by S F Bose
As I drove by, I saw Sam and Finn in front of the building. Sam sat on the low wall that surrounded a raised bed garden that was now dormant. He stared at his cellphone while Finn paced back and forth.
I beeped as I passed them and took the first space I found in the visitors’ lot in back. I jogged back to the front entrance and smiled a greeting to Sam.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said, shifting my eyes to Finn. He kept pacing, hands jammed into the pockets of his black pants. Finn’s red hair seemed wilder and his eyebrows pulled together into a frown over tired eyes. I looked at Sam who stood and shrugged.
I held the steel and glass front door open for Sam and Finn. Sam thanked me and Finn just glared up at me as he passed. We went to the front desk. Sam told the receptionist his name and that we had an appointment with Matt. After calling the Chief, she buzzed us into the inner office. Sam led us down the corridor to Matt’s office.
Matt stood as we entered and his blue eyes immediately locked in on Finn. After I introduced them, both men grunted. Sam and Finn sat in the two visitor chairs and I grabbed a side chair.
Matt was dressed in his winter uniform. He wore a long-sleeved, black, vee neck sweater over his shirt and tie. It was tucked into his pants so he could reach his sidearm. The sweater had the yellow chevrons that indicated rank on each sleeve and his badge was on the left side of his chest. He looked very…grown up.
“So what’s up?” Matt asked, leaning back in his leather chair and smiling at me. I smiled back.
“Well, we’ve surfaced some information in the Church case that we wanted to run by you,” Sam replied, sitting on the other side of Finn. His voice sounded tight.
“I’m all ears,” Matt replied.
Sam quickly explained that Justin Church had found an old Bible with a Civil War letter hidden inside. He ran through the story of Silas Fletcher, the murder of Isaac Budd, the stolen treasure, and the murder of John Cahill. He also explained our theory of how the Bible linked Silas to John Cahill’s murder.
Finn frowned as he listened to the story. Matt’s eyebrows arched up and his lips parted. He glared at Sam. “You’re telling me that Civil War hero Silas Fletcher was a murderer and thief? That’s like saying the Pope was a murderer around here.”
Sam nodded and handed Matt the copy of the original letter and the transcription. “I know it sounds crazy, but we’ve seen some persuasive evidence. Peter Church has verified the letter and tracked down information about the murder of John Cahill. Martha is still going through the Bible. It looks legitimate, though.”
Matt glanced at the copy of the letter and the transcription, but he didn’t read either one.
“We think it could be a possible motive for the Fletchers,” I said. “Information like that would be a huge embarrassment to their family.”
“Wait a minute,” Finn said. “Are you saying that Fletcher killed that guy over something that happened a hundred and fifty years ago?”
“It’s a possibility,” Sam replied and Finn shook his head.
“Matt, Justin carried the Cahill Bible everywhere with him. He told Martha and Peter that soon God would provide for them and they wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore.” I said. “We think Justin found the letter and may have approached Martin or Damian with it. That may have led to Justin’s murder. It’s also possible Justin had a partner, although we don’t have any proof there.”
“Liz, what evidence do you have that Martin or Damian killed Justin Church?” Matt asked in a flat voice. I looked to my right where Finn sat studying his shoes. Sam was looking at him too.
I exhaled. “We can place Damian Fletcher at the Emporium at the time of the murder. We also have evidence that he lied about being with Sherrie from 2:15 p.m. on that day. There’s also a possibility that Damian is the person who tried to torch the Emporium.”
Matt spread his arms out, palms up. “Where is the evidence that proves all of that?”
I jerked a thumb at Finn. “Finn saw Damian go into the Emporium at 4:25 p.m. After that, Finn met Sherrie in Madison, and they spent the night together. The next day, Damian asked Sherrie to lie and tell the police that they were together from 2:15 p.m. on the day of the murder. Sherrie agreed and followed through when she lied to Newmont.”
Finn sat straighter. “For your information, when Sherrie agreed to lie for Fletcher, she did it because he had agreed to give her an uncontested divorce. She has it in writing. He also confessed to having an affair with some woman and thought the woman’s husband was trying to frame him for the Church murder. Although, I think he lied about that. He needed some story to persuade her to lie for him.”
“You’re sleeping with Sherrie Fletcher?” Matt asked Finn.
Finn’s chin came up. “I am. We’re in a relationship.”
Matt locked eyes with Finn. “How did you happen to see Damian at the Emporium on the day of the murder?”
“I was following him.”
“Following him? Why?”
Finn’s jaw muscles tightened. I could almost hear his teeth grinding. “Fletcher has threatened Sherrie and mentally abused her for a while now. He has a fierce temper that he hides well in public. He’s said repeatedly he won’t go through another divorce. Thanks to these two idjits, Fletcher has compromising photos of Sherrie and me. So he can hold that over her head forever.” Finn stopped and shot a disgusted look at me and then at Sam.
“Idjits?” Matt asked.
“That’s Irish for idiots,” I replied, shaking my head.
“Damian hired us to investigate whether Sherrie was having an affair. He already had his suspicions,” said Sam. “We documented the infidelity for Fletcher, although to be fair the photos were of Finn and Sherrie entering and leaving a motel room. Pretty mild stuff.” Sam looked pointedly at Finn who returned to examining his shoes.
Matt’s eyes shifted from Sam back to Finn. “So, again, why were you following him?”
Finn’s head came up. “I wanted to see if I could catch him in something that would give us leverage over him. Something that would make him agree to divorce Sherrie. So I followed him when I could.”
“And the day of Justin Church’s murder, he led you to the Emporium?”
“He did,” said Finn.
Matt played with a paperweight and stared at Finn. “Where were you exactly?”
“I was in my car in the small lot east of the Bowman Building.”
“Did you get out of the car?” Matt asked.
“No, I stayed put.”
Matt leaned forward, elbows on his desk. He stared bullets at Finn. “Did you see Damian Fletcher shoot Justin Church?”
Finn glared back at Matt. “No.”
“Did you hear a gunshot or see a muzzle flash?”
“No!” Finn replied in frustration.
“What did you see?” Matt asked, sitting back in his chair.
Finn repeated his story of following Damian, watching him walk to the Emporium, and seeing Justin Church let him in. Then he described Mark Sweet’s arrival, pounding on the Emporium door, the phone calls, and walking to the back of the Emporium. Finn related how Sweet reappeared from the direction of the East Lot, went to the side of the Saucy Shop, and made a telephone call. Shortly after that, he heard police sirens.
“You didn’t see Fletcher after he went inside?” Matt asked.
Finn shook his head. “No. And his car was gone from the East Lot when I left.”
Matt nodded. “Finn, did you send us that letter about Fletcher?”
Damian’s face turned red. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you come in and report what you saw?”
Finn gave a dismissive wave with his right hand. “Let me count the ways. It would make me a suspect. I’d be making allegations against one of the richest men in the county. In addition, everything about Sherrie and me would come out. No thank you! I sent the letters instead.”
“Do you own any guns?” asked Matt.
“None,” said Finn.
>
Matt kept his eyes on Finn. Then he exhaled and grabbed a pen and a legal pad.
“Name of the hotel?” he asked.
“Edgemont.”
Finn gave him the room number, check in and check out times, and the credit card he used. Matt said he’d need the divorce agreement Fletcher had supposedly given to Sherrie.
“Let me get it for you,” Finn suggested. “If wind of this gets back to Fletcher, Sherrie is the one who’ll suffer.”
Matt studied Finn and nodded in agreement. “Fine. That will work. Now, I’ll tell you what I see here.”
I realized I had tensed every muscle in my body and tried to relax. Finn simmered next to me, one knee bouncing up and down.
Matt tapped the legal pad with his pen. “I see a guy who’s sleeping with Damian Fletcher’s wife, has feelings for her, and would do anything to help her get a divorce. You’re a biased witness. Even if everything you told me is true, it doesn’t prove that Damian Fletcher killed Justin.”
“It proves that Damian lied about his whereabouts the day of the murder and that he bargained with Sherrie to lie for him,” Sam said quietly.
“If Finn is telling the truth, it does. We’ll follow up with the Edgemont Hotel. We can verify the evidence for that statement. But we can’t verify Finn’s contention about Fletcher being at the Emporium. The problem is that Finn here is a tainted witness. Since he and Sherrie are in a relationship, he has very little credibility. In order to confirm some of his other allegations, we’ll have to talk to Sherrie Fletcher. However, since she’s having an affair with Finn, her testimony will be questionable too. But I’m willing to talk to her.”
Finn slumped in his chair. “If Fletcher suspects you’re talking to Sherrie, he’ll hurt her.”
“We’ll be discreet. We can even do the initial interview by phone. Give me her cellphone number and I’ll call her this afternoon,” Matt said and handed Finn the legal pad and pen. Frowning, Finn wrote down Sherrie’s cellphone number and hand the pad and pen back.
“Would polygraphs help at all?” Sam asked, ignoring Finn’s groan.
“Eventually. They’re not admissible but couldn’t hurt,” Matt replied.
I remembered one more thing. “Matt, I don’t know how this fits, but Damian also got a passport for the first time a year ago. Because of a fear of heights, he’s never flown in an airplane. He’s also been studying French and Sherrie found brochures about France in one of his drawers.”
Matt added that to his notes.
“Matt, I know none of this proves Damian killed Justin, but it does make him a better suspect than Ben Katz,” I said.
Matt frowned. “We have to follow procedure, Liz. We’re still waiting on ballistics and I don’t know how much longer it will be. They have staffing issues in Madison. We’ll just have to wait and see if the test results clear Ben.”
“Maybe there’s another way,” Sam said. “I’m guessing that Gil Steiner and the trustees have been on your case to solve this case.” Gil Steiner was our annoying Village President. He and the Village trustees hired Matt and could fire him, if they had cause.
Matt grunted. “You have no idea. I get calls from him day and night.”
“Liz and I came up with a plan. It might help us flush out whether Sweet, Fletcher, or Katz is the murderer.”
“Go ahead,” Matt said, caution in his voice.
“It’s unorthodox,” I warned. “The idea is to call each suspect and tell him we have incriminating evidence that proves he killed Justin Church. We’re willing to meet with him to discuss options.”
Matt frowned. “Well at least it’s not overt blackmail.”
“Right. It’s an offer to talk. The crime’s been committed so it’s not entrapment either,” Sam agreed.
“We can say we have a witness who saw each suspect at the Emporium. We’ll pick the best motive for each person. For Damian, it would be getting the Civil War letter back,” I said.
“Keep going,” Matt said.
“We’d give them each a different day and time to meet us at the Wall of Honor in Founders Park. We want to keep the meetings out in the open. Since the suspects are all local, maybe we could get a few deputy sheriffs from Madison in plain clothes to help,” Sam said.
Matt frowned. “I could see the killer showing up, if he’s in our group of three suspects. But I could also see the innocent suspects showing up too. Pissed off. So I’m having trouble seeing how the conversation would go.”
Sam nodded. “We’ll have to brief the plainclothes guy for each suspect. Frankly, I think our two main targets are Damian Fletcher and Mark Sweet. As Liz mentioned, for Fletcher, we can give our plainclothes guy a copy of the Civil War letter. He can tell Fletcher he knows Justin hit him up for money and that Damian killed him at the Emporium. He’ll tell him there was a witness and we’ll see where the conversation goes. While an admission of guilt would be great, I’d be happy to see a willingness to make a deal.”
“For Sweet we can use the angle of Justin pulling out of the deal to persuade his parents to sell the Emporium. Sweet met with Justin, became enraged, and shot him,” I said. “Again, we can say there was a witness.”
“Okay, what about Ben Katz?” Matt asked.
Sam and I exchanged a look. I shrugged. “He’s the hardest of the three. Maybe we can say there was a witness who saw him at the Emporium and witnessed the murder,” I replied.
Matt sighed. “Okay, who’s going to make the calls?”
“It needs to be someone they don’t know and have never spoken to,” I said. Sam and I looked at Finn who was looking down at his cellphone. When the silence grew, he looked up.
“What?” he asked.
“We need you to make the calls to our three suspects,” said Sam.
Finn exploded. “Me? Are you daft? I’m a civilian! I’m no copper!”
“None of them has ever heard your voice. You’re perfect. You’re also quick-witted and that’s what we need,” Sam said.
“It’ll be easy,” I reassured him.
“We’ll put some scripts together to help you,” Matt added.
Finn exhaled in a huff. “Would I have to be at the park too?”
“No,” Matt said. “Like Sam suggested, we’ll get a plainclothes officer from Madison to be the contact.”
I smiled. “You’re in?”
Matt tapped his pen on the legal pad. “I think it’s worth a try. I don’t know what the real problem is in Madison but I don’t have any estimates on when we’ll get the ballistics reports back. With Jimmy Dietz, the County Sheriff was hot about expediting the testing. However, I don’t have any more favors I can pull. Gil Steiner reminds me daily that he can find another Police Chief who can solve this case, if I can’t. So, yeah, I’d like to solve the case sooner than later.”
“Gil is such a jerk,” I snapped.
Matt smiled. Then he looked at Finn. “But Finn has to agree to make the call. We can’t force him. We’ll make all the calls from the police station so we can videotape and record them.”
“I’ll do it for Sherrie,” Finn said quietly.
“You’re sure?” Matt asked.
“I am,” Finn replied.
“Okay. We’ll have to put you in protective custody until this plays out,” Matt said.
Finn shook his head. “Locked up you mean? Why? No way!”
Matt’s eyes locked on Finn. “Look, I’m more worried about Damian Fletcher. Given your involvement with his wife, he may have hired another PI to get more information about you. It’s a longshot but you could be at risk.”
“You really think that’s a possibility?” I asked Matt.
“I don’t know, Liz. We’ve already had one murder. I can’t take the chance.”
Finn shook his head. “I won’t be locked up in jail like a criminal.”
“The sheriff’s office in Madison has safe houses and hotels they use. We’d put you there with a deputy sheriff,” said Matt.
“Read my lips
,” Finn said angrily. “No!”
“Finn can stay with us at the B&B,” I said.
Matt shook his head. “No, we can’t risk other guests.”
“Okay, he can stay with me in one of the guest cottages back in the woods. I’ll be armed. We’ll be fine.”
Matt thought about it. “Only if I have a deputy out there 24-7.”
“Works for me,” I agreed and looked at Finn. I could tell by the sour look on his face that he wasn’t thrilled with the idea.
“For Sherrie,” I said quietly and finally, he nodded. Then his face changed.
“We have to tell Sherrie,” he said.
“Finn, you can’t tell her anything. It could endanger her. The less she knows, the better,” I replied.
“You don’t understand,” said Finn. “Sherrie and I meet every Monday and Tuesday. I can’t just disappear.”
“Tell her you have to go to Chicago for business. It’s just two days,” Sam suggested.
Finn considered that. “I’d have to be able to call her each day.”
“No calls,” Matt said firmly.
“We have to tell her a portion of the truth,” I said. “Tell her you’re working on a project with the police and have to be out of touch for two days. Reassure her it’s not dangerous. You can say you’re consulting or something.” Everyone liked that idea.
“Okay,” Matt said, “let’s meet back here tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. We’ll do a quick run-through. We don’t want it to sound too rehearsed. I’ll coordinate with Madison and our office services guy. Then we’ll start the calls at 9:00 a.m.
“You can pull everything together that fast?” Sam asked.
“I can. I’ll coordinate the scripts. Newmont can arrange for plainclothes help from Madison. We have a guy who’ll do the filming and recording,” Matt replied.
“Sounds good,” I said, excited that we were taking action and not wasting more time.
“Finn, tomorrow morning bring the clothes you’ll need for two days out at Liz’s. When you talk to Sherrie, please don’t mention the actual plan or any of the suspects. It could get somebody hurt.”