Of All Sad Words (22 page)

It took her awhile, so he picked up one of the magazines and tried to read it. He discovered he could understand hardly any of it. He tossed the magazine back on the floor.

When Mel returned, she had changed clothes and put on makeup.

Suspicions confirmed, Rhodes thought. When it comes to shrewd intuition, Sage Barton has nothing on me. For that matter, neither does Dr. Phil.

They drove to the precinct barn, and Mrs. Wilkie greeted them when they came in. Rhodes explained why they were there, and she allowed them to go into Burns’s office without being announced.

Burns was surprised to see them, and he stammered a little in his confusion. Rhodes let him suffer for a few seconds and then said, “I want you two to talk over the Web site design and get things settled. You can take Ms. Muller home when you’re finished, can’t you?”

“I, well, I guess I can, but that’s, uh, county time. I have things to do, and—”

“And you can’t cheat the taxpayers,” Rhodes said, finishing the sentence for him. “I know that. Taking Ms. Muller home would be county business, related to the Web site she’s working, just like bringing her here was.”

“Yes, well, uh, I can see that. If it’s all right with Ms. Muller, then, I guess we can talk.”

“It’s all right with her,” Rhodes said. “Isn’t it?”

Mel nodded.

“Good. I’ll be talking to both of you later about the Web site.”

Rhodes didn’t give them a chance to say anything else. He left them there and drove to the community college building. Because of his experience with a mammoth dig a couple of years earlier, he’d visited one of the college instructors, Tom Vance, and knew where his office was located. He supposed Benton’s office would be nearby, and it turned out to be only a few yards down the hallway.

Benton, however, wasn’t there. A note taped to his door said that he was at Max Schwartz’s music store. Rhodes hadn’t noticed Benton’s Saturn in the parking lot when he passed by the store, but he hadn’t been looking for it. He’d had other things on his mind. Something had occurred to him, something he should have thought of before, and he realized he was going to have to talk to Mel Muller again. He could do that after he saw Benton, however, so he went back to his car and headed for the music store.

Benton’s car was there all right. He must have been Schwartz’s best customer. Maybe his only customer, since Schwartz’s convertible was the only other car in the lot.

Rhodes parked beside the Saturn and went inside. A song Rhodes recognized was playing over the hidden speakers—“Tom Dooley” again.

Schwartz and Benton were talking at the counter in the back. Rhodes joined them.

“I was just telling Max about the possums you sent me to look for yesterday,” Benton said. “Except there weren’t any possums.”

“Was it squirrels?” Rhodes said.

“No, it wasn’t squirrels. It wasn’t anything.”

“Mrs. Owens said it was possums.”

“That’s because she wanted you to come out and look for them. It turned out that I was just as good. Maybe better.”

Rhodes was confused, which wasn’t an unusual condition for him when he was talking to Benton, who was getting more like Hack and Lawton every time Rhodes saw him.

“Just as good as what?” he said.

“As good as you.”

“I never doubted that,” Rhodes said. “But I’d like to know why Mrs. Owens felt that way.”

“Her husband died a few years ago,” Benton said. “She’s lonesome.”

“What does that have to do with possums?”

“I told you. There weren’t any. I looked around up in the attic, but there was nothing up there and no sign of anything. Mrs. Owens just wanted somebody to talk to. That’s why she called. She thought you’d be interesting because of the book.”

“She was wrong,” Rhodes said.

“Luckily, I had my guitar in the car,” Benton went on. “I played her some songs, and she even sang along on ‘Go Tell Aunt Rhody.’”

“That’s a sad one,” Schwartz said.

“I’ll bet Deputy Grady would like it,” Benton said, giving Rhodes a sideways look. “Especially the way I sing it.”

“Maybe she would,” Rhodes said. He wasn’t going to play Dr. Phil for Benton. “I appreciate your helping out.”

“I’m always happy to assist my local law enforcement.”

“There’s a right way and a wrong way to do that,” Rhodes said, looking at Schwartz. “The wrong way would be to go after someone with a gun because they’d insulted your wife.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Schwartz said. “I didn’t do anything like that.”

“You thought about it, though.”

“Look, those Crawfords are dangerous.”

“One of them’s not,” Benton said. “He’s dead.”

“Yeah, but the other one’s still around, and we’re talking about when they both were. They were running some kind of a scam up there on that hill, even if they didn’t have a meth lab. Somebody needed to do something.”

“Somebody did do something,” Rhodes said. “And now Terry’s dead.”

“I’ m not saying that’s a good thing.”

“They won’t be bothering Jackee anymore,” Benton said. “They won’t be selling whiskey, either.”

“It’s up to me to take care of that,” Rhodes said. “Not citizens. I have to congratulate you about what you did for Mrs. Owens, though.”

“You’re welcome,” Benton said.

“I hope you don’t think I killed Terry Crawford,” Schwartz said. “I couldn’t do anything like that. And there’s something else.”

“What else?”

“Jackee and I have talked it over. We don’t think it was Terry who bothered her that day. We’re pretty sure it was Larry. They’re hard to tell apart.”

“It doesn’t matter now. I don’t think you killed Terry, and I have a pretty good idea who did.” Schwartz relaxed a little, and Rhodes went on. “I do believe you wanted to make some kind of move against the Crawfords. It’s a good thing you didn’t. You might have been the one who got hurt.”

Schwartz looked sheepish. “You’re right. I did think about it. I wasn’t going to do anything on my own, though. I was going to get some help. The trouble was, nobody wanted to help me.”

“Good for them,” Rhodes said.

“You don’t have to worry about me,” Benton said. “I promise I’ll stick to helping widows with possum problems, or whatever comes up along those lines.”

“Me, too,” Schwartz said.

Rhodes nodded. “That’s good, because I have something I want you to help me out with.”

“We’ll be glad to,” Benton said, as if speaking for both of them. “What is it?”

“It has to do with flying saucers,” Rhodes told them.

Chapter 26

AFTER EXPLAINING ABOUT DAVE ELLENDORF, RHODES USED Schwartz’s phone to call Burns’s office. When Mrs. Wilkie answered, Rhodes said, “I’ll be coming back by there to take Ms. Muller home.”

“That might be a good idea,” she said.

Rhodes didn’t know what she meant, and he didn’t get a chance to ask, because she’d already hung up.

“Is that Mel Muller you’re talking about?” Benton said.

It wasn’t any of his business, but Rhodes told him that it was. He added that she was building a Web site for the sheriff’s department.

“I’ve heard that she does that kind of thing,” Benton said. “So do I. It’s just a sideline, but I’ m really good at it. You should check out docbenton dot com sometime. It’s a sample of what I can do.”

“Maybe I’ll do that,” Rhodes said, though he didn’t have any intention of following through.

“I’m pretty good with a computer,” Benton said. “I teach math, but I’ve done a lot of work with databases and mathematical software.”

If there was one thing Rhodes had no interest in, it was mathematical software, so he turned to Schwartz before Benton could elaborate.

“Do you think you can rig something up for Mr. Ellendorf?” Rhodes asked.

“Easy,” Schwartz told him. “I have some old electrical components around here that’ll make a good hum and buzz.”

“Fine. The sooner you get it to Mr. Ellendorf, the better. Be sure to show him how to turn it on.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Benton asked.

“It’ll work,” Rhodes said. “I guarantee it.”

“No doubt about it,” Schwartz said. “There won’t be any more flying saucers in the neighborhood once my saucer repeller’s on the job.”

“That’s what I thought,” Rhodes said. “I knew that the academy would produce some graduates who’d do some good in this community.”

“By repelling flying saucers?” Benton said.

“That, and by helping out with some other things. With possums, for example. You’ll be going back to see Mrs. Owens, I hope.”

“I said I’d drop by now and then. She likes my music. You could have Deputy Grady check on her, too.”

Rhodes didn’t mind playing Cupid for Mikey Burns, but he wasn’t interested in getting involved in the love life of one of his deputies.

“You might want to talk to her yourself,” Rhodes said. “I don’t know if she likes guitar players.”

“Some people don’t,” Schwartz said, as if he knew from experience.

“What about banjo players?” Benton said.

Schwartz shook his head. “Don’t ask.”

“Maybe you should wait out here a few minutes,” Mrs. Wilkie said when Rhodes got to the commissioner’s office.

Rhodes thought she just wanted the pleasure of his company, until he heard the loud voices coming from behind the door to Burns’s office.

Mrs. Wilkie looked worried. “They’ve been arguing for five minutes now.”

“I’ll see if I can settle them down,” Rhodes said, and opened the door.

He was taken aback by what he saw. Mel Muller and Mikey Burns faced each other across Burns’s desk, talking in angry tones. They broke off when Rhodes came in, and Mel turned to look at him. Neither she nor Burns looked glad he’d showed up.

“This is a private conversation, Sheriff,” Burns said.

His tone made it clear that Rhodes could forget taking Dr. Phil’s place anytime in the near future.

“I hope you’re not arguing about that Web site,” Rhodes said, though he knew that wasn’t the problem.

Burns’s voice was strained. “We’re not arguing, and if we are, it’s none of your business.”

“I’m sure it’s not, but I came to pick up Ms. Muller. I need her help with an investigation.”

“What kind of investigation?” Muller asked, ignoring Burns and giving all her attention to Rhodes.

“Just a little computer work,” Rhodes told her. “It might even have to do with a computer you’re familiar with.”

“Which computer would that be?” Burns asked.

Rhodes didn’t think it would be a good idea to bring up Jerry Kergan’s name at the moment.

“That’s something I’ll have to keep secret for now. Part of an ongoing investigation.”

“If it’s in my precinct, I have a right to know,” Burns said.

“Not really,” Rhodes replied. He was getting tired of Burns’s act. “If you want to take it up with the ACLU, that’s fine with me.”

“You’d better not mess with me, Sheriff. I know about that car you destroyed last night.”

Word gets around fast, Rhodes thought.

“I’m not messing with you, and what happened to the car wasn’t my fault. I’m sorry it happened, but that’s just one of the hazards of enforcing the law.”

“It’s going to affect our insurance rates.”

“That’s too bad,” Rhodes said. “Maybe we can make Rapper pay for it when we catch him.”

“You’d better catch him, then, whoever he is,” Burns said, though he and Rhodes both knew better than to think there’d be any restitution for the car.

Rhodes was tired of talking to Burns. He looked at Mel. “Would you be willing to help me out with that computer?”

She stood up. “As long as it gets me out of here. What do you want me to do?”

“You’ll find out,” Rhodes said. “I don’t think you’ll have any trouble.”

“Good. Can we go now?”

“Sure.”

She started out of the room, and Rhodes stepped aside to let her through the door.

Before Rhodes could leave, Burns said, “I’ll talk to you later about your behavior, Sheriff.”

“It’s about time somebody did,” Rhodes said.

“What does that mean?”

Rhodes didn’t answer. He just closed the door. Mel wasn’t in Mrs. Wilkie’s office.

“She said she’d wait outside,” Mrs. Wilkie said when Rhodes asked.

“Thanks. Could you make a phone call for me? I’m sure Mr. Burns wouldn’t mind.”

“I guess I can,” Mrs. Wilkie said, and Rhodes asked her to look up the number for Schwartz’s store.

“Call and tell him I’d like to speak to C. P. Benton, if he’s there.”

Mrs. Wilkie got the number and made the call. Benton was still at the store, and Rhodes took the phone to speak to him.

“Can you meet me at Dooley’s in ten minutes?” Rhodes asked.

“I’m helping Max with the saucer repeller.”

“He can handle that. I might need your computer skills.”

“All right. I’m always glad to help out the law. That’s why I was in the academy. I’ll be there.”

Rhodes handed the phone to Mrs. Wilkie, thanked her, and left.

Mel didn’t have much to say at first. After Rhodes started the car and got under way, he asked if she was all right.

“I’m fine. Mikey Burns will never change. He’s afraid to commit to anything.”

By “anything,” she means to her, Rhodes thought. He should have known that Burns wasn’t going to reform instantly.

“Where are we going?” Mel asked.

“To Dooley’s. You said you helped Jerry Kergan set up his accounting system, didn’t you?”

“Not exactly. I showed him how, but I didn’t really set things up for him.”

“You could probably find the accounts on the computer, and if you did, you could print them out for me, though.”

“Maybe. I can’t be certain until I try.”

“I have a lot of confidence in you,” Rhodes said.

“Will this help you find out who killed Jerry?”

“I’m not sure. I hope so.”

Because Kergan had been killed by Rapper, Rhodes was looking for a motive, and he suspected that the two had been dealing in bootleg whiskey. Kergan had already failed in the restaurant business once, and since the profit margin was so narrow even in a successful operation, Rhodes thought Kergan might have found a way to make enough money to keep him going until Dooley’s started to turn a profit. If he had, there could be something in his records to show where the money had come from.