A Mold For Murder (19 page)

All I could find was a soccer match on one of the Spanish channels.

It would have to do. As I ate my peanut butter and jelly, I tried to match the excitement of the announcers with the events unfolding on the field, but it was too taxing. My two years of high school Spanish were long gone and mostly forgotten, but every now and then I’d pick up a word or two that I recognized.

There was a knock on my door, and I was surprised to find Molly there.

“Come on in,” I said as I stepped aside. “Would you like a sandwich?”

She sneered at my PB&J. “I don’t think so. Your brother’s taking me out tonight. I just wanted to pop in and find out what Sharon told you.”

“Are we actually comparing notes now?” I asked. I turned the soccer game off, but not before getting an odd look from Molly.

“We’ll see,” she said. “It depends on what you’ve got.”

I nodded. “Fair enough. I asked Sharon what they were fighting about when we showed up, but she was kind of vague.”

“So was Barry. I’m usually pretty good at reading people, but I couldn’t quite get him tonight. To be honest with you, I thought he acted just a little bit scared.”

“Do you think he’s afraid of being caught? He could have killed Connie, you know,” I said. “Your instincts are usually pretty good at this stuff.”

“But not always,” she said. “I’m not ready to commit one way or the other just yet. Did you manage to get anything from her?”

I’d been dreading sharing what I knew, but Molly would find out soon enough. Maybe I could spin it so it didn’t look so bad. “Sharon told me she talked to Connie’s executor. Diana’s going to inherit a fair chunk of money from the estate. It’s atonement money from the car accident, I guess.”

“That’s interesting,” Molly said.

“It doesn’t make Diana a murderer,” I said a little louder than I’d intended to.

“It doesn’t exactly clear her, either. How much is she getting? Did Sharon say?”

“She told me, but I still don’t think it’s relevant.” Molly shook her head. “Just tell me, Ben.”

“It’s a hundred thousand dollars,” I said softly.

Molly whistled. “That’s certainly a motive for murder.”

“She didn’t do it,” I said stubbornly, and the words sounded hollow even to me. I hated giving Molly another reason to think of Diana as a killer, but she’d find out sooner or later, and at least if I told her, I could try to downplay it.

Molly didn’t comment one way or the other as she asked, “Did you find anything else out?”

I tried to keep my temper in check. “Sharon’s got permission to hang on here awhile, then she’ll be discharged with a token severance. From the sound of it, she’s not getting much.”

“What else did she tell you?”

“That was really about it,” I admitted. “I don’t guess it’s much, is it? Oh, there was one more thing. She wanted me to call her after I talked to you.”

“Whatever for?”

“To be honest with you, I think she’s curious about what Barry told you.”

Molly appeared to think about that for a few seconds. “Tell her he wouldn’t budge. No, on second thought, say that I wouldn’t tell you, but it seemed like I was holding something back. Can you do that?”

I nodded. “That shouldn’t be too difficult, since I suspect you are.”

She smiled. “You’re funny, have I told you that lately? Ben, I’m trying my best to come up with a suspect other than your girlfriend. I figure if I stir things up enough with all of my candidates, one of them might slip up. Otherwise, I’m going to focus on Diana.”

I shook my head. “It’s amazing to watch a professional police investigation in action. What happened to tracking down clues with magnifying glasses?”

“I left mine at home,” she said. “No matter what they show on television, forensics can only do so much. It nearly always comes down to people, and the ways they react to different stimuli. A push here and a nudge there can work wonders that no crime lab can come up with. If Sharon acts the least bit out of character when you tell her, let me know. I gave Barry Hill a twist as I was leaving, and I’m curious to see how he might react.”

“What about Brian Ross?” I asked, well aware I was on delicate ground. “Have you poked him at all?”

“Are you still on that kick?” she asked. “He’s a decent cop and a nice guy, Ben. I can’t imagine he’s a killer.”

“I can’t accept the possibility that Diana is one either,” I said, “but I keep telling you things that could end up burying her.”

Molly frowned for nearly a full minute, then she retrieved a police radio from her purse.

“Sarah, it’s Molly. Do you have a twenty on Brian Ross?”

“He’s covering the downtown beat tonight,” a woman’s voice replied.

“Thanks. Keep this between us, okay? I don’t want anybody to know I was asking.” She turned off the radio. “There, that should do it.”

“Are you going to go talk to him now that you know where he is?”

Molly grinned. “I don’t have to. Sarah won’t be able to keep her mouth shut. Brian probably already knows I was asking about his whereabouts.”

“Molly, I don’t want you taking any chances on my account.”

“Ben, I don’t believe Brian Ross had anything to do with Connie Brown’s death, so I’m not putting myself in danger.”

“Still, I’d feel better if you’d promise to watch your back.”

“I’ve been doing it so long it’s a matter of habit now.” She walked to the door, then said, “Stay out of trouble yourself, would you? I’d like to have one evening where I don’t have to save you or one of your family members from imminent danger.”

“That sounds like something that would be good for me, too,” I said. “Tell Jeff I said hi.”

“Let’s just assume I won’t and be done with it,” she said, and then left.

I looked up the number for Sharon’s motel, then asked for her room. She picked up on the first ring.

“Hi, it’s Ben. I promised you I’d touch base, and Molly just left.”

“Thanks for calling. So, what did she find out?”

“She was a little guarded,” I said, trying not to make the truth sound like a lie. “I wish I could say more, but she was pretty closemouthed about the whole thing.”

“That’s fine,” Sharon said. “I was just wondering what Barry might say. When he’s drunk, it’s hard to tell what he’ll come up with.”

“Does he get that way very often?”

“Every time I’ve seen him lately, he’s had bourbon on his breath. I’m worried about what he might do.”

She really did sound concerned. I said, “Maybe you should move to another motel. You could register under another name, and I doubt he’d be able to find you.”

“I’m safe enough here. Barry thinks I’m still at the bed-and-breakfast. Thanks for calling, Ben. Good night.”

“Good night,” I said. I thought about calling Molly and updating her on what Sharon had said, but there really wasn’t anything to tell.

I flipped the soccer game back on, then grabbed a book and started reading. It couldn’t hold my attention though, and I finally turned the television off, too. It was hours before I could go to bed without waking up at five a.m., but I was bored beyond description. I decided what I needed was a drive in my Miata, and though the night air had chilled somewhat, it was time to take the top down and let the sights and smells of the night get rid of the staleness in my mind.

I pulled out into the darkness, enjoying the anonymity the nighttime brought. I drove through town, passing under the streetlights of Main Street like spotlights on a stage, illuminating a small, moving disk of pavement, one after the other. Then I was out on the highway again, heading toward Hunter’s Hollow without any plan or design.

Route 127 was a two-lane road, with vast open spaces between the two towns. On a beautiful day, full of sunlight and fresh breezes, I’d push the Miata up toward sixty, though the posted limit was forty-five. There were enough curves in the road to make it feel like I was going over a hundred.

Tonight was a time for caution, though, not exuberance. I had the road mostly to myself when I spotted a pair of headlights coming up fast from behind me. The high beams nearly blinded me as the car approached, and I automatically pushed the accelerator even harder to the floor. Still, my tail was there, gaining on me by the second. I tried to glance back to see if I could get some idea who was back there, but the blinding lights obscured it all.

Then I felt the first nudge, and the Miata surged forward on its own. I’d been braced for a real impact, and the delicate touch startled me. The second time the driver hit me, the force of the blow nearly knocked my small sports car off the road. I had to fight the Miata’s inclination to go straight when the road curved.

That’s when I got it. Someone was trying to shove me into the woods near the road. There were copses of trees everywhere, with only small breaks in between. A massive pine or oak would destroy my car at the speed I was going, and most likely kill me instantly. A seat belt could only do so much. With white-hot fear gripping me, I knew if there was a third collision, I was going to die. I couldn’t call for help, and I couldn’t defend myself. All I could do was try to outrun the vehicle behind me.

Grabbing my seat belt strap, I pulled it as tight as it would go and rammed the accelerator to the floor. If I was going to die tonight, it was going to be on my own terms.

The tires skidded a couple of times as I came precariously close to the gravel shoulder, but the car behind me kept coming. I had to do something drastic.

It was time to put it all on the line.

I punched the gas to the floor, steered the car toward the middle of the road, then raced for the safety of Hunter’s Hollow. Hitting the town limits wouldn’t necessarily mean that I was out of danger, but I was hoping that with witnesses around, the attempted murderer would be forced to give up.

The lights behind me suddenly vanished, and I wondered if the car that had been pursuing me had run off the road. I pulled over, caught my breath when I realized I was alone, and then did something that in retrospect was pretty stupid.

I turned the Miata around and headed back to Harper’s Landing. I dialed Molly’s number on my cell phone as I drove. “Sorry to interrupt your date,” I said before she could say a word, “but somebody just tried to kill me.”

“What happened?” Molly asked.

I told her, and she said, “And you’re driving back into town? Pull over right now. I’ll send a car out there, and Jeff and I will be out in a few minutes. Don’t do anything stupid,” she added.

“You mean anything else? Don’t worry, I’ll be right here.”

I hung up the phone and decided to see how much damage had been done to the back of the car. When I tried to stand, though, my legs nearly buckled and I collapsed back into my seat. The confrontation had weakened me much more than I’d realized.

By the time the first squad car found me, I’d managed to get my composure back, and my ability to walk.

I got out and greeted the patrolman, happy to see that it wasn’t Brian Ross. Where was he? I wondered. Ditching the car he’d used to try to kill me, or off on some completely innocent activity?

“Are you all right, sir?”

I’d grown used to being called sir, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. “I’m Ben Perkins,” I said as I held out my hand.

“I know who you are,” he said with a smile. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

It was tough to see his face in the weak light coming from his headlights. “Sorry, I don’t.”

“That’s okay,” he said, laughing. “My name’s Shawn. I dated your sister Cindy a few times in high school.”

“You’ll have to be more specific than that,” I said.

He nodded. “She’s a sweet girl. I know she’s got a lot of fans.” He shined his light on the back of my car. The damage wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected. “Looks like they clipped your bumper pretty good, but a good body man could probably fix it.”

“I’m just glad that’s all the damage it did. You might want to go look for whoever tried to run me off the road. I’ve got a feeling they hit a tree somewhere back there.”

“I didn’t see anything driving over here,” he said. “Besides, I’ve got my orders. I’m to stay with you until Officer Wilkes gets here.”

“Molly always was too overprotective of me,” I said. “Go on. I’ll tell her it was my fault.”

He was about to argue the point when Jeff pulled up, with Molly beside him. As they got out, I said, “I’m sorry about this. I didn’t mean to interrupt your date.”

“Don’t be nuts,” Jeff said. “Are you all right?”

“I was a little shaky at first, but I’m fine now. Molly, you should let Shawn go look for the car that did this. I’ve got a bad feeling in my gut they ran off the road.”

She nodded to him. “Go on. I’ve got this covered.”

Shawn disappeared in his squad car, and Molly said, “Tell me what happened.”

“I was just driving along, and all of a sudden some maniac came up from behind and started tapping my bumper. I drove as fast as I could, and the next time I looked up, the headlights had disappeared.”

“Can you describe the vehicle?”

“All I saw were headlights,” I admitted. “It happened too fast, and the high beams blinded me. I thought you-all were cracking down on drunk drivers.”

“What makes you think the other driver was drunk?” Molly asked.

“Who else would try to bump me off the road?”

Molly shrugged. “You’ve been asking a lot of questions about Connie Brown’s murder. Maybe you’re getting too close to the truth.”

“That’s crazy,” I said. “You know as well as I do that I don’t have a clue about who killed her.”

“We both realize that, but does the killer? Ben, I want to put a man on you until we clear this up.”

“Absolutely not,” I said. “I’m sure you’re wrong.”

“But what if I’m not?”

Jeff said, “Listen to her, Ben. What could it hurt?”