Murder in the Winter (19 page)

When I was sure she’d finished, I did my best to hide
my smile, then continued.

“Mrs. Lefferts, did you recognize either of these people?”

“No, but I didn’t get that good a look. I was afraid
they’d see me and come over here. Of course, that one guy was in such a hurry
that I doubt if he would’ve noticed me if I stood in the window in my
nightgown.”

“Would you mind if we went to your bedroom and looked
out the window, so you can show me where the vehicles were parked?”

“I haven’t swept or picked up in there this morning. I
didn’t know I was going to have company.”

“That’s okay, Mrs. Lefferts. I just want to look out
the window.”

Apologizing all the way, she led Lou and me to the bedroom.
Once I was sure that no one next door could see us, I had her open the blinds
slightly.

“Now, Mrs. Lefferts. Take a look and show me where the
two vehicles you saw were parked.”

“One of them’s in the same spot it was that night.
It’s the one the crazy guy was driving.”

“Which one is that, Mrs. Lefferts?”

“That SUV thing. The one near the far end.”

Mrs. Lefferts had pointed out Tony McArthur’s vehicle.

“And where was the other vehicle?”

“Kind of in the middle, where the opening is. Where no
one is parked.”

“And that one was an SUV, too?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you know what kind it was?”

“I don’t know one from another. But it was one of
those SUV things.”

“Mrs. Lefferts, is there anyone you know who might be
in the neighborhood that time of night?”

“Only the paper boy.”

“And could the SUV have been his?”

“No, he drives one of those funny-looking cars. You
know those old-fashioned things.”

“You mean a PT Cruiser?”

“Yeah, I think that’s what they call them. Anyway, his
whatever you call it is sort of a brick red. This SUV thing was a totally
different color.”

“Had you ever seen the SUV over there before that
night?”

“No, but it’s been back at least once since. I saw whoever
it was leaving again the other night.”

“What time was this?”

“I don’t know, Lieutenant. It was dark. I woke up,
heard something, looked out, and watched someone drive it out of their
driveway. Then, I got back in bed and went to sleep.”

“Anything else you can remember about that night, or
anytime since then?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, thanks for all your help. We really appreciate
it.”

We walked back into the living room, said our goodbyes,
and walked out of the apartment. After she closed the door, I kicked my heels a
little too high, then reached for the wall to keep from falling. Lou had a good
laugh at my expense, and the two of us rejoined Lightning for some tête-à-tête.

25

“So, what do you think, Lou?”

“It keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.”

“That it does my friend. There’s lot to ponder here.
Who was driving McArthur’s SUV? Was it McArthur, or someone else? Supposedly,
he was out of town. If so, someone seems to have a key to everything McArthur owns
or rents. And who’s the other guy? Is there a connection between the two? If
so, why did the second guy stay only a minute? It sounds like some kind of
payoff. Do you reckon one guy paid the other for doing something? Could it be
the plumber? Was this the big money he was coming into? Was it an arranged
meeting and the reason the one guy drove so fast was because he was late?”

“That’s a whole lot of suppositions, Cy. I don’t know
the answer to any of those, but I can tell you one thing. What the old lady
next door says makes sense. According to the pictures that Profitt’s sister
took, there was a vehicle that came here that night, and left. And if you
remember, she didn’t take any pictures of McArthur’s SUV. Only one that showed
the door, so we know it was there. It could very well have been driven that
night. But who drove it? McArthur, or someone else?”

“I don’t know. What say we get something to eat and
mull this over afterward.”

+++

After all the walking I’d done canvassing the neighborhood,
I was sure I’d lost a few ounces. Rosie could tell it too, as soon as we opened
the front door of the Blue Moon, she said, “Boy, you look like you’ve been
dieting ever since breakfast.” The woman’s words rang true. No wonder all those
strange people had made me so nervous. I’d forgotten to eat any candy all
morning.

Lou and I were sitting in the Blue Moon eating lunch
when the phone rang. Rosie hurried to answer it, then turned to me.

“It’s for you, oh exalted one. I think it’s your
shrink.”

“Ain’t no one shrinking this body,” I said as I got up
to answer the phone.

“Dekker here.”

“I remembered that you said you hung out at the Blue
Moon from 10:00-4:00.”

“Sam, my man. Don’t tell me you called to give me indigestion.”

“I don’t believe anything will bother that cast iron
gut of yours. After you finish your right elbow workout, are you interested in
going to work?”

“You mean the police department shut down? Will I have
to get a real job?”

“No, I meant actually doing something to earn those
big bucks you get.”

“What’ve you got in mind? Anything I’d get arrested
for?”

“I have a picture for you, Cy.”

“Is she cute?”

“No, I doubt if
he’s
your type.”

“Is he living?”

“That I don’t know, but he was back when he was making
plumbing calls.”

“So, you have a picture of Phelps?”

“I do. Do you have any interest in showing it around
town and finding out if anyone recognizes him? Maybe find out if he has a
friend in town?”

“Is there anyway you can have a copy made? Quick?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot. You’re the cop from the dark
ages. I already have three copies. One for you. One for your shadow. And one
for me. Maybe between the three of us we can find someone who’s seen him.”

“I’d like to find somebody who’s seen him since breakfast.
Wait there. Lou and I will be through here shortly. Then, we’ll stop by and
pick up our copies.”

I hung up, went back and told Lou that our walking
days weren’t over. I filled him in as much as I could until Rosie walked up
with a large slice of strawberry pie with whipped cream, and a slice of pecan
pie with ice cream for both of us. I was glad we ordered two pieces of pie
each. We would need the extra strength to resume our exercise routine.

+++

After woofing down two slices of pie each and savoring
each morsel, we waddled out, plopped down in Lightning, and were off to meet
the Wizard.

Sam saw us coming and jumped up to welcome us.

“So, Sam, what’ve you got on Phelps?”

“Ray Phelps was easy to trace before he came here. Not
so easy after he left. He came here from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. I ran down some
people who knew him and talked to the authorities there. Ray Phelps has never
gotten into any trouble. He was just a working man who lived in a trailer and
went to work each day. The worst thing I could get on him was that he was a
dreamer. He always talked about some day he wouldn’t have to work so hard.
Then, right before he left, he went around and said goodbye to his friends and
told them that some day might be here soon. He said he was off to Hilldale
where he planned to look up an old buddy.”

“Any idea who the old buddy was?”

“Not yet, Cy. I’ve checked around the best that I
could, but so far no one seems to know him. But I just got all this information
right before I called you, so I haven’t had much time to check on him.”

“So, Ray Phelps is his real name?”

“As far as I know. It was the name he used before he
came here.”

“And you haven’t been able to find him since he left?”

“Not even a clue as to which road he took out of town.
All I know is that he didn’t go back to his trailer in Pine Bluff.”

“Is the trailer still there?”

“It is. According to Tony Small, a friend of his, our
plumber friend gave him the trailer to live in until he came back, and if
Phelps didn’t come back within two years, he told Small he could consider the
trailer his own.”

“Any idea if Phelps ever did any acting?”

“No, but he was good with his hands. People in Pine
Bluff said he could fix just about anything. By the way, here’s the picture. I
figured we could show it around town and see if anyone recognizes him. At least
we’ll be able to show it to Mrs. Burris to see if it’s the same guy who worked
there. You might want to show it to people at the inn or the apartment building
to see if any of them recognize him.”

“Yeah, and we can show it around town to see if anyone
has seen any of our suspects with Phelps.”

“Here’s what we’ll do, Sam. Why don’t you check out local
businesses, places to eat, gas stations, convenience stores, places where
Phelps might’ve done some business while he was in town? See what you can do
today, and again tomorrow.  Lou and I will head over to Burris Plumbing; make
sure that this is the guy who worked there. Hang around here for thirty
minutes. If I haven’t called by then, then this is our guy. You can get to
work. While we’re there, we’ll get a list of the service calls Phelps made
while he was employed there. We’ll check with the customers, talk to the ones
who were home when  Phelps  made the call.  See if he dropped any hints about
why he was here, who he knew here, where he planned to go when he left.
Tomorrow, Lou and I will revisit the Overlook Inn and Oppenheimer Arms, to see
if anyone recognizes the plumber, and if anyone looks guilty when shown the
photo. If you get anything today, call me, or leave a message for me at the
Blue Moon. If not, we’ll touch base tomorrow night and compare notes.”

“Sounds good to me, Cy.”

Because we had a lot of work to do, we said goodbye,
and Lightning led us to Burris Plumbing.

+++

Only one car stood in front of the plumbing business,
which allowed me to park near the door. I did. Lou and I would get enough
exercise in the next few days. We needed to economize whenever possible. We got
out, walked over to the door. I opened the door of Burris Plumbing and stepped
inside. My shadow followed.

“Well, hello, Lieutenant, Sergeant. Something else I
can do for you?”

“Yes, Mrs. Burris. I’d like for you to take a look at
this picture and tell me if you recognize the man.”
            “Why, yes. It looks like Ray Phelps. Did you find him?”

“Not yet. You said you didn’t know him when he came to
you for a job.”

“That’s right.”

“Do you have any idea why he picked your business when
he sought work?”

“No, of course there aren’t a lot of plumbers in Hilldale.
If a man is a plumber, there’s a good chance he’d come here looking for work.”

“Mrs. Burris, someone who knew Phelps back in Arkansas
told us that Phelps knew someone in Hilldale, and that was the reason he came
here. Would you have any idea who that person is?”

“No.”

“So it isn’t you or Mr. Burris?”

“No.”

“Did he ever have any phone calls or visitors at
work?”

“Not that I know of. I’m usually here, so I’d say probably
not.”

“I’d like a list of the names, addresses, and phone
numbers of the jobs you sent him out on. Let’s say you give me the ones from
his first week and last week he worked. Maybe he talked to someone. You know,
chitchat. It’s possible he told someone why he was here or why he was leaving.”

“Ray was a friendly enough guy. He didn’t seem like a
loner. Yet all the time he was here he never said much about himself or his
life.”

“Just the same, I’d like that information. Maybe he
ran into someone who was from Arkansas, or someone he really hit it off with
and unloaded on them.”

“You don’t think Ray did anything bad, do you?”

“No, but he might be able to help us find someone
we’re looking for.”

“Maybe it’d be easier to find the other person, than
it would be Ray.”

“You might be right, Mrs. Burris, but at least with
Phelps we know who we’re looking for. We don’t know the identity of this other
person, but it’s possible that Ray Phelps does. We’d like to question him to
see if he knows this person or not.”

“Well, I’ll see what I can do, Lieutenant. It’ll take
me a few minutes to come up with a list. Why don’t you boys have a seat.”

We plopped down on two chairs against the wall. Not exactly
recliners, but a man can’t always be choosy when he gets a chance to take a
load off his feet.