by Jessica Beck
“You’d be amazed at how many ordinary folks have records,” he said.
“Don’t keep me in suspense. What did Kyle and Travis do?”
“Well, it appears that Travis has had two Drunk and Disorderly charges against him in the past, both of them dismissed. From the reports I got, it sounds as though Travis is a mean drunk.”
“When did those arrests happen?”
Jake studied his notebook before answering. “Eleven and ten years ago, respectively.”
“But he hasn’t been in trouble since then?”
Jake shook his head. “No, at least not officially.”
“So, what I’m hearing is that he couldn’t handle his liquor when he was in his early twenties, but he’s managed to keep it under control since then. Does that about sum it up?”
“It’s probably a fair statement given what I’ve just told you, but there’s more to his story than that,” Jake said. “Could you please explain to me why you are suddenly so defensive of this guy? I didn’t think you liked him after hearing the way you talked about him earlier.”
“I don’t, but that’s beside the point. It seems to me that once someone has a criminal record, guilty or not, they’re saddled with it the rest of their life. Don’t you believe that people can change?”
Jake thought about it for a moment before answering, so I knew that he was giving my question serious consideration. That was one of the things that I loved most about him. He took everything I said seriously and worthy of a well-thought-out response. “I believe that people can change, but it’s not easy,” he finally said. “I’ve seen it happen a few times in the past, but more often than not, it doesn’t work out that way. First of all, they have to want to change, and second, they have to work hard at it to make it happen. Most people just aren’t willing to put in the time and effort.”
“But you admit that, given the right conditions, it can happen,” I said.
“Of course it can.”
I reached over and patted his leg for a moment. “Thanks. That’s all I wanted to hear you say.”
“Suzanne, are you just going to ignore my other disclaimers and conditions?” Jake asked me with that characteristic grin of his.
“For the moment.”
“Fine. I know better than to argue the point with you.”
“Now, there are three other suspects on our list,” I said. “What about the rest of the group?”
“Hang on a second. I’m not finished with Travis yet.”
“I thought you said that his record for the last ten years has been clean?”
“Just because no one pressed charges doesn’t mean that nothing happened,” Jake said.
“That sentence barely makes sense. Can you be more specific?” I asked.
“Evidently Travis got into a fight in a bar just two weeks ago. He got whipped pretty good, and from what my source told me, he wasn’t very happy about it.”
“If he was in a bar fight, why wasn’t he arrested?”
“Evidently neither party wanted to press charges, and the bar wasn’t exactly dying to have the police intervene, either. Care to guess who the other person in the fight was?”
“I’m thinking that maybe it was Rick Hastings,” I said tentatively.
“Ring, ring, ring, give the lady a prize.”
“Okay, so maybe Travis isn’t capable of changing, but that doesn’t mean that other people aren’t.”
“I just said as much, didn’t I?”
“Let’s move on then, unless you have something else against Travis.”
“No, that was all I was able to get from my source about him.” Jake went back to his notebook. “Here’s something interesting. I have a hunch that you’ll find this one intriguing. Did you know that Kyle Creasy got thrown out of college his freshman year?”
“No, I didn’t even know that he went anywhere. What happened?”
“His girlfriend broke up with him, and he reacted pretty badly.”
I felt an icy finger run down my spine, knowing that this man had now set his sights on my assistant at Donut Hearts. “Tell me what happened, Jake.”
“According to the girl involved, he became obsessed with her. Any guy she talked to was considered a threat, and he didn’t take kindly to competition, even if it was only in his head.”
“Oh, no,” I said without thinking.
“What does that mean?”
“He’s got a crush on Emma, and when I told her about it, I got the distinct impression that she might want to pursue it.”
“You’ve got to stop that from happening, Suzanne,” Jake said ominously.
“I know that, but I couldn’t keep her from going out with Rick Hastings, so my track record isn’t very good when it comes to interfering with my assistant’s love life. What else do you have?”
Jake flipped to the next page. “Well, the list grows a lot longer when it comes to Denny West and Amanda Moore. Denny has had quite a few brushes with the law in his checkered past, though interestingly enough, he’s never been charged with anything more serious than a speeding ticket. He and Rick both appear to operate in the same circles, and there are rumors that they were business competitors. In their line of work, they tend to take that kind of thing rather seriously.”
“But no formal arrests?”
“At least not for Denny, who is arguably the dirtiest one of the bunch. Amanda’s criminal record is another matter altogether, though.”
“What was she charged with, assault as well?” I asked, shuddering a little when I thought about the repair shop manager and her aggressive manner.
“No. She pled guilty to two counts of embezzlement, and served seven months in county lockup.”
“How is that significant to our case?” I asked him.
“While she was there, she met a junior member of Happy Bristow’s group of thugs. Introductions were made, and upon Amanda’s release, she was offered the job of running the shop where she is working now.”
“Well, at least she won’t steal from this employer,” I said half-jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.
“If she does, I can pretty much guarantee you that she won’t be going back to jail. I’ve got a hunch that Happy would punish her in a completely different manner, one that’s not approved of by local law enforcement.”
“What’s her connection to Rick, though?” I asked, curious about how this man in Emma’s life had wound up with such far-reaching associates. I nearly called them friends, but they were anything but that, apparently.
“It turns out that he and Amanda were high school sweethearts, and when Amanda wanted to rekindle the spark, Rick turned her down in a very public place. She wasn’t pleased at all about the snub, and it just happened last week, so chances are the wound is still fresh.”
“That’s not the way she told it, but then again, why would it surprise me that she avoided the question entirely? I guess she thought it was better to do that than to come right out and lie to me.” I whistled softly. “So, let me sum the situation up. First there’s Travis, who got in a bar fight with Rick recently and might be looking for revenge. Then we have Kyle, who might have been trying to get rid of the competition for Emma’s attention. Amanda is most likely a spurned love interest, and Denny was a serious business competitor. Does that about cover it all?”
“They’re quite the stellar group, aren’t they?” Jake asked me with a smile.
“Why are you grinning?”
“These are people I can understand, Suzanne,” Jake said as he tapped his notebook. “If we apply just the right amount of pressure in exactly the right place, we might be able to get one of them to crack.”
“Just remember, you don’t have your biggest weapon anymore, Jake. You’re not a cop, so you can’t force them to talk to you.”
“No, but I’ve got other ways of ensuring their cooperation.”
“Care to share some of them with me?” I asked as we finally pulled up in front of Amanda’s garage.
“As soon as I figure them out, I’ll let you know,” he said. “Now, let’s go shake some tree branches and see what falls out.”
Jake seemed almost eager to tackle Amanda without his badge, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. Without his shield, he was just another citizen asking nosy questions, and none of our suspects were under any compunction to answer. This was all new to Jake, investigating from the other side of his official status, but I knew it all too well, myself.
Still, if he were going to be of much help to Grace and me, he’d learn soon enough.
I just hoped that the process itself wasn’t too painful, but at that point, all bets were off.
Chapter 16
The conversation with Amanda was going to have to wait a little longer, though. Jake’s cellphone rang, and as he glanced at the caller ID, he said, “Sorry. I have to take this.” After he said hello, a frown appeared on his face. From his end, it was quite a cryptic conversation. “Yes. No. Of course. I understand. No worries. Thanks.”
When he hung up, I asked him, “What was that all about?”
“That was my source from before,” Jake said somberly.
“Is something wrong?”
“Apparently my former boss caught wind of what I was asking my friend to do, so he’s cut me off from any more information from the state police. To quote my old boss, he said, ‘If he wants to use the resources a cop has, he has to work the job.’ I’m afraid that I might have gotten my friend into a little trouble.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I said.
“It’s fine,” Jake said as he forced a smile. “Unfortunately, it looks as though I’m going to be an amateur sleuth much faster than I expected. From here on out, I can’t rely on old friends. I’m going to have to depend on my own detective skills.”
“Which are too numerous to even mention,” I said, doing my best to reassure him that everything was going to be okay. I knew the transition wasn’t going to be without its own pain, but I hadn’t expected it to start so quickly. “Are you sure that you still want to do this?”
“More than ever now,” he said. “I’m determined to prove that I’m a good investigator, with or without any authority to back it up.”
“That’s the spirit. Now, how should we approach Amanda?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I believe that we should tell the truth, but selectively.”
“That sounds exactly like what I do,” I said with a smile.
“See? There’s a reason that you’ve been so successful in the past,” Jake said.
I was about to respond when I saw Amanda approaching my Jeep. Had she been watching us from inside, waiting for us to make our first move? I was beginning to wonder if the woman kept one eye on the parking lot at all times, ready for trouble to appear. How else could she have known that we were there? That made me wonder if she thought we’d been playing games when we’d actually been having a conversation about the reality of Jake’s new status as an amateur. Maybe we could even use that to our benefit.
“Follow my lead,” I said as I got out of the Jeep and started to face Amanda. Jake looked surprised by my request, but to his credit, he nodded in agreement.
“I can’t believe that you’re back here again after being warned repeatedly not to return,” Amanda said as she started to scold me. As she studied Jake, she asked, “Did you actually bring muscle with you this time? You might think that he’s big enough and tough enough, but you haven’t seen the guys I have in back.”
“This is Jake Bishop,” I said. “He wants to have a word with you.”
She frowned a little at the identification. “The state police inspector?”
“Do you know another Jake Bishop?” I asked her. While I had not technically lied, I also didn’t correct her belief that Jake was still on active duty.
Amanda just shrugged, though it was clear that our presence at her shop wasn’t making her very happy. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” she said a little sullenly.
“Do you really expect us to believe that?” Jake asked as he pulled out his notebook and started reciting the list of her past sins.
“You can skip my highlights. I don’t need a recap of my life,” Amanda said. “What I meant to say was that I didn’t kill Rick.”
“Come on, Amanda, you can talk to us,” I said. “It’s understandable that you were upset when he spurned you. You aren’t the first woman to lash out at someone who wouldn’t love her back.”
Amanda’s face grew red, and real anger blossomed there. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
It was clearly a lie.
“Where were you the night Rick Hastings was murdered?” Jake asked. He might not still be a cop in any way, shape, or form, but the man had the voice of authority down pat. “If you didn’t do it, you shouldn’t have any problem providing us with an alibi.”
“I was here, with both of my mechanics,” she said. “If you don’t believe me, then you can ask them.”
Jake glanced at the door of the shop, and then he said, “Your posted hours of operation end at five PM. That would have given you plenty of time to make it to April Springs and kill Rick Hastings.”
“I was still here,” she repeated.
“Even after you were officially closed for the day?” I asked.
“We had a meeting,” she supplied, faltering a little before conveying the information.
“What was it about?” I asked.
“That’s none of your business. If you don’t believe that I was here, then you need to ask my guys.”
“Believe me, I will,” Jake said. “You should know that if I find out that you’ve been lying to me, it’s not going to end well for you, so I’m going to give you one last chance. Where were you the night Rick Hastings was murdered?”
“I told you,” she said, but for the first time, I felt as though there might be a slight crack in her armor.
“Fine, then,” Jake said, and then he scribbled down something in his notebook.
“Do you want to talk to my guys?” Amanda asked defensively. “I can get them out here in two seconds.”
Jake flipped the book closed. “That won’t be necessary. We’ll speak again later.”
That appeared to agitate her even more. “Why do you have to keep bothering me? I’ve already told you the truth.”
“When I believe you, I’ll back off, but not until then,” Jake said.
“What do you need, a videotape of our meeting?”
“That would be great. If it were time stamped, that would be even better,” Jake replied with a smile.
Amanda started to respond, but instead, she turned and walked back to the shop, clearly shaken by Jake’s appearance.
“All in all, that went pretty well,” I said after Amanda was gone.
“What are you talking about? Her alibi was clearly phony, and just as obviously would be corroborated by her crew. She didn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already know.”
“You shook her up, Jake. I could see it in her eyes.”
“She won’t be as easy to rattle once she finds out that I’m no longer on the force,” Jake said.
“Then that’s just another reason to speak with Denny before the word gets out. Let’s go find him.”
“Okay by me,” he said.
Denny West was back at his old haunt at Murphy’s, perched outside as though he were waiting for someone. Was it possible that Amanda had already contacted him and had told him to expect us? Grace and I had seen them leave this place together the day before, so anything was possible. Did that mean that they might have killed him together? Their motives were certainly different, but that didn’t mean that they hadn’t colluded to achieve the same end. If they had, Rick hadn’t stood a chance. I’d never been a big fan of the man, but being knifed in the heart and left in a bonfire was a bit too much even for my taste.
“I’ve got nothing to say to either one of you, so you might as well ge
t back into your Jeep and drive away,” Denny said as we got out.
“Do you know who I am?” Jake asked him suspiciously.
“We haven’t been formally introduced, if that’s what you’re asking, but it’s not all that hard to figure out,” Denny said. “You’re with her, aren’t you?”
I smiled a little at the thought that Jake and I were being thought of as being together, even if it was by the criminal element of Union Square.
“Then you know why we’re here,” Jake said.
“You’re wasting your time,” Denny replied.
“Then we’ll make this quick. Where were you the night that Rick Hastings was murdered?” Jake asked him softly.
“I was here, just like I always am,” he said.
“Are there any witnesses that can back that up?” Jake asked.
Denny just shrugged.
“Okay, fine. I just think that it’s a little too convenient that your main competitor was murdered while you were somewhere else that can’t be confirmed.”
Denny looked hard at Jake for a moment, ignoring me completely. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, I get that,” Jake said, and then he took a few steps toward Denny. Jake was a big guy, but he was usually a teddy bear around me. All of that cuteness was gone now. With a glint of steel in his gaze, Jake said, “I’d better not find out that you are lying to me, or we’re going to have a problem.”
Denny didn’t even flinch, though I know that I certainly would have.
After a full five seconds, Jake broke eye contact and turned back to the Jeep.
“See you around, Denny,” he said over his shoulder.
“You know where to find me. I’m not going anywhere,” our suspect said, so I followed Jake and got back into my Jeep.
Once we drove away, I said, “Wow, that was intense.”
“What’s that?” Jake asked, his normal disposition back.
“Are you kidding me? I’m talking about the way you stared him down back there. Where’d you learn how to do that?”
“Cops will be cops, and perps will be perps,” Jake said. “We can almost smell it on each other. Once you’re a cop, it never seems to go away, that awareness that something, or someone, is bad.”