Murder by Artifact (Five Star Mystery Series) (24 page)

“I doubt a few more bloodstains are going to matter.” Martha laughed without true amusement. “Plus, you don’t want to take a chance of removing the original stains. What kind of display would a spotless ‘murder quilt’ make? People will pay to see blood.”

Jane made a moaning sound in the back of her throat. “I don’t care. The second Tony gives us the thumbs-up, I want to dash in there and get it soaking in cool water.”

Theo didn’t remind Jane there was most certainly a bigger mess inside than a few stains on an antique quilt. In fact, Theo had already talked to three different companies that claimed they could clean up biological messes and crime scenes. It wasn’t going to be inexpensive and it wasn’t going to be fast. Jane and Martha would probably be better off buying a new trailer and moving the artifacts.

Furthermore, Theo suspected the quilt in question wasn’t even in the trailer. She guessed it was locked away in an evidence locker in the bowels of the law enforcement center. It might even have been sent away to a laboratory. She would ask Tony before saying anything.

For the moment, Jane seemed to have forgotten how Patti had bled out on their floor. And the murder weapon was one of their donated artifacts. And the construction of the new building and reconstruction of the antique barn were costing more every day.

Theo saw no sense in reminding her mother-in-law of the reality of their problems.

Tony’s arrival distracted her.

When Tony pulled into the museum parking area, he groaned. He wasn’t exactly surprised to see his wife, aunt and mother together at the museum site. Why would he ever expect it any other way? Life was never easy.

He was not delighted to see them.

They all looked quite pleased to see him, however. Happy smiles greeted him and he felt like an old grump as he approached. “What are the three of you doing out here?”

What he meant of course was “Why don’t you go away?”

Some of his feelings must have shown on his face because Theo stared at him for a moment, her eyes widening behind the dark lenses clipped to her glasses. With a smile, she tipped her head to one side, inquiry etched on her sweet face. “Shouldn’t we be here?”

Tony didn’t answer. There wasn’t a good answer so he watched as Gus headed toward them, moving at a leisurely pace. Behind him, Tony saw Quentin handing Mac and Kenny some tool he didn’t recognize. Nothing he saw made him think construction during a heat wave was a rational business to get in to. Quentin’s T-shirt was soaked with sweat, making it stick to his skinny frame. He probably hadn’t worked this hard the rest of his life put together. Mac and Kenny wore abbreviated Tshirts, cut-off jeans, work boots, ball caps and bandanas tied around their necks. They were covered with dirt, making it hard to distinguish where the tan ended and the dirt began.

“Hey there, baby brother,” said Gus. A wide smile creased his face. “What brings you out to our mess? Going to take down your yellow tape any time soon?” He gestured toward the trailer still festooned with miles of yellow plastic.

Tony sensed no real impatience on his brother’s part. Murder had been committed and Gus would wait with great good humor until Tony released the crime scene. “It shouldn’t be much longer. Archie will want to go over the evidence before we release it. I expect him to swing by later today.”

“Archie? So you’re ready to bring in our fearless prosecutor?” Gus lightly punched Tony’s arm and feigned a broken hand. “Does this mean you’ve solved the case?”

“I have. Actually, Wade did.” Tony couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “I hate disorder in my county the same way you hate it when someone borrows a hammer and leaves it on the ground.”

Gus shuddered at the comparison. “That’s no laughing matter.”

Wade arrived in his patrol car, parking crossways, blocking the driveway. Instead of climbing out, he lowered his window and remained inside, talking on his cell phone.

“Do me a favor, Gus.” Tony leaned closer so only his brother could hear his words.

Gus nodded, his expression wary.

Although Tony kept the genial expression pasted on his face, his focus was not on his brother. “Your truck’s not blocked. Take the ladies for a drive will you?”

“Where? For how long?”

Tony pretended to talk about trivia, not changing his expression. He lowered his voice so the words didn’t travel farther than Gus’s ears. “I need them out of the way. It’ll only take a few minutes. I can’t be worrying about them, or you.”

The pupils of Gus’s eyes contracted and Tony knew he understood.

Gus shook his head, his expression comically morose. Speaking in a fairly natural tone, he was careful to keep his eyes away from Tony’s sidearm. “I guess I lost our bet, huh?”

“Of course.” Tony grinned and slapped Gus on the shoulder. In a voice loud enough for the women to hear, he announced Gus’s punishment for a lost bet was springing for pie and coffee at Ruby’s. “I feel like chess pie today. Get me a slice in a go box, will you?”

Gus nodded as he moved the women toward his pickup with gentle determination. “Theo, if you’ll move your van.”

Theo shot a quick glance at the silver-blue minivan partially blocking Gus’s truck and slipped her keys into her hand. “I’ll lead the way to Ruby’s and go on back to my shop after pie.”

Tony thought there were definite advantages to having a smart wife. Her reward was a grateful grin.

“Aren’t you coming with us, Tony?” Jane almost reached Gus’s four-door pickup when she turned back. Without breaking his stride, Gus turned to collect her.

Tony sighed. Leave it to his mom to complicate any situation. He told the only lie that would work. “I’m going into your trailer. I really don’t think you want to be here or see that.”

Jane’s eyes flickered to the trailer and she stopped. Somewhat paler, she let Gus help her into the big pickup.

Tony rested his fists on his hips and watched until Gus managed to get her settled on the passenger seat. He could only hope his brother would lock the door before she could change her mind and bolt again.

The moment the pickup moved out of sight, Tony headed for the trailer. Wade joined him. They stood outside the broken door and stared hard at it, almost willing it to tell them what had happened. Whoever broke the latch didn’t need much strength, just a crowbar and a bit of determination.

Tony spoke softly, his words meant only for his deputy’s ears. “Where do you suppose the car is?”

Wade adjusted his sunglasses and glanced around. “If I didn’t want to drive it away, it has to be around here.”

“My guess is he drove it the other direction instead of heading for the road.” They strolled around the outside of the trailer, checking the windows. “We were so certain the body was Doreen’s, we didn’t really search this area very well.”

Tony noticed three pairs of curious eyes following their every move. Kenny, Mac and Quentin hadn’t moved from their earlier positions.

Tony surreptitiously loosened his sidearm. This wasn’t the OK Corral. On the other hand, their prey wasn’t exactly helpless. He didn’t know the range of a nail gun or even if it was possible to shoot nails like they did in the movies, and he wasn’t interested in finding out. “Make your way around to the other side.” Tony watched Wade move off before he ambled toward the three workers. He smiled. He hoped it looked more natural than it felt.

“Sheriff?” Quentin spoke loud enough to startle a pair of nearby birds. They flew into another tree and scolded the men.

“Quentin.” Tony thought Quentin looked like a rabbit about to bolt. The teeth hanging over his lower lip did nothing to contradict this assessment. Some of the damage caused by his meth addiction would not improve, like his teeth. At least his skin seemed to be clearing up. Scarlet from heat and exertion, Quentin’s face dripped. His hands trembled as he untied his bandana and used it to wipe off some of the moisture. With hands as shaky as those, Tony thought, he’d be hard pressed to keep water in a cup. Even though he smelled bad, for a change it was the aroma of sweat and not chemicals. “Hot enough for you?”

Quentin said, “It ain’t been this miserable in a long time.”

Tony nodded. He looked at the other men. “While Gus is away, I’ve got a couple more questions.”

“Sure thing,” said Kenny. His Adam’s apple moved under his skin like he was having a spasm and his eyes moved constantly, never quite meeting Tony’s gaze. He couldn’t have looked more guilty if he’d tied a sign around his neck that read, “I’ve been very bad.”

Staring into Kenny’s face, Tony wondered what bothered his conscience.

“Time to hit the water bucket again,” said Mac. He turned away and moved toward the big yellow water container sitting on a thick board straddling a pair of sawhorses. He didn’t stop there but headed for his truck. Not quite running, he was traveling fast.

“Mac, stop.” Wade’s voice carried across the construction site. The chattering birds fell silent.

Mac ignored the command. Increasing his speed, he vaulted over a pile of debris.

Tony’s fleeting glance at Quentin and Kenny revealed their absolute confusion. They seemed frozen in place. With his left hand, Tony pulled his handcuffs from his belt and with his right he slipped his gun free. “Get down.”

Quentin and Kenny didn’t have to be told twice. The pair dropped to the ground like stones, their arms wrapped around their heads.

Wade fired.

The bullet slammed into the dirt, inches from Mac’s flying feet. That was all it took. Mac stopped and raised his hands above his head. He didn’t move a muscle until Tony’s handcuffs locked his wrists together behind his back. At the click of the second bracelet, Mac’s shoulders drooped and his head fell forward.

Tony read him his rights as they walked to Wade’s vehicle. Within seconds, Mac was locked inside and on his way to the jail.

When Tony turned around he saw Quentin still stretched out on the ground, his skinny arms wrapped around his head. He shivered. Next to him, Kenny wasn’t looking much better. Although the gravel under his bare skin had to be cutting into him, he seemed not to notice it. Tony touched Kenny’s side with the toe of his boot. “You two can get up now, but don’t go anywhere.”

Kenny pulled his knees up under his chest and squatted, his weight balanced on the balls of his feet.

Tony used his cell phone and called Rex. The dispatcher sounded a little miffed he hadn’t been able to hear anything on the radio. “Send Sheila and Mike over here.”

“Nobody tells me a thing, Sheriff, I’m supposed to be on top of this stuff and you like to keep me in the dark.” Rex whined. “What’s going on?”

“No, Rex, I’m not hiding from you. I just hate it when people with scanners pick up everything that’s going on. We’re not running a damned home entertainment service.”

“I can’t get you help if I don’t know what’s happening.”

“You’re right.” Tony realized that he had done a stupid thing, cutting Rex out of the loop. Luckily he and Wade had been able to handle the situation. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Rex still sounded aggravated. “Sheila and Mike are on their way. Sheila sounded like she is practically on your doorstep now.”

Sure enough, by the time Tony disconnected the call, Sheila had parked her car where Wade’s had just been. “What’s up?”

“We’ve arrested Mac for the death of Patti Yager.”

“Wow!” Sheila glanced around the construction area and looked carefully at Quentin and Kenny. “I trust you’ll fill me in later.”

Tony nodded. “How were you at Easter Egg hunts?”

“My basket was always full.” She smiled at him and poked a loose strand of blond hair back into its braid. “I suspect we’re not looking for old eggs.”

“By now, we’d be able to smell an old egg. This is bigger.”

Sheila peered at him over the top of her sunglasses. “Let me guess, Mrs. Yager’s car?”

“Yep.” He glanced over her head and saw Mike arriving. When the two deputies were standing together, out of earshot of the remaining construction crew, he told them about the earlier arrest. “If I hadn’t been distracted by the Doreen misidentification, we would have done this earlier. Let’s see what we can find.”

They each headed in a different direction. Dense undergrowth and encroaching kudzu made it impossible to see clearly for more than several feet. Carefully checking for tire tracks and broken vegetation, they worked their way deeper into the brush. The construction vehicles had churned up a lot of the area. Their search churned up an array of biting insects.

“I’ve got it.” The vegetation muffled Sheila’s voice and then finding her became the challenge. “I almost missed it.”

Tony moved to stand directly behind her and still didn’t see it, even with her lifting a thick kudzu vine and pointing out the direction. At last his eyes adjusted to the low light and he focused on the dark green car trunk. Weeds and tall grasses shielded the tires and bumper. “Good work, Sheila. No wonder you filled your basket.”

“Thanks, boss.” Slapping an insect on her neck, Sheila pushed the vine she held in her other hand over to Mike. “I’m going back for the camera. If I’m not back in two minutes, we might have to play a little Marco Polo.”

Tony couldn’t believe hiking in the jungles of South America would be worse. It felt like a claustrophobic’s nightmare underneath the canopy of vegetation. There seemed to be no available oxygen. Hot and humid, the organic cave sucked the air from their lungs and the moisture from their pores. Within minutes, sweat ran in rivulets down his back and dripped off his face. A glance at his deputies showed they were just as miserable. Sweat darkened their chocolate-brown uniform shirts making them appear black. Looking more like paint than cloth, the shirts clung to the bodies wearing them, outlining their protective vests.

“Miserable” didn’t quite cover the situation.

“Where’s Wade?” Sheila pressed her face against her sleeve, wiping the sweat from her eyes before she returned to taking photographs. “I’d hate for him to miss all this fun because he’s somewhere busy flirting with Mike’s fiancée.”