“But when we never could reach David, they still didn’t really do anything,” Mrs. Saddler pointed out.
Mr. Saddler sighed. “That’s true. Which is how we ended up hiring a private detective out of Santa Rosa. We needed to find out what happened to our son.”
“But he came up empty-handed too?” I wondered.
“Yes,” Mr. Saddler said. “It was like David dropped off the face of the earth.”
“What did you two honestly think happened to David?” I asked.
The two weary-ridden parents looked at each other with regret before Mr. Saddler spoke. “We figured he got to San Francisco, ran into trouble, and something horrible happened to him.”
Mrs. Saddler started to weep. “We never suspected that the something horrible that happened to him happened to him in his home town!”
Mr. Saddler got up from the recliner and gathered his wife in his arms. He soothed her as she sobbed loudly into his chest. Blinking rapidly, I looked over helplessly at Heidi and Bridget. Both girls wiped their eyes.
A few seconds later, Mrs. Saddler pulled back from her husband. “I’m okay now, Bob. Honest.”
“You sure, Ella? We don’t have to talk about this anymore if you don’t want.”
Patting her husband on the chest, she looked over at me. “I’m fine. My heart just hurts something awful sometimes when I think about—” she broke off on a sob. “When I think about David. But let’s finish this up.”
I waited until they both sat back down. “I only have a couple more questions. And this one is probably going to hurt too, but you both sort of alluded to it already. Did you know about Jayla? Did you know she was pregnant with David’s baby?”
The heart-breaking wail that flew out of Mrs. Saddler’s mouth made my stomach tighten. I felt like a heel causing this nice woman so much grief.
“No,” Mr. Saddler said. “Not at that time we didn’t. Not until a month had gone by without hearing from David, and then suddenly there’s an announcement that Jayla and Manny were to be married.” He looked over at his wife. “We just couldn’t believe it. But a couple months later, I ran into Jayla at the hardware store, and I could tell. I knew she was pregnant. She tried to hide it from me, but I knew.”
“I’m going to say something that might make me unpopular,” I said, “but in light of what you now know, do you think Manny and Logan could have been responsible for David’s death?”
Mrs. Saddler nodded. “I do now that David’s body has been found. When the police came to tell us about David, we were in such shock. And even after Detective Connors came to speak to us, I still couldn’t fully wrap my mind around everything. But now that I’ve had time to process, there is something I think the detective needs to know.”
I perked up. “And what’s that?”
“On Thursday night,” Mrs. Saddler said, “right before David disappeared, I went to his room to tell him supper was ready. I know I shouldn’t have, but he was on the phone talking with someone, and I listened in.”
“Ella!” Mr. Saddler scoffed.
“I know! I know! We always tried to give him privacy, but I couldn’t help it. Anyway, I don’t know who he was on the phone with, but I distinctly remember him saying he wanted in. He told the person he knew too much already and they couldn’t say no to him now. So he wanted in on the next job.”
Oh boy!
“Yeah, Mrs. Saddler, that’s something Detective Connors needs to know,” I said.
“Do you think he was talking to Logan?” Mrs. Saddler asked. “And that’s why he was out at the auto body shop on that Saturday instead of being with Jayla?”
I looked at Mr. Saddler before answering. He looked ready to jump out of the chair and do some damage. I needed to figure out how to de-escalate the situation fast. “I honestly don’t know, Mrs. Saddler. But I definitely think you need to tell Detective Connors this immediately. Like the minute we walk out the door.”
Because if you don’t, your husband is going to take matters into his own hands.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mr. Saddler demanded.
“I don’t know, Bob. I really didn’t think anything about it until we started talking about it more here.”
Mr. Saddler took a couple deep breaths, then grabbed his wife’s hand and nodded to her. “I understand. Sometimes our mind just clicks on things we’ve forgotten. I’m glad you told this young woman, but now we need to tell the detective.”
I took that as my cue.
“Thank you for taking the time to talk with us tonight,” I said. “You’ve helped shed light on questions I’ve had. Discovering your son has made me want to know what happened, and I can honestly say I now have a better understanding of his last few days.”
“And those last few days he had,” Mrs. Saddler said, “were great days for him. He loved his time at the library. Those community service hours were—well, they were a godsend. I mean, his dad and I both noticed a difference in him almost immediately.”
“That’s true,” he admitted.
“When he came home at night,” Mrs. Saddler continued, “he’d spend hours looking online at books. I almost half expected him to enroll in classes to become a librarian.”
Even though she said it jokingly, I heard the hopefulness in her voice. “Trust me, as someone who makes her living around books and booze, there’s no greater job.”
The laugh from Mrs. Saddler was genuine and surprising. “I can only imagine. But it made me a proud mother for a few weeks. I had high hopes for David and his future at the library.”
“I’m going to the library tomorrow to talk with the librarian,” I said. “Get her thoughts on David’s last few days.”
“That’s a great idea,” Mrs. Saddler said. “I never had the heart to go back into the library after David left town—or, well, you know what I mean. I wanted to remember his time at the library as a great thing and didn’t want anything to ruin it.”
“That’s a wonderful sentiment,” Heidi said.
“Well, we don’t want to take up anymore of your time.” I stood, and Heidi and Bridget followed suit. “Please don’t forget to call Detective Connors and tell him what you remember overhearing.”
“I will,” Mrs. Saddler promised.
Chapter 14
The Saddler’s front door had barely closed before I had my cell phone out and dialed Mike’s number. No way was I letting him find out we went to question the Saddlers from Ella Saddler herself.
“Hey, bride-to-be,” Mike said jovially. “What up? I’m almost done here at the station. Thought I’d head over to Gone with the Whiskey in about fifteen.”
“Well, you might need to make it forty-five minutes,” I said. “And please remember how much I love you, but more importantly, how much you love me.” I quickly filled him in on talking with the Saddlers about David’s death and about the important information Ella had relayed. “She should be calling you any—”
“That’s my desk line,” Mike said. “I need to take this. We will discuss this later.”
“Love you.” I hung up before he could say anything else.
“You in trouble?” Heidi asked as she buckled her seatbelt.
I shrugged. “Probably. But it’s not like it can be a surprise after all this time.”
Bridget laughed. “You say that a lot, Jaycee.”
I flipped on my lights and pulled out of the driveway. I hated how it got dark so early now. It was really my only complaint…the weather was still nearly perfect, just a light sweater or jacket needed. But the darkness by five-thirty nearly drove me batty.
In less than ten minutes we were back at Gone with the Whiskey. It was a pretty steady crowd for a Thursday evening. Even more shocking was the fact Gramps was behind the bar and not Mom.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked, breaking away from Heidi and Bridget. “Not only is your shift here done, but I thought you were hanging out at your new office?”
“It didn’t take long,” Gramps said
. “And then when I drove by here and didn’t see your Jeep, I figured I better stop in and help out.”
I almost rolled my eyes at his little dig…but since I didn’t want to get a public tongue lashing, I managed to refrain. Instead, I hurried behind the counter, dropped off my purse, tied an apron around my waist, picked up my pad, and dashed off to see to customers.
In the middle of dropping off orders, the front door opened and Jax and Trevor strolled in holding hands. With a wave to me, Jax steered them both over to where Mom, Tillie, Heidi, and Bridget already sat nursing drinks. Once my drinks were delivered to customers, I walked over and sat on the arm of Mom’s chair.
“We learned a lot tonight,” I said. “I’ll run through it quickly because I’m expecting Mike any minute.”
Mom picked up her notepad and clicked her pen. “Ready.”
“First and foremost,” I said, “Jayla says David never made it to her house Saturday night.”
“That’s huge,” Tillie said.
“And after speaking with David’s parents,” I continued, “I really think the falling out between Manny and Logan is significant somehow.”
“How so?” Jax asked.
“Take the timeline of the three male friends a month before school gets out and they graduate. They are basically inseparable. We know David wants to buy a ring and propose. We know David has no money or job. We also know something important happened between Logan and Manny, enough so that the two basically never speak again. Something to do with where Manny worked. Two weeks before graduation, David commits the robbery alone, gets arrested, and takes a plea deal by the DA.”
Heidi leaned forward in her chair. “You think the three of them had a fight about David committing the robbery?”
I smiled. “Not exactly.”
Mom frowned. “You think maybe they fought so much about how to pull off the robbery that Logan and Manny never speak again?”
Jax gasped. “No!” She turned to me excitedly. “It wasn’t about how to rob the store, but which store to rob!”
I grinned. “My thoughts exactly, little sis.”
“What do you mean?” Tillie asked.
“When Jax and I went to see Manny at the hardware store, both Manny and the floor manager—what was his name?”
“Jordan Elliott,” Jax supplied.
“Right. Both Manny and Jordan Elliott mentioned how Manny had been working at the hardware store since he was in high school. And the Young Adults girls said they heard the big fight was about where Manny worked.”
Bridget frowned. “So David wants to rob the hardware store, and Manny says no, and Logan takes David’s side?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s that simple. I think this is where the ‘real’ plan was made. I think Manny and Logan pretended to fight, but in reality, that was the exact moment they plotted to kill David.”
“Why do you say that?” Trevor asked.
“Two important clues we have,” I said. “We know inside the chest, besides David’s body, were traces of lye and a tarp.”
“And the lye can be purchased at the hardware store,” Jax said, giving Trevor a cheeky grin. “I looked while we were there tonight.”
“Is that what you were doing?” Trevor reached over and gave her a hug. “My fiancée is already keeping secrets from me.”
Jax preened. “A girl has to have some.”
“So the lye can be purchased at the hardware store,” I said, “and I saw a tarp like the one in the chest at Blevins Auto Body Shop.”
“And the real reason Manny and Logan no longer speak?” Heidi asked.
“Because once the murder was done, their friendship was done,” I said. “They each got what they wanted.”
“How so?” Mom asked.
The front door opened, but I was too caught up in my story to see who entered.
“Manny gets the girl,” I said, “and as Heidi, Bridget, and I learned tonight, David’s mom overheard him on the phone threatening someone two days before he dies, saying he wanted in on the job, that he already knew too much so they couldn’t say no. Maybe David was putting that kind of pressure on Logan back when he wanted to buy the engagement ring, and Logan knew he’d have to do something about David soon. Gramps and I are both pretty sure something shady is going on down at the auto shop.”
“So the two friends conspire to kill David so one can get the girl,” Bridget concluded, “and the other can get rid of a potential risk factor later down the line.”
“Why hasn’t Mike arrested them then?” Mom asked.
“Because it’s all still circumstantial evidence,” Mike said.
I whirled around and stared open-mouthed at Mike. “I didn’t hear you come in.” I glared pointedly at Jax, who had the best vantage point to the front door. She just shrugged. “How much did you hear?”
Mike leaned down and kissed me quickly on the lips. “Enough to know you think you can do my job.”
Sighing, I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
“I’ve decided she’ll never learn,” Gramps said, handing Mike a glass of Duke bourbon. “With Jaycee, you actually can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
“Oh ha ha, Gramps.” I made a face at him. “So kind of you to refer to your oldest granddaughter as a dog.”
Gramps winked.
“I’ve had a very frustrating day today,” Mike said as he snuggled in next to me. “I spent nearly three hours in court giving testimony this morning, then when I headed out to the auto body shop, I witnessed a car accident on Hwy 116, so I had to stop and take care of that.” Mike took a sip of his bourbon then set it down on a small end table. “Here’s what I do have…I do have enough circumstantial evidence to haul both Manny and Logan in tomorrow for formal questioning. I already had the lye angle I could poke at Manny, but when I spoke to the Colonel extensively after you two came back from your visit to the auto body shop, and he suggested I focus on the tarp out back under the tires—which I still can’t believe, Jaycee, you didn’t call to tell me about—I had to get paperwork around for that, even though I hadn’t been out yet to officially look at it. I wanted to get that out of the way. I was already in the process of getting phone records as far back as three years ago, which is taking some time, but I figure now I can solidly link the two boys together that night.”
I gave Gramps a thumbs up. “Good thinking, Gramps.”
Gramps snorted and proceeded to wipe down the counter…but still managed to keep an ear on what we were discussing. He wasn’t fooling anyone.
“The phone records will still take a little more time,” Mike said, “but after speaking with David’s parents tonight about what Mrs. Saddler overheard, the chief is pretty sure we have enough to hold the two for twenty-four hours if need be, and maybe even press charges if we get answers tomorrow.”
“That’s great,” Mom said.
Mike nodded and took another drink. “I did a little drive by out at the shop just now, saw the tarp, then scanned the paperwork to the DA’s office. Hopefully they can get a judge to sign off sometime tomorrow.”
“Sounds like you may have it wrapped up soon,” I said.
Mike hugged me to his side. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”
“I’m not,” I said defensively.
“Listen, Jaycee,” Mike said, “I don’t want you down at that body shop. Pretty much everyone there has a criminal record of some kind.”
“Yeah,” I acknowledged, “I knew the grandfather had been arrested.”
“The grandfather, Melvin Blevins, has done serious time. He’s gone away for multiple convictions of aggravated robbery. That means he committed those robberies with a deadly weapon of some kind.” Mike tucked a stray hair behind my ear. “His son, the owner of the auto shop, has done time for possession of drugs, and nearly all his employees—including his son—has been in trouble with the law at some point in their lives. Stay away.” He gave me another kiss then picked up his bourbon and knocked it back. “I need to go
. I’m exhausted, and I want to make sure I’m ready for tomorrow. Since I have to be at the station early, I probably won’t make it for breakfast.”
“Be safe,” I whispered.
“My words to you,” he whispered back.
Once Mike was gone, the party started to break up. Gramps rang up a couple customers, Jax and Trevor headed out, and Mom and Tillie were making noises about leaving soon also.
“Psst.” Heidi motioned me over to where she sat with Bridget. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” I asked.
“Are you still going to the library to talk with the librarian now that Mike is close to an arrest?” Heidi asked.
I shrugged. “Yeah. Don’t see why not. Why?”
The two cousins exchanged looks.
“Bridget and I think we should call in Bernita from the Double G Gang to do a stakeout at the auto body shop tomorrow night.”
“What?” I hissed. “Are you insane? If we’re caught, it won’t be Mike who kills me, it’ll be Gramps!”
“We won’t get caught,” Bridget said. “Look, it’s the perfect time. They might be getting real jumpy out there at the body shop…especially if Logan is taken in tomorrow and brought up on charges.”
I frowned. “Wait, what do you mean something might go down at the body shop? If Logan gets arrested for murder or accessory to murder, then it’s case closed.”
“No,” Heidi said, “it’s not. You heard your Gramps. He believes—and he’s led Mike to believe—that something illegal is going on out at the body shop. Yes, Logan may have killed David three years ago, but we pretty much agree it was because David knew too much about some illicit job going down. David told someone over the phone he had to be let in on the job because he knew too much as it was. What if it’s still going on after all this time?”
“And let’s say tomorrow Logan is picked up and questioned,” Bridget said. “Don’t you think it might lead the others to panic? Maybe they’ll do something we can catch them at! Still contribute to helping in this case.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “I guess I can see where something important might happen. But don’t you think the police will think so too? Maybe they’ll already be staking out the place and we’ll just get caught?”
Whispering Walls & Murder Page 8