That Old Scoundrel Death

by Bill Crider

  Henry Gates had a strong baritone voice. He was a bit surprised to be getting a call from a small-town sheriff in Texas.

  “You say this has to do with Lawrence’s murder?” he asked.

  “It does,” Rhodes said, “but I’m not sure how. Lawrence was working on an article about the first Gulf War, and I know you were a veteran of that one. I think there’s a connection between you and that article. I also think there’s a connection between that article and his murder. Maybe he talked to you about it.”

  “He talked to me about it, all right,” Henry said. “The truth is, I feel a little guilty about his death. I’m afraid I’m the one who caused him to go to Texas in the first place.”

  It was Rhodes’s turn to be surprised. “How did that happen?”

  “You know he was living with his friend Roger Prentiss in your county?”

  “I know,” Rhodes said.

  “They’d reconnected on Facebook,” Henry said, “and I mentioned to Lawrence that I knew somebody who lived in Blacklin County. His name is Pete Hunley. Lawrence asked me how I knew him, and I told him that we served together in Operation Desert Storm. Lawrence looked him up, and learned that he was a big war hero. I told Lawrence that I’d read something about that, which is how I knew where he lived.”

  “I know all about the stories,” Rhodes said. “It was a big deal here when he came home from the war, and it’s been brought up every now and then since then.”

  “Yeah,” Henry said, “but there’s a catch.”

  Rhodes wondered if the Hack-Lawton disease had spread all over the country.

  “What’s the catch?” he asked, to get things moving.

  “It never happened,” Henry said. “Pete being a hero, I mean. He was the biggest goldbrick in the outfit. He did see a little combat, but when there was shooting, he was as far from it as he could get. All that stuff about him being a hero is baloney.”

  “Stolen valor,” Rhodes said.

  “You got it. That’s what interested Lawrence, and he didn’t like the idea of somebody getting away with that kind of scam. I’d never pursued it, but Lawrence was apparently more interested than I was.”

  “That’s a big help,” Rhodes said. “Do you have a name and number for somebody who could corroborate your story? It’s not that I don’t trust you, but you know the old saying about trusting and verifying. The more evidence of what Pete did that I can get, the better.”

  “I know what you mean,” Henry said, “and I know how hard it is to get into the army’s records to get the kind of information you need. I have one friend from those days, Woody Winters. Hang on just a second while I look up his number.”

  Rhodes waited, and then Henry came back on and gave him the number.

  “Thanks,” Rhodes said. “I appreciate your taking the time to talk to me.”

  “You think Pete killed Lawrence?”

  “It’s starting to look that way,” Rhodes said.

  “You get him and lock his ass up,” Henry said. “Throw away the key.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” Rhodes said.

  He thanked Henry again for his help and ended the call. Then he punched in the number Henry had given him for Woody Winters. Winters was even more surprised than Henry had been to be getting a call from a sheriff in East Texas, but when Rhodes had mentioned Henry’s name and explained the reason for the call, Woody said, “Sure, I knew Pete Hunley when we were over there in the sand pile. What do you want to know about him?”

  “He’s something of a legend around here,” Rhodes said, “because of his heroic actions over there during the war.”

  Woody gave a sharp laugh. “Heroic actions? You must have the wrong man, Sheriff. Pete Hunley was about the least heroic man in the outfit. He wasn’t exactly a coward, I’m not saying that, but he could find more ways to avoid getting shot at than anybody I ever knew. If there was an ailment he didn’t develop to get out of duty, I don’t know what it was.”

  “Too bad,” Rhodes said. “Those stories I’ve heard about his heroism must not be true.”

  “Damn right, they’re not,” Woody said. “You can believe me on that.”

  “I do,” Rhodes said.

  “If you’d like a few more names of people who knew Pete in Iraq, I can give them to you.”

  “I’d appreciate that,” Rhodes said.

  It took Woody a few minutes to get the information, but when he did, Rhodes wrote it all down. He didn’t need to call anyone on the list, which had four names on it, at least not now. He thought he had more than enough information already to get an arrest warrant.

  “I hope that helps,” Woody said.

  “It does,” Rhodes told him. He thanked Woody, cut off the call, and set the cell phone down on the table. The Hunleys had always been suspects, but Rhodes hadn’t been able to come up with a motive for any of them. Now he had one. It wasn’t at all hard to believe that someone like Pete would kill to keep the truth about his stolen valor from coming out. Pete would be laughed out of the county if people had found out. Lawrence might have had trouble getting the army records, but when he’d told his story about Pete’s stolen valor, he’d have gotten them sooner or later. Pete couldn’t let that happen.

  Pete might have avoided battles in Iraq and Kuwait, but it didn’t take a lot of courage to shoot a man in the back of the head when the man was distracted. Lawrence must have called Pete about meeting and talking things over. Pete had seen his chance and suggested that they meet at the school building, well away from his home. Then he’d tricked Lawrence into writing something on the board and eliminated the threat of the exposure of his secret.

  Lawrence’s phone records would be coming in soon, and there’d be a call to Pete on them, but that might not help Rhodes’s case. Lawrence had called all the suspects, maybe more than once. On the other hand, if Pete had been the one to arrange the meeting, the incoming call would be another bit of evidence, circumstantial but suggestive.

  Rhodes didn’t know what Pete had done with Lawrence’s car, but the old rock pit in back of the Hunley houses was a good bet to be its final resting place. Checking on that could come later.

  Rhodes finished the doughnut and the Dr Pepper and disposed of the can and napkin. He looked around for Yancey and saw him at the back door. Ivy came home every day at noon and let Yancey out for a little time in the yard, but Yancey wasn’t above taking advantage of Rhodes and getting out early.

  Rhodes went to the door and opened it and the screen. Yancey plunged through the doorway and out into the yard, probably with the intention of bedeviling Speedo, who was lying in the shade of a pecan tree. Yancey charged over to him and started yipping. Speedo got up, and Yancey took off with Speedo in hot pursuit.

  Once he saw that Yancey and Speedo were having a good time, Rhodes went back to the table to sit down and go over his little mental list of other things he’d been adding together. They hadn’t seemed like much, but now they were more significant.

  First there was the way the killer had entered the school building. He’d have to know the building pretty well to get in through the second-floor window by using the fire escape, and while the Reeses and Falkners had gone to school there when they were young, the Hunleys were the ones who were more familiar with the building now because of their interest in its preservation. Rhodes didn’t doubt that Pete could walk there without being seen.

  If the Hunleys were so interested in saving the building, however, why had Pete burned it, as Rhodes was now pretty sure he had. The reason had to be related to the reunion that Con had planned. Pete must have been afraid that someone in a large group might do a little background checking or maybe a Gulf War veteran who knew too much would be in the crowd of people attending.

  Maybe Pete wasn’t the arsonist, but he did know someone who had some kerosene that he could use for an accelerant. Rhodes had smelled it in Con’s garage, where Con had been using it as a paint stripper. Pete could easily have taken it from there.

 
The final thing that had stuck with Rhodes was the washing of the black Suburban. It had been spotless the previous time when Rhodes saw it, and while there were a number of ways it could have gotten covered in dirt and dust, driving the unpaved county roads and going off onto someone’s land on a sandy road would be one sure way to do it. Why Con might’ve been washing Pete’s vehicle was another question, but Pete was there helping, so maybe keeping vehicles clean was a family thing.

  Rhodes picked up his new cell phone again and called Judge Casey to ask for the arrest warrant.

  “So you think Pete Hunley killed this Lawrence Gates,” Casey said after Rhodes had explained the situation. “What if you’re wrong?”

  “I think I’m right, and I have the evidence to back it up,” Rhodes said.

  “You don’t have any real evidence,” Casey said. “Mostly you have just speculation. If you’re wrong, it would be a real black eye for you and the county. The Hunleys are held in high regard around here.”

  “I know that,” Rhodes said, “but maybe that high regard should be lowered. The stolen valor is real.”

  “Maybe,” Casey said. “You have only the word of two men.”

  “I believe them. I can call four more men who were in Pete’s outfit and see what they have to say if you think it’s necessary. We’ll get the army records and prove it later on if Pete doesn’t confess. Or maybe you’d rather give me a search warrant for that rock pit in back of the Hunley homes. I think Lawrence’s car is in there.”

  “More speculation,” Rogers said.

  Things weren’t going as smoothly as Rhodes had thought they would. He hadn’t counted on one simple fact, something that he should have thought of, a friendship between the Hunleys and Casey. Rhodes wasn’t going to mention that possibility, though. He knew it would only make things worse if he did.

  “I have witnesses who saw Pete going into the school building around the time Lawrence was killed,” Rhodes said, stretching the truth as far as it would go.

  “Where are they?” Casey asked.

  “I don’t have them right here,” Rhodes said, “but I can put my hand on them when I need them.”

  “Are they reliable?”

  Rhodes thought about Kenny and Noble. He remembered what Hack had said about Kenny and how Kenny would look on the witness stand. The jury would be impressed with the snake tattoo, but not in the right way.

  “They’re reliable,” Rhodes said, stretching the truth again, “but they might not look good in front of a jury.”

  “They aren’t much help, then.”

  “Look,” Rhodes said, “I have enough evidence to have probable cause for Pete’s arrest without a warrant. I just wanted it to be more official so there wouldn’t be any problems down the line. If you don’t want to issue a warrant, I’m going to have to act on my own.”

  “But the consequences…”

  “I know what the consequences might be. I’m willing to take the responsibility.”

  “Next year’s an election year,” Casey said.

  “I know that,” Rhodes said. “I might decide not to run.”

  Casey laughed. “You’ve been sheriff for too long not to run. Everybody expects it.”

  “Sometimes you have to do the unexpected,” Rhodes said. “What about that warrant?”

  “I’ll get it ready for you,” Casey said, “but if there’s any fallout it’s going to fall right on you.”

  “I can take it,” Rhodes said. “I’ll have one of the deputies pick up the warrant right away.”

  “I’ll have it ready,” Casey said. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

  “I don’t doubt it for a minute,” Rhodes said.

  He hung up and called Hack at the jail. “Who’s on patrol around town?”

  “Buddy,” Hack said. “Why?”

  “I want him to run by the courthouse and pick up an arrest warrant from Judge Casey.”

  “I thought you were at the courthouse,” Hack said.

  “Well, I’m not. Have Buddy drop the warrant off at my house.”

  “I get the feelin’ I’m out of the loop again,” Hack said.

  “You’ll be back in it soon enough. Who’s working the south part of the county?”

  “Ruth.”

  Rhodes looked at his watch. “Have her meet me at Manny Kingston’s grocery store in an hour,” he said.

  “I hear he has good hamburgers,” Hack said.

  “You hear right.”

  “You and Ruth gonna eat one?”

  “I’ll put you in the loop on that later,” Rhodes said.

  “You could bring me and Lawton one. Might make up for keepin’ us out of the loop.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Rhodes said.

  * * *

  Buddy brought the warrant by and asked Rhodes if he needed backup when serving it.

  “Ruth’s already in Thurston,” Rhodes said. “She’ll be the backup.”

  Buddy patted his sidearm. “I’m ready if you need me.”

  “I hope it’ll all be peaceful,” Rhodes said.

  “That’s the trouble with this county,” Buddy said. “Too peaceful.”

  “Except for murders and fires and such.”

  “Yeah, well, except for that kind of thing. I never seem to get in on any of the fun.”

  Rhodes grinned. “You’ve been in on your share.”

  Buddy grinned, too. “I guess I have at that, but if you need any more help, you be sure to put out a call.”

  “You know I will,” Rhodes said.

  “Yep,” Buddy said, “but I want you to call me specifically.”

  “We’ll see,” Rhodes said.

  Chapter 25

  Ruth was waiting at Kingston’s store when Rhodes got there. She was in a booth, and she and Manny were talking when Rhodes walked in. Manny said, “Your ears burning, Sheriff?”

  “Not so I can tell it,” Rhodes said, taking in the odor of french fries and grilled meat. “Should they be?”

  “Mr. Kingston was telling me about Ms. Wilkins’s cat and how you arranged for his care,” Ruth said, “and I was telling him about how many animals you’ve taken in.”

  “Not so many,” Rhodes said. “Only four.”

  “Not counting the one you palmed off on Seepy,” Ruth said.

  Rhodes had arranged for Seepy to become the owner of a fine dog named Bruce.

  “I’d have taken him, myself,” Rhodes said, “but he might have scooped Yancey up and eaten him in one bite.”

  “Bruce is a sweetheart,” Ruth said. “He and Yancey would get along just fine.”

  “Maybe,” Rhodes said, “but Yancey can be irritating now and then.”

  “Leroy’s a sweetheart, too,” Manny said. “He and I are pals already. Do you know when Wanda will be coming home?”

  Rhodes felt a little guilty that he hadn’t checked with the hospital that day, but he’d had a lot on his mind. He said, “I don’t know, but I expect it will be another day or two.”

  “That’s okay with me,” Manny said. “I like visiting Leroy.”

  “That reminds me,” Rhodes said. “Wanda told me that the house key is in her purse in the top drawer of her dresser. You might want to get it and lock the door when you’re there next.”

  “I’ll do that,” Manny said. “We don’t have a lot of break-ins around here, but it pays to be careful. Do you two want burgers?”

  “Maybe later,” Rhodes said. “We have a little business to do first. If you could give us a minute, I need to talk things over with my deputy.”

  “No problem,” Manny said. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”

  Manny drifted to the back of the store to wait for a customer to come in, and Rhodes explained to Ruth what they were there for.

  “Do you think there’ll be trouble?” Ruth asked when Rhodes was finished.

  “Probably not. He’ll be surprised to see us. We’ll just serve the warrant, arrest him, and that will be that.”

  “S
ounds easy,” Ruth said, “but a lot of things sound easier when you’re just talking about them.”

  “Two of us, one of him,” Rhodes said. “What could possibly go wrong?”

  “I wish you hadn’t asked that,” Ruth said.

  * * *

  The two Chargers came to a stop in front of Pete Hunley’s house. Rhodes and Ruth got out of the cars, and Rhodes reached down to remove the Kel-Tec pistol from his ankle holster. Keeping in mind the Boy Scout motto, he stuck the pistol in his belt at the back of his pants.

  Ruth walked over to him and said, “How do we play this?”

  “We go to the door. If Pete comes to let us in, I serve him with the warrant. If it’s his wife, we ask to see Pete. His wife’s name is Linda, by the way. I don’t think I mentioned that.”

  “You didn’t,” Ruth said, “but I doubt that we’ll have time to bond or anything.”

  “You’re right,” Rhodes said, “and she won’t like us much when we do what we came to do.”

  “Speaking of that,” Ruth said, “let’s do it.”

  They walked to the front door, and Ruth rang the bell. In a few seconds, Linda opened the door. She was dressed much as she’d been before, shirt, jeans, and running shoes, but this time the shirt was white. She looked from Rhodes to Ruth and back at Rhodes.

  “Can I help you, Sheriff?” she asked.

  “We’d like to talk to Pete,” Rhodes said.

  “Come right in, then,” Linda said, moving aside.

  Rhodes and Ruth went past her into the house. She closed the door and said, “I’ll get Pete. You can wait in the den.”

  She led the way to the den, a large room with a lot of light thanks to a back wall that had a sliding glass door that opened onto a patio.

  “Have a seat,” Linda said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Rhodes and Ruth didn’t have a seat. They stood in the middle of the room by a couch. Ruth said in a low voice, “You think she’s on to us?”