by S F Bose
“So you never planned to break into the Emporium?” I asked.
“No, it would have been pointless. If I knew they had found the Bible, I would have considered other ways to get it from them directly. In the end, the blackmail call to Mr. Fletcher ended up leading me to you, the Bible, and the letter. It couldn’t have worked out any better.”
I nodded and leaned forward. “So you were waiting for us in the meadow?”
“I was. At first, the tracker told me you were driving away from the B&B. I worried until I saw you backtrack. When you finally arrived, it was still the two of you and you went back into the woods.”
“You followed us?”
Raspy grunted. “I didn’t have to. I called Mr. Fletcher to update him. When I told him the path you took, he said there were cabins in the woods. He thought you were going to the closest cabin and said there was a marked path. So I hopped the fence with my pack and some other things. I walked until I hit the same path and then followed the markers.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. I wanted to ask about the “other things,” but let that slide. “Okay, that explains a lot. I assume Sweet was going to be your fall guy because Fletcher didn’t like him. You obviously planted the murder weapon and silencer in his car. But how could you possibly know that Sweet was scheduled for a drop-off today at the Wall of Honor?”
Raspy’s shoulders rolled up and down. “We didn’t. We knew Mr. Sweet must be on your list of suspects. I planted the gun and silencer days ago, before the blackmail call. It was just a matter of time before the police would find the gun and drag him in for the murder of Justin Church. If they didn’t, eventually they’d get a helpful telephone tip.”
I sat back. I saw the plan now. Raspy and Damian Fletcher wanted to set up Mark Sweet for the murder of Justin Church as a diversion to keep the murder investigation away from them. However, their real goal was to get the Bible and letter back. Damian may not have been the killer, but he facilitated the murder. There was just one problem.
“Is it all sinking in, Liz?” Raspy asked.
I spread my hands and asked quietly, “What happened with Justin? If you got the Bible and letter from him, none of this would have been necessary. Certainly, all he wanted was money and the Fletcher family is loaded.”
Raspy sighed and stood up. He moved behind the easy chairs. “I think Mr. Church had good intentions, at first. When he found that Civil War letter, he knew it would have greatly embarrassed and devastated the Fletchers. Mr. Church contacted Damian Fletcher several times and said he didn’t want the letter to get out. He wanted to sell it to Mr. Fletcher directly.
“So why didn’t Damian just pay him?” I asked.
“Simple. At first, he didn’t believe him. Church hadn’t sent any evidence in his earlier overtures, so Mr. Fletcher thought it was a scam of some sort. He decided to ignore Mr. Church. Eventually, Mr. Church sent him a photocopy of the letter along with a typed transcript. He also included some historical background. After that, Mr. Fletcher believed him. He realized how damaging the letter and story would be to his family. Mr. Church had originally asked for five hundred thousand dollars. But the demand that came with the photocopy and transcript was for two million dollars.”
“Justin increased the price that much? Why?” I asked in surprise.
“I assume that Mr. Church did not like being ignored.”
“And Damian refused to pay that much?”
“He did. He wanted to explore other options with Justin Church.”
“Like using you?” I asked. Raspy stood like a statue facing me and didn’t reply.
I changed direction. “Did Martin Fletcher know about any of this?”
“No, he did not. Mr. Church threatened to contact Martin Fletcher, but as far as I know, he never did.”
I felt some relief that one of our oldest family friends wasn’t involved with the murder. I glanced at Finn who looked at me and then back at Raspy.
“Did you kill Justin Church?” I asked.
Raspy rested the gun on the back of the easy chair. “I don’t want to talk about that, Liz.”
“Come on,” I said with an edge of anger that I couldn’t bite back. “We know how this is going to end. Tell us how you did it. Did you kill Justin?” I was pushing it, but I really wanted to know for sure if I was finally looking at Justin’s killer.
“Yes, I did. It was unfortunate. An accident, really. If he had just handed over the Bible and letter…” Raspy’s voice trailed off.
“But I saw Damian Fletcher go into the Emporium the day of the murder,” Finn said. For once, Raspy didn’t snap at him.
Instead, he replied, “That was unexpected. He knew I planned to pay Church a visit that afternoon. However, I never expected Mr. Fletcher to be there. There’s normally a hard separation between what I do and what he does. I have no idea why he was there.”
Raspy walked around the chairs and fell back onto the easy chair on the left.
“That day, I found the Emporium was closed. I approached the rear entrance and turned the knob. The door was unlocked and I entered. I followed the sound of voices and imagine my surprise when I saw Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Church in the parlor arguing…loudly.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well of course, I told Mr. Fletcher to leave, in no uncertain terms. At first, I thought there had already been a physical fight. Mr. Church’s face was bruised. When I mentioned it, Mr. Church waved it off. He said he’d been involved a dispute earlier in the day.”
“Did Damian leave?”
Raspy paused. “Once I turned to Justin, I lost track of Mr. Fletcher. I assumed he left because I didn’t see him in the house later. When I told Justin Church I was there to negotiate for the Bible and the letter, he calmed down and served me a drink, which I ignored. Since he was demanding a lot of money, I asked to see the original Bible and letter. I thought he was going to agree, but then he suddenly refused. He said he had already sent photocopies.”
“To you?” I asked. Raspy’s head turned to me. I thought I heard him laugh.
“No, to Damian Fletcher. I told him that nobody would pay what he was asking without seeing the originals. Again, I thought I had hooked him. Church paused and considered my request. Unfortunately, he refused again.”
“Why did Damian Fletcher even care about a two hundred year old letter?” Finn asked.
Raspy almost growled. “That letter would have destroyed the Fletcher reputation in this town. Around here, their ancestors’ contributions during the Civil War made the Fletcher family very special and respected. That letter couldn’t see the light of day.”
“And Tim Fletcher is planning to run for office,” I added.
Raspy nodded. “That too.”
“So then what happened?” I kept stalling in the hope that Haas would show up with his gun or that he’d managed to call in for help.
“I wanted to throw a scare into him. Honestly, I had no intention to kill him. I took my gun and silencer out of my bag and pointed it at him.”
“But that didn’t work?”
“No,” Raspy replied in a flat voice. “At first, he thought it was humorous and laughed. Then Mr. Church warned that a copy of the letter would be sent to the media if anything happened to him.”
“Did you believe him?” I asked.
“Not for a second. I thought he was bluffing. I tried everything. I used logic. I yelled. I pushed some books off the bookcase to startle him. Finally, I said if he didn’t want anything bad to happen to his family, he had better give me the letter. That got a reaction. He went insane.”
“Justin?”
“Yes, Mr. Church jumped up from his chair, swearing. It took me by surprise and I fired, reflexively as he rose. Three shots and he fell to the floor. He was still alive when I went over to him. I asked him again where the letter was. He grimaced and then he died.”
“You left then?”
He nodded. “I collected two of the shell casings, but could
n’t find the third. I briefly contemplated trying to find his room in order to search it. However, suddenly there was chaos. Someone pounded on the front door and rang the doorbell. Then Mr. Church’s cellphone started ringing. I put the gun and casings in my bag and escaped out the back way.”
“Did you see anyone when you left the Emporium?” I asked.
“I didn’t look. You never look. You just lower your head and walk away quickly. If you don’t make eye contact, people rarely notice you.”
“How long were you inside talking to Justin?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere around forty-five minutes,” Raspy replied.
“And when did you arrive?” I asked.
Raspy shrugged. “Around 4:15 p.m. give or take.” I mulled that over.
“If Justin had given you the letter and Bible, would you have killed him?” asked Finn.
“No, of course not. I would have warned him that any further attempts at blackmail would have repercussions. However, if we had the original letter, there would be no point for violence.”
“But you do plan to kill us?” I asked.
Raspy looked down. Then his head came up. “Would it be easier if I lied?”
“No, tell the truth.”
He nodded. “I know the Bible and letter are here, somewhere. This cabin is much smaller than the Emporium. You can either tell me where they are or I’ll find them myself. However, I’m sorry to say I have to kill you. But Liz, your death will be as painless as I can make it. On the other hand, your friend, Mr. Daley, has to die a horrible death because of his sins. I have two cans of gasoline outside. He will die, tied to this chair,” Raspy said, slapping the arm of the easy chair with the flat of his free hand, “while the cabin burns down around him. I hope you understand.”
“I don’t understand. You were willing to let Justin go, if he gave you the letter. Why not us?” I asked.
“Scaring Justin Church into silence would have been easy. You, Liz, are a different story. I can’t have any witnesses. We both know you’d come after me.”
It was a logical reason. “I would,” I agreed. Finn cleared his throat.
“All right then. I have genuinely enjoyed our chat. I believe we understand each other much better. Now where did you hide the Bible and letter?” Raspy asked, standing up.
“One more question? You know our names. Since you’re going to kill us anyway, what’s your name?” I asked.
Raspy gave me a long look. “It seems fair,” he said, finally. “My name is Steadman.”
“Steadman,” I repeated and nodded. My neck prickled.
“The letter?” he prompted.
I glanced at the sunroom and away. Then I looked at Finn.
“Stand up,” Raspy said loudly. I thought Raspy fit him better than Steadman. Finn and I both stood. Raspy moved to the right, behind the easy chairs. He waved the Glock at us. “Sunroom. Don’t try anything or I swear I’ll shoot you both in the back.”
***
Finn led the way, opening the inside door and walking into the sunroom. He stopped next to the half-open outer door. I stood next to him, my arms folded against the cold air coming in through the half-open door. Raspy was smart and stayed in the doorway, his gun trained on us. He reached over and flipped on the light switch. Ceiling lights and two table lights snapped on.
“Okay, where are the Bible and letter?” Raspy asked.
“In the hot tub,” I replied.
Raspy barked out a laugh and I felt Finn jump next to me. “You expect me to believe that?”
“Believe it or don’t believe it. It’s true. It’s in a hard plastic box that’s watertight for up to eighteen feet or more.”
“And you just happened to have this box here, in the middle of nowhere?” Raspy’s voice dripped with scorn.
I tried to look exasperated. “We provide one in each cabin. They’re indestructible. Hikers put cellphones and other electronics in them. They fit in most backpacks.”
“Climbers use them for the same reason,” Finn said sounding cold and bored. He had jammed his hands into his pants pockets.
“And boaters, of course,” I added.
Raspy stared at me and I looked steadily at the gray lenses of the sunglasses under his facemask. “All right, just get the box out of there.” He was angry.
I sighed and stepped toward the hot tub. “Help me with the cover, Finn.”
“No!” Raspy said. “Just you, Liz.”
I stopped and put my hands on my hips. “That’s a six and a half foot by seven foot hot tub. The cover is heavy. Opening it is a two-person job. Finn helped me put the case in there this afternoon. If you don’t want him to help me now, then you’ll have to. Your choice.”
Raspy looked over at the hot tub and swore. “All right. But if you try anything, I’ll kill you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. I moved to the near end of the hot tub, closer to Raspy. Finn took the other side. I undid the cover latches on my side and Finn followed suit.
“Finn, let’s reach under the flap and lift up a little on the cover to break the seal this time. It will be easier,” I said, trying to make it sound like we had done this before. Finn grunted and followed my directions. We broke the cover seal all the way around the hot tub. Then I positioned myself to lift the top from left to right. There was a hinge down the middle of the cover, so it would flop over. “Okay let’s fold half of the cover over to your left,” I told him and he nodded.
“On three,” I told Finn. “One. Two. Three.” We both grunted as we lifted the cover and folded it over lengthwise. It was now a heavy semi-circle covering one-half of the hot tub. I looked inside the tub and nodded, as if I was seeing something. I could feel Raspy trying to move closer, so I stepped back to block him.
“Okay, lift your end and angle to your left. We’ll just drop it by the door,” I said to Finn.
He did as I instructed. I said a silent prayer of thanks when he edged the wooden sunroom door all the way open. My back was to Raspy and I had the inner doorway blocked so he couldn’t get into the sunroom. Finn’s back was to the screen door, which was ajar.
I caught Finn’s eye and mouthed “Drop and run” twice. He squinted at me. I looked beyond him to the screen door, but Finn still looked confused.
“All right. Let’s drop it on three. One. Two. Three.” We both let go of the cover and it hit the floor with a loud bang.
“Run!” I shouted. I stepped back to block Raspy and watched Finn wheel and dive out the screen door into the darkness.
Raspy swore and tried to shove me out of the way. I heard two muted pops and glass breaking. I spun to my right and lunged at Raspy, grabbing his gun hand with my left hand. A third shot went into the ceiling. I pushed him back against the doorframe so he was facing me. Then I pulled back enough to drive my fist into his face twice. With the second punch, I felt his nose break. Raspy cursed. He had to be bleeding, but the facemask hid his nose. Unfortunately, Raspy was running on adrenalin.
He broke my hold on his gun hand and shoved me to the other side of the doorway. He hit my head with the silencer, but it was a glancing blow. When his left hand closed around my throat, I threw up my right arm and rotated left. I broke his grip on my throat and jammed my right elbow up into his jaw.
He roared and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me into his chest. He smelled of citrus and spice cologne and sweat. This time, I gave him a head butt and connected with his nose again. With a shout, he picked me up in a bear hug, charged into the living room, and threw me forward. I was completely off balance and fell backwards, hitting the floor next to the couch hard. My head bounced on the wood several times. I lay on my back with my feet facing the sunroom, trying to catch my breath.
I closed my eyes for a second and I saw stars. When I opened my eyes, Raspy stood bent forward with both hands on his knees, the Glock still in his right hand. He was breathing hard. I tried to get up, but a wave of dizziness made me lay back again. Wouldn’t anything stop this guy?
<
br /> Raspy was half way between the sunroom and me, his body blocking my view of the door. He waved the Glock with its long silencer and then pointed it at me.
"I'm going to shoot you, watch you die slowly, and incinerate you so your family will have nothing to bury," he said. I groaned. This is it. I’m dead.
A whistle from behind him startled us both. He glanced over his right shoulder at the back door.
“Well, look at this. Your little buddy, Finn Daley, the homewrecker, is back,” Raspy said with a laugh. When he moved to the right, I lifted my head slightly. Finn stood inside the doorway with both hands wrapped around the grip of a small semi-automatic pistol. He pointed it right at Raspy.
"Drop the gun," Finn barked. Raspy laughed and glanced back at me.
"After the appetizer, you are the main course." He spoke in a stage whisper. Raspy moved closer to me, but not close enough for me to attempt a kick. Then he shouted at Finn, “If you shoot me, you’ll hit Liz!”
Then things got weird. I heard Grandma Addie say in her crystal clear voice into my right ear, “Stay down, Liz. Stay down. Don’t move.” However, when I looked to my right in alarm, I didn’t see her. Ignoring the voice, I lifted my head up slightly. Maybe I could still help Finn.
“Liz, put your head down!” I heard Nana Anna Doyle say with urgency. I glanced left and right and didn’t see her either. I rested my head back on the floor.
“Stay down, Liz,” Finn echoed and then shouted to Raspy, “Drop the gun!”
I raised my head again. Raspy faced me. Suddenly, he squatted and wheeled toward Finn, with his gun arm extended. However, Raspy hesitated and cursed when he faced the kitchen to our left. He fired several shots into the kitchen and then continued to sweep his gun arm around toward Finn.
I felt unseen hands rolling me toward the kitchen, out of the line of fire.
“Roll, Liz. Roll,” I heard Addie say.
“Help us,” Nana Anna implored. “You’re heavier than you look!”
I ended up face down against the base of counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. Dizziness and nausea washed over me.