mood to put up with that niece of mine just yet. Guess it's time to go home and lay down the law. It's time for her and her friend to go back to California.” He stood up. “She's family, but she's a pain in the ass.”
Jelly came out of the house wearing jeans and a white tee shirt, his pink face clean-shaven, his wet hair slick against his head.
“Come on, you two,” Sadie said. “Get in.”
As they climbed into Sadie's vehicle, Jelly spoke up. “What about you? You've got ashes in your hair.”
Sadie laughed and looked in the rearview mirror to assess her appearance. “That's okay. You're the important customer. Not me.”
When they dropped Buck off at his house, Sadie noticed the black Cadillac and the rental car had both returned to Buck's yard. “Looks like you've got company, Buck.”
Buck grimaced as he crawled out of the car, using his walking stick to help him gain his balance. “Not for long,” he said, as he limped toward the house.
Sadie smiled as she backed out onto the road and continued to Sycamore Springs. Secretly, she wished she could witness the fireworks that were about to go off inside Buck's house. Even though she knew Buck as a gentle spirit, she imagined he could be a tough old leatherneck, if and when he wanted.
When they arrived at the bank, Sadie parked beside Charlie's cruiser, and she and Jelly got out and entered. She could see Charlie inside the manager's office and proceeded to invite herself and Jelly in.
It took only a few minutes for Sadie to explain in no uncertain terms that her friend had an agreement with the bank to transfer his mortgage payment from his checking account. The amount of his monthly direct deposit was more than enough to cover his house payments, and the bank's negligence in transferring the funds had caused enough emotional distress for Jelly that he had almost destroyed his own home.
“The bank could be held liable for any damages,” she said, “mental and physical.”
The branch manager, Melanie Thompson, sat stoically listening to Sadie. Eventually, she leaned forward, handed the foreclosure letter back to Jelly, and looked at Sadie. “Not my problem. It's already been transferred to the foreclosure department.”
“Then get them on the phone.” Sadie deliberately raised her voice. “Now,” she added.
Melanie looked at Sadie, then at Charlie, who raised his eyebrow in a you'd-better-do-it-now look, before she reluctantly picked up her phone, dialed, and hit the speaker button. Sadie dismissed the clerk who answered and asked for the department manager. Melanie rolled her eyes when Sadie struck up a conversation with a former colleague, a woman Sadie obviously knew well from working together in the past. Jelly sat wide-eyed, mouth gaping, watching the events unfold.
“Miss Thompson says nothing can be done,” Sadie was saying, “but you and I both know when the bank is at fault you can take immediate steps to override her decision, transfer the funds that are still in his account, and close out the foreclosure file. Right?”
The woman on the other end of the line spoke with authority. “Absolutely, Sadie. Give me the information and I'll take care of it.”
“I'll turn the phone over to Miss Thompson and she can give you the particulars. It was great talking to you. Give me a call sometime and we'll have coffee.”
“Will do,” the voice on the other end of the line said.
Irritation flooded Melanie Thompson's face as she relayed the information about Jelly's accounts into the phone. Sadie motioned with her head for Charlie to step outside the manager's office.
“I don't know what you needed me for,” Charlie chuckled. “Sounds like you still know your way around a bank fairly well.”
“I needed you to realize
that letter was not a bomb threat, Charlie. It was a man reaching out for some kind of help, and no one would listen.”
Charlie picked at the side of Sadie's hair. “Do you know you have ashes in your hair?”
Sadie flipped her hair behind her shoulders. “Don't change the subject. You owe Buck Skinner an apology for even considering he might have called in a threat to the bank from his hospital room. Jelly told me he made the call himself from Buck's room and all he asked was whether or not they got his letter. That's not criminal, Charlie, it's a huge misunderstanding by an incompetent bank manager who doesn't have a lick of common sense.”
Charlie looked past Sadie through the glass wall of Melanie Thompson's office and nodded. “I think you're right, Sadie.”
“Buck is at home recuperating. I think you need to give him some slack. Lance told me on the phone last night that you picked up Cynthia Tanner's sister for questioning. Doesn't it seem plausible that she simply killed the other Ben Skinner because he was abusing her older sister? That certainly makes more sense to me.”
Charlie placed his hand on his hip. “Okay, I might have been wrong about your friend Buck and the phone call, but he is not out of the woods yet on the demise of one identity thief. Buck had a motive for that murder, too. We're still waiting on the lab to match the blood and fingerprints on the getaway vehicle and the gun to someone. It could still be your friend Buck. We're going to need to get his fingerprints.”
Disgust filled Sadie. “You never give up, do you, Charlie?”
Charlie put his hand on Sadie's shoulder. “It's my job, Sadie. It's my job.”
Jelly emerged from the branch manager's office looking as if he wanted to cry. “I don't know how to thank you, Sadie. You know, my wife took care of all the bank business. She kept everything all neat and orderly.” Jelly paused for a moment, pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket, and wiped his nose. “Now everything's a mess. I don't know what I'm going to do without her. It's like part of me is just gone.”
Sadie patted him on the shoulder. “You'll be okay, Jelly, but it's going to take some time. Keep reading your Bible and you'll be okay.”
“You worked a full-fledged miracle in there,” he said. “They would never listen to me. You really do love your neighbor.”
Sadie smiled. “Call me next month when your mortgage is due and we'll come in and make sure Melanie fixed the automatic payment.” Then she laughed. “Come on, Jelly. Let's go home.” She turned and looked at Charlie. “Are you coming?”
Charlie nodded. “I'll meet you at the Skinner place in a bit.”
Chapter 32
Sadie dropped Jelly off at his house and made him promise to call her if he needed help with anything. When she got to Buck's house, she noticed the two vehicles she'd seen earlier were still there, so she decided to go on home and call Lance. They could make arrangements to meet at Buck's, and Lance could return the letters he'd told her about.
Sonny met her with his regular enthusiasm—lots of wolf-talk and wagging of tail. Joe stood near the gate under his favorite shade tree, swishing away flies with his tail. As she unlocked the back door, she could hear her phone ringing. She dropped her things and answered. It was Lance.
He was on his way from Liberty to her place now. He'd brought Buck's things with him and wanted to get them back to Buck as soon as possible. She would ride Joe and meet Lance at Buck's in about half an hour. They agreed and hung up.
Her call to Buck to let him know they were coming went unanswered. She left a message on his recorder and dismissed it from her mind.
She grabbed a carrot and walked to the barn to retrieve Joe's bridle. Before she could turn around, the horse had his broad nose in the middle of her back, snuffling. She giggled and turned to the horse, slipped him the carrot, and let him finish eating it before she placed the bit in his mouth and pulled the bridle over his small, attentive ears. She pulled his blanket and saddle from the railing, placed them on his back, and tightened the cinch.
As she worked with Joe, she began to think about Buck and all he'd been through. She hoped she could be as resilient as he was when she reached his age. A wave of uneasiness swept over her. Why hadn't Buck answered the phone when she called? Then she reminded herself that he didn't like to talk on the phone. He'd probably just been ignoring her call.
She patted Joe on the neck and whispered sweet words in his ear, then led him through the gate. Sonny quickly left his resting place next to the back porch and joined Sadie as she climbed onto Joe's back.
“Come on, boys,” she said. “Let's go see Buck.”
They took a leisurely walk through the pasture and then through a gate near Buck's house. As Sadie got closer, she could see the two cars were still there, and the uneasiness she'd felt earlier quickly returned. With that many people around, surely someone could have answered the phone.
She rode Joe into the yard and found a place for him under a shade tree. She dismounted and dropped his reins to the ground, a signal for him to stand still. “Sonny, stay,” she commanded. The wolf-dog found a spot not far from Joe and lay down.
Sadie approached the house and knocked on the screen door. She couldn't hear anyone talking or any movement inside, so she knocked again. Still no answer. Obviously, that's why no one answered the phone; they must be out back somewhere.
She looked toward the empty road. Surely Lance will be here any minute, she thought.
She left the front porch and walked around the side of the house. As she neared the back porch, she could hear Buck's niece carrying on a one-sided conversation, and Sadie wondered who she was talking to.
Sadie stopped just out of Dee Dee's sight. Quietly, she leaned against the house, inching as close as possible for better hearing.
“Just get it over with,” Dee Dee was saying. “I don't know…. Well, we wouldn't have this problem if you hadn't killed the wrong Benjamin Skinner in the first place.”
Dee Dee's words sent a chill down Sadie's spine and pumped adrenaline through her veins. The puzzle began to piece itself together in her mind's eye. Buck's own niece had arranged to have him killed, but the killer had found the identity thief instead of her uncle. Questions swirled in her head. Where was Buck? Where was the killer on the other end of Dee Dee's cell phone call? And where was the driver of the rental car?
Sadie quickly retreated to the front yard, looking for Lance. Where was he? Buck's life was in danger. She couldn't wait. She looked at Sonny and he immediately stood. She held a finger to her lips indicating silence and pointed at the ground beside her. The wolf-dog flew to her side and watched for her silent instructions. Together, Sadie and Sonny walked close to the house to the back porch and crouched.
Dee Dee continued to talk on her phone in an irritated voice. “I don't know, think of something. Just make it look like an accident so they can't tie it back to us. And hurry up so we can get out of here. I've had all of this place I can stand for a while…. Yeah, yeah, I know, but it'll be different once he's out of the way and this place is mine.” She paused for a moment, then suddenly stopped talking, put the phone down, and walked to the edge of the porch and looked straight at Sadie. “You again? Now what do you want? I didn't hear you drive up.”
“Where's Buck?” Sadie asked, trying to muster a relaxed tone.
“I don't know. He's probably disappeared again. That's what he's good at, isn't it?”
Sadie's heart pounded inside her chest. “Where's your friend? The one driving the rental car parked out front?”
Dee Dee looked nervously into the pasture toward the springhouse. “He's getting some water samples to take back with us. We're leaving in a few minutes.”
Sadie walked closer to the back porch where Dee Dee was standing. “I thought Buck said he didn't want to sell his water.”
“Yeah, well, he'll eventually come around. Besides, he's an old man and he isn't going to live forever.” Dee Dee poked at her hair with her long fingernails. “I'm his only living relative. In time, the
place will be mine and I can do whatever I want with the water. It doesn't matter to me whether it's now or later.”
Sadie moved to the bottom of the back porch steps, her hand holding tightly to the scruff of Sonny's neck, keeping his body close to her leg.
“You know, you're kind of scary, you and your wild dog. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I'll tell my uncle you stopped by.”
“Will that be before or after your friend kills him?”
Dee Dee took a step backward, fear crossing her face. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
“I heard your entire conversation, Dee Dee. Two lawmen will be arriving here any minute. Maybe you can explain it to them.”
Dee Dee's mouth trembled and terror danced in her widened eyes as she dropped her cell phone. She jumped off the porch and ran toward the creek, picking her feet high in the air as if she was afraid the tall weeds would touch her shoes.
“Stop her, Sonny.”
In less than a minute, Sonny stood facing the redheaded woman, teeth bared, daring her to move. Dee Dee screamed. “Call him off! Call him off!”
Sadie heard a truck door slam and ran to the front yard to find Lance walking toward the house. “Hurry,” she shrieked, and Lance quickly followed to find Dee Dee cowering on the ground, covering her head with her arms. Sonny stood his ground, barking at her.
“Keep her from leaving and keep her from using her cell phone,” Sadie commanded as she ran for her horse. “She's hired someone to kill Buck. I think they're at the springhouse.”
“Stop, Sadie!” Lance yelled.
By then she was on Joe's back and had pointed the horse into Buck's property toward the springhouse. Sonny left his prize for Lance to take care of and ran ahead. Sadie and Joe slammed to a halt in front of the springhouse while Sonny raced forward. The springhouse door stood open, with no one in sight. Sadie turned Joe around the springhouse and chased Sonny toward the place where they'd found Buck once before—in the sinkhole.
Sinking Suspicions Page 20